world of sekimachihato: Thailand

Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts

Thursday, March 4, 2010

ayutthaya : อาณาจักรอยุธยา

although i take a train (subway) everyday to and from the office, i love sitting in a train where i can watch the world outside rush by.
even better is having the windows wide open and feeling the world outside rush by.

we did a day drip from bangkok to the siamese kingdom of ayutthaya; thailand's ancient capital until its destruction by the burmese army in 1767. today it is a UNESCO world heritage site.
the train journey took around two hours and only cost 15 baht (that's like 0.33 euro!).

the last time i went to ayutthaya was about 10 years ago and i was looking forward to be wow-ed again.
i would take my hat off to k-chan if i had one (i left my favorite hat; a gift from k-chan's parents, in the back seat of a bangkok taxi...) as she did exceptionally well getting around in thailand while six months pregnant.
i know i wouldn't have been the best of company having to carry around that extra weight in the heat (38 degrees!) while wearing a support around my waist.

because the ancient city ruins of ayutthaya are spread over a huge area, we hired a tuk-tuk for the day as there was no way k-chan was gonna get on a bike (or me for that matter, man it was hot!)
here are some of the many sights we saw in ayutthaya.

wat maha that (วัดมหาธาตุ พระนครศรีอยุธยา).
built during the reign of king boromarajaI (1370-88). apparently in 1956 a secret chamber was uncovered in the ruins; among the treasures found inside were gold jewelry, a gold casket containing a relic of the buddha, and some fine tableware.
i wish i was the one who found this treasure!

chedis built during the 15th century to enshrine the ashes of three ayutthaya kings

with the sun setting our train chugged along the track through squatter villages seat-up along route to bangkok.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

koh samui : เกาะสมุย

can i bore you with a few more photos from my trip to thailand?
shame you can't answer.

here some photos from ko samui island. we hired a jeep with a faulty hand-break and went for a drive around all the nook and crannies of this tropical island.

thai style lemon & sugar pancake (25 baht)

mummified monk (1889-1976)

big buddha near big buddha beach

my favorite beach on koh samui: lipa noi (above/below)

local speciality: green coconut milk caramels

a must for thai cuisine: chillies & lime

Sunday, February 28, 2010

flexible dogs and semi-flexible gweilo

just over one year ago i made the huge life changing decision to start up yoga.
and hot yoga at that.
unfortunately for us guys living in hong kong, yoga is still considered a bit of a feminine sport and it wasn't uncommon for me to walk into a room with 30+ girls, plonk myself down on my yoga mat and try to blend into the flooring. being the only gweilo (foreigner) in the room didn't make it an easy task...

friends back home who are into yoga tell me about all these great people they met in their class and how they will often catch up for a wine or some nibbles with them after a work out. god knows why but nobody spoke in our yoga classes. the only chatter was deep breathing followed by a few grunts and the occasional fart. and no, it wasn't me!

the only girl i spoke to was my instructor. or should i say she spoke to me. in-front of the whole class... take about embarrassing!
while the 30+ girls and me had our legs pointing to the stars and our arms twisted behind our backs my instructor could often be heard saying "good mr sekimachihato, you can do it, a bit higher!"
i could so feel the 30+ girl-eyes on me... talk about unnecessary qweilo-attention!

it was slightly more easier to make conversation with the guys in our club, especially as we had to get naked together... (um, changing room-naked that is)
i found it a bit tough chatting to the spin-instructor as i never took his class again after my horror experience. (you can read about it here) i guess he knew i would never be back though.
then there was a school teacher with a body to die for. you would never guess he had the abs i've been trying to get all my life under those frumpy clothes!
i never found out which guy it was who would snore loud enough to rattle the windows. just before the end of class we would go into our shava-asana pose and as soon as we had laid on our backs you could hear him fall into a deep snoring sleep. i don't see how anyone could become that relaxed in a room full of strangers.
lets see, who else did we have....
oh yes, the gay guy. (i think there were a few) but one guy used to prance around the changing room naked showing off his tan-lines, or lack of them. i think he was a nude sunbather.
he was a nice enough guy though. his flamboyant personality made up for what he was lacking down below.
there was also an indian guy with a beautiful smile and lovely eyes. why is it that indian guys have such intense eyes!?
i always wished i had an indian guy for an instructor. with yoga coming from india and all, it would have just felt so right to be coached by a true yogi. hearing yoga instructions in cantonese just didn't do it for me. "kup-hei... fuu-hei..." (breathe-in... breathe-out...)

although no deep-life-long friendships were made in those changing rooms, i'm gonna miss my hot yoga class. yup, i've just been to my last class.
i really don't wanna quit but our office is moving and there is no way i can get to the class on time from our new location.
one year ago i couldn't even touch my toes. you should see me now! i can tickle the underside of my feet (only just...)
still a long way to go if i want to be able to do those things some "talented guys" can do, but hey, yoga is all about being at ease with oneself; and i think i got to that level during this past year.

mmm, a post with no photos doesn't work for me so i'm gonna put up some photos i took of this flexible dog i captured in thailand. he stayed by my side at the beach. talk about cute!
and no, i didn't capture him, i shot him.
with my camera that is...

Friday, February 26, 2010

elements boutique resort & spa : koh samui

i'm back in hong kong now slowly wading through the huge list of unread work emails. already my vacation to the "land of smiles" feels like the perfect dream...

after bustling bangkok we took a domestic one hour flight to the chilled out island of koh samui (เกาะสมุย).
ten years ago i came to this island when it still had unpaved roads and was off the tourist map.
today it has a booming nightlife, go-go bars, the golden arches, and sunburnt fat men eying up the lady-boys.
sooo not my thing.

but the tourist infested part of town is mostly located at the northern tip and the east side of koh samui island.
head south and you will soon find yourself dotted amongst small local villages which are surrounded by coconut plantations all the while under the watchful eye of a water buffalo.
so yup, we went south to a friendly boutique resort tucked away on the virgin coast in phang ka bay.
here we literally went into full relax mode, swimming, reading, drinking chilled beers in the sand, eating and surrendering our bodies to the able hands at the on-site serenity spa.

this is definitely the place to be if you need to replenish your battery.

resort info:
elements boutique resort and spa
53/5 moo 4, phang ka,
tambon taling ngam,
koh samui,
suratthani, 84140,
thailand.
tel: +66 (0) 77914678