Month: August 2009

Thais Love Animals

Bradley Farless2 Comments

The first time my wife and I walked around Patong looking for a place to eat we happened on a nice restaurant on a side street.  There’ll be more on that later, but when we were seated we looked around and realized that we were surrounded by cats.  It was kind of funny that the first place we would eat would be owned by a cat lover, given my wife’s love of cats.

Ya, the cat in the last photo hopped up onto our table and had a look around.  She seemed particularly interested in the plastic bag we had carried bottled drinks around in.  The cat was very friendly so I didn’t shoo it away until it was almost time for our food to arrive.

After seeing all of those cats we kept our eyes peeled and we saw quite few more pets and strays in the area.  Strangely, I never saw another cat.  I don’t want to make any guesses as to why that might be, but there were plenty of dogs around.  It seems like dogs are much more popular in Patong and you can see them alone or in groups roaming the streets.

I can’t say they were the cleanest looking animals, but not a one of them was in danger of starving.  We saw places where food was put out for them and, like the guy in the last photo shows, they were given attention not just from tourists with cameras, but by locals as well.  Not a one of them ever so much as growled at us, even as we stepped around or over them, or dashed across the road behind them.

More than anything, these dogs (and the cats from the restaurant) added flavor and liveliness to the scenery of Patong and were sometimes even a cause for a good laugh, like with the first dog pictured.  His balls are huge!

Not all of the dogs we saw were strays, though.  There was a booth with a girl who had her dog sitting on the counter.  I don’t remember what she was trying to sell, because I wasn’t interested.  I just stopped to look at her dog.  It was friendly, and I guess very obedient.  It wasn’t leashed.  It could’ve hopped down and ran off, but it was perfectly content to just sit there and watch the tourists.

I kinda want one for myself now.  Maybe in a few years!

Not Quite What We Had in Mind

Bradley Farless6 Comments

Going to Phuket was something my wife and I had really been looking forward to.  We were excited about the beach and the food and whatever entertainment we could find.  We got a few suggestions from friends as well.  We started making plans well before we went, but somehow those plans wound up getting thrown out the window.

The problem was the weather.  We booked our tickets and accommodations about a month in advance so there’s no way we could have foreseen what was going to happen, but we made the most of it.

The trip from Singapore to Phuket was standard.  Nothing special.  It’s a short flight.  There is a time zone change of one hour, but that’s not too bad.

When we got to the airport in Phuket we had to get past the horde of people trying to sucker us into taking a ride in an expensive taxi.  Just outside the door there were people holding laminated signs advertising their services.  Most of these guys want 600 baht.  I recommend going to the right just outside the door and walking straight until you cross a small road and are at a taxi stand.  The official airport taxis are multicolored (red/yellow I think) and have set fees and set maximum fares for destinations.  You’ll pay about 400 to 450 baht for most destinations there.  No point in letting yourself get ripped off unnecessarily.  The airport taxis are new and clean as well.

Once we got underway I was surprised by how similar Phuket was to the Philippines.  Even the driving style was similar.  Apparently the lines on the road are just a suggestion in Thailand.  Also, when we started following the coastline the driving barely slowed, despite the severe curves and the fact that we were just a few feet from long drops down to the ocean.  At least the roads themselves were in good condition!

Patong Beach could’ve been a town in the Philippines.

The architecture was a bit different, but the feel of the place was similar.  It really reminded me of Antipolo.

As for the weather, it got progressively worse.  When we first arrived it was overcast and drizzling.

Throughout the day the rain would lighten or stop, then come down in heavy showers again.

The second day was about the same.

By the evening of the second day though, the rain started coming down more and more heavily and it was nonstop.  I can’t be sure but it seemed like every time I woke up that second night it was raining, and the whole third day it rained too.  About an hour before we left for the airport the streets started to flood.

This set the tone for our trip and we spent less time on the beach (because there was no sun and the surf was rough from storms) and more time exploring the town and eating.

Of course, we didn’t get to see everything and we’re definitely planning on going back.

(More on Phuket tomorrow)

Home From Phuket

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Last night my wife and I got in from Phuket, Thailand, safe and sound.  Somehow I was both relieved and dismayed to be back.  It’s always sad when a vacation is over!

The trip was only three days long, but those three days were very full!  We did quite a bit, some unexpected, and we also didn’t get to do a few of the things we were hoping for.

Without going into the details (yet), I will say that we’re planning on making a repeat visit sometime soon, after we swing by Bangkok.

Over the next few days I’ll be posting stuff about our trip, including the accommodations, food, scenery, the beach, and… even some ladyboys.  There are some pretty good photos, so keep checking back!

Do You Know What You’re Eating?

Bradley Farless6 Comments

Sometimes I sure don’t.  There’s a buffet looking hawker stall near where we live.  I’m sure there’s one in almost every hawker center.  Anyhow, there is a wide range of choices, but there aren’t any labels telling you what the foods actually are.

You just have to look, guess, hope and point.  Sometimes you make good choices, sometimes you don’t, but maybe that’s half the fun of eating the stuff?

What prompted this is that a few nights ago my wife and I were eating and I chose food from that particular hawker stall.  When I sat down, my wife said, “Oh!  What’s that!” And, I had to admit that I had no clue!

Luckily, most of it tasted good.

Asian Shower Design (Much Different From American)

Bradley Farless8 Comments

There are some things that you just somehow expect to be commonplace, regardless of where you go in the world, one of which is showers.  Well, that’s how it was for me anyway.  I’ve spent my whole life, up until I came to Singapore, believing that all showers were created equal.  What I mean is that the shower or shower / tub combo are definitively separated from the rest of the bathroom, so that the water stays in the shower area and the rest of the bathroom stays dry.  The water drain is located in the bottom of the shower or in the tub and the water doesn’t flow across the floor.

Water and drains on the floor?  Wondering what I’m talking about?  Check this out:

This is a bathroom in Singapore.  As you can see, there’s no real distinction between the shower area and the rest of the bathroom, other than a slight depression in the floor.  There wasn’t even a shower curtain in this one.  Now that I think about it, two of the three places I’ve stayed in Singapore haven’t had shower curtains or curtain rods.  The hose on the wall in this picture goes up to a wall mounted (or optionally hand held) shower head.

Yup.  That’s it!

The downside to this is that whenever you take a shower, the whole bathroom generally gets wet from spraying water.  The drains for the water are set into the floor, but oftentimes, for no apparent reason, the drains are on the opposite side of the bathroom from where the shower is.  Also, the buildings have sometimes settled and are no longer level, so the water winds up pooling before it runs to the drain.

On top of that, spraying your butt with water rather than using toilet paper is a common practice in Singapore from what I’ve seen, which leads to this sort of problem:

Every time you go to the bathroom and you want to sit on the seat you have to wipe it down.  Honestly I should be wiping it down with a disinfectant each time too, because that’s not just water.  That’s someone else’s butt water.

You expect to miss things when you move abroad, but a dry bathroom and toilet seat just weren’t on my list of things I thought I would be missing.

Heading to Phuket!

Bradley Farless4 Comments

That’s right!  Around the time this is published I’ll be hopping on plane to Phuket in Thailand for some much needed rest and relaxation!  I’m looking forward to hanging out on the beach and finding out what the town has to offer in terms of cuisine.

We’d been thinking about going to Phuket for about a year, and now I’m finally going to get to see the place.  White beaches, great water, great photo opportunities and I really hope there’s some great food!  I wonder if Thailand has satay?

Anyhow, if you’re not familiar with the place, here are some map clippings.

The first one shows Singapore at the bottom and Phuket at the top left, circled.  It’s not that far away.  The flight is less than an hour, and I can’t recall exactly how much we spent on the tickets, but it wasn’t much.

The second one is a close up of the Phuket area and also shows the Phi Phi Islands, where that movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed.  I never saw it, but I heard the beach looked great, so we’re going to try to get out there and have a look for ourselves.

Our hotel is supposed to have wi-fi, but who knows?  Maybe it’ll be flaky.  I’ll try to get online at least once a day in the evening to approve any comments there may be, and I have some posts scheduled for tomorrow and the day after, but no guarantees!

Are You Building a Bomb???

Bradley Farless5 Comments

A few days ago my wife and I came home and we walked in on the maid sitting on the floor in the kitchen.  In front of her was this pile of wiring, a bunch of tools, and some electronic devices in various states of disassembly.

For a moment I wondered if she was in the process of building a bomb, but then I realized what she was up to.  She was stripping all of the copper out.

I’ve known people that have done this before.  It only takes a while and when you have enough copper you take it to the local recycling factory and they’ll pay you for it.  Same with aluminum, steel, iron, etc.

I’m not sure where you would take something like this in Singapore and I didn’t ask, but it’s not a bad idea really.  Times are tough and when you think about it, why should you throw away money?  Well, not money, but you can use it to get money.