After the soul-crushing experience that was my first visit to Pattaya on USS Last Ship, I seriously thought this visit was going to push me so far to the edge, that I’d eventually do a swan dive off a hotel balcony. Luckily for me, I ended up spending the entire time with a friend from Bangkok, and it turned out to be a really good port call.
I stayed at the Green Park Pattaya resort, in a junior suite which was pretty pimp. The resort sported a nice pool that trailed around the property, and even though my fat ass doesn’t normally do the whole swimming in public thing, I swam so much I ended up with severe sunburn, and I have to go to medical for the next few days to keep having it bandaged up. You don’t realize how involved your shoulders are in simple mobility until even the simplest movements are excruciating.
While I tried to stay away from the sexual exploitation mecca known as Walking Street, we did end up going there about two times. We visited a couple go-go bars, but I was so occupied by my Bangkok friend that I didn’t really bother talking to any of the “entertainers.” We did hit up a nice disco and I got my dance on for a while. Aside from that, the rest of my time was spent doing legitimately fun things. I rode the elephants again, as well as the go-karts, and I even went nuts on the quad motorbikes. The first time we rode the quads, our guide took us on the scenic route which had us cruising down Pattaya Beach Road. The second time, however, he took us to some clearing and let us go ape shit. I learned how to burn out without killing myself, and the guy even tried getting me to do a wheelie. I was wearing flip-flops and didn’t even have a helmet on, so that shit was out of the question. I also tried driving a dune buggy on some off-road track, but I just ended up going over the tire barriers and being politely asked to leave. Good times.
One difference I really noticed from last time, was the price of everything. Despite the dollar to baht rate being about 10 THB lower, the prices were still pretty high for Thailand. I didn’t really notice it until I realized I spent about $2,000 for the whole visit. It’s not something I’m happy with, but at least I have souvenirs and a nice tailored suit to show for it, and my soul is relatively in tact.
Comments 14
Now THAT is the way to experience Thailand! I’m glad you had a proper good time.
Posted 15 Aug 2008 at 2:04 pm ¶My oldest used to buy a tailored suit at just about every port call on hte Pac rim. He has a lot of suits…
Posted 15 Aug 2008 at 2:48 pm ¶lol I guess no one told you it’s important to wear sunblock.
Good to hear that you did fun stuff in Thailand, not just the drink to get drunk routine.
Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 3:12 am ¶Where are the details about the nebulous “Bangkok friend?”
Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 8:38 am ¶Hey Jim,
Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 11:28 am ¶Who is the Bangkok friend? He or she? Not a shim I’m sure?
Quad motor bikes! OMG. If they would have only had them 20 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have…………….Uh well nevermind.
Posted 16 Aug 2008 at 10:01 pm ¶Hello Jim! I enjoyed your latest exploits. It ALMOST makes me wanna go there and drive all over creation in a 4 wheeler (are they called quads now? My grandparents had a 3 wheeler before they were outlawed. I figured they were just called 4 wheelers now:). It sounds like you had a really fun time. I’m sorry it cost you so much. If it helps, just think how much that would cost if you had done all that fun stuff in LA or New York. Do they have quad racers in NYC?
I just got back to Yokosuka after a two month vacation. Was that the GW I saw over in the GW’s spot? It was dark and I was soooo sleepy. Kinda looked like one of those Essex kinda things. I guess I just expected the GW to look like the Sears Tower. I dunno.
Oh, and this guy was sitting in front of me on the flight over. I heard him say he was going to Bangkok. He was dressed like a reject from a Buffett concert, so immediately my PERVERT RADAR went off like the 4th of July. Then he pulls out this huge booklet that I think was a pervert’s guide to Bangkok. Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep on the flight. It was so packed. I made sure to kick his seat about three hundred times.
Do you still drive the Spongebob car? I’ll be sure to honk and wave at you the next time I see you.
Bye bye Jim!
Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 5:08 am ¶The friend from Bangkok will be referred to as such, until a later date when other things have been settled. She’s not a ladyboy, or a bar girl.
Victor: I still drive the Spongebobmobile, so feel free to say hello should you see me. The Essex-looking-thing was the USS Blue Ridge, aka Building 19.
The GW hasn’t arrived yet, and is MUCH bigger.
Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 5:24 am ¶Thailand is a friendly place. I made friends in Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket. Fond memories abound. Does anyone think that John Edwards is a “PERV”? If you believe the newspaper accounts, he sought sexual gratification outside his marriage. It also seems a certain amount of money also exchanged hands. And then you have the “Bill” and “Monica” thing. I don’t know about money but some kinky stuff was going on there. So is “Bill” a “PERV”? When I was a youngster (21), I had a Navy Captain tell me, “I cannot legislate morality”. I think there’s a certain amount of wisdom in that statement. If you see someone breaking the law, call the police. If you see someone doing something you don’t like, remember that we live under a constitution which guarantees the right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Frankly, I do not contemplate wanting to get on a plane and flying to Thailand to seek female companionship. What I do object to is someone telling me that I can’t or anyone else for that matter. In my view, America does not need self-rightious vigilante self-appointed morality cops attempting to dictate how others choose to live. If one chooses to not participate in an activity that he finds objectionable, then he should not be ridiculed for it. Conversely, he should not ridicule others for doing so.
Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 11:06 am ¶Hey Jim,
Glad to read Thailand was fun… wish I could have gone with yall, but things are what they are. My regards to the boys on the cell Block.
Posted 17 Aug 2008 at 9:43 pm ¶Is the suit for our wedding?
Posted 19 Aug 2008 at 8:50 pm ¶Hi again Jim! Does the Blue Ridge have a hanger-kinda thing in the back? I drove by the new dock (which is the old dock since I remember taking a tour of the Indy back in 95 and I swear it was docked there) and the huge ship had this cool opening in the back.
In other news, I saw this on eStripes just now. Two sailors charged with murder in San Diego. One was on the GW. http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56869
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 10:53 am ¶If it has a big 2 on the side, it’s the Essex, which is moored at the pier before the tunnels.
USS Essex
USS Blue Ridge
Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 2:25 pm ¶It was the Essex because the Blue Ridge didn’t pull in til the 27th.
Posted 28 Aug 2008 at 5:52 am ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[...] The second Navy blogger wasn’t new to Thailand and apparently had a “soul-crushing” visit to Pattaya previously. So this time he kept it on the low and hung out with a Thai girl from Bangkok who, I’m guessing, he met online: While I tried to stay away from the sexual exploitation mecca known as Walking Street, we did end up going there about two times. We visited a couple go-go bars, but I was so occupied by my Bangkok friend that I didn’t really bother talking to any of the “entertainers.” We did hit up a nice disco and I got my dance on for a while. [...]
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