Pattaya days . . .

Only eight nights in Pattaya … I was not in a hurry to go and not dying to leave either, but that was enough. And this although I had never staid for such a short time in Pattaya for most of my 29 trips to Thailand. Oh, no boredom at all, but I felt like one of my favourite toys had been broken : afternoons on Jomtien Beach are definitely not what they were any more.

I could do with less boys, less sellers, less cute beach attendants. But being crammed like sardines is definitely not my idea of a nice holiday. No more privacy, so few free space to invite an unexpected friend to sit down, no more sellers passing just in front of my seat, and hardly any view to the sea except from the front row : sorry, that's no more for me. I went only twice, partly because the weather was really rainy this year, and mostly because I did not feel the need to go. It seems another Pattaya attraction has gone, and the most frustrating is that this reorganisation is beyond all understanding. Let's hope that common sense will prevail in the end, at least when these idiots will have buggered off back to the barracks where they belong.

Purple sunbeds : on the agenda

I had invited my young friend from Khorat to come to Pattaya, as I had not met him since many months. He pushed me to go to Koh Larn and we spent the day on Thian Beach, which we liked very much . The rules about chairs were rather lax, prices quite affordable and the place acceptably busy despite a high russian attendance. I was so pleased that I came back alone, and once again enjoyed my stay despite being on a Sunday. So I guess that trips over there will be on the agenda on my further holidays in Pattaya. I even noticed an all-khmer staff on one of the first concessions (the one with purple chairs), and can imagine that repeated visits could slowly build some intimacy with one of the boys or another …

The last trip back to Pattaya was spoilt by heavy rain, but a russian was nice enough to use his mat to protect me from the shower .. so much for the usual bad naming. By the way I like their president more and more too...