the.wander.lost

Operation Sabaidee

2010-04-01T13:53:00.001+08:00

In this mission's arsenal:

Nikon F100
Cosina CX-2
Horizont
Diana+
Ricoh GD

All these photographic goodies plus a couple of Moleskine sketchbooks,
Prisma pencils and some water colours should make for total domination!

First stop: MACAU

Hello World

2010-04-01T10:00:00.001+08:00

After so many times in Thailand, I finally got to Bang Sue

2009-01-24T17:00:00.003+08:00

Hong Kong to Macau to Bangkok

2009-01-23T22:00:00.002+08:00

Journey to Ayutthaya

2008-12-22T22:00:00.000+08:00

She said 'Yes'!

2008-12-21T22:00:00.001+08:00

In the Mood for Bangkok

2008-12-20T22:00:00.002+08:00

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Shenzhen to Bangkok

2008-12-19T22:00:00.001+08:00

Japanese Summer

2008-06-24T07:44:00.001+08:00

Day two of my summer holiday. Trigger and I will be spending the next 18 days exploring various parts of Japan and putting our broken Japanese to the test. She just boarded her Northwest flight and I still have an hour to kill before mine. As usual, a good chunk of last night was spent packing for this trip, so we only managed to get about an hour's worth of sleep before leaving the house at 5:30 a.m. For my next trip, I'm going to get my packing out of the way the day before. Hopefully wi-fi will be in abundance around the areas we visit. Stay tuned.

Final Day of Indulgence

2008-05-14T01:01:00.000+08:00

Last Night in Bangkok

2008-05-13T01:11:00.000+08:00

JJ Market Take 2

2008-05-13T01:03:00.000+08:00

Keeping it real with the locals at MBK

2008-05-12T12:15:00.000+08:00

Immortal Bar @ Khao San Rd

2008-05-11T11:10:00.000+08:00

Day 2 - Siam & JJ Market

2008-05-10T19:28:00.000+08:00

Pinoy Bangkok Indulgence Weekend

2008-05-10T11:06:00.000+08:00

Goodbye BKK

2008-04-06T17:17:00.001+08:00

We spent our last few precious hours at MBK for some high end food court cuisine, followed by a search for suitcases to store Jen and Shima's excess items. The plan had been to then hail a cab back to our guesthouse via Big C, but we ended up being stuck in standstill traffic for close to a half hour that we quickly jumped out at the nearest BTS stop and just rushed back to Hua Lumphong. Oh well, at least we got a taste of Bangkok rush hour traffic. In a little while we (Jen, Shima and I) will be making our way to the airport. But we'll be flying in to Shenzhen, which means it's gonna be another long evening/night of traveling. Home by midnight hopefully... Trigger on the other hand will remain in Thailand for a few more days before continuing on to Ho Chi Minh City and Myanmar and wherever else her imagination and finances may take her.

Day 16: Shima Takuya - Live at Noriega's

2008-04-05T23:39:00.000+08:00

Shima played to a room full of Buddhistson fans, many of whom actually caught the show that we (Whence He Came) played with them in Bangkok four years ago. The show took place at Noriega's, which was where The Lovesong also performed last summer. Highlight of the 3-song set was a member of the audience going on stage and playing a very spot on accompaniment of Pupil on drums. On the bill tonight were three amazing local bands: The Papers, Zero Hero, and Abuse the Youth. Be sure to look them up on myspace!

Day 16: JJ Market Shopping Frenzy

2008-04-05T20:10:00.000+08:00

All I have to say is, four hours at JJ market is definitely not enough. Can't for May when we'll devote an entire weekend to shopping at JJ like there's no tomorrow.

Day 15: Big C & Suan Lum

2008-04-04T23:09:00.000+08:00

Day 14: Living like kings in Bangkok

2008-04-04T01:20:00.000+08:00

Day 13: Overnight train - Nong Khai to Bangkok

2008-04-03T23:54:00.000+08:00

Day 13: Flight back to Vientiane

2008-04-03T23:48:00.000+08:00

Day 12: Luang Prabang

2008-04-02T23:13:00.000+08:00

Day 11: Exploring Luang Prabang

2008-04-01T13:50:00.000+08:00

Day 10: Vientiane to Luang Prabang

2008-03-31T13:32:00.000+08:00

Day 9: An evening in central Vientiane

2008-03-30T13:09:00.000+08:00

Day 9: Xieng Khuan (Buddha Park)

2008-03-30T13:00:00.000+08:00

In the Land of a Million Elephants

2008-03-29T23:24:00.003+08:00

Day 9 of our overland journey from Hong Kong to Bangkok sees us spending our last night in Vientiane, before making the 8.5 hour bus journey to Luang Prabang, the jewel of Indochina, where time supposedly comes to a stand still.

So far we've sat our butts on the seats of buses for more hours than we'd like, the most intense of which was the journey from Hué to Vientiane, via Savannakhet. It was a 10 hour bus ride from Hué to Savannakhet (on a 'tourist' bus that definitely had more of a local vibe going on), followed by another 8 before arriving in Vientiane at 5 something the following morning.

The ride from Dong Ha to the border was somewhat surreal, since we were traveling somewhat along the line of the 17th parallel, within the demilitarized zone where some of the fiercest battles between the Viet Cong and the US troops took place. The landscape bore resemblance to all the films made about the conflict, and as our buss passed by some villages I couldn't help but feel sadness for these villagers, that although they were the most removed from the decisions and concerns of the policy-makers, they were the ones most affected by the whole mess.

One thing that was noticeable almost immediately passing through the Lao Bao border crossing was the drastic change in landscape. Whereas the Vietnamese countryside was one of lush green vegetation and rice paddy fields, we saw nothing but miles after miles of dried up infertile lands in Laos, a desolate terrain deplete of any harvest. It's amazing how much geographic location can determine the fate of the inhabitants. And compared to all the three-storey houses that dominated the highway landscape in Vietnam, even in rural parts, all we saw lining along the highway in Laos were wooden huts, most being little more than a small elevated wooden platform with a straw roof on top. No walls, and certainly no doors.

But despite suffering on the agricultural front, and being a lot poorer than its neighbours, Laos more than makes up for it by the genuine friendliness of the people and the slow and laid-back way of life. It is really, like what they say, the 'real' South East Asia. I must admit that Vientiane is a lot more modern and developed than I had expected - after all, one can not only buy, but also get their iPhone unlocked in this city. Still, compared to other capital cities in the region, Vientiane is definitely up there in terms of the chilled out vibe.

Upon arrival in Vientiane at the crack of dawn, we spent the first few hours in search of a place to drop off our bags and catch up on a little sleep since it was quite impossible to get any of that on the bus. To our surprise, just about every hostel/guest house within a mile radius was fully booked up. Our only option was to wait until check-out time, which went anywhere from 10 a.m. to noon, to see if there were any guests checking out and making their north to Vang Vieng or elsewhere. So we sat by the edge of the Mekong, looking across to Thailand, and kept checking with the various hostels every so often. Ironically, by mid afternoon, we had hostel owners asking us if we were looking for rooms everytime we walked past one.

We ended up settling in at the Youth Inn, which isn't mentioned in Lonely Planet, but probably will in future editions, since it has all the trademarks of a recommendation, e.g. cheap clean rooms, good and friendly travel advice from owner, bus/train bookings, convenient location, etc.

Day one in Vientiane was spent on bicycles. Although Vientiane is quite manageable on foot, the scorching sun (which we never saw once in Vietnam) and the light traffic made cycling a very attractive way of seeing the city. We rode around and checked out the various tourist sights, the Patuxai, That Dam, Tat Lao Market, various Wats.

* internet cafe closing... to be continued from Luang Prabang

Day 8: Vientiane at last

2008-03-29T12:49:00.000+08:00

Day 7: Overnight bus to Vientiane

2008-03-28T23:39:00.000+08:00

Day 7: Hué to Savannakhet Nightmare Bus Journey

2008-03-27T21:50:00.000+08:00

Hué to Savannakhet

2008-03-27T06:55:00.003+08:00

Today we say goodbye to the sounds of hundreds of Vietnamese motorcycles on 'auto-honk' in exchange for the 'real South East Asia' that Laos supposedly has to offer. We'll be doing the Vietnam/Laos border crossing that's been my biggest concern for this trip. Not that it's complicated, but I've found inconsistent bits of information on this crossing. We're boarding the 6 am bus from Hue to Savannakhet, a 7-8 hour journey. And the idea is that we'll arrive in Savannakhet at 4-ish, and immediately find a Vientiane bus to hop on to, which is another 8-11 hours on the road. It seems to make better sense to arrive in Vientiane in the wee hours of the night and have the entire following day there, instead of staying the night in Savannakhet and then wasting a whole next day on a bus.

It's been an amazing time in Hanoi and Hue. The people here have been incredibly friendly, although I think it helps that there's a cute blonde girl traveling with us. Yesterday when we visited the old Citadel, Jen seemed like a bigger attraction to some of the locals than the Forbidden Purple Palace itself. What I've enjoyed most about being in Vietnam has been to catch a glimpse of the people's (far simpler) way of a life. Although the country is a lot less modern and undeveloped than other places in Asia, a large majority of the people do not appear to be living in poverty, or even if they are, at least they seem to be at peace with life and aren't caught up with the stresses and worries that seem to bog a lot of us urban dwellers of developed nations. I imagine Laos will take us even further back in time, and hopefully show me how life can really be lived and enjoyed.

Day 6: The Ancient City of Hué

2008-03-26T21:42:00.001+08:00

Day 5: Sleeper bus to Hué,

2008-03-25T21:25:00.000+08:00

Day 5: Hanoi

2008-03-25T21:19:00.000+08:00

HK-Guangzhou-Nanning-Hanoi

2008-03-25T00:50:00.000+08:00

Greetings from Hanoi, Vietnam. Between the train and buses, we've so far covered a total of about 1500 km. I think that's only a fraction of what's ahead of us.

So far it's been a very pleasant and relaxing journey. I managed to pick Shima up from the Guangzhou airport without much hassle, and he played a few tunes at the Reflector show at 191space. Surprisingly, there were actually kids who'd come out to see him. We had a late night post-show supper with Dai Wah Mui and some HK friends - a ridiculous amount of food for a mere 30 yuan per head.

The following day was spent lounging around the guest house until check-out time, since it was pouring quite heavily in Guangzhou. Our train for Nanning wasn't scheduled to depart until 16:57, so we just took our sweet time, and swung by an electronics/computer area to pick up a cheapo mp3 player (RMB100 for 1 gb) and some memory cards.

We had a 4-berth compartment to ourselves, which made for a more private and relaxing experience. The slightly cheaper class (6-berth) was more of a military dorm style, ie compartments without doors, hence a real lack of privacy. I'm sure it was still a lot more comfortable than those travelling in the seats. Since this was a sleeper train, night had set in by the time we left the industrial parts of Guangdong province, and hence there wasn't much of a view of the countryside.

We pulled in to a pitch black Nanning at a little after 6 am. Thanks to China having a single time zone across the entire width of the country, we were technically in the 5 am time zone, hence no sunrise at 6 am. We had no difficulty locating the street where the shop that supposedly sold the Nanning to Hanoi bus tickets was located on, but we learned from a nearby guest house owner that it had moved. Not being familiar with Nanning, we decided it'd be best to just catch a 20 minute taxi ride over to the bus station itself and just gamble on the possibility of there still being tickets available.

My journey through Guangzhou and Nanning has shattered a lot of my pre-conceptions about the state of Chinese cities. I'd imagined them in my mind to still be rather backwards and undeveloped. When I see how green Guangzhou is, or how clean and spread out the skyscrapers are being erected over in Nanning, I can't help but feel a sense of sadness and despair for Hong Kong. If things continue the way they are, ie with apparent lack of interest in tackling pollution issues, as well as an unquenching thirst to build as tall and as many buildings in as little space as possible, we may really lag behind the other Chinese cities in a decade or two.

We had a couple of hours to kill at the Lang Dong Bus Station before our Hanoi bus was going to depart, so we checked out the local KFC, primarily to sit down and grab a cup of coffee. Imagine our surprise when we saw their breakfast menu - congee and fried dough sticks, egg and ham breakfast burrito! Ironically enough, chicken could not be found in any of the dishes.

Rural farming landscapes served as the backdrop for the vast bulk of our journey from Nanning to Hanoi. The only real excitement came about at Friendship Pass, the Chinese-Vietnamese border crossing, when some Chinese immigration officers made a stink about me entering/leaving China on a re-entry permit, but using a British passport to travel elsewhere. There was no logic to it since I've done the same thing with Macau. And why did they care how I was going to enter Vietnam? As far as I was concerned, I'd entered and was going to leave China on a legitimate piece of travel document.

I must admit I was pretty nervous though. The thought of being denied departure, and hence screwing up the entire trip, was the last thing I needed. I was also worried that the Hanoi bus couldn't wait whilst I was being held up. Luckily everything got cleared up, they had nothing to bitch and whine about, and by 12:30 local time we were sitting on the Hanoi bus on the Vietnamese side of the border. Vietnamese immigration was a lot more laid-back, but I guess they made up for this by being rather thorough and having multiple posts along a 100 metre stretch for doing the same thing, ie passports got checked multiple times. What made no sense though was paying 2,000 dong for a so-called 'medical check-up', which involved little more than being scanned by one of those body heat machines.

We arrived in Hanoi a little before 5 in the afternoon. The sight from our bus of literally hundreds of motorcyclists was pretty intense. Of course, this was all rather mild compared to the experience of actually walking on the streets and trying to cross through these sea of motorcycles without the aid of traffic lights or signs. And with the sidewalks being filled up by shop vendors spilling their wares out on the street, we've had no choice BUT to squeeze ourselves onto the edge of the busy streets.

In typical unsuspecting tourist fashion, we got screwed over almost as soon as we'd arrived in Hanoi. We successfully thwarted off the scam of getting a super cheap ride into our section of town, ie Old Quarters, at the expense of staying at a hotel/guesthouse of scammer's choice... but just as we were patting ourselves on our backs, we jumped into a taxi rigged with a hyperactive meter. I'd assumed that as soon as a taxi ran by the meter we'd be alright. But obviously not. This meter was going up at an alarming rate. I started to inquire about the rate per kilometre, and pointed out that it was quite a lot more than what was mentioned in my Lonely Planet. Granted I had a 2005 edition on me, so I thought that perhaps inflation had hit Hanoi big time and that this was now the norm. Still, I had my suspicions, especially since the distance we'd covered was definitely not the 15 or so kilometres which he claimed. By the time I wanted to get out of the taxi, we were entering the Old Quarters and I was tired of making a scene. We paid our whopping 220,000 D and Trigger's recent edition of LP confirmed that we had indeed jumped on one of the more ridiculously expensive cabs. Based on my experiences in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Guangzhou... and now Vietnam... taxi drivers are really the scum of the earth. Which blows because I know there are good and honest ones out there too. The bad eggs just kinda make it hard for me to take the good ones seriously.

We checked in to a four person family suite at the Viet Anh II Hotel. At US$35/night, it's money well spent, since we were all pretty tired from the buses and train... plus the room's pretty darn huge and there's free buffet breakfast thrown in, so we can't really complain. We just took it easy on our first night, walking around the Old Quarters and soaking in the atmosphere. The motorcyles were a visual/aural delight for the first couple of hours. Now I find them to be extremely irritating (the way they have to honk at everything that moves), and occasionally life threatening - Trigger got hit on the arm by one and we saw a girl on a bike almost get knocked off by another.

We also managed to book our onward journey to Hué. It was a tough decision to make, choosing between train or bus, but in the end we decided that the bus, at half the price, fit in more nicely with our economical way of traveling. The man working behind the desk at the travel agency, upon learning that we were from Hong Kong, started speaking to us in rusty Cantonese and pulled out his wallet to reveal an identity card of some sort. Turns out that he was a boat refugee and had lived at the Vietnamese refugee camps in Hong Kong for 8 years. It was cool to actually meet someone who'd lived through the experience, to be able to connect to that piece of HK history.

Day 4 Hanoi's Old Quarters

2008-03-24T21:12:00.000+08:00

Day 3 First Day in Hanoi

2008-03-23T21:04:00.000+08:00

Day 3: Nanning to Hanoi

2008-03-23T20:54:00.000+08:00

Day 2: Around Guangzhou

2008-03-22T21:49:00.000+08:00

Day 2: Guangzhou to Nanning

2008-03-22T19:39:00.000+08:00

Day 1: HK to Guangzhou

2008-03-21T21:34:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong to Bangkok by land

2008-03-21T11:38:00.003+08:00

The moment has finally arrived. Today marks the start of our overland journey from Hong Kong to Bangkok, via China, Vietnam and Laos. Should be quite the adventure. Trigger and I have done similar things (albeit on a much smaller scale) so we should be alright. What's of interest to me is how Jen, who's never really backpacked in her life before, will cope with the dodgy guesthouses and cramped buses. Well, hopefully she can squat. We're catching the 12:45 pm bus to Guangzhou, where we'll meet up with Shima. The four of us will spend the night there, and then proceed to Nanning the following afternoon. Armed with four cameras and 40 or so rolls of film... let the fun begin!

Free Wi-Fi at KLIA

2008-02-10T08:48:00.002+08:00

Nothing beats having web access whilst waiting around in the departure area, especially when the departure area in question has little more to offer than one duty free shop and a humble restaurant. But for some reason I'm not having much luck with uploading the images so those are gonna have to wait.

Boarding time. Catch y'all on the flipside.

Last Night in Kuala Lumpur

2008-02-10T02:16:00.000+08:00

Just got back back from hanging out with Meng, shredder extraodinaire from the mighty Love Me Butch. It's been a good week down in Malaysia and I'm thankful I got to spend Chinese New Year with my relatives once again. Didn't have much luck with wi-fi access in Gopeng/Ipoh so I'm gonna have to wait until I'm back in HK before I upload a bunch of pics. We made an overnight trip up to Cameron Highlands and that was definitely a higlight of this visit, although the British summer weather up there kinda caught me a little off guard. Have to get up at 5:30 in the morning so I better call it a night.

Day 9 - Lunch in Ipoh

2008-02-09T14:10:00.001+08:00

We drove up to Ipoh to grab a bite before making the drive down to KL. Couldn't really leave without sampling a bowl of the famous Ipoh Hor Fun. We ate at an old school joint that even my mum and her siblings went to back when they were kids, back when something as simple as an
ice cream float was a real treat. Unfortunately for me, I'd been coughing since my arrival in Gopeng so I decided to pass up on the float. My grandparents definitely seemed to enjoy theirs though. Afterwards we went for a scenic cruise around the Old Town part and my aunt pointed out the street where the tram scene from Lust, Caustion was filmed. Unfortunately, minus the props and the lights, it didn't look quite as dramatic.

Day 8 - Evening in Gopeng/Ipoh

2008-02-08T23:58:00.000+08:00

Day 8 - Strawberry Overdose in Cameron Highlands

2008-02-08T23:53:00.000+08:00

Day 7 - Cameron Highlands

2008-02-07T23:22:00.000+08:00

We decided to spend the first day of the Year of the Rat with a drive
up to the Cameron Highlands, which was good because I hadn't been
there for around 15 years or so. Because of its cool climate, it is a
popular place for the growing of tea leaves, strawberries, corn and
other fruits and vegetables. I had my first experience of eating
uncooked corn-on-the-cob... a bit too 'raw and earthy for my liking,
but my aunts and cousins were quite into it. We also got a bit too
strawberried - strawberry popsickles, strawberry shake, strawberry ice
cream, strawberry chocolate... the list goes on. Up there, it felt
like being in England in the summer. Definitely not warm, but a nice
relief from the heat below. Cameron Highlands has its share of (mock)
Tutor style cottages, which fits perfectly with the weather and the
landscape. However, I couldn't quite figure why seafood is another of
its specialties, being so high up and miles away from the coast.

Day 7 - Chinese New Year in Gopeng

2008-02-07T23:12:00.001+08:00

Day 6 - Gopeng

2008-02-06T23:06:00.000+08:00

Penang to Ipoh

2008-02-06T23:02:00.000+08:00

Penang Sunrise

2008-02-06T10:45:00.002+08:00

I decided to get up at 5:30 am in order to roam around Georgetown a little bit more, as well as catching the sunrise whilst crossing the 6:20 ferry over to Butterworth. Unfortunately I got the timing a little off, and the sun had only started to peek over the horizon by the time I caught the ferry back to the island from Butterworth. Oh well, at least I got to see a VERY different side of Georgetown - one where ladyboys roam the streets and can be spotted hanging around street
corners and outside cheap run-down guesthouses. That was definitely unexpected. Managed to get a couple more apoms into my system prior to returning to the hotel and catching a taxi over to Sungai Nibong for my bus to Ipoh.

Bollywood Action @ Penang Odeon

2008-02-05T22:34:00.000+08:00

My Bollywood experience can be summed up in one word: LOUD. The
theatre was equipped with one of those fancy DTS sound systems and I
guess they felt it was necessary to really show things off by cranking
the volume up to 10. The level was comparable to your typical
hardcore/punk show inside a small club that leaves your ears ringing
for at least the next couple of days. The movie itself was enjoyable
for the most part. Despite not understanding what they were saying, I
managed to pick up enough fo the over-dramatic facial expressions and
body language to get a sense of where the story was headed. But two
and a half hours later, the volume just became too unbearable, and so
I simply had to get up and leave the theatre. Besides, the film did
not seem to be drawing to any kind of a logical conclusion any time
soon.

Last Evening in Penang

2008-02-05T22:09:00.000+08:00

Nightmare Bus Trip to Batu Maung

2008-02-05T20:48:00.000+08:00

We were packed into the bus like cattles both going there and back. My '3-3' bus had aircon, although I'm not sure what good it did since the doors were once again flung wide open. Oh well, it was better than the one on the way back: aircon bus with a faulty a/c and no doors open. And I had to change buses halfway since the driver decided to change routes or something. The second bus in such a state of disrepair that some of the poles slid back and forth.

The bus dumped me off at the last stop, in the middle of nowhere. Not quite the 'fishing village' I had in mind. After walking around aimlessly for 15 minutes, I gave up and walked back the way I came. Stumbled upon a hawker centre, where the owner of the pineapple rice stall offered to drive me to where I was headed since he didn't want to see me walk 15 minutes in the sun.

Good thing he offered since it looked more like a 30 minutes walk. I found the 'fishing village', which wasn't all that Lonely Planet had made it out to be. Apparently the seafood is good but I was too early.

All in all, I probably spent a whopping 20 minutes there, and a good four hours on the bus.

OK. Off to catch some Bollywood action at the local cinema. I'm sure it'll be a lot more exciting than Batu Maung.

The Archaic Penang Bus Network

2008-02-05T12:51:00.000+08:00

The past 90 minutes has been spent in the bus terminal below Komtar, waiting for the U302 to Batu Maung that doesn't seem to exist, and inhaling well beyond my daily 'requirement' of carbon monoxide.

The main bus operator 'Rapid Penang' seems to be taking a day off as all the bus lanes are instead lined with 'Milan' buses - a far more ghetto offering; the kind that cruises around with the doors flung wide open. Although that in itself isn't a problem, what has left me baffled are the cryptic bus numbers.

All buses seem to go by either 3-3, 3-4 or 2-3, although buses with say 3-3 can go to very different directions. 3-3 Batu Feringgi, 3-3 Air Itam. Heck, even the one I want is supposed to be a 3-3.

What doesn't help is that Milan seems to either have changed their numbering system or have bought their buses from a failing operator. Case in point, another 3-3 variety bore '69 Batu Maung' on its side. This was actually the number Lonely Planet has listed, yet the bus was actually headed to anywhere BUT my destination. Good thing I'd asked the bus driver or I might be spending the afternoon on a very different part of the island.

Day 5 - Breakfast in Penang

2008-02-05T10:30:00.002+08:00

Been having some problems with the SD card, hence the lack of updates as all the pics seem to have disappeared. Three cheers for the wonders of technology. Managed to work around the problem but it means low res images for the time being.

Had a delicious breakfast this morning - apom. Not quite sure where it's from since i've never had it anywhere else.

This afternoon it's a visit to the snake temple followed by the fishing village of Batu Maung.

Day 4 - Evening with Sam and Neeltje

2008-02-04T21:42:00.002+08:00

Met up with Sam and Neetlje again in the evening. Had a chance to check out the other restaurants that their family is running, Soho Freehouse - which happens to be just on the next street from where I'm staying, and Soho Country House - on the mainland over at Auto City.
Both are very authentic looking English pubs, complete with all the standard grubs such as Bangers & Mash, Steak & Beer pie, Fish & Chips. According to Lonely Planet they have the largest selection of British beer on tap, so be sure to pay them a visit, especially for those
missing a taste of the UK.

Day 4 - Kek Lok Si with Dr Yuan

2008-02-04T21:36:00.004+08:00

First thing I did after waking up was to see if I could move into the same room that I'd stayed at on my previous visit. Unfortunately it was still occupied, but fortunately the guest staying in the one opposite had just checked out, so I quickly moved my stuff there. Spent the better part of the day hanging out with Dr Yuan, a Hong Kong-born Chinese doctor who moved to Malaysia in the 60s, got married, and started a new life out in Penang. My girlfriend and I met him outside a temple in the early hours of the morning during our previous visit to Penang. He seemed genuinely delighted to see me and took me to a couple of eating joints around Georgetown, as well as accompanying me to Kek Lok Si later in the afternoon. Unfortunately this was also when the phone's SD card started screwing up, so I was only able to document the day with a small handful of images.

Day 3 - Around Georgetown

2008-02-03T22:29:00.000+08:00

My first day in Penang was spent checking in at the Cathay Hotel and catching up with some of the staff that I got to know on my previous stay. Later on in the day, my old friends from Europe, Sam and Neetlje, whom I hadn't seen since they got married, and who happened to be living in Penang, came by and picked me up. It's crazy how small the world really is because I met Neetlje at Cornerstone Festival of all places, back in 2000. Later on she moved back to Holland, and we got to hang out a couple of times during my TSTGU days. Sam I got to know whilst living in London, as we had mutual friends in the so-called 'Christian music/alternative' scene. Fast forward eight years and they're now in Penang, married, and expecting their first child. We hung out at the QE II, one of the restaurants owned by Sam's family. It overlooks the harbour between Penang Island and Butterworth, and is situated right alongside all the incredible looking colonial buildings, right in the heart of what I guess was the former financial district of Georgetown. Apparently a lot of money is being invested into rejuvenating that part of town, so I imagine it's going to look pretty amazing a year or two from now. On a side (and biased) note, the QE II serves pretty darn good woodfire oven pizzas.

Day 3 - KL to Penang

2008-02-03T21:56:00.000+08:00

Day 2 - Switchfoot Live in KL

2008-02-02T21:53:00.000+08:00

Day 2 - Coliseum Café

2008-02-02T21:30:00.000+08:00

Day 1 - KL at Night

2008-02-01T21:27:00.000+08:00

Day 1 - Flight to KL

2008-02-01T21:26:00.000+08:00

Freezing Cold Macau

2008-02-01T16:45:00.000+08:00

So here I am again, at my usual phone charging, wi-fi hotspot. All is deadly quiet in Macau, and the freezing cold and wet air serves as the perfect backdrop to this eerie calm. I imagine things will be quite different when Chinese New Year kicks in next week, but for now, today's Macau reminds me of how it felt visiting here a decade ago. There was almost a European winter vibe just now as the bus passed along smoking factory chimneys and industrial warehouses. Even with my long johns and thermal under shirt I'm still shivering, yet when I get off the plane five hours from now I'll probably be sweating like a pig.

JJ Weekend Market

2008-01-05T23:55:00.000+08:00

Papaya + King Ly Chee

2008-01-05T10:44:00.000+08:00

Still no Wi-Fi access. Spent the better part of yesterday rummaging through the enormous Papaya warehouse. The selection of everything from lamps to chairs to clocks to curious goods is just incredible. Gonna hit there again this morning to take pics of what I may be interested in, and then sort it all out when I'm back in Hong Kong.

Had a pretty embarassing massage involving little more than a (too revealing) piece of disposable g-string. Don't worry, it was legit. And the lady was fully dressed. Umm... it was awkward but good.

Caught up with Riz from King Ly Chee in the evening. He happens to be in town with his girlfriend Alison. We roamed around Suan Lum for a bit and met up with the infamous Yos, organizer of Yos Fest in Bangkok.

Will upload tons of pics as soon as I get the access.

p.s. Tons of pics have been uploaded. I'll take care of the remainder upon my return from Malaysia

Return to Suan Lum

2008-01-04T23:50:00.000+08:00

PAPAYA!!!

2008-01-04T23:43:00.000+08:00

Sri Hualampong Hotel

2008-01-04T23:38:00.000+08:00

250 baht a night. no A/C. cold showers. can't go wrong.

Ratchadamri + Seedy Patpong

2008-01-04T12:49:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. The mysterious source of wi-fi has mysteriously disappeared on me. Oh well, time to hit the free wi-fi cafes at some point today.

I spent the better part of yesterday's afternoon catching up with Boom, drummer from a band that Lovesong played with in Bangkok last summer. He patiently followed me around whilst I did the things that I guess only tourists do, e.g. stocking up on Lay's potato chips and Mama instant noodles at Big C, going up the Sky Hotel to get an aerial view of the city, wandering around CentralWorld like a couple of lost sheeps.

Before meeting up with a long lost friend from London for dinner, I managed to find the time to get some serious Thai massage action back at the Train Inn. The masseuse really pushed in to the back tissues. I was rushed for time so I only managed to get around 45 minutes, but I definitely need to head back there for a solid couple of hours.

Ended up having this amazing Swiss cheese fondue at CentralWorld for dinner. A little guilty indulging in western food when I'm in Thailand, but I guess it's justifiable since we don't really have anything of this sort in Hong Kong.

After dinner Choltida dropped me off at Patpong for some 'pingpong' action. Haha. The market pales in comparison to what's offered at Suan Lum and it was a rather sobering experience seeing hordes of middle aged white dudes with young Thai girls trailing behind them.

Patpong and the Late Night Walk Home

2008-01-03T23:54:00.000+08:00

Centraworld with the Naked boyz

2008-01-03T23:53:00.000+08:00

Baiyoke Sky Tower

2008-01-03T23:52:00.000+08:00

Chilling with Boom around Ratchadamri

2008-01-03T23:51:00.000+08:00

Suan Lum Night Bazaar

2008-01-02T23:30:00.000+08:00

Met up with my old friend from London, Choltida, inside a block of design studios, tucked away in a non-descript row of residential buildings in Klong Toei (which isn't pronounced at all like how it's spelt). We then drove over to Suan Lum and walked around the numerous stalls (full of too many things I wish to buy, but which are impossible to bring back), followed by some foot massage before calling it a night.

The Train Inn + Siam

2008-01-02T12:19:00.000+08:00

There's an unidentifiable source of Wi-Fi in my room, which means I should be able to update on a regular basis.

I've checked myself in at the Train Inn. This is my third time so the staff recognized me as soon as I walk in. Not as affordable as Khaosan Rd, but definitely a lot cleaner and accessible. But having said that, there's a real classic looking train station hotel next door that I may give a try at for the next two nights.

Spent the afternoon around the Siam area. I went mostly for the incredible food court that I and the other Lovesong boys fell in love with whilst on tour here last summer. It's a lot different when you're travelling on your own than with your significant other or with a group of friends. If anything, I enjoy the pleasure of being able to see things at a slower pace and following my own schedule.

The weather's been incredibly cool. I walked around in 2-3 layers and still felt great. Hope it remains like that today. Time to hit the Big C supermarket.

FD3601 to Bangkok

2008-01-02T10:33:00.000+08:00

I'm currently at the Macau airport awaiting my 1110 departure to Bangkok. Check-in, immigration and security was a breeze. Gotta love countries which don't have enemies or threat, especially when airports come with free Wi-Fi!

P.S. Apologies about the pics in the previous post. Didn't realize I'd set the camera at low-res :(

First Night of 2008

2008-01-02T10:11:00.000+08:00

In order to not risk slow connections between ferries and buses, and hence missing my morning flight to Bangkok, I decided to head over to Macau the night before. And not knowing when it may shut down for good, I just had to once again check myself in at Vong Kong Hospedaria, the location for Wong Kar-Wai's 'The Hand'. Sure the room was bare and run-down, but you can't really complain at HK$40 a night. Compared to San Va (setting for Isabella and 2046) this place is the real deal, where all the falling apart interior deco has remain unchanged for close to a hundred years. By the time I arrived at Vong Kong it was already 7 something, so I didn't really get around as much as I'd liked, apart from hitting a couple of regularly frequented eateries and walking around the central parts. Luckily all the Christmas/New Year tourists had left (or were perhaps hiding from the cold inside the casinos) so Macau was once again her tranquil self.

Last Day in Norman, OK

2007-10-19T19:58:00.000+08:00

Day 6 @ Blackwatch Studios

2007-10-18T17:23:00.000+08:00

Day 5 @ Blackwatch Studios

2007-10-17T23:59:00.000+08:00

Day 4 @ Blackwatch Studios

2007-10-16T23:52:00.000+08:00