Reasons not to go to the fireworks festival:
1. It is held on Beach Road and getting in and out will be hell.
2. It has pissed down in Pattaya every night for the last few nights; washout expected.

Nothing daunted, we set off into town and parked well outside the main area. A quick baht bus ride and we were having dinner in Central Mall near to where it was all going to happen. I was told it started at 2000, she who must be obeyed consulted a Thai website which proclaimed a 2100 start. Just to be sure, we left the restaurant shortly before 2000, at which point she who must be obeyed announced an urgent need to visit the toilet; and I have learned not to argue with these proclamations. Twenty minutes later (she needs time) we were outside to discover that the Chinese display had just finished, so I can’t tell you how good it was. I also can’t tell you much about the Italian entry because Beach Road and the beach were absolutely heaving, with nowhere to stick a couple of tripods.

I was becoming rather desperate and considered just going home. Then, she who must be obeyed took charge. “Follow me”, she commanded in her best “obey me” voice; so I did and we set off north up Beach Road at a fast pace. She reckoned the crowds would be thinner up there; and she was right and we found a spot to set up our tripods, just in time for performance by the United Arab Emirates.

Bloody hell, this was the best firework display I have ever seen. Launched off at least three mobile platforms anchored out in the bay, their display perfectly matched the music that came out of the speakers. There was arabic music with fireworks which were delicate and cascading and, well, arabic. There was rock music with big booms and flashing fireworks. Best of all there was Louis Armstrong and Wonderful World:

I see trees of green. Cue green fireworks.
Red roses too. The sky turns red.
Skies of blue. You know what happened
Clouds of white. etc.
Colours of the rainbow. Hello all the colours of the rainbow.

I declare I became a little emotional at this point.

Their twenty minute show finished right on cue with the music. No idea how they design and build these shows, but the UAE know exactly how to do it.

The last show was from Thailand and although it was OK, it didn’t compare with the multi-barge extravaganza of the UAE.

Had a beer outside Hard Rock before the long walk back to the car. Walked down second road from Pattaya Klang to Pattaya Thai which took about half an hour; during which time the traffic did not move a single metre. Back to our secret parking spot and then home in five minutes, congratulating ourselves on our wise parking decisions.

Some photos; all taken with the Panasonic GF1 and 20mm lens, manual focus, F6.3, ISO 100 and shutter speeds between 1 and 5 seconds:

If you don’t have a tripod, then just wave the camera around; you can produce some interesting patterns: