Selamat Hari Malaysia

On Aug 31, the country celebrated its 55th year of independence. In 1957, Malaya, as it was known then, received independence from British rule. However, it was only in 16 September 1963 that Malaysia was formed, with the inclusion of Sarawak, North Borneo (now known as Sabah) and Singapore (which subsequently left in 1965 to be a republic of its own).

Tomorrow, the country will be celebrating what is called Malaysia Day. It was only in the past few years that the government had decided to declare this date a public holiday as it should be recognised as a significant date for the country. Therefore, this weekend, we will have a three-day break as the public holiday falls on a Sunday, making Monday a holiday too.

ACE will be spending this weekend with a short trip back to A's hometown of both Seremban and Melaka. My side of the family hails from Melaka. I grew up in what was then a small, quiet town which has now turned into a tourist haven mainly because of its historical attractions. However, Seremban is also considered my hometown as I was born there and spent my early infant/toddler years there before moving back to Melaka to go to school and grow up there.

Progress and tourism has made Melaka busier and everytime I visit it, I feel like a stranger.  There are many more tall and modern buildings, and attractions for tourists. The old narrow roads have become busier. There are newer roads that never used to be there, and highways too. Lots of rural land have been developed. Some old business establishments have gone while those that remain have moved with the times, expanding into larger, more modern premises to cater to the demands of tourists.

Jonker Street used to be just an old narrow residential road in the heart of town but now, walking down that street makes me feel like I'm walking through a popular tourist street in Thailand or Bali. What used to be family homes have become little shops selling souvenirs, street food and 'antiques'.

I miss the old Melaka.

Aloe Vera Flowers

It never crossed my mind that aloe veras have flowers until a few days ago when I suddenly noticed one of my aloe plants has grown a tall stalk of flowers. I water my plants daily but I never noticed it the day before. Did they just appear overnight like 'now you don't see it, now you see it'? Or did I simply overlook the flowering stem earlier and only noticed it when the flower buds started appearing? Beats me. Nevertheless, it's quite fascinating as it's my first time seeing a flowering aloe vera plant.

Here's what  my plant and its flowers look like in my unkempt and overgrown grass patch.

Bangkok - where to stay, places to visit, things to do

During the recent one-week school holiday, ACE spent five days in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand is a country rich in history, culture, and nature. It is also a place where you can find good street food, cheap shopping, nice beaches and islands. Bangkok is the capital and largest city of the country and within Bangkok itself and nearby areas, there are many things to do and see. We tried to see and do what we could in those five short days.

Thailand (picture extracted from Wikipedia)

 

With the Internet, making travel arrangements are so much easier these days. We no longer need to depend on travel agencies to book our flight tickets or arrange accommodation and tours for us. We did almost everything through the internet. We bought our plane tickets online. We made reservations at a guesthouse online. We researched online on places to visit and things to do there. And while we were there, we relied on Wifi for further details, maps, directions, etc. We downloaded applications  which were useful in helping us get around and decide where to go and what to do. In other words, we could plan our outings to cater to our needs and timing. We did not have to follow a strict schedule like if you were to join a tour group and get herded from one place to another.

 

There are a number of airlines that go to Bangkok from Malaysia. We chose to fly budget as it takes only two hours to get there and three hours back (time difference - Thailand is one hour behind Malaysia). At the time of checking out flight tickets, we discovered Jetstar was cheaper than AirAsia. The catch, however, was a five-hour difference. Jetstar had a stopover somewhere which made total flight time from KL to Bangkok seven hours! So we decided to pay a little more and spend only two hours flying.

 

Of course budget airlines are not luxury travel so we had to put up with little things like crowded open boarding terminals scented with food odour and a visit or two from several houseflies. Then, depending on where your boarding gate is, you might have to walk a bit more outdoors along the open walkway on the tarmac to get to your plane. Inside the plane, other than your seat, all else, like food and drinks, are at extra cost. Don't expect spacious leg room or the attendants to clean up your seats or tables if you have spilled anything on it. You can find sticky table tops, food crumbs on the carpeted floor, used tissue paper stuffed inside the seat pocket, torn and crumpled magazines or flight safety info manuals. And a few houseflies also joined us inside the plane on the journey back. Wonder if they were Malaysians or Thais.

 

Bangkok, being a tourists' destination, has plenty of choices when it comes to accommodation -- many-star hotels, budget hotels, guesthouses, hostels, backpackers' lodges, holiday apartments, you name it. We stayed in a guesthouse we found on Tripadvisor as we didn't want to waste money on a four or five-star hotel which facilities we didn't need. We also wanted a different experience. It turned out to be a good and worthy choice. Check it out here.

 

 

C testing the mattress in our room.

 

The walls in this guesthouse are brightly decorated with handpainted murals.

 

Organic breakfast at the guesthouse

 



Below is a list of the places we visited and things we did, besides walking a lot and taking lots of pictures. I shall not write in detail about each place/activity as you can find the information on the Net.

 

Chinatown -- you can obviously find all things Chinese here -- food, people, culture....and shark's fins!

 

 Many roadside stalls offering street food in Chinatown

 

 Busy Chinatown by night

Shark's fins displayed outside a restaurant

Read here for awareness about protecting sharks.

 One of many street stalls selling pomegranates and juice

 

How did the Chinese get to Thailand? Wikipedia, though not a 100% reliable source, gives some general info here.

 



Asiatique -- a large, new tourist pedestrian 'mall' by the riverside, made up of refurbished warehouses housing small shops selling curios and souvenirs, and an international food arena, open only in the evening. Read here for some history in brief.

 

 An open courtyard area in Asiatique

 

 View from the shuttle boat approaching Asiatique (Asitaique provides free shuttle service to/from a pier of the Chao Phraya Express - can't remember which pier)

 



Shops inside one of the refurbished warehouses

 



Wat Arun -- also known as the Temple of Dawn, steeped in history and amazing handcrafted structures, the main stupa has a steep staircase which you can climb to the top for a good view of Bangkok as far as your eyes can see.

 

The iconic structure at Wat Arun

A steep climb

 





Wat Pho -- the temple features a large Reclining Golden Buddha and various smaller temples within its grounds.

 Head

 

 Torso

 

Legs

 



Grand Palace -- a complex of various buildings, temples, pavilions, including the official residence of the King of Thailand since 1782, unfortunately we could not cover the entire area as we were too tired and the weather was extremely hot that day. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is located here.

 

 Gold flecks on rooftop

 

 Phra Mondop, the library built by King Rama I

 

 The Emerald Buddha

 

Phra Thinang Chakri Maha (a complex of various buildings housing throne rooms, grand halls, etc)

 

Prathunam wholesale market -- a shopping haven for ladies, a labyrinth of little shops selling clothes and fashion accessories at wholesale prices. And despite it being 'wholesale', minimum purchase is usually only three pieces. Imagine KL's Petaling Street but 10 times narrower and 100 times larger.

 

Clothes....

 

...and accessories galore at Prathunam market.

 



Malls - Platinum, Siam Paragon, MBK, River City -- Platinum Fashion Mall is located right across the road from Prathunam market. It is the aircon version of Prathunam, which I believe KL's Kenanga City Wholesale Mall is modeled after. Siam Paragon is the equivalent of KL's Pavilion while MBK made me feel like I was walking inside Sungai Wang Plaza. River City is a small mall housing high-end antique furniture and crafts, located along the riverside.

 

Entrance to Siam Paragon

Fountain outside River City

 



Khlong river/canal tour -- you can hire a long boat to take a tour of the Chao Phraya river and the various canals to get a view of life by the riverside. You can see the backyards of many houses built along the riverside, many temples in the various neighbourhoods, pass under the Rama VIII Bridge, and view the various landmarks from the river. At the end, you can tell the boatman where to drop you off. We got off at the private pier of Wat Arun so that we could visit that temple.

 

 Rama VIII Bridge

 

 Large and small boats ply the river (orange-coloured thing atop boat roof is a tv satellite dish!)

 

Where the Royal Barges are housed (The Royal Barge Museum)

Read here for more information about the barges.

A typical house by, or on, the river

 

 

Transportation/rides - Chao Phraya Express boat, public bus, BTS train, Airport Rail Link, tuk tuk, taxi -- our main transportation was the Chao Phraya Express boats which took us to the various piers from which we walked to our destinations. It is a cheap and traffic jam-free way of getting around Bangkok. But be prepared to stand and get sandwiched like sardines during peak hour. Tickets can be purchased from a seller at a desk at the pier, or you can pay the conductor on board who comes around shaking her metal cylinder containing coins and tickets.

 

Crowd getting on board the Chao Phraya Express

 

Our experience with the public bus service was relatively good as we didn't have to walk too far to the bus stop or wait long. There are aircon and non aircon buses. A conductor in the bus will come to you to collect the fare. Thai people are very helpful. They will vacate their seat on the boat or bus for you if they see you need it more. A lady even offered her lap for C to sit on during a crowded and bumpy boat ride. A man seated behind us on the bus helped us determine when we should get off to go where we wanted.

 

 Inside the public bus

 

 

 

  

 The BTS train near Siam Paragon

 

The BTS train is like our LRT or monorail. Efficient and fast. The Airport Rail Link gets you out of the airport quickly. The Express Link gets you directly, without any stops, to Paya Thai station where you can catch a BTS, taxi or tuk tuk to wherever you want to go.

 

Tuk tuks are many on the roads of Bangkok. The drivers usually try to 'cut your throat' by demanding exorbitant fares so it's best to ask the locals how much it should cost and haggle with the dirver before getting into one. Some might try to fleece you also by offering you tour guide services and take you to places where they are in cahoots with to rip off tourists. You can hail a taxi from any roadside but before you get in, check with the driver if he is using the metre. Once they know you are tourists, they will try not to use the metre and use the traffic jam as an excuse to demand and exorbitant flat rate. We avoided taking the taxi unless we didn't have a choice and haggled for a rate that we felt worth paying (even if it was higher than the norm). If you queue at a taxi stand outside a mall that is manned by the mall attendant/guards, you are better assured of getting one that uses the metre. It is best to take note of the taxi association's hotline number, taxi registration plate number and the driver's name when you get into one so that you can report them for any problems you encounter. In the event you leave anything behind in the taxi, you can also call them  to retrieve your belongings.

 

A few other places to visit, and things to do around and outside Bangkok if you have the time:

 

Take a guided coach tour to Ayuthaya, returning on a cruise boat - see temple ruins, statues and learn about the history of the ancient capital Ayuthaya.

 

Take a train from Thonburi station in Bangkok to Kanchanaburi - this would be a day trip where you can visit the various war cemeteries and museums related to WWII, and the famous Bridge on the River Kwai, waterfalls and a national park.

 

Chatuchak Market - a huge (that's understated) market where you can find thousands of stalls selling everything and anything. It is open only on weekends.

 

Night markets - there are various night markets in Bangkok in various locations selling things from vintage stuff to clothes, street food, etc.

 

Floating Market - it is only open on weekends where you can see and buy things from vegetables to food and souvenirs and you can see vendors selling their ware out of their sampans on the river too.

 

Siam Ocean World - if you have kids and want to see some marine creatures, this is the place to go. It is located at the basement level of Siam Paragon mall.

 

Madame Tussauds Bangkok - Another one of the famed wax museum of historical and celebrity figures. It is located in Siam Discovery which is just right next door to Siam Paragon.

 

Crocodile farm, snake farm, Dusit Zoo in Bangkok.....and I'm sure there are many more places to visit.

 

On the whole, ACE enjoyed the short trip. It was a good change of scenery and a break from our daily routine.

 

Thailand is very rich in history and culture. It is not just a place full of Buddhist temples, red light areas, beaches, tomyum and green curry. Even the temples have their story and history. If you have the time and have interest in history, it's a good place to visit. The Grand Palace has lots of stories behind each building. There are free guided tours which take you through parts of the Grand Palace for about an hour, with the guide sharing interesting facts about each place, right down to how much each piece of mosaic that covers a structure cost the kingdom when they were imported from Italy centuries ago.

 

This was personally my second visit to Bangkok after the first about 20 years ago. Much has changed and I believe I saw more this time around compared to the arranged packaged tour back then.

 



Ramblings

It's amazing that right now, as I'm typing this, it's raining very heavily. The weather was very hot and dry before the Hari Raya/school holidays. I heard that it rained almost everyday during the school holiday week. We were away for a rather spontaneous holiday in Bangkok then. It was very hot in Bangkok and we got sunburnt one afternoon after walking around on the streets of Bangkok. C had a hat on and her long hair also protected the back of her neck but I got slightly sunburnt around the neck, while E got burnt on more areas like his arms, neck and a little on the face.  I guess my arms are 'stronger' because I drive around daily and as those who drive a lot would know, your arms get exposed to the sun a lot. And I haven't gotten used to the idea of wearing those arm 'protectors' that you see many women wear when they drive, to keep their arms fair.....

So, it's back to the grind this week and there are many things that need to be worked on, settled, looked into, considered, etc, etc -- a never-ending story.....

Updating this blog with our recent adventure in Bangkok will have to wait although I'm tempted to spend all my time writing and rambling here, instead of attending to more pressing and important matters which are boring like writing for supplementary income, paying bills, cleaning house, ironing (a huge pile is waiting!), cooking, giving Rusty a haircut and bath, and the list goes on.

Thankfully, Friday is another holiday -- our Independence Day -- so we will have a slightly longer weekend. However, C will still have her extra-curricular stuff and a classmate's birthday party to attend. In fact, this party is the first of a series of three weekend parties consecutively....Birthday parties seem such a big thing these days. Caught a glimpse of a tv programme called 'Most Outrageous Kid's Parties' while I was surfing channels recently. This seven-year-old American girl was going to have a country carnival party with 500 guests, a ferris wheel, SUV limo, and she'd make her entrance dressed like a cowgirl on a horse, according to the synopsis. A professional party planner and the works had to be engaged to make it happen. Most outrageous indeed. What are these parents thinking??

Updates

Wow, it's been over three weeks since I wrote here.....ACE have been busy with daily routines and distractions.

Since the Justin Bieber fever (see previous post), the One Direction fever continues with daily doses of their hits in the car and in the shower by the young fan. Also, occasional sightings of another litter of four kittens at our back alley create distractions from homework, music practice or simply getting on with necessary daily functions like showering, eating, etc....This cat menace is not going to end as long as the neighbours keep feeding them.

A spate of break-ins in our 'taman' plus the efficient reporting of crime on a daily basis via social media networks has gotten the general public on the alert. Many snatch cases involving bikers riding up to your car window, smashing it and grabbing your valuables, hit-and-hijack cases where the perpetrators hit your car and when you get down to inspect the damage from the 'accident', they assault or kidnap you and hijack your car, and those who just rush up to you, put a knife to your throat and demand for your cash and valuables, etc, etc, etc.....

The fasting month of Ramadan is coming to an end. The Hari Raya holidays coincide with the one-week school holidays beginning 18th August. The capital city will very likely be deserted again with the 'balik kampung' exodus. The highways will surely be packed with crawling cars.

The London Olympics came to an end an hour ago. I caught the last half hour of the closing ceremony. This round, Malaysia bagged two medals -- a silver in badminton and a bronze in diving. Both wins were well-deserved and brought Malaysians together in the true muhibah spirit, much more than the lip-service 1Malaysia the ruling government has been harping about. Lee Chong Wei fought a good fight against Lin Dan in the badminton finals. ACE caught the entire game at home with C cheering her loudest for LCW and cursing Lin Dan when he scored. And she shed tears when he lost by two points. Didn't expect her to be so 'into' that game and reacting that way! We didn't watch Pandelela Rinong win her bronze in diving -- the first ever non-badminton medal and the first female to win one for the country. A great achievement.

On Saturday, ACE watched a homeschooled students' production of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice held at the PJ Live Arts theatre. It was a good debut performance by the Histrionia Acting Troupe. Once again, homeschoolers have proven that their 'system' is not inferior to the generally-preferred mass education system.

Weekends come and go so quickly. It feels like we keep playing catch-up with all the things we need and want to do. I find this cycle hard to break, and it's very tiring. It's gone beyond burnout....ashes, maybe! Amidst the frustrations (dealing with a strong-willed pre-teen especially), complaints, tantrums, anger fits, I guess ACE do appreciate what we have, although C needs to be reminded ever so often how fortunate and blessed she is, compared to less fortunate children. I find that daily spiritual reflection helps. Breaking the routine once in a while like going shopping or watching tv helps a little although it is merely a temporary distraction.

On the house front, after 4.5 years in this home, some things need to be re-looked, but the extra cash for such projects is not readily available. Some problems with our kitchen cabinet drawer and door are being fixed, a minor renovation in our wet kitchen and backyard for better ventilation and security would be good, plus some wallpaper to brighten up our rather dark and dull living/dining area would be nice, the grass patch needs weeding and more TLC, and reliable part-time cleaners can never be found!

We're looking forward to the coming one-week Raya and school holiday break for a change in routine :)