Yes ladies and gentleman, after the virginal ride crossing 3 borders to reach Hatyai on my TA150, snowparang once again embark on a gruelling 3000 km round trip to Phuket! Besides the challenging ride, what calls for the occasion is that the period is also the  New Year for the Thailand known as Songkran. What's Songkran? Find out more at http://sunsite.au.ac.th/thailand/special_event/songkran/index.html.

For the impatient, photos all at http://www.pbase.com/snowparang/phuket2006

Names of places courtey of Pauche. Check out his forum entry at http://www.singaporebikes.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=99714&st=240

Prologue

Just prior to the trip, a sense on uneasiness was on me, no thanks to my stupid bike, the Honda CB400 aka Super 4 I've bought to replace my trusty phantom. I though it was famed to be a reliable and bullet proof bike. However, just owning it for 3 months and riding it for 2 months, I have already did a few repairs (leaking radiator, leaking water pump, distorted front rim...) and even just prior to the trip, it was leaking fuel at the fuel cock *which stopped mysteriously) and leaking a little wee bit of engine oil at the leftmost cylinder gasket.... And the fact that it was an electrical start and known for sudden electrical failure did not increase my confidence at all. Still, I gambled and went on the trip irregardless, keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best...

Day 1

Organised by the same person that led me to Hatyai, the trip starts at 0000 hr on 11 Apr 06. Now that we're all on bigger bike (mine, and a 200 cc scooter are the slowest), we made it to the border (known as Sadao) in about 10 hrs.

De riguer photo to take at the border

The plan is to stop over 1 night in Hatyai. After the SOP massage, we went for dinner at this BBQ/steamboat place. The highlight during the dinner though, was a piece of tissue with the following written, passed to one of the more yan dao riders at the ice cream booth:

"Hi, can I be your friend? What is your telephone number?"

The buffet spread	Weird style BBQ/steamboat. According to my well informed friends, the 'essence' from the sizzling meat will flow into the soup, making it very tasty....

Day 2

Next morning, after breakfast, we set off to Phuket (around 400+ km). The roads were a little less friendly for high speed cruising, as some of the roads have many exits by the side, with cows grazing and children playing. What's worse, some of the roads were 2 way, and we bikers have to deal with incoming traffic on the other lane. What's worst is that the vehicles in Thailand generally expect bikes to travel under 70 km/h, and keep onto the road shoulder.... But still, we reach there safely in around 6 hr.

Group photo at the Sarasin bridge to Phuket	"Cool" welcome by Phuket bikers, with free cool towels, mineral water and Phuket tourist map, to promote the Phuket Bike week which also happen during Songkran.

We proceed to Patong beach to check into our hotel, Hotel Bayshore. And even though tomorrow is the actual Songkran, there were already LIC (Low Intensity Conflict) breaking out around....

Our hotel. Not bad, highly recommended!	LRRP?
Logistics Support. Buy it now before price inflate tomorrow! (we didn't...)	Caught in the line of fire.

But before imminent war tomorrow, we decided to visit Phuket FantaSea after hearing good reviews and quote like "if you didn't go to Phuket FantaSea, you haven't been to Phuket!", we parted with 1450 THB to enter this themepark, with transport and a buffet dinner provided.

Don't play play, best attraction award leh!	Common hand washing area: good idea Common cloth to dry hands: who needs avian flu?
Elaborate, no expense spared structure of the Grand Elephant Palace, the theatre which the acclaimed show will commence.	They really like their elephants..

But before the much anticipated show, buffet dinner at one of the better decorated restaurants I've been!

Golden arches	Maidens light the way for hungry visitors...."look at the light, not my breasts..."
Seriously, do we really need such 'granduer'? There's 4 of them	The fine sculpture of the theatre.

After a somewhat disappointing dinner, we proceed onto the show. This is my rating:

• Ambience: 9 stars
• Effort: 10 stars
• Facilities, deco, ushering: 9 stars
• Storyline and entertainment value: 2 stars

Okay, so it means it's a disappointing show, despite the pyrotechnics, the 8 acrobats hanging off the ceiling, the wonderful use of wayang kulit, the elephants, the comical Chang and Eng doing magic tricks...I fell asleep after 30+ minutes.

So be warned: "when you go Phuket, must visit Phuket FantaSea!"

Well, it was so bored we decide to numb ourselves...hehe...

Vodka with tangerine....hic...

Day 3

Ahh! The damn vodka, with the fatigue of riding, caused me to overslept till 12 noon. Missed the breakfast, and missed the water melee with the rest. No matter, I set out on my own and decided to brave Songkran with camera in hand, passport and wallet in ziplock. All I can say it's impossible to be dry, though the hot sun actually made the water a welcome treat. But then the sensation of ice cold water splashed onto you is still..brr.....

No mercy!

That ba poh was flashing cars and farangs with her silicone enhanced things...sorry guys, somehow didn't manage to get a clear shot....

It gets worst in Bang La street, one of the most 'happening' street in Phuket. non-outstanding tourist toting expensive looking camera i.e. me are not spared at all...

Fire engine joins in the fun! No fair...	The temptation to get one of these to get even after being doused like 99 times, is very very great. Heck, the shop keeper will splash you if you don't buy!
I will protect thee...	Dancing to the banghra beat!
One of my fav shot. Luckily her bucket is empty when she turned around..	One of the most happening street. Definitely.

At the end of Bang La street, one will be greeted by the famous beach of Patong...

Peace and tranquility, just next to the 'bloodshed'	You can suntan...
...jet ski (1000 THB/30 min)...	...para-sail (700 THB)...
...distract the waiter...	..or just simply 'hang loose'!'

At the end of the day, everyone is wet and happy!

After that tiring walk around Patong and getting myself wet a few times over, I finally met up with the group and we had dinner at a nearby roadside ze cha stall. We had tom yam goong, deep fried fish, BBQ prawns, mussels and some vege. Quite ok, but not really cheap as it cost 220 THB per person.

And what's Phuket without getting a taste of the nightlife? We went to the Dragon Agogo bar/disco which charge one heinekken at a cheap 65 THB. With this one beer in hand, you can watch the girls do pole dance right in front of you. Some guest will show appreciation by slipping notes into their bikini straps. Nudity is not allowed, hence they wore a thong and paste 2 silver star stickers to pass off as legalised sexy dance. And things got hotter when 3 of them began to dish out soap water and began soaping one another in very suggestive position.... Then the guys went to the happening Banana Disco (happening here aptly defined by Paul as 'very easy to make friends'). But then I didn't go cos really quite tired....and not really into making 'friends'... And also, tomorrow I'm definitely not going to miss breakfast!

Sorry guys, no photo allowed! This is all I have:

Day 4

Yup, manage to wake up at 8 for breakfast, and most of us went riding around the island at 9 am. Phuket has several hills and hence nice winding roads which lead to nice scenic view of the sea.

View at Kata view point. You can see Patong beach (further), Karon beach and Kata beach.	Fuck you daylight robbers! Eat my 6x optical zoom!
Like a proud father... Taken at Rawai beach.	Still wanna swim in the waters?
Phuket town from Khao Rang viewpoint	Safe parking at Chalong bay?
Wat Chalong. No visit to Thailand is complete without going to one of the wat. This tower houses the 'sari', the gem like remains after cremation of holy monks. After they die of course....	"You could gain enlightenment and listen to the music of the Buddha...or you could get really lucky and have a pretty lady giving herself to you..."
The 'saris'	Pasting gold leaves

Then we ventured into Phuket Abalone Farm, whereby the natural high salinity and temperature of the Andaman sea makes it very suitable for rearing abalone. Priced at 60 THB for each small size (1-1.5 years old) abalone, we had them in 2 different flavor as well as boiled in a rich seafood soup. They even wash the abalone shells for our keepsake.

Made to impress. They even have a free video show recounting the trials and tribulations of an abalone, from birth to become a satisfying meal for us.	Before: still alive and kicking
After: doing its bid in improving the Thai economy, and satisfying hungry tourists.	I particularly like the soup, though the abalone in the soup still taste of the sea.

Besides offering Thai-bred fresh abalone, the farm, which is just next to the Andaman sea, is good for scenic group photos too!

Some other interesting places we visited was the Sea Gypsies village near Sirey beach. Singing and dancing and drinking beer in the afternoon, while some others are diligently digging shellfishes out of their shell (for sale, I presume). There's also Prom Thep Cape, which sells cheaper t-shirts and boast a good sunset view....which we did not stay for...

Look at the trail of empty shells!

It was too early for sunset, and impatient bikers wait for no one!

For the evening, we adjourned to Phuket Bike Week. Although sadly the focus is on choppers and simliar 'American' bikes and comes with the stereotypical bikers in leather, tattoos and beer belly. Still, it's an eye opener...

Nice artwork on a very stylised chopper.	Way before V Rod, somebody already came up with the concept of a sporty cruiser. Inverted forks, low profile design, chopper styling. Yes I'm refering to Cloud Strife's bike in FF VII.
Power: not impressive. Handling: worst than a wheelchair. Comfort: like horse riding on a ceramic toilet. Getting the attention you seek: Hell YA!	Bikers - rock music - long hair middle age band in leather - Metallica's Nothing Else Matters...
Like in a bad 80s movie...	Dunk the ba poh! Truly a game for bikers...

Dinner? It's FOC provided for bikers at the Phuket Bike Week... hehe...

Day 5

Nothing much on the first half of the day, which mainly involves the ride back to Hatyai. Reach Lee Garden Hotel around 1500, and almost immediately called for Thai massage! Btw I didn't did any massage in Phuket because the price was like 3 times more in Hatyai.

Evening we went to the Asean Trade Weekend Market aka night market lah. Keeping up with the tradition of fabulous Thai night markets, this one did not disappoint too. Pretty huge, and arrange in a similiar fashion as Chatuchak albeit much more walking space and in the cool of the night. Although the initial part of the market was filled with woman's fashion and reminded me of this certain 'Wu Fen Pu' in Taiwan, where certainly the men don't get it.... But back to the night market, I'm wasn't really in the mood for clothes, hence just settled my dinner there.

Fried anything and satay stick anything, all available!	Soup based animal parts. But leaving the soup uncovered does let the mind wander what can fall inside...
Unripe mangoes and crunchy guava. My fav in Korat, don't they look so nice in that lustrous green?	No scorpions though.

Day 6

The weekend market also marks the end of the memorable trip. The next day, we had a quick breakfast and made our way back home pretty uneventfully except or the freaking heavy rain near KL as well as Kulai. But it did clean off the mud on our bikes pretty well!

Epilogue

The fuel leak reappearred on the day of departure from Singapore. It was a small leak, which became a consistent 1 drop per 3 second thingy when I reach Hatyai. But I got it fixed thankfully. Another unknown 'problem' which crept up during this trip is the fact that although the CB400 Ver S is known to be fuel economical, consumption was terrible when I travelled at a consistent 130 km/h, making me ever so wary of the fuel level and distance to the nearest petrol kiosk.

Still, the bike did get me to and fro safely and without much fuss, although now it developed a weird electrical symptom of brakelight becoming hazard light and that the turn signal is different between the front and rear signal lights... So very tempted to sell the bike now... but I think I will further abuse it to Melaka and Genting before I transfer this pile of shit to the next unsuspecting buyer!

Some figures of this trip!

• 2594 km travelled
• about S$180 on petrol (wah, can take budget airline!)
• about 190 litre of petrol consumed
• More than 25 road kills sighted
• Countless bugs killed on my helmet visor
• 4 pairs of naked tits
• 3 incident of getting lost
• 1 bike breakdown
• 0 accident!

And here are some of the things to do, which I didn't:

• Jet ski, para sail, splurge money on the beach!
• Go kart and ATV!
• Bungee jump!
• Banana Disco!
• Waterfall

That's all folks. Where to next, I wonder? Bangkok? Chiang mai?

Me and my dear embarked on our first solo Malaysia trip. Solo as our previous foreign outings always have a large bunch of singapore bikers bringing me around, hence no fear of lost or bike breakdown or whatever...

The destination - Melaka. A small town in West Malaysia, known for it's touristy environment, Dutch/Portugese/Peranankan heritage and home of gula melaka, reknowned chendol and stuff nonya. All the photos here.

Before that, some preparaton required, namely

1. what to do - www.melaka.net, www.singaporebikes.com
2. what to eat - www.melaka.net
3. where to stay - Hotel Puri, BaBa House, Riveria Bay, Aldy Hotel, Hotel Equitorial
4. how to go! - From Hotel Equitorial website, From Hotel Puri website, using the Malaysia map that I have, and lastly invaluable advice from my biker kakis: 'exit Ayer Keroh, follow the Pusat Bandar sign!'

Day 1

Set off 8 PM from AMK. Went to Tuas and took the 2nd link. A quick pump at GP Esso, and off we go at average speed of 110-130 km/h. Fuel stop at Machap and Pagoh (though they were a precaution more than a necessity). Exit Ayer Keroh (no. 231) and followed the Pusat Bandar sign to Melaka. The roads from here onwards were all lit and traffic was actually quite brisk at 1130 pm. Reach hotel Puri and checked in! Drink tea, bathed, watch some cartoon then sleep...

 

Day 2

Woke up at 7+, had breakfast at Hotel Puri. For some reason ShuHann keeps popping into my mind, cos he's the only person I know that complain or rather expect some greatness from hotel's breakfast... Anyway, it was a buffet spread of fried mee, pancakes, wedges, bread and baked beans.

We then took a short tour of the hotel. The hotel is huge, although the front is only the width of a typical shophouse, It's long enough to house a basketball court! There are some nice antique and quaint furniture, but I'm most impressed by the swallows in the hotel. They were all busy, heads hidden in their nest and spitting saliva...yes, we saw bird's nest in the making!

 
 

Then we make our way on foot to the historical sight of Melaka. With places like A Famosa (cannons), Dutch buildings (all painted red!), some churches etc... However, all these were pretty...small scale, not as impressive as I though. Heck even Fort Siloso is slightly more interesting!

The famous Jonker street in early daytime. On weekends the roads are closed and there'll be a night market.	St Paul's church. Pretty much old walls, stone carvings and a one handed Mr Paul.

One handed Paul. Or is it Francis Xavier?	Nope, those are not tombstones. No idea what they are. Old version of bill boards perhaps?

View from the church, It's on top of a small hill...	Guitar toting old man. Maybe it's the good acoustic?

Red walls, as mentioned...	Don't know why is this here, but you don't find this in Singapore!

Dutch maritime musuem I think, disguised as a big ship.	A Famosa - doesn't look as delicious as it sounds... Supposedly very old.

Ah well, since it wasn't very interesting, we took a number of self-portraits for entertainment....

After this morning 'sun tan and stroll', we went back to Hotel Puri to check out (because they have no room for us this day) and transferred to opposite BaBa House. It was cheaper by RM 30, and it shows in the faulty WC, not so updated decor, CMI toilet (the toilet paper is located underneath the shower head! Use your blain use your blain!) and only 4 local channels on TV. But then location is just as good as Hotel Puri and we were not fussy as (and here he pops into my mind again) ShuHann...

For the afternoon itinerary, we decide to give our legs some rest and took the bike out. But first, lunch at Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball Restaurant.

er...whoever is going to Melaka, please try other stalls, like Chung Hwa just next to Hoe Kee... Because this spread (though filling and taste quite good) cost an exhorbitant RM31!! FISH!

THen we got lost a bit trying to find Bukit Cina, which we found out to our dismay is just a chinese cemetary on top of a hill. Yes more climbing! And we got further lost as we try to find Portugese Square, only to find that the square is actually a pub/restaurant/seafood place (something like Marina South) admist a true Portugese town...which only operate at night! At 2 pm, under the freaking hot sun, we decided to proceed to Makhota Parade, the biggest shopping mall in Melaka.

Well perhaps big in Melaka, but having experience MBK, The Mall in Korat or even the new Marina Centre, the Makhota isn't any fascinating. But I did purchase a model of MV Agusta SPR and...one box of underwear. Still, it's worth a visit and may take up to 2+ hours of your time, if given more attention. My dear isn't really a shopper though :-)

And it's bloody hot! Look at the tan on Jo's shoulder, although we're just in the sun for less than 4 hours!

So we decide to head back to the cool (but sparse) hotel room, with ice cold chendol to wash away the heat. Fell sleep after that..... Awoke at 7+ and head for the night market at Jonker's street

Once again, Melaka failed to amaze me...literally. Perhaps going to night markets in Thailand isn't a good way to get introduced to other night markets. Finished it in 20 minutes, went for dinner at this (from hotel's recommendation) restaurant called Ole Sayang along Jln Melaka Raya. It serves baba/nonya dishes. Taste good, but nothing spectacular. Although (thankfully) it's cheaper than the freaking chicken rice!

 

After dinner, decide to go back to hotel (it's really warm leh) and watch Shi Zi Lu Kou with a bottle of Heinekken!

Day 3

Next morning, checked out and came back to Singapore uneventfully (hotel breakfast quite pathetic though...). Though the trip may seem uninteresting and short of attractions to see, there are actually some spots which were planned but cancelled due to timing or weather. Maybe next time perhaps?

• Gedong hot spring (KNN so hot still go hot spring?)
• Umbai grilled fish (along road to Muar, 1 hr away!)
• A Famosa water theme park
• Beaches? Scenic place?
• Tesco and other shopping mall?
• Portugese Square at the right time
• Red light district? Nightspots? hehe...always interested in this..to look see only lah!
• More food tasting! Along Jln Melaka has many restaurants. Not to mention the weird stuff in Jonker area. Satay celap, pineapple tarts, more chendol, Baba and Nonya stuff...

Where to next? Genting? KL? Penang?

V: "This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Evey :"are you like, a crazy person?"...

Some more animated gifs!

   

     

And now, something to look forward too..but darn, it's in 2007...

...so I can watch the fucking Final Fantasy Concerts!!

It started with 20020202...

http://www.rpgfan.com/soundtracks/20020220/index.html

The response was very good in Japan, and with the hunger of the Americans for Japanese stuff (anime, PS2) and no doubt also the lure of their shiny green dollars, Uematsu unleashed the power of game music played live once again...

http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/concert/dear_friends.html

And of course it's a huge hit! So they decide to do....a TOUR! In bloody US only though....sigh....

What spark this post? First thing: an incidental find on a bittorrent site led me to this:

http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu/concert/more_friends.html

It's one of the 'tour' concerts but what's unique is that it has a CD recording! Owls arranging a medley of FF VII songs (he promised...) should need a copy of this for some inspiration. The CD started with the usual applause, then the errie but yet familiar long, high notes, echoed by a harp...the starting theme one hear when one play FF VII! I didn't think it was nice when I played the game (oh well, not as 'outstanding' as FF VIII opening theme at least...) but here it's brilliant!

The second reason? Haha...because Masak played a Final Fantasy theme song not too long ago, last saturday at Genus concert! And yes, it's because I was searching for that version of Suteki Da Ne (the one I had has a different solo) that I chance upon More Friends....

On a side note, I must say our performance as a whole it's quite alright, though we were a little too fast (my fault I think!) and the sound balance is not right. But who cares, as the audience is mesmerised by the fine flute playing from Owls and flawless solo by Shu Hann?

ps...support original! Buy one for me here!

Well, not those Jack Neo's type, but the indie or rather smaller scale production that for some strange fucking reasons, never got publicised nor distributed around.

Except the Tammy video of course....

Well I think the hype for local produced short films started with Royston Tan's 15, a story of young ah bengs or punks. Won some prizes of course, but how many people have watched it? I have the 30 min if you want, email me, or you can watch a slightly low res version at http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcpTjNUPp8

But what spark this blog is the new short film by Jacen Tan. He was slightly well known in his previous successful short film Tak Giu ('kick ball') and now he has another one call Zo Peng ('enlist army').

Must watch! Too bad for those with no broad band though...

Yup, yesterday was my 27th Birthday. So just in case you're desparate for a gift and also more desparate to get into my good shoes, here are some nice little playthings you may wanna consider....

Update: I am so tempted to buy this (click link).... but S$135....OMG...

Presenting..... Final Fantasy Advent Children toy set!

The Bad guys....

 

The good guys...

 

And the cool guy...

*rubs hands with glee....*

Well Michelle said she did some 'magic' to her blog and that I can't locate it in google or technorati....well she's right!

Anyway, as usual curiosity got the better of me and I tyoe 'snowparang' into technorati...and found this: http://cowboycaleb.liquidblade.com/index.php/archives/2005/10/18/liddat-still-can-blog/

But still I'm still left wondering how she got to know your blog....anyway, have you done the meme? Mine is done but I do not know who to link to....

Ah dui, dear Karen tagged me with this disease called Meme but didn't give specific instructions...but somehow I managed to understand..

Five weird habits of mine:

1. I bite my nails and tap my front tooth using my thumb nail when I'm thinking
2. I WILL fall asleep in a moving land vehicle (bus, car, taxi), even if the journey is only 5 minutes.
3. I breath through my mouth.
4. No matter how badly dried up, bloodied or painful my lips are I do not use lip balm!
5. I can fall asleep (and comfortable so) in a kneeling position, body curled over and head on the ground in front of my knees. My friends call it the 'Mecca sleeping technique'! I've used this to great advantage on uncomfortable long distance bus rides, wet and cold moutain hikes and any other places where I find it a little too hard to fall asleep...

Unfortunately I still have not though of who to link this to....so this is incomplete ok....

Well for those who don't know, I'm actually allergic to Paracetamol or Panadol. So please don't feed me with these common medication!

But that's only slightly relevant to this post. I'm still in Thailand, and as you can see from my previous blogs good food is abound in this Land of Smiles.

So are some.....Fear Factor food...

In a nutshell, the worms (those they buy in aquarium to feed the Jin Long Yu and LuoHan) taste quite good actually when fried well, with a strange nutty taste. The slightly fatter worms, though, has a slightly squishy centre which may not be THAT palatable to the common man.

But that's nothing compared to what I'm going to try:

The pincers are very hard! And crunchy as expected. I do not know what seasoning they used to fry the bug, but it taste vaguely like....chicken essence? The head though, is nice, with the right blend of crispiness and taste.

The adomen part, however is TERRIBLE! Soft and bitter, it fit the taste of what I imagined an insect will taste like!

The best part is, after eating the 2 pincers, the head and half the adomen, I began to feel an itch around my lips and mouth! OMG. Then I began to feel dry in the throat......I had a similiar situation when I ate an innocent looking sandwich, which later developed into red rashes around my whole face....

So I just gulped own a bottle of water and 'detox' with some mangoes and fried bah kua....seems to help! Lucky ah, else cannot imagine the consequences when they knew I report sick because...I ate a scorpion!

Who wants? I can pack a few from here to Singapore...