I've been so busy since I got back from my wonderful trip to Thailand and Cambodia that I haven't had the time to notice that the cherry blossoms are in bloom! The sightings of these beautiful soft petals is something I look forward to and admire every year. My fondest memory of these trees was when I lived in Milpitas as a child. After school, my sister and I would walk down our street and were just mesmerized by the two rows of huge cherry trees in full bloom before us. Their petals carpeted the floor, and their wonderful aroma wafted through the warm spring air. Sadly, these trees on that street are now gone.
Oh yeah, happy new year, everyone! May the year of the rat bring you much joy, prosperity, and good health!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
May I Present... Isabella!
On Friday, February 1, 2008, my sister was admitted to the hospital for the birth of her first child. Two days later, her daughter was finally brought into this beautiful world. Her name is Isabella Ava Poon. To say that she is cute is an extreme understatement. She is now nine days old. She likes to look at people, sometimes with just one eye open. We call it her pirate eyes. She loves to wiggle around. Never seen a baby so active before. She loves to pretend to sleep. And she loves to smile her one-sided smile. She already looks very mischievous but so sweet at the same time. And we all know that she will be a spoiled one. =) I love holding her and staring at her. It never gets boring. I miss her when I don't see her for a day.
I hope this world will be good to you, Isabella. I know that your family will! We love you so much already!
I hope this world will be good to you, Isabella. I know that your family will! We love you so much already!
Thailand - Day 12
Day 12
We left Phuket with a heavy heart. On our way to the airport, I stole final glances at the beach and the overwhelming Western influence of the businesses that lined the streets. Our flight to Bangkok was also our very last flight on Bangkok Air, an airline we have all grown to love. They serve meals no matter how short the flight is!
We checked into the Dream Hotel in Sukhumvit. This was a very nice hotel, but their eclectic style in their lobby clashed a little too much. Their rooms were lovely though. The down pillows and comforters were so soft, and the mattress was more shock absorbent than the other hotels. (Mattresses at the other hotels were so hard, I bounced off of one of them!) The carpet was so plush, I didn't want to walk on it with shoes to preserve it! (Is that really Asian of me?) They also had these blue lights installed in every room. Cold and kinky... Hmm....
In Tommy and Giselle's room, there were two of the same images framed facing their bed. They were of a woman staring at them with a very stoic expression and a tear running down her cheek. Why in the world would you put up images like these?! Giselle found them disturbing so chose to take them down and hid them behind the desk. Good decision.
Was this the day I wanted to take a 30 minute nap, but it ended up being 3 hours instead?! And Mae ordered a $20 salad from the restaurant upstairs. At least it was good! Yeah, while they ate and hung by/in the pool, I slept... and slept... and slept.
Again, we went to Siam Square for some shopping in the afternoon. This was our first time on the Skytrain. Their Skytrain is like BART, but it's newer and a lot cleaner! Everybody split up when we got there. The guys went their way, Giselle and Mae stuck together, and I decided to venture out to the little shops instead of staying in the malls, though the malls are very nice and modern, unlike the first one we went to on our first day. I bought SO MUCH stuff. It was fantastic! And all for $60!
The rest of the evening was a blur. I have NO idea what we did. (Hey! Traveling peeps! If you remember, please tell me!)
***Attention readers! The rest of this entry contains material not suitable for youngsters, so read at your own discretion!***
Oh yeah! OMG! How could I have forgotten!! The boys and I went to Patpong!! Since Victor and I missed the ping-pong shows in Phuket, we decided to visit Patpong, the best place to go to see such shows. Patpong is known for their dirty establishments. Okay, so the boys and I take the subway to this neighborhood. (Giselle and Mae decided to go eat and do something else instead. They weren't interested in seeing women do tricks with their vaginas.) To get to the heart of this area, we walked through a street full of hungry, gay men working for bars and other stuff (not really sure what "other stuff" means...) hungry for patrons. Our pace was brisk. We got through there rather quickly. All I can say is WOW. What a strange place.
Now. This is where all the shows happen. And you can tell because right when you step onto this street, men are waving menus at you, saying, "Look for free! No like, no pay!" And these menus aren't drink or food menus. These are menus listing the different "shows" these ladies will put on for you.
So after walking by a few offering their shows, we finally decided to visit one that promised "Look for free! No like, no pay!" All we had to do was buy a drink which was 100 baht (equivalent to about $3). We climbed up a flight of narrow stairs and entered a bar with bar tops in the middle and pleather seats stretched along the walls. We all ordered cokes. One of the strippers nearly begged me to buy her one as well, and since I can't say NO to people, I agreed. She was so thankful. I wonder how many cokes she gets to drink per day... We sat there, watching the women dance on the poles. It's funny. They all dance the same, rotating their hips in a circular motion. And that's it. Now, don't let your imagination go amok. These women cannot be compared to Playboy spreads. The majority of them are either somewhat unattractive, overweight, or old. Sorry to stamp out those delicious thoughts, fellas. =\ The only show-like thing we saw was an overweight gal pulling a string of flowers, an extremely long string of flowers, from her vagina. Shortly after this, a woman, probably the owner or manager, sat down next to Tommy and tallied up our bill. Since we got five cokes, it should have been 500 baht. But no. She said, "2900 baht." "WHAT?! Isn't it 500 baht?!" Tommy asked in shock. She said that we watched the show, therefore, we owe an additional 2400 baht. That was absolutely ridiculous. After some words that were thrown back and forth, we paid the 500 baht and stormed out of there.
Pissed off, we stomped down the street, only to be immediately approached by more men waving menus in front of us. One of the men read the expressions on our faces and was able to translate it correctly so his selling point was the other places are dishonest. At his joint, all you have to pay for are the drinks. The shows are completely free. After a bit of persuading, we gave in and walked into the strip club.
This place had a stage in the middle, about 10'x10'. The girls here weren't as unattractive, but most of them lacked sex appeal. How can you be sexy with your hair tied in a half ponytail and wearing absolutely nothing but socks! It sort of looked like they yanked these girls from a nearby farm... Again, these girls all danced that gyrating dance. In between the dancing were some "shows." I can't really call them shows because some of them were so lame.
The lamest show was a group of four girls walking in circles on the stage wearing long red robes with hoods holding candles. They waved the candles around and really did nothing. It sort of cracked me up because it was so non-entertaining except for the fact that any of their robes could have caught on fire at any moment...
Some of the more interesting things included a girl using her vagina to blow a whistle, honk a bicycle horn, smoke a cigarette, and using one or two straws, a girl picked up little disks and slid them around a coke bottle. That was pretty impressive. After the performance, the same girl, actually the most attractive of the lot, came up to a western man sitting in front of us, slid off her underwear, and started grinding on him. And he was groping her everywhere! OMG! A little distracting... So we waited for a ping-pong show, but it never happened, so we left. Though a little disappointed, I was still glad I got to see all of those talented women perform for us. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this was my first time going to a strip club, well, been to a male strip club before, but that's different. Waaaaaay different.
Oh yeah, cameras weren't allowed in these places, so there are no photos to show! Sorry!
We got back to the hotel and Mae and Giselle weren't back yet! I hung out with the boys for a bit, waiting for Mae to come back. The boys wanted to sleep, so I reluctantly left them for the night. Don't know what time she returned for I was fast asleep in my oh so comfy bed. =)
We left Phuket with a heavy heart. On our way to the airport, I stole final glances at the beach and the overwhelming Western influence of the businesses that lined the streets. Our flight to Bangkok was also our very last flight on Bangkok Air, an airline we have all grown to love. They serve meals no matter how short the flight is!
We checked into the Dream Hotel in Sukhumvit. This was a very nice hotel, but their eclectic style in their lobby clashed a little too much. Their rooms were lovely though. The down pillows and comforters were so soft, and the mattress was more shock absorbent than the other hotels. (Mattresses at the other hotels were so hard, I bounced off of one of them!) The carpet was so plush, I didn't want to walk on it with shoes to preserve it! (Is that really Asian of me?) They also had these blue lights installed in every room. Cold and kinky... Hmm....
In Tommy and Giselle's room, there were two of the same images framed facing their bed. They were of a woman staring at them with a very stoic expression and a tear running down her cheek. Why in the world would you put up images like these?! Giselle found them disturbing so chose to take them down and hid them behind the desk. Good decision.
Was this the day I wanted to take a 30 minute nap, but it ended up being 3 hours instead?! And Mae ordered a $20 salad from the restaurant upstairs. At least it was good! Yeah, while they ate and hung by/in the pool, I slept... and slept... and slept.Again, we went to Siam Square for some shopping in the afternoon. This was our first time on the Skytrain. Their Skytrain is like BART, but it's newer and a lot cleaner! Everybody split up when we got there. The guys went their way, Giselle and Mae stuck together, and I decided to venture out to the little shops instead of staying in the malls, though the malls are very nice and modern, unlike the first one we went to on our first day. I bought SO MUCH stuff. It was fantastic! And all for $60!
The rest of the evening was a blur. I have NO idea what we did. (Hey! Traveling peeps! If you remember, please tell me!)***Attention readers! The rest of this entry contains material not suitable for youngsters, so read at your own discretion!***
Oh yeah! OMG! How could I have forgotten!! The boys and I went to Patpong!! Since Victor and I missed the ping-pong shows in Phuket, we decided to visit Patpong, the best place to go to see such shows. Patpong is known for their dirty establishments. Okay, so the boys and I take the subway to this neighborhood. (Giselle and Mae decided to go eat and do something else instead. They weren't interested in seeing women do tricks with their vaginas.) To get to the heart of this area, we walked through a street full of hungry, gay men working for bars and other stuff (not really sure what "other stuff" means...) hungry for patrons. Our pace was brisk. We got through there rather quickly. All I can say is WOW. What a strange place.
Now. This is where all the shows happen. And you can tell because right when you step onto this street, men are waving menus at you, saying, "Look for free! No like, no pay!" And these menus aren't drink or food menus. These are menus listing the different "shows" these ladies will put on for you.
So after walking by a few offering their shows, we finally decided to visit one that promised "Look for free! No like, no pay!" All we had to do was buy a drink which was 100 baht (equivalent to about $3). We climbed up a flight of narrow stairs and entered a bar with bar tops in the middle and pleather seats stretched along the walls. We all ordered cokes. One of the strippers nearly begged me to buy her one as well, and since I can't say NO to people, I agreed. She was so thankful. I wonder how many cokes she gets to drink per day... We sat there, watching the women dance on the poles. It's funny. They all dance the same, rotating their hips in a circular motion. And that's it. Now, don't let your imagination go amok. These women cannot be compared to Playboy spreads. The majority of them are either somewhat unattractive, overweight, or old. Sorry to stamp out those delicious thoughts, fellas. =\ The only show-like thing we saw was an overweight gal pulling a string of flowers, an extremely long string of flowers, from her vagina. Shortly after this, a woman, probably the owner or manager, sat down next to Tommy and tallied up our bill. Since we got five cokes, it should have been 500 baht. But no. She said, "2900 baht." "WHAT?! Isn't it 500 baht?!" Tommy asked in shock. She said that we watched the show, therefore, we owe an additional 2400 baht. That was absolutely ridiculous. After some words that were thrown back and forth, we paid the 500 baht and stormed out of there.
Pissed off, we stomped down the street, only to be immediately approached by more men waving menus in front of us. One of the men read the expressions on our faces and was able to translate it correctly so his selling point was the other places are dishonest. At his joint, all you have to pay for are the drinks. The shows are completely free. After a bit of persuading, we gave in and walked into the strip club.
This place had a stage in the middle, about 10'x10'. The girls here weren't as unattractive, but most of them lacked sex appeal. How can you be sexy with your hair tied in a half ponytail and wearing absolutely nothing but socks! It sort of looked like they yanked these girls from a nearby farm... Again, these girls all danced that gyrating dance. In between the dancing were some "shows." I can't really call them shows because some of them were so lame.
The lamest show was a group of four girls walking in circles on the stage wearing long red robes with hoods holding candles. They waved the candles around and really did nothing. It sort of cracked me up because it was so non-entertaining except for the fact that any of their robes could have caught on fire at any moment...
Some of the more interesting things included a girl using her vagina to blow a whistle, honk a bicycle horn, smoke a cigarette, and using one or two straws, a girl picked up little disks and slid them around a coke bottle. That was pretty impressive. After the performance, the same girl, actually the most attractive of the lot, came up to a western man sitting in front of us, slid off her underwear, and started grinding on him. And he was groping her everywhere! OMG! A little distracting... So we waited for a ping-pong show, but it never happened, so we left. Though a little disappointed, I was still glad I got to see all of those talented women perform for us. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this was my first time going to a strip club, well, been to a male strip club before, but that's different. Waaaaaay different.
Oh yeah, cameras weren't allowed in these places, so there are no photos to show! Sorry!
We got back to the hotel and Mae and Giselle weren't back yet! I hung out with the boys for a bit, waiting for Mae to come back. The boys wanted to sleep, so I reluctantly left them for the night. Don't know what time she returned for I was fast asleep in my oh so comfy bed. =)
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Thailand - Day 11
Day 11
Though I was really excited for the day to start, it was still pretty hard waking up early... again! For the entirety of the trip, I've averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep per night. I know myself. I need my eight hours. On this particular morning, Mae and I did our usual routine where I would get up first to get ready, and when I was done using the bathroom, she'd get up. This worked out perfectly because I needed the extra time usually.
Our tour guide picked us up at 6:15 and were now on our way to Thaplamu Pier, north of Phuket Island. The ride there was a little uncomfortable due to a bolt or something poking out from the back of my seat. About 1.5 hours later, we arrived at the pier. Here, we were to choose our own mask and fins. We all boarded a speedboat and set out to the islands. The Similan Islands is a national park consisting of nine islands. There are a number of these islands that people are not allowed to step on. Our tour guide even warned us not to get on the rocks. After the tragic tsunami in 2004, Islands 1, 2, and 3 are indefinitely closed to tourists.
As we were on our way to Koh 9, I observed the others on our boat. Most were middle-age Australians or Europeans. There were two other Asians. One of these men kept the strangest facial expression for the entire ride! He let his extreme underbite hang low and furrowed his eyebrows. This gave us many laughs! I tried taking a picture of him, but I didn't want to make it too obvious, so this was the best shot I got...
We visited four islands on this day. On two of the islands, we were dropped off in the water, where we were free to swim as we wish. Just don't get on the rocks, and don't go off too far for the tides will pull you out. One woman didn't heed this advice and was pulled out by the current and thrown against the rocks. She was rescued by our guide and received many cuts and bruises on her whole body. Poor lady.
As for the rest of us, we really enjoyed our snorkeling experiences. Some moments may not have been as enjoyable as some others. For example, being stung by tiny jellyfish numerous times. All of us got stung! At first, I thought something had just pricked me. Didn't think anything of it. But I kept feeling these little stings all over my body. I had not concluded that this pain is inflicted by jellyfishes until hearing the same complaints from my friends. At the third island, while in the water, I saw tiny glowing particles rushing towards me, and the very next second, I felt stings all over my body again! Even though it hurt, it was still pretty cool. At least the jellyfish that stung us were small. Victor and I saw a huge one, around 1.5-2 feet in diameter a few yards away. We swam above beautiful coral with swirly patterns, shockingly bright fish, a couple schools of fish, slithery fish, uh, what else... It was simply lovely being able to explore an underwater world in crystal clear water. Unfortunately, none of us had an underwater camera. Doh!
Our last island was Koh Miang (#4). We hiked through a short stretch of jungle barefoot (I felt like I was in "Apocalypto") to get to Honeymoon Beach. This had similar characteristics to Similan Island, sand so fine and white you can mistake it for granulated sugar and warm, tropical water with excellent visibility. Here, Victor once again held my hand as we snorkeled because I wasn't comfortable in the water and wearing the oversized life jacket wasn't too appealing. (Thanks again, Victor!) I had put on the life jacket at the first stop, and one of the guides saw that my jacket was too big, so he fastened a buckle that went in between my legs. It was like a harness from rock climbing or skydiving. I had a huge wedgie the whole time! So uncomfortable!
Here I am finding a great use for the super fine sand - exfoliating my legs!!
The time spent at Honeymoon Beach felt so short! We had lost track of time and were a little late getting back onto the boat. Tiredness fell upon everyone on our way back to the pier. Everybody napped, including myself. None of us brought back any tokens from these islands except for photos and a sunburn. I got burned pretty badly. I believe the only person who didn't get burned is Giselle. Many of our backs were red. My butt was the color of lobster. Seriously. Even to this day, it may look like I'm wearing underwear, but I'm actually not! Hahahah!! Sorry for the visual. =|
As we were driving back to Patong Beach, we saw such a beautiful sunset. Victor and I rushed to the top floor hoping to catch the last hues of color spanned across the sky before it became too dark.
This was our last night in Phuket. It was truly a sad thought. We tried to book a later flight the following day so that we could take another tour that included ziplining, but the times didn't work out. Before the trip, many of us looked for ziplining opportunities in any of the areas we would visit. Found nothing. We knew why then. They call it cable riding! Aha!
The rest of our evening was so fun. That night, we ate at a pub a few steps from the Mercure. Everybody missed western food so burgers and fries were on the table. Eric and I stuck to Thai curries. Everything was very good! After we stuffed ourselves with calories, we headed to Rock City, a bar with a stage and a really really loud band. They were good, but I found the first band at the Riverside Bar in Chiang Mai to be better. We couldn't take the noise anymore, so switched to outdoor seating. This place was sort of cool because they would have girls walking around offering shots out of syringes and one was dressed as a cowgirl with a holster for her bottles of tequila and shot glasses fastened to her chest straps. Fun idea!
We finished our drinks and headed over to Bangla Road for the last time. Once again, we were mesmerized by the visual trickery on sale before us. The groups of prostitutes could not compare to the lady boys. Funny thing is, we frequently saw westerners with these lady boys. Do they not know that they are men? Or do they just have a strange fetish? I was so curious to find out.
Our destination was the Tiger Discotheque, a club located above a bar. Walking through this bar was already quite an experience. So many prostitutes, lady boys, and whores were trying to coerce the guys to be with them that we had to pretend to be the boys' girlfriends. The entrance to this club was pretty cool. We entered through a tiger's mouth and climbed up a flight of stairs to find a cabana bar and the actual club in another large room. We paid the cover charge, I think $250 baht, received our free drink stubs, and walked into a large room with a long balcony overlooking the dance floor, a lot of tables with dance poles, and more bars. Many good laughs were had with Victor's pole dancing and the boys' attempt to find "original" women to dance with. Didn't look like they hit the jackpot every time though. Hahahahahah!!!!
After some dancing, we felt some tension from some pimps who wanted our stage and pole for their whores, so we left. We strolled down Bangla Road towards the beach for one final visit in Thailand with Tommy and Eric nearly stumbling along. Aaahh... the beach was still so lovely at night. There were just a few people here, a huge contrast from the masses of people who visited during the afternoon hours from a couple of days ago. The sand was now cooler and the water still warm. I walked along the water's edge, allowing as much of myself to get wet as possible. I just felt this draw from the water here. It was so inviting. What an unfamiliar feeling from something I usually fear. We tried taking pictures on the beach, some of them proving that the guys were drunk. I would mark these fleeting moments at Patong Beach to be one of my most memorable. There wasn't a worry in the world. It was just the six of us swimming in pure joy and peace.
After many laughs and wonderful times at the beach, we headed across the street to get back to our hotel. We came upon a crepe stand and decided to get a few. The banana chocolate one was really good! While the crepes were being made, I had to run to the ocean to relieve myself. Victor came with me. Haha. This was a continuation of my "who cares?" attitude. Pee in the ocean? Who cares!! Hahahahaah!!!! All of us continued down the street along the beach, picking at our crepes, and completely in love with the moment. We finally made it back to the hotel. It was pretty late in the night, er, morning... Mae and I finished packing before going to bed. This was such a wonderful conclusion to our stay in Phuket. None of us cared too much for Bangkok. It's too bad we couldn't stay just a couple more days!!
Though I was really excited for the day to start, it was still pretty hard waking up early... again! For the entirety of the trip, I've averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep per night. I know myself. I need my eight hours. On this particular morning, Mae and I did our usual routine where I would get up first to get ready, and when I was done using the bathroom, she'd get up. This worked out perfectly because I needed the extra time usually.
Our tour guide picked us up at 6:15 and were now on our way to Thaplamu Pier, north of Phuket Island. The ride there was a little uncomfortable due to a bolt or something poking out from the back of my seat. About 1.5 hours later, we arrived at the pier. Here, we were to choose our own mask and fins. We all boarded a speedboat and set out to the islands. The Similan Islands is a national park consisting of nine islands. There are a number of these islands that people are not allowed to step on. Our tour guide even warned us not to get on the rocks. After the tragic tsunami in 2004, Islands 1, 2, and 3 are indefinitely closed to tourists.
As we were on our way to Koh 9, I observed the others on our boat. Most were middle-age Australians or Europeans. There were two other Asians. One of these men kept the strangest facial expression for the entire ride! He let his extreme underbite hang low and furrowed his eyebrows. This gave us many laughs! I tried taking a picture of him, but I didn't want to make it too obvious, so this was the best shot I got...
We visited four islands on this day. On two of the islands, we were dropped off in the water, where we were free to swim as we wish. Just don't get on the rocks, and don't go off too far for the tides will pull you out. One woman didn't heed this advice and was pulled out by the current and thrown against the rocks. She was rescued by our guide and received many cuts and bruises on her whole body. Poor lady.As for the rest of us, we really enjoyed our snorkeling experiences. Some moments may not have been as enjoyable as some others. For example, being stung by tiny jellyfish numerous times. All of us got stung! At first, I thought something had just pricked me. Didn't think anything of it. But I kept feeling these little stings all over my body. I had not concluded that this pain is inflicted by jellyfishes until hearing the same complaints from my friends. At the third island, while in the water, I saw tiny glowing particles rushing towards me, and the very next second, I felt stings all over my body again! Even though it hurt, it was still pretty cool. At least the jellyfish that stung us were small. Victor and I saw a huge one, around 1.5-2 feet in diameter a few yards away. We swam above beautiful coral with swirly patterns, shockingly bright fish, a couple schools of fish, slithery fish, uh, what else... It was simply lovely being able to explore an underwater world in crystal clear water. Unfortunately, none of us had an underwater camera. Doh!
Our last island was Koh Miang (#4). We hiked through a short stretch of jungle barefoot (I felt like I was in "Apocalypto") to get to Honeymoon Beach. This had similar characteristics to Similan Island, sand so fine and white you can mistake it for granulated sugar and warm, tropical water with excellent visibility. Here, Victor once again held my hand as we snorkeled because I wasn't comfortable in the water and wearing the oversized life jacket wasn't too appealing. (Thanks again, Victor!) I had put on the life jacket at the first stop, and one of the guides saw that my jacket was too big, so he fastened a buckle that went in between my legs. It was like a harness from rock climbing or skydiving. I had a huge wedgie the whole time! So uncomfortable!
Here I am finding a great use for the super fine sand - exfoliating my legs!!
The time spent at Honeymoon Beach felt so short! We had lost track of time and were a little late getting back onto the boat. Tiredness fell upon everyone on our way back to the pier. Everybody napped, including myself. None of us brought back any tokens from these islands except for photos and a sunburn. I got burned pretty badly. I believe the only person who didn't get burned is Giselle. Many of our backs were red. My butt was the color of lobster. Seriously. Even to this day, it may look like I'm wearing underwear, but I'm actually not! Hahahah!! Sorry for the visual. =|As we were driving back to Patong Beach, we saw such a beautiful sunset. Victor and I rushed to the top floor hoping to catch the last hues of color spanned across the sky before it became too dark.
This was our last night in Phuket. It was truly a sad thought. We tried to book a later flight the following day so that we could take another tour that included ziplining, but the times didn't work out. Before the trip, many of us looked for ziplining opportunities in any of the areas we would visit. Found nothing. We knew why then. They call it cable riding! Aha!The rest of our evening was so fun. That night, we ate at a pub a few steps from the Mercure. Everybody missed western food so burgers and fries were on the table. Eric and I stuck to Thai curries. Everything was very good! After we stuffed ourselves with calories, we headed to Rock City, a bar with a stage and a really really loud band. They were good, but I found the first band at the Riverside Bar in Chiang Mai to be better. We couldn't take the noise anymore, so switched to outdoor seating. This place was sort of cool because they would have girls walking around offering shots out of syringes and one was dressed as a cowgirl with a holster for her bottles of tequila and shot glasses fastened to her chest straps. Fun idea!
We finished our drinks and headed over to Bangla Road for the last time. Once again, we were mesmerized by the visual trickery on sale before us. The groups of prostitutes could not compare to the lady boys. Funny thing is, we frequently saw westerners with these lady boys. Do they not know that they are men? Or do they just have a strange fetish? I was so curious to find out.
Our destination was the Tiger Discotheque, a club located above a bar. Walking through this bar was already quite an experience. So many prostitutes, lady boys, and whores were trying to coerce the guys to be with them that we had to pretend to be the boys' girlfriends. The entrance to this club was pretty cool. We entered through a tiger's mouth and climbed up a flight of stairs to find a cabana bar and the actual club in another large room. We paid the cover charge, I think $250 baht, received our free drink stubs, and walked into a large room with a long balcony overlooking the dance floor, a lot of tables with dance poles, and more bars. Many good laughs were had with Victor's pole dancing and the boys' attempt to find "original" women to dance with. Didn't look like they hit the jackpot every time though. Hahahahahah!!!!
After some dancing, we felt some tension from some pimps who wanted our stage and pole for their whores, so we left. We strolled down Bangla Road towards the beach for one final visit in Thailand with Tommy and Eric nearly stumbling along. Aaahh... the beach was still so lovely at night. There were just a few people here, a huge contrast from the masses of people who visited during the afternoon hours from a couple of days ago. The sand was now cooler and the water still warm. I walked along the water's edge, allowing as much of myself to get wet as possible. I just felt this draw from the water here. It was so inviting. What an unfamiliar feeling from something I usually fear. We tried taking pictures on the beach, some of them proving that the guys were drunk. I would mark these fleeting moments at Patong Beach to be one of my most memorable. There wasn't a worry in the world. It was just the six of us swimming in pure joy and peace.
After many laughs and wonderful times at the beach, we headed across the street to get back to our hotel. We came upon a crepe stand and decided to get a few. The banana chocolate one was really good! While the crepes were being made, I had to run to the ocean to relieve myself. Victor came with me. Haha. This was a continuation of my "who cares?" attitude. Pee in the ocean? Who cares!! Hahahahaah!!!! All of us continued down the street along the beach, picking at our crepes, and completely in love with the moment. We finally made it back to the hotel. It was pretty late in the night, er, morning... Mae and I finished packing before going to bed. This was such a wonderful conclusion to our stay in Phuket. None of us cared too much for Bangkok. It's too bad we couldn't stay just a couple more days!!Friday, February 8, 2008
Thailand - Day 10
Day 10
I woke up early this morning, thrilled that we were going to visit Phang Nga Bay, one of the places listed in "1000 Places to See Before You Die." Phang Nga Bay is in the Andaman sea and is dotted with 42 islets made of limestone cliffs and caves. Sounds nice? No. It's actually breathtaking.
After an hour and half in the air-conditioned van, we boarded a boat that would drop us off at James Bond Island. (This island has an original name, but it's advertised as such because it was shown in a James Bond movie.) We don't actually step onto James Bond Island. I don't think you can step on it unless if you're an experienced rock climber.
At some point, we transferred from a longtail boat to a faster boat that held the canoes. We were taken to a handful of uninhabited islands by our canoe guide. He paddled forward through the light aqua water, passing stretches of mangroves and soaring limestone cliffs blanketed with lush vegetation. We paddled to tranquil lagoons, passed by bat infested caves, some cave openings so low that we have to press ourselves down against the canoe to prevent our noses and knees from being scratched by the barnacles. This was just an amazing experience. I cannot find the right words that will match its beauty. Maybe my photos will paint a better picture.
There was actually a traffic jam getting through one of the caves!
Look at how low the cave entrance is!
To be surrounded by one of Mother Natures miracles can even bring peace to a clouded mind.
Yeah yeah. I know this picture is not with my lover, but it is so beautiful, I had to include this. Sorry, lover! =D
We had a wonderful lunch on board after a few people took a quick dip in the open water. After visiting all of these islands, we made one last stop on Koh Panyi, a place to shop and get ripped off! I won't go into that... It was nevertheless very beautiful from afar.
By the time we got back to our hotel, the sun had already set, I think. We washed up (maybe after visiting the pool) and had dinner again at the restaurant across the street. I don't think we did much that night, because our tour guide was to pick us up at 6:15am the following morning. I think this was the night that Eric and I played scrabble, and I kicked his ass... while sleeping. Really! I believe he shed a few tears of shame, but what can you do... =D
So far, this was the BEST day EVER!! I was really excited for the next day. We were going to the much anticipated, well at least for me, Similan Islands!!
I woke up early this morning, thrilled that we were going to visit Phang Nga Bay, one of the places listed in "1000 Places to See Before You Die." Phang Nga Bay is in the Andaman sea and is dotted with 42 islets made of limestone cliffs and caves. Sounds nice? No. It's actually breathtaking.
After an hour and half in the air-conditioned van, we boarded a boat that would drop us off at James Bond Island. (This island has an original name, but it's advertised as such because it was shown in a James Bond movie.) We don't actually step onto James Bond Island. I don't think you can step on it unless if you're an experienced rock climber.
At some point, we transferred from a longtail boat to a faster boat that held the canoes. We were taken to a handful of uninhabited islands by our canoe guide. He paddled forward through the light aqua water, passing stretches of mangroves and soaring limestone cliffs blanketed with lush vegetation. We paddled to tranquil lagoons, passed by bat infested caves, some cave openings so low that we have to press ourselves down against the canoe to prevent our noses and knees from being scratched by the barnacles. This was just an amazing experience. I cannot find the right words that will match its beauty. Maybe my photos will paint a better picture.
There was actually a traffic jam getting through one of the caves!
Look at how low the cave entrance is!
To be surrounded by one of Mother Natures miracles can even bring peace to a clouded mind.
Yeah yeah. I know this picture is not with my lover, but it is so beautiful, I had to include this. Sorry, lover! =D
We had a wonderful lunch on board after a few people took a quick dip in the open water. After visiting all of these islands, we made one last stop on Koh Panyi, a place to shop and get ripped off! I won't go into that... It was nevertheless very beautiful from afar.
By the time we got back to our hotel, the sun had already set, I think. We washed up (maybe after visiting the pool) and had dinner again at the restaurant across the street. I don't think we did much that night, because our tour guide was to pick us up at 6:15am the following morning. I think this was the night that Eric and I played scrabble, and I kicked his ass... while sleeping. Really! I believe he shed a few tears of shame, but what can you do... =DSo far, this was the BEST day EVER!! I was really excited for the next day. We were going to the much anticipated, well at least for me, Similan Islands!!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Thailand - Day 9
Day 9
Day 9 for Victor and I started earlier than everyone else. We woke up early to get information on day tours we could partake in from Phuket. I had already done quite a bit of research, so had a good idea of where we could visit. After consulting with everyone else, we finally decided to visit Phang Nga Bay the following day (YES!) and Similan Islands the day after that. (YESSSS!)
But before the final decisions were made, Victor, Eric, and I let the rest of the group sleep while we got some breakfast at a great restaurant called Orchids.
With our swimsuits already on, we headed towards Patong Beach. Endless rows of lounge chairs and umbrellas lined the entire length of the beach. We found a good spot and put down our stuff. Took off my flip-flops and wiggled my toes, feeling how fine the sand was. It was like flour! And the water! It was soooo warm. Mexican (gulf) and Hawaiian waters cannot compare! After a very quick dip in the water, I sunbathed for a bit while the boys played... with each other. Hahahah... Okay, not in that way. =D Anyway, the beach scene is very different here than in the states. Most men here wear tight, little speedos while women flaunt their bodies with confidence whether they are fit or not. Some even bared their breasts. I thought this was a wonderful change to our American ways. Everyone is so self-conscious in the US that a high percentage won't even wear a swimsuit in public.
So after about an hour of hanging out, we head back to our beautiful hotel. We showered, got final OKs on the upcoming activities, and headed back to the beach, this time, with the entire group. On our way there, we saw the CUTEST little puppy in a shoe store. I usually don't go googoo-gaga over animals, but this one, oh my, this one was SO FREAKIN' CUTE! I wanted to squeeze it so badly. Okay, so anyway, we all sunbathed and played around and stuff in the wonderful warm water and lie on the super fine sand of Patong Beach. Had some candy and ice cream. It was a really nice, relaxing, and fun time. Found it very enjoyable.
Hmm... I actually cannot remember what we did when we got back from the beach, besides shower again... Oh yeah, we went to the pool on the sixth floor and hung out there for a while. Anyway, we had dinner at a small restaurant across the street from the Mercure. Everything about this place was a big improvement from the previous night at Sivouey(?).
This was the night when all of our nicknames were finalized. From the very beginning, we found names we would call each other. Here's the final list. I won't say which belongs to whom, but here goes... Pitty Woman, Megamouth, Cameltoe, Pussy Foot, (Hot Ass) Snob, and Same Same. Lovely names, aren't they? Okay, I'll just say that mine was Megamouth. So in Chiang Mai, when we met some Koreans during the trek, I was introduced as Megamouth by someone in our group. I corrected this, but I guess she didn't hear my real name. Later that evening, the girl, Sun June, I think, had forgotten my name and asked, "Your name Megamouth?" All of my friends including myself whooped into roars of laughter. I screamed, "NO!! PLEASE do not call me Megamouth! That is NOT my name!! My name is Josephine. Megamouth means I have a big mouth!" And I proceeded to stretching out my mouth as wide as possible. She and her friends finally understood the meaning, and joined us with laughter.
Okay, so back to day 9... =)
After dinner, we walked past a street full of art galleries selling very beautiful paintings and antiques to a theater featuring the Simon Cabaret, a cabaret made up entirely of transexuals. The sets were elaborate, the costumes were beautiful, and some of the performers looked so beautiful! It was hard to believe that they were not originally women! The curvature of their bodies and the details of their faces was incredible! I was entirely engaged, but the boys, they all fell asleep. They don't even remember what happened. Tommy complained the show was too short, but he didn't know he slept through more than an hour of it! This is largely due to the comfortable chairs and our lack of sleep. When the show was over, a line of the performers stood outside for a photo op. Mae, Giselle, and I decided to go take a picture with the transexuals. When would we have another chance to take one? After a couple of snapshots, one of them requested $100baht (= $3)! Ah man. Got suckered AGAIN!! I forgot that you don't get anything for free in Thailand!
In the first pic, these women are doing Dream Girls songs. Aren't they BEAUTIFUL?! But when you see them up close, oh my, it's a little scary. =<
The rest of the evening was rather chill, but I can't recall any specifics! (If any of you remember, please remind me!)
Day 9 for Victor and I started earlier than everyone else. We woke up early to get information on day tours we could partake in from Phuket. I had already done quite a bit of research, so had a good idea of where we could visit. After consulting with everyone else, we finally decided to visit Phang Nga Bay the following day (YES!) and Similan Islands the day after that. (YESSSS!)
But before the final decisions were made, Victor, Eric, and I let the rest of the group sleep while we got some breakfast at a great restaurant called Orchids.
With our swimsuits already on, we headed towards Patong Beach. Endless rows of lounge chairs and umbrellas lined the entire length of the beach. We found a good spot and put down our stuff. Took off my flip-flops and wiggled my toes, feeling how fine the sand was. It was like flour! And the water! It was soooo warm. Mexican (gulf) and Hawaiian waters cannot compare! After a very quick dip in the water, I sunbathed for a bit while the boys played... with each other. Hahahah... Okay, not in that way. =D Anyway, the beach scene is very different here than in the states. Most men here wear tight, little speedos while women flaunt their bodies with confidence whether they are fit or not. Some even bared their breasts. I thought this was a wonderful change to our American ways. Everyone is so self-conscious in the US that a high percentage won't even wear a swimsuit in public.
So after about an hour of hanging out, we head back to our beautiful hotel. We showered, got final OKs on the upcoming activities, and headed back to the beach, this time, with the entire group. On our way there, we saw the CUTEST little puppy in a shoe store. I usually don't go googoo-gaga over animals, but this one, oh my, this one was SO FREAKIN' CUTE! I wanted to squeeze it so badly. Okay, so anyway, we all sunbathed and played around and stuff in the wonderful warm water and lie on the super fine sand of Patong Beach. Had some candy and ice cream. It was a really nice, relaxing, and fun time. Found it very enjoyable.
Hmm... I actually cannot remember what we did when we got back from the beach, besides shower again... Oh yeah, we went to the pool on the sixth floor and hung out there for a while. Anyway, we had dinner at a small restaurant across the street from the Mercure. Everything about this place was a big improvement from the previous night at Sivouey(?).This was the night when all of our nicknames were finalized. From the very beginning, we found names we would call each other. Here's the final list. I won't say which belongs to whom, but here goes... Pitty Woman, Megamouth, Cameltoe, Pussy Foot, (Hot Ass) Snob, and Same Same. Lovely names, aren't they? Okay, I'll just say that mine was Megamouth. So in Chiang Mai, when we met some Koreans during the trek, I was introduced as Megamouth by someone in our group. I corrected this, but I guess she didn't hear my real name. Later that evening, the girl, Sun June, I think, had forgotten my name and asked, "Your name Megamouth?" All of my friends including myself whooped into roars of laughter. I screamed, "NO!! PLEASE do not call me Megamouth! That is NOT my name!! My name is Josephine. Megamouth means I have a big mouth!" And I proceeded to stretching out my mouth as wide as possible. She and her friends finally understood the meaning, and joined us with laughter.
Okay, so back to day 9... =)
After dinner, we walked past a street full of art galleries selling very beautiful paintings and antiques to a theater featuring the Simon Cabaret, a cabaret made up entirely of transexuals. The sets were elaborate, the costumes were beautiful, and some of the performers looked so beautiful! It was hard to believe that they were not originally women! The curvature of their bodies and the details of their faces was incredible! I was entirely engaged, but the boys, they all fell asleep. They don't even remember what happened. Tommy complained the show was too short, but he didn't know he slept through more than an hour of it! This is largely due to the comfortable chairs and our lack of sleep. When the show was over, a line of the performers stood outside for a photo op. Mae, Giselle, and I decided to go take a picture with the transexuals. When would we have another chance to take one? After a couple of snapshots, one of them requested $100baht (= $3)! Ah man. Got suckered AGAIN!! I forgot that you don't get anything for free in Thailand!
In the first pic, these women are doing Dream Girls songs. Aren't they BEAUTIFUL?! But when you see them up close, oh my, it's a little scary. =<
The rest of the evening was rather chill, but I can't recall any specifics! (If any of you remember, please remind me!)
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Cambodia/Thailand - Day 8
Day 8
We flew to Bangkok from Siem Reap in the morning. At the entrance of the airport, we saw a couple of men sitting there on guard with machine guns or rifles or something... Oh yeah, we passed by a billboard that had two images on it. One half was an illustration of people with guns and masks and a couple people lying face down on the ground, obviously dead. The other half showed a smiling happy family. The billboard read something like "We no longer need guns!" I tried snapping a shot of this, but came out blurry. =(
Our layover in Bangkok was pretty long, so most of us ventured out to the main shopping areas while Tommy and Giselle had to go to our very first Bangkok hotel to pick up her backpack. (Oh yeah! They were able to retrieve the backpack with everything inside!)
We had about five hours to explore plus commute time. We chose to go to Siam Square, a very popular shopping area my friend, Pat, had suggested. Terribly missing the comforts of AC, we escaped the late morning sun and found refuge in an ice cream shop. This was when my boycotting of western franchises for the trip came to an end. Since everyone else was getting ice cream, might as well get a scoop too. Yum. It sure was delicious!
As we savored every lick of the refreshing treat, we walked along the tight walkways casually looking at the clothing, jewelry, shoes, and other merchandise the little shops offered. I bought a bathing suit for less than $10, but that was the only shopping we did. Our tired feed were crying for some relief, so we started a mission. Find a spa! That's something all four of us could enjoy. (I'm sure the boys didn't enjoy watching me shop... Neither did Mae... =P) After passing by several body clinics and breast firming and toning places, we finally spotted the word "spa." Oh, this was a great spa. All four of us opted for the 90 min.(?) foot spa. Oh my gosh! It was soooooo nice and relaxing. I believe all of us fell asleep. They served us bale fruit tea afterwards which was really good. Anyway, we went to the mall and had a great meal there. The food court was really nice! I had fried chicken, rice, and spicy papaya salad. So yummy!
Got back to the airport and boarded our plane to Phuket, southern Thailand. This was my favorite flight of all time. From my window seat, I saw the sun set behind a blanket of fluffy clouds.
The clouds got thicker and we were now flying through them. There were patches of clearings, and I could see little islets sprinkled throughout the sea below. That must have Phang Nga Bay, one of the places I was dying to visit. Soaring through the clouds and seeing the islets by the fading light of the purple sky made it so dreamlike. So beautiful.
You know what else was beautiful? Our hotel. We stayed at the Mercure Hotel in the Patong area. When we arrived, someone was singing in the lobby. What a welcoming sound. The lobby itself wasn't enclosed, but out in the open. There was a beautiful circular bar near the entrance and a gorgeous lit pool just a few meters away. The entire hotel was bathed in warm browns, maroon, and off-white. Our rooms were clean, spacious, and so modern! I LOVE this hotel. We all liked it!
After we settled in, we had dinner at a tourist trap called Sivouey(?). Poor entertainment, bad service, and bad food. Calamari was good and it was right across the street from the beach! (Oh, did I mention that crossing the street anywhere in Thailand is like a suicide mission??? SCARY!!) Wanting to check out what this Patong area had to offer, we strolled down to a street I read about many times. Bangla Road. Here, there is no lack of bars, drunks, people trying to sell you anything, prostitutes, female-like people dancing on bars, and our favorite, lady boys. It was really fun trying to figure who's a guy and who's actually a girl. Sometimes we would all just stand there and debate whether it's a guy or a girl, all the while, trying to not to stare too much.
Unfortunately, I soon had a stomachache, and afraid that it would become worse, I decided to go back to the hotel. Victor accompanied me. What a sweetie. While I was back in my room doing my laundry and taking a hot bath, the others, besides Victor, continued checking out Bangla Road. They went to a couple of sex shows where they saw women do things with their vaginas that we've never seen before. At one of the shows, Tommy and Eric were pulled onto stage and were given a balloon each to put between their legs. The performer shot darts from her vagina and popped the balloons! Amazing! Yeah, I've never tried, but I don't think I can do that... Wish I was there. They hung out at the beach that night as well, and Victor and I missed out on some more fun! Hmph. They came back at 3am and were surprised to see that we were still up. Well, we definitely hoped to be able to see some of those shows when the next opportunity arises.
We flew to Bangkok from Siem Reap in the morning. At the entrance of the airport, we saw a couple of men sitting there on guard with machine guns or rifles or something... Oh yeah, we passed by a billboard that had two images on it. One half was an illustration of people with guns and masks and a couple people lying face down on the ground, obviously dead. The other half showed a smiling happy family. The billboard read something like "We no longer need guns!" I tried snapping a shot of this, but came out blurry. =(
Our layover in Bangkok was pretty long, so most of us ventured out to the main shopping areas while Tommy and Giselle had to go to our very first Bangkok hotel to pick up her backpack. (Oh yeah! They were able to retrieve the backpack with everything inside!)
We had about five hours to explore plus commute time. We chose to go to Siam Square, a very popular shopping area my friend, Pat, had suggested. Terribly missing the comforts of AC, we escaped the late morning sun and found refuge in an ice cream shop. This was when my boycotting of western franchises for the trip came to an end. Since everyone else was getting ice cream, might as well get a scoop too. Yum. It sure was delicious!
As we savored every lick of the refreshing treat, we walked along the tight walkways casually looking at the clothing, jewelry, shoes, and other merchandise the little shops offered. I bought a bathing suit for less than $10, but that was the only shopping we did. Our tired feed were crying for some relief, so we started a mission. Find a spa! That's something all four of us could enjoy. (I'm sure the boys didn't enjoy watching me shop... Neither did Mae... =P) After passing by several body clinics and breast firming and toning places, we finally spotted the word "spa." Oh, this was a great spa. All four of us opted for the 90 min.(?) foot spa. Oh my gosh! It was soooooo nice and relaxing. I believe all of us fell asleep. They served us bale fruit tea afterwards which was really good. Anyway, we went to the mall and had a great meal there. The food court was really nice! I had fried chicken, rice, and spicy papaya salad. So yummy!
Got back to the airport and boarded our plane to Phuket, southern Thailand. This was my favorite flight of all time. From my window seat, I saw the sun set behind a blanket of fluffy clouds.
The clouds got thicker and we were now flying through them. There were patches of clearings, and I could see little islets sprinkled throughout the sea below. That must have Phang Nga Bay, one of the places I was dying to visit. Soaring through the clouds and seeing the islets by the fading light of the purple sky made it so dreamlike. So beautiful.
You know what else was beautiful? Our hotel. We stayed at the Mercure Hotel in the Patong area. When we arrived, someone was singing in the lobby. What a welcoming sound. The lobby itself wasn't enclosed, but out in the open. There was a beautiful circular bar near the entrance and a gorgeous lit pool just a few meters away. The entire hotel was bathed in warm browns, maroon, and off-white. Our rooms were clean, spacious, and so modern! I LOVE this hotel. We all liked it!
After we settled in, we had dinner at a tourist trap called Sivouey(?). Poor entertainment, bad service, and bad food. Calamari was good and it was right across the street from the beach! (Oh, did I mention that crossing the street anywhere in Thailand is like a suicide mission??? SCARY!!) Wanting to check out what this Patong area had to offer, we strolled down to a street I read about many times. Bangla Road. Here, there is no lack of bars, drunks, people trying to sell you anything, prostitutes, female-like people dancing on bars, and our favorite, lady boys. It was really fun trying to figure who's a guy and who's actually a girl. Sometimes we would all just stand there and debate whether it's a guy or a girl, all the while, trying to not to stare too much.
Unfortunately, I soon had a stomachache, and afraid that it would become worse, I decided to go back to the hotel. Victor accompanied me. What a sweetie. While I was back in my room doing my laundry and taking a hot bath, the others, besides Victor, continued checking out Bangla Road. They went to a couple of sex shows where they saw women do things with their vaginas that we've never seen before. At one of the shows, Tommy and Eric were pulled onto stage and were given a balloon each to put between their legs. The performer shot darts from her vagina and popped the balloons! Amazing! Yeah, I've never tried, but I don't think I can do that... Wish I was there. They hung out at the beach that night as well, and Victor and I missed out on some more fun! Hmph. They came back at 3am and were surprised to see that we were still up. Well, we definitely hoped to be able to see some of those shows when the next opportunity arises.
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