Reminiscences

My mind tends to be sooo active during the night, I think I'm turning into a nocturnal being (or am I already one?). I was thinking about what to blog (too lazy to work on the Thailand one, but I will soon), and here are some reminiscences of the past year.

2006 wasn't a very good year for me. I've developed a slight phobia of driving and adopting animals. I will still attempt to drive as that's my Dad's wish, but I don't think I'll ever want to have a pet again. The news of its death is too painful for me to take. Like what Kh said,"Hamster nia you already cry until like that. Imagine if it's a dog." Gosh. Imagine NOT.

Speaking of which, Kh asked me a weird question the other day. "If you have all the money in the world, and no trade limitations or restrictions, what animal would you want to keep as a pet?" I was like,"Dog?" "Huh! Dog? No limitations and restrictions leh. And money is not a problem," he persisted. "Ya dog. Why would I wanna keep anything else?" Well, I think adopting a flamingo or a white bengal tiger would be nice, but com'on. At the end of the day, it's a dog you actually play with. Duh.

There were also indepth conversations I had with some people that I wanted to forget. Somehow, my innocent questions tend to open a can of worms, and with the details so intricate, it was hard to forget. I never thought I was this naive until now. The world doesn't seem so pretty anymore. I hope I've not become more cynical. =X Sometimes ignorance is really bliss.

Apart from all that, there were really fun moments too. Really enjoyed myself at the zoo with the usual gang. We said goodbye to Inuka for the last time. We laughed at the baboons for behaving so much like humans. We saw 2 monkeys mating. We had a close encounter with a kangaroo, and we had Ben and Jerry's ice-cream! Too bad I had to rush off for tuition. Wish we'd stayed longer. Wait, was that in 2007? Woah, time flies so quickly, I can't even keep up.

Eh, can't really remember fun moments in 2006. I guess there were not many. Some were probably the driving lessons (Uncle Alan is hilarious) and the hamsters (they were soo cute). But they were all crushed so unexpectedly. Silently, I wish I could revive those moments again.

Oh yes. My job at StarHub. I had a lot of fun chatting with friends online during work (eating snakes), via email, MSN, and YM. I love the extended-lunch-time shopping and the slack-time in the pantry. I love opening all the mails which aren't my bills, exploring the office, organising my desk in my own little way, and the strategic location of my cubicle (can slack without getting caught). I also had my first real encounter with office politics. Previously, at Robinsons, it wasn't exactly in the "office" setting, but it was nonetheless similar. Woah, you just see people, aunties and sorts backstabbing each other. Playing nice one moment and spitting at your back the next. It's a war out there!

On my first day at work, colleagues would ask my fellow temp staff during lunch time,"Eh, she OK or not?" Then she would look at me and say,"Yaya, she ok one." And the next thing you know, while still clueless, you're let into the deepest and darkest secret of the department. Or should I say, a "brief introduction" to the history of StarHub.

I think 2006 was also the year when I went to MOS for the first time. I don't club but I was there to help a friend out, and maybe see what's all the fuss about clubbing. All sounds silly and boring to me la. I would rather be at home watching DVDs man. To add on, that night out was costly, and they served gin tonic which was the most horrible thing I've ever drank in my life. Zzz. Orange juice please?

I also went KBox with Ful, LL, and Kh. It was a new experience as I've never been to, and never wanted to go KBox before. I was happily fishing out the better peanuts from the bowl and sometimes sabotaging those 3 with exotic song picks, while they were all busy singing. We went to play pool after that. It was only then that I found out that Kh is acutally quite pro at pool. And it's not just Yahoo Pool. It's the real thing! Woah.

The best experience in 2006 is of course my trip to Thailand! Yes, I shall blog about Part 2 and Part 3 soon, when my school and tuition timetable is more stable.

Here, I've been wanting to tell everyone about 2 amusing incidents I encountered in 2006. Finally found a "slot" for it, as Maplers would put it.

Incident #1:
I saw 2 monks in a LAN shop playing DOTA!!! Yes, they were in that yellowish-brown robe, botak and all, and playing games!! We assumed it's DOTA and they were gaming because everyone there was doing that, and they can't possibly be surfing guanyinma.com right? If you know what I mean. It's a LAN shop for goodness sakes!

Incident #2:
I saw a muslim woman, tudung and all, secretly eating Old Chang Kee curry puff on the bus during Puasa before sunset! Tsk Tsk. Kh and I were like,"Orh-hor, tou chi!!!" -_-" It was funny though.



I hope 2007 will be an exciting, and fulfilling year. =)

Welcome Yr 2007

Happy belated New Year to everyone. -_-" Yeah I know its kinda late and nobody's in the festive mood anymore. Talk about school and work and bye bye to long breaks and leaves. Bleah.

Anyway, I never have a habit of setting new year resolutions, but I'm pretty determine to do so this year. I mean who actually sets new year resolutions? It's so lame. Like what Ann Kok said in 8days, if you want to do something, you don't need to wait for a new year to do it. Yes, BUT!!! What if you're one of those who procrastinates? Like me!!! Things never get done. Goals are never fulfilled. You wait one year after another and it never ends. Therefore, New Years are good times to be setting some goals. And obviously, my #1 New Year resolution this year would be.....


1. STOP PROCRASTINATING!


By this, I also mean that I should prioritise my time a bit. At least, try to sort my time out according to the 4-quadrants thingy. You know, the Important-Urgent, Important-Not Urgent, Not Important-Urgent, Not Important-Not Urgent thing. I remember Mdm Sadiaah, my econs teacher once said that I belong to the 2nd quadrant--the Important-Not Urgent one, indicating that I should buck up for my econs before it's too late, and maybe start by doing some tutorials. T__T

Speaking of which, Amy said she would check on me regularly to see how I'm progressing (slacking or not). LOL. (Really appreciate that. Thanks.) Yes, I need someone to pressurise me once in awhile to kick me back into the harsh reality. LL also said she would study with me during the examination period (I hold your word for that arh. See, I'm even posting it here. No pang seh hor. =X). I honestly hope that I'll become somewhat hardworking for once. Not exactly giving up my interest in computer gaming and tv shows, but at least, less a slacker.

After 6mths and 2 weeks at StarHub, I've learnt another reason why people should set new year resolutions. See, my ex-colleague Alex, sets silly resolutions like "No Beef for a year". And he wouldn't eat anything that's beef during lunch. Well, it's not like he can't eat beef or he doesn't like it. It's just sorta a challenge to him, to try something new or see if he can fulfil it. Hence, I shall set myself a little challenge this year.


2. EXERCISE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK


If you think that's nothing, it sounds crazy to me already. It's not just a challenge. It's a HUGE challenge. By exercising, I no longer mean 30 sit-ups or skip 100 times. It has to be something more vigorous, say, rollerblade/cycle/jog/swim for 2 hours. I'm sure Kh would agree to the "rollerblade" part. He has this recent fetish with rollerblading. Keeps bugging me to go rollerblading with him despite my complaints on how much my ankles hurt. Hey, he even went rollerblading on Christmas Day! Who does that?! It's getting out of hand I tell ya.

Anyway, this is something I'd really really like to fulfil. It's also an excuse to get rid of the couch potato in me. I used to look at those men and women with 6-pack and bulging biceps running 10km along ECP and say,"Poor thing. Why push yourself so hard when you can sit at home and pig out?" Don't get me wrong. I still stand by this philosophy. Except that I'm feeling a little unhealthy right now. I will do some exercise, but I'll never run a marathon or anything close to that. It's just crazy. Why would you want to do something that makes your heart beat like crazy, makes you breathless, and makes your face turn purple? I honestly find my life more meaningful without it. =/


3. SPEND LESS SAVE MORE


I've been spending far too much last year, especially during the Nov/Dec holidays. It's time to start saving. That means less movies, fine dining and cab rides. T__T I will not give up my movie-going hobby, but I'll maybe tone that down a little. JF though an ardent fan of my movie blog, kept complaining to me that I watch far too many movies. LOL. Yes, 2007 movie blog will be a lot shorter. You'll see.

Also, my goal for the next 5 years is to visit Nepal, Vietnam and Japan. Really MUST save!!! A LOT!!!

My movie blog!

Movie Rating Guidelines
1-2.5 stars: Seriously a waste of time. Zzz Only watch it if you have nothing better to do.
3 stars: Very ordinary. Nothing special but OK to watch if you've $$ to spare.
3.5 stars: A little better than ordinary movies. Worth watching.
4 stars: A must-watch!
4.5-5 stars: No $$ also must watch!!!



Curse of the Golden Flower
This is like The Banquet. You almost can't tell the 2 films apart. Except that Jay Chou is in this movie and not the other, (Everyone would giggle whenever he appears on screen. I wonder why.) and Gong Li instead of Zhang Ziyi (which btw, isn't any different to me because they both look sooo alike). There was a lot of brutality. Okay maybe this is a spoiler but the king killed everybody. There was no one left except himself in the family tree. You just wonder what's the whole point of it all, and if China was indeed anything like that in the past (I highly doubt so). There wasn't even any suspense. Zhang Yimou doesn't seem to have new ideas!
3 stars

Night at the Museum
Uh, I watched this some time back but was sooo lazy to even blog about it. Guess everyone must've watched it already by now. =X Anywayz I think the funniest part is when he flick the little man off his shoulder. I was laughing like crazy lah. Quite funny though some parts are kinda boring. I watched the trailer so many thousands of times, it was like nothing new.
3.5 stars

Eragon
If I'm not wrong, this should be the first part of a trilogy. It's only 1hr plus long though. I like the idea of dragons and dragon riders. The dragon looks sooo cute when it just hatched! Really wanted to watch Deck the Halls but it isn't available at GV Marina. Nvm, this is not a bad movie either, although definitely not as good as LOTR.
4 stars

The Holiday
I think this movie will put anyone in a holiday mood! It has a rather unusual yet realistic plot. It gives hope to those who are out of love, and makes one wonder about the possibilities of such things happening to oneself. Kh likes it so much, he's giving it 4 stars. Hmm, I'm not really sure how much I like it, but it's definitely nice to watch. 3.7 stars? >_<
4 stars.

Deja Vu
At first I thought this movie is kinda cool, cuz it touches on a topic that everyone is curious about. After watching it, I think it's more like time machine crap. Guy goes back to the past via a time machine and saves girl and they fall in love. *yawn* I was falling asleep. Almost as complicating as The Lake House. I'll give it a rather average rating.
3 stars

Casino Royale 007
I really did not want to watch this because the new Bond guy doesn't seem cool enough, but I watched it anyway to get my mind away from a certain depressing incident. Seriously, I think this movie is so overrated. If you mean it's good because of it's action scenes, Transporter is much better. Cool factor? Ocean's Eleven/Twelve wins hands down. Plot? It's so-so only. Romance? Zzz... Overall, this Bond is weak and horny. He's can't fight, he can't get his woman, and he always falls for his enemy's tricks. I don't know what he's good for. P/s: It sucks but still a whole lot better than MI 3. =X
3 stars.

The Covenent
I watched this in malaysia and surprisingly, it's categorised as a horror movie. I only knew about it after we bought the tickets. I thought it was a thriller! Anyways, it's too boring to be a horror movie. There are some scary scenes but probably not enough to make me scream.
3 stars

Flushed Away
Absolutely hilarious! After watching this, you'll love mice and slugs! They are wayyy too cute to be pests! LOL. There's a white mouse in the movie, who said he used to work in a laboratory for shampoo research. He used to be grey, and now he's white! Awww... poor thing!
4 stars

The Guardian
This movie is a lot nicer than I thought. I especially like the part where Ashton's character, Jake asked,"So, how many?", referring to the number of saves his mentor, Ben, a legendary hero made in his lifetime. That probably adds up to a few hundred saves. But Ben replied,"22." Jake was like thinking,"Huh? So little?" And Ben said,"22 is the number of lives I've lost. That's the only number I count." Ahh... the words of a true hero. *clapclapclap*
4 stars

The Inconvenient Truth
This is a documentary about global warming and maybe a bit of politcal issues. I like it being educational and thought-provoking, and although I definitely like Al Gore more than Mr Bush, I did not quite like the politcal part of the movie. Al Gore seems to be screaming,"You should've voted for me instead!" Ah well, I have never understood why the Americans voted for Bush anyways. But that isn't the main point. The main point is that our planet is suffering like crazy, and we've got to do something about it! I seriously recommend everyone to watch this. It's a little frightening but better to know than not. Ignorance is NOT bliss! For more information, go to www.climatecrisis.net. Help save the world!
4.5 stars

The Prestige
Starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, this movie is about 2 magicians who try to decipher each other's secrets to their ultimate magic trick (a magician's prestige). They end up jeopardizing the lives of their loved ones. The plot is quite unpredictable at times. It's not difficult to understand but it's made to be quite complicating as the scenes are not shown in chronological order. This is all about mind games and obession and self-sacrifice. Worth a watch. ;)
4 stars

Stormbreaker
This movie is something like Spykids. The lead actor (who is only a teenager) lives with an uncle (Ewan McGregor) who is a spy. His parents died when he was young and he doesn't know anything about his uncle's job until his uncle was assassinated. He discovers that his uncle has been training him since young, to take on his role as a secret agent. He is then assigned to take over his uncle's job to expose an evil plot. This movie is much better than Spykids (IMO). It's not too kiddish, not too unrealistic, it's got some cool stunts and most importantly, it's got cute actors. =D
3.5 stars

The Departed
The Departed is a Hollywood version of the Hong Kong movie Wu Jian Dao. As usual, Hollywood versions are never better. In this movie, Leonardo Dicarpio plays Tony Leung's role as the undercover cop, while Matt Damon plays Andy Lau's role as the undercover thug. There are a few differences between the movies. One of which is that the two leads have the same girlfriend instead of different ones in this movie. Leonardo's character comes across as someone who is stressed and panicky and fearful. This is unlike Tony Leung's character, who, despite the life-threatening circumstances, is cool and composed. Also, Leonardo used SMS to communicate with his superior while Tony used Morse code (which is obviously much cooler). Overall, the Hong Kong flick is still much better. I doubt there will be a sequel for the movie. Everyone dies in the movie. Kh says,"No wonder it's called The Departed." -_-"
3 stars

Rob-B-Hood
For once, Jackie Chan stars as a baddie. Well, not really. He's a baddie turned hero. And a baddie with "ethics" to begin with (how ironic). Anyway, finally we're getting something a little different from him this time. I'm soo sick of his police shows. This movie may not be as hilarious and exciting as some of his other movies, but it's still satisfactory. The baby's really cute!!! (Question: Why is Jackie Chan still getting all the young and pretty girls despite obvious signs of ageing?)
3 stars

World Trade Center
This is based on a true account by two survivors of the 911 incident. They are the 18th and 19th survivors out of 20, to be rescued from the twin towers. It's a really touching story, yet not too solemn as there are bits of humour injected into the script. As said in the movie, from this incident, you can see how evil humans can be, but you can also see the goodness overflowing from the hearts of people. Indeed. How true. This is good for personal reflections.
4 stars

Scoop
The only reason I wanted to watch this movie is because Hugh Jackman (hot!) stars in it (but too bad he's a mass murderer). And the only thing that has at least a tinge of humour is Woody Allen, who stars as a really really long-winded magician. He's funny that way, I guess. Otherwise, it's a rather boring show.
2.5 stars

You me & Dupree
Hah. Another Owen Wilson movie. As usual, there's only so much to his lame antics. Well, he's funny, but not hilarious. It's quite an OK comedy I guess.
3 stars.

Miami Vice
There's only one thing I like about this movie. The super cool speedboats!!! Ahhh!! I want one!! =X Other than that, there was nothing so appealing about that movie. Ok, yes, it's another police show, another action movie. What's more? Undefeatable FBI? SO HOLLYWOOD. It's like watching a channel 8 drama. It couldn't be more predictable. Anyway, I read a comment by a movie critic. She said that Gong Li's spanish sounds more fluent than her english. Hey she's right man! That was weird. She should make a spanish movie!
2.5 stars.

John Tucker Must Die
I love this movie. It's hilarious! LOL. I know it sounds really bimbotic. Somebody save me! =X
3.5 stars.

The Banquet
Eh pls lah! ANOTHER final-destination kind of movie?! I've been watching a lot of gruesome deaths lately (See no evil, Snakes on the plane, The host, and now this?!). I thought it was gonna be an artistic show. A cultural kind of thing. Turns out that it's about political conflicts during the Tang dynasty, where the royal family plotted to kill one another. You'll see a body cut into half and a head rolling on the floor. Eww. And since when did the royal family dress like that? I thought they always had a headdress on? What's up with the funny makeup anyway? It reminds me too much of Memoirs of the Geisha, except this looks too weird because the Chinese don't dress like that. The palace looks too fake due to poor graphics. The action scenes don't look too good either. A story of brutality, of selfish desires of the heart, and possibly true love. Rather heartwarming at times.
3.5 stars

The Host
I thought this movie is gonna be really frightening. I was a little hesistant to watch it at first, but went on to watch it anyway (in the afternoon). The weird thing is, it's actually more funny than scary. It seems like the point of the movie, is not so much to show the heroic acts of a father, but rather, to show how much destruction a government can cause by sheer negligence. A rather unpredictable movie. Worth a watch. ;)
3.5 stars

Little Man
Some of the jokes are really gross man. There was a lot of sexual humor, to the point where I felt nauseous. Okay, maybe I wasn't feeling too well yesterday (I had a long day at school and stress was creeping up due to exams). The movie's quite hilarious actually. But still, I'd rather have good clean jokes anytime. Sorry, this review is definitely bias.
3 stars

The devil wears prada
I thought this movie would be nice, but it's kinda below my expectations. If it's a comedy, it has to make me laugh, and I don't remember laughing. =.= Anyway, it has a rather ordinary plot about a girl who nearly sold her soul to the "devil" (her backstabbing boss). She gets to wear such nice clothes everyday though. =P~
2.5 stars

Monster House
Excellent graphics! So much so that it makes you feel a little scared. Haha.
3 stars

Snakes on the plane
Yet another gruesome movie. It's as if people can't get enough of Final Destination and they just have to produce another show like this. It shows you all the different and horrible ways one can die from snake bites. Also, it seems like those snakes love to make it even more excruciating by biting the vital parts of the human body. Ouch. >_< (Question: Why is it the baddies can smuggle a huge crate of snakes into the plane, but can't smuggle a tiny bomb in? o.O)
2.5 stars

Ant Bully
It's much more interesting than I thought. I didn't want to watch it initially because it looks so lame, but it's quite funny actually.
3 stars

See No Evil
This is all gore and violence. I really did not want to watch it but KH (again) assured me that it's not a horror movie.. it's a thriller. Well actually, anything that scares me is pretty much horror to me. Hmm... sadists will probably love it though. It's about a psychopath who goes round killing people and digging their eyeballs out to collect. Not recommended to watch after a heavy meal. =X
? stars ( I don't particularly like these kind of movies, so...)

My Super Ex-girlfriend
The rating says PG (some sexual humour). Some. I think there was A LOT of it. Erm, probably too much for PG. Anyway, it's not a bad show. Quite interesting actually.
3 stars

The Breakup
It's nice to watch because Jennifer Aniston's in it. Otherwise, bleah... The whole show is just about a couple quarrelling and doing childish stuff to spite each other. And I'm not sure if there's even an ending. Seems like it just stopped halfway. Are they getting back together or not? Hello? No answer. Probably not. Anyway...
2.5 stars

Click
This is really funny but the story is perhaps too ordinary. Guy gets stressed up, takes his life for granted, suddenly everything he wishes for comes true, and then it goes downhill, and he wakes up to realise it was all a dream... or was it? From then on, he learns to cherish the things he didn't before, and life goes on happily ever after... and so it goes. Probably serves as a wake-up call for some of us. Moral of the story is perhaps, "do not live your life with regret".
3 stars


The Lake House
A romantic comedy. Ah... well, it's quite funny and quite sweet, but DO NOT try to make any sense out of it. The plot is totally illogical. The more you think about it, the more confuse you become, so just try to forget the story after you watch it. I mean, this kind of movies can sometimes drive me crazy. I just had to find an answer to everything. =X If you don't know what I'm talking about, never mind. Sorry I'm blabbering. You know, just watch it, it's good.
3 stars.

Nacho Libre
This is as funny as School of Rock. Well, what do you expect? It's another Jack Black movie. LOL. I love it. He doesn't need to do much to make me laugh. He's funny even when he's serious. Haha! I especially like the part when his character, Libre, was forced to leave the monastery and retreat into the wilderness when he was caught wrestling. In the wilderness, he ate out of a cactus and made a home for himself in a ball of twigs (which provided neither shade nor shelter). Then, his wrestling partner came to find him and Libre asked,"How did you find me here?" And his partner replied,"Over there, I saw you from the village." And he pointed to 4 people who were standing in front of a house and waving at him. It was so funny. Just when I thought he really went to the wilderness, he was actually just a few metres away from the village. LOL! How corny can it get? =D
4 stars

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead man's chest
Eh it's a blockbuster and it's supposed to be nice. I watched the first part of the trilogy (the curse of the black pearl) and I didn't understand the story. Now I've watched the second part and I still don't quite understand or remember what happened before that. Not sure what to think of this movie. Oh well.
3 stars

Thank you for smoking
Hilarious! Hehe... Good for GP.
4 stars

The Fast and Furious: Toyko Drift
This is like Initial D with a lot of violence. Hmm... the racing part is nice. But it doesn't make me want to watch it again. =X
3 stars

Scary Movie 4
Lame show! I had quite a good laugh throughout. Especially the part with the tr-iPOD. LOL! The funniest part is definitely the exaggeration of the Tom-Cruise-couch-jumping incident. =D
3 stars

Superman Returns
I watched this at the Omni Theatre. Bad move. Such movies really aren't suitable for dome shape screens. It'll be so much better on flatscreen theatres. Anyway, I didn't understand what the show was about. It was so illogical. KH and I couldn't figure out why Superman can have his power one moment and suddenly lose his power in another moment. And all those stuff about crystals? It just doesn't make any sense. Argh. Of all superhero movies, I think Superman is the lamest. But I think it still deserves at least some credit for its graphics.
3 stars

Just my luck
Quite funny and ridiculous like any other regular comedies.
2.5 stars

Garfield 2
Unfunny, bland and boring. Just like I expected. Only watched it because there wasn't anything else better available.
2 stars.

Cars
I thought it was gonna be another lame animated movie. But this is a Disney-Pixar production. I should expect some standards. After hearing many good reviews on this, I went to watch it and I concluded that it was money well spent. Really worth watching. Funny, a little touching and very creative. Comes with a couple of catchy soundtracks too.
3.5 stars.

Slither
KH told me it's a comedy and finally persuaded me to watch with him. Somehow I ended up screaming more than laughing. I found out later on that it is a horror-comedy. Well, that means he's half-right. Gross, frightening and ridiculous. Not gonna watch again. =X
2 stars.


Xmen 3
A must-watch! Need I say more? Question: Why did Wolverine kill Jean Grey instead of injecting her with the "cure"? -_-"
There's a short clip at the end credits. Here's the link if anybody missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhsAxVIwFDQ
4.5 stars

Backpacker's Tales: Thailand

Backpacker's Tales: Thailand 1.1

(UPDATED VERSION)

Includes:

Relevant pictures and videos
More on land transportation and food
Culture
Weather
Scenery
Language

Note: These are just brief accounts on my experience/knowledge/observations there. They may not be 100% accurate and I may have missed out some important details so pardon me for that. =X Will post about the things I did there soon.

*************************************

I've just gotten back from a 10 day trip to Thailand. It was sooo fun! I didn't miss home at all. =X In fact, I was just getting used to the environment there. I feel like I can live there forever. Haa.

There was so much to do, so much to see, so much to eat, so much to BUY!!!! The whole trip was extremely tiring though I was sleeping a lot. Not gonna blog about it in detail because there's just too much to say, so I'll only blog about the more important parts.

Prior to this trip, I've been to Bangkok and Pattaya once before, about a decade ago. But this experience is nothing like the former. Here, I was eating with the Thais, living with the Thais, chatting with the Thais, playing with the Thais. Finally, I got to see for myself what Thailand is really really like. It was a very enriching experience, and it is something I'll always hold close to my heart.

In short, I went there with Kh, Mum, Gerrie, a Thai aunt, her 2 children and her 2 family members. We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Udon, Nong Khai and Isaan. I stayed overnight in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Udon, and toured Chiang Rai and the Nong Khai region during the day. Here's the rough outline of our route.

THE FLIGHT

It was my first time flying on a budget airline. It wasn't that bad. Except that the budget airport in Singapore is extremely CHEAPSKATE. -_-" For a start, the interior design of the flight gates looks like a hospital. Never mind that. You still have to tolerate the kiasuism of typical singaporeans. Expect a long queue at your flight gate before it is even officially announced on the tv. Why? FREE seating! Must get the best seats! How to know which is your gate number first? Easy. Follow the air stewardesses. They are surely the ones who get to enter the gates before anyone does. This is something we unintentionally learnt at the budget terminal.

2 hours is a pretty short time for a flight. As Kh puts it,"Haven't settle down, want to land liao." Yep, so there's really no point flying non-budget. Initially my mum insisted on flying by Cathay Pacific, but there was a clash in schedules so flying by Tiger Airways is really not a bad choice. It's quite fun in fact. We always tease the stuff inside for being so lousy. "Hey, they use budget font." "Ooh, cheapskate chair." "Budget seats?" LOL.

At the arrival hall, they don't even have plasma tvs to display the flight schedules. They use Teletext on cheapskate box tvs! In the check-in area, you get Mini Toons and Hang Ten instead of Gucci, Burberry and sorts. Cheapskate things, cheapskate clothes! Ooh so freakin cheapskate! Ok, I shall stop teasing them already. =X

Tiger Airways

By the time I took the camera out, there was only this much of Tekong left to see. T_T Was trying to take a picture of Kh's base. =X

LAND TRANSPORTATION

For most of the journey, we travelled by van. The van is nothing like any I've seen before. It's not just a van. It's a van cum mobile karaoke box (complete with neon lights, disco style) cum movie threatre (complete with surround sound system). It is very spacious and clean, and can sit 10 passengers comfortably. The driver charges 1,800B a day, exclusive of fuel charge.

our van... almost a home to us, considering the number of hours we spent in it. >_<

Other modes of land transportation include meter taxi and tuk tuk. The taxis are relatively comfortable. Taxi fares are dirt cheap over there. You just wonder how the drivers earn any money at all. Oh wait, their petrol is even cheaper. 1 Baht for 1 litre!!! They've got so many taxis there. With such low fare rates, who needs a car? It's frustrating though, when you can't catch one at peak hour.

There was once, at 6pm in Bangkok, we tried to catch a cab back to our hotel. There was a huge traffic jam then. We flagged down more than 10 cabs, (or should I say 20?) but none wanted to take us because our hotel was too far and they wanted to avoid the jam. Hey, if you want to avoid the jam, then don't stay in the jam lah! I don't know what they were thinking, contributing to the jam and then refusing to take passengers. Anyway, we concluded that our only hope is in the tuk tuk. After over an hour of waiting, we finally found 2 who were willing to take us. It was really fun taking the tuk tuk. It was fast and furious, and sooo dangerous. However, the drivers conspired to cheat us. Thank goodness we brought our Thai aunt along. She overheard their conversation about wanting to raise the fare, and scolded them for not honouring their word.

A ride in the tuktuk...

There's also the motorcycle taxi. They can be identified by the orange vest on the driver. Smart idea, but so dangerous. The passengers don't wear helmets! Some sit like how they do on a bicycle. tsktsk...

FOOD & BEVERAGE

If you think you've seen Thailand because you've been to Bangkok, you haven't seen the real Thailand. Bangkok is wayyy too commercialised. It seems like there's more Japanese food than Thai food there. The sushi is cheap but the Thai food sucks. To get a taste of some authentic Thai food, travel out of Bangkok and you'll get it almost anywhere along the road. They have kuay teow (pronounce kuay1 teow2), which is often cooked with bean sprouts, pig's blood and pork. They eat SO MUCH pig's blood there. Eww. Put the pig's blood aside and it becomes a really delicious and healthy meal. Sometimes it comes with meat balls or chicken, but it's pork for most places.

Alternatively, try their zi char over there. Everything tastes good. They cook a lot of veggies and very little fish (which is so the opposite of my diet) but I love it so much. Usually, the only source of meat is pork, but the veggies taste so good, you really wouldn't mind being a vegetarian there. I told my aunt that I don't even like to eat veggies, but here, I'll eat whatever veggies they cook for me because it's THAT good.

Once on the route to Chiang Rai, we stopped along the road for some kuay teow. Pei Shan, my 10-year old cousin put some sugar in her bowl. I said,"Don't put the sugar in, that's for the coffee." Later on, I saw my aunt doing the same and I realised that that's actually how they eat it. -_-" Oh right. Thais don't really drink coffee anyway. Pardon my ignorance. =X

But one thing remains the same throughout the country. That is, Thais don't have a habit of ordering drinks. They drink plain mineral water instead. Their mineral water is so cheap there! No one bothers to boil water. They always have bottles of mineral water on the table. You need to pay to drink it, but they'll serve you cups and ice for that. Oh, and they like to cut straws into half to save cost. =X

mineral water nia... still serve cups? o_O

On a side note, Kh and I felt cheated several times. We would order fruit juice, but what we get is syrup instead. The fruits are only displayed there for decoration. T_T Seems like it's like that throughout the country though of course there are exceptions.

Also, isn't mango glutinous rice a very popular Thai dessert? Strange, cuz it's rare to see any stalls selling it at all. For 10 days, Kh had been looking for stalls selling it. We only found 2 which were just right next to each other at Mah Boon Krong. We asked around but nowhere else seemed to sell it. Not in any other shopping centres, or the roadside stalls, or the night markets. How strange.

THE CULTURE

Seriously, where are the garbage bins??? So hard to find one. Argh. It's amazing how they still manage to keep the place clean. Dad said Thailand's probably like Japan. The Japs were trained not to litter from young. Whenever they have junk, they'd hold on to it and throw it in their own garbage bins when they reach home. I think there's really some truth in this. Else, how is it possible that the streets are so clean when there are no garbage bins??? I take my hat off the Thais and Japs really. In Singapore, I think the only reason why we have clean streets is cuz we have hardworking cleaners. I still see people, even young singaporeans littering everywhere. So much for a clean and green nation. =/

Bangkok, however, is a different story altogether. Like I said earlier, it's so commercialised. The food, the culture... it's all very different. It's really a lot dirtier than the other parts of Thailand I've been to, although still clean enough to make me happy. =/

I must also mention the toilet culture. Seriously! I can't believe how clean the toilets are! I can honestly say that I've not been to a single dirty toilet for my entire time in Thailand. Even the toilets in the rural areas are cleaner than those in Malaysia's cities. Although most do not have an automatic flush system, or any flush system at all, they all meet my standards of hygiene. Toilets in the rural areas and along the highway do not have a flush system. You have to scoop water from a pool of water and manually flush it yourself. Still, they're surprisingly clean.

One more thing. Their tissues are so expensive and hard to find! Well, not surprising too since they have free tissue provided everywhere. Most restaurants provide free tissue. Even those in the rural areas! Those that don't, too bad then. Wipe with our hands lor. T_T

Also, my aunt told us that Thais don't like people to touch their heads. It's kind of disrespectful to them. That's something that we should be mindful of.

THE WEATHER

Bangkok is hot hot hot! Not as humid as Singapore but still hot like Singapore. Guess everyone should know that already. It's strange though. I don't know if it's because it's december or what, but Bangkok is sooo cloudy! For 3 days we didn't see the sun. The sky was grey all day, and it didn't even rain!

Chiang Mai, on the other hand, is really cold in the mornings. Cold? Or should I say it's FREEZING? We arrived at Chiang Mai at 6am in the morning on the 3rd day. We weren't really expecting it to be so cold. I got down from the van in a t-shirt, 3/4 jeans and slippers. Then, I had to go back to the van to put 2 jackets on.

It isn't as cold for the rest of the day and night though. Not cold, but cooling. Something like aircon temperature. Like Genting. Very low levels of humidity. Our laundry dried so fast!

Unlike Bangkok, the skies in Chiang Mai are soooo blue. Haven't seen such clear, blue sky in ages! Sometimes it gets so hot during the afternoon because there are no clouds to provide you with shade! My aunt was smart though. She brought her umbrella along and enjoyed a cool, shady afternoon while the rest of us suffered. T_T

The weather in Udon Thani is very similiar to that in Chiang Mai, so I shan't touch on that.

THE SCENERY

Bangkok is in a huge mess. There isn't much to see other than the shopping centres. Hehe ^__^... Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Udon on the other hand, are very very beautiful states. The northen region is quite mountainous, but the eastern region is low lying.

There isn't much to see in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It's just mountains, mountains, and more mountains. Not so much mountain ranges, but a mountain on it's own (which always makes me wonder if it's a volcano =/).

In Udon, however, it's jungles and open fields and padi fields.

Some really nice pictures. Notice the clear blue skies...

The roadside stalls in Chiang Rai

The scenery in Chiang Rai

my aunt's padi field in Udon... huge huh?

THE LANGUAGE

I've learnt some new words, common, but there's actually a twist to it. Ok, so everyone knows sawatdii kha. Sawatdii means hello. Sawatdii kha is a more formal way of saying hello. For girls that is. Guys should say sawatdii khrap. Seems like many people aren't aware of that.

Same for thank you. Thank you is khwap khun in Thai. Girls should say khwap khun kha, and guys should say khwap khun khrap. Interesting huh?

I wonder why guys and girls should speak differently though. What about trans huh? How'd they gonna speak? I saw quite a number of trans in Bangkok. Even bought some stuff from 2 of them. 1 of them scared the hell out of me when he (oops I meant SHE) started speaking. There was this really deep and rough voice that didn't really suit her image. She was the first trans I saw on my first day in Bangkok. I've learnt to be more indifferent towards them after that.

Thanksgiving dinner and some random events

I had a really great time in Thailand but the welcome-back "surprise" is none too pleasant. My handphone got stolen on my return flight from Thailand. =( I only found that out when I reached home. I reckon it must be stolen at either the Bangkok airport or Singapore Budget Terminal. My guess is it was stolen at the Singapore Budget Terminal since I've seen how the BIA staff handle the luggage, and they look more reliable than the BT staff.

I put "phone kena stolen at airport =(" as my MSN mini-nick. Many people came to ask me about it. They were shocked to learn that it got stolen at AN airport. Aren't airports supposed to be very reliable? I thought so too. Until now.

I'm pretty sure it was stolen. For a start, there were already signs that the luggage was mishandled. There was a green strap attached to my backpack. I don't know whose is it. While I'm wondering who took my phone, someone else must also be wondering where his green strap went to. =/

Also, I put the phone together with a pair of scissors in the same pocket. Somehow, the scissors was opened when I saw it. So obviously someone must have touched it since it's unlikely that the scissors will move by itself.

Initially, I didn't think the theft was a big deal. I could only blame it on my own carelessness. But people were like,"Hey AIRPORT you know?" So it wasn't a small deal either. I called Changi Airport, and they referred me to Budget Terminal. I called Budget Terminal, and they referred me to Tiger Airways. I called Tiger Airways, and they referred me to the police. Oh, so everyone's shifting blame now? I didn't call the police. How does one make a police report anyway? Do I call 999? Cannot be. That's for emergency isn't it? I asked around and nobody seemed to know. Forget it then. So troublesome.

Lucky for the thief then. I hope he's poor and has a huge family to feed. Else, I really wanna kick his ass. Unworthy thief.

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While meeting the gals at Vivocity for an afternoon chat on Thursday, I got myself a new handphone to replace my lost one. It's the nicest lousy phone available. Nokia 6030. Bought at $158.

(space reserved for photo. now no camera phone so muz wait longer =( )

I had discussed with Lay Leng about my options after losing a phone. We decided that I should get a cheap one first since I only need to wait 6 more months before my contract ends. This handphone I got has no bluetooth, no camera, no nothing. Except a radio which I don't even listen to.

I must say this incident is a loss, but it has also been a blessing. Mum sponsored me $100 for my new phone although I didn't ask for it. It's definitely a huge relief from my financial burden since I've been spending so much these few months, and there's no income coming in (my students are all on holiday too). On the laptop and the Thailand trip especially. All fully paid by myself. T_T

Dad doesn't know that my phone got stolen. He has a friend who sells nokia phones really cheap. But I can't let him know that. Not till he gets his new phone at least. Cuz Dad's upgrading his phone soon. If he knows what happened, he'll surely insist that I have his new phone and then he'll use a lousy one! He's been using lousy phones for years. I can't let me stop him now!

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I was mapling this afternoon for a short while. I was training alone at The Parking Lot to see how effective it is to train without CM (I usually only go there with him around). Then I reported the results to him...

me: WAH. 1% per min.
CM: hacker
me: eh, say wrongly. it's 1% in 5 mins.
CM: a smaller hacker, but still a hacker.
me: F5

I thought his response was pretty hilarious, so I'm blogging about it. Hah. He likes to call me 'hacker' cuz sometimes I level up so fast. LOL.

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I just got back from my church's Thanksgiving dinner held at YWCA ballroom. It was quite an honour sitting at the same table as one of our famous worship leader, Stephen. Seeing that Kh and I were unfamiliar faces, he introduced himself to us. Kh was like,"Why the heck does he need to introduce himself? The whole world knows who he is." -_-"...

Almost immediately after the short introduction, Stephen pulled us to join a ministry. It was a bit sudden and aggressive but I guess that's okay since I've been wanting for someone to help me take that first step into joining a church ministry. He was suggesting that we join the choir or the welcome team, since both groups need some youths. However, Kh and I decided to join the Multimedia team instead. It's more suitable for us since we both like computer stuff anyway. Excited, Stephen called Jack over. Jack is the head of the multimedia team, who also happens to be one of my sis's ex-boyfriends. =X Man, he looks so trim and fit now. I almost couldn't recognise him! Kh thinks he has been working out. Think I better go work out too to prepare myself for ministry, lest he calls me "ba ba" again. T_T

Gerrie always tells me that she wants to learn drums. Stephen happens to be a very good drummer and percussionist. He also heads the Rhythm of Praise ministry which is something like Stomp. I told Gerrie that I would tell Stephen that she wants to learn drums. She was like,"Noooo!"

When she was offguard, I told Stephen that she wants to learn drums. Stephen said,"Good! Join us lah!" Then I told Gerrie,"I told him you want to learn drums already." She was like,"HUH?!" Then she looked at Stephen. Stephen beamed at her. She thought he was just being friendly. Then Stephen did the drumming action and nodded his head. Gerrie's jaw dropped. She didn't think I had the guts to do it see? LOL. Ooh I just love sabotaging her! HAHAHA!!! You should've seen the look on her face!!! LOL.

Halfway during dinner, we were supposed to play a game. We had to pass a huge balloon around by hitting it, and whoever catches it when the music stops have to go up on stage! Kh was like,"SO easy! Just don't catch it lah!" And you know what happened next. He caught it himself and had to go up on stage! HAHAHA!!!

8 people (including Kh) were caught and everyone thought they had to do forfeits. However, there's a twist. There are no forfeits. The organiser said something like God's love is extended to everybody and there's only love in this game. So, instead of having to dance or sing, all the 8 people received a box of chocolates and a special blessing in the form of an envelope! Everyone else was like,"Aiyah, should've caught that ball." Nice twist though. Who would've thought of that?

It was a really fun night. It was made even more fun when my mum's loony friend came over to our table to say/do her usual loony stuff. She took the balloon behind her chair and pasted it on Gerrie's back! Then she asked Gerrie to paste one on my mum's back! Gerrie refused so she pasted it on my mum's back herself! L-) SO FUNNY MAN!!! 40+ already still doing such stuff! Then she went on to make more lame jokes that were as cold as winter. I was laughing so much, that my stomach was aching.

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Will post more on the Thailand trip soon. Stay tune! ^__^