Day 7 (Sunday)

Today we drove from the western side of the gulf of thailand over to the eastern side (near Cambodia). We drove to Chanthaburi to see the gemstone market. Read about it here: http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/gem-market.php

That is where I went to buy gemstones. Sorry no photos. Greg was too much in shock while I was sitting at the little table buying them to think to take photos. Julie was eagerly watching, but didn't buy any. Anyway, Greg is still in shock.....I now have enough blue topaz to encrust a crown, plus yellow sapphire, pink sapphire, garnet.......etc. Just don't ask.....

I don't think Greg will ever let me come to Thailand again.

And, I'm really glad I spent the previous night checking prices on ebay before showing up to buy.

So then, we headed up to Pattaya (about 2 hours back towards Bangkok along the coast). Pattaya looks a lot like Miami's South Beach. It does have one difference, in that the main tourist draw here is apparently not the beach itself. OK, I'm gonna try and explain this keeping in mind that this is a blog accessed by many at work.......there are lots of 40-60 year old overweight european guys here without their wives. That's all I'm gonna say. You guys can all google it if you want (although I wouldn't advise it from work). Needless to say we are only staying one more night, and Greg is not allowed outside the hotel without Julie or I escorting him.