Mark at Jomtien Beach at Sunset

Mark and Mom in Pattaya-Jomtien Beach Thailand

I (Mark's mom)arrived in Thailand at 1:30 am. Mark had sent a driver (Mr. A.) for me. The plane was late but Mr. A waited and he recognized me right away. After sleeping on the plane and on the ride from Bangkok to Jomtien Beach, I was up and ready to go the next day. I am staying at Angel's guest House on Chiaprauk Road and Mark has a one bedroom condo a mile or two down the same road. Mark had been saying he was putting on weight and indeed he had put on some, but of course he is still not very pom puey (fat). everyone remarks about how handsome he is.

The movie is off. The proposed cast was very "wiggly", coming and going and not available for critical times and some prospective cast members thinking this movie was going to gross millions and wanting to be paid accordingly. Here movies have to be approved by the Thai govt. but that didn't seem to be any problem. The real problem was getting a working cast committed to the project.

So far our adventures have been confined to Pattaya-Jomtien with one foray out to the Silver Lake Winery and gardens which is very beautiful. There is a gorgeous lake viewed from the abundant flower gardens. Across the lake there is a windmill that looks like a scene from Holland.The vineyards are beautiful.

We also went to the turtle conservatory at the Sattahip Naval Base. Our driver and guide was a Navy Marine. Apparently you can be a marine in the Navy. There is a submarine on the navy base. Farang (foreigners) can see the outside but are not allowed inside the submarine. There were many many turtles at the conservatory from very small to very big ones. At one point we were driving along the coast on the navy base and came to a barricade. Our guide got out to talk to the guards and later told us, we could not go on that road as the Thai prince was staying somewhere on a nearby hilltop at the navy base.

Mark and I made one Rotary meeting at the Cliffs Hotel Complex where the Rotary Club has their own dedicated room. When the hotel was built, one room was created especially for Rotary. It is a round room with the Rotary flags displayed all around the room. When the meeting begins, we face a picture of the king, not the flag and the national anthem is played. The food is good. We had duck and red curry. Each person orders what they want from an extensive hotel menu. The speaker talked about an orphanage he has created in the north of Thailand. Like Mexico, children are not necessarily orphans. Families send them to the orphanage if they can not afford to feed and care for them. The children can stay as long as they stay in school and are encouraged to finish high school.

We had a picnic with friends on the beach last Monday night This was an official Budha holiday. The weekend was a three day holiday and was packed until Mon. night when a lot of people had returned home to go to work Tuesday.

I am thinking about going to Hua Hin for a few days. This is a city on the coast and it is the location of one of the palaces of the royals. The king and queen used to spend a lot of time in Hua Hin as well as in Chang Mai where there is another royal resident. Years ago they would go in motorcades out from Hua Hin to meet with the farm families and the king would drive his own car. They would stop wherever people had gathered on the road. The king and queen were very concerned about the welfare of the people. I read that they also loved animals and would stop for any domestic or wild animal and once stopped to let a pair of cobras cross the road.

It is very hot here. I change clothes 3-4 times a day. I wash my clothes in the sink and hang them on the balcony. I walk one hour in the morning and am drenched when I return to my room. There is a lovely breeze off the gulf of Thailand which helps a lot.



Mark and Mom