Day 5 - Jomtien, Pattaya

During the time we were there it was the Jet Ski World Cup in nearby Pattaya. It was a pretty big event, lots of noise and activity - fortunately just far enough away from Jomtien to not bother us.

Rear of the grandstand

Local advertising

The course in the early evening

"Life Never Stops"

Jet ski racer

Competitors jet skis

Of course my favourite newspaper, Pattaya Today had an article about this event.

Jetski honours fall to Pattaya

 Vol. 8 No. 7,  16 - 31 December 2008

THE first international jetski competition was held in Japan, but this year Pattaya has been chosen as the most suitable venue. Deputy mayor Weerawut Kharkai, deputy city mayor, held a press conference at Jomtien Palm Beach resort to inform the press and tourism representatives. 

He explained that, all being well, princess Ubol Ratana would preside over the event December 3 to December 7 at Jomtien beach. Thirty five countries were scheduled to take part, subject to travel availability, and the winners would receive a trophy presented for the occasion by His Majesty the King.  

Currently, the jetski association of Thailand has 21 world class players, ranked at number two in the world. The scheduled competition would have 19 categories and around 2,000 people would participate. The deputy mayor said that the opportunity to host the event locally would lead to many more people, Thais and foreigners alike, falling in love with the sport.  

In the event, the Pattaya mayor on December 7 hosted the presentation of the prizes at Palm Beach Jomtien Hotel. The result was that Choke Utis Molee from the Flamingo team won three categories including the championship in pro-sport and sit-down jetski 800 cc. The champion of the Standup jet ski racing went to Austrian Quawin Raterine who received the King’s Cup and 15,000 US dollars prize money. Second came Thai racer Weeraphong Maneechom from Flamingo team and third Nicolas Rius.

---

Speaking of vehicles, the Thais seem adept at creating its own versions of transportation, many based on the ubiquitous motor scooter, with sidecars being a popular modification. The photos below show some examples.

Sidecar with overhead cover

Sidecar with overhead cover and
bench seat

Another version with padded bench
seat

Tricycle. Note the welded wheel spokes

This is starting to look professional

Not sure I'd like to rent this one

Day 7 - Pattaya

Ripley’s 'Believe it or Not'

Buying tickets from a 'ghoul'

Today we spent the day in Pattaya. The girls went to Ripley’s 'Believe it or Not' which is located in a shopping mall.

It is a strange collection of graphic horror dioramas, unbelievable situations and cheesy arcade effects, but the girls had a lot for fun. A nice touch was the staff were all made up as ghouls.

View of the centre from within Ripleys

Rachel and a 'fake' tourist

Charlotte on the 'Throne of Love'

Meanwhile Frances & I had a 2 hour message - we all felt better afterwards.

We also heard that political events had settled down, that Bangkok airport was open again and flights were almost back to normal. We were scheduled to leave around midnight local time on the 11th December and arrive in Sydney at around 1:30pm (Sydney time) on the 12th - we'd have to confirm before we leave.

That evening we took the girls to Tiffany's, "The Original Transvestite Cabaret Show".

It was a fairly eye-opening experience for the girls who had some difficulty in believing that the beautiful women they were seeing were transvestites.

We all had a great time; the show was fantastic, very professional, and we especially enjoyed the music- lots of disco numbers. After the show, there was an opportunity to be photographed with some of the performers - for a small donation.

Charlotte and Simone in the foyer

Two beauties and the beast

Day 8 - Pattaya, Jomtien

We spent part of the day in Pattaya, sightseeing and shopping, then headed back to Jomtien Beach.

View towards Pattya from Jomtien 

Always some activity along the beach

Local people buying fresh fish

The girls spend so much time at Jomtien beach, they are now well-known to the lady who rents the beach chairs and her extended family, including the guys who run the jet skis and speedboat. They seemed to generate a magnetic attraction to a number of the local teenage boys.

They really enjoyed the independence of being able to walk to the beach themselves, and enjoyed the attention of local hawkers who would ply the beachfront with tasty delicacies and drinks that were relatively cheap.

Of course my favourite newspaper, Pattaya Today had an article about this very issue.

Governor orders deck chair restrictions remain  

RONAKIT Ekasingh, deputy mayor, has informed the media that the new Chonburi governor has endorsed the policy of the retiring one, Pracha Taerat, to reorganize the deck chairs at Pattaya and Jomtien beaches so that at least 50% of the land available is free of obstruction.

There has been an ongoing argument with the deck chair operators who want to space out their concessions to please the tourists, prevent overcrowding and serve snacks and drinks. But the local authority has been ordered by the provincial administration that at least 50% of the space on beaches must be left free for the public who should not be expected to have to clamber over reclining sunbathers and the like.

The deck chair operators had rather hoped that a change of governor might mean a change of heart. Mr Ronakit explained that the committee which originally ordered the new rules had been adamant in intent and the policy must go ahead irrespective of what people might think about it. City hall police have been told to enforce the regulations, so it’s best to prepare for much whistle blowing and minor pandemonium in the weeks ahead, especially on weekends. 

That evening we visited the Night Market which is quite an institution. It mainly caters for locals, providing produce, manufactured good and of course street food.

Animals for pets were very popular, everything from goldfish and rabbits to iguanas, porcupines and exotic parrots.

Pattaya Today

My favourite reading in Thailand was Pattaya Today, the local newspaper chronicling the events in Pattaya and the surrounding area. It was always an interesting read, espessially the sections on local crime. I particularly liked the writing style which lacks some of the 'political correctness' of the media in Australia. The articles below are typical.

Policeman breaks leg in line of duty. 

IN the early hours of October 7, Pattaya Memorial Hospital admitted a brave police officer who was injured in a chase with two suspects who failed to stop at an authorised checkpoint.

Police senior sergeant major Suchart who is based at the box at Thepprasit Road in Jomtien, sustained a broken leg painful injury as he attempted to stop the two suspects who had ran away from a checkpoint on Jomtien Beach Road. Eventually the two men were forced to stop and were sent to Dongtan cop shop on Jomtien beach road.

Khun Chanchai, aged 27, and Khun Marot, aged 26, claimed that they failed to stop at the checkpoint because they were scared of what might happen to them even though they were innocent of any misbehavior. They stated that they had not committed any crimes and inside their bike were tools (not for burglary by the way) and nothing else which could be considered illegal. 

Yet police were able to connect the men to a previous case of bag snatching. After further investigations into the pair, the victim of the earlier crime identified both men later at the police station. Inside the rooms of both men, investigators found two fake guns, 40 mobile phone shells and 42 Buddhist commemorative items. They were arrested and charged with failing to stop when ordered to do so by police and also with theft. Both cases have to be answered before a lofty judge. 

Hugging transvestites face citizen’s arrest
Iranian declined companionship for hire

 Vol. 8 No. 7, 16 - 31 December 2008

AN Iranian tourist captured two meddling cross dressers at the traffic lights area of the South and Second Road intersection, said to be haunt of the creatures of the night. Arriving breathless, police found Mr Mohammad Abadi, aged 47, with the two men in drag under his control. They said they owned a motor bike to make good their escape but this plan had not worked this time. A total of 2,000 baht was found under their bras with small amounts of other currencies dotted around their nooks and crannies.  

At the police station, the man doing the citizen’s arrest said that he was riding a motorbike which stopped at a red signal. One of the transvestites cheekily sat behind him, expressing feelings of love and devotion and wrapping his arms in an attempt to find some loot. Soon, the Iranian realised what was afoot and forced the trannie off the bike. He captured both of them with the help of a Good Samaritan from the public after a short chase.  

The perpetrators said they were not newcomers to this sort of activity, but it was their experience that their ploy worked best when the intended victim was blotto. They added that times were hard at the moment and that they needed cash to buy women’s clothes and methamphetamines to spice up their dreary lives which, to be perfectly frank, were a mess. Both were charged with attempted theft and will be in court soon. 

---