20231108 AAAA Trip - Laem Chabang, Thailand - Pattaya and cellphone bye-bye-a

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 53/105 - Laem Chabang, Thailand - Pattaya

We didn't want to make the long haul into Bangkok again so we opted for the medium haul to Pattaya.

1. Our ship's location, more or less, at Laem Chabang Terminal A-2
2. Downtown Bangkok, roughly two hours away by bus
3. Pattaya City, about 45 minutes away by bus

Pattaya is a coastal town with a huge tourism draw.  Beaches, hotels, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shops, prostitutes, marijuana dispensaries - Pattaya has it all.

We were dropped off near the mall and wandered a bit up the beach.

There was water so...

There were at least a dozen parasails up

Typical wiring in this part of the world

We wandered through the food court in the mall, taking advantage of the air conditioning.

Not sure what pork floss is, but these rice crackers come with it

Sometimes, you just want a taste of home

After 32 ounces of Coke Zero, there was a need for a comfort stop.

Note the distress on the two on the left - this is where the problem started

We left the mall and started walking to a yarn shop as Arlona wanted to check out some yarn.  About halfway there, she realized that when she was in the bathroom, she placed her phone on the toilet paper dispenser so it wouldn't fall out of her pocket.  Then, she left it there.

She ran back but it was gone.  It was never turned in to customer service.  I was able to track it outside the mall, but when it got out of wifi, the connection died and I couldn't track it. We decided that was enough and we returned to the ship without her cell phone. So much for the good nature of people.

A venue called Terminal 21 with a Christmas tree and an aircraft

I spent the afternoon locking her credit card and setting up the phone to wipe if it connects to the internet.  Then, I spent a loooong time on the ship's crappy internet connection working with Verizon to get a new phone ordered.  We have friends from The Villages who will be joining us in Bali, so our hope is to get the phone delivered at home, have a neighbor activate it, and then have our friends pick it up and bring it with them.  We'll see how that goes.

We listened to our fourth safety briefing today at 4:30 p.m. as we prepared to sail on the fourth leg of this five-leg journey.  

Next up was the dinner pre-game at the Explorers' Bar for the sunset.

Dinner was in the World Café.  Tonight, they featured a "Taste of Thailand" and as usual, it was excellent.

The next two days are sea days as we make our way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

20231107 AAAA Trip - Laem Chabang, Thailand Day 2 - Intimate elephants

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 52/105 - Laem Chabang, Thailand - Intimate elephants

There was a theme today...

Today was disenbarkation/embarkation day.   Lots leaving, lots more arriving.  We headed out at noon to go on an elephant adventure!

After breakfast, we peeked out back and saw this.

The Celebrity Solstice is docked right behind us - we sailed on her on our ill-fated New Zealand/Australia trip in March 2020

Our driver, Alex, arrived right at noon per our schedule.  He took us south outside Pattaya to the Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary.  

The sanctuary is home to three Asian elephants, Thangthai, 45, female; Somkid, 56, female; and Frank, 9, male.  All were rescued from forced labor lives of hardship and abuse.  They now live free, uncaged, with care, food, and community.  

Thangthai

Frank and Somkid

They described this as Frank enjoying "happy hour"

There were lots of chickens running around

Their trunks are amazingly articulated and incredibly strong.

We made special food for them - sticky rice with turmeric, salt, and other spices and herbs to help maintain their health

We pressed it into balls and then fed it to the elephants - they loved it

Next, we took a walk with the elephants through the woods.

They are amazingly gentle for how massive they are

Frank, at nine, is just coming into sexual maturity and it showed

Frank was pretty mischievous

Getting an appreciation for how big their feet are

Frank, getting friendly

I pick...you!

Frank thought my head looked cold

Our excellent guide for the day

We were able to get in the bath with the elephants and give them a scrub

The sanctuary also rescued water buffalo that were abused.

After our elephant encounter, we were treated to a wonderful Thai lunch.

Traditional Thai french fries

Our driver, Alex, was there when we finished and brought us back to the ship.

Today was a bit of a sad day as we said goodbye to our excellent cabin steward, Jomar.  He finished his contract and gets to spend a couple of well-deserved months at home with this family.  Lucky for us, his assistant, Aiko, equally excellent, remains with us. 

One of the things Viking does very well is expose guests to local culture by way of destination performances.  Tonight was no exception as Viking brought aboard a Thai music and dance group, The Thai Music House of Duriya-Praneet Band. It was interesting seeing the Thai dance routines set to traditional Thai music on traditional Thai instruments.

Tomorrow is our last day in Thailand.  We plan to take the shuttle into Pattaya and explore.