Bangkok - Day 2

Day 2 started out in a frenzy. We took the wrong train, got off at the wrong stop and took a tuk tuk to the wrong pier. That's the downside of not having a detailed itinerary all planned out. But I'll choose a flexible itinerary over a detailed itinerary anytime. A stressed-out trip is not a holiday in my books. Plus, with every wrong turn, a hidden gem is discovered. In this case, the hidden gem was this orgasmic beef noodles by a random roadside stall.




Where do I begin? The soup was mind-blowing. The taste lingered in my mind for the next few days. The next few days, I had half a mind to head back there just to eat the noodles again. The beef was tender, slightly chewy yet it melts in your mouth. The fact that it beats the beef ball noodle stall hands down at Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin just says it all.


The stall is located at Soi 34 (Soi means 'street')


Schoolchildren in a local school



Locals playing checkers with bottlecaps. Very innovative.


Took the express boat from Soi 30 (Soi means ‘street’ in Thai) to the King’s palace for 17 baht. (Note: the locals will try to convince you to take the tourist tour boat for 200 baht. In my opinion, the express boat is good enough as there will be a tour guide on the boat explaining the various historical sites as the boat cruises along the river)


Many Thai Chinese live by the river. They are known as the 'river people' because they came to Thailand by river and subsequently, built their homes around the river.

King's palace

Visited the King’s palace (Entry fee = 300 baht. Note: Slippers and sleeveless clothing are not allowed. The palace closes by 4 pm)




Gold-gilded interior


I love taking pics of doors and arches




Hand-painted walls






















Playing with the colour accent mode in gold

Sleeping Buddha at Wat Po

Subsequently, took a tuk tuk to Wat Po where the sleeping Buddha is located (Entry fee = 50 baht. Wat Po is located adjacent to the King’s palace but the entrance to the palace is located at the opposite end of Wat Po)



Khao San

Took a tuk tuk to Khao San. Khao San is a backpacker’s haven. There are lots of pubs, eateries and roadside stalls.


You can get anything in Thailand including certificates, student cards and driving licences


I think we ate roadside food almost every meal. It's the best way to experience the best local food a country has to offer, no?


Noodle soup with chicken. The Thais love their noodle soup. Prior to this trip, I thought Thais ate tom yum gong, pad thai and pineapple fried rice as their staple diet. My perspective has changed.

Got a full body massage at one of the massage parlours in Khao San. We paid 230 baht for a full body oil massage. We subsequently realised that the price was dirt cheap. Most other places charged a minimum of 300 baht for a full body oil massage and at least 200 bath for a foot massage.


Khao San at night. After our satisfying massage, we stepped onto the streets again and noticed that the sun has set.


Lots of temporary roadside "pubs" around

After dinner, we headed to Distil Sky Bar, the Dome at State Tower. My expectations were definitely not let down.




The view from the 64th floor of State Tower


You could dine here but reservation is a must




The bar changes colour every 30 secs














Here's a better view.Taken from http://bangkok.lebua.com/gallery-en.html.

Back in Melbourne

I took in deep breaths of the crisp Melbourne air, if only to familiarise myself with Melbourne again. I’ve been gone for only a mere month but it feels like a year. It felt strange putting on a jacket, a scarf and stockings. It didn’t help that my ATM card couldn’t work at the airport today. Has the one month made me forget my pin number? And then, my house keys couldn’t work. I stared at my apartment number for a good ten seconds. I was at the right apartment, I think. I tried turning the key again but the doorknob wouldn’t turn. Luckily, my brother was home and he opened the door for me. I need to oil that doorknob.

Just before, I stared at the fifty dollar note in my wallet, only to realise that it wasn’t Australian but Singaporean. I forgot that the Australian one was yellow. A messy collection of coins sit in my wallet – Australian, Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai. If anything, it signifies the amount of travelling I’ve done. Right now, I’m quite happy to rest. To sit in bed, do some light reading, edit my photos and plan the week ahead.

Pulau Redang, Terengganu, Malaysia

No vacation break feels complete without a family getaway. This time, we decided to head to Pulau Redang for our family trip as my brother and I haven’t been there before. Pulau Redang was more beautiful than I imagined. White sandy beaches, crystal blue sea and warm balmy tropical weather are definitely a perfect combination for a relaxing holiday.

As the water surrounding Pulau Redang is home to some 3,000 species of fish, 1.000 of species of bivalves and 500 species of reef-building coral, it made a spectacular snorkelling experience. Initially, my brother and I snorkelled with our lifejacket on as it was recommended by the guide. But by the second day, we decided to free ourselves from the restriction of the lifejacket. It was so much more fun! We could do mini-diving trips and peep underneath corals. Pretty amazing experience. My favourite fish was definitely the clown fish (Nemo!). I found that clown fish are generally shy and easily stressed. They love hiding in their little seaweed homes. So I took some bread pieces and stuffed in their little homes. Other fish would then try to grab the bread from the seaweed. The clown fish would get stressed out and try to defend their homes by swimming around it. So funny! I could do that the entire day. If only I didn’t have to keep resurfacing to gasp for more air.












Spot the eel?

O, by accident, I almost fed a 2-metre long eel (a different eel from the picture above). We spotted a huge fish and I decided to chase after the fish to see whether it would eat the bread off my hand. So I took a deep breathe and quickly swam after the fish. But the fish, unsurprisingly, outswam me. I tried searching for the fish but efforts were in vain. A couple of seconds later, I turned around and spotted something that looked like the fish. I swam closer to it and then, hesitated. It looked slightly different from the other fish. It took me a good 10 seconds to realise that it was in fact, it was pretty different. It was a humungous eel with a neck the size of a tree trunk. Needless to say, I scrambled out of that area pretty quickly.


A better view of the eel



My brother and I love to watch the fish in their natural habitats. My dad on the other hand, had different interests. He was cute. He was like a little boy when thrown into the water. He bought loaves of bread to feed the fish in the sea. Usually, its difficult to identify one person snorkelling from another as everybody looks similar especially with the orange lifejacket on. However, it was easy to spot my dad underwater. Just spot the person with hundreds of fish tailing him. Its such a hilarious sight! The fish lover swam with loaves of bread in his hands while the fish try to nib from the loaves. Sometimes it was like a tug-of-war between man and fish. He had to keep covering the opening of the bread bag while the entourage of fish attack his loaves all at once.









The film set of the Hong Kong show, 'Summer Holiday' staring Sammi Cheng and Richie Ren . The show was filmed here at Laguna Hotel beach front.


Richie Ren's character name was "More more tea" and the Inn was called "More more tea Inn". It took me a while to get my head around that one.