For A Change Of Pace,

we decided to spend the day on the coral island,

a walk along the pier at Bali Hai,

and on to the boat,

surprisingly there were a few places, I would have thought at this time of the year it would have been packed,

the sun still low over Pattaya as we leave the harbour,

looking back to the restaurants that are on stilts over looking the bay,

one of the Mermaid's dive boats that both Steve and myself have dived from, 

the Pattaya City sign fading in the distance,

the ferry is 30 baht each way, but if you are in a hurry there are lots of speed boats for hire at 300 baht,

the sign says it all,

we walked along to where we normally sit past the food stalls,

but the beach was packed so we had to sit in different areas till some body moved as there was not 3 vacant chairs next to each other,

one reason for this was that it was high tide so much of the beach could not be used,

row after row, the place was doing good business,

then it was food time,

the Turkish ice cream stall has branched out into foods as well,

it even has a ATM machine next door,

whilst buying a beer I watched some food being cooked,

chicken and pork,

seafood,

fresh ice cold coconuts too,

now the interesting bit, the bar, as there are so many languages spoken here by tourists from all over the world, all you have to do is point to your favourite tipple and there it is,

Steve and Kai go for a paddle, unfortunately Steve can not get his shoulder wet,

paddle over it is time to pose for the camera,

the dust or what ever it is in the camera is getting worse, this is a shot of the sky, a few days ago there were 3 specks in the pictures, now 7, it appears I am fated with cameras, I have yet to have one last more than say 8 months before it fails for one reason or another, now there's an idea, if any camera manufacture wants their product tested several times a day, 363 days of the year, (I remember I did not post pictures on two posts this year), drop one off to me and I will test it for you,

we had by now moved chairs, the view from mine,

'Cheers!',

ice cream for Steve,

well it was hot,

as we made our way back to the boat the tide was receding,

The Royal Cliff, we are getting near to home,

now the good news, Steve's shoulder has healed up so well this is the last time he has to have it dressed,

but the iodine still smarts!

next stop the market, a large stage is being set up for the evenings show,

a few clouds but no rain,

sunset behind the condominiums,

as I made my way back to the bar, some of the dancers for the evening are getting ready for the show

whilst some waited for the show to begin,

the down side was that when Sai Jai arrived she was told here space had been used up by the stage, so she has lost her income for the next three days,

Brian and Sa also arrived,

then the show began with the compare and his assistant handing out gifts,

Sa and Dang were shopping with a vengeance,

first in the show was a singer,

I then spotted a strange looking Father Christmas,

another singer,

followed by a dance troupe,

the lights making the costumes look different,

another dance troupe,

with a singer,

next some acrobats,

but first a dance,

keeping to the Christmas theme,

then the show began,

and very good it was too,

mission completed,

and a wish for a happy New Year,

Steve and Kai were also here doing some shopping,

they were trying to sell him a condo, but with not much luck, by now it was quiet late so we made our way to the motorcycle taxi rank and we were off home, after a few Vodkas, it was time for a rest after a hard day, so then we were off to bed.