I Had A Couple Of Things To Do,

first up and out of my hotel, 

and a walk past,

a shrine, 

next to the hotel,

a tad difficult to see inside, 

outside a bowl where incense and candles can be lit, 

into Walking Street, 

and to the Pattaya Beer Garden for breakfast,

one person on the jetty, 

taking a break, 

into the beer garden, 

for today a banana shake, with 2 toast and a double helping of bacon for a delicious bacon sandwich, 

then back into the street, 

past the sign,

still being worked on, 

and then into my local 7 - 11, 

and back to my hotel to drop off some sodas and vodka, then on my way to the fruit stalls, 

two of the local cats, 

having a bit of a spat, 

before a uneasy truce, 

into the money exchange by Turkish Corner, 

and past the temple, 

and this is what I was after, some bananas for my room, I also picked up a pack of fresh mango, 

I have to say it I do not like coconuts like these, I prefer the old ones we get in the UK.

then back to the hotel, 

and here I am at the hotel,  

and then to the pool, again all to myself, except the pigeons that drink here,

clouds in the distance, little chance of getting sunburnt today, 

the sun trying to find a way through the clouds, but no luck today,

downstairs a few photos from the girls in Poland, 

they went into a salt mine, 

from left to right, Wilma, Diana and Kai,

apparently it was huge, 

back to Pattaya, I decided to have a bowl of my favorite Thai dish a soup dish, sen lek gai, small noodle chicken soup, so to Sophon market it was, 

there are of course lots of stalls here, 

selling so many different regional dishes, 

from all over Thailand, 

and I guess neighbouring countries as well,

most with pictures and prices, 

so it is a easy point and say 'that one!'

and this is the stall I was looking for, 

it has changed a tad since last year, when this photo was taken,

I sat at the seating area behind the stall,

my meal arrived, 

I had added some beansprouts and some spices, but be carful with spices out here, they are as different to UK spices is as UK mustard is to USA mustard, in case you are wondering, this is the stock for the soup, 

gazillions of chickens feet, it is just so delicious, 60 baht a bowl, 

hunger stated I made my way back through the outdoor food court,

I had already bought a few cooked sausages in case that cat showed up, and I was so full I did not really want more chicken for tonight to give the cat the skin and bones,

these reminded me of when I had a home in Huay Yai, it is a sub-district located just east of Pattaya City, it is known for its lush countryside landscapes, rolling hills, and local village charm, 

and that was where I saw many of these catfish on sticks, but here is the thing, as I lived near a local village a popular dish on a stick was rice rats, yes rats on a stick! I only wish I had taken a photo of the local kids enjoying them,

I continued past the hardware store, where the local bought bags, 

and when Diana and myself lived in town, our house brooms, 

I started walking down Soi 14, 

and passed the motorcycle shop where for 25 or more years the owner looked after my motorbikes, I called in to say Hi we had a chat, I have to say he has not aged at all, he mentioned that business was still good, although not so many farangs, in Thai: ฝรั่ง, it is the standard Thai word used to refer to foreigners of European descent or white Westerners, I should say the owner is Cambodian and not Thai,

I made a detour to look at the Day/Night Hotel, Diana and myself used to eat there often, when it was a favorite place to stay for Russian workers, but then for some reason the restaurant closed, and it still is, 

there was another favorite restaurant I wanted to check out, that we both went to,

Le Bordeaux,

outside tables all laid ready for customers, 

although we normally sat inside, 

the detour brought me back to soi 14, 

on which is I believe the biggest beer wholesaler in Pattaya, the shop houses stacked with beer just go on and on,

I wanted to buy a small pair of scissors,

 so where else than a 7 - 11? they did not sell scissors, 

opposite I noticed a gold shop, 

in the window today's gold price, just a month ago it was hovering around 77,500!

the back end of the market in Pattaya Tai, where I buy a few items of fruit, now just a shadow of its former self, 

in the distance a temple, 

it is for Sikhs I think, 

as I neared it, 

lots of stores selling Indian spices, 

a couple more of it, 

as I walked past, 

the entrance, 

I was now at the intersection of Soi 14 and Pattaya Second Road, 

all I had to do now was cross it, easier said than done, very few drivers will slow down for a zebra crossing, and those that do are almost always over or under taken by another driver that will not slow down or stop, 

but I made it, then into the Soi my hotel is in, 

as is usual mobile stalls park along the street selling take away Thai dishes for the night workers, in the evening Diana made a video call, the girls were up a mountain and it had been snowing!

and here is Kai, Diana just loves snow, so she could not be happier!

I decided to have another quiet evening in the front of my hotel, before I had even sat down,

she was here, 

as I was getting myself sorted out I took a couple of the restaurant opposite,

it is a sort of Korean I think cook your own meal, not my scene at all, but Diana loves this sort of thing, 

I had bought a few pre cooked sausages,

the first few went down well,

but it was not her favorite, 

and then a few other cats arrived, 

eventually, 

the original cat ate a few more,

I guess they were all sisters, no scrapping or fighting over the sausages, 

the original cat stopped eating them, 

and watched the others, 

before relaxing, 

it has so be said the others did not rate the sausages either, 

so time to stretch out, 

as the others eat the last of them, I read until nearly midnight, also wondering what they will eat tomorrow, the fried chicken stall is so far away, perhaps some cat food from the 7 - 11? and with that thought I was off to bed.