Thailand, Singapore, and back to Australia

At end 2014 we took three weeks off for a holiday; one week in Thailand and two weeks in Singapore. So here goes:

^^ In Bangkok we stayed at Chatrium Residence which we thought was a hotel, but turned out to be serviced apartments, which was fine with us. We arrived at night so not many shops were open and we couldn't explore much, but there were some street stalls nearby so we started our holiday with how you should eat in Asia (most of the time) – unhealthy but delicious street food! We shared an Oyster Omelette and Pad Thai. Great start! Haha.

On our first real day there we met Ian's old high school friend for lunch, and bought a daily train ticket to get around. The train is similar to Singapore's train system and was easy to navigate. 

We shopped at the popular and huge Chatuchak weekend market. Of course we didn't cover the whole place – it was too huge! We bought lots of t-shirts and shops with listed fixed prices so we didn't have to bother bargaining. The ones we bought were A$5 - 7 each which was reasonable.

There was a stall there which sold t-shirts with hand painted designs. It was co-set up by an Aussie guy who decided to base himself in Thailand. A good portion of his shop proceeds goes to an orphanage in Thailand run by one woman for the past 20(?) years without any government aid.

^^ Dinner was at Terminal 21 mall's food court upstairs. We had to buy a pre-loaded card to get food (like Kopitiam in Singapore) and thought dishes were about 50 - 70 Baht each, Ian decided we should get a 300 Baht card (like, wuuuuuud?). We ended up sharing 6 dishes, with drinks to boot. Oh man – that was so crazy for my tummy but it was so good. And I finally got to taste Mango with Sticky Rice yum yummmm. 

^^ The next day we met Jia Chen, a friend who moved to Bangkok to work and now knows all the good food haunts! He brought us to Bassaracum restaurant which specialises in royal household dishes. The dishes were well displayed and... look at the prawns made to look like chickens!

^^ We only spent less than two days in Bangkok, which was fine for us as we weren't crazy about shopping. We took a 2.5h taxi ride to stay at Hua Hin for the next 5 days. Apparently Hua Hin, a town beside the beach, is where the Thai King takes his holidays (we heard).

Actually, how we chose to visit Hua Hin was through The Luxe Nomad, a website offering deals on luxury resorts. We saw a deal for Putahracsa which looked soooo good that we decided – hey, why not?

At Putahracsa we got the Oceanbed Pool Villa which meant lots of space and our own outdoor pool and jacuzzi, as well as those outdoor seats you see, to relax. We were alright with spending more on a nicer room because it was meant to be a relaxing beach stay-in-your-resort-mostly kind of holiday.

We realised we won't spend money on a private pool at future stays anymore though. While it was luxurious and we were excited at that idea at first, there was a bigger shared pool that was easier to swim at so we didn't use our private pool in the end. On the last day I felt so regretful about not using it that I just kept walking around the perimeter of the pool and splashing water, dipping just my feet in. Hur.

I really liked the room we got because it was well hidden by shrubbery which gave more privacy. It meant I could lounge in the outdoor seating area comfortably. The December air was really cool too and they burned mosquito coil so that scared away the mosquitos yay! Everyday we received something special from the kitchen – juice or a snack (macarons, brownies). The stay was ah-ma-zing. Breakfast was a good yummy spread too, with the porridge being my favourite :D

^^ Little crepes with cream and coconut at the market. Just 10 Baht for 10 I think. That's about 50 cents Aussie. So cheap! So yum! Should have tried them earlier in the trip so I would have eaten more of them.

^^ We visited Hutsadin Elephant Foundation for a Mahout experience. Mahouts are the men who take care of the elephants, so that's what we learnt to do – feed the elephants by the trunk or straight into their mouths (so wet!), scrub them for their bath, and go on a walk with them with bananas to lure them in the right direction.

There are other places to meet elephants in Hua Hin, such as zoos/safaris, but we chose Hutsadin because we read that there, they treat the elephants fairly. Our guide told many stories of how the 5 – 6 elephants under their care were all abused before. We heard how an old, sick elephant was left outside one of the other places, and Hutsadin bought it over to care for it. Another was made to walk 20km daily into the city to get money from drunks all night, and walk 20km back.

^^ After Thailand, was Singapore! Joined Siew and her kids at Gardens by the Bay for "snow" – it turned out to be foam ha ha. Fun for the kids.

^^ Spent some good time with each of my siblings and their families – at the River Safari, out for Prata, and having xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung. Also, brunch at Wei and Mag's new home which looks so good after renovations! Good taste, guys :D And thanks for cooking a simple and yummy breakfast for us! We are super happy for you both. Thanks for arranging your wedding date to suit us < 3

^^ Christmas with the family on Christmas day! Whoohoo! Lots of fun and presents going around. And we took a picture since I am back so seldom so here's a family photo with ALL of us!

^^ Went cycling with Pa, Ma, Renjie and Renhui at East Coast park. I had Renhui on a child seat on my bicycle – first time cycling with a kid as a load.She was quite amusing, saying hello to everyone who passed by.

^^ Amusing ourselves in the backseat of the car. 1 - 2 - 3 - 5!

^^ Hands, legs, tongue, puckered mouth! 

^^ Close your eyes, goggle eyes, mess your hair, open your mouth as big as you can!

^^ With my mum/their grandma joining us!

^^ Met old friends including these from Halogen *yay*! Living away from Singapore now it's kind of hard to properly keep in touch with friends. There are some I chat with every now and then but really, it's hard to keep in touch with everyone and the fact is, you can't. Sometimes I feel bad not being able to meet everyone, but on the other hand I know my priority when I'm back is my family, so I'm okay with it.

I like what was said at church the week I attended. The pastor said that we talk about forgetting the bad, but sometimes we must also forget the good. What he meant was that sometimes we hold on to the good so much, we reminisce, that we are not able to move forward. And that resounded with me, because I know that now I am building my life in Australia. 

While I had an amazing, blessed life in Singapore, loving the familiarity, appreciating the common ground with locals and being able to "click", and being involved with church etc which felt so much like home, I can't just look at those things and wish I had them back. Instead, I am to look forward.

^^ Pearl suggested we watch the mediacorp countdown at the Marina Bay floating platform. It's not something we would usually do but it turned out well! Had a good catch up with Pearl, then really enjoyed the fireworks. The way I was wow-ed by them... I can't recall if I've seen fireworks live before. 

The funny thing was that during this event which saw lots of Singaporean artistes performing, Ian said he felt almost patriotic. Ha! It's funny because Ian is not Singaporean. After the countdown, the korean band Big Bang performed to a whole crowd of screaming girls. I haven't been to this kind of concert before but I'd say it was pretty cool watching them because you could really see their energy which made you really get into the performance. Kinda ;P

^^ Ian's parents came down and we spent a day with them at Sentosa. We visited the S.E.A Aquarium which was really good! Lots of sea creatures and very well done up. Also, air conditioned throughout so it's very comfortable. The tickets felt expensive at $38 each, but after seeing the whole place, I could understand why – so much effort and thought went into the place.

We also paid an extra $2 each for the Typhoon Theatre admission. They tell the story of a shipwreck and they let you get on a "boat" to experience the loud thunder, shaking boat and drops of water. Basically, a 4D experience. While I was in the "boat" I thought to myself – oh man I don't ever want to be on a boat in a thunderstorm. And one kid seemed quite scared :P

If you plan to visit, I'll say it's worth the $2.

^^ Feeding fishies! I want her job. Okay not really. But it's quite cool.

^^ Some shark. I was staring at its skin because... look at it! It looks like sand! It's so it can be camouflaged with the sand. But. Cool right.

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All in all, a really good three weeks away. I realised one reason why I miss Singapore is because of familiarity – things I know, things I knew as I grew up, being with people whom my "lahs" and "lors" make sense. However at the end of it I was ready to come back to Melbourne, back to routine, back to "life as usual", back to my comfy bed haha. 

And I have family here now – Ian. And he makes me feel at home. He makes home.

Also, I have work here now, which feels good. I'm super grateful to have gotten a job exactly where I want – marketing in education. In the months prior to getting a job in Melbourne I spent much time thinking about what exactly I wanted to do, and my conclusion was that comms was my strength, and I wanted to use it for something that I cared about – such as education. It's a plus that I work with a team that has good leaders, a sense of humour, and is multicultural (more fun). 

Work is good, and a friend was saying something we hear every now and then but is fresh every time – that we are so fortunate to be able to wake up everyday and go to work, because so many people can't. There are so many things that I have, and I know that everywhere I go; the ability to have a relaxing holiday, to travel, to eat what I want (though I'm still in training for spicy food ha ha), to not have to worry about day-to-day living, to have community.

I know I've got it good, and I am truly grateful for what I have. Ta!