It Was Halloween!

so time to make a special effort to get into the party mood, 

I should say I am only making this one short post of our holiday today, as first thing we will be travelling down to visit Rainham Steve, back to Thailand, before entering Walking Street, a visit to one of the many beauty saloons, 

well I just had too!

complete with my Halloween shirt, 

smile please!

I was amazed, so many people wanted to be photographed with me, 

naturally there were a few others getting into the holiday sprit, 

some like me a tad scary dairy, 

this one a family favorite, 

a few more adventurous souls,

were out and about, 

great fun for the kids, 

and us adults were enjoying the evening too,

many of the bars had outdoor displays, 

no not dressed for Halloween, just a tourist, 

and then the heavens opened up, 

I had no choice but to wait it out in Dang's bar, 

it really, 

chucked it down,

a few souls with umbrellas walking about, 

eventually the rain started to stop, 

but a umbrella was still de rigueur,

eventually the rain stopped so back into the street to terrorize the tourists before I was off to bed.

Kai And Jac Along With Some Of Their Friends,

invited me out for the day,

so a drive to Kai's condominium, 

all very nice indeed with a wonderful view over a forested area and a huge balcony, after a drive we had arrived, 

we parked and passed a few mobile food stalls, 

and this is where we were going, The Center of Excellence at the site of PTT LNG Company Limited, the flag at half mast as a member of the Royal Family had recently died, 

the normally private facility had a open day with a show of flowers,

a nice pond, as it happened a couple of Kingfishers flew past, but way too fast for me to photograph, 

around the lake, walkways, 

occasional breaks in the foliage giving glimpses of the lake,

some of the foliage was so thick,

we made our way to the entrance,

in the hall a huge animated display of the ocean and some of the creatures that live in it,

as we made our way to the main hall we passed a lovely series of waterfalls, 

and small pools, 

all very nicely set out, 

the sort of thing I would love in our own garden, if we had one!

into the main hall,

which has a very pleasing design, 

with different raised walkways to admire the display, 

which consisted of thousands of tulips, 

in so many different shapes and colours, 

as well as a few other plants, 

in the center section,

one, two, three, smile!

I should point out that tulips are not normally seen here, 

I am guessing it is to hot for them, the dome we were in was definitely a tad chilly, 

looking at the inside of the building, upstairs a meeting place,

assessable by both a lift, 

and stairs,

or visitors could relax on the ground floor, by now taking photographs I had completely lost the girls, 

I made my way back,

passing the waterfalls,

the whole area manmade, 

but it all looked a picture, 

I caught the girls up, 

they were waiting for me at the side of the lake, 

which was nicely planted and maintained, 

in a few days this lily will be in full flower, shame I missed it, but there it is,

back to the car and a drive,

we made good time, 

to Ban Chang, a small town on the coast about 42 miles from Pattaya in the district of Rayon, 

and this is where we were headed, 

a sea front restaurant, Crab House,

the view from our table.

the restaurant itself, 

and here they are, from left to right, Jac's sister, Jac, Kai and Ill, 

one of the locals fishing the bay,

our food,

started to arrive, 

and there was lots of it!

many dishes I had not tried before, 

a small tip, if a Thai person says that a dish is hot, (spicy) believe them, it will be!

luckily there was copious amounts of beer available, 

a bit difficult to see, but this bee had a very noisy wing beat, 

back into the car to our next point of call, 

yes that is correct a full size Airbus 330, 

it is the coffee shop!

before we went in,

I had a look around,

the whole area was packed, 

with equipment from the Vietnam conflict, 

as well as a few other airliners, 

viewers of M.A.S.H. will recognize this, 

there was a huge covered area with I guess items for sale,

under the wing the ticket office, 

plenty of seating, 

everywhere I looked military items on display, 

except here, dinosaurs, 

and King Kong, 

I will not guess the name of this one, 

from a airfield, I would guess this one came from,

under the covered area, 

so many things to look at, 

these of course caught my interest, 

so many war related items on display, 

from helmets,

 to clothes, 

lots of odds and ends, 

including a mobile man operated fire extinguisher,

and a table of household goods,

motorcycles also here, 

in various configurations, 

this one looks like you could just peddle it and off it would go, 

jeeps,

everywhere,

 

as well as other aircraft and helicopters,

 

a restoration project for someone,

a interesting motorcycle combination, 

it looks like a normal motorcycle and sidecar, 

but this is what makes this one different, 

a shaft drive from the rear wheel driving the sidecar wheel as well,

time for our coffee, up the steps, 

over the wing, 

the view from the top,

 

inside coffee and cakes,

I am in my usual Thailand keep cool outfit, 

Kai relaxing, 

I remember arm rests like these when I first came out here in 1982, but in the top of them each one had a ashtray, those were the days!

the boarding pass for the café,

back down on the ground, 

a look around at a few more items, 

a nice row of jeeps,

and a few more aircraft, it must have been quite a sight to see the aircraft transported here.

a few more, 

helicopters,

to look at,

then back to 4 wheel vehicles,

I am not sure of the parentage of this one,

time to make a move for home, 

as I have a last look around, 

a few visitors taking a few photographs of the park, 

the Coffee War 331 is a coffee shop is about 30 miles from Pattaya located in the Sattahip District, a fascinating way to spend a few hours looking around and taking a break from driving, Kai and Jac kindly dropped me off at my hotel, many thanks indeed for such a wonderful day out,

next for me after a shower and a freshen up, out of the hotel and turn right, to Walking Street at the bottom of the Soi.