Showing posts with label #toelephantcountrywego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #toelephantcountrywego. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 June 2014

Phuket 101 - Part 1

I always thought that Phuket is all about beaches, sun-bathing, beautiful scenery, nice food etc. When Mum told me that we're going to Phuket for 5 days (including 2 days for travelling), I was like, "So long? What can we do there?" I take back my words. There are actually lots of things to do there. In fact, 5 days are not enough. We went to Phuket on 28 May, just nice as school holidays just started. Before we fly to Phuket, there's this little incident that almost prevent me from going to Phuket. Apparently, my passport is less than 6 months validity and I cannot travel out. Mum did not notice this till Tuesday when they're checking in and mine cannot pass thru AirAsia's system. I freaked out! Obviously, the first thing I do was to check on the net. So I came upon this website that said, I can. I was relieved for a moment.

 

It says there that there no longer such requirements. BULLSHIT!! Let me tell you something, "YOU CANNOT ENTER THAILAND WITH PASSPORT LESS THAN 6 MONTHS VALIDITY!!". This has been confirmed by the Imigresen officer. Even if you pass Malaysian Imigresen, Thai Imigresen will still detain you from entering. If you're saying, the validity is only less few days, I don't think you wanna take the risk. Remember, you will be at the mercy of the Thai officers there. If they are as stubborn as mule, you will need to fly straight back or worst, being detain there. I don't think it's a risk worth taking especially when you just need an hour to renew your passport. 

So with much hustle, Great Tiger was asking around, talked to the Imigresen officer and  finally arranged for me to go to the nearest Imigresen office to renew it the very next day. The nearest was Kajang Imigresen Office which opens at 7 am. Mum came down to KL that very night with my documents. She reached at 5 am in the morning and we went straight to Kajang. Things went smoothly. Credits goes to the taxi driver that I've known who took mum from the bus station to my place and from my place to the Imigresen office. He also waited for almost an hour for the passport to be done and then again, from Kajang, he fetched us all the way to KLIA 2. Also, not forgetting, the Imigresen officers who have been so helpful and understanding. Much gratitude.

We managed to reach KLIA 2 at 9. Our flight to Phuket was at 12.45 pm. Me and mum actually waited 30 minutes for the rest to reach from KT. Well, KLIA 2 was indeed very big. Lots of tourists and shops to shop. It was so big that one might lose in there. Had our lunch in this very restaurant which is quite pricey. It was RM 20.00 for 2 plates of with rice with fried chicken only. But what do you expect right? They need to cover their cost, rental etc. Since it's new, it was quite boloq. There was two scanning counters. First was on the Imigresen side and the second one was on the airport. Why the hell do we need to line up twice? One would probably says for security reasons. But let me tell you, on the first scanning, the officers don't even look at the screen. They was chatting around! Waste of resources.



Our flight got delay for almost 45 minutes so technically we cam-whore at the waiting area. It was bad enough that the numbers of toilets available are not enough to accommodate all the passengers. Imagine there's only 3 stalls in a toilet. You practically need to queue till the front door and wait for at least 15 minutes before your turn. The worst was there was no enough seating at the waiting area so almost half of the passengers were sitting on the floors. HORRIBLE!! And you called this 'International Airport'. Heh!
 
Landed in Phuket at 2 pm local time. Blame it on the luck. We waited another hour for Imigresen clearing. Can you imagine? An hour? As many as 6 flights landed at the same time so it explains the congestion. Phuket was so famous that there are at least 3 flights landed every hour. We got frustrated and tired of waiting that it dampened our holiday's moods. Finished clearing at 3 so we decided to wait for Dylan who's coming straight from Singapore. While waiting, the rest was checking on the tours available. It was almost 4 when we finally get into the mini van to bring us to Burasari Resort, a 4 stars resort in Patong Beach.
 
Had our Phuket tours booked here!
 
Another group shot!
 
The one thing that annoyed me to no end about Phuket was the travelling journey. It took us an hour journey from the airport to Patong Beach. Patong Beach is more like at the other side of Phuket. You need to cross the hill in order to get there. Of course, nowadays you don't technically hiked the hills when you have road and cars. But imagine 50 years back? Some said money can't buy happiness. It is indeed true. But without money, there is no happiness too. How to enjoy such a lavish life without money? How to travel around and see the world without money? Lets face the sad truth, without money, there's no happiness too.
 
With the rest of my siblings!
We're served with the welcome drinks while waiting for the adults to settle on the rooms.
 
Since it was late evening already that time, we went out at 6 pm for our dinner. Along the roadside, there are lots of restaurants selling different kinds of seafood for you to ravish. We settled upon this very restaurant after 30 minutes of walking. Too hungry to look much further. I was so hungry and tired that I don't even know what restaurant is that but I love the decoration of the restaurant. One thing that I love about Thais is their details on their buildings. Their buildings have such a fine details that awed everyone.
 
While waiting for the food to be served
 
If you happen to come across this restaurant too, the food was nice and affordable. We ordered quite a lot of dishes here. The best would reserved for the desserts. Top on the chart, fried banana fritters.
 
 
Fried crab dumpling *thumbs up
 
Fried grouper, I think.
 
Green curry which is not to my liking
 
Spare ribs which was too spongy?
 
Is that asparagus (I don't know anything about vegie) with prawns
In case you haven't figure out, I only ate the prawns
 
Stir fried spinach. This one I know coz rabbits eat these types of vegie
 
 
After dinner, we went to Bangla Road. Our eyes are totally not virgin anymore here! There are so much things to see and explore here. The whole stretch of road are filled with strippers, pole dancers and lady boys. This is also a place to find a quick and steamy sex. But be careful thou, don't want you to be mistaken as gay as the lady boys are as beautiful as the ladies. Open your eyes bigger!! No offense but this is my personal opinion. I find it disgusting to see the pole dancers on the poles. Yeah, they're not professionals coz they're just twisting around awkwardly at the poles with old, horny customers (the ones with big, protruding belly and bald heads) sticking money into their panties expecting cheers from the crowds. My my. Dylan almost got pulled by the lady boys there. Hahaha.
 
As much as I'm not comfortable being there, I'm still fascinate at the pubs there. The deco are amazing! Just can't describe it. And the picture below probably give the credits they deserved but that's the best I can find.
 
 
 
Walked back to our resort after Bangla Road but before that, stopped to get some supper!
 
Banana with chocolate pancake!
A must when in Phuket
 
There are lots of stalls beside the road selling this but this particular stall near our resort was the best. It was THBT 60. Too good that I came back again on our last night there. I would say it's a mixture of roti canai with banana topped with chocolate and creamer. I was disappointed that I managed to get 2 bites only that I went in a search frenzy to find the recipe after I came back. I'm glad to say I found the recipe. Will be sharing the recipe with uolls when I successfully recreated the pancake.
 
Took me a sold 2 hours to write this entry. It's almost 6 am already here in Malaysia. Hope your patience paid off. I'm suppose to sleep or better revise on my Computing Mid-term which will be on this Tuesday since I screwed the test but instead I spent my time on this entry. Well done, Karen. You deserve an applause! This is just Day 1. More coming up on Day 2 and 3. Till then, be happy!
 
Thanks for dropping by!
 
p/s: If there's grammar mistake, by all means please ignore it. Got no time to spare for checking and proof reading again.
 

Sunday, 15 December 2013

Floating Market & Chatuchak - Bangkok Day 4

It's Saturday, 14 December! After our 3 days of non-stop shopping, we decided to go on a long and dreadful tour around Bangkok. Zzz. The sound of it made me yawn already... We've booked the tour at the airport which cost Mum THB 2,500 for the four of us. We've agreed on Floating Market and Chatuchak weekend market. We woke up as early as 6 in the morning. Our tour guide, Mr Jack waited us at the lobby 8 sharp. From there, off we go to the Floating Market in some rural areas that name I can't recalled. And the journey took us 1 hour and 30 minutes. Shame to say but the 4 of us lied flat asleep during the whole journey. Well, once in a while, Mr Jack would explained the activities of Thai out there to us. What facinitaste me the most is how salt is processed. Acres and acres of land are used to takung water under the hot sun to evaporate sea water to produce salt. God know how long does it takes for the sea water to dry completely. Thailand really have lots of land for this. I'm also amazed by this little knowledge told by Mr. Jack. According to him, there's two type of coconut in Thai. The young coconut and the older ones. Young coconut are made for drinks becoz they are sweeter while older ones are processed to produce coconut milks which are crucial ingredients in curry. Hahaha. We don't even bothered to drink fresh coconut there coz we've already have abundant at home.

We reached at what I believe to be Damnoensaduak at 10.30 in the morning. We were served with fresh coconut as welcome drink. LOL! It's a waste. Haihh. We only took one and shared it. Here's our reaction to our very first taste of fresh coconut in Thailand.

Hmmm
 
I'm also not very sure what kind of reaction is this
 
Mami first taste of Bangkok's C-O-C-O-N-U-T

 
Mami said this is too DRAMATIC
 
Protesting deeply inside >.<
 
Mami with Mousy *quacks quacks (teasing Mousy)
 
Mata sepet gurls!!
 
Love the sight of the lotus
Dad would love to have this
Waiting for our turn!
Excited!!
 
Our beautifully decorated ride for the next 90 minutes
Wah. Really beh tahan Tigress leh. Photobomb my photo with her phone!
 
In case if one haven't figured out, this is Tigress way of taking photos.
Having her face cut.
-___-
 
Mami and Mousy!!
Not forgetting our personal boat driver for the day!!
 
Thru our journey to the floating market
Locals do their daily activities all by river.
It explains why the river is so damn dirty
 
Greenery is just what we need after 3 days of shopping
 
A tour around coconut sugar farm is what we missed
Decided that it's too boring..
Skipped!!
 
Selling and buying all on the boat!
 
Elephant head in 3 sizes. So cute!!
They would definitely suit to be in our living room
 
A beautifully painted piece of art
Personally I love the fishes going in circle
 
All kinds of colorful spices to spice up your life
 
All iz done on the boat.
Which include EATING!!
 
I guess Thailand is so famous for their coconut that they have lots of coconut shell
to be thrown each day. This is just the best way to recycle the coconut shell
rather than dumping it in the bin
 Thumbs up!!
Haih.. There's just a pro photographer. So no pic of me
 
Most shops along the riverbanks are selling souvenirs and miscellaneous stuff
 
Sipek cute hor? Blaming it on baggage weight.
We have no extra baggage weight for this.



Our boat driver kept stopping at almost every stall by the riverbank and the seller would temp us into buying stuffs. Here's a tip. If you're not interested, try tell them 'mai ong' which means don't want. It works for me.
 
Tergoda see so many kinds of fruits!!
 
 
It started to get crowded

 
Enough of talking
Pictures flooding time!!
 

 

 
We're reaching the main area of the floating market
There's just so many floating market.
Damnoensaduak is the most popular floating market in Thailand
 
 

This is seriously yummy!!


Local delicacies

 
Pokok kelapa, pokok serbaguna!!

Hehehe. So cute seeing they passed food to the buyers in the green basket, hovering around
  
While we're in the boat under a canopy, the aunty here is right below the hot scorching sun trying to row her boat around hoping to find some livelihood to bring home for the family for the day
 
Someone's hungry
Tigress was staring at the Chicken wings like a tiger preying on its' prey
 
Fried, oily food is always the best. Gonna cry once I'm home...
 
 
I love how the camera is able to capture the ripples of water each time the boat speeds. All the lazy girl did was putting all on Auto mode and just click click!
 
While enjoying the cool breeze, the splashing of the water on your face really dampens one's mood
The thought of how dirty is the water just ....
 
Nice chalets! Too bad we were just passing by.
 

When I retire, I shall stay here for the rest of my days....
Long way to go, Karen!

Temple that almost mistook it as a palace..
I love the idea of being in a country which it's citizen practice deep Buddhism
I'm amazed how devote is the devotes are
 
 
Can you see what's under the water?? See carefully!! Open your eyes bigger!!
 
Can you see it now??
 
Our kind and most handsome boat driver bought us fish food to feed the fishes. How nice of him!!
Sakai Tigress feeding the fish! I don't know where's my pic of feeding the fishes. Can't find it anywhere. Crying soon. ='(
 
Pattern tuo tuo!!
 
Poor hungry fishes. It's weird coz the fishes are no where to be seen except the particular area near the temple. But no, they are not in any cages or anything. They're free to swim around but they still remain at the same spot. STUPID FISH!
 
End of our tour at the floating market!
 


Mousy and her lotus. Was forced to capture this for her. Huff
 
Thanks to Mr Jack for this photo of us four.
 
Urmm. The floating market was a little disappointing. I expect it to be very big and packed with tourists but it is not what I expect it to be. Perhaps, I had put my expectations up too high. But then, Damnoensaduk floating market is the most popular in Thailand. So blame who? On it's so popular name or me here who expected something much bigger? From what I see, it's more like man-made. Everything. You can't see river banks coz they are all covered up with bricks and cement. To say that I don't enjoy, it would be a total lie. I enjoyed a lot la especially the eating part *grins We really enjoyed ourselves with the experience of sailing through the market. It's a nice experience for newbies but to spend another 90 minutes to the floating market, I rather not. Our journey from the hotel to the floating market took us 90 minutes and wasted another 90 minutes going back to civilization. It's a waste of time if you don't plan your schedule nicely. There's elephant trekking nearby so you might one to include that in your what-to-do list too. So bo tai travelling so far just for the floating market. Oh and please refrain yourself from buying souvenir's there coz it's very expensive than other places outside. But if you're rich and don't mind about the tiny cents spent, you might as well as buy it. It's their source of income.
 
NEXT STOP, CHATUCHAK WEEKEND MARKET!!
 
Aah. Roasted pork is love!! Well, it's a little expensive. THB 100 for 100g!!
Mum bought 200g in the end coz we don't eat much at floating market and
by the time we reached Chatuchak, it's already 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
 
Mochi everywhere but still love the traditional ones selling at Kampung Cina
 


There's only two reasons for us me to convinced Mami to Chatuchak.
First, it is the largest night market in Asia and we've never even been there!
Second, I wanna get something for Xiao Ai. Days before I've already checked the map of Chatuchak market, locating the pet section


Tigress can't stand the cuteness of the puppies!!
Pets section are located at Section 19 and Section 13.
 
Such a cute Holland Lop
 
I believe this is a squirrel
 
While we're having spasms due to cuteness overload, reality hit us hard when we saw this
I believe all rabbits and guinea pigs here are dehydrated and they are looking very sick.
Now that I realized, what's the pink liquid there hanging in the drinking bottles?
 
I believe neither me nor Tigress expected this sight to greet us. Obviously all the puppies there are underage and are not suitable for selling yet. I bet they haven't even weaned yet.
 
May not have any experience dealing with sugar glider but this is way to small to be sell
 
Mischievous puppies
Reminds me of those Xiao Ai's puppy days


Happy puppies makes me happy too
 
Well, at least this shop is selling happy puppies. That is all that matters
 
 
I'm not sure what breed is the dog but me just wanna have it in future
 
I just love how fierce the dog looks and his sitting posture. With an intimidating looks, he sure is playful enough. Hehehe
 
Thou I'm not a fan of Bulldogs, this fella here has captured my hearts!
 
Sugary drink are put in the cylindrical containers and is spin around few times to make popsicles!
Nothing special with the popsicles but it's an experience to gain
It's only THB 15


Selfie with our popsicles!!
 
Capturing precious moments while resting under the clock tower.
 
SEAFOOD + Fried = CHOLESTEROL
 
If you're wondering what's in the big wok, let me tell you. It's squid's eggs! And the hell, I don't know where they that that much amount of it.
 
Hungry now!!!!!
 
Frankly, there's nothing much to buy in Chatuchak. Hmm. The clothes here are not that cheap either. If you're already in the wholesale center, I don't think the clothes here are much to your liking. Beside from buying souvenirs for Xiao Ai, I don't think I wanna be back again. Yeah. We managed to buy collar and treats for Xiao Ai. Trust me when I say there's so many kinds and shape of treats to choose from. It's Doggy Paradise! It hurts both me and Tigress knowing that they are selling young puppies to people out there. The temptation to buy all the puppies really eat us. We wish deeply for the puppies to be in good hands. I believe here's the place for Malaysian to buy puppies and snuggle them into the country as they're much cheaper here than the ones bred and sold in the country. Believe it or not, it's only THB 350 for a Shih Tzu pups. To say that Xiao Ai is beyond lucky to have us. Always the best for him. Best food, best shampoo, the best of everything.
 
 
Except for the phone cover, they are all bought at Chatuchak. The red Mickey collar is THB 20, the blue one would be THB 50 with leash included and the bone is THB 35.
 
And my boy is so happy and satisfied with his souvenirs
 
And for future reference,
 
The map of Chatuchak!
 
XOXO~

p/s: Yes. I reupload the pictures again. I noticed my pictures always went missing after a while which is kinda sucks. On the side note, we're going BKK again next week! Excited to the max!! BKK is my second home!