Pattaya

A beach town notorious for ping pong shows, strip clubs and old Western men picking up young, beautiful Thai girls, Pattaya is a lewd, crazy, uncompromising kind of place. I've been going there since I was six so have an odd attachment to the place, which most other travellers don't seem to understand.

The pictures are of a plane sticking out of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, the view from the Bangkok bus, a strip of seedy bars, and a collection of dancing troupe outfits (most likely for the large contingency of ladyboys that reside in this area of Thailand) at the local market.

Bangkok

One of my favourite things about Bangkok is how colourful it is. From vibrantly hued cocktails to the nighttime city lights to the magenta pink of the official taxi cabs to the sun drenched ongoing construction work, this city is heady with vivacity and excitement. I loved every minute of being there.

South Thailand Snaps

Canoeing in a lagoon, a cavernous beach, a boat on the sea, contrasting colours of water and rocks, and a crab camouflaged against a rocky crag.

I love how sun-drenched Thailand is.

Vacation

Even though I've been gibbering on about Japan for ages, I've just booked a month-long trip to Thailand and Vietnam in January.  Japan is freezing after Christmas so I've taken an executive decision to get some winter sun in South East Asia instead.  

My Thailand trip will be covering old ground but Vietnam is going to be a new experience.  If anyone has any tips, let me know.  I'm flying into Hanoi and leaving from Ho Chi Minh City, and have sixteen days to spend in various places in between.  

A friend took the pictures while we were on the Thai islands in 2010.  They were taken on and around Koh Phangan, Koh Phi Phi, Ton Sai, Reilly beach, Koh Lanta and Koh Tao.

Seven Days

In the last week I've been mostly playing outside in the sun, continuously humming 'Bruises' by Chairlift ("I've got grass stains on my knees for you, and holes in my new jeans for you"), finding old pictures I took of Pai in Thailand, watching David Dutton's 'Do You Know South Korea?' over and over with excitement and trepidation, coming across random new graffiti in Cardiff, and remembering the 2010 Student Protests by watching VBS' Teenage Riot.