Penfold's South East Asian Odyssey

Loy Krathong this year was held a week later than normal, due to the death of Supreme Patriarch Nyanasamvara Suvaddhanaects and celebrations in some places were slightly scaled back. However, here in Pattaya there were plenty of events to mark the occasion. Om and I decided to attend the festivities at Mabprachan Lake. There was a Miss Noppamas competition, a display of traditional Krathongs, fairground rides, dancing and a plethora of stalls selling food and drink.  Although we arrived there quite early in the evening, it was still extremely busy and parking spaces were at a premium. The event organisers must have made an absolute fortune as they were charging an entry fee of 20 baht per vehicle.  Such was the popularity of this festival that when we started our journey home, at around 8.30 pm, there was a queue of waiting traffic stretching several kilometres.   Overall it was a lovely evening and as you can see from the photos we enjoyed ourselves immensely...... 

The floating market is a well-known and popular attraction, located along the Sukhumvit road, here in Sin City. Almost every time you drive past, the car parks are full and there are busloads of Chinese, Indian, Russian and Korean tourists being herded inside. It has been in operation since late 2008 and I have been there on 5 previous occasions with my wife, parents and family friends. For visitors who were new to Pattaya, it was pleasant experience and in the early days there was no entrance fee and it was nowhere near as busy as it is now. This meant you could walk around and browse in the shops in relative peace and enjoy an ice cold beverage or a relaxing massage, without having to cough-up any cash or navigate your way past hordes of sweaty Indians or pissed-up Russians. But, my opinion of the place has changed drastically since the last time I visited. I was recently invited by a friend to join a tour of Pattaya, taking in several local attractions including

Allow me to introduce the newest member of the family........ My sister-in-law gave birth to Panpurid "Nammon" Porntanasit at 8.20am on 31st October and he weighed in at a healthy 6lbs despite arriving a few weeks earlier than anticipated. Although you can't see it in the photos, he has a rather large nose and would give a proboscis monkey a run for it's money!!!! But despite the snout he's an adorable little chap. All the Thai neighbours were swift to point out that he was born at Halloween and that it was a portent of doom which would result in our street being over-run wih ghouls and goblins. This is because they're an extremely superstitious bunch and also of very limited intelligence!! As you can imagine it's been all hands to the pumps in the last week or so trying to help wih the baby and keep the businesses running smoothly!! I'll bring updates on the wee fella, along with any other important developments, in due course.

I absolutely love going to Ban Amphur, it has a very nice beach and in my opinion some of the best seafood restaurants in the local area. It is easy to reach along the Sukhumvit road and the drive from Pattaya is around 20 minutes. Whenever friends or family come to visit I always take them to eat fresh seafood at the restaurants overlooking the ocean. My favourite establishment is called Sri Nuan and I have dined there on numerous occasions. The food is always locally sourced, good quality and well cooked.       Upon entering the restaurant there are a number of large tanks full of live fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other delights. You can choose which of these unsuspecting critters that you would like to eat and how you would like them cooked, or alternatively, you can choose something from their extensive menu. The restaurant is extremely popular and often welcomes large tour groups, so in the evenings it can be very busy and take quite a long time to get served.