So after much anticipation and keeping myself updated on the situations in Bangkok by reading Bangkok Post online (every single day!)..the day of my travel finally came. My original 3pm MAS's flight was cancelled due to "technical problem"..well that was the reason given by them when in fact i know very well that having less than 20 people for a flight would be more of "financial problem" to them. Thus, all of us who were originally destined to fly at 3pm were transferred to a much later flight of 5.50pm. Mind you, i was having a short PMS at that moment as my friend T was supposed to fetch me at the airport and i have difficulties in informing him of my flight cancellation..fingers crossed..i sent multiple SMS and hoped that anyone of it would eventually reach him..and it did at the end....
Enough of the flight fiasco, finally i reached Bangkok airport around 7.30 pm local time and fortunately my dear T was patiently waiting for 2 hours for my arrivals. He told me later that my SMS of the cancellation reached him when he had already left the house around 5pm...gosh..i felt so sorry for him..we stayed at the Montien Riverside, a very nice hotel located at the bank's of Chao Phraya (will blog about this later)
Excited and happy (as i finally got to meet T after awhile-missing him so much) off we went for our journey to Pattaya on a Friday morning. Due to the coming weekend, traffic on that day was quite heavy with fellow Bangkokians fleeing the city to spend their weekends in Pattaya..not to mention most of the tourists who feel safer being outside of Bangkok...
T on the steering..a very well mannered and patience driver...unlike me..haha..i told him i would have honk all the way to Pattaya with the kind of traffic you found in Bangkok...
pile up of cars heading to Pattaya...
we arrived in Pattaya around 2pm and was met with heavy traffic in the city centre...
We stayed in Baboona Beachfront Hotel (a very nice cozy hotel located opposite Jomtien beach-will blog later)
First day in Pattaya was spent with walking by the seaside and window shop and watching movie at the nearby Central Shopping Mall. This shopping mall is so nice as the entrance/exit leads directly to the beach and its food centre has an open air balcony where you can enjoy your food with a seaview.
Our journey to Koh Larn started (quite) early around 10am to avoid the afternoon heat (and rush). We left the car at the front of the hotel (as parking was limited and once you've parked your car, it's better not to move it again) and took the public transport instead to the jetty. The journey merely took around 5 minutes. Once arrived at the jetty, you can choose either to take the speed boat (which would costs around THB 2000 per boat-if im not mistaken) or the normal ferry with a dirt-cheap charge of THB 30 only for the 30 minutes trip.We opted for the later,obviously..
after a mind-boggling boat ride we finally arrived at the jetty and the scenery just captivated me as the sea is very2 clean and you can clearly see the corals and the fishes in a preserved and undisturbed condition. T informed me that there's actually another jetty at the other end of the island so if ever you arrive at a different location from the above..dont panic..you are safe :)
We were greeted with rows of stalls selling souvenirs and foods...
to travel around the island, it is advisable that you hire a motor bike as i believe the roads in the island are not catered to cars or other heavy vehicle as they are almost non-existent!..no wonder the island can be maintained in a pristine condition....
there are several beaches that we actually visited and each of it is clean and well kept...the water is crystal clear and comparable to the ones that you may find in Phuket...here are sceneries pics that i took of this beautiful island..dont miss the temples and wats as there are few which are interesting and must be seen (though getting to these places do require strong knees and leg muscles!)
this is the highest and the hardest climb ive ever made..ive to make few stops and asked T to go first (as he wanted to pray at the temple for good luck-its his birthday anyway)..but the view from the top was magnificent...
Koh Larn is a hidden gem less-known by many. If i don't have T introducing me to this island.. ill still be kept in the dark of it. Next time you are planning to go to Pattaya, make sure Koh Larn is part of your itinerary.Further info can be found in the following site..enjoy!
http://www.kohlarn.com/
Now for my first food review. I've sampled few buffets in other hotels before but did'nt quite plan to do any review until this opportunity came where my sister (who's living overseas) came back to Malaysia and wanted to have a get together with all the members of the family at Nikko Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Our treat of the day is to have the Nikko Hi-Tea buffet which starts at around 12pm to 5pm and costs around RM77+ per person.
