the spike in post frequency clearly shows
my recent boredom
wuz thinkg abt writing abt my trip heh... 6 mths dn the roadd man...
well.. here goes ...
What were the highlights on me trip?
hmm leme think of it chronologically...
START
lesse.... i first met up with jiexin theyal
at changi airport yea?... rushed 2 the far
far gate... flew 2 bangkok...
went 2 this hotel at Khao san tt wuz recommended
by .... shit i 4got his name... tts bad.. anyway it
wuz rather pricey man.. so tt wuz abit of a bad
experience str off man... n we got woken up by
faith n the dudes who rchd there 2 meet up wif us
at like 5 am ...
and so comes the first highlight- agn
taking tt dudes recommendation -aha!YONGTANGG
... Oh - tt recommd wuz a bus ride
fr bangkok str 2 SiemReap in Cambodia-
the TravelLLing beginz...
i wasnt too keen but then it wuz onli 200Baht i think,
marketed as VIP bus ride...
well the initial phase wasnt bad... double decker,
reclining plush seat aircon bus... albeit rundown but
stil alright... it wuz at the cambodian border tho
tt things changed...
we got off at the border... quite a scene it wuz..
chaotic, stall owners n intimidating lookg locals everywhere
n a mass/mess of vehicles ... after a short wait,
we got bak on not our nice bus, but this small
dust coated mini-bus with no aircon, seats wif broken
springs n sometimes no seats where seats should b,
n peanut shells n stuff on the floor.
well tt wuz our home for next... hw many hrs wuz it? mebe
abt 6 hrs... on rocky roads... id say tho- unlike some of
my companions, i like the rocky bits... at least it wuz FUN
- like roller coaster n took my mind of the dustiness
n griminess of my own sweat n sand getting 2 noe each other...
come 2 think of it- i cant rem exactly when we got off the bus...
so there u hv it- my first highlight...
lesse if i can think of one more...
SIEM REAP
i liked tt little town... funny tt when we got bak
2 spore there wuz this gunmen incident at the int'l sch...
our guesthouse wasnt bad- i drank my first of many beers
in large tiger-size bottles at the courtyard at nite where the
attendent wuz watching thai tv. Most memorable first-off
BREAKFAST- i rem it cost 1500 riels... hm hw much is tt?
anyway- it wuz Beef broth wif toasted Baguette...
a v small bowl/dish of tasty beef soupy stuff.. the stall we
makan at had lotsa locals- v construction worker like
environ... the aunty stall owner had the baguettes toasting
over charcoal n wiremeshh while the stall set-up had
tt big pot of beef simmering n many maggi-mee packets
for deco - n also for maggi-beefbroth..
Tea is given FOC on tables n cups(i think meant 4 tea)
r there too self-svc... lotsa chilli n other condiments r avail.
I like soup- so this went down real gd 4 me.. i went bak the next
day 4 the more of the same too.
aha! upon googling- i hv rememberd 1USD=1.7SGD=4000 riel approx
soooo- 1500 riel is like wat?... 85 cents? superb bfast value
heh u wil notice most of my highlights will hv 2 do wif food...
wt else did we go at siem reap?
well we had 2 gd fortune of finding a good tour agency-
v nice educated chap boss n guide- gd price 4 a
1 day tour package - morng Angkor wat... truly magnificient,
stalls n cheap good iced coconot everywhere ... but u get tired
of it sooner than u think...
i managed 2 get a nice photo tho as we were leaving -
a monkey climbing a tree in the foregrd wif Angkor in the distance...
we had a buffet dinner (which wuz okayy, clean) wif performance
... the agency jetted us abt this nice bus of korean/japanese origins
- reali.. nt js the brand man... the kind u see on telly...
anyway - we also went 4 the boat tour thing... forgettable
but great scenery... oh - there were kids playing n trying 2 get us 2 give
them cash- they were like rowing themselves on the lake
riding baskets, pots, little bath sinks... quite funny...
We bookd the bus to Phnom Penh fr this same co.
Sigh- the treatment we got reeaalii made me feel pain for the
previous ride- and all others following...
for $5USD - $8SGD? We got a limo bus ride- n yes it wuz all tt...
a transfer fr the hotel in tt same jappy-bus (hell i dun wed hv minded
taking this one) but we were chaffeured 2 the interchange
where we were greeted, name-list chekcd, our luggage bagged
n tagged - macam airport check-in n got on 2 a nice comfy
aircon bus. (tho the leg space wuz bit cramp 4 me)
anyway- the stewardess spoke adequate english,
n v shrewdly onli interrupted the journey mebe 3 times 2 point out
sites but otherwise shutt-up... n we got servd mineral water
n a lunch pack of cake sandwhcih n donut...
Get urself a map man n cehck out the distance fr Bangkok-SiemReap
and SieamReap to PhonmPen. Pure distance wise,
u can understand yyy i got so pissed at the previous rip-job...
oH YAA- i nv complain abt the prev con too... Js b4 we set-off- they
brought us 2 this money change wif CON rates-
i mentiond b4 tt 1USD approx 4000 riel... tt one changed it at 3300....
nt too shabby rates rite..?
well the ironic thing is- onli after we got on the rip job tt i read this
article in lonely planet- "beware of rides btw bangkok n siem reap
promising low rates etc...."
haha....
til the next bored-time
Monday, November 21, 2005
MORE RANDOME DESIRES
espresso machine + grinder
tatami mats
lots of original anime
bike
nice PC setup w surround sound system
Sporefilm society membership
bossa nova compilation
kendo?
nice SLR camera
chefs knife
cosmetic watch - seiko?
PS2/3 - replay FF7 onwards
Kendo class?
nice shelf for storing anime
new cutting board
hmm.... seems like tts it 4 nw....
espresso machine + grinder
tatami mats
lots of original anime
bike
nice PC setup w surround sound system
Sporefilm society membership
bossa nova compilation
kendo?
nice SLR camera
chefs knife
cosmetic watch - seiko?
PS2/3 - replay FF7 onwards
Kendo class?
nice shelf for storing anime
new cutting board
hmm.... seems like tts it 4 nw....
Sunday, November 20, 2005
for once, a lite-hearted post
i shal attempt 2 make a list of my fav/most impressive/memorable
animes. here goes-
1. R.O.D. (Read or Die) OVA
(most well balanced- cute, gd artwork, neat story... not fantastic
but i guess overall tops)
2. Spirited Away
(i put this here cos i remember being serious wow-ed by the film...
reali magical... again not v "in-depth" which is a reason y
some other titles r included in this list)
3. NOIR
(this the anime tt reali got me hooked...
brilliant OST, great story, great character development)
4. Full metal Alchemist
(this HAS 2 b 4th... again, nt v "deep" like noir...but its immensely
re-watchable... popular world-wide, very well balanced
anime, great plot pacing)
5. infinite ryvius
(this is defn one of my personal favs...
no reasons such as great grafix, critical acclaim etc.
but simply a reali great, emotional, heart-wrenching story
superb character dev- with a big cast sumore...
for those who duno the anime, its like Lord of the Flies on a spaceship)
6. Ghost in the shell
(hey... its GITS. nuff said)
7. CardCaptorSakura
(Surprising choice? mebe cos im a "cute anime" phase nw...
i would hv put ah megamisama here but prob
cos i recently watchd CCS so....)
8. Neon Genesis Evangelion
(again, a title included cos of its "ground-breakingness".. nt to
say i dun feel for it...)
9. Ah megamisama!
(I lurrrve oh my goddess... its just so sweet...
which is wats lacking fr many animes... someth simple
but gd ... quite "japanese")
10. Grave of the Fireflies
(Since we're on an emotional ride... GOTF comes next-
this film made me cry.. or almost... so it deserves 2 b here)
***
11. Mai-hime (very rewatchable)
(I guess purely based on merit- mai hime is nextt...
i gave the *** n gap cos its nt "top ten" heheh.
Mai-hime's reali one of the best anime 2 come out in
recent yrs i think... hard 2 put a finger on exactly wats nice
about it... but hey - high sch babes with super-powers?
Natsukiii....... )
12. InitialD
(InitialD was one of the 1st animes i caught...
during NS COS duty i saw a VCD set sitting in the rec room,
and proceeded 2 watch the entire 2nd season in one sitting..
As with most series, the 1st season was the best overall,
altho CG defn improved over time... intially (harhar), the
weird artwork put me off...)
13. Serial Experiments Lain
(I js love the ungraspableness of this anime... super)
14. kumo no mukou, yakusoku no basho (beyond the clouds, the place promised in our early days)
(I'm a little surprised y i put this here
but agn a great premise, stunning visualss...
tho the movie itself suffered fr a kind of dip at the end i think
but i read sumewhere it wuz made on a 1.5 Mil US budget... Amazzing!)
15. XTV
(others fr the unconfirmed list mite actualli b higher
than this... but i reali enjoyed X-TV overall... v cool
anime ... the Sadame (Destiny) background music
was a big factor in mood creation for this apocalyptic setting anime)
16. Angel Sanctuary OVA
(agn reaaali liked the story n premise- angels n demons warring,
main hero n heroine r bro n sis in incestuous r/s... v juicy..
i bought the comix 2 figure out the story)
17. Gravitation
(Yaoi!!... the onli one ive watchd... noth fantastic but interesting
premise agn... some gd songss)
18. You're Under Arrest
(I like this prob cos of AMG... js luv the characterss)
OTHERS 2 b considered....
Nadesico?
Hikaru no go - wuz reali inspiring 4 me ...
Honey&Clover?? mebe
Jin-roh- defn notable... this was reali fantastic film
altho depressing... but dun "feeel" alot for the anime
GundamWing - another earli anime 4 me... watchd it
in parts during NS when wuz LOBO-ing... ended up
buying it years later... one of my first sets i got... 100 bucks sia i think
IchigoMashimaro - so bloody cute i can die... but nt much substance larr
Bleach - v strong contender yes.... hope it doesnt go the
way of the Naruto series...
i shal attempt 2 make a list of my fav/most impressive/memorable
animes. here goes-
1. R.O.D. (Read or Die) OVA
(most well balanced- cute, gd artwork, neat story... not fantastic
but i guess overall tops)
2. Spirited Away
(i put this here cos i remember being serious wow-ed by the film...
reali magical... again not v "in-depth" which is a reason y
some other titles r included in this list)
3. NOIR
(this the anime tt reali got me hooked...
brilliant OST, great story, great character development)
4. Full metal Alchemist
(this HAS 2 b 4th... again, nt v "deep" like noir...but its immensely
re-watchable... popular world-wide, very well balanced
anime, great plot pacing)
5. infinite ryvius
(this is defn one of my personal favs...
no reasons such as great grafix, critical acclaim etc.
but simply a reali great, emotional, heart-wrenching story
superb character dev- with a big cast sumore...
for those who duno the anime, its like Lord of the Flies on a spaceship)
6. Ghost in the shell
(hey... its GITS. nuff said)
7. CardCaptorSakura
(Surprising choice? mebe cos im a "cute anime" phase nw...
i would hv put ah megamisama here but prob
cos i recently watchd CCS so....)
8. Neon Genesis Evangelion
(again, a title included cos of its "ground-breakingness".. nt to
say i dun feel for it...)
9. Ah megamisama!
(I lurrrve oh my goddess... its just so sweet...
which is wats lacking fr many animes... someth simple
but gd ... quite "japanese")
10. Grave of the Fireflies
(Since we're on an emotional ride... GOTF comes next-
this film made me cry.. or almost... so it deserves 2 b here)
***
11. Mai-hime (very rewatchable)
(I guess purely based on merit- mai hime is nextt...
i gave the *** n gap cos its nt "top ten" heheh.
Mai-hime's reali one of the best anime 2 come out in
recent yrs i think... hard 2 put a finger on exactly wats nice
about it... but hey - high sch babes with super-powers?
Natsukiii....... )
12. InitialD
(InitialD was one of the 1st animes i caught...
during NS COS duty i saw a VCD set sitting in the rec room,
and proceeded 2 watch the entire 2nd season in one sitting..
As with most series, the 1st season was the best overall,
altho CG defn improved over time... intially (harhar), the
weird artwork put me off...)
13. Serial Experiments Lain
(I js love the ungraspableness of this anime... super)
14. kumo no mukou, yakusoku no basho (beyond the clouds, the place promised in our early days)
(I'm a little surprised y i put this here
but agn a great premise, stunning visualss...
tho the movie itself suffered fr a kind of dip at the end i think
but i read sumewhere it wuz made on a 1.5 Mil US budget... Amazzing!)
15. XTV
(others fr the unconfirmed list mite actualli b higher
than this... but i reali enjoyed X-TV overall... v cool
anime ... the Sadame (Destiny) background music
was a big factor in mood creation for this apocalyptic setting anime)
16. Angel Sanctuary OVA
(agn reaaali liked the story n premise- angels n demons warring,
main hero n heroine r bro n sis in incestuous r/s... v juicy..
i bought the comix 2 figure out the story)
17. Gravitation
(Yaoi!!... the onli one ive watchd... noth fantastic but interesting
premise agn... some gd songss)
18. You're Under Arrest
(I like this prob cos of AMG... js luv the characterss)
OTHERS 2 b considered....
Nadesico?
Hikaru no go - wuz reali inspiring 4 me ...
Honey&Clover?? mebe
Jin-roh- defn notable... this was reali fantastic film
altho depressing... but dun "feeel" alot for the anime
GundamWing - another earli anime 4 me... watchd it
in parts during NS when wuz LOBO-ing... ended up
buying it years later... one of my first sets i got... 100 bucks sia i think
IchigoMashimaro - so bloody cute i can die... but nt much substance larr
Bleach - v strong contender yes.... hope it doesnt go the
way of the Naruto series...
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