September 2007 archive

Neung bpee

Thursday, 6 Sep 2007 | Journal

This morning one year (neung bpee) ago, I landed in Bangkok with my suitcases full of clothes and no ticket home. Actually, I had no home to return to anymore. Thailand was going to be my home for a while, I had no idea what the future held for me at that time.

The year that followed splits up into two parts, first six months of doing no working and then six months of doing nothing but working. I remember the first few weeks were quite difficult for me. I was still dealing with having said goodbye to so many loved ones. This ended when I moved into my own place after a short vacation during which I think I let go. I ‘set up shop’ in my own place and settled in for some well deserved relaxing. Boredom kicked in after a few months, so I decided to look for and found a job. The biggest surprise was landing a job in Thailand, which I really never expected to happen. After starting work, Thailand really did become a home for me. I think strengthened by the frequent travel abroad, coming back to Thailand every time underlined this was really my home. And although I’m still relatively new here, I feel this has really become my new home.

In actuality, I’ve lived in Asia for only one year now. But I’ve seen so many incredible things, met so many interesting people, did things I never did before and thought thoughts I never thought before. My life has changed dramatically and in my opinion for the better. Arriving here a year ago seems like a lifetime away.

Food poisoning

Wednesday, 5 Sep 2007 | Life in Asia

Some of the best food in Thailand I have had, was bought from a roadside stall and in those cases more often than not eaten while sitting right beside speeding motorcycles. I guess the exhaust fumes add an extra dimension to the food. Surprisingly enough, at least to some, is the fact that I have never gotten sick from eating streetfood.

I’ve never really worried about hygiene when eating in Thailand, I simply adhere to a few simple rules when buying streetfood but when it comes to restaurants I generally don’t worry. I have this theory that you will only get sick when you start to worry about getting sick. This point was proven when I first went to India and got quite sick following that visit, from a 5 star hotel no less. I was carefull during the entire trip there about food hygiene and ‘worried’ about it. And indeed I got sick. In a place like Singapore, I would never worry about food hygiene. Imagine my surprise when I got sick during this trip.

There is this Chinese snack, no idea what its called but it is minced meat pressed into ‘coins’ using some kind of glazing that makes the whole thing taste sweet. I love eating it when I get the chance, could blindly walk you to a shop selling just this in Hong Kong. So when I saw it in Singapore, I got myself a handful and happily munched on them walking down the street. No harm done. But a couple of hours later at the dinner table, I wasn’t feeling all that good. I just thought it was hunger. But a few bites into the dinner, I started feeling a bit sick. I’ll spare you the details, but I made it back to the hotel. I went to bed, shivering and waking up all through the night. The following day one of recovery, but soon back up to speed.

Nonetheless, food poisoning for the second time in one year. Neither of them in Thailand.

What do you mean a single entry 3 month visa?

Tuesday, 4 Sep 2007 | Journal

The reason for this trip was to get a new visa. After the trip, many people told me I can actually get the visa I need in Thailand. But our lawyer told me I have to fly abroad to get the visa I needed (non-immigrant multiple entry business visa, a mouth full) and so I flew down to Singapore.

All the paperwork was put in a neat little folder and all I had to do was fill a form at the embassy and wait 2 hours in line to submit my application. Submitting it took the whole of 10 seconds, including waiting for the change of the 40 euro application fee. I was told to come back the next day to pick up my visa. And that is what I did, only to find a single entry visa valid for only 3 months. A bit surprised, I enquired about this and the embassy lady told me the Singapore embassy does not issue one year visa. Nothing personal, just didn’t happen. The lawyer acted a little surprised, but I guess simply had outdated information.

Back in Thailand, a lot of people told me they simply got their visa in Bangkok. So I was relieved. A bit annoyed that the company had incurred all those expenses for no good reason really, but relieved things were looking on the upside and I didn’t have to travel somewhere else to try and get the visa there. So the ball started rolling and preparations being made, until it turned out that for certain legal reasons I would not be able to get the one year visa I needed inside Thailand. Great, all this clarity.

Still unclear what the outcome is, I have a visa for the next three months and so I have a while to get this mess sorted. Or rather, my boss does and he is working several different angles. I might be able to get one in Tokyo during my upcoming visit. Who knows … visa tales to be continued.

Singapore, boring Singapore

Sunday, 2 Sep 2007 | Journal

Just about exactly 6 months ago I was in Singapore for the first time and encountered a city which I thought was a bit boring. This was really confirmed on the weekend. I arrived in Singapore a few days early for some fun and games.

So what does one do for fun and games in Singapore? One goes shopping. I think the Singaporeans have an even greater love of shopping malls than the Thai do, plus the expendable income to spare. And so on Saturday afternoon I joined the masses (and I do mean masses) going in and out of shopping malls. My Airport Express wifi base station recently died due to a power surge in my condo and so I waited with buying the new Airport Extreme for this trip as it saves me 20% from the Bangkok price. I was also very happy to find Gap stores in Singapore and got myself a new pair of jeans there.

What else is there to do in your spare time in Singapore? Sentosa! The people of Singapore complained to the government that there was nowhere in the city to really kick back and relax. And so again, in its typical manner, the government designated an island as ‘recreational’ and built a Disneyland like holiday experience. It was fun to sit on the cable car onto the island, see the big Merlion, see a 3D movie, etc. but it was all so … organised. — [Go to the site to see the photos]

“Yes, but Mr. President, we don’t even have our own soccer team to cheer on!”, is what the people said. And so Singapore formed its own soccer team. They imported talent from all over the region and on tv they have this commercials promoting the soccer team. Like I said, ultra organised.

And it is exactly that over-organisation that puts me off about Singapore. My first impressions of Singapore last year were pretty much underlined during this trip. I do enjoy the shopping a lot more than I do shopping in Bangkok, because I’m not perceived as a ‘farang-have-big-money’ here. And walking around the streets everything is really well organised. It is easy to get around, everything is up to standards, everything works, etc. I wouldn’t go as far as calling Singapore itself a Disneyland experience, but it does have certain similarities in that it is one single type of feeling throughout the whole place. What really gets to me is even when I want to get a taxi I have to cue up!

I guess I prefer in a place that is a bit more dynamic. Thats probably why I love Hong Kong (its been a while, I should go visit soon) so much - it does have all the comforts that I so much appreciate. But it also has the back alleys and weird places and odd experiences that I so enjoy in for example Bangkok. Singapore is completely void of that experience.

Tiger Airways, not recommended

Saturday, 1 Sep 2007 | Journal

Found myself at the airport again this morning. It was about 24 hours since I arrived back from Delhi and I’m now heading towards Singapore for a few days. I booked a ticket on Tiger Airways, one of those low-cost airlines here in the region. First time. Last time.

Upon check-in I requested, as I always do, a seat with some extra space for my legs. Either exit or bulkhead, whatever, I just need somewhere to put my knees. “Sorry Sir, all full, I cannot give you”. Ok, well, my own damn fault because I didn’t show up early enough. These things happen. (What sucks more is that when you do go to the airport on time, you do get assigned an exit seat, you happily spend those hours at the airport and then it turns out not to be an exit seat - happened to me on the flight last night). Anyway, a rather rude check-in staff was the first indication.

Then I got to the gate, boarded the plane and …. damn, how much seats can you cramp into one plane. I know I’m not ‘Asian size’, but this is ridiculous. I simply could not sit in the chair. I had to sit sideways but the armrest in the middle had to be moved down as well. Basically, the lovely ladies of Tiger forced me to do circus acts. As soon as the ‘fasten seatbelts sign’ had been switched off, I shoot to the first row. Because guess what, only a handfull of seats on the entire plane were taken. The exit rows were empty and the first row was empty. What the hell!

So I sit down, happy as a boyscout on summercamp, comfortable seat for the 2.5 hour flight! Great. What sandwich do I want? Um, I don’t know, I’ll have this one. Oh I have to pay? Thats okay, forget it. I have a sandwich right here, I was planning to eat that before boarding but I ran out of time due to the immigration holdup. What do you mean I can’t eat it, why not? Excuse me, because its “not fair to the other passengers”? You mean its not fair because you wont make any commission, right? I don’t have an issue with having to pay for food onboard an airplane. I do have an issue with not being allowed to eat my own food. But whatever, its a budget airline and a 2.5 hour flight. I’ll have a coke. And I’ll pay USD 2 for that.

I sort of wanted to ask if it was okay for me to use my laptop, as it might not be fair to the other passengers that I have one and they dont. But I decided not to act like a disgruntled kid and just be quiet. I did ask for a pillow, which makes working a bit more comfortable. They didn’t have them.

So, Tiger Airways? Not recommended. I’m happy I’ll fly back on another airline. My previous experience with AirAsia was bad too, but mostly due to the other passengers and not the staff itself. I paid a bit extra for priority boarding on the return flight, AirAsia does not do assigned seating so being (one of the) first on board will give me a better chance of a good seat. Ah, the perils of being a tall frequent traveller, am I boring you?