Krung tep mahanakhon!

I can just repeat "Krung tep mahanakhon" for 10 times.

So, I just came back from a vacation in the City of Angels with a few of my closest friends. This is also my first trip alone without parental control (other than those with schools) and I was so hyped! Particularly because I planned for the whole trip from top till end, with a little help from Samuel of course.

THE SHOPPING

Need I say more? The "shop till you drop" lingo is definetely true, no doubt. We didn't even bother to see scenery or what not because " We Are There To Shop!" I had a chance to venture the famous 7-storey Platinum Mall for 4 hours and my verdict is!!....

Meh. I don't like it. For the benefit of doubt, I bought a few great pieces from there and clothes there are of better quality and design as compared to markets. But, prices there are a bit jacked because many shops get their stocks from wholesale markets and resell there. There were Singaporeans every 50m which wasn't very comfortable since I might spot someone wearing the same piece back home. Nah. My spending rationale there was YOLO but I ain't buying anything mainstream.

Union Mall was another favourite place because it's less crowded and there were GUYS STUFF. So the 4 guys among us had things to do. Although I didn't buy anything much there, I would say the pieces are less mainstream, more special, but a little more expensive. Besides, there was a variety of food in the mall (by variety I meant international) and I really liked the feeling of walking in an empty mall.

As for the markets, we went to Pratunam morning market which operates the whole day, but from 5-8am it's at wholesale prices. So, I dragged the guys and forced them to wake up at 5am to accompany us. This was where I got most of my loots; around 13 pieces for 2 hours. The boys went to lim kopi after 20 mins.

The best market in Krung Tep Mahanakhon will be the one that has no tourists, most locals. And that is SAPHAN PHUT. All of us had a great time there and most of the buying was done by the guys. I enjoyed shopping with them, giving comments and laughing at their choice. That was a really great night. I highly recommend people to try this market but the only thing, is that it's quite far from civilization and only a cab can bring you there. But be careful not to be "chopped" by the drivers. 150 baht should get you there.

Chatuchak and Siam are the mainstream places which I quite enjoy, but I shouldn't digress since it's so mainstream hah.

THE FOOD

Sadly, I said SADLY, we didn't eat much. I was looking forward to Pad Thai for 10 meals straight but we only had it 3 times. 3 pathetic times. And we shared the dish :'( Anyway, the enjoyable thing was we food-hopped; we ordered a bowl, share, and jump to the next stall for the next dish. The best thing was pork intestines rice. SO HEAVENLY. And there was once we ordered from a roadside stall, the menu provided was all in Thai. I YOLO-ed and pointed at longest name and LO AND BEHOLD, heavenly la! Turned out to be some pork spicy rice and goodness gracious, best I have ever eaten. On that same day, another road side stall that sold Pad Thai was damn awesome too. BEST I HAVE EVER EATEN. I regret not ta-pao-ing 10 packs to the hotel.

This is why I can never get sick of Asian food.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

There was this funny incident around Patpong Market where I was suddenly demanded with tissues. Turns out that Samuel had a nosebleed. I freaked out when I saw blood just flowing on the curb of the road. I wasn't going to faint but it wasn't a nice feeling please.. I went to get cold water and extra tissues when that clever boy decides to blow his nose again and more blood dripped on the road. I'm just...like...goodness..why..is..there..so..much..blood. And my friends laughed at me. mehhhh.

Anyway,  it was a great trip due to the company. And really have to thank God for everything because nothing is a coincidence. Including some issues finding the driver to the hotel and checking in, and especially the cab journey was safe. Can't take everything for granted. I was glad I went with this group of people cos they are the ones I grew up with, and most likely the ones I'll grow old with. There was connection in fun, laughter and in God also. Really thank God for everything. And after this trip, I found a new calling in life: plan for more trips. I enjoyed doing everything from booking to researching to bringing people around. And someday I hope I can plan for my own personal trip alone!

P.S, I finished the whole game of The House of The Dead in an arcade. And I demonstrated a zombie when asking for L4D in a LAN shops. #TheThingsWeDo.

Life in a book?

It's rather late now, considering the fact that I have to get up early tmr, and teach sec school kids who are just running around, refusing to sing.


So, last week's LDP we played a mini ice breaker, where we were given little rectangular cards consisting of questions and we had to answer them. These questions are more likely to be asking "Would you choose Subway, Macs, or KFC" rather than "Who is the 37th president of the USA" kind of thing. You get the idea.

I picked a hard one, "What would be the title of the book of your autobiography (besides your name)"? It got me thinking, and I never thought so hard during a game. I was stumped when I got called to share my answer, because thoughts were just racing through my mind, trying to squeeze something that would impress, yet not too cheesy to cringe at.

And so, the title "How to fail successfully" birthed. I was sharing my initial thoughts that I didn't want something too mainstream, like "The Life of Priscilla". I thought about what has happened in my life so far, and I guess failure sums it up pretty much. But, the story "ends" being successfully through the fruits of failure. Not to wallow in self-pity, I'm actually kinda proud of some failures I've faced. Example, choosing to repeat JC1. People have been telling me how noble I am, deciding to spend another year in college despite meeting the mark. But truth is, at that moment, I was damn willing. Most (if not all) of my closer friends had to repeat. I hated H2 CLL. I disliked my class. Repeating seem like a good option. So there, I appealed to the school, and I rejoiced when it got accepted. I started my new term with a new class, a new subject (econs)- which happens to be the love of my life only until I discovered it - tada happy ending.

Well, things are not always rosy isn't it. Honestly, there were times where I felt I might have made the wrong decision. Sometimes when I see same-aged friends already moving on to uni, I wonder where I'll be if I didn't make that choice. Actually, is getting all As for A Levels really that crucial? I doubt I'll do THAT bad for A Levels. Sometimes jealousy arises, I'm still stuck here while people has moved on.

Looking back, I think choosing to repeat was definitely a failure that I encountered, be it was a free, affirmed decision, there were times that the social stigma was enforced on me. I felt bad about myself, seriously doubting my own abilities. As the chinese proverb says, failure is success' mum (正所谓，失败是成功之母), I felt compelled to work hard and prove people wrong that retainees can do well - and I did! And this leads to another success story; scholarship.

There were also many other instances where I felt that the failures were a stepping stone to my success, but I guess it's personal to share it here. However, I must definitely credit God for turning an extreme to the other; 危机变转机. Couldn't, wouldn't, have done it by myself. So, if I were to write that autobiography, it's subtitle would be "with God".


P.S, if only I have the ability to write a book.

Self-judge

Back from a 4 day adventure camp in Taman Negara, Malaysia!

I was resenting myself for signing up on the journey there. I knew no one, had to sit beside a stranger (that I got to knew soon) for the whole bus journey, and BTSA with annoying sec 3 kids that don't know how to shut up. My friends and I were all split up. Throughout the whole bus journey, I was constantly reminded of Perak in 2012 and how fun was it with people that I was close to, and it wasn't a chore. Now, this was a responsibility, which totally made me felt sian.

Anyhow, through the first day, I got to know the others (thank God) and it became a little more comfortable. We had an array of activities for the 2 days and it was SO TIRING. I had fun in especially caving and trekking, something that I thought I hated. I guess people do change. I'm gonna sign up for SMU extreme sports camp hahahaha.

Throughout the whole trip, I came to realise that sec 3 kids nowadays are so pampered that they expect to be taken care of wholly. As if the responsibility of their welfare lies solely on us. Whining is a good example. I can't stand whining seriously, and these kids just.can't.stop. There was this very striking experience during caving that I don't think I'll ever forget; so 4 of my students decided to not carry their day-pack but brought along a 1.5 litre water bottle. Since caving required their arms free (sorta), they conveniently passed the bottle to my friend, asking him to carry it for them for the whole trip. IKR, and because of that, his already injured knee accidentally bumped into a rock. Seeing that, I took on that BURDEN and placed it in my bag. It was so BURDEN throughout the whole trip and I was really pissed at that for not taking responsibility for what they have brought. Choice and consequences, girls. You choose to bring a bottle without a bag, you jolly well take responsibility and not assume that someone else will carry it for you. That's what I hate; them assuming that someone will be there to relieve their burden of carrying a bottle. Worse still, after a long while, I returned it to them expecting that they would be automatic, but, I ended carrying it again..

Plus, some girls can't beat an egg during outdoor cooking.

My friend and I were also discussing if high IQ meant low EQ on the bus. The class we took was a triple science class, and I felt that some of them lack self-awareness. For the benefit of doubt, this was only observed on some students. I felt them some of them (girls) were really rude to their teacher. I understand that a teacher and a student can share a good working relationship, but what I got was that the boundary was crossed. There were girls shouting at the teachers "Mr ______, COME HERE!", so on and so forth. I was so shocked!

I don't know if this is the face of the new generation, because it scares me. I hope this was only subjective to this class that I've met. I begin to recall what I was like in sec 3, which was 5 years ago. To think I always say "5 years is a generation", I am turning old. I guess I complained during my sec 3 camp, I screamed and shouted on the bus, running around trying to snatch each others' passport all that kind of shit, but I don't remember being so dependent on someone else for my activities. I don't remember being so rude, and I remember doing what I needed to do, although with slight whining. Some of the students see themselves as big as the world, and I can't help but worry if their mindset is gonna change. All in all, I self-judge, but I secretly hope I was better 5 years ago.

Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun. I had the experience of being a teacher, which includes having supper, late nights, private rooms and beds, air-con, not having to sit under the hot sun, better food etc. I don't have to sleep on hard floors or suffer the agony of bathing in dirty and cramped toilets with the rest. It was a nice adventure camp. Plus, I made some new friends! Didn't regret signing up for it even though it wasn't even my secondary school.