After a two-hour ride from Bangkok, we have arrived on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast to a place called Pattaya. 

Pattaya is a tourist destination attracting folks from all over the world, but notably from Great Britain, Australia and Eastern Europe, because the weather is hot all-year-around and the cost of living is very cheap. The sandy beaches are lined with resort hotels and high-rise apartment blocks and the water is clear and warm.

Once a fishing village, Pattaya began to experience tourism during the Vietnam War when American GIs started arriving on rest and relaxation leave. Indeed, Mike was last here in 1974 when he was in the Navy and the American military was using the U-Tapao Royal Thai navy airfield nearby as a base to bomb Vietnam.