Friday, July 06, 2007

Sojourns in Southeast asia

It is almost a month since I’m back from **what-my-friends-call** a South East Asian trip and I haven’t blogged about it (what a shame especially when one of the reasons to travel is to blog (read brag) about it) And so what if the entire neighborhood and their pets have already been there and done, did I mention that I’m not someone to be so easily discouraged.
A friend of mine in Singapore has been inviting me home for the last couple of years, without having a clue of the danger she is beckoning and so I decided to surprise her (perhaps, she got a shock!)
Well actually I could go ahead and dedicate the entire post to my friend’s posh 7th floor sea-facing apartment and her cutesy set of fraternal twins but I refrain lest it becomes a Sooraj Barjatiya film.

Singapore was an even bigger surprise than Minehaha falls. If you have a sudden urge for chewing gum, feeding birds or throwing papers at random then avoid landing in the Changi airport(which by the way has free internet, there I told you there are incentives) and banish any thoughts of basking in the glory of the sky-scrappers and the lush-green streets of Singapore.
I hadn't planned to do any sight-seeing in Singapore so that I could catch up with my friend , unfortunately the gossip session had to wait until the kids grow up.
So I headed where the tourists in Singapore head to - downtown,Esplanade, Sentosa and Night Safari.

Below are some of my favorite picks out of the album of this trip.

(Painting seen on an elevator)

(Fullerton hotel in Singapore)

Don’t miss the Chinatown where you have salesmen declaring that they eat live lizards (and not as a joke, mind you).(I tried to capture it on camera)



Thailand – the messiah for all those men-in-50s-seeking-a-companion (you know what I mean) must have been guilty about the women tourists which explains why it is a shopper’s paradise.Don't forget to take your shades lest you are hit with the garnish colors , that is Thailand.

Photos below are testimony to the above statement:

(entrance of grand palace)


(golden figurine, bonsai adorns Grand Palace)

(huge poster of Harry potter in Thai in the metro station)

For a country where Buddha is found at every street corner, the Thai cuisine has only non-vegetarian fare but one could still find at some corner(if you are a relentless searcher like me) a veggie version of Pad Thai.

(one of those Bhuddha temples)


Ok, I’m not complaining about India being dirty or it being the only country where men urinate in public, neither am I complaining about broken-door-ambassador taxis unlike the Toyota Corollas which come at the cost of an auto, I’m also not complaining about not getting sexy lingerie at throw-away prices, Neither is it about not having the sky-train or the metro, but yes, why can’t we get alcohol at the prices that are in Thailand? Aren't vacations all about drinking binges?

(You can find more colorful photographs here)