Food for thought

When I was 20 years old, my father told me one thing that turn out to be one of the best life and financial advise any father can give it to his son,

"Expect no support from me when you decided to get married. Do not accept a single cent from your in laws family too. If you have money, do the usual stuff like wedding dinner and buy a place in your own terms. If you have no money, register your ROM, go back home, offer one glass of clear water and a joss stick to your grandma on the altar, ask for blessing and then sleep on a simple mattress with your wife. A man can have no money in the beginning but he must have backbone and ambition"

I took it to heart and did just that when I married my wife in 2009 at age 33. From buying the car, house, wedding dinner to honeymoon, all within 6 months, I need no financial support. In fact, I do not even care whether the wedding Ang Baos can cover back the cost of the dinner or not because me and my wife viewed it as joyful occasion to celebrate with our loved ones and friends. My in-laws was slightly concerned because I was paying for everything in Singapore. I even insist of paying for a second dinner in KL (requested by my in-laws because my wife is a Malaysian) but was rejected strongly by my father in-law because he felt the need to do something for his only daughter. But little do they know, their daughter married a financially very sound man with strong values.

And I will tell the same to my daughters (and sons) too because I finally understood the true meaning of my father statement especially for a man. Why?

Because Marriage signify a major milestone in any adult life that both parties are willing to build their future together; Their own future together. For the man, it is telling the world that you are able to take care and protect your life partner. Spend what you can least afford for the wedding because it is not just a show for one day, it is a lifetime commitment. You do not want to start this holy commitment with foolish debt. And if you need two families support just to get married, when can you ever stand up on your own feet?

Be a man, do the right thing.

P/S: If my daughters request any diamond rings from her future husband to be, they will receive serious lashing from me. And if my future son in-law spent 1-3 months of his salaries on a diamond ring just to show how much he 'love' my daughter and yet struggle financially, I will urge my daughter to think thrice about marrying this guy. Romance without finance is nuisance.

Adapted from Ken Chee at https://www.facebook.com/ken.chee/posts/10152196258468722?fref=nf

Phuket Trip Day 3

    Today was the last day of our Trip in Phuket island. And since The Phi Phi islands were a must go, we decided to have some fun out there. The pickup to the jetty was delayed perhaps due to the previous passengers who clogged up the schedule.

    The jetty is situated somewhere near Phuket town so we got to have a glimpse of the small town. For your information, Phi Phi island is not the name of one island, but rather a collection of islands. The Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh are the 2 more famous islands while the others were no more than limestones jutting out from the sea. There wasn't even a single sight of beaches on those smaller islands.

The tour guide gave us a simple briefing regarding the trip. Antiemetics were provided (for free) for those who risk being seasick.

The view in the speedboat. It wasn't that comfortable as compared with the boat the previous day.

    We first visited the Viking Cave, in which it was believed that Vikings indeed appeared in this area as there were drawings that mimic theirs. We were not allowed to enter as the area had been transformed into a nursery for swallows to produce bird nests.

A glimpse of the viking cafe. The turquoise water was a pleasant scene for the eye =) Picture not edited at all.

    Maya beach was the first stop. Wasn't that excited about going into the waters as the water wasn't that crystal clear as seen in previous blogs and advertisements. Is it again due to the vast number of visitors leading to many speedboats hovering around the area? It was Monday and can you imagine that I did not manage to take a photo of the scenery without any sight of speedboats or people. Just can't manage.

View from Maya Bay

    The activity there was just to swim in the seawaters. I was rather reluctant to go for a swim so what I did was just dip myself into the waters and being carried up and down by the incoming waves.

    We headed next to some middle of nowhere for snorkelling. For a first time snorkeler, I was indeed very excited yet nervous. The prospects of swimming in the sea nearly scarred the shit out of me. Believe me, it wasn't as easy as swimming in the pool. For those who think swimming in the sea was easy, please give it a second thought. The waves were strong no matter how hard you paddle. Luckily I had my lifejacket with me which kept me constantly afloat.  I was also glad to have fins on as it helped me a lot in gaining the power needed to challenge the waves. Perhaps the sea was quite choppy that day made swimming pretty difficult.

    We had lunch at the largest island of all - Phi Phi Don. Not too bad. Buffet style. There were hotels and settlements on the island. One can actually stay overnight on that island and plan an island tour for the next day, which would be more convenient than coming from Phuket island.

The ang moh's excited upon the prospect of seeing monkeys. That's why there are called 'ang moh kao' (Hokien = Monkey) 

The last stop was at Khai Island in which we were given more time to relax (1.5 hours compared to the previous 45 minutes). The sand was soft and smooth. Beach chairs were there for rent, costing 150 baht per pair. 

    Each tour group was assigned a specific area. We may cross to have strolls but our things would be only confined to that area. Do not worry about your valuables being stolen as the team leader and some other crew were there to supervise. It is thus recommended to take all your valuables to the beach.

Flippers costing 100 baht each. They can be rented before you get on the boat. I found them pretty useful for swimming purposes. It gives you the extra 'kick'. The seabed was also sharp at some areas. I did not see any sea urchins though. 

    The best shot I can garner. The beach is way too packed for a relaxing holiday.

    We took photos before indulging in the sea. We got our snorkeling kit and headed to the sea. You should not get too far as the current might take you somewhere else. However, the beach was so packed with holiday makers that you could hardly swim with ease. Bumping into people is just too normal. I was also disappointed since the water was a little murky. (Or is it the cloudy skies made the seabed less visible?)

    Journey back to the pier was only 25 minutes =) So we went back to prepare for dinner and enjoy the last night in Patong.

I would strongly suggest Pan Yaah restaurant, which was a 5 minute drive from Patong beach. Get one motorcycle for 200baht and head towards the north. Romantic environment (unexpected, was just looking for some good dining area) and good service. You could hear the waves hitting the shores. The view of the Patong beach must be a nice one, but I arrived there at 930pm =|

Some of the dishes - White chicken tomyam (I couldn't believe the amount of chicken inside it -- enough to make 2-3 bowls in Malaysia) and Thai Fried Rice - 330 baht. Totally worth it.

    We rented a motorcycle for 200baht. You should try it out as well. There are 3 main streets in Patong Beach and sightseeing on the motorcycle was a wonderful experience. It will be almost impossible to cover the whole Patong area only by foot. I reckon that would take at least 1 hour, not to mention the area where Pan Yaah is located. 

Phuket Trip Day 2

    Day 2 started off by transfer to the jetty where we will head to the 4 islands: PhangNga, Hong, Jamesbond. The taxi driver was pretty punctual. Indeed, he was looking for us at 750 whilst the pickup time was 8am. We handed him the voucher and stopped by some hotels to pick up more passengers.

  

Boarding the boat at the jetty. The journey to the jetty from Patong was roughly 50 minutes.

The boat was comfortable and had continuous supply of water

    The package today was about canoeing and swimming. So for those who fancy canoeing, you can actually try your hand to canoe on the sea. We went to PhangNga Island which was wonderful. 

    We had to lie flat on the canoe as we manoeuvred our way into another 'world'. It is just an ordinary island from the outside but there happens to be a secret passage through it. As the paddler paddled us through the limestone cave, it was dark and creepy. Occasionally we had to lie flat to prevent our faces from being injured by the ceiling of the cafe. Just imagine how near the ceiling was to our bodies! Too bad we did not bring our cameras along.

    Buffet dinner was served on the boat. It was quite nice actually.

    The weather was wonderful for the whole day. There was no strong sunshine. It was raining at 5am in the morning and remained cloudy for almost the whole day since we left our hotel.

     We proceeded to James Bond Island after lunch. Since 1974, when it was featured in the James Bond movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun', it is popularly called James Bond Island.

The island has been turned into a commercialised island with many shops selling almost the same stuff. Personally did not like it being so packed with shops and boats.

  

The James Bond Island

This rock was supposedly connected to the island but was somehow separated from the main island.

Had the chance to kayak while the rest were swimming in the middle of the sea.

    Headed back and arrived at the hotel pretty early. 430pm. After some rest and shower we decided to head to the Banzaan Market area in which the night market was located.

A must try banana pancake. This one was found in the banzaan night market. Please look out for the stall with nutella =)

Banana pancake

Sunny side up quill eggs. 20 baht. Must try too!

    It was a pretty tiring day so we headed back to the hotel around 9pm. Good first day at Phuket and Patong =)

Phuket Trip Day 1

    This was my first trip overseas since the only adventure to The Philippines some 4 years ago. So apparently I wasn't too familiar with organising this trip to Phuket. We decided that Patong will be the place to stay as it is the most famous beach in Phuket island. 

    As on 9th of May 2014, KLIA2 has been fully functionable with Air Asia agreeing to transfer their airline operations to the new terminal, which was just a couple of kilometers from KLIA. 

    I managed to web check in 4 days before the flight through the AirAsia website which can be found here. By doing so, I obtained my boarding pass which made things simple for departure. All we need to do is to print the boarding pass beforehand and BRING IT ALONG to the airport. 

    Due to the air ticket prices, I found out that the most economical way for this trip would be a Penang-KL-Phuket journey, with the arrival to KL and departure from KL 2-3 hours apart. Luckily I only brought along a handcarry baggage (cabin bag) so there was no worries about luggage check in and stuff like that. 

    There were plenty of reviews you can find online regarding experiences and guidelines on how to get around in Phuket but I was indeed lucky to be able to get in contact with one of the agents in Phuket. Got to know it from my friend who just returned from there. I STRONGLY recommend you to contact her as she offers a pretty good price for everything. She is also very helpful.

You can contact her through Whatsapp

    We arrived at the Phuket International Airport at 530pm Thailand time after some 30 minute flight delay. We took 4 flights and 3 of them were delayed by 30-60 minutes. Typical of Airasia huh? No maps? Don't worry, they are aplenty and free in the arrival hall. 

I got this one, which was quite extensive. Indeed a good guide and easy to bring around !

    The driver, which was arranged by my agent, was already waiting outside the arrival hall with my name on the cardboard. The airport transfer to her shop, in which we only decided on the packages was roughly 40 minutes. You have to adjust your watch as Malaysia time is quicker than Phuket time by around 1 hour. The taxi transfer was 600 baht/ car. Hotels are charging for 800 baht. You might opt for a mini bus service for only 180 baht but we preferred to pay more for the time, comfort and convenience.

    And so we decided on 2 packages as we had only 2 full days for tour. The James bond island 4 island package was 1000 baht/pax (which was RM102.50) while the Phi Phi Island package was 1100 baht/pax (the extra 100 baht was for speedboat. Normal boat takes extra 20 minutes for the journey). 

    We arrived at the hotel at 730pm and by 8pm we were hitting the streets for essential stuff. 7-11 is all over the place. As easy as hitting a 'Datuk' in Malaysia when you throw a stone. Joking~ A stretch of 1 kilometer can boast 4 7-11s and some 24 hour marts. Seriously, it's that many.

The Gallery hotel is a MUST stay. Only paid some RM265 for 3 nights. Clean and comfortable

    One unique thing that you can find in Thailand 7-11s is their toasted bread. They would automatically toast it for you unless you request otherwise. It tastes yummy. You might also want to try out their cup noodles. 'Mama' tomyam flavour is the best and you can try out the minced pork flavour not found in Malaysia. We purchased a SPF 110 banana boat sunblock for 490 baht and a couple of hats to brace the sunshine.

The jungceylon Mall which is quite grand, just opposite Bangla Road

    Time was still abundant so we headed to the red light district of Patong - Bangla road. Don't worry, you won't see Banglas there, as you will do in Malaysia. The street is just an ordinary street in the day and will come to live from 8pm onwards. You can witness sexy looking ladies (or ladyboys?) by the bars. Some are busy pole dancing right on the table directly infront of you if you are drinking. There will be lots of people promoting their sexy show/ pingpong show which I was not even bothered to take a second look. 

Occasionally, there will be performances on the streets. 

    Overall, Patong beach is awesome at night. There are lots of eateries with people always asking if you are hungry and promoting their restaurant. It is kinda annoying because literally every restaurant is promoting by this method! 

    Departed from home at 10am and reached hotel at 7pm. So it's time for a good rest!