What started as a small mistake quickly became a signature characteristic of Ultimate Thailand Explorers Ben and Brian. In our application video we mispronounced the city we were applying too. It was made clear to us on several occasions. And each time we tried to correct ourselves, it got worse.

It’s tough trying to guess how to pronounce something you’ve never heard before. Where does the accent do? Are the vowels hard or soft? Eventually we got it and when we did, I put it out on twitter. That’s what today’s post is all about.

Don’t forget to become a fan of adventureswithben.com on Facebook here.

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Hey Explorers,

We are taking a road trip this weekend to South Florida for a softball tournament that Brian is playing in. Thanks to technology, we’re blogging on the road from our phones!

We have about a 3-hour drive to the city of Ft. Lauderdale, so to pass the time we’ve been learning to speak Thai. We’ll share a YouTube video with our progress later this weekend as soon as we can upload our camera and laptop to the Internet.

Speaking of learning to speak Thai…

There’s no denying it, Ben has lots of trouble speaking new languages. And for some reason, he just can’t get a handle on the pronounciation of the city he’s visiting.

Thank you to all of you who have written in with the correct phoenetic pronounciation of Pattaya, but reading something and hearing it are two very different learning methods.

Well earlier this week some of you on Twitter may have received word that Ben thinks he’s figured out. Follow the link below to hear for yourself.

http://tmic.fm/ox968pbzzrc

What do you think, did he get it correct once and for all? By the way, how many different ways has he pronounced Pattaya? Review all our YouTube videos on our YouTube Channel and comment below with your answers to both questions!

YouTube.com/user/benandbrianthai

We’ll see you out there!

After much deliberation we had finally solidified our itinerary. It was jam-packed. It also changed multiple times once we arrived in Thailand and even on the fly to accommodate new additions and meetings. Knowing where you could go is exciting. Doing it is even better.

Coming soon…where we actually went.

Did you know I also have a Facebook Fan Page? You can find it here.

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Have you seen our itinerary yet? You can, click here.

What do you think? We had no idea Pattaya had so much! We’ve been asked quite a bit why we chose Pattaya. And up until now point, we don’t think we’ve shared that with you.

Each year we try to travel to a new, international destination. We’ve made it to Europe and Africa and needed to add Asia to that roster soon. With Bangkok being one of the most well-known cities in Thailand, we figured our travels would someday take us here. Perhaps Phuket too. We had never heard of Pattaya until we saw it on the Ultimate Thailand Explorers website. Seriously. It was an unknown city for us.

We saw this competition as an opportunity to explore a place we probably would never have considered traveling to on our own. Even more important than that, this was a chance to learn and share with all of you an important lesson – to get out and explore the world we share; the cities we know, and the cities we don’t. Our focus has always been and will continue from now until January 8th, to encourage you to visit Pattaya. To include it on your list of must-see destinations.

When we received our itinerary last week we were blown away! Our first reaction – how are we going to do all of that in the 6-days we have? Over the course of the week Brian’s been doing a lot of the itinerary research while Ben’s been working the social media tasks. With only 2 days left before we leave, we’re still sorting through the logistics, but it will all come together soon, we hope!

If you live in Pattaya, or have been to the city before we’d love to hear your thoughts about where we’re going. Do you have a travel tip to share? Is there something we shouldn’t miss at the attractions we’re visiting? Comment below or send us a tweet @benandbrianthai

Be sure to vote for us too.

We’ll see you out there!

In today’s post, we offered our readers the opportunity to decide which “optional attractions” we would visit by hosting a TwitPoll. Whatever interested them the most would be what we would do. While the poll is now closed the winner was Walking Street. As it turned out, we did everything on the list but the Stone Park, Bottle Museum and Go Kart Park.

On having readers select our optional activities, one reader said, “Very clever gentlemen. This is a nice way to involve people in your journey.” And that’s what it was all about. Involving our fans in our experience.

If you’d like to read about what we did at those optional activities, stay tuned for a future post. In the meantime, Don’t forget to become a fan of adventureswithben.com on Facebook here.

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Hey Explorers,

In addition to the “must-see” attractions, we’ve been provided with a list of optional attractions we should visit while in Pattaya. We need to decide very soon which of these, we’ll be able to squeeze into our itinerary and visit. Realistically, we can’t visit all of them. Can you help us?

We’d like your opinion. Where would you like to see us go? We’ve listed the sites down below, in no particular order. All but one are hyperlinked for you to learn more about them. After browsing, cast your vote on our poll below.

After hearing your vote we’ll work to include your #1 pick in our itinerary. If for some reason we can’t make it to #1, we’ll visit #2 and so on. Here is your opportunity to choose our adventure. Start practicing those voting skills for Tuesday!

The Attractions Are…

• Pattaya Floating Market
• Million Years Stone Park
• The Bottle Art Museum (From Tourism Thailand)
• Yannasangwarar am Temple/ Khao Chi Chan Buddha image (From Tourism Thailand)
• Pattaya Park Go Kart (From Tourism Thailand)
• Walking Street
• Phratamnak view point/ Big Buddha (no site available)

Now Cast Your Vote!

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Have you connected with us on our social networks yet? The links are below on the right! You can also chat with us live too! Find out how by clicking here.

We’ll see you out there!

Have a great weekend and do something great!

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Hey Explorers,

We’re going to come right out and say it, you should see the “Thai Extravaganza Show” at the Thai Alangkarn Theater. “What is it,” you may be asking? It’s everything. It’s music, dance, storytelling, arial acrobatics, special effects, pyrotechnics, audience participation and pure magic. It bills itself as “The Extravaganza Show” and it certainly lives up to it’s name.

We saw the show on our first day in Pattaya. Arriving just a few minutes before showtime, we were able to capture a few moments of the festive courtyard and with the permission of the staff at the theater, a few clips of the show.

Let’s start with the theater. It’s huge, having the ability to accommodate 2,000 people per show. Shows are offered nightly at 18:00. While we didn’t sit in every seat, the tiered seating should make for good visibility no matter where you are. The show itself tells the story of Thai culture and history. The dramatic entrance crescendos with a full stage production number with lavish sets, thunderous music and colorful costumes. Due to low light levels in the theater the Alangkarn has generously provided us with these images.

The pace moves quickly from number to number. Just as you’re ready for more the next troupe of performers enters onstage for another, new, cultural piece. Many theater productions separate the audience from the performers, meaning the performers act as if no one was watching them. Quite pleasingly for a spectacle as large as this one, select audience members are picked from their seats and invited onto the stage to perform with the dancers.

As it so happened, we were both brought to the stage along with 1/2 dozen other audience members. We had no idea what was in store for us. We formed a line and learned a traditional Thai dance. Ben and another audience member were brought to center stage to demonstrate the dance to the rest of the theater. Hilarity ensued when he couldn’t quite grasp the motions while the performer/ instructor (a man playing the role of an old, eager-to-find-a-man lady) continued to try to “make the moves” on him.

One of our favorite moments was the elephant battle scene. This was our first exposure to the elephant’s role in Thai history and it’s involvement in fighting your enemy. Elephants played a prominent role in the country’s past. Today elephants are a common sight at many of the attractions we visited. No longer used in war or logging, elephants today are enjoyed for their beauty, intelligence and ability to make us smile.

The Alangkarn Theater also has a restaurant on-site where you can purchase a dinner and show package. We ate at another location after the show so we can’t tell you much about the dinner. Before the lobby doors open the main courtyard is full of entertainers, games, music and merriment. And at the moment before those doors open, a pyrotechnic blast illuminates the sky.

Pattaya offers a lot during the day. For a great evening out, try the Alangkarn Theater. You can view more photos of our night at the show on our Flickr Set here.

Thank you Alangkarn Theater!

|Know Before You Go|

Appeals To: Everyone
Suggested Stay: It’s around a 90-minute show with no intermission
Cost: 1000 Baht Adult/ 700 Baht Child ($33/$21) Show Only. VIP Seats are 200 Baht ($6) extra
Getting There: Easy Breezy. It’s just off the main road, Sukhumvit. Look for the big sign. Plenty of free parking.
Don’t Miss: Arrive early to take advantage of the atmosphere entertainment in the courtyard in front of the theater doors
Visit Online: | web |  facebook |  twitter |
BTW: Following the performance, many of the performers await you in the lobby for a photo opportunity.

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VOTING MESSAGE: If you enjoy reading our blog, please vote for us. Click on the link at the top of this page, login and vote. Voting ends January 8th. You can vote everyday and are eligible for prizes too!

Post-Pattaya Post 3 of 26

Check out my facebook fan page. It’s available here.

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Pattaya is working hard to change it’s appeal from being an adult-oriented destination to one that appeals to families. Mini Siam narrows this gap with a fun afternoon out for the little ones you brought with you on your vacation.

Mini Siam recreates notable landmarks from around the world in painstaking detail. Set against the backdrop of manicured lawns and gardens, the kids will have fun getting up close with famous sites previously seen only in textbooks and on television. Here’s a YouTube video with our antics at this tiny attraction.

We also used this opportunity at Mini Siam to flex our photography muscles with some silly photos. Take a look.

More photos are also posted on our Flickr Site here.

|Know Before You Go|

Appeals To: Families with children, the budding photographer who wants some zany landscapes, fans of kitsch.
Suggested Stay: 1 hour
Cost: 300 Baht ($10)
Getting There: Directly off the main road, Sukhumvit. It’s near a McDonald’s so you can grab some food for the kids before/after visiting.
Don’t Miss: Taking silly photos for your scrapbook.
Visit Online: | web |
BTW: Mini Siam is open until 10:00 P.M., making it one of the few attractions open late at night.

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VOTING MESSAGE: Like Mini Siam, we have a mini amount of votes. Why not vote for us today? Just a thought.

Post-Pattaya Post 7 of 26

Your regularly scheduled adventureswithben.com content will resume once I return from my road trip through Canada. For the latest updates, become a fan of adventureswithben.com on facebook here. It’s the easiest and most efficient way to stay connected to all my adventures.

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Hey Explorers,

Throughout our entire trip in Thailand we stayed at 5 hotels. Each has their unique charm and appeal, but for the two of us, the Dusit D2 was our hotel. Watch our YouTube video to see why.

As they say in Thailand, this place is “Mint”.

We knew from the moment we walked in that we’d feel right at home. New arrivals are welcomed with a complimentary welcome drink while waiting to get checked in. An escort to our room overlooking the pool below and we were ready to call it a night.

The list of adjectives we could use to describe this hotel could go on longer than the the day is long: hot, chic, trendy, sexy, cool, mint, comfortable, fashionable, fun, fancy, amazing, great location and all at an amazing price! Seriously, we don’t stay at places like this when we travel. They’re usually just out of our budget. Only in our dreams would we ever be able to stay here. But prices in Thailand, when adjusted to the dollar, make this hotel achievable.

Our room had a balcony, flat screen TV, shower with a rain head and a glass wall. The photo above just doesn’t do it justice (plus we didn’t know it was blurry until after checkout.)

The pool stands out among the amenities offered. The crisp, blue water is perfect to splash into after a day at the beach.

Or if you choose to soak up the sun, grab a nearby hammock and sit back with a cool drink.

But if drinks are really what you’re after, head to the rooftop bar.

Rooftop bars are something of a new experience for us, while in Thailand. There are some well-known locations in Bangkok that we weren’t sure if we’d have the chance to visit, so we were glad to have the opportunity for a similar experience in Pattaya. With the sunsetting to our backs, we kicked back on the comfy chairs and indulged in some adult beverages to the sounds of eclectic music thumping in the background; The perfect way to jump start our evening.

By the way, speaking of going out at night, the Dusit D2 is located right in the middle of downtown Pattaya. Accessible by taxi and foot to all the top spots. Plus, you can visit another one of our sponsors, The Avenue shopping center, right next door for food, drinks and shopping (stay tuned for a post about The Avenue very soon).

You should check out our photos from the hotel. Just looking at them makes us ache to go back. They’re all available on our Flickr site here.

Before we left to return to Bangkok, the team from the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Pattaya Office stopped by to wish us well.

We’d like to thank the Dusit D2 for sponsoring the Ultimate Thailand Explorers Competition. Please support our sponsors and spend a night or two at the Dusit. You won’t regret it.

|Know Before You Go |

Appeals To: The hipster in you. Oh and for all you gay explorers out there…we found your hotel!
Suggested Stay: As long as you stay in Pattaya
Cost: Rates are variable depending on the type of room, but we found one for 3200 Baht (That just under 100 bucks folks! An incredible value. A hotel like this in the United States is at least double!)
Getting There: Located on Pattaya’s 2nd road. It’s a one-way street on the right, just before The Avenue Shopping Center.
Don’t Miss: Relaxing on the rooftop bar. Visit during Happy Hour!
Visit Online: | web | facebook |
BTW: What else do you want us to say about this hotel. It’s the place to stay in downtown Pattaya. Be sure to budget time in your itinerary just to enjoy everything that the hotel offers. Oh, the hotel is also award-winning for it’s design!

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VOTING MESSAGE: Just vote for us. There’s only a few days left. Just one time won’t hurt!

Post-Pattaya Post 18 of 26

Don’t forget to become a fan of adventureswithben on Facebook. When I return from Canada you’ll want to see what adventures I found. Click here to do it!

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Hey Explorers,

Can you believe how many places we’ve visited in Pattaya and we’re not even half-way through? Incredible, huh? Some of the locations we visited were easily 1/2 day or even full-day experiences. But sometimes when you’re on vacation you get these awkward schedules where you don’t have enough time to do the 1/2 day experience, but you still have enough time to make sitting in the hotel room a waste. That’s what’s nice about Underwater World. It fills in this gap and provides a good hour of entertainment. Perfect if you have some time before your dinner reservations or the evening show you’re about to see.

Ben loves aquariums. He’s been to quite a few. And while many aquariums have similar exhibits, each has something unique that makes it stand out from the others. At Underwater World, virtually the entire aquarium is housed underneath a glass tunnel. Sure there are traditional tank exhibits, but the flow through the building is a giant circle, under the water. Here’s some highlights from our visit.

If you’d like to view some photos from Underwater World, visit our Flickr Site here.

|Know Before You Go|

Appeals To: Families with children, Aquarium “FINatics” (like the pun?)
Suggested Stay: 1 hour or less. It’s a bit smaller than it looks, but great for a quick afternoon trip.
Cost: 450 Baht ($15)
Getting There: Conveniently located off the main road, Sukhumvit. Look for the giant white tent-looking building and the giant shark out front.
Don’t Miss: Animal feeding times. Check the schedule when you arrive.
Visit Online: | web |
BTW: Underwater World offers opportunities to dive with sharks and rays.

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VOTING MESSAGE: If you enjoy reading our blog, please vote for us. Click on the link at the top of this page, login and vote. Voting ends January 8th. You can vote everyday and are eligible for prizes too!

Post-Pattaya Post 12 of 26

In “Guessing Game: Where Are We Going (originally published 11/24/09)”, I tried to do something unique and creative. After receiving our itinerary we created a quick video game of charades for our readers to guess where we were going in Pattaya, before the official reveal.

The correct answers were:

1. Underwater World
2. Ripley’s Believe it or Not
3. Koh Larn
4. Flight of the Gibbon
5. Tiffany’s Show

Several readers commented with their best guesses, but no one was able to get it 100% correct. They had fun trying though. I thought that this was a novel way to get readers involved with our trip to Thailand in an active way.

Throughout 2010 I’ll periodically post some posts from the Ultimate Thailand Explorers Archive with some commentary on the experience behind the post. Enjoy. Don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook. Click here to do it!

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If you’ve been following along you’ve heard that we have received our itinerary from the Tourism Authority of Thailand for our trip to Pattaya. The 6-day trip includes some “must-see” locations and some “optional” locations. Our biggest challenge moving forward will be figuring out how to squeeze in everything into 6 Days. It’s jam packed, but that’s how these trips should be, right?

We’re not ready to reveal exactly where we are going yet. We need a moment to process it all and it is subject to change. But…we don’t want to leave you in too much suspense. So in the few minutes we had tonight after dinner, we made a YouTube video game. In the U.S., it’s called “Charades”, in your country maybe something different – or maybe not. In any event, watch this clip and try to guess where we could be headed off to…

Those are just 5 of the many places we have in store. If you’re having trouble figuring them out, you may want to check out the Ultimate Thailand Explorers Destination Guide to Pattaya for some hints. Oh, and we promise that when we actually visit those locations, they’ll look much better than the recreations we did at our house.

All that’s left for you to do now is comment with your best guess for each of the 5 clips. Leave your comments here, or add them to twitter and include #benbrian

Have you connected with us on our social networks yet? The links are below on the right! You can also chat with us live too! Find out how by clicking here.

We’ll see you out there!