18 July, Friday
I've never done anything like this before. In less than 24 hours, without any prior planning, a friend and I booked a flight to Bangkok on the same morning that we left the country. Having made contact with him recently and worked with him on several school projects, the decision to pack and go was made a lot easier. Besides, both of us are passionate about our work which resulted in that state where one needs a break very badly.
It was either Hong Kong, Bali or Bangkok. I opted for Thailand because it has great food, shopping and the fact that I know the city well enough to plunge into it without much planning. Best of all, my friend got us SIA tickets at the promotion rate through some connections, which was impossible to on the day of departure.
I threw 3 days' worth of clothes and the important chargers of those essential electronic gadgets which I cannot live without and took to the streets. I knew very well then I would forget something and I did. More about that in another entry.
I do not believe in paying for cabs in Singapore because they are so pricey. So the train ride was the alternative I chose. I met an ex-student, Suria, on the train and he sure looks like some hippie with his long hair. He's a good kid though.
Because this trip was so last minute, we had not booked any accomodation which was a mistake of course. At the airport, we had planned to book one night at some cheap hotel and then get an upgrade with a local travel agent. Somehow, the female salesperson psychoed my friend to book a 2-night stay at this small Inn at the Silom area. Expecting the worse, the twin-room took us by surprise. The room was akin to that of a decent 3 or 4-star hotel save for cramp lift, lobby and the lack of a pool - a must for me on holidays.
The next morning, a Saturday, we headed to where else? - Chatuchat! - the world famous weekend market!
Army boots in both canvas and leather material for the casual military wear.
Miniature food items like the sunny-side up quail eggs neatly displayed.
I used to love this when I was a kid. The rubix cube has made a comeback recently among Singaporean teenagers in the earlier part of this year.
Perhaps I could consider this for the planter area at my new crib.
This is an ice-popsicle machine seen in many Asian countries. I find the simplicity of the process of making ice-popsicles very intriguing. The vendor simply pours the syrup concentrate into individual tubes, places in a wooden stick into each tube and waits for the solution to freeze in the cold tub.
I had to squeeze in between the hoards of female shoppers to get a shot of what I find a very bizarre sight of laced stockings hung up on display.
Meat ball sticks galore!
This teh tarek stall owner put up an interesting show to passers-by by swirling and dancing around in the tight space while pouring the tea from a set of tin cups to another. I could totally enchanted by his performance. And of course, my friend and I ended up buying a cuppa each.
To be continued...
Labels: travel
