Thailand - The Land of SmilesHave I mentioned before that I love Asa? (Asasasasaasasasasa) Because without Asa I wouldn't have enjoyed my Thailand trip that much. We always end up doing the most random of things, not seeing the "important" sights dutifully as we should, just because we can't be bothered wahaha! We're not very good tourists as you can see.
So firstly, here's a copy-paste of the itinerary that I made before going to Thailand.
- 18/6/2008 - Reach Bangkok in the evening.
- 19/6/2008 - Take a train to Kanchanaburi for the Death Railway and surrounding museums, spend the night at Kanchanaburi
- 20/6/2008 - Go to the Erawan National Park for its beautiful waterfalls. Take a bus back to BKK.
- 21/6/2008 - Bangkok shopping
- 22/6/2008 - Bangkok shopping =D
- 23/6/2008 - Take a train to Ayutthaya, potter around for the day, stay for the night.
- 24/6/2008 - Leave Ayutthaya by train, be in time for the train back to Butterworth. Night in train.
- 25/6/2008 - Reach Butterworth, go to Penang, stuff face.
- 26/6/2008 - Leave Penang back to KL.
#1. Running under heavy rain at the Erawan National Park, Kanchanaburi.
One of the tiers of the Erawan Falls.So what happened was we went to this beautiful national park, hiked 1.5kms up to see all seven tiers of the famed Erawan Falls, abstaining from soaking ourselves in the turquoise waters because we did not bring a change of clothes - towards the end of the hike, when we were almost at the base, it started to rain. Furiously.
We wanted to catch a bus at 2:20pm, and it was already 2pm. And what's a little tropical rain? So we decided to run for it! We ended up drenched from head to toe, legs covered in mud, stared at by Europeans who undoubtedly thought that we were mad. The last time that I had run under such heavy rain was probably when I was in Form 2, with XiaoCi (XC - you remember?). Rain is such tremendous fun!
When we reached the visitor centre, the kind lady at the counter told us that there was no 2:20pm bus, contrary to what was printed on the schedule. The bus would come at 4pm. =_=
Sopping wet, waiting for the 4pm bus while enjoying a Thai coconut.#2: Asking how much it would cost to make a fake ID.
I was so fascinated by the dodginess of the fake ID stalls at Khao San Road that I stopped to ask how much they cost, after failing to take a picture of the signs they put up. (The sign was speedily whipped away before I could take a shot.) Apparently for 300Baht (RM30) you can get a fake student ID/fake press card/fake identity card/fake etc. customized for you.
I did play with the idea of making one, just for the hell of it, but then "just for the hell of it" would probably not impress the cops if I got caught. So I decided not to. Which was just as well, 'coz Elli a German girl whom I met at Mr. Yee's place, who had resided in Thailand for 2 years, said that she could get a fake ID at only 50Baht. Whoa almost got ripped off, by a dodgy fake ID seller! Who would've guessed!
Dodgy Khao San Road#3. Waking up and realizing that we were on top of River Kwai
We put a night at Kanchanaburi at Sam's River Guesthouse. The second morning when we woke up, I realized that we were on a floating rafthouse, sprang up, threw the door open and there it was, a huge as river right below us =D For some reason I was extremely happy about that. And it feels very good waking up extremely happy.
Right outside our room.#4. Finding the perfect little dress and buying two more =D
The first day we went to Chatuchak market, I bought this really cute dress (220Baht). Tried it on when we got back to the guesthouse, found that it fit perfectly, and ended up going to Chatuchak the following day and buying two more!
According to Wikipedia there are more than 15,000 stalls in Chatuchak. And we managed to locate the 1/15,000, all thanks to Asa's biological GPS!
I didn't take a picture of my dresses, so here's a picture of random door knobs to compensate:
Picture of Random Door Knobs to Compensate#5. Taking a nap at Chatuchak Park.
After shopping and having hawker food for lunch at Chatuchak, we found ourselves at Chatuchak Park, right beside the Chatuchak Park Skytrain Station, where many locals were chilling despite the hot weather. We took a shady spot beside the lake.
Lake at Chatuchak ParkCan you see the huge picture of the Thai King on one of the buildings? We have dubbed him "Andy Lau" because of his overwhelming popularity and his hawk-like nose. The resemblance is uncanny.
So then we lay on the grass.
Us lying on the grass.And slept. For about an hour. I was told by Asa that I was snoring (but in an adorable way). None of the locals looked alarmed (just rather curious) when I awoke so I don't think I disrupted public order.
#6. Watching Rak Sam Sao in Paragon Cineplex.
Of all the debauchery we could have indulged in, at the heart of Bangkok, we chose to go watch a movie. Yeah we missed the Thai massages, gay bars, strip clubs, bizarre sex shows.
Go Bangkok cannot have good, clean fun ah?
The movie we watched. Rak Sam Sao.The movie was in Thai but there were English subs so we were fine. Rak Sam Sao means "The Last Moment". Yay an addition to my limited Thai vocab! The tickets cost 150Baht each, but the popcorn combo cost 190Baht! So instead of getting the expensive popcorn we got the following snacks instead.
Dodgy popcorn. 9Baht. Indecipherable Lays snack. 14Baht. 
World's best mango ice-blended. Bloody good. 25Baht for this small bottle. When we were going into the cinema there was a bag check. Expecting to surrender all my snacks and my world's best mango ice-blended, I was pleasantly surprised that they asked us to proceed. Apparently they were only looking for video cameras.
Did you know that tucked between the trailers and ads, is a propaganda short film of the King, and everybody is expected to stand for the duration of the film? I didn't. Now I do. And I feel a newfound and profound respect for the monarch of Thailand. In fact I think I should hang a calendar with his picture on my wall. Give the big guy a salute every time I check the date.
#7. Shower at Bann Kun Pra, Ayutthaya
After a whole day of covering Ayutthaya by foot, walking under the scorching sun, we returned to the guesthouse. I was covered with an inch-thick film of grime (exaggerated but heart-felt), and the shower felt. so. good. Best shower I had in Thailand, gushing cold water in a spacious bathroom, hell yeah!
No pictures for this one.
#8. A pseudo-explosion at the night market at Ayutthaya.
Before going to Thailand, my mum kept reminding me not to have hawker food in case I'd get diarrhea, which I responded with half-hearted ehm, ehm, ehms with my fingers crossed behind my back. Thai hawker food is sublime, okay. What is diarrhea to gastronomic heavens for the cheapest prices ever?
Yum.
Yum. So there we were, enjoying hawker food in explicit disobedience to my mum's orders, when there was a loud "POP" from the stall right across where we were seated. Hawkers beside the stall gasped and ducked. The stall owner bounded to the gas canister and turned it off. All looked visibly relieved.
Probably that was The Supreme Being's way of telling me that hawker food could kill me - and it needn't be by food poisoning. But being the daredevils we were, we just continued eating happily and even went back to the night market later for dinner.
#9. Asking for directions at Chulalongkorn University
On our last day in Bangkok, we decided to muck around nearby the Hualampong Train Station till it was time for us to leave. On the free map we got from the airport, there was the Museum of National History within walking distance (which, for us may mean a radius of up to 3kms), so we decided to go there and have a look.
The Museum of National History appeared to be situated within the campus of Chulalongkorn University. Within the university grounds, we stopped to ask a bunch of students the directions. The bunch of students were rather shy at first, but soon they began jabbing the map enthusiastically, speaking in gibberish. Two friends passing by were waylaid and invited into the extensive discourse over the geography of Chulalongkorn University.
(Digression: I think the two friends were a couple. One was a cute guy and the other was a cute girl - till the cute girl started to speak. Then I realized that she was a ladyboy, the first that I've ever got to observe up close. Sadly, as with all ladyboy stories, she was way cuter than me and Asa. How could we ever compete??)
The discussion wore long and thick, arms were flailed and fingers were pointed at all directions. This was the longest time that we've ever taken to ask directions and it may have took up to 15 minutes of pure gibberish, with a brief intermission of Cute Guy's polite "Just a moment, we are discussing."
Turns out that there was a typo in the map, there was another Museum of National History in the city, the museum on the map may have been Museum of Natural History instead. And then there was Chulalongkorn University's own little museum. Having no particular agenda, we decided to choose the nearest and easiest one, the Chulalongkorn University Memorial Centre.
Chulalongkorn University Memorial Center with my reflectionEverything was in Thai, so we just amused ourselves looking at pictures and trophies. Can you believe that the following medal was for winning the Inter-Varsity Tom Yam Goong Eating Competition, 1987? We couldn't believe it either!
Inter-Varsity Tom Yam Goong Eating Competition, 1987OK I was lying. It could've been anything and a tomyam eating contest just sounds like fun.
Then we walked around the campus and ate within the campus canteen. Cheap and tasty. University students in Thailand wear uniforms, like our secondary/primary school students.
Uniform-clad mannequins and humansOK so they weren't all moments (some lasted for more than 2 hours). But I enjoyed them the most out of this trip, and you would have noticed that they did not include our visits to Wat Pho, Bridge over River Kwai, ruins at Ayutthaya etc. though they too were quite pleasant. And who dictates that sights must be the centre of delight in travelling? Doing the most commonplace things in a foreign land is much more fun!
Ei funny lah. Today I'm really hyper happy and I don't even know why. Oh well, a long as post for you anyway!
