Wednesday, June 18, 2008 @ 7:45 AM Author: clarinda
Hihi...As promised, I have actually embedded the link to my Bangkok Trip photos in my blog. It is under the heading 'Closet Mistress' as 'Photo Link'. The photos are all from my handphone's camera. Wait till I have obtained the rest of the photos from my 2nd sis's camera , till then then I would upload the rest of the photos taken there.Oh ya, I forgot to mention something about my trip to Bangkok. I realised that there are many transsexuals there. To be honest, they are even more feminine than me. This is in the sense that they walked in a figure of eight. WOW!!! It is really amazing to spot so many of them there. However, I guess that it is very normal to see them around. Also, I do not think that there is a social stigma attached to them because one can even find them working in a fast food restaurant. I must say that their service standard is something that Singapore can learn from.This is because they are really courteous. Take the case of my breakfast @ Chester's Grill for example. The hot espresso ordered by my father looks ridiculously little in the large cup that it was served in. When told that we wanted the cup to be 3/4 filled, the girl promptly did that. In addition, she gave us free glasses of iced water to make up for being unable to understand what did we actually wanted in the first place. Isn't that so nice of her? However, by ordering an extra cup of espresso (4 shots), we have to pay for it. The main thing was that we did not mind paying as the service was EXCELLENT!
The visit to the Erawan Shrine (where the Four-faced Buddha is) was indeed an eye opener for me. This was because I was expecting to see a gargantuan-sized temple with many people @ there. Having this conception is not surprising. After all, the Four-faced Buddha there is the most popular Buddha in Asia. However, guess what? The area is even smaller than the parade square in JJC. The Four-faced Buddha is located in the center of the relatively small piece of land. However, there were indeed many people praying there. One can make a donation or pay to have dancers dance for you. Of course, having more dancers dancing for you means forking out more money. While at there, my family and I offered colourful flower garlands, lotus, incense and candles to the Buddha, as well as making wishes. Hopefully these wishes would come true;) Therefore, as long as a wish comes true, I would definitely go back there with my family to thank the Buddha. Just to set things straight, I am actually a free thinker;)
By the way, I actually went for the Thai massage on 3 different days during my 5D 4N stay in Novotel (Bangkok). Of which 2 visits were sponsored by my dearest papa;) The 1st time we did was the foot, head and shoulder massage. As long as the massage concerns the foot, there will always be a foot scrub prior to the massage. My twin sis is such a joke! This is because she kept on laughing regardless of whether is it foot scrub or foot, head and shoulder massage. In the end, her masseuse, as well as my father and I who were sitting beside couldn't help but laugh. For the 2nd and 3rd time, it was a 2hrs Thai body massage. Similarly, there was a foot scrub prior to the message. Also, we have to change out of our clothes. It was the 1st time I went for such massages. Of the 3 times that I went, the last time was the one that left me with a lasting impression. Why did I say so? This is because the masseuse has lots of strength, such that when she was massaging me, I can feel the pain cos she presses really hard. Honestly speaking, I think that this is more effective than we ourselves doing stretching exercises. You can imagine how useful the massage was. There were times whereby I couldn't help but giggle (not laugh cos i do not want to lose face). This was because I was feeling ticklish. Thus, if I had the opportunity, I would definitely go back for the Thai massage again.
Let's move on to the subject on food. The food there is really CHEAP as compared to Singapore.
1) A bowl of bird nest with ginkgo nut costs 100 Baht (~S$4.30).
2) Jap food --- Sashimi Bento Set (comprising of various types of sushi, sashimi, tempura, salmon, octopus ball, miso soup, etc...) costs 190 Baht (~S$8.00)
3) A big big crepe with 2 toppings (e.g. blueberry, chocolate, chili paste, tuna, strawberry, banana, etc....) costs 25 Baht (~S$1.05)
4) A big coconut costs 20 Baht (~S$0.85)
5) 3kg of lychees cost 100 Baht (~S$4.30)
6) 1kg of rambutans costs 20 Baht (~S$0.85)
7) A large cup of mocha/ latte/ cuppochino costs 65 Baht (~S$2.75)
8) A plate of Grilled Chili Fish Spaghetti costs 90 Baht (~S$3.80)
... ...
See, the food there is real cheap right? More importantly, the Thai food there is also cheap in contrast to those sold in Singapore. Thus if you want to try cheap, authentic and yummy Thai food, go Thailand!!!
Even, shopping there is GREAT!!! This is because there are a lot of varieties of clothes selling @ wholesale prices if you purchase 3 sets of clothes from the shop. How wonderful!! The accessories are also cheap only if you purchase them @ wholesale prices.
If you were to go Bangkok, you will actually realise that the people there DO NOT JAYWALK!!! Instead they cross the roads via either traffic lights or overhead bridges. Their overhead bridges are even higher and steeper than those in Singapore. No wonder Thai people are so slim. Ok lah, maybe it is also partly because they could not afford food. Also, it may be due to their love for tom yam which is spicy and sour, which has perhaps increased their metabolism. The largest size available for jeans/ shorts/ skirts in some shops is only 29. Furthermore, sometimes the shop only sells 2 sizes, namely small and large. Sigh..The small size is too small and the large size is too large. Of course common sense will tell us to go for the large size clothing cos we will be able to alter it smaller.
Ok, enough of my Thailand trip. I went to catch the movie 'Kungfu Panda' yesterday with my long-time-no-see friends --- Siti, Yan Li and Xin Fei. Really miss them cos it has been a long time since we last met up, except for Siti. Anyway, the movie was both funny and touching. If you have not catch the movie, go for it only if you like this type of genre of movie. Before we watched the movie, we had lunch together. The funny thing was that Siti was trying to cut a piece of chicken into smaller pieces, and it ended up flying towards YL who was siting in front of her. Luckily it did not fly into YL's bowl of ice-kachang. However, I feel really happy to have been able to catch up with them. XF will be flying off to China on 1st Sep for 5 mths to study. Therefore she is currently taking Mandarin classes. I think that she will REALLY need that cos her Mandarin standard lags far behind her English standard. That's true..really. Hopefully, she will have no difficulties studying at there. As for YL, it came as a surprise when she told me that she will be having exams this Jul. That is really fast. Let's hope that she will score well for it. Siti is really naughty yesterday. Kept teasing me. And I knew that she did that on purpose. Bad bad Siti. Haha..Just kidding;) Anyway, they were saying that I will double of my current size when I come back from UK. You know what? I'm going to prove them wrong. Also, they were saying that I should get a Caucasian boyfriend, so that my kid will look very pretty or handsome. My family also told me the same thing. All I have to say is that you all think too much;) However, let us just let nature take its course. Anyway, I think that most probably, I will ask around see who wants to sent XF off on 1st Sep @ 10pm. Perhaps we can meet for dinner:)
Before I forget, I hope that 06S09's girls outing will be confirmed soon cos it has been quite some time since I last met them. We should meet up more often before I leave for UK. Same goes for my secondary school friends.
This is a really long entry..I think I have written too much..but who cares right;) Shall update soon:)