Holiday Part Two: Thailand

(see photos in our Thailand photo album on left)

Yung: Bangkok - Our time in Bangkok was spent predominantly shopping and eating...(the luxury of being on hols)we had no set time for lunch or dinner...we just ate what we wanted, when we wanted around the clock. So much so we found a place serving Alyssa's favourite crabs cooked in every style imaginable, and we instantly became a local regular for a few days with the restaurant manager remembering all our usual preferences and requests. Shopping in Bangkok is not as great as HK or Singapore in terms of department stores, but there were still bargains to be found. We had a lot of fun too "bargaining" at all the markets around town. Being of Chinese heritage, I guess it is a common trait which I found easy to do. We had a sort of routine too. It's like every store Alyssa will step in to find something she likes, and then I step in to finalise the transaction...also lost count of the times we walked away only to be chased down by the vendor caving in to our last offer. Having said that, I don't know why but for some reason I never seem to have much success closing deals on ladies lingerie - (for the record and to clarify beyond doubt, yes we are still talking about purchases for Alyssa!!). I find myself always bargaining with old ladies, offering triple the quantity, but they never seem to budge on the unit price. Happened to me previously in HK's Mongkok markets, where the only no sale of the night was again with an old lady selling lingerie - she even "told me off" for suggesting some place was cheaper - unbelievable. I don't know whether its the old ladies or the undies that brings me the bad karma, but I find it amusing nevertheless.

Talking of raw deals, I tell you I also have a tendency to find myself dragged up for performances on most stage shows we attend. Whether its in Switzerland being dragged up for some "yodelling" in front of hundreds of tourists, or in Alice Springs being dragged up with my favourite brothers to perform and imitate an "emu dance". This time it was the "Calypso Show" in Bangkok, a well made well known transexual cabaret show. Sitting in the second row, I was (of course) dragged up again by no less than 4 girls..(or should I say guys !!) for a very centre of attention dancing act, finishing with the spot light shining on..you guessed it...me !! This experience definitely redefined for me the meaning of a "drag" show. I think it must be for this very karma that we avoided the more infamous "sex shows" around Bangkok.

Chiang Mai - We only had a weekend in Chiang Mai and it was a mixture of both surprise and disappointment. Surprise at the visit to the Maesa elephant camp, where we were absolutely amazed by the elephant show. What they performed was truly amazing, from playing soccer to playing the harmonica...they even painted pictures (of which we bought one)of flowers better than what I can probably do in a hundred years. The pleasing thing about the camp was that it was set up as a safe haven for elephants. You can see this from the way they looked after the elephants and new borns, through to how they performed the show...there was no cruelty involved and you can sense the elephants are genuinely happy and free to express their own personalities. Disappointment came from our visit to a "hill tribe" village (Chiang Mai is famous for their hill tribe settlements). Due to not researching when doing our booking, we missed the opportunity to visit the "karan tribe" famous for the rings they put around their long necks. Instead we got to visit the "Mhong tribe" - a tribe of Chinese descent. This hill tribe visit was literally a walk up a hill, where we were met by just one family. I couldn't help but notice the huge "Pay TV" satellite dish outside the garden, when we were shown their subsistence "living quarters". Either I'm being too cynical, or I think there is some serious priority issues here. To give credit though, Alyssa did consider something authentic when we were shown a bare marijuana crop - my theory is the tour guide planted it for convenience and as an excuse to bring tourist up that part of his woods!!

We rounded our Chiang Mai experience with an exhilarating "tuk tuk" ride to the famous night bazaar for some more bargain hunting. Yes, no more lingerie but plenty of bargaining on exotic silks wraps, earrings, bangles etc for Alyssa.

Phuket - Phuket was the last stop for a real week's chill out before going back to the realities of work. We stayed at the Evason Resort & Spa south of the island. After spending a week in Bangkok, we deliberately kept away from the sleaze of Patong without regret. Apart from a day trip to Phi Phi island (which was very average) and a trip canoeing in low tide caves to reach wonderful lagoons - we stuck mainly to our resort. A stay at a spa resort is probably not complete without some spa treatments, and we had plenty of sessions of that during the week. Without much convincing from Alyssa, we found ourselves indulging in a bit of everything from massages to facials to full body mud wraps and flower petal baths. I never felt so clean in a long while after all those treatments, especially my back pocket !! Our resort also had their private island (Bon island) and we spent some time here snorkeling, kayaking, sailing and just plain sun bathing. We even saw more corals and tropical fish snorkeling 10m out on this island than we did around Phi Phi island. We were also lucky enough to receive a complimentary "day sala" which was a beach type bungalow fitted with all of life's little luxuries. We also made acquaintance with a great staff named Mr Roon, who made our island stay an absolute delight always going out of his way to service and pamper us - a good tip should always follow good service, and Mr Roon became a good friend after our stay.

So after 2 weeks of fun, fascinating sight seeing, and chilling out, it is back to the harsh reality of work. Funny my boss asked me today how my break was, I replied "great, but I'm struggling getting back into the work more than I expected, so this either says something about the holiday I had or the job I have"...probably not a smart thing to suggest to an MD, but I guess if I'm jobless tomorrow, I'll be writing up another adventure sooner than expected.