a summary of events.... a trip worth waiting for....
27 june 2005
time check : 0500hrs… the alarm clock rang… time to wake up… got to leave home by 0530hrs for the airport… its been a long while since the last time i took a flight out of singapore for holidays was back in 1985! wow! it has been a long time since i last travel on long flight, (of course not considering all the short trips to malaysia!) it was my maiden flight on tiger airways in which i was quite apprehensive about travelling on a budget airline… but the take-off and landing was pretty smooth with the 2 hour flight…
time check : 0930hrs (bangkok local time)… landed at thailand international airport… welcome to thailand… the magnificent city of angels… have no impression how the airport looks like when I was there 20 years ago… clearance was a breeze.. not too crowded and we took an airport limousine to our hotel, an outskirt of the town area, closer the bus station…
arrived at SD Avenue hotel… some 3 star hotel… check in… freshen up and we are on our way within the vicinity for our lunch… we went into a shopping centre and there we had our first meal in thailand, bangkok… nothing spectacular but KFC!! relatively cheap and nice especially the cold vegetable salad! it was great!! something different from singapore… they have added pineapples and tuna and surprisingly it tastes great! thereafter we walk to the bus station to get our bus tickets to hua hin.. a long walk and after some asking around, we finally found the place and got the tickets for tomorrow at 1000hrs and we decided to take a cab back to the hotel as we were quite tired… rest a while and we are off again on the road and this time we went to another shopping opposite the former one we went in the day time and this time this one was much bigger!! Not much time to shop… just window shopping and we were back to the smaller shopping mall to have our dinner at MK restaurant… nice good steam boat and reasonable priced and we had a side order of the roasted duck… it was good just a tad too oily for our comfort and we went for a movie after dinner… tickets are relatively cheap, only 100 baht and the system here is rather funny as compared to sg…. surprisingly tickets are more expensive in the day as compared in the evening… so that is why we chose to see it in the evening!! hahaha…
we chose to watch mr & mrs smith… a rather good and amusing show… just before the show starts and after some trailers, there is a short trailer flash thru the screen and it says, “please rise and pay respect to our king” and the everyone in the theatre stood up and stayed still to watch the 2 ~ 3 mins trailer about the king and they bow at the end… some cultural experience!
28 june 2005
buffet breakfast at the hotel… then it was off to the bus station to hua hin… about 3 hours drive… journey was hot and stuffy and certain time it was reek of some ammonia smell… upon arrival at hua hin, we were transferred by a private taxi our hotel in the outskirts of the hua hin town… we got into a boutique hotel…
nice and comfortable… actually it is a 3 storey terrace converted into a hotel…
very Balinese interior outlook and u have this nice comfortable feeling… they had some aromatherapy smell along the way to the room and the room was even cooled down for us before we check in… nice personalized service there maybe we are the only guests as this is a lull period for the season… it was hot while we were there and by the time we are ready to get out to explore… it was raining cats & dogs.. what a drastic change of weather…
we went strolling along the beach after the rain stops and it was low tide… not much people around.. cos this beach is more popular to the locals rather than foreigners… dinner was great and sumptuous… we had seafood and over ordered as we did not realize the portion given was relatively big… anyway it was good thai food but with some companions… wild dogs and houseflies!!… we love it so much that we decide to have it tomorrow evening again… hahahaha…
29 june 2005
breakfast was simple….american with local fruits… we were supposed to check into a guest house but we changed our minds after we fell in love in this place and we decided to stay here for a another night… we had booked a private taxi for a day tour around hua hin…
first stop… elephant village… first time i am having a ride on a elephant… my usual height phobia but after a while it was ok but it was the attack of the mosquitoes that bothers me!!
next stop : pa-la u waterfall…
there is an entrance fee of 200 baht each… pretty expensive for a waterfall… there are 15 stages and we went only 3 cos the way up is rather dangerous and we are not prepared with proper shoes… we did not stayed long… a waterfall is a waterfall… looks similar to the one at kota tinggi… perhaps it may be a better view at the top but we decide to give it a missed…
simple lunch along the way and my friend got to try his favourite… fried pork with basil leaves and chilli!!
after lunch it was to some new national park which was built by the queen..
there in this park was this huge statue of this much respected and renowned monk in thailand and then it was off to hua hin beach… here the beach is much more commercialized…. lots of people and nice cool sandy beaches…
it was low tide while we were there…
we went to the town area and the night market but we were too early… similar to our pasar malam and we just stroll and browse around... nothing much to offer…
last stop…monkey mountain… lots of monkeys there and a nice panoramic view…
we did not have time there as we were there nearing closing time at 1700hrs…
we had dinner at the same place… yummy food and over eat again… sharon commented that i will lose weight on this trip but it was the reverse! i ate and ate cos things are nice and relatively less expensive! hahaha…
30 june 2005
breakfast was something different upon our request…
we had pork congee, which was smooth and nice with fried fritters! the “you tiao” was smaller as compared to our sg version but it was nice and crispy… after breakfast this was our first time to enjoy the chao takiap beach and the scorching sun! wow! it was really hot and we got burnt! hahaha…
we cooled down at the small spa pool on the 2nd level of the hotel… nice cool dip and so relaxing and then it time to leave for the bus station and we got our tickets on the spot back to bangkok…
depart from hua hin at 1430hrs back and we returned back to SD Avenue hotel in the evening… this time we has simple dinner… the road side stalls and we had wanton noodles and we end up watching another movie, (cos it was less expensive here!), “war of the worlds” but we did not think the show live up to its expectations….
1 july 2005
breakfast was a short one at 0600hrs as we had to rush… we had arranged for a package 2D/1N river kwai resotel tour which picks up at 0630hrs to kanchanaburi, a place with rich and devastating history that comes along with it… 2 hours drive from bangkok and it was much better ride…
upon arrival at kanchanaburi we visited the kanchanaburi war museum and the war memorial cemetery....
later we chose an optional long tail speed boat ride along river kwai to catch the infamous bridge over the river kwai… then it was off to our resort type hotel which we were ferried there again by those long tail speed boats… the place we stayed was some kind of stand alone huts, chalet style… lunch was plentiful but the dining experience was superb…. imagining having your meals with the river flows through it and nice green scenery to whet your appetite! it was so close to nature but be prepared for the attack of the mosquitoes again!
i guess travelling by speed boats is their way of life and faster means of transportation… we had that as we were ferried along the river to another resort, jungle raft resort, by the same owner but this place has no electricity at all… so be prepared for the nightfall survival with some kerosene lamps no luxury of hot baths, tv and air con! hahaha… we went to see the mon village and later back to the resort… followed by lots of food for dinner with some cultural mon dance show…
2 july 2005
after the american breakfast, we went by the long tail speedboat and bus to the hellfire pass memorial, the burma-thai railway… good walking shoes and lots of insect repellant are highly recommended for this tour…
the hellfire pass memorial is dedicated and a tribute to those Australian and other allied prisoners of war (POWs) and asian labourers who suffered and died at the hellfire pass and elsewhere in the asia pacific region during the second world war… a rich and devastating story behind the sad past as compared to the tsunami experience… many innocence lives were lost when the tsunami came unnoticed but here many lives were lost through brutality and malnutrition…many died of sickness, inadequate medical facilities & treatment and the severe punishments meted out for non-conformity… indeed a very sad and disturbing story resulting from the 2nd world war by the japanese forces when they decided to build and construct a railway to maintain their armies in burma…
a minute of silence for the those who perished…
time to check out and lunch at the jetty where a tour bus has been arranged to pick us up for
a train ride along the infamous wooden bridge railway and thereafter back to the bus back to bangkok… quite an interesting experience in kanchanaburi with bitter sweet memories left behind…
we arrived at asia hotel in the heart of bangkok at about 1900hrs… wow! it was so crowded and busy with so many people around… we went into the room and had this claustrophobic feeling as there were no windows! hahaha… after freshen up we hit the patpong area and we had KFC for dinner again…. hm… it seems that elsewhere besides sg the kfc had a much better taste! shopping there is quite an experience but prepared for lots of haggling and bargaining…
the night ended with a plate of fried noodles just outside the hotel… hm… very unhealthy… hehehe..
3 july 2005
it was a full shopping day… after breakfast we hit the sky train which is adjoining to the hotel to chachuchak weekend market…. It was huge and it is impossible to cover the whole area within a day… it takes about 2~3 days to cover! it was hot and stuffy but shopping was fun… we were lost in the maze and we just walk and browse whatever came along till we were so tired that we left in the late afternoon for a rest and then to mbk for another shopping spree… this one is much better…. air-con and prices are relatively cool! just could not stop buying but the main constraints are the time (shops closes early even on weekends), cash (too much to buy but cash strap) and luggage restriction! (we were only allowed 20kgs each for check in luggage)
4 july 2005
time really flies…it is the end of the fun time in thailand…. time to leave the country… late breakfast and check out at 1230hrs to the airport…. had burger king for lunch and then we were ready to board the plane to singapore…
home sweet home….
time to face reality again…
would like to thank my friend for his great solo well-planned programme, smooth schedule coordination work for this trip which was great and successful one... cheers to u!
am i looking forward to the next trip? hm.... keep your daily date with this page for the latest updates! ;p
the day of the 3d2n chalet k at changi aloha finally arrived! everyone was so enthusiatic and looking forward to what steven calls it an R & R!! our day project started with shopping for food with sharon, shirlyn and xueli in attendance and helping with the groceries... we are on schedule and check in abt 3 plus, did some food preparation for the bbq... jeremy,steven and e-lin pop by later and we were ready to go for dinner at shore restaurant nearby, a treat given by the birthday boy,none other than our ar mi gor gor!
games followed and i really admired the spontaneity of jeremy, e-lin and steven in participating in the game! they were great and boy am i surprised! 
maybe we were too lousy in hiding things and the clues given!! hahaha...
the next day, breakfast specially prepared by jeremy as promised long ago was great! thanks jeremy for the making the effort and a hearty macDonald's breakfast! 
off we went to the main event - wild wild wet, which we missed the last time (thanks to sharon! hehehehe!!!) and it was fun and we had a great time with the rides and funtimes being together there like the yakult splash time!(time to recollect the funtimes we had in sunway lagoon!)this time we had simon joining us there too! by the time we decided to call it a day, we were all tired and hungry! 
full spread of food awaits for all of us for the next main event of this chalet getaway,, the bbq was great! food was great! everyone was great and did what they had to do! cheryl came along and we had 2 VIP guests (none other than merrick and edward who came in their new slick black nissan latio!) in attendance and they were treated with first class service! 
the charade and boy it was real fun and everyone was so serious in cracking their brain cells and actively participating with the regular prompting and support from the game empire e-lin!! thanks for planning the game and sorry for making u guys draining yr brain cells in the middle of the night!!
one for the family album and off we go...
