BANGKOK

My trip to Bangkok, Thailand lasted from last Thursday until last night (Sunday)! It was undoubtedly my favorite trip outside of Hong Kong so far. I had a BLAST in Thailand!


First we checked into our hotel...a five-star hotel that Dennis had hookups with. :) The staff were so friendly!


We went to a nearby outdoor food market and had street food! Everything was delicious and very cheap--all a dollar or even cheaper!


We took the skytrain to Siam (central district) to walk around and explore the area. Except, we ended up losing Derrick in Thailand!


Luckily we lost him for two hours and not eternally. HAHAHA it was funny how he got lost because Tiff had told him to go in the wrong direction and ended up going somewhere else herself. The reason why I found it so funny was because we were looking through McDonald's to find him, thinking he might be at that huge Zara store, or suggesting to show a picture of him from Tiff's camera but ended up having only one very dark Asian family photo to show people. And Derrick was actually hanging around McD's for a while until he got our text. LMAO. He is so predictable.


Our first tuk-tuk experience. Tuk-tuks are basically a type of taxi that resemble golf carts and motor-powered. I'm guessing they call them tuk-tuk because of the sounds they make. Anyway, they're super fun to ride in because there's limited space, no seatbelts, and you're right up against other vehicles so you are pretty screwed if you get involved in an accident. Hahahhaa. Nevertheless they are useful in navigating through Bangkok's horrible traffic and they're great for sight-seeing!


We went to Sriracha Tiger Zoo to see and play with animals! This thing is so cute .__.


Took pictures with an orangutan! We also took photos feeding a tiger cub, held a snake, and rode an elephant!


YOWWWZA it looks mad =|


Now for Pattaya! We went to the beach and rented beach chairs to hang out. Food is brought to your chair as you order and lots of hawkers come by to ask you if you want food, massage, etc.


I went jet-skiing for the first time! I hesitated quite a bit when I saw the opportunity to since I can't swim, but eventually I just went for it. Hell, I'm in Thailand. I couldn't have made a better decision! Jet-skiing was SO FUN!!! We paid 500 baht a person, which is equivalent to around 15USD. I don't think I could ever get the same rate in America.


Setting off floating lanterns by the shore. It's a Chinese custom (I think) to make a wish on these lanterns and set them off into the sky. Seeing several of these float off at dusk was so magical.


The next morning, we headed out to the floating market! You basically rent your own boat and head down a river where there are SHOPS along the sides. If you ever wanted to see something closer or buy something, just ask the driver to park the boat along the shop and you barter with the shop owner. Everything happens so quickly!


Thai woman selling food from her boat




We went to the grand palace afterwards. This place is BEAUTIFUL. Everything was so ornately designed, even down to the intricate patterns of every pole, wall, and ceiling. I don't think I have ever seen anything like this. Everything about the architecture and materials used (lots of gold) was grandeur and breath-taking.


A nearby street full of gay bars and clubs

After relaxing by the pool at our hotel for a few hours, we all headed out for a piece of Bangkok nightlife! Where else but to Khao San Road?? :)


And how else to get there other than with tuk-tuks?? We had a total of 14 people, utilizing 3 tuk-tuks and 1 cab to get there. Eventually we ended up in a tuk-tuk race! I think this was one of my biggest highlights in Bangkok. Our driver went around 45mph, which isn't all THAT fast for cars, but in a tuk-tuk....holy CRAP I felt like I was going to DIE that night. It was so exhilarating! Our drivers got so competitive that they were revving their motors at the red lights and cutting other cars to get in front. Our tuk-tuk ended up winning the race! That made my night, hahaha.




Boys and their beer. HUBBA HUBBA look at that tank! But we ended up having mai tai served in a bucket. Thai people are not dainty with their liquor.


Khao San road is so ghetto, it's amazing! In the sense that there are signs that explicitly say "STRONG LIQUOR-- We do not check ID cards," people selling fake IDs on the street, and lots of street vendors selling snacks (err...scorpions/larvae/crickets for one certain vendor) and clothes until late. We all got in for free at a club and danced for a good while! Randomly met a trannie and took a pic :P

Our cab ride back to the hotel was not as nice though. The cab driver tried to trick us and took us to the palace unnecessarily (>:[) and we knew because we were there earlier. He tried to play it off by bumping up the American music and pretending not to understand us. The fare ended up being 100+ baht when it was only supposed to be 70 baht at most. Tiff and Alfred ended up trying to run away into the hotel (LMAO wth) while I ended up calling a hotel personnel to help me out. I argued with the driver and won against him. :P Paid him his 70 baht and probably ruined his night (I don't care), but I can't believe I did that to take off the equivalent of one US dollar from the total fare. HAHAHAHA. It was fun though. SUCKA!


Really didn't want to leave Thailand, but sadly, all good things come to an end. I definitely look forward to coming back someday! It's definitely one of my favorite countries in Asia after this trip. Thailand was everything I expected and more!

Foodie Entry

Wowwwwwww I haven't updated in so long! Very sorry. :X

Many things happened in the last few weeks...including my 21st birthday! :) My friends and I went to Itacho Sushi to celebrate. Omnomnom.


The sushi was pretty tasty, but slightly on the expensive side. Oh well!


I also had 3 sake bombs over the course of dinner. It was my first time doing a sake bomb but apparently it was very delicious! Didn't really get buzzed at all, but I'm surprised I like the combination of beer and sake so much! They don't taste good on their own, imo.

Oh, and another thing: Apparently HKers don't DO sake bombs. Everyone in the restaurant looked at us weird and had their mouths gaping open cuz it was the first time they've seen anything like it. Hahahaha. Made me feel all uncomfortable and everything, because that's the ONLY way I've seen beer & sake taken!


<3 my girls that came out :)


Went to LKF to continue the celebrations! Thursday is ladies' night in LKF, so free cover and open bar until midnight for all the ladies!


LKF is packed with taxis taking people home after the subway stops running. It's kind of an interesting sight :)


Not food related, but I went to Wong Tai Sin a couple weekends ago! It's probably the grandest temple I've been to in my life (though I haven't been to THAT many, as I'm not religious). This is apparently the biggest and most famous temple in Hong Kong....I can see why.


Because it's kind of pretty :)


I also went to Huadu in mainland China for a history class trip. This is a wishing tree mimicking the original one in Hong Kong. I bought a wishing...ball (?) for 10RMB, wrote my wish on it, then tossed it onto the tree branch in one try. :) YAY it's gonna come true!


Got a little bored during our field trip and tried to have some fun in one of the ancestral halls ;)


Awesome ice cream dessert I had in Tsim Sha Tsui! The name of the place was really cute too--Tong Yun Gaai, which is a pun in Chinese for 'Chinatown.' Okay I'm not even gonna try to explain it online. Hahahaha.


Eating at undoubtedly my favorite dai pai dong in Fo Tan. That place has never disappointed. I can't believe they can even make lettuce taste SO good! My favorite here is the clams in black bean sauce. UNBEATABLE. SO GOOD. The owner of this place is also really nice, since he gave us a pound of shrimp on the house. They also gave us free chicken porridge the last time we were here too. SO DELISH!!


Something funny we stumbled upon in Yau Ma Tei while looking for the famous Temple Street. Old people outdoors under some crudely made tents....singing karaoke. They were seriously going at it hard with Chinese oldies (the famous ones I know of...like Shanghai Taan...LMAO) and some of them even had props! There were several of these tents next to each other. It was so amusing to watch!


A Taiwanese restaurant in Mongkok called 'Saai Mun Ding' that served rice/noodle dishes and Taiwanese appetizers. It was pretty decent but I'm sure there are better in Taiwan when I visit this December. :)


...This fried curry wonton though, was pretty dang good. It's crispy lumpia skin with ground pork and curry mix inside. Every single bite was highly audible and it was not greasy at all. Okay, maybe a little too crispy.


Beard Papa in Mongkok station. The prices were slightly cheaper than the American standard, AND they served FRESH fruits and cream inside these puffs! It was pretty amazing. The cream and fruit blended really well, but I do wish the puff was a little more fresh to match everything else. Nevertheless, it was really delicious.


After wandering around in Mongkok for a while, we headed to Causeway Bay afterwards since it's famous among locals for shopping. This photo was taken inside Times Square, which had WAAAY too many homo-sapiens walking around--seriously!


Wilson bought these roasted chestnuts from a street-side cart. The chestnuts are roasted by tossing them over a humongous wok with small bits of coal. After it's done, it is incubated to keep them warm inside a metal container. I must say, these chestnuts can get addictive... I need to stop myself from going to the train station to get them since I've seen them outside University stop...


Went to a restaurant called Satay King, which is supposedly pretty highly rated on Openrice.com. We went in early so there were still seats, but by the time we were finished, there was a huge line waiting to dine!


This looks quite unassuming, but it's actually one of their most popular dishes: fried shrimp rolls. Words cannot describe how deliciously complex the flavors are in each of these rolls. Omgah. The amount of crunch was undeniably perfect, and the shrimp was really rich in flavor. Mmm. Would love to go back just to get a couple of these.


A strange choice coming from me, but since I was craving cheese, I went for the baked cheese mushrooms (which is also another popular dish). One of the variety of mushrooms they used were...kind of strange with cheese. I don't know which kind it is, but it was cut too big to absorb the cheese flavor. The other varieties of mushrooms used were great choices, and it was actually really delicious. :9 Portions were kind of small, but I suppose too much of a good thing might be bad? (I don't see it) :P


We randomly walked past this milk dessert place and Wilson (UM, the lactose-intolerant!!) got something for himself. By this time I was already full to the brim, but I tried a bit anyways. Mmmm, needs more sugar. But the dessert itself was very rich in milk flavor. It just could be better if it was sweeter.


Ireland's Potato had a lot of business when we walked by, and I actually felt really sad that I was so full at the time. I looked at the menu and everything looked delicious! This place is rated rather decently high, and I can see why as I nibbled on one of Lannah's fries from here. ABSOLUTELY BOMB, and right out of the kitchen too! Will need to come back here someday.


........Hahahah just kidding, I'm not that desperate. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this more or less FOODIE post! Hong Kong has really delicious food, but I'm pretty sure if I kept eating like this, I'd get effing ROUND and I won't be able to roll myself on the plane to get back to the states come December. After all, there's still Thailand this coming Thursday! And Taiwan mid-December. ;) There's way too much good food in this world I have yet to try...

Sai Kung

Last weekend, we went hiking in Sai Kung! I'd love to commentate but it's 3am now and I'm pretty tired. Just gonna let the photos do the talking :)

















After the hike, we went to the Sai Kung city centre (oh God, I'm spelling things the British way now!) to eat seafood by the pier! :)




(No, we didn't eat this guy)



Andddddddd that's all folks!

I also started a flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thedeportedrapper/
I recently went to develop the film from my Diana Mini and MY GOODNESS I think I'm in love <3 Will play more with my lomo from now on and bring it evvvvvverywhere! Remember to check back for updates! :)