TIME OUT IN BANGKOK

Posted by Unknown On Monday, January 4, 2010 16 comments
To me, there is no place like home. My friends and blog readers would know what a blog addict I am. The thought of taking a holiday WITHOUT my laptop raised my blood pressure for almost a week before I left for my holiday with my boy last week. My close friends said time away from my blog would be good for me but I begged to differ.



Despite whatever misgivings and fears, my boy and I left for Bangkok early in the morning last Monday. I travel light and what is most important to me would be sufficient reading material to last me for five days. After my older boy dropped us at the Penang International Airport, I started suffering from my blog withdrawal symptoms. Fortunately, I could check my mail and access my blog via my pda but I could not blog or release comments. That is the reason why I was slow to respond to comments last week. My better half was given the task of releasing the comments and since he is a workaholic, he could only do so after work.

Upon arrival at the Suvarnabhumi Airport, I was absolutely appalled that the staff there had destroyed the retractable handle of my cabin bag. I found my way to the Air Asia Complaints Counter and almost collapsed from shock when the staff there told me that they could only compensate me with 200 bahts @ 20RM!!!! Mind you, it is quite a pricey cabin bag so I was absolutely miffed with the take-it-or-leave-it situation. The compensation was not even enough to pay for the 450 bahts cab fare to the hotel.

I thought the cab driver would have no problem finding the hotel. When I went to Hanoi three years ago, the cab driver took more than 30 minutes looking for the place and I seriously thought nothing would happen this time. I was so wrong.

Upon arrival at the Saladaeng district, the cab driver took me to a posh hotel and I told him that was not the hotel . After many detours and even more enquiries, he finally dropped us at the correct hotel, thirty minutes later. I made a mental note of finding the exact location of the hotel the next time I go for a holiday.

An old friend Philip had recommended the hotel and said that it was value for money. He was so right. To my relief, I enjoyed unlimited wi-fi access in my room. The lobby also had one computer for the guests to use and that was how I managed to respond to comments! I also enjoyed the 24 hour coffee bar and had more than my fair share of cappuccino, latte, mocha and expresso - enough to give me high blood pressure!!

Frankly, I am very impressed with Bangkok because of a few reasons:

* good infrastructure
* reliable Skytrain
* polite Thais - people actually queue up before going into the train and even when leaving
* cheap food, delicious
* excellent shopping - good range and cheap too!
* Thais have an eye for aesthetics
* I only saw ONE obese Thai the five days I was there
* beautiful packaging of products

The disadvantages:

* very polluted - I used my hand sanitizer to wipe my face, hands etc
* very congested

Other than that, Thailand is a much better place to live in than Malaysia because the cost of living is lower and it seems to be safer.

I am not a shopper and bought lots of stuff for my husband and boys. Surprisingly, when I came back, my luggage weighed 9kg and my son's bag was 10 kg!!!



One of the best moments was when I met up with my former student who is now a celebrity in Thailand. She took me for a lovely steamboat and we had a great time reminiscing.

En route home, I had to stay at Tune Hotel for a few hours. That was truly an unforgettable experience. While checking in, a gentle-looking Englishman went up to the receptionist and said softly, "Excuse me but my sink just fell off!" I could not believe my ears and shuddered to think of what the room would be like. Believe me - there was hardly any room for Nick and I to walk. After that experience, I decided that we would have been better off waiting in the departure lounge of LCCT! I cannot imagine that I actually paid 13rm for the air-conditioner!!! I refused to pay 5RM for the use of the hair-dryer. Everything was itemised and the final bill for the use of the room for 7 hours was 135RM!!! The only thing they provided was half a roll of toilet of paper and a floor mat. It was a good thing I had my own soap and towel with me. Even the paint was peeling from the ceiling of the bathroom! What a nightmare!

All in all, I am so glad to be home as it was a very tame and uneventful holiday safe for the shopping, visits to a few famous spots and loads of walking and eating. I slept for three solid days upon my return and have not really managed to get into the full swing of things yet - hopefully by tomorrow!

Anyway, the break did me a bit of good and also reminded me about how important is my blog!!! I made a few enemies at the hotel :-) cos another Singaporean and I were fighting over the hotel's pc :-). However, in the end, we parted on good terms :-). Lesson learnt - must travel with laptop next time!!!

Have a lovely evening, dear reader! Do share your tales about your holidays if you like.

16 comments to TIME OUT IN BANGKOK

  1. says:

    Hafiz b Shukor Suffering from blog withdrawal symptoms?
    Oh, I'm lost for words to describe how GREAT a blog addict you are!

  1. says:

    Kenneth Obviously, you had missed the "Aqua Spectacular" shows, haha!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Saudara Hafiz,

    :-) Seriously, it was MOST uncomfortable to have the blog withdrawal symptoms as I was:

    * unable to blog on the various issues

    * unable to publish comments unless I could get my hands of the pc

    * unable to read my usual dose of Malaysia Today, Malaysiakini, Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today, etc...

    Ah - hehehe I am really a terrible blog addict indeed :-).

    And it is worth it for via blogging, I keep sane, get to say my piece and also get to know lovely readers like you!

    Take care and have a lovely evening!

    Salam

  1. says:

    Unknown Hi Kenneth,

    :-( Yes, I missed those shows and the famous Siam Niramvit as well...Thought it might not be suitable for my son :-(...

    Did you catch those shows?

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Kenneth My friends keep telling me that a visit to Bangkok will not be 'complete' without watching those marvellous shows.

    Have a nice evening.

  1. says:

    stephen I remember taking my wife to a "tiger" show many years ago.It was her first time and for me,well lets just say I know enough.

    It was mandatory to order a drink each, so i ordered 2 cokes (the only soft drink). My wife gulped down her drink while i abstained.She asked me why I didn't touch mine.I told her just wait and see.

    The first act was a young couple going at it with unabashed abandonment, which thrilled the old ladies in the crowd to no end!! Guess they wished their hubbies were just as good in their younger days!
    Anyways, I remarked to me missus that he was going at it like a two stroke motorcycle engine, no passion..Me missus had that look which said "yes dear,whatever you say".

    The next act was a woman with a marvelous and dexterous "kitty" .One of her acts was opening a bottle of coke with the "kitty" and pouring the contents in and then draining it out and offering it to the crowds for a taste!

    My wife then looked at me in horror as I looked back poker faced and inquired if her drink tasted fishy!

    True to form,once back to our room, she made a beeline to the bathroom and i could hear her going about furiously brushing her teeth and gargling her mouth with listerine!!

    I must say that on the previous occasion I was there with a caucasian colleague, he gladly took up on the offer of the reconstituted drink much to my horror.Needless to say, my other buddies and I decided not to have communal meals with him after the show!!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Kenneth

    Decades ago (gosh I feel so old suddenly), my hubby and I watched one of those aqua shows while honeymooning in Phuket. I reckon those shows then must be pretty tame compared to what they must be doing these days. Ah - I must catch those shows next time. Kind of difficult as it would mean leaving my boy alone in the hotel and that was an absolute no-no :-).

    Thanks for sharing...Have a lovely evening too!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Stephen

    WOW!!! What a disclosure LOL!!!

    Decades ago as well...while honeymooning, my husband and I watched one of those shows - except we did not know it was a 'tiger' show. Clueless and innocent then - we thought we had bought tickets to a Thai Girl show. In my mind, I prepared myself for something along the lines of Can-Can dancers in Moulin Rouge LOL!!

    Happily, my husband and I took the front seats and were quite puzzled as to why the other guests chose to sit at the back!!! I casually remarked to my hubby to whom I was wedded for two days that the others were too shy to sit in front.

    We really had absolutely NO idea whatsoever what we were in for!!!!

    Trumpet fanfare...ta rat tat tat...

    We saw what you saw - er maybe younger versions hahaha cos that was like 26 years ago!!! When the spotlights came on, hubby and I realized that the whole audience could see us very clearly - down to my zits and open pores and then only did it dawn on us why no one else was sitting where we were seated!!! How embarrassing! Seriously, I swear I could hear whispers behind my back when I went shopping later LOL!! Truly, I made waves haha...

    Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely evening.

    Cheers!

  1. says:

    Anonymous OMG!OMG! Paula.. that was a hilarious post. I can imagine you and the Singaporean rushing for the PC.

    But I think having to pay for the airconditioner at the Tune Hotel definitely takes the cake! ROTFL!!!

    Is that Nick with the sunglasses and the -- emmmm -- wig? wiglet? Elvis sideburns? So funny!!!

    You really need help, my dear. You are definitely addicted to your blog *smirks*

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Andrea

    Hehehe! Actually, the atmosphere was very tensed between the Singaporean and me...On Thursday morning, I went down to the lobby at 6.45am feeling quite pleased with myself as I thought surely that man must be still asleep. To my horror, he was already at the pc!!!And then he said, "I will only take 5 minutes" and he took 1 hour.

    Two hours later, I managed to regain control of the pc...and then he started hovering around me like my guardian angel...and he wanted to use the pc for another 5 minutes - which turned out to be 30 minutes so I hovered around him like what he did :-) and said the same thing...a real face-off LOL!!!

    The receptionist and front desk staff were quite worried LOL!!!

    Yes, that is Nick sideburn and all hehehe...

    Yup - I am quite addicted dear...

    Lovely to hear from you! Take care and have a lovely evening!

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Cat-from-Sydney O Wise Master,
    You didn't use the headline I coined for you: MWS suffers from BWS!!! Err....some of the other comments need PG13 sign on...hahahaha... "Tiger" show? Nowadays we'll say Tiger Woodshow. How about that?
    I like your description of the face-off with the Singaporean. Bet he was having BWS too. purrr....meow!

  1. says:

    Unknown Hi my dear Cat-in-Sydney

    Hehee...Actually, the Singaporean guy was into stocks and shares index...he is not a blogger :-)...

    Ah - I should have put MWS has BWS as you suggested! Sighs....forgetfulness comes with the age :-)

    Take care and have a lovely evening!

    Salam

  1. says:

    Murali My my my!It looks like your PC & laptop got the holiday after all Paula dear..*snicker*

    'MWS havin BWS in BKK!' *LOL*

    Bienvenue à la maison..

    Hugs,
    Mu

  1. says:

    A Arthur BKK is indeed a nice place for a short holiday. The services of Thai hotels are excellent (or most of them are) as I have stayed in a number of hotels in BKK. They knew the tourists are the ones who bring in the dollars and they treasured the tourism industry.

    Transport as compared to 10 years ago before the advent of their Skytrain is good now.

    How about Patpong? Good to go to this red light district too as it is an eye opener.

    Tune hotels - this no frills budget hotel and if you are accustomed to normal commercial hotels then it will be difficult to adjust. Actually it is not bad if you just sleep for a couple of hours and most of your time is on the road. You have to pay for everything and that is why the room is cheap. If you are transiting for a couple of hours go to the hotels with hourly rate. You will be more comfortable.

    Blog withdrawal symptom - you must really be very attached to your blog. Go easy MSW. You have to be as detached as possible without clinging to anything - be in material, personal relationship, money or otherwise. Go the Zen or Tao way...ha ha I am giving advice where non is sought.

    Go think of anything place to go and let your hair down and never bring your laptop as your time would be on your computer. Smell the flowers and go and see each sight. Sorry i am at it again...Anyway you are back home and dry and blog all you want...cos much as you have withdrawal symptoms there are your blog readers who miss your postings.

    Good day to you...

  1. says:

    Unknown Hi dear Murali

    Aiyo - you are so wickedlah!! LOL!!!

    Thanks for reading and hope to see you again soon. Take care and happy working out at the gym!

    Hugs and much love from Nick and me

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Arthur

    I would have loved to visit Patpong like I did in the past with my better half but this time, I was with my boy so er...not so appropriate haha..

    Er...Tune Hotels is not that cheap unless one books months ahead...Even then, by the time we add on the extras, it comes to quite a princely sum compared to the quality we get in return :-(. Yea, you are right - I am too used to the more comfortable hotels :-).

    Ah - yes, I do love my blogs and being a sentimental person, have the capacity to feel deeply. Being detached is good to a certain extent e.g. where work is concerned but where human relationships are concerned, I still believe in giving my all - sometimes to my detriment...after all, we only live once and when we love, I believe we should feel wholeheartedly! Then at least, at death's bed, I can say - ah - I am satisfied with my life...

    Not too familiar with the Zen or Tao way but I love Zen designs in decor LOL! Minimalist and easy to clean/maintain!

    Take care, Arthur...thanks so much for sharing from your heart!

    Blessings to you and yours

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