Cruise Boat to Hotel, Two-River Four-Lake Cruise, Guilin, China

7 Star Hotel + 2 Rivers & 4 Lakes

Our carrier was Hong Kong Airline and we arrived Guilin ("Osmanthus Forest" 桂林) about 2PM. We joined Wing On travel agent for this trip.

 A cruise boat (not ship) took us to our hotel. I can't remember if the photo is the actual boat we were on, or something like it.

The riverboat

 

Cruise Boat to Our Hotel

Instead of the usual road transportation in tourist coaches, We boarded a cruise on Li River (Lijiang. 'Jiang' is 'river' in Chinese) heading for our hotel. This is a nice touch, offering a very different perspective, pointing at the motorists on the road, "Those poor suckers stuck on the road! " and laughed. No, i'm not gloating. I'm sympathizing. 

There were many genuine sights where locals carrying on their daily lives, totally oblivious to our presence.

Here's a quentissential fisherman wither his working partners cormmorant. This wasn't done for the benefits of the tourists (although that would be arranged for our benefits in the trip).

Fisherman with cormorants

Angler, unconventional DIY fishing
without  the help of cormorant.
How sad! How brave!

Too many anglers spoil the sport ?

Sydney time, takes me right back home.
But why Sydney?

After an hour of sailing and passing a local beach, we were graced by the city's most famous landmark - the Elephant (Trunk) Hill, which looks like an elephant (with a Mohawk) dipping its snout into the Lijiang. Not a great leap of the imagination, especially if you're a hair stylist.

Elephant Hill

The water level on this part of the Li River was quite shallow, I could spot the beautiful pebbled riverbed quite well. Most locals sail on this Li River on bamboo rafts with bamboo poles, which propels the raft by pushing it against the river bed than using like an oar to push it against the water.

 

Raftsman pushing his raft

Guilin is often covered in mist, but the view in the river bottom is clear. This shallowness produced the most cliché image of the Li River of Guilin - the fisherman on the bamboo raft with or without a file of soldiers of cormorants.

The tour guide told us that during low tide, he has to ask the tour group to get off the boat on shallow section of the river to walk along the river bank in order to lift the boat, and return to the boat in deeper section of the river. It didn't happen today.

The Elephant (Trunk) Hill is a major tourist attraction of the Guilin city where you can get there and walk around and through the cave and touch the elephant trunk and take cliche picture of you inside the hole. Unfortunately, it wasn't on our itinerary, and we could only contend to watch it afar from the river. Our hotel turned out to be less 10 minutes by boat after The Elephant (Trunk) Hill and 5 minutes from the Liberation Bridge, which spans the Li River in the city centre.

Seven Star Hotel

The hotel locates in Qixing ("Seven Stars") district in Guilin city (actually county) and was 5-star by Guilin standard. It would probably only be rated a 3.5 or 4 (i'm in a generous mood) stars by international standard.

Two-Rivers Four-Lakes Cruise

After dinner, we went on the famous Two-Rivers Four-Lakes Cruise. It would be more enjoyable if it was not so hot and humid. I packed only early autumn clothes, not a pair of shorts in sight. What was I thinking? Why not pack a couple of shorts? Not that it will break my bag or back. HK was more hot and humid than Singapore, and Guilin is more so than HK. It was unexpected (for me). As soon as the cruise was over, I went for shopping for a pair of shorts. The hot spells must come rather sudden, the locals was walking topless in pants while holding their shirts. That was a sight not mentioned in the brochure. I may have bought a pair of shades for that purpose.

Live performance in a theatre by the lake

Pagoda by the lake

Banana Crêpe, Fruit Stands, and the Red Light District, Pattaya, Thailand

Pattaya: Party Ya!  Pattaya: Part Two Ya!

Banana Crêpe

Nice to be back. One of the things I missed about Pattaya is the banana crepe. Both Ada and myself love this terrific dessert. Its allure lies in its simplicity. There are other crepes with different fillings like raisin, palm seeds and cashew nuts. But banana is our cup of tea.

Thai banana crepes with a dollop of butter onto the pan

Nearly all done, turning off the pan

Banana slices are wrapped in a flour dough, lightly fried on a flat round iron plate in butter for a few minutes until it browns. Nestlé carnation milk is dripped onto it, and sugar added (which we always insist to skip it - there're enough sugar in the banana and the condensed milk). Fantastic to eat hot off the frying plate. I don't know how many of these stands there are in Pattaya, the one we enjoy run by a middle-aged Thai lady outside a 7-Eleven store (as seen in the photo background) on Second Road not far from where we stayed (Fraser Resort). See google map below for location (from memory). See google map further below.

The following photos show another lady vendor selling the same thing. They're quite popular here for good reason.

This crepe stand locates on Beach Road right across the beach (as seen from the background). But I haven't tried her cooking.

From this photo, she only had banana filling. I think they're the best. I go banana with bananas.

Fruit Stands

Other thing I missed are cockles and especially the rose apples. Sure I can get these in Singapore, but they are about 4.5 times more expensive. More importantly the convenience of getting them. Fruit stands are dotted around Beach Road every 30 metres or so. The fruit are packed neatly in the glass cases on ice, making them impossible to resist especially on sunny days.

Itinerant street vendor selling fruit is busy on a mobile phone
Their business is on wheels, so they tend to move around

Cockles are common in SE Asia cooking. For someone grew up in Vietnam, the memories of eating it would warm the cockles of my heart. Before the Vietnamese brought them into the Cabra markets, you can't find them anywhere in Sydney. Even now, you won't find them on any menu of any restaurants in Sydney (don't know about other states of Australia). Pipis are Sydney's cockles. Pipis are larger but not as tasty as cockles.

Walking Street

The streets are quiet especially before 4 pm when Pattaya just wakes up from its nightlife hangovers. Fraser Resort locates on Pattaya City Walk, close to where all the "actions" are. It's near the southern end of Pattaya Beach, and a stone throw from the Walking Street.

Neon signs on Walking Street,  searing your eyes, fighting for your attention

Gogo bar on Walking Street titillating and assaulting your senses

Open bar stands around Pattaya City Walk area

You'll find that people there refers street names that are different from the google maps' official names
(click to enlarge)

Even in this low season, this area comes alive after 9 pm with neon light blazing, blinking at you alluringly with its bright colourful (but mostly red) eyes. Pattaya City Walk is right next to some odd sounding official street name like Pattaya Soi 13, better known as Pattayaland Soi 1, the gogo bars central (rivalled only by those in Walking Street).

Kitten Club, a gogo bar at Pattayaland Soi 2. Hey what's up pussycat?

A kaleidoscope of dazzling neon light, searing the wide-open eyes

And only two lanes ("soi" in Thai) away is, you've guessed it, Pattayaland 2, and a even smaller lane that runs off Pattayaland Soi 2 is Pattyaland Soi 3 with its other end connects to the gay venue of Boyztown. While gay bars are scattered around this area, Boyztown is the heart.

The arch of a raised eyebrow, beckoning "C'mon boyz..."

Its Boyztown logo suspended high in the sky as if to beckon with an raised eyebrow to the pedestrians walking unsuspectingly on Second Road. Some people refer to the the whole area from Pattayaland Soi 1 to Pattayaland Soi 3 to as Boyztown as gay boy bars are interspersed between girly bars in Pattayaland soi 1 and soi 2. As I walked past these sois, I would be chatted up by all sorts. Girls in cosplay as maids and nurses, and boys. Although I'm only passer-by and had never intended to become their customer, I don't mind it at all as the touts in Pattaya isn't aggressive. In fact, sex workers here are mild mannered and friendly. Perhaps the government tourism agency have had given them a stern talk about aggressive touts that would annoy tourists.

Despite its close proximity to the Pattayaland Sois, Pattaya City Walk is set up as a respectable soi. In Asian countries like Thailand, the respectable and the not-so (or socially so-so) can rub shoulders against one another (Such contrast are less likely , but not unheard of in the West. Back in my hometown of Sydney, Kings cross comes to mind). A wat - Thai Buddhist temple - is located not far from the crepes street vendor, at the corner of all this worldly affair of the flesh. But then, isn't Buddhism about tolerance and compassion?

Opposite Fraser Resort is an open-air restaurant that has traditional Thai dance performance every night, and it's officially opened tonight by Her Highness Princess (The King's daughter-in-law). I'm somewhat disappointed to have missed to grace her presence because of my departure tonight for Bangkok

That's how Pattaya mixes - the very healthy banana crêpe (can sound pervert if your head is in the gutter) and fruit stands mixing with the red light district, and the respectable traditional Thai dances. Everything goes.

Wat Phra Yai + Wang Sam Sien, Pattaya, Thailand

I mentioned in my 2 articles "Sawasdee Pattaya" and "The Russians are Coming! The Red Shirts are Coming!" that Pattaya started life as a red-light district but have grown into a decent size Thai city with everything that a typical Thai city would have, including the ubiquitous Thai wats (Thailand is the Land of the Temple. No, "Thai" ≠ "Temple"). 

There's Wat Chai Mongkol locates about 150m from the Walking Street on South Pattaya Road, but this is a local wat for Thai worshippers. We visited a more touristy temple Wat Phra (Khao) Yai because of the location. During religious ceremonies, you will see more locals, who come to worship. Other times, tourists far outnumber locals.

While this wasn't the most impressive wat in Thailand, but it does sit atop Pratamak Hill with nice aerial view of the Pattaya city and the sea.  The gilded Big Buddha sits (in lotus posture) at the peak of the hill. This Buddha is the biggest in this province of Chonburi.

Staircase leading towards the Big Buddha franked by a pair of dragons running down the handrails

From the mouths of the dragons out comes a pair of 7 headed nagas (serpents) This buddha statue is modelled after the artistic style of the Sukhothai period, which the Buddha is depicted with a grin instead of a faint smile

Buddha statue at Wat Si Chum in  Sukhothai province It's no Mona Lisa's smile

Figurines of deified King Rama V (aka the Great) Chulalongkorn offered by Thai worshippers
The cult of personality that led him to be worshipped as divine figure, which is enjoyed
by no other Thai kings. His reign was the longest (42 years, hence Great)

Various food, flower and figurines of Thai dancers, elephants as offering to spirits

As we climbed the hill to reach to the top to Wat Phra Yai, we unexpectedly greeted by a Chinese "cultural park" half way up the hill opposite Wat Phra Yai. This is the Wang Sam Sien (王三仙 = "Wang Three Immortals"). This park houses various Chinese religious iconography, cultural and historical statues. It's like a surprise free Chinese gift (yes, the admission was free during my visit).

Entrance to Wang Sam Sien

Left side-kick Longnu (龍女 Dragon Girl)

Guanyin is franked by 2 kids or acolytes. Everyone needs companies, even if they're kids.

Right side-kick Red Boy (紅孩兒)

Diorama from a scene in a popular Chinese classic Journey to the West
From left to right: Monkey, Tripitaka (Trippy), Pigsy and Sandy.
Sorry, White Dragon. That's the Horse. He, too, is Tripitaka's disciple. One tends to overlook
him because he looks like a normal horse, normally.

Panel showing Dragon and Phoenix: auspicious couple symbols,
generally seen in traditional Chinese wedding (groom = dragon, and bride = phoenix)

Diorama showing a scene from another Chinese classic: Romance of the 3 Kingdoms.
From left to right: Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei

There's another place - also free admission - that you can get an aerial view of Pattaya city. Central Festival is the largest shopping mall in Pattaya, go to the top level and the balcony of the seaside to get a nice view.

Following are views seen from the balcony of this shopping mall.

The Pattaya Beach is on the left of the photo, followed by the Walking Street, which 

ends around the Bali Hai Pier in the middle of the photo 

(the green roofed traditional Thai building)

(click to enlarge)

Jet Skiing fun

First Impression of Pattaya

Long Time No See.   Love You Long Time.

I had been to Pattaya once in my younger days in the 1980s.  After a 1.5 hours, the various shops' signages told me that we were in Pattaya. My first impression was....holy cow!!!

Sahassadeja (Guardian giant )
at the Bangkok airport

My vague memory of the trip that I took with Darren 25 or so years ago told me that Pattaya was a sleepy fishing town with rustic cottages that was invaded by a red-light district, and a small scatterings of 3 to 4 stars hotels fringed along the beach that made up Pattaya.

Either my memories played tricks on me or Pattaya's growth have exploded in the last 25 years. I think it's a bit of both, with the latter being playing a larger part.

I guess things do change a lot in 25 years, but Pattaya is now resembling more like a bustling town (or even city) than a red-light district next to a beach. There was not a trace of what I can recall left (I meant the fishing cottages, not the sex industry. That grew in size (let's get our mind out of the gutter).

The fishing cottages are replaced by mega malls. I think the fishermen who were here still here, but instead of catching fishes, they now catch tourist dollars. Upwardly mobile. Pattaya has become so big that the ASEAN Summit will be held there next week with leaders from countries like China and Japan will be there. It's no longer just a red-light district, but a tourist destination for the whole family, and you do see them here.

I told David, an Aussie expat who worked in Pattaya, how heavy was the censorship on Thai TV. Many images were being blurred on the screen: anything from a knife, naughty bits, obscene gestures, gun and even cigarettes. Thai TV audience needs lots of imagination to understand its content. I told him this heavy handed censorship is in line with Thailand being a traditional Buddhist society.

After hearing that, he commented what a schizophrenic society Thailand is. I understand where he came from considering that he was working in a red-light district that would make Amsterdam's counterpart blushed. The contrast between Pattaya and its very traditional values pretty extreme.

I told him that Pattaya was no more weird than Kings Cross. He looked at me with the incredulous expression like I just told him that Aussies came from Mars. For those who don't know, Kings Cross is Sydney's red-light district. I didn't mean Kings Cross is a stark contrast with Australian culture, just its geographical surrounding.

Why is there a red-light district in Kings Cross, which is smacked bang in the middle of surrounding dandy neighbours of Potts Points and Elizabeth Bay? The whole area around Kings Cross are upmarket, upper middle income eastern bay areas. You don't usually see a red-light district in such suburb. For one thing, the rents in these areas are typically high.

USS Kitty Hawk docked at the Garden Island, Sydney in July 2007

Kings Cross is only a walking distance from Garden Island where the US navy docked its aircraft carrier while its crew cruises down to Kings Cross for some red hot R&R. Like The Village People (not the Pattaya villagers. Ok, maybe) would sing, "you can't stop the sailors..." Oops music...(Yeah I suspect Village People is popular in Pattaya).

All this was created by the US navy during the Vietnam War when the sailors popped down there for R & R. As a side note, I bet large percentages of Asian (and Australian. Ok, the world's) red-light districts are probably single handedly created by US Navy in the 20th century.

As it turned out that the fast pace of growth of Pattaya wasn't due entirely of tourism (now much more than just sex industry), but Thai government conscious effort to expand it, at least in recent decades. That have also added a growing population of Western expats, whom could easily be mistaken as tourists. Their 'natural tan', as supposed to three-days lobster tan, should be a dead giveaway.

Is this farang trying to get some extra attention?

But if you look closely, its vestiges of fishing life could still be found plying their trades alongside with international tourism.

Fisherman does it with good old-fashioned elbow grease

Of course, with the explosive growth of Pattaya, it isn't just the farang tourists and expats who contributed to the breakneck population pace of growth. Most Thai you meet here would likely be born somewhere else in Thailand.

In the West, if you have extra members come into the family, add a house extension
In Thailand, add a side trolley to your motorbike

Pattaya never sleeps

Ronald McDonald greets customers with a Thai wai (palms together with a light bow)