Went to the bookfair today and bought tons of books with MMM.
There was quite the line up to the convention center even during a weekday.
It was also today that I decided to buy that b+ab bag.. and i've done something that no other HK locals would do.. I started off being in TST and went to the b+ab store.. It didn't have the colour that I wanted so I went across the harbour to Central to check it out there at that store. They also didn't have it and we got them to call around to ask for me. they located stock in TusenWan. Since there's an MTR line that goes from Central to TsuenWan, i decided it was okay to go there. And so I took another 30 mins to travel there only to find that it was not the right purse... Since I'm an unproductive person in hk and was not in a rush to go anywhere, I asked them to locate stock for me again. This time they found it at another TST location... so i went there and found it..
Yep, i decided to take a grand tour of HK via the MTR today...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Last Day in Singapore
Having came back from BK last night, it is my last day in SG.
SG is a beautiful city and I definitely didn't see enough of it.. must come back one day!
Thanks to my gracious host Min <3 xoxo
SG is a beautiful city and I definitely didn't see enough of it.. must come back one day!
Thanks to my gracious host Min <3 xoxo
Bangkok- Day 2 and 3 : Shopping sums it up
CHaktuChak was quite the scene! It was totally worth it to wake up at 6am to get there ;)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Bangkok- Day 1: hotel Tai pan, Grand Palace and Wat Pho
Flight was bumpy from Phuket to bangkok on air asia. We went to the airport with Mr. Chit, our awesome taxi driver from yesterday since we couldn't find the first one.
In bangkok we stayed at hotel taipan which I would highly recommend. Its buffet lunch was super yummy (see pix)
I then decided to go visit the grand palace myself (min's been there before and she wasn't feeling too well so she took a break at the hotel. I took a cabbie for 200 THB, which would have taken an hour at that time in the day because of BK's terrible traffic. The driver suggested taking highway so an additional 40 THB toll to get there in 30 min which I took his offer up on.
The grand palace wasn't as crowded as i thought it would be. First lined up in the wrong line where people were renting clothing for 100 THB per piece (well borrowing since you get your money back) like a sari to wrap around your bottom, big pants for guys and shaws for ladies wiht their shoulders exposed. Being appropriately dressed, i just looked like an idiot lining up for the wrong line.
Admission prices also went up from 250 THB to 300, but oh well you have to pay for it since you want to see it. And it was worth every penny of it. It was so big, and so much to see it took me forever to relate my top 10 guidebook map to the one they gave me. It was so glittery and pretty and very glam. Definitely can only be described as grand and elegant. Thai people can go in for free, so a lot of kids were there on a school trip.
After spending about an hour there, I decided to head over to Wat Pho which was number 3 on my guide book list and very close by. The entry fee was only 50 THB since it's the oldest temple in thailand. It was another maze and i had completely missed the reclining budda until i finally oriented myself 45 minutes later. In the process of that, some Aussie guy was showing his creepy side again. He asked if i would go pretend to be a goalie in a soccer net where the little kids who are schooled inside the wat pho have their playgrounds. So i said no thanks, but i offered to take a picture of him (even though he has friends) and he just insisted.. so i smiled and walked away. Why are all the aussies that we're meeting in thailand so strange?
Anyways, the reclining budda was HUGE and it was very grand again like everything else in thailand. We had to walk from its face all the way to its legs, then around its back and then exit. Along its back you can donate some money and get a bowl full of coins (i think it's 1 satang (cent), which does not get used anymore) and you get to put one into each of a whole row of jug things that collect them. I think if you get to the last one that means you're very lucky. I ran out about 10 from the end... so i guess i was not that lucky. I should look up what it actually means.
Then i saw the fruits that the cable ski guys shared with us yesterday, they said in thailand they call it longkong, it's like a longan like fruit but the fruits are in little slices. Min said they call them Baluku (or something) in singapore. The lady originally asked for 40 THB a kilo then i walked away. Then she offered a bag of it for 20 THB. I don't even know if it's a kilo.
anyways so they weren't lying when they said bangkok traffic is bad, it took me 1 hour to come home. The driver was so bored, he started clipping his nails.
Now we're waiting for kally to arrive and then probably hit up one of the malls and get a massage to fix our sore sore necks and muscles from cable skiing and do some shopping!
oh on a side note, the aussie guy that min met last night, came by our room at 5am knocked on our door scarily and apparently wanted to say goodbye. He gave up finally when we refused to open the door and decided to call instead. Trust me it was strange....
In bangkok we stayed at hotel taipan which I would highly recommend. Its buffet lunch was super yummy (see pix)
I then decided to go visit the grand palace myself (min's been there before and she wasn't feeling too well so she took a break at the hotel. I took a cabbie for 200 THB, which would have taken an hour at that time in the day because of BK's terrible traffic. The driver suggested taking highway so an additional 40 THB toll to get there in 30 min which I took his offer up on.
The grand palace wasn't as crowded as i thought it would be. First lined up in the wrong line where people were renting clothing for 100 THB per piece (well borrowing since you get your money back) like a sari to wrap around your bottom, big pants for guys and shaws for ladies wiht their shoulders exposed. Being appropriately dressed, i just looked like an idiot lining up for the wrong line.
Admission prices also went up from 250 THB to 300, but oh well you have to pay for it since you want to see it. And it was worth every penny of it. It was so big, and so much to see it took me forever to relate my top 10 guidebook map to the one they gave me. It was so glittery and pretty and very glam. Definitely can only be described as grand and elegant. Thai people can go in for free, so a lot of kids were there on a school trip.
After spending about an hour there, I decided to head over to Wat Pho which was number 3 on my guide book list and very close by. The entry fee was only 50 THB since it's the oldest temple in thailand. It was another maze and i had completely missed the reclining budda until i finally oriented myself 45 minutes later. In the process of that, some Aussie guy was showing his creepy side again. He asked if i would go pretend to be a goalie in a soccer net where the little kids who are schooled inside the wat pho have their playgrounds. So i said no thanks, but i offered to take a picture of him (even though he has friends) and he just insisted.. so i smiled and walked away. Why are all the aussies that we're meeting in thailand so strange?
Anyways, the reclining budda was HUGE and it was very grand again like everything else in thailand. We had to walk from its face all the way to its legs, then around its back and then exit. Along its back you can donate some money and get a bowl full of coins (i think it's 1 satang (cent), which does not get used anymore) and you get to put one into each of a whole row of jug things that collect them. I think if you get to the last one that means you're very lucky. I ran out about 10 from the end... so i guess i was not that lucky. I should look up what it actually means.
Then i saw the fruits that the cable ski guys shared with us yesterday, they said in thailand they call it longkong, it's like a longan like fruit but the fruits are in little slices. Min said they call them Baluku (or something) in singapore. The lady originally asked for 40 THB a kilo then i walked away. Then she offered a bag of it for 20 THB. I don't even know if it's a kilo.
anyways so they weren't lying when they said bangkok traffic is bad, it took me 1 hour to come home. The driver was so bored, he started clipping his nails.
Now we're waiting for kally to arrive and then probably hit up one of the malls and get a massage to fix our sore sore necks and muscles from cable skiing and do some shopping!
oh on a side note, the aussie guy that min met last night, came by our room at 5am knocked on our door scarily and apparently wanted to say goodbye. He gave up finally when we refused to open the door and decided to call instead. Trust me it was strange....
Thursday, July 24, 2008
rainy day and cable skiing
Today was a rainy day in Phuket, but that didn't change our desire to participate in extreme sports!
Min and I got a taxi driver and went Cable skiing for the first time. I think she's done it before, but it was definitely my first time... Needless to say, I was not good at it.. (in fact, we got an amazing video of me going head first into it). So to back up a bit, let's describe cable skiing. Cable skiing is a type of water sport like wake boarding except you're pulled around by a cable and there's no wakes.
The place that we went to was in a little still lake (with very very dark water...=\) Once you're geared up, you sit at the edge of this dock and get hooked up to the cable. The cable goes around the lake in a circle and you'll be given the signal to get ready once the cable pull comes near, then off you go! The take off is usually very jerky and you have to have very good lower body strength (something that I don't have) to get into position to "ski"...
Min did a lot better than I did, and after around 10 tries, I decided I just didn't have that talent... I then sat around and had this amazing exotic fruit called long kong. It's like a cross between longan and lychee and looks also somewhat like a mangosteen.
Because of the crappy weather, we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and hung out at the hotel (Min did ALMOST take us to go ATV-ing...)
Min and I got a taxi driver and went Cable skiing for the first time. I think she's done it before, but it was definitely my first time... Needless to say, I was not good at it.. (in fact, we got an amazing video of me going head first into it). So to back up a bit, let's describe cable skiing. Cable skiing is a type of water sport like wake boarding except you're pulled around by a cable and there's no wakes.
The place that we went to was in a little still lake (with very very dark water...=\) Once you're geared up, you sit at the edge of this dock and get hooked up to the cable. The cable goes around the lake in a circle and you'll be given the signal to get ready once the cable pull comes near, then off you go! The take off is usually very jerky and you have to have very good lower body strength (something that I don't have) to get into position to "ski"...
Min did a lot better than I did, and after around 10 tries, I decided I just didn't have that talent... I then sat around and had this amazing exotic fruit called long kong. It's like a cross between longan and lychee and looks also somewhat like a mangosteen.
Because of the crappy weather, we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and hung out at the hotel (Min did ALMOST take us to go ATV-ing...)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Phi Phi Island, Kuai and Samui Island
We woke up extremely early this morning to catch our complimentary breakfast which was awesome and lots of selection at our awesome hotel Burasari.
Then the driver for the tour company came promptly at 8am to pick us up. We then got stuffed into this crammy 10 seater mini van and was off to pick up other ppl who also signed up for the tour. We drove across Phuket to the east coast and was dropped off at a place where we were assigned boat numbers. Each speed boat carried about 22 people. I paid 100 THB to get a pair of flippers thinking that i'll probably need them eventually since i don't like stepping on ocean floors.
We then went on the longest and the most choppy boat ride ever to phi phi island. We first went to phi phi ley, where there was a beach and lots of tourists. We stayed there for about 40 minutes for some swimming and just enjoying the sun. this was where the film the beach was filmed which starred leo dicaprio. Then it was a boat ride photo opportunity at the phi phi ao lang (or something) where it's a natural wonder of rocks? (what they said was more exciting, maybe i'll wiki it one day and add to this post). Then we went to the bat cave aka viking cave, where people live there to collect bird's nest. They said they have to live there to wait for the opportunity as it's really rare (i think this is yin wor, swallow's nest). Their living area looks very sketched.
Then we were driven over to Phi Phi Don, the main island. We first made a stop at Monkey bay where the guide warned us that we'll have to be rushed over to the hospital if scratched. Anyways, we decided not to get off the boat and just watch other tourists outnumber the monkeys in that section. Then we were at this place called maya bay for snorkeling where we snorkeled for 40 minutes. We decided to use life vest which was the best choice since it helps you float and minimize efforts. Then the guides were very excited to show us nemo, which i ended up didnt' see very well since my mask fogged up coz i couldn't stop breathing through my nose. I did manage to see something that vaguely resembled a clown fish so i'm just going to assume i saw it. I liked the fish and the corals but i really didn't like them too close to me.
We were then driven to the main area of phi phi don where we had lunch, a buffet lunch, at which point i was kinda sea sick, dehydrated, choked on sea water or whatever... so i didn't eat too much. There wasn't too much on the island except some hostels and bungalows. After that we were driven to kuai island where we spent the afternoon snorkeling with bright yellow fishes and when in deeper water more exotic fish. We were told if you go further you see better looking corals and possibly even sharks (actually they are observable, we just didn't end up going). The guides promised that sharks don't bite in warm water, but we just got too tired, heat stroke, sea sick to actually go there and look at them. This was also where toilet cost 20 thb a use, and they sell you pictures of yourself in frames as souvenir for 300 THB (i got it coz it's nice). Anyways, the guide was telling us that the secret was to the name of the island "P. P. island" so you can figure out how you can save the 20 THB. Kuai means egg and apparently the island looks like an egg so that's y, the green is the yolk and the white beaches is the egg white.
After 2 hours of frolicking in the water, we went back to phuket, and this time it only took 20 minutes. We were then driven back to our hotels. Min and i decided to go chill by the pool to wait for the pool's 1 for 1 mojitos special where some aussie guy started chatting us up. Then we went back to our room after more mosquito bite grossness and a sudden unexpected shower. And at about 8pm we went out for our adventure to find food for the night.
We ate at this place on the parallel street called dang, or something, and i had authentic pad thai which was super yummy. On the way, I also picked up a young coconut for 25 THB which was also super yummy, highly recommended.
We then went for a thai message at a place called welcome message. Thai message for 1 hour cost 200 THB which was super cheap like (6 CAD). It was so good. We've gotta go back for an oi message or something. And to think, the last time i had a thai message plus some body glow wrapped in honey thing cost 160 CAD, this was a great deal. Gotta do more tomorrow!!
Then the driver for the tour company came promptly at 8am to pick us up. We then got stuffed into this crammy 10 seater mini van and was off to pick up other ppl who also signed up for the tour. We drove across Phuket to the east coast and was dropped off at a place where we were assigned boat numbers. Each speed boat carried about 22 people. I paid 100 THB to get a pair of flippers thinking that i'll probably need them eventually since i don't like stepping on ocean floors.
We then went on the longest and the most choppy boat ride ever to phi phi island. We first went to phi phi ley, where there was a beach and lots of tourists. We stayed there for about 40 minutes for some swimming and just enjoying the sun. this was where the film the beach was filmed which starred leo dicaprio. Then it was a boat ride photo opportunity at the phi phi ao lang (or something) where it's a natural wonder of rocks? (what they said was more exciting, maybe i'll wiki it one day and add to this post). Then we went to the bat cave aka viking cave, where people live there to collect bird's nest. They said they have to live there to wait for the opportunity as it's really rare (i think this is yin wor, swallow's nest). Their living area looks very sketched.
Then we were driven over to Phi Phi Don, the main island. We first made a stop at Monkey bay where the guide warned us that we'll have to be rushed over to the hospital if scratched. Anyways, we decided not to get off the boat and just watch other tourists outnumber the monkeys in that section. Then we were at this place called maya bay for snorkeling where we snorkeled for 40 minutes. We decided to use life vest which was the best choice since it helps you float and minimize efforts. Then the guides were very excited to show us nemo, which i ended up didnt' see very well since my mask fogged up coz i couldn't stop breathing through my nose. I did manage to see something that vaguely resembled a clown fish so i'm just going to assume i saw it. I liked the fish and the corals but i really didn't like them too close to me.
We were then driven to the main area of phi phi don where we had lunch, a buffet lunch, at which point i was kinda sea sick, dehydrated, choked on sea water or whatever... so i didn't eat too much. There wasn't too much on the island except some hostels and bungalows. After that we were driven to kuai island where we spent the afternoon snorkeling with bright yellow fishes and when in deeper water more exotic fish. We were told if you go further you see better looking corals and possibly even sharks (actually they are observable, we just didn't end up going). The guides promised that sharks don't bite in warm water, but we just got too tired, heat stroke, sea sick to actually go there and look at them. This was also where toilet cost 20 thb a use, and they sell you pictures of yourself in frames as souvenir for 300 THB (i got it coz it's nice). Anyways, the guide was telling us that the secret was to the name of the island "P. P. island" so you can figure out how you can save the 20 THB. Kuai means egg and apparently the island looks like an egg so that's y, the green is the yolk and the white beaches is the egg white.
After 2 hours of frolicking in the water, we went back to phuket, and this time it only took 20 minutes. We were then driven back to our hotels. Min and i decided to go chill by the pool to wait for the pool's 1 for 1 mojitos special where some aussie guy started chatting us up. Then we went back to our room after more mosquito bite grossness and a sudden unexpected shower. And at about 8pm we went out for our adventure to find food for the night.
We ate at this place on the parallel street called dang, or something, and i had authentic pad thai which was super yummy. On the way, I also picked up a young coconut for 25 THB which was also super yummy, highly recommended.
We then went for a thai message at a place called welcome message. Thai message for 1 hour cost 200 THB which was super cheap like (6 CAD). It was so good. We've gotta go back for an oi message or something. And to think, the last time i had a thai message plus some body glow wrapped in honey thing cost 160 CAD, this was a great deal. Gotta do more tomorrow!!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Super yummy seafood at phuket at coconaot
so yummy
curry crab
garlic crayfish
fried oysters
prawns that were huge
morning glory veggie
and two coconuts
so good
all for 920 THB a person
I'm so full right now I can't write in complete sentences.. yum
curry crab
garlic crayfish
fried oysters
prawns that were huge
morning glory veggie
and two coconuts
so good
all for 920 THB a person
I'm so full right now I can't write in complete sentences.. yum
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