Status Updates

Hi all. I am currently in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam. Reached here yesterday from Vientiane, capital of Laos. I flew out of Yangon, capital of Myanmar to Bangkok on 19th and went by bus to Nong Khai, Thai border town to Laos. Stayed a few nights there and went to Vientiane to catch a bus to Hanoi.

Now I am waiting for 2 uni friends to come join me from Malaysia for 9 days. We will be travelling around the North of Vietnam after which I will travel alone to South of Vietnam. My current plan is to stay in Vietnam until the end of Oct then go into Cambodia for 2 weeks. After Cambodia, I will be in Laos for another 2 weeks and I will be taking a boat ride in the Mekong river to Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand and catching a flight from there to go back to Singapore.

I have bought a Vietnam sim card so if you wanna contact me, the number is available on the right side. Take care and keep a lookout for more updates here.

Most Underrated Thai Town - Songkla

9-10 Aug – Early next day, I checked out from the guesthouse and walked to the clock tower to catch a minivan to Songkla, a coastal town 25km East of Hat Yai. The 30B minivan took 45 minutes to reach Songkla as it keeps stopping to pick up more passengers along the way.

A Thai girl who speaks excellent English gave me an introduction to Songkla and even help me to direct the driver to my guesthouse. However upon reaching I was told that the guesthouse that I wanted to stay has closed and had to look for other alternatives. Walking on the streets of Songkla will really show you the difference between a small and large town. Unlike Hat Yai, Songkla is relatively much quieter. After much difficulty, I managed to find a pretty decent guesthouse at the foothill of a scenic mountain for 200B a night.

As I only plan to stay 1 night here, I wasted no time and upon checking in, I went straight to check out the town. My first stop was Tang Kuan Hill which houses the royal pagoda, Pratht Chedi Luang built in 1886. Visitors can choose to climb up the stairs for free or take the lift for 30B. As this is only my first stop of the day, I didn't want to waste my energy climbing up the hill, therefore I took the lift.

The view from the top of the hill was indeed fantastic and you can see the shoreline of Songkla town clearly from it. The chedi (pagoda) which was restored in 1996 consist of the relic of Lord Buddha bestowed by the current Thai King. The locals come here for prayers which gives this place a serene and calm feeling. However this place is also home to bunch of playful monkeys.

After feasting my eyes on the stunning view of the town, I decided to walk down the stairs and I stumble upon another interesting building. However there's no signboard in English explaining what this building was so I can't comment much.

At the foothil, I went into a temple with a reclining Buddha. The temple here are similar to all the temples throughout Thailand so I wasn't particularly impressed by it especially after seeing the ones in Kelantan.

Next I decided to check out the beach (Hat Samila) and to my surprise the sea water here is quite clear and there is a long stretch of sandy beach with stalls selling food and souvenir. The beach is also house to a number of pubs, hawker centre selling an array of seafood and a resort hotel.

Similar to the rest of Songkla, this place is very quiet despite the fact that it's a Saturday. The most famous sight here is the bronze statue of a mermaid squeezing water out of her hair. According to Lonely Planet, the locals believe that by rubbing her breast will bring the person good luck, however I didn't see anyone doing so and decided not to try. HAHA. In case someone shouts and me and accuse me of being a sex maniac.

One thing worth trying here is the coconut ice cream. The 25B ice cream is mixed with papaya cubes, peanuts, “atapchi”, nata de coco, sticky rice and bread. It sounds quite disgusting to me at first but after trying it, I wanted more. After that I went to the market and the shopping district of Songkla.

At night after dinner, I went to have an oil massage and a drink at the pub with live band singing Thai songs. The massage (180B for 1 hour) I had here is also the cheapest I have ever had throughout Thailand.

The next day, I woke up early to continue my sightseeing in Songkla with 2 other Malaysian guys (Aaron and Kenneth) I met on the hill who coincidentally are staying in my guesthouse as well. We went to the National Museum which is housed in a Chinese inspired building which we later learn that it was the home of a Chinese merchant.

As Songkla has a history of being one of the oldest town in Thailand, the museum showcased a lot of artifacts from the Paleolithic and Neolithic era. It has also a large amount of porcelain from each Chinese dynasty and the thing that amazed me most here is that they are not kept in any glass case and there's not even a security camera or guard in sight. At first I thought this was going to be a boring museum but I was so amazed by the quality and sheer age of each artifacts. The showcased item here are easily over a thousand years old and you can just touch them if you want even though there are signs asking you not to.

We checked out and left to Hatyai after visiting the museum. I am really glad that I have visited Songkla because it really opened my eyes. I imagined Songkla to be a boring coastal town but I was really proven wrong. I would highly recommend Songkla to all my friends especially those people staying in Northern Malaysia as a weekend visit. It's definitely a great place to relax as it is not as touristy as other parts of Thailand.

Siam - The Land of a Thousand Smiles

7-9 Aug – “Sawadee Krap” this is the phrase that I have to learn and get used to as I venture into Thailand aka Siam. Known by many as the land of a thousand smiles, Thai people's warm reception for foreign guest is definitely indisputable.

As my RM33 minivan from Sungai Petani left early next morning, the feeling of sadness from the parting subsided and grew into anxiety. Finally, I am leaving the comfort of my home country where I have lived for 24 years to venture into a foreign land where I neither speak nor understand the language and culture.

This might not be my first time in Thailand, but it is certainly my first time traveling alone as a backpacker without having prior arrangements made for hotel and sightseeing activities. Therefore I was overwhelmed by anxiety for what my journey holds for me. Traveling in a country where English is not widely spoken and understood makes things more challenging for me.

As the minivan leaves from Padang Besar into Sadao (Thai border town), the neat and tidy Malaysian North South highway gives way for unruly streets overrun with pickups, sawng thaew (small pickups with 2 rows of bench on each side), tut-tut (trishaw driven by a motorcycle) and crazy electrical wiring. This is truely a Thai thing where you can never find elsewhere.

The minivan went on for another 1 1/2 hours more hours before reaching Hat Yai my first stop in Thailand. Hat Yai is Southern Thai's commercial centre where East and West railway and roads all meet. True to the tradition of being a border town, Hat Yai has some of the most expensive road side food in all of Thailand. A bowl of noodle soup cost 50B while in the rest of the country you can get one at 25B to 30B. This reminds me of the crazy food prices in Johor Bahru.

I checked in to a sleazy guesthouse called Cathay Guesthouse for 100B per night right in the middle of town. All the major shopping centers and markets is just a stone throw away. I spend the rest of the day exploring the town on foot and at night I watched The Mummy 3 in the cinema. One thing worth noting is that before the start of any movies, the national anthem along with photos of the Thai king will be played and all audience will be required to stand.

The next day I continued my exploration of Hat Yai. I went to the market which has an extensive array of fresh produce and yummy food. No wonder Malaysians living near the Thai border love to come here for shopping. Naturally this is where I had my lunch.

At night, I decide to check out a restaurant recommended by my guidebook (Lonely Planet) called Dao Thiam while watching Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. The Phad Thai (Fried Thai Noodle) I had is really tasty and goes along excellently with Chang Beer.

Myanmar Burma

Dear all, as you read this I am now currently in the ex-capital city
of Myanmar, Yangon. I have no idea if this is going to be posted as I
am sending this like a email because it's almost impossible for me to
login to my blogspot account to post anything. The gov blocks all
major websites and I only get to access my gmail. There's no
international roaming here and a sim card cost USD2500. Therefore I
can only be contacted by email. Please use xentria@gmail.com as I
can't even access my Yahoo Mail.

I will be going to Mandalay tomorrow then Bagan and lastly Inle Lake.
I will be flying off from Yangon to Bangkok as this is the only way to
get out of Myanmar. I will be in Myanmar for approximately 20 more
days and I don't think I can ever update my blog. So please do not
call the police to say that I have been kidnapped okay?

Till then. See you guys and take care.

My Second Sanctuary

3-7 Aug - After my rendezvous with Richard and Gwen, I set off to an arduous 8 hour journey across the scenic East West highway from KB to Sungai Petani in Kedah. Even though SP is not the capital city of Kedah, it is the busiest and one of the most developed city in the state.

The main reason why I came over here is to cross the border to Thailand even though crossing the border can be done over in KB. I just didn't want to risk doing it because I would have to go through Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, the 3 most dangerous town in Southern Thailand at the moment because of the Islamic Separatist terrorist movement. During my stay in SP, terrorist sat off 3 bombs injuring innocent civilians and monks as well. Furthermore a visit to SP would also means tht I can pay my dad's best friend a visit as well.

Upon reaching SP, Uncle See Hua and his wife Auntie Siew Kee welcomed me at the bus station. They treated me to a sumptuous home cooked dinner at their home. After 1 month of traveling, having home cooked food for me beats having any "shan zhen hai wei" in 5 star restaurants. HAHA. With a huge koi pond, satellite TV, aircon room and hot shower, his house was my second sanctuary or should I say last one before I venture into Thailand.

On the next day, I followed uncle to Penang on his business trip. Auntie and I went sightseeing in Georgetown little india and I exchanged some Thai currency here as the exchange rate here is the best.

Uncle's daughter, Yee Ling came back from Ipoh in the evening along with yummy Ipoh food as well and for supper she brought me to have the famous prawn mee. She also brought me sightseeing SP at night and showed me a cool place in town where one can go for "prawning" (haha u know fishing for prawn), karaoke and chillin' out at a bar. Too bad I don't have my camera with me. It is a really nice place to hang out with friends.

The next day after yet another yummy pork noodle lunch, we went to Prai in Penang to have auntie's car serviced. While waiting we went for kuey teow chicken that's very famous in Prai as well. At night I went yum cha with Yee Ling and her friends.

On 6th, my real sightseeing in Kedah begins as Yee Ling, auntie and I drove our way up North to the capital of Kedah, Alor Setar. Along the way we stopped in Tupah trying to look for the legendary waterfall as recommended by Yee Ling's friend. Unfortunately we couldn't find it. HAHA Then we ventured further up onto Gunung Jerai (gunung = mountain) There's nothing much on the 1000m high mountain as it was under some major renovation when we arrive.

At last we arrived in the sleepy capital where we visited the revolving restaurant of Menara Alor Setar (menara = tower), ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir's birthplace and the national mosque. Along the way we managed to squeeze in more food of course. My favorite was the Indian fried noodle by a Chinese. Funny isn't it? But it's really nice.

I left early next morning on a minivan to Hat Yai where I will begin my Thai journey. I am very touched with the kindness and warm reception I received from Uncle See Hua and family. It is the best way to put an end to my Malaysian journey.

The Cradle of Malay Culture

31 July-2 Aug - My next stop brought me to Kota Bahru, the capital city of Kelantan also known as the Islamic City of Malaysia. To me KB is one of the most intriguing cities in Malaysia. Why you may ask? Simply because this is the only state in Malaysia that has been governed by PAS (the opposition party) since forever and if you read the nation's newspaper about the "weird" laws that PAS has put in place, you will feel as curious as me to see what this is all about.

Coincidentally, Chee Ching aka Gwen, my fellow Pontian friend who works in Singapore was in KB on a business trip and I managed to persuade her to prolong her stay in KB illegally HAHA just so we could travel together over the weekend. Richard, another childhood friend of mine and future doctor studying in USM located in KB has also agreed to meet up. Meeting them in KB made my trip to this strange land seemed more friendly and welcoming.

Upon reaching KB through a 4 hours express bus from KT, I scouted around for a nice backpackers to stay. Unlike other smaller cities in Malaysia, KB is much more backpackers friendly and I had the luxury to compare prices and dormitory condition. Walking around town was not hard at all as people here are very willing to point you in the right direction with a big and warm smile too. At the end, I chose to stay in Zecks Travellers' Inn which is the furthest away from town but still within walking distance because of the superb environment, cleanliness and free WiFi. All this for just RM15 a night. Crazy rite?

After that, I went to meet Richard in town and I called Gwen to check out where she is staying. To my surprise, she was just staying opposite my place so we immediately went to look for her. How small world is huh!

We spent the rest of the day in the "Starbucks" of Kelantan chatting and "onlining" as Gwen is supposed to be still at work. HAHA. At night, we joined Gwen's local colleague for dinner and they even bought Nasi Dagang (famous local rice in Kelantan) for us. We spent a lot of time talking about politics as it turns out tht Gwen's colleague (a Chinese man) is the chairman of PAS backbencher's club. I was amazed by how open minded he is and his insight into Malaysian politics really opened my eyes.

The next day, Gwen and I woke up early to take a bus to Richard's university. Richard rented a car from his business minded uni friend for half a day so that we can go sightseeing around KB. One thing worth mentioning is that I can still drive a Manual car with no power steering. HAHA.

As Richard has been staying in KB for more than 5 years now, he naturally became our tourist guide. Our first stop was to go sightseeing in Pengkalan Kubor. Ironically, Kelantan which has the most number of Muslims is also home to some of the biggest and nicest Buddhist temples in Malaysia. The sleeping Buddha in one of the many temples here is also touted as the biggest sleeping Buddha in South East Asia. Most of the temples here are inspired from Thailand because of the close proximity to Thai.

Besides the architecture of the temples, the food in Kelantan generally are quite similar to Thai as well. For lunch, we had Thai coconut as well as Nasi Kerabu, another famous local rice dish. It is actually plain rice mixed with various type of minced vegetables and it is served with thin slices of fish. I don't quite like the taste of it because of the funny minty vegetables used in many Thai dishes but I gave it a try anyway. We also stopped by at the duty free market in Pengkalan Kubor but there wasn't much things to buy.

After visiting the 5 temples, our half day rental was almost up. We made one last stop at the Pantai Cahaya Bulan, a local beach area overlooking the South China Sea which is about 15km away from KB town. This is similar to Teluk Chempedak of Kuantan but it's nowhere near it as there's nothing much you can do here except for flying kites.

The next morning, we went to the famous central market (Pasar Besar Siti Khatijah) which is always featured in Cuti-Cuti Malaysia's (Tourism Malaysia) advertisements and postcards. After breakfast we parted ways as Gwen was heading for Tanah Merah, another town in Kelantan for work while I ventured alone to the Gelanggang Seni for free cultural shows. Here all visitors are treated to Gong performance, Silat demonstration, Top spinning, Kite making and Batik painting. If you are interested, you can also have a go at any of the activities as well. The concept of the Gelanggang Seni is commendable but the organization of each shows was in a mess and before everything ends, 3 quarter of the tourist had already left.

Overall my trip to Kelantan turned out really well because I had a great tourist guide and crazy friends and it quashed whatever misconceptions I have with Kelantan before this.