+ the boy turns 20! +


HAHAHAHA...

Junrong turns 20! The digit 2 in front! :D

Of course I won't be so stupid to say 'I'm no longer a kid!', coz that'll be admitting I was one before. I'll just say 'so happy to move to decade number 3 of my life!'!.

Thanks for the birthday wishes and I hope everyone will have a fantastic Christmas!
Of course I also wish for many more better years to come for myself. :)

Cheers!

+ to vincent +

To my pal, I love you! Well, not in That sense, but yea you get my point. You're one of the very few people who will make me smile without even have to do anything. Of course, the smiling part does not refer to you having a goofy face or what. Haha.. You're a great friend, you're da man!
Well erm, in case anyone starts to speculate anything, I once again emphasise that this is just an ode to a great friend. :)

Ok, time to change topic.. My wish list has been altered.. The pouch is settled and I've got 2 new additions. (heh.. I'm so greedy) They are The Sims 1 Expansion Collection Volumes 2 & 3, available at $19.90 each at Challenger. Haha..
So come come people who have to much money to spare, get Junrong a present for his twentieth! :p

I'm feeling very happy, duno why. Heh.

+ mobile update +

The spotlight falls on 3 "-est" handsets this weekend.

First up, the thinnest clamshell phone in the world. Yes, the mighty V3 is well and beaten, with NEC taking a pre-emptive strike at the upcoming V3i.

The NEC N412i comes with bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and i-mode. All it lacks is a memory expansion slot. Well, maybe it is too thin to fit one in. The length is slightly longer while the width is down compared to the V3. Amazing, nonetheless. Costing $488 with a 2 year contract at Starhub only.

Next is the costliest phone bar Vertu in the local market.

The Dopod 900 comes with full PDA functions, runs on Windows Mobile 5.0, has Wifi, a huge 3.6" display with VGA resolution (that's 640x480, double that of Samsung D600), a QWERTY keyboard and 3G. So it has everything. And it's also huge. At close the size of 3 Samsung E630s and the weight of 3 V3s, everything about this mobile warrior is excessive. And now to the main point: the asking price of the ultimate PDA-phone hybrid is a cool $1658 with a 2 year contract.


Finally the Sony Ericsson K700i, at over 1.5 years old is the longest running model in the local market right now. Singtel has given an incentive for buyers looking for a little bit of nostalgia. It is now free with a 2 year contract. Practical users should get this instead of a newer low end camera phone. It's got bluetooth, MP3 ringtones and a not too bad screen.

+ little update +

It's a little more than one whole week to Christmas, and retailers and STB are pulling out the stops to make people know that. Glittery lighting that stretches from Orchard Road to Marina City area were lit up at the turn of the month, extended shopping hours are in, sales, floats in Orchard, various performances and a very crowded town area are all signs of the imminent holiday!

While walking down Orchard I realise there's no stopping to Crystal Jade's expansion. Two more outlets of the franchise have opened up, Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken in Centrepoint and C-Jade Express takes over McDonald's in the basement of Wisma Atria. This is actually the first time I see a Mac's outlet close down. Haha..

Lastly it is 8 days to my birthday. Friends who are reading this, you may buy me something if you've got too much money to spend. I've got a little wish list. Heh..
-Pump Up Bhangra CD
-White in ear bud type earphones
-Hard iPod G4 case
-Small coin pouch (I freaking lost the one bought in BKK)
-Not too big waist pouch

Of course, I always like hand-made cards and a call to wish me happy not-a-teenager-anymore day to me. :)

+ bangkok! +

After 5 days in Bangkok, I've seen the friendliness of the Thai people, the sheer number of taxis in the City of Angels, and the excellent skills of the drivers in the city too. Time to share some pictures!


8am on Friday morning.. There's our flight!


And we take off.. Image courtesy of Violet.


My room.. Yes, it's big and affordable.


This is meal number 1.. actually the worst we've had. the portions were tiny, the food was too salty and the drink was wayyyy to sweet! *gulp*


A 5 minute ride away, MBK is the best mall in Bangkok!


Suffice to say that the traffic in Bangkok is not the smoothest-flowing in the world..


Chatuchak Market! It's massive and a tip to those who're going, do bring a mini fan cos u're gonna need it to shop in that place for a whole day..


Our favourite dessert, Mango with Glutinous Rice.


I realised that every restaurant or food court we visited, there'll be a tissue box on the table. Great.


Smile!

Death Railway day was the worst time I've ever spent on transportation.. We travelled 100 odd km on the train and shook violently on half the trip.. Well the journey was arduous but at least I took a couple of nice pictures. And it was also a way to not spend too much too fast on shopping. Despite the horribly long and bumpy ride, we had a little adventure. Being blocked by people that we couldn't alight at our station and jumping off the next which was half an hour's ride away, which by the way has nothing.

We arrive at Thonburi Station at 7 in the morning.


Holding the tickets like they were lottery tickets. And grinning from ear to ear. (that's before the journey)


The train that will shake our butts for more than 6 hours for the return journey!


Cute doggy at the station.


And we embark on our journey..

..passing through old houses..

..lush green fields..

..farms..

..and small towns.

And after our little train-jumping adventure, we arrive at our destination.



We take a walk down memory lane looking at a part of the terrible history of Occupation..

..risk being killed on the track..

..saw beautiful scenery..

..saw the biggest toilet sign ever..

..and took home a piece of history home with us.
*Pictures of our faces of the return journey was not shown due to horrific nature.*

Candid time..

We waited hours for the return train and therefore decided to play with the camera!

Ok. There are more at the railway, but I shall spare all of you.
Silly faces series.



They say I look like one of the mannequins we came across at the mall in the last one.

We next move on to the beautiful Grand Palace and Temple of Emerald Buddha..








Next to the tallest building in Thailand, the Baiyoke Sky Hotel.


200B entry ticket up the 84-storey high tower includes a free drink that costs up to 200B. So in essence you're actually paying for the drink.


The most complicated highway interchange in the world?


And that's our hotel from wayyy up there!

River cruise!

We rented a boat for 200B per person for a 1 hour cruise down the famous Chao Phraya River!


There are many bridges across the river..

..including the most rusty one I've ever seen.

Besides using bridges to cross the river, people also travel across by river taxis like this one.



We also pass by many houses (it does make me feel lucky to be staying where I am)..


..people selling some goods on sampans..


..the construction of a giant Buddha statue..


..fish-feeding at one of the stops..




..and of course various temples.


Soon 5 days have passed and we're heading back home.. We got a big 7 seater cab to the airport and I volunteered to be in row 3 buried in all the luggage!

We're at the departure hall of Don Muang Airport!


And by 11.15pm local time, we arrive back in Changi Airport..

..with all my luggage.



And this officially concludes my first visit to Thailand.. Will be there again!