We were up around 5:30am the next morning. Ogii had a bit of a headache, so we headed to a nearby 7-Eleven to see if they had any OTC medication for that.
They had Paracap, which is paracetamol, which is what most of the world calls acetaminophen. All of which are derived from different parts of the chemical name, n-acetyl-p-aminophenol.
Multiple varieties of Kit Kats.
People waiting for the bus.
A vendor selling food on the sidewalk.
Walking back to our hotel, there was a fire hydrant and large metal bars in the middle of the sidewalk.
Another area with a metal bar in the way. If you're handicapped, it's much better to be in the US, not in most other countries, because it would be very hard to get around.
Breakfast buffet at our hotel.
Ogii checking out some of the options.
Meats.
Fruits.
Sushi.
Breads.
Massages in cabanas by the pool. I bet these are more expensive than the ones at the parlors on the streets.
The pool.
The room has a Bible and the teachings of Buddha.
Ogii by the orchids at the front desk.
Waving to a tour bus of fellow cruisers. We were headed to Pattaya today.
A Transformers statue.
Large park.
Flying fish statues from Super Mario Brothers.
Another character.
Terminal 21 Pattaya, a huge shopping mall.
North Pattaya Beach.
You never see Ronald McDonald in the US any more.
Ronald is also doing the wai, a slight bow with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion, which is the Thai greeting.
Cute mural.
Many parasail boats.
Marijuana is legal in Thailand, both medicinally and recreationally, which seems weird as so many other drugs which are legal in the US are banned in many southeast Asia countries, although Thailand isn't as restrictive as many other nearby countries.
Pattaya sign.
Wat Sam Sien, a Taoist temple.
Many of the street vendors sell lottery tickets.
Wat Phra Yai, temple of the Big Buddha on Pratumnak Hill.
Flowers.
Multiple statues around the edges.
Even more.
More.
A pheasant.
Us with the Big Buddha.
Other sculptures.
A reclining Buddha.
Fasting Buddha.
A large carved stone with people placing coins on it.
It's good luck to place them standing up.
So we did that with a few.
A view of the ocean.
Throwing coins into this Buddha's belly, also for good luck.
With an elephant and a monkey.
You can write your name and wishes on a silver Bodhi tree leaf.
Some vendors.
Small pond with candles in floating lotus leaves.
Trees of each Zodiac sign to put money on.
Ogii leaving some.
The long bodies of the nagas lining the steps.
As at the bottom.
A monk.
Asking people to not take pictures if dressed inappropriately.
A dog lying out of the sun in the bathroom.
Ice cream.
Ogii bought a cone.
A go-kart track.
Elephant and chicken statues.
The elephants were very shiny.
Dolphinarium.
Statue with four elephants and a Hindu god.
Our next stop was an elephant sanctuary. There were many of them around here.
A little stop here...
... to go over the rules.
Then we each got a basket of fruit to feed them.
Me feeding one.
Us standing beside one.
Watermelon.
One from Ogii.
Ogii really liked the baby elephant.
Petting them.
Selfie with one about to grab a banana.
Petting a bigger one.
It knows where the fruit is.
And will grab it right out of the basket.
After a while, they didn't want the bananas any more, and threw them on the ground. They still liked the watermelon, though.
Three of them together.
A video of us feeding the elephants.
Then we learned how to make elephant-dung paper.
The dung rolled into balls.
Which is placed in a mesh under water.
Pressed flat.
And dried in the sun.
Some finished paper.
We had a good team with some other people on the bus. They'd spot something, and I'd get a picture of it. In this case, a bird on a cow's back.
Passing a decorated truck.
A mural on the side.
The front.
With more Michelin Man dolls tied on.
Royal family pictures.
Dolphin with a surfboard statue.
They sell shrines here.
Our next stop was Pattaya Floating Market.
Elephant statue out front.
Parrot statues and a big boat on top.
A map of the market.
The entrance.
You could take a small boat to the back of the market and then walk to the front, but the wait was very long, so we just walked in a big circle around the market instead.
It was filled with shops.
Love sign.
The water in the middle.
On one side.
Some of the boats coming by.
A bridge to cross to the other side.
Some goats to pet.
Elephant statues.
Clothes.
I wonder if that's real cashmere.
A shrine.
This space was available.
This section had food.
Many different vendors.
Various meats.
Seafood.
Thai tea.
Ogii bought some meat.
I got some crocodile.
Pancake dessert.
Fried insects.
Including scorpions.
I'll try one. The owners of Card Player Cruises behind me did not want to try any insects.
And some dumplings.
Our lunch.
Ready to dig in.
I wasn't a fan of the scorpion. The hard outer shell was not a great texture.
Then we bought some elephant pants for family members for Christmas gifts.
Another store.
A woman making food.
Another one.
Fish spa.
More clothing.
Their kid sleeping on the floor.
Ogii looking at some shirts.
They have sea boxing, but we didn't see it.
Some cows on the drive back to the cruise ship.
A large Michelin Man painted on the side of a building.
We have to get through the final set of souvenir shops at the cruise terminal.
Many vendors.
Ogii saw a cute dress.
Bags and other items.
The Celebrity Today from yesterday, when we were in Bangkok.
Ads.
More.
More.
Activities by time.
Opening hours.
Last Sunday, they listed NFL games in Cellar Masters early in the morning.
They don't have them listed for this Sunday, though. I wonder if they'll still show them there?
I forgot to put my phone on airplane mode as we left port. Good thing T-Mobile reminded me.
We went to the pay restaurants for the only time on this cruise.
For Le Petit Chef.
Which has animations played on the table from projectors in the ceiling.
This central table had a few kids. The people in the table nearby didn't want to be by the kids, so they moved to a table at the side of the room.
There were two different menus. I had this one.
And Ogii had the other.
The show is starting.
The chef runs around, gathering ingredients.
And putting them on the plate.
Then the waiters bring the actual food.
Burrata salad.
Tomato salad.
The chef preparing soup.
The second course.
Bouillabaisse.
Sauteed chicken breast.
The chef cooking the steak.
Served.
Filet Mignon.
Roasted lobster tail.
We had some fun playing with the lights scattered by our water glasses.
The chef again.
Putting desserts on our plates.
And the real ones.
Ice cream sundae.
Rice pudding.
Wait a second, one of the chocolate feet on my plate has six toes.
Us.
Fireworks at the end.
A video of bits of dinner.
Nano Lopez is the creator of the cool sculptures in the art area.
Tomorrow's Celebrity Today.
Things to do.
Info.
Deals.
Events by time.
Opening hours.
I was in a couple of Facebook groups for the cruise. Sometimes people would share pictures they got, like this one of a person carrying a Christmas tree on a bike.
Or a better picture of the cool semi.
And a group shot of our group at the floating market.