Snapshot of Pattaya

Jeff had two days off recently, and we took some time to explore more of Pattaya. We thought we'd share some of our pictures so you can get a better feel for the city. First up, Pattaya Beach. We haven't spent much time here since our hotel has such a great pool and since the beach isn't too large, but we have taken a few pictures.

We hiked up to the Buddha Hill Lookout and got this great picture of the beach and the rest of the city.

At the far south end of the beach is the famous Hollywood style Pattaya City sign. It looks cool from far away, but even better up close.There is a sidewalk the entire length of the beach that separates the beach from Beach Road (its real name is Th Hat Pattaya, but everyone knows it as Beach). Scattered throughout the sidewalk are tons of small statues like this one. They are really cute and they distract attention from the prostitutes along the side of the road :) The light poles along the sidewalk also have cute statues on them. We love this one of a child riding a chicken.
Beach Road is full of shops and restaurants and is always crowded. There's always an interesting variety of vehicles on the road, but this one definitely sums up Pattaya.In addition to the shops and restaurants, there are tons of food stalls on Beach Road, and pretty much every other street in Pattaya. You can get just about anything at these stalls (noodles, fruit, seafood, etc.). Some (like this fruit stand) are more appealing than others (like this pork stand with a pig's head on it). Its hard to go down any street in the city without coming across a tailor shop. They can custom make just about anything for you. We haven't had time to get anything made quite yet, but other co-workers here have had suits and jeans made and they were awesome. We definitely are looking to get ourselves some custom goodies before we leave. We just have to find the right shop. Hmmmm, if only we could find a shop that copied Versace suits . . .

These are just a few of our pictures of the G-Rated side of town, but hopefully it gives you a better insight on Pattaya as a whole :)

Buddhist Lent

Last week marked the beginning of Buddhist Lent, also known as Vassa or Phansa in Thailand. 95% of Thais are Buddhist, so it was basically a national, not a religious, holiday. In case you haven't noticed, Jeff and I are not Buddhist, so we didn't have a clue what Phansa was all about. We read a few articles, and learned a little bit more about it. We don't pretend to be experts, but the following is our best understanding :)

Phansa lasts the throughout the rainy season (usually about three months). On the first day of Phansa, also called Khao Pansa, Bhikkhu (Buddhist monks) move inside their temple, where they will pray and meditate until the end of Phansa. Traditionally holy men did not travel during the rainy season for fear of damaging the crops. Gautama Buddha (Buddha himself) continued this tradition and it was incorporated into the practice of Buddhism.

Monks are not the only ones to observe Phansa. On Asalha Puja, the day before the monks retreat to the temple for prayer and reflection, lay Buddhists give candles and offerings to the temples. During Phansa most lay Buddhists abstain from drinking leading an "inappropriate" lifestyle in order to intensify their spiritual connections. In Thailand it is common for the laity (usually young males) to take monastic vows at the beginning of Phansa and remain in a temple until Ork Pansa (the end of Phansa).

Before we learned a little more about Phansa, we just knew there was some big holiday coming up, but we weren't sure how it was celebrated and what effect it would have on us (i.e. stores closing, big parades, etc.). Since our hotel is not near any major temples, we didn't notice much in terms of celebration or effects, with two exception. On Wednesday Jeff and I were returning from a mini-vacation to Phuket. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel (about 18 miles). Things were moving along until we hit town and ended up in a dead stop. We were on a main road with no shortcuts, so we were stuck in traffic like this for about an hour. It turns out there was a procession of school children on the road making offerings to a temple. Normally every Friday night Shenanigans, a local Irish restaurant, serves all you can eat ribs for about $10. A group of us were very excited for the ribs last week so we headed over to the mall where Shenanigans is located. As we approached the restaurant we noticed that the specials board on the first floor hadn't been changed since Wednesday. That should have been our first clue, but we still went upstairs only to notice there was no one sitting outside and the lights were off. The sign on the door confirmed our suspicions and informed us that the restaurant was closed on Thursday and Friday because of the holiday. While we were very disappointed (we REALLY wanted ribs) someone remembered that a British pub which had been closed for renovations just reopened. We headed over there and happily found ribs on the menu, thus saving us from a rib-free night :)

Ko Samet

A few weeks ago a me, Jeff, and several other employees from his company all headed to Ko Samet, a small island not too far from Rayong. The island is technically a national park, but they have allowed some hotels and restaurants to develop along the coast, while still preserving the trees and wildlife inland. We met up at the pier and caught a boat to Ao Prao Resort on the island's remote west side.

The island is known for its beautiful beaches, so we were definitely excited to spend some time swimming and playing frisbee.

Well, some time turned into 4 hours or so, and we ended up with some pretty rocking sunburn by the end of the day. But we had fun, so that's all that counts, right :) After showering and cleaning ourselves up we took some great pictures of the sunset.

After a relaxing dinner we all headed to the other side of the island to the Silver Sands bar. We had a feeling it was going to be a great night as soon as one of Jeff's co-workers informed us that drinks were served by the bucket! We sat on pillows and rugs on the floor and were treated to a great fire show.

Later the early 90's music started and we all showed off our skills on the dance floor.

This area of Thailand has many "ladyboys" and we had fun dancing with this particular one.

At the end of the night Jeff, Zudtky and I decided to walk back to the hotel on the other side of the island, which probably wasn't the greatest idea since we didn't really know the way and since it was PITCH black outside (remember, we were walking through the national park, so there were no lights). We thought there was just one road across the island, but when that road took us to a youth camp we knew we were in trouble. We resorted to taking pictures of the signs (like I said, PITCH black) to try and figure out where to go.

Luckily we were saved when a taxi came by and took us home. It turns out there was a slight turn to the left we missed that would have taken us straight to our hotel. Lesson learned!

The next day all of Jeff's co-workers were heading back to Rayong, but we stayed an extra night on the island. We decided to stay on the east (and more popular) side of the island for the second night, so everyone came over with us to spend they day at the beach before heading back to the mainland. Unfortunately because we got so sunburned the day before we spent the majority of the day in the shade. However we did have fun walking on the rocks from our hotel to the beach.

After everyone departed Jeff and I spent the evening relaxing at our hotel and the night strolling the many kilometers of beaches. The next morning we packed up and headed back to land. It was a short trip, but we had lots of fun and even found some time to relax!

Fourth of July . . . Thai Style

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Even though we're 10,000 miles away in a foreign country that could care less about the 4th, we weren't about to miss out on a chance to celebrate. Almost everyone had to work on Friday, so we moved the celebration to Saturday the 5th. About 30 people from Jeff's company are in the area, so we all met up at the beach in Rayong for a good old American barbecue. There were Frisbees, volleyballs, and badminton sets, though the crazy wind made it hard to get a good game going.

We set up camp on the beach between two bays, so there was ample swimming and water sports to keep us happy! Of course no barbecue would be complete without brats and burgers on the grill. Chad was our grill master and did a phenomenal job!
And what Fourth of July would be complete without an elephant on the beach!

As the sun set we lit a bonfire and roasted marshmallows for S'mores. And of course there were fireworks (which were not easy to find out here . . . Thanks Mike).

While I had a great day, poor Jeff had to work both Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 8 pm. He hightailed it out of there on Saturday and made it to the barbecue in time for fireworks and food. Sunday the 6th was Jeff's birthday, so I surprised him with a cake at the barbecue so he could have some semblance of a celebration.

Afterwards we went out dancing for a bit with those who were spending the night in Rayong. Jeff had a great time celebrating the big 2-6.

I don't think we could have asked for more, even in we were in the US (okay, well maybe Jeff not working would have helped, but life goes on :))!

Our Photo Album

While in India Jeff and I created a digital scrapbook through Shutterfly.com containing some of our favorite travel pictures from the last few years. We has it printed and we are absolutely in love with the book. When I was home I tried to share it with as many of you as possible, but of course we couldn't show everyone! I learned how to post the book online, so if you want to check it out you can do so here. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Sawadee Ka from Thailand

Hello all! We are coming at you live from Pattaya, Thailand. Jeff has been here almost three weeks, and I have been here just under two weeks. We are so happy to be here! There are many other employees from Jeff's company in the area, so there are lots of other people for us to have fun with. In India it was just Jeff and I for the majority of the four months, so it is awesome just being able to go out to dinner with a group (not to mention how fun it is going out on the weekends and exploring Thailand!).

We are staying at a just the greatest hotel here. There is so much to do (great fitness center with tennis and fitness classes daily, incredible pool, totally relaxing spa, great restaurants, and more) and I don't think I have ever stayed at a hotel with such great service. We had heard that Thai people were very nice by nature, but the staff here truly goes above and beyond. For example, while sitting poolside the other day the staff came around and brought everyone a plate of fresh fruit, ice cold apple juice and a bottle of cold water. I was ready to charge such a treat to our room, but it was all complimentary! We even have access to the executive lounge for free breakfast and cocktails/appetizers in the evenings! It is truly such a change from India and we couldn't be happier.

Pattaya is such an interesting city that I am not sure how best to describe it. I think the two best descriptions I have heard thus far are: (1) a 24 hour bachelor party and (2) Las Vegas without the casinos, but I am not sure that either really sums up Pattaya as a whole. Pattaya became popular during the Vietnam War when GI's began to arrive for R&R. As happens when you have a group of young of men looking to escape the rigors of war, Thai females became a great source of "entertainment." As a result, Pattaya is now famous for prostitution, go-go bars, and a wide variety of "entertainment" venues offering Vegas-style shows. While the seedy side is definitely what the city is known for, Pattaya has a lot more to offer. There are some great beaches in the city and there are many islands offering the same just a quick boat ride away. We look forward to having some time off so we can explore!

We Hope You Haven't Missed Us Too Much

Hello all! Yes, we are still alive and we hope you haven't missed us too much lately. Things in India were a bit rough and we kind of got into a bit of a funk. Anyways, we write this post alive and well and almost completely out of India! About two weeks ago our computer stopped working. That was the breaking point for me. I opted to leave Jeff and head back to Chicago last Monday. While I was sad to leave Jeff by himself, it felt SO good to finally be back in the US. When we arrived we planned on being in India for just one month, but we were there for four, which led to a severe shortage in our usual entertainment and personal supplies. I am back here restocking, fixing our computer, and recharging my personal battery!

Jeff in the meantime was left in Panipat by himself. When I left we were fairly certain that within two weeks Jeff would be heading straight to Thailand for his next assignment. While his company was confident with the departure date we were still nervous, since our original departure date of February 20th had been pushed back many times. Still, I left him hopefully that he would not be alone too long. On Wednesday we received the fantastic news that Jeff could leave Panipat! He headed to Delhi on Thursday to get his Thai visa processed. If all goes according to plan he should be basking in the Thai sun in just a few short days! As soon as he's squared away in Thailand I will start my visa paperwork and should be joining him in about a week or so. We plan on being in Thailand for at least three months and we couldn't be more excited. For the first time since we were married Jeff will be with a large crew of employees from his company. That means plenty of people to play with on the beautiful Thai beaches. I think it will be a much needed change of pace for us and we can't wait!

Holi-day . . . Celebrate

March 22nd and 23rd were Holi, a huge holiday here in India. It's a two day party that celebrates the coming of Spring. The first night there are huge bonfires meant to signify the burning of the demoness Holika, hence the name Holi. Some bonfires will even burn effigy of Holika. If you want to learn more about why Holika is burned or who Holika was, click on the links above. On the second day there is a lot of celebrating and people throw water and colored powder at each other.

We were told the celebrations can get out of hand and that foreigners (especially women) should likely avoid the parties, so we decided to spend the weekend relaxing in the hotel. Our hotel is located on a very busy road and there is a constant stream of traffic and noise. On Holi it was eerily quiet outside. There were only one or two cars on the road the entire day and NO ONE was out on the streets. The hotel was completely empty and there were only one or two employees here working. It was totally different than what we have been used to, but it was so nice to finally relax in some peace and quiet.

Even though we stayed in the hotel we didn't miss out completely on all the Holi celebration. Jeff scared me slightly when he came home from work on Friday looking like this:

He got "colored" by both his co-workers and his driver. On Friday night we went to dinner in the hotel's restaurant and we were asked several times if we knew about the holiday and wanted to celebrate. Everyone just seemed really happy and festive, which made us happy, even if we weren't celebrating per se.

P.S. - We know it's been a while since we have posted, but we are still in India and we are doing alright :) There hasn't been too much going on, so we've gotten a bit lazy with the posts. We have had a few weekend trips lately, so we'll try to post more soon!

Another New Photo Site

We know we just changed our photo site a few months ago, but we have decided that we really did not like the winkflash site. It has taken a long time, but we have moved all of our photos to our new site at www.jeffandmia.shutterfly.com. We have updated the site with all of our past and present photos (about 50 albums worth!), so please feel free to check it out. Incidentally, if anyone is looking for their own photo site you might want to check out shutterfly. We really have fallen in love with the site (we promise we're not getting paid to say that, we just really like it :)). Anyways, this is now our site for good and we promise to keep it up to date.

Finally Getting To See India

About two weeks ago Jeff finally had a day off work. We (me, Jeff, and two other employees from Jeff's company) took the opportunity to head out of town and see the Taj Mahal. We hired a driver and headed out in the early evening. Because traffic is so chaotic, it took us about 6.5 hours to get there, an hour and a half longer than the 4.5-5 hours we were expecting. But we got there safe and that's all that matters!

Right now is prime tourist season in Agra because the weather is not too warm. Before we left we called a bunch of different hotels looking for open rooms, but everywhere was booked solid. We decided to just head out and hope to find open rooms when we got there. Our car was pretty big, so if all else failed we could sleep there. It sounded like a good idea when we left, but after the long drive I was really dreading the thought of marching from hotel to hotel searching for a room. The first hotel we came across was the Holiday Inn. We had called them before and they said they were booked, so I was not optimistic. Jeff and his trainee from the Delhi office went inside while I waited in the car. I saw them getting ready to leave the lobby with no keys in hand, so I looked in my book for addresses of other hotels. When I looked back up they had disappeared. I had no idea where they went but I was thinking maybe they were using the phone to call other hotels. Suddenly they reappeared with two room keys! The hotel had two cancelations just minutes before we arrived. We were all ecstatic that the first hotel we tried worked out! Plus the hotel was really nice, which is important, because the standards of hotel vary widely in Agra. We all slept soundly on the most comfortable beds we'd laid on in over a month!

The next morning we met up early feeling refreshed. Our driver took us straight to the Taj Mahal, as we knew the earlier we got there the smaller the crowds would be. To prevent pollution from damaging the marble, no one can drive within one kilometer of the Taj Mahal. We easily could have walked the one kilometer, but in the parking lot there were many carts pulled by camels to take you there. The ride was really cheap, so we decided why not just take the cart and have the experience. Before we all hopped in the carriage they let me hop on top of the camel for a photo op!

We reached the gates and there in front of us was the Taj Mahal.

It was just as incredible as we had imagined. The pool in front of the Taj has countless fountains, which look really cool when they are on. But when they are off you can get a great picture of the Taj and its reflection. We were lucky and got photos with the fountains on and off.

We were so impressed by the intricate inlays all around the Taj. It's amazing to think of how much time it must have taken to complete all of this work.

I am sure most of you know, but the Taj Mahal was built as a mausoleum for Emperor Shah Jahan's favorite wife, so while the outside is incredible, there is not too much to see on the inside. There's just one center chamber. It still has the same gem and marble inlay as the outside, but unfortunately over time a lot of the detail has been destroyed.

After a quick stop at a nearby shop for some souvenirs, we headed to the Agra Fort. The fort is absolutely massive. Only a small portion is open to the public, but it was impressive.

The outside and the entrance were crawling with monkeys, which was totally unique.

The fort has tons of different rooms and all kinds of passageways to explore.

Jeff and the boys found an old narrow passageway that lead to this balcony.

We were also able to get a good view of the Taj Mahal from the fort.

After the fort we decided to head out of town, in hopes of seeing a bit of Delhi on our way back to Panipat. We would have liked to stay longer, but at least we hit the two big sights! The drive to Delhi took quite a long time, but luckily we made a stop at McDonald's along the way so we had full bellies. In Delhi we briefly drove around the diplomatic center and took some pictures. We then headed to the city center which is full of shops and restaurants. We did a little shopping and enjoyed a good old American meal at TGI Fridays. We then hopped in the car and made it back to Panipat by 11:00 at night. We were all exhausted from our whirlwind 28 hour trip, but it was definitely worth it to get out and see more of what India has to offer.

P.S. We meant to post this a while ago, but we have been without internet for the past week!