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feuqueerfire · 1 year

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FirstKhao Content Index

Started: Sep 12, 2022 || Updated: Nov 11, 2022

this is... a content index? idk it’s like random compilations and dynamics and thoughts, so not like my other content indices

I love that they and their fan service remind me of kpop shipping which is like “we’re besties :) i love you a lot best friend” because I’m not really into “ooh are we dating? maybe” fanservice/dynamics, so I hope it doesn’t change.

First crying or getting emotional during sentimental moments

First crying when they pranked(?) him about Toe Laew breaking up

First Birthday IG Live last year where Khaotung wishes him well: "It will be emotional. No. stop." Didn't cry but was basically like stop before I do

First and Khaotung Workshop where they develop emotional intimacy. Khaotung's doing fine but First starts crying. This was the first time I'd seen him cry and was slightly taken aback wondering why he was crying when everybody else was chill but after following him for like 1 month, I was like ah

First and Khaotung event that was live online where Khaotung was wishing First birthday wishes this year and First was like "Tears are coming. Enough."

First expresses wanting "to build a house with the same fences as [Khaotung's]." This is the only time I've seen where Khao's crying too, wonder what the full video will be like.

First getting emotional when reading Tay’s comment to him in Safe House 4 + trying to not cry later when the group sings together

I think it's so endearing that First gets emotional/cries so easily and will sometimes put a stop to sentimental things before he ends up crying.

My longass thread of Khao taking care of or helping First because of his injured arm. It’s sooo important and pleasant to me when people just casually are helpful and attentive to someone’s needs T.T An NCT J/J fic made me realize it and wow I’ve not been the same since because Jeno quietly looks after Jaemin and just... so arrow to the heart fr (the spring i've been waiting by forlilcrickee). Anyway, Khao helping First with everything is adorable.

Safe House Season 4

They’re just cute and together all the time

First’s voice in his head saying Khao is cute and the older guys hosting an interview about it

Not KhaoFirst but Tay and First are soooo cute and clingy and kissy together. With OffGun, I fell into OffGunTay and GunTay and seems like it’ll happen here too lol KhaoFirstTay and TayFirst. Anyway, here’s a reddit post about it on r/ThaiBL, search up tayfirst on the blog for more, I liked some tiktoks as well. This "tay thought first was asking for a kiss on his cheek when he was telling there's something on this face” TayFirst kiss is sooo good, especially because it’s practically what happened in 21 Days Theory recently like seriously straight out of a BL.

Also Tay/First/Khao are good and cute too.

IG/Bilibili Lives

The Aug 26, 2022 IG live was a whole Time, spawned some iconic moments as shown in these tiktoks that got hella lotta views/likes and are high up in the firstkhaotung hashtag one two

[Fave] April 29, 2020 Bilibili live. Saw this clip where they’re extremely flirty for no freaking reason, they’re not even a cp, absolutely unhinged. this other clip of first calling khao handsome and them having a mini crisis

May 22, 2020 This Ohm and First IG Live before The Shipper ep 1 release where First is at Khao’s house. They got questioned and teased about it lol like hello it’s supposed to be Ohm/First because of The Shipper yet this KhaoFirst stray agenda T.T Khao didn’t even appear much in the live

Times When First Says Khao Plays Tricks On Him

I think people generally tend to think First would be the one playing pranks on Khao and my mans is on a mission to let everyone know that Khao is, in fact, a trickster and a prankster behind the camera.

Sep 1, 2022 Galaxy A53 live: “First’s happiness is teasing Khaotung, right?” “ Actually, he teases me. I don’t tease him. This is him in front of the camera that everyone sees. He’s not acting but this is a part of him when he’s working. When he's behind the camera, he likes teasing.”

Safe House 4 Day 5 clip: Khao pushes First, First tells the audience to look and see First isn’t the one teasing, Khao drags First out of frame

Before Becoming CP

The IG lives they did before then

July 7, 2020: first tweeted he wanted to see the stars and tagged khaotung

Twitter thread by swwwwii: A thread of #firstkhaotung 2018-2021

To Watch

StarStruckxFirstKhaotung - It’s an English interview, so I can actually watch it instead of catching a few translated tweets here and there

Praew Magazine Interview of FirstKhaotung

KAZZTalK Interview

เมาท์เรื่องเกินคาธ จากกอง "คาธ" กับ เฟิร์ส ข้าวตัง หลุยส์ นีโอ

Oct 12 ArmShare KhaoFirst

(ENG SUB) ชวน “เฟิร์ส-ข้าวตัง” มา REACT

Watched

Let’s Talk BL Interview - another English one and this time for a podcast I regularly listen to!

Episode 0 Eclipse

ชวน “เฟิร์ส-ข้าวตัง” มา REACT ซีนสุดพีคในซีรีส์ คาธ The Eclipse - Watching this after the LITA Cast reactions. Interesting to see First point out certain things like Neo flexing his muscles or Khao tilting his head a certain way to make a tear fall. First is soooo cute here, my babygirl

#khaofirst #tracking #to watch

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kadeuhq · 4 years

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Friday 28 August 2020; 21:00 — Birthday Bacchanal

King of Hearts Kwon Markus is hosting a bacchanal in honor of his life partner, King of Hearts Kwon Sungho, turning an even one hundred. Though he did his best to keep this party on the down-low, Markus invited quite a few people.

Hosted inside the Kwon Mansion, the majority of this party will take place in their ballroom though there is also a garden with a small hedge maze that is open for guests to peruse.

Invited as guests:

Please note declining would be viewed as a slight unless you are of a higher or equal rank.

@nerenth

@kadeuyongsun

@saygeko

@generalkwon declined.

@kadeuxhyeonju

@diabyeolical

@kadeukarma

@its-max-okay

@zuihuojoui

@ujin-khaos

Invited as workers:

@ara-kadeu — singer

@allorekadeu — crafting an ice sculpture of a manabeast

@hilo--keahi — crafting a sword as a birthday gift

If your character declines the invitation please send an ask to the main. Participation in this event is optional! Even if your muse went you do not need to write anything for this if creativity does not strike

#kadeu: event

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eddycurrents · 5 years

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For the week of 5 May 2019

Quick Bits:

Age of Conan: Bêlit #3 throws a few road bumps in the way of Bêlit’s plans as the Kushites renege of their deal and her drunken “Captain” continues being a jerk. I’m really liking this exploration of Bêlit’s early days from Tini Howard, Kate Niemczyk, Scott Hanna, Jason Keith, and Travis Lanham.

| Published by Marvel

Archie #704 throws some roadblocks in the way of Archie and Sabrina’s relationship through the form of a “Bachelor”-like charity programme set up by Cheryl. I love the even more stylized pastel colour palette from Matt Herms.

| Published by Archie Comics

Batman & The Outsiders #1 is an entertaining debut from Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, Clayton Cowles. I’ve not read the arc in Detective Comics that feeds into this, but this first issue provides enough information for new readers now to be lost and gives good incentive to check out what’s come before. Great art from Soy and Gandini, with an interesting look inside a team and a compelling start to a mystery about the last survivor from a metahuman generating factory.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #4 concludes the QE2 aliens caper. Love the art from Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Sheelagh D.

| Published by Dynamite

Bronze Age Boogie #2 continues the strangest Doom Patrol story as the Martian invasion angle has taken hold in the future and a motley crew of heroes bands together to try to stop them. Stuart Moore, Alberto Ponticelli, Giulia Brusco, and Rob Steen are playing with some interesting cross-media influences to tell a highly entertaining tale. It’s rounded out with the usual goodies in the form of prose, letters, and what’s probably my favourite of the back-up strips so far, Major Ursa, from Tyrone Finch, Mauricet, Lee Loughridge, and Rob Steen.

| Published by Ahoy

Conan the Barbarian #6 sees Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Matthew Wilson, and Travis Lanham tell a story of Conan’s frustrations as a mercenary in the skirmishes between Turan and Stygia. People constantly underestimating Conan is always a fun story.

| Published by Marvel

Deadly Class #38 sees Marcus and Maria return to King’s Dominion. It’s kind of messed up seeing the new status quo, but at the same time the tension that Rick Remender, Wes Craig, Jordan Boyd, and Rus Wooton build here between to old Legacy kids and Marcus & Maria feels like it’s going to explode, suggesting something even worse for the characters is coming soon. It’s very captivating.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Detective Comics #1003 reveals the identity of the Arkham Knight. It’s not really anyone you could have possibly guessed, but an interesting addition to Batman’s rogues gallery. Also the cult surrounding the Arkham Knight is certifiably insane. Gorgeous artwork again from Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, and Nathan Fairbairn.

| Published by Marvel

The Empty Man #7 goes full Clive Barker as we get an explanation for what the Empty Man really is and how he continues to manifest himself upon reality. I know I keep saying it, but the body horror brought about in the art from Jesús Hervás and Niko Guardia just can’t be stressed enough. Every issue they seem to outdo themselves with creepy and intriguing designs.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Eve Stranger #1 looks to be another winner for Black Crown. This first issue sets up the titular character as a secret agent who seems to need to reboot her memory every week. Why, exactly, is left unknown, but that’s part of the fun. David Barnett, Philip Bond, Eva de la Cruz, and Jane Heir do a wonderful job here with the action and intrigue. Also it’s great to see Bond doing more espionage tinged action, his art always looks so great telling these kinds of stories.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Excellence #1 is a thoroughly excellent debut from Brandon Thomas, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, and Deron Bennett. The world and character building in this first issue is impeccable and the art from Randolph and Lopez will just blow you away. Incredible development of a magic-based society and the class structure therein.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Flash #70 begins “Year One” promising new insight and occurrences during Barry’s origin story. Given that the last time this happened his mother was murdered, changing the timeline and resulting down the line in Barry trying to fix it with Flashpoint, anything’s possible. The real draw, though, is the stunning artwork from Howard Porter and Hi-Fi. Porter is really giving this his all and it shines through wonderfully.

| Published by DC Comics

Hawkman #12 brings Bryan Hitch’s tenure on the series to an end with the conclusion to “Cataclysm”. This is an excellent, action-packed final confrontation between the legion of Hawkmen and the Deathbringers, setting up a whole Hawkman for possibly the first time and hints as to worse things waiting on the horizon.

| Published by DC Comics

Infinite Dark #6 amplifies the terror and chaos as the dead-ish things exposed to the void start spreading fear and panic throughout the station. Ryan Cady, Andrea Mutti, K. Michael Russell, and Troy Peteri ratchet up the horror here.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Invaders #5 raises more questions after we thought some things were coming into focus in the previous issue, as Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham continue “War Ghosts”. The tension here on the brink of all out war between the US and Atlantis is incredible, and there are more interesting twists that suggest something far more sinister occurring.

| Published by Marvel

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens #2 features a gorgeous adaptation of the story of Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, by Chan Chau with letters by Jim Campbell. The artwork is amazingly beautiful supporting a very sweet tale.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / Archaia

Justice League Odyssey #9 opens up an interesting thread that Starfire, Cyborg, and Azrael may be unduly under the influence of Darkseid. Dan Abnett is setting up some simmering conflict between Jessica Cruz and the rest of the team here, along with quite a few occult catchphrases thrown in to help amplify the mood.

| Published by DC Comics

Lodger #5 is the end to this excellent crime drama from the Laphams and it is all kinds of messed up. We learn what really happened to Ricky’s family and...yeah. This has been a strange, at times disturbing, ride and they stuck the landing.

| Published by IDW / Black Crown

Murder Falcon #8 is the epic conclusion to this series as Jake and Murf take on Magnum Khaos. Between this series and Extremity, Daniel Warren Johnson has proven himself time and again as a master storyteller and it shines through with the heartrending end to this story. This one goes up to eleven.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Red Sonja & Vampirella Meet Betty & Veronica #1 is an interesting mash-up of the three properties from Amy Chu, Maria Sanapo, Vinicius Andrade, and Taylor Esposito. Some nice fish out of water humour as Sonja and Vampirella acclimate to Riverdale.

| Published by Dynamite

Savage Sword of Conan #5 concludes “The Cult of Koga Thun” from Gerry Duggan, Ron Garney, Richard Isanove, and Travis Lanham. Some interesting twists in this finale of what has been a highly entertaining adventure.

| Published by Marvel

She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #2 sees Martín Morazzo cut loose again with some of the designs and presentation for Luna’s dreams and schizophrenic episodes.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Boba Fett #1 features some incredibly rich artwork from Marc Laming and Neeraj Menon. Great detail throughout this story spotlighting Boba Fett’s cold, silent amorality.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #32 begins “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” as Aphra and her young protege steal the titular MacGuffin. There’s some interesting flashbacks to Aphra’s youth and it’s great to see Caspar Wijngaard doing more Star Wars art, even if just the flashbacks.

| Published by Marvel

These Savage Shores #4 is a sumptuous feast. Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone, and Aditya Bidikar are elevating the artform of comics which each subsequent issue. The epistolary narrative, the horror and mythological themes, the plays upon the nine-panel grid, the shadowy character designs, the lush and spooky colours, the overlap with historical events, the unique approach and detail in each character’s missive...just one of these elements would result in an entertaining tale, this comic mixes all of them into a superlative package. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re not reading this series.

| Published by Vault

The Unstoppable Wasp #7 throws Nadia a birthday party, wherein she learns of her relations to what seems like half of the Marvel universe. Also, issues a death threat to Tony Stark. It’s cute, from Jeremy Whitley, Alti Firmansyah, Espen Grundetjern, and Joe Caramagna.

| Published by Marvel

War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1 sets up the conflict in the Pacific with Sindr while introducing a swath of new international characters to the Marvel universe. Also, Amadeus Cho continues to be a massive idiot, even at his shrunken size. Great art from Gang Hyuk Lim and Federico Blee.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Twins #4 sets up the twins with a pair of dates, allowing for some hilarious misadventures. Also, Polly seems to have a weird obsession with testicular cancer. Mark Russell, Stephen Byrne, and Dave Sharpe continue the fun, even though this one kind of takes us away from all ages material.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Wyrd #3 opens up the messy can of worms of Wyrd’s past further as a figure out of the past he can’t remember emerges for a “meet”. Great tone and atmosphere for this story from Curt Pires, Antonio Fuso, Stefano Simeone, and Micah Myers.

| Published by Dark Horse

X-Force #7 begins “The Counterfeit King” from Ed Brisson, Dylan Burnett, Damian Couceiro, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Caramagna as past and present threaten to collide. Some nice character development for the team as they wait for Deathlok to do his thing.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Accell #20, Age of X-Man: Apocalypse & The X-Tracts #3, Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #3, Betty & Veronica #5, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #10, By Night #11, Captain America #10, Captain Marvel #5, Catwoman #11, Curse Words #21, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6, Gunning for Hits #5, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos #5, Hit Girl: Season Two #4, House of Whispers #9, Ice Cream Man #12, James Bond: Origin #9, The Last Space Race #4, The Long Con #9, Marvels Annotated #3, Oberon #4, Ronin Island #3, Section Zero #2, Shadow Roads #7, Six Days, Spider-Man/Deadpool #50, Star Wars Adventures #21, Supergirl #30, Symbiote Spider-Man #2, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #44, Unnatural #9, Vindication #4, War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #2, Wasted Space #9, Waves, Wonder Woman #70

Recommended Collections: Accell - Volume 4: Slipstream Dream, Beyonders - Volume 1, Blackbird - Volume 1, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor - Volume 1, The Freeze - Volume 1, Justice League - Volume 2: Graveyard of the Gods, Pearl - Volume 1, Quantum & Woody! - Volume 2: Separation Anxiety, Red Sonja/Tarzan, Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider - Volume 1: Spider-Geddon, Star Wars: Age of Republic - Villains, Thor by Jason Aaron: Complete Collection - Volume 1, The Woods: Yearbook Edition - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy feels like a frappuccino.

#This Week in Comics

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mybukz · 5 years

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Review: Cold East by Gabija Grušaitė

Title: Cold East Author : Gabija Grušaitė Publisher: Clarity Publishing Genre: Fiction Format: Paperback, 232 pages Price: RM39 Released: October 2018 Reviewer: Leon Wing

With the premise of a murdered Mongolian woman and her connection to a former Malaysian Prime Minister and his wife, Cold East could only have been published here in Malaysia after the last major general election, in which he lost to Mahathir. Cold East is translated into English from the Lithuanian, and is published by Clarity Publishing, a Penang-based publisher. It won the Penang Monthly Book Prize for 2018.

Stasys Śaltoka, or Stanley Colder, as he sometimes calls himself, is an Eastern European living in New York. The character smacks, at first reading, of the men in those New York novels of the 80s: full of angst, money and looks. Stasys is good looking enough to draw women from Tinder for sex. He has published his first novel. He is a veritable social media being, with followers and fans on Twitter and Instagram. He constantly checks for new tweets and loads pictures to his Instagram.

He likes living on his own, hates sharing, hates humanity, hates getting out of bed, enjoys his sofa any time of day, and enjoys eating when he wants to. He has enough money for luxuries, like expensive shoes, for one. But all these are not enough. He thinks positive and acts as if he already has everything: “.. I’m failing to remind myself why I love life and just how lucky I am. …my brain in arctic cold.” He is at the cusp of his 30th birthday, he is steeped in ennui, he is jaded, and he questions the things he desires. He considers his to-do list as “complete and utter shit”.

Stasys is not happy with his life at all. Thus his desire to get away from all those things—all the way to the Far East on a one-way ticket, via an invitation by friend Kenny. He lands in Khao San, Thailand, where he meets a Russian at a bar, Aleksey Lemontov. They share a commonality of expensive clothes, “Eastern European accents, marching hairdos and love for whiskey”, the same Nespresso machine, hatred of people around them, and cynicism at the world in which only they are important, at home only in high class places like 5-star hotels. They get along well, staying at the Russian’s hotel, then at his, enjoying the islands in the south, just the thing for his Instagram. While waiting for Kenny to arrive, he listens to Alex reminisce about bygone days in Russia with his wealthy family, the ups and the downs when things went sour with the mafia, Chechnya, about being traumatised by a friend’s suicide. Like him, Alex also needs to get away from all this, usually to places like Paris, and devote his life to “searching and not giving up”.

About the Malaysian aspect in all this, it so happens that Alex’s father has connections in Malaysia close to Naqib’s wife. (The author alters the man’s name by a ‘q’.) Alex suggests Kenny does a documentary about the wife, who apparently runs the country, not the prime minister husband. Also, Alex used to know the Mongolian woman who was murdered in connection to the politician.

However, Kenny, who heads the documentary, is more interested in the ISIS angle of a story, rather than one about a murdered Mongolian’s connection with a prime minister, even when Alex argues the corruption angle of it. Kenny is convinced to take on the story only after hearing about the Muslim majority of the population in Malaysia.

If a reader sympathizes with the former prime minister and his wife, prepare to flinch at some of the unsavory aspects of Malaysia pictured here. Stasys comes to Malaysia knowing nothing about it but wanting to expose lies. Typical of Stasys, as much as he hates Thailand, he hates the first thing he encounters upon landing in Malaysia. To him, Putrajaya is “designed by middle-aged neurotics on meth” and the Pullman hotel is like a Barbie house. When they interview taxi drivers about the corruption in business and politics, one man high on meth quips: “..it’s Malaysia. This is how things are done here”. In the course of their investigation, a government informer named X discloses that all immigation records of the murdered Mongolian are wiped out.

The men are determined to make a documentary that divides the good, “beautiful, strong woman”, with the bad, the corruption. As they shoot their film, Stasys questions why he even considers joining the others who only want fame and the thrill. He is drawn only to the secrecy and the romance, particularly the romance of a stream in the jungle carrying a fragment of the spine of the murdered Mongolian and the DNA results. For someone who doesn’t care a jot about happenings around him in the world, he doesn’t care about bringing justice.

With everything going on, the novel somehow jacks in some gothic or supernatural elements. One day Stasys thinks he spies a girl from New York, who has been stalking him. It could well be something psychedelic because he fears he is hallucinating.

Besides the politician, his wife, and the Mongolian, the story weaves in some real events and people, with names altered. While they break from filming in Penang, The Sabah Report and WSJ break the news about the minister’s private bank account. They find that their documentary will be relegated to old news, making it difficult to sell. They have to decide what to do next, whether to abandon the project and look for a new one, or just continue as normal, hoping for the best, or just tweak the topic. Stasys is surprised that the locals carry on as usual, not protesting, and that the local press never report the scandal. The friends opt to share their research and interview with one Anna White of The Sabah Report, reasoning that the world would want to watch their documentary, especially when it focuses on Altansarnai, the murdered Mongolian. But Anna replies to their email: “you’re a fraud.” Later, she surprises them when she wants to know more about Rosnah’s jewelry. They are relieved, thinking all is not lost with their documentary.

Despite this, and Alex thinking life is beautiful because he is rich, Stasys still feels apprehensive, imagining “the nightmare…in the shadows, in a parallel reality…right in your head”, when things don’t go their way. Stasys realises that “People don’t care about living things—animals, forests, oceans, even other people.” People like him are triggered more by an animal’s death than a human’s, like the Mongolian—they are only interested in the thrills and the fun their making the documentary gives them. He likens all this to a “nostalgia you haven’t experienced.” He wants his life to make sense.

They try to sell their documentary to Al Jazeera, but when they start editing it, they find inconsistencies and a lack of focus. Though it is about a murder, their story is not unique and is similar to other stories already available. Al Jazeera will consider it if they interview the Mongolian’s father in person.

It is only when Kenny gets deported from Malaysia that their documentary becomes a success, so much so that Al Jazeera and other channels want to work with them. But the thrill of fame is short lived, as they have to look for another project. For Stasys, it is back to boredom, as usual. They return to Thailand, and as luck would have it for them, Thailand gets flooded—this is their next ticket to fame.

Near the end of the book, Stasy rethinks his philosophy about life: “Maybe beauty (of a human being) lies in making peace with reality”. He thinks he has found his perfect partner in Kenny’s ex-wife, Isabel. However, he knows himself better than anyone: “you need to know how to love in order to do that”. He admits that “we are always looking for the worst, most photogenic scenario. We don’t have souls.” While the locals flee from Bangkok as the waters rise, they remain so that they can film the flood. At one point, Kenny gets kidnapped. Stasys thinks it is up to him to be strong for the others. This vulnerability makes Stasys think that running out of time will make him feel alive.

With Kenny gone, and only he and Alex remaining, and it is near his birthday, the two men decide to go to Chiang Mai, to celebrate, and also to bury Kenny’s watch as a funeral. Stasys, by this time, has decided to write his next book, a love story, or rather three love stories. He thinks back to his time in New York, and wonders if anything has changed at all. When he loses his wallet full of credit cards, he thinks of them as sentimental junk that he can easily replace.

The way Stasys finally sees reality sums up he and his friends as “white, privileged men, not entirely happy, suffering from first-world problems; hoping for enlightenment at some point in the near future.” Stasys still haven’t found happiness at the close of the novel, but he has found something.

Cold East is written, or rather, translated, in a lean, a straightforward, almost stripped-down, noir-like, style, with no long descriptions or adjectives. An example: “I go out to the street. Dark. Hot. The smell of food and rubbish. Soy, rice, fried bananas. Shrimp. Ginger. A soft smell of coriander. Fried chicken. Rotten souls. My soul, if I still have one.” Those sentences are not typical of the rest of the novel, but you get the idea how images fast cut from one to the other cinematically.

Even if the picture painted of Malaysia in the novel is no tourism guff, remember it is merely fiction. Or something rendered as fiction.

Gabija Grušaité is an author and curator; Cold East is her second novel. A graduate of Anthropology & Media from Goldsmiths College, UK, Gabija’s creative pursuit is defined by the relentless search of new horizons through travel. In 2009, she settled in Penang, Malaysia where she cofounded an independent, contemporary art centre – Hin Bus Depot – where she was curator-in-chief. She currently lives in Vilnius, Lithuania with her two Malaysian dogs, Gorgeous and Hazelnut.

#Cold East #Gabija Grušaitė #novel #Penang Monthly Book Prize 2018 #Clarity Publishing #fiction #literature

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miguelevents · 4 years

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Le birthday de @singuilaofficiel c'était lourd🔥🔥🔥 au @khao_suay_henri_lee, souvenir inoubliable. "Animation Dj, Son est Lumière & Animation Photo Booth" Web : https://miguel-events.com Mail : [email protected] Phone : +33676909537 #dj #djparis #paris #mariage2019 #mariage #mariageparis #mariagechampetre #djmariage #corporateevents #soireeentreprise #events #weddingplanner #weddingplannerparis #weddingday #wedding #photobooth #soiree #soireeparisienne #party #anniversaire #happy (à KHAO SUAY) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Pg5SCo8m7/?igshid=12kizagvtdxfq

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umichenginabroad · 5 years

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Thailand 2019

Thailand was also so incredibly beautiful. While I will detail certain aspects of my trip, the best thing that I can do is provide you all with many pictures. Within this amazing portion of my trip, I checked out Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Hope you enjoy! PS. sorry for the formatting, I’m submitting this blog on my phone...

We woke up around 7 am in order to eat some breakfast (another delicious Susan Banh Mi) and make our way to the Da Nang airport. After a quick flight, we arrived in Chiang Mai around 12:30 pm. Since our other friends wouldn’t arrive until 6:30 pm — and we didn’t want to see certain things twice — we decided to simply head out for some food at a wonderful restaurant named Dash and walk through the nearby markets. There are so many temples scattered throughout the old part of Chiang Mai that we were able to keep ourselves occupied until the others arrived. When they did, we went on our way to get some dinner at a local hipster-market and then strolled throughout various night markets. After a while, we we went back to the Airbnb for some chill drinks and card games to end the night.

We left around 10:30 am the following day to check out Wat Phan Tao, Wat Chedi Luang, and Wat Phra Singh (all very beautiful temples). We got lunch at a very quaint little home-style place called Nun’s before heading to see the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep on the outskirts of the city. From there we went back into the city to check out the Night Bazaar Market again (where we all bought some typical Thai pants) and eat food at the local hipster market once more. We then decided to attend a Muay Thai event, where we got the chance to see six separate fights ranging in age, weight, and sex divisions. It was very cool to see how Muay Thai is in person! Afterward we made our way back to the Airbnb for some more drinks to end the night, laughter and conversations continuing until 5 am.

We woke up and left around 11 am the following day to get some amazing food at Khao Soi Khun Yai before heading out of the city to check out the Wiang Kum Kam area. We got to see some very ancient ruins before making our way over to the airport. Our flight arrived to Bangkok around 6 pm, and from there we dropped our stuff off at a nice little hostel before hopping on some tuktuks to the Asiatique Riverfront market. We enjoyed nice street food and strolled through the boardwalk for a while before heading back to the hostel for a chill night that went into the very early hours of the morning.

We woke up and left around 11:30 am the next day to check out Wat Traimitr and Wat Pho before getting some late brunch at a nearby restaurant. From there we headed over to Wat Suthat, which ended up being closed for prayer, so instead we took a tuktuk to the river for a river tour down the stream and to see local houses. The tour took us to a floating market and also dropped us off at Wat Arun for a beautiful sight of fine details. We then made our way back to Wat Suthat to check it out before taking a subway to the Ratchada Roy Fai train market. It had a very hipster vibe and was real cool. We got back to the hostel around 11 pm before showering and chilling for a good while.

Although we wanted to check out the Grand Palace and Wat Kraew while in Bangkok, it turned out that our stay had coincided with the King’s birthday so it was closed down. We therefore left the hostel around 10 am for Wat Saket, a gorgeous golden-domed, mountain-placed temple that offered a nice view of the city from up top. We then went back to the hostel area for lunch since half of the group had an afternoon flight, before the remaining party left to go explore Lumphini Park. It was a very nice area to walk around in, and we even got the chance to watch and play Sepak Takraw with some locals. We were not good at all but at least we managed to get a few good sets in ahaha. We left to hit up a nearby Irish pub for a while before grabbing some amazing Japanese food and checking out Patpong night market. It was quite interesting to say the least, the surrounding area attracting interesting crowds. We then strolled around for a bit until we were finally able to find a store that sold Takraw balls, a friend and I buying one to treasure the memories. From there we headed back to the hostel for some drinks before taking an hour long nap and heading out to the airport for our flight back to Hong Kong.

I write this blog on the airplane, recounting the amazing times that I’ve had on my trip in Thailand. Chiang Mai and Bangkok were absolutely stunning, and I am glad to have been able to travel to this beautiful country with my friends. There are only two weeks left of the ISP program, so I will make sure the make the most of it. Talk to y’all soon!

Sebastian Munoz

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEhongkong #SebastianMunoz #IPESummer19

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tomandharriet · 5 years

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When two became three

Despite being a long way from our family and friends, it was a Christmas which kept on giving. Our next present, 2 weeks in the company of Rose! The race to a prearranged point in Bangkok was narrowly won by us, as we anxiously waited for Rose, who is good at most things which aren’t navigation related. Thankfully she had 8 hours in Chengdu to study our detailed instructions and hand drawn maps and as it turned out, we needn’t have worried. Arriving about 5 minutes after us, we were delighted to see her familiar face as she walked along the platform. We headed straight to our hostel, just off Khaosan Road (another infamous Thai destination). We kept up the theme of not really exploring much around us, spending the remainder of the day catching up over food and drinks.

The next day turned into more of the same. By chance we had 2 friends in Bangkok on the same day. Meeting up with Simon and Ollie (who’s birthday it was) for an early afternoon drink, turned into a day session on Khaosan and before we knew it we’d seen none of Bangkok, beyond the street sellers selling all sorts of wierd, wonderful and outrageously rude tourist tat.

We could’ve happily spent the whole night drinking White Russians with them and nearly did, when we came extremely close to missing our night train to Chiang Mai. This culminated with our pre-booked ticket turning up at our carriage door 2 minutes before the train pulled out of the station. We’d had a great day but that was about to get even better as Rose suddenly turned into Santa. We knew that she was bringing a few gifts out from Harriet’s family - but Rose had also secretly got Tom’s mums contact details, which meant we both had little stockings to open and hang at the end of our sleeper train beds! We actually nearly cried, it was such a lovely gesture and moment. We also knew how much it would’ve meant to our mums to be able to piece together the stockings. Nobody is perfect though and Santa Rose had one comical slip up, handing Tom a present which he excitedly opened, and then froze.. discovering a Fitbit, which he knew was intended for Harriet, but didn’t quite know how to react whilst being filmed.

We woke up the next morning, shortly before pulling into Chiang Mai, which was comfortably our favourite place in Thailand and actually one of our favourite cities on the trip. Chiang Mai strikes a perfect balance between having interesting things for visitors to do, whilst feeling like a genuine locals town, full of lovely people. We were fortunate to be able to meet up with James, an old family friend of Tom’s, who lives in Bangkok but was spending New Year with his wife, Mandy and her family in Chiang Mai. Mandy who was born in Chiang Mai, acted as our personal tour guide for the morning and we soon found out that she shares a love for Tom’s newfound favourite dessert, which will be covered in great detail later on! She also showed us some great coffee spots, filled us in on some of the history of Chiang Mai and gave us the background on why the King looks so unhappy in the giant billboard pictures of him, which are on display everywhere. It turns out he’s not as popular as his Dad was, largely down to his own actions, it seems!

We had heard lots of good things about Chiang Mai, but it was the New Year lantern festival which we were particularly keen to witness. We had a lovely meal out before heading to the old town walls, where along the moat, thousands of people were already gathering and beginning to release lanterns. Environmental concerns aside for now (our pangs of environmental guilt have multiplied as our trip goes on), the Chiang Mai lanterns are a spectacle that outshone (sorry) any firework display we’d ever seen. The sense of fun, togetherness and hope for the upcoming year was infectious, as friends and families gathered in small groups, wrote their names, stories or wishes on their lantern and then released them. The cumulative affect was stunning, as a steady stream of candle powered lanterns disappeared up into the night sky.

Waking late and predictably groggy the next day, we had lined up two events to see us through the first day if the new year. The first was a relaxing boat tour along Chiang Mai’s river With a pitstop at quite a random and underwhelming herb farm, The main event was an evening at the Thai boxing, as we seeked to continue our run of watching sports in each country. After some dinner and drinks, we headed to the stadium, expecting a bit of a buzz to surround the place. We were greated by 1 security guard and a very shut boxing stadium. Despite selling tickets for the night online, there was no scheduled boxing due to it being the 1st January. A knockout punch to our plans!

Our final day in Chiang Mai produced our best example of just how overwhelmingly kind the majority of people we have encountered on our trip, came out of a moment of misfortune. Rushing to get out of one of the cities red taxis, Harriet left her phone on the bench, realising too late as the taxi drove off round a corner. Still with her Indian SIM card in, there was no way of tracing the phone, but that didn’t stop a couple of passers by who noticed that Harriet was upset and pulled over to ask what had happened. They made phone calls, posted on local Facebook pages and prompted a local garage with CCTV cameras to trawl through the footage in an attempt to get the license plate of the taxi. After more than an hour of trying but ultimately failing to find anything of use, they then drove us back to our hostel and outright refused our offer of any money or alcohol as a thank you for their display of kindness.

Our next destination was Pai, a small town located near the jungle, a few hours north of Chiang Mai. Over the 3 nights we spent there, we came to realise that Pai town itself was a slightly odd touristy bubble. It mostly consisted of a main strip, offering some really good street food and some Groundhog Day-esque street performances ranging from children who clearly didn’t want to be there, dancing to pop or traditional songs, through to a Pharaoh driving a giant duck and turning the sale of customisable flip flops into an interactive show. Ok that was actually great and Tom is still wearing his yellow and black flip-flops which cost less than £3, show included! We also had some great evenings at the bars, most notably the rock-bar which after a string of fairly decent performers, had a local Thai guy who gradually emptied the bar without us noticing. Ok so he wasn’t great at guitar, and his pitch was way off, but his heart was in the right place and when he thanked the crowd (three of us sitting outside and the barman who was likely his mate) we were won over and demanded an encoure.

Oddities aside, we really enjoyed our time in Pai. Our hostel looked not dissimilar to a hobbit home and provided us with an excellent base. The highlight though was the surrounding area, which no doubt attracted the original visitors and is the reason for Pai’s boom in popularity. Using mopeds as our mode of transport for a few days, we visited several sceneic locations, including the stunning Pai Canyon, some waterfalls, a land split caused by an earthquake and some thermal springs.

We also took our chance to complete a day trek through the nearby bamboo jungle. Setting off early and driving approximately 90 minutes out of Pai, we trekked through difficult undulating terrain. The trek was well worth it thanks to a dip in a waterfall at the end and mostly down to an encounter with a family of gibbons. The gibbons were wise to the trekking route and knew that humans passing would likely mean some treats. But unlike the many overly bold monkeys we’d encountered who would grab anything at first chance, they were more timid, keeping their distance at first and preferring to catch their food - and their handling was impeccable, not dropping a thing. Feeding them bananas and then a few spare muffins, they grew more confident and eventually came to take food out of our hands, before retreating to eat it.

As our flight to Hanoi was from Chiang Mai, we had one final evening there. Round 2 for Thai boxing and this time it was on! Whilst we’re no experts, the standard of most bouts wasn’t particularly high and the evening drew to a strange conclusion when the final fight was contested between 12 year olds.

Food

One of the more interesting things we tried in Bangkok was a popular Northern Thailand dip called nam phrik ong. This is a really spicy dip made with dried chillies, ground pork and tomato. It was served with pork scratchings, sliced cabbage, cucumber slices and some fresh herbs. The combination of all of the different flavours and textures made this dip so irresistibly morish.

Chiang Mai was full of lots of cafes and restaurants selling delicious and fresh Thai food. However, one absolute stand out cafe we visited with Tom’s family friends James and Mandy was a place called mango tango. Every dish (and drink) on the menu contained their beloved juicy fruit. Naturally, we went for the trio option to try as many of the mango treats on offer, which amazingly felt so varied. One particular mango dish that Tom managed to trial pretty much every day we were in Thailand was a dessert (or in Tom’s case breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack) called mango sticky rice. The dish is made by letting the cooked rice absorb all of the sweet coconut milk. Once absorbed the gooey rice it is served on a plate with any remaining coconut milk drizzled on top and served with slices of the juiciest mangos you can imagine. The dish often had a sprinkling of crispy yellow mung beans to give it that little extra crunch.

Another delicious dish that was a Chiang Mai speciality and insanely good was khao soi gai. This is a coconut curry dish made with chicken thighs and topped with crispy noodles (and more noodles mixed in the curry) and pickled, chilli shallots. All served with beans sprouts, coriander and a wedge of lime. A comfort dish to warm all hearts, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Pai was pretty much just one touristy strip of street food. You could get anything from your typical Thai dishes to nachos, corn on the cob and even home baked pasta dishes. Although very exciting at first the novelty did start to wear off by day three. The overwhelming choice often resulted in Rose, Tom and Harriet being split across the length of the strip aimlessly wondering around slowly filling up on a random combination of food, kind of like you do at buffet. Although the fried dumplings were heavenly....

A final note that is not specifically recipe focused but one that can’t go without a special mention was on a post night out dinner date with Rose and Tom (Harriet had tapped out and gone to bed at this point). Tom managed to eat a mouthful of wasabi mistakingly thinking it was guacamole. Tom’s eyes were watering so much Rose was concerned the couple next to them thought she had just broken up with him.

Travel Jukebox - ‘Amajovi Jovi’ by Sandy B

We must start by apologising to Joe McTaggart for being the sender of the only album we rejected. This wasn’t because it was a bad choice. Far from it, Joe’s original choice of Grandbrothers was an album we had listened to repeatedly in the weeks prior to leaving. We knew we could rely on Joe to provide us with a unique album we’d never heard of and we wanted to give him a second pick for the jukebox. He didn’t disappoint!

Joe suggested we listen to the album when we fancied a bit of a party, so it’s only fitting we talk about it in the same post as Rose’s arrival, New Year and a time in our trip when the scales of cultural traveling vs boozey holiday, took a big swing in favour of being ‘Brits abroad’.

Originally released on cassette tape in 1994, out of apartheid South Africa, the album has an underlying tribal theme, with rhythmical beats and playful chanting throughout. It has a very satisfying simplicity to it too, focusing on simple hooks and drum loops. It’s the type of album you’d love to be able to go back in time to the release year, to be able to gauge just how groundbreaking it likely was then. ‘Party Time’ stands apart from the otherwise more club vibe tracks and feels like a nod to the growth of West Coast hip-hop at the time. The album finishes full circle with an instrumental version of the opening (title) track, a very satisfying way to round off this (as anticipated) unique album!

TLDR; Rose brings the party!

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postcards-fromafar · 5 years

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New York

Although Dan has been to New York several times, I had only spent one weekend here back in 2013, when we had come to visit our friends Dave and Meghan. I was pumped to come back again and explore the city, especially since Dan’s family will be moving here this summer!

We had designed this trip around a very special occasion- Dan managed to score Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets last spring, so we (along with my parents) surprised my fifteen-year old sister, Molly, with the trip to New York to see the show for her birthday and Christmas presents. We were joined by our friend Becky.

Bonus for this trip- it was Molly’s first flight ever!

Highlights

-9/11 Memorial and Museum- We went here on our first day in New York. It was incredibly moving and powerful, and it brought back so many of the feelings from sitting in 7th grade and witnessing this tragedy. It was before Molly’s time (she wasn’t born until 2003), but she also found it to be really compelling and emotional. I would definitely recommend going to the museum for anyone visiting New York.

-Wandering around and shopping with Natalie- We had a great time having brunch, roaming around, and shopping at places (like the MOMA gift shop- the best!) with Natalie.

-Chelsea Market- We went late at night so most of the shops and restaurants were closed, but it was nice to wander through while it was fairly empty. It’s a really aesthetically neat place, and I want to come back sometime for a meal (or shopping!).

-Sunday morning exploration with Molly- Dan and Becky were out until 3am on Saturday night with Natalie, but Molly and I were back at the hotel around 11pm since she couldn’t go to the bars (for obvious reasons). We woke up earlier so went on a walk for a couple hours before reconvening with Dan and Becky before the show. We checked out the exterior of the apartment building from the show Friends, got bubble tea and smoothies, and walked about half of the High Line. It was some really lovely sister bonding time!

-Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- The main event- and oh man, it did not disappoint! The show was over 5 hours in length (split into two parts, one at 2pm, the second at 7:30pm), and I could have easily watched for many more hours. The original cast from London were fantastic, the set was incredible, and the special effects were truly magical. We were all implored to “keep the secret” so I won’t give away any plot points but if you get the chance to see it, don’t hesitate!

Below- us with our house flags. Becky and Molly are Ravenclaw, I’m Hufflepuff, and Dan is Slytherin.

Afterwards, Molly begged us to wait outside to see which actors might come out to say hi or sign autographs. She and Becky got several autographs and a picture with the actor who played Ron!

Molly was being a huge fangirl and was very nervous/excited about the possibility of the actor who played Scorpius (Draco’s son, one of the main roles) coming out. She was really afraid that I was going to say or do something to embarrass her. Not sure where she would have gotten that idea?

-Free walking tour- Sandemann’s New Europe (our favorite tour company) has a free walking tour in New York, so of course, we had to do it. We saw the bull outside the Stock Exchange, learned about the history of immigration and how New York changed over time, and saw Alexander Hamilton’s grave. Molly and I had to split off for a while because it was super cold, but we enjoyed the parts we were present for.

Bummers

-Becky’s long delays on Saturday- Poor Becky was over 12 hours delayed due to “weather” in Dallas. She left Houston at 5am and she didn’t end up getting in to New York until around 7pm.

-Molly not getting to meet Scorpius- The actor never ended up coming out after the show. Look at that sad face!

-The wind!!- It was crazy windy (50mph+) on Monday (in Chicago the previous day as well) which made the walking tour unbearably cold. Not helping matters, the teenager in our group decided she did not need to wear a jacket and would be fine in her sweatshirt. She ended up with the shakes, and she and I had to depart the tour for an hour so that she could warm up. Our flights out ended up significantly delayed too due to the wind.

Eats

-Italian food for dinner at al Vicoletto

-Pizza from Joe’s Pizza- Classic New York style pizza at a spot often frequented by celebrities. We went early so didn’t have to wait long.

-Thai food at Obao in between acts of Harry Potter- I was very excited that they had khao soi here- a super yummy Northern Thai noodle dish that is very hard to find! They also had tasty cocktails as happy hour specials.

Drinks

-Dan and Becky went out drinking with Natalie on Saturday night to a couple of cocktail bars (Bathtub Gin and the 18th Room) and then to Brooklyn to meet up with a buddy of Dan’s on Sunday night.

People

-Molly- I had so much fun traveling with my baby sister! We had lots of good conversation, and it was so much fun to take her on her first flight and visit a new city with her.

-Natalie- Dan used to work with Natalie in Chicago, and then she moved to New York two years ago. Natalie is such a fun, cheerful person and we’ve really missed hanging out with her in Chicago. We’re glad we finally made it to New York and were able to spend some time brunching, shopping, and (at least for Dan and Becky) partying with her!

-Becky- Becky had already proved herself to be an amazing travel companion in our journey to Oman and Dubai a couple years ago. We loved traveling with her again, especially for something Harry Potter related that we could nerd out about together!

Observations and Insights

-There is so much more to explore! Although Dan has been to New York on multiple occasions before, this was only my second expedition. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface! New York has so many amazing neighborhoods to explore, awesome nightlife, and delicious food. I also want to do some of the more standard touristy things (Central Park, Ellis Island) during a time when it’s warm enough to properly enjoy them. Fortunately for us, Dan’s parents and sister are moving to New York this summer! I’m confident there will be many more New York trips coming up in our future...

#new york #usa #northamerica

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healthyfoodiesforever · 3 years

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Restaurants in Thailand that you must try!

Thailand has some of the best restaurants and dishes a foodie could ask for. Thai cuisine is famous all over the world and what better place to try it out than Thailand itself? Have a look at the best restaurants in Thailand that you must visit if you ever go to Thailand. These restaurants are the best in Thailand and would surely make the culinary experience of your Thailand trip more memorable. Make sure you try and visit these fabulous places!

Eat Me, Bangkok

The name of the restaurant speaks volumes about the services it offers. They not only offer local delights but also offer the best of International cuisines to create a well-rounded menu that offers over 50 meal choices.

The decor of the restaurant is also beautiful and unique. They are surrounded by tall trees and the balconies to the restaurant are decorated with green bamboos and many beautiful paintings. Some of the must-try dishes here are the Salmon Gravadlax, the Mustard Emulsion, the Chocolate Vodka, and the Lamb Rack.

Blue Elephant

If you are looking for the main culinary highlight for your Thailand trip you should definitely visit Blue Elephant in Bangkok. The restaurant has a cooking school and has three menus! These three menus are Thai food from the past, Thai food from the present, and Thai food from the future!

They offer the best desserts and sweet treats in Thailand. Some of the best dishes here include the Crab Curry, the Sea Bass, the Khang Khao Phuak, and the Foie Gras. The overall experience here is beautiful, modern, and orthodox at the same time.

Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant, Chiang Mai

You might be one of those who hate vegetarian food. Well, that hatred would definitely end when you visit the Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant in Chiang Mail. Their slogan says “Vegetarian food so delicious you won’t miss the meat.” This speaks volumes about the type of food you can expect from the place.

The place is known to serve the best vegetarian food and the best Thai food in Thailand. Their main aim is to promote organic living and they are doing it in a very delicious way. Their main items include the Massaman Curry, the Banana Flower Salad, the Miso Eggplant, and the Vegan Chocolate Cake

Red Sky Bar, Bangkok

The Red Sky Bar is Bangkok’s best rooftop bar and restaurant. It also featured in the famous movie ‘Hangover’ You can have a look at the beautiful sunset and take a 360-degree panoramic view of Bangkok as well.

Their menu is very pricey but none the less their ambiance and the food compensates for that they serve some of the best Thai and European cuisine food in Thailand. Dishes that you have to try here are the Wagyu Beef Tenderloin Rossini, the Manjari Chocolate Fondue, and the New Zealand Lamb Shank.

Nami Teppanyaki Steakhouse, Bangkok

If you are traveling with your family and are looking for a vibrant, happening family restaurant then the Nami Teppanyaki Steakhouse in the JW Marriot hotel Bangkok is perfect for you. You can enjoy great quality steak, lamb, and seafood here. All of these would be made on a hot plate directly in front of your eyes. This open-air kitchen style is very unique and is liked by many visitors.

The Saga Beef, the Hokkaido Scallops, the Snow Fish, and Fried Rice are some of the most ordered dishes here. The restaurant is very child-friendly, this is the reason that it is a popular host to birthday parties and special events.

FAQs

What is a typical Thai meal?

A typical Thai meal consists of five flavors which are sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and salty. A typical Thai Dinner mostly has a fish dish, a noodle dish, some vegetables, and soup.

What is the staple food in Thailand?

Rice, is the main dietary staple food in Thailand. They either consume it ask it is or shape them into balls. Rice is also used to make desserts throughout the country.

What is the healthiest thing to order at a Thai restaurant?

The healthiest things to order in a Thai Restaurant are Green Papaya Salad, Chicken Satay, Spicy Beef Salad, and Whole Steamed Fish.

What is the most popular Thai curry?

The Penang curry and the Massaman curry are the most popular Thai curries. They are very famous throughout the world and are somewhat the face of Thai cuisine across the globe.

#thaimeals #thaifood #thai restaurant #food near me #seafood #dinner #fastfood #thaisoup #bangkok #chaingmai

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wanderinglotus7 · 5 years

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Escape to Paradise

My time in Bangkok is coming to an end real soon. Instead of being cooped in the city, me and some friends decided to take trips to Khao Sok and Koh Phangan. Both places are located in the south of Thailand. These are my last two trips before heading back to Virginia. I want to include Laos too, but my finances pushed back this trip till further notice.

Khao Sok was first! Some might think this trip could’ve waited, but it was a great mini vacation before I started finals. Besides it was for McKenna’s birthday and I’ve been studying almost every other day for finals...so I deserved it. Khao Sok is luscious with the many greens and colored flowers showering the landscape. The bungalow we stayed at was located in the jungle and near a local river where you can go tubbing. Awaking up to the sound of rain in the morning was relaxing and refreshing. Another place that reminds me of home, and it also reminded me of Vietnam too. The trip there wasn’t too bad expect for getting scammed to take a Tuk Tuk to the bus station which was in walking distance. Whatever.

We mostly walked around the local area and played plenty of card games pretty much every where we went. I learned some new card games like poker, but don’t expect me gambling away at the big casinos in Vegas or anything like that. I did spend one morning and afternoon studying for my Basic Thai exam, I’m not really sure how effective that was because thinking about taking that quiz and exam those grades are gonna be kind of iffy. Besides chilling, I hitched on the back of Noah’s rented motorbike and discovered a Monkey Temple not too faraway from our accommodations. Before the temple, I purchased a nice piece of clothe that has multiple purposes. I’m using it as a wrap skirt, head wrap, scarf, and cover-up. I’m always telling myself to stop messing around with these monkeys, and yet again, I found myself walking a monkey temple. Cue the PTSD again! As me and Noah were walking, we witnessed a group of monkeys and dogs getting buck with each other. Suddenly, I was transported to an episode of animal planet. I caught on video a pack of wild dogs attack and kill a full grown monkey in front of my eyes. It was complete savage. Then the whole place went into a roar. I was ready to book it! I was not getting caught up in this hot mess.

Eventually, things calmed and the monkeys went their way and the dogs went their way. I did feel sorry for the dead monkey, he didn’t deserve to die like that (what if he had a little family). On the bright side, I did see baby monkeys playing with each other. Noah went back and brought everyone else to the temple and we climbed up the stairs built in the cliffs. The view from the top was amazing, but then it started to rain its tail off. Some us waited in a small cave till the rain lightened enough to walk in the rain without being drenched. We stopped at an excursion spot and signed up for an all day tour at the lake. They did not inform us what type of activities we will be doing. We thought it was going to be a simple boat tour of the lake and we would chill there and have lunch. Wrong! We did tour the lake and had lunch on the water. After lunch, we ended up completing a two hour hike/trek through the jungle. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, however, the terrain was slippery and muddy (I slipped maybe once or twice).

Our tour guide was chill and kind of funny. The water was nice and cool. I’m glad I did this, we ended up exploring a cave to reach the waterfall inside the cave. The water level was pretty high so, we couldn’t go that far but the distance we did go was good enough for me. Good thing our guide had some head lamps because it was dark up in there. He took us to a place in the cave where the conditions/environment was similar to what the young Thai soccer team and their coach had to experience when they were trapped a couple of months ago. I couldn’t imagine living in those conditions for days and not knowing if anyone knew where you were at or if people were even looking for you. After our exploration, we went back to the restaurant and spent the rest of our free time on the lake. Right when we exited the jungle it started to pour down rain.

We stayed in Khao Sok for at least five days and headed back to Bangkok on Tuesday. Then that following Friday, after our Thai final, we left for the airport to go to Koh Phangan. The mission was to attend the Full Moon Festival that Thailand host every month of the full moon. The festival is held on one of the beaches on the island. So, we had to take a taxi, plane, bus, and ferry to get to the island and then we had to take another taxi to get to our accommodations. The entire day was exhausting and the actual ride was bumpy the back roads are worse than my driveway at home. The trek was worth it because we were staying directly on the beach with the prettiest blue water and baby powder sand. The water was the right temperature, and the jungle was the back drop. Along the way, we convinced a nice woman named Diane to come along with us. We meet her on our ferry ride and she became like our adopted mom or the fun cool aunt. The festival wasn’t till Sunday so, we all just chilled at the beach and relaxed. Again, we played plenty of card games, swam and laid out in the sun (expect for me of course LOL). I spent most of my afternoons sleeping or listening to music in the hammocks around the property. The locals there were friendly especially our driver and the old head who ran the snorkeling boat.

Of course, we took plenty of pictures worthy of Instagram (I know I did). I’ve been flexin’ on the gram for a good while. Sunday came which meant all the parties and weirdos were coming out that night. The party was at the opposite end of the island, so we had to endure a crazy and bumpy 45 minute ride (I think it was that long). Pre-gaming was a necessity which began earlier that day. We ate dinner first and played a game before entering the event. Out of nowhere the sky fell and water flooded the streets. I was not having it. I found a plastic bag and used it to protect my braids from getting drenched. People stared, but I didn’t care. They were not the ones who spent a bunch of money getting their hair done (#blackgirlproblems). During the high season there would’ve been around 40,000 people but it was the low season so there was around 10,000 people which is still a lot in my book. During a 7/11 run, I wander off and found a tattoo studio. And that night I received my fifth tattoo (a big compass on my thigh).

Different areas of the beach had different Djs playing various types of music. EDM music was mostly played throughout the night. I witnessed people dancing, puking their brains out, jump rope [which the jump rope was on fire], people sleeping, peeing in the ocean, and even saw two people having intercourse in the ocean ( I’m a little traumatized). It was an experience. Those are the only words I have to describe that night. We left around 3am and mostly rested the next day. I saw monkeys again (I can’t escape them). Then Tuesday morning, we left and headed towards the pier to go home. I don’t think either of us wanted to leave. I was really enjoying the island vibes. At least I’m done with all my finals so, I didn’t have to worry about studying, writing a paper or preparing for a presentation.

What a trip to finish out the semester.

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mehplore · 5 years

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So difficult to get best 9. So I hope I got all our overseas trip photos in ⚡phuket in june ⚡khao yai & Bangkok in dec ⚡KL in dec ⚡genting trip in Sept (Not inside) ⚡1 day desaru trip in May Many first as well ⚡zoo & river safari ⚡national day parade ⚡sentosa water park Our first date day to uss after having 2 kids. Of course celebrating #aiden_olk first birthday and #alexis_olq 3rd birthday. There were also many small events/milestones to take note 🍁 mother's day and father's outing with school 🍁 my obs 5 day camp and darling's reservist resulting in our first solo parenting the 2 kids 🍁 my first TP experience 🍁 kids first hfmd back to back 🍁 bonding with my kids as I have more holidays than my hubby. #nielife 🍁 2 speeding tickets 🍁 able to celebrate our wedding anniversary after having 2 kids (first anniversary in confinement, 2nd anniversary busy celebrating alexis 1st birthday, 3rd anniversary in confinement) 🍁 many farm trips for interaction 🍁 beach / sand outing on Sunday mornings Grateful that we manage to squeeze in some couple time despite juggling so many things. Look forward to a more fulfilling year ahead. https://www.instagram.com/p/BsF5R6RhUknz81eqHI4KOn1HREqvopEQ436t9g0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13pwwv7xtucn2

#aiden_olk #alexis_olq #nielife

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hubertcoggins27-blog · 5 years

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The World Your Playing Field.

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