Our 4D3N Itinerary Around Bangkok

Just sharing some ideas on how to spend 4 days and 3 nights in Bangkok. For our trip, we arrived on the Saturday, during the long Chinese New Year weekend.

One important thing to note for our itinerary: it's 50% sight-seeing and 50% shopping. You've been warned. :) Also, some of the originally planned trips did not go as planned so we had to improvise on the fly. Some improvised trips are indicated below.


Day 1 (Saturday, January 21, 2012)

Arrived at the Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport before lunchtime. Hired a taxi straight to Banyan Tree Hotel Bangkok. After checking in, went straight to our first stop: Chatuchak Weekend Market.

Spent most of the afternoon in the first day here. Good prices (always start bargaining below half the tag price), tasty treats (try the garlic pork with rice at Section 23 and the coconut ice cream). A real shopper's delight.

After hours of wandering around and bargaining everywhere, we went back to the hotel to drop off all the shopping bags and rest for a while. Then, we're off to Yaowarat (Chinatown). It is Chinese New Year weekend afterall.

The streets are alive that night. Many choices for dinner. We settled with one of the restaurants which expanded into the sidewalks: T&K Seafood restaurant. After dinner, we just walked down the street along with other hundreds of people who are still doing their late-night shopping for the CNY. It was agreat night; lot's of things to see.



Yaowarat (Chinatown) - Sidewalk extension of the T&K Seafood restaurant



Looking back at 2009

This will be a long post. This should make up for my silence the past few weeks. :)

Another year has passed. Another year gone by so quickly, we barely noticed it. Looking back at 2009, we experienced one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride. The year was riddled with both the good and the bad, not only personally but also globally. Who would have thought so many memorable things could happen in a span of a year?


2009 and Us

We had our greatest joy turned to the greatest sorrow, as we learned early June that we were blessed with a child, only to be taken away the following September... It sucks. Don't know how to put it more bluntly than that. I was brought down to my knees for the second time in my life; I cried my heart out. Pain was unbearable. But I had to keep it together. We had no choice but to let her go. Trying to move on and, as in the movie "Meet the Robinsons", keep moving forward. Just keep moving forward...

Then came December... A few days before Christmas, our loving aunt, Tita Cory -- not to be confused with Cory Aquino, mind you -- passed away as well. Could not go to the wake which makes it that much more difficult. It's like losing another mother. Made me realize how important it is to show your loved ones that you care. Especially for people who are away, overseas... Because you'll never know when you can see them again.

Oh well... Enough brooding...

Although I doubt if any of the good things could match up to the bad things that happened, I still like to think that at least we still had good things to celebrate. Like what I learned in high school, focus on the good things... No matter how dark it is, always look at the good side of things. There's always something to learn.

What we'll take away from our harrowing experience is the wisdom and knowledge that we gained, a new appreciation for life, plus Che and I have become closer and much more open to each other.

Also, we had our third year anniversary at Quincy Hotel in Orchard. The food is great (breakfast, lunch and dinner), not to mention the room. Not a spectacular view, though, but hey we're in the middle of the shopping district... :)

Another great experience is our weekend trip to Malacca (Melaka) in Malaysia. Once you're used to shopping in Singapore, you will really, really, REALLY appreciate Melaka. Most unforgettable would be the "Fish Doctor" there. You let the tiny (and some really big) fishes nibble your feet. An hour after that, our feet are so soft and smooth. If ever we get a chance to go back there, I'll be sure to drop by that place again!

Then one important thing to be thankful for: our approved permanent residence status. In a time when many applicants were rejected and told to re-apply again after six months (others up to two years), we are lucky enough to be approved. Although it means that it will eat up some of our salary, we are at least much more secure here in Singapore, not to mention, it opens up new possibilities.

We're also thankful for our jobs -- despite the troublesome shifting schedule and endless politics -- I guess no office job is complete without one. We can afford new things we need and want; things which we would think more than ten times before buying if we were back in the Philippines. Not that we do not like our flat, but it was kind of unwelcoming and unrelaxing, until we brought in some new furniture like the dining set, which I'm very, very pleased with. Slowly and steadily, it is feeling a lot more like home. :)


Philippines under siege

The Philippines is battered with catastrophe after catastrophe. It's always sad whenever I see Philippines in the news in our office -- it's as if the Philippines is only in international news whenever something bad has happened.

The great flood brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng has been the worst of its kind in recent memory. Houses ruined, livelihoods destroyed, lives lost. The silver lining in all of this is that it brought out the best in all Filipinos. The bayanihan spirit is seen best in times of trouble. Heroes bold and true died saving lives of others. People banded together to help those who were most devasted by the floods.

Another saving grace is the proof of the resiliency of the Filipinos. Despite going through a lot, Filipinos still manage to become happy during the festive Christmas season. Even those hit hardest by the floods won't let Christmas and New year pass by without a bang, a bunch of lechon, and others. :)

Then just before the year ends, Mayon volcano fires up anew, threathening the whole countryside. Glad to know that it has simmerred down for the Holidays. Hope it stays that way for good.


Scandals left and right

The Philippine government - particularly the Arroyo government -- is not new to scandals. Heck, it's almost impossible to think of the Arroyo administration without thinking of all the corruption cases piling up, which -- I hope not -- would likely end up at the bottom of the stack of cases...

Not to mention the infamous lunch/dinner of the Arroyo contingent during their US trip. The apparent insensitivity of the president in the midst of the global economic crisis left a bad taste in the mouths of Filipinos.

Also, there's this "little" issue about the different sex scandals of the former doctor Hayden Kho. through the whole ordeal, at least one person benefitted from all this. After the scandal broke out, for some reason, one TV network gave her a break giving her one prominent role after another, eventually winning her an award for one of those roles. Well, at least something good came out of this whole mess.


Prominent deaths

The death of the first woman Philippine president was felt by all Filipinos. Even the younger generation who were not even born during the EDSA revolution felt the loss of the former Time Magazine Woman of the Year, the icon of EDSA revolution, the symbol of People Power. The day-long drive from the Manila Cathedral to her final resting place in Manila Memorial Park just shows the number of people that showed up and gave their respects for the former president.

Not to mention, the latest and most apalling election-related violence perhaps in the entire Philippine history. The Ampatuan case down south just shows the extreme violence present in the provinces and, possibly, the best display of the giant rift between the rich and the poor; being the third(?) poorest province in the entire Philippines, the Ampatuan clan allegedly owns at least 20 mansions, an unknown number in their private army, and some heavy armaments. It's been 40+ days since the mass murder. 'Wonder how long before justice is served?

Then there's also the other controversial death of the Ruby Rose Barrameda, sister of former beauty queen and actress Rochelle Barrameda. The fact that the body was found sealed up inside a drum... well, let's just say it's gonna be ugly...

Also, there's also the deaths of music legend, the King of Pop Michael Jackson, and likewise the Hollywood star of Dirty Dancing, Patrick Swayze.

Is it just me, or is the death toll for 2009 higher than the previous years? And it's not even 2012 yet! Oh well, enough of that...


The good things

Good year for PacMan. This is the year that brought him his unprecedented 7 championships in different weight divisions. Filipinos couldn't be any prouder. He probably could do better and hold eight -- if only Mayweather sucks it up and stop complaining about drug tests here and that, and finalize the fight already. He's just a jack@$$, afraid of facing PacMan who could possibly end his winning streak. Hell, if he wanted to keep his streak, who should have just stayed retired and shut the hell up. If the fight doesn't push through, he's just all bark, no bite.

Then again, maybe that's just a technique of them promoters. Damn shame on you guys! That ain't right! :))

Of course, the only problem I have with Pacquiao is his political ambitions, trying, once again, to run for public office. Heck, no doubt that's because of the that corrupt, gambling devil on his side whispering into his ear again. You know, the one who was also a money launderer but did not get a trial because he's a "star witness". Before I lose control of myself again, I better move on...

So, going back to the good things...

Another person we can be proud of, Efren Penaflorida. The 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. Do we really need to say more? The whole world loves and respects what he does... Well, at least most of the Internet voters... But still, his work is an example to all. Hopefully more and more people will look up to this young man. Now the question was raised during one of his interviews: Should he run for public office? Well, it would be nice for someone like him to actually lead us. I just hope if that's the case, he won't get sucked in and be corrupted by the prevailing, stinking politics in our country today.

Also, global economy is slowly getting back on its feet. Should be a great opportunity for people looking for better jobs -- I know some colleagues who did! :)) Hopefully, the road to recovery would be a smooth one and hopefully opportunities along the way open up for us as well.

Okay that was tiring... :)) But I enjoyed doing this.

Cheers to 2010! Hoping for a better year than last year! Good luck to all of us! Happy New Year to all!

New Year's musings at work...

I'm posting this while everything is still stable and I have some free time.

As I've posted before, I'm at work during the New Year's celebration. It's a sad thing but it's not all bad -- at least not stomach-wise; the bosses here treated us here to tons of pizza and fried chicken! :))

Good thing, also, that my wife is the understanding sort and she understands why I have to go to work. Bless her!

This is actually the first time I'm spending the New Year working. It's a bit weird, knowing that I'm stuck at work while everyone else is having fun...

Then again, I'm not in the Philippines, so fun is already out of the question! :)) Let's face it, nobody beats Philippines when it comes to Christmas and New Year celebrations! Since I'm not there, aside from my wife and friends -- who I'm happy to say are enjoying their mini-celebrations -- I'm not really missing much that I haven't already missed. Fireworks? I think it's not allowed here except in Marina bay.

Ha! I never thought I would miss the sights and sounds of New Year's fireworks back home! So loud... so bright... soooo.... DEADLY! :)) I haven't seen the news lately; I hope fewer people had to be taken to the hospitals this year.

Oh well, something just broke down. Back to work.

Happy New Year!

About Psychic Predictions for 2009

As is the common practice, countless psychics and fortunetellers are making many brave and bold predictions for the New Year. They would claim that they have correctly predicted events the previous year, so there is no doubt that their new predictions will come to pass as well.

Personally, I have a couple of problems with this notion.

First, nobody remembers in completely the many predictions of most psychics, much less the onbes who made correct predictions. I particularly hate the ones who announce that they predicted certain events -- the 9/11 attack being one of the favorites -- after said event occured.

Another thing is that many of the so-called predictions are not far-fetched, unforeseeable predictions but are actually expectations. Case in point, predictions of terrible storms that will hit the Philippines. Every single year, there's always a prediction about a big storm claiming the lives of tons of people. Don't want to sound harsh here, but duh! For a country that gets an average of twenty tropical storms a year, is this really, really, REALLY a great prediction? I'll make a prediction now then: there will be at least one storm hitting the Philippines between May and August. How's that? :))

Well, I guess there's only one way to weed out "real" and the bogus psychics: list down all of the said predictions online, say, in this blog -- or any other blog for that matter -- them review them next year.

Funny thing, though, I have not seen many online predictions lately for the coming year. Fishy? Nah... Maybe the TV networks are simply too lazy to update their sites. :))

Anyway, I managed to watch one episode of TV Patrol on TFC and I remember distinctly a prediction about Philippine President GMA and her spouse; GMA will remain healthy throughout the year but the First Gentleman Arroyo may be hospitalized sometime next year. Sorry to say I forgot who made that prediction. Anybody saw that?

Ah hell... I'll just post more 2009 predictions stuff as I get them... :)