March 19, 2019

Today we departed for Pattaya, which is a city along the Gulf of Thailand. Our drive today would take roughly 4 hours, including stops to get to our next hotel.

We knew there wasn’t too much on the agenda for today. We stopped to have lunch near our hotel and then we headed to the Gem Factory. This was something I had been looking forward to because I love collecting rings while I am traveling.

We stopped at Gem Gallery Pattaya – the World’s Biggest Jewelry Store. I haven’t actually looked this up, but I can assure you the store was rather large.

It actually had a ride! It reminded me a little bit of Disneyland – some others in our group made the joke that it reminded them of “It’s a Small World,” but anyone who spends anytime at Disneyland could tell you that it was more like Snow White because you were in a car vs. a boat…. And come on! The Seven Dwarves are mining for gems! (I think my joke was lost on some of them, ha!)

The ride took you through a journey explaining how gems are made, mined, and created. I didn’t really learn anything new – and I can safely safe that it was outdated (imagine early 1990s) and was at a child’s learning level. As soon as we got off the ride we were greeted by about 12 salespeople just waiting for us to complete the ride. One gal immediately came up to me and asked me what my birthstone was – and I told her sapphire. I realized later that she was only guiding me to sapphires because of this. However, even with our 30% discount the jewelry prices still cost what I imagine they would cost in the USA. Most of us didn’t bother purchasing anything.

Regardless, it was still very neat to see such a large store. As soon as we left the jewelry store we were able to check in. The nice thing about traveling with a tour group is that everything is ready when you get there. I mean, we walked in and Yui was already getting the keys for our rooms. (The lobby was full of other people who were waiting to check in on their own).

Andy and I immediately went to our room – changed into our swim suits and went straight to the beach. Since it was the afternoon, some of the people who had been out there since the morning had already gone in for lunch or maybe a nap so some chairs were available.

I got my favorite drink that I love to get when traveling – a coconut with rum in it. Yum! We sat on the beach for a bit and then went in to the Gulf.

It was so warm! I just love being near a body of water that has such warm water that you can dive into. We hung out there for a bit and then went back to our room to freshen up for dinner and the Cabaret show.

Quite a few people from the group went to this event – and we were all able to have dinner together. It was primarily a seafood place, but I opted for a salad and pasta instead. (The fish looked questionable and others reported back that it wasn’t that good). We still had a good time.

We got to the theatre where the Cabaret show was playing – and got there just as it was starting. Something you need to know about this show is that it is kid friendly, and all of the performers are men – dressed as women. Or as Yui likes to call them – Lady Boys. 100% of them!

And wow, were they beautiful! Their outfits were amazing – the stages were beautiful.

We had a great time! And that concluded our last full day in Thailand!