Hogs as Pets in Thailand

It's a Huge Hog

Yes, you heard me... it's a hog and its huge. I don't think they are Thai Doomsday Preppers that plans to make Char Siew buns out of them hogs when it is necessary. They are just some of the unique pet owners in Thailand who keep them pork as pets. Supposedly, they are clever, "The pig knows tricks" said the owner who already have more than 5 dogs roaming around in his shop. Apparently, this is rare but not so uncommon. I have friends who told me they had stumbled into shops or homes of other hog owners too.

Laem Chambang Dinner - Moom Aroi

Football and Dinner

Laem Chambang, a port north of Pattya many us people in the industrial business would visit. En route on the way back to Bangkok, instead of taking the Motorway, one takes Highway 3 in order to reach this restaurant for dinner in Si Racha. Set alongside the beach high, this establishment of Moom Aroi. Its well known, many people were there, we had to wait a little for we made no reservations. Under the starlight skies, the overhanging tress. Wooden tables, weathered chairs, among the bites of mosquitoes we dined the seafood feast. Must bring mosquitoes repellent. Priced leaning towards the higher side, the meal was worth the Baht in quantity and taste.

Entrace

Location

It's Popular

No Reds Allowed in Temple

Temple

There are unspoken rules at temples, as tourist we do not know. Okay some English signs that states dress decent we can read, but it is the Thai written ones that we often are oblivious to. There was a temple I visited, but how in the world am I suppose to know red is a color not allowed and that goes for red underwear too. It offends the deities and no, this is not politically linked. It gets more interesting as the elderly Thais were advising the girls in the group. Menstruation, color red, cannot go in too. Well I guess if for some reasons your vagina turns into a penis after a week of visiting a temple, you know you must have missed a sign written in Thai. Ignorance is not an excuse in the deities eyes. No worries though, there are many hospitals in Thailand that offers sex change operations.

Bird Watching at Bangpu, Bangkok

Seagulls Everywhere

Apparently, according to my girlfriend's mother, Thais had known of this migratory flock of birds that nest in Bangpu to escape winter since 20 or more years ago. So where there's a flock of natural marvel, Thais leverage on the chance and made it a tourist attraction. Going to this place means entering a military compound which ironically, they gladly welcome the public. There's even a big billboard erected at the entrance of the gate with pictures of the flying birds as a big welcome sign. This place is also known as Bang Pu Seaside Resort by locals, there are accommodations in there for rent if one would like to spend 24 hours with the seagulls.

Food for Birds

Along the jetty the flocks mingle, visitors and the migratory birds. WWF a signboard I saw, but nothing the conservationist could do to stop the feeding of them birds by the thousand or so encroaching curious visitors. I was told that this migratory phenomenon only happens during the few months of November till March. But with the ready source of what seemed like fried pork skin selling at 10 Baht per pack for the visitors to teach them birds fetch-the-flying-snack tricks, the gulls could just make Bangpu their permanent nesting grounds and grow fat at the same time. Weekends packed, a weekday visit would be better, especially after some business at the nearby Bangpu industrial estate.

Crowded, Very Crowded

 

Can do Legs Watching Too....

 

Messey Picnic Everywhere

 

Furby Craze in Bangkok

Furby vs Rabbit Cost Analysis

Ask any girl you are wooing right now what she wants for Valentines and I bet it is Furby. If she ask for a car, a house or money for her sick cows back home, then it's time to change girlfriend or to re-consider visiting some other karaoke joints. The latest "in trend" thing right now is everyone wants a Furby. The odd thing is Thais never knew of Furby even though the first edition existed since 1998. Its only through the current 2012 release wave that Thais got to know about this eerie robotic toy, probably because of Internet accessibility so well established in this modern decade. I am having a good time now telling girls they should not get a Furby because if you left it alone and it starts to communicating for no reasons, it is probably communicating with spirits. They should burn their Furbies at the nearest temple.

Furbies are not marketed in Thailand yet. The only way to get Furbies is through eBay, agents or get friends overseas to send them over. It's no cheap toy this electronic plaything, and conman are already exploiting the recent demand opportunities. Already on news, people had fallen victim to agents who took off with their money. It was reported that it amounted to a staggering 4 million Thai Baht. Gosh.. . at 2,800 Baht per Furby, compare it to my bundle of fur joy which I got for 250 Baht at Chatuchuk, no need to change batteries, need to clean shit and lots of visits to the vet, somehow I still go for rabbits anytime.

The Smoke House Khao Yai

The Smoke House

A massive masonry stood out on Thanarat Road. This is the Smoke House of Khao Yai. Reservations needed to be made or you will be made to wait. Her bakery prepared pastries out of flour and butter, her oven the pizzas. Her kitchen grills the steak, and the cooks some Thai Cuisines in woks of fire they heat. The large mansion stood out against blue skies, her large compound accommodates the waiting crowd clicking away on their Canon and Nikon. How about the food this glamorous place? First you got to have an encounter with the reception taking on the hundred of queues, not too happy that chap was. It was like talking to someone that had ants biting his balls he could not remove publicly. I could understand why. When we finally had our table the service was pleasingly fast and responsive.

It gets Crowded

First served was my prawn bisque. I took off the ceramic cover and immediately was lost in an aromatic storm of the shelled delicacy. One sipped, I was whisked away into the clouds, running in slow motion with a smile driven by gastro thrill of ultimate bliss. My best ever soup of all time in Thailand, you just must and have to try it. Thickness was perfect, the taste of the brownish broth was rich. Started off great and soon our Spaghetti Aglio Olio Bacon arrived cutting the order of things before our Caesar Salad. Living in Thailand, you gotta live with things like these, western dining served like an Asian feast. All appetizers, and main course are served regardless of the order of things and also, regardless of who had what first. Your mates could be on desert already, but you are having your appetizer after your main course which you desperately did try to catch up just.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio Bacon

Anyways, the Spaghetti Aglio Olio Bacon was great, its simple and could never go wrong in most western restaurants in Thailand. The salad is also something that will usually not go wrong. Things took a turn for the worst when my Fish & Chips was served. I fell from the heavenly clouds and slammed hard onto the masonry. They used the wrong type of batter to begin with, there was no fluff to it. It was dry and the color told of being in oil too long. The fish, what Fish & Chips in the world had skins attached to them? It left a fishy aftertaste the dark sections of mid spinal meat that was brownish grey instead of cod clean white. They had used sea bass and it was disappointingly terrible. Next time I must try their mainstream steaks instead, the good costly ones that cost a thousand Baht and over, but doubt I may. Good steaks are rare in Thailand, you need love and attention to cook them perfect but in large establishments, kitchen are just production lines.

Good for Dining in Cool Evenings

Aromatic Pastries

Fish & Chips went Wrong

An idea of Pricing

What's in the Fish & Chips

A Rabbit Cafe near Khao Yai

Rabbit

Bunny Coffee from the Road

I am crazy about rabbits, yes I have one and he is more than six years old now, still going strong. So when I spotted rabbit cafe, I simply just had to go in and sip coffee even though I already had one. It is nearby Hommuenlee resort in Pak Chong. We were on our way over to Khao Yai when we spotted Bunny Coffee signboard. A "you gotta be there when in Pak Chong" wannabe places, but not really there yet. Could be because it is out of the way from the main stream Khao Yai. I had my aromatic cuppa joe in peace as I watch the alpha female terrorize the other rabbits in an enclosed area. We were the only ones there. The smell from the rabbit garden was pretty "aromatic" too, but I could live with that because as a rabbit owner, I am used to all of the rabbit's strange toilet odors. A colorful little pleasant cafe set in sweet pink offering cakes to go along with coffee, a tree sheltering the bunnies from possible death from above, the eagle's lunch. Some of the rabbits were enclosed in cages, they were the male serial rapist the waitress had told us. Some negligence I spotted, a rabbit with a tooth too long that needed to be trim. Rabbits teeth grows forever just to let you know, in nature the food and the grinding naturally keeps them short. But for domesticated rabbits we need to pay special attention to their dental health, a once a month visit to the vet is routine for older rabbits. The vet trims their teeth. Outside were a bunch of students from nearby school, they came on their scooters and never ordered a drink. They were all over the swings, outdoor garden tables and chairs. With smart phones they took pictures, the airwaves filled with traffic to social media. Bunny Coffee, we were there.

Khao Yai, Hommuenlee Resort

Resort Grounds

The name itself is interesting enough, Hommuenlee is a union of Thai and Chinese, Hom meaning Aromatic, Muen meaning a thousand and Lee is Chinese distance measurements meaning miles. This resort is made up of just 10 units, all of them well maintained and offered ample living space. You get a living room section with comfortable sofa spread opposite of course that large flat screen and that necessary DVD player for you to get the hot afternoon by. Up raised steps and there your open bedroom will be 2 large bed mattresses tastefully laid low on the floor. Its good mattresses they have, I had a very good night's sleep in the comfortable thick blankets, my head rested on lush pillows, my mind slumbered. After hours, the temperature dropped to a chilly 18 degrees, nice weather for rounds of beer that carried us late into the night chatting away in the team-building gathering out the restaurant dominated by only us. We had booked 8 units out of 10, so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. The lone restaurant staff bored as he attended to us but he enjoyed his own broadcast of CDs featuring Thai country folk songs that we in our midst of tipsiness occasionally dance to. Chill chill into the night.

Up and Above, Chill Chill

A view of the Location

Morning arrived and we had to drag ourselves out of bed. I raised early expecting a scene of fog but to my dismay, there was non. The chilliness was good though, it was 6 am and the temperatures was 14 degrees, love it so much. There was not much to do unless I wanted to kick the dog roaming around and create some adrenaline driven exercise. And so I went back and lazed in and out of sleep till it was 9. That was when we checked out and already, the rest of the colleagues had left to explore the attractions around the vicinity. Breakfast provided by the resort was simple, hot porridge or that American breakfast served ala carte style. Washed them food down with hot coffee, an orange juice and we stashed our bags into the boot and away we went. The hotel is very pleasant although lacking amnesties. If you need a good breather over weekends in the cooler months, check the weather forecast on a Friday. If Thailand is going to be cold, call this resort up, place a reservation and spent the weekend in cold mountain land.

Resort Grounds

Eating in Khao Yai - Krua Khao Yai

Aftermath of Lunch

Before arriving at the resort in our Khao Yai trip, we had our late lunch at the very famous Krua Khao Yai (loosely translated meaning Kitchen of Khao Yai) on Thanarat Road. This place is so popular that when we arrived, it was like an army had just had its last meal before the great battle ahead. Heaps of plates piled and leftovers on all tables, the restaurant staffs took their 30 minutes break while we sat on waiting and viewing the unappealing rubble on our table. Eventually we got to order that so famous smoked ham and ribs the place is known for, accompanied by other side dishes that were local delicacies. My ratings for the food was however a medium one, maybe my expectations were set too high. The conclusion was that, Krua Khao Yai is just one of those places "to-be-at" if one visits Khao Yai.

Local Delicacies

Famous For These

From the Outside

Location

Khao Yai, Cowboy Country

A typical Resort in Khao Yai

The only "cowboy" impression I got from Khao Yai was actually the girls who worked at Chok Chai farm. Until today, their tight protruding buns wrapped in shape hugging outfits remains within the static memory of my brain circuits. They have the perfect ass, denoted by the ability to place a coffee mug steady on their ass if they just bent down forward a little. Khao Yai is a popular destination in the winter months between late November to early January each year. In this highland just 2 hours driver north of Bangkok, large pastures of grasslands hidden between peaks of mountains are dotted with numerous resorts ranging from the simple the ultimate luxurious. We come here chasing winter as well. Resorts are nested within the area left of Mittraphap Road in Pak Chong as well as on the right, deep into the heartlands of Khao Yai. Theme parks a plenty, the notorious Palio known as Italy of Thailand just to name one. Horse riding, milking cows are some of the activities one could do in some of the attractions there. And of course there will be the ever popular sheep petting farms so many sprouting up in Thailand why I no understanding. For the more exciting, there are go-kart centers for one to skid around the course. Venturing deeper into the ranges, you could try engaging wild road crossing aggressive elephants which are known to perform free tensile strength testing of cars.

Palio, so Crowded

So there I was a week ago joining my girlfriend on her company trip. A resort we stayed, very pleasant indeed her name Hommuenlee. Before heading to the resort, we detoured over to Palio. It is located on Thanarat Road. On the complex junction along Mittraphap Road, turn out where the sign says Khao Yai and drive deep passing several resorts and restaurants. You won't miss it as the view of tour buses and slow traffic turning into the compound comes into view. 20 Baht for parking there and on a weekend, looking for a place to park on the vast gravel pit presented some waiting time. It was crowded, very crowded. I never knew Italy had such a huge Asian population. Many shops within, but most were left alone as people were only interested in taking pictures. Only places making business are the small food outlets and a number of coffee places offering limited seating. There's an MK restaurant there, but who in the right mind will go Khao Yai to eat MK? The place was like an overcrowded zoo except that the animals were not in cages, the animals were us humans. We were all over the place, holding the lamppost posing, climbing halfway up steps posing. Something like a scene from Rise of the Planet of the Apes plus lots of cameras. If you can, go on a weekday I would say.

Country Roads

On the next day after checking out the resort, we explored a little. Travelling back to where Palio was, the road lead deep into the mountains and will exit again on Mittraphap Road near Muak Leak towards the direction of Bangkok. Along the country roads, there were developments of all sorts. Condominiums offering that perfect weekend getaway against a backdrop of mountains. Could be a good stay during the cooler months and only those months. Sadly, urbanization had turned parts of the vicinity into dry and arid lands where some wind will blow up a dust storm. The air quality in that area is made worst by the nearby cement mills at Kaeng Khoil. The mountain backdrops were large facade of barren rocks. Amidst pastures of dotty scorched grasslands and occasional tall faraway trees, the white fences meandering alongside the road was however a pleasant sight. It was like we were transported into the country sides of another realm, some storybook pages of distance tales. There were eyesores along the way where large signboards in English told of land on sales, targeting we know who, the money laden farangs of the west.

Why? Why... ??

The Bloom Khao Yai, what is the purpose of this place? A large garden featuring a figurine of Snow White and the seven dwarfs, avenues of flowers and a small maze that if you want to abandon your old grandmother, you leave her there. She will succumb to dehydration in just an hour. It was hot, there were no shades. Yet another park put together by some business mind set to capitalize on the tourist who are already made spoilt for choice by the so many other "what is the purpose of this place" places. Nevertheless, since there is nothing much to do about, we ventured in like bees attracted to the lone gleaming flower in the middle of nowhere along with many others. Flowers of all colors and myriad varieties offered more picture posing opportunities. I think Zeus dropped his huge expensive orange Hermes handbag there after he concluded it looked gay on him. People crowd around this monument for pictures. I did mentioned obsession with sheep in the earlier part of this post and other blog entries, so naturally, here in The Bloom, there is a herd of sheep cordoned off in one area. Buy some grassy plants and we could go in to pet the black sheep. Take more pictures.

Khao Yai Winery

Wineries, there are some. This only meant more picture taking sessions. Khao Yai Winery, that's where we were. Part of the powerful Singha conglomerate whose beer already flowed through the bloodstreams of many here in Thailand (I prefer Leo). I was not there for the wine, but to quench my thirst down with their grape juice. At 180 Baht per large bottle, we gulp down the essence of Shiraz in a wooden setting noisy with foreign crowds lunching their steak and pizza baked from a brick oven. Beyond the shades, the rows of vineyards lined neatly in rows, at a distance the mountains in white haze.

Cold to very Hot

Khao Yai in winter months, a place for relaxation. Choose a nice private resort that offers amenities where possible. In the night the temperatures was a chilly 18 dropping to 14 in the morning when I went. Some whisky to bring warmth chatting among old friends would be ideal. In the day temperatures soared fast to over 30 but remains cool in the shades, an outdoor pool should pull you nicely through daytime. Sipping beer and reading a book soaking in the chlorinated waters would be a great past time if one do not want to venture around building one's modeling career posing with every lamppost and post office boxes. I still prefer the southern seas, or the real far north in winter where nature aplenty, not the man made gardens and the picture posing farms of Khao Yai. And with this trip I close my winter chapter, the short months of cool weather will be over. The searing summer is on her way, Thailand back to her sizzling tropical days.

Turning off to Khao Yai from Mittraphap 

The route to Muak Lek

Italy of Thailand, Palio

Sheep Obsession

Some Nonsense for Picture Taking, The Bloom

The Bloom

Khao Yai Winery

Smoke House

Country Roads

 

Buying a Notebook in Thailand

There's always a Catch to Good Deals

Is this a scam? Depends on how you take it. Depends on your mood and your bias towards things in Thailand.

I was at IT City. I was looking for a notebook with very specific specifications for my work. 1600 x 900 resolution at 14", i5 and above, must be Windows 7 (now all of them are coming with Windows 8), memory and hard disk I have no concern of as I can upgrade them myself. I learned it's very rare to find 14" notebooks with that high a resolution, people here don't do much serious graphical work that needed portability. Anyways, there I was, speaking to a salesman who sold me a "clearance" stock notebook that's still on Windows 7. The newer Windows 8 model cost 36,000 Baht. Mine cost 28,000 Baht. Grab. Paid in full, to collect my notebook the next day.

Dented

When I collected the notebook, the special VGA cable that was promised to me, not included (my notebook comes with a special VGA connector that needed an external converter to get it onto DB15 VGA). I had to order that myself in a last minute dash to another store before it closed for the night. And so I brought my notebook home to discover only late in the night that there was a dent. The box looked suspiciously old, and the notebook did not have all the protective lamination attached. In Thailand, all goods are entitled one-to-one exchange within 7 days of purchase. So off I went to IT City the next day.

"But i told you this is clearance stock" the salesman said.

There is a difference between selling me a clearance stock and stock which had been damaged, a display set, a used set or whatever I countered. I demanded an exchange.

"We have no more this model, you have to get the Windows 8 one, top up 8,000 Baht extra". That's when I blew my top at the shop.

He went to look for his manager. I mellowed down. He returned to tell me he would offer a full refund. I told him it's simple to resolve the issue, IT City takes the notebook in and send it for repairs, change the dented keyboard, win-win situation. No, IT City does not send notebooks for repairs he highlighted, I have to do it myself. And so off to the service center I went.

"Warranty does not cover physical damage" the service center said, and then added "It will be chargeable". I told them my situation, I told them my whole ordeal. People are nice if your are nice to people to begin with. They brought me to a corner and whispered to me to declare the keyboard as faulty, they will replace it. Wow, karma, I must believe in it. I once helped a customer worked things out by maneuvering the grey areas in my course of work, now someone is helping me.

As notorious complaining Singaporeans, we would treat the whole situation at IT City as a big below the belt scam and the set the place alight in our fireball of loud complains. I tend not to now. Instead, I blame myself for being careless in this whole episode and being a cheapskate buying clearance stock. The outcome turned out good at the end. Me here, blogging on my new notebook.

And here's a previous entry about my trip to the service center, where I encountered someone that was really pissed with the brand of product which I bought.