Koh Samui/Koh Phangan - Part 1

3 weeks ago, I had my first maiden flight with

Fire Fly
to Koh Samui from Subang Airport. Check in took sometime as the counter staff said there’s only 1 counter to check in to Koh Samui but she seems to look like a trainee to me cos she got her colleague’s assistance most of the time. Should she not familiar with the system , have her training in a mock up area before putting her on a real one! She was slowing down the check in que cos she was like sort of figuring out how to use the system.

Subang airport is under a major renovation or facelift. With new design, it is going to look very futuristic. So it was very dusty inside. You just don’t want to stay inside for that long and inhaling the dusty air.

While in d flight I didn’t expect anything cos this is a low cost flight as usual. And guess what, we have got muffin (taste good or was I hungry??ummm) , coffee/tea & juices and they offer us 2 rounds…Not bad huh!.

The interior looks very new (guess this is the newly purchased plane) . We have our seat right at the front. Good cos it is not near the engine or propeller. By the way, the entrance to the flight is at the back and those at the front seat are last to get out.

And finally 2 hours of flight , we finally reached Koh Samui Airport. It was a smooth landing by the Captain.KUDOS! This is an open airport (no aircond lar) and you could feel the heat. Very beautiful.

Outside Koh Samui Airport (a lot of outlet)

Shuttle to ferry us to main building

Aerial View of Koh Samui

As I reached the arrival hall, was quite blur , thought of getting a taxi like any other airport. FYI, there’s no taxi but there’s Mini bus or limousine. So, if it is just you or 2 person traveling, I suggest you take the Mini bus (buy the coupon over the counter) but if is a family of 4 or 5, make your calculation which is much cheaper for you .

Mini Bus (van) Price for all destination

I have planned for 4days /3 nights in Koh Samui but 1 night in Koh Phangan.. So, I purchased a transfer coupon to Maenam Pier (150 THB pp) to take the Lomprayah Ferry (250 THB pp) leaving at 12.30pm to Koh Phangan (Thong Sala Pier).

While waiting at the pier, we are kind of hungry and had fried rice with prawn ...guess how much?...110THB!!!??? And this is a price that I will not pay for cos is too expensive but what to do this is the one and only restaurant available.Eat it or get hungry!For "kwai lo's"..is definately cheap here.

And the hotel that I have booked will provide free pick from the pier but I have to inform them what time my ferry was. You can actually inform the counter staff when you purchased the ferry ticket to tell the hotel. Keep the hotel contact with you. FYI, Lomprayah ferry will be suitable for those who take Firefly from Subang and planning to go on the same day. There are a few ferry services leaving from different pier. Info is available on the net. Lomprayah ferry do provide free transfer when you return to Koh Samui and drop you at your hotel door step or even to airport.Just tell the counter staff where you are heading to when you purchase the ticket.

I heard so much about Koh Phangan like the full moon party. The have got half moon /full moon & black moon party. Is a peak season during these period therefore most hotels are at higher rate.They followed the Chinese lunar calendar or you may search for the specific date of the full moon party on the internet. There is a schedule thru out the year.The party will start at late night till the wee hours and some hotels do provide you transfer to this party at Haad Rin area and pick you up in the next morning.

Well, I wasn’t interested in the party but the island itself. I have booked myself at the Grand Sea Resort http://www.r24.org/siameservices.com/kohphangan/grandsearesort/pictures.html

which is about 5 min from the pier and they were there to pick me up. And don’t expect a limo or car but Toyota Truck (sort of). I booked this resort becos I read so much of good things abt this resort thru hotel reviews. Not how fancy or décor or facilities but the people here and they have nice Thai architecture.

I was a bit disappointed as I entered the resort cos I saw there’s a construction going on behind the rooms that I booked in…gees...this is going to spoil my holiday. And they didn’t place an announcement on the internet where I booked my room. As I have been working in hotels for many years, one must inform guest when you are doing renovation or constructions.So it is up to guest whether or not you want to stay at the resort. And I have already paid my room and I can’t go anywhere. And I state my dissatisfaction while check in. So the wife called the husband who manages the resort, and here he comes Mr Duncan ( a british) and yes he understand me well and very helpful, got me a room near the pool and sea. He provided us info on where to go and where to enjoy sunset.

Rented a bike (200 THB – Auto/ 150 THB – manual). I strongly suggest auto even though u dunno how to ride. Is ez if you know how to balance a bicycle. And my hubby had never ride on an auto bike, he is so used to changing gear and using the leg to start the bike. However, this auto thing is kind of new. He didn’t how to start and it was just a push of a button. We stopped the bike and we couldn’t start it and tried numerous time and we started the bike by accident. Then the bike need some air and we told them, there’s something wrong with start button. But that boy make it so ez that it started by just a push of button and we finally came to know we got to press the break while he pushed the button and when we put down the stand, it will automatically switch off, we need not use the key or button to switch off…ummm how advance! And how DUNGU V R!

Kind of hungry when we arrived, we traveled up north with a bike and reached a small town with 7/11 and some local food around. Couldn’t resist and bought some thai pork sausages with glass noodle…YUMMY ! Went inside 7/11, bought some junk food like Lays potato chips…so cheap only 20 THB for the smallest pack. It is very expensive in Malaysia and bought a beach slippers – 79THB. Cheapest slipper so far cos the rest of the shop are selling 150THB and above. I like 7/11 in Thailand cos they have got quite a range of stuff to look at. Even Food was quite an array – u only need few minutes to heat it up like pasta,pizza,Thai noodles (not instant noodles), hot dog (varieties), Chicken burger,porridge, siew mai, pao,even prawn dumpling…can’t resist and bought prawn dumpling to try out (38THB) per bowl – 5 pcs. Is frozen and they just heat up by micro oven for 120 sec.It comes with soup and spring onion too. Very tasty & prawns taste fresh.So if you are hungry and want a quick food and cheap, 7/11 are everywhere near you. Prices for the food range from as low as 20THB to 60THB…To be continued

View Photos here Koh Samui/Koh Phangan

Superb Bill Gates Comments

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2:The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

New Meanings to Words

Take note! New Meanings to Words - add them to your dictionary...!
Antibody - against everyone
Artery - The study of the paintings.
Bacteria - back door to a cafeteria.
Caesarean section - a district in Rome.
Cardiology - advance study of poker playing.
Cat scan - searching for lost kitty.
Chronic - neck of a crow.

Coma - punctuation mark.
Cortisone - area around local court.
Cyst - short for sister.
Diagnosis - person with slanted nose.
Dilate - the late British Princess Diana.
Dislocation - in this place.
Duodenum - couple in blue jeans.
Enema - not a friend.
Fake labour - pretending to work.
Genes - blue denim.
Hernia - she is close by.
Impotent - distinguished/well known.
Labour pain - hurt at work.
Lactose - people without toes.
Lymph - walk unsteadily.
Microbes - small dressing gown.
Obesity - city of Obe.
Pacemaker - winner of Nobel peace prize.
Proteins - in favour of teens.
Pulse - grain.
Pus - small cat.
Red blood count - Dracula.
Secretion - hiding anything.
Tablet - small table.
Ultrasound - radical noise.
Urine - opposite of you're out.
Varicose - very close.

Animator Vs Animation

Just to show that no matter how much the creation fight the creator.. at the end, creator can just click reset and kill off all the creation to start again...... :-)

Click here & the attachment.

Animator vs Animation

Just for Laugh

To light up your day, Check this out

Just for Laugh

Something Funny

Encik ah..tanya sikit ah..itu Chimpeng mana ah..?"
"Apa?" "Chimpeng,
Chimpeng...saya sudah tanya itu guard ah.. dia ckaap sini ada satu Chimpeng..."
"Sorrylah Apek. Saya tak tau woh...Apa tempat itu Chimpeng?"
"Aiyah...itu Chimpeng balu punya..Saya mau pigi angkat wang la..."
"Tarak tau la boss. Itu kedai ka apa?Along ka?"
"Chimpeng bukan kedai ma..lu itu pun tak tau ah..? itu Chimpeng macam itu Maypeng, Public Peng, RHetB Peng...itu balu punya Peng.."
Adoi...bengap punya apek..buat aku pening je..dia actually cari CIMB Bank

Kg Kelias ,Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo) -Final

Here we come Kg Kelias after the Kinabalu Park.It was a long Journey as my friend drove all the way to Beaufort. All of us were anxious what Kampung Kelias look like.
It was raining & the weather didn't look promising for us to do anything when we arrive at Kg Klias. We have no idea what our friend had installed for us. Finally, when we arrived at the village, we were somehow greeted by jungle and lots of coconut trees and suddenly we saw this Rungus Longhouse and a river with boats parking by the jetty.
This village was set up by a local chinese and a foreign wife who loves nature I guess. One can choose to stay at the longhouse with basic amenities and the other one is a kampung house with air-cond & attached bathroom. So some of us choose to experience longhouse & some of us choose a little luxury accomodation. Can't rememeber how muich it cost us but worth it cos the package comes with 1 night accomodation, 5 meals for 2days/1night stay. They have got a very good cook . By the time we arrive there it was tea time, we had some goreng pisang with tea or coffee. Then off we got onto the boat for a river adventure.
Dunno what we are looking at and what to expect. And the boatman suddenly pointed to us "look to your left" there's a group of monkeys. So what, as we have seen a lots in Botanical garden in Penang. Then he said this is call the probosis Monkey with long nose and orange color. And that caught our eyes.It's so cute and they were swinging from trees to trees and were shy. And some other animals that they showed us. Before we could venture further, it rained heavily that we have to return to base. All of us were soaked wet & chilled. Guess v r not welcome
Then it was time for dinner , then we continue for another river adventure.Looking out for firefly, we have to move silently so that we dun interrupt the firefly. WOW!it was amazing to "klip - klip" at night. Twinkle twinkle little star..... It was very dark that you wondering whether any crcodile will attack you silently!!!
We head back to base after that and we had supper. Enjoy this place cos is quite quiet and serene. Kampung Lifestyle.Sometime we need to get out of city...this is a great place to recharge.
And the next morning after b'fast we are out again for another boat ride to see the sunrise,monkeys again and the river view is so fantastic.
Then by noon we headed back to Kota Kinabalu to have lunch and did some shopping at the Filipino market. Bought some pearls (breed ones)- . Got to bargain with them.Seafood is cheap. You can buy a frozen one and just tell them you want to carry it to the plane as they will specially packed for you . Sea Cucumber, dried shrimps and prawns are relatively cheap in KK.
Will definately go to Sabah again...Check out this photos Kg Klias, Sabah

Kinabalu Park,Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo)

After Manukan Island, we took the speedboat back to mainland and rent a SUV (Cost less than RM200.00..Aprrox USD60), we headed to Kinabalu Park (the foothill of Mount Kinabalu- the highest peak in Malaysia & South East Asia).The journey to Kinabalu Park HQ will take about 2 hours. The Kinabalu Park Headquarters lies at an elevation of 1,563 meters (5,128 feet) above sea level. The 90 kilometers (50 mile) drive along sealed road takes an easy journey but not until the road passes the little town of Tamparuli, after about 45 minutes, does it start to rise. Although clouds usually cover the summit by midday, in the early morning the mountain is often clear, the view constantly changing as the roads winds up and up. Some of the best views come near Kampung Kelawat at the kilometer 55 (to Ranau) mark, when the mountains rises dramatically ahead as you round the corner.
Shifting cultivation covers most of the hills around here, and at kilometer 33 the roadside stalls of Pekan Nabalu are well stocked with local produce. This is a regular tourist stop where a variety of good quality handicrafts can be purchased as well as the deliciously nutty flavored brown hill rice - a specialty of the area, together with extra sweet pineapples.
Rented a double storey bungalow, looks very english http://www.suterasanctuarylodges.com.my/kinabalupark.htm. The weather is very cold at night & very misty along the way to Kinabalu Park. The Mountain Scenery was awesome & you will enjoy the flora & fauna while driving.
When we arrived at the park, we are unable to see the mountain peak at all. It was due to the misty weather.We checked in our bungalow, set up the fire (They provide woods at the fire place), we had tea & some biscuits,it felt so good. You can go to the information center and get all the information about Mount Kinabalu and Sabah Parks, know more about the flora of Mount Kinabalu in the mountain garden guided walk or maybe go to their mini-theater to watch video show about Mount Kinabalu. A fee of only a few ringgit is charged for each activity. You can buy a "package" ticket for all three.
There's only one restaurant there,so everyone got to eat there. Food is not bad & price is reasonable.They are open till 10.00am and seved western & oriental food
There's cable tv in the bungalow, so one can enjoy a lot of TV show. We slept early cos we got to get up early to get the sneak preview of the Kinabalu Peak. IF you wish to climb Mt Kinabalu, one got to be physically fit and get a week training. And you can't just climb the mountain without a pre arrange trip and one get must get a professional liscensed guide & permit to climb the mountain http://www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/.
We got up at 5am to catch the view of Mount Kinabalu (the later you get up you probably see nothing cos the clouds will be covering the entire mountain), We drive our selve to Timpohon (the very foothill of Mt Kinabalu where you will begin your journey to climb the hill, you must report yourself before climb. Unfortunately, we are not geared to climb the mountain.Therefore , we just catch the glimpse of the mountain & enjoy the fantastice view of the surrounding & waterfalls.And we managed to catch the sunrise.
While we were there we saw a few local people who works on top of the hill, they climb up the mountain everyday with just simple gear. Mind you, they carry a lot of stuff up the hill, like gas tank, sands, bricks, tools....just wondering how they managed it...is a daily thing for them. People like us will probably half dead.
As you get out of the park...you can head to pouring hot spring http://www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/poring.html. But we didn't have enough time, therefore we head ourselves to another place...check out next....here's the picture u can view Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Incredible India - Part 1

Namaste!

This is the common greetings in India.

I went to the poorest state in India...Bihar. Located North East of India.I guess lot of people would say am I crazy . But I guess to see real India & Authentic...this will be the right place. Mumbai or the Bollywood area are too commercial that every travel agent will take them there.
After the entire trip, I wouldn't want to complain nor compare anything cos after seeing Bihar, I thank god for whatever I have. This is my karma and that is their karma. Some people look beautiful but poor, rich but ugly,intelligent but poor, etc

I wasn't in a luxury trip or this is an pre arranged tour. We travelled in a group 20.We hired a bus that cost us USD1600 for the 2 weeks.We were all well prepare for the trip as some experience friends told us what to prepare for the trip since we didn't have any travel agent to take us.Here are the advise & list to bring along;-

1)Wet wipes (Dettol)
2)Sanitizer gel
3) Instant food i.e noodle cups, energy bar, a wholesome or digestive biscuits etc & drink (sachet) - coffee, tea, milo & cereal sachet
4) Good thermos flask (that can last 24 hrs)
5)Mugs/cups with teaspoon
6)1L mineral water
7) Sarong8) Sleeping bags
9) Toiletteries (With disinfectant soap/gel)
10)Disposable underwears
11)Torchlight
12)Surgical mask
13)Medicine - panadol,actal,charcoal,flu,immodium & supplements
14)Toilet roll (2rolls) - depending how long & how much u use for the trip.
15) Junk food1
6)Facial wipes
17)Ladies wipes

Well, all items were very useful indeed.
To take bird flu & malaria jap 3 weeks before the journey (However I was late to take these japs didn't know it require sometime)

Below are the advise cos once we get diarrhea, it can be real bad and will require hospitalisation.
1) Do not take any unboiled water,tap water. Drink only mineral water.
2) Don't eat salad even in 5 star hotel cos they wash with tap water
3) Don't consume any hawker or road side food. Only in a close up restaurant.
4) Eat only cooked food (hot) and only hot drink
5) Clean your hand before any meal ( the sanitiser & wet wipes come in very handy)

We take this precautionary & advise seriously cos we travelled by ourselves and don't know what to expect.

The people in India wouldn't have to worry about all the above cos they have been living in India since they were born & their immune systme are kind of use to it but not the foreigners unless they have got a very strong immune system.

We didn't managed to get an Indian Airline therefore we opt for another airline Druk Airline. Guess most of us have not heard before. Very worried cos it doensn't sound familiar to us. We have a stopover in Bangkok cos Druk is actually a Bhutan national airline, it will do a stopover in Kolkata before heading to Bhutan which is an exotic country.

I was quite surprise when I was on board, stewardess were polite,beautiful,warm and look stunning in thier uniform. Before that we had a wild guess, what airline is this? Are they safe? SOunds like people will be seated on the aisle and chickens were allowed on board. Anyway, all airlines in the world are require to comply with the airline aviation rules before they are allow to operate...It is just our wild thinking

We were so lucky cos a few of us got upgraded to first class. There were few spaces left in the first class..WOW!What a great journey to begin with....!

To be continued.....

Laos

Sabaidee! :-)

This is a Laotian greetings.

The best time to travel to Laos is between Nov to Jan cos the weather is very pleasant, cool & breezy

All the pictures shown are around Vientianne. Luang Prabang is another 12 hrs away by bus.
The Journey will not be a pleasant as is winding and you will probably get nausea. However, one may fly to Luang Prabang from Vientianne.

If you are in Thailand, you can fly by Air Asia www.airasia.com or Nok Air (www.nokair.com)to Udon Thani from Bangkok. From the airport, take a taxi (200baht) to city centre bus station and hop in to bus that cross directly to Vientianne (80baht per way). There are shuttle service from airport to Nong Khai (Friendship bridge) however you got to look for another transportation to go to Vientienne.You are require to get your passport stamped at the border. Asian tourist may not require VISA however,do check with Loas Embassy in your country.

While in Vientianne, you may go around with motorbike which will cost you USD5 per day (rent & ride it yourself). Got to leave your passport with them. Take a map, is quite clear. Traffic rules are new to Laotian, they may not stop at the traffic light, therefore as a foreigner we have to be careful.

And for food, sticky rice or glutinuous rice are their staple diet and noodles (pho or pronounce as fur)too. Try their beef noodle or buffalo meat noodle. Laap is their traditional salad- is a must try. Beside their local food, there are also western, indian, Thai & Vietnamese food available. Their local food will cost between USD 1.00 - USD2.00. Others will cost between USD3 - USD5
Well, anyone interested to know more, feel free to email me.

Click here to see more of Laos http://rockerteers2.multiply.com/photos/album/22

Have a great weekend!