tigers

I've been trying to put our trip to Thailand up on here for a very, very long time, but things kept happening. Not that I could name any of them right now, but to illustrate - I started reading The Devil Wears Prada somewhere in Thailand, and I still haven't finished it, even though I love it.

So, Thailand.

Day 1 - Our flight was at 8, meaning I had to be up very, very early. We arrived in Bangkok at 9 (their time) and after walking pretty much all over their new airport (which looks so much like K.L.I.A, it was creepy...) to find food, we left for Kanchanaburi. Our taxi driver didn't really know how to get to our hotel, so it took us a little longer than two hours to finally get there. Kanchanaburi in reality is nothing like the image you would get reading about it on the Net. First of all, there are no hotels that are walking distance from the Bridge on the River Kwai. If they say they are, they're lying. Unless of course, you're accustomed to walking for miles. Our hotel was a good ten minutes ride from the bridge, and completely gorgeous.

Pung-Waan Resort & Spa. The River Kwai is just beyond the pool, spa building is on the left.

After a quick lunch at the hotel, we hopped on Kanchanaburi's version of a taxi - a truck, of sorts, that was open on the sides - to go to the Tiger Temple.

In the taxi. Look carefully at my sunglasses ;)

The temple was the main reason we were in Kanchanaburi - we had watched this place on Animal Planet or something, and said that we were going. It took about an hour to get there. Thailand's scenery is so different from ours - everything was brown and dry. When we got to the turnoff, it was another ten or so minutes to the temple, along this very, very dusty road. That day and the next, we got so dusty! It made my hair look grey. Once we got in, we had to walk along another dry, dusty road to the canyon where the tigers spend their afternoons. There were lots of other animals there, mules, wild boars...but more later.

There were a lot of visitors. Apparently, that day they had 600 people. All these people come all the way here, even though some people make a fuss about it because they say the tigers are drugged. We asked one of the volunteers, who said that the reason almost all of them were sleepy was because they are nocturnal animals, so naturally they'll be sleepy in the afternoon. But anyway, you get into the line, and when it's your turn, one of the volunteers leads you around to each of the tigers while another takes pictures for you. Controversial or otherwise, where else would you get to be close enough to tigers to pat them??!

The volunteers are the ones in the yellow shirts, and the monk in the background is the head honcho.

Then, the tigers are lead back to their cages (and later fed roast chicken). The last tiger stops along the way for more pictures. There were two tiger cubs and a leopard, but they weren't let out. Later, the other animals are fed. There was all sorts of things - peanuts, sweet potatoes, and winter melons strewn across the road, and all the animals would suddenly appear for a feeding frenzy. Peacocks, families of wild boars, cows, deer, goats...


We went back to the hotel to chill for a bit and have tea (mum) and gelato (me - passion fruit). At night, we took a taxi to the night market, where we had what is probably one of the best tom yams I've ever had.

It was amazing. The lady person barely knew what we were saying - we just pointed at prawns and vegetables, and the food turned out perfect. After dinner, we wandered around the food side of the market. There were stalls with all sorts of strange things...

Fried insects, anyone? This reminded me of the food market we had to walk through the last time we were in Bangkok.

Then, we wandered around the other side of the market, but I didn't buy anything. A taxi ride back to the hotel after a drink at a little cafe and it was time for bed.

Day 2 next time : )

sated

I made the cupcakes. All by myself too. My brother didn’t feel like helping. Evil spawn. I haven’t even had one, but it’s almost like I don’t have too. I felt all good inside just by looking at them. I made butter icing, but I wasn’t too happy with it. So they got little white chocolate ganache flower thing, with a silver drageé in the center.

Late one night, maybe a day or two after New Year’s, I made a little list of all the things I wanted for the new year when I was texting a friend. Cupcakes were on that list :)

I just realized that this, and the white chocolate mudcake makes me seem all domestic, but let me assure you, I’m far from that.

nebulized

For the record, I don't know if that really is a word.

I had to go to the doctor today. My cough wasn't getting any better, but at least it stopped feeling like I was coughing up bits of my lungs. He listened to my lungs and was not happy. Then he said, 'nebulizer'. I had asthma when I was younger, and going to the doctor late at night to be nebulized was nothing unusual. But this hasn't happened in ten, twelve years. More even. So there I was, holding the mask (now that I'm old enough to do this myself...) and breathing in and out as deeply as I could, and I had this flashbulb memory (psychobabble). I was really young and sitting on my dad's lap in my pediatrician's office getting nebulized.

So anyway. My doctor gave me Ventolin, which I hate, cuz even half a pill makes my hands shake and my heart rate increase. But I seriously need to get better by Thursday next week.

I think I'm going to go make cupcakes now. I want them, and there's nothing on tv.

my "trip" to japan...

It’s the middle of my first week back at uni. This is the first time in…well, ever, that I haven’t

>> Phone call

That I haven’t already decided what subjects I’m taking. I haven’t even registered yet. Not that that’s a big deal cuz I do it online anyway, but still.

We’ve had two Abnormal Psychology classes so far. They’ve been quite interesting, haven’t had this lecturer before. But it’s going to be a lot of work. The quizzes that we have in class are going to be based on forward reading. Forward reading!

We had an Educational Psychology class, which is one of my options for my elective. A friend said that the lecturer’s Filipino accent makes her sleepy, but he’s quite amusing. From the course outline though, it looks like it will be a lot of theoretical work. So tomorrow, we’re attending the Human Factors (and something something, it’s got quite a long name…) lecture.

After class, Ling and I were supposed to go out, but she couldn’t so I ended up going over to her place. She gave me all sorts of interesting Japanese things to eat, since pretty much all I’d had all day was a vanilla-frosted donut (yummm…). I’ve been sick since Monday. At first I thought it was an allergic reaction to my gorgeous Neroli Jasmine Body Lotion, but it’s definitely more than that.

Anyway. The first thing I had was something called mochi, which is this clear, sticky thing that had chocolate on the inside and chocolate powder (or cocoa. Still don’t know the difference) dusted over it. It was quite nice, even though it was really sticky. Ling had mochi with cheese when she was there. Later, I had something called kibidango, which is also sticky and kinda sweet. Apparently, this was what Momotaro (the peach boy) gave to some animals so they would help him do something. There were also some prawn crackers, which were quite strange looking. They looked like pieces of. I don’t know. They were flat. Not bad either. Then there was what is probably my favorite, the Tivoli Park wafer things. They were like love letters (the kind you eat) that had cream in between them. Unfortunately, this was also probably the least Japanese thing of the lot. What was the most interesting were these hard cookies. In each pack of them, you get a little hammer that you use to break it up. How cool!! There were also these little chocolates, slightly smaller than Smarties. So harmless-looking, but when you bite into them, there’s this explosion of strawberry flavor, somewhat overwhelming. Ling also gave me this strange looking thing that was made of brown sugar or something, and rice tea, which looked and tasted like green tea, except for a slightly rice-ish after taste. I have some candy in my fridge I haven’t tried, don’t think my throat would be too happy, but they look innocent enough. Seriously though, they like their red beans there. There was this green crêpe looking thing that was stuffed with red beans. There was red bean candy that looked like little boats. There was red bean Dorayaki. And get this – red bean Kit Kat. The cutest thing about Japanese food is that everything is individually wrapped. So organized.

I have to be up early for class tomorrow.

it's been a while (again)...

Things That Have Happened Since I Was Last Here

1. New Year's Eve + New Year's: Apparently, New Year's Eve was quite the emo occasion for people other than me. I ended up with a friend and his brother, cousin (both of whom I tutor) and their friend at the Batting Cages on the rooftop of One Utama, from where we watched the fireworks from the Curve as well. Before this, it was what has almost become a New Year's Eve tradition - barbecue at my uncle's. The adults stayed there to watch the fireworks. Imagine being able to watch fireworks from your garden. On New Year's, we had the usual lunch at my grandmother's. Another tradition. Speaking of which, I kind of broke one of my own. I stopped making resolutions a few years ago, but this year, I ended up deciding that my 2007 would not be as emo as that night. People are leaving, and I will miss them buckets, but still. Later on, I decided that I'm going to not skip any more classes. Must. Go. To. Class.
   
   
2. This was the last week of my holidays. It was somewhat productive - I downloaded my timetable and worked out my schedule and everything. I reorganized my notice board to make more space for ticket stubs. I think it's turning into more of a ticket stub display than anything. I might have to get another one.
   
   
3. Ling came back yesterday from Japan. I went over earlier, and she showed me some more pictures of really strange-looking food, and strange-looking food that she brought back with her. All of it made me think that if I ever ended up in Japan, I'd starve. 3 out of 5 things she bought had red beans in them. Everything's written in Japanese, so you really have no idea what's in them. If I'm ever in need of a serious challenge, I know where to go. Japan would be the perfect location for my very own version of Survivor.
   
   
4. Yesterday, I actually juiced three apples. Not something I do at all, I'm more of the juice-in-a-carton type. But it tasted so good. Then, I decided to have a little detox day. Today, I had freshly-squeezed orange juice and a banana for breakfast. A fruit salad (orange, apple, pear) and watermelon juice for lunch. I don't feel any different. But it made me realize how fake juice boxes are. My orange juice tasted nothing like the juice in my fridge, which I actually love(d).
   
   
5. Yesterday, I went for my first yoga class in maybe three months. After I hurt my neck, I had to skip classes for research colloquium and finals. Then, it was Diwali, more exams, and Christmas. I managed sun salutations and all here and there, but it was far from regular. After class, I felt all stretched out and so good, but when I woke up today morning, I was a little sore. It didn't help that Jay and I hit the gym. I had to take my brother to the club for taekwondo anyway. I just had a soak with Epsom Salts to help with the muscles. And I wanted cupcakes today. I even took the butter out of the fridge. But my brother didn't feel like being helpful, and the thought of making them from scratch, and by myself...I put the butter back.
   
   
6. Who'd have thought that getting hotel rooms for one night in Kanchanaburi would be so difficult?? How is it possible that two hotels are fully booked in the middle of the week? It's not even peak season!! I'm still waiting to hear from this really, really gorgeous hotel. Seriously, it looks like paradise.
   
   
7. Our Christmas Tree came down today =/