These are tough times, I haven't got any appetite to update my blog for quite awhile. At times I feel like I have reached the end of my life stream. I'm finding it really exhausting and tough to land a job and with debts that grows with time, I am really in distress. At one point I tried motivating myself by saying that when the going gets tough, I promise to be even tougher. But it is difficult to acheive that when you hardly see any progress. This is certainly something new to me, I have never had to contend with such a problem and suddenly there I am, down in the pits. I owe a great debt of gratitude to some of my friends out there. This world is certainly nicer with understanding, kind and true friends around that I can count on during the dark days.
I am not the kind of person who gives up easily but yet I am finding it really tough riding the waves alone. Perhaps the only thing which is pushing my powerless body and mind on is the thought of not letting her down.
In my darkest days, all kinds of thoughts and ideas filled my mind. I thought of ridiculous things like robbing a bank and running away for good. I thought of becoming a killer or even a con-man. They are just one off thoughts but still, when you are at your wits' end, chances are you would be so desperate in your bid to survive that you would resort to anything. However, I didn't. I couldn't possibly let people down, people who have been great to me. I can't bring myself to do that.
I'm seriously in distress mode right now but I vow to fight on. Something's got to give and somehow I will make it. But I just can't see any openings in this dark tunnel right now.
3 Bitchings
I'm finally back in boring boring Singapore just in time for Chinese new year after more than a month away. There isn't anything worth mentioning about CNY this year because CNY doesn't feels like CNY to me. Or maybe I just isn't in the mood. So we did the normal things that are supposed to be done - renuion dinner, first Dad's side on day 1, visit Mom's side on day 2 and tadah.....CNY is over although the facts says it is going on for another 12 days at least.
Now it is time to finish up the unfinished task of uploading the whole pile of photos onto whatever social networking sites I've got. In summary, the trip to Pattaya has it ups and downs but without going into specific details, the overall conclusion is that it was a great and successful trip. Pattaya turned out to be even more cold as Hua Hin and fortunately this time round I came well prepared. Another thing worth mentioning is that things really only started to get going from the evening onwards. It is an understatement when I say Pattaya is a nightlife city and it is definitely bigger than Hua Hin. We stick to the infamous walking street so we missed out on other parts of the city which we got a brief sight of when we took the mini bus sometimes. And of course, it is seafood everywhere, in fact it was a little difficult on the first night when we were trying to find a non-seafood restaurant.
"Good guys goes to heaven, Bad guys goes to Pattaya"
To walking street in Pattaya, to be precise. Walking street was actually a long stretch of road which has some back alleys and side roads. In the day it is a normal 2 way road and both sides of the street is filled with all kinds of shops, bars and restaurants. But is when the sun sets that it resumes its name - walking street. A big tourist police van would park itself at the main enterance to walking street. Vehicles were not allowed to enter, and the whole nightlife would pour itself out on the streets, earning it the name walking street. It's as happening as you could imagine.
Then there was the world famous Tiffany Show which is also a Cabaret show. I'd watched my one and only show during my first ever Bangkok trip and so I decided I would catch Tiffany's show. Baby managed to get me a fron row VIP deluxe seat for Thai price of just 450 bahts and nobody suspected that I wasn't Thai which is a good thing. The bad thing was that unlike the first Cabaret show I watched in Bangkok, no photos were allowed in the hall. I suspect it is due to the fear of someone else copying their shows. But I guess someone else had already done that because the show was disappointing, everything was very similiar to the first show I watch more than a year ago. Thankfully I only paid Thai price and not foreign price which is twice the amount of Thai price.
Overall, I would say that Pattaya is a great destination for the sun, the sea, the nightlife and the fun you could get but if u are seeking a zen-like holidays then Hua Hin would be a better choice. The beach at Pattaya isn't excatly great or clean either, but it is still better than Siloso beach here in some ways or more.
Our van home to bkk!
PS. lazy to caption the pics, let ur imaginations do it!
3 Bitchings
I've got thousands of photos and I'm not quite sure how they should be divided up so I figured I would first take out those on short excursion trips out of Bangkok starting with the 3 days 2 night trip to Hua Hin on January 2 - a truly memorable trip.
Forecasting a sunny beach filled with coconut trees, tanning addicts and lots of heat like the beaches in Singapore, I packed light clothes like singlets, t-shirts and bermudas with only one long sleeve cloth - a cotton sweater. I was going to take one of those 2000 baht (1 way) taxis or private cars until Ying said she knew of cheaper options. And the cheaper options turned out to be a whopping 1800 baht cheaper at just 200 baht per person, 1 way of course but you could see the huge difference. We went to century mall at Victory Monument and the sight of all those rowdy looking Thai guys sitting in front of makeshift wooden board counters doesn't seem to bode well. I thought the 200 baht price would only apply for Thais but nevertheless I was still optimistic about my chances. I waited at 1 corner puffing away while she went and came back with 2 tickets - 400 bahts for both accounting to 200 freaking bahts each! 200 freaking bahts.... which is lesser than SGD$8 for a trip to Hua Hin!
We boarded one of the what must be hundreds of white Toyota mini van or bus. Each would fill 11 heads plus the driver. The seats were more comfortable than those of a budget airplane and the speed at which he vehicle goes would have alarmed many if it was used on Singapore roads. We were the last passengers so we had to sit in front of the Van and I had a perfect view of the driver's speedometer. At times he went over 140 kmph, cutting in and out of traffic, horning at anyone who would get into his way but yet driving safely at the same time. Remember that this wasn't a Subaru WRX but a high powered Toyota Mini-Bus/Van. We reached Hua Hin at about 5pm (Thai time) meaning the whole journey was less than 2.5 hours and I was surprised by the weather. It was extremely breezy, windy and cold! But I probably didn't felt it as much as on the 2nd day as I was carrying heavy bags and that would generally cause my body to heat up. But I didn't sweat a single drop. A miracle for a person who sweats easily and is in Thailand.
My first picture in Hua Hin upon alighting the bus
We decided to walk into the beach area from the main roads leading to the highway after Ying got info from one of the moto-sai (motorbike taxis) that it is only a 15 min walk. Of course it would be fine for her but I was going to suffer carrying the bags. We finally reached the main beach area and sois (streets) after what must be like a 30 minute walk. By then the skies were kind of dark. Well the skies in Thailand tends to get dark when it's only like 6pm. As we had not book any accomodation, we were going to have to search for a guesthouse on foot. Ying had a recommendation for Fulay guesthouse but unfortunately it was fully booked for the day just like many others which had the "Fully Booked Today" sign hanging outside the main enterance. We went into the next one 2 shops away from Fulay which I had no idea what the name was. Our idea was to get a guesthouse that is built along the coast as it would be very cool and great at night when the tide gets high. Now I didn't like the particular sight of this unknown guesthouse as the room which they showed us resembles something of a fugitive hideout on a makeshift wooden boathouse or that of a dimly lited, scary and dirty looking kampong house. Either choice, it fits the description. But what was attractive was that it costs only 500 baht per night. We were going to move our ass back to Fulay the next day, it was already past 6.30pm and we were tired from all the walking and so I thought we would just take up the offer. But I made the mistake of asking for a bigger room and so we were led into a bigger but equally terrible looking room. It has 3 beds but I was told the price was 1000 baht for this room. I knew they were trying to chop me as there's no way this room is going to cost 500 more than the previous despite having an additional bed. I was going to say no but looking at her tired face and at the time, I whipped out a 1000 baht note to the delight of the greedy looking auntie.
The terrible guesthouse!
This is the most basic toilet ever
Nice "dressing table"
Air con!
Tv, towels and errr rack?
The moment the door was locked (with a big padlock) and the curtains were drawn, I couldn't help but whine about how stupid the room is and how stupid I was to have paid 1000 baht for it. Exploring the room, I realize everything was very basic. The toilet did not have the warm water I crave of course but what is infuriating was that the fucking toilet bowl did not have a button or handle to flush everything down! There was a big vase or flower pot nearby with a scoop and I soon realize what those were for. You would have to manually scoop water from the pot and flush all your shit down yourself like the old kampong days! Next I checked the bed which is actually a queen size mattress lying on the floor. The moment I sat on it, the mattress seem to gave way like any old mattress would and I dread to pull up the sheets to see what kind of mattress it is. Who knows it is probably some 20 years old mattress which was meant for recycling!?! I smelt one of the towels tucked nicely in the cabinet under the small tv set and it definitely smells very wierd like some kind of herbal scent. Ying had brought her own towel, good move I must say and now I'm going to get through living under the worse possible kind of room ever, and all these having paid 1000 bahts!
I was exhausted and fell asleep soon after only to wake up an hour later with Ying nowhere to be seen. Before I panic, I saw a little note sticking on the tv set. "I'm at the back of this guest house --> to see a sunset, a beach, sea.... and smoke!! see u ; very bad bf :p - ying" The message was ordinary at most, the English wasn't perfect but somehow I found it sweet and it made my day. I got changed and went to find her and soon we were on our way to dinner. By now it was about 8.30pm and the weather was very cold. We had agreed that seafood would have to wait until the next day but we somehow ended up eating seafood at 1 of the many seafood restaurants. The food was great, especially the curry crabs but the weather was a little too chilly to my liking especially given the clothes I was wearing. We spent the night exploring the night market which was disappointing in terms of variety and other parts before heading back for a really early night. We were both exhausted and that was just 1 of the 2 reasons why I was able to sleep soundly in such conditions. She was the other reason.
Simple seafood dinner
Would love to have this in Singapore...!
Chinese temple
A picture of he stupid guesthouse from afar....at least the location is good!
Errie looking sights of the sampans and boats at night.
We had agreed to wake up at 5am to watch the sunrise together and we did wake up at that time but I woke up with a terrible tummy, either too much wind inside or something wrong with the food or my stomach. I had non-stop diaheora and to my astonishment I realize there was NO TOILET ROLL available in the fucking toilet! You paid money for the room, you take a dump and you realize there was NO toilet paper inside! I had to sit on the bowl while Ying went to the convenience store to get me a roll of paper. I had never experience such shits before, it was a new and unwanted experience. Ying came back with some toilet paper and a bottle of 'sponsor' which according to her was a drink used to clean the intestines or bowels. I fell in love with the drink at first slip! Unfortunately he 7-11s in Singapore do not have it.
The place to watch sunset/rise. ps this is taken in the day time
Things soon got a little better and we went to watch the sunrise from a very nice spot just behind the chinese temple. It was extremely cold there and people were wearing jackets and even winter clothings. It was as cold as Genting in the mornings or night and I ain't extraggating. My tummy wasn't feeling good and the cold weather was making it worse but nevertheless we managed to catch the beautiful sunrise together. Hot coffee and tea at MacDonalds' was to follow next but halfway through the journey by foot I felt extremely painful and weak in my stomach and basically my entire body went numb. I could barely walk and I kept taking 'breaks' to sit down and crouch my tummy. The weather was still as cold as before. We managed to make it to MacDonalds' and despite having some hot tea I felt worse. I was trying all kinds of positions, sitting to my left, right and even lying down on the seats but it didn't help. I was still going to the toilet often. At this moment, Ying went off to get me medicine while I waited at Mac wondering how the hell did I got myself sick at a time like this. She came back with not only medicines but also a warm bottle of water and some souvenirs for me. This sweet moment was to be embraced.
Beautiful sunrise!
We went back to check out of the shitty guesthouse and check into Fulay after I got better. The contrast was like between heaven and hell. I spent the afternoon in bed sleeping after dosage of medicine while she went to the saloon. I had caught a fever by then and I was coughing very badly. Thankfully things got better and we went out for some simple food at an Italian restaurant in the evening and then check out the bars. The bar girls in Hua Hin must have been discards. They were all nowhere near the standards of those in Bangkok.
Fulay Guesthouse
Our room. See the difference? And its even 20 baht cheaper than the stupid guesthouse!
Lovely breakfast
You could see Pattaya from here!
These chill out spots rox!
A typical Hua Hin taxi!
Fulay Guesthouse's chill out deck at night
To say I wasted almost an entire day due to sickness was right but we made up for it on the final day with a great day out at the beautiful beach. Slipping my Singha, eating satay, laying on the beach under an umbrella with the waves constantly hitting my feets, watching the skies and people all around me with someone I love beside, life couldn't have gotten better.
Paradise!
View from my bus seat on the way home!
0 Bitchings
It is Monday night and Bangkok and aside from having a really good sleep, having Japanese Ramen for dinner, I haven't got a plan. And so it marks the most boring night of the trip so far. Decided that since I have got time on my hands I should just resize those truckloads of pictures and blog a little. Unfortunately the connection is rather slow and at 1 baht per minute of usage, I figured I would need to spend like 500 bahts to edit and upload everything. That just isnt worth it so I'd have to make do with 1/8 of the amount of photos I have and the rest would have to wait.
Just checked the airfares to chiang mai this evening and the prices were terrible even for thai budget airlines. It costs something like $B4000 (roughly SGD$200) for a 2 way trip to chiang mai from bangkok. Add up the taxi fares to and from the airports and it just really isnt worth going. Looks like I'd have to settle for Issan and Pattaya.
It's been more than 2 weeks since I'm here and it's really starting to feel boring. The hotel receptionist are probably sick of seeing my face 2-3 times everyday and the housemaids have even figured out how I want my room to be prepared and tided up. Do I miss Singapore? Do I miss home? I don't. I'm even trying to see if I could extend this vacation and alas my already long bills longer.
At the Suvarnabhumi airport, its rather quiet there but slowly the tourists are returning..
Clearing customs was so hassle free and fast!
With Mel at the taxi stand outside the airport
My messy room at Citin Hotel in Pratunam, finally I'm back at Pratunam!
The view from my room window
Baiyoke Suite hotel
I love street breakfast....only $2+ for all these!
J-One massage parlour + sauna (with special of coz) and no, I havent been there before!
The busy Sampeng lane at Chinatown
On the TukTuk back from Chinatown
Cant really see Mel's hair braids
Being vain, being me
4 Bitchings
The smell of pollution from the heavy traffic in Bangkok is such a stark contrast as to that of the refreshing sea breeze in Hua Hin. Things didn't excatly went well these, I got into some kind of terrible tummy ache on the 1st night after indulging myself in those cheap and tasty seafood. I spent almost the entire 2nd day in bed down with stomachache, fever and then cough. Terrible but the phramacy saved my trip from turning into a disaster.
The weather there is fantastic, it feels like I'm in genting. Yeah it is that cold especially in the morning. The beaches were great as well and for like the first time in my life I could sit on one of those beach chairs just in front of the coast drinking away, watching people of all walks of life walking past me and thinking how great life is. Fantastic getaway it is from busy hectic bangkok. Anticipating my next trip to Pattaya this weekend!
1 Bitchings
