A month in Bangkok

It has been a very long time, like eons I should say, to not have blogged. Hmmm.  Well, I think things are not really the way we want them to be but thankfully it will always be where we can grow and learn.  Last 2016, I left Cebu for Bangkok.  I accepted a job in the city.  I was kind of bored and frustrated in Cebu so yeah, I quit my high paying job.  My managers were asking why I had to resign.  I was doing great, I had good pay raises every year, I made friends and got along with my peers. But I just had to quit. Well one reason was I felt the place was really conducive, I felt boxed.

Last June 9, 2016, I landed in the beautiful city of Bangkok.  It was a strange feeling of excitement and bravado.  I'm gonna start work on a Monday. The company paid for my travel and booked me for a week in a condotel.  Since I have a friend who has been working in Bangkok, I thought that things are going to be fine.

Monday came and a week has ended.  I knew something terrible is brewing.  I felt not up for the life in Bangkok.  I find it inconvenient and I felt lonely in the city.  I like their food though but it was not enough for me to be happy.  I guess, we just need to be honest with ourselves to come into terms of the things which are acceptable or not.  In short, I do not see myself living in Bangkok.  I thought the excitement was what it was, but wasn't ?  I felt like I was having some anxiety and I began to miss home terribly.  Not that I did not do anything about it but I felt like I do not belong.  The people are nice but it was not the place for me.  Then another week came, and I heard through my brother that my dad was hospitalized (again).  That did not sit well with me.  I was a bit helpless and depressed.  So the next work week, I resigned. I booked my one way ticket and left Bangkok.  The company did not want me to go.  They wanted me to be on an unpaid leave and just work part time with them. And I thought it's pointless because I can't concentrate with all the things going on.  Don't get me wrong, even if I stayed in Bangkok for just a month, I actually went to see Bangkok around and also managed to visit Pattaya :)

 

When I arrived in Cebu, I gave myself few more days to think through about the job I left. The moment I left, that was it so I just made my declaration to my company that I am officially resigning. What a month!  Since I did not have a job and good thing I still have some savings, I decided to travel around.  I went to Surigao and Siargao. Visited a friend in Surigao, went to enchanted river and went to Siargao.  Beautiful places I should say.  Oh my dad was already okay, he was discharged from Chong Hua hospital two days after I arrived in Cebu.  I barred him from eating oily food, salty food - unhealthy food in general.  

In my three weeks stay in Cebu, I started to apply jobs for either Cebu  or in Manila.  The pay and offers were competitive but not what I expected.  So I was up to another adventure. I talked to friends so at least I'd be able to evaluate things better.  So I decided to fly to Singapore! And that's for another post.

Vacation : From Phuket to Bangkok

MJ and I were not done yet with our vacation as we were heading to Bangkok through a very long bus ride which had started from Phuket town. Imagine, it was a 14- hour bus ride.

When we arrived in Bangkok, we did not actually know where it was specifically. All we know is that, it was in a bus station beside a mall. All we knew, was that we need to commute going to Khaosan. Well asked around and then we were directed to this group of motor bike drivers. We asked the driver how much was the fare before we went there and he pointed it was 35Bahts which was written on their board. Then we rode the motorbike and we went with our helmets on. The driver then stopped at this expressway and he negotiated that he was going to collect for 250 Bahts each. We were so surprised at what he did but then we replied that it's just close, actually we did not know if was really close, and before MJ and I discuss things, her driver swiftly started the engine and left us and the motorbike which I was in followed suit. It was actually just a 7 - 10 minute ride so it was relatively near. When the motorbike dropped us at Khaosan, he was insisting that we give 250 Bahts which was really too much. Not unless we did not know that they were playing at us because we were tourists but the point is we knew and besides we did not agree on their proposal. He said that he would want to call the police and I said yes call the police and let's settle it with them. But the other guy would want us back to his motorbike and bring us back to the terminal which we did not agree. There was this guy who looked different and he was like eating on something and said that we can agree to pay 2oo Bahts. Even if we knew they were just milking us, we agreed to prevent any further argument. I nearly uttered swear words in front of the drivers. Anyway, we were very tired and we did not have any reservation. We walked around and there the drizzle came. We first checked the nearest hotel on our site but it was a bit expensive. We walked around and looked for another one and so we found Star Dome hotel . It was not as nice or grand as Baumanburi, the one we had in Phuket but it was just well within our tight budget. We got the place for 400Bahts per night. Since we were very tired already and pissed off, we decided to forget that bad incident and slept our way for tomorrow's activity....

The ventilation was not that great. It was already 10 AM when we woke up. We need to get going for the schedule walk-tour around Khaosan's neighboring temples and castles. After the bathing time, we went down for our brunch. After branch we headed to our first temple, Wat Chansongkram. After that we went to park where one could take a glimpse of the Rama VII Bridge. We continued to walk to Wat Sangwei, Amataro and Phraya. We also bought bottles of water just to replace the loss of water due to excessive sweating as we were under the extreme heat of Bangkok streets. We were actually going to the old palaces of the Thai Royals. At about 20 minutes of walking, we saw the king's statue riding a horse. Then on the other end was the Royal Throne Hall. The building did not resemble anything Thai as it was more of a Renaissance architecture. After taking some pictures of the place we proceeded to the Rama V Rd. where all the other palaces of the Thai monarch were erected. We took pictures and then we went to the ticketing office but prior to that, there were some we-were-lost moments. The entrance was only 100Bahts and it was a value for money. In fact, the tour inside the royal palace was a bit of knowing Thai history. It was fun but sometimes, I don't understand the words coming from the guide as their English accent was different. But we tried to just appreciate the collections adorning the palace with all the finest fit for royalty - just feasting our eyes for all its worth. I somewhat imagined being one of the royalty, like how it was to be really one of them. Anyway, after the tour, we had a chance to take pictures.

After the palace tour, we got so tired so we decided to have a tuk-tuk ride going to Khaosan for 100 Bahts. We arrived hungry so we decided to eat - we did not have our lunch so that was it. We went back to our hotel after that super late lunch. MJ decided to go down to use the internet and I decided to stay in the room. But the room was really hot and the aircondition together with the not-so-mighty ceiling fan could not make the room conducive for a good nap, I decided to go down and look for MJ, but I could not find her. I then decided to just walk around and found myself in a grocery store. I bought some soaps and two boxes of Thai Gaba rice - I just thought of trying it out as it advertised itself as a healthy substitute of some sort of the regular rice. I went back to Star Dome hotel and found MJ using the internet with her eyes glued on facebook. I also used the net since I did not want to wait and do nothing. After 10 minutes of checking my mails, and now MJ was waiting for me, we decided to back upstairs and prepare for a night out.

We went to my Thai officemate's spa. I had a foot massage while MJ had a full body massage. It was relaxing in fact. After that, we went to a bar and had a bottle of San Miguel beer light then finished it off with a cocktail which has vodka on it. After that simple drink, we decided to call it a night and we headed back to our hotel . So we won't be charged much by the taxi driver, we just got inside the taxi without talking a word and when the driver would push the meter then asked us, we just say Khaosan and then stop from talking or anything until we arrived to our destination.

The next day was a Saturday and we planned to visit the Grand Palace and the surrounding temples. We actually took our breakfast at McDonalds. MJ had a chicken meal and I had a vegetable salad and pie. After that simple meal, we walked and looked for the Grand Palace. Since it was a holiday, the Palace was close. So we just took some photos outside. We visited few temples and took some pictures. Then we decided to go back to our place. By the way, we also tried some street food ala Thai style and it tasted good. After some few go-and-see, we went back to our hotel. We then went around Khaosan, and see some things to buy. I bough two shirts and one painting. MJ bought some shirts as well. After that, we went back to our hotel again and did some bits of packing for the Sunday, which my flight was scheduled at 12:35 in the afternoon. Knowing the Bangkok traffic, we had to be prepared. After that simple packing and stuff, we went out to booze. We tried Chang beer and it was a bit strong as a downer. After finishing a plate of fried Thai noodles, and two glasses of beer, we decided to call it a night.

Sunday came and we woke up around 7AM. We decided to just have our breakfast at the airport. For the last time we took some photo and bid goodbye-and-see-next-time hug. MJ's flight was schedule late in the evening so she called her friend in Bangkok and she had a tour while I was on the boarding area.

My Thailand get-away was really nice except for that one incident but, I'm definitely coming back in the near future to go see Krabi and next time to shop around Bangkok, Thailand.

Phuket Adventure 4

This is another entry of me and my friends vacationing in Phuket.

It was a Tuesday, and it was time for Olga to go back to Singapore. The three of us had to wake up early and get a good breakfast, still at the hotel's dining area. It seem to me though that the food was getting boring, no offense but it's almost the same every morning. Anyway, after breakfast, Olga had to go immediately to her room and get her things. She was hurrying a bit for her early morning flight. Olga left at around 8AM, I guess.

Since MJ and I had not much thing to do, we were deciding to take bus from Phuket to Bangkok. Yes, we were not over yet with our vacation and we were going to Bangkok. The plane would cost us 1900Bahts and the train plus bus ride would cost us 1000 Bahts. So what we did was, we first soaked ourselves in the hotel's pool and after that, planned to go on an excursion in Phuket town. We asked hotel staff how to get there and good thing, we got the information we needed. It was really not planned on how to go there but we were bolder to having a great and exciting tour of Thailand.

Anyway, after cooling off ourselves from the hotel's pool, we went to the bus station just 5- 10 minutes walk from our hotel. We road their bus which to me looked like a bigger version of a jeepney in the Philippines. We waited for around 10 - 15 minutes before the bus would start firing it's engine up. The bus would drive slow picking up some commuters. When we got out of Patong, the bus started to speed up. Well the fare was only 25 Bahts, so not much of a concern. Anyway, after an hour ride, we arrived at our destination, the Phuket town bus terminal. We got inside the complex and looked for this bus company that would send us to Bangkok. Hehehehe. Good thing we got a good schedule in the morning, 9:30AM, from Phuket to Bangkok due for the next day. After such an easy task, we felt we need to eat, so came looking for a food shop or restaurant and we found one just near the bus terminal. After that hot and spicy meal, we decided to check out Phuket town.

Did I or have I mentioned that most Thai people looked much of a Malay as well? So what happened is that, people would tend to converse in Thai when we go out and ask some directions, haggle for prices or even passing by stores where sales people invite us?

Going on, we had such a good time in that small excursion and Phuket town has those clothing and related stuff in Patong, priced similarly. Somehow the need to go back to Patong is calling me and MJ could not find a good money exchanger. So our next plan was to go back to our hotel and check some money exchanger. We walked to the bus terminal and good thing, a bus just passed by when we have crossed the opposite side of the rode, so we we went back to the other side. The bus was scheduled to go back to Patong and off we hopped inside the bus. But the driver had to have a stop over so we waited a bit. After 20 minutes of waiting, the bus started it's engine and same things happened, it drove slow collecting some commuters mostly children wanting or needing to go to Patong. There was a bit of a traffic jam at this main highway but nevertheless we arrived safe and sound in Patong after another hour or more. We got tired actually of all that excursion so it was a lie when I mentioned sound. Hehehehe. When we arrived at our hotel, we took a short rest, then prepared ourselves for some last night-out at Patong. When we got outside, we were greated with this beautiful sunset and so we decided to do some last minute action. The sunset was really beautiful. I have said to myself what a good life there is here. Anyway, after some sunset experience, we were refreshed but we can't deny the fact that it was getting darker and we were hungry for dinner. As usual, while walking along the beach road, we dined out at this same restaurant where I ordered the food that is fish curry with vegetable and MJ had a vegetable salad. I was a great dinner with all the cultural music and dance from Thailand. The other day, when we were there, there was this Filipino band playing, so it was also good of a sight and sound and there was variety which challenges boredom. After that dinner, we decided to walk around Bangla and same thing, fascinated with all the lights and music, and people going round and about the place. It was such light and fun experience. We need to go back to our hotel for a good bed rest as our trip for the next day is going to be really long and tiring. At around 11PM we went back to our hotel....

The next day, we had an early breakfast and after that, we checked-out from our hotel and went to the bus station. We decided to take a bus as it was way cheaper than a tuk-tuk or taxi that would cost us 400 Bahts. It was already, 7:30 when the bus decided to shoot and drive and same thing, it has to go slow to pick other commuters but when it was out of Patong, it drove faster. We arrived in the bus terminal at around 8:30 and that, there was already a bus going to Bangkok. Our schedule was on 9:30 that is an hour after but then the bus captain allowed us to ride the bus. It was another exciting moments for the two Filipinos journeying Bangkok.

The country side is really peaceful. Passengers were greeted with all the forest and mountain on the other side and beach on the other. It's really amazing to see huge mountains and visible water falls on it. Since we can over recline our chairs, most of the time we were just sleeping while listening to music in my phone. But, we did not fail to take some photos.

Bangkok, the second leg of our vacation will follow soon. Good day for now and enjoy the weekend guys!

Phuket adventure 3

On our third day, we had to wake up early. Remember on the previous post, we went back to our hotel at around 4AM, so basically we only had like few hours of sleep as our schedule for our activity on that day is Island hopping, which would actually start early at 7:30AM. We went to the hotel dining for our very early breakfast and we were still a bit sleepy but managed to went through all that, because island hopping for one thing is really exciting. We had finished breakfast at around 7:20AM. We waited at the lobby as the tour agency van will be picking us up at 7:30. It was actually 8AM when the van arrived. It was a 30 -45 minute ride going to the pier where speed boats were docked for the day's activity. The island hopping activity master educated us about the trip, basically the "Dos and Don'ts". After the lecture, it was time to blast off with that speed boat aligned at Chalong.

It was actually a very long trip before we could reach Tonsal Bay. The very beautiful cliffs like magnificent tower rising above the emerald waters of Phuket were awesome. I was actually taken aback of the wondrous encounter. I had never seen such a thing in my beloved Philippines. We actually had a stop at this certain island and had 45 minutes to enjoy the place. After that 45 minutes, we had a chance to check out the other cliffs and slowly cruised through. On the way to Phi Phi, the tour master showed us the Viking cave. Then, we stopped at this snorkeling site but it was a bit disappointing because the corals were all dead. There were fishes swimming around you though but it just doesn't make-up for that obvious over exploitation in the area. Anyway, after some snorkeling, we went to the King Kong island were monkey's inhabit. They were a bit wild. In fact they were very territorial. The only reason they let us in to their island for a few meters from the shore it's because of the bananas we brought for them. No denying they were cute especially when one tourist gave a bottle of softdrink to one of the monkey's and it was a fun to watch the tiny creature gulp from the bottle. After spending around 20 minutes in King Kong island, we then had a another long trip going to Phi Phi island itself. We reached there after 45 minute speed boat ride and good thing when we reached there, it was a welcoming scenery, very timid yet it's silence is a beautiful kind. We actually had our lunch there and we were to stay for 1 hour. Since it was really really hot as a furnace, we need to re-apply sunblock. After the said lunch, we will have another long ride, around 1 hour and 30 minutes, more or less, to get to the next attraction which is Koh Khae Island. The waves were a bit rough but it was still okay. I have been into some great and beautiful islands in the Philippines riding in simple motor boats, and so with my friends MJ and Olga. Of course the photo session and all that cam whoring can't be stopped so everything were documented. Goodness gracious, when we arrived at the island the white sand is beautiful. We hurried at applying some sun block and after some 5 or wast it 10 minutes we went to the beach at the far right for a good snorkel. At knee deep, the fishes were plenty. The corals though were dead so sad but we were there to enjoy so we decided to have fun.... I think I am really a beach person wahahahha. We stayed there for an hour and 30 minutes and after that our tour captain called everyone for it was over and we need to head back to the Chalong port which was 30 minutes ride on speedboat. When we arrived at Chalong, we were tired and I was a bit sleepy. Our service van took us to each of our hotels and our group was the last one to get off from the van.

This was our third day in Phuket, Thailand. It was with a blast.

Phuket adventure 2

August 30, 2009 was our second day in Baumanburi Hotel.

I woke up around 9AM. Since we had a free breakfast included, we need to catch that because they will only serve it until 10:30AM. To my recollection, it was Olga who rang me through the intercom and I had to go to the bathroom and wash my face. I was still a bit sleepy then. Olga went to knocking in my room and let her in as I was still preparing for breakfast as fast as I could. We went down together from the building and went to the dining area which was beside the pool . I ate a lot to regain my strength and beef up for the upcoming activity. The plan for the day is to have ATV, elephant ride etc. So after we had breakfast, we went to our rooms and prepare for the next activity. MJ my friend from Cebu was also coming to Phuket and will be my roommate. She was still in Bangkok as there was no direct flight from Cebu to Phuket. When we got out of the building heading for a good walk to checkout some activities, there was this girl on a scarf with a long hair which looked familiar and I blurted MJ and there she looked back and saw me. I then approached her and helped her in the hotel check-in counter and then we went back to our room. Since she did have breakfast and it was still 10AM, I advised her to get a good breakfast and after that, I told her that we are going to check for some tours and that she can get a few hours of nap.

Olga and I went straight to the beach front as there were lots of stalls lined up the street offering tour packages. We stopped by at this stall and asked for the tour price. We got a good price for the ATV, elephant ride and monkey show for 3100 Baht which was good for three persons. I'm not really sure if it was a good deal but when we converted the whole thing in SGD, it was way less expensive than doing those activities in Bintan, Indonesia, an island just 30 minutes ride from Singapore. Well, we agreed to be picked up at our hotel lobby at around 2PM. Since it was still around 11PM, Olga and I checked the beach front and had some photo ops aka cam whoring lols.... When it was around 12 noon, we went back to Baumanburi. MJ was actually taking a hot bath so she was not able to open the door when I knocked it a few times. So I went to Olga's place and gave MJ a ring on the intercom. Then I came to my room and knocked again and at last it was opened. She was half finished with her hot bath. I told her of the itineraries. I rang Olga when things were ready. We went to the stall where we planned to book the day's activity. Since it was lunch time, we went to Burger King. After the meal, we had some photo sessions along with it on the street. We then went back to our hotel as we would be picked up there by a private car. When the clock strucked 2PM, a metallic silver toyota arrived and it was our service for the adventure trip. We rode for like 20 minutes and we stopped at this mountain top and we had this great view of Phuket and so it spelled another photo session. After that, our driver took us to the elephant ride activity. I was so excited because there's really no elephant in my dear Philippines and it's my very first time to see and ride one. We were not failed by our expectations. I had great ride. It was really wobbly but I braved to ride atop of it like being the actual driver. I could feel the warmth and the pricking fur of this gentle giant on land. It was so amazing and a great experience. I definitely would want to try it again and next time by the river banks. The adventure that we had with the elephant was on the mountains. After the ride, we had some feeding sessions with the elephant which costed 50Bahts per basket. After the elephant ride, there was a monkey show. It was also fun when the monkeys did there various tricks like unleashing me when I volunteered to be tied up, when the monkey did a push up and bent knee curl up, when it did cycle a mini bike and when it did some coconut harvesting. After the show, we had the ATV. It was Olga's prior request as she had fun with it in Bintan. Well after the ride, it was truly fun as we had a chance to do it in an actual paved road and also in this rugged terrain in the mountain side where a cliff hangs and in the horizon was a great view of the see South China sea. After the activity, the driver toured us around and he brought us to this food and pasty house and then to this jewelery complex where Olga bought a nice ring for her mom. After all the day's activity, we went bank to our hotel and took some naps ready for then nights activity.

At around 9pm, we got up and prepared for dinner. We walked to the beach front and had dinner at this cozy restaurant which I forgot the name. After that dinner, we proceeded to the party strip that is Bangla. As expected the crowd was wild and after a very long stroll and sight seeing, we settled at this mini pub and boozed. We went back to our hotel very late in the morning like around 4AM of Monday.

It was another blast at our 2nd day in Phuket.

Ciao!

Phuket adventure 1

I had a blast last week for almost nine days. It was like me being placed in a bottle and tossed to the oceans with all its ebbs.

Olga and I went to Phuket for a vacation. We were excited and in fact, two days before the trip I was like busy packing stuff. Anything I could think of what to bring to Phuket. I even had issues with my baggage if it was already 7 kilos.

Anyway, on the lastest Saturday of August, was our flight to Phuket via AirAsia. The flight took only 2 hours. It was not that tiring. When we got out of the airport it was drizzling a bit. It was not cold or anything but the idea of going to the beach should be sunny.

On our way to Patong, the mini cab had a stop at this center of various tours and activities in the island. Olga and I decided to get the Phi Phi Island tour for 1500 Baht. The girl named Lilly, also offered other things but we decided to get just one tour from her. When we arrived at Patong, it was in the afternoon. We did not have any lunch yetand the drizzled had stopped. We just unpacked our things at our hotel and fix ourselves for the next activity and that is to pig out. Well, we wanted fresh sea food and we were never denied of it. Our bill was a whooping 800 Baht. After that late lunch, we just walked around and decided to go back to our hotel. Since I was so tired, I actually had a nap and so with Olga. After that nap, we headed to checking out the place. We checked some shops for good buys and also roam the road nearing the beach front. Since we loved to take pictures, we had all the sorts of shots and poses.

We had to have an endless fun walk and so we took the liberty of soaking ourselves with the Bangla crowd. With which, I described as wild and crazy. It was fun taking pictures with all the chaos in a non aggressive and torturing way. I never had such chaos in Singapore so that was maybe the case. It was even fun just watching all the passersby.

We also checkout the JungCeylon mall and took some pictures of those interesting metal art of the predator. It started to rain actually so Olga and I decided to have some snacks at Starbucks. I ordered chocolate cake and Olga bought a souvenir. But mind you, the rain did not stop the crowd from having that earthly fun. It was pretty tough as it is. Well after Starbucks, we decided to go home and so we bought a cellophane raincoat for about 50 Baht a piece. The long walk going back to the hotel made my feet ached and a hot bath did all the trick.

I had so much fun in our first day.