Breakfast Buffet at I-Residence Hotel Silom (Bangkok)

I love mornings at I-Residence Hotel Silom for so many reasons. Located along Narathivas Rachanakarin Road, the hotel stands just at the footsteps to the Chong Nonsi BTS station. It has a 24-hour convenience store nearby. A fruit vendor occasionally sells those sinfully sweet Thai lansones. 

In the morning, I would leisurely take my time before the 10 AM breakfast cut-off at the 10th floor. I'd stuff myself then head to the adjacent swimming pool. I'd usually sit near the balcony where there's view of the skyline, not to mention the chance for a lazy trainspotting. For those who love their morning meals, don't wait til the very last hour because they usually don't replenish the buffet stock after 9:30 AM.

I-Residence Hotel Silom has a sister branch in Sathorn, but I find this most convenient, with very personable front desk staff. This premium boutique hotel is well maintained. I think it was built sometime 2010.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

BTS Chong Nonsi just in front of I-Residence Silom.

Wat Kaew Korawaram - The White Temple of Krabi Town (Thailand)

Located along Thanon Maharat, the main street where songthaews to Ao Nang wait, Wat Kaew (Wat Kaew Korawaram) indeed looks like a "shiny white wedding cake", as described by wikitravel. The gorgeously new temple, in iridescent white, sits on the top of a hill, accessible through a series of stairs lined with naga sculptures (snake-form deities) from the commercial street.

I have to say that the temple, up close, possesses an eye-popping beauty inside and out. I wandered around and found an old monk tending to the potted plants located around the temple. There were dogs at the other entrance (just outside a winding street) so I steered clear from there though it would have been interesting to check out the periphery of the temple.

Krabi Town isn't the tourist town where most visitors stay. It is at Ao Nang Beach, the "poster child" of Krabi province. Krabi Town is similar to Phuket Town, instead of "Patong Beach" referred by most as "Phuket". It slumbers in midday. I was so hungry when I arrived from Ao Nang (where I was staying), and could hardly find eateries in Krabi Town, or anything that was open between meal time.

This is why I always try not to miss meals during my travels. Because you never know where to find your next gastronomic encounter.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The Sinking Long Tail Boat of Ao Nang (Krabi, Thailand)

I saw a sinking boat while waiting for Ao Nang's famous sunset - a tail boat gradually sinking. And I remember having come across a long'ish poem about sinking boats, probably a metaphor to life. The author, George Krokos, is Greek who now lives in Melbourne. He usually writes about philosophy and the spiritual aspects of life, and of nature. I'd like to share an excerpt from Mr. Krokos' poem here:

The Sinking Ship

by George Krokos

"The ship is sinking and we all have to get out

I wonder if there are enough life boats about, 
that are able to take us safely to the distant shore
where we may live happily for a while once more.

The old boat is going down as it has had its day
and all that we know and love is passing away.
It seems strange and sad how this has come about
but the evidence is clear without a shadow of doubt.

For those who have been prepared the way is certain
but for those who are not there's an invisible curtain
between them and that to where they could be going
as the paths to that destination are not at all showing.

There's been too many changes in a world gone mad
and so many of them have only turned out to be bad.
And when people think too much of themselves and so little of others
they perpetuate ignorance which neglects we’re all sisters and brothers."

The poem is 8 paragraphs long and reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee" by virtue of its sentiment and length, though Poe's poem was more of a homage to a loved one.

Ao Nang Beach is a resort town, a beach community unabashedly geared towards tourism, in the Krabi province of South Thailand. It is located 20 kilometers from Krabi Town where more local activities occur. The mildly chaotic' albeit restless population of Ao Nang is mostly transient. 

That afternoon, by the beach, I realized that even sinking ships have ways of getting out of the water. Isn't that reflective of our own travails and failures? 

This is the Eye in the Sky! 

Grandiosity at the White Temple, Thailand

A holy temple? Nah, it's a singular structure at the White Palace's complex in the Rong Khun area of Chiang Rai. The "temple" is in immaculate white and most times, filled with tourists - truly one of the most gorgeous sites to grace North Thailand. This eye-popping rendition of a temple is built by artist Chaloemchai Khositphiphat. But let me turn right back into the structure above. Hold your breath - literally! It is the temple complex's toilet!

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Suspense and Idyll in Phuket's Patong Beach (Thailand)

I was trying to avoid a Vietnamese monk who was following me around from the airport in Yangon (Myanmar) to Bangkok, then took the bus with me to Phuket. Everything was peachy. After all, what's wrong with traveling with a new friend, right? People do that all the time. But along the way, things turned hairy and I felt like I was being stalked. So I avoided him - and I'd find him hanging around places I'd go. Ever been stalked by a monk? That's one of my contentious "claims to fame", apparently.

One morning in Phuket Town, after hiding inside my room, I rushed out and hopped on a 20-baht (PhP27.50) bus that would take me to the popular Patong Beach, Phuket's "most happening" stretch of beach. Bought my lunch at McDonald's and guess who I found walking by the Phuket coast? My hair stood on end! Literally!

Later that day, I wound up sitting by the beach. The spot was unusually deserted, and I felt tranquil. For a few seconds, I forgot I was avoiding someone. Looking back, it was one of the most surreal situations I have been in. Something to tell your friends about. Or not.

This is the Eye in the Sky! 

Thanaka and Men in Tachileik, Myanmar

A well traveled American girl once argued with me, saying that the "thanaka", a cosmetic paste applied on the face of many Burmese, is exclusively for females. I disagreed because I saw several men wearing them during my Burmese travels. I even asked them about it. Why they use it: 1) cosmetic reasons - culture has them believing that the thanaka lends them more beauty the way make-up and lipsticks do; 2) they cool the face, like mints; 3) they can function as sunblock; 4) they are believed to promote smooth skin and prevent pimples. The active ingredients are courmarin and marmesin. This paste is made from ground bark and you'd easily see the plant sold in sidewalks.

The American girl wouldn't budge of course and I wasn't in the habit of convincing her. I didn't really care what she thought. You see, you can be a seasoned traveler and still be ignorant of the things around you - and it's not going to be worth anything to me. But if she saw this Tachileik boy wearing his thanaka, what would she think? Probably he's a girl? ;)

Tachileik is a border town in the Shan state of eastern Myanmar and is quite far from Yangon or its capital Naypyidaw. I crossed Tachileik from Mae Sai, an "eccentric" northern Thai town. But that's for another story.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Colors From My Wanderings

ORANGE and the monks of Chiang Rai, Thailand.  In a less popular temple in Chiang Rai, I chanced on these monks attending a meeting! Yes, they were discussing something, instead of doing their prayers or chanting.

Light is essential so people can discern the different hues that surround us. Colors make our surroundings vivid portions of our habitat, thus making our lives a little less boring. In this post, I am sharing lots of colors taken from different places all throughout the land. 

My blogger friend Ram - http://sankriti.blogspot.com/ - roped me into this contest, but I was unable to make it on time due to work, which was too bad. Nevertheless, I am posting my chosen photos.  This competition is organized by Travel Supermarket. The rules of the competition are given here: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/capture-the-colour/ . Now as per rules of the competition I am supposed to tag five other bloggers to do the honors. Unfortunately, since I am very late, tagging five others at this point would be useless since I didn't make the deadline. 

But here's hoping these photos would give someone a smile on his/her face.

This is the Eye in the Sky! 


RED

Taken at one of the ancient palaces in Hue, Vietnam.

A school of jelly fish at the Manila Ocean Park, Manila, Philippines

Steel sculptures  enshrined at the National Museum in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Young girls wearing a traditional dress in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal.

A temple along Jonker's street in Melaka, Malaysia.

A small Chinese Temple in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.

Flowers called gumamelas arranged at the well in Eden Nature Park, Davao City, Philippines.

GREEN

A serenely beautiful tea plantation in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

Children picking tamarind fruits in Beng Mealea, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Ruins and the trees in Beng Mealea, one of the sites where "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was filmed, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Street delicacy (a version of the pancakes) in Bandung, Indonesia.

Ruins of the Prambanan Temples and the track leading to the woodlands in Prambanan, Indonesia.

PINK

A Catholic Church patterned after Paris' Sacre Couer right in the heart of Trichy, India.

A neglected roadside temple/altar in the bordertown of Gorakhpur, India enroute to Nepal.

A trike driver in Surakarta, Indonesia.

Horse drawn carriage at the desolate beach in Parangtritis, Indonesia.

YELLOWS & GOLDS

One of the gorgeous Khmer palaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Detail of the roof and ubosot of a temple in Chiang Saen, North Thailand.

A Vietnamese painting on display in Hue, Vietnam.

Sumptuous meal in Negombo, Sri Lanka.

India's version of the Big Mac called Maharaja Mac in New Delhi, India.

How do you pick a single color in Thanjavur, India?

Colors abound in Agra, India.

Painting for faith in Swayambhunath, Nepal.

A fruit stall in Pudokottai, India.

Colorful trinkets in Bhaktapur, Nepal.

BLUE

Taking the bus in Madurai, India.

One of God's most beautiful, natural creations in Pokhara, Nepal, the jump off point for travels to Everest.

YELLOWS

A quiet sidestreet in Kuala Terangganu, Malaysia.

A quiet residential lane - with colorful winding stairs - in Kuching, Malaysia.

SANDSTONE REDS

One of the sandstone-constructed edifices at the Lodhi Garden in New Delhi, India.

One of the stately tombs in Delhi, India.

A temple in Madurai, India.

Liuli Fountain at the Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Delicious concoction a la halo halo in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A reveler at a festival in Solo, Indonesia.

GRAYS AND GREENS

Pool at the Goa Gajah Temple in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.

Concrete Angkorian soldiers in Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

Melting red candles at the Santo Nino Basilica in Cebu City, Philippines.

Once, opium products were openly sold here at the Golden Triangle where 3 countries meet: Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.

Crossing the waters in Sarawak River, Kuching, Malaysia.

WHITE 

Magnificent White Temple in at the fringes of Chiang Rai, Thailand.

A beautiful but mostly ignored temple in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand's shopping istrict.

BLACK

One of the several Black Temples some 30 minutes from Chiang Rai, Thailand - as designed and maintained by one of the country's National Artists.

YELLOW

Blooming flowers in Da Nang, Vietnam

A painting for sale in Kathmandu, Nepal. I was gonna buy this but negotiations bogged down when I was charged 3x the original price I was initially given.