Currently, given an assignment on label printing on a thermal printer. And I was soooo happy the other day to have done with barcode printing. Now it's time for another round of R&D again. (so far I've been doing these R & D stuff because the program requirements have not been finalized yet. It's definitely better because I'd prefer something to do rather than keeping my head from nodding off). I have to read some documentations 3 to 4 times in order to get the idea what it's trying to say.Man, I'm already technically deficient and to do this assignment involves things like parallel ports, print drivers, escape commands - ai yai yai... I'm not sure whether I can go through this one. Lots of new programming stuff to learn here to since they're using the latest SAP version.

There's some slight breakthrough as to regards of working with the Thai guys. The one sitting in front of me, shall now be known as nk has shared with me some tips in learning new programming stuff because I thought him what I know on barcode printing. But don't get any wrong ideas. He's most likely having a girl and maybe even married (his right hand 4th finger has a ring - If left, it means married right?) I have to notice because I need to explain when others tease me... I'm getting old for this kind of thing - sometimes I wish I could just bluff and say that I'm already attached in order to avoid the misunderstanding. I'd thought about it though, but then what if they ask more on the boyfriend? Then I'd have to go deeper into my lie and come up with non-existant names and stories...

Then there was another fella who was really helpful in finding the people who I need to work with. I have to remind myself to get something from Malaysia (most likely food) to treat them...

My credit card usage has been shooting up like crazy due to my payment for my hotel stays. I get the money back on the next month from my company. This month I have a choice whether I would like the company to pay first but after giving some thought to it, I thought it's better for me to collect points on my credit card. I can earn more than 3,000 points a month that way.

Friday - Entry: 4.8.2000

Went to the night market near my apartment (about 15 minutes walk). Lots of food and fruits here. Tippawan, Thai colleague took me to a Chinese shop selling rice crackers with flossy pork and other Chinese foodstuff. Bought myself one packet to try. (Ever since then, I'm a regular customer here - buying 15 packets - free one every weekend I go back to Malaysia!).

Tried the 'pat tai'. Something like char kuay teow. But sweet and spicy. Only 20 baht. The fruit shake was absolutely yummy...

Saturday - Entry: 5.8.2000 - Chatuchak market and Siam Square

I had a great weekend! Finally went to sightsee a bit of Bangkok city. I went to the weekend market - really huge place where just about everything under the sun (not really - just exaggerating a bit) can be found here. It's the Chatuchak market. Has 6,000 stalls with the size of 5 football fields. To be honest, I just simply walked around and I probably gotten around an area of 1 football field only. Well, yours truly had a cash problemo. I had forgotten to exchange money at the KLIA last week and I thought that I could exchange some while in Bangkok. However I didn't know that they don't accept Malaysian money... So, got to be very budget minded that day.

I came here with one of the Thai consultants, Tippawan who was really nice enough to take me there. Most of my colleagues went back to KL on Friday and I was absolutely determined to visit whatever tourist area in order to "jaga" my reputation. I mean, I am known as sort of a wanderer.

Tippawan and I took a bus to Surasak skytrain station where we took the skytrain all the way to the terminal station of Mo Chit. From the Mo Chit station above, the Chatuchak market area was extremely large. I expected lots of big umbrellas but then it was rows of attap bulidings. The walkways are very narrow and with lots of people coming to browse and shop, you can imagine it as a bit stuffy. Fortunately there were open spaces here and there.

Found lots of souvenir shops where I would like to buy stuff. The only thing I don't like is that I have to bargain for it. Man... I hate bargaining. To make it worse, I haven't mastered the Thai language yet - so currently it's not an enjoyable activity. With Tippawan by the side, it was a blessing. She helped me when needed. However, I plan to visit this place again (armed with lots of cash next time!) on my own, so it's going to be practice time for me on bargaining. Lots of nice clothes too. There's also food stalls and plants selling stalls. But I wasn't about to leave without having to see the pets stalls. According to my guide book, there used to be a number of active stalls selling exotic animals. Fortunately, the only exotic animals I probably managed to see were the colourful parrots. There were also aquariums and fish on sale. Guinea pigs, squirrels, rabbits. And the best part... dogs/puppies! But it's pretty sad to see the cute little puppies on sale. They look so lost.

After the Chatuchak market, Tippawan took me to the Siam Square which is a modern shopping area. Something like KLCC (smaller version). Here, I felt like it's not Bangkok. It could be KL, Singapore or Hong Kong. This is a teenager's haunt. And they're pretty up-to-date on fashion at that. Dyed hair. Gel. Skin tight blouse. Basically, it's a shame how Asians are copying Westerners. Yeah - something like lost culture. I'm not critizing as I'm also part of it. I mean, we do wear jeans and tops like the Westerners and I kinda like it because it's more comfortable.

Somehow, there's a sign from the Creator (I'm a Buddhist but sometimes like to think there's a higher element who's in charge of this world) that I should go for a Hard Rock Cafe hunt in Bangkok. Well, back when Gui, Doreen and I went to Singapore, we had a picture taken in front of the Hard Rock there. Then when the three of us were in London, we also went on a search for the Hard Rock Cafe there - just for fun. Now, here while on the skytrain, I caught a glimpse of the famous signboard and told this story to Tippawan why I have some sort of a fascination for it.

And so both of us tried to find it. It was only after about 10 minutes that we managed to find it. So, mission accomplished and I got my picture taken.

About this place... Well, not much that I would like. We were also here to find whether there's a shop selling a certain sun block lotion for another colleague. Unfortunately the distributor and the product seems to be unknown to the many pharmacies around there.

By the time we got back it was like 4 something. Very tired. I think I'm getting old - totally 'unMe'.

Sunday - Entry: 6.8.2000 - Grand Palace and Wat Arun

Next day - Sunday was a great solo adventure to the Grand Palace - the prettiest 'Wat' in Bangkok.

I had in mind to take the 8am free shuttle van service to Chong Nonsi skytrain station. I reminded myself that I was low on cash (and i really didn't want to borrow from anyone just yet). I decided to save up on lunch by packing some sandwiches (bread with sausages). But by the time I finished breakfast, I was back at the apartment at 7.45am. You can imagine the rush I had to make! For one thing, it was also my first time cooking sausages (can you believe that!). And that electric stove was 'real fast' in heating up. I kept mumbling 'come on, come on' and hoping that the oil would heat up as soon as possible. Anyhow, I cooked the sausages and managed to get down to the lobby at 8.05am. Well, I did see the van waiting for 5 minutes on saturday. so I walked to the notice board and saw that the hourly shuttle van actually starts at 10am. But I didn't check with the receptionist on this matter yet.

Although I wanted to take the bus, I was also reluctant to do so for fear of missing the stopping point. I was not in the mood for being over adventurous that day. I just wanted so badly to make it to the grand palace without encountering funny situations which I sometimes do. So, you know what? I decided to walk. For one thing I love walking but then I also had a problem. there's a corn (the doctor says it's callus) on the bottom of my feet and it hurts if I put pressure on it. In short, everytime I walk, it hurts. But sometimes, I get use to it and then it doesn't bother me. Provided I'm wearing socks and sports shoes (I've been wearing sport shoes to work so far due to this problem).

So walking I did. It was a 30 minutes walk. Initially, you can imagine me limping a bit as I wanted to put less pressure on my right feet. It was an awkward situation but one can get through it. Furthermore, bangkok is very, very 'flat'. Can't seem to see any hills or mountains.

I was so relieved to get into the skytrain - aircond - needed that - was sweating badly. from the terminal station, I walked down to Sathorn Pier to take an express boat to the Grand Palace. There, I asked a Japanese guy (Mr. Thagami) whether I was on the right pier to take a boat up to grand palace. He spoke in English haltingly and told me I was on the right track. he was going to wat pho for a massage (and that made me set a next adventure for Bangkok).

The express boat arrived shortly. I took the public express boat which was so very cheap. It only costs me 6 baht (that's about 0.60 cents).

Oh by the way, the river I was on is the famous - Menam Chao Phraya. It was a big river with lots of houses and jetties on its bank. An interesting view like some of the Western consultants say - you see big rich houses and then you see small poor houses by the side. Actually - we do have a bit of this scenery in Malaysia too.

When arriving at the Chang Pier, I could see Wat Arun on the other side. And I thought maybe after Grand Palace, I'd give it a visit.

It wasn't difficult to get to Grand Palace because it's already near the pier and furthermore the magnificent peaks of temple buildings were clearly visible from the river. But when exiting from the pier, a 'tuk-tuk' (it's a three-wheeled motorbike trishaw like) driver approached me and asked me where I was going. I said - to the Grand Palace. He said it was Buddhist Day and the Grand Palace will only open at 11.30am (at that time, it was about 9.30am). So he offered to take me sight-see to other places before I go to the Grand Palace. Thank God for my determination for Grand Palace only. I was absolutely stubborn headed for anyone to ruin my plans for the day. So I thanked him and told him I could wait at the palace.

And so I arrived at the Grand Palace and you are probably getting a feeling that it was opened as usual (8.30am to 3.30pm). Mmm... my first 'con' case. Let me tell you - there were further attempts to con me again - stories coming up later!

The entrance fees to the Grand Palace is 200 baht. Has 3 tickets - the entrance to Grand Palace, the entrance to the royal coin and medals museum and the entrance to Wimanmek palace. There were so many tourists about already.

I was about to start my own personal tour using my prized guide book (worth RM98.95) when I saw that there was a free guided tour at 10 am. So I signed up for it. And it was a very good decision because the Thai guide lady was absolutely informative. She spoke of stuffs that I'd read from the guide book plus other stuffs as well. Our tour group consists of me, a couple from England, a guy from New Zealand and a lady from Bangkok. It was really nice to be in a small group. You get to hear the tour guide clearly and it's easy keeping everyone together.

Oh yeah... I must say that the temple area is simply awesome. The Grand Palace consists of many parts actually. The main one is Wat Phra Keo complex. The amazing part is the delicate artwork done.

The couple from England, Jeff and Julie were very friendly. When we took pictures together, Jeff would squeeze both Julie and me tightly as if we're good old buddies. They're really enjoying their lives and they said that their travel plans are already paved out for 10 years. I would say they are over 50 years old.

Both of them were like my wish came true. you see, I was looking forward to going sightseeing alone and hoping to bump into some other people from other countries while doing so. I actually envisioned this thing happening the night before. I had pictures taken by other tourists (trust them more...) and so it was a well 'documented' proof of me being at those places.

After the Grand Palace which took less than 2 hours (I actually thought of spending the whole day here), I decided to go for Wat Arun. From the guide book, this temple looks absolutely old and unique. I had my heart set on it the moment I saw it from the riverboat. It looked so mysterious. Like something great beckons.

Anyway, walking back to the pier, I found out that the public boat to Wat Arun over at the other side of the river can be taken at another pier. And so I walked - although I wasn't too sure which pier because on my guide map, there were two piers. Anyhow, I trust my 'luck'. You know sometimes, I feel that I'm very lucky in certain areas and travelling is one of them.

I stopped at a bus stop as I felt extremely hungry and got out my pathetic bread and sausages. I had my lunch there and then. and after that I preceded based on my ahem... instincts. Not far away was Wat Pho, which looked like a place to visit as well. But then again, too many temples in one day can spoil the appreciation (just like too many statues in Europe - the churches still look nice though even after visiting a number of them).

Before I got near Wat Pho, a man called out to me and asked where I was heading to. I told him my destination and you can guess what he said right? "Oh, Wat Arun not open today. Today is Buddhist Day. Come, I take you to four places. One to see Lucky Buddha, another temple - Wat Bonniwet, shopping area and (i forgot). All for 20 baht."

And the worse part was he wrote something on my prized RM98.95 Thai guide book with his pen. Blast him! When I said I wasn't interested, he became quite persistent. And that really made me bengang a bit. So in order to get away from him, I lied to him that I wasn't visiting Wat Arun. just that a friend was waiting for me there. In my mind, I was saying "You con me, I con you lah!".

Fortunately, I managed to see some gwailos walking towards an old wooden building. It turned out to be the pier (Tien Pier) that I could take a boat across to Wat Arun. And it was only for 2 baht! So very cheap. Of course, it was just a short ride.

The story from my weekend trip is almost finished. For Wat Arun, it was just a short visit. There was a snake man in front of the temple holding a big python. I don't want to get close to it. Not that I'm afraid of handling it (although I've never!). Just want to avoid having to pay for photo session with the snakes.

The temple is very unique - it's covered with broken pieces of chinese porcelain. However, the postcard pictures look better than up close. I only managed to snap one photo before the film finished. I wonder how that will turn out.

I departed at 2pm and went through the I did a walk around the Grand Palace walls and this time, I kept my thai guide book in my bag to avoid further 'con' attempts. And you know what? I did get conned. When I decided to buy some stamps for the postcards which I chose at a small souvenir shop at the Tien Pier, the lady says 15 baht per postcard will do. I bought three while at the same time asked for directions. When I got back to the apartment, I found that my stamps were only worth 12 baht per piece.

Well only one bad incident although I was 'lucky' again when I took the boat back to the Sathorn Pier near Shangri-La hotel. You see, the signboard has a few boats on it with different colored flags. One of the flags is red in color for the route that I was taking. However after waiting for more than half an hour, there still wasn't any public boat around until one came but with a different flag which wasn't listed in the board. I took a chance and got on it (I can take a risk here since my mission for the day has been accomplished). Yep, it's a boat which I could take.

I don't think I wanna describe what I'd seen at Grand Palace by words. As the saying goes - a picture is worth a thousand words.:

The pet section at Chatuchak market.

Tippawan and me at the Mo Chit skytrain station.

The Victory Monument seen from the skytrain.

The robot building - the one on the right as seen from the Chong Non Si skytrain station.

The Narathiwat road near my apartment.

The Grand Palace behind me.

The entrance to the Grand Palace.

Part of the artwork at the Ramakien Gallery - very impressive. Restoration needs to be done continuously.

The guardians of the palace.

Notice the replica of Angkor Wat on the right?

A Buddha statue and the magnificent work to adorn the temple.

The Emerald Buddha - Outside this building was a bowl of water - they say it's lucky water where you sprinkle on your head with a lotus bud. I did it but I don't know whether I was lucky afterwards...

Being squeezed by Jeff while taking pictures with his wife, Julie too.

Offerings to the Buddha.

With the other members of the free tour group.

Regards,
Li Li