Phuket with Shir O’Fish

It was officially our third overseas trip together, beyond Malaysia this time.

We were on tight budgets. Late flight in, early flight out. Cheap hotel (but a super decent and very nice one) and better still, cheap food!

Shir was excited over sun tanning (she wants to turn into a minah. lol!) and massage. I have to say, Thai body massages aren’t exactly the most sleep-inducing thing ever. They step, pull, flex and knead me so much that I thought I can officially do gymnastics.

Weather was atrocious. Raining heavily one moment and minutes later, the bright sun shone mercilessly (at least to me) but much to the delight of Shir and countless Caucasians there.

Singapore may be a food haven but nothing beats the quality of the food in Phuket (at least in Karon). Food is fresh, tastes good and relatively cheap. From splendid local food like Phad Thai, Tom Yum Soup and Fried Beef to Swedish beef steak and patties, it was very very mouth-watering and much kinder to the pocket.

 

Despite the beautiful white sandy beaches and blue skies, the trauma of the tsunami and the global credit crunch linger on. Tsunami escape route signs are everywhere and almost every building looks newly built (after the destruction from the tsunami). Lots of tourists around but businesses there are feeling the toil of the global recession.

 

The people may be poor and live a hard life but nothing can take away the twinkle of life away from them. I am sure they think of having a better life everyday, for the betterment of themselves and their loved ones. And here we are in wasteful Singapore complaining of the stuff we don’t have when we actually don’t lack anything.

I think I’ve returned slightly rejuvenated and looking forward to trips that truly allows me to experience the culture deeply.

And as with every trip, I’ve learnt a bit more about myself and my co-traveller. I hope to work on my bad points as a traveller and bring a much more pleasant experience to my fellow trip mates. (I’m not that horrible! Just want to sweat on the small stuff…I can’t help it that I am that sensitive. :p)

Hari Raya Festivities

It was the first time I visited Geylang Serai during the month of Ramadan. I knew the pasar malams (night markets in Malay) are much better than the ones the Chinese have before Chinese New Year. But I want to see for myself how different it was.

It was PACKED! Pasar malams on 3 seperate stretch of land, adjacent to one another and separated by 2 main roads. As far as I can remember my walk at the night market before Chinese New Year, it was definitely less happening than their Malay counterparts.

I told you it was packed!

At the markets, it was curtains-shoes-traditional clothes-FOOD galore. Plenty of Ramly burgers on sale, countless number of shoes/slippers and the people!

Gastronomical food! (though there is a lot more than what’s shown here). YUM!

No worries if you spoil your pair of slippers. But how many feet does one have??

Interestingly, the Malays came up with their own version of bak kwa (barbecued meat in Chinese dialect). There are plenty on sale for the Chinese New Year festival and n0t wanting to lose out, now there’s the halal bak kwa a.k.a. dendeng (in Malay) for Hari Raya.

So fun! So many pretty things to see and nice food to eat. Will definitely make another visit next year.