a trip without regrets

guess who's back! back again! zeya's back! tell a friend! Haha.


I enjoyed the trip, very much. And I'm delighted to have added a milestone in my NS life with the conclusion of this trip.

My 3 days journal:


Day 1:

The departure was on 19 January at 0605 hours, via Tiger Airways. It was a quiet goodbye, as I left my home at 04oo hours to take a cab to the Budget Terminal, with everyone else still soundly asleep. It was my first time going to the Budget Terminal, so I decided to check out how 'budget' it was. It is very small, compared to terminals 1 and 2 (like duh). I felt like I was in some other country besides Singapore, because it did not feel Singapore-ish. Nevertheless, I have no complains about this Budget Terminal because I totally understand the 'budget' concept =p.

The tiger airways. So much for its ferocious image. Understandably, the plane is quite small. But not quite understandably, the service on board the plane is not up to mark. Most prominently, the stewardesses are not quite the 'Singapore Girl' kind. I'm not talking about the image alone. Their service, their actions, their words and their behaviours are clearly not one of the best I have encountered. Surely much has to be improved upon!





A solarize picture of myself on the plane.







This picture was taken outside Chiangmai International Airport, before boarding the coach (at the background). Our first stop was a place called 'Umbrella Making Centre' where umbrellas are handmade. I was overwhelmed (in a positive way) by the variety of umbrellas, in terms of design and size. Our second stop was this Thai Silk factory, where real silk is being manufactured. It was incredible to see how cacoon produced by small silkworms could be effectively made into pure silk clothe, which is in turn made into various apparels. Next up was a rather dry place, not literally though - Thai Bird Nest Restaurant. No, it wasn't for lunch. It is one of the places of attractions in Chiangmai, with a wide array of bird nest products.






A 1960s picture of Uncle Zeya in a tuk-tuk. Wanna hitch a ride?











A scenic view of our resort.






Upon checking in into the resort rooms, we were given some free time, before being transported to this shopping centre called 'Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Centre' in the city area. I managed to observe some similarities of the shopping centre with any of those in Singapore. One of them being the presence of school students hanging around probably after school hours. There was a variety of departments, ranging from sports products, entertainment, clothings, shoes and most prominently, female undergarments. I'm serious! There are 4 stories in this shopping centre and I would guess that there are at least 1 to 2 such shops on every level. Wonder why huh.

Our next destination was the well-known 'Night Bazaar', which is the Chiangmai's version of 'pasa malam', except on a much larger scale. This is also another popular places for tourist because it is here that one is able to find a variety of items, at a very very cheap price. Well, before that you would have to have good bargaining skills for sure. Dinner that evening was at a rare MacDonalds outlet, where I had McChicken meal. It worked out to cost S$3.00+, which is much cheaper than what it cost in Singapore. It was quite an eyeopener, especially when it comes to this row of shops which specialises in drawings. Their drawings of people are so real, that one could hardly tell that it was drawn by hand, except for the fact that it is in black & white because what they use is charcoal. A made a quiet promise to myself that I have to go back there on the second day, somehow, to complete unfinished job of covering the entire Night Bazaar.




Yes, it's Uncle Zeya again. This time, he's a passenger.

To be continued...