Day 2 – Temples, Houses, Mango Trees and SHOPPING!

| Thursday, July 2, 2009

 

127 photos ahead. I suggest you load this page for like 3 minutes, go pee and make a cup of Milo then come back then ngam-ngam the time.

 


When we just landed and still felt a bit lost not knowing where to hail a cab, we walked around and asked where can we get a taxi, and ended up at the information counter. 

The kind lady behind the counter told us that it was our lucky day because there were free tours available and our options were:

1. Chao Phraya River Cruise
2. Temple tour (can’t remember the details)
3. Another temple tour (I only remember one of the landmarks are Grand Palace)


Because both of us had been to those temples, so we picked the first option.

The lady told us that someone will picked us up from our hotel at 7am, then we’ll go to the pier, have a river cruise, then some gem factory thingie, city tour, and drop us back at wherever we want. F.O.C!

(Not exactly FOC plang, we need to pay 250baht for tax. But still.. cheap!)

At 6.50am -

01

 
I love cup noodles! If it’s not because cup noodles are unhealthy.. I think I will eat it everyday. Btw, the Chinese captions on the photo above is obviously copied from Crowd Lu’s song. He’s damn cute lah!

Must remember to eat breakfast yo!

But… be careful~

02

 

 
Hence Mau only had bread for breakfast.

03

That’s her Taro something something and on the table, I think its pineapple pie, which she never gets to eat it because she had totally forgot about it.

 

At the pier.

04

 

Something something?

05

 
Err.. I wasn’t paying much attention to what the tour guide said. So… urm… it’s very likely that I will replaced the names with “something something” or “somewhere somewhere”. Sorry ya. 

 

06

 

In the boat. Lots of tourists.

07

 

 

08
I think this is the rear of Grand Palace.. I think…

 

09

 

 

 

10
Wat Arun.

 
Very sien.. camwhored.

11

 

 

12
This is used for filtering rubbish.. I think? I don’t know the proper name for this bah.

 

 

13
Feels very Kampung Ayer hor?

 

 

Through out the river cruise, the tour guide highlighted a lot of
“On your left… you can see some traditional Thai houses…”

14

 

Houses

16

 

More houses.

17

 

Then temples

18

and temples, and houses and MANGO TREES!

Yes! No kidding. I lost count the number of times she mentioned mango trees and papaya trees! And once she even said this,

“Ah hah! You are very lucky today”

Then Mau and I became alert after hearing that because for like 20 minutes she had been showing nothing but houses, temples and mango trees.

“On your left! You can see the fruit of the mango trees! Now is the mango season! Can you see the fruit?”

Wah lao eh!!
I really felt like I was about to fall down from my seat already.

Sien till…
19



Nothing to do then camwhore again lor.

 15

 

And stalked this little girl.

20

Cute or not cute or not? Bobby said look a bit like me when I was a kid. Not that he knew me since we’re 3 but, he’d seen a lot of my baby photos and found similarities between us.

Small eyes and that coconut hair.
Of course, I was a lot darker.

 

 

Something new, 

21
Reclining Buddha.

 

Temple again.

22

 

Then we reached the Thonburi Zoo/Snake farm
24

150baht for the entrance
25


See, even the plants look like snakes!
23

 

 26

I have Ophidiophobia, so even this….

27

freaked me out.

Though I secretly thought about how it will look like if it’s used on a pair of stilettos. What? I’m a woman!

 

Monkey

28 

 

Crocodile

29

 

 

He/she needs a manicure.. badly!

30

31

 

Guinea pigs! Very very cute!

32

34
Cute till……


Okay, something not so cute
33

 

A very kasian-looking parrot because macam balding.

35

 

Eeeek!

36

 

Bambi!

37

 

Rain deer I suppose.

38

 

Warning

39

 

 

Yogi in black

40

Very kasian lor. It was so hot and his fur was damn thick!
Really felt like giving this bear a trim.

 

Maurina kept asking this bird to give her a feather so she can make into a pair of earrings.

41

 

Now, 42

this is something new.

43

Then, it’s time for the Snake Show.
45

I sat quite far away and I will never ever touch a snake! And I was praying that no one will force me to do so else I’m so going to cry and faint.

 

Man dealing with 3 cobras.
44

 

 

Milking in progress
46

 

 

Damn gali can die!
47


I felt like vomiting when I saw the man had snakes in his mouth.
*spit spit spit*

 

Monkey wearing diaper!

48

 

 

On our way back
49

 

 

Feeding catfishes!
50

 
Those catfishes were huge! They always stay at the same area because they know people will come and feed them. And it’s forbidden to catch those catfishes because it’s near to temples.

Lucky huh.


52

 

Back to the pier.

51

 

Next stop – some gem factory

53

Okay, nothing much to blog here because

1) We were in a hurry because we wanted to meet Syuze, Rafie and the rest before they left.
2) We’re poor people and we can’t even afford to buy silver with those gems over there.
3) We just wanna go…

But good that our Nancy and Robert were very nice so they just stop-over, went down and sign-in and she didn’t force/convince us to buy anything.

p/s: All female tour guides from the company are called “Nancy” and male drivers are called “Robert”.


Our Nancy told us stuffs like, “We Thais look younger then our age because we go for Thai massage twice a week.”

Total BS.
No such thing after Mau asked all her Thai friends about it.
-__________- ?!


11.45am – Finally at Chatuchak Market!!!

54

 
We were in need to contact Syuze and Rafie but my “Happy” was out of credit and Mau’s roaming was acting like a b*tch. So we walked around and asked where can we buy those “Happy” credits.

 
The officers helping us by asking some other street vendors where to buy Happy Card.
55

 
Then we sort of gave up and just continued wandering around and shopped.

 

A must-try!
57

A cup of complimentary coconut drink for a 25baht coconut ice cream with peanuts!

56

 

Nice till……..!!!

58

It was really really delicious! It’s very refreshing and not very sweet. With the peanut… haiyah! Macam di awan ah! I know it’s kinda hard to imagine but.. trust me, you must must must try it if you’re going to the weekend market.


Mau ordered some chicken meatballs.

 59

The vendors were so pretty and cute.

60
(This one macam Edison)

 

Yums!
61



I was so tempted to buy this back!

62

But I know I can’t fit it in my small luggage bag. Sien.

 

Very Blair Wardolf. 
63


Ah.. this one non-halal. 
64
But nyaman!

 

 

Smoothies!

65

 

Oh I forgot, at this time we’d finally meet up with Rafie and waiting for the girls to finish their very last shopping in Bangkok.

day2-1 

 

My lychee smoothie!
66

 

You can tell straight from our faces that we’re from Brunei…
(except for me. Because the locals thought I was a Thai / Cambodian / Singaporean)

day2
L-R: Ernie, Hani, Syuze, Nonnie, Mau and Rafie

 67
LOL. Syuze bought some fake plant thingie and from the above photo, she was given a new nickname which is “Bazooka girl”. 

Personally, I thought it’s more of HaiYah Ninja girl!

(Anyway, I just wanna post the above picture because my legs macam kurus here. Muahahahhahaa)

 

With Rafie
68


After few hours of shopping in the hot and humid Chatuchak, we gave up and longed for an air-conditioned environment.

                         70

In the train station

69

Yeap, as you can see.. we’re already too tired to stand while waiting.

 

Here comes BTS    

71

 
Our destination
89

 
Powdered up a bit in the washroom so that we could look less sweaty and more trendy. It’s Siam Paragon okay, everyone had a branded bag on their shoulders or around their arms.. and we had… plastic bags only.

72

 

It was a Sunday afternoon and check out the number of peoples on the escalator and you’ll know how packed was it.

 

73

 

Trunch, Cafe @ Fish, very Fish&Co!

74

The colors, the decors, the menu and even the food were so Fish & Co!

 

Fish and Chips
75

 

 

Left pic taken by the waiter, right pic taken using timer on my mini tripod.
76

 

We only ordered one set of Fish & Chips to share because we had a lot more other snacks we wanted to try in the food court.

 

Onigiri!
77

 
I kept telling Maurina that if there’s such a food court in Brunei, I’ll go there everyday and put on at least 10kg in 3 months time.

Really! We’re so spoiled for choices. Appetizer, main course, dessert and whatever ojipala food you can think of also have ah.

 

My Mentaiko Onigiri!    
78


Delicious!

 

More Japanese cakes and kuehs!
79

 

Mau acting all kawaii just for an onigiri.
80

 

We simply sat on a bench and munched off our onigiris and 5 minutes later, we’re right in front of this counter. 

 82

Potato spiral / Spiral potato!
Nevermind the name! I like I like I like!
Potato my love!

81

I waited till my neck become like giraffe's liao for Charmy Snow House to serve that. It’s on their menu but it’s not available. You say sien or not. Correct me if I’m wrong about it because I’ve not been to Charmy for months.

 
BBQ flavor for me
83

 

And cheese flavor for Mau.

84

 

It’s not what I imagined. I thought it’s more or less like Lays but I was wrong.

85

It’s much thicker, but it’s still very crunchy and not soggy despite of the thickness. 

Fish & chips, onigiri and potato spiral… you think that’s it?
Hahahhaa. Of course no!

I had more!

86

 

Yeap, MOS burger!

87

I finally get to try it. Muahahhahaa!!
That’s my beef teriyaki rice burger.

88

That’s the amount of food I gobbled down in just 1 hour.

 

My favorite purchase of the day~

90

I finally ditched my ugly neon (but very handy and tahan) and bought my new love. From Mango, only 990baht! Now that’s a steal!

 
Top (our Thai friend) & Mau
91

Picking us up for dinner.

 

Outfit for the night
92
Shirt – new from Chatuchak
Belt – new from Chatuchak
Headband – new from Chatuchak
Legging – Borrowed from Mau


They asked us what we wanted to eat and we opted for local food. Oh come on, we’re already in Thailand.. tak kan macam fast food and Indian food kan? Of course we wanted to have some Tom Yam Gong! 

Samyam Market! 
Can we have something like that near to UBD?

 
99

It’s located just behind the Chulalongkorn University where plenty of students hung out at that place because of the strategic location and the price of the food. CHEAP!!!!

93
Pepsi and 2 bottles of mineral water with a bucket full of ice.

 

Nut and Top deciding for us what to order
(What Top always say to both Nut and Pont: You choose. I’m not a regular here) 

94

 

Some freshie wearing a name tag around his waist.
95

We’re guessing it was their orientation week.

 

Very cute the signboard. Instead of having Coke or Pepsi advertisement, the vendors have their faces plastered over the board.

96

 

And.. what you see is NOT exactly what you get.

 97

 

Food! Glorious food!100
So cheap that I felt my lower jaw could reach the floor already.
That’s food for all four of us. 375 baht divided by 4 okay!

98
We thought the floating white thingie is sotong, but it’s actually COCONUT FLESH! Nyaman nyaman!

 

 

After a very satisfying meal, we walked to somewhere for dessert.

101

 

Mix & Match

102

 

Top and Mau choosing the ingredients.
103

 

Kalerfooooooo
104

 

Top’s choice
105

(very healthy. got barley)

 

Mau’s

106
Those pink balls you saw is called “Rubies”

It’s water chestnut wrapped in glutinous coating.
Crunchy one. I like I like.

 

The place macam very famous…
107

 

After that, we took a cab and went to.. some other area which is quite far from where we stayed, to a night market that sells retro stuffs. If you dig really hard, you might be able to find some treasures. It’s like a flea market actually.

108

 109

 110

Even golf clubs also have!
115

 

Cool print for shoes
111

 

Camwhoring
112

 

Nope, we didn’t buy those shoes. Lawa plang..
113

 

Cyclops, some 80s wannabe superstar, and a chirpy lady boss

114

 

This spec reminds me of some anime character, I think from Chibi Maruko.

 116

 

So cheap! 100 baht for 3 tops!

117
But.. I got rejected because don’t have my size.
Thailand hates me.
All the baju I really love and wanna buy semua cannot fit one.

 

Yums! For all the sweet tooth out there.

118

 

Cheap cheap cheap!
119

5 baht is like.. 20 cents only okay!
Here in Brunei those small one like that already 60 cents liao.
I want to go back to BANGKOK lah!

The bigger ones.
120

121

 

Cameras!

122

 

Lomo for only 700 baht!

123

The vendor is a pilot. How bout that.

 

Old sneakers for sale.
124

Will you buy it?

 

Other than cloths and bag, I bought a lot of headbands and ribbons!

125


Okay. abrupt end.
Bye.

Day 1 – Bangkok, the land of AWESOMENESS!

| Monday, June 29, 2009

Date: 20th June 2009


Photos taken in chronological order.

 

1. The Besties (minus 1, FussyKelly… wait, should be minus 2 – my darling 48), Theen who drove me up to BSB along with SL who tumpang (as always).

01


We had a satisfying breakfast @ Lucky *yum! DIMSUMS* restaurant just to feel the nostalgia. Left my SD card in my lappie so no photos taken during the foodie session and kept reminding them to remind me that I HAVE TO TAKE THE SD CARD for the trip.

 

2. Us trying out the QuikPod

02

He kept showing me his bitter face and complained, “You’re going to Thailand… but not with me :(( ”

dot dot dot

 

3. My travel partner, Miss Maurina.

03

 

I’m so glad that I was travelling with her because she’s so random, just like me. We didn’t have a schedule, just go with the flow change whenever we felt like it. If boring, just skip to the next stop. And, we’re fast when it comes to shopping. Meaning, we didn’t spend like half an hour in a store choosing and bargaining.

And, we didn’t even need to runding who sleeps on which bed/side, who takes which space (for our luggage)… everything is just so natural.

It is definitely delightful to travel with her.

 

 

4. Food on the plane.

04

The mushroom chicken with rice, not so good…

 

5. We saw the steward gave a little kid a goodies bag and we asked for one too.

05

Activity book / color pencils / ruler / pencil / sharpener / photo frame and a magnetic drawing board!

 

6. While queuing for the washroom

06

 

7. Camwhoring in the washroom

07

 

8. Our seats were like, the first row in economy class. So we’re actually business class –1. LOL.

08

See, ample leg space. And our footwear for travel.
So glam si Mau punya. But damn mafan (troublesome) when she needs to take it off.

 

 

9. Bangkok!

09

 

 

10. In Suvarnabhumi Airport

10

 

 

11. Camwhoring in the washroom, because we’re not in a rush to anywhere~ Hence we took our sweet time walking around.

11

 

 

 

12. So pretty eh this airport!

12

 

 

13. Mau feeling all excited because of the pink taxi.

13


It’s around 350 – 400 baht to get to the city.

 

 

14. On our way to the city.

14

Bobby said the above photo looks scary…

 

 

15. Tell me why wanna hang something beneath the car. For fengshui?

15

 

 

16. The hotel we stayed for the first 3 nights.

5078_222842745509_866060509_7552796_8274368_n 

 

So malu you know. When filling the arrival card for the immigration, I wrote “Best Bangkok Hotel” and left out the “house”. The immigration officer looked at me and asked..

Officer:      Best Bangkok hotel?
Me:           .. uh.. ya.. (and took out the printed confirmation letter)
Office:       Ah.. Best Bangkok HOUSE hotel.



It is one of those budget hotel, USD20 per night without breakfast, in Pratunam area. Within walking distance to Pantip Plaza, Platinum Mall and BTS. Very convenient lah that area.

 

17. Our room.

16

The room is small but its enough for the both of us. Ada bath tub lagi! The one and only complaint I had for this room was… the walls are too thin!

We had some really really really annoying tenants living next to our room. They talked/laughed/fooled around very loudly in the middle of the night (3am!) and played music on their hand phones whenever they walked out their rooms to find their friends next to them. “MY HUMP! MY HUMP MY HUMP MY HUMP!”.

Grrrrrr!

 

18. Me eksen-eksen wiping the sink with clorox wipes.

17

 

19. Petchaburi Road

18


I can only speak like 4 words in Thai.
Sawadeekaaaaa
Kap kun kaaaaaa
Soi (which is simpang)
Sip Ha! (number 15)

Because when we told the taxi drivers the name of our hotel, they might not know it.. instead of saying “Best Bangkok House” and “My Hotel” (which we stayed for our last 2 nights), we told the drivers “Petburi soi sip ha!”.

 

 

20. Our very first meal in Bangkok

19

Because their spicy wings is a must-try!

 

21. Syok eh seeing their menu!

20

 

22. Fingers licking good

21

 

 

23. Chewy Cheeze! Something you don’t have in Brunei. Why ah? Bruneians love cheese man! Sure it’ll become an instant hit what.

22

 

 

23. Tuk-tuk ride.

23

Erm, it’s more expensive than taxi rides but since we’re already in Bangkok, why not? But it’s good to ride on tuk-tuk when you’re in a hurry because tuk-tuk drivers all drive like F1 drivers! Squeezing thru busy lanes, taking u-turns whenever they want and all sort of eye-popping stunts.

24. We witnessed an accident

24

It was drizzling and we saw a motorist skidded and crashed into the car in front.

 

25. And he/she just stood up and continued riding away…. Macam nothing!

25

 

 

26. The first shopping mall we visited

26

 

 

27. My butt got all wet after the tuk tuk ride

27

And no! That little biji you saw is not dirty thing or what, it’s just the button of my shorts.

 

28. I love this store!

28

 

 

29. So cute kan the packaging?

29

 

 

30. Like an ice cream or candy store

30

 

 

31. Spot the blogger busy shopping.

31

 

 

32. Lip, armpit, nipple and pubic whitening cream!

32

 

33. We were too tired to walk and decided to take a rest here.

33

 

 

34. By doing manicures!

34

The owner is so young right? She has been in the industry for 7 years and damn pro one okay. Don’t look down on her tiny little stall.

 

35. A cute mini red fan to dry the nails

35

 

 

36. If you’re sick of floral swirls and repeated patterns, why don’t go for something cartoony?

36

Cute!

 

37. Mau going for the classic black.

37

 

38. My turn!

38

 

 

39. Gradient red with glitters!

39

It’s like I dip my fingers into a pool of glittering blood.

Btw, we did manicure while waiting for the other bunch.

 

40. Suze’s salmon steak, zoom-in.

40

 

42. The portion in real life. Sad kan?

41

 

 

43. An aerial view of MBK.

42

 

 

44. Very SATC

43

 

 

45. Rafie and Mau

44

Wish we had more time going around Bangkok with Rafie because he makes good tour guide! Taking photos voluntarily, telling directions and waited patiently while the girls shopped!

 

46. Mau and I

45

It’s very rare that we have a full body photo together because no one was there to help us take pictures. This was taken by Rafie.

 

47. Obligatory group photo outside MBK.

46

Bruneians much? Eeeeseh, I’m a future Bruneian! Saya anak Brunei, soon!

 

 

48. Street food! Love the steam coming out from the corns and sweet potatoes!

47

 

49. So juicy!

48

 

 

50. Infamous street in Pat Pong. *cough cough*

49

Read the words on the neon signboard. Its Super P….

 

51. Yeap, we were there. *cough even louder*

50

 

The rest of the girls went back to the hotel whereas Rafie, Mau and yours truly stayed a little longer for some adventures and developed a close bond right after something. Unforgettable indeed! HAHHAHAHAHAHA! Right Banana man?

 

52. Us camwhoring in the train with my QuikPod!

51                         

Took the last train and walked back to our hotel. Bangkok is safe okay! No suspicious looking people roaming around, no gatal people stopped over and “Moi moi moi!” us, we didn’t get robbed or pick-pocketed.

So, for those who are still stuck with the images of Bangkok being very undeveloped, dirty and unsafe, I think it’s now time to visit Bangkok. You’ll be amazed how trendy and stunning are Bangkok-ians. Kalah 9 streets I tell you!

And, I enjoyed putting on make up everyday and lined my eyes with glitters. Its so normal for everyone to look fabulous over there. Urgh! I miss Bangkok!

 

Okay, Day 2 coming up next.
Just need time to edit the photos nia.

Back in action.. soon

| Sunday, June 28, 2009

 

Yeap yeap.
I’m back in Brunei yesterday and nope, we didn’t get quarantine.

Received a semi-good news once I turned on my phone.

Erm.. spent almost 2 hours unpacking and sorting out the gifts I bought for friends.

I have to say this first, I didn’t buy everyone a gift so please ah kawan-kawan… don’t marah if I didn’t buy you anything. It’s my trip anyway, meaning, I should focus on me myself more right? Right?

Took almost 4GB of photos so please do give me some time to blog. I will try to blog my travelogue on a day-to-day basis and I certainly hope I won’t miss out anything that’s blog-worthy.

I miss BANGKOK! I miss the friends there.
I miss the convenience.
But, not so much of Phnom Penh, albeit I do have a lot to blog about the Cambodia trip. That country is just so… disturbingly charming.

Okie.
I need to catch up my series from Astro On Demand.
Bye~

Cool name!

| Thursday, June 25, 2009

I super love the Chinese name of this shop.


Operated by 浪子 who 回头ed?



Sorry, only those who can understand Chinese knows what was I trying to say.

Hello from Phnom Penh

|










Finally!All my birthday wishes I made on last birthday came true! Passed the most important test in my life, got super flying colours for my UBD exam papers and... VISITED CAMBODIA (just for Angkor-ism)!

I was mesmerized and stunted for the beauty of that place. It´s just so incredible that I find it hard to find any suitable vocabs to describe my feelings.

I think I´ve slowly fallen in love with this country...

Everything is so new and too ¨out of the box¨ for us!
Very sakai you know!

More updates when I´m back in Brunei.

Today´s itin - Toul Sleng Musuem, maybe the killing field then back to Bangkok (for more shopping!)


p/s: There´s no 7/11 or shopping malls in PhnomPenh.We spent most of our money on food and transport... ONLY!

Introduce you my latest fav. book

| Wednesday, June 24, 2009




Written by a famous blogger from Taiwan, IllyQueen.


Despite of the ... erm... very sassy title, this book is not about how to slave your boyfriend/hubby, show your "girlpower" or whatsoever, but how women should stand up for themselves, be confident and feel good about yourself.

There's this particular quote which is my favorite of all...



“如果每個人都有32C、24、36的三圍,如果每個人的乳溝都能夾死蒼蠅,如果每個人都穿上名牌,如果每個人都化一樣的妝,如果每個人都變得一樣美麗,那么,你怎么認為,你跟別人不一樣?”


Made me LOL-ed.

Okay, the quote says...


"If everyone owns the figure of 32C, 24, 36,
if everyone's cleavage can "kapit lalat" to death.
if everyone is wearing branded cloths,
if everyone is putting on the same type of make up,
if everyone can be so beautiful,
then,
what is the difference between you and everyone else?"



You can read the full article here.

What happens when you're too karit with potatoes..

| Monday, June 22, 2009

I tried making my own version of (vegetarian) cottage pie using whatever ingredients I can find in the fridge. So I got greedy and ended up putting tomatoes, carrots, egg plants, onions and only 4 small bijis of potatoes for the topping.

See what happened.




:S

The potatoes I mashed was not enough to cover it completely...
Super fail.