South Korea TripHello everyone,
Now it's my day 3. First stop is Everland! Everland is everland! lol, the place that makes you feel younger or even become a child again. Similar to other major amusement parks, Everland is divided into 5-6 sections, American Adventure, European Adventure, Global Fair, Magic Land, Aesop's Village and Zoo-Topia. As we have limited time-2 hours, I only went for the ones that are most adventurous, and made me scream.....AAAAAAHHHHH..Woooo..it was very fun and excited.
The most exciting ride in my opinion is T-Xpress. It's the longest wooden coaster probably in the world. Hmm..ok let's say just Asia. It has the dramatic slope from the top to down at 70 degree to earth. Can you imagine that? If you can't, check out the photos, :-D After being in line for an hour, I survived from the ride. One round lasts shorter than 3 minutes but you know what it's worthwhile to wait especially if you like this kind of thing!
After that, we had lunch. This is one of my most favourite meals of the trip. We had kalbi which is the slide of pork or beef grilled on charcoals. They have several side dishes including kimchi. To have this kalbi properly, you have to take a piece of lettuce and then put a cutting piece of grill pork, put a small piece of garlic, add few pieces of bean sprout, put a piece of iceberg lettuce, and top with the Korean sauce...and the thing roll it and put in your mouth....slowly chew it....hmm.yumm...umm...yum yum...do you feel it? Your saliva is dripping now. LOL :-d
Then, we went to Ginseng Centre where they tried to sell us different type/menu of Ginseng but it's very expensive so only a few people were interested in. Even though Ginseng seems to be very useful for health, I personally think I don't need it now. (hopefully forever lol) The taste is too strong and smelly. I find it's hard to handle.
What's next? It's not quite a sightseeing as well. I went to see the show. It's called Jump show which seems to be the combination between Tae Kwan Do and martial arts mixed with stage play. Unfortunately it's not allowed to shoot a video or take a photo so I only had a few photos after the performance. Overall, the show was quite fun but it was little boring in the middle. Perhaps it was because of me didn't sleep enough last night. lol
At night, we had buffet dinner and our 2 General Managers (one from Operations Division and the other from Finance and Accounting Division) spoke their minds. Both are new GMs, the former was my senior supply chain manager (Thai woman), the latter was directly imported from France (French man). The foods were quite good. Many people enjoy eating and drinking. Still remember Soju? That's what we drank. If you do not know what it is, I suggest you to re-read the 2nd album, hahaha!
Oh..o tomorrow is the last day in Seoul and South Korea....
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/South%20Korea%2013-16%20June/SK%20Day3/?albumview=link
Saturday, 12 July 2008
Monday, 7 July 2008
Namrin searched her soul in Seoul #2
Hello all,
This album should have been sent since yesterday but I had a technical problem to upload the photos so here it comes-today! There are 2 albums. The main set is South Korea Day 2 album and its subset is "Flower from Herbland". If you have time to view my zoom-in photos and the beauty of flower, pls also visit the second album too.
My second day started with getting up at 5.30AM to be ready for the airport bus at 6.15AM and I supposed to reach Incheon airport at 7.30AM. I was in fact a bit too early and after a bit worried that my workmates could arrive earlier than the schedule like mine yesterday, then I would be left alone here. The first group came out...oh, I felt relieved. Thanks to VISA on arrival system in South Korea , it takes quite a while to get 100s people out from the airport. We got together and waited for the second group. I spent this waiting time on answering people what I did and visited yesterday. Well, you knew it, right? Pls don't let me repeat for the tenths time. lol
After getting on the coach, I listened to the guide briefing about South Korea and Seoul . Then, fell asleep. I and others woke up when we arrived at the Blue House. The Blue House is the Korean president's house. I don't quite understand why it's blue until the guide explained that the roof colour is blue in Korea . However, it's obviously greenish. I'm not sure whether this is a joke or not but the guide said in the past, Koreans didn't know green colour or perhaps did not have word for "green" so they called it blue. Until the country has opened up to other culture, they ultimately know the difference between blue and green. By the way, around the Blue House you will see Seoul Police in an interesting uniform, roller blade skates and shorts!!
Next stop was the Korean Museum (I don't remember the full name). It talked about Korean's life in the past from the day they are born until the day they die. It was rather small museum but it has the things you should see. Near the museum we walked to a remarkable stop which was the highlight of today, Kiangbokgung or Kiangbok Palace .
Kiangbokgung is grand. If you have to visit The Grand Palace and The Emerald Buddha Temple when you are in Bangkok , you have to visit Kiangbokgung when you are in Seoul . (For someone out there who didn't, tut tut tut, lol) However, both palaces are different as they were inspired by different architecture and arts. I think Kiangbokgung is located on larger area. There are several buildings for different purposes like Changdeokgung I visited yesterday.
However, I and a few workmates made a mistake. While I was enjoying taking photos, I was lost from the major group. I was with another 4 friends and they all thought the others have left the palace because they couldn't see them. I told them we have been here for less than an hour. How come we (they) left so quickly? Nobody could answer. Therefore, we headed to the Exit. Oh...o after a second we left, we found that the major group were still inside the palace and we (the minor group) were not allowed to get in again (except we pay for the entrance fee again). So now you can imagine we had to hang out for nearly an hour outside the palace. D'oh!!
Even though I couldn't get in, I still got a few photos for you. Just borrow those from other workmate who didn't get lost, hahaha. The featuring photo is the pavilion in the pond. Tut tut...I shouldn't have missed that one. I should have believed in my common sense!!! However, it's not the end of the Kiangbokgung yet. The "losters" (meaning people who get lost. My made-up word, lol) went to the front gate (we entered from the back gate) and here we saw Korean security guards standing at the front gate. The losters also heard the music instruments which meant it may have a march or a show behind the wall. Unfortunately I couldn't observe it.
We met the rest of the group when they came out from the palace and not for so long, we arrived at Jogyesa Temple . This is the only major temple in Seoul and there are only 3-4 temples in total. Since the change from monarchy to presidency system, the temple which is a symbol of Buddhism have been gone with the change. According to the guide, this seems to be a method to control people to believe in the new system and as Buddhism is related to the emperor's root, it must get out from the way. I think there are a few more reasons why temples were destroyed but I don't quite remember. I was half asleep half awake, lol. Maybe a communist thing?
Later, we had lunch, a typical fried pork seasoned with little sugar and soy sauce and of course, you have kimchi as one of your side dishes as usual. It's not very delicious for me, to be honest but it's unlimited refills! After a big meal, we just simply fell asleep. We were taken to out of Seoul . Maybe we were in another city but I forgot to ask the guide where we were. We visited a place called Herbland. This place is probably something the owner of this place, Dr. Lee, has something to do with our guides. The owner presented his place and his business and was trying to sell his energy water. Energy water is, in my opinion, drinking water with the smell and light flavour of herbs. There are chamomile, lavender, jasmine, mint, rosemary and a few more flavours. Then, we walked around herb land (garden) which should be better than this. It's nice but it's quite obvious that it's lack of proper attention. Perhaps the business has been down so there were some dying flowers and sunburned herbs here and there.
In the evening, we had a special meal. Bi Bim Bap with flower topping. I'm not kidding you. I (We) had eaten fresh flowers with rice and Korean sauce (and kimchi, of course!). When you look at the photos, you will think it looks very nice but the taste is slightly opposite. And this is why we usually use leaves of vegetables not flowers for cooking, right? :-D However, we could survive because Herbland also prepared normal foods for us after Flower Bi Bim Bap too.
At the end of the day, we stayed at a hotel outside of the city. It seems to be small but still developped. I and my workmates came out at night just for window shopping and found sth to eat (esp. me!) . Some of us actually bought something. Believe it or not-- it's cosmetics they bought. Korean brands here are much cheaper than the same Korean brands in Thailand. Fair enough. They just can't stop themselves, lol.
I had a stick of fish balls and a bottle of popular banana milk. And lastly, I got a pack of soju in a size of UHT milk. Very interesting packaging for me that they put alcohol drink in the same packaging of UHT milk. Alright, Soju is an alcohol drink. If you go to Japan, you try Sake (sa-ke), when you visit South Korea, you try Soju (So-ju or So-chu). However, soju and sake are not the same thing. Some people say the taste and the percentage of alcohol are different. I'm not an alcohol expert so I can't comment lol. I just knew that when I tried Soju,..............
it's sweet like Tequila.
I felt as if my lips were on fire.
It's like my tongue started burning from its tip to its most inner part.
The burn went through my throat and when it reached my stomach, it was hot and my body was slightly warmer.
I had only 3 sips. I didn't dare to try more to be honest. And now you should let me go to bed. Don't you think? (Yawning)
Day 3 is on its way.
Your guide, Namrin
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/South%20Korea%2013-16%20June/SK%20Day2/?albumview=link
This album should have been sent since yesterday but I had a technical problem to upload the photos so here it comes-today! There are 2 albums. The main set is South Korea Day 2 album and its subset is "Flower from Herbland". If you have time to view my zoom-in photos and the beauty of flower, pls also visit the second album too.
My second day started with getting up at 5.30AM to be ready for the airport bus at 6.15AM and I supposed to reach Incheon airport at 7.30AM. I was in fact a bit too early and after a bit worried that my workmates could arrive earlier than the schedule like mine yesterday, then I would be left alone here. The first group came out...oh, I felt relieved. Thanks to VISA on arrival system in South Korea , it takes quite a while to get 100s people out from the airport. We got together and waited for the second group. I spent this waiting time on answering people what I did and visited yesterday. Well, you knew it, right? Pls don't let me repeat for the tenths time. lol
After getting on the coach, I listened to the guide briefing about South Korea and Seoul . Then, fell asleep. I and others woke up when we arrived at the Blue House. The Blue House is the Korean president's house. I don't quite understand why it's blue until the guide explained that the roof colour is blue in Korea . However, it's obviously greenish. I'm not sure whether this is a joke or not but the guide said in the past, Koreans didn't know green colour or perhaps did not have word for "green" so they called it blue. Until the country has opened up to other culture, they ultimately know the difference between blue and green. By the way, around the Blue House you will see Seoul Police in an interesting uniform, roller blade skates and shorts!!
Next stop was the Korean Museum (I don't remember the full name). It talked about Korean's life in the past from the day they are born until the day they die. It was rather small museum but it has the things you should see. Near the museum we walked to a remarkable stop which was the highlight of today, Kiangbokgung or Kiangbok Palace .
Kiangbokgung is grand. If you have to visit The Grand Palace and The Emerald Buddha Temple when you are in Bangkok , you have to visit Kiangbokgung when you are in Seoul . (For someone out there who didn't, tut tut tut, lol) However, both palaces are different as they were inspired by different architecture and arts. I think Kiangbokgung is located on larger area. There are several buildings for different purposes like Changdeokgung I visited yesterday.
However, I and a few workmates made a mistake. While I was enjoying taking photos, I was lost from the major group. I was with another 4 friends and they all thought the others have left the palace because they couldn't see them. I told them we have been here for less than an hour. How come we (they) left so quickly? Nobody could answer. Therefore, we headed to the Exit. Oh...o after a second we left, we found that the major group were still inside the palace and we (the minor group) were not allowed to get in again (except we pay for the entrance fee again). So now you can imagine we had to hang out for nearly an hour outside the palace. D'oh!!
Even though I couldn't get in, I still got a few photos for you. Just borrow those from other workmate who didn't get lost, hahaha. The featuring photo is the pavilion in the pond. Tut tut...I shouldn't have missed that one. I should have believed in my common sense!!! However, it's not the end of the Kiangbokgung yet. The "losters" (meaning people who get lost. My made-up word, lol) went to the front gate (we entered from the back gate) and here we saw Korean security guards standing at the front gate. The losters also heard the music instruments which meant it may have a march or a show behind the wall. Unfortunately I couldn't observe it.
We met the rest of the group when they came out from the palace and not for so long, we arrived at Jogyesa Temple . This is the only major temple in Seoul and there are only 3-4 temples in total. Since the change from monarchy to presidency system, the temple which is a symbol of Buddhism have been gone with the change. According to the guide, this seems to be a method to control people to believe in the new system and as Buddhism is related to the emperor's root, it must get out from the way. I think there are a few more reasons why temples were destroyed but I don't quite remember. I was half asleep half awake, lol. Maybe a communist thing?
Later, we had lunch, a typical fried pork seasoned with little sugar and soy sauce and of course, you have kimchi as one of your side dishes as usual. It's not very delicious for me, to be honest but it's unlimited refills! After a big meal, we just simply fell asleep. We were taken to out of Seoul . Maybe we were in another city but I forgot to ask the guide where we were. We visited a place called Herbland. This place is probably something the owner of this place, Dr. Lee, has something to do with our guides. The owner presented his place and his business and was trying to sell his energy water. Energy water is, in my opinion, drinking water with the smell and light flavour of herbs. There are chamomile, lavender, jasmine, mint, rosemary and a few more flavours. Then, we walked around herb land (garden) which should be better than this. It's nice but it's quite obvious that it's lack of proper attention. Perhaps the business has been down so there were some dying flowers and sunburned herbs here and there.
In the evening, we had a special meal. Bi Bim Bap with flower topping. I'm not kidding you. I (We) had eaten fresh flowers with rice and Korean sauce (and kimchi, of course!). When you look at the photos, you will think it looks very nice but the taste is slightly opposite. And this is why we usually use leaves of vegetables not flowers for cooking, right? :-D However, we could survive because Herbland also prepared normal foods for us after Flower Bi Bim Bap too.
At the end of the day, we stayed at a hotel outside of the city. It seems to be small but still developped. I and my workmates came out at night just for window shopping and found sth to eat (esp. me!) . Some of us actually bought something. Believe it or not-- it's cosmetics they bought. Korean brands here are much cheaper than the same Korean brands in Thailand. Fair enough. They just can't stop themselves, lol.
I had a stick of fish balls and a bottle of popular banana milk. And lastly, I got a pack of soju in a size of UHT milk. Very interesting packaging for me that they put alcohol drink in the same packaging of UHT milk. Alright, Soju is an alcohol drink. If you go to Japan, you try Sake (sa-ke), when you visit South Korea, you try Soju (So-ju or So-chu). However, soju and sake are not the same thing. Some people say the taste and the percentage of alcohol are different. I'm not an alcohol expert so I can't comment lol. I just knew that when I tried Soju,..............
it's sweet like Tequila.
I felt as if my lips were on fire.
It's like my tongue started burning from its tip to its most inner part.
The burn went through my throat and when it reached my stomach, it was hot and my body was slightly warmer.
I had only 3 sips. I didn't dare to try more to be honest. And now you should let me go to bed. Don't you think? (Yawning)
Day 3 is on its way.
Your guide, Namrin
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/South%20Korea%2013-16%20June/SK%20Day2/?albumview=link
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Namrin searched her soul in Seoul #1
Dear All,
It was South Korea trip, I just had. It was an incentive trip from the company I work for so I had to break my 2008 principle of travelling in Thailand . How could I say NO to a free trip? LOL
I spent 4 days there basically in Seoul and a bit in its adjacent towns. On the first day I was on my own, really. I was surprised that the other 100 workmates didn't want to go earlier than the official trip. It's just one day to take care of our own expense. I think it's very affordable. However, I know that about 6-8 people stay longer. Anyway, from this behaviour, I am considered by other workmates a self-confident girl. But from my point of view, I just think this is just something I should do for my life, for my own experience. In the same time, I wonder what other people are thinking. There should be more than 8 people staying longer in Korea in the case nobody wanted to stay earlier like I did. Or is it because this is South Korea , the country which has become more popular only for the past 5 years in terms of tourism? I’m not sure. Last year, when we visited Japan , there were more people stayed longer or went earlier than the official trip. That time, I went 3 days earlier.
Pls do not think that I always have a friend everywhere I go. In Korea , I don't. This is not my style to travel alone. I remember 4-5 years ago, once I was looking for a friend or friends to travel to Northeast of Australia with me. I was keen on Queensland , Whitsunday Islands and around. At one point when I asked one of my best friends whether he's interested in. He refused.
I told him "Even you! You can't go?"
And then he said, "Why don't you just go by yourself?"
Next thing I thought was I wanted to storm out from the room but I didn't. I said "That's so mean!! Why did you say that? You want me to take a photo of myself?!!! Don't you think that a women travelling alone could be in danger?"
It's not like women always win in an argument. My friend was kind of stun with my reaction while I didn't want to believe what he just said. :-D It's a clash of experience. By the way, this friend was not Thai.
Back to today, wandering around Seoul on my own for 1 DAY was acceptable. I just imagine that Seoul is Bangkok so I'm fine. lol I can do it. I made it! Even though it's just one day, I needed to prepare quite many things to make sure I could survive. I don't have a travel guide book like I usually do, I don't have a friend, and I've never been interested in South Korea before. Basically I have to start from the ground to gather all basic information. Internet, friends who had been there, and my L'Oreal counterparts in Korea all helped me so much to get this done. Together with a lovely weather, I had a great day in Seoul :-) I'm so grateful.
Let’s start our pre-day 1. Before day 1, oh! I had to show off a bit that I got upgraded to a business class. The flight attendant on the ground told me that the seats were fully booked so she upgraded me to a business class. Wow! I’m glad it’s fully booked. Hahaha! However, it’s late at night so I didn’t have time to check the seats in economy class whether they were all occupied. It doesn’t quite matter. I was in business class for the first time for international flight. My really first time was in Egypt but it’s on domestic flight and I had to take the business class because all seats were fully booked. Anyway, in Egypt you don’t quite feel any difference, to be honest. My flight to Incheon airport was at 11PM of Thursday 12th to arrive at about 6.50AM of Friday 13th. Five-hour flight with 2 hours ahead of Thailand . Great seat 180 degree I could lie down! Good foods but the drinks are not so good when compare to Thai Airways. hehe
As the flight took only 5 hours to Incheon airport, I hardly slept. I haven’t had dinner so I had it on the plane which approximately I slept for only 3 hours. After we landed, I headed to grasp Seoul map and caught an airport bus to the guesthouse. It took about an hour and a bit to reach the Seoul city so I fell asleep. It was quite easy and I woke up just in time when the bus driver shouted that “This is Anguk Station”. I grabbed everything and got off the bus. After I got off and refreshed myself a bit. I found out I dropped my guesthouse map on the bus. Oh-o. The trouble came! The city map in my hand is a pretty rough and how would people know my cheap guesthouse!!! Since I arrived here earlier (even the airplane landed earlier than its schedule), it’s a sign of something –a sign to WASTE my time!! After I focused on the direct where I was (it is difficult at first because Koreans drive on a so-called “RIGHT” side of the road), I walked to the street I thought my guesthouse was located. It wasn’t. I couldn’t find one and thank god that the road was short so I could find out easily that I made a mistake. But on the negative side, I did need help.
I risked by asking working people on the street but you know it’s just a cheap guesthouse. No one knows!! And then, my little angel appeared! Not a policeman or a postman but he’s a newspaper man!! Ha ha! I was sure I was near Beewon Guesthouse but I didn’t take the right street apparently. As he’s a newspaper man, his English skill made me confused! He drew a map but it’s too rough. Therefore, I used my sense of direction to follow his rough map in my head (He drew a map on his newspaper so I couldn’t take it!!) until I got lost again but this time, I was lost in front of Crown Hotel. Hotel business is about service so I have to make use of it! I asked the receptionist whether I could use the internet or not. She said yes and it was free of charge!! I now believe South Korea is a developed country, hahaha. I searched and asked the receptionist again to point me out where I was and finally, I found the way to Beewon Guesthouse. Also, I found that initially I took the street which was paralleled with the street that the guesthouse was on.
Finally I found the place, oh kinda exhausted but still excited..it was probably 9AM I think. I couldn’t check in before noon so I left my suitcase at the guesthouse office and took a shower before starting a long day. While I was taking a shower, I thought about what my workmate spoke to me before I left the office that if this was my first trip by myself, perhaps something nice may happen like meeting my partner during a trip. “Ah…a romantic holiday, one of my friends had it. Yeah, it would be nice if it happened to me. Well, it’s just one day on my own so it’s impossible that it’s gonna last long. Anyway, I want one if there is no harm.” I smiled to myself :-) Done for shower!
I came down to the ground floor and walked towards the guesthouse office. There was a young man who was looking at me as if he was looking for something (in me). Lol As I came from a land of smile, I smiled back and said “Hi”.
“Are you a receptionist?” He asked.
“Ah..no, I’m a guest too” I answered. Now we know what he’s looking for, lol.
“I want to ask the receptionist whether I can leave my stuff in her office because I’m going out”. He said.
“Ah, yeah, I think you can. I left it there too. Just put it there I think.” I expressed my opinion.
Then, the receptionist came. He sorted out his things. Then, I asked him.
“Will you check in later?”
“No, I’m leaving today. This is my last day. So I wanna leave my luggage here. Then, I can go out, you know.”
“Ah..ha. How long have you been here? This is my first day. I can check in after noon so I put my luggage there too.”
“I just arrived yesterday” He replied and laughed.
“What?!? You stayed here just one day?” I was surprised
“Yeah, this is kinda like my transit so…just one day. It’s okay”
“Where are you from? Taiwan ?” I asked.
“I’m from Japan . And you?”
“Oh, really? Your English is pretty good. I’m impressed. I’m from Thailand . I’m Nam . Err..Namrin if you can see my name on the board… that one, with longest last name up there.” I told him and laughed.
“My English is okay. Thank you. My name is Yohei. Yohei Maruxxxx. (Not sure whether I should reveal all of conversation, hehe)
“Ok Yohei, where are you going today?” I asked a bit more.
“I’m going to Changdeokgung, the palace near the guesthouse”, said Yohei.
“Hey, I’m going to the same place and after that, I’m going to the er… Deoksugung. It’s the palace as well but not far from here. We can take a train for 2-3 stops and get off at City Hall station. Maybe we can go together”
“Yeah, sound good to me. But I have to come back here at 3. But it’s ok. It’s good to travel with someone”, said Yohei.
Have I ever told you that guys are easy? HAHAHA just kidding!
Then, he told me, “You know, I’m actually planning to go Thailand this year or next year. Do you have any advice?” See? I didn’t invite him at all. He said that by himself. So we continued our conversation about a few tips when travelling to Thailand as our first visit of the day began.
We arrived at Changdeokgung or you can call Changdeok Palace . (gung means palace). This is a very nice and big palace. It had been served for Joseon period (1392-1910). There are free English tour guide available at 11.30AM but we arrived there at 10.30. I was not keen on waiting really so we took the Japanese tour guide round. This meant Yohei would be my personal translator. To be honest, I was so into the history as I was not going to take any exam after this so I just enjoyed the buildings and the beauty of the garden. Moreover, there were about one hundred of Japanese in this tour round. That’s another reason we were not in touch with the Japanese-speaking Korean guide and the palace’s history. Check out the photos, please.
If you are from East Asia , you would find the buildings are having something in between Chinese and Japanese or let say Chinese. So it’s beautiful but to be honest, it’s not stunning. I didn’t mean to underestimate Koreans but that’s the way I feel. And I think this is why Korean tourism is not very strong. However, they have become a developed country with good economics so don’t worry about it.
Next we took the underground to City Hall station to go to Deoksugung ( Deoksu Palace ). But before that, we had lunch at a very local restaurant. It’s Bi Bim Bap, we ordered!! It’s a very nice rice bowl with different vegetables on top. Sometimes, they have egg and either fried beef or fried pork or fried octopus in it too. In English they may explain to you as rice salad. However, this is much MORE friendly than Kimchi (preserved cabbage in red sauce). Therefore, it’s a shame if you have never tried when you go to Korea or a Korean restaurant. I’m serious!
During lunch, we introduced ourselves to each other that what we are up to. Yohei is an undergrad student in Japan but this is his second time of studying. The first time he studied 2 years but then dropped out. However, apparently he’s years younger than me. Therefore, this is not a romantic holiday at all. I didn’t expect that, did I? LOL. He was surprised to know that I work. He didn’t explain further why he reacted so. Anyway, I interpreted that as a good sign meaning I look younger than I actually am, hahaha.
Deoksugung is nice but half smaller than Changdeokgung I think. The palace is in very downtown opposite to the Seoul City Hall . So when taking some photos, we had a high scrapers as background. It’s kinda funny. And in this palace, there are a couple of modern buildings in the same area. One is the art gallery and the other is Seoul Museum or something like that. So that’s a bit a major contrast. What I like most about Deoksugung is the guard rotation performance. They demonstrate how the security guard in the palace switched their shift. Everyone is in Korean soldier uniform so it is really cool :-)
After Deoksugung, I had to say goodbye to Yohei. It’s been a good day with him. Perhaps we could meet in Bangkok if he will visit here really. I also sent him off at the guesthouse. It’s not that I was so nice. The reason behind was I wanted to check in and take a NAP! I had only 3 hour sleep last night. And before I came here I slept only 5 hours a day for 4 days in a row plus tomorrow morning I had to get up early to meet my workmates at the airport at 7.30AM. Thus, I was sure I needed more rest. A nap lasted for 3 hours….zzzzzzz
It’s 7PM but it’s still bright. Brilliant!! I knew that the sunset at 8PM in this season. I walked to Insadong market which appeared to be a souvenir market. I had got in and out to different shops to check out stuff. Another good thing in Korea is everything has price tag. So you know the price and can compare it with another store easily. However, you can’t negotiate much here even it’s a street stall. It’s different from Egypt and Thailand . I’ve got a few things I wanted for my friends and family. Then, I headed to Cheonggyecheon Stream.
It’s quite a long way before reaching the city stream. I passed a shopping street I guess. It gave city feeling to me. So I hopped into a few shops along the way. Basically just window shopping but that took quite some time.
And about 10PM or so, I was now at Cheonggyecheon. It looked nice and clean and looked more like human made stream but it’s originally natural until the Seoul City has decided to develop it to be a meeting point and a new sightseeing. Then, concrete came along with the lights under the water. It also looked like a pool somehow. lol. But it’s nice. I wish you could be here with me.
I walked back to the guesthouse by using another street so I passed the pubs and bars area which was behind the shopping street. I was tempted to check out but as I was now alone and my watch showed 11PM so I could only walk through that 100 bars and I didn’t stop by any place. However, I got into 7-Eleven to buy a bottle of fruit juice and sushi roll for being my breakfast tomorrow EARLY morning.
I came back to the guesthouse safe and sound. Let’s a call it a great day! Oops it’s already a new day….nite nite….zzzzzz
Day 2 to come...Namrin
Photos
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/South%20Korea%2013-16%20June/?albumview=link
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Namrin in Dance Show Case Party
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to Salsa Hacha Dance Show Case Party. It's to celebrate its 1st anniversary!!
As you may have heard I said this before, "Even though I don't like dancing, it doesn't mean I don't like watching people dancing". Last year, I had a chance to see the reality TV show called "So You Think You Can Dance". That inspired me to think that 'Hey, those moves are awesome and it's a good way to exercise." I'm probably 20 years too late to be a talented dancer but I can enjoy watching people dancing at any time, right?
So here we go tonight at Synn Bar. This is a Latin dance show case party featuring Salsa. There are many people I know joining this event and some of them also performed. Many performers just started dancing 5-6 months ago according to the instructors' speech. However, it was very impressive. You will see some of the performers in the photos and I also have the video clips. If you are interested in, pls let me know. I will tell you how to access them.
One of my friends was the MC of the party. Tell you what. He asked me whether I was interested in being his co-MC because they needed someone who speaks Thai. I told him I was shy and I'd rather write than speak. LOL In hindsight, it's not like I can't speak in public but being an MC needs more than that quality I think. The party host should appreciate me that I didn't work as an MC otherwise I might ruin everything, hahaha :-D
Party time!! (Hope you see the photos until the last one, hehe)
Namrin
PS. I found that 'grid version' provides low quality of photo resolution so I will use only 'link version' from now on. Pls click on the photo to see the full size.
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Salsa%20Hacha%201st%20Anniversary%20Party/?albumview=link
Welcome to Salsa Hacha Dance Show Case Party. It's to celebrate its 1st anniversary!!
As you may have heard I said this before, "Even though I don't like dancing, it doesn't mean I don't like watching people dancing". Last year, I had a chance to see the reality TV show called "So You Think You Can Dance". That inspired me to think that 'Hey, those moves are awesome and it's a good way to exercise." I'm probably 20 years too late to be a talented dancer but I can enjoy watching people dancing at any time, right?
So here we go tonight at Synn Bar. This is a Latin dance show case party featuring Salsa. There are many people I know joining this event and some of them also performed. Many performers just started dancing 5-6 months ago according to the instructors' speech. However, it was very impressive. You will see some of the performers in the photos and I also have the video clips. If you are interested in, pls let me know. I will tell you how to access them.
One of my friends was the MC of the party. Tell you what. He asked me whether I was interested in being his co-MC because they needed someone who speaks Thai. I told him I was shy and I'd rather write than speak. LOL In hindsight, it's not like I can't speak in public but being an MC needs more than that quality I think. The party host should appreciate me that I didn't work as an MC otherwise I might ruin everything, hahaha :-D
Party time!! (Hope you see the photos until the last one, hehe)
Namrin
PS. I found that 'grid version' provides low quality of photo resolution so I will use only 'link version' from now on. Pls click on the photo to see the full size.
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Salsa%20Hacha%201st%20Anniversary%20Party/?albumview=link
Monday, 19 May 2008
Namrin in Koh Chang for SCUBA diving and more (26-27 April)
Hello gals and guys,
Don't be surprised. Yep, I recently had another trip. Just like what I told you (or I think I told you) that I was going to travel around this country as often as possible. Since today is a public holiday, it's a good opportunity to share some moments with you guys.
This is more than just a diving. I have done a little good thing for the community too because the main purpose of these 2 dives is to cleanup the underwater 
Koh Chang literally means Elephant Islands . As it's elephant, this means Koh Chang is huge. Yes, it is the second largest island in Thailand if I remember correctly. The largest island is the world famous, Phuket where is also a province not just an island. Koh Chang, categorised as a district/suburb, belongs to Trad province. It is located at the very east of East region of Thailand .
We arrived at Koh Chang very early in the morning to catch the first ferry. I think it was 6.30AM or so. Then, we drove to a hotel that held the openning ceremony of this community activity. I was surprised by the numbers of volunteers. When I received the agenda, I found that there would be like 8 boats going out around Koh Chang to different diving sites to pick up the garbage underwater. Each boat would have at least 25 people on so that would be about 200 people joining this activity. After the openning ceremony, we had to drive to another place to get on board and the pier is pretty far from the hotel. We wondered and were worried how to keep the schedule on time because we had to get on the boat at 9AM but the openning ceremony finished at 9!! However, the boat leader waited for us and other divers so we somehow made it. Wait! To get on the boat was not easy either. Everyone has to prepare their own diving equipment except tanks including weight & belt so everyone has at least one heavy backpack and from the parking lot to the boat pier is about 500 metre. I know it's not far but with this bloody heavy backpack....it was a very tough and super hot walk. I couldn't believe there was no facility to help us, especially for little girl like me! Imagine some girls walk by leaning to one side because of the HEAVY diving equipment bag. After moving our stuff to the boat and got them arranged, we found that the organiser of this activity has definitely not well-prepared. In about 15 mins to 11AM, we couldn't leave the pier because the (air) tanks were not enough!, lunch boxes were fewer than the number of divers!!, drinking water is not enough as well!!! What the???
I am not a very patient person as you may notice but this trip is free. We don't have to pay for 3 meals, tanks & boats and 1 night accommodation. Therefore, a little impediment and delay will keep our mouths shut! However, at the end of the trip, the organiser team let us fill out the comment forms. I and many people showed our sincerity by giving constructive comments how to make things better next time. Hope they will do.
Diving? Umm...little struggled to get down to be honest. Thus, I took longer time than other friends to go down. But after I reached the bottom, I was fine yeah. As this was not a fun dive, we didn't see many beautiful animals or corals. However, I found a few family of Nemo, lots of sea urchins and a pipe fish. The other 3 friends also saw seahorses but I missed it. And there a few types of fish but I don't know their names, hahaha.
The first dive went well until we came back to the water surface. I had held a net (bag) of garbage for a while, my left hand was tired so I swapped the bag to my right hand but I missed to grab the thin net holder. AHHH!!! I dropped it! I saw the net filled with garbage was slightly sinking to the sea ground. Oh!!! NO!! I nearly screamed. My friends came around and discussed a bit whether we should take it back or not. So two of them decided to go down while I and another friend were waiting (floating) at the water surface. The water visibility is about 10 metre or little less but the net is that big though and the current kept us moving. My friends couldn't find it. I was so sorry. I said it until you couldn't count how many times. Perhaps next year, a volunteer would find it. I'm sorry. It was an accident. :-(
Alright. I would make it up for the second dive but ....There was something with my diving equipment. After I put the regulator on the tank, the air was leak. A few people who seem to be experts came to check it out whether I did correctly or not. Hey, I wanted to tell them I didn't buy the license, man. I passed the test!! In conclusion, it was something wrong with the regulator and as everyone brought just one set of equipment, I can't get the replacement and there was not a proper tool can fix this too because the boat the organiser hired is actually for snorkelling. This means I had to skip the second dive.
Why would I stay on the boat just to breathe in and out while most of people dived? I was not me! I asked one of our friends who couldn't dive to snorkel. I asked the boat man about the current. He told me it was strong and its direction. Lesson No. 2 You should really believe the boat man. I believed him for only the second half. I couldn't see how strong it was until I swam.
There were 6 small rocks emerged from the sea that have coral reef around. The rocks line from south to north the same as the direction of the current. The boat stopped aside of the the rock line at about the 3rd rock but it was about 25 metres far or little less. I and my friend planned to swim to reach the 1st rock (most further south) then, we will let the current bring us to the 6th rock which sounds like drift snorkeling (dive). When we finish, we ask the boat to pick us up. Ok, we've got the plan. In reality, we swam to the 1st rock but after 5-10 minutes, I found myself was in the middle of the boat and rocks but hey, in front of me was not the 1st rock but the 5th rock and I was at the north of the boat. I looked at my friend. Oh my gosh!! She aligned with the 6th rock. I asked her whether she was ok. She said fine. I tried to slow down for about a minute. I checked her out again. She said she could still swim. However, I think we were slower than the speed of current. My sense of safety told me I was not going to do it. I think my friend was just 4 metres behind me but she didn’t seem to get the gap and I couldn’t stop swimming because the current will drag us too far away from the boat. So I decided that we should swim back to the boat. I called for a rope. A girl who was not a diver brought it but oops it was too short. I swam to grasp it and waited for my friend for a little while. Finally I told her to keep swimming and I’d go back to the boat and asked the boat to pick her up because I didn’t think she could reach the rope. In fact, she was little far away from the boat bit by bit. I got on the boat and told the organizer what was going on. She told me to wait for 10 mins because there were still a few divers around the boat. For safety, they should get on the boat first. Ten minutes passed by. I was looking for my friend keeping SWIMMING all the time!! Oh, my gosh, she may not consider me her friend anymore. This was the second time we met only. A few divers came back so I spoke to the organiser again. Oh shoo! We had to wait because the fishing boat came to pick the garbage from our 1st dive. It seemed to be another 10 minutes. Good news! The fishing boat offered to pick my new friend up. Now, there were 3 groups of divers emerged from underwater. They were in front of another small ISLAND !!! Woah! The current took them very far. My friend joined the diver groups and got on boat finally!! The better news is we are still friend.
The moral of this story is when you travel with me, please do not expect me to rescue you. I am not a strong swimmer or experienced diver!
There was a little accident happened to my friend, Sri, who used to my workmate. While she peeled off the mango skin (it’s mango season, pals), she cut her finger!!! It was bleeding too much so the guy friend decided to take her to the hospital. Gee! Her finger was still on her hand but she felt that the knife almost reached her bone. It was quite serious because it was not slippery. She cut mango flesh with attention but she mistook mango’s anatomy!! lol
The moral of this story is even though you are born in the mango country and has eaten mangoes for more than 40 years, be careful when you peel off its skin or cut its flesh. Each mango is little different.
The fire dance show during the dinner party was one of the best things in this trip. I also attached one short video clip :-)
This email is very long and all story happened in a day only. Let’s skip the second day. There were no diving, just relaxing. Enjoy the photos :-D
NamrinP.S. Some photos are little prone to my non-Thai friends.
Link Version
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Koh%20Chang%20SCUBA%20diving/?albumview=link
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Namrin in my beloved GM farewell party
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Angel%20Night%20on%2029th%20April/
Our beloved General Manager of Finance and Operations Division is leaving Thailand to L'Oreal Taiwan. She will be missed surely. I admire her. Not only is she smart, but also good at people management. Hopefully one day I'll be as good as she is.
Our beloved General Manager of Finance and Operations Division is leaving Thailand to L'Oreal Taiwan. She will be missed surely. I admire her. Not only is she smart, but also good at people management. Hopefully one day I'll be as good as she is.
Monday, 21 April 2008
More: Namrin in Pattaya -SCUBA diving test 22-23 March
I forgot to conclude that I passed the diving test and I took the paper test last weekend and passed too. Everything is successfully accomplished, hahaha. Just waiting for a proper diving ID card....not sure how to call it. :#D
Love
Nam
Love
Nam
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Namrin in Pattaya -SCUBA diving test 22-23 March
Hello all
Finally, here it comes, the photo album that I really proudly present, Namrin in Pattaya -SCUBA diving test 22-23 March!
Pattaya is a city beach, about 150km away from East of Bangkok. Pattaya is popular for night life and how easy to access to the beaches so if you look for white-sand beaches and quiet atmosphere, pls don't go there. I have warned you. Pattaya city is crowded and somewhat developed. You can find everything here almost like a little 'Bangkok', and therefore it's popular place for many Western foreigners who are retired/early retired.
One of my closest friends lives and works in Pattaya so during this diving trip,we got free accommodation. The trip cost was included in my class fee so I didn't have to pay more except for transport cost and breakfast and dinner.
Let's get to the diving spots. We sailed to the islands near Pattaya beach, called Koh Laan. Laan in Thai has two meanings 1) bald and 2) million. From my own eyes, I think it should refer to bald. So Koh Laan would mean Bald Island(s) in English. Around Koh Laan, there are also smaller islands and we dived there. But as I didn't take note properly, today I can't tell which name belongs to which island. Just know that it's Koh Laan, LOL.
The visibility was bad. If I compare to the Rea Sea, I should say here is terrible! Of course not, I don't recommend you guys to dive here. My closed friend also said that from her 5-6 times experience diving here but there was only once that it was clear and the currency was still. The rest is probably like these 2 days about 5-6 metre visibility and strong currency. Therefore, Pattaya is not Thailand's favourite diving spots. Most of people come here for practice or just because they don't have enough time to go to further islands in South or very East of Thailand.
It's time to dive, my first official dive! I was so excited and delighted. I was ready with all equipment and jumped! Boom! Fine....I was okay. I caught the rope and preparedto dive. I found my buddy, Art. Give okay sign to each other, and then he dived first and I followed.
"Ughh...what is this? I can't go down." I thought.
Right, I had to release more air from the BCD (Bouyancy Control Device-the thing that looks like a jacket which connects a diver with a air tank). Then, I started to sink....but but remember what I'm scared the most? It's ear equalising. I grabbed the rope as I didn't want to go down too fast.
But before I tried to balance the air in ear (body) and the pressure from the sea. The water came into my mask. Of course, this is the second thing we learn in the pool class, how to clear the mask. I didn't know what happened. I couldn't get rid off the water like when I did in the pool. So I came to the water surface to clear my mask. Then, I went down again but just when I put my face into the sea. The water came into my mask again. I feel something wrong. I couldn't get rid off the water from the mask. I told myself "I'm not gonna start diving with full water in the mask" It's been little while so my buddy, Art, came back to ask me what was going on. I told him about the water. One of our instructors told my buddy to go first and waited for me at the ground of the sea. So I tried again and it happened exactly the same.
Now I realised that I was the last student left on the water surface. I thought to myself, "What am I doing here? You are going to ruin all the things that you have learned for 4 weekends. You wanna do that?" Definitely not. I gave myself another go but the water came in again. And this time I thought. "Hang on! Nam. The first rule of diving. You only dive when you feel safe." I didn't feel safe anymore and I knew that if I forced myself I would drown. Now I wanted to give up.
Another instructor who is also the owner of this diving school came to me and asked whether I was nervous. I told him I was a bit nervous but more importantly something wrong with my mask. He looked at my face and said my mask was too tight. Thus, he adjusted it. Now I felt more confident and tried again. BUT the water came in again.
"It happened again!" I told my instructor.
He asked me, "is this your own mask?"
"Yes, it is. But this is just the second time I used it. For the first time I used, the water came in too but it wasn't this bad. It was fine later." I replied.
"I see. Can you adjust it again to make sure it fits your face?" He told me. "I think it's little slipped off from your face"
I followed his advice. And just put my face into the water like snorkelling. I think it worked. I faced up to the air and my instructor pushed my mask on my face. "Ouch!" I felt the mask caught my face more tightly. Then, my instructor told me to follow him slowly and when I was under water, I had to keep pressing my mask on my face.
You know what, that really helped!!! It was just I had to keep pressing my mask when I dived down. When I reached the meeting point, I was fine. And then, I said 'cheese' to you guys :-D. And that's the most difficult part of the trip :#)
Even though the visibility is not good and the sea creatures are not as abundant as Sharm El Sheihk in Red Sea, there are still some underwater animals come out to "hi" to us. And I feel every single thing I found here is valuable because it's not easy to find. hahaha.
Hope you enjoy the photos and if you have any advice about the types of animals, pls feel free to correct me.
Namrin
Link Version
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Pattaya%20SCUBA%20diving%2022-23%20Mar/?albumview=link
Finally, here it comes, the photo album that I really proudly present, Namrin in Pattaya -SCUBA diving test 22-23 March!
Pattaya is a city beach, about 150km away from East of Bangkok. Pattaya is popular for night life and how easy to access to the beaches so if you look for white-sand beaches and quiet atmosphere, pls don't go there. I have warned you. Pattaya city is crowded and somewhat developed. You can find everything here almost like a little 'Bangkok', and therefore it's popular place for many Western foreigners who are retired/early retired.
One of my closest friends lives and works in Pattaya so during this diving trip,we got free accommodation. The trip cost was included in my class fee so I didn't have to pay more except for transport cost and breakfast and dinner.
Let's get to the diving spots. We sailed to the islands near Pattaya beach, called Koh Laan. Laan in Thai has two meanings 1) bald and 2) million. From my own eyes, I think it should refer to bald. So Koh Laan would mean Bald Island(s) in English. Around Koh Laan, there are also smaller islands and we dived there. But as I didn't take note properly, today I can't tell which name belongs to which island. Just know that it's Koh Laan, LOL.
The visibility was bad. If I compare to the Rea Sea, I should say here is terrible! Of course not, I don't recommend you guys to dive here. My closed friend also said that from her 5-6 times experience diving here but there was only once that it was clear and the currency was still. The rest is probably like these 2 days about 5-6 metre visibility and strong currency. Therefore, Pattaya is not Thailand's favourite diving spots. Most of people come here for practice or just because they don't have enough time to go to further islands in South or very East of Thailand.
It's time to dive, my first official dive! I was so excited and delighted. I was ready with all equipment and jumped! Boom! Fine....I was okay. I caught the rope and preparedto dive. I found my buddy, Art. Give okay sign to each other, and then he dived first and I followed.
"Ughh...what is this? I can't go down." I thought.
Right, I had to release more air from the BCD (Bouyancy Control Device-the thing that looks like a jacket which connects a diver with a air tank). Then, I started to sink....but but remember what I'm scared the most? It's ear equalising. I grabbed the rope as I didn't want to go down too fast.
But before I tried to balance the air in ear (body) and the pressure from the sea. The water came into my mask. Of course, this is the second thing we learn in the pool class, how to clear the mask. I didn't know what happened. I couldn't get rid off the water like when I did in the pool. So I came to the water surface to clear my mask. Then, I went down again but just when I put my face into the sea. The water came into my mask again. I feel something wrong. I couldn't get rid off the water from the mask. I told myself "I'm not gonna start diving with full water in the mask" It's been little while so my buddy, Art, came back to ask me what was going on. I told him about the water. One of our instructors told my buddy to go first and waited for me at the ground of the sea. So I tried again and it happened exactly the same.
Now I realised that I was the last student left on the water surface. I thought to myself, "What am I doing here? You are going to ruin all the things that you have learned for 4 weekends. You wanna do that?" Definitely not. I gave myself another go but the water came in again. And this time I thought. "Hang on! Nam. The first rule of diving. You only dive when you feel safe." I didn't feel safe anymore and I knew that if I forced myself I would drown. Now I wanted to give up.
Another instructor who is also the owner of this diving school came to me and asked whether I was nervous. I told him I was a bit nervous but more importantly something wrong with my mask. He looked at my face and said my mask was too tight. Thus, he adjusted it. Now I felt more confident and tried again. BUT the water came in again.
"It happened again!" I told my instructor.
He asked me, "is this your own mask?"
"Yes, it is. But this is just the second time I used it. For the first time I used, the water came in too but it wasn't this bad. It was fine later." I replied.
"I see. Can you adjust it again to make sure it fits your face?" He told me. "I think it's little slipped off from your face"
I followed his advice. And just put my face into the water like snorkelling. I think it worked. I faced up to the air and my instructor pushed my mask on my face. "Ouch!" I felt the mask caught my face more tightly. Then, my instructor told me to follow him slowly and when I was under water, I had to keep pressing my mask on my face.
You know what, that really helped!!! It was just I had to keep pressing my mask when I dived down. When I reached the meeting point, I was fine. And then, I said 'cheese' to you guys :-D. And that's the most difficult part of the trip :#)
Even though the visibility is not good and the sea creatures are not as abundant as Sharm El Sheihk in Red Sea, there are still some underwater animals come out to "hi" to us. And I feel every single thing I found here is valuable because it's not easy to find. hahaha.
Hope you enjoy the photos and if you have any advice about the types of animals, pls feel free to correct me.
Namrin
Link Version
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Pattaya%20SCUBA%20diving%2022-23%20Mar/?albumview=link
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Namrin in Khao Yai
Dear my friends around the globe,
If you remember, I just lost my camera. This trip was a week later from Maroon 5 concert so the photos during this trip are from my friends. (Thanks all).
I and another 10 friends (in fact, 9 adults and 1 kid) joined this green trip number..?? (nobody remembers but more than 10 for sure). They are my ex-workmates when I worked for a computer company. My ex-boss is the person who initiates the green trip. Therefore, he and his wife are like father and mother of the trip. He usually sets up a green trip to travel to many places in Thailand but mostly somewhere not too far from Bangkok. Our most popular destination is Pattaya but not this time. This trip we fancy forests and mountains, and the main activity apart from sightseeing is EATING! I had ice cream 3 times in 2 days ...until I had to refuse the 4th time.
What is Khao Yai? If you live in Thailand and you don't know it, you need a Primary-school book immediately or a Thai friend, maybe. For people who are not Thai or never live here, Khao Yai, literally meaning "great mountains", is the first titled national park and currently the third largest national park in Thailand which covers partly 4 provinces: Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, and Prachinburi. It has been nominated as World Heritage Site as well. Khao Yai consists of complicated mountains and there are 5 main forest types: Dry Evergreen Forests, Dry Deciduous Forests, Tropical Moist Evergreen Forests (70% of all), Hill Evergreen Forests, and Grasslands. The highlights in Khao Yai are flora, fauna, and waterfalls.
Unfortunately, March is the beginning of summer and before this was cool (& dry) season so waterfalls are quite dry. Also, we didn't see any stunning flora because we didn't intend to search for it so the photos are likely to show the activities we've done and "animal planet" program.
The first thing I'd like to present is a steak restaurant we had for lunch. It's the most "hard core" restaurant that I have ever experienced in terms of its service. Pls let me translate to Thai. If you get a chance to pass by Khao Yai, you may want just to pass Lex's Restaurant (with no stop) LOL. (see the photo below.
Word by word
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lex's Restaurant
Closed Monday (Except long weekend)
ditto (in Thai)
Suggestion: (Open 9.00Am - 18.00 PM) {they really say suggestion in Thai and write 18PM!!! which is 6PM)
As the restaurant provides service in American Style, all dishes will be served at the same time. Pls all of you in the same table order the foods at the same time because
CHEF will not switch his cooking to another table until yours is done except you order your own second dish. {pls tell me about the American style. i really wonder how it's like}
How to do steak:
Rare = 20%
Medium Rare = 40%
Medium = 70% (recommended)
Medium Well = 80%
Well Done =well done
We reserved the right to refuse service anyone.
We reserve our rights to refuse to serve anyone.
Extra plate (extra plate) 50 baht each {pricey! Normally the restaurant doesn't charge an extra plate}
(Only serve courses or sets in menu)
The rules above has been using since the first opening day (10 years +)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
All I can say is we felt that we were threatened by the restaurant. LOL. However, I think the steak is very good. I got a bite of beef and it 99% doesn't smell for me that is very impressive. However, when the waiters were away, we discussed that this restaurant may have a lot of one-time customers because their service is just unbelievably strict and unfriendly. It's hard to stand in this business without one-time customers. Also, we really wonder how about other restaurants nearby because they are about 10 steak restaurants within this 5 km radius on the same road. Anyway, we had to keep our doubt quietly because this meal already cost 1/3 of our budget!! (Very expensive) :-O and we were just at the beginning of day 1!!
After lunch, we had ice cream at Umm...Milk by ChokeChai Farm. It's the famous tourirm farm and their main business is to produce fresh milk so the ice cream is very milky. yum yum :-)
After arriving at Khoa Yai, we left our baggage at the accommodation which were 2 quite big semi-attached houses. It even has one servants' room as well. WOW! Then, we went to Haew Suwat Waterfall which means sth like Hell of Suwat (I'm not sure what Suwat refers to...it could be a name of hell in Buddha story) . After playing water, we had a light meal at another camp site where we found many deers walking around to eat grass (I think). We wandered around the camp site for about an hour. Then, ordered some foods for dinner. (Didn't we just eat?)
We came back to our accommodation, took shower and had a proper dinner altogether. It was about 7PM. We noticed that there was a big group of people partying near our place. Anyway, we didn't take it serious as it would be over before we went to bed for sure as this is a national park, not a club. At 8PM, we went to join the night safari by spotting the animals that came out at night. It was very dark and very fast so we had just a few photos. At 9PM, we came back. While we watched TV and chatted, 2 strangers knocked the door and said, "Today is Prachinburi's governor's birthday. We are sorry for the noise but we won't stay up late. Please join our dinner" And then, they brought 3 big foam containers fully filled with food inside. I think they thought we were relatives or children of a Minister because our places are called, House of Minister. You know what this meant. Yep, we had a late meal.
Next morning, we were willingly divided into 2 groups. The first group got up just before the sunrise and went out to wake up all the animals plus took some photos. The second group woke up when someone called "breakfast is ready!" hahaha, hmm...that included me :#) After breakfast, we just relaxed. At first, we planned to go for kayaking or rafting but it seemed that the river or the stream in this season is not quite suitable for those activities. So, we went to the viewpoint of Khao Yai, mainly covering Khao Kaew area (Green Mountains). It was a piece of cake to get there because it can be reached by cars. Not so long, it's noon....we had lunch and then, ice cream but this time we didn't go to the steak place so it's fairly cheap. We returned to BKK. And on the way back, half of our friends stopped by Umm...Milk again to have ice cream. But I had enough ....it was just too often. And this is why I wanted to call this trip, the eating trip! (When arriving at BKK, we also had dinner together. What a complete closure!)
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Namrin:-)
Link Version:
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Khao%20Yai%208-9%20Mar/?albumview=link
If you remember, I just lost my camera. This trip was a week later from Maroon 5 concert so the photos during this trip are from my friends. (Thanks all).
I and another 10 friends (in fact, 9 adults and 1 kid) joined this green trip number..?? (nobody remembers but more than 10 for sure). They are my ex-workmates when I worked for a computer company. My ex-boss is the person who initiates the green trip. Therefore, he and his wife are like father and mother of the trip. He usually sets up a green trip to travel to many places in Thailand but mostly somewhere not too far from Bangkok. Our most popular destination is Pattaya but not this time. This trip we fancy forests and mountains, and the main activity apart from sightseeing is EATING! I had ice cream 3 times in 2 days ...until I had to refuse the 4th time.
What is Khao Yai? If you live in Thailand and you don't know it, you need a Primary-school book immediately or a Thai friend, maybe. For people who are not Thai or never live here, Khao Yai, literally meaning "great mountains", is the first titled national park and currently the third largest national park in Thailand which covers partly 4 provinces: Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, and Prachinburi. It has been nominated as World Heritage Site as well. Khao Yai consists of complicated mountains and there are 5 main forest types: Dry Evergreen Forests, Dry Deciduous Forests, Tropical Moist Evergreen Forests (70% of all), Hill Evergreen Forests, and Grasslands. The highlights in Khao Yai are flora, fauna, and waterfalls.
Unfortunately, March is the beginning of summer and before this was cool (& dry) season so waterfalls are quite dry. Also, we didn't see any stunning flora because we didn't intend to search for it so the photos are likely to show the activities we've done and "animal planet" program.
The first thing I'd like to present is a steak restaurant we had for lunch. It's the most "hard core" restaurant that I have ever experienced in terms of its service. Pls let me translate to Thai. If you get a chance to pass by Khao Yai, you may want just to pass Lex's Restaurant (with no stop) LOL. (see the photo below.
Word by word
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lex's Restaurant
Closed Monday (Except long weekend)
ditto (in Thai)
Suggestion: (Open 9.00Am - 18.00 PM) {they really say suggestion in Thai and write 18PM!!! which is 6PM)
As the restaurant provides service in American Style, all dishes will be served at the same time. Pls all of you in the same table order the foods at the same time because
CHEF will not switch his cooking to another table until yours is done except you order your own second dish. {pls tell me about the American style. i really wonder how it's like}
How to do steak:
Rare = 20%
Medium Rare = 40%
Medium = 70% (recommended)
Medium Well = 80%
Well Done =well done
We reserved the right to refuse service anyone.
We reserve our rights to refuse to serve anyone.
Extra plate (extra plate) 50 baht each {pricey! Normally the restaurant doesn't charge an extra plate}
(Only serve courses or sets in menu)
The rules above has been using since the first opening day (10 years +)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
All I can say is we felt that we were threatened by the restaurant. LOL. However, I think the steak is very good. I got a bite of beef and it 99% doesn't smell for me that is very impressive. However, when the waiters were away, we discussed that this restaurant may have a lot of one-time customers because their service is just unbelievably strict and unfriendly. It's hard to stand in this business without one-time customers. Also, we really wonder how about other restaurants nearby because they are about 10 steak restaurants within this 5 km radius on the same road. Anyway, we had to keep our doubt quietly because this meal already cost 1/3 of our budget!! (Very expensive) :-O and we were just at the beginning of day 1!!
After lunch, we had ice cream at Umm...Milk by ChokeChai Farm. It's the famous tourirm farm and their main business is to produce fresh milk so the ice cream is very milky. yum yum :-)
After arriving at Khoa Yai, we left our baggage at the accommodation which were 2 quite big semi-attached houses. It even has one servants' room as well. WOW! Then, we went to Haew Suwat Waterfall which means sth like Hell of Suwat (I'm not sure what Suwat refers to...it could be a name of hell in Buddha story) . After playing water, we had a light meal at another camp site where we found many deers walking around to eat grass (I think). We wandered around the camp site for about an hour. Then, ordered some foods for dinner. (Didn't we just eat?)
We came back to our accommodation, took shower and had a proper dinner altogether. It was about 7PM. We noticed that there was a big group of people partying near our place. Anyway, we didn't take it serious as it would be over before we went to bed for sure as this is a national park, not a club. At 8PM, we went to join the night safari by spotting the animals that came out at night. It was very dark and very fast so we had just a few photos. At 9PM, we came back. While we watched TV and chatted, 2 strangers knocked the door and said, "Today is Prachinburi's governor's birthday. We are sorry for the noise but we won't stay up late. Please join our dinner" And then, they brought 3 big foam containers fully filled with food inside. I think they thought we were relatives or children of a Minister because our places are called, House of Minister. You know what this meant. Yep, we had a late meal.
Next morning, we were willingly divided into 2 groups. The first group got up just before the sunrise and went out to wake up all the animals plus took some photos. The second group woke up when someone called "breakfast is ready!" hahaha, hmm...that included me :#) After breakfast, we just relaxed. At first, we planned to go for kayaking or rafting but it seemed that the river or the stream in this season is not quite suitable for those activities. So, we went to the viewpoint of Khao Yai, mainly covering Khao Kaew area (Green Mountains). It was a piece of cake to get there because it can be reached by cars. Not so long, it's noon....we had lunch and then, ice cream but this time we didn't go to the steak place so it's fairly cheap. We returned to BKK. And on the way back, half of our friends stopped by Umm...Milk again to have ice cream. But I had enough ....it was just too often. And this is why I wanted to call this trip, the eating trip! (When arriving at BKK, we also had dinner together. What a complete closure!)
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Namrin:-)
Link Version:
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/namrinb/Photo%202008/Khao%20Yai%208-9%20Mar/?albumview=link
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Yesss!! I won
Hello my friends
I know this is a bit of showing off but i hope you don't mind. lol. My friend just called that I was the first winner of a photo contest, Tresor is Love. Here is the link
http://www.lancome-th.com/tresor/announce.html
I think the persons who send the photo must be Thai so i didn't share this with you. It was held since February (Valentine's Day). My photo is the first one. I was walking with Hiromi, my Japanese friend who visited me 2 years ago. And you know what, the person who took the photograph is my best friend, Ploy. She won at the 4th position. I have to thank her for being my photographer and she thanked me for telling her this competition. So we're even lol.
Let me translate the name of each photo:
1. Ladies Walker
2. Even sea is sweet
3. Love is kind
4. Love is
5. 1 Happiness and 1 Impression
6. Cross the world to meet love
7. Our long-lasting forever love
8. True friend over a hundred percent
9. Love chain from my heart
10. Oops! Who is this?
The prize for all winners is Tre'sor Eau De Perfume 100ML.
Check this out to see a new ambassor of Tresor. Love is Treasure :-)
http://www.lancome-th.com/tresor/
Namrin
My photo
I know this is a bit of showing off but i hope you don't mind. lol. My friend just called that I was the first winner of a photo contest, Tresor is Love. Here is the link
http://www.lancome-th.com/tresor/announce.html
I think the persons who send the photo must be Thai so i didn't share this with you. It was held since February (Valentine's Day). My photo is the first one. I was walking with Hiromi, my Japanese friend who visited me 2 years ago. And you know what, the person who took the photograph is my best friend, Ploy. She won at the 4th position. I have to thank her for being my photographer and she thanked me for telling her this competition. So we're even lol.
Let me translate the name of each photo:
1. Ladies Walker
2. Even sea is sweet
3. Love is kind
4. Love is
5. 1 Happiness and 1 Impression
6. Cross the world to meet love
7. Our long-lasting forever love
8. True friend over a hundred percent
9. Love chain from my heart
10. Oops! Who is this?
The prize for all winners is Tre'sor Eau De Perfume 100ML.
Check this out to see a new ambassor of Tresor. Love is Treasure :-)
http://www.lancome-th.com/tresor/
Namrin
My photo
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