the silent pixel

Finally found the time to upload some pictures from my Bangkok trip. Honestly, I wish we had more time to explore the city. When you hear so much about a certain place, there will no doubt be a certain expectation set… which I didn’t get to fulfil. That means – I didn’t eat till my pants explode or shop like a crazy person.

There’s only one solution to this – I’m coming back to Bangkok.

In the meantime, here’s some of my observations from my 4 days, 3 nights stay.

Malaysians are accustomed to standing on the left side of the escalators, but in Thailand, it’s the right side.

Always ask for metered taxi. I thank God for the friends who stood up to those who refused to use their meter.

Tolls in Bangkok are expensive! We complain about our RM1.50 tolls but theirs are 50baht (RM5).

What potholes? The roads are (almost) potholes-free.

Thai ice tea is the bomb!

Pasar malam every night. :)

The sun rise and sets earlier than in KL. 6pm = 8pm KL time.

Temples, temples everywhere.

They love their royals! Pictures and posters are found at shopping malls, along the streets, buildings, etc.

Electrical wires dangling everywhere! I swear one day someone will get caught in it.

Part One - Singapore for the second time

This will be a three part post because Tumblr don’t allow more than 10 photos at once I have lots to share!

My first time in Singapore was unexpectedly pleasant and filled with touristy activities (museum visits and tourist spots sightseeing). This time around, everything was go-with-the-flow.

Literally slept more than I should and drank more cider and wine than my body could take. My mom and I were fortunate enough to get a discounted rate at Marina Bay Sands Hotel (OMG!). Probably the most prestigious hotel in Singapore. So prestigious that EVERYBODY wants to stay there. So prestigious that it becomes a TOURIST ATTRACTION!

Have to admit, I usually avoid hotels like these during my holidays – because, what’s the point of rushing with the crowd? (especially during breakfast buffet??? See picture of queue here)

But while there was a leaky tap at our bathtub and stains on the pillow, I was able to overlook those flaws because of the spacious bathroom, the amazing view and THE GODDAMN INFINITY POOL!

The pool… the pool that received lots of raves from people and the pool that is so overcrowded with earthlings that it’s probably filled with child’s pee (I am not kidding). But it’s one freaking awesome pool! We chose to go at night so we can witness the panoramic night view and hide the less than impressive bikini bod.

Not that our room did not have a panoramic view of Singapore – The Fullerton Hotel and Merlion was right smack opposite our room window (erm… after the MBS Shoppes, then the ArtScience Museum and across the 4 meters Singapore River). So near yet so far.

The rustic town of Ipoh – Exploring this place is like venturing to an old ‘kampung’ I never had. After a rather punctual train ride and getting lost for almost an hour, it was almost instant that I knew I have to come back again (this time with my family / friends – and a car!).

Back in KL, my chicken rice is often prepared by a hired-foreigner who sometimes speaks very little English. In Ipoh, any meal of all sorts is mostly done by a local; an elderly local, if I may add. My RM3.60 bowl of Assam Laksa was cooked by an 80 year old aunty. #blessed

Now that i'm finally off for a week, i'm searching for the next thing i can sink my teeth in before i go back to the hell-hole work. I've been following quite a number of travelogues and my favourite so far is Michelle's A Minute Away From Snowing. She tell it like it is and i love, love her photographs! 

2014 is just a week away and i'm planning my first oversea's trip alone. It's scary to actually think about backpacking in a foreign land by yourself but i can't wait to see what adventure or trouble (LOL) i get myself into. 

Although, my ideal choice of backpacking to another city is perhaps somewhere in Europe but let's be honest, i can hardly afford to buy my own beer sometimes. So, now i'm looking at countries around Asia as my first attempt.

Funny story? The first thing i Googled was not, "Best Asian countries to visit". It was "Safest Asian countries".You can't blame a girl, alright. I want to stay alive and un-traumatized when i come home.

"It's not all about the megapixels," they said. I guess in some ways or another, I have to agree. Being one of those lazy days where a big-ass camera seems just overly tiresome, I had to rely on the iPhone, which has many times saved my oops-photo-opp-emergency days.

The best friend found this hidden gem in the heart of Damansara and it’s now one of my favourite places to photographed. Mostly because I love brick walls and the chateau-lookalike architecture is so darling! Future house inspiration? Checked! Future boutique hotel? Checked and checked!

The building is now pretty much empty, newish and kinda abandoned first floor up but walking through the might-be-restricted area, I can definitely see more hipster style cafes and cool jazz lounges popping up there.

It was definitely the perfect weekend for a family trip. With my trusty chucks and zoom lenses, I was all set to take pictures of the beautiful paddy fields in Sekinchan.

Driving along the small roads, there was literally acres of acres of green, unharvested paddy. It reminded me a lot of uncanny movie scenes of couple running towards each other (What?). 

I'M BACK!

Has it really been 5 months since i last updated this space? I guess i'm pretty lousy at this. But the past 5 months till now hasn't been the same since. Started working. Earn some living and magically suddenly have bills to pay. Oh... and I started a $50,000 commitment. Perhaps the biggest yet.

It hasn't been easy juggling life and work. But i'm still at that phase where i'm figuring out how to balance those two. I have to say... thank God for these people in the photographs above. 

♥

Yummy Baked Sweet Potato Chips!

Nothing says healthier snack like some baked vegetable. I had some sweet potatoes lying around and decided to baked them after I saw this recipe! The recipe calls for olive oil, paprika, and kosher salt, but all i had in my kitchen were normal vegetable oil, some curry powder, and normal table salt. Worse of all, I didn't have a mandolin, so I used a knife (but you could use a peeler, if you prefer thin slices).

Note to self: Buy a mandolin! (makes life easier)

It turned out surprisingly good. I guess sweet potatoes can do no wrong. Next time. I'll try some other spices.

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato

2 teaspoon vegetable oil / olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon curry powder (or any preferred spice)

Instructions:

Preheat oven at 200 Celsius.

Unless the sweet potato is organic, peel the skin off and slice the sweet potato into thin slices.

In a bowl, add potatoes, oil, salt, and spice  and toss it with your hands.

Arrange slices onto baking sheet. Do not overlap. Bake, flipping halfway, until crisp and golden (approx. 20 minutes).