Floating Market/Pattaya

My sister, Valerie, and her bf Joe are also in Thailand for a few more days so I'll be hanging out with them til they leave. They wanted to see the Floating Market and go to a beach city, they went with my mom's choice of Pattaya cause of their time limitations... I will be going to the Floating Market with Sherena and Chris later in my trip so I didn't really want to go but I also didn't mind

Breakfast

Mangosteens, fruit of the gods... Well they should be... They're not exactly in season so they're a bit pricier than usual but still delicious as in season ones. They're only grown in tropical climates, I could never find them in the states when I was younger but now they're available frozen (very inferior product), or fresh (very very expensive)... I also found out they're grown in Central America as well

I don't know how to describe the taste but the texture is similar to canned pineapples, the smaller segments can be eaten whole, while the larger segments have seeds that have to be spit out. This is my favorite fruit ever so I eat them while I can

The name of the fried goodness translates to quail eggs.. They are the size of ping pong balls, they taste like sesame paste donuts... Similar to the ones you get at dim sum but the texture is different. I probably ate a million of these as a kid so it was nice to find them and share them with my sister and Joe

Damneon Saduak Floating Market

Probably the most famous floating market in Thailand... It's the one that gets photgraphed the most and credited with the infamous Boat Noodles. Back in its hey days it was jam packed with locals, boats, and tourists... Now it's dwindling but still making it work

From Bangkok it's almost a 2 hour drive and the earlier you get there the better, things start shutting down around 2! On this ocassion Na Taew and her husband Na Moo drove us so we had a ride, but later in my trip I had to book a tour cause we won't have a ride there otherwise

We hired a covered motor boat for an hour for 600B (Thai price, seriously.. I can't guarantee you'll get the same deal)... That's $18.44

The boat driver takes you between the canals and you see many different vendors, if you want to stop and look at something you just holler at the driver and he'll pull over for you... And literally holler cause they won't hear you over the motor

My sister showing off her battery powered hand fan Xmas gift (Brookstone)

Packing for Pattaya

We're going for 2 nights and I knew we were going to the floating market first so I dressed accordingly so that I could reuse what I was wearing

Packing list

1 Shorts

2 tank tops

1 dress

Undergarments

1 PJ set

1 bathing suit

Charging cords

Beach bag

Sublock

Aloe Vera

Cosmetics/toiletries

iPad 

Flip flops

I wore the shorts, one of the tanks tops, undergarments and the flip flops to the floating market

Joe is a double quadruple platinum Marriott rewards member (or something like that) and he used some points to book our stay in Pattaya... It's a very nice hotel and had nice amenities

Towel art

When we were younger we used to go to Pattaya a lot and we always enjoyed an extravagant show called Tiffany's Show... It's very famous and many tours book it as part of their itinerary

It's a very beautiful and theatrical show and they DO NOT allow photographs! They will run over and shine a MagLite in your face if they see you pull out a camera/phone/iPad/tablet!

Once the show is over, the performers will go outside so that you may take pictures with them.. Many tourists do... Even though it costs 200B ($6.15) per performer, it was worth it for them...they're beautiful performers... They're also all trannies! Yup you read correctly... All these beautiful women were actually once men

Aren't they beautiful?! When you watch the show you have to keep reminding yourself that they're not all natural and then you start to feel ashamed for yourself and yet proud of them at the same time... Does my gym membership work in Thailand? Hahaha... 

If you ever make it out to Pattaya, I recommend going to see this show (and the one we see the next night)... Just don't eat before you go, you'll feel better

If you go on your own, ticket prices range between $13-25 depending on seats and exchange rate. If you go with a tour the prices are included in the itinerary 

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