At the Asia Pattaya Hotel

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I stayed for a week in Pattaya for work.

Pattaya is the second most visited city in Thailand, and is about two hours away by car from Bangkok. It is a popular beach destination.

We were fortunate to have a view of the ocean in our rooms. Imagine waking up every morning to this

Travel opens the mind, providing a vista to other cultures.

Look closer. This is not the usual Bilble by the night lamp.

Shots from the beachfront and the garden.

The food for breakfast was modulated--not too much heat. Fortunately, many of the lunch and dinner fare came in spicy, which I prefer.

Pad Thai for breakfast 

iced dessert

There was no free wi-fi in the hotel. To keep tabs of what was happening back home, i.e. the impeachment, we crossed over to the Elephant Bar fronting the hotel. A bottle of beer allowed us online access. Next to the hotel, the bar was our home away from home. During the conference, we relied on the text messages of friends back home. We Filipino delegates were multi-tasking--attending to the conference and tallying the Senate vote. That was quite an afternoon.

Birds were everywhere in Pattaya. Not just sparrows and the occasional pigeons, but aves grandes like our feathered friend featured below. A conference colleague told me Thais leave animals alone. Immediately I was transported to childhood summers spent in the province, where slingshots were popular with the neighborhood boys.