Road Trip

We've just had the most amazing weekend, but before I launch into that I must tell you about last week.  The eagle eyed among you will have noticed that I didn't post anything on Friday.  It wasn't because I had nothing to say but because I thought it was Thursday.  You see Wimbledon tennis has been on and having said previously that our new TV package would not take over our lives.... I was wrong. 


Mr John adhered to his "it's a school night" mantra  he can be such a goody, goody sometimes but I was way too interested to bother with all that.  Consequently I stayed up some nights til 4am, creeping into bed so as not to disturb him.  The resulting consequences were that I would get up in the morning feeling as if I'd had a night on the tiles and I promise you I was not drinking during any of this.  Anyway, having watched the final last night, normal service has now resumed.

So, let me tell you about Pattaya.  It all started with the Transformers film coming out and Mr John and I really miss going to the movies.  Don't get me wrong, there are enough here in Chan but they're either Thai films or western films dubbed in Thai and our language skills are denying us this facility for the time being.  We had heard Pattaya is full of ex-pats a good reason some might say to stay away along with McDonalds and Starbuck.  Mr John had even been told he could buy Pork Pies don't worry, it's a British thing.  We were talking with Pii Kob about our trip and getting on the bus when he very, very kindly offered us his other car.  It was so exciting being able to drive the 106 miles in lovely air-conditioning and I haven't driven for over twelve months but I hadn't forgotten anything it is indeed like "riding a bike".

Our weekend revolved around the Central Festival shopping centre and eating our own body weight well that's what it felt like in western food.  Man it was good.  Being very health conscious we had McDonalds, Burger King, lots of coffee at Starbucks and a pub meal of steak & ale pie for Mr John, including a pint of Guinness, and shepherds pie for me.  The weather was really kind to us and we were able to sit at the rooftop Sky Bar and have an ordinary cocktail.  Parking at Central is really easy and they even have a floor just for ladies to park, so lucky I was doing the driving.

The supermarket on the ground floor has a huge variety of foods from all over the world and Mr John was truly over-excited wandering around mostly because he got his pork pie and a scotch egg along with British beers.  We bought some smoked pork sausages and ham off the bone and have agreed we need to seriously get saving and do another trip before Christmas so we can spoil ourselves with food and drink who needs presents right?  And, unbelievably, Marks & Spencer which some might say is a British institution opens a store here in September.

The hotel we booked was the Sabai Wing and it was excellent value for money at 990 baht (roughly GBP£18 / AUD$33 / US$30) all up for the two of us.  It was a 20 minute stroll to Central but that just meant it was nice and quiet to sleep in the evening.  There's three pools at the hotel which all looked very inviting, but we ran out of time and didn't use any of them.

Pattaya has a lot to offer a westerner in Thailand if you're feeling a little homesick and is more convenient, less populated and cheaper for movies and accommodation than going to Bangkok.  A weekend for us was ample sufficiency, though I would consider staying two nights.  It's a bit too plastic and completely non-Thailand for us to spend any longer there.  Having said that, we'll definitely be back.