The "Side Streets" and Beaches of Thailand

Hello again!!!

I am 'slowly but surely' sifting through the hundreds of pictures I took while in Thailand, and figuring out which ones I want to post!! Here is another collection of photos I took on the third day we were in Thailand. It was a little cloudier, as you can see, but it was still so hot and humid. Temperatures were in the 90's, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds without the scorching sun. It still called for bathing suits, coverups, and no makeup for me!! Just how I like it!!

People in Thailand LOVE their bikes!! These bikes are for rent all over, and there are always two (if not three) people riding on each one! Hahaha.. so dangerous. (Don't worry, Mama & Daddy... I didn't DARE get on one... Ha!)

These 'side streets' were steps from the hotel... coming down the opposite direction from where we were the evening we went for our authentic Thai dinner. Still lots of girls...

THIS one was too funny... "LISA Bar..."

I love how everyone carried their goods on these hanging baskets and sticks!! These were typically the "street vendors" that would stop for anyone that may have been looking for something.

You can find cheap t-shirts, dresses, and flip flops everywhere you go. I MAY or MAY NOT have picked up a couple t-shirts, bargained with the vendor, and gotten away with a 3 for $9 deal. :-)

Shrines everywhere, too!!!

Fresh flower leis... Thailand style???

Posing for a pic with Philippe on the Gulf of Thailand.

We had to stop for some sort of refreshment! "Singha Beer"... Thailand's local beer that is SO good! 1 Can: $1. What a great afternoon treat!

We people-watched for about an hour on this street... with a huge fan cooling us down from overhead the entire time!! No other way would we have been comfortable sitting in the heat!!!


An afternoon snooze...


I tried uploading this picture 3 times, and for some reason it kept coming up sideways!!! Hahaha... anyway, this is a huge crab we found on the beach. There were holes in the sand everywhere we stepped! So cool!! They sure were shy little creatures... surprised we found this one.


I LOVE Pattaya. We stayed in such a great location!!!!


Me standing in the low tide on the Gulf of Thailand.


Anchors Ashore!

Heading back to the hotel after a long day...

Ready for our next "Adventure"?????

Cheers!

-Lisa :-)

Blogging from my balcony!!!!

Cheers!!!
-Lisa :-)

BREAKFAST: The most important meal of the day!!

Good morning!!!

There is nothing like having breakfast included with our hotel on these long layovers. Sometimes the coffee maker in the room just isn't up to par, or the breakfast bar I've stashed in my rollerboard doesn't hold me over til lunch. GOOD THING, every so often we get lucky and have access to a complete breakfast buffet... with fresh juices, toast, omelets, eggs, bacon, and the occasional local favorite. (Thailand's just happens to be: fried rice.)

Good morning, miss! what can I get you?? "An egg white omelet with veggies. Lots and lots of veggies, easy on the cheese. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!" :-)

Mmmm... fresh fruit, and those darn bananas I can't get enough of. SO CUTE!!

WOW... What a way to start the day!!!!!!

Cheers!

-Lisa :-)

An Evening out on the town in Pattaya... my first Authentic Thai food experience!!

Even the clouds in the afternoon were beautiful in Pattaya. After a long day at the pool, the clouds were welcomed! An afternoon shower isn't unlikely... especially during rainy season in Southeast Asia.

I surely didn't miss out on the opportunity to get some sun during my stay. (Hey!! I was just making up for the lack of sun I got in Hawaii last week... ;-)

The girls on our way to dinner: Andrea, Jill, me, and Stefanie. Stopping at the many "elephant" landmarks along the way!

This local man made "Chili Paste" on the side of the road and sold it to people that walked by. Fortunately, we didn't give in to it... but it was neat to see!! (We actually tried some at dinner later that night... BLLEECCCHHH! That is just NOT my thing... ;-)

There are HUNDREDS of girls standing outside these local "Beer bars" in Thailand... where you can get ALOT more than beers, let me tell ya!!!! Yikes!!! Thankfully, though, they were pleasant to us. We just 'kept on walkin'...

This street was particularly filled with bars and men scoping them out.

And ironically... across the street from these bars, was a statue idolizing the king of Thailand. "Long Live the King!!!"



The front desk suggested we try out this "PIC Kitchen" for an authentic Thai meal, just steps away from our hotel.



As soon as we walked in, the waitress told us we needed to take off our shoes to sit on the floor in the upstairs part of the restaurant. Andrea clearly, couldn't get over the fact that we were going to have our first authentic Thai meal on the floor!!! HOW FUNNY!!! I LOVE her face. She is such a riot!!



WOW... Is this straight out of a movie or what?? Can't even believe I am here in Thailand!!!!



The group at dinner... Philippe, Me, Jill, Stefanie, and Andrea.

Jill ordered the most delicious "Hot & Sweet" soup ever... that was served boiling in a kettle over a small fire!! So neat!!!

Cheers!!

-Lisa :-)

Continuing our day off in Thailand: Poolside

As the late morning sun finally burned off the clouds we saw earlier, we all got pretty comfortable around the pool; participating in poolside games and having the occasional cocktail. What a PERFECT day it was!!!

Whoever's idea this was to place the pool chairs in the shallow water is a genius!! I can't possibly explain how warm and humid it was, even without the sun shining for a few hours in the morning!!

Here's most of our crew... staking out our poolside chairs for the afternoon and getting some much-earned R & R after our long commercialing day!!

11am... Poolside games start. This is tennis-golf... the object is to hit the tennis ball into the goal/net!! Whoever can do it wins a FREE DRINK ticket!!! Is that a sweet deal or WHAT?? :-) Philippe signed up immediately...

Andrea had her shot at it as well...


Neither Philippe or Andrea won, but they sure do get a round of applause for trying!!! ;-)

Posing poolside with my favorite man! Mai tais in hand. YUM!!

"Back to work!!!" Philippe and his favorite girls. :-)

Poolside entertainment and music all day long. Absolutely one of the best layovers I've ever had... with the greatest people, too!! :-)

The fun staff came out and danced to "Stayin' Alive" later in the afternoon.. and asked us to join. How could we resist??? :-)

Rounding out the day with an intense game of water volleyball. Too bad Philippe & Stefanie's team didn't win!!! "3, 4, Hoo-ahh, HOO-AHH!!!"

Cheers!!

-Lisa :-)

Everyone deserves a day off: Ours just happened to be in Thailand!!

Good morning, Pattaya!!!


This was the BEAUTIFUL view from my balcony in Thailand.

Luckily the hotel's A/C was on full blast 24/7 while we were there, because it was about 90 degrees and HUMID every single day!! It was funny... the first thing I wanted to do every morning was step outside onto the balcony and see what was going on at the beach and by the pool. I also would want to take pictures, but after keeping my camera indoors all night in the "arctic tundra" which was my room... I had to wait a couple minutes for the lens to de-fog!

Isn't this view unreal?? To the left was a downtown area with loud music and lights on until the wee hours of the morning... and the area where we stayed was much more laid-back, yet still had activities going on throughout the afternoon. (Perfect, in my opinion.)

Rumor had it there were also speedboat rides you could take from the hotel's beach property to the downtown area for around $25 per person... but with a 5-star hotel, delicious restaurant and bar food, poolside cocktails, fun water sports and contests in the pool area, and staff waiting on us non-stop, why would we want to go anywhere else??

Starting our day with a little tour of the hotel grounds... Stefanie, Me, and our other great friend and crew member Jill Litton. Us girls had such a great time together! Can't believe this is our "job"!

And, of course... traveling with Philippe is ALWAYS fun for me, too!! :-)

Heading down to the Hotel's beach property in the daytime... the tide sure was lower than the night before, but it was so nice to see what it looked like in daylight!!

Starting our "day off" on the right foot, I must say...

Cheers!

-Lisa :-)