Dinotrek & Petrosains (11.07.09)

sheesh! i should have posted this long ago. but procrastination caused me the delay.

i’ve never been to Petrosains even though it has been opened for almost a decade.

since Chun’s birthday is coming soon, GF and i might as well bring him there. but deep inside, i know that i’m the one who really wanted to go there. haha!

anyway, we were asked to proceed to Dinotrek first upon buying our tickets.

Dino trek is actually not that big. estimated time there is only 45 minutes. but it is good fun there. lots of interactive games and big dinos. but dun expect to play the games as there’s a lot of kids there…

anyway, here are some of the photos:

one of the interactive games. btw, i’m NOT the father of the kid, k? haha!

Skull of a T-Rex. but it’s not the skull that interest me. instead, it’s the young couple. Petrosains will be the last place that i wanted to go for a date. or is it their last choice? haha!

Ooo… dead dino

who cares about other dino? we only want to see T-Rex!!!

and yes, they move – VIOLENTLY too! even chun got scared (scaredy cat!)

up close and personal…

archeologists in the making.

after Dinotrek, the next place to go is Petrosains. this is where the fun part begins. in order to go there, we have to take a small ride with presentations in between. it’s cool actually,

the next thing, we were transported to a new world.

lots of games and things to explore. photos ahead…

one of the many games

want to know how air smells like during the prehistoric time?

i think this photo will give you an idea.

wondering why i’m forcing him into this machine?

so that he can be an astronaut. cool!!!

this game is not meant for kids. it’s bloody hard to play!

the only thing that i wanted to take photos with

this air chamber is the most fun thing to play with! the air just gets gradually stronger to mimic a hurricane. got out in the middle of it coz the wind was very strong and cold!!!

there’s one place that we didn’t really take photos – the oil drill site. what is Petrosains without oil rigs right?

unfortunately, we were tired (at least my GF and i were) and we have an appointment at that time too. so we kinda rushed a bit. plus since it was weekends and there was a group of school kids there, it makes us restless too coz the kids are noisy and wrecking everything that their eyes sees.

that makes us wanted to leave more.

but anyway, this is a great place to go regardless of age and we will definitely go there again and take our time to read everything. just make sure we have at least 3 ohurs to spend in Petrosains ALONE!

and of course, no school kids at that time please…

Part time job as an insurance agent

with all the commitments and for the future as well. i have been thinking of getting a side income.

where to start, what to do?

should we start to bake pastries and try to test the market?

or sell apparel?

or maybe becoming a part time insurance agent, which my friend had asked me to do all this while.

yes, i am open to all kinds of option. even as an agent.

from what i can see, the sky is your limit. but do i have what it takes to become one?

yes, training is available and there will be people to coach you. but can i really do it?

am i too scared to disappoint myself?

i blame it for my lack of self-confidence…

It is so near yet so far!

Sigh.... we are so close in purchasing that apartment....
never thought another buyer offered the owner a higher price ( rm5K higher)...
i will not blame the owner though. it's logical for him to sell to whom ever who offers a higher price.
seems that it's not meant to be ours...
hmmmm..... it's ok.
let's start hunting again! All the best to us!!

buying a house…

…is one hell lot of work. not to mention involves a lot of work. and also the most important thing – MONEY.

which translates into one big word – HEADACHE!!!

the headache starts the moment you planned to get one.

finding a house that you like is one thing. finding a house that you like AND you can afford is another thing. will we be able to pay for the downpayment? will we be able to pay for the monthly installments, plus the maintenance fee and the utility bills for the next 30 years?

which means there were countless hours of going through the newspapers, looking around banners, asking friends/family for any good properties and asking agents.

next thing is to see if there any anomaly in the building. if there is, we will have to ask the respective experts as whether the building is safe to occupy or not.

then, it will be the security of the area. is it safe? is the crime rate high in the area? how was the security there?

once everything is A OK, proceed to purchase the house from the owner or developer.

ok, this is just the beginning. the next part will really involve in parting of our hard-earned money…

once (or before) the Sales and Purchase Agreement has been signed (not to mention paying 2% of downpayment), it’s time for the mad scramble of finding the right loan from the right bank.

if comparing the rates that the bank is giving you heading, wait till you see the kazillion products that the offer. you’ll be eating double doses of painkillers that you normally take…

which type of loans to take? conventional or Islamic? fixed or variable? or both (if any)? easy entry cost or non-easy entry cost? how about the Insurance? MRTA or MLTA?

the list goes on…

and yeah, i’m currently at the above dilemma. the jargons that they use are so complicated… it’s like you need a Master in Rocket Science to comprehend it.

and of course, applying it will not guarantee that your loan application will be approved. just hope that our bank accounts are healthy and the powers-to-be will approve it.

if everything goes right, will have to pay for the rest of the downpayment (8%). and also the legal fees, which cost around RM3K (if i don’t want the Bank to absorb it) and also SPA fees which also cost around RM3K.

and the rest is history. we will be in debt of the next 30 years or so…

it’s all about the money.

not to mention headaches…

What makes a Thai a “Thai”

ok, before anyone goes, WHAT??!!! another post of Thailand again, let me assure that it will be the last post about it.

during the whole duration of our trip to Bangkok (and also during our previous trip to Phuket), the Thais thought us as their fellow countrymen too.

yup, whenever we are in the market (and almost everywhere else), they will speak to us in Thai. why? most probably due to our skin colour, especially GF’s.

but what really makes someone truly Thai? or maybe it is more like what are the must-haves to be a true Bangkok citizen.

based on my observation, the main thing you’ll need is this:

can you guess what is this stick?

No? does it give you any clue?

this is what it looks like when opened

Main ingereidents are eucalyptus oil, menthor, camphor & borneol. still dun get it? ok, the photo below will reveal you the answer:

i look like a druggie

yes, we saw a lot of them shoving this magic stick up their nostril and gave it a big snort.

and i thought people only use it when they had flu or something. but no!! these people are really crazy about it. you see many of them, regardless of:

• sex. who cares if it doesn’t look feminine as long as they got a shot of it.
• Occupation. peddlars to white collars to students
• Age. for the young one, it looks cool!!! for the older folks, holding it alone makes you 20 years younger.

they are so obsessed till i even saw one guy who snorts it even when wearing a face mask!

out of curiosity, i decided to buy one and give it a try, much to the chagrin of GF.

true to the product’s slogan (Poy-Sian), we will definitely get a RELIEF OF VERTIGO! one snort, a signal will be sent to your brain faster than the speed of light and the next thing you know, you’ll be in seventh heaven.

the second thing i noticed that is very common is Thai University students. in tight white shirt and black short (and sometimes tight) skirts.

here’s one that i got from the internet (don’t drool…):

how i wish university students in Malaysia wear this uniform…

you can see them in their uniform all over the place and anytime of the day (early in the morning or late at night and even during weekends). either they like their uniform so much or they didn’t bother to change after class.

there’s no way to differentiate their university except their badge and their belt. which leads me to the next must-haves if you are a Thai (university student, that is).

they do wear belts but the odd thing is, the skirts does not have any belt loops. to keep the belts secure,they use (of all things) this:

apologize for the blur image. was using my old camera phone to take this…

yes, a paper clip…

by the time you read until here, you will either get 2 conclusion, that i am:

1. a very observant person. or,
2. i’m a pervert who spends a lot of time gawking at university girls’ ass.

i’m a combination of the above two, actually…

unfortunately, we dare not take photos of the paper clips that holds the belt. i wouldn’t dare to take the photos of their ass…

but a search in the internet will return a lot of results:

photo taken from www.myitchyfingers.wordpress.com

but to be fair, there are also those who take the effort to put on some fancy clips instead of those ugly looking paper clips.

all this paper clip-that-hold-the-belt only applies to females students. as for males, we didn’t really get to see them. either they feel ashamed of their uniform or the ratio between male and female university students is significantly unbalanced.

what do the Thais eat then? beats me, although i saw a lot of them buying som tam.

what we really noticed is what they drink. from the first day itself, we noticed that they seem to drink yogurt drink a lot. one of it is Yakult.

but Yakult does not really appeal to both of us as it was too small. not enough for both of us. instead, we go for the made in Thailand brand. introducing Betagen!!!

at last, there is something that is big enough for two of us!!!

it taste just like Yakult or Vitagen. in fact, the name itself rhymes with Vitagen. makes us wonder if it is a fake version of Vitagen. haha!

so, go on and bring this around if you got bored of the fruits or lime juice to replenish your thirst.

if not, just grab a Pepsi

i didn’t remember anyone having Coke there anyway…

and, this is the last must-haves (applicable in Bangkok only). no, actually i’m just lazy to type anymore. haha!

BTS Smart Pass

yes, this is the Thai version of our Touch n’ Go. i think i had posted it in the previous post too. taking BTS without these is a hassle. the reason being:

1. the machines only accept coins.
2. yes, there is a counter at the station, but when we went there, instead of dispensing us the tickets, they gave us coins to get it from the machines instead. pfft!!!

but strange enough, we also noticed that there are a lot of them who don’t use the Pass. maybe they don’t take BTS very often? ok then, maybe Thai’s don’t really need it.

Please take not, this is only my observation. don’t take it too seriously. haha!

**btw, congratz to GF a.k.a. fatpig for posting her first post. keep it going, girl!!!

Bangkok Shopping Spree

Going to Bangkok with 3 half full bag but coming bag with at least 3 fully loaded bag is not yet a satisfaction for me! Because when i came back, i notice i really missed out a lot of things! i keep telling to myself : "Gosh! should have bought more of this & more of that!", "why didn't i buy a efw more color?"..... but then of coz we are almost out of cash on the last 2 days. which is also the day which we went to MBK & Chatuchak! Might consider buying the the clothes there and start my business here.. hehe.. a job that for sure i will enjoy doing... Till then, i will have to get back to reality and start paying my credit card bill which is the price that i need to pay for being a shopaholic in Bangkok!

Bangkok trip 09.06.09 – 13.06.09 (Part 4 – final)

5th day (13.06.09)

today is the last day we will be in Bangkok. was an hour behind schedule as we were very very tired. couldn’t really wake ourselves up.

we checked out from Suk 11 and left our belongings there before going to our final place of interest, Chatuchak Market. don’t expect us to lug our bags around the market right?

Leaving our mark on the walls of Suk 11. can you find it?

now can you see it? damn, wrong grammar. should’ve put ‘were’ instead of ‘was’. just in case we forget where we wrote this in the future, it was written on the wall of the TV room, on the left of the entrance.

and oh, we got our blazers from the receptionist too. apparently the tailor sent it to Suk 11 at 11pm. talk about fast service. took my measurements at 12pm, second fitting at 5 something and got it for me at 11pm. all in less than 12 hours. fits just nice.

anyway, back to our trip. left to Chatuchak Market by taking BTS to Mo Chit station at 9am.

Taking photos in Nana Station…

In case you missed the train, you can always press this. lol!

this Smart Pass (something like our Touch n’ Go) has been serving us for the past 3 days. it will continue to serve for 5 years as it is valid for that long.

The moment you arrived in Chatuchak, remember to get a map of it coz it is a BIG market! and it seems that the market is colour coded to differentiates the stuff that they sells.

the stuff in Platinum Mall is cheap, but Chatuchak is even cheaper. barely 5 minutes into the market, GF already have bought 2 t-shirts!

and oh, i forgot to inform one important thing in the previous posts. Pratunam Market, Platinum Mall and Chatuchak Market does not have a fitting room. if you really need to try the clothes, wear something light so you can just slip it on.

did not took many photos on that day as we were busy doing last ditch shopping. shopped a bit too much till we have to find a money changer. haha!

some photos that i took on that day:

inside of the market

outside the market

Security offices on Segway. cool!!!

there’s a few beggars/street performer trying to get some money. pictured is a boy playing some music instrument. looks like he just came back from school. pity him though. how lucky we are…

Left the market at around 1pm. since we still have some time before taking our flight home (and also abit of money in our Smart Pass), we decide to take BTS to around Siam Paragon for a walk.

Cam-whoring in Siam Paragon coz we were exhausted on the last day

and yes, we went for a foot massage one last time after that coz our legs are killing us after so much intense walking!

and finally, we left for airport at 4pm to catch our flight later.

the aftermath: 1 backpacker’s backpack, 1 backpack, 1 luggage bag, 1 large bag, i small sized bag and a paper bag. all stuffed like a turkey!

and there goes our trip to Bangkok, all documented. we will definitely return in 5 years time!!! Till then, Bye Bangkok. Loved to shopped there, but hate to see the bills though!!!

~fin~