I just returned from Bangkok about 2 weeks back. It was my 1st time there and I stayed for 5 days. Bangkok has always been one of the places that has always been "so near yet so far".
Went there with my family, which was fine with me cause I'm pretty broke after my few trips this year. This time around I'll do my travelogue in a different style. It will be in a form of information or fact-file style (if you get what I mean). Later, I'll do a short itinerary of my stay there and then I'll try to do a short review for each of the place I visited.
Travel Date: 17th to 21 June 2009
Airline: Air Asia (thanks to them I've flown pretty often. I think I've only flown with MAS twice in the past 6-8 years).
Hotel: The Heritage Hotel, Bangkok (Its 3 Star hotel with quite good facilities, including free net access!). Its located in Silom area, meaning where all the Corporate HQs are located and right beside the BTS train (50m only). Paid 6,600 baht for 4 nights as part of its stay 3 night free 1 night promotion. There are cheaper places, but I liked the location of this hotel. Would I consider it value for money? Yes, of course! The rooms were clean and new and the rooftop pool is kinda nice. I'll be doing a review of it on TripAdvisor.com soon.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrived at airport - Hotel 500 baht. Checked in, rested about half an hour before having lunch at a stall outside our hotel. Cheap and quite good.
Took the train from hotel (Chong Nonsi BTS Station) to Siam, which is about 2 stops away. Its a shopping district with lots of malls and little stores. Managed to Shop our way down to MBK (something like the MidValley of Bangkok, but not as big) before realising that my mom's phone was missing. Realised that she got pickpocketed when we were walking thru the huge crowd at Siam Discovery Centre. Stopped at the Tailor at MBK. Mum and Sis made suits each. Shopped till about 7.30pm(Thailand time) before taking the train back to our hotel. Took a quick shower bofore going down to Lek Seafood (Round the corner) for dinner. Food not bad, maybe a 6.5/10, price decent as well. Went back to hotel.
Later at night,at about 10.30 pm, went out with my sis. Walked to Patpong Night Market, which was about 10-15 mins slow walk from our hotel. We literally walked to another BTS station. Night market sold pretty standard Bangkok tourist stuff. Prices are quite unreasonable, so bargaining skills are needed. Bargain at least up to 50-60% off. Got back to the hotel, with super weary legs at about midnight.
Day 2. Up at 7am to have breakfast and to prepare for another long day of walking. Took the BTS to the Saphan Taksin station and walked to the River Jetty Pier. Bought the tickets for the Chao Phraya River Cruise at 150 baht per person. Allows unlimited travel on their ferry up and down the river for the day.
Ferry arrived and left at 9.30am. Our 1st stop was at the Grand Palace jetty. The tourist ferry service has a special shuttle bus and guide waiting at the pier to take us to the Palace as well as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Free of charge!!). Entrance fee is 350 baht per person. Paid and then realised I couldnt wear shorts in the grounds. For to wear long pants from their clothing rental office. Our guide took us around the temple as well as the Palace grounds and explaining the details and the historical stuff. It felt like a personal tour as we were the only people that got off at this pier earlier. The Palace as well as this temple grounds is huge.
We had lunch later outside the palace grounds at a nearby market. Insisted the guide join us for lunch as he was told he cannot have lunch with tourists. Since it was just us, we told him its alright. Food was cheap, although tasted different. maybe thats some real Thai food after all. The bill came up to about 250 baht for vegetables, duck, chicken, pork dishes, rice as well as drinks for 5 people.
Later we were taken to the Vimanek Mansion which is about 15 minuted drive across bangkok town to visit the Teakwood Mansion. Entry fee is waived if you buy the grand palace tickets. Here, it housed lots of teakwood furniture as well as intricate carvings. Also housed lots of gifts that were given to the King on his birthday, some made of gold.
On our way back, we also passed by the Parliament grounds as well as the Democracy Square where the tens of thousands of Thais protested a few months back. Later we we visited this jewelry factory where we could see how some of the jewellery like rings and necklaces are made. Stuff sold there was pretty expensive, thats for sure.
The Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha temple tour ends there, but our nice guide offered to drop us off at Wat Pho, our next destination.
Wat Pho is home to the world's largest reclining Buddha as well as the famous Thai School for massage. massages here are slightly more expensive, but its supposed to be the origins of Authentic thai massage. Entrance fee here is I think 200 baht per person. Not soo sure about it.
Next, we walked to the nearby pier and took a river boat across the Chao Phraya river to Wat Arun. This costs 3 baht per person one way. We took our boat across and entered the Temple grounds. Wat Arun is known as the temple of the dawn. Here we can climb up the stairs up to the top of the temple. It was almost 6pm when we reached the top and the sun was about to set in Bangkok. The view was pretty awesome as we can see the river as well as Wat Pho across the river and the Bangkok city. Cost of entry is about 50 baht per person if i remember correctly.
We took the river boat across the river and waited for our boat to take us back to our Jetty this morning. Took some bought lots of foodstuff along the way back and snacked till we got to the Siam area again for my mum and sister's suit fitting. After they did their fitting we went shopping around MBK again and bought more light snacks. Went back to the hotel for a shower and a break. Had dinner at the same roadside place where we had lunch yesterday.
Dad wanted to rest so the 3 of us went out again. Took the train to Saladaeng station (where Patpong is) and walked the night market again. Instead of taking the train, we walked back to our hotel. Another Damned tiring day.
Day 3. Had the luxury of waking up a bit later today as we were gonna meet my father's cousin later. Woke up at about 8.30 before going down for our breakfast. My father's cousin, C, picked us up and took us out of Bangkok city. We visited some temple about 45 minutes away before she brought us to meet her husband in his factory. He runs an aluminium smelting comapny. As such, were were taken around the factory to see how they smelt aluminium. And when we were taken into a warehouse where the bars are left to cool, the places looked so shiny. All the aluminium bars are so so shiny and reflective! Meand sister were thinking, if only these were all gold bars instead...
As her husband was busy, we decided to go out somewhere to have lunch. Ended up driving back towards the city and stopped at a shopping mall called Central, somewhere outskirts of Bangkok. Had lunch at some Thai restaurant which served some really spicy food. After lunch, C drove back into Bangkok and dropped us at Platinum shopping mall in Pratunam.
Pratunam is the heart of ready to made fashion shopping. It houses almost all of Bangkok's clothing wholesalers. hence shopping at Platinum was all about clothes. Nothing else. 7 storeys of clothing shops drove my sister and mom crazy. After that, we took a cab towards the Siam area where the shopping onslaught continued. We had dinner atone of the Chinese restaurant inside MBK before going to the tailors for the final fitting. Once it was done, we got the suits back and took the train back to our hotel.
Once again, after showers and half and hours rest, we took a cab to the famous Suan Lum night bazaar, about 10 minutes away. Its actually within walkng distance from our hotel but since its at night and i didnt really know how to get there, we felt it was safer to take a cab there and back. Suan Lum sold most of the usual stuff we've seen throughout our whole trip. didnt find anything surprising or out of the ordinary. Went back after an hour of walking about. Legs KO-ed again.
Day 4. Woke up at 7.30am for the usual breakfast. Was getting tired of their spread. Didnt show much variety. Anwyays, we took the train back to the pier and this time we decided not to take the tourist boat. We took the normal boats which the Thais take to work or to run their errands. It was really cool to take these boats as we really felt like we were living like Thais. Got off at the Memorial bridge Pier at a cost of 13 baht per person. Then we walked about 15 mintues before we found the place. The Flower market or Pak Khlong Talat. Its literally a wholesale market selling fruits, vegetables, spices as well as flowers.And thats what we were here for. To see the flower market.
There were lots and lots of stall selling flowers at drop dead prices. A huge bouquet of roses (just wrapped in newspapers lar...) were going for 30baht only. All there were so many colours to choose from! So many different types of flowers were available as well at rock bottom prices. My sis ended up buying a bouquet and last we counted, there were 40 stalks of roses for 30 baht.
After walking the flower market, we took a cab to Khao San road. Khao San is a famous place in Bangkok where most back packers will stay. However, sad to say that, in the day time, mos tof the shops arent open, so there wasnt much to see.
From here, we went to find the Erawan shrine, which is a famous place in Bangkok as a lot of famous people has stopped by there to offer their prayers. The place was small, but it was packed with people. And since Erawan shrine is just next to the Siam area, guess where we headed to next. As we got tired of lugging around flower and other stuff, we decided to ehad back to the hotel to leave our stuff there. Went back and had lunch at I-residence hotel, which was beside our hotel. After that it was back on the trains and off we went shopping again at the Siam area. Wanted to visit the Famous Aquarium in Bangkok, which was the biggest in Asia, but at 800baht per person, it wasnt worth it. Spent more time walking around then. Went back to the hotel to have dinner at a nearby restaurant serving Shanghainese food. Food was decent, and was priced similarly to KL restaurants.
Now after dinner, we headed to Patpong one more time but this time, the whole gang together. Did some more last minute shopping and walked our way back. Legs GG again!!
Day 5. it was my last day here in Bangkok and i was determined to make the most out of it. Woke up at 7 am dragged my mum and sis along with me. We went to Lumphini Park by cab, which was beside the Suan Lum Night market. Lumphini Park is the biggest park in Bangkok and I'm sure there was plenty of sights to absorb.
I was right! There were so many different things that people were doing there. Most were jogging or doing their daily walks. Some had yoga groups, tai chi groups, wushe groups, pilates groups, line dancing... There were groups of old men and women just sitting down having breafast in the park together. The most interesting thing that we encountered was that when the national anthem was played around int he park, every1 stopped what they were doing. Dead in their tracks. and they sang the national anthem! Even the foreigners did the same. and so did we. Oh a little caution to those who are afraid of reptiles. This place is crawling with monitor lizards. some up to 1.5m in length. No kidding. They siwm up and own the lakes and sun themselves of the grass. I think they've gotten use to the humans surrounding them and vice versa.
After our little walk around th park, we walked pur way past Patpong in the day and it looks dead. We stopped by one of the coffeeshops to have breakfast and then we bought some food stuff along the way as we walked our way back to the hotel.
Once we got back to our hotel, we took a shower and got ready to check out. C came to pick us up so we can have lunch with them before they send us off to the Airport. So we had lunch at... of all places... Ah Yat Abelone in Ramada Hotel, Bangkok. We told her that this place can also be found in Kl but it isnt very famous. Over here, this place is packed for breakfast, esp for its Dim Sum. Food here was alright, nothing spectacular, but i thought it was a little on the pricey side. Duh....
ANyways, C sent us to the airport and we thanked her for her hospitality and waved her goodbye. And now, for the long journeyback to KL. With extra heavy luggages this time around....
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So yup, there is my travelogue. Kinda brief, and sorry if there arent any pictures. have not gone about editing them yet. Will post them up on Facebook soon, so stay tuned.
Till then,
Boodyboy,out!!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 - my 5Km worth of observations
Yes ladies and gentleman,
Yours truly registered for the 5km Fun Run (although I really wanted to join the 10km).
Lucky I didn't register for the 10km this year as I was tired after the 5km run. Maybe next year, or maybe not. Maybe not this event after this not-so-pleasant experience.
I managed to drag my lazy ass out of bed at 5.30am this morning (poor me, those 42km runners flagged of at 5am). It was raining heavily at my place, which led me to think if they might cancel the run. (Yes, that lazy-shit thinking kept creeping up, since i wanted to sleep in). Decided no chance in hell I'll not do the run.
Woke my sister up as well as she going there as a photographer. And we left to pick up her friend FO at 6.15am. Since most of the roads around KL has been closed since 5am for the 42km run, we decided to park at KL Sentral and take the train to Masjid Jamek.
Arrived and waited for the rest of my team to arrive. Yes, I registered a team for the 5km Fun Run (I can safely say its no fun ;-p). There were a total of 6 people in this team. And the team name is (drum roll please)..... Boody's Boys and Babes!!! ;-p
Yup, this is us, the motley crew of wannabe runners, hahaha!!!
We met up at Masjid Jamek before heading to Dataran Merdeka where the race was to begin. At about 7.45 we gathered around the Start/Finish line for some warm up before at 8am sharp, we were flagged off.
I had some problems at the start of the race as I had drank too much water just before and I really needed to take a leak somewhere. After running up a hill behind the National Mosque, I passed by a DBKL public toilet. I ran to it only to find that I required 20 cents for entry. I asked the man in charge if I could use it for free as I didn't bring any cash with me. He was kind enough to me to say yes and I promptly did my business and thanked him profusely. I then continued the run as we raced towards the dataran merdeka once againheading back to the Start/Finish line.
This is where the problem began, instead of passing the Start/Finish line, we were redirected onto the field where all the other participants were getting their drinks after the race. Most of the runners for the 5km category were puzzled. Did the race finish already? How come we did not get to pass the Finish line? Most decided that it was the end of the route and started getting their refreshments and as well as resting from the run. I, however, decided to go across the field, behind the Royal Selangor Clubhouse. Thats when i caught sight of a few people of my 5km category who decided to walk further to see if there was more to the route. I joined them aswe asked each other if we were on the right track.
I knew it was not 5km when we got back to the field as I'm sure 5km course is not that short. So with a few ppl of my category in sight, we walked towards Bank Negara and up Jalan Parlimen. However, the longer we walked, the more nervous we became as we didnt see any1 else walking in the same direction as us. Here, I chatted with a little girl who was also running the 5km. She seemed all alone walking with us so I decided I should stick with her, just in case( U know lah, KL crime rate very high). Then we could see other 5km runners as well as some 10 km runners running in the opposite direction, going towards Bank Negara. I ran across theroad to ask them if we were on the right track, they said yeah, just walk all the way up to the Lake Gardens/ Tugu Negara traffice and make a U-turn to join the rest of the ppl. So thats what we did.
I was relieved when we joined back the rest of the crowd, though the were mostly from the 10km category. We ran back to Bank Negara before heading towards Sogo. There we turned back into Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman for the final straight into the Start/Finish Line. As I raced towards the Finish Line, I noticed some of my team mates were already resting by the roadside. They were waving me on. And I was thinking to myself, there's no chance in hell these guys overtook me. THey must have stopped at the padang the first time around. Once I completed the run, I found out it took me a little under and hour to finish the 5km.
Thats me!! Running towards the Finish Line.
Now this is the Picture of me running with the little girl I was talking about. She's trying to overtake me!! And that's me going, "WTF?!?!?"
And this is me thinking," WHere's the competition?"
Why was I so slow? Cause I walked about looking at where I should continue after being led towards the padang earlier. In the end, after coming back and looking at the map, this is the route I took:
We were led to run the route Marked in RED. Then most of the people stopped at the Pink area as they thought the 5km was over. I then continued with a few others after the Pink arrow all the way up to the Tugu Negara traffic light in which I managed to join back the main crowd. I then followed back the original 5km route marked in ORANGE.
All I can say is that I think I definitely did more than 5km, but the thrill was lost as I think about 70% of the people stopped at the padang, hence not many of my fellow 5km runners finish the enitre route.
There was no signs for the runners to show where they were heading. Nobody guided us and told us where to run to. Route management was poor in my opinion. I just followed the crowd and we all ran the wrong way. All my team mates stopped at the Pink arrow which i have made out on the map. It was sad because a lot of people felt short changed.
That was the least of the marathon's problems. Looking at the complaints on the websites, there weremore serious problems like running out of water at water stations for the 42 and 20km runners. Some ppl had to resort to running into 7-11 to buy water!! There are also more issues but I guess this has been highlighted to the organisers on the Facebook page. Hopefully the organisers will seriously buck up or else, this might spell the end of this race in Malaysia.
Anyways, I enjoyed the run as I was motivated to do some serious workout today and I got it. Super duper achy now, but thats alright. Makes me wonder if I can really do the 10km run next year. I was already very tired doing the 5km, as did my friends (who only did half of what I did ;-p). Maybe I shall start running more on treadmill. Maybe...
Boodyboy, out!!
Yours truly registered for the 5km Fun Run (although I really wanted to join the 10km).
Lucky I didn't register for the 10km this year as I was tired after the 5km run. Maybe next year, or maybe not. Maybe not this event after this not-so-pleasant experience.
I managed to drag my lazy ass out of bed at 5.30am this morning (poor me, those 42km runners flagged of at 5am). It was raining heavily at my place, which led me to think if they might cancel the run. (Yes, that lazy-shit thinking kept creeping up, since i wanted to sleep in). Decided no chance in hell I'll not do the run.
Woke my sister up as well as she going there as a photographer. And we left to pick up her friend FO at 6.15am. Since most of the roads around KL has been closed since 5am for the 42km run, we decided to park at KL Sentral and take the train to Masjid Jamek.
Arrived and waited for the rest of my team to arrive. Yes, I registered a team for the 5km Fun Run (I can safely say its no fun ;-p). There were a total of 6 people in this team. And the team name is (drum roll please)..... Boody's Boys and Babes!!! ;-p
Yup, this is us, the motley crew of wannabe runners, hahaha!!!
We met up at Masjid Jamek before heading to Dataran Merdeka where the race was to begin. At about 7.45 we gathered around the Start/Finish line for some warm up before at 8am sharp, we were flagged off.
I had some problems at the start of the race as I had drank too much water just before and I really needed to take a leak somewhere. After running up a hill behind the National Mosque, I passed by a DBKL public toilet. I ran to it only to find that I required 20 cents for entry. I asked the man in charge if I could use it for free as I didn't bring any cash with me. He was kind enough to me to say yes and I promptly did my business and thanked him profusely. I then continued the run as we raced towards the dataran merdeka once againheading back to the Start/Finish line.
This is where the problem began, instead of passing the Start/Finish line, we were redirected onto the field where all the other participants were getting their drinks after the race. Most of the runners for the 5km category were puzzled. Did the race finish already? How come we did not get to pass the Finish line? Most decided that it was the end of the route and started getting their refreshments and as well as resting from the run. I, however, decided to go across the field, behind the Royal Selangor Clubhouse. Thats when i caught sight of a few people of my 5km category who decided to walk further to see if there was more to the route. I joined them aswe asked each other if we were on the right track.
I knew it was not 5km when we got back to the field as I'm sure 5km course is not that short. So with a few ppl of my category in sight, we walked towards Bank Negara and up Jalan Parlimen. However, the longer we walked, the more nervous we became as we didnt see any1 else walking in the same direction as us. Here, I chatted with a little girl who was also running the 5km. She seemed all alone walking with us so I decided I should stick with her, just in case( U know lah, KL crime rate very high). Then we could see other 5km runners as well as some 10 km runners running in the opposite direction, going towards Bank Negara. I ran across theroad to ask them if we were on the right track, they said yeah, just walk all the way up to the Lake Gardens/ Tugu Negara traffice and make a U-turn to join the rest of the ppl. So thats what we did.
I was relieved when we joined back the rest of the crowd, though the were mostly from the 10km category. We ran back to Bank Negara before heading towards Sogo. There we turned back into Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman for the final straight into the Start/Finish Line. As I raced towards the Finish Line, I noticed some of my team mates were already resting by the roadside. They were waving me on. And I was thinking to myself, there's no chance in hell these guys overtook me. THey must have stopped at the padang the first time around. Once I completed the run, I found out it took me a little under and hour to finish the 5km.
Thats me!! Running towards the Finish Line.
Now this is the Picture of me running with the little girl I was talking about. She's trying to overtake me!! And that's me going, "WTF?!?!?"
And this is me thinking," WHere's the competition?"
Why was I so slow? Cause I walked about looking at where I should continue after being led towards the padang earlier. In the end, after coming back and looking at the map, this is the route I took:
We were led to run the route Marked in RED. Then most of the people stopped at the Pink area as they thought the 5km was over. I then continued with a few others after the Pink arrow all the way up to the Tugu Negara traffic light in which I managed to join back the main crowd. I then followed back the original 5km route marked in ORANGE.
All I can say is that I think I definitely did more than 5km, but the thrill was lost as I think about 70% of the people stopped at the padang, hence not many of my fellow 5km runners finish the enitre route.
There was no signs for the runners to show where they were heading. Nobody guided us and told us where to run to. Route management was poor in my opinion. I just followed the crowd and we all ran the wrong way. All my team mates stopped at the Pink arrow which i have made out on the map. It was sad because a lot of people felt short changed.
That was the least of the marathon's problems. Looking at the complaints on the websites, there weremore serious problems like running out of water at water stations for the 42 and 20km runners. Some ppl had to resort to running into 7-11 to buy water!! There are also more issues but I guess this has been highlighted to the organisers on the Facebook page. Hopefully the organisers will seriously buck up or else, this might spell the end of this race in Malaysia.
Anyways, I enjoyed the run as I was motivated to do some serious workout today and I got it. Super duper achy now, but thats alright. Makes me wonder if I can really do the 10km run next year. I was already very tired doing the 5km, as did my friends (who only did half of what I did ;-p). Maybe I shall start running more on treadmill. Maybe...
Boodyboy, out!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Rest In Peace Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)
For today and in the future, we will always "Rock with You". Your songs helped shaped my childhood and most of us who grew up in the 80s and early 90s.
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.
On June 25, 2009, he collapsed at his home in Los Angeles due to cardiac arrest.[4] After being taken to the hospital in a coma, Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26pm Pacific Time.[5][6]
Grew up watching your music videos. I still "Remember the Time"s I spent in front of the tv and radio everytime your song was played. Though I never aspired to a dancer or singer like you (because I'm not good at both), I thoroughly enjoyed your music.
I have so many favourite songs from your albums. At the top of my head now, Beat It; Remember the Time; Rock With You; Thriller; Billie Jean; Black or White; Man in The Mirror; You are not Alone....
Below is a brief article on him coutesy of Wikipedia:
********************
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)[2][3] was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.
On June 25, 2009, he collapsed at his home in Los Angeles due to cardiac arrest.[4] After being taken to the hospital in a coma, Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26pm Pacific Time.[5][6]
***********************
In the words of Michael Jackson, "Keep On With The Force Don't Stop Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough "
Till then, Michael has left the building!
Boodyboy, out!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
SImple Thai Phrases which I learnt throughout my 3 Trips to Thailand this year
Hi Everyone once again,
Simple words or terms I learnt while in Thailand. Yes I've been there 3 times alone this year. Twice to Krabi (February and May) and Bangkok, just last week. Good for going around. Though more and more Thais in touristy areas can understand simple english. Some of them smile or looked impress when u can use a few words of Thai in your conversation
Sawadeeka (kap) - Hello. Its a general greeting, can be used during anytime of day. I dont think there is a term for good morning, afternoon and etc (please do correct me if I'm wrong). The words in Brackets shows the pronunciation for females.
Kun Thai - Thai national / citizen
Farang - Foreigner / Toursists
Tau Rai? - How much?
Mai Dai - Cannot (Me and my sis will have a good time laughing over this phrase)
Kiep Tan - Calling for the Bill
Kap Khun Ka (Krap) - Thank You
Moo - Pork (I know... weird isn't it? SO beef is Oink? LOL! I dont know what beef in Thai is though)
Goong - Prawn. I.e. Tom Yam goong
Kai - Chicken
Talay - Seafood. E.g. Pad Thai Talay
Pad Thai - Fried Flat Noodles Thai Style
Khao - Rice
Tom Yum - Duh.... This also need to ask?
Tub Tip Krop - Red Rubies dessert
Soi - Little streets or Lorong
Suvarnabhumi Airport is Pronounced as Soo Wanna Poom
BTS - the Monorail train system that run above ground in Bangkok
MRT - The Subway system in bangkok
Khlongs - Rivers (Bangkok is built around the famous Chao Phraya River)
Wat - Temple. E.g. Wat Arun, Wat Pho
Rak - Love
Sabye - Good.
Sabye Sabye - very good or best
Tuk Tuk - Dangerous flimsy looking bikes that has been modified to pick up passengers. Found almost everywhere in Thailand. Does not have a meter.
Thats all I can think of at the moment. Please do not hesitate to add in more if you know more.
Will probably update this as i think of them.
Simple words or terms I learnt while in Thailand. Yes I've been there 3 times alone this year. Twice to Krabi (February and May) and Bangkok, just last week. Good for going around. Though more and more Thais in touristy areas can understand simple english. Some of them smile or looked impress when u can use a few words of Thai in your conversation
Sawadeeka (kap) - Hello. Its a general greeting, can be used during anytime of day. I dont think there is a term for good morning, afternoon and etc (please do correct me if I'm wrong). The words in Brackets shows the pronunciation for females.
Kun Thai - Thai national / citizen
Farang - Foreigner / Toursists
Tau Rai? - How much?
Mai Dai - Cannot (Me and my sis will have a good time laughing over this phrase)
Kiep Tan - Calling for the Bill
Kap Khun Ka (Krap) - Thank You
Moo - Pork (I know... weird isn't it? SO beef is Oink? LOL! I dont know what beef in Thai is though)
Goong - Prawn. I.e. Tom Yam goong
Kai - Chicken
Talay - Seafood. E.g. Pad Thai Talay
Pad Thai - Fried Flat Noodles Thai Style
Khao - Rice
Tom Yum - Duh.... This also need to ask?
Tub Tip Krop - Red Rubies dessert
Soi - Little streets or Lorong
Suvarnabhumi Airport is Pronounced as Soo Wanna Poom
BTS - the Monorail train system that run above ground in Bangkok
MRT - The Subway system in bangkok
Khlongs - Rivers (Bangkok is built around the famous Chao Phraya River)
Wat - Temple. E.g. Wat Arun, Wat Pho
Rak - Love
Sabye - Good.
Sabye Sabye - very good or best
Tuk Tuk - Dangerous flimsy looking bikes that has been modified to pick up passengers. Found almost everywhere in Thailand. Does not have a meter.
Thats all I can think of at the moment. Please do not hesitate to add in more if you know more.
Will probably update this as i think of them.
Boodyboy, out!!!
Zee Avi, I Like! I Rak Zee Avi
Hey people,
Zee originally posted a video of her first song on YouTube because one of her friends had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur, so she created a video on YouTube for him to watch. He convinced Zee to leave the video up, and soon she received positive feedback, which inspired her to put more videos on YouTube.[3] After she was featured on YouTube, she was signed by Brushfire Records, which is partly owned by Jack Johnson.[2] Her song "No Christmas For Me" is featured on Brushfire Records's 2008 Christmas album This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday.[4] Her single "Bitter Heart" was first to become available on the US iTunes store, and her full self-titled debut album was released on May 19, 2009. On the day of her album's release, YouTube featured her on the front page in Spotlight: Music Tuesday. She is currently (June - August 2009) touring the United States.
Rak is a Thai word, meaning love.
So yes, I just got back from my short holiday in Bangkok, Thailand (5 days is short right?)
Learnt a few new words and phrases. But that is for another time.
THis post is dedicated to a new singer I'm currently digging. Her album was just released in May. Her name? Zee Avi.
WHo? Some of you may say. Well yes, her name may appear strange, but its her stage name.
Her voice is folksy and d@mn soothing. I stumbled upon her when I was shopping for a gift which i needed for a gift exchange party in Quattro a couple of weeks back. More about that later ;-)
There i was looking thru all thru all the CDs in the store when suddenly the store assistant played her CD. The moment i heard the voice, i just smiled and couldnt stop enjoying the song.
I asked the assistant who she was, and there i was introduced to the wonderful Zee Avi.
And the best thing is that she is Malaysian! w00tS!!! Malaysia Boleh once again.
MY current fave songs from her self titled debut album (in no particular order) is First of the Gang to Die, Is This the End, Let Me In, Poppy and Just You and Me.
The following is a short article on her from her own website and also Wikipedia:
**************
Zee Avi (born Izyan Alirahman,[1] also known as KokoKaina; b. 1986)[citation needed] is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player. She was born in Miri, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. She moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12.[2] She studied fashion design at American InterContinental University in London.[3]
Zee originally posted a video of her first song on YouTube because one of her friends had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur, so she created a video on YouTube for him to watch. He convinced Zee to leave the video up, and soon she received positive feedback, which inspired her to put more videos on YouTube.[3] After she was featured on YouTube, she was signed by Brushfire Records, which is partly owned by Jack Johnson.[2] Her song "No Christmas For Me" is featured on Brushfire Records's 2008 Christmas album This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday.[4] Her single "Bitter Heart" was first to become available on the US iTunes store, and her full self-titled debut album was released on May 19, 2009. On the day of her album's release, YouTube featured her on the front page in Spotlight: Music Tuesday. She is currently (June - August 2009) touring the United States.
*********************
Got and support your local artistes today! Get her album =)
Will try to post up soem stuff about my Bangkok trip soon with pictures of course.
Boodyboy, out!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Bangkok, here i come!
Well, I'll be leaving for Bangkok in a few hours time. Problem is, its 3 a.m. and I'm damned hungry. Just finished packing and doing some last minute research about Bangkok.
I'll be coming back on Sunday evening, so dont miss me guys!!
Hope to come back with lots of pictures and stories to tell
Till Then,
Boodyboy, out!!
I'll be coming back on Sunday evening, so dont miss me guys!!
Hope to come back with lots of pictures and stories to tell
Till Then,
Boodyboy, out!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Outage
Gosh, its been a long time to be away from blogs.
Another one of those bloggers block that I've been suffering. Sometimes when I'm inspired to write, I'm stuffed silly with work. But now that I'm sitting pretty in front of the computer, topics are not popping in my head.
Well, first things first, sorry if I have not completed the 2nd part of my travelogue. I'm still missing a couple of pics that is with my travel partner at that time. Once I get them, i'll promise to put up the 2nd part really soon.
On to the topic of the day. The air conditioning in my office has been down for over a week now.
Its so stuffy I can barely think or concentrate on my work. Most of the time I'm literally feeling really hot and begin to sweat. And that ain't good. My face would get the oily glaze on it, which is not good.
There to keep cool in the office, my colleagues (yours truly included) actually went looting for stand fans or table fans in our office. When someone who actually own a fan does not turn up for work, we will "borrow" his fan and set it up so we can use it. Times are so bad that we have to loot some of our bosses' fans which are kept in their room. And on the other hand, if we arrive late for work, "our" (actually not ours, its was for us to use the day before ;-p) fan would be "stolen". Vicious cycle indeed.
With the heat and humidity, tight deadlines and tougher times outside work life, sometimes the pressure to break down is huge. There were times over the past 2 to 3 weeks, that sometimes i feel that almost everything is against me. From computer breakdowns, to weather disruptions, to lack of plans after work; I almost felt like i'm definitely in for some shitty times. But i guess thats what happens when ur in a deep hole. You feel like giving up, and just to sit and wait for help, if any, to arrive.
Times are tough for many ppl, not just me. The way we go through them though, is what makes us special. Some give up, some try their best but still fail, some survive after fighting for their lives, and finally some come out of it without a scratch.
If you come out of this bad times alive, it helps build character, and thats where experience and wisdom comes from.
Whats the point of this post? Absolutely nothing to it. Maybe there is, but I can't seem to see it now anyway. Anyways, I hope to post up a few more things here by this week.
Boodyboy, out!
Another one of those bloggers block that I've been suffering. Sometimes when I'm inspired to write, I'm stuffed silly with work. But now that I'm sitting pretty in front of the computer, topics are not popping in my head.
Well, first things first, sorry if I have not completed the 2nd part of my travelogue. I'm still missing a couple of pics that is with my travel partner at that time. Once I get them, i'll promise to put up the 2nd part really soon.
On to the topic of the day. The air conditioning in my office has been down for over a week now.
Its so stuffy I can barely think or concentrate on my work. Most of the time I'm literally feeling really hot and begin to sweat. And that ain't good. My face would get the oily glaze on it, which is not good.
There to keep cool in the office, my colleagues (yours truly included) actually went looting for stand fans or table fans in our office. When someone who actually own a fan does not turn up for work, we will "borrow" his fan and set it up so we can use it. Times are so bad that we have to loot some of our bosses' fans which are kept in their room. And on the other hand, if we arrive late for work, "our" (actually not ours, its was for us to use the day before ;-p) fan would be "stolen". Vicious cycle indeed.
With the heat and humidity, tight deadlines and tougher times outside work life, sometimes the pressure to break down is huge. There were times over the past 2 to 3 weeks, that sometimes i feel that almost everything is against me. From computer breakdowns, to weather disruptions, to lack of plans after work; I almost felt like i'm definitely in for some shitty times. But i guess thats what happens when ur in a deep hole. You feel like giving up, and just to sit and wait for help, if any, to arrive.
Times are tough for many ppl, not just me. The way we go through them though, is what makes us special. Some give up, some try their best but still fail, some survive after fighting for their lives, and finally some come out of it without a scratch.
If you come out of this bad times alive, it helps build character, and thats where experience and wisdom comes from.
Whats the point of this post? Absolutely nothing to it. Maybe there is, but I can't seem to see it now anyway. Anyways, I hope to post up a few more things here by this week.
Boodyboy, out!
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