Bangkok Part II

No smoking. No durian. No animals. No intercourse? In the taxi.

We had an "oil massage" and it was amazing; the lady was not too rough, but let's say I wasn't expecting the massage to be full body.

We had drinks at the Lebua state tower. On top of this hotel is a 360 degree skybar with an amazing view of the city. You may recognize it from Hangover 2.

The ladyboy show at the Calypso cabaret was very classy (stripper poles and racy outfits aside) and burlesque.

The Thai like beauty and fashion; there were many markets selling a medley of goods.

The Kimmidoll store = cute!!

Beauty is an important status symbol in Bangkok and this huge ad brightens the otherwise dark streets of the metropolis.

Bangkok Part I

This post is dedicated to the gorgeous temples. They were truly awe inspiring, over the top grandeur, and I just had to share these shiny (gold) pictures!

Grande Palace. Murals.

One of the temples. In Thailand, 60% of the population is Buddhist.

Gold.

Shockingly; more gold.

There were many different buildings in the Grande Palace; each one built during a different era meant to represent the grandeur of the time.

Part of the temple.

19th century (Western inspired?) palace residence.

Sofie and myself .

The gates to the monastery next to the Wat Arun temple.

Wat Arun temple.








Thailand definitely has a rich cultural history. They especially like their monarchy. We went to see a movie and before the showing in the cinema, we had to stand up during a 5 min clip of the King's life and his achievements.

Culture Shock

For the first time in my life I experienced culture shock. Strangely enough, I didn't experience it in Manila, but in Bangkok. The city is so different and far removed from what I'm used to that I was in complete shock most of the first day. The streets, the way the system is set up, the markets were all unexpectedly different. Sometimes surprisingly pleasant, other times conspicuously disappointing. I enjoyed my trip to Bangkok with my Swedish friend Sofie. For now, here is an itinerary of what we did (pictures to follow):

Friday
- walk around Sukhumvitz
- take the MRT to Hard Rock Cafe
- walk around the centre (Siam)
- enjoy a relaxing oil massage
- watch "Friends with Benefits" in a VIP movie theater aka huge lounge chairs

Saturday
- visit Grande Palace
- take a boat ride across the bustling river
- walk around Wat Arun temple
- walk around chatuchak market (8 acres which 300,000 people visit per weekend)
- have drinks (Hangovertini) on top of the Lebua tower 360 degree sky bar where they filmed the Hangover 2; an amazing view of the stretched out skyline
- have drinks in an American diner and visit Insomnia night club

Sunday
- visit a floating market 1 hr outside of the city
- have dinner at an English pub
- view a ladyboy cabaret show (Calypso cabaret)

I ate a lot of Thai food; some spicy, some bland. I am as of now indifferent, but perhaps in Phuket I will extend my taste palette and learn to enjoy Thai cuisine a bit more.

Manila Part II

Manila; the luxurious part. This post I must dedicate to three places; Mary Grace, Bizu, and the Shangri La.

Mary Grace was the cutest little cafe that sold delicious lemon bars and apple cinnamon ice tea (Christmas anyone?)!

The theme of Mary Grace was very cozy and home-y.

We had a small high tea upon arrival at Bizu; a more modern cafe with pink and purple decorations. Very nouveau riches.

At Bizu there was the service button - push it and thou shall be served.

Inside Bizu with a delicious piece of carrot cake.





Besides spending our time eating and drinking tea, we also did some massages, manicures/pedicure, and a facial.

My Shangri La High Tea. In this very expensive location, I paid 12 euros for this entire étagère and unlimited Twinings tea.

Ann-Katrin had the traditional High Tea and in the background you can see the orchestra of 30 people which played relaxing classic music the entire time.



Overall Manila was a very relaxing city trip and I felt like I experienced some of the Philippino culture. Not in the pictures, but I also ate some crickets! When in Asia... do the abnormal (but safe)!

Manila Part I

Manila was a city with two sides; a very luxurious (and relatively cheap compared to NL) part and a very poor part. I've never been to a city with such a large social gap.

Public transport. Not advisable. They drive like crazy (lanes, what are those?) and the public transport is very dangerous since there are no seat belts and sometimes people are hanging out.

Chinatown. We didn't feel very safe here and were approached by begging children. People would yell at us - random messages - and we were a huge minority outside of the security guard areas.

Manila has a really nice old district which is where the Spanish colony was located. This is Fort Santiago in the "Intramuros" district which is a large area surrounded by a 500 year old city wall.

Manila Cathedral.

In front of the garden of an old aristocratic mansion.

San Augustin Cathedral. Very gorgeous on the inside, this Catholic church is celebrating its 440th birthday.

Auntie and Uncle

A common phenomenon in Singapore is to hear people call their elders "auntie" (female) and "uncle" (male) even though they are in no way related.

Quote from a Singaporean: "From young, my parents taught me to call anyone older, especially those who are married or are working, “auntie” or “uncle”. It is a way of showing respect. If you feel old just because people call you “auntie” or “uncle”, then you have a self-esteem problem. If you are a foreigner who objects to being called “auntie” and “uncle”, I say this is part of our culture, so accept it."

Quite funny to hear people saying this on the streets to shop owners or people in other occupations. :)

Ku De Ta

On top of the Marina Bay Sands (that huge building with three towers connected at the top by a 'boat') is an open air bar called Ku De Ta. It's an outdoor club with an amazing view! The music was good and it felt like we were partying on top of the world.

Myself near the railing that goes down 200 m to the bay area.

FOOD

Another wonderful food update.

There is an amazing Indian restaurant near my place which sells great prata, mutabak (?), and chicken masala! This is a dessert - I'm not sure what it's called, but it's fried dough covered in a thin layer of chocolate.

A Korean dish; rice with curry and beef, topped by an egg.

I went to the Mandarin Oriental hotel and we had a fabulous high tea. My tea was called the "imperial tea: black tea with tones of caramel and chocolate". The scones, finger sandwiches, and cakes were delicious.

Baked rice in an omelet topped by teriyaki sauce and sizzling chicken with peanut sauce = YUM!

At the Max Brenner chocolate cafe we had a chocolate/marshmallow/nut pizza. It was nice, but perhaps a bit too chocolate-y (never thought I would say that).

At Arab St. in a little Moroccan cafe we had traditional tea. This basically meant drinking liquid sugar, not a bad deal.

I went to Outback Singapore and surprisingly ordered... baby back ribs... great meat... obviously I'm vegetarian...

Coffee Club offers a huge macaroon filled with fruit, compote, and delicious paste. This is my favorite desert by far and the Mango Munch is even better than this Lime It Up!

Mooncake Festival

Right now in Singapore is the mooncake festival. Mooncakes are these little cakes that are filled with paste (flavors: bean, red, green tea, watermelon). I was in Cold Storage - the only "Western" grocery store - where they sold Haagen-Dazs Mooncake shaped ice cream.

Today I will go to Chinatown to discover more about this festival.

P.s. my dad is now playing Angry Birds with the theme Moonfestival!

Istana

5 times a year the Istana (President's Home in the middle of the city - like the Singapore White House) opens to the public on public holidays.

The house itself rested on top of a hill and had a gorgeous view of the city. I found out from one of my friends that apartment buildings that have full access view of the building, may not have windows on that side. Internal security is a very big deal in SG!

The gardens were very large and included Japanese ponds, a golf course, and myriad rare trees.