Moving off from Nakhon Sri, and onto what ought to be the highlight of this leg of my Thai escapade - the beautiful Gulf island of Koh Samui. I'd first heard about this place over 10 years ago, when a good friend of mine raved about it after having been there for a holiday with his navy chums. He described the island as Paradise on earth, so needless to say, after over a decade of anticipation, my expectations were high. And I'm glad to report that, while Paradise is a strong word to use, Samui ultimately didn't disappoint. Staying at the busy Chaweng area at the Kluaymay Guesthouse, my first impressions of the beach itself were inevitably in comparison to that of the other beach resort I'd just came from, namely Cenang in Langkawi. In that ... read more

After a rather lengthy 7h sequence of taxi, ferry, sawngthaew, local bus, and lastly motorcyle ride, I finally marked my return to the Land of Smiles with my arrival in Hat Yai, the fourth-largest city in the country, and arguably the commercial heart of the Southern provinces. As a major transport hub, Hat Yai sees hordes of tourists and businessmen from neighbouring Malaysia daily, and walking around the downtown area, it almost seems like I hear more of the Malaysian-Chinese dialects (Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese) being spoken than Thai itself! On several occasions I was greeted by vendors in those dialects, rather than Thai. Quite clearly the Chinese diaspora has had a significant influence here over the years. Yet this didn't come as a particular surprise to me. I'd known my Chinese grandparents had a ... read more

Next stop, Georgetown in the island state of Penang. a place that I have to say I'm not exactly new to. Not one bit. You see, this is my parents' hometown, and my grandma along with other members of my extended family live here, so suffice to say I've been here the odd occasion or so i.e. almost every year since I was a kid! But as far as I remember, this was the first time I'd arrived alone at the bus terminal, and made my way to my grandma's house alone. In the past I'd either arrive with my family, or an enthusiastic uncle/ auntie/ cousin would be waiting to pick me up at the airport. This time, I'd intentionally arrived unannounced, just to see what it would be like, as if I were arriving ... read more

After the lovely start to the trip at Melaka, my next stop after a 5h bus ride was a quick one at the less pretty, and more unassuming city of Ipoh in the state of Perak, in the Central/ West part of Peninsular Malaysia. This city was historically built on its famous tin mines and smelters, and was apparently at one point in time in its rich history, one of the wealthiest cities in Southeast Asia. Somewhat sadly, those past glories seem to be long gone, but the city nevertheless still seems to retain a interesting and balanced mix of colonial heritage and edgy Malaysian reality. You know you're off the tourist track when people no longer speak to you in English by default. It's almost surely Bahasa Melayu first here in Ipoh, until they realise ... read more

And this was my mini pre-Xmas fishing trip cum one-day KL getaway, with a few of my friends (YK, X and RP), some of whom have made special "appearances" before on this blog. The kelong itself was called the "Hot Boys Kelong" (I don't even want to start to explain myself), and it was actually my second time there (...) Basically one of those fishing packages where you pay for board and lodging, which in this case was a creaky old single bed in dormitory-style accomodation, and simple seafood-oriented Asian meals. In return you get to fish from a kelong located in the middle of the sea, from a specially-constructed fish farm, with unlimited smelly squid bait. How could one miss? As I'd mentioned, this was my second time, so I kinda knew what to expect. ... read more