2010 BKK

I'm back from BKK! This time, with the same bunch minus piggy plus P and Steffi! Different group but just as fun as ever! We were really glad that we got to go, as it hadn't been too long since the red shirts protests, and we were worried that the riots may start again during the Thailand by-election. The trip was on tenterhooks right up to the last minute, and boy am I glad that we made it there and back safely!

The new BKK gang

Due to time constraints, we focused our energies on shopping, massage and eating (just like our last trip). Once again, I was impressed with the service at Healthland spa. On Day 1, I did a full body aromatherapy massage and on day 2, a therapeutic massage that focused on the neck and shoulders (due to my stiff neck problem). Both were excellent and the knots on my shoulders are now somewhat loosened...which may have contributed to my deep slumber for the past few nights.

We stayed at the Ascott Sathorn, which was located right opposite Healthland. As there were 5 of us, we booked a 3 bedroom unit. Seriously, the apartment was HUGE - we could easily hold a party for 20 there! The bedrooms and bathrooms were all immaculately furnished. Our unit on the 18th floor commanded a view of the busy streets of BKK. I would definitely stay here again the next time I visit!

The spacious hotel lobby with high ceiling

Views from our 18th floor apartment


We shopped at the usual places - Platinum for cheap wholesale clothes and Chatuchak (CTC) market for everything else. I managed to snag some dresses from Platinum, and cheap tees and singlets from CTC. No homeware this time as there just wasn't enough time to browse through the entire complex at both places! We also visited the posh Emporium at Sukhumvit to shop for groceries and people watch (I think this is where the rich and good-looking hang out). And MBK where we spent most of our time (and lotsa money) at Boots the pharmacy stocking up on handcreams, body lotions, lip balm, skincare, etc. They were giving away 250 Baht voucher for every 500 Baht spend, so it was damn worth it!

Outside Platinum waiting for a taxi

We had our meals at the usual places - Platinum food court for Thai fare, Chinatown for seafood and this new place for yummy grilled meat:

Sushicyu BBQ Carnival yakiniku @ Eight Thonglor

Yakiniku is extremely pricey in Singapore. If you've been to either Gyu-kaku or Yakiniku Daidomon in SG, you'd know that a delicious meal of grilled meat can set you back by about S$100. Sushicyu was actually a recommendation by J's friend so we decided to try it out. Service was attentive and the meats were really good. Best of all, you can count on paying only a fraction of the price here! A word of advice, go for the ala carte items rather than the set items, as they are more value for money. We paid about S$40 per pax but it could have been a lot cheaper if we had gone ala carte!

We love grilled meat!

Fresh seafood @ Chinatown. According to Jason, this fresh catch cost only S$8!

The must-tries for my next BKK trip - Nara restaurant with its eclectic decor (also at Eight Thonglor) and China House for dim sum brunch @ Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Last but not least, a visit to the flower market for Mr J to stock up on his goods. Love the pics taken here as they are so colourful and cheery :)

Perennial neck ache

Neck problems of late - sign of old age? It sucks to not be able to lift your head and walk with your head held high. P commented that I look like I'm guilty of something with my head hung so low.

I don't really know what caused it but my guess is the rather deflated memory pillow that I've been sleeping on since early last year. There are nights I'll sleep on my back and not turn at all during the night - and coupled with a pillow that offered little support for my neck, I must have sprained it somehow. Initially, both sides of the neck were painful but the pain in the right side has subsided and I am now left with a dull ache on the left side.

Should I see a sinseh? I don't know...I've seen my regular doctor who prescribed cream and painkillers but I don't think they're "curing" the problem. Hmmmm I'm partly worried that inaction on my part to get the problem fixed will lead to greater problems in the future, such as rheumatism, etc *shudders*

Meanwhile, please do not be offended if I don't turn my head to talk to you, as I'm trying to minimise unnecessary movement as far as possible.

1 year older, none the wiser

I grow a year older today.

Birthday celebrations officially started last Tuesday with my dear pal CX at Marmalade Pantry, Ion. I was a big fan of MP - used to frequent the one at Palais Renaissance but due to their limited menu, I stopped going there a few years back. To my delight, the food is just as good as ever; I had the aglio olio sakura ebi cappellini which was very simple but unusual. Think fried "hae-bi" spaghetti drenched in olive oil - yums! CX had Thai basil rice, which she enjoyed too. MP was having a drinks promotion so I ordered a glass of lychee Bellini to accompany my meal for only $6/glass. Ladies will be happy to know that they offer a 20% discount for ladies night...I am not sure if every night is a ladies night so best to call up and check.

Second celebration was a family night out at our favourite western restaurant in JB - TGIF. Daddy, little bro, P and I indulged in the Jack Daniel's back ribs while Hayden had a medium-rare JD steak. I never used to be a ribs person, but I'm now a convert! The meat fell off the bone at the slightest tug and every mouthful created an explosion of taste and flavour! P and I were debating if the TGIF or Applebees ribs tasted better. I'd say TGIF wins because of that special sweet JD sauce! The bros had very thoughtfully bought me a Baskin Robbins chocolate ice cream cake in the shape of a heart, which I heart!


Sunday night was a BBQ party at an ex-colleague's lush pad @ River Valley with the SATC gang. Dear S has an awesome electric BBQ pit that churned out well-roasted meat that retained all its natural juices. We had beef, pork, banana leaf otah, sausages and chicken wings, all browned to perfection by none other than chef J - crispy on the outside, succulent and juicy on the inside. All that sinful food followed by the highly-raved about cake from Swiss bake - Paradiso and ice cream from Udders. Thank you dear friends! :)


Monday was dinner with my dear P. Since it was my birthday, P acceded to my whim to watch Despicable Me (he usually avoids cartoons). I loved it! I think P loved it too as he was smiling a lot during the show and laughing away at the cute yellow characters. Very good cartoon that will definitely make you laugh, unless you have no sense of humour! Movie was followed by dinner at Kuriya dining @ GWC - pricey but very very good quality Japanese food. To me, one of the finest and comparable to our excellent dining experience at Sumitomo building, Tokyo in 2008. Sweet P presented me with a wad of Singtel vouchers, and set his rule that the vouchers can only be used to purchase the iPhone! Ahhh, what a dictator, so looks like I'll be jumping on the iPhone bandwagon shortly!

Unravelling the truth about the leaky ceiling

Friends of mine would have heard me whinging about my bathroom ceiling that rained over the weekend. It was troubling enough for me that the drip-drip noise woke me up in the middle of a deep slumber. First thing I saw was the puddle of water on the floor...my bleary eyes followed its path of descent and I thought I was dreaming to see water bursting out from the cracks in my recessed light.

Of course, the sight of that mini rainstorm in my bathroom left me sleepless for the rest of the night.

The contractor came a few days later but could not find the cause of the problem as the pipe area was totally dry. He hypothesised 2 possibilities:

1. Condensation from aircon
2. Leaky pipes

He advised me to wait and observe. The next time the incident happens (he assured me that it would happen again), I should poke my head into the pipe area and take some photos if I can.

Last night, again, I was awakened by the sound of water dripping! I was in a quandary as to whether to get out of bed to investigate, or pretend that the noise was non-existent. Finally, the sleuth in me dragged my sorry arse out of bed and into the bathroom and there it was again - a mini storm in my bathroom! I didn't have a ladder so, armed with my trusty G9, I climbed onto the toilet bowl and tip-toed on the narrow cistern to try to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside. On hindsight, that was such a dangerous stunt - wet feet on tip-toes, one hand holding onto some support and the other maneuvering the camera in that hole trying to snap a clear picture of the leaky pipes.

At that point, I still had no idea what was causing the leak. First thought was the rain, as it was raining rather heavily outside last night.

XXX

I got home today and stopped to chat with the guard on duty. The moment I started complaining about my pipes, he told me that the tenant who moved in above me had also been complaining about hers. I asked the guard what she could have been doing at 4am in the morning last night, to which he replied that she is a trader who comes home at 3+am everyday, so naturally, she takes her bath at about 4am when the rest of the sane world is sound asleep.

Lesson learnt? Why bother speculating or conjuring up reasons when you have a guard downstairs who knows everything? Name a unit and he knows exactly who resides in it, his/her nationality, origin, occupation, marital status, gender, car being driven or none, etc etc. Time to "bribe" him into spilling dirt about my neighbours! LOL

Ugly scene

A while back, in a shopping centre in JB, I witnessed a rather ugly scene between a middle-aged man and a plump lady. Based on the lady's version of the story, the man's son had spilled some water on the floor. She, out of the goodness of her heart, had asked him (the father) to clean up the puddle. He, on the other hand, misinterpreted her intentions and felt that she was ordering him to clean the floor. He hurled vulgarities at her, taunted her about her size and even challenged her to a melt down. Refusing to back down, she fought right back with a vengeance.

So there I was all this time, feeling slightly exhilarated by the commotion going on...and thinking that if that man had any ounce of decency, he would leave the lady alone. Whilst behaving in that ghastly manner, did he ever stop to consider the feelings of his wife and the impact of his actions on his kids??

Friends of mine commented that the lady should have minded her own business as the incident took place in a public place. Was she really wrong in being civic minded and considerate towards other shoppers? I do not necessarily agree with what she had done, but I do admire her courage in standing up for what's right. Too many of us fail to speak our mind for fear of being chastised or to avoid public confrontations, and that isn't necessarily right as well!

Seriously, people just need to learn to be more open-minded and gracious. If you don't like what you hear, just walk away. There's really no need to create a ruckus over some split water. And when faced with a ruffian, don't fight back - just walk away and let him look ugly.

Why can't we show more love in this already very troubled world???

Lazy ramblings

Of late, I seem to be running out of things to blog about. Gone are the days where I'll bring my trusty camera wherever I go - weddings, gatherings, dinners etc and then post the photos on my blog and write about them. These days, I just go, sans camera. It has also been a while since I have done any critique on food, movies, music...blah blah. It would appear that my blog is slowly evolving into a travel blog? Hmmm...

So here I am slouched over my couch on a balmy Monday afternoon, thinking what a wonderful opportunity it is to do a Carrie Bradshaw and just write whilst sipping on a cuppa. Unfortunately, the mind is a complete and utter blank, and as I struggle to recall interesting things that have happened to me recently, none beckons.

I summon my thoughts together, but they are all mumbo jumbo and I can't think straight. Maybe I need to bring my camera out and about again, take lots of photos, make new friends, instead of getting swallowed by the monotony of life. Or maybe I just want to be a buoy and bob along, no drama, no action, just normal peaceful everyday life.

For now, I think I'm happy bobbing.

Last instalment - Classical Vienna

It may come as a surprise, but Vienna was my least favourite city of the trip. It felt like just another city, and a small one for that matter with much less shopping. Not that I was there with the intention to shop, as shopping to me, should be a "by-the-way" sort of thing and not the main focus of any trip (unless it's meant to be a shopping trip in the first place).

Unlike other major cities where museums charge close to nothing, Vienna's museums were horrendously pricey (EUR 9 and above). Last year, we didn't have to pay a cent to visit the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, and that sure was a good art museum. Based on my scant memory, most of the museums in Washington DC are FOC. So, EUR 10 to visit a museum at the tail-end of a 16 day trip did seem pricey!

This is our very cool apartment at Schwedenplatz, which was a mere 10 minute walk from Stephansplatz - the centre of Vienna!
We cooked breakfasts of ham, sausages and bread in this very tiny kitchen.
Stephansdom was partially under construction and I liked how they used cloth specially printed with the cathedral motifs to cover the mess up. Look carefully and you'll notice how neatly the motifs are aligned to the structure! Beats having ugly scaffolding and green netting uglify the view, that's for sure!
At the impressive Hofburg entrance.

Lots of knight-on-horse statues in Vienna...this one was taken at sunset from the Hofburg.
Church of St Charles at Karlsplatz.
I have great admiration for Austrian architect Otto Wagner and his creations. Top to bottom: Majolica House, Medallion House and the twin pavilions for Karlsplatz station.


Hanging out in alfresco cafes at Stephansplatz, strolling along Kartnerstrasse and Kohlmarkt doing real shopping and window shopping (I'll admit here that P and I loitered around the Chanel boutique one too many times, even after shopping hours...my idea of course!), gaping at the impressive Hofburg, snacking on big fat Wiener sausages and yummy Italian gelato...doing all of these with my darling P made the trip special and memorable for me! Till the next trip! :)

Salzburg makes me happy

The gorgeous Mirabell gardens. At my insistence, we came here everyday...which wasn't a bad thing, as we caught a few free concerts here! Imagine the crisp cool air caressing your face and the wonderful music tickling your ears! Haaaaa truth is, the "cool air" was more like "cold wind"!
These beauties made me real happy!

We caught this on my cam on our hike up to the Salzburg fortress. I love walks where I catch unexpected surprises like this...
...unlike P, who was a lil' grumpy that he had to walk when we could have taken the funicular!
The impressive Hohensalzburg Fortress perched atop a cliff. We spent an educational day touring the castle with our audio guide.
Bird's eye view of Salzburg from the castle.
On one of the days, we took a 1-hour bus to the Salzburg Lake District (Salzkammergut). The bus makes several stops in Fuschl, St Gilgen, Strobl and Bad Ischl. I had done some research before we embarked on our journey and shortlisted St Gilgen and St Wolfgang!

Here in quaint St Gilgen. Obviously, Mozart reigns here too?!
From St Gilgen, it was a relaxing 40 min ferry ride to St Wolfgang. We sat at the top and froze our faces off! But it was really nice :)
The rain in St Wolfgang hampered our movements but it did not dampen our spirits. P was especially happy after buying his pet bull from a shop there at almost half the price compared to Salzburg city.
On our last day in Salzburg, we visited Schloss Hellbrunn Castle. We tried walking to the palace, and it did look possible from our map. However, an hour of walking and we were still nowhere close. Plus everyone we asked shook their heads and spoke in their halting English "quite far", so we gave up and took the bus eventually.

Here's a pic of the canary yellow palace.
The feature and highlight of our trip was the trick fountains in the palace grounds. This was a pleasure palace for the playful Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems. He had water fountains and water holes installed all over the palace gardens to amuse and entertain his guests. At this particular banquet table, the water fountains, once activated, would wet all his guests except himself! The kids were having so much fun and us adults watching them had a good laugh too!

Kutna Hora & Cesky Krumlov

Kutna Hora

One of our day trips while we were in the Czech Republic was to an old mining town, Kutna Hora. Originally, the plan was to visit another town Karlovo Vary, a spa city that sounded more interesting but the bus tickets were sold out and Kutna Hora was easier to get to.

We boarded a train from Prague's Hlavní Nádraží station. Unwittingly, we sat in the first class carriage for about 30 min and was chased out by the conductor into the 2nd class carriages which were all packed. Ended up standing all the way to our destination, which thank goodness was only for another 30 min!

The sign at the train station tells you how ancient this mining town is...
We visited St. Barbara's church, purportedly one of the most famous Gothic church in central Europe and a UNESCO world heritage site. This site reminded us of our friend - Ms Barbara To.
The interior of the church was just as impressive as its facade. As P and I are both not catholics, we could only marvel at the beauty of the stained glass windows, ornate engravings and elaborate altars. Fascinating frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town and religious themes are depicted on the walls of the church.
A bird's eye view of the small mining town from St. Barbara's church.
While in Kutna Hora, we also visited the Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Bone church. The visit was rather chilling as the interior of the church was decorated with skeletons from about 40,000 people. There is an impressive chandelier in the middle of the church constructed entirely of bones from different parts of the body. P and I were so spooked that we did not take any pictures here!

Our last dinner in Prague was at Andel's restaurant, possibly one of the best we tried. Another favourite is Cafe Slavia, but Andel's more traditional and local. What can I say...P loved his sausages!

Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov is a very pretty town in the Czech Republic, very different from dusty Kutna Hora. We stayed at Pension Na Ostrove, a small establishment with only 5 rooms I believe. Our room was simple but comfortable, and what I liked best about it was the sound of running water that can be heard from our room as the pension is located right beside the river! It certainly reminded me of home...

Cesky castle is just across the river from our pension!

Bird's eye view of Cesky Krumlov from the castle. Ain't it pretty!

Someone trying to pluck a red tulip from the royal gardens.

Ahhhhh....me love this place!

Here's a picture of us together at Cesky castle. I think the photographer did a good job!

Another one of us (there aren't too many).

This marks the end of our Czech adventure. The next day, we took a private shuttle transfer to Linz, and were on our way by train to Salzburg, Austria!

"Prague is so beautiful!"

...was what P and I heard from friends countless times before we even set foot in Prague! What people didn't tell us was how touristy and crowded Prague really is! Everywhere we went, there were hoards and hoards of tourists milling about in every corner of a square, queuing to enter cathedrals, crossing the famous Charles Bridge etc etc! We were able to find some reprieve from the crowd whilst wandering around Mala Strana (Lesser Town) and Kampa island. It was almost impossible to take a decent picture in the Old Town and Prague castle without having some strange looking people appearing in the photos.

We stayed at the lovely Mamaison Riverside Prague. I can't recommend this hotel enough. The rooms were royally furnished and the bed was plush and comfy. Best of all, the service level displayed by the hotel staff was top notch! I posted this pic as P looks like he's posing for MTV...lol.


Prague castle, Mala Strana & Kampa island

This is a touristy looking me at Malostranské Náměstí - the beginning of our short trek up towards Prague castle.

The gothic St Vitus catedral. We wanted to visit but the queue was way too long!

Changing of the guards at Prague castle. The procession was much longer than the one at Buckingham Palace in London. You can see some guards in the windows playing their instruments.
A picturesque view of Mala Strana and St Nicholas church with the green domed roof taken from Strahov Monastery. Mala Strana is also known as Lesser Town, due to its position on the left bank of the Vltava river.

Wandering along the quaint streets of Mala Strana.

John Lennon wall in Mala Strana. The wall was named as such as it was filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles songs. I googled the wall and found some history on it.

"Lennon was a hero to the pacifist youth of Central and Eastern Europe during the totalitarian era. Prior to 1989 when communism ruled, western pop songs were banned by Communist authorities, and especially John Lennon´s songs, because it was praising freedom that didn’t exist here. Some musicians were actually jailed for playing it!

When John Lennon was murdered in 1980 he became a sort of hero to some of the young and his picture was painted on this wall, for whatever reason right here, along with graffiti defying the authorities. Don’t forget that back then the Czech people had few opportunities to express their feelings with their lack of freedom. By doing this, those young activists risked prison for what authorities called “subversive activities against the state”.

But the threat of prison couldn’t keep people from slipping there at night to scrawl graffiti first in the form of Beatles lyrics and odes to Lennon, then they came to paint their own feelings and dreams on the wall.

The Communist police tried repeatedly to whitewash over the portrait and messages of peace but they could never manage to keep the wall clean. On the second day it was again full of poems and flowers with paintings of Lennon. Even the installation of surveillance cameras and the posting of an overnight guard couldn’t stop the opinions from being expressed."

Devil's Stream (Certovka), which separates Mala Strana from Kampa island. It is also known as the 'Venice of Prague' because of the houses that sit on the water's edge.

P and I had a quick snooze on a bench at Kampa island. It was so serene and peaceful. Check out the plastic yellow penguins installation outside the art museum.

View of Charles Bridge and the other side of Prague. Charles Bridge is a famous historical bridge decorated with 30 statues on both sides. It is indeed very impressive but we were put off by the buskers, souvenir kiosks and numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

Another pretty view of Prague.

Old Town square and surrounds

The Old Town Square's most notable sights are the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock and the stunning St. Nicholas Church.

St. Nicholas church

Church of Our Lady before Tyn. Our guide pointed out that the 2 spires are not identical - one is bigger than the other, representing masculine dominance in that era.

The medieval astronomical clock below does a little performance on the hour. 4 figures flank the left and right side of the clock. According to our guide, the skeleton says yes to death by nodding its head and 3 other figures shake their head as if to say no to death. The doorways of the clock will also open and the 12 apostles move through it in succession.

There were throngs of tourists witnessing this the 2 times we were there - once on our own accord and the 2nd on a free walking tour of Prague.

Puppets for sale in Old Town.

Wenceslas square, the other main city square and a popular meeting point. The square was named after Saint Wenceslas, duke of Bohemia, who was eventually killed by his brother.

We managed to catch Don Giovanni at the National Marionette theatre. We could not understand the opera as it was performed in, I dunno, Italian? But it was fun watching the puppets perform and we managed to catch the gist of the story at least :)

Last but not least, I have to repeat this: Prague has the best beer in the world - BUDVAR. I'm getting thirsty as I'm typing this.