This is only the second time it has rained where I am since I have been in Thailand. I've been here almost a month now. The first downpour was the first morning I spent in Bangkok. It lasted about an hour and came around 7 or 8 in the morning. Today, I arrived in Pattaya, Thailand by bus. It started to sprinkle a little bit as I was walking looking for my hostel. Once unpacked, I headed out the door to see where I was. It was raining. Not a downpour, but a slow, steady rain.

I abandoned my plans to walk through the town and instead stopped at the corner to get a bowl of soup . It was noodle soup with boiled chicken and some sort of sprouts and other vegetables in it. Very good. 25 baht (85 cents). It was served with a salad and some sort of sprouts, which were very good, several leafs of lettuce and something that looked like little branches with leaves from a small bush, complete with something that looked like little buds ready to flower. I ate the sprouts and soup. It's very filling and tasty.

I left Bangkok this morning on the bus, complete with too-cold air conditioning. (I had my jacket). It was a 2 hour trip and very pleasant. I enjoyed the scenery coming into this part of Thailand. The two hour trip cost $4.67 in american money. It was a nice bus compared to others I have taken. It is the VIP bus. It had assigned seats.

While waiting to board, I talked with a gentleman from Germany, Eone, who was going to the same town. We talked and took pictures by the bus. I would liked to have sat next to him on the trip, but with assigned seating, it did not happen .

On the trip on the interstate we passed though a toll booth. So, they have those horrible things here too. I saw a car that had flipped over and was laying upside down on it's top on the interstate. People were there taking care of it, but did not impede traffic. In the U.S. they would have blocked three out of four lanes and had traffic backed up for miles. Also, I saw later some highway workers replacing some wiring or something on the concrete medium separating the lanes. They didn't have any cones set out backing up traffic, but were just working in the shoulder part of the lane doing their work.

Let me go back a few days to when I arrived back at the hostel in Bangkok from Ayutthaya.
I met another backpacker. He is from Wisconsin. I have only met 3 or 4 people from America on my journey so far. His name is Beau Danger. That is his first and middle name. He keeps a blog and I thought it might be his pen name . I think it is the coolest name I remember hearing. He is in his late twenties and has been backpacking for several years. He has a very charismatic personality and we seem to hit if off right away.

We talked travel and I picked up a lot of information from him. He left Bangkok one day ahead of me. We went to breakfast before he left and exchanged e-mail addresses. I received an e-mail from him by the time I arrived in Pattaya. He will be going to Cambodia for the Kings' funeral. The Cambodians have built a large, new temple to cremate the King in. Once the ceremony is finished the new temple will be burned with the Kings body inside. Meeting guys like Beau Danger is what makes this adventure a success.

Now, back to the present. I arrive in Pattaya and get a truck taxi (I find out they are called songthaew, or baht bus by the locals) to take me to my hostel for 50 bahts. ($1.68). Try getting a taxi for that in the U .S. The back of the songthaew is full so he puts me and my backpack in the passenger seat beside him. Once we are on our way, I show him the address of the hostel. It's written in english. "Don't know, don't know", he says. Where is he taking me then?

He drives all over town, letting people out of the back. Much of it is by the sea. I enjoy looking at the beach with the parasailing and speed boats, jet skis and all else going on. It is a pretty sight but very crowded. I will come back later.

Soon he gets to a place and pulls over. "Soi, Soi", he says. This is my soi, but not my hostel. He points down the soi and I get out and start walking, looking for my hostel. Up and down the street, asking lots of people. No one really knows the hostel, but all try to help. Most cannot understand english. I show them my written address and some point and others shake their heads they donot understand. One motorbike taxi guy says it is 2km away . I don't believe him. It should be right here on this soi. I walk up the street and ask another motorbike taxi guy. He says I am on the soi and it must be close. It is the end of the soi, though, so I backtrack. I pass the motorbike guy. I know he was trying to scam me. Then, finally, I stop in a convience store and she says it is on a side street, a new part of this soi. I find it on the side street just off the Soi the songthaew driver sent me down. The people I asked were all on this short soi (street) and they all tried to help but didn't know where it was. It's so dense here with buildings and people many can't ever keep up with what is around them.

It's a nice place. The room is private with a private bath. It has a refrigerator and T.V. This is a first for both of these since leaving home. I have not watched the news online or T.V. since leaving. I have not missed the T.V. Traveling is so much more exciting. Most channels are in thai, but I get a couple of news channels in english . I find out how the stock market has been behaving but nothing else in the U.S. seems to be much different. The politicians are still playing their games. There is also a small safe in the room to lock my important things in (like passport) when I leave the room.

A little background on the city of Pattaya. After all, travel is about learning. (Read carefully, there may be a test when I get back).

Pattaya is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. It is very popular with tourists and retirees from other countries. It's a beach resort located about 165km (102.5 miles) southeast of Bangkok.

Until about 1960 it was just a small fishing village. Then, the Americans arrived! The war in Vietnam was on and the military men began to come here for their rest and relaxation (R&R). Pattaya developed into a beach resort that now brings in over 4 million visitors a year.

As of 2007, the population was recorded at 104,318 . The people that work in the city but remain registered in their home town are not counted. The long term expatriates are not counted either. Estimates put the actual number of people in the city at any given time between 300,000 and 500,000, depending on the season.

Many citizens from other countries retire here because of the exotic flavor of the place. It is an easy going lifestyle and the cost of living is much lower than in many counties. This helps those on fixed incomes to live better on their pensions and savings, or maybe just social security if from the U.S. Thailand even has a special visa program to help those over 50 retire here.

When I was coming to the hostel on the songthaew, I saw a big archway sign that said, "The Walking Street". I told the hostel owner that I wanted to go back and find it. He asked why? Because it's Walking Street and I like to walk. Then he told me it was just a lot of cheap street market stuff and lots of bars . He didn't think I would find it worth my while. So, I guess I won't walk down Walking Street.

There is a lot of sex trade in Thailand and here in this city as well. Everything looks normal to me, but as I start walking around, I do see lots of bars wedged in-between other shops and stores. A bar can be right next to a 7/11 store or clothing store or anything. Last night walking around, I saw a family living in one of the store fronts. The large plate glass windows were not covered with curtains. Everyone walking down the busy street could see them watching t.v, reading the paper or whatever they were doing. They didn't seem to mind. They had a couple of kids playing. The buildings are joined by common walls and each business only has a narrow front to the street. Things are so compact here it is unbelievable. Prostitution is illegal here, but it is allowed.

I am not traveling to judge. This is not my country. I came to see and learn . I feel safe here, even late at night, and the people are always ready to help if you need it. You can walk the streets in the early morning hours (after midnight) and it is almost as active as during the day.

I picked up a few snacks from the little corner store. One was a green package. When I opened it and started eating it, it tasted just like the minnows in a bucket smell. Not bad, just different. I looked at the package after I started eating it, and there was a picture of some kind of fish. Should that have tipped me off, if I had just looked at it?

I also got a small package with pictures of peanuts in the shell (all of the package was in Thai). These are the smallest peanuts in the shell I have every seen. They are about the size of a dime, shell and all. They are good. They don't taste raw, boiled, roasted or salted. Just peanuts.

This is such a different world. I cannot possible have time to explore and learn it all.