The Sanctuary of Truth

Pattaya, Thailand

3 days after landing in Thailand our jet lag fully kicked in, though i feel our unorthodox approach to 'resting' on the first night had its role to play in our slow recovery... Anyway after sussing our way round the different colourful  areas in Pattaya we decided to take in some of the historical sights yesterday, 'The Sanctuary of Truth'. The sanctuary is an all wood building filled with sculptures based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu motifs. http://www.sanctuaryoftruth.com

It really was a magnificent building inside and out...

Apparently it is disrespectful for women to bare their knees around/within the Sanctuary, hence the 'fetching' patterned sarongs donned by Karen and I in the above photo.

Surprisingly not the cover of The Village People's comeback album but the two of us fashioning hard hats due to the ongoing building work within the Sanctuary, the initial concept for the building was had by a Thai businessman in 1981 and is scheduled to be complete by 2025...

After a productive day we took a Baht bus to the Central Festival shopping mall for a browse and more importantly to avail of their state of the art air con system... That night we joined up with Dennis and Declan again to enjoy some Thai street food (rice noodles/pork) a few drinks and a bit of craic...All in all a good day :)

Also a big Happy Birthday from Thailand to Amy Baker who turns 15 today!!!

Wake me up before you GoGo...

Sawatdee-kah beeches... Sooo after the slight gender confusion at the airport we travelled one hour to Pattaya and checked into the Metro Apartments. After 24hrs of travel it was time to get some shut eye... https://www.metro-apartments-pattaya.com  

That evening we met Dennis an old pal of Dads who owns the Metro and his son Declan... After some authentic Thai cuisine, Declan and his mate Michael were instructed to introduce us to the night life in Pattaya... Declan said he would ease us into the choice selection of GoGo bars, i soon found out that a GoGo bar wasn't a place that people were frantically moving about as the name would suggest but more so that  the gals danced around in a relaxed manor with ahem *cough* NOTHING ON!!! 5 'Singha', a few vods later and a bucket of ping pong balls, we had officially experienced the Thai nightlife circle... Now knowing what a lady drink and a bar fine is, i feel that i am a more rounded person...

The boys took us to the Jester Fair an annual charity fair today, unfortunately a v hungover Eliza & Karen couldn't absorb all that was on offer but we tried our best...

 followed by an epic FAIL...

After a nap, a nice meal and an exciting All Ireland Hurling Final i began to feel like myself again... Thank God!

A chilled cocktail on the roof top horizon bar of the Hilton over looking the city was a nice way to end our 'challenging' day. I wonder what stories tomorrow will bring...

Leaving on a jet plane...

Pattaya, Thailand, 6.20am

Well after 8 years of spoofing i've finally did it, i'm in Thailand on the first leg of my travels... I can't understand why nobody concerns you with the trauma of leaving your loved ones behind, i'm not over exaggerating when i say my heart broke a little when leaving my family and Tobey at the front door on the Redbridge Road at 6am Fri 7th Sept...

15hrs later via Dublin-Amsterdam-Bangkok / 1hr drive to Pattaya i'm finally here... Long haul flights (11hrs) are not overly pleasant but we got through it, with an eye mask, Tetris, various dodge movies and a small degree of gurning (not like me at all...) we touched down in Bangkok Airport at 6am local time, thank you China Airlines ughhhh...

God i felt fresh stepping off that plane - NOT! After Passport Control / verifying our visas / collecting our baggage successfully, we set out on the hunt for our Thai driver that was suppose to collect us and take us to our hotel in Pattaya that my father's friend owned, as we neared closer to a sign that read 'Mr E Downey' my jet lagged anxiety increased - what exactly was going on... - (to be continued....) ED

Going somewhere?!

Rathfriland, Co. Down

 

Last day at home - packing, repacking, rolling, rerolling clothes, charging, recharging, checking, rechecking - Obsessive-compulsive much?! Even though the mantelpiece is covered in cards reading Bon Voyage and Good Luck it still hasn't sunk in yet, i'm leaving?! ED