Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Bangkok Tales - Part One

The plane was delayed for almost like 15 minutes, flying around almost aimlessly because of the traffic congestion in Don Muang. Here, we were the trivial trio sitting down at our seats wondering if we will ever touch down. It was not an enjoyable trip to begin with , what with two horrible kids making noises incessantly! Swore at that moment, we could have butchered these two horribilius enfant to make them into char shiu sha. What seems to be hours finally came to an end, the whole ordeal ended when the captain announced over the PA, "cabin crew get ready for touchdown".

Upon arriving at Don Muang, an air of expectation suddenly filled up the whole cabin. Me of course was like another stop, 'cos it was so often I have hopped onto Don Muang, it was becoming my 2nd home. Anyway, my other 2 charges were excited, like little girls getting their first barbie dolls...These two were gallivanting about here and there, eager to pass through immigration and get a feel of the acrid smell of Bangkok.

Coming out and waiting for the taxi to fetch us to the hotel, I felt a nostalgic attack. I remembered the all too familiar surroundings, the smell of petrol from the cabs, the ding from the traffic, the voices from the passengers....all too familiar...it was after the city of Angels...or Krung Thep as it was called. The journey to the hotel was not smooth...it was jam packed, well if one day Bkk is not traffic choked, I guess it will truly snow in the equator region.

Trinity Silom, sounds so Matrix was not what we had anticipated, well, not for me, as my familiar surroundings have always been around Sala Dang or Soi Convent...but this time, it was truly a different locality altogether. But, nevertheless, I took it with a breath of optimism that things will turn out well...'cos I was already discounting alot of things before we eventually arrived there. The rooms were large enough and spacious...the view, well, lets not get there. The bed was decent except the extra bed...poor W, he had to endure the sinking feeling from that bed. But, true to being equal, we took turns to switch beds so as not to burden the other party to sleep in one area all the time.

Clueless as to where we should go, I decided to take them out to stroll and take them out for their first ride on the sky train. We walked through the alley and it cut out to Silom...walking more, we came upon the station and decided to make our 1st stop at Siam Paragon.
Siam Paragon - was huge...Fantastically huge. It was triple the size of our own KLCC...what with branded names all lining along the boulevard, it reminded me something like Singapore's paragon. However, the things that were being sold there, they even sell cars. Ferrari...now who would actually go to the 3rd floor and book on of them...hmmm, maybe me, one day! There was this unique little place which sold the most amazing things one can find...from watering cans (my frens were having a field day imaging me with it) to smaller things like a guardian angel to guard against computer virus...man, this is indeed Bangkok!!

Night fell, and we tasted our first dinner, a complete Thai dinner mind you...the 101% authenticity is there..of course, we gorged ourselves silly, what with the cheap seafood you have over there! But, one thing that I learnt from this journey...fried rice played a very prominent role during dinners...except in Mango Tree.

The first night, I wanted to take them to a place to this familiar place that served local food yet was not too expensive, but I forgot which station we should get down...hence we ended up in Central and instead, we had dinner in GreyHound Cafe. The decor and place was chic and thank goodness the other two princesses loved the food, if not, this travel guide would have had his head immediately severed that night. Phew! it was a close call.

After dinner, we ended back to Sala Dang aka Soi Convent area, which our journey began...

(continues on Part Two)

Sunday, March 19, 2006

3 different cities but same story

I got to know 3 simple down to earth persons living specifically in 3 great cities. One is from London, the other is from Jakarta and the third one is from Manila. Why do you think I want to highlight these 3 very special individuals which caught my attention. Firstly, I did not get to know them, they were led to me by a strange twist of fate known as "clicking" onto one another in some personal ads. From these 3, I learnt many things and amongst them is the fact that age is just a figure in our mental thinking, what constitutes as being very mature comes from the heart and character, of how one chooses to see things around them and what they desire most in life.
Let's start with their stories:-


Dateline London:

Met this very nice person for some time now, almost I would say like months now. Correspondence usually touched on how we were doing and at the same time playing nanny to his problems. One of his greatest assets which I must concurred is his ability to write very powerful worded mails, and his imaginary of choice of words used, nevertheless are fantastic. Someone very much close to my heart when it comes to intellectual intelligence, and this person possess it all. However, like all frail humans, we seek for things in life which we think might never come true? No, in this case, the very essence of his dreams came alive for him, for like in any dramas, this was played out in real life than rather some Hollywood flicks.
A met B who is based in Los Angeles. A got to know that B is the ideal sort of person A has been looking for...both in terms of companionship and also in terms of connectivity. They were like you say, a match made in heaven...except that one is in London whilst the other in the States.
They say love strikes it hot and if fate allows it, they will reconcile. So, our dear A went over to LA to meet up his dream lover, and suffice to say, they actually got interlocked with each other.
Now, they are talking about marriage and having a life together.
What I learnt from A is that looking for the perfect person in your life will take time but it will involve a lot of learning along the way. A is willing to sacrifice most of the things in life to have B. Like getting B to come over to live officially in London...then get a flat together...and then, comes the best part, A will totally pamper him by taking care of B's needs likely from head to toe.

Age: A is 29 this year...B will be 40, such a gap you will say, but to A, age is nothing when you have found the right person in your life. Its like a gem that once you get hold on to, you will never give it up, no matter what happens!
I'm really happy for A..for as long as I have known A, A has suffered much hardships from one relationship to the other, at times it was violent in nature too. When I look at A, I'm amazed with the patience that has been nurtured thus far.
All the best now until the wedding day in September...

Dateline Jakarta

R is a 25 year old guy, very cosmopolitan and very chic. He works as a model and some of his hobbies include scuba diving and working out to the max. He is what is known the new generation of guys who like to live hard and also at the same time, live fruitfully. However, one thing that sets him apart from the rest of his fraternity is the fact that this 25 you guy is a homely dude. He does not care for outdoor socializing like clubs. All he cares is to come back to his humble abode every other assignment and just chill out in his comfy sofa.
You might say, a 25 you model guy...will get many admirers out there right? Well, in his case, he is not bothered to date anyone immediately at the moment, for he truly believes that when the time is ripe, his soul mate will appear. He is also immaculately snuff out from the scene not wanting to be a part of that dark morbid world where one can get entangled in many webs. Nope, a healthy and wise lifestyle is his choice at the moment, hence he wants just to concentrate on his career first and if along the way, find that elusive someone to fill up his place by his side.

What intrigued me was that for a young guy like him, he has already set out what he wants in his future partner. His vision and also long term commitment to safeguarding it, all hold dear to my principles and beliefs. For as long as one is able to live according to his way of life in this dark and sane-less world, the glimmer of hope that shines through it is evident.

For Ric, I really hope he finds his elusive someone, for a nice guy like him should be able to spend his life with the visioned entity that he has already set his eyes on.

Dateline Manila

Harvey is 22 this year...also a part time model. Raised from a middle class family, he has sacrificed a lot for the love of his family. As the eldest, he sacrificed his place to study in a prestigious University to allow his sister to go first while, he took the opportunity to work to raise the money needed to help his sister. Where on earth can one find such noble attitudes? Especially since everyone nowadays are so darn selfish, nothing more than thinking of their own welfare.

Anyway, Harvey is adamant that he will pull through this short term sacrifice by spending time to look for jobs especially in the area of modeling. Now, not to judge the modeling line, but its a fact that most of the temptations of attracting easy money can be easily obtained. Models are highly sought by either older guys or women, some powerful and some rich, so its no wonder if Harvey too can earn easy money from here. But, what sets Harvey apart from here is his insistence to ensure that if he were to be with a special person in his life, it should be someone who is his destined life partner (someone he can connect with). He is not interested in these so called beneficiaries but if he wanted to, he could. Alas, he has chosen the hard path, some people will just say that he is ignorant of it but in true respect, he was living his ideals, his perceptions and his way of life, of how he sees things to be. Not to make him a saint or anything, but he is only mere human, trying to live out something which we call values.

Try to talk about values these days will just give you the stare right away from contemporary minded persons. After all, talk is cheap, so therefore, life is also cheap?

Looking at these 3 special different individuals all residing in different cities, one in a more developed nation whilst the other two from a developing status nation, I'm of the opinion that if there are special individuals like them out there, what's more if they are those who hold on to these values too? Have we looked at our own backyard? Did we go out shovel out and sieve out all those so called individuals who can sweet talk you and promise you the earth and heaven but once they get the nectar from your life, they leave you like bees searching for other nectars around!

To these 3 persons, I salute you for what you uphold in your life and what you believe in. May your dreams come true, may what you have set out to find is there for you, for truly I believe that if one is to have faith, enough mountains will be moved.


Friday, March 10, 2006

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday, March 9th, was a special day to remember a childhood friend of mine. He was like 5 years my junior and we grew up together in PJ. Despite the age gap, we connected well. He looked up to me as a big brother and during the course of growing up, a lot of things happened between us. We discovered a lot together and experience so many happy memories.

Our little relationship continued on till I was going off for my junior college posting overseas but all those times, we kept in touch very frequently and also very intimately. However, all of this changed when he got his ultimate dream i.e. studying in the US.

He went to the WMU in Michigan state and the place he was at was called Kalamazoo. A weird name I told myself but was made to understand later that this is a Red Indian name meaning...something?

During his time there, we sort of lost contact and he went his separate ways....all I can say is to date, I still remember this date being very special for me, as it was his birthday. So, my dear childhood friend, Jonathan, wherever you are, Have a splendid day as it was made for you!

Take care now for I sure miss you!

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Hello Cyberspace!!

Today, March 8th, 2006...created my first imprint in cyberspace to register my daily thoughts or even any thoughts that may come my way that I may want to remember them later or even to share it with my readers out there.

I'm such a greenhorn on this because I still believe in the old school of keeping a diary of thoughts but this is a bit too open, as I'm made to comprehend. However, being transparent and nothing to hide, I wish to share my joys, sorrows and even anger to all out there. Hopefully, with the coming of time, I will be able to digest the immense energies around me and by doing so, I will be able to learn from others too (if any put forth their comments).

I guess I will just leave it this way and with more inputs later, I think I will be able to share more interesting news...however do beware, I'm kinda subdued person, so if there is anything worth reporting, this would be my first avenue to do so.

Till then...shalom to all, and have good vibes always!