christineKeiEen. sharing thoughts: Pattaya, Thailand 2013

Hii, my long abandoned blog! *waves* The last i blogged was April last year. I guess I was just pre-occupied with Uni, classes, and just life basically. A little rambling before i get into what the title says alright? :)

I decided on starting a blog this time around last year. Back then, I was free almost 24/7 cause I was on a break, free from classes, and books and studying. I wanted a medium to share random things I do, thoughts I have, of family vacations and trips with friends and etc. Then, shortly after that, my course started. Brand new phase of life, which I am really enjoying so far, I may add.

Let's see, what happened during the period I wasn't blogging? Erm, classes went on as usual, did my finals and had a month break till September 2013. To which I went on a few trips/ outings with my friends. We went for a short food trip to Malacca. Spent a night at Eagle Ranch, Port Dickson, where we had some outdoorsy fun (paintball, swimming, etc) After the break, went back to school till Dec where I had a week off before New Year and that's when I went for a family trip to Thailand!! We spent Christmas there! Throughout the whole of last year, I've tried lots and lots of delicious food. Honestly, from time to time when I do go to a nice place to eat or what not, I think to myself, "Hmm, I should blog about this, I should blog about that" BUT, I just didn't bring myself to do it all the time *lazybug* Maybe I should start blogging about things I intend to blog more often this year *fingerscrossed*

Alrighty then, Thailand!!
We were there for 8days, travelling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to Chiangrai and Pattaya. And let me first get this out of my chest, I DID NOT get lots and lots of amazingly cheap, nice clothes. Reason being I did not visit Chatuchak, the infamous Bangkok night market, opened every fridays and weekends. My family didn't visit that place simply because Bangkok was not all that safe when we were there because riots were going on due to political mishap and we decided to keep our time in Bangkok short, prioritising safety over clothes. So, FYI, to all you girls looking for a massive clothing haul, Chatuchak is where you're suppose to go!

I shall write more on my time in Bangkok in a different post, this post would be dedicated to the FUN my family and I had in Pattaya. This was the final 2.5 days of our vacation btw. Pattaya is a beautiful place, packed with tourist. Us Lays stayed at the Hilton, Pattaya situated above/in Central Festival Pattaya Beach (shopping mall) looking into a long, beautiful stretch of beach. Judging on the location we were staying at, you could already guess we had such a good stay. A short and quick walk to enjoy the beach and shopping spree as well. The view from our balcony was amazing!! both at day and night. During the night, right across the street, along the beach, a night market comes alive. However, I don't recommend you buying things, especially clothes as they are quite pricey. You would expect the local sellers to take advantage of the situation (tourists spot, peak of holiday season) Anyhow, the night market is still a recommended place to visit to experience the exciting and lively vibe.

Yes, everyone was excited about the view. Haha!

Night market

Waking up in the morning, I see a breath-taking view from my balcony. Clear blue sky and some distance away into the sea area, you spot little parachutes flying around. Am I doing a good job at describing it? I regret not taking a picture of the view. Was too caught up admiring plus I think, I was too focused on heading to the breakfast buffet. Haha. One of my favourite thing about vacations are breakfast! Be it from the local morning market or hotel buffets. I really appreciate a good hotel that provides scrumptious breakfast buffet (and comfy bathrooms for comfy baths). The one in Hilton is pretty good. Wide variety from English breakfast to Asian style (of dim sum and porridge and fried noodles, rice and etc) to Western breakfast (eggs benedict, bacons, WAFFLES, cereals) to Japanese sushis. *Drools* thinking about breakfast buffets is making me hungry. I absolutely love them!

Outdoor dining area where we had our breakfast

Breakfast view. My horrible photography skill does not do it justice.

Night time pool view

Infinity pool btw. Beautiful.

We had some island/beach time at Pattaya. Went on the speed boat, stopped at the middle of the route to the island for some parachuting fun!! I realise when I say parachute, you may think i jumped off a plane. Well, I didn't do that, although it would be so cool (adding it to my bucket list). We were strapped on a parachute and a speed boat pull us around for a little 'fly' up in the air. Not much of an extreme, I know, but regardless, it was our first time (my siblings and I) so we were all beyond excited!! Now, after experiencing it, I would say it is a must-do. It's not scary, you don't experience that kind of butterfly-sinking feeling you have when you're plunging down on a roller-coaster or swinging downwards on a pirate ship ride, which I HATE. You get to enjoy wind in your face and the view would be great.

As for the beach or island in Pattaya, I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe not during Decembers or the colder season in Pattaya. While we were there, the weather was pretty chilly. Despite it being sunny, it was still quite cold. Due to the weather, we weren't able to go snorkelling as well. Besides, the small stretch of beach was PACK!! There were so so many people, which makes it a little difficult to enjoy. Small space, Too many people. So, if you want to enjoy a full-on beach/island experience, visit Pattaya during Summer/warmer season or go to SABAH, KOTA KINABALU!! Side-tracking a little, the islands in KK are amazing!! I've been there twice, once for a family vacation, the second time with some college friends. I had such a great time snorkelling and enjoying the beach at the islands. Definitely highly recommended.

My sister, clearly enjoying the 'ride'

Little brother, more than eager to try it!

Me and all of my siblings gave it a try. All of us enjoyed it!! :)

Waiting for my turn. Felt a little nervous apart from excitement cause you don't know what to expect. But, mostly, excited.

LANDED.

The LAY'S :)

Basically sums up what me and my sisters did the whole time we were at the island. LOL. Trying to get good jump shots. Can't lie, we got lots of stare, but none were disapproving stares though, most were pretty entertained by us. haha :) We made them smile.

and Voila!! the results of countless jumps on the beach. My little sister is a natural though. She looks like a model from a campaign poster or some sort in this picture, yes? :)

Me on the other hand, well, not so graceful. I jumped SO many times, yet not a single nice picture like my sis. Sigh. Thus, these pictures, the more decent ones from my many failed-jumpshots.

Credits to my second sister for helping me and my little sister snap those jump shots. She was really good at it. I used up so much time that she didn't have time to jump. Opps! Sorry again mei mei.

Visited the Pattaya Floating Market. I would say it's more of a place to just visit, walk around, chill, relax, snack a little, not to shop. Similarly, most of everything there is quite expensive. Some random pictures for you.

One of my absolute favourite of Thai delicacies, MANGO sticky rice!!! oh, sweet juicy mangoes, i miss you.

Durian pancake. Not too good though.

Thai tea // Lemon tea

Doggy!!

An area where you feed fishes with a baby bottle.

Hi, little goat!

Dad eating a scorpion! No, he didn't, just posed with it. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Neither can I actually. Eating creepy crawlies are too much for me.
Btw, check out the expression of the man behind my dad. haha!!

We also went to watch a transgender aka she-male show. I hope I'm not being too rude by saying she-male. The show was honestly very enjoyable. I did not expect it to be such a GRAND production. Let pictures do the talking. I have alot more pictures but will randomly show you few.

PS : their body figure are, wow. With parts which are highly desired or 'in-trend' of a female body figure today, ie. thigh gaps, fish bone, abs etc.