Chained by lust, bound by love

Quote from P.S. I love you
Monday, June 30, 2008

Sharon: You gotta be rich to be insane, Hol. Losing your mind is not a luxury for the middle class.

Holly: That's so not fair.

Sharon: No, it's not.

No, it's really not.

On another note, a friend asked me a question on MSN today...

"Have you found your dream girl yet?"

It kinda forced a faint (and weird), obligating smile out of me...followed by a virtual silence.

. . . (dot dot dot)

It's been a while.

P.S. I love you by Nellie McKay

Dear, I thought I'd drop a line.
The weather's cool. The folks are fine.
I'm in bed each night at nine.
P.S. I love you.

Yesterday we had some rain,
but all in all I can't complain.
Was it dusty on the train?
P.S. I love you.

Write to the Browns just as soon as you're able.
They came around to call.
I burned a hole in the dining room table.
And let me see, I guess that's all.

Nothin' left to tell you, dear.
Except each day seems like a year.
Everybody's thinkin' of you.
P.S. I love you.

Posted byBing at 9:58 PM 2 comments

Categories: Ramblings

Just another random...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

No, it isn't everyday, but I just got to have one cup of this every now and then. Lots of foam. No sugar. Yes, this is totally random.

Ajisen's Hokkaido Scallops Ramen, soft-shell crabs and a cup of hot green tea.

Dinner on a normal uneventful night. It's usually home thereafter. Weekdays mostly.

The usual Saturday mornings with my buddies at the driving range when I'm not working on weekends.

Obviously, I'm totally a noob at this. Still learning...

Posted byBing at 12:20 AM 8 comments

Categories: Living "Life"

Can you find Polaris?
Monday, June 9, 2008

There was a time when I took a different route home.
And I remember the road home was long and hard.

The road I should take now is already decided.

Although the signals are broken, I feel this is the road I should take.
No one should change it. Else, I might just get lost again.

Posted byBing at 1:36 AM 0 comments

Categories: One day at a time

Bangkok - Land of the Smiles (May 2008)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

[Note: Very long post ahead, but with loads of pix!]

It's been many years since I've last stepped foot on Thai soil. The same for Bangkok or known in Thai as

"Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit"

Officially the world's longest place name. -_-"

Went to Bangkok with colleagues for about a week to attend a conference. If there's one thing I'd remember to describe this vibrant primate city of Thailand, it has to be that the title "Land of the Smiles" really befits it perfectly.

Perhaps it's the culture or just the locals, but judging from my short stay (if it's anything to go by) and from what I've experienced, the people DO smile a lot and are incredibly friendly. No question there on how that does wonders for their flourishing tourism industry.

Arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport around noon. Pretty new airport with a few shops, cafés and restaurants on both the departure and arrival floors.

We were then whisked away on a 45-minute trip from the airport and got checked-in at Intercontinental Hotel Bangkok. The hotel is located at the intersection corner of Ploenchit Road and Ratchadamri Road in the Patumwan district (view interactive map) with the famous Erawan Shrine just 5 minutes walk away.

This area known as Ratchaprasong is similar to Orchard Road, Singapore with various shopping malls nearby such as Siam Paragon, CentralWorld Plaza, Gaysorn Plaza, Amarin Plaza and MBK Centre.

Got a twin-bed room. Very, very comfy bed and pillows.

5-star room facilities hehe. Free broadband connection!

View of Bangkok city from the 25th floor.

The Balcony Lounge (hotel lobby). We hanged out here a lot late at night after dinner and sight-seeing. They serve very good Lychee Martini ;).

First glimpse of Bangkok traffic at around 2.30pm. Not so bad, I thought.

I was horribly wrong. It got even worse by 6pm. The infamous Bangkok jam.

We weren't familiar with the Ratchaprasong area yet, so we decided to explore the nearby CentralWorld Plaza (it seemed kinda huge from outside) and grab some lunch.

Very new shopping mall.

Lunch at a local Thai cuisine restaurant. Papaya salad for starters.

Mix of pork cutlets, meat balls, innards etc. The chilli sauce is great to go with.

Fried Thai noodles (not Pad Thai) with seafood. You're supposed to mix 'em all up.

The photos are pretty random from here onwards due to the conference in between.

Had Thai food again on the first night. Clockwise top to bottom: Green curry, fried spring rolls, fried mushrooms and Tom Yam seafood soup.

Can't remember what fish this is. Pretty tasty.

Caught a ride back to the hotel that night on the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS).

Looks pretty new.

Made a trip to Wat Pho or also known as The Temple of the Reclining Buddha the following day.

This statue greeted us at the main entrance into the temple. It was shipped from China a long time ago and served as ballast for ships.

A plaque showing the map of the temple.

The Reclining Buddha. Plated with solid gold.

The Reclining Buddha's mother-of-pearl feet. 108 scene depictions of Chinese and Indian styles.

108 donation bowls lined up along the side of the temple wall. Donate 20 baht to the temple and you're given a small bowl containing 108 coins to put into each bowl one by one. You're supposed to make a wish while you're doing this as well. The number 9 is an auspicious number in Thai culture, thus 108 is regarded to be auspicious. (1+8 = 9)

The bell is rang on auspicious days.

These are actually tombs of previous kings (since Rama I). The structure has seven steps upwards depicting the seven steps towards Heaven in Buddhism.

These smaller tombs, on the other hand, are not for kings of old but for noble families.

A lot of the structures in the temple are designed based on the phallic symbol.

One interesting point to note. The famous Wat Pho Thai massage originated from this very temple. People actually come here to learn the traditional Thai massage for a fee.

Pressure points for the male anatomy.

Pressure points for the female anatomy.

Had shabu-shabu lunch at a Japanese restaurant inside Siam Paragon.

Sneaking a shot of the kaiten belt.

Siam Paragon. Quite a pretty posh mall.

This is really random. AIS, one of the major telecommunications service provider in Thailand.

Guess what we had for dinner...

Shark's fin.

Bangkok's Chinatown is simply a must for its roadside hawker food.

Bird's nest. Not that great really.

Kuey Chap with roasted pork!

Curly and chewy.

I'd have to say this plate of Char Kuey Teow is one of the best I've had for quite a long time.

The Char Kuey Teow hawker stall.

Luckily we managed to stay 'till the weekends. The Chatuchak Weekend Market, Thailand's largest market with over 15,000 stalls over 35 acres of land only opens on Saturdays and Sundays. The whole experience can simply be described as a bombardment of colours and varieties.

The Thai version of the popsicle.

Silverwares.

Colourful beads.

Coffee break...somewhere inside the market.

Cowboy Land.

A local "cowboy" playing the banjo.

Chatuchak market is pretty popular for this.

Look at the number of cars at the market carpark!

Had Thai cuisine again for lunch before catching our evening flight home. Fried chicken with lemon grass.

Tom Yam seafood soup. Pretty spicy.

Can't remember the name of this dish. Some deep-fried noodles with tempura.

Mango freeze!

And what's a trip to Bangkok without trying the famous Mango with Sticky Rice :)