A Trip Out Today,

first stop,

the aquatic store, we were getting low on dried food for the fish,

next stop the Buddha at the top of Pattaya Hill,

bear in mind if you visit there is a dress code,

the view that so many of us who have been to Pattaya know,

at the base of the stairs two fearsome Naga snakes, one on each side,

also some deities and a bowl,

of water lettuce, (Pistia stratiotes),

the bodies of the Naga going from the bottom,

to the top of the stairs,

arriving at the top,

there is a courtyard,

where the main Buddha statue sits,

and offerings can be made,

naturally I had to have a pose,

and so did Diana,

in front of the statue a table where incense can be burnt and prayers made,

and gold leaf can be attached to some of the statues,

the view looking towards Jomtien, the Jomtien tower in the middle of the picture,

this is a new pavilion built since our last visit here,

as we made our way around the courtyard, a quick look inland,

around the courtyard there are Buddha images, one for each day of the week, the day of your birthday being the one that would represent you,

we started back down, past what I call the Avenue of Bells,

naturally I was taken as a tourist, so I bought the plate,

our next stop was to the Taoist temple, in the courtyard next door,

with it's fearsome dragons,

waiting to pounce,

we then made our way past one of the pools,

that on one side,

have statues,

of historical events like this one that depicts Chao Woo Wang raising an army to defect the last Emperor of the Yin Dynasty,

there are a number of Chinese temples and statues here,

like this scene depicting the birthday of Wongbo, (the Queen of Heaven),

below us another small park,

and to our right another Chinese temple,

then a number of pictures, 24 of them in fact depicting the story of the 24 Gratitudes,

here they are,

the next small park below us in a series of pools,

three dolphins leap from the middle,

we walked through the last courtyard,

turned,

and headed back,

admiring the views,

of the bay, now unfortunately blocked by this condominium, as they say, 'nothing stays the same forever', which is a shame as it was a nice view of the bay and city from here,

we continued our walk to the motorcycle and continued our ride up the hill to the radio station where we parked our motorcycle, on the right a cafe where we will be having a cool drink later,

and this is the radio station 104.75 FM,

and it's tower,

an advertisement for the Sanctuary of Truth,

and a nice view of the bay,

and the city,

we moved a little further along,

and found ourselves behind this building we have often seen on our trips to the island,

looking closely at it hardly any work seems to have been done to it for some time, by now I would have thought it would have been finished or pulled down, as in it's unfinished state it is a terrible eyesore for residents and tourists alike,

at the very top of the hill a monument to HRH AdmiralKrom Luang Jumborn Khet Udomsakdi, or Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse, the 28th child of H.M. King Rama V, was born in December 1880 and passed away on 19 May 1923 at the young age of 44, His original name may not be familiar to many of us, but the mention any of His other names : Sadej Tia ("Royal Father") or Doctor Phon or Prince of Jumborn, will command deep respect from Thai people from navy officers to rural villagers, His early years were spent studying Naval Science in England, upon the completion of his education abroad, He returned to Siam to serve in the Royal Siamese Navy and contributed significantly to the advancement and modernisation of the navy, founding the naval base at Sattahip, in honour of his contributions, the Prince was proclaimed "The Father of Royal Thai Navy",

in many people's perception, Prince of Jumborn did not expire from this world, like other holy deities, He is still "around" listening to people's grievances and helping them achieve their desired goals and there is a steady steam of worshippers giving their respects to Him,

 by the side of the monument there is a place where firecrackers,

can be let off,

looking out to sea,

and below the courtyard,

there are some small statues of birds and animals,

and some Frangipani or Plumeria trees in flower,

time for a picture shoot,

the view here,

is unobstructed,

giving a nice view of the city and bay,

and as a bonus there are some,

Frangipani's flowering,

to add a splash of colour to pictures of the bay,

we made our way back past the radio station,

and Navy shop,

some clouds were rolling in over the bay,

as we looked down on to Bali Hai pier,

then it was time for a cool drink,

and some sweet bananas,

an ice coffee for myself,

and an ice tea for Diana,

the wonders of timers on cameras,

and a neat table made from a sewing machine base, in the afternoon Mark called by, after he left and our evening meal,

it was play time with the kittens,

we could not quite time it so that we could see Hogue's face,

but you can see Judge Judy behind him,

to round off the evening another couple from The Crown, which gets better with each episode, and with the midnight hour approaching we were off to bed.