I have been thinking of going for Phantom ever since I heard last Sept that it would be coming to S'pore. And I found a buddy to go with just when I had almost given up entertaining the idea of ever watching it. The funny thing was, she also had a hard time scouting for a partner!
It sure felt like I had struck lottery!
In the aftermath of our elation, we bought CAT 1 tix. Can't wait for May! =)
After soaking in the sights of the countryside, we arrived at the bustling, dusty city of Bangkok. We couldn't get enough of the shopping and feasting and silly me tired myself out further with late night cable tv. I simply couldn't resist the HBO and Star Movies channels lah!
The rooftop pool at the second hotel we stayed in, beckons invitingly. We had planned to take an early morning dip but well... u know..
*Drumroll* Presenting my POW, 'holey' waffle!
A smug Madame Doreal showing you how it should be done - all fluffed up and whole.
The day we spent at Chatuchak Market was a hot, tiring day. You should have seen us lugging our loot around like wholesalers and it was close to evening before we sat down for lunch. But I must say it is an interesting market; you can get practically anything there! From pretty cutlery to furniture to clothes to furry pets!
This had to be our most extravagant night in Thailand. After hearing so much about Bed Supper Club, we simply had to pay it a visit. Patrons can lounge on beds in this chic club, sipping their cocktails before their meals are served. The highlight of the night came when two expats occupied the bed next to us. I was aghast when one of them laid his head on Dor's lap, cushioned by a pillow (thankfully!) and the other tickled her leg. We couldn't get away from them quickly enough!
Sunday night was themed their 'Gay Night'. The performer that night was a buxomy brunette who was all woman and curves. Our jaws dropped when she shot us a question, "How many of you can tell that I was once a man?" Apparently, the influence of Charlie's Angels on her young self was so complete that she had undergone a gender change. And she's married!
My first manicure in this lifetime, which has been amazingly resilient! The pretty pink cherries are still intact on my fingers now, a month from the trip.
And our traditional Thai massage at Healthland! The two-hour-long massage was so soothing that we dozed off in the midst of it. Mmm. The tuk tuk rides had our hairs raising on ends with every sharp turn. Crossing the roads also turned out to be a challenge for us.
We tried to get from point 1 to point 2, a shortcut that should have gotten us to the other side of the road. We ran across, faced oncoming traffic, freaked out and ran back, faced another set of oncoming traffic before we got back to our starting point. On hindsight, I don't know why we did that in the first place. It was terrifying!
We've thoroughly enjoyed staying in guesthouses for this trip. In a way, they are so much cozier and you get to meet different nationalities! At VN guesthouse, we met Chi-Song and her bf from Korea and at PU, we made friends with Mr Japanese who hardly spoke English but managed to teach us a new poker card game, with the help of a Japanese-English Dictionary. And of coz, Lee from UK, whose curls we absolutely adore.
And as you noticed, the peace sign is really an universal language.
The most amusing incident took place at Khao San, when we were having a drink at Macs. These two Egyptian guys were blatantly flirting and he kept offering me a single fry at every other turn of the conversation. His 'One for your eyes', 'One for your nose' cracked me up as he paid tribute to my facial features. And he had even whispered to Dor that 'he was getting a little high and horny.' It was hilarious!
All too soon, it was home sweet home. We arrived in Bangkok almost empty-handed and went home with truckloads.
We'll be back!
Labels: Holiday
In our rush to get to Ayutthaya, we gave the famous 'Tiger Temple' a miss due to time clashes. The temple started to take in cubs years ago and the tiger family has since expanded. The monks take care of them and have opened it up to visitors so as to maintain the upkeep of the place.
Tourists get up close and personal with the big cats, under the watchful eye of the monks and workers. No red or bright-coloured clothings are allowed, just in case you know. And of course, you have to sign an indemnity form upon entering the place - declaring that you will not hold the monks responsible if you should leave the place with a limb less. *shudders* Some say the place is just a gimmick, paying an entrance fee just to take pictures with the tigers. But who knows?
As the ancient capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya used to be its cradle of civilization. Today, in the place of its once thriving empire, stands crumbling ruins and headless buddhas, the remains of a rich history. At the height of its glory, records reveal that there were three palaces and over 400 magnificent temples on an island linked by canals.
We took a night tour on our first day there and while the ruins were beautifully lit, we could only admire its rugged beauty from a distance. This of course, was not sufficient to satisfy us. So we had to pay them a visit the next morning in broad daylight!
The names of the ancient ruins begin with a Wat. A Wat, in thai terms, refers to a buddhist temple. The first one we visited was Wat Ratchaburana.
Thai school kids having a school excursion. Cute!
Our guesthouse in Ayutthaya with racks of Japanese Manga! A pity I couldn't read a word of Jap. They have a recreation corner where you can watch cable channels or just flip through magazines. And dear Dor was in our room that night, practising chinese oldies on a random KTV channel. :p Okay, I admit I put her up to it.
Labels: Holiday
So we came back in one piece, risked our lives with reckless tuk tuk drivers and spoke poor English for one week. There were times when we were scared stiffless, times we were caught in fits of hilarity and even on all fours. It was indeed a trip of many firsts.
We wanted to have an off-the-beaten-track trip to Thailand, on top of the usual Bangkok shopping frenzy, thus the first 2 stops out of the capital.
The Kanchanaburi Adventure
Kanchanaburi
The no-flush incident
I guess outside of Bangkok, you don’t really get toilets with flushing facilities that often. Our first night in the guesthouse, we were staring at the toiletbowl with perplexity. Where is the freaking flush button? And we were met with the same expression on the Thai staff’s face the next day, when we queried him on the sanitary facilities. Apparently, you are supposed to spray water from a nozzle till everything is washed away. I wonder if everything just gets emptied into the river beneath us.
VN Guesthouse - The river rooms
Getting wet
The first stop of our day tour was the seven-tiered Erawan Waterfalls. While we had set off with an ambitious heart, it was not long before we were breathless. The aim of the climb up was to get to the waterfall at the top-most tier and have a refreshingly cool dip. The thing was, it got steeper and steeper the higher we climbed and we were scrambling for footholds. We were also unglamourously on all fours sometimes. I was secretly wondering if we would be able to tahan the way down.
Truth be told, we were a little disappointed when we finally reached the 7th tier. We were expecting some great, roaring, spectacular sight like the Niagara Falls but were met with a much more tranquil pool instead. Nevertheless, we had a good dip, accompanied by little fishes at the bottom which nibbled at our feet. The other resident animals were the monkeys, which were peacefully grooming each other before a tourist teased them with bananas. So they got hyper and started to eye our belongings.
If you look carefully at the top part of the waterfall, a spunky tourist has actually managed to find her way up there!
The face-off
The moment the 2 monkeys paused on their way past us, I sensed that they were up to no good. Our bags and clothes were on this rock which was in between us – the humans and the monkeys. I thought yelling would do the trick. So I did, not once but thrice. It just stared beadily at me. As it reached out to grab my bag, I did the same and got scratched. It was not until we threw Dor’s slippers at them that they retreated. And I had too enthusiastically flung the slipper into the water. Haha.
Scoreboard
Humans - 1
Monkeys - 0
Yay!
It was only later that I heard that the same monkey had pulled the hair of another tourist. I’m willing to bet that this particular one is a female monkey, for that inherent bitchiness she possesses.
Clockwise from left: 1) On the way up 2) Finally we reached the top! 3) The monkey culprits grooming 4) Us posing happily seconds before the face-off with the monkeys
High high up there
Sitting in a suspended seat way up there is no joke. After I got over the initial nerves (images of us toppling off the elephant’s back rampant in my head), it was quite an experience lurching forward with each step it took. Our guide sat in front of us straddling its huge, flappy ears and singing to the tune of “大象，大象，你的鼻子怎麽这麽长？” The back of its ears were surprisingly pink, splattered with grey spots. And its grey hide was so thick and coarse! You should have seen its gentle brown eyes, a little unfocused, framed by the longest lashes ever.
Look at the humongous elephant dung!
A cool dip in the river
After all the excitement, we had a breather activity – River Rafting! It was very peaceful just sitting on the raft, being rowed forward. I was surprised that a bamboo raft was so stable, despite its flimsy appearance. And the best part was of course, the swimming in the river. The river did not smell at all! It was so relaxing just floating there, despite vaguely nagging thoughts of what else might be lurking beneath.
The death railway
The remnants of World War II still remains in Kanchanaburi in the form of the Death Railway. Countless POWs were sacrificed in the Japanese’s quest for a strategic route to transport resources. When we visited the Death Railway Museum, it was coincidentally 8 Feb, the day the Japanese invaded Singapore decades ago. It was said that when the Singapore POWs were brought to Thailand, they were promised better living conditions in the new camp. But of course, the Japanese soldiers were lying.
I chanced upon this blog which gives a true account of what a POW went through then. Give it a read!
http://www.globalgayz.com/kwai.html Clockwise from left: 1) On the death railway 2) Fellow train passengers getting some fresh air 3) A re-enactment of the Road-Runner-tied-to-railway saga =p 4) The bridge over the River Kwai
Noises-in-the-night
Other than the distant karaoke music drifting in now and then, what had us covering our ears was the sound of neighbourly activities seeping through the thin walls between us. Moans punctuated by short pauses, which came faster and faster. I was glad that I had mp3s to keep the noises at bay.
The waterbed experience
We were awoken the next morning by tremors. Bleary me sat up in bed and initially thought it was an earthquake. Then I realized that our bed was actually bobbing up and down, because speedboats were zooming past us on the river. And with that, I went back to sleep. Not a bad sensation after all; in fact, I quite liked it. Thumbs up to staying in a floating river raft room! And imagine yourself bobbing when you are in the shower too. *grinz*
The view from our room's balcony
The swing in the guesthouse!
Labels: Holiday
This was the second Wat that we visited that morning and it was definitely the more interesting of the two!
If you noticed, this is Ayutthaya's version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I read that this was due to the soft sand underneath which leads to the slanting angle of the structure.
This is the only way you are allowed to pose before the Buddha. We were taking a picture, initially standing by the chains and were halted by the guard. He then took this photo for us.
Our guesthouse in Ayutthaya with racks of Japanese Manga! A pity I couldn't read a word of Jap. They have a recreation corner where you can watch cable channels or just flip through magazines. And dear Dor was in our room that night, practising chinese oldies on a random KTV channel. :p Okay, I admit I put her up to it.
Chi Song a.k.a Horn, whom we met at our first stop in Thailand, was travelling with her angmoh bf. She's our age, so it was really easy to talk to her, gushing about hunky korean actors (more from my side :p) and whatnots. But what had us sputtering was her suave partner, blond ponytail and all, who spoke superbly fluent Mandarin and not forgetting Korean, English and his native languages.