5 days in Bangkok with Schoolmates

I recently visited Bangkok for the first time with 5 others schoolmates and their spouse. It was a ‘Follow Your Heart’ trip as I was too busy at work and didn’t have much time to browse through places to visit and hotels booking were all through www.AsiaRooms.com. One Quote for Bangkok ‘Heaven of Pork!’

.:The Airline broke my luggage:.

.:Our Taxi:.

The first day we reached Bangkok was already midnight. At the airport, take (Meter Taxi) which is actually airport transfer. For a Toyota Avanza, fit for 5-6 ppl 700baht to Sukhumvit Area.

Since it was late when we reached Unico Express, we just checked in and rest for the next day Chatuchak weekend market adventure on Sunday. I’ve heard from many that Chatuchak is so big you won’t finish walking around it over the weekends and the things are cheap. I couldn't be disagreed more with that statement. I bought some flower bulbs and hope that it will grow and I’ll be the first Tulips & Hyacinth supplier in Sarawak.. Just wait & see…

.:This taste like mini tosai with shredded coconut 10baht:.

.:Pork Leg Rice:.

.:Fried Rice & Sea Food Tomyan:.

.:Coconut Ice-cream:.

.:Pork Satay:.

.:Coffee @ Chatuchak 20baht:.

The 3^rd day, we hired a driver Mr Wistu. The taxi driver from the airport who looks descent and fatherly. We went on a trip to the oldest & most touristy floating market, Damnoen Saduak. The whole day car hiring is 2000baht and it gets expensive when he drop us in one of the boat hiring agent that is about 2km away from the market and we sat on a boat that cost 1000baht per head. I am sure it will be cheaper for travelers who visit the market via bus and hire smaller boat from the market. But it’s ok, we’re tourists anyway and tourists are meant to be slaughtered wherever they go for the benefits of the local communities.

The road trip from Bangkok to the market is about 1hour 45 minutes and the visit to Damnoen Saduak was great but can be better if it’s not raining heavily. We were so hungry that we preferred to eat than to shop and we were eating and shopping all the way. Janet took her time bargaining with the shop owner and we enjoyed watching the both of them. Luckily we had a good boatman who didn’t felt anxious to bring us back to the boat agent place. I think maybe he enjoys some commission as well but we don’t mind at all as long as everyone is happy. :D

.:Crepe with cream and shredded coconut:.

.:Manggo:.

.:Pancake with sweet coconut cream:.

.:Pork Bihun:.

.:Group photo in the boat:.

.:Rice with Pork Sausage and rice cake:.

.:Cooking Coconut Sugar at the Floating Market:.

.:Janet Bargaining:.

.:Old Lady in a Fiber Boat:.

After the floating market, Mr Wistu brought us to the Elephant Riding place about 2km to  3km from the floating market and the fee to ride on an elephant for less than 10 minutes is 400baht per person. It’s a worthwhile experience but I had a slight headache coz the experience of sitting on top on the elephant was like having a car emergency breaking every 5 seconds. Maybe I ate too much at the floating market earlier.

.:On an Elephant:.

We skipped the Rose Garden coz nobody was interested in the cultural sense of Thailand and everybody was worrying about not be able to shop enough. As Crispin was looking for AAA imitation club and country jerseys since Chatuchak Market, we have asked the driver to bring us to a place where we can buy it sacrificing the Rose Garden. He brought us to the shop lots next to the National Stadium and indeed it was not a bad place at all coz there were plenty of cheap jerseys ranging from 100baht to 350baht depending on the quality of the fabrics.

.:Deep Fried Pork.. this is godlike:.

At night, we called Bank the tattoo artist to ink Eric & I. He came at around 7pm and left at midnight because it took a while for us to decide what to ink and I believe he is a holy Buddhist coz he refused to ink spiritual mantra for me which I tried to get a way with from the monk that cost 8000baht to 10000baht which is RM800 – RM1,000… I got mine in my home town where the headhunters used to live at only RM80! But the price from bank was reasonable from 1500baht to 3000baht for small tattoos depending on the design.

.:Before Inked:.

.:In Progress:.

.:After:.

And so that was the end of our 3^rd day in Bangkok without drinking session nor Ping Pong show nor Tiger show… I was really not interested coz I feel disgusted even when I heard the stories.

On the 4^th day, we checked out from Unico Express and had bad experience checking out due to the housekeeping has confused with the 3 rooms minibar and we were unhappy about mineral water in the room which we didn’t consumed and charged. I refused to pay and the receptionist sarcastically said to me ‘Never mind Mem, I will pay for you’ That really got on my nerves as I came from hotel line and I believe that’s a lie and sense of sarcasm for Thailand ‘THE LAND OF SMILE’ fuck that quote. But anyway, we didn’t let small small things spoilt our day and I took note on writing pretty NICE review in trip advisor and Asia rooms when I got to Malaysia.

We check in to H-Residence, a hotel under pre-opening period with nice decoration, nice rooms and good but inexperience staffs who really tried hard to give the best shots. I love this hotel. Although it’s quite hidden, they provide free tuk-tuk service for guests to the BTS train station.

After check-in, we decided to visit the Grand Palace and maybe some temples depending on our strength since we have size S – XXL in the group and everyone was considerate among each other… haha

The Grand Palace’s entrance is 600baht per person and no singlet, tight pant/skinny jean or shorts are allowed. If you happened to be wearing the forbidden clothing, they have the attire to borrow when you walk into the palace. Don’t fall into the trap to rent clothing from the shops outside the Grand Palace.

The Palace itself was beautiful and the architecture was amazing. I feel great when I walked in the palace really besides the heat, everything was cool. We also prayed in the amulet Buddha temple which is inside the Grand Palace Area itself.

.:Amazing architecture:.

.:At building in the palace:.

.:The view of the Grand Palace:.

.:A group photo without Crispin coz he said he had headache:.

.:Another group photo but this time, the full team:.

Right after that, Crispin had a bad headache and he felt like dying so we all have to force ourselves to go back missing the Chinatown. Actually we were very tired too and we just enjoyed blaming him for getting sick. Poor Crispin.. haha

.:Headche... attention seeker.. hahha:.

.:Pork sausage with glutenious rice:.

At night, we went to Chinatown and Crispin was resting in the room coz he was sick. Unfortunately the clothing shops closed at 5pm. However, we get to try the food there and I enjoyed speaking in Teochew dialect with the Thai Chinese in the Chinatown. I like the ice-blended coconut milk with jackfruit & water-chestnut jelly and jelly dessert but not the Poh Piah and the Kueh coz they are all salty flavored. At home, we like it a little bit sweet with some dried shrimps etc. (Nyonya influence of Malaysia).

.:Poh Piah:.

.:Traditional Teochew Steam Radish Rice Cake:.

.:Fruity dessert. I like!:.

We met a Tuk-Tuk driver right next to our eating table and we asked where we can eat fried scorpion and he brought 5 of us in his tuk-tuk to Khao San Road at 100baht. Khao San Road was a cool place which I’ve missed browsing in the internet where all the pubs, bar & night scenes are. There were a lot of tourists at that area. Reminded me a little bit of Bali or Phuket at night.

.:Squeezed in Tuk-Tuk:.

Eric got his hair corn-rolled and I found the insect (no scorpion) and some other porky food…

.:Cornroll done:.

.:The insects:.

.:Oh I love this:.

.:This is like the pork version of Kajang Satay:.

.:I felt really nervous & excited when I tried the grasshopper:.

.:Mini Eggs:.

On the 5^th day and my last day in Bangkok, me Crispin went to search for pharmacy early morning and bought medicine for diarrhea and bought some allergy medicine for Lyvia who complaint here body was itchy & swollen. The pharmacist warned us that the allergy medicine has sleepy and drowsy effect but we decided not to tell her so she won’t psycho felt that she was sleepy and spoiled her plans. (Indirectly, everyone’s plans).

.:Lyvia was complaining about sleepiness & Crispin had to hold his laughing mode:.

We found a Thai Chinese shop at that area and had our porky breakfast there since Lyvia & Effendy was still sleeping. We’ll let them have their Halal food later on since Pork was so irresistible for us.

.:Pork Ribs Noodle:.

.:Prok Dumpling:.

We walked from Siam Paragon to MBK which they have connected bridge for the 4 shopping malls. Since there were no discounts going on in Bangkok, the branded shops were bit too expensive comparing to Kuala Lumpur so I didn’t buy much besides food food food. We left the mall at 4.00pm and I had to packed and leave Bangkok 2 days earlier for work purposes. Damn I missed their clubbing scene that night and more shopping and sight seeing which they claimed to be so good! Damn... haha

.:My last meal in Bangkok was a street minced pork + pork skin with salted & spicy vege rice:.

Bangkok again? Definitely yes coz we missed Ayutthaya due to the flood of the century and there are so many other places that are not that touristy which we didn’t visit.

New Ink Coming Soon

I suddenly have the urge to get nice cherry blossom inked on my back but am still considering which tattoo artist I should visit. Just to reveal some ideas of the cherry blossom tattoo I'm in love with...

#1

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but I basically will change it to be tattoed on my back only and without the falling petals.

.:My ugly draft:.

Some more info on what Cherry Blossom Tattoo means.

Though seen less often in cherry tattoos, even richer than the symbols and legend for the cherry is the cherry blossom that precedes it. Because the blossom lasts for such a short time, it symbolizes Spring, purity, and short-lived beauty. To some, it symbolizes the fact that humans are born into this world naked and without possessions, and that we return the same way.

Chinese Cherry Blossom

For the Chinese the cherry blossom is a very significant symbol of power. Typically it represent a feminine beauty and sexuality and often holds an idea of power or feminine dominance. Within the language of herbs and herbal lore of the Chinese the cherry blossom is often the symbol of love.

Japanese Cherry Blossom

For the Japanese the cherry blossom holds very different meaning. The cherry blossom is a very delicate flower that blooms for a very short time. For the Japanese this represents the transience of life. This concept ties in very deeply with the fundamental teachings of Buddhism that state all life is suffering and transitory. The Japanese have long held strong to the Buddhist belief of the transitory nature of life and it is very noble to not get too attached to a particular outcome or not become emotional because it will all pass in time.

The fallen cherry blossom is not taken lightly in Japanese symbolism either. It often represents the beauty of snow and there are many connections made in Japanese literature or poetry to a fallen cherry blossom and snow. This also has been extended to the life of a warrior whose life was ended early in battle.

As you can see in both cultures the symbolism and meaning behind the cherry blossom is very significant and powerful at the same time. It is important to think about these symbols and connect this with what your personally believe the cherry blossom represents. If you still want to get a cherry blossom tattoo and the above meaning from the Japanese culture or the Chinese culture do not speak to you or you're somehow view the cherry blossom in a very different way then it is okay to still get a cherry blossom tattoo. However, it is always important to know the symbolism before getting a tattoo permanently done.

Personally, I prefer the Chinese Meaning.. haha but anyway, it is true that cherry blossom doesn't last and then again, so do we. I believe in living the life beautifully with full of love which eventually will not last very long because we will have to leave the world one day. This ink will serve to remind me on that.

My New Ink

I finally got my last birthday present for 2009. Not that it's not given to me earlier.. just that my schedule has been packed with everything... Work, dance, drink, food, celebration, excuses... hehehe

Went to the famous Ah Nam place and really need to bitch about that place... coz they didn't allow us to record the process via video. I never really liked that place opposite St. Mary's school coz they are famous just because they have been one of the pioneer in tattooing and most tourists go there after internet review (since many years ago when Kuching were not very high tech in tattoing or internet connection yet) WHY DID I STILL GO THERE??? Because the person who presented me this gift suggested I should go there and his friend assured that we can film the process there... Boss say where, where la.. hehehe

The last time i went with a friend to pierce eyebrow... they didn't even allow us to go into the room... Never seen such a superstar artist before... The place is run down.. Nostalgic la konon -____________- ... and the artist will tell you their 1001 suggestions after you showed them your design.

"you can photograph but not filming.."

In my mind "photograph go home also can take my own pictures ma.. naked also can la.. damn!"

Anyway, I went to Eric's place (71st Skin Slavery) instead next to Chung Hua primary school no.1.. If you are a big fan of Crayon Shin Chan, you would have notice the signage there. He kinda reminds me of Didgital for the Bass Agents... hehehehe

He's very friendly and the best part is allowing us to film the whole process and the price is reasonable. Minimum of RM80 and above. My tattoo is only RM80 =)

.:The Operation Area:.

.:His Work Place:.

.:Before:.

.:In Progress:.

.:Getting ready... was kinda nervous as usual:.

.:Artist at Work:.

.:Last process:.

.:Nice:.

and I HATE MY CAMERA PHONE................