asiafun Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Thailand Day 4 BKK to Pattaya and Jom Tien The private car was on time at 11AM sharp and we were off. The guy wasted no time and dropped the pedal to the metal. Traffic was surprisingly not as bad as I expected during the day once we got off Sukhumvit. The drive still took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I usually try to chat with normal Thais that have no chance to escape from me and pick their brains about their favorite vacation spots, politics, current issues etc. For a driver this guy was surprisingly intelligent and up to speed on many issues. This time I stayed at the Jom Tien Thani hotel as just about every other place I tried to RSVP with was booked or cost prohibitive. Check is was quick and painless but the only real bummer was the 6000 Baht :: I had to pay for Christmas Eve. Of course they promised a great Christmas Dinner and Show. The room was ok compared to the others I have stayed at when I visit Jom Tien. I did have a decent view of the ocean from my balcony and an even better one of the pool. The cable was acceptable, mini bar, fridge, marble shower and bath tub. Room service selection was moderate and the prices were fair. I will say that the quality of the food was substandard though and the two times I ordered room service I found my self picking through it more than I was eating it. I took a two hour siesta break as being a passenger in a car wears me out more than driving it. I then went back downstairs and selected my table for the Xmas buffet. I chose a table up near the front, but off to the side so I can avoid the crush of people that would be going to the buffet table near the center. The wait staff also tends to hang out by the sides so it was easier to get service. I then left the hotel and took a stroll down the street to check out the laundry place and drop off my clothes that the maids forgot back at the Nanatai mansion. I also tried to get my zipper repaired on a pair of shorts I have. It seems I have to get them replaced about once or twice a year as the girls in the clubs have a nasty propensity to rip my zipper open to get at the all day sucker. After the laundry drop off I checked out the mini-club potential along the hotels Soi and then took a stroll along beach road to see what the shops were offering which was mostly beach type items and to get my baht exchanged at the Thai Military bank. The rate was 40.15 but the people that exchanged the money took a really long time. They must have counted it like 5 times and checked it at least twice for counterfeiting. By this point I realized the Russians and other former Soviet Union types had pretty much dominated the scene in this area. I saw very few Asians in this area like I had in the past. I had on a Baht bus and made my way to Pattaya and jumped out about the point that the street becomes one way and made my way to the video game/music store on the right side to pick up some games. They always seem to have some pretty good deals on electronics and media. Next stop was Mikes Shopping Mall where I could pick up some clothes. I must have dropped a few thousand baht and that was even haggling. I have a hard time finding clothes I like and that fit in Japan as many of the clothes they consider large is like a western Medium and so I go to Thailand for the better styles and proper fit. I found a really cute Thai girl that seemed interested and just as we started to get into a conversation some middle east looking guy popped out of no where and for some reason spooked/disturbed her that the mood was over and that was it. Was never sure if it was a BF or not but I went ahead and beat feet. I was in the mood for some grub and hit up the tried and true Shenanigans. The food is always looks great and there is so much I can never finish my meal. The service is also pretty decent and the clean bathrooms are a plus. The time was around 4pm and there was not much of a crowd yet. Next stop was the Royal Garden Mall for a trip to the Ripley?s Believe It or Not Center. I got the 4 way pass and started off with the new Infinity Maze. This place was absolutely trippy. Most of the rooms were not too hard to find my way out but one or two had me stumped. A few times they would kill the lights so you are bumping around in the dark so I pulled out my mini LED light which is pretty bright to find my way in a few spots. A short time later I noticed they had the see in the dark CCTV cameras in the rooms so I may have washed them out a couple times coz halfway through I saw one of the staff girls and she looked a little pissed. Oopsie! Next was the haunted Mansion place which I went in with a nice Singaporean couple. They were not exactly thrilled about taking lead so the yank took point and off we went. The only thing that got the nerves keyed up was the constant blasting of high pressure air at various points. None of the dressed up people were particularly unnerving. The only thing that was really cool were the guys dressed up in the black suits with white spots that matched the like painted walls of the room. Your eyes could not register their presence against the walls until they began to move towards you. Very Cool! The funniest part of the mansion was the guy in the vampire like coffin. Apparently the guy fell asleep while waiting for us so I had to go up to his coffin and wake him up so he could sit up and yell boo. Next was the Ripley?s Museum which had some pretty cool stuff. My favorite part was the mirror where your friend can practice rolling her tongue to see if she is one of the 25% of the people on the world genetically capable of doing so? After the Museum was the 4D ride/movie. Honestly I have done this twice and say it sucks. The first time (two years ago) I was really dehydrated from drinking too much the night before and got a bitchin? head ache from being banged around in the moving seats. This time they were kind enough to help out by ?misting? us A LOT to simulate the rain effect just in case I was dehydrated again. Final stop was the Ripley?s store which was filled with slightly overpriced gag gifts. It was fairly late I had a few things to take care of back at the hotel so I called it a night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longwoodguy74 Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Another excellent report, Asiafun. Ripleys sounds like a painfully dull tourist trap to me, but to each his own. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Ripleys would probably be blast with the right TG and suitably . How much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longwoodguy74 Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 shygye said:Ripleys would probably be blast with the right TG and suitably . How much? Very true! Then again, you could probably substitute the word "Ripleys" from that statement with pretty much anything and the statement would still be true! I think _______ would probably be a blast with the right TG and suitably . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 was the 6000 for the hotel that night or the show ? seems like alot of baht OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted January 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 The 4 way pass was between 405 and 580 it is hard to tell from the receipt they gave me and yes it can be very fun with a TG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted January 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 The 6000 was for that night in the hotel and the xmas dinner. I can assure you the xmas dinner was not worth a fraction of the cost as will be talked about in like Day 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted January 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Thanks again only 6 more days to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Great post..thanks :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 When you wrote about it being a buffet I was like, 'oops'. It's a nasty habit of loads of hotels around the world to make Xmess or NYE meals compulsary and they charge an arm and a leg for the privilege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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