Thru the Ice of Cool *Thailand* part 1

Thailand... the land of smiles.... and of smelly UTP-ians. Due to our very long journey to Chiang Rai we only took a shower after 2 days. The only reason we did not complain of BO was simply because we all just smelled as bad :(. The 12 hour bus ride from Bangkok to Chiang Rai was superb. It costs RM66 and the package came with super comfortable seats, a really thin yet warm blanket, a neck rest and the food: orange juice, a bottle of mineral water, a bun and a cupcake, chips and also the wet towel when we stop. We took a break at 12 midnight and we can redeem food or a drink from our bus ticket!! Not bad huh... Oh during the bus ride, we also watched Nicolas Cage speaking Thai! The whole movie was dubbed in thai and bismo and chester had us in stiches making up their own conversation. I am absolutely impressed with the bus service, have not came across such services in Malaysia.

Coming here has made us constantly hungry. We all keep eating and eating and .... EATING!!! I am pretty sure i will put on a few pounds (i really really hope so) by the end of the 10 days. Everything is pork based and while that's not exactly an issue with me, the pork here tastes a lil ... weird. Its got this really porky smell and in their minced meat, its not only pork meat but also the bones and other organs (i grimace with the thought of what organ parts are in there). I was kinda prepared for this already, experienced this on my trip to Cambodia in May so i came extra prepared. I brought along instant soup and mashed potatoes to help me overcome the possible jelak-ness of eating tom yam or pork. Plus its so easy to make them, just add hot water, mix and voila.... i have yummylicious food :). Which would explain how come the thinnest person in the group came with the largest bag. I'm also the pharmist of the group, the only one who brought all sorts of medication: cough, sorethroat, fever, vomiting, food poisoning, diarrhea. And also the unofficial camerawoman. Oh, the amount of poser shots are unbelieable. Leave it up to QH (sorry dear) and the rest to come up with funny japanese poses etc. Kong 2 (Kong's younger sister, Kong Chai Sin, but fondly refered to as Kong 2) helps with the group photos (takkan i'm not in there rite..).

There are some things you could do but dont do in your own country. Here, we had our own piece of ... adventures. While waiting for our bus to chiang rai (we had a 7 hour wait at the bus terminal) we got a hairwash each from the nearby salon which costs a neat RM6 only :). Play cho-tai-tee, bluff, gimrammy etc. We went to Tesco today and guess wat we did while waiting for Kong's aunt's car from the car wash.... KARAOKE!!! Yup, we had to squeeze in a freaking small 12x12 space. Sang 6 songs for a mere RM0.50 per person! Sang our hearts out, not only in the karaoke but also at the back of the truck where we sit.

For more adventure and misadventure stories (my innocence of train rides... refer to qi hua's post) do read what the rest hv to write. Will be back soon... now we'll be off for a supper of roti canai (yup, they hv that here too ). till then, take care everyone :)