5 Myths About Bangkok You Should Know

1. The city is a dangerous place to visit
Thailand has been making front page news for all the wrong reasons in the past few years. Summarizing everything in one breath: yellow shirts shut down the airport, red shirts seizing the city centre, the flood, the terrorist in Sukhumvit, then the bombing down south at Hat Yai...can the list be any longer? However, the city itself does feel safer than what CNN often show on your TV. My mom gets really worried when she knows I'm on a business trip to Bangkok. I must say, I feel safer in Bangkok than in KL city. You know how in KL we are always reminded of snatch thieves, men on motorbikes, don't leave your wallets on the table, don't walk to the car park alone, look out for the white van next to your car, even at traffic lights your car window gets smashed. Well, in Bangkok snatch thief is not that rampant. I don't find the need to be hugging my handbag and looking out for suspicious people. As long as you keep yourself out of those dark lanes you should be safe.

2. If you buy a designer bag here, it's imitation!
I really hate it when I go home wearing something new, my friends ask where is it from? Upon saying "Bangkok", you get the "oohhhh..." and that smirk on the face. Bangkok is full of designer stores. There's plenty of malls selling genuine goods which are bloody high class like your 1st world country back at home. Siam Paragon, Central World, Terminal 21, Emporium...you get my point. Stop thinking everything bought from Bangkok is from the streets and cost only 200 bht. Stop thinking there is no genuine goods here.

3. Everything is dirt cheap
Don't buy electronics. Or designer clothes, especially imported ones. I'm speculating it's either the VAT or import tax. But I find the things more expensive than any other Asian countries I've been to. I paid at least 20% more for a video cam which I bought from the Bangkok duty free at the airport. Even the smaller handphone stores in places like MBK doesn't offer a very good price. It almost cost the same if I go to Apple's online store in Singapore or Malaysia. So on your next visit, strike off electronics on your shopping list. (However, phone and iPad accessories in MBK is a good bargain)

4. All tuk tuks are out there to scam you
I once visited Bangkok with a friend who avoids tuk tuk as if they are some big time scammers out there to squeeze every dollar out of you. I think the fear is over exaggerated. Though yes, there are some who over charge, or bring you on a detour to some gem store. Well, my advise is just be smart. Preferably, hail down a tuk tuk instead of taking those waiting on the street side. If you take tuk tuks from popular tourist places like Siam Paragon, they will charge you 100 to 200 bht for a short ride (which would normally cost 60 bht). If the price is not right, just walk away. There is no need to swear off the experience of tuk tuk just because you think they will cheat that 100 bht off you. C'mon, it's Bangkok. The experience is incomplete without riding on a tuk tuk! Places where tuk tuks are less likely to cheat you are in Khao San, or the Grand Palace - but...please haggle. Never pay more than 100 bht. For short distances, you can go as low as 50bht.

5. The floating market is beaaauuuutiful like shown in the postcards
First of all, there are so many floating markets around Thailand. The ones that a local tour guide or a hired taxi suggest to you is gonna be really touristy and disappointing. I've been to Damnoen and I felt the entire market is like a cultural show put on a stage. You get 100 foreigners with their big gun Canons over the bridge all trying to replicate that same postcard perfect shot of the Thai style canoe with the colourful fruits. Yes, it is beautiful, but let me tell you behind the scene, right next to that culturally perfect photo opportunity are hordes of tourists and tourist peddlers you try so hard to frame out of your shot. To give the floating market justice, there are some which are less known to international tourists which still manage to keep its authenticity and give you a really different experience from what Bangkok city offers. My favourite is Amphawa. You'll find mostly local Thais frequenting this market instead of foreigners. I'll spill more details on another post ;) cheers.

Another Year Gone By

Can't believe it's been more than a year since I last wrote. That means it's been that long since I sat down, pause, and connect with myself. So many things changed over a year. A year abroad in my new job is like 3 years of my previous KL life. It's like how in sci-fi films, 10 years in space is 100 years on earth.

There's so much to tell bout 2011, let me try to say it all in one para.

My work travel reduced by half. I got really depressed about being in Singapore so often sometimes. But on the bright side, it gave me a chance to settle, and start living a Singapore life. Finally, I started to like Singapore food, make connections with people and lived like a normal human being with friends to share stories with, laugh, be myself, and feel sad when colleagues are leaving. I moved and met 2 really good housemates. Singapore started to feel homely. My career took me on a roller coaster ride where I was beaten down, carried up and finally, got off the ride with a smile on my face.

Moving on to the next chapter, let me tell you what happened in 2012. I got a promotion (yay!) and relocation to Bangkok (double yay!). Actually, I was reluctant to move. I thought, why didn't this chance come 9 months earlier? I would have jumped at it and feel like it's wish came true. This time around, it took a lot of courage for me to take up the offer. Because I knew what was waiting. It's the lions den, the gates of hell. I knew I will be pulled in all directions, and I knew if I take it, I will not allow myself to fail. Which means, I will not pull the plug even if I know I'm pushed to the edge of the cliff. That's the good and bad about me. Behind the success, is all the band aided wound. You can say I'm a tough girl, or you can just call me stubborn and mean to myself. Everyone deserves a break, everyone should know when to give themselves a break. I wish I knew.

So here I am, sitting in my serviced apartment in Bangkok. I'll try to make it a point to pause and enjoy smaller things in life. Make small talk, tell a joke, ask someone how is your day, make connections with people, lighten up, be the old me and be fun.

Cheers to a new life, another new beginning!

Welcome 2011, with love

I have been a nomad the entire 2010. My desk in my home office was given to me, taken away, reassign another desk, taken away for so many times I lost count. I spent the last day of 2010 packing all my belongings into my box (the most permanent 'furniture' I have) because someone new, who is expected to be more often in the office is coming in Jan 2011 - although my travel intensive projects have ended and I will be spending a lot of time in the office from now on. So now I am back to the spot-the-empty-desk every morning when I step in. Hot desking doesn't work if I am the only person doing it!

I tried (or I subconsciously did) to detach from the things I had, and people that mattered to me, I figure they were bad for me because I couldn't have any of it. Many times, I felt empty and wondered if anyone was really there. If I am gone, will I be missed? I had a lot going on everyday, I kept myself busy, but I was living my life half dead. I love my job but I resent all the circumstances it puts me in. Never a minute I make peace with living out of my home country. I isolate myself emotionally, especially with new people I meet. I don't want to make a connection so that it'll be easier to detach when I need to.

Lesson learned is that the love and attachment to people and things around me wasn't bad for me. It was what kept me going. It's not going to work, trying to run away from the human connection. I was doing everything half heartedly because there was something I hate about everything I love. Everyone needs an anchor, that makes life more meaningful than just about chasing dreams.

For 2011, I will ...
do everything with passion at full blast,
not push away emotions and attachments,
fill my life with all the things and people that matter,
not be afraid to let go, and love,
make my KL home 'home' again

Taking the Slow Coach

I was in a taxi when I passed by Bangkok’s railway station and I decided I wanna experience the train ride in Thailand. That Saturday, I bought myself a ticket. For 15 bht, I hop on the train on the Bangkok - Sungai Golok route, a 2 hour ride, and a whole new experience.
I only found a seat after walking through 4 coaches. I was surprised how crowded the train was. Free seating, non air conditioned with small fans attached to the ceiling (like those you see in taxis many years ago). Immediately, I noticed the travelers were darker skin Thai; or of other nationalities, I’m not sure. But a lot of them looked like Malaysians, some bertudung, and spoke heavily accented Malay. I guess that’s because the train goes all the way to Sungai Golok, the southern tip of Thailand bordering Malaysia.

I felt uncomfortable and out of place, like I was walking alone in a complex full of rempit Malays. Before long, the scenery took my attention away. You get to see how the landscape changes as you travel away from the city. From sights of construction, you start to see farms and water canals.

The bunch of Malay boys seated behind me started talking to me. One from Bukit Gombak asked, “Ada awek kat sini?” I didn’t feel like I was in Thailand at all. In fact, I felt like it was Raya and I was on the train to balik kampung (not like I take the train to balik kampung before).

Refreshment facility? Peddlers would hop on the train to sell drinks from a plastic bucket, or packed rice with basil pork; the only thing that reminds me it is still Thailand. When the train stops at a station (quite so frequently), one could buy roasted eggs and peanuts from the street peddler, right out of the train window. As I was enjoying the roasted eggs, I could smell weed smoke, which did not bother me.

When I arrived at my station, only did I realise there isn’t a way to get to Don Wai. So I hired a motorcycle for 300 bht, and rode for another 45 minutes on the highway going 100kmph without a helmet. That was the distance between Bangkok and Don Wai, if I hadn’t taken the train. But who cares, this is the fun you miss if you use google maps or a GPS.

I would like to see more of Thailand by train, hopefully to somewhere further; and this time I will get one of those bunker beds.

Iphone 4, and learning to live with the least commitment

I finally purchased it online. Why without a plan? Here's the story:

I bought my car when I was in KL thinking I would drive it for years, and I moved in 6 months.
I bought my house and took a year to furnish it completely and only stayed for about another year.
I bought my iphone plan from Maxis, lost my phone in 3 months and relocated 2 months later (and still paying for the plan).

I have no idea where I will be tomorrow. So hell with Starhub that is taking forever to replenish stock, I do not need your subsidy. Why do I even consider the contract in the first place? I am a free soul with no commitment, cheers to the world of freedom!

Behind All The Convenience In Singapore

One of the things Singaporeans are very proud of especially when they are talking to a Malaysian is how their public transportation is so convenient and well planned that none needs a car to get around.

Well, this is my 2 cents worth on this.

Behind all this convenience is a BIG inconvenience. Everyone in Singapore shape and live their lives around what the public transportation provides. Yes, you do not need a car to live your everyday life in Singapore. But what if I don't just wanna live an everyday life? I would like to have supper at 3am, I would like to join a night run, I would like to buy furniture from Ikea and transport them home myself, I would like my car boot to keep my baby stroller, I would like to ring my friend up for brunch and pick her up in 10 mins and get lost trying to find places to eat.

The MRT operation hours managed to standardize how Singaporeans live their lives. There aren't many restaurants open at 3am because no one is out after the MRT operation hours. Once, I was in a taxi in the middle of the night and the taxi driver told me that Singapore is a city that never sleeps because the traffic is still heavy at midnight. I almost choke on that statement. First of all, traffic is never heavy in Singapore. Secondly, uncle cabbie has certainly never seen a city that truly never sleeps at night.

My colleague once told me she joined a night run but they had problems getting home after the run because there weren't any public transportation still available. See how it's difficult to be different in Singapore? My first comment was "That's so inconvenient!" which of course the Singaporean disagreed.

I am also falling into this lifestyle-standardisation trap. When I am in Singapore, where I hangout, where I eat, the hours I eat, are all planned around the MRT operating lines and hours. When I first got here, I was so frustrated I couldn't get supper at 2am without needing to get a cab, and of course to find a nearby restaurant that's still open. I am slowly making peace with the fact that I should live like a robot like the rest of the Singaporeans, communiting to work like hordes of factory workers.

I like to be spontaneous and not be governed by how this perfectly planned city operates. I do agree that the public transportation here is very reliable, but that comes with a great disadvantage for a rebel like me.

The Many Ways to Get Around Bangkok

In KL, we drive

In Singapore we take the MRT, bus or walk.

In Bangkok, the options are so wide and cheap it's unbelievable. Though I have to say not all are tourist-friendly.

First of all, taxi is darn cheap here. They are less likely to con you like how KL taxi drivers do. A ride to Grand Palace from my hotel that's about 20-30 minutes costs less than 100 bht. Which is why I don't bother taking the SkyTrain (BTS) sometimes. Where else can you ride a taxi for this price?

Tuk tuk is my all time favourite. Tourists are so afraid of taking tuk tuk here in fear of being kidnapped or conned, or being sent to some tourist trap to buy gems. The fear is so exaggegarated I can't make any sense out of it. Though they sometimes cost more or equally the same with taxi, but I love the wild ride and how they freely make illegal u-turns and go against the traffic flow to cut the trip short. I have never been conned by any tuk tuk drivers. All you need to do is to negotiate the fare, and just say no if you sense that they are over charging you. There is absolutely no need to fear them as if they were mafias. Besides, tuk tuk is one of the signatures of this beautiful city. How can you miss the experience of a roller coaster ride?

For short trips, you can hire motorbikes. The riders usually wear a pink vest and their station have stools and yellow umbrellas. It is usually to get you to short destinations, like a short 10 minute walk. They charge 10bht but beware if your distance is meant for a taxi ride, the charge will be very expensive. So only use them for short rides.

The cheapest mode of transportation is the unmarked white vans. It cost me 10 bht to get from Pratunam to MBK. I really wonder how they make any money at all. It is quite impossible for tourist to take this since you won't be able to recognise the van and you don't speak the language, but it is really the cheapest option I have seen so far.

From taxi, to van, to tuk tuk, and motorbike. Why do I love this city again?