The Final Day
Jul. 13th, 2009 12:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeSo rounding off my trip to Thailand, I woke up late due to chronic fatigue. It certainly had been a busy two weeks and although my intention was to make the most of the final day, I was so tired, it was a struggle.
I had arranged to meet up with a Thai fur, Eternal Flame, at 2pm but having got up so late, I asked if we could meet up at 1pm instead. This we did at the Silom MRT station. As I was waiting, a businessman inquired as to what I was doing and he was incredulous that as a tourist I knew a person in Thailand. Still, that's the delights of the furry fandom.
It was great meeting up with Eternal Flame and he very kindly showed me how to get around the city and accompanied me on visiting a few of the sights. Due to the religious holiday, the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew was sadly off-limits and I feared that all of the other attractions would be too. However, I was wrong as Wat Pho was open and we were allowed to go inside.
On getting there, we went down the main presidental roads, with huge edifices in the shape of ladels adorning the floral central reservation. At the end, there was a magnificent arch and to the left was the Grand Palace. To the right, various government buildings lined the street and I foolishly took pictures of a few, without realising any potential arrest possibilities. Still, the buildings were so strikingly ornate, they even put The Houses of Parliament to shame.
Wat Pho is the oldest and largest wat in Bangkok and the grounds were sprawling with many temples, all intricately designed and coloured with beautiful glass and porcelain. There are four massive stupas with 91 smaller ones adorning the courtyard. It was also the site of Bangkok's first university. The gold lined roofs glistened in the summer sun and inside, the many gold statues of the Buddha, surrounded by jossticks and incense were striking. As it was a religious holiday, there were many monks milling around, all paying reverence to the Buddha. The most striking image though was the Reclining Buddha - a 20m long gold Buddha laid prostate in a massive temple. It was a testament to the human endeavour and what dedication and belief can achieve. It was truly stunning - indeed no superlative I can think of will do it justice.
We had to cut our trip short though because the wind was whipping up, a guaranteed sign that the monsoon rains were coming. These were like stair-rods and we dashed into a tuk-tuk which took us to one of Bangkok's main university as the rain torrented down on top of the people who merely had umbrellas to keep them dry. When we got to the University, we darted into the bookshop and even in the five seconds we were outside, we still got drenched such was the force of the rain. Inside, I toyed with the idea of buying a Thai dictionary (like I had done in Finland) but instead bought two children's books in Thai and English. One was Aesop's Fables and the other was about a Hungry Fox. Both had excellent examples of dodgy English inside.
After realising that the canteen was closed due to the religious holiday, we headed to a local mall via a horrible traffic jam that kept us on the road for almost an hour. We dipped into the basement of the mall after being screened for security as we entered the mall (seriously - there was those airport style machines and everything). At the restaurant, I got some traditional Thai food, directed by the advice of Eternal Flame, which was very spicy but very delicious. It contained chicken, rice and green shooty things with a hot sauce dip. It was most excellent.
My flight had been moved two hours later but as I only got the notification by text message, I was a little circumspect. So Eternal Flame found me a taxi and after saying our goodbyes and mutual appreciation, I headed to the airport to indeed find out that the plane was two hours late. It was soon to be three. Still they gave me a 100 Baht voucher for free skanky food so I bought a hot dog from Dairy Queen at the airport.
The wait at the airport was torture as there was very little to do after passing security. So I sat and stared at the sky, contemplating. What made it worse was that some of the Singapore furs had planed to meet me at Changi airport on my return to Singapore. I kept texting Junias telling him the tardiness of my flight but he was most insistent he would meet me. By the time I got to Singapore, it was past midnight but to my delight, five furs were on hand to meet me off the plane. They had even bought me a goody bag of exciting stuff, including prawn crackers, local strawberry biscuit things with a picture of a panda on the front and Pandang Sponge Cake, which was a lurid green colour with brown edging. It was very delicious though, very light and fluffy. They also bought me some Merlion Chocolates and some Kaya - a sweet tasting paste substance that is traditionally spread on cinnamon coast. There were two types - Nonya Kaya (brown) and Pandan Kaya (green). The latter was sweeter and tastier, it was very much like the furry sensation you get on your tongue when you burn it without the dry sensation. The brown one was okay but I prefered the green one.
We decided to sit in the airport canteen, chatting and watching Kamen Rider - a mrrrable Japanese xentai show that was actually very good. We also reflected on my time in Singapore. It was really touching that the furs met me off the plane and indeed stayed up so late on my last night in Singapore - they really made the trip for me and I am glad to say I have made many friends out there. By the time I got back to the hostel, it was past 4am (as the taxi driver we had took many suspicious U-turns in an attempt to jack up the fair). I also saw some leafy Singapore suburbs where McDonalds and many other strange stores existed under residental flats. It was a different side to Singapore that I hadn't yet seen. On the way back to the hostel, there were cockroaches and rats everywhere - another occupational hazard of walking late at night in SE Asia.
Having woken up the poor New Zealander I was sharing a room with - by turning up at 4am and then my phone going off at 4:40am - I got four hours sleep before I had to get to Changi again to get my plane back to London. It was sad to leave Singapore but I had a great time and I will definitely be returning. Indeed, the pain was tempered slightly by meeting a guy on the plane who had just been to Bali. We talked for a couple of hours before a noughty guy complained that we were disturbing his precious silence. Never mind him smooching his partner behind me all flight then.
The flight itself was 13 hours long but it passed surprisingly quickly. I still couldn't sleep though despite my little night's sleep the night before. I had watched all the comedy programmes on Kris World so I decided to listen to a few albums I hadn't heard. My view: Killers "Day and Age" not that great, Elbow "The Seldom Seen Kid" surprisingly fantastic, Morrissey's new one is not as good as his previous two. I also decided to learn Bahasa Indonesia for a bit - despite being two weeks to late to actually use it.
When we got back to the UK, the customs officer asked me if my new friend and I were brothers, which was a little random. Still, meeting people is one of the delights of travelling and I can definitely say that all the furs I met were wonderful. Their company and kindness was immeasurably appreciated and I really hope I can see them again soon. It was a fantastic two weeks.
I had arranged to meet up with a Thai fur, Eternal Flame, at 2pm but having got up so late, I asked if we could meet up at 1pm instead. This we did at the Silom MRT station. As I was waiting, a businessman inquired as to what I was doing and he was incredulous that as a tourist I knew a person in Thailand. Still, that's the delights of the furry fandom.
It was great meeting up with Eternal Flame and he very kindly showed me how to get around the city and accompanied me on visiting a few of the sights. Due to the religious holiday, the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew was sadly off-limits and I feared that all of the other attractions would be too. However, I was wrong as Wat Pho was open and we were allowed to go inside.
On getting there, we went down the main presidental roads, with huge edifices in the shape of ladels adorning the floral central reservation. At the end, there was a magnificent arch and to the left was the Grand Palace. To the right, various government buildings lined the street and I foolishly took pictures of a few, without realising any potential arrest possibilities. Still, the buildings were so strikingly ornate, they even put The Houses of Parliament to shame.
Wat Pho is the oldest and largest wat in Bangkok and the grounds were sprawling with many temples, all intricately designed and coloured with beautiful glass and porcelain. There are four massive stupas with 91 smaller ones adorning the courtyard. It was also the site of Bangkok's first university. The gold lined roofs glistened in the summer sun and inside, the many gold statues of the Buddha, surrounded by jossticks and incense were striking. As it was a religious holiday, there were many monks milling around, all paying reverence to the Buddha. The most striking image though was the Reclining Buddha - a 20m long gold Buddha laid prostate in a massive temple. It was a testament to the human endeavour and what dedication and belief can achieve. It was truly stunning - indeed no superlative I can think of will do it justice.
We had to cut our trip short though because the wind was whipping up, a guaranteed sign that the monsoon rains were coming. These were like stair-rods and we dashed into a tuk-tuk which took us to one of Bangkok's main university as the rain torrented down on top of the people who merely had umbrellas to keep them dry. When we got to the University, we darted into the bookshop and even in the five seconds we were outside, we still got drenched such was the force of the rain. Inside, I toyed with the idea of buying a Thai dictionary (like I had done in Finland) but instead bought two children's books in Thai and English. One was Aesop's Fables and the other was about a Hungry Fox. Both had excellent examples of dodgy English inside.
After realising that the canteen was closed due to the religious holiday, we headed to a local mall via a horrible traffic jam that kept us on the road for almost an hour. We dipped into the basement of the mall after being screened for security as we entered the mall (seriously - there was those airport style machines and everything). At the restaurant, I got some traditional Thai food, directed by the advice of Eternal Flame, which was very spicy but very delicious. It contained chicken, rice and green shooty things with a hot sauce dip. It was most excellent.
My flight had been moved two hours later but as I only got the notification by text message, I was a little circumspect. So Eternal Flame found me a taxi and after saying our goodbyes and mutual appreciation, I headed to the airport to indeed find out that the plane was two hours late. It was soon to be three. Still they gave me a 100 Baht voucher for free skanky food so I bought a hot dog from Dairy Queen at the airport.
The wait at the airport was torture as there was very little to do after passing security. So I sat and stared at the sky, contemplating. What made it worse was that some of the Singapore furs had planed to meet me at Changi airport on my return to Singapore. I kept texting Junias telling him the tardiness of my flight but he was most insistent he would meet me. By the time I got to Singapore, it was past midnight but to my delight, five furs were on hand to meet me off the plane. They had even bought me a goody bag of exciting stuff, including prawn crackers, local strawberry biscuit things with a picture of a panda on the front and Pandang Sponge Cake, which was a lurid green colour with brown edging. It was very delicious though, very light and fluffy. They also bought me some Merlion Chocolates and some Kaya - a sweet tasting paste substance that is traditionally spread on cinnamon coast. There were two types - Nonya Kaya (brown) and Pandan Kaya (green). The latter was sweeter and tastier, it was very much like the furry sensation you get on your tongue when you burn it without the dry sensation. The brown one was okay but I prefered the green one.
We decided to sit in the airport canteen, chatting and watching Kamen Rider - a mrrrable Japanese xentai show that was actually very good. We also reflected on my time in Singapore. It was really touching that the furs met me off the plane and indeed stayed up so late on my last night in Singapore - they really made the trip for me and I am glad to say I have made many friends out there. By the time I got back to the hostel, it was past 4am (as the taxi driver we had took many suspicious U-turns in an attempt to jack up the fair). I also saw some leafy Singapore suburbs where McDonalds and many other strange stores existed under residental flats. It was a different side to Singapore that I hadn't yet seen. On the way back to the hostel, there were cockroaches and rats everywhere - another occupational hazard of walking late at night in SE Asia.
Having woken up the poor New Zealander I was sharing a room with - by turning up at 4am and then my phone going off at 4:40am - I got four hours sleep before I had to get to Changi again to get my plane back to London. It was sad to leave Singapore but I had a great time and I will definitely be returning. Indeed, the pain was tempered slightly by meeting a guy on the plane who had just been to Bali. We talked for a couple of hours before a noughty guy complained that we were disturbing his precious silence. Never mind him smooching his partner behind me all flight then.
The flight itself was 13 hours long but it passed surprisingly quickly. I still couldn't sleep though despite my little night's sleep the night before. I had watched all the comedy programmes on Kris World so I decided to listen to a few albums I hadn't heard. My view: Killers "Day and Age" not that great, Elbow "The Seldom Seen Kid" surprisingly fantastic, Morrissey's new one is not as good as his previous two. I also decided to learn Bahasa Indonesia for a bit - despite being two weeks to late to actually use it.
When we got back to the UK, the customs officer asked me if my new friend and I were brothers, which was a little random. Still, meeting people is one of the delights of travelling and I can definitely say that all the furs I met were wonderful. Their company and kindness was immeasurably appreciated and I really hope I can see them again soon. It was a fantastic two weeks.
