Pattaya, 145km south of Bangkok, on the Eastern Gulf Coast of Thailand, was called by the Lonely Planet’s Thailand’s Island and Beaches (mine’s the 2006 version, but things haven’t changed): “A living testament to unchecked tourist development run rampant…” In it’s current incarnation, this city of bars and beaches was born of the American GI R&R action which started back in the late 50’s. As a holiday or weekend destination, the buzzing neon lights, the glitzy high-rise condos, and the fleuro white bikinis on silver poles hold little appeal for me. But, only 15km south of Sin City we turned down a winding driveway overhung with trees into a world of quiet.
Quiet Cottage, Sunset Park, Sattahip
Water Pot and Dipper: Remove your Shoes and Rinse your Feet!
Rainy season is always chancy, and as we had driven most of the way from Bangkok in weather ranging from drizzle to downpour, we thought our weekend might be a wash-out. But, when your cabin has a well covered porch protected from the elements, the weather ceases to matter. And, as irony would have it, when the weather ceases to matter, it improves!
Weathered Wooden Buildings, Sunset Park Resort
Beach Chairs and Umbrellas Overlooking the Bay of Thailand
A Lone Fisherman on the Breakwater, with Pattaya fading into haze.
Wooden Boats on the Canals, Sunset Resort
We could have almost never left the resort: we had bicycles (ok – they had no brakes and the seats were rusted into adjustment for midget-height, but they were free!), two pools, and access to charming wooden paddle boats. We had our roomy porch and our own enclosed open-air outdoor shower at the back of our cabin. We even had hot (and I mean HOT, not lukewarm) water in the shower and sink: a rarity in Thai resorts.
So, as I said, we might have never left the resort, except that we had heard there were going to be fireworks in Pattaya in honour of the Queen’s Birthday (which had been two days prior). This was an opportunity to actually use the tripod I often carry but seldom unwrap, so we had a long discussion with the staff about where the best vantage point might be. We were warned about dearth of parking, and more than two hours before sunset when we arrived at The Viewpoint, a hill in Pattaya South, we discovered that the warnings were justified. More importantly, almost every square inch of tripod-space was already occupied. I was truly lucky to find a spot! People (mostly Thais) were out in force, with their food and their families, patiently waiting for the show.
Tripods, Set up and Waiting
Dad was happy for this shot to be taken: the little one was less keen!
The Viewpoint, also known as Pattaya Buddha Hill or Khao Phra Bat, is home to the Admiral His Royal Highness Prince Khom Luang Chumpon Ketudomsakdi Monument. Quite the mouthful, and as happens with transliterations of names from Thai into English, you won’t find the same spelling twice! One article alone had him listed as Admiral Prince Chumporn in one spot and the Prince of Jumborn in another. Either way, he was one of the many sons of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) and is called the “The Father of Royal Thai Navy”. So, the top of the hill is shaped like the prow of a boat, and there are shrines and tributes to the Prince.
Krom Luang Chumphon Khet Udomsak, the Father of Royal Thai Navy
Thailand still catches me off-guard regularly with it’s colourful contrasts. Everywhere there are objects or images I don’t expect to see next to each other. Of course, these juxtapositions are only remarkable to me because I am an ‘outsider’. It is perhaps not so unusual, in a country where royalty is not only revered but universally adored, that people would cover a statue of a warrior prince in gold leaf, just as they would a buddha image. But I was surprised at a shrine, where people make offerings of flowers, prayers and candles, surrounded by massive bullets. And, I found the little Naval Guards, painted like garden gnomes, rather comical.
Prayers, Offerings and Bullets at Khao Phra Bat
Father of the Royal Thai Navy and Little กองทั พเรือ Mascot
Still, it was a great place to watch the sun go down and the night lights of Pattaya to come up.
Falling Light, Pattaya Bay from Khao Phra Bat
Pattaya at night is noisy at street level, but serene and quiet from The Viewpoint
ดอกไม้ไฟ: “Fire Flowers” in the Queen’s colours for Her Majesty’s Birthday
The fireworks (“Fire Flowers” ดอกไม้ไฟ or “Flaming Flowers” ดอกไม้เพลิง in Thai) were a new and interesting photographic challenge for me: next time I’ll try to shoot from below rather than above. Still, I enjoyed them almost as much as I enjoyed the REAL flowers we found on our morning run through the lanes the next morning. No one does it better than Nature, and nature abounds in Thailand, even in the shadows of Pattaya.
The beautiful rich yellow of the Hibiscus Tiliaceus (Sea Hibiscus)
I hope you enjoy the pictures. More Thai beaches are HERE and HERE and more flowers here if you are interested, and more of the flowers and fireworks are in the set below. Until next week ~ Happy travels!
If there is one thing that living in Thailand has taught me, it is to suspend expectations. Not lower my expectations, but defer them completely and try to be ready for all contingencies. This is easier said than done, especially for someone like me who likes an orderly (some might even say controlled) environment.
On our recent weekend sojourn to Ao Nang, Krabi, on the Andaman Sea in Thailand’s south, I met with both metaphorical and concrete reminders of the need to ‘go with the flow’ and cope with the ‘shifting sands’ of Thai life.
The day of our arrival, we were waiting for lunch at an open-air seafood restaurant, looking out over the the mud flats of Ao Nang. Long boats with their gaily decorated prows dotted the bay. I went for a walk on the sands and low waters with the camera to try to ‘capture’ some of these boats and was surprised by the strength of the swell as the tide washed in over my calves.
The sand itself was quite muddy and my feet made deep indents even when I was back out of the water. I was picking my way gingerly back to solid ground when I became aware of a chirping noise and noticed the sands seeming to shift rapidly: small sand crabs, with bodies as round as playing marbles and about the same size, were scuttling in waves all around me!
Waves of Sand Crabs at Low Tide
A Little Round-Bodied Sand Crab Pauses Momentarily…
While we were eating our lunch, a group of tourists arrived on the flats with their hard-side wheeled suitcases and backpacks, and we watched with some amusement as they stood, apparently perplexed, trying to figure out how they were meant to get to the boat that was to transport them to their resort. I suspect that their travel agents had neglected to inform them that they would be wading in thigh-high water with all their belongings on their heads!
Getting to the Resort LongBoat
Heading to the LongBoats
Fortunately, this group all made it in one piece, but I can’t help but wonder how often someone gets knocked flat by a rogue wave!
Young Man, Nopparat Thara Phi Phi Island National Park HQ, Krabi
Our Transport for the Four-Island Tour
The next day it was our turn: as part of our package, we were booked into a “four island tour” by longboat. We’ve been on a lot of island tours over the years. Most of them leave from a pier and are on large enough boats that you generally have space to sun bake. So, I don’t know why my instincts told me to rip the cupboards at home apart while we were packing to find our wet-bags. It sounds rather trite to say that in Thailand, you need to “expect the unexpected”, but in this case it payed off. Within five minutes of being on the water, the wash was over both sides of the boat, drenching all passengers and all their belongings. Not one square centimetre of myself or my clothing was dry… Without the wet bags, I would have been more than a little concerned about our phones and cameras! Fortunately, the seas were relatively warm and although I had goosebumps from head to toe, I knew I’d be okay as soon as we put to shore.
Many Westerners love Thailand because of the free and easy nature of the life, and the lack of restrictions that many western countries are trammelled by. Of course, the flip side is that piers, when they exist, may have rotting timbers and gaps in them, sidewalks are not fit for pedestrian traffic, seat-belts and helmets are a rarity and although there are probably life-jackets on any boat, they may not fit or clip or be readily accessible.
The country is unquestionably beautiful, but to call it ‘unspoiled’ is a stretch. Contrasts and contradictions are everywhere: ‘eco-tourism’ is often code for under-developed infrastructure; ‘recycling’ means that the underclass sorts through your garbage to find anything that might be useful; and ‘community involvement’ can include under-age kids working all weekend.
Postcard Perfect? A Walk on the Beach, Poda Island
Fishing Boats on the horizon add to the charm… and the debris.
Red Bull Bottles are amongst the rubbish that washes up from local fishing boats.
Canopied Longtail Boat, Poda Island, Krabi
Litter: Natural and Man-Made
Windswept Beach on a Perfect Day
Thirteen year-old Daeng and his older cousin improve their English, Maths and future chances by selling ice-cream to tourists all weekend.
Snorkelling, even in rainy season when visibility is poorer, is a delight!
Beached Longboat, back at Nopparat Thara Phi Phi Island National Park HQ, Ao Nang
Things are improving, though. We noticed that our tour-guide made sure he collected all the rubbish from our green-curry lunch: styrofoam food trays and plastic bags tied with elastics. So at least that didn’t end up in the sea! And, we got home safely (we knew we would: the boat had it’s protective ribbons tied to the prow) after a terrific, albeit wet, day out.
More photos from Thai islands and beaches are on my Flickr site here and here.
Great report Ursula. Now I feel like a trip back to Krabi is overdue!ReplyCancel
Ursula -August 12, 2010 - 11:09 am
Thanks, Guava!
Trips to Krabi are always due! 😉ReplyCancel
Peter Murray -September 10, 2010 - 11:33 pm
What GREAT photos especially now with your new Canon camera, even saw a photo of Gabe getting in a boat with no life jacket, very brave. No need to say have a great time as I wish Sue & I were with you. Regards PeterReplyCancel
Ursula -September 11, 2010 - 12:10 pm
Hi Peter! Well spotted!!! You can come back any time. 😉ReplyCancel
August already! We are back in Bangkok and back at work this week – so it’s a good time to try to catch up some on “Wanderings” from last month. One of the highlights of my short stay in Paris two weeks ago was a much-anticipated trip to the Rodin Museum. A word of advice: if you want to visit this museum [Musée Rodin], midday on a Sunday is probably NOT the best time!
When I reached the street where the entrance is located, there were unruly queues extending in both directions from the doors. More throngs were visible lining up inside. My French passed ‘rusty’ years ago and has since deteriorated into rags and remnants, so I was a bit shy to ask anyone to help me make sense of the unclear signage. Instead, I joined one queue, hoping to listen into surrounding conversations to establish if it was the right one. As soon as I lined up, a Spanish tour group arrived out of nowhere and half of them decided they would prefer to be ahead of me rather than behind. This was particularly annoying as my Spanish is less existent than my French and I still didn’t know if I was in the right place!
I thought I’d try the other queue for a while, and was lined there, fidgeting but otherwise not moving for about 15 minutes, when I overheard enough to realise that this was the line for those who had pre-purchased tickets. I considered giving up, but the museum is not open on Mondays and I had missed it on my last Paris trip. So, back to the first queue I returned.
Sorrow and Pathos: One of Rodin’s Burghers of Calais (1888-1895)
Although it seemed to take forever to gain entry, once inside, most of the crowd melted away. Between the huge gardens (over three hectares, according to their website) and the two buildings, the museum can contain a huge number of patrons without feeling unduly squashed.
Perambulating clockwise, the first sculpture I spent time with was the incredibly poignant “Les Bourgeois de Calais”, which represents the conquest of Calais by the English in 1347 after a long siege. The six Burghers, each with his own distinct expression of despair and defeat, are en route to hand the keys of the city to the English King in symbolic surrender.
Les Bourgeois de Calais, by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), in the Gardens of the Hôtel Biron
Space to Sit: Le Jardin d’Hôtel Biron
Hands of the Three Shades
Les Trois Ombres : The Three Shades or Shadows (Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917) in Bright Sunshine
You can buy a ticket which is good only for the gardens, and Parisians and visitors alike make use of this option to come and sit in luxuriant green, surrounded by flowers.
Spacious Gardens, Musée Rodin
Nature’s Own Sculptures: Gardens, Musée Rodin
I’ve never forgotten seeing my first ‘live’ Rodin, over thirty years ago when The Kiss was on loan to an art gallery in London. The sensually smooth curves of cool marble just beg to be touched. The beauty of the Rodin Museum, as opposed to the Henry Moore exhibit which I visited at The Tate Gallery in London two days later, is that you can get up close to most of the sculptures, and you can photograph most of them, albeit without flash. All the Moore’s, by contrast, are off limits: many are behind ropes or behind glass and no cameras are allowed.
THAT Kiss!
Le Baiser ~ Unveiled 1898
Heads and Reflections ~ Rodin’s Father: Jean Baptiste Rodin, 1860 & A Young Girl with Roses in her Hat, 1865
Museum Staff ~ Rodin Museum
Geometry: Angles and Lines in the L’Hôtel Biron
Aspects of Thought: Le Penseur
Torso de l’âge d’airain drapé (1895-1896)
Beautiful gardens, a beautiful building, stunning works of art… all in all, an afternoon well spent!
More of my Flickr photos of sculptures and carvings are HERE for anyone who is interested.
[…] for the Henry Moore sculpture exhibition, hoping for a ‘companion piece’ for my Rodin Museum visit. Wonderful sculptures, but no cameras allowed! […]ReplyCancel
If you are recovering from jet lag, need to ride out a miserable cold, and have to endure a tropical reudu fon [ฤดูฝน] or rainy season, there can be no better place than The Spa Resort (official site) in Koh Chang to do it. I know, it sounds like I am writing an infomercial! We stayed very cheaply, as we’d bought a special package at a Thai travel fair last year, but I’d readily go back at normal prices. The dates we had booked well in advanced turned out to be fortuitously timed, as it was right after an exhausting European trip and there was a Thai long weekend we’d forgotten about so we were able to stay longer than we’d originally planned. It was also semester break at the university, so I added a few days on my own. This extra time was doubly lucky, because we’d also forgotten how long it takes to get to Koh Chang and we needed an extra day just to recover from the trip! While it might only be 385 kilometres (officially) from Bangkok to Trat, this feels a lot longer when you are travelling on Thai roads in a public bus with too much baggage. (This is ME we are talking about: I may love travel, but I’m very bad at it!) I never know what to expect on Thai buses: VIP buses have attendants in snazzy suits and hats who provide you with water, blankets and snack boxes. This bus didn’t. On the plus side, it also didn’t have a video system on board, so we weren’t subjected to excessively loud slapstick comedy, which is the norm on many distance buses. A few brief stops and six hours later, we were in the bus station in Trat, hauling our gear onto a song taew [สองแถว], essentially a pickup truck with two facing rows of seats and a tin roof, which was to take us the half-hour drive to the ferry. Although we were told the ferry trip took 45 minutes, it actually lasted an hour, which was followed by half an hour in the resort van. By this stage it was late, and we were truly ready for dinner. On our arrival at the restaurant we discovered that although there IS wine on the menu, there was none in the bar. So, it was a good excuse to do a “mini-detox” and go without. It seemed to be the least we could do, as many people come to the resort to do three- or seven-day fasts. No fasting for me at the moment, thanks! Especially as the menu is so appealingly healthy. Fasters are accommodated with an incredible range of juices and smoothies. Halal, vegan and raw-food diets are catered for. The vegetarian options are extensive, but there is also a range of seafood (this is an island, after all!) and a smattering of chicken and pork. We thoroughly enjoyed every meal we ate. Having an entire week of grey skies with little sunshine is a rarity in Thailand, even in Koh Chang which is one of the wettest parts of the country, and even during the wettest month (July) which is now. Usually, even during rainy season, we have short afternoon storms or overnight rains. I’ve never seen anything like this last week in Koh Chang! To be fair, it is not raining now, and the sun did come out for about an hour today and briefly yesterday. But, truly, I’ve never seen so much incessant rain. So, as I said earlier, if you have to endure the rainy season anyway, why not sit in a spacious, airy cottage room with a high, thatched roof, and a partially covered balcony overlooking the verdant jungle. The best part is, the air con works if you want it, and the WiFi is pretty good. There is also TV and DVD – not that I turned them on. The large umbrellas got us to the restaurant for meals, to the sala [ศาลา] or open-air pavilion for the guided morning meditation and yoga, and to the massage rooms for traditional Thai or oil massages. What more could you want? When the rains broke for a moment or two, we cycled or drove to nearby fishing villages. One of the highlights for me was chatting with the workers at a nearby fish-farm. Add this to jobs I’m glad I don’t have to do: sit on a swing suspended in seawater, sorting squiggly grouper into baskets by hand according to size. Yuch!
I hope you enjoy the photos. More photos from Thai islands and beaches are on my Flickr site here and here.
As we were heading for our departure gate at Heathrow yesterday and watching the rain on the airport windows, my husband remarked: “There won’t be too many planes flying at Farnborough today.” True. Pretty miserable weather for standing out of doors and peering up into the grey clouds! How lucky we had been to be there the day before (Wednesday, July 21, 2010), under beautiful sunny blue skies watching more than twenty aircraft of various shapes and sizes put on a dazzling spectacle.
It’s been a busy week, and I was going to post some photos from the Rodin Museum in Paris, but the sculptures have been there for about a 100 years, so I’m sure they’ll wait another week or so! The Farnborough International Airshow (FIA), on the other hand, only happens once every two years, alternating with the Paris Airshow.
It was an exciting experience for me, because, lets face it, flying IS thrilling. I’ve been in quite a few small planes over the years, but could probably still tell you stories about each individual flight, they are so vividly etched in my memory. For example, there was the time in the twelve seater Fokker Friendship over the Barrier Reef when we all got worried because the pilot pulled out a map! Then there are the views from the seaplanes over the Georgia Straight to my mother’s house in Canada… Or the views of the Himalayas from the front seat of a helicopter… Or there was the time in the Cessna over the Prairies when I got to handle the controls…. and so on… The whole concept of being in the sky with the birds has fascinated people for all of recorded time.
Welcome to Farnborough! It’s a bright sunny day, perfect for flying…
Farnborough (click for the official site) is primarily a trade show: lots of men and women in suits and shiny shoes representing countries and corporations, trading business cards and placing billions of dollars in orders. Official photographers were carrying their equipment around in small trucks, so knowing almost nothing about airplanes, and not enough about photography, in the morning I set myself the task of trying to take some ‘pretty’ pictures of ‘shiny things’ at the static displays.
Reflections: Boeing 777-300ER
Jet from a Canadian Airforce Boeing 737-53A
Swiss PC-21 Trainer
US Airforce F18 Cowling
The Bio-Fuel Powered Way of the Future: DA42 (EADS)
The World at my Nose: PC-12NG
Of course, people love talking about their favourite things, so there was no shortage of knowledgeable people willing to explain their equipment and show participants around.
The highlight of the day, however, was the three hours of flying displays. This provided me with a new challenge in tracking moving objects with the camera… Moving? The jets are routinely doing 170mph when they touch down!! If you are scrolling through the photos, be sure to look at the wonderful flying machines in action at the end. If you want to see more, I’ll be uploading more samples into my Flickr Farnborough set.
US Marines’ Gunner Scott and his UH-1Y.
Everyone was Enthusiastic to Share their Knowledge
US AirForce Personnel – at your Service.
The four-propellored A400M can turn summer-saults in spite of it’s bulk!
Airbus A380: manoeuvrable in spite of being the world’s largest commercial airliner.
Puffs of smoke and Union Flags…
… came drifting in…
… for a stunning three-point Red Devil landing.
Next came the Blades, who twisted and looped and ducked and dove for over fifteen minutes.
The elegant but deadly F-18 Hornet drops her Michelins to come in for a 170mph landing!
Another clunky-looking military transport, the C27J was doing peanut rolls in the sky!
The Aermacchi M346 Advanced Jet Trainer was moving so fast, my camera lost it in the cloud vapour a few times. Photography buffs: panning shot! 🙂
The 50 year old AVRO Vulcan can keep up with the youngsters any day. Note the camouflage and the open bomb bays.
Bone crushing noise on departure, wings everywhere… the BAe Typhoon.
Leaving a mirage from the heat of the jet exhaust, the F16 Fighting Falcon brings it all home safely.
What an incredible experience! Great photos… thanks so much for sharing. This has brought back memories of my own flying experiences…it is such a thrill to be up there among the clouds. I haven’t flown in a small aircraft for many years now but I always request a window seat on my flights back and forth from Australia.
Take care, travel safely..
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
Or - pick any photo from my Flickr or Wanders blog photos.
