On Elephants and TiGer Shows

19 August 2013

Oh Best Beloved,

We were in Bangkok, Thailand during the long weekend. But of course, you already know that. We were there for ICPM 4 so we didn't get to tour much. We had one free afternoon, though, and the stories I shall share will come from that time of exploring.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Google maps says Damnoen Saduak is 103 kilometers away from Phaya Thai Bangkok. That's a 1-hour-25-minute-or-so ride if you're going at the speed of - something. You do the math. Anyway, since we wanted to try something new and wanted to see something other than the temples of Thailand, we decided to go there and discover what the floating markets were all about.

Imagine a village where the road system is made up of rivers and canals. To get to your next door neighbour, you have to hop on a tiny boat and row yourself over. To buy fruits or groceries, you have to paddle away and haggle with fruit vendors riding small boats themselves. That's Damnoen Saduak.

Water, water everywhere.

Friendly vendor.

Branded items are available. LV and Gucci, anyone?

Going over the selection of fruits.

Monkey Show. We didn't buy much in Damnoen. Mostly, we were in it for the ride. It was fun nonetheless and had us geared up for the next part of our adventure - the monkey show. It was enjoyable but the poor things were tied up while they were doing their routines. What would they say if I told them about the freedom that my monkey friends had in my kolej in UKM?

Poor monkey was bored and tired.

The show was rather short. That's why when our tour guides suggested we go see the TiGer shows next we almost jumped into the opportunity to do so. That is until we realized he wasn't talking about tigers as in the striped, gigantic felines. Oh no. He was talking about ThaiGirls. 

Uh. No thanks.

At least we got to see some elephants.

I promised you I'd catch an elephant!

Royal Palace. We rode back to the city soon after. Most of the temples had already closed down so we said we'd just drop by the outer courts of the Royal Palace before dinner. It's too bad we weren't able to go inside. I could imagine how majestic it was. We only got a shot of the palace's rooftops. It was beautiful, nonetheless.

This was the best shot I could get.

Night Market. We went to the night market after dinner. I didn't dare get any pictures - I was too busy trying to protect my hand bag. We were pretty tired so we didn't do much shopping. As soon as we had bought all the pasalubongs we needed to buy, we were off.

So there you go. Thailand. It was different from the Hat Yai experience. One day I might come back for the temples and the palace.

Missing you,

Mari

Those Were The Days

I woke early this Saturday, tossing and turning between 4:30AM and 5:30AM. Bouts of homesickness and loneliness usually overcome me during those wee hours in the morning so I decided to just get up and make myself some breakfast.

Staring at the dark sky outside my living room window, I suddenly remembered how my old life used to be. Back when I lived in Kajang, I would already be wide awake during that time. 5:30AM. I'd be taking a shower or I'd be fixing myself up some peanut butter on toast - whatever. I'd be doing anything but sleeping.

My route to work was perfectly timed. I was still on probation, I was running on a tight budget, and any minute of lateness on my part would throw my schedule off by at least a half hour or so or would cost an additional coupon amounting to RM 13 or so.

I had to be at Perhentian Kajang by 6:20AM to catch either the Rapid KL U40 or the BAS MINI. Since the sun rises later here in Malaysia, it would still be dark out and the morning call to prayer would just be starting to fill the sleepy semi-provincial part of town where I lived in.

Dawn would have not yet broken out by the time I would reach the Kajang KTM Station. I had to be there to catch the 6:40AM train. KTM trains are popular for not arriving on time but I noticed that the morning ones were still rather punctual.

KTM Kajang at 6:30AM.

My next stop was three stations away - UKM, Serdang, and then finally Bandar Tasik Selatan. At Bandar Tasik Selatan, depending on how slow the KTM was, I would usually make a mad dash for the ERL - I had to catch the 7:10AM KLIA Transit or else I would have had to get the 7:40AM train instead.

The next train arrives in 7 minutes.

The train only made it as far as Putrajaya - I had to take another two buses to Cyberjaya. One bus to the city centre, another to my workplace. The bus from Putrajaya left between 7:30AM-7:45AM. The bus from the city centre came every 15 minutes during weekdays so I'd catch the 8:00AM or 8:15AM bus, making it just in time for the 8:30AM clock in. 

Rapid KL Bus at Cyberjaya.

I did that whole shebang for an entire half year before we decided to move somewhere more accessible. Instead of starting my commute at 6:40AM, this time, I started going out of the house at 7:10AM. Big difference, I know. Lol. 

I did that for another five months. And then I eventually got myself a car.

Would you believe that my morning commute now takes 20-30 minutes, giving me more time to sleep in and dream during the mornings?

Sigh. Those were the days, those were the days. :)

I'm thankful that I went through all that. It makes me grateful for every convenience I have now, reminding me not to take the blessings I have for granted. It reminds me that everything is worth it, everything's going to be worth it all, as long as you have the determination to stick it out and overcome.

Yep. It's gonna be worth it all.

It's going to be worth it all. :)

Blast from the Past: Cambodia

22 July 2013

Oh Best Beloved,

HOMAYGASH. Two weeks to go till ICPM 4! Or three, depending on how you're counting. I have to do something, ASAP. When did time fly by so quickly?

Speaking of time, was it just three years ago that ICPM 1 (the one in Cambodia) happened? It seems like it was just yesterday, yet eons ago at the same time.

I remember Cambodia as a montage of frogs, crickets, pointy temples, pajamas, and tuktuks. Frogs and crickets because they were the the exotic street foods we just had to try out. Pointy temples because there were so many of them around (including the Royal Palace and the hotel we stayed in). Pajamas because wearing them in broad daylight was a status symbol and tuktuks because it was a primary mode of Khmer transportation.

I have a couple of friends changing the world over there in that side of the globe. It would be nice to go and visit them there again someday. And it would be nice to go to Angkor Wat, too, because I wasn't able to go last time. 

Well, until then, let's just reminisce through some pictures. Here are some of the pictures I took from that trip (my N73 was so awesome, you know):

Tuol Sleng:
A public school turned torture place turned genocide museum.

This is a tuktuk.

This is the royal palace.

The mini Angkor Wat was all I was able to see.

Street food! Frogs, crickets, larvae, and bugs to tickle your tongue!

Munching on the exotic delights.  Yum! :D

Those were fun days. I'm anticipating the next visit!

Craving for crickets,

Mari  

Blast from the Past: Ho Chi Minh City

15 July 2013

Oh Best Beloved,

The ICPM is coming up. Got to get my wallet ready - plane fares are hiking up and I haven't even booked a flight yet! Nonetheless, I'm excited for this trip. Very excited.

The ICPM is always an experience to remember. Last year, we went to Vietnam. The year before that, we just hung out in JB. But the year prior to that, we got to explore the Kingdom of Cambodia. I'll write about that in another letter. Yet, for now, let me share to you some stuff about the most recent ICPM trip.

It was my first time to go to Vietnam. We actually stayed in Vung Tau but we managed to tour around the country's capital during our last day there. Took a lot of fun shots:

Vietnamese women passing by.

A statue somewhere around the city centre.

Notre Dame Cathedral.

Busy day at the post office.

Outside the war memorial museum.

I love the food there. Pho is pho-some! And I love Bun Cha - grilled meat and noodle wrapped with fresh greens. Yum!

The Bun Cha meat.

The veggies.

Dinochicken! Seriously, I forgot the real name.

Gosh, I'd love to go back to Vietnam again. But next time maybe to Hanoi.

Oh Air Asia, please be good to me!

Hoping to be with you in the next trip,

Mari

Hazy Port Dickson Weekend

8 July 2013 

Oh Best Beloved,

We went back to Port Dickson some weeks ago to have a family outing. As luck would have it, the haze situation in Malaysia was at its peak during that weekend. (Why do crazy things keep happening to us whenever we go out on family trips?) We still decided to push through with our mini getaway though since we had already booked a hotel (we learned our Kuantan lesson well). Cancelling our reservation would require a fee (boo hoo) so... Well, if worse came to worse, we reasoned we could at least still stay indoors.

Or we could go dallying about wearing gas masks.

Which is exactly what we did because the air pollutant index (API) in Port Dickson rose to 300 plus the Sunday we were there (an API of 100 is already considered unhealthy).

We still had fun though.

For one thing, the hotel we stayed in was actually very pretty. We stayed at Corus Paradise Resort. They have pretty decent rooms and the ones we got were adjoining ones: two families + three single ladies = bonding to the max! The free buffet breakfast was okay. We went there pretty late so the food was almost out but there was nasi lemak, roti canai, mee, milk and cereals, bread, fruits, and some other choices.

What we enjoyed the most though were the fine white sand and the cool outdoor activities. We rode a banana boat! Through the haze! At RM15 per person, the boat was a rather good deal.

I still couldn't help thinking of Stephen King's The Mist while we were there though. By the time we got to KL, the API level had already risen there as well.

Well. It was a weekend to remember. Pictures, pictures, pictures!

The hotel was actually pretty nice.

Low API during the evening.

This is what we looked like the morning after.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" - Lewis Carroll

So... Misty. Err, hazy.

What's happening, Mr. Sun? :(

The lagoon still looked nice.

Well, the atmosphere's clearer now. The haze disappeared after three days or so. I still have my gas mask handy though, just in case the forest fires bring them air pollutants back. :) Hopefully they don't come back.

Now enjoying a non-hazy Malaysia,

Mari