Labels: Holiday

*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

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.

And the highlight of this Wat will have to be this Sandstone Buddha!

The roots of the Bodhi tree have completely enveloped this statue, such that the entire body has disappeared from view, or perhaps even disintegrated. It seems to be a sacred site to the Thais.

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.

And this is my favourite pic of all!

Labels: Holiday

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

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.

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

The view from our room's balcony

The swing in the guesthouse!

Labels: Holiday

Labels: Holiday

For a while, it had appeared that we might not go ahead with the trip, what with the bomb blasts, civil unrest and the political spats with S'pore. But we are going to die-die forge ahead and disguise ourselves as either taiwanese, malaysians or japs. And why do we (as taiwanese, malaysians or japs) speak such fluent english? Coz we studied in int'l schools! Do pray we can fib our way through!

It has not been easy on my conscience. Going for this trip, that is. Having just started in the company, I've been feeling twinges of guilt everytime the same question pops up on people's lips. 'But u just joined! How come you are taking a holiday so soon?' I know I know, if I didn't have to, I wouldn't either. That is partly why I've decided not to go for my convocation ceremony in April later this year. It will be in Perth, and while I felt it would be a good way to round up the whole studying process (like don the blue-yellow gown, throw up the graduation hat to showers of confetti), it felt ...extravagant. And over-demanding.

On a separate note, I was telling my colleague about my face-flat fall in the theatre yesterday. One minute, I was walking out to the ladies, the next, I went down with an ooof onto the carpet, with all the wind knocked out of me. Ms Clumsy I know. But one of her comments got me thinking. If I were to really trip over a step, I would not have fallen so completely and so drastically rite? I might have fallen onto my knees...or broke the fall with my arms. But no, I was lying flat! And then she speculated that places like cinemas and washrooms are often refuges for lost spirits. That really sent a shiver down my spine. It was probably not a good idea that we went on to discuss about Thailand and its propensity for...being haunted. Shucks, now I'm creeped out. Hopefully, with Dor's trusty bible, we would be able to overcome all odds. And as this colleague alighted from the train, she turned back with the most crucial advice: 'Make sure u make lots of noise when u enter your hotel room! Laugh, shout or announce your presence!' Okay, I hope I won't feel silly if I really do try this out.

We will be heading out of the capital for the first few days of the trip. And I'm looking forward to it, more than the shopping! We will be staying in rooms on the river, dipping in waterfalls and petting tigers. Hoho. Here's a sneak preview:

Updates when I'm back then! Cheerios!

Labels: Holiday