I was cleaning up my PC when I saw all these pictures. So I decided to post them up too.
Can only mention what I remembered though…

We played a game held by Power 98fm and HIP Alliance. It was a game that’s similar to Treasure Hunt, which requires abit of your intelligence.. I still remember the fun we had that day. It was held at Wisma Atria. Okay, for the first time ever, we won the grand prize… $2000 worth of Chan Brothers Travel Vouchers!!! Wooohoo….. I have never won such a big prize ever! Jaz, Nana, Dzul & I headed down to Chan Brothers Travel and bought ourselves a Free & Easy Package each. So where did we choose to go?? Bangkok!! Yes, it was our first time travelling together & our first time to Bangkok. We were all so excited..
Jaz, Nana, Dzul & Random Stranger..
5th May 2005

We took a morning flight to Bangkok via Singapore Airlines. Aaah… It was such a comfortable short flight. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a Thai agent. She introduced herself as Zaza. She told us that our transfer were waiting outside and gave us the option to choose whether we wanted to go on her tour the next day or the day after as we had 5 days there. We also asked her about Cabaret Shows & Thai Girl Shows. After some consideration, we chose to go on the tour the next day. After some waiting, we boarded the mini-bus, which was shared with other passengers as well. Finally we arrived at our hotel, Grand Diamond. Initially we wanted to book a room from Baiyoke Sky, the tallest hotel in Bangkok, but it was fully booked.
* To be able to get a room in Baiyoke Sky, you must book way advance but you might be able to get a room easier if it’s low season.
 

Baiyoke Sky
 
So anyway, we booked a two-bedroom suite. So, the room was quite spacious. Honestly, we were quite disappointed with the room cos it did not look as good as the pictures we saw on the internet. Their swimming pool was also shared with Grand Diamond’s apartment beside us. Anyway, we did some shopping today, took some tuk-tuks around and pigged out. Can you imagine how cramped it was for the 4 of us to fit in that lil’ tuk-tuk? But well, yeah… I guess we fit quite well. Oh, and I must recommend their fried rice… It’s super delicious!

Having Some Fun In the Tuk-Tuk
6th May 2005
After breakfast, we boarded the coach for our tour with Zaza. We were also joined by other Singaporean tourists from different hotels. So, after fetching everybody from their hotel, we proceeded with the planned tour. Oh! I met a friend during the tour and we chatted for awhile.. What are the odds??? She was there with her grandma. We took a boat ride along the Chao Phraya River, visited Wat Arun Temple (I think..correct me if I’m wrong) , the mini floating market and fed the fishes along the river. The floating market was not as big as before because they were moving to another location. Anyhow, fish feeding was fun! After that, we did some more shopping. One of them was Pantip Plaza (IT Mall). It’s like Sim Lim Square here in Singapore. You can buy your electronic goods, DVDs, games, etc there.

One of the many markets along the streets

[caption id="attachment_1607" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="One Of The Temples Along The River"][/caption]

  
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_1608" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Another Temple Along The River"][/caption]

  
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
7th May – 8th May 2005
We did some massive shopping during these two days at Chatuchak market. It is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge! And hot… Not only did we manage to cover the massive market. We also covered some more area further down the market. We bought some tshirts, ceramics, clothes, clothes and more clothes… That night itself, we went to watch Thai Girl Show. It was our first time… The driver drove through to a small, dark valley which leads to a run-down shelter. We bought our tickets there and proceeded in the door. What a show! The girls were popping out some ping pong balls, sharp razor blades, some glow in the dark stuffs, etc all from their private parts. Some even opened bottle caps with it (I cringed at this part), blow some candles, etc… Haha! Once is enough for me… cos I don’t think I’ll want to waste money watching twice.. hehe!

One Of The Entrance Of Chatuchak Market
9th May 2005
We got ourselves a private mini bus to travel to Pattaya with the help of Zaza of course… It was a 2hours++ journey. The driver can speak a little bit of English so it really helps! He’s also friendly and accomodating. The van is in good condition, aircon is good.. Well, it’s the whole package!

On The Way To Pattaya
Along the way, we dropped by at the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo.. It was a cool experience… A female tiger was seen feeding piglets (who are wearing tiger clothing), a super big fat pig, other animals and of course, tigers.. We also took some pictures with the wallaby, deers and a tiger. The best experience was the picture we took with a tiger cub. Before we got our picture with the first one, it cries out like a baby. Of course I was shocked! That was the first time I ever heard a tiger cub cry. It was cute… After that, they changed the cub to a bigger one.. way bigger! They put him on our lap. Whoa! He sure was heavy! We got our pictures taken with my left hand feeding the cub. There were also some animal shows.. The crocodile show was the scariest one to me cos the crocs seemed untamed. Many times while performing, a few of the crocs tried to bite the performers.. (A young boy and a girl). It was one of the scariest moments I’ve ever witnessed.

Sri Racha Tiger Zoo

[caption id="attachment_1611" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="That Intense Stare"][/caption]

He Is So Ready To Eat You Up!
 

We then had our lunch in a seafood restaurant along the way and continued our journey down to Pattaya. We lazed on the beach, sheltered with many umbrellas while sipping cold sodas. I couldn’t resist trying out the parasailing when I saw a few of them down the sea. I had to give it a try! So I tried… It was fun… abit scary though cos I thought I was gonna drop i nthe sea when they tried to land me. After that Jaz and I hopped on a jetski and gave it a go.. It was fun for awhile.. I got bored 5 mins after.. lol!

Pattaya Beach
Pattaya Beach
Relaxing During Sunset…
After sunset, we walked down the streets for a little bit of shopping while waiting for our driver to pick us up to our next stop, Cabaret ! We got our tickets and watched the biggest Cabaret Show there, called Tiffany. I enjoyed it a lot… The props, the costume & their performances were spectacular! After the show, we went outside for some pictures with them.. In case you don’t know, the performers are all she-man. But they looked so pretty on stage and super sexy too..

Cabaret Performance
 

Cabaret Performance
Cabaret Performance
A Picture With 2 Of The Performers
Then, our driver dropped us at the Walking Street for a short walk. There were a lot of bars and pubs there. We stopped at one of the bars cos there was a Muay Thai match happening. I thought it was scary.. the swish sound they made when they hit their opponents with their leg was sharp and loud. I could imagine the pain.. After that, we headed back to our hotel.. 2 long hours back…

Entrance Of Walking Street
10th May 2005
We did some more walking and shopping around our area after breakfast. Last minute shopping as usual… Bought ourselves some delicious A&W and went back to our hotel to pack up. The night itself, we bought our plane back to Singapore… back to our home… Nana brought back 20kg of clothes!!! Mine and Jaz combined was only 12kg! LOL! Some crazy shopping there..

Final trip for the year 2006! This time round, we went to BANGKOK. Yes, the land of thousand smiles. Shaaaaaw-Piiiiing!!!! This trip was my 3rd time there. Couldn’t get enough of the first & the second. (The first one was free…. sponsored by Chan Brothers.)
But it was Nad & Yat’s first time.

We departed from Changi Airport. Since it was the month of December, many Christmas trees were spotted almost everywhere. The flight from Singapore to Bangkok took about almost 2 hours. So, we landed at the Suvarnabhumi Airport since the Don Mueang International Airport was already closed. The new airport is way better than the old one… Still remember how bad the ventilation in the smoking room was. I swear I could choke to death… So, we were greeted by this giant white tree, just outside the airport. Took some pictures & left in one of the multi-coloured cabs. Our choice of hotel was Eastin Hotel. It was cheap + the room was good. So it was really worth it. Location was ok. You can walk to Baiyoke Sky (The tallest hotel in Bangkok) but it was quite a distance..
* This area is good for Muslims as they have a whole bunch of HALAL restaurants there

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Giant Christmas Tree Outside The Airport"][/caption]

Today we went to Jatujak Market (Ever so hot…I can bet with you that your clothes will be soaked with sweat after walking). The place is soooo huge that you’ll need a whole day or two for you to cover every shop there. Madness!! In comparison with older times, the prices here have increased a lot. Prolly due to the overwhelming number of tourists. I gave up a few hours later & insisted on heading back. Later at night, we had dinner via the room service. (Oh… You have to try Grand Diamond Hotel’s fried rice from the ALA CARTE. Tasted it during my first trip. I’m still craving for it now… *Sluuuurrrp* )

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="The View From Our Breakfast Table"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="At Breakfast"][/caption]

We had breakfast before we left… The breakfast there is not bad… Overlooking the highway, so you can have a full view of the roads. The only downside is you’ll get sick of the food there if you are staying for a long time cos everyday is the same set of food. After that, we hopped on a cab to go to a place which I would like to call “Bugis Street” cos it has the similar feel. I forgot the road name but it is located very near to Hard Rock Cafe. If you want to go there, just tell the cab driver that you want to go to HRC. And when you drop there, just walk around the area…. you’ll find it. After shopping, we went out later that night for some entertainment. Supposedly, we planned to go Route 66 but we ended up going to a very much higher class bar located at a building’s rooftop. The view was breath-taking! We couldn’t stop cam-whoring… lol! The service there was really good… They would take off your coat & hang it for you. It was really high class… Ok, you might think that it’s expensive right?? Not…..!! It’s cheap!! It’s like the same price as the drinks @ Zouk in Singapore. Cool huh? There were sofas lined at the outer perimeter so you have an unblocked view to Bangkok City. It was just Perfect…

After breakfast, we went to Dream World… It’s like another version of Disneyland. The place was so packed with humans! And it’s damn hot…! AAaaah……so many places & things to take pictures with… We took some rides, took pictures, go-karts, play pool, took pictures, eat lunch at a special place just for tourists (yes, they lurveee us!), went to the Haunted House (not very scary but some people went out crying..don’t know why..), took pictures again.. went to Snow Town, touched some fishes & visited the 7 Wonders of The World. (There’s a section where the miniature statues of the 7 wonders inside.)

Took a mini bus to the Victory Monument… There’s a market there but it didn’t seem interesting so we took off & got a cab to Suan Lum. This place is like Jatujak BUT less crowded, more spaces to walk & waaay cooler… Cos it’s a night market. There was also a giant ferris wheel so we took a ride just to suck up the view & to preview & estimate how far we were going to walk.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Ferris Wheel @ Suan Lum"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="View From The Ferris Wheel"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="View Of The Night Market From The Wheel"][/caption]

Last day!! We wanted to extend our holiday but it was quite impossible… We felt sucky cos there was still so much more places to go! So many places, so little time… *Sigh* There’s still Safari World, Dinner Cruise @ Chao Phraya River, farms… so many to list! Perhaps next trip huh?? Hehe…..

* The next day after we left, news headline – “Bomb exploded at the Victory Monument Area”. It was New Year’s Eve. We were damn lucky for deciding not to extend our stay. Otherwise, maybe I wouldn’t be able to write this. Definitely an unforgettable bangkok trip ever!

** Tiger Airways is now offering cheap fares to many destinations.
    Click here to book your tickets for your next trip already!

** This entry has been submitted for the contest held by Ping.sg.

It’s the 20th Syawal & people are still celebrating Hari Raya & visiting friends’ and relatives’ houses. I was already outside my house, ready to leave when I noticed a group of teenagers at the lift lobby, down the corridor. My mom was at the gate at that time.. I put down the things I was holding on top of the shoe rack outside my door & told my mom to look out for me as I quickly rushed inside to grab some forgotten stuffs. Just as I was walking to the kitchen, a greeting was heard. My mom greeted the guests and welcomed them in our house. Apparently, those group of guys I saw earlier were a part of them. They were my mom’s friends’ sons. I quickly took my stuff, exchanged some handshakes & walked out the door. My mom was still at the gate but with her back facing the door. As I was grabbing my stuffs from the shoe rack to leave, I noticed something missing. My Nintedo DS Lite!!! Immediately, my temperature rose..

Me    : Where’s my game?!
Mom : How would I know.. Where did you put it?
Me    : It was right here! (pointing to the shoe rack)
Mom : Maybe it’s in your bag…
Me    : No! It was here…

The conversation was loud enough for them to hear, I’m sure.. By this time, I have already noticed the boys hanging around at the staircase on my right side, not too far away. My suspicions grew tremendously… It MUST be them. Why aren’t they inside my house? How come the rest went in without them? And what are they doing at the staircase landing? Despite my suspicions, I didn’t want to point my finger so openly yet. So I asked my mom to help me take a look at the kitchen area to see if it’s there even though I know it’s not. But just to be sure you know.. She came back outside and gave me the expected answer. As we were exchanging words, the 3 boys walked past us and entered the house. From the corner of my eyes, I looked at them, look at their hands & what they were wearing without even bothering to look at their faces. Only one of them had a small bag with him. After they entered my house, I immediately went to the staircase landing to see briefly. I did not see anything. So I went back to my mom and told her immediately.

Me    : It must be them!
Mom : How would you know?
Me    : I just know… Surely it’s them! It was here before they came! It’s only less than 1 min ago!
           And what were they doing at the staircase??
Mom : But I was standing here all the while..
Me    : Ya, but then your back was facing them when they were entering…
           The boys could have taken during that moment. Can you just ask them if they saw it?

There were more than 9 people altogether.. They had the time to take it while nobody’s looking, I’m very sure.. My temperature level was already up to its brim… Couldn’t take it any longer. Seeing my mom in a spot like that, not knowing what to do, I told her nevermind… I’ll go and search for it myself. Called Jaz up who was waiting for me downstairs, explained to him and asked for his help to find it with me. Feeling a bit of confidence, I went to the staircase landing again. This time, to search thoroughly cos there’s a whole pile of junk at the top staircase landing. It could have been hidden somewhere in between the junks.

As per my prediction, it was there hidden between a mattress at the side, with the case unbuttoned! If I’m a cartoon, smoke could have been seen coming out of my ears!!! Was bloody pissed already! I told Jaz as we were walking away, “See!! I knew it!! It must be them. Luckily I found it!”. I was still ranting and bitching while walking past my house to the lift. I turned around and saw one of their parents looking through the basket outside my neighbours house. They must have known my situation and was helping me find it.. I was too angry to care. We took the lift down and as I got in the car, I texted my mom telling her that I’ve found my game hidden at the staircase landing and not to tell them that I’ve found it.. I want the boys to stupidly ransack the place to try to retrieve back the “treasure” they have hidden. Haha! Last but not least, I told my mom to close my bedroom door. God knows what else they can steal from my house! How could they have the guts and face to steal from the owner of the house you are visiting on Hari Raya!!! What a bunch of shameless shits!! Unbelievable!!