I seldom blog on weekday. But this one must go up asap. Amidst the chaos in Thailand right now, this is a really comforting sight. I personally witness it at a much closer distance. Makes my day.

 Image source: Bangkokpost.com

 My April trip to Teningen which is quite near to Black Forest, that’s in Germany in case you are wondering. Lush forests and nice cottages along the way. Perfect place to do nothing, just breathe in the fresh air. Bought a Cuckoo clock from the shop in the picture. Cuckoo clock actually originated from the Black Forest. Didn’t know then, sua gu. Thanks to my Nokia phone cam, the pics resolution are really bad and grainy so I’m keeping it small.

My trip to Hua Hin (Thailand) in June. First pic is the train station. Looks better on the outside than what’s inside. The other one is a French restaurant by the beach during sun set. Nice and unpretentious setting but the food was average.

Nice. Latest cover by Seal.

Yes, I was there (on a free ticket) and sorry I’m really late in updating this. The weather was great. It was like a carnival. There were live concerts, Double O and Zouk DJ pads were also there and food stalls abound. Zouk’s setup and tracks were brilliant. As for the race, prior to arriving at the stand, I was wondering how can anyone enjoy a sporting event where you can only get to see the star (only the car) 61 times and passing you by at a speed of 280km/hr…

Well, I was wrong. There were large screens in front of the grand stand reporting on the whole event like you are watching from home but with the commentators voicing over well positioned speakers. Technicalities and background of the race and the racers provided by the commentators have definitely made the show more interesting especially while waiting for the next split-second appearance of the car. The roaring sound of the engine, even with the ear plugs on, does pump up the adrenalin like they say.

I think the whole event is quite well organized but it isn’t a surprise. We all know there’s nothing not well organized in Singapore, else it won’t be Singapore

If I must nit pick, I think the race track could have been wider for overtaking. A narrow track somehow just increase the luck factor rather than the drivers’ skills and the cars’ engineering. The other problem which I’ve not read on the media is that crazy overhead-bridge exit at Padang. Third picture on the right. It took me 15mins to get out. See if you can spot the stairway.

Image source: daylife

When we say that Thais are party animals, we aren’t kidding. Like a local Indie band put it, when the government declared State of Emergency, they were still having their emergency beer. And guess what? At the anti-government Peoples Alliance for Democracy demonstration (PAD), there’s actually a stage with constant supply of performance. Demonstration+Entertainment, nowhere else but Thailand.

Merrill, Lehman, AIG… what’s next? Pamper yourself while you can. Here’s showing off my new toy. I thought I can never actually find a watch that can be casual, sweat proof, classy yet reasonably priced until I came across this Hydronaut. Well, be nice, I may just let you take a look…

How do I describe Thais? For the benefit of expats-to-be, Thais in general are very polite and obliging (to English speaking tourists in particular). Just don’t stress them… or else…

If you are feeling like that piece of gum on the pavement, try this…

“I am kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.” – J D Salinger

The plaza where my cafe is has just held a glitzy grand opening attended by celebrities and the rich and famous (known here as “hi-so” as in high society). Check out this site and see if you can spot my cafe. You will need to search for the word “F Galleria” first.

http://www.hisoparty.com/Thailands_First_Complete_E-Magazine.html

Oh, don’t forget to look out for a delicious close up shot of Avocado Shrimp Tortilla. It’s my humble little creation.

How would you define civilization? Official definition from dictionaries stated that it’s a refinement of thought, manners, or taste. But then again, who should set that standard of refinement? To me, being civilized is simply being  socially responsible and I suspect some Chinese nationals prefer to call it hypocrisy. This topic will step on people’s toes but being ethnically Chinese, I feel this is something my fellow dragon siblings should take a good look at.

What prompted this thought is a recent trip to HK via Macau. As we had booked our flight out of Bangkok late, the only route available to HK is on AirAsia via Macau. I’ve been avoiding China (excluding HK) over the years due to the people’s generally uncivilized behaviour. So, for this trip via Macau, I was all prepared for that extreme rudeness since I’m expecting there will be lots of Chinese tourists on this flight. With that in mind, I paid extras for the Express Boarding option on AirAsia in order to avoid rubbing (literally) shoulders with the Chinese. Thank god I did.

While at the boarding gate, upon seeing the airline staff approaching the announcement stand, the Chinese flocked to the counter like bees to honey. Who cares about  the kids and elderly when this is a budget airline and we are Chinese, mind you. Their rule of thumb for queing is DO NOT LEAVE any space in between, row wise and column wise. So you will get to see this really chaotic situation of 3 rows in a line meant for 1 and cheeks pressing on backs. When the Express Boarding (moi) passengers were invited to their designated priority queue, one dissatisfied Chinese actually question me (she sounded fine though while the others look on like I’m a freshly baked Peking Duck).

My unpleasant experiences also include the shouting conversations prior to the plane taking off and squabbling between a teenage girl and a man in his late twenties at the custom. Yes, they are all Chinese nationals. Compared to my flights to China 6 years ago, this is a much improved situation. At least there’s no loud conversations in the sky and no smelly feet or ‘dragons’ blocking the aisle.

I’ve been trying to empathize with their behaviour and can actually sound really open minded and forgiving during conversations with friends. But when I’m surrounded by them, it’s really hard to stomach their obnoxious behaviour and I’m only a guy who survive without hair gel nor cufflinks.

However, I still believe civilization takes time and it sure doesn’t equate to wealth. It has to go through a long stretch of self-criticisms to reach there. Remember those days when we can see the term Kiasu on our (Singapore’s) papers nearly on a daily basis? What about the mountains of food on plates at buffet dinner? Not that we are totally rid of that by now but at least it isn’t as prevalent. To me, that is a progress in civilization. Having been shut out from the rest of the world for so long, it is understandable that the Chinese, with their new found wealth and international exposure, is still trying to fathom why spitting in a museum is disgusting. Hopefully, the Olympics will speed up their effort to become a more civilized nation though I’m quite sure we will need to continue ‘empathizing’ for several more years to come and I will try my best to stay out during this transition period.