Monkey Funky in Phuket

A pampered holiday. I almost couldn't believe it happened. It happened so quick.

Look, I even did my nails for it!

And here's a peek of some of my beach essentials.

Well, yes, I went to Phuket with a mysterious person almost 2 weeks ago. The first time I was there was back in 2004, right before I left for London with my then boyfriend. This time, I overrode the history. Both to be honest are happy times.

I didn't do any planning at all, I was asked to come along. Extra leg room, plane food catered and an awesome companion... I couldn't ask for more. We arrived at the airport and fortunately without much haggling, we managed to get a taxi to our resort - Andaman White Beach Resort. It was secluded and nothing was really nearby. We walked about 15 minutes to get to a public beach with some shops, closed bars and eateries, and we only did that once because it was too much of a hassle.

The rest of the time were spent in the resort, chilling by the beach or pool... swimming, eating, drinking and playing pool. The currents were so strong most of the time, I didn't muster enough courage to go into the sea... except for times when I could cling to my companion! The deluxe room we had was spacious, with a cool balcony (we were on the top floor, so it was all good). All the rooms had good privacy and it was very romantic listening to the waves at night. The breakfast offered many good choices, I enjoyed the freshly cooked eggs and waffles!

The whole trip was relaxing and lovely... I really wish I have more of these impromptu romantic weekend getaways :) I lost my hat (shown in the pic - it was my first time wearing it!!!), shame on the dishonest person who picked it up. I am glad I wasn't too bitter about it as the holiday was almost perfect.

Special thanks to my little monkey!

p.s: It was a coincidence we happened to escape the haze when it got really bad (thanks to Indonesia!)...!

BKK: Shop, shop and shop

This trip was booked months ago. A 3D2N free and easy package in Bangkok for the 6 of us. An all girls' trip. We never travelled before, but we did have a number of lunches together. Have you ever heard someone saying,"Travelling with a girl can be a chore, can you imagine x 6?" Haha. How true! I still like the feeling of travelling solo, but once in a while, having a company can be fun.

We stayed at Le Meridien Bangkok. A world apart from the places I usually bunk at when I travel budget. About time to indulge myself I reckoned, even though in America, we did stay in hotels too but not a 5 star. The service was friendly and amiable, especially when it came to arranging for a birthday cake surprise for HQ whose birthday happened to be the second day we were in Bangkok. Our bathroom is huge, with a corner for toilet, shower and bath tub which sits by the sliding door! If only I was alone, I would be watching the TV with a glass of wine, soaking in the tub :D We also got to stay on the highest floor, 24th storey (not sure if that's because we have a birthday girl or I happened to be using my new Starwood Preferred Guest membership). The housekeeping didn't meet our expectation, they did not tidy up our room. We chose to go green, meaning skip changing of towels and sheets, but not everything else. Oh well. The location is near the seedy bars in Bangkok, but we still felt pretty safe.

The first day started about 4pm saw us rushing through Platinum Mall and Naraya at Central World. It was enough to starve us till 9pm before we started looking for food. As one of the girls is a vegetarian, we had to split into two groups. I joined the vegetarian as I wasn't a steamboat fan. It was a bit of a disappointment as we agreed to have Thai food but somehow the "leader of the pack" changed her mind without asking us. I guess this was when things became a little rough. Some of us had some sort of friction with her due to her domineering and hostile behaviour. So the second day, we decided to split into two groups again as she had her own itinerary which not all of us wanted to follow. When you travel, you often can see someone better through all the little things that happened. So keep your eyes peeled!

The following morning past 9am, we arrived at Chatuchak weekend market. (Whoever said 6am?? Well the leader of the pack did, coming from someone who has just been to Bangkok a few months back!) It was barely open, so we grabbed a bite. I had never came here before, my last trip to Bangkok back in 2003 was tagging along my uncle, visiting temples and sightseeing. It was new for most of us, Zen, Andie and me spent almost half a day there, taking a break in between. We did get some good deals, but also skipped a lot as the heat was unbearable and we were not in the mood to bargain. Unfortunately for the other group, they did not get to see Chatuchak as they left in a cab shortly after breakfast (not sure why as one of our intentions was to visit Chatuchak). Poor HQ, I hope she gets to come back again! It was lucky the 3 of us got on quite well and were very accomodating to each other, we managed to survive Chatuchak and Central World before settling for a late McDonalds' dinner. That night, we celebrated HQ birthday with a cake from the hotel. After that, HQ and me went out for a drink at the 24 hours Tom & Toms nearby.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HQ~

The last day, HQ decided to join me, Andie and Zen for some last minute shopping while the two of them went for massage. We spent the morning at MBK, which was a letdown. It was said to be a heaven for mobile accessories but things were way too overpriced for tourists, Andie and me did not manage to buy anything except splurging them on food instead. I spent 1500 bahts just on food souvenir, and Andie beat me hitting over 2000 bahts. We must have gone crazy!! The food like pork floss rolls and durian chips aren't really cheap, they cost about S$6 for a pack, but I guess they are still worthwhile compared to buying overpriced mobile accessories :)

We missed Siam Paragon and the rooftop bar which I initially wanted to give it a go. I want to re-visit Platinum Mall for accessories, it wasn't fantastic for clothings as you need to buy in bulk for wholesale prices. Chatuchak market, yes, definitely again. I guess, it means I have to go back again!! 3D2N is seriously too short but just nice enough to indulge in a superior hotel I think! After the trip, I think we have also realised who we can travel with and who not to ;)

Chiang Mai IV - ❤ elephants

"Elephant Nature Park, Baan Chang Elephant Park, Elephant Nature Park, Baan Chang Elephant Park, Elephant Nature Park, Baan Chang Elephant Park..."

It kept running through my head, then I decided to drop both an email about my visit before making a decision. I made up my mind on the later as they seemed patient enough and did not rush me to make a booking. From what I read, Baan Chang is a smaller conservation centre and houses about 17 elephants.

Due to my burn, I postponed the trip to the second last day in Chiang Mai. I didn't want to cancel it as deep down I really wanted to do this, so I rang and asked if I could take part in things that wouldn't aggravate my wound. The person communicating with me was nice enough to suggest what I could do. But in fact I didn't skip any of the activities ;)

I was the first one to be picked up, and soon the van filled up and we arrived at the park about an hour later. We got a short briefing by the park owner. I am now confused who is the park owner, as this guy Pom says he is, while the lady on the phone talking to me named Tinar is too. Each of us pay 2400 bahts for it, its about S$100. The money as the owner said goes towards keeping the elephants full and happy and improving the home for them.

I was thrilled when I first saw the elephants. Since we arrived, we could see from afar they were swaying their trunks happily side to side. When we got nearer with baskets of sugar canes and bananas, you could see them dying to get near to you. But they were chained to the trees for safety reasons. I got to feed 3 different elephants and also got pictures taken. I did seem really delighted on the pictures.

After feeding, two elephants were brought up to demonstrate the bareback riding. We were taught simple commands to instruct them to sit, walk, turn and stop. We then each took turns to get on the elephant. After that, we were asked to get on a second time to make them walk a short distance and command them at the same time.

Doesn't the elephant look pretty happy? I don't know but it does seem like they really are. It's infectious and I am really glad I was there to spend time with them! They are not smelly like most people think! Even with their dungs in the bath pool, I didn't smell a thing. Probably I'm intoxicated by them, still am. :D

We had lunch after the riding lesson. After food, we were going to go trekking with the elephants! Two to one elephant, I shared Jumbu (her Thai name isn't spelt like this though but Woody, our trainer, said its the name of the fruit) with a 65-year-old American auntie. I sat in front, commanding the elephant on the way up, but Jumbu was always hungry, she kept getting sidetracked (by food of course). It took a while before we finally got to the destination then they had a rest before we made our way down. I decided not to ride on the way down so I walked between the elephants, and trying to avoid getting my face smacked by their wagging tails. LOL.

We walked them to their bath pool where they happily soaked themselves. Some layed down and gosh... pooed at the same time!!! The baby elephant (about 2 years) was sitting in the middle, getting scrubbed by the caretaker. So so so adorable! Auntie and I began to wash Jumbu too. Some of the people in the tour decided to just watch, they were probably afraid of the "dirty water". After a while, I got distracted and started splashing at the passing elephants. Most of them are older and ignored my splashing, I think they quite enjoyed the cool water getting on them. But the baby elephant was the most cheeky, he went around spraying water... and when I splashed on him, he made sure he had his revenge too!

Thanks to Woody who caught this funny picture! The elephants sure made my day and a fantastic end to my holiday. I would recommend anyone doing this if you're an animal lover :)

Chiang Mai III - Temples

Indeed, the Rose of the North, Chiang Mai, has countless temples. One cannot even start to count.

Someone said if you haven't been to Doi Suthep, then you haven't been to Chiang Mai at all. We made our way there, up the spiralling road up the mountain and then 300 steps up to the temple. The temple is huge, majestic and elaborated. One should take the time to notice and appreciate the beauty of it. The bells hanging at the edge of the roof, the wishes hanging on the rows of golden bells, the gold statues, the coins stuck onto a piece of stone, even the tiles, everything seems to be made with care and thoughts. Also a mini garden with beautiful animal/monk/child-like statues (like a mini heaven), you will see at the back of the temple. Around the temple, there are many cute statues that would bring a smile on your face.

Worth a mention - the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, right in the city. We did not get to enter as we were in shorts. Unfortunately, this one is becoming touristy, they even charge for loaning you something to wrap in if you want to enter. We did have a tour around the surrounding, go to the back and you'll see elephant statues along with other delicately designed accompanying temples. Many of the temple do look similar.

Here's some quotes (click on picture to magnify) I snapped from one of the temples, they are on different trees around the compound. I thought it would be nice to share them. I do like most of them, they do make a lot of sense. The few favourites of mine are "If there is nothing that you like, you must like the things that you have" and "Until death, there is nothing enough". Guess life should be as simple as it is, we are borned with nothing, remember?

One of the more unique temples we saw. This is somewhere in the middle within the gates. Sister likes this best apparently. We weren't not allowed to go up, so we could only look from far. There are also many other interesting temples around this one.

The cutest award goes to this one, outside the gates, its along Thapae Road. They even have a Donald Duck statue. There are many animal statues and makes it almost zoo-alike. There is no other similar to this.

My favourite beside Doi Suthep is this. I don't remember names for these temples as we didn't specifically look for them, it was just on the map and we decided to have a look. This one has a grand entrance, look at the stone entrance. Then most of the temple is built with wood (or at least it looks like it), then there are massive baskets of yellow flags (not sure of its significance). At the little green garden behind, there was also a monk reading, with a dog sitting besides him... so peaceful.

Chiang Mai II - Yum Yum

And here's to the topic which most people like... FOOD! Those mentioned are carefully selected from the many meals we have had during the trip. Disclaimer: We did have some very good food, though authenticity not proven :P

I adore the Thailand fruit shakes, I always without fail have them on every trip to Thailand. The best one (shown above) is at Potluck Gallery, a mini shop cum cafe we chanced upon between our temples visit. The shake is huge, I swear taller than my face! And oh so fresh!!!

We also found Khao Soi, the Northern Thailand cuisine, recommended by my Bangkok colleagues. I like it so much we had it twice at the same place. I tried the pork and beef while sister sticked to her choice of chicken. I couldn't be bothered to look for it at other places, as we found it at a local eatery very near to our hotel. For a comparison, most people compared it to our Laksa, but it's more towards curry gravy but less thick.

Superb mango salad from the food stall along the Sunday Walking Market. The walking market is an eye-opener indeed, many sold handicrafts, food, clothes and even shoes. I did not buy much except for food and a few small stuff, like an anklet and postcards. But the sister got herself tonnes of rubbish :P I am somehow glad we missed the Saturday market else she would have bought even more!

Next is iBerry, a super cool garden cafe. I mentioned in a previous post, a place recommended by my friend who went earlier. We popped by the 1st day after a temple visit, sister was fascinated by the cakes and so we did that and the drinks. But we were upset we didn't get to try the ice cream, and so we went back on the last day for a second time! The ice cream that matched my nail colors (just coincidence)! These were my picks, Blue Havana and Brownie as sister ordered the ones I had on my mind Starfruit and Guave with salted plum sorbet. So we shared them all.

This is my Phad Thai tom yum with chicken, ice green tea with honey with sister's fried rice with pineapple, ham, raisin and cashew nut from Khun Mor's Cuisine. We did this right after the iBerry, to be honest, I wasn't hungry!! But it was about lunch time and the place was packed, we reckoned we should do a proper local lunch before we were to head for the airport. The menu is impressive, so much variety... Take a look at their website, I am surprised they even have an online version of it! The food was good, I just wish I was more hungry and could have eaten more!!

Last but not least, one of the dishes I made during my Thai cooking class with Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School. Stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts. I like the fact they have a farm for students to cook at, but I did the town one for convenience. My review will be on Tripadvisor. I did this alone as the sister fancies nothing except pampering herself with foot massage. I enjoyed the experience and especially learning something from another culture, now I have a recipe book from them which I will try out when I have some spare time to cook. I also did tom yum soup and green curry. They didn't taste so bad actually and in fact better than a dinner I had outside!

Chiang Mai I - Yi Peng

It's time for my travel journal again! Unlike the past, I'll be focusing less on the details but just the highlights of the trip :)

My main objective when I planned this trip is to join the mass lantern release at this event, Yeepeng or Yi Peng Festival. Apparently, it's a Thai buddhist event held by the locals. Here's a little extract from Wiki:

"Loi Krathong coincides with the Lanna (northern Thai) festival known as "Yi Peng". Yi Peng is held on a full moon of the 2nd month of the Lanna calendar. The festival is meant as a time for tham bun, to make merit. People usually make khom loi from a thin fabric, such as rice paper, to which a candle or fuel cell is attached. When the fuel cell is lit, the resulting hot air which is trapped inside the lantern creates enough lift for the khom loi to float up in to the sky. In addition, people will also decorate their houses, gardens and temples with khom fai : intricately shaped paper lanterns which take on different forms. The most elaborate Yi Peng celebrations can be seen in Chiang Mai, the ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom, where now both Loi Krathong and Yi Peng are celebrated at the same time resulting in lights floating on the waters, lights hanging from trees/buildings or standing on walls, and lights floating by in the sky."

I managed to figure out the date for this year's festival and booked my ticket, unfortunately many people booked for the wrong date as there are two this year and the later one is made up specifically for the tourists. You need to pay 100USD for the later one, while the first is free. We found Jack from the forum and got him to take us there.

Before the event, we had free food donated from the Buddhist temple. Then we bought a lantern, found a spot to sit and waited for the ceremony to begin. After the sun set, the monks strolled in on the red carpet, there were chantings and prayers before they finally lit the first khom loi and then helpers came around to light our candle holders. Then it was our turn! It was very nerve-wrecking as the lantern would easily get burnt if not done properly given the huge size. Fortunately, there were many Thai people around whom were very willingly to provide the extra help :)

We were sitting togeher with some Americans who came along with Jack. Emily was travelling alone so we shared her lantern as well as she couldn't possibly handle the lantern alone! The first time was exciting, my sister and I lit it with some help, but we were so nervous we let it go without making a wish! Then when you looked up the sky, here's the view we got.

It was magnificent, breathtaking, stunning! Everyone was speechless, admiring the sight! Touching!! I was so glad I came, I was there and I participated in it!

Then when we lit Emily's lantern, we were more ready this time. It nearly caught fire but thanks to the local, we saved it! We finally got it up, and before we let go, I screamed, "Make a wish!" We closed our eyes for a moment, and then I said, "Ready?" They all nodded and we released it! I shrieked and tears almost flowed down! It was so surreal and I would want to do this again (maybe at Taiwan's Pingxi Festival!!) or perhaps back here in Chiang Mai!

I was so restless I couldn't stop going around snapping pictures. Then I carelessly bumped into one of the blown out candle holders (used to light the lantern), and the hot wax got splashed over my shoulder and my face. I was still calm, but I told them I got burnt then they immediately doused me with plenty of water. I remembered I saw the First Aid booth while I was walking around, so I walked myself there. I wasn't in lot of pain, but my arm felt hot. My face was fine, phew. I had to remove my shirt to have the wet towels administered over my burns, fortunately that day I decided to wear something underneath! Seemed almost like this had been planned! There was a doctor on-site, and many others soon came in with similar burns. I was given a pain-killer after they managed to cool down my burns with the wet towels, and then a presciption so I could get medicine from a pharmacy.

Thanks to Jack and his wife, Ting, I managed to get to a pharmacy and Ting also kindly gave me some burn cream when we visited their stall at the Sunday Walking Market the following day. Blisters came up right away. So it's second degree burn. But fortunately it wasn't so bad that I needed to go to a hospital. It was only the 2nd day of my trip and I had so much planned!! I was so worried I got to cancel my elephant mahout training! This got to be one of the worst accidents I have since I travelled.

Despite the burn, I felt blessed enough that I pulled through the holiday smoothly. No infection. No burn on my face. No pain (not much that I can remember!). And right now, the new skin has already formed, it doesn't look like I will have any scar too. Thank you for looking after me!

The rose of the north - Chiang Mai

The checklist for Chiang Mai all ticked despite a minor accident during the holiday.

✔ Yi Peng Festival - thousands of lanterns being released
✔ Baan Chang Elephant Park - learnt to command, feed , bareback ride and bathe elephants
✔ Thai Cooking Class - cooked 3 dishes
✔ Eat Khao Soi - a northern Thailand cuisine
✔ Sunday walking market - walking in my poncho in the rain, eating at the street market, exhausting my legs
✔ Visit temples - Doi Suthep is magnificient
✔ Eat ice-cream @ iBerry!!!
✔ Eat enough Thai food - Phat thai, mango sticky rice, Tom yum, green curry...

All in all, a superb holiday except for a burn... I think scar can be quite sexy ;) Oh well, it's a souvenir from Chiang Mai. To be honest, I don't remember it being too painful, still thankful it was an easy journey after that, it's now drying up as I write.

p.s: I will fill up with the trip details later on.

Travel easy

As I get older... my holidays are becoming less planned.

When I started out, I would fill each day to the brim... then slowly I decided to let go of some time to be "whatever that comes along"... and now I simply have nothing planned unless something is specifically happening on that day and I want to attend it. The rest is flexible. When I email about tour or visit, they would urge me to book because it would be "sold out" they claim. Isn't that always the case... I'm beginning to take it as a pinch of salt and have others as back up. Life should have options, right? :)


The parents are still worried. Their idea of Thailand is Bangkok. They do not understand the proximity, they do not know Chiang Mai to Bangkok is over an hour's flight. It's hard to convince them and it's harder to leave. Guess we need to make a call home. How do the parents in the western countries whom make their kids at 18 move out understand this, I wonder?

p.s: The holiday - It's tomorrow!

7 more days...

The map is snapped from Thailand Tourism website today. Seems like the waters have left the north and seriously hitting the central and south. I hope Bangkok is shielded from the floods.

I also happened to be reading Chiang Mail Mail and know of this festival - Thailand International Balloon Festival. It's taking place on November 25 - 27... I was even thinking of going there for a second time if I really enjoy it till I remember there's a wedding dinner on the 26!!! Shucks.

Oh well, maybe next year??? :)


I have read and heard many wonderful things about the city and am pretty sure it would be a very pleasant trip minus the rain! It's also coming winter for them and the weather would be slightly over or under 20°.... YAY I love such temperature!

Stop the water!

Thailand is badly flooded... but I still want to go to Chiang Mai. Nothing has changed my mind yet unless the flights are cancelled due to the travel warnings. Fingers crossed that things will get better in a week's time!

I want some Thai-some-ness

Lots of people have been visiting Chiang Mai lately... 2 friends and the parents of a friend. It seems like I'm always going with the crowd. When I last went to Taiwan, whole lots of people I met went too.

I'm going specifically to Yi Peng this year, to see the lanterns floating into the sky. That must be surreal! Whereas in Bangkok. they celebrate the same festival (Loy Krathong) by setting off lights on the river. I have not planned anything really except getting the accomodation and flight booked. It is time to look at how to get to the festival, what to do over the 6 days... One of my friends did the Thai cooking school, that might be an idea... but I'm more tempted to do a day at the Elephant Park where they guide you to take care of an elephant. People tell me it's smelly and dirty, and do not understand why I want to do that. I just want to experience it, to be close to animals, to nature... to know how simple life can be. Isn't that how life was in the beginning...!

I saw the pictures from my friends' trips, and I can be sure that the night market's going to keep me real busy. I should bring a book there, sit at a cafe, daydream or read. That'd be awesome :)

An ice cream cafe, iBerry, found by the friend who went!

Krabi, krabi, crabi, crabi

Not that it is a "crappy" holiday at all!! In fact, it's a rather chilled out one...

On my flight back, I was struck by a sudden immense sadness, overwhelming me. I was missing my holiday already (I still am now!!), just minutes after I left the hotel. 4 days, very short, but everyday it was filled with good feelings (at least I could say for most of the time).

Although my companion is someone I could say I know for over 5 years, it's our first time traveling together. I guess we didn't learn that much about each other, but just learn how to "put together" for this holiday. It turned out rather pleasant I would say.


Day 1
I arrived at Krabi Airport alone, early in the morning!!! 730am!!! ... going to find my way to the resort. With no one else sharing a taxi, it was costly and a little unsafe to take it alone, so I did a cheaper and more time-consuming way. In turn, I took a taxi to the nearby Krabi town and took the local mini-bus that takes me to my resort by Klong Muang beach (beautiful and quiet). Yes, it does cost me double on the mini-bus (compared to what the locals are paying), but what can you expect being a tourist! No local bargain! During the journey, this little Thai-boy was obsessed with making conversation with me. I couldn't understand most of it because of his poor pronunciation. He was showing me his two little hamsters, very much enjoying my attention and even offered to be my photo model!

About noon, my companion, A, arrived. After his long journey from Phuket Airport and probably very jet-lagged, we laid in for a while before we took an exploration around our resort, had a tea-break pizza. Oh I need to mention the hotel service is really good (I cannot not give them a tip!), they even sent us a free fruit basket later on. We went into Ao Nang for the first time in the evening and did a little shopping and dinner. That was also when my identity started to be being mistaken for a Thai - I do get quite a lot of people attempting to talk to me in Thai! If I can put it off, probably I can get all the local bargains!! Shame though.


Day 2
Breakfast. We did a short trip to the nearby Railey beach which is supposedly famous for its rock-climbing activity. It was low season, wasn't so much going on... so just had a little tour about the small island and went back to Ao Nang for lunch. A went for some waxing *giggles* while I went off to have my manicure (you should know what color I painted now). The Nail Art place was really friendly, I had a little conversation with the people and they even repainted my nails when it smudged while I was pulling out my notes. Resumed with more shopping... lol, not that I really bought so many things but I needed to get some souvenirs. A swim followed by a classy dinner in the hotel, was a rather nice and slow evening... We did try to catch some World Cup matches, however there was the Royal Thai ceremony going on (on TV) for the King's 60th anniversary so we did miss quite a couple of matches. I'm not a crazy fan as long as I get to catch some, A is neither as long as he catches England playing on Thursday.


Day 3

A boat trip on the traditional longtail boat (not speedboat) to Koh Hong Island. It is such a beautiful beach, not allowed to keep the shells. However. me being a shell-lover couldn't resist the temptation - bad!! ... but actually I returned half of what I picked;) We had the morning to snorkel there... it was a virgin experience for me and a very memorable one, I almost drowned in that beautiful island. Ohh! But I thank God for looking out for me, not that I'm Christian, but yes I do believe I'm lucky to be safe. Actually we didn't have anyone to teach us the basics of snorkelling... so I just took some tips from A. The fishes were lovely, one poked me though. They just swam up to you in a big group when you got in the waters, I borrowed some bread and fed them:))))

There's a lovely jacuzzi in our hotel's pool, my favourite spot... So we had a bit of time there after lunch and the island trip. We set off for Ao Nang later in the evening for a couple of hours and did dinner which was a freaking WHOLE pizza to myself, I couldn't finish it up!! This time, I didn't buy a thing;)

Back in the hotel, we tried to catch some football at the lobby... I tried to catch Germany vs Poland @ 2am in the room but fell asleep with it, anyway the exciting moment was only the last couple of minutes before the match ended, isn't it!! We played some poker games, hahah, learned a new game - SHITHEAD!


Day 4
Time flies! Last day but didn't feel like one... We had breakfast and as usual a dip in my jacuzzi and swim before heading into Ao Nang. Did some final shopping, no lunch (luckily I had a big american breafkast)... and a couple of hours suntanning on the beach. We were getting sick of Ao Nang, as we had nothing more to buy and it got annoying with people bugging you to buy/bargain/take a taxi. We headed back to the hotel, I did some packing, had a shower, played SHITHEAD before we went out for dinner and stayed out in Ao Nang to catch England vs Trinidad & Tobago match.

We caught up with 3 Englishs from our hotel and watched the match together, they do drink fucking lots of beer... anyway, we ended up playing pool after the England's victory (2 0), watched a bit of the next Sweden vs Paraguay match and shared a mini bus back. That was like 4am... so I figured I could do without sleep since I'm leaving in 2 hours time from my hotel. Oh, and A is completely pissed, wasted!


Day 5
The hotel packed breakfast for me to take along - how sweet is that... though it was a big packet and l left some for A to lighten my load;)) It was such a good 4 days... I was exhausted... slept all the way back to Singapore!

MIA - pui pui from Phuket

"Fat Fat" from Phuket

It has been many many days since I last gave my blog any colorful entry... it must have been boring for you guys!

Things have been happening... yes, so much, but too much to get them on here. Syndy is BACK!! Yes, our beloved friend from her second home, Toronto. It was a big surprise and a pleasant one, I know she's back so she can be here to send me off. Another sad news for me, because I wouldn't bear to leave more people behind. She has got a few loving slaps from me for that unexpected surprise!! It's 5th August now. In less than 2 weeks, I fly...

13 days. Every one of them so much more precious than any other time I ever had in my life! My 4 nights at Phuket went by too fast, it brought August nearer - so much faster than it would have been just with my daily boring routine. Phuket has lived up to its name of a wonderful beach (not clean but exciting enough). The currents certainly are amazingly stronger than what we have in little island, Singapore. The moment I touched down into the water from the short para-sailing adventure, I wondered if I'd be swept away...

I have to say I hate shopping in Phuket. The people are crazy, the prices for tourists are even worse. There is a good variety of food, and I've to say food are definitely more worth the money. Sea sports are not cheap, the whole beach is becoming too commercial. You even have to pay to sit on those benches. To be honest, there is not much to do there except numerous hours of expensive shopping (you can't help worrying you get cheated another time). It is a must to venture out to the islands around Phuket. We had a cruise to 4 islands, sea canoe under rocks, swimming in the clear-blue water, stepped onto the shores laid of shells (not sand!)...

I wouldn't want to go there for another beach holiday, I guess there's more beautiful and less commercial places around. But the bikinis in Thailand are a great buy!!!! wink wink

Plus, they do fascinating flower-carved soaps...

Bangkok hot hot hot

Hello peeps. I'm up with new updates. Yeah, it's going to be long, make sure you're ready! I'll try not to bore you with too much details. Enjoy.

08/12/03 Bangkok Adventure 13/12/03

18 of us went Bangkok together. Personally, I'm not a group person really, it gets tedious having to wait for each other and doing group check in. My only kin are two cousins, M, P and uncle (M's dad), I've mentioned M and P before I guess. The rest of them are my uncles' friends, a whole bunch of old citizens.

Initially I felt as if I was travelling with a group of senior citizens, they are my parents' age or older. Somehow, it got easier as things went along. In fact, not as bad as it seemed. We had free food (my uncle paid) and group transportation with them, so... whatcha think!! There was this pair of old couple, comical pair and I really think they are funny. The only one thing I wasn't so comfortable with, is that we weren't allowed to explore alone. These nice old aunties and uncles were too protective of us - the young kids. Hey, but read on...

Day one: I arrived Bangkok in the afternoon. Bangkok is as hot as singapore, 23-32 degrees. However, its dry heat, low humidity and not sweaty. My first hotel stay seems exciting, oh well, first time in everything is, isn't it? I came with no research, no plan, no idea of what I was going to do over the next 4 days.

Day two: 9th December was a holiday in Bangkok. Strange, there was assumingly lesser traffic jam on a public holiday. The traffic was hectic. Every second you are on the road, you are in danger. The cars wouldn't look out for you, they wouldn't stop. Each road crossing was a life gamble!

The original floating market, something I heard of and didn't want to miss. Make sure you pop there if you make a trip to thailand. Its a cultural shock for people whom only live in cities with high-rise buildings. On the near 2 hours journey there, I witnessed lot of rural lifestyle and people selling off their harvest/stocks or whatever they produced by the roadside. The air constantly polluted by the passing vehicles, it is hard life. If you live in a city and considered yourself poor, could you imagine them living each day trying to earn some cash to keep life going... If you grumble too much about life, or do extravagant shopping, maybe you should think twice about that.

I couldn't possibly missed the national treasures of thailand, can I? Elephants... cleverly trained elephants, they could kick soccer better than some humans. Oh yes, and crocodiles' show, which I didn't find it fascinating anymore.

Day three: As the main purpose of the trip is to visit temples for praying, thanksgiving and donation, we had another long journey out of town to 3 different temples. I have been longing to see monks. Ya know, those with orange/yellow robes!! I've seen too much on tv. It was a new experience. I'm not a very religious person myself, yet it has been a good trip to be respectful and do some confessions.

Day four: I ventured out alone. Everyone else had long set off for another long distance travelling to temples out of town. Yes, I'm alone in bangkok! It seemed like they were pretty worried about me, afterall I couldn't speak thai, and it was an unsafe place for a gal to go around they reckoned. I'm 22 already, maybe they should trust me - I can take care of myself.

I ate my buffet breakfast alone before I stepped into the already warmed up Bangkok streets. I had to walk through this small lane before reaching the main road, which I hate it. I wandered around those unfamiliar places (ahh, didn't I say I'm curious about anything new). I discovered a shopping paradise, I was on my way to meet to two friends whom came to bangkok a day after me. So I made a quick browse at the places and brought my friends back. A big mistake, it costed a big hole in the pocket. I spend over a thousand bahts in there, well, if you convert to singapore dollars, it isn't that much really!!

Later we continued the sin in another shopping centre which I failed to cover it yesterday. I found a beads-sewed-on-denim hangbag I really fancy, it was such a task to bargain. But you have no choice, they marked up the prices too much. Yes, and a pair of heels. These things which I had been hunting for back in Singapore! God, shopping is a sin.

Darn, I missed the thai massage because I was nearly crippled by the shopping. Limping.

Day five: Finally! Finally. Finally. I swam in the hotel swimming pool, it was so much smaller than it seemed from a photo. We had 12 laps, but really short laps. I led my cousins out to Pratunam Market (which I shopped for a bit yesterday) since it was our last few hours before our coach arrived. Dang!!! Guess what?? My bikini hunting had finally came to an end, I spotted a black&white-floral-pineapple one. And it costs merely 10 singapore dollars!!! Woo.. I'm done with shopping.

By the way I also got a pair of thaiboxing shorts, believe me, they look incredible. Yes, I'm ready to go home, please.

p/s: For peeps whom are keen in the photos I've taken, they should be ready in less than 24 hours under my photo albums.