Return to Paradise - Haa

September 4, 2017

Our final day together in Pattaya - we took one more stroll up Prathumnak Hill, this time hiking up to see the Big Buddha.  It was another hot, humid morning, but we all soldiered on.  This was the first time I'd ever walked up to Buddha Hill.  Many times before, we had K. Mick drive us and our guests up to the top, then we just walked back down.  We even saw a monkey on the way this morning.  I hadn't seen a monkey up there for many months.

I couldn't remember whether we needed to worry about proper attire on Buddha Hill, so I brought a couple of big scarves, just in case some of the ladies in shorts needed to cover up.  It turns out they do require legs and shoulders to be covered.  We were able to borrow the extra wraps we needed from a vendor at the bottom of the hill.

It was early enough that we almost had the place to ourselves.  A few Buddhist Mae-Chee, or women who have dedicated their lives to religion, tended to some of the altars around the hill.  Buddhist nuns are not allowed in Thailand, but these laywomen are recognized by their white robes and shaven heads.

Mae-Chee

We took in the lovely view from the top, looking out onto the bay in one direction, down Jomtien Beach in another, and back at the city from still another direction.  We strolled through the Chinese garden just below on our way back, and had a harrowing minute or two in search of a restroom as one of us suddenly felt the effects of the previous night's spicy larb dish!

In the Chinese garden...

The famous story of the Three Kingdoms

We had plenty of food left from our Koh Chang jaunt to feed our small army for breakfast.  Some of the group wanted to do a little shopping, so Tim led that group down to the "Night Bazaar" (opened all day) on Second Road while others stayed back to do laundry or lounge by the pool.

Outside Mike Shopping Mall

Central Festival Plaza

In the late afternoon, six of the group headed to the airport for a flight to Chiang Mai and a visit to the Elephant Nature Center.  Ted and Hiustyn stayed back with Tim and me, and we enjoyed a nice evening with just the four of us.  We had dinner at Sunrise Sunset in the Siam Bayview Resort, followed by a stroll through the infamous Walking Street.

The Chiang Mai group made it safely to their destination, and even happened upon a bar that carried Dirty Bastard, a craft beer bottled by Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Return to Paradise - See

Sept. 2-3, 2017

A couple of kick-back-and-relax days were spent playing in the sand, lounging in the pool and playing some chinese checkers.  Tim created a mini Seven Kingdoms - well, two kingdoms anyway.  Ted and Hiustyn cooked some Venezuelan arepas for us, creatively substituting for some of the usual ingredients.

King's Landing

Winterfell

Arepas con huevos

While the sun was out, we got lots of great group shots in the pool.  And our adopted pet hermit crab hung out in a plastic water bottle on the table.

In the afternoon, most of the group walked down the beach to the swim-up bar and had a swimming contest.  I walked down toward the other end of the beach to check out the clubhouse.  It was fairly deserted, with a few staff at an outdoor kayak rental stand, and some others setting up their massage stations.

People took turns taking the somewhat unstable kayak out into the water.  I nervously watched from the shore, lest someone should capsize and no one was paying attention.

Mick wanted to take Ted out fishing in the kayak, so they loaded up the vessel with fishing gear and a cooler stocked with squid for bait and beer for...well, you know.  They paddled out into the bay.  They sat for a bit in one spot, then lifted anchor to move to another place.  However, the lifting was a little too destabilizing (not naming names,) and soon two men and a cooler were in the water.  Fortunately the water was quite shallow, so they just walked the boat back into shore.

Mick and June grilled up the squid that was intended as bait

We had lots of food to use up, including the leftover chicken wings from Mick and June's party, so we stayed in for dinner.  People turned in early so they could wake up for the Michigan football game at 2 a.m.  I passed on that opportunity.

One more sunset...

Tim and I were up early on the last morning, and waded far out into the water at low tide.  Hermit crabs were everywhere, as well as beautiful, perfect shells in all shades of white and gray.  We enjoyed watching one of the local dogs fishing in the shallow water - something I imagine must happen every time the tide is out.

...and one more sunrise

We returned the motorbike, paid our bills, and packed as much of the leftover food as we could into the van for the journey back to Pattaya.  We didn't have to wait long for the ferry, and had an easy sail across to the mainland, then a three-hour drive back home.

We took the group to one of our favorite eateries, the Wooden Box, for dinner.  We got the royal treatment from our "regular" waitress, Muay.  The food was delicious as always.

Sides of honey and simple sugar come with the fruit shakes

oh, that carrot-ginger soup - "Aroi Mak Mak!"

They toned down the spice in the salmon larb to "farang spicy," but it still packed a punch!