Saturday, December 27, 2008
What a day I would say!
Today I had to do a visa run. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, a visa run is exiting Thailand and entering Malaysia (or any other country - I chose Malaysia because it was just an hour away), then exit Malaysia immediately and re-enter Thailand for another 15days visa.
Bloody Thailand, just had to change the original 30days to a 15days visa.
My next visa run is on the 9th of Jan. Probably will be crossing the border at Myammar at Mae Sot.
Anyway this visa run is seriously a test for my timid spirit. I felt like a pig out of a buffet (fish out of water) and totally lost.
Luckily I met a fellow traveller, a Swedish-spanish-turkish, marijuana-smoking, 21 years old, named Sacha, on the bus to Padang Besar immigration. Dad is Turkish, mom is Swedish, born in Sweden, grew up in Spain, dad is now in Turkey. Aretha, hot caucasian alert! Too bad about the marijuana part though.
It was kinda like the blind leading the blind; neither have done visa run before. We paid 45baht (~$1.90) for the 1hours plus bus ride (non aircon, seats like SBS), and passed by rubber plantations after rubber plantations. I learned that Swedish people are serious folks, unfriendly (according to Sacha), beer is $8 in Sweden, smokes $9.
After exiting Thailand and toward the Malaysian border, we stopped by a huge duty free complex to find some food.
DAMN CHOCOLATES HEAVEN!!! Chocolates were aplenty and cheap(er). Of course we, being backpackers, stuck to only buying the neccessities and just bought buns and what-nots at the minimart. We sat by the road, looking like poor beggers, stuffing our face and moaning about life.
Well, he is on his way to Koh Samui now and I am seating here in an internet cafe full of thai boys playing computer games and talking/screaming so loudly. Well, it is 20B/hr, which works out to less than a dollar, as compared to a quiet but expensive 50B/hr at the shopping mall.
As the hokkiens say, "mai hiam buay pai. hiam liao kana sai.". Which directly translate to "Don't complain, not bad. Complain, like shit."
Friday, December 26, 2008
Merry Christmas to all of my friends reading this.
SAWATDEE HO!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Hello from Hatyai.
It is day 7 here, and may I say, how boring Hatyai is?
The funniest thing about being here during Christmas season is hearing Christmas Christian songs everywhere.
Jesus and a Buddhist country just don't go hand in hand.
It is like going to Italy and celebrating Selamat Hari Raya.
I'm glad that so far, I am able to understand Thais 50% when they speak.
Quite an accomplishment right?
Saturday, December 13, 2008
14 hours later on a bus, I am in Hatyai now, and boy are the things cheap!
Food wise not so because it is 35baht for a freaking small bowl of fish soup noodle and 50baht for a slightly bigger bowl of wanton mee.
So far, things look quite safe here. It was a long journey here, and on the way here I encountered some of the worst toilets ever in Malaysia (stank like 100years old pee), and some of the ruddest Malaysians. Sad to say the stereotype for them is so true.
Hatyai reminds me of Malaysia and not Thailand because everyone here speaks mandarin and some english. Mandarin.. just like Malaysia. But of course I finally got a chance to practice my thai with the bus guide, with my apartment lady, with some other random people. And I'm surviving!
McDonald's fillet o'fish is 54baht (about $2), and the meal cost 99baht (about $4). Ice cream cone is 9 baht (around $0.35).
I guess the worse nightmare came true, I forgot to bring my AUD dollar that was meant for Shermain and now we are crazily trying to get people to go to my place to take the money and transfer over.
What a nightmare.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Ok I'm leaving Singapore tonight!
I'll be heading to Hatyai, followed by a bus to Bangkok, then a train to Ayutthaya, from there take a bus to kanchanaburi, take a bus to Nan, then to Chiang Mai, head down to Mae Hong Son, and then back to Chiang Mai to spend my 21st birthday, and train back to Bangkok. Then a bus back to Hatyai and from there, I'll take a bus back to Singapore.
I hope nothing happens to me. Hopefully I'll get to practice and polish up my thai there.
Will update the blog from time to time! Cya Chinese New Year!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
My laptop is back! I'll highly recommend Alex from PC MAN IT SOLUTION at Sim Lim Square #05-09.
Will be ending work (finally!) this Thursday, and..
Will be leaving on Friday! Woot! I'll be back probably 25th January, at least I hope to be back by then. Cos 26th is CNY, and no one in the right mind will miss CNY ($$).
Would be backpacking Thailand and Laos. Gonna take a 14hr long bus ride up to Hatyai. Will be stayin there for a while, before taking a 12hr bus ride to Bangkok. Might be meeting Ploy there. Wouldn't be hanging around Bkk for long, maybe a few hours if possible. A city gets me down.
Then I'll take a train or bus down or plane down to Chiang Mai, spend maybe 2-3 days there, then take a 3hr bus to Chiang Rai, which I am looking forward to because of the nature.
After a few days there, if i am still left with money, i'll head to laos. If not, i'll come home. So lets see how it goes.