Smart Phone

I took this photo in my hotel room in Nakhon Ratchasima (a.k.a. Korat), Thailand in January 2007. It was more than a decade ago, but the telephone on the side desk looked like a lot more matured material. Might I ask how old it was, but I didn't and I just took a photo of it. It's named itself as 'smart phone', the name was written on the left side corner. Cool, isn't it? Extraordinary. That time, I stayed for a couple of nights in Korat and returned to the capital Bangkok by train. Right after got out of Hua Lamphong station, I caught a cab and headed for Pattaya.

There it is, a touch of China

I took this photo at a hotel in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. I booked the hotel through Booking.com., and my stay was very satisfied. The hotel was located in the heart of Chinatown, Bangkok, and had touches of China every here and there. The photo shows one of them. Cute, isn't it? Since the hotel was in the right in the middle of Chinatown, Bangkok, the location of the hotel was surrounded by so many eateries, food stalls, and everything for food lovers. Also, the hotel's restaurant and bar was located on the street level of the hotel.

ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ข้น

The photo shows Tom Yum Kung Nam Khon (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ข้น) which was served in a Tom Yum heated serving pot. I took this photo at one of the very popular restaurants in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. Tom Yum soup is known as Spicy Thai soup, normally with prawns, and has two completely different flavours. Compare to Tom Yum Kung Nam Sai (ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ใส), Tom Yum Kung Nam Khon (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ข้น, the one in the photo of this post) is I'd say more creamy and looks redder. Not to mention both of them go well with Thai rice and the other Thai food.

Going out? No, it's out of the question.

I took this photo at the entrance of a hotel near Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The area was caught in the heavy rain in the middle of afternoon. Going out was out of the question, but I wanted to do something unusual, so I started to try to take some photos of heavy rain. I wanted to catch the rainy rainy moments in some photos to memorise how heavy the rain was. I don't exactly know how to take a nicer photo of rain, but this photo was the best I could do. I think I need a bit more practice, though.

Good old sign

I took this photo on Pattaya 2nd Road in Pattaya, Thailand in March 2014. The sign was gone when the brand new shopping mall Central Marina was opened near the end of the last year. The brand new sign of Central Marina looks like a lighthouse and looks so cool of course, but I think that the old sign was also really well made. I loved that. I don't exactly know when I can go back to Pattaya again, but I'm always looking forward to going there. I really love that city. The weather, the food, drinks, people and many more. Everything is my favourite.

ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ใส กับ ข้าว

The photo shows Tom Yum Kung Nam Sai and Thai white rice (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ใส กับ ข้าว) . I took this photo at a local eatery in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. Thai spicy prawns soup is named Tom Yum Kung (or often spelled Tom Yam Goong, Thai: ต้มยำกุ้ง) has a couple of popular flavors. Tom Yum Kung Nam Sai (ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ใส) and Tom Yum Kung Nam Khon (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ข้น). Tom Yum Kung Nam Sai is rather a traditional flavour with clear spicy soup like the photo shows. The other one, Tom Yum Kung Nam Khon looks really different. It looks like a creamy red soup. If I have to choose, I prefer Tom Yum Kung Nam Sai, but I like Tom Yum Kung Nam Khon as well.

It was sort of like the butterfly effect, wasn't it?

I took this photo in my hotel room in Nakhon Ratchasima (a.k.a. Korat), Thailand. The hotel was located in the heart of Korat, near Statue of Tao Suranari. Since the hotel was located right in the middle of the heart of the city, it seemed very easy to eat out at restaurants, but things were different at that night. Nakhon Ratchasima was caught in a heavy tropical squall out of the blue, and I was like stuck in the hotel room for hours until I was getting a little too hungry. So I looked at the room service menu on the desk, and ordered Spicy Thai soup (a.k.a. Tom Yum, Thai: ต้มยำ) and some rice, of course with a bottle of Chang. The menu was completely written in Thai, but luckily I could read them. That Tom Yum tasted like heaven. Then after that, Tom Yum became my favourite Thai food.

25th floor of a 5-star hotel in Bangkok, Thailand

I took this photo in my hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand. The hotel was a 5-star hotel located on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, and my room was on the 25th floor and had a nice river view through the windows. I made a reservation through Booking.com. That time, I made a 3-day stopover in Bangkok, Thailand, then after that caught a flight to London, England. When I fly to Europe with Thai Airways International, I tend to enjoy making stopovers in Bangkok. It depends on my ticket terms and conditions, but I made it more than once.

TG916 BKK - LHR; the 2nd meal; Oct 2013

The photo shows an inflight-meal of Thai Airways International flight TG916 Bangkok, Thailand to London, England (BKK - LHR). It was about a 12-hour nonstop flight from the chaotic Asian capital Bangkok to the heart of London, England. It was like a long-haul flight and I had plenty of time for 4 or 5 different movies. From what I remember, I watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and The Hangover film series I, II, and III. A croissant sandwich was served at some point during the flight and not to mention it was yummy.

Clock tower with Thai numeral

I took this photo in South Pattaya, Thailand. The photo shows a clock tower with Thai numeral: ๑๒=12,  ๓=3, ๖=6, ๙=9. I have bought an alarm clock with Thai numeral about a decade ago at The Chatuchak Weekend Market on Kamphaeng Phet Road, Bangkok, Thailand, but after that I can't find any alarm clocks or wrist watches with Thai numeral. So when I saw this clock tower near the huge sign of PATTAYA, I thought it looked so lovely and I took a photo of it. The weather wasn't exactly perfect on that day, though.

Looked up Hilton Pattaya, it looked like this

I took this photo at the bottom of Hilton Pattaya in Central Pattaya, Thailand. The 5-star hotel is face to Pattaya Beach and is a part of Central Festival Pattaya Beach Complex. I took this photo when I was getting on a escalator to get to Central Festival Pattaya Beach. Central Festival Pattaya Beach is a pretty large shopping mall in the heart of Pattaya where I've visited there many times for shopping, eating, drinking and also to watch movies at SFX Cinema Pattaya Beach. I'd say the building is a complex of everything. You can enjoy a lot more than your expectations.

SPY: White Gold v. Red

I took this photo in my hotel room in North Pattaya, Thailand  and the photo shows bottles of SPY Wine Cooler, white gold and red. You can find a variety of flavour in all over Thailand, but you can't in your home country, I guess. I'm really sorry I can't grab some SPY right now in my country. Yep, I'm obsessed, and I think you'll be obsessed too if you'll try one of SPY drinks, and soon you might want to taste some more different flavour. Normally, I'm a beer person and I almost always choose beer, but when I'm in Thailand SPY Wine Cooler or SPY Cocktail are exceptions. They are yummy!

North Pattaya Fingerpost

I took this photo in North Pattaya, Thailand. I found this Pattaya-ish fingerpost on Naklua Road near the Dolphin Fountain in North Pattaya. According to the finger post, Berlin is 10,573 kilometres away, and New York City is 16,627 kilometres away, and also Venus is 43,250,000 kilometres away from Pattaya. So where should the next stop be? If you wanna start from the low-hanging fruit, look at the yellow sign board instead. There were some examples: To get to Coral Island (a.k.a Koh Lan) cost 350 THB. Your bus, boat, and lunch would be arranged by the tour agency.

A serviced apartment in Korat, Thailand

The photo shows a serviced apartment in Nakhon Ratchasima (a.k.a. Korat), Thailand where I've stayed for three weeks. My room was spacious, and the king-sized bed and pillows were very comfortable. Fresh towels, bar soaps, shampoo packages, loo rolls were provided daily. Plus, there's a middle-sized fridge in the room, and a couple of bottles of water were served daily and were complimentary. The location was good. A hypermarket Tesco Lotus was located about a five-minute walk from this serviced apartment. I used the Tesco Lotus a lot. I kinda miss it now.

ส้มตำ: Green Papaya Salad

The photo shows Thai Green Papaya Salad (a.k.a. Somtum or Som Tam, Thai: ส้มตำ). I took this photo at a river view rooftop restaurant of a guest house in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. It was the night before my leaving to Nakhon Ratchasima in Southeastern Thailand, and I was enjoying the last dinner in Bangkok. Generally, Somtum in Central Thailand includes peanuts and less spicy in my opinion. Somtum in Southeastern Thailand has more various ingredients and are much more spicy in my opinion.

The North end of Walking Street in South Pattaya

I took this photo at the North end of Walking Street in South Pattaya, Thailand. The street is running from the south end of Pattaya Beach Road to Bali Hai Pier, and now is a world-famous night life street. Vehicles are allowed to enter during the daytime hours, but are not allowed to run during the nighttime hours. Along both sides of the street, there so many fun places are lined-up. The "so many fun places" includes bars (countless), restaurants (Thai food and the othera), Go-Go clubs, massage parlours, shops, accommodations, and so on. Definitely a must-see site in Pattaya.

North Pattaya Beach construction area

I took this photo at North Pattaya Beach construction area at the end of December 2016. That day was the second day of my 6-day vacation, and it was Friday. I had 2-hour full body oil massage and went on a shopping spree at Soi Buakhao Market. Before that, I walked along Pattaya Beach Road, then took this photo near Thai Airways International Pattaya brunch. After spa and shopping, I caught a motorbike taxi on Pattaya 2nd Road (a.k.a. Pattaya Sai 2) and got back to my hotel to drop a lot of shopping bags and so on.