friday february 5
the flight from bangkok was uneventful. going through security is so painless it is laughable. the gal looked at my passport, commented on the great colour of my lipstick, smiled and said have a good day. i decided to check my bag for the first time. just because. when i went to retrieve it at the other end it wasn't there...last bag to come out. only me.
we spent the day wandering around the old city. one of the wats had a "talk to the monk" spot. it was very interesting. you could ask him anything that you wanted. i got a lot of my questions answered. the oddest thing is that they can't take part in any sport or physical exercise.
today we started with breakfast out. no breakfast at the hotel. i had sticky rice and mango. fab. we sat with an older couple from germany and three young people from italy. interesting conversation and the young italian gentleman was very easy on the eyes. we spent the rest of the day visiting other parts of the city n foot, and ended up with a massage. gerry's gal was fabulous and mine was completely useless. i thought that my head was going to blow off. i don't like being touched..painful massage i don't mind, but this was just awful. i bit my tongue, sucked it up and soldiered on. for 5 bucks you can't kick up too much of a fuss. we are just looking at cooking schools and i will keep you posted.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
wednesday february 3
the steets of bangkok are the best at night! there is a fabulous vibe and everyone is out. bangkok is the complete antithesis of singapore..it is dirty, poor, smelly and totally non-conformist, not particularly law-abiding,..difficult to read their maps and generally hard to get around, but at the same time utterly fabulous.
today we did the major temples. at wat pho which houses the massage school we had a thai massage for ten bucks. it was great. painful but great. then we hoofed it over to chinatown and in the noon-time heat grabbed an ice cream cone at mcdonalds for 25 cents.
back in our neck of the woods we grabbed some street food. pad thai and a spring roll for 90 cents. we stuck to the vegetarian version just to be safe. some of the meat and fish seems to hang around in the heat for a very long time. we have discovered that people who stop to help you on the street never tell you the truth. i thought france was bad, but you haven't seen anything until you come to bangkok.
tomorrow we are off to chiang mai. gerry nixed the bus, and we found a cheap flight for 75 bucks each.
we really must head out for a beer. it is bloody hot here, even at night. next report will be from chaing mai.
the steets of bangkok are the best at night! there is a fabulous vibe and everyone is out. bangkok is the complete antithesis of singapore..it is dirty, poor, smelly and totally non-conformist, not particularly law-abiding,..difficult to read their maps and generally hard to get around, but at the same time utterly fabulous.
today we did the major temples. at wat pho which houses the massage school we had a thai massage for ten bucks. it was great. painful but great. then we hoofed it over to chinatown and in the noon-time heat grabbed an ice cream cone at mcdonalds for 25 cents.
back in our neck of the woods we grabbed some street food. pad thai and a spring roll for 90 cents. we stuck to the vegetarian version just to be safe. some of the meat and fish seems to hang around in the heat for a very long time. we have discovered that people who stop to help you on the street never tell you the truth. i thought france was bad, but you haven't seen anything until you come to bangkok.
tomorrow we are off to chiang mai. gerry nixed the bus, and we found a cheap flight for 75 bucks each.
we really must head out for a beer. it is bloody hot here, even at night. next report will be from chaing mai.
Monday, February 1, 2010
tuesday february 2
we are in bangkok. it is fun and fabulous. one final note on singapore. we flew air tiger, which is a budget airline. the budget airlines have their own terminal..i guess they don't want the plebs mingling. but what a terminal! there is free computer access with an abundance of working computers. there are beautiful tv's scattered about and the speakers are in the seats.there is food and drink and anything else you may wish to purchase, and there are free foot massage machines. sometimes i think we have a lot to learn. the flight to bangkok was uneventful. yea.
we arrived in bangkok, got a bus to our area, and then walked for two hours looking for our inn. we finally found it. it is great. a great location and free breakfast which consisted of real food. fabulous fried rice, stir-fried beef, salad, and the usual breakfast stuff. minus the peanut butter. we wandered around the area last evening. it is perfect. a giant beer costs 3 bucks and a plate of food about 2. people have advised against eating the street food, but is is tempting, it all looks so good.
this morning we got scammed into a ride around bangkok by tuk-tuk. the driver got so fed up with us not buying anything that he dumped us at one of the temples and disappeared..oh well it didn't cost us anything. today is a buddhist holiday so a lot of the temples are closed. finding our way back was a bit of a challenge as reading a map here is almost impossible and the people either don't speak english or only want to help if you are going to buy something from them. anyway, alls well that ends well. the adventure continues.
we are in bangkok. it is fun and fabulous. one final note on singapore. we flew air tiger, which is a budget airline. the budget airlines have their own terminal..i guess they don't want the plebs mingling. but what a terminal! there is free computer access with an abundance of working computers. there are beautiful tv's scattered about and the speakers are in the seats.there is food and drink and anything else you may wish to purchase, and there are free foot massage machines. sometimes i think we have a lot to learn. the flight to bangkok was uneventful. yea.
we arrived in bangkok, got a bus to our area, and then walked for two hours looking for our inn. we finally found it. it is great. a great location and free breakfast which consisted of real food. fabulous fried rice, stir-fried beef, salad, and the usual breakfast stuff. minus the peanut butter. we wandered around the area last evening. it is perfect. a giant beer costs 3 bucks and a plate of food about 2. people have advised against eating the street food, but is is tempting, it all looks so good.
this morning we got scammed into a ride around bangkok by tuk-tuk. the driver got so fed up with us not buying anything that he dumped us at one of the temples and disappeared..oh well it didn't cost us anything. today is a buddhist holiday so a lot of the temples are closed. finding our way back was a bit of a challenge as reading a map here is almost impossible and the people either don't speak english or only want to help if you are going to buy something from them. anyway, alls well that ends well. the adventure continues.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
february 1
here we are singapore airport enroute to bangkok. the good times are over. now i can't even brush my teeth with anything but bottled water. my salad days are on hold, but to be honest there is no shortage of food anywhere around these parts.
singapore is a truly amazing place. it is so perfect that it is surreal. people are kind and friendly and everyone gets along. there is no garbage anywhere, the public transit system is fast, efficient, user friendly, and cheap and it appears that there are two major pastimes...eating and shopping.
d and j live in a lovely home in a great location with easy access to the whole city. they are superlative hosts, bailey the dog is tons of fun and with help from Ria d doesn't need to stress too much about cleaning. what a great life.
i am not sure what kind of internet acces i will have in the next little while, but i will do my best.
happy shovelling.
here we are singapore airport enroute to bangkok. the good times are over. now i can't even brush my teeth with anything but bottled water. my salad days are on hold, but to be honest there is no shortage of food anywhere around these parts.
singapore is a truly amazing place. it is so perfect that it is surreal. people are kind and friendly and everyone gets along. there is no garbage anywhere, the public transit system is fast, efficient, user friendly, and cheap and it appears that there are two major pastimes...eating and shopping.
d and j live in a lovely home in a great location with easy access to the whole city. they are superlative hosts, bailey the dog is tons of fun and with help from Ria d doesn't need to stress too much about cleaning. what a great life.
i am not sure what kind of internet acces i will have in the next little while, but i will do my best.
happy shovelling.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
sunday january 31
thaipasum needed to be seen to be believed. devotees gather at the temple with their family and friends. a small altar is set up by each group and a set of ritual prayers performed. then the devotee, usually a young man who has been fasting in preparation, is pierced. three piercings are made through his forehead, and then many spikes are pierced just under the skin. the final and most invasive is a skewer through the mouth from cheek to cheek, and then one from the top lip, through the tongue, and out the bottom lip. then these skewers are decorated. finally, a very tall basket that has been highly decorated is placed on the man's head. this thing looks stinking heavy. after a series of prayers in the temple, the devotee and his followers set off and join the 4 kilometre parade route in the heat with bare feet, carrying this load. look it up on the internet to get some pictures. i am just not doing it justice.
it was dinner out with d and j. a good time was had by all. the only minor glich was d sambucca which turned ou to be water. the problem was rectified after she complained. i guess so.
today we are off to a baby birthday party for some friends of d a j, and then tomorrow we pick up our vietnamese visas and head off to Thailand. good-bye good life, hello reality.
thaipasum needed to be seen to be believed. devotees gather at the temple with their family and friends. a small altar is set up by each group and a set of ritual prayers performed. then the devotee, usually a young man who has been fasting in preparation, is pierced. three piercings are made through his forehead, and then many spikes are pierced just under the skin. the final and most invasive is a skewer through the mouth from cheek to cheek, and then one from the top lip, through the tongue, and out the bottom lip. then these skewers are decorated. finally, a very tall basket that has been highly decorated is placed on the man's head. this thing looks stinking heavy. after a series of prayers in the temple, the devotee and his followers set off and join the 4 kilometre parade route in the heat with bare feet, carrying this load. look it up on the internet to get some pictures. i am just not doing it justice.
it was dinner out with d and j. a good time was had by all. the only minor glich was d sambucca which turned ou to be water. the problem was rectified after she complained. i guess so.
today we are off to a baby birthday party for some friends of d a j, and then tomorrow we pick up our vietnamese visas and head off to Thailand. good-bye good life, hello reality.
Friday, January 29, 2010
saturday january 30
the singapore zoo is something to see. they have done an amazing job. the night zoo, though a bit gimmicy is lots of fun as well. you get a chance to see the nocturnal guys that are always asleep every other time that you go to the zoo. like every other place in singapore there is good eating. no mcdonalds at this this zoo..fabulous local food.
yesterday we decided to book Chiang Mai before we headed out for the day. not much selection at the hostels, things are busy in this neck of the woods. it was the changi museum yesterday, a very interesting history of the japanese occupation during the second world ward, then back to chinatown and a visit to the buddhist temple and museum. fascinating stuff. today it will be off to the hindu temple for thaipassan, a festival where young men get piercings through their body, and then carry goods on the sticks that are pierced through the body, for 4 kilometres. i am not sure of the signifigance, but will find out more today. d is preparing breakfast as i write. every morning it is a plate of fresh fruit, passionfruit yoghurt with homemade granola, and toast. great coffee and great conversation. better than the fairmont i am sure. i will let you know about today's festivities.
the singapore zoo is something to see. they have done an amazing job. the night zoo, though a bit gimmicy is lots of fun as well. you get a chance to see the nocturnal guys that are always asleep every other time that you go to the zoo. like every other place in singapore there is good eating. no mcdonalds at this this zoo..fabulous local food.
yesterday we decided to book Chiang Mai before we headed out for the day. not much selection at the hostels, things are busy in this neck of the woods. it was the changi museum yesterday, a very interesting history of the japanese occupation during the second world ward, then back to chinatown and a visit to the buddhist temple and museum. fascinating stuff. today it will be off to the hindu temple for thaipassan, a festival where young men get piercings through their body, and then carry goods on the sticks that are pierced through the body, for 4 kilometres. i am not sure of the signifigance, but will find out more today. d is preparing breakfast as i write. every morning it is a plate of fresh fruit, passionfruit yoghurt with homemade granola, and toast. great coffee and great conversation. better than the fairmont i am sure. i will let you know about today's festivities.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
thursday january 28
yesterday was a big fun day in singapore. we started with an indian breakfast of idli's and dosa's and then had a tour of little italy. the highlight was definitely the hindu temple with all it's small colourful god stations with different ceremonies going on in each. the temple is a cocophony of colour and smell. we still don't know the sisnifigance of the people who colour their hair yellow with what appears to be a chalk. from there it was off to the famous raffles hotel, a beautiful place, and no we, did not have a thirty dollar singapore sling. from there it was down to the waterfront where tons of construction is going on. they are building a huge casino complex with a hotel that is something to behold. also down there is their very lovely theatre. back to diana and jims for a swim and dinner.
this morning diana is off to her opainting class and we are going to bike over to the reservoir jungle for another big long walk in the hopes of seeing the monkeys again. later today we will go to the regular zoo and the night zoo. endless fun.
later
yesterday was a big fun day in singapore. we started with an indian breakfast of idli's and dosa's and then had a tour of little italy. the highlight was definitely the hindu temple with all it's small colourful god stations with different ceremonies going on in each. the temple is a cocophony of colour and smell. we still don't know the sisnifigance of the people who colour their hair yellow with what appears to be a chalk. from there it was off to the famous raffles hotel, a beautiful place, and no we, did not have a thirty dollar singapore sling. from there it was down to the waterfront where tons of construction is going on. they are building a huge casino complex with a hotel that is something to behold. also down there is their very lovely theatre. back to diana and jims for a swim and dinner.
this morning diana is off to her opainting class and we are going to bike over to the reservoir jungle for another big long walk in the hopes of seeing the monkeys again. later today we will go to the regular zoo and the night zoo. endless fun.
later
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