PATTAYA, THAILAND

We cruised into the port of Laem Chabang, Thailand. This port is in the middle of nowhere near the resort city of Pattaya. People wishing to go to Bangkok had to take a two and a half hour bus to Bangkok. We were staying on the ship and going nowhere for we were looking forward to seeing Doug's son Glenn and his wife Kelli who live here in Thailand on the island of Koh Samui. Glenn and Kelli were flying to Pattaya to meet us on the ship. We enjoyed a very good visit for two days, eating, visiting and touring the ship. Glenn and Kelli enjoyed sampling American food again, like hamburgers, mayo, and Italian food in our Prego restaurant. We had alot to catch up, and we were very happy to have the opportunity to do so as we spent hours sharing stories. We felt sad to say good-bye.

We left the ship to go with Glenn and Kelli to Pattaya where they were going to be flying home from. We had been to Pattaya before and enjoyed seeing some of the different sights around the city such as the beautiful beach. Pattaya styles itself as Thailand's Riviera. Across the street from the beach is a very modern huge shopping mall.

During our stroll we would see many vendors, markets, restaurants and Spirit Houses. A Spirit House can be found beside every house, restaurant, shop, or bar. A Spirit House is a miniature house on a pole or a stand for spirits to live in. To keep these spirits happy, offerings of fruit, flowers, rice, beer and incense are placed around this miniature house. If you do this, then the spirits will be happy but if you don't keep them happy, they can become mischievous and cause your business to fail, or cause someone to die in your household. etc. Almost all Thai people have one by their home and business place. Some are huge and elaborate depending on the wealth of the owner of the business. The shopping mall had a huge Spirit House outside the mall beside the street. As you walk by, you can smell the heavenly scent of the flowers and the incense. One even had a bottle of beer on the stand.

Most Thai people get around using scooters. If you don't have one, then the public transportation is the truck bus, with two benches at the back and you pay the driver through the window. It can hold approximately 6 to 8 people. There are even scooter taxis which are very cheap to use.

The King and Queen of Thailand are revered and their photos can be seen all over the place, on store fronts, in the boulevards, inside stores etc. When Glenn and Kelli were in Bangkok, the King and Queen were passing by in a car, and Kelli was told to stand on the sidewalk not the road for she could not be on the same level as the King or Queen.

Thailand is known as the Land of the Smiling Faces and you can see that in the people of Thailand. We are always happy to come back.