Made a 2nd visit to Hatyai with parents from 18-May till 20-May, 3D2N short getaway where the main intention was to go for prayers and blessings.

We reached Hatyai at night (on the 17th) and after checking in to Diamond Hotel, proceeded to have dinner. Our itinery started the following day where we visited several temples. One of the temples "AhChanThung" has blessing sessions by monk and we all sat down to be blessed and sprinkled by holy water... :) Subsequently we went to the 4-Faced Buddha temple for prayers and to release birds into the forest.

The last time we were in Hatyai was back in 2011 during the Labour's Day break. This time round, we decided to rent a car to take us to Songkhla too. There, we had yummylicious seafood by the beach. Our lunch was several hours long cos after lunch, we continued sitting by the beach to chillax and chit chat, such a nice bonding time!!!

After lunch, we were told by our driver to check out the mermaid statue by the beach. He didn't really tell us the story and when I googled, the story was a weird one, about a guy who married a girl (who was in fact a giant who bore him a son), the guy was then "rescued" by the mermaid clans and hence the mermaid statue...

We also visited the Floating Market on the way back from Songkhla to Hatyai. It was called the KlongHae Floating Market with a long line of colourful boats selling a variety of snacks! Quite a nice place if you like to snack!

The following day, before we went back, made a quick stop at the main market to buy food items. And that sums up our short prayers and sight seeing trip. :)

Shopping here is pretty standard... from stalls to stalls, they tend to sell the same things:

• Apparels - usually fake imitations of brands like Quiksilver, Billabong, Nike etc
• Handicraft - sarongs, soaps (shaped in beautiful flowers), bookmarks, keychains
• Silk stuff - cushion covers, tissue boxes, table runners etc
• Accessories - fake jewelleries, belts, sunglasses, hats

Nothing much to buy cos the first time I visited Thailand, I bought nearly all of the above. So this time round, it was merely browsing stalls after stalls:

And occasionally cam-whore a bit:


On a separate note, found the pharmacies in Phuket pretty good. The first 3 days was terrible for me as I had diarrhea non-stop. Although I was careful to only take bottled water, I forgot that ice used in the cocktails I drank may not be clean... So anyway, went to the pharmacy and the guy prescribed 'Imodium Plus' - which almost immediately cured the stomach ache...

So the next time you visit Thailand (or anywhere for that matter), remember to take only bottled beverages :)

Oh oh... and before I forget... sticky mango rice (a kind of dessert) is called 'kau neong merng muang' in Thai. Thought 'Merng Muang' (meant mango) sounded kinda nice... maybe I'll name my daughter that... hehehehe...

This time round I visited Wat Chalong which was apparently Phuket's most beautiful and renowned temple with statues of monk-hero Luang Pho Chaem and his assistant Luang Pho Chuang, both said to have important roles in quelling the miner rebellion in 1876 (before I was even born wei).

The kings and queens were also said to pray at this temple.


I went and 'kau chim' then I realised I asked for a series of things without asking for 1 particular thing. My friend said I must specify if I wanna ask about career, love, health or etc. I think I asked for all 3 and the 'chim' was a 'ha ha chim'... sigh... Then again, maybe I wasn't specific enough.

Also, I read this book on karma once... If you wanna be born beautiful / pretty / handsome, make sure you make flower offerings everytime you go to a temple. I've been doing it diligently recently... hehehe, wanna be born beeeeeaaaaauuuuutiful!

The night life in Phuket was pretty much like Bangkok and Pattaya but somehow the quality of the shows weren't as good...

• Take this A-Go-Go Bar I visited... although the women were dancing naked on bar tops (with poles)... the place was empty. Initially I didn't know why... then it striked me... the women were all kinda old... like mid 30s to early 40s... so needless to say, they are a little bit on the fleshie side... with sagging boobs... Level of enjoyment: 1/5
  
  
• Then I visited this Ah Gua Pub with live performances. All the performers were of young boys aged between 18 - 25 (at max) and were all pretty cute... (though obviously gays/ah guas). All night long, they will mime to the pop songs and dance the different dances in their many many change of costumes. Level of enjoyment: 3/5. But it was also quite an experience for me as this was also my 1st time visiting an Ah Gua Pub... where males were openly affectionate to their other half (usually younger boys) and never before have I seen so many boys wearing nothing but just their underwear (with an obvious erection). At one particular segment, all the boys will go up on stage to slowly sway their bodies (no joke... really slow moves) and occasionally touch their private parts to prolong the erection... damn weird wei... and ohhh... they all have this number plate stuck onto their underwear in case you want them to join you at your table, you can tell the ah-gua head..
  
  
• Then there was also Thai Boxing shows at night. Of the 3 pairs I watched... Pair no.1: Both were uncles in late 30s with big stomachs... Pair no.2: Super fit guys... Pair no.3: Super short guys... Quite the exciting also but after every round, the boxers will come around to shake your hand... I dumbly shook hands with one of the boxers and stared at him as he was watching me as though he was waiting for something to happen... Then out of no where, my friend gave him 20 baht and he walked off smiling... Sheesh... Level of enjoyment: 3/5

What I enjoyed most was drinking at the little huts near my hotel:

These are cute little huts with only about 10 - 15 chairs round the bar table. Apparently most of these huts were owned by ang moh men who chose to settle down in Thailand but are usually manned by Thai women...

Drinks are pretty cheap too... 60 baht for a bottle of Heineken or 150 babt for any cocktails. These huts also come equipped with stereo system with loud speakers, fans, TV, sink and a fridge. Very cozy... Here, I also learnt a new game:


This is basically a game where the ultimate aim is to have 4 coins in a row (whichever direction). Looks easy but can be pretty fun... and guess what? I won 100 baht from this game! HooHoo... Level of enjoyment: 5/5

We stayed at this hotel called Bel Aire Resort which was conveniently located near the shopping places, pubs, Muay Thai boxing arena and about 10min walk to the beach:

Prior to this, I've heard so much about Patong Beach - the place where the Tsunami tragedy striked a few years back. The bartender-lady told us that it took the people in Phuket between 6 to 12 months to migrate back to Phuket and to pick up pieces of their lives again after the sad tragedy. But the good thing was that, after the incident, the entire area was refurbished and they now have a warning system in place where SMS-es will be sent out to notify the people who will then evacuate to a hill nearby.

The beach was quite nice... with very clear blue sky and clear calm sea:

But hor, it was kinda like marred by the many many shades and the many many rows of deck chairs (KE gave me this term, then again he also said 'kerusi'... dumbass). The entire area looked more like a pasar-pagi than a supposedly 'world class' beach:

As I was feeling damn conscious in my bikini, I saw this:

and then this:

and finally... this:

So I thought... wahhhh ok... so happening one... bikini only ma... the ang moh women were sunbathing naked somemore... hehehe, so here... picture of me in bikini for the 1st time:

Sawadee-ka... Am back from Phuket already and in fact, started working today and felt like dying... So anyway... here are some highlights from my trip to Phuket from 27 - 31 Jan 07.

One of the tourist spots I visited was the Phuket Zoo. Entrance Fee: 500 baht

Just like the zoos in Bangkok and Pattaya, the Thais are very proud of their skills in man-handling the animals in Phuket... First there was this Crocodile Show - where crocs actually snap at trainers and yet when the trainer put his head in between the croc's jaw, the croc didn't snap:

See, I also can what! Somemore my crocodile is so much bigger:


Then followed by the Elephant Show - where elephants can count, slam-dunk, dance, sit on 2 legs and even draw using water-colour:

Needless to say, I also went on an elephant ride (again!). Can't exactly describe the feeling but it was fuuuuun riding an elephant... damn cool! Price: 400 baht for 10 minutes (although it felt longer)

We missed the monkey show cos it started earlier. But we managed to take a photo with this cool guy here at 200 baht.


Heck, the monkey was so damn cute that I decided to also take a picture with his cousin; Kong:

Actually (if you ask me).... if you've been to 1 zoo before in Thailand, it's about the same everywhere else. Nevertheless, was happy that I was able to get an elephant ride again although the view / landscape wasn't as nice as Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya. Hehe.

The first blog I had was initially supposed to be a travel blog... and in it, I wrote about my experience in Bangkok and Pattaya in 2005. Now since I'm going to Thailand again end of this month (but to Phuket instead), thought I'd just revisit some of the entries from before (especially now that the travel blog has been deleted from Friendster).

Note: Copy and pasted from my earlier Friendster blog

All about my trip to Thailand where I visited Bangkok and Pattaya (from 26 June 2005 - 30 June 2005). One of the best holidays I had thus far. Though quite deprived of sleep (only 4 - 5 hours of sleep everyday - thanks to the happening night life esp. in Pattaya), it was well worth it. For those of you planning to visit Thailand, GO GO GO! Happy reading.

Stuff I Picked Up in Thailand
Hmmm, since there's a limitation on the number of photos one can upload per month, better not post any irrelevant photos here. Instead, would like to share with you a few things that I picked up in Thailand (you may already know this):

• Ending to a word - do you know that male and female has different ending to their words? [-ka] is for female & [-karp] is for male. Example: Kamkut-ka is said by a female while a male would say kamkut-karp which means "thank you". Since my vocab is limited... can't provide more examples :P
• Mai pen rai - means "it's ok". E.g. If you've just spent 5 minutes bargaining but the price is still not right, walk away politely by saying "mai pen rai". You'll most likely be called back for the last price you're willing to pay :)
• Airport tax - you'll need to pay an airport tax of 500 baht before leaving Thailand thus be sure not to spend every single baht with you
• For smokers out there - cigarette boxes are printed with scary pictures of damaged lungs, stained teeth, haggard woman etc etc - government's plans in deterring people from smoking? Thought I read something similar in the papers a while back (Malaysia's Tak Nak campaign) that we'll be implementing the same approach?
• Dustbins - not very sure bout this one, but I seriously think there is a shortage of dustbins in Bangkok for whenever I tried to locate one, will definitely not find any. My colleague told me about the portable ashtray that she carries around... maybe people in Bangkok throws their rubbish only when they're back home? Cos' Bangkok has clean streets
• Free petrol redemption - if you ever wanna take a ride on the motor-taxi "tuk tuk", be sure to bargain but also remember to ask if there are mandatory stops along the way. Apparently, the "tuk tuk" driver said he gets 1l of free petrol whenever he fetches tourists to souvenir shops, jewelery centers etc etc (provided if you stay for a minimum of 10 minutes)
• Floating market - there's no floating market at the Chao Praya river, just 1 or 2 'sampan' for show. Actual floating market is actually much further (sorry forgot the area name)
• 7 eleven - there seemed to be a 7 eleven at every corner (just like how we have 'mamak stalls' here in M'sia). At times, you'll see a 7-11 at the beginning of a street, middle of the same street, ending of still the same street and 1 opposite the street. They seemed to be everywhere... in different shapes and sizes
  

10 baht = ~ RM1

Triple A - All About Animals

• Check out this lazy tiger. Yawning away while I'm posing beside him (think it's a male, since it's lying down can't really be sure... haha). Anyway, this photo's taken in Nong Nooch Tropical Garden, Pattaya. Price: 50 baht for 2 pictures (own camera ok).

• Looked yummy eh! Well folks, this is not an ordinary set lunch ok. It's crocodile meat! Well, I figured if we could eat sharks fin, mantis prawns, fish, crab (aqua-sort), what the heck right, might as well try crocodile meat. This was at the Crocodile Farm in Bangkok. Price: 350 baht (comes with salads and fries too). Taste? OK la though I'd probably not have it again :)
  


• Baby elephant fishing for bananas from crowd. Took an elephant ride but unfortunately, friend dropped the camera when strap came off (sob sob). Anyway, elephant ride is a must-try. Great fun and nice view too! This was taken at the Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo in Pattaya. Price: 400 baht per person (comes with photo taking opportunity too... see, the elephant is trained to pose for the camera).

Triple B - All About Boats

• Picture of me at the jetty, waiting for the boat to arrive. This is the first boat ride I got in Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River. Not too sure if it's a speedboat cos' it's really just a long 'sampan' but with engine at the back (hmmm... if you know then let me know). Price: Dunno (comes with the tour package, but should be quite cheap one). Experience: Scary cos water will be splashing and sometimes when it gets bumpy, I start praying that the 'sampan' will stay in tact, cos you know la, the river can rival our Gombak River... euwwwww.



• This is the double-decker cruise I took at night for dinner. Along the same river but on a much better conditioned boat. The Chao Phraya Princess Cruise where they serve you dinner buffet style while the boat is slowly cruising the river. There's also a woman in mini-skirt serenading you with songs in all sort of languages except Malay (Korean songs, Japanese songs, Arabian type n more cos' there were tourists from all over the world). Price: 800 baht per person.

• This is another weird boat. Think it can be called a ferry cos' it's a boat but with chairs and hand rails like those in a mini bus. Behind me, a group of monks from dunno which temple.
  


• Other scenery pictures taken from the boat rides. Behind the temple (the one blocked by a long ferry boat), that's where you can see carps (black ones) jumping on the surface of the river.According to the tour guide, the fishes came on their own ever since the temple was built (dunno how many years ago) and that in Thailand people call these the "God Fishes". Not sure bout you, but my friend said "Damn, wish I brought my fishing rod" (think it was a joke :P).

Triple W - All About Wats

In Thai, Wat = Temple.

• Wat Pho. This world famous temple is located on Thai Wang Road next to the Grand Palace. It is Bangkok's oldest and largest temple. The gigantic gold plated reclining Buddha with inlaid mother-of-pearl soles is highly revered among Buddhists. At the temple, there is also this long row of metal bowls on stands... if you want to know if your luck is good or bad, all you need to do is pay a small token of 20 baht, then select a smaller bowl of coins. Then you're supposed to walk along the lines of the long metal bowls and to throw in one coin at a time. At the end of the queue, if you run out of coin before the last metal bowl, that means your luck is not too good. However, if by the time you finish and you've still got coin balance, then your luck is good. Think I counted 108 or 180 metal bowls.

• This temple is called the Wat Srakes Rajavaramahavihara (known as the Golden Mount). Accordingly to the brochure that I have, Wat Srakes is a very important monastery in Thailand's modern history. King Rama I, builder of Thailand's new capital performed a royal bath in 1782 before he established himself as the new ruler. In layman terms, it's an important temple, but hor, you need to walk up a fleet of stairs that could challenge Batu Caves. Can die panting ok. When you're up there (it's situated on a hill, that's why it has the word 'Mount' I supposed), you can see the whole of Bangkok. Also, as you can see from the pictures, I could barely open my eyes cos' it's so HOT and sunny there in Thailand!

• Wat Arun. Located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, this temple can be reached by boat from Tha Tien Pier, near Wat Pho. An important structure is a 79-metre-high pagoda or "Phra Prang" decorated with ceramic tiles and fragments of multicoloured porcelain. The name of Wat Arun literary means "Temple of the Dawn". But the most beautiful view of it can be seen from the east side of the river at sunset.