finally too lazy to write the captions for the last set of photos i put up. but ya, have been in thailand for the past 10 days, went for the Thai national youth camp, then chilled in bangkok for 2 days before heading up to Yasothon, my 'hometown' - sortof. hehe.. it's been great!! i was just thinking to myself about all the travelling and moving around, was hoping to stay put in one place for a bit and just enjoy the slow-paced life, meeting people and making new friends, visiting, and eating local yummie food. ahah..
meeting the local youth was the best, been seeing them for the past few years and only now i start to remember their names! (terrible...) but that's also because the turnover of people were so fast, every year were different kids hangin' out but now i could tell who have been around, running the workshops, doing ruhi, junior youth program, very inspiring! was sharing with them what Ablaze did about putting a production together. i sure hope they were somewhat inspired to do the same. they already have a set of dances they know like drug dance, abuse, step dance, etc.. u know, the maxwell-stuffs. :P
saw a book in a bookstore in bangkok's kinokuniya, called 'faces' i think, basically are up-close photographs of individuals. they are portraits of famous or unknown people. and i was all hyped, thinking probably i could take photos of the youth who're in the workshop n do a little exhibition thingy when i come back to malaysia. like a "Yasothon Night" kinda thing. it's also 'coz i wanna do a personal project for this trip, which i havnt really started on. *sigh* words with no action, empty. will see what i can do. -tryin to encourage myself here- =)
-- the cd-rom hangs at this point --
great,looks like i cant post photos.
aight, yasothon halloween party tonight! woohoo!! heading to laos, vietnam then cambodia. broke. broke. broke.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Beijing memories...
Beijing wasn't all too bad in the end. I like the place, probably because the people were nice. the bus conductors, the waitresses, the cab drivers... being a capital, it didn't feel the rush and the hustle n bustle of a buzzy city, probably because of the place i stayed was away from city centre, or probably just the places i go were out of town, but i must say i'm glad i speak the language and managed to put it into good use during this trip. i can't imagine travelling in this country without knowing this language, so much i would missed!
these are just some of the snippets of the places i'd been and people i met: :)
we decided that we don't want to do the crowded badaling great wall, so after consulting with mr.lonelyplanet, we thought we'll b adventurous like some matsalleh and go to simatai great wall which was about 4 hrs away in miyun province. no regrets!
eating walnuts we bought on the way back with prassy and shabby
dinner with peking duck
it's my favourite sichuan huoguo! it's so spicy ur nose keeps leaking. but no worries, they have this syrup thingy that when u drink, it'll 'cure' the spice
this is 'Hou Hai', means 'behind the sea'. it's a lake surrounded with restaurants, shopping outlets, and livebands. nice place to just walk around
music was played in the background, and whoever feels like joining in can hop in, usually the oldies
bargaining for lanterns
The Forbidden City - a must see
Tiananmen Square in the evening
the new actress friend we made and her dog. that's her in the background
visiting the art factory. first, u have to walk across a pool of sponge
me. posing.
these are just some of the snippets of the places i'd been and people i met: :)
we decided that we don't want to do the crowded badaling great wall, so after consulting with mr.lonelyplanet, we thought we'll b adventurous like some matsalleh and go to simatai great wall which was about 4 hrs away in miyun province. no regrets!
eating walnuts we bought on the way back with prassy and shabby
dinner with peking duck
it's my favourite sichuan huoguo! it's so spicy ur nose keeps leaking. but no worries, they have this syrup thingy that when u drink, it'll 'cure' the spice
this is 'Hou Hai', means 'behind the sea'. it's a lake surrounded with restaurants, shopping outlets, and livebands. nice place to just walk around
music was played in the background, and whoever feels like joining in can hop in, usually the oldies
bargaining for lanterns
The Forbidden City - a must see
Tiananmen Square in the evening
the new actress friend we made and her dog. that's her in the background
visiting the art factory. first, u have to walk across a pool of sponge
me. posing.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
world's ancient soldiers here i come~!
left beijing n now in china's oldest capital. cant see my own blog, cant read others. nice fast internet access. cant wait for outskirt getaway, beautiful sceneries and connection with nature..
getting my name carved onto a stone
u see this everywhere, the muslim hui minority (wearing the white hats) selling bbq beef,pork,mutton..
FEAST! yummy...
Finally... the terracota soldiers...
getting my name carved onto a stone
u see this everywhere, the muslim hui minority (wearing the white hats) selling bbq beef,pork,mutton..
FEAST! yummy...
Finally... the terracota soldiers...
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Beijing 2008
Yupp, the craze is apparent here. every 'yellow people' must b real proud of the upcoming Olympic games that will b held in this capital.
today's the 4th day i'm here, been to the Great wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.photos will be uploaded when i hav longer access to the internet, and i figured this country might hav banned blogspot.com/ coz i cant seem to access and read any blogs including my own!
anywayz, a good-standing B lady from my old community aka sibu, has just recently met a fatal accident, leaving lots of people grieving and saddened by the sudden news. i know i must hav met her.. there's a picture in my head, but i can't seem to confirm if that's the lady i've met. warm, sweet, person. mum is especially shocked by it as she has just met her, her husband and some friends the day before the incident, and then they got into the same car n met the unfortunate accident... Who would know what's God's plan for us, mum said. as i was reading some of the emails circulating around, one man commented that it is worth the death during a B trip. i must agree. that leaves me to think of the purpose of my trip. why, what, how..and why.
ps. last night i finally met the landlady of the place i was staying. my fren who hosted me rented it from her, and they both used to be neighbours and are close frens. she's a newly declared believer. ah mei, the hostess, wanted us to share how we became Bs. the landlady, who's a young, beautiful actress in China, also opened up n disclosed her feelings regarding her beliefs. it's a nice little chat i must say.. n in a mysterious way i regarded it as an answer He gave me for the morning prayer i said on the day. thank You.
today's the 4th day i'm here, been to the Great wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.photos will be uploaded when i hav longer access to the internet, and i figured this country might hav banned blogspot.com/ coz i cant seem to access and read any blogs including my own!
anywayz, a good-standing B lady from my old community aka sibu, has just recently met a fatal accident, leaving lots of people grieving and saddened by the sudden news. i know i must hav met her.. there's a picture in my head, but i can't seem to confirm if that's the lady i've met. warm, sweet, person. mum is especially shocked by it as she has just met her, her husband and some friends the day before the incident, and then they got into the same car n met the unfortunate accident... Who would know what's God's plan for us, mum said. as i was reading some of the emails circulating around, one man commented that it is worth the death during a B trip. i must agree. that leaves me to think of the purpose of my trip. why, what, how..and why.
ps. last night i finally met the landlady of the place i was staying. my fren who hosted me rented it from her, and they both used to be neighbours and are close frens. she's a newly declared believer. ah mei, the hostess, wanted us to share how we became Bs. the landlady, who's a young, beautiful actress in China, also opened up n disclosed her feelings regarding her beliefs. it's a nice little chat i must say.. n in a mysterious way i regarded it as an answer He gave me for the morning prayer i said on the day. thank You.
Friday, September 30, 2005
xiamen island
nice, nice, nice!! great to be back. called my good old fren (literally 'old', but still very young at heart), mr.bon, to inform him of the arrival, and *snap* all has been arranged, from sleeping arrangment, dinner, lunch, meeting up with friends, etc. that is just wonderful. heeh..
xiamen has developed much after i left. though the last time i was here i wasn't spending much time on the island, but i could still tell that lots of development in terms of building, traffic system, etc. the air is alright, (compare to the rest of china, it's considered as clean here) weather's just like malaysia, so i predict going up north will b much colder.
the first night i stayed at laikwan's old place - mandy, sufern, naseem, we all hav stayed in that good ol' wan shou bin guan. tonight, i moved to bon's house which is near xiamen university, and the big wide window is facing the island-ring road, and of course, the beach as well. we could see some couples smooching away down at the beach from here, *remember i was telling about how couples are just EVERYWHERE in china?*
really pigged out at a sichuan restaurant, eating my favourite dish when i last came - shui zhu yu. it's basically spicy, pepperish fish cooked in tonnes of oil! yummmyyy... definitely not the healthiest, but i took chinese tea to cool my body down after. cheap cheap great food, love it. aight, that's sichuan for dinner, and for lunch we had hu nan food.
oh, wat was interesting.. is that bon has arranged a class to be taught to a bunch of 4-star hotel staffs here. the usual english teacher is away to do his visa so needed a replacement. aah...so we did english corner and english classes. and i made some pocket money! wuah haha..
nways, lovely ones back home, i'm all set for a good sunrise tmr morning here by the beach, and mayb hav some lovely lunch cooked by some lovely chinese friends, n some lovely cycling around the area, and some lovely... yeah, i'm bragging it all. *love my holiday! and it's just the beginning*
till then.
(pics uploaded 20102005)
That's Bon! and my lovely fish swimming in pepper and oil... yummy...
That's connie. bon brought us to some cool club to swim in the pool, just next to the beach which we took this pic.
that's the view out from Bon's house! the road on the bridge is a ring-road, it goes around the island.
xiamen has developed much after i left. though the last time i was here i wasn't spending much time on the island, but i could still tell that lots of development in terms of building, traffic system, etc. the air is alright, (compare to the rest of china, it's considered as clean here) weather's just like malaysia, so i predict going up north will b much colder.
the first night i stayed at laikwan's old place - mandy, sufern, naseem, we all hav stayed in that good ol' wan shou bin guan. tonight, i moved to bon's house which is near xiamen university, and the big wide window is facing the island-ring road, and of course, the beach as well. we could see some couples smooching away down at the beach from here, *remember i was telling about how couples are just EVERYWHERE in china?*
really pigged out at a sichuan restaurant, eating my favourite dish when i last came - shui zhu yu. it's basically spicy, pepperish fish cooked in tonnes of oil! yummmyyy... definitely not the healthiest, but i took chinese tea to cool my body down after. cheap cheap great food, love it. aight, that's sichuan for dinner, and for lunch we had hu nan food.
oh, wat was interesting.. is that bon has arranged a class to be taught to a bunch of 4-star hotel staffs here. the usual english teacher is away to do his visa so needed a replacement. aah...so we did english corner and english classes. and i made some pocket money! wuah haha..
nways, lovely ones back home, i'm all set for a good sunrise tmr morning here by the beach, and mayb hav some lovely lunch cooked by some lovely chinese friends, n some lovely cycling around the area, and some lovely... yeah, i'm bragging it all. *love my holiday! and it's just the beginning*
till then.
(pics uploaded 20102005)
That's Bon! and my lovely fish swimming in pepper and oil... yummy...
That's connie. bon brought us to some cool club to swim in the pool, just next to the beach which we took this pic. 
that's the view out from Bon's house! the road on the bridge is a ring-road, it goes around the island.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
getting around
It's definitely not my first time staying here in nonthaburi, or going around bangkok all by myself. but everytime i learn a new way of getting to my destinationa cheaper than previously. this time i took the mini van by myself downtown bangkok, never liked to do that coz it's scary getting down at the wrong place, or taking the wrong route n stuck in the city's infamous jam. but my little observation tells me that the thais are more receptive to english than before - the cab drivers, the strangers i asked by the road. probably a contribution factor would b the many 'farlangs' i see chilling in this land of smile. so i wont actually get lost.
Sara, my english friend whom i met up for lunch today, brought me to a nice outdoor restaurant along the chao phraya river. all we did was catching up about our lives for the past one year (we see each other once every year somehow). we talked bout her husband, her daughter n son, her expat life here in bangkok, and me, work, relationships, future plan... u know, a nice girlie chat but between 2 very different persons. this is one beautiful thing i love about travelling, i meet people and hear stories!
later i met up with two american youth who're doing their year of service here in bangkok. when i saw them... gosh, i'm no more just a youth. I felt a sense of responsibility to .. advice them, making sure things r okay. 18 n fresh from high school, they came to serve, like how we used to. it was a memorable time. also the best time to test our steadfastness and faith. the poor girls are pretty homesick. after meeting up with some other local youth, hope they felt bit more at east with english-speaking people around them. speaking the same language really does make us feel at home, doesn't it?
Sara, my english friend whom i met up for lunch today, brought me to a nice outdoor restaurant along the chao phraya river. all we did was catching up about our lives for the past one year (we see each other once every year somehow). we talked bout her husband, her daughter n son, her expat life here in bangkok, and me, work, relationships, future plan... u know, a nice girlie chat but between 2 very different persons. this is one beautiful thing i love about travelling, i meet people and hear stories!
later i met up with two american youth who're doing their year of service here in bangkok. when i saw them... gosh, i'm no more just a youth. I felt a sense of responsibility to .. advice them, making sure things r okay. 18 n fresh from high school, they came to serve, like how we used to. it was a memorable time. also the best time to test our steadfastness and faith. the poor girls are pretty homesick. after meeting up with some other local youth, hope they felt bit more at east with english-speaking people around them. speaking the same language really does make us feel at home, doesn't it?
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Bangkok Jam!
oh, how i wish i could upload my pics. now is 5.42pm thai time, and here i am in bangkok, nonthaburi Baha'i centre to be exact.
amazing! vaughan and sunantha are my hosts, everytime i come to bangkok i get to stay with them. since 5 years ago! (yes rosh, gin... remember?) it's like a studio apartment, where each unit is a room, and they occupied 3 rooms in a row, but now expanded to other rooms (they call it dorm) for visitors like me. travel teachers get to stay longer, n it used to b just extra room, with beds, bathroom n some stuffs, but now there's internet, phone, and fridge! there's even water filled up for me, and electric kettle to boil water.. and coffee/tea! greaaat.. ahah.
i hav always aspired to hav a place like this - a stop point for travellers or visitors. mayb one day. =)
20102005,finally got to upload these pics
p.s the BEST part is the shelf full of travel books, especially southeast asia, china, cambodia, even egypt n israel. not forgetting prayer books n all. and also, AN ALARM CLOCK.
Met up with me thai buddies for some thai dinner, end up in black canyon coffee, but it was still good. they served thai food too.
amazing! vaughan and sunantha are my hosts, everytime i come to bangkok i get to stay with them. since 5 years ago! (yes rosh, gin... remember?) it's like a studio apartment, where each unit is a room, and they occupied 3 rooms in a row, but now expanded to other rooms (they call it dorm) for visitors like me. travel teachers get to stay longer, n it used to b just extra room, with beds, bathroom n some stuffs, but now there's internet, phone, and fridge! there's even water filled up for me, and electric kettle to boil water.. and coffee/tea! greaaat.. ahah.
i hav always aspired to hav a place like this - a stop point for travellers or visitors. mayb one day. =)
20102005,finally got to upload these picsp.s the BEST part is the shelf full of travel books, especially southeast asia, china, cambodia, even egypt n israel. not forgetting prayer books n all. and also, AN ALARM CLOCK.
Met up with me thai buddies for some thai dinner, end up in black canyon coffee, but it was still good. they served thai food too.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
a day before...
can't believe i'm starting another blog!
it's 8.45am and i'm awake, slept at 4am religiously for few nights, last night wasn't spared. body is absolutely exhausted but mind is awake. tomorrow at this time i'll b all set to go! and here i m, not packed, bills not paid, work not done, and writing a new blog. insane~!
i hope to post some pics before i go and yes, this blog is to keep me (and YOU) company of my little journey to big-big world aka china. then later of course there's other adventures to places which i'll gradually reveal to ya! ;-)
sit back n enjoy da ride.
it's 8.45am and i'm awake, slept at 4am religiously for few nights, last night wasn't spared. body is absolutely exhausted but mind is awake. tomorrow at this time i'll b all set to go! and here i m, not packed, bills not paid, work not done, and writing a new blog. insane~!
i hope to post some pics before i go and yes, this blog is to keep me (and YOU) company of my little journey to big-big world aka china. then later of course there's other adventures to places which i'll gradually reveal to ya! ;-)
sit back n enjoy da ride.
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