Tag: Thailand

Travel: Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Travel: Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand

by eastasianlover ♥ 2 Comments

Finally, I’m writing about the memories from my last big holiday in Thailand. The two famous cities in the north of Thailand are Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. And Chiang Rai has this very famous temple called Wat Rong Khun. Also, called white temple and glass temple, this place is literally a piece of art. Even the wash rooms can be deceiving from the outside and you won’t know what they are until you go near the building.

Two words (I mean whole sentences hehe) of caution – 1. The temple is situated at a little distance from the main city but other main attractions of this place are far far away from the main city. So better take a hotel near Doi Tung rather in the main city. The Golden Triangle is also nearer to Doi Tung and like 1.5-2 hours away from the main Chiang Rai. Be cautious, we already committed the mistake of booking our hotel in the main city . Oh! And if you’re lured by the night market of Chiang Rai, there is nothing much.

I’m not saying that it’s bad, but considering that it’s really difficult to get any conveyance from Doi Tung to main city in the night and the passport checks by Thai police in between, I’ll say it’s safer to spend the night in the city of Chiang Saen. If you want the night market, look forward to Chiang Mai’s night market. It’s huge and by huge I mean really really huge. That’s for one of the future posts.

2. Wear whole clothes especially down – pants or something. No shorts or skirts. It’s not that they don’t allow you to go but it’s better to click photos in your pretty jeans or long skirts than a white cloth covering your legs in my honest opinion.

Near the place, there are not many other sight seeing spots. As I said they are far far away. But the main bus stand is in the city. Well, we had only one and a half day for whole Chaing Rai and hence, we were disappointed when we had to leave some of the major attractions due to lack of time.

So ideally, the ideal plan, if you don’t have much time on your hands, should be, take a ticket to the Chiang Rai bus station, visit Wat Rong Khun and then again take a bus to Chiang Saen from the same station to get to your hotel (which, you would have, of course, booked there itself, I hope, after reading this post). From there, go to other places which will be coming in subsequent posts.

Enjoy!

On Beauty and the Beast

On Beauty and the Beast

by eastasianlover ♥ 3 Comments

No no, this is not review of some movie or drama. This was something I wanted to publish when I was in Thailand but I couldn’t. I came across some article yesterday about plastic surgery and I remembered this post I had prepared long ago.

I never knew I would get to have a first hand experience of fad among girls to look more beautiful. Although many cultures influence Thailand including Japan, South Korea, China and India, I never thought they would be following some things to extreme level.

For me, Thailand’s culture is quite open (as against what I had read before going there). And by open, Indians generally mean clothes especially for girls. So whenever I bought the so called “short” clothes, I was always demanded an answer and I always had to assure them that I’d not wear them here in India.

Well, it was not that bad. I know it is gonna take time for Indian people especially elders, to fully open their mind and accept something like this which is totally opposite to our culture. I mean I showed my friends the clothes recently and they were awed, a reaction I was expecting totally opposite to my parents.

(That means although the thinking of girls in India is changing about the clothes, it is giving rise to crime against women on the other hand and hence parents of girls are sceptical about it. But I just don’t understand the mentality of guys there. Just clothes or a little lack of them I should say, make their brains go haywire eh? But that is totally going off-topic. I’m sure I’m gonna write on this in future for sure.)

Where was I by the way? Oh yes. So when I was there, I got to know that girls there are as crazy about good looks as we hear or read about in South Korea. I don’t give a shit about what you do with yourself. But I do get frustrated when it starts affecting your overall health. Plastic surgery gone wrong – you become a laughing stock. Whole lot of medicines – your body gets damaged. I didn’t know why the ladies there were facing so many health problems until I came to know it was due to their obsession for beauty.

Just recently I read an article by an English teacher in South Korea who, when told her very young students about inner beauty, was blankly stared at because they didn’t even know what inner beauty was. Well, it was unsurprising to me.

I just need to ask these people that ok, you want to look like someone else – more beautiful – I accept. But imagine a world where everyone looks the same. Ah! A person like me who already is weak in learning faces will go crazy (I already am, just by imagining it). What is the use? Who do you want to show? Your fellow guys? Ha! A person who can’t accept you whole as it is can never be a good friend let alone boyfriend (or girlfriend as a matter of fact).

I must say peer pressure is one of the major factor in going for such things. “Ah! She is so beautiful, I need to do better than her otherwise all the guys will see only her.” “Why don’t you, for once, just try it? You will need to go to salon some day or other.” The second one – I myself heard a lot, after which I had to give in and go to one last year. But those were nominal things like hair styling and all – normal things which girls in India generally start around 6-7 years before I started. I didn’t go before that because I never felt bad about myself. But my friends took me there and I still dread that painful eyebrow shaping thing.

Although I’m considered just average according to Indian society – I don’t have fair skin, I have a lot of dark circles, I don’t go for everyday treatments some girls generally go for and I don’t own beauty products like eyeliners, sunscreens and blah blah blah (Now I think about it I don’t even have a lip gloss!). Thus, I’m kind of, what you call it, backward in such knowledge (My 6 years younger sister knows more than me). But I do feel good about myself because I know I’m kind and honest. That is enough for me.

I again deviated from the topic. So what I’m trying to say is – go for beautification products, I’m not against it. Even if I’m , it’s not like people will stop using them. Who am I to tell people to stop what they do? Moreover, no girl cannot be using beauty products, otherwise she is considered a fool.

But my dear fellow human beings, you need to take care of your health. If you’re going for something which may go wrong and you may never get back what you already have, think twice. The ladies around me there had learnt the lesson already after going to hospitals for the same. If you’ve to spend money again on your fitness or the same procedure, don’t go for it. Just don’t. You need to love yourself and lessen comparing yourself with others. Because there is that one person in the world, who is going to be yours, no matter what you look like. So don’t worry and instead of spending money on beauty products, just keep your diet healthy, have lots of fruits, drink lots of water, do lots of exercise and have lots of sleep (who am I kidding?). That would benefit your face as well as your body.

I only wrote it because I felt strongly about it. My views are my own and no one else’s. So if they hurt you, that’s your problem. I’ll give rest to my rant here.

Today’s Song – It’s been long since I posted some song. Today, a Japanese song from OST of naruto – 

Travel: The Fun Filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand: Part-3

Travel: The Fun Filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand: Part-3

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

How many weekends before was it? I can’t remember. But the feelings, the memories, after I see the photos are still fresh. Concluding this series (which is very very late, I know) I will take you to three places – The view point, King Chulalongkorn Palace and Yellow Buddha.

The View point is nothing more than a view point (of course, it’s name says that). There is a bridge leading to rocky beach (not exactly) which tempts you to go and check out the caves which seem very near from above. If you go downwards, you’ll be probably disappointed as you can’t reach there. I can’t say for the evening though when the water generally recedes. Anyways, not more than half an hour worth is this place. May be good for photographers though. Check out the photos below –

Next is King Chulalongkorn Palace. Also called King Rama V Palace, this is very beautiful place to visit. Itself contains a lot of places for sightseeing, do eat a lot before going to this place as you’ll need energy. Lots of stairs and rocks to climb. Especially for history enthusiasts, who are interested to learn more about royal family’s history. Each palace dedicated to various princes of their times contains books and accounts for their and people’s under them lives. Don’t miss the stone bell and the temple. If you get tempted to go to further up ahead for another viewpoint, take a lots of water and heart, as you may get a little disappointed there. A fun place and has appropriate rest points. You can actually enjoy sea too. And some spots to enjoy are just so accurate that – how do I describe it – you sit,wind blows, sea is before you, it’s peaceful, not even birds, just waves’ sounds and you can ponder about life after reading the charity works and great developments done by the Kings there. Very much coverable on foot but if you want to hire bike, I think they allow that too. The pics are below:

We went to beach (where our tuk tuk driver took us) after that but that is not a very special place. Ah! You can have your lunch there though. Lots of places to eat. And the time we reached was about right too. You can play first or take lunch first. But beware! The rocks are very slippery and the beach has a lot of shells and stones.

Lastly we went to the Yellow Buddha on our own. It wasn’t included in our Tuk-Tuk trip. But it’s not very far away from the main pier. Also, it’s a curvy road climbing – very tiring – but worth it. We were lucky that when we reached there, no one was around. Although we were afraid of entering the cave, nonetheless, we did and I’m glad we did. The big Yellow Buddha is just at the entrance and there is just an old rusted sign pointing to the cave, so it’s very much possible to miss it. But if you go down, you’ll find reclining Buddha and big Buddha’s foot.

And it’s really interesting to go down a cave. We got a little lost but if you fell like that, just take the muddy road you see before you and go down, you’ll meet with the main road which took you to the temple. But where is fun in that. It’s the only place you can explore like a real adventurer. Like in search of some treasure. The fallen apart or being newly constructed buildings are not less than that.

There is a Golden Buddha too but we had heard it had 500 stairs! Due to lack of time and strength, we decided to go back. The ferry leaves every hour from the pier but the place for leaving may as well change, so it’s better to ask first.

In the end, these are the photo of the Yellow Buddha and around –

Enjoy! Oh! And we had our lunch at Pan and David’s. Really good food. You should try out there too! They have a site about the island too – http://www.ko-sichang.com/

Side Story 1 – I have been trying more groups now and I was trying Japanese groups. What caught my eyes was the biggest group I have come across – AKB48. I had heard about it’s anime but never watched that and never realized that it was based on real idol group. And when you check out the ages, they start from like 12 years!! Now since they have a lot of members and a lot of songs, I don’t think I’ll be able to learn the faces anytime soon. I just hope to learn a lot of Japanese from them. I got surprised when I could get a lot of lyrics from their songs. Really boosted my confidence. I am very happy!!

Side Story 2 – Oh well! I think I am going in depression now considering I had lots of plans after I would have got placed but it seems, everything is falling apart because the companies are not coming on campus TT_TT. If there was such problem, why were we called in such winter and our holidays in the first place? It’s too unfair that I have to spend my holidays and the festivals almost all alone in the college.

Side Story 3 – Since there are very less people on campus right now, I got to join this group of people and they are really fun. Why did I not meet them in my past three years here? Oh well! My mistake only. I was the one who was reluctant to come out of my room. But now I want to change. Thailand has already changed me a lot. Although it’s my last semester, but I am finally getting to know people – good people. Also, one of the girl told me today that I am fun to be around. Oh! I am so happy right now. It’s probably the first time someone has told me this. Thank you friend 😀 😀

Today’s song – Isn’t it obvious, it’s going to be AKB48? Nopes, it’s MissA today. I have been stuck on two songs from them and if I am not trying out Japanese groups, then these two are the only songs on my playlist. Posting one of them. Here: 

Gallery

Travel: Erawan Waterfall – Seven Steps to Heaven (Updated till 7th level)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I have updated it till the 7th level. Now I realize it’s become too long. But I love that blue water ❤

eastasianlover's avatarThe Joys and Worries of an East Asia Lover

Alright, before starting, I need to say some things first. If you don’t want to hear my story and want to know about the the places I went in Kanchanaburi only, skip to third para. And if you specifically want to know about the waterfall, then you may skip to sixth para directly.

Hello all. It’s been a while. I’m taking break from blogging, coz I’ve got tons of work – final reports + A daily journal by college which has to be completed no matter what + last experiments + last sightseeings in Thailand. I’ve got 15 days left and now I want to cover as much Thailand (and work too) as possible. I haven’t visited any of the mainstream places nor have time for that now – Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi etc. etc. Last trip for me in Thailand would be Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, if we are…

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From Thailand to Pilani – Last thoughts on Thailand

From Thailand to Pilani – Last thoughts on Thailand

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hi all,

I am back to Pilani where my college BITS is situated because placement season has started here. I still am in love with the life I had for the past six months and it’s hard to adjust back here. Not to mention the chilling winters.

I know I said I would update on my several last trips in Thailand and I indeed had fun in mountains there. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are really cool places to visit. But I really didn’t get any time to even update my Erawan Waterfalls post after 4th level which I said I would update that very day.

So I’m here to reminisce about my last week in Thailand – 9th to 15th Dec and my recent life. I with my friends came back from Chiang Mai on 9th morning. Went straight to office and slept a little in the office itself. My friend had the leverage to take a leave so she did that.

10th was a holiday so I went to Bangkok all alone. But my fate, I had less money than I thought left with me so I had to come back earlier than I had planned. But I wanted to buy gifts for people. I could only buy chopsticks for some Japanese enthusiasts in my college. Damn! I should’ve asked for money on monday itself.

Rest four days went into last parties with everyone and farewells to us. Enjoyed a lot. Thais are really fun and caring as well as carefree people. I learnt a lot from those around me. They know how to enjoy life. Indians are a bit lacking in that. I was fearing if I would be able to reach India considering the protests going on but everything went on smoothly (except the excess luggage I had to pay for and then my worst experience at IGI International Airport, India but well, that’s not Thailand)

I would just say I had time of my life there and it’s the best thing that could happen to me in my college life. One must surely go to Thailand and enjoy life there. I generally don’t get attached to people or places but this experience really is unforgettable. I will rest my main post here for now. Many photos are to come in one-two days (Since I am jobless right now. Chemical companies, where are you? TT_TT) but I can’t promise anything either.

Side Story 1: I had prepared gifts for people there. I wanted to do more but since I got my stipend second last day, I had to go for old style wooden photo frames and company color printed photos. The people whom I gave them to did seem touched by the gifts and I got Korean chopsticks from one very dear couple as a return gift. Now I own the things directly from Japan and South Korea. Very happiieeee!!!!

My Korean Chopsticks
My Korean Chopsticks

Side Story 2: I had my first job interview yesterday. At least I was comfortable and did not shake in between. I would still say I am lacking in my technical knowledge and I really won’t deny that fact. If I had technical knowledge, I would’ve got better grades. But how do I tell people that I love learning by doing? Those textbooks don’t appeal to me, what attracts me are the real life equipments. Sigh!

Before everything else, I need to update my previous post. So much work >.<

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Above are some of the things which were kind of very amusing to me. India has variety of fruits but the fruits of Thailand are very different and tasty. And you can get the already cut and packed fruits very cheap. The best part, you can eat them coz they look hygienic.

About Christmas tree, yes I haven’t seen those big trees in India. You may find small ones and I don’t know the trend now but there, the Christmas spirit is much greater than here.

Food is really delicious too. At least I didn’t have to see people savoring them before me considering I am veg. They had veg food for me too 🙂 Ah! So hungry! Gotta go and grab something…..

Travel: Erawan Waterfall – Seven Steps to Heaven (Updated till 7th level)

Travel: Erawan Waterfall – Seven Steps to Heaven (Updated till 7th level)

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

Alright, before starting, I need to say some things first. If you don’t want to hear my story and want to know about the the places I went in Kanchanaburi only, skip to third para. And if you specifically want to know about the waterfall, then you may skip to sixth para directly.

Hello all. It’s been a while. I’m taking break from blogging, coz I’ve got tons of work – final reports + A daily journal by college which has to be completed no matter what + last experiments + last sightseeings in Thailand. I’ve got 15 days left and now I want to cover as much Thailand (and work too) as possible. I haven’t visited any of the mainstream places nor have time for that now – Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi etc. etc. Last trip for me in Thailand would be Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, if we are able to reach there considering the protests going on all over Bangkok and other places.

Now, yesterday, we went to Kanchanaburi and our plan was as follows – Erawan Waterfall, Tiger Temple, Hin Dat Hot Springs, Hell Fire pass and River Kwai bridge. We started from Saraburi at around 6 a.m. and reached Kanchanaburi in about three hours. The roads were empty and it was possible to drive the car at a speed of 110 km/hr. The driver probably didn’t understand the name, so we first stopped at River Kwai Bridge. A beautiful bridge, made by prisoners of war. I also saw Japan’s “rising sun” flag.

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Here are many shops to buy souvenirs for your friends – lots of jewelary and showpieces and other things including hats etc. Then there is a mini train too, which takes you for a round. But we didn’t go in it, so I can’t tell you about fare and all. And if you’re hungry, there are tons of shops to eat your favorite non-veg food. Us, veg people, get many 7-eleven nearby, so we can get various eggless breads or che rice porridge or che mama.

We spent around one hour here. Then went to the nearest war cemetery which was 3km away from the bridge. You do get that sad feeling there – remains of prisoners of war are buried there. My friends were taking pics there but I just couldn’t dare to. So no pics from there.

After this, we went to Erawan waterfalls, which took us around one and half to two hours to reach by car. You need to pay an entrance fee of 200 Baht per person if you’re a foreigner who doesn’t work in Thailand and 40 Baht per person if you are working here. Car charges are separate – 30 baht. Nice parking, lots of people and lots of shops to eat. Better eat something before going to conquer the waterfall as it’s 2 km of climbing, not to mention the walkway which is made of stones and wood naturally and very undefined terrain. And if you’re looking for some more adventure, you can take dip in cold pure water and climb the seventh level from the sixth one on waterfall itself and not go on the conventional way.

Starting from the first level, following are the pics:

Level one and around

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Level two and around

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Level three and around

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Level four and around

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Ouch! I don’t think I have photos from further here. They are in my friends cam. I’ll update by today though if I get those.

Some advices

1. Don’t make the trip plan with Tiger temple if you’re planning to go upto 7th level since the waterfall closes at 3:30 p.m. and temple at 4 or 4:30 p.m. We had one day only and had plans for some 5-6 places but ended up enjoying this one place only.

2. Do take swimming suit along. There are washrooms at second level if you’re wondering where you’ll change. Had we known that, we would have taken too. From there, you can walk all the way up in those swimming suits only.

3. Don’t, if possible, take bags with you as they’ll just become hindrance. Just have a waterproof camera and you’re ready to go. You can take some money too in case you want some refreshing drinks. I would suggest leaving everything behind in the car or bus, whichever you take.

4. Try wearing sneakers (if you don’t feel yuck with wet shoes) or floaters as climbing the waterfall is same as climbing a hill – rocky muddy path.

PS for girls – If you have a boyfriend, take him with you for sure and if not, then make one. Coz if your friends leave you behind coz you’re slow and don’t even stop to look back for you, you’ll feel need for a boyfriend seeing so many couples there, guys helping their girls.

PS for boys who have girlfriends – Don’t leave your girls on your own and help her on the way (although, it’s given). Don’t let her hand go. She’ll feel loved and you’ll get her in one piece (no broken bones may be or even scratches) at the end of the journey. I had lots.

PS for people going in groups of two+ people – Don’t leave your groupmates behind just because they are slow. Wait for them. It may save your time because ultimately the rate of reaction depends on the slowest step (Sorry but I think I have gone nuts *shrugs*). And those who are the ones to be left behind, don’t let your anger come into play. Keep looking for them ahead.

I went just ahead without looking for them and they stopped somewhere. I went ahead and reached my car. They had my phone and all. So no contact. I went to the driver of our car and the people (who were now left behind) thought I got lost. They waited for me, went back to look for me and what not. Real drama is, they got separated too and one of them who didn’t have my phone, went ahead. His phone’s battery went dead. And the third person who was girl, then went somewhere else. In short, we all got separated, couldn’t contact each other and wasted some one hour. Had we had that one hour, we could’ve visited tiger temple too. So please, keep on watchout.

Side Story 1 – As I stated earlier, I’m taking a break from blogging and plan to do so for some more time. This will not be the last post though. I need to finish the Koh Si Chang Series, I started earlier. Then, I know I’ll study at the last moment but I do need to remind myself again and again that I need to study. So, my posts (if any at all) will basically be reblogs or the photos I’ll take or have taken as last memories in Thailand.

Today’s Song – I’m back to the Side Story and Today’s song mode. But today – no song. I don’t have a song that goes well with this place yet. So, I don’t want to spoil the fun. Actually looking on the adventurous side, some very rocking dashing happy song would do, but right now, I don’t have any idea. If you have suggestions after seeing the photos, please do tell me.

Update 26th Dec 2013 – Alright! Time to finish the work. Last three level, here they come-

Level five and around-

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Level six and around –

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Well, the no. of photos is becoming less and less coz we were too busy in worrying about how to reach 7th level and go there or not. So you’ll have to bear even me in some photos. People were just climbing the waterfall itself and it was so slippery and scary. And the one who had nothing in his hands and could take photos was not even interested in taking photos without people (¬_¬”)

And the final level, the seventh level –

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Phew! Finally it’s complete! I hope you enjoy them (I apologize for the pics with too many people but I didn’t have any choice …….)

Travel: The fun filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 2

Travel: The fun filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 2

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So, although we roamed a lot the night before , we still didn’t know about the pier from where ferry to the island went. We hired a TukTuk to drop us at the place. Turned out that the pier was the same place where the fair was going on the previous night and because of traffic, they didn’t take us even though there were 10 minutes left to the last ferry.

The first ferry to Koh Si Chang starts at 6 a.m. and then leaves every hour for 50 Baht per person. We took 7 a.m. one. The boat was small and crowded but I forgot everything, the moment I realized that the place I’m sitting at is filled with Japanese people who are going for fishing. Oh boy! For all 45 minutes journey + waiting time, I could hear Japanese. I couldn’t approach them. But it was really good to listen to and actually understand quite a few words 🙂

Anyways, so the ferry takes about 45 min to 1 hour to reach the destination. As soon as you set foot on land, you’re pestered by TukTuk drivers and motor bike renters to hire them to see the island. TukTuk driver was asking for 250 Baht for 2 hours for 4 places including beach. I mean, how can you enjoy the places, when you’ve a strict time limit on you? Also, we had half a day, that means around 6-8 hours. You can’t spend rest of your time on beach only.

And it wasn’t a place for motorbike. We had hired motorbikes in Koh Chang because that was big and difficult to cover on foot, not to mention the roller coaster ride like roads. So we weren’t in favor of motorbikes either. We had plans to go on foot from the starting.

But this one TukTuk driver was really persistent and followed us a bit. Somehow, we were able to leave him behind but realized that the Palace was too far to go on foot on the slanted roads, so ultimately we hired a TukTuk for 250 Baht for 5 hours. The person showed us four places – Chinese Temple, SeaView Point, The King’s Palace and at last beach.

First we went to the Chinese temple known as Saan Chao Pho Khao Yai, or Shrine of the Father Spirit of the Great Hill. There are a lot of small temples around the main temple. The temples are based in a cave and there are a lot of stairs – LOT OF! But it’s worth it! Also, one needs to light the incense sticks that too right no. (which is generally written over pots) and then strike the musical instruments – bells, drums etc. etc. in correct no. The caves are really imposing. Many have stuck their wishes on the walls of the temple too. Now I think about it, I should’ve done that too…..

Best part I find about the temples here is that there is no restriction in clicking photos in or outside. I finally saw a Korean currency note too. And the dragons! I love dragons!! All in all, the place is peaceful and beautiful. At the top, you’ll indeed feel on the top of the world. And if you really decide to walk down the island, then, the temple is very near to the starting point. So, don’t get allured by the people trying to convince you to hire them. But if you want to see just the main attractions of the island, do go for TukTuk taxi.

Here are the pics-

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Travel: The fun filled weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 1

Travel: The fun filled weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 1

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

This weekend, we planned for a trip to Koh Si Chang. Actually, our plan was to go to Hua Hin, another island, but it was too big to cover in one day. So we decided for Koh Si Chang. I may have mentioned in my Koh Chang post too, Koh means Island, Chang means Elephant. They are famous for their shape as an elephant. Si means small and as the name suggests, it really is very small – around 17 km in length. Seems easy to cover in one day on foot, right? We thought so too.

Also, this time, I’ll cover the places we visited on the island one by one. So it will be a 4-5 part series probably.

Now, let’s start. We had plans to reach SriRacha to catch the ferry to Koh Si Chang in the night, but unfortunately, due to traffic, we couldn’t reach on time and the last ferry left. We had to stay in SriRacha and we’re glad we had to.

We took van from Victory Monument (also called Anu Savari) in Bangkok for Sri Racha. It is the place from where you get the ferry for not only Koh Si Chang but for very famous Pattaya also. The van took 120 Baht per person and about one and a half hour (without traffic) to reach the destination. They dropped us at Robinson and from there only you can get Tuk Tuk to take you to the pier. It was still 10 minutes to 8 (8 PM is the time for the last ferry to the island) but Tuk Tuk drivers refused to take us saying that it was too late. We later came to know the reason.

Anyways, upset, we entered Robinson to roam around but we were too disappointed and nothing was cheering us up. It had ruined our whole plan. Only one thing was in our mind, “How will we cover the whole island in half a day?” We were hungry too. This mall had our favourite veg pizza place – The Pizza Company. But by the time we finished the mall, every shop got closed too including the pizza shop (Bad day, I know). Again I decided, I would go for veg cup noodles (che mama) from Seven Eleven, but I don’t now why, my friends wanted to eat in a restaurant. The biggest tragedy was – more or less, all the restaurants were Japanese and I wasn’t expecting Veg food anywhere.

We hadn’t booked any hotel too neither at Koh Si Chang nor at Sri Racha (we were in adventurous mode). Devoid of any info, we were still looking for a place to have dinner and rest for sometime. We asked at many places and nowhere, there was veg available. This particular shop (Oops! I didn’t notice it’s name. How bad I am!) agreed to cook us veg food specially and the lady found us a hotel too. I saw on Google Earth and I found out the name – Bangkok Grill.

After filling ourselves, we started to look for accommodation. Now the hotels can be real expensive for students like me. They generally start from 1000 Baht. The first hotel we were suggested was SriChai hotel. We didn’t find that one but did come across SamChai hotel. She was offering us an AC room in 900 Baht and we were getting two rooms in 1500 Baht. Not a bad deal I guess. But we kept looking and this SriChai hotel was already full. Ultimately, we came back to Samchai and got the room in 1400 Baht! Satisfied!

It was already 10:30 in the night and we were tired. But the explorer inside wasn’t ready to keep quiet. So we went out and this huge Loi Krathong fair was going on. Loi Krathong is Thailand’s light festival. Many many lanterns in the sky, and candles afloat the water. Read more about Loi Krathong here. There were many shops ranging from clothes to accessories to eatables to shooting games to even pets and there were small rides also. And there was a concert going on too but since my two friends weren’t interested in listening to the songs they didn’t understand, they didn’t bother to take even a look. Dude! That was such cool music. Do you always understand rock songs when you listen them for the first time?

We clicked a lot of pics, played games, took rides and had lots of fun. When the people started closing the stalls, we had to leave too 😦

But it was super-fun. On the bridge over sea, calm waves, festive atmosphere, loud music. What else to enjoy the evening? (Ok, drinks may be? But unfortunately, I don’t drink so that’s it for me.) And thus ended an unforgettable night. Here are some pics from the festival. Enjoy!

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Oh, and next time, I’ll tell about irritating Tuk Tuk drivers and motor bike renters and the really beautiful Chinese Temple.

Studying Japanese from Genki + Time management

Studying Japanese from Genki + Time management

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So, I managed to grab an e-copy of Genki Integrated Elementary Japanese I and II from a friend and I’m glad I did. I probably haven’t given any time to a textbook like I’m giving to this one in my four years. It is a good practice for me. The workbook covers everything taught in the book extensively apart from the exercises in the book itself. I am printing and practicing everyday. Thus my reading, writing and listening skills are getting better.

The best thing is, it is providing a definite shape to my Japanese studies. I had always been clueless as to where to start from, after Hiragana and Katakana. Kanji has always been an obstacle for me. But now I’m finally starting to grasp the things. Loving the book totally!

I wish to get a Korean book like this too. Although I do own a lot of e-books and I’m doing what I can from Basic Korean – A Grammar and Workbook, I don’t have much to practice my writing with. I need some workbooks for that but I’m broke nowadays to buy any book. Ah! I need some money or some source of free e-books.

Now, the time management thingie. I’m pretty much satisfied with the pace my Korean and Japanese are going on. I’m at least giving time to them daily (excluding Sundays since very less time is left for me to give to Thailand). Now that my mentor has gone to Japan and I don’t have many projects at hand, I have a lot more time. But sometimes, I feel that the time is just flowing by and I’m not able to do much productive work. I’ve been neglecting my blog too.

Only one month more to go and I’ll be in India. My stay in Thailand is coming to an end and I think I am getting depressed about that. If only I had the books, my new phone for awesome apps and GoGo Korean Beginners course from Pegasus Society and very inspiring fellow bloggers who are learning languages themselves earlier, I would’ve been one level up by now in both the languages. But I don’t want to regret and fret over the things, hence I’m trying to accomplish more in the given time. But even then, the time is flying too fast. In a blink of an eye, it is lunch time!

***After Lunch***

Ah! Why do we need to eat food? Why was this thing called stomach given to us? If only, we had the power to make food from sunlight like plants. Wastes a lot of time! This is going to happen again – I’ll become sleepy – then sleep for probably half an hour and it will be 3! Then in last two hours, I’ll study some Korean and waste some more time considering the body becomes so sluggish. I don’t have concept like Power Nap – a big tragedy in my life. Better chug down some coffee again and not sleep at all. I wonder, what I will do in my college if I get addicted again here…….

Side Story 1 – Day before yesterday, we went to the Platinum Fashion mall (This particular mall in Bangkok is just full of clothes and anything you name. I call it heaven for girls) again for probably 5th-6th time. There was a shop with traditional Chinese dresses that I saw for the first time yesterday. Those red and black beautiful dresses! I wanted to buy but I was running low on cash, so I had to postpone it. ㅠ_ㅠ

Side Story 2 – I’m sure, from my talks about money in this or other posts, you may think I’m stingy. I admit to the fact, I am. I tend to be very careful while spending money. But my friend here managed to convince me that, this whole trip of mine is being sponsored by me myself (credits to the company of course). Hence I should not think much. Moreover the clothes and accessories have far greater variety here than in India and are cheaper too. I have collected a lot now.

Side Story 3 – Now that I’ve mentioned in above story, clothes and accessories, I feel like writing about the fact that I’ve completely changed with regards to shopping attitude. I was never even interested in accessories, let alone buying them. But my friend has made me such a shopaholic that I want to take whatever I like including bags, earrings, lockets etc. etc. I shouldn’t become that spendthrift but when she says – In India, these are very expensive and you’ll need them when you start your office, even if you can’t use them in the deserted isolated college – BITS Pilani, of yours – I get allured by it.

Today’s song – Since, in my last post I said, I was listening to OSTs, I’ll post one again. In my school related dramas post I mentioned this anime and I just love such a peppy song. Again there are TV size and full size versions. Hope you enjoy this one –

Travel: Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam – Tranquility at its best

Travel: Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam – Tranquility at its best

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Although the post is one week late, that means I got to visit this place on last Wednesday, but this place does need a bragging.

Also known as Khlong Tha Dan Dam, this dam is situated in Nakhon Nayok. Since we went there directly from Ayutthya, I have no idea about the time required or the distance from Saraburi (or Ayutthaya as a matter of fact). All I can tell you is that in a minute, the pics will speak for themselves and that no bus goes to this area. All you can hire is a rental car. But if you’re in above three areas mentioned, this place is worth a visit. Read more here.

Surrounded by hills, the roads are too curvy (and fun until and unless you’re not driving). You can feel the atmosphere from a large distance. And when you reach there, it’s like the world has been divided by that bridge (the dam) – one side you’ve a vast ocean and other side a beautiful valley. One cannot describe the change in mood and feelings inside as we roll from one side to the other. We went when it was cloudy, so it reminded me of starting of winters in India. We were wearing summer clothes though.

The winds are different too. Since it was a holiday, many people were there – many indeed. But call it weather or call of the winds, it was just peaceful. The noises were getting dissolved in the serenity of the place. All you could feel there was relaxed. Seeing so many people, I was expecting a lot of ruckus and I don’t like that. But I was wrong indeed.

Also, on foot, you’ve a limit of distance you can walk on the bridge. You’ve to take a special bus for whole round and the guide keeps telling you things. It could be good but we didn’t take that so I can’t tell you much about that.

More about the place which we didn’t do. So they are just points to let you know. I cannot provide much information on those either.

  • You can do mountain biking there. You can hire bicycles but I don’t know the price. I did see many people do mountain biking and before the hilly area starts, there are a lot of shops.
  • There are many water falls near the place – Sarika waterfall being the one of those for which I remember the name.
  • We could see the motorboats too, so I’m sure there is a provision for that too.

Now the pics –

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We just went there out of the blue. If you want to give time to everything around, do keep one day for it. We just couldn’t find time for nearby places. And it has way for Khao Yai also (which was the first place I visited as a tourist in Thailand and I haven’t posted review for it) which mostly has Italian styled famous parks or streets and waterfalls in and around the Khao Yai national park. So if you’re planning a trip for here, you can as well take out 2-3 days and enjoy the beauty and different experience this whole area has to offer.

Side Story 1 – I need to post about Ayutthaya too, soon. Otherwise it’ll become pending same as my Khao Yai trip. Not that I’ll not post about it. But it will take time to be immersed in the same feelings again. I hope I get time to visit the place again with some new places in the side.

Side Story 2 – Now only four Sundays are left and me and my friend, who is an employee here, are planning extensively for the rest. She has been here for like more than one year, but she hasn’t been able to go out much and I want her to cover as much as she can before I go. The other person is never interested in planning. All I hear as an answer is “I have no problem. You can plan for wherever you want to go.” I have stopped asking him now and hence, there have been many places where he couldn’t go including the above one. Oh well! It was my above mentioned friend’s colleague who took us and she was with her family. She couldn’t accommodate more people anyway.

And today’s song is not going to be an MV but just a track from EXO’s album – 

15 Days, 3 Months, 20 Years

15 Days, 3 Months, 20 Years

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello all,

How have you been? Got confused with the title? I was just summing up my life in and out of my country (physically 😛), nothing else.I reached India some two weeks ago after three months in Thailand. I have fallen in love with that country and my experience there. 20+ years in India and three months in Thailand feel soo….. different. Although, many a times I fail to notice that I’m in a foreign country. Everything is fast in Thailand, yet the pace of life is slow.

I’m not saying anything against India. It is the country in which I was born. How can I do that? Anyways, it is time to go back to Thailand and I am anticipating new adventures for the next two and half months. Thailand has given me a lot. I started taking Korean seriously. I’m already learning a lot in the company. And the most important, it gave me a direction. Now I know what I want to do and how I want to do. Earlier, I was very worried.

Also, these 15 days showed me a quick trailer of how my life is going to be when I come back to India in December for good. Ah! I’m going to miss everyone and everything a lot (you will surely find the same line in some random post after three months).

In the end, I would update you with what is currently going on in my life regarding my language learning and other stuff. I have been listening to random K-pop songs again. I did Korean for whole day yesterday and realized, the grammar is as tough as Hindi’s. A lot of things BUT a lot of similarities. So I’m kind of happy about it. I’m being asked to take a test which I don’t want to but nonetheless I will have to apply for it. I want to take another exam but for my parents, it is kind of secondary, so they are asking me to take both, but first one is mandatory (Sigh!). I have been trying various Korean-English and vice versa dictionary apps for the past few days with much disappointment. Because I want an offline dictionary so that even if I don’t have internet access (which happens sometimes), I may still check out the word meanings.

Sometime ago, I connected my social accounts with the blog and I forget to uncheck some of the boxes like for Facebook and LinkedIn, while sharing. Last time I forgot and they got shared. And I don’t know how many of my friends saw this. It’s good on one side but I would’ve been happy if they didn’t get to see through Facebook TT_TT .

Oh! I remembered, today Good Doctor’s next episode would have been released. I’m off to watch that! Which K-Dramas are you following?

PS – Since I am going back now, I will update the blog regularly (preferably on daily basis), so stay tuned!

Today’s song – 

Travel: The Museum of Floral Culture, Thailand

Travel: The Museum of Floral Culture, Thailand

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Today, I’ll take you to this small beautiful unknown place called The Museum of Floral Culture. Situated in very inner parts of the area Bang Kra Bu, just outside of Bangkok, it is very easy to reach there. Many buses go to Bang Kra Bu and drop you on the main road. Beware! There would be bike taxi people who will offer you to take at the place but they themselves don’t know the place or pretend to do so. Ours one agreed to take us there in minimal charges of 20 Baht and then got lost, went somewhere else and then asked for 40 Baht per person. The place is very near the main road at a walking distance.

The museum of floral culture

Ok, now the place. It would have been a house with people living in them at some point of time. Now it has been converted to a museum. The outside arouses one’s curiosity as to what would be inside. Flowers, as the name suggests? Nopes. The museum shows the history of flowers, how they and the art of flower arrangement in vases, garlands and such travelled in Asia. Very beautiful art and decoration. There is a minimal fee of 150 Baht if you just want to see the floral museum. There is something called tea set museum (which we didn’t see btw) with additional fee.

Biggest regret, they don’t let you click inside the museum. You can enjoy the outside sceneries here though:

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This place is not for biology people nor for those who wish to see botanical garden kind of thing. It’s for history enthusiasts who like to know the connections between cultures of various countries. The tour hardly takes 45 minutes to complete and then they allow you to take as many photographs as you want in the outside premises.

Great time pass if you are left with some 2-3 hours and don’t have anywhere else to go. Not very far from Siam Paragon. Highly recommended!