We had a retreat at Pattaya, Thailand. US GIs put Pattaya on the map from 1959 as they set out for fun and frolics along the coast. While today Pattaya is trying to change its image to a more family-friendly destination, it is still well known for its sex tourism.
We stayed at a neat hotel called Z by the Zign. Our hotel rooms had glass floors that looked down into the pool. It took a while to get used to walking on it.
Thailand is a seafood lover's paradise. There is some jellyfish on this plate. It tasted crunchy. I also ate fried pork intestines and the stinky durian. I preferred those foods over the jellyfish.
The woman on the left, Lillipan, started the sustainable tourism management program 13 years ago. She is 73 now and she accompanied us to Pattaya. Thais show great respect for their elders. When walking from place to place, the group walks at the same pace as the oldest person. We arrived in the rain, but the group didn't abandon her to get out of the rain. Everyone stayed together. She was a ball of fire and she loved speaking English to me.
Bird of paradise?
This picture shows a western man sitting next to a Thai woman at the beach. This scene is also common with much older men and very young women, or same sex couples, and the list goes on.
Prostitution is illegal and prosperous in Thailand. My former graduate student, Malin, told me she thinks the industry is getting worse. They took me to see the red light district and it left quite an impression.
About 100 years ago, the Chinese came to Thailand to do manual labor. They are still here, but they quickly moved into business ownership and are well positioned today in Thailand. Manual labor nowadays comes from Burma. These are some Burmese fishermen.
The bright colors of the fishing boats.
Turtles relaxing.
We took an afternoon trip to a Buddest Temple in the eastern part of Thailand near the Cambodian border. Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside temples. Eastern Thailand is known for its fruit, especially durian. The lovely people I was traveling with bought 2 durians. The fruit stand owner sliced them up and double-wrapped them in plastic. The plastic wasn't very effective, though.
Roadside fruit and vegetable market.
Our group is sitting at the 2 tables you see in the picture. The bottom picture shows the durian eaters who moved downwind from the other table.
3 comments:
Good morning
The plate of seafood did not look too appetizing to me!! The fruit sounded better..
Jeanne
Tom asked if perhaps I made a typo when I said that prostitution is illegal and prosperous in Thailand, but I didn't. Prostitution is illegal and condoned by the government because of the money it generates.
The jellyfish I tried there was more like rubber bands. I couldn't taste durian. The smell clears a room.
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