This is a trip with a family of four, including elementary school students in the first and third grade.

■ Food

The food was generally delicious. It had the right amount of spice and seasoning. My wife said it was a bit salty overall.

1. Jasmine Cafe - It was far more delicious than the Pad Thai I had at the night market, Pier 21, etc. I recommend going to Jasmine Cafe after trying the night market or street Pad Thai. We had Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, and some kind of shrimp dish. I would definitely go back again.

2. Pier 21 Food Court - I do not recommend it for first-time travelers to Pattaya. It's confusing and you won't know what's what even if you search and find out what's good.

3. Popra Mong Seafood - It's a bit far from the center of Pattaya. But the food is good. Poo Pad Pong Curry <-- It's really delicious with rice. It's salty if you eat it plain. And the fried rice! It's also delicious. All the menu items are generally delicious.

4. Mumm Aroi Restaurant - Scallops with butter, Garlic Crab?, Morning Glory, etc. It's an average restaurant. It's a beachfront restaurant without air conditioning, but we enjoyed it because the weather was nice.

5. Soobukhan outside Central Marina - A Korean owner runs this restaurant. It serves seaweed soup and pork bone soup. It's above average. I didn't have high expectations, but my wife praised the seaweed soup. I recommend it if you miss Korean food.

■ Things to Do

1. Jungle Sanctuary (Elephant Sanctuary) - We went on a half-day tour. Feeding and interacting with elephants, bathing them, and making paper from elephant dung! It was a unique experience for people of all ages. It was great to see the elephants up close, feed them, bathe them, and I highly recommend it! My kids said it was really memorable.

2. Ko Samet Island (Hopping)

Hopping is best in the Philippines. Don't do it here.

The good thing is that my wife can't even get into swimming pools, but she rode on the lifeguard there and went around. It was her first time doing this. I was so grateful that I gave her a tip from the bottom of my heart.

3. Sanctuary of Truth

It's worth a visit. It's amazing and magnificent to see that it's built entirely of wood.

4. Departit Night Market

There's nothing special to see. It's all the same wherever you go.

■ Accommodation

1. 0.5 nights at Lilacs - We arrived late in the afternoon and spent 0.5 nights at Lilacs. It was pretty good.

2. Grande Centre Point Space - It's new, so it's clean and the accommodations are good.

It's great for kids. It has a long lazy river and just the right size slides. You can spend a day or two at the hotel with the wave pool.

There's a game center in the middle, but you can't enter in a swimsuit or rash guard.

3. Hard Rock - We had made a reservation, but canceled it and made a hasty reservation because the lazy river was under construction.

It's surprisingly good. The pool is big and good for kids. It's a great value for the price.

However! You should always keep a close eye on very young children or children who can't swim. The deep end is 1.60m.

■ Other

E-cigarettes are illegal in Thailand.

Especially foreigners who get caught vaping on the street by the police will get scammed if they're unlucky. It's as much as an airplane ticket.

On the first day, I couldn't help but vape, so I bought a Quick e-cigarette at the Departit Night Market for 200 baht each.

Overall

Hopping is best in the Philippines!

I dipped my head in the water and thought, what am I doing here...

I should've done something else with this money...

Since I'm interested in revisiting Thailand, I plan to go to Krabi soon.

This is just our subjective opinion and experience, so please take it with a grain of salt.