Experiencing an amount of inertia when it comes to blogging. The notes in my phone are piling up from the random things I want to blog about, and I don’t know how else I should put them down other than yet another post about random things. (Not the 25 random things about me ok don’t worry)

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On Thursday I went for my debut Shanghai/overseas job interview. On a rainy winter day. Once I entered the interview room (it was a large meeting room), I wasn’t sure where to place the jacket I just took off.  Should I just dump it in the chair next to the one I’m supposed to sit on? In the end I wrapped it on the chair, and then realized I didn’t know what to do with my scarf. With the lack of winter garment placement practice, I hid my scarf in my bag. On departure, I wasn’t sure whether it was alright to make the interviewer wait while I put my jacket back on, so I just carried the whole damn thing all the way to the entrance.

I believe it was also my first interview with a Caucasian, a co-founder of the company. Standing at 1.9m or taller, I did not feel intimidated because I kinda grew up with a brother almost as tall as him. In fact, I liked the interview with him because 1) he laughed at almost all my attempts at jokes 2) his questions were asked in a friendly way 3) when he sits down he doesn’t tower over me.

For instance, instead of asking, what are your strengths? as many of the interviewers in Singapore would read from a script that has been photocopied since 1999, he asked, “If your best friends were right here, how do you think they’d describe you?”

I’m not sure if I want to do what I do a little in my leisure time as work.

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My mother and I have different travelling habits. I want to save as many pennies as possible while she would pay pounds to save the trouble. To her, it is always better to pay more now for the ease (e.g. taking taxis instead of trains/buses) than to pay more later for hospital bills in the event that due to lugging luggages you break your fingers.

But she would walk to three different supermarkets in different shopping malls to compare the prices of a particular product and then walk back to the first mall because it was 10 cents cheaper.

And she’d rather use a plastic bag to shelter herself from the rain than buy an umbrella or poncho.

I don’t get my mother.

But I admit we’re getting more alike than I’m comfortable with.

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Malaysia toilets always have that hose for washing down under. Japanese toilets have one or two bidets (toilets that have warmed seats and washing tubes with squirting functions, complete with power choices, buttoned) and always with disposable toilet seat covers. Seoul toilets also have limited bidets. In Bangkok the hooks for bags are placed really high, I don’t know why. Singapore toilets have a sitting : squatting cubicles on a ratio of 8:2. Chinese city toilets, if not the drain system, then sitting : squatting is 2:8, sometimes 0:10.

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Singapore MRT stations have escalators or lifts at every station, at any necessary point of elevation or depression. This convenience you cannot find in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Bangkok. I have lugged around 10kg of goods in certain Hong Kong MTR Stations with the frustration of staircases where escalators or lifts would have helped. Ditto Seoul when I carried my luggages.

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S$30 on my Singapore EZ-link card can barely last me two weeks.

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Riding with the new SBS Transit buses in Singapore made me carsick a lot. All the adjusting of suspension did not work well with my stomach.

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Ironic how people ask me if I’m Korean, and ask MissY if she’s from Singapore. Many times.

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When I told MissY about how our Skype conversations are being scanned by the Chinese, she got angry and said let’s do a Skype call, where she’d say: Chinese governent SUCKS! I meant SOCKS! S-O-C-K-S SOCKS!

She wanted to test their scanning system I guess.

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I can’t read much on the Shanghai subway, even though I’m seated. The salient feature of all Chinese dialects is that it’s loud, and I don’t know why Chinese people like to talk on their cell phones as if they were in the club with blasting music. People sitting next to me somehow like to nudge me with their elbows as well.

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I don’t like the Korean strong sense of hierarchy, but appreciate being bowed to when the young Koreans bow to her (I’m almost always next to her).

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After living overseas for long periods of time, consuming different sorts of food has done wild things to my stomach. I’ve realized that the most important thing in life is not having lots of money/status/power, but the ability to move your bowels comfortably everyday.

The main concerns when living abroad are not visa applications, internet connections, the packing/unpacking or moving of houses, but they are: what to eat for the daily 3 meals. If in China, what is the least harmful food, or what food will only be damaging many years later?

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MissY just tried to teach me the meaning of  the Korean word “assa”. “Like yay! Like when you move on to the next level in Mario you go ASSA! Like I found coconuts for Tracy (in The Sims 2) I go ASSA!”

These days, I see her occasionally blowing into her Nintendo DS Lite. She’s building a fire for her The Sims character to cook fish or something. -_-

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10 Jan: Flight to Nanning (Guangxi)

14 Jan: Flight to Shanghai

15 Jan: Flight to Seoul

20 Jan: Flight to Jeju

22 Jan: Flight to Seoul

24 Jan: Flight to Shanghai

25 Jan: Flight to Singapore

9 Feb: Flight to Kuala Lumpur

11 Feb: Flight to Shanghai

Tired. Aging fast with all the packing and unpacking; checking-in; immigration checks; security checks; rushing to boarding gates…which reminds me, I should really get a belt. My jeans was hanging a tad too low while running to gate 39 at Gimpo airport today. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say my jeans nearly dropped since my backpack was pushing it down while I was running to the guy who was running to me to ask me to run to the gate.

Note to someone: We really suck at goodbyes, but I’m glad we don’t have many chances to practise.

Bought a HOLGA 120GCFN camera in Bangkok. Approx. 80SGD.

Didn’t have good shots for the first roll though Barely any lomo effects.

And only six shots were processed, when I was expecting sixteen. The rest were apparently too underexposed.

Nevertheless I think it’s a pretty fun toy Wish I laid my hands on it sooner.

I’ve visited Bangkok three times this year, twice with the same person. There’s something there that wins you over to visit again and again, to look at different places in each visit, get more local each time, to explore the sois and sub-sois, to go around without taking any photos because it’s the experience you will revisit in your mind time and again after you’ve long left. Or maybe it was the female couple who smiled at us on the bus, in acknowledgement.

Although this trip was instilled with too much anxiety, frustration and inconvenience to be called a good holiday, unlike many visitors who swear to never go back again, I think I still will. I miss the deep fried chicken. And the deep fried dumplings. I can still smell them.

Anyway, here are recommendations or tips for myself for my next trip (or for anyone else who is interested)

Accomodation

JL Bangkok

Tip: If you’re staying for quite a number of nights, try asking for a discount.

Housed in soi 23 in the very local area of Ramkhamhaeng, you can experience Bangkok away from the thousands of tourists at Khao San or Siam Square. Turn left and you can buy all sorts of local produce like Mama instant noodles, curry powder, coconut milk etc from the Big C supermarket. Turn right and you can shop with other Bangkokers at The Mall (on the same side, The Mall 2 across the street).

The hotel is staffed with very friendly and eager-to-help receptionists. They will undoubtedly make your stay a pleasant one.

Free wireless internet is the ultimate bonus.

Place to visit

Ayutthaya

Many might give this a miss thinking the only way there is by an expensive cruise (1400+THB), and find that there are no other boats going there. The cruise may be very entertaining, and romantic at sunset, but if you’re a cheapo like me, get a train ticket from Hua Lamphong station (get there by MRT). The 3rd class ticket (the only one available) costs a mere 15THB (the ticket back costs 20THB though) for a 1.5-2 hour ride.

Tuktuk drivers will hassle you to follow them the moment you arrive, and they may be your best bet unless you really want to cycle the whole day in the tremendous heat. The distance between the good places is quite considerable. Get a Tuktuk driver who is listed in the “Tourist Tuk Tuk Service” to be on the safe side I guess. Though that list seems highly manipulatable. Their service costs 150-200 baht an hour, but since their prices are always negotiable, the driver had to agree to our price after we won the coin tossing game.

Tip: Try to act local at the entrance of the sites or just walk in like you didn’t know you have to pay.

Places for shopping/Things to buy

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Biggest. So many things. Cheap. Enough said.

NaRaYa

Bags and pouches and others made in Thailand, cheap. Great for gifts for the girls (not all girls).

Central World, Paragon

If you’re into shopping malls. Be sure to get tourist privilege cards! And VAT refund for purchases above 2000THB in the same shop on the same day.

Power Buy @ Central World

Household appliances not readily available in where I live now like waffle maker and takoyaki (octopus balls) machine.

Gourmet Market @ Paragon

Buy all the local produce and toiletries here and claim for VAT refund.

Book Outlet @ Amarin Plaza

For cheap English books (new & 2nd hand). I think I saw some sex novels at the backshelf, if that’s your thing.

Amarin Plaza is on Pleonchit Road, next to Chit Lom Skytrain station. If you can’t find it, call 02-6521600.

B2S and B+E Trend

For a wide selection of notebooks and stationery. My itch for buying notebooks started again. Thai paper quality is good, and some notebooks designed by local artists are awesome!

Photo Development shops

Developing digital photos are way cheap here. Local areas are cheaper.

Transportation

Bus

Definitely the cheapest, but you might need your destination in Thai. Fares start from 7.50THB (S$0.30!). Know the bus to board beforehand though, ‘coz you may not have time to ask. Many a time buses leave when you have but one foot on the step. Gotta alight fast too.

Boat

Depending on whether your current location and destination is along the river, the boat may be the fastest transportation since there’s no traffic jam on the water. Good for the experience too. Just be really alert when boarding and alighting. You really wouldn’t want to fall in water that smells like that. Taking the boat from Ramkhamhaeng to Pratunam took less than half an hour when the bus would have taken 1-1.5hours. Gets really crowded though, so do avoid peak periods. Water may splash so either you stay in the middle or be industrious and pull up the canvas protector at the side.

MRT/Skytrain

Convenient for the touristy areas, but relatively expensive. Get the MRT student card if you’re staying for a considerable number of days, because it saves a lot. They’ll just ask you if you’re below 23 and of course you say yes.

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Miscellaneous reasons why I like it there

Fluid gender

Perhaps the most visible in Asia, if not the world. Males wearing makeup or the whole getup with skirt and gestures. Females with crew cuts in men’s clothes. Men who look like women who look like men. Men who end their sentences with “kaa” instead of “krup” and already making her statement of identity. It doesn’t matter if they go either way ‘coz they have a place in society that many of their counterparts don’t.

I think I could do my undergrad thesis just on this.

Free Sampling of food

In supermarkets. Free is always good, and it’s better that I know that I like what I’m buying.

Friendliness of language

I’m thinking the reason why they’re so naturally friendly stems from their language, the way they end their sentences in a semi-question. Nevertheless my experience with them is mostly the lack of it. All the pointing, the body language, and the challenge of limited vocabulary. Ped muk muk (very spicy please). Ani tao rai ka? Paeng jang kaa! Lod dai mai kaa (This, how much? So expensive! Cheaper please!). Six baht? No, sip (10) baht. “Not can”, “no can”, and “no have”. All very fun and interesting.

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I think many people find themselves inexplicably drawn to Thailand/Bangkok and will go back even though the land of smiles isn’t smiling too widely these days. I know I will.

The inadequate airport was stretched to accommodate the thousands of passengers streaming in every hour. I think that’s a good word to describe it, stretched.

A “Vietnam-war-era” airport trying it’s best to work like an international airport, but only handling around 40 flights a day, while the closed-and-caused-thousands-such-inconvenience Suvarnabhumi airport could have handled 700.

On our tuktuk ride towards U-Tapao airport, we were visually screened by army boys. I didn’t know whether to look at them in the eye or avoid their gaze. I think I kinda glanced at them ‘coz I remember reading a look that said tsk tsk, another few poor sods scrambling outta here. Of course their minds could very well just have gone ok, all asians, the girls look too tired to carry any arms, the grandma and grandpa look too lost, the other guy just looks retarded, ok they should be fine, just give them a sympathetic look.

We arrived at what looked like a mini carnival and a single storey supermarket (complete with trolleys being pushed around). Tents were set up selling food and drinks (water was free), provide first-aid, give Koreans free coffee (courtesy of the Korean sth sth association), and an attempt to appease the mob by entertaining with free dance performances at “Relax Zone”. The Exit door was on the right, and twenty steps away was the Check-in door. Just one door on each side. Mobile toilets on buses were to the left, which we were later advised to use because it’s the only bathroom available until you wait for boarding.

We were told to arrive before 11pm as our flight was scheduled at 1.50am. Waiting with the mob reminded me of New Year’s countdown at NYC’s Times Square, lesser people of course, but the same claustrophobic environment. And of course no festive moods, only anxiety and frustration. Tempers flared, ugly humanism was revealed, and then there were those who chose to get crazy drunk. We were glad we didn’t belong to either groups — the rude Chinese and the drunk Caucasians. I thought all of us would be united in such dire circumstances, for didn’t we have a long discussion with another hotel guest just the other day on the routes out of Bangkok, and the free hotels/meals? At U-Tapao you see what it is to be human. Selfish, inconsiderate, barbaric. The sound of planes’ engines taking off/landing every hour or so was our glint of hope, to be let out and live our lives the way we were before, civilized and with decorum. But we could only wait. Announcements came that flights were delayed, and ours was announced twice. We reached U-Tapao at 10.30pm, entered the check-in door around 1.30am. Our plane took off at 4.30am.

Kudos to the staff who handled the mob. We were to wait with our flight group outside the check-in door and enter only when our plane arrived. Think hundreds of people (and double the number of luggages) scrambling through one door, then through one scanner, and then to makeshift counters for check-in. I don’t ever want to think about it again.

Keywords: Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok protests, U-Tapao, PAD, Thailand, foreigners, stranded, refund, accommodation, meals, hotels, ATTA refund, TAT, what to do, things to do

If you’re still stuck in Bangkok and will be for a while, I hope this helps.

Getting out

If you already have a return ticket, contact your airline’s office. If they don’t pick up the phone, go to their office directly. They are the best people who can get you out of Bangkok without having you pay extra. They may have arranged for flights out of U-Tapao, or other arrangements.

Avoid going to U-Tapao without having booked your flight out. You will more likely than not be forced to sleep in that airport. Book your flight before heading to U-Tapao.

When you’re at U-Tapao, find where the bulk of the passengers on your flight are gathered. Follow them closely, and know what time you’re scheduled to check-in. There’s plenty of free water but limited free food so it would be good if you had your own food, as demand exceeds supply. Be prepared to wait for hours as it’s common for the flights to be delayed. If you’re there at night, have a jacket, it gets pretty cold and windy. Stay alert when your flight number is being called as only then are you able to check-in. Miss it and you might be stuck in the crowd. And the crowd is massive. Think hundreds of people jammed outside the door of check-in with their multiple luggages.

Follow through the remaining procedures of checking-in baggage, getting your boarding pass, and clearing immigration.

(Aside: they’re too busy to weigh your baggage so excess luggage weight is escapable just this time you shopaholic)

Getting to U-Tapao

I heard there are free buses for tourists going to U-Tapao airport from Central but I cannot verify this. Do try to catch that one if it’s available. Alternatively there are buses every half hour or so at the Ekkamai bus terminal leaving for Pattaya or Sattahip. Catching the one to Sattahip is closer to U-Tapao, costs 140 baht, and takes three hours and a bit. Tuk-tuks or taxis can take you to U-Tapao airport from the Sattahip stop. 100 baht per person for the tuk-tuk. Your journey from Ekkamai bus terminal to U-Tapao is approximately 4 hours. And you should get there 3 hours before the scheduled departure time of your flight.

Waiting it out

We contemplated this option since we weren’t in a rush to get back, but considering violence may escalade, we knew we wouldn’t be able to stay with a peace of mind, so through a series of events we managed to book our flight back.

Nevertheless, if you decide to wait it out, there are many four or five star hotels you can choose to stay in for free. A few have TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) desks set up at the lobby to assist you (they have been working overtime so pardon them if they’re not too friendly). You can see the list of hotels and other situation updates here. Alternatively, you can call Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) Tel: +66 2 237-6046-8, + 66 2 632-7400-2), Thai Hotels Association (THA) (Tel: 02 281 9496 or Hotline Number : 1552), and TCT (Tel: 02-250-5500 ext. 1646).

Although they don’t state very clearly on their website, you can actually get a refund for your accommodation from the date your flight got cancelled. You can claim up to 2000 baht per day per person, including meals, but these meals must have been taken at the place of accommodation. All claims must be accompanied with receipts. The TAT desks may not tell you this, but you can claim your refunds at ATTA (Association of Thai Travel Agents), 10th floor of Wall Street Tower (not sure of the exact address, but it’s on Surawong Road, between Patpong 2 and Soi Thaniya, you should see an unopened Le Meridien across the street about a block or two away). Bring your passport, air ticket, and receipts to ATTA to get your refund. Don’t expect cold hard cash though, they ask for your bank account number and say they’ll transfer the money after they receive if from the government. Don’t know how long that will take, if at all.

Wait it out at a luxurious hotel with three meals provided. A high class refugee camp?

Whichever your choice, have patience and I hope you can continue your journey soon.

BANGKOK - Rampaging anti-government protesters forced the closure of Thailand’s main international airport Tuesday as a second day of demonstrations in Bangkok descended into violence with 11 injured in clashes.

Airport closed. Flight back to Shanghai scheduled on Saturday night. Wish us luck.

Bangkok airport closed as protests turn violent

Never knew sleeping at the airport is an acquired skill.

And the skill you need is knowing where the best seats are at respective airports, or be quick to locate them at an unfamiliar one. Whether you get yourself a couple of hard seats or cushioned ones determines the quality of the night’s rest and your back condition the next day.

Determined not to lose out to the regulars, we, complete beginners at this game, sought hard for our beds for the night. It turns out that the baggage claim area is the best place for a night’s rest, because cushioned seats there are in abundance, and many assume there are similar seats outside (as did I, and I kicked myself for that later). Interestingly, there were very few seats at the arrival hall, and they were hard ones. The next level is where all the food is, and restaurants were closing up when we got there (around 2AM). The pungent smell of floor detergent and something that smelt like clorox could not possibly be our dorm room for the night, although we saw many backpackers already sleeping there. We were left with the top floor, the departure hall, to find a bed for the night, or else it’ll be sleeplessness. The number of departing flights were slowing down at that hour so we were eligible for a bed space, only fighting with the other airport sleepers, but had to be quick before passengers from arriving flights start seeking beds too. All the cushioned seats, which were few to begin with, at the departure hall were occupied by happily-sleeping backpackers and experienced airport regulars, complete with blankets and eye covers, or by people who were simply faster than us, smiling sympathetically as we pushed our trolley in disappointment. It’ll be steel chairs or no chairs. I thought we’d have to make do with the clinical, grey, steel, old chairs before they, too, are taken up. But at the next turn we saw them greenish-blue cushioned chairs! Hallelujah! After dragging another bench from another area, we had enough cushioned seats for the two of us to sleep on.

And so there we were, at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the departure hall, between rows R and S, on the strait between JAL and China Airlines, two thirty in the morning, with limbs clutching our bags, sleeping on China Eastern pillows. Sleep was good.

We slept through the bright lights of the departure hall, the humdrum of vacuum cleaners, and the quick-rhythmed click-clocks of Thai airport staff who didn’t look twice at this airport-turned-hostel. Only when the sun came up did we awake to find crowds of people waiting to check-in. Indians with larger-than-me plasma TVs lining up at oversized baggages, Japanese and French crowds waiting around, and Arabs eyeing our seats. When I sat up, a Japanese guy sat next to me clutching his newspaper but his eyes were glued to the doors. He made occasional calls to Meridien since he left his passport and was waiting to have it delivered.

As the sun lighted the airport, we chewed on mints and went on our way to our hotel, now taking with us some airport sleeping know-how.

He said police had set up checkpoints across the city.

“This is in response to the rumours that there will be a series of bomb attacks in the city after the royal cremation,” he said.

Read about the latest violence in Bangkok protest.

It’s only mid-November and this place is freezing. It’s one to ten degrees celsius today, even with the sun.

So tomorrow we’ll be off to where the sun’s heating system is on, full blast, year-round, and drown our stomach and intestines in coconut milk from curries. And whatever else.

And, as this reporter put it sarcastically on the Straits Times’ blog:

When I invite friends back home to visit me here in Beijing, they usually turn me down. The most common excuse is that there is nothing safe to eat.

That is just nonsense. As long as you steer clear of milk, chocolates, cookies, ice-cream, fish, poultry, pork, eggs and oranges, Beijing is a real food paradise.

Haha. So we’ll be feeding ourselves what we’ve been deprived of and attempt to neutralize whatever poison we’ve been consuming.

Or buy some and sell them to hypochondriac foreigners here.

Will also be stocking up on curry pastes and fabulous ikan bilis. Tell me if you want some, I’ll be having web access when I’m in Bangkok.