Yeah, I know.....but I just gotta post it.....

The beachwalk along the Gulf of Siam is about three miles long and I try to walk one to two hours every evening and one particular stretch is called the "Walking Mile" and in it, you can find just about anything. The streets are full of vendors, bars, sex shows, Thai boxing matches, and you can imagine the array of people you find there.

Pattaya was a major rest and recreation spot for the U.S. Army and Navy during the Vietnam War and after the war ended and the military pulled out the town fell into hard times. To survive, they retooled the sex industry and for many years they were the tourist center for gay cruises and tours and, as the economy improved, the area expanded even further into wierdness. Today, the "Walking Mile" features streetwalkers, hookers, homosexuals, and even she-males. It's safe though, cause the Thais being the polite people they are, nobody bothers anybody else but it is a visual zoo to walk through. I came across the Lewenski Bar and couldn't help but take a picture. I'm sure you'll never find Hilary hanging around there.

Art plays a big role in daily life in Thailand. Even the busses are moving canvasses. This is also the 60th anniversary of the king's reign here--he's the longest reigning monarch in the world--and his and the queen's pictures are posted everywhere as he is almost universally admired by the Thais.

Tomorrow night (Friday) is my last night in Thailand and I really hate to leave but I'm also anxious to see what China will be like. I may or may not post tomorrow and if not, it will be early next week when I post from Beijing.

And if not, here's another delightfully tacky bar sign from Pattaya......

At least tomorrow you can go to work and tell people you know somebody who has "been there but ain't done that......"