Spring USA Trip - Day2

A Strip tour begins at the Royal White Tiger at The Mirage. Then walking along the canals in little Venice at The Venetian.



Window shopping and watch the Atlantis/Festival Fountain shows at The Forum Shops at Caesars.



But I like The Bellagio Conservatory & Botantical Gardens most. Very beautiful.



The last one before we pick up Eak, another team mate, at the airport is at the Luxor.



We plan to have a big dinner buffet before entering the wilderness, at Harrah we ask to see the food stations before paying a ticket, to make sure that King crab together with many other seafood are served. Then the walking tour resumes to watch the Musical Fountain show at the Bellagio.

Spring USA Trip - Day1

Red Rock Canyon

Since I can’t persuade (and manipulate) Oh, my brother, to visit Morocco with me, a solution satisfied both of us is U.S.A. Mid-west is agreeable, but my interest is at northern Arizona - Antelope Canyon, and Utah – Bryce Canyon, while Oh’s main interest is at Wyoming – Yellowstone National Park. With a very limit preparation time, we have 2 more friends to join the trip but with different flights.

Oh and I arrived at Las Vegas around 1 a.m. this morning. Later, we decide to visit Red Rock Canyon which is about 19 miles of downtown Las Vegas and pick up, one of our team mates, Koh, in the evening. Enjoy the volcano eruption at The Mirage and the Pirate shows at the Treasure Island. We walk until 3.a.m., so tired that I am afraid that we don’t have energy left to walk in those national parks as planned. But Vegas is a very lively place.

New Puppies

Today I went to Trad Province to pick up two new puppies. We haven't had new puppies in our house for such a long time, 16 years. Only two of five are left today and the ferocius one, Eim, passed away two months ago. Eim attacked all animals who were in her vision and bited anyone who didn't live in my house if we didn't lock her in: my uncle, an icecream seller, and a delivery boy.



Coco is a one-month old male.



Milo is a three-month old female.
Both of them are now very naughty that my mom loses some weight taking care of them.

Chaopraya River in the evening.



Delicious food at Thai-Heng restaurant at Buk-ka-lo district.



Visit Nong Pat’s Beagles - Mindy and her puppies.



In order to strictly follow the doctor’s advice,, we all have only one glass of wine per day. One glass contains about 2,700 cc approximately 3 and a half bottle. 

Since I lost my FX8 camera somewhere , I have been using the borrowing ones (whoever is kind enough to lend me one at that times). Now Khun Sivaporn permanently (hopefully!!!)lends me the Olympus, I took an indoor picture of Khun Suthas and Khun Chookiat at Elephant Reintroduction Foundation.

Five winners: K. Suthas, K. Thanom, Karantarat, P. Aae+ (Anchalee), and K. Rochana.

I am so glad to be one of the winners of K. Sivaporn's photo quiz since he treats us the grand dinner at Le Normandie, Oriental Hotel; of which I have never been there before. :-) The food is excellent, the view is superb!!!!



At Oriental Hotel Garden.

My Kota Kinabalu Trip - Day 4

At first we plan to stay here while some friends would trek up to the top of the summit; however, the accommodation for trekkers is full. So we end up looking to the top of the mountain together.

This is probably the most spectacular national park in Malaysia. The star attraction, without a doubt, goes to the famed granite-clad Mount Kinabalu which officially stands at 4,092 metres above sea level (though previously thought to have an elevation of 4,101 metres). Mount Kinabalu is actually still growing by about a few centimetres every year. In all, the Crocker Range is considered to be an active mountain system, although the possibility of earthquake or volcanic eruption is very remote.



Visit the Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden.



Nepenthes rajah. (หม้อข้าวหม้อแกงลิง) or the Pitcher Plant.



Only two of Nepenthes are seen.



Brunch.



Taking picture at the Entrance of the Park before leaving.




On the way back to the city, we visit the City Mosque. The architecture is closely resembles the design of Nabawi Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The sky-blue dome blends perfectly with its white masonry.

And that would be all for my trip.

My Kota Kinabalu Trip - Day 3

We rent a taxi to visit the Poring Hot Spring. Stop at one of the Chinese temple.



At Poring Hot Spring, a little trekking is required here to experience the Canopy Walkway. It is in length of 157.6 meter. The highest point of the walkway is about 41 meter. It is constructed high up in the forest canopy for use by scientists to conduct research.



Then we visit the base of Mt. Kinabalu Nature Park to stay overnight at the Summit Lodge.



Like last time, we have delicious dinner at Liguwa Restaurant.

My Kota Kinabalu Trip - Day 2

This morning we go shopping at the Sunday market before proceeding to Jesselton Piont to buy a ticket to Gayana Island Resort.



Though the water at the resort is crystal clear but there are many renovations. So after spend some time exploring the resort and playing with star fish at the Coral Reef & Giant Clam Rehabilitation Station, we decide to go to another island, Sapi.



Sapi is another small island. Here we meet a lot of Japanese tourists.

My Kota Kinabalu Trip - Day 1

This is my 2nd trip to Kota Kinabalu, though the first one was very short since I just passed through to go to Brunei. It is the capital of Sabah located on the west coast of the “the Land Below the Wind”.
In the morning we first visit Sabah Foundation Building, a unique 30-storey building, it is Sabah’s highest tower.



In the afternoon, we buy a cruise tour mainly to watch the Proboscis monkey. The tour costs Ringgit 160 per person.



Sunset at the village.

My Penang - Day 2

Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera)
This morning we plan to visit Penang Hill. The owner of our accommodation is so kind, he offers to give us a ride to the cable car station. Penang Hill is a series of hilltops which is approximately 833 meters above sea level. This is the only place that remains in my childhood memory of Penang: my first-time-experience of riding the funicular railway. The return ticket fare is RM 4 for adults.
Interesting places at the top include the tranquil Mosque and the Hindu Temple (Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple).




We stop to have a coffee break and enjoy a panoramic view of Georgetown at Bellevue Hotel.





Fun experience with Henna drawing
While enjoying the greenery of the hill, we stop by to have Henna drawing. Mine is on the left arm, Mer is on the wrist, Nong and Nam Phueng are on their hands, while Tong is on the back. It costs 10 RM per drawing. (approximately Baht 100) They said that it would stay around 2 weeks.




Kok Lek Si Temple
The temple is situated in the Ayer Itam area, it has several pavilions with beautiful architecture, paintings, statues, and general items of Buddhist religious interest.




Construction of the temple started in 1893, but it was only in 1930 that the Pagoda of Rama VI, named after our king who laid the foundation stone, but better known as the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas, was completed. This pagoda combines a Chinese octagonal base with a middle tier of Thai design, and a Burmese crown, reflecting the temple's embrace of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. Gigantic Statue of Goddess of Mercy ( Kuan YIn ) is the 30.2m bronze statue of the Avalokitesvara - Goddess of Mercy or Kuan Yin - on the hillside above the pagoda. This statue was completed and open to the public at the end of 2002.




Dhammikarama Temple or Burmese Temple
The main hall houses a tall Standing Buddha and behind the Standing Buddha are two rows of smaller buddhas.




Wat Chaiyamangkalaran or the Reclining Buddha Temple
It was built in the 19th century with the blend of Chinese, Thai and Burmese architectural designs. The reclining Buddha is measured up to a 33 meters length, the eyes and toenails of the Buddha are made of seashells.




Walking on Gurney Drive along Penang Beach, our main objective here is to try some local food since the beach is nothing to recommend. Lots of edible hawker food. It’s bursting with flavor and color. Here we sample Char Kway Teow (Flat Rice Noodles fried with Prawns, ,Bean Sprouts. For me, it is alike “Phad Thai” in Thai food.), Wanton Soup and desserts with ice (น้ำแข็งใส)




Komtar
It is the landmark of Penang. KOMTAR, a 65-storey building, is short for Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak, which houses Government departments, commercial offices, department stores, shops and restaurants. And that should be all for my two-day trip.

My Penang - Day 1

Segara Ninda
Five of us visit Penang on the weekend. Segara Ninda, the guest house that we stay, belonged to Ku Din Ku Meh, the governor of Setul (at that time Setul was the province of Kedah under the domination of Thailand, but later became Ampur Satun, a part of Songkla Province, Thailand). Ku Din received the title of “Phraya Purminard Pakdi” or “The Devoted King” by the King of Siam.
The house situated on the Upper Penang Road which is very very bustling at night, surrounded by night club. Good for the one who enjoys night life. The present owner of the house who is the grandson of Ku Din Ku Meh.



The Lovely Blue Mansion
The Mansion of Cheong Fatt Tze who came to Penange penniless but had become one of the most historic and colorful personalities of the era, “One of China’s last Mandarins and 1st Capitalists”, that Dutch and British authorities ordered their flag be flown at half mast throughout their colonies when he passed away in 1916.
The house which was adorned with “feng shui” elements which sent out a call for Gods of prosperity, health and good luck, “had been restored and received the UNESCO Most Excellent Heritage Conservation Award in 2000.
The blue exterior paint which I found out later, happened to be indigo paint which washes off with every rainfall but since the paint is organic, it preserves the "health" of the walls and prevents cracks.
http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/

We end the evening by planning to have dinner at Gurney Drive, we get lost and are offered a ride to another food center by a local guy. The seafood at this small shops complex are quite good with approximately Baht 200 per person. Sorry no picture.

TISCO's freinds arranged a party at Oriental Hotel for P. Muay - Phavadee on her retirement after 37 years of working at TISCO.

A claimed to be “new year gathering”, though it almost past two weeks since year end; we still use that reason to have an eating trip without any other objectives. The first stop is at the “Taling Chan” floating market. It is a small weekend market. A small table is lined on the floating piers. The food, the atmosphere are o.k. but I don’t like it much since I have motion-sickness. A busting place, not recommend for those above-average-size persons since people may step on your toes and also those who have difficulty sitting on a floor. The Som-Tum (papaya Thai style dish) should have tasted better.



So within less than half an hour we are all ready to move on to the next place, Tik Pochana (ติ๊กโภชนา) at Nakornchaisri, Nakorn Pathom Province. Very famous dishes are crispy fried eggs (Kai-Jeiw – ไข่เจียวกรอบๆ) and fried shrimp (กุ้งทอดกระเทียม).



Our last stop for today is for Ice-cream; however, the recommended one around the restaurant has not shown up for today. So we split the group, our group head back to Wipawadee road but finally find a place at Krua Khun Yui (ครัวคุณยุ้ย) at soi Areesamphan1 to have some dessert. The homemade ice-cream is so-so but the good one is Waffle.

A farewell party to Tua - Chavalit from TISCO friends at Sorrento restaurant. Tua had been with TISCO for 17.5 years. I hope that our friendship still flourishes as time goes by, no matter where ones work.