Hi,
It is still very hard to pin-point the exact reason for my extreme fondness of Thailand. After so many years, I am sometimes still in awe of what Thailand has to offer, be it the cheap food, cheap drinks, cheap massages, friendly Thais or even the fantastic shopping experiences in Thailand. Every trip to Thailand never bores me at all. My very first trip to Thailand began in 2005. That was when I first went to Bangkok with my friend. It was really an eye opener for me as I experienced first hand the friendly Thai people, shopping districts and the "Red-Light District" of Bangkok.
After my maiden trip in 2005, I returned to Bangkok every year for shopping, tattoos or simply for a short getaway. As it was widely known that Thailand is also the "land of a thousand smiles", Thai people are basically very helpful and polite. They will rather avoid a confrontation than to have a full blown arguement. I will say I never really get bored or tired of visiting Bangkok because of the vibrant experiences in shopping and the nightlife. The frequent trips to Bangkok also showed another dark side of Thailand. There are many people who are stuck in the poverty cycle in Thailand and often, the girls resort to entering the prostitution trade in order to get a better life.
The average salary of a Thai girl working as a manicurist is about 10000Baht per month, which is about S$400. Working in the prostituion trade allows them to earn much more than this amount of money and sometimes if they are lucky, they get to meet a "Fa-rang" who is interested in them. "Fa-rang" refers to foreigners, typically a white man. If I am not wrong, Fa-rang populated areas now include Chaing Mai, Phuket, Koh Samuai and of course Bangkok. It is very common knowledge that if one is looking for a future spouse, the pub or nightclub is never really the place to look for one. However more often than not, these Farangs tend to fall heads over hills with this girl they met at the pub. And after a few days spent together, these Farangs declared themselves madly in love. This may sound nonsensical but really, this is happening on the ground and in Thailand.
I frequented Bangkok from 2005 to 2008, sometimes visiting Bangkok twice in a year. The year 2009 was the only year that I had never stepped into Thailand. However in 2010, I met a bunch of bikers and a plan to visit Hatyai (Southern Province of Thailand) with our motorcycles was hatched. We rode to Hatyai for the Songkran festival in 2010. It was really an enjoyable experience and it taught me a great deal about planning for trips, be it holiday or work-related. One really has to plan well and in advance to avoid any hiccups. It also brought about a sense of achievement for me to ride through the whole of Malaysia's North-South Highway and reaching Hatyai with my motorcycle.
It was the trip to Hatyai in 2011 for the Songkran's festival that somewhat changed my life, not in an entire way but most part of it. My ridding buddy and I initially planned to ride to Koh Samuai that year but due to the severe heavy rain and flooding which just subsided, we were unsure of the road conditions and safety for biking up. Therefore, the decision to re-route our trip to Hatyai was made instead.
I met this woman when I was doing my foot massage, manicure, pedicure and ear waxing. A guy's sixth sense is quite accurate as well sometimes. Let me name this woman Da. I am normally very quiet and shy around gender of the opposite sex and on that day, I was the same as well. Da's skill as a manicurist and pedicurist was top-notched and I fell asleep due to the extreme tiredness from travelling by motorcycle the night before. As we had language barriers, we did not really communicate much and I also did not have any eye contact her, letting her finish her job quietly. Well, it came as a surprise that the lady boss told my buddy and I that Da volunteered to bring us out for drinks that night after she knocked off from work. Being in a foreign land and my 2nd time only in Hatyai, I was quite spontaneous and agreed to it. This was when my buddy prompted me that Da was interested in me but I brushed it off because I did not think it was true back then.
One look at Da and I could tell that she was older than me, very much older but still attractive. As arranged, we waited for Da that night for her to knock off and I discovered that she drives a Mitsubishi Pajero. The Pajero is a 4-wheel drive vehicle. With that, I was convinced that Da was not there to take advantage of us as the car showed that she was qutie well-off. She brought along a friend, named Paa and the 4 of us went to a club called Saturn in central Hatyai. Da was quite a good drinker and was just sitting beside me. After a few rounds of drink, I was actually dancing on my feet and my hands were sometimes seen hugging her waist. She did not reject or push away my hands at all. Further incidents later proved that she was not the easy type and would shun strangers trying to chat her up.
This was the begining of my relationship with Da and till date, we are still together. She brought a whole new meaning to my life and really proves my perception that good Thai Ladies still do exist and they really take care of their men well. Again, let me repeat that I am taking this blog as an outlet to voice out my feelings and opinions and that no one else except my very good friend knows about the relationship with Da.
I have to end this entry as I got to get back to work. I hope to elaborate more on Da the next time and if possible, I will try to write how much she means to me and also my family in Singapore.
Regards,
a guy next door
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Brief Introduction of my current life...
Hi,
My first blog after so many years. I have always taken a liking to writing and it was during my JC days that my love for the English Language grew and ultimately "General Paper" ended up as my favourite subject. Fast forward 10 years after I left my secondary school, I completed my 'A' Levels, served 5 years in the Army, spent 3 years in the construction sector and now I am in the Oil & Gas Industry. There are many stuffs which are left hiddened in me as I am unable to diverge it out to anyone. Therefore, I turned to writing a blog as an outlet for my expression and confidement.
A normal 27 years old bloke will definitely not take the plunge to have a career change when he was married, with his HDB flat on the way. However the salary scale in Oil & Gas Industry proved too attractive and worth the risk to gamble. So in the April of 2012, I resigned from my post as an Operation Executive and joined the O&G Industry as a lowly positioned Technical Clerk. This position required me to travel to Luanda, Angola and I must admit that my foresight has definitely widened after I joined this industry and meeting people from all walks of life. Thankfully, I met a nice boss who transferred me to Ghana after my stinct in Luanda was completed. And again, I must thank my lucky stars, that my current immediate superior in Ghana also take care of me very well. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met and has taught me greatly. Do pardon me as I am trying to be as annoymous here as possible without reflecting too much of personnel details on the internet.
My wife is currently heavily pregnant and due to give birth in July. My first child. I sometimes worry if I am qualified to be a good daddy or role model or good example. I mean, my childhood was fantastic only until the point I entered secondary school. From then it was all downhill and I can confidently say that the culprit was and still is my own father. Many atimes during my teenager years, money was barely enough and we managed to scrape through with my Mum's salary as a chamber maid. I even worked part time when I was in JC to support my own weekly allowance. Life turn for the better after I finished my 'A' Levels. The Army beckoned and I signed on for 5 years so that I could provide a better life for my family. This was also the reason that I did not manage to attend University.
There are Pros and Cons down this route i took. The independent life I had since young allowed me to mature fast and learnt the lessons of life, however, I lost out on my acadamic qualifications. I know that a University Degree will enable me to have a better platform to look for jobs and also better positioned myself for promotion and etc. Thus, I registered with UniSIM back in 2010 for my Degree in Business in Finance. Another obstacle appeared after my 1st year of study and I deferred my study because I am required to travel frequently in this industry, sometimes staying overseas up to 3 months at a time. I loved the feeling of going back to school,interacting with classmates, rushing to complete/ submit my assignements and the project works required. Things aren't that simple as back then when we were full time students in secondary or college days. I am now a full time employer and a part time student.
I will be going back home soon at the end of this month for my home leave. A petty home leave of 7 days only. I know these 7 days will pass by in a wink of an eye. To maximize my time, I planned out my itinerary for these 7 days so that I will be able to fully complete my errands in Singapore and also to spend the maximum allowed time with my wife.
To end this off, I hoped that by publishing this ,I won't bored any reader to death with my monotonous style of writing. I prayed that my command of the English Language will actually improve as my blog entries accumulate. Thank you and have a nice day!
Regards,
a-guy-next-door
My first blog after so many years. I have always taken a liking to writing and it was during my JC days that my love for the English Language grew and ultimately "General Paper" ended up as my favourite subject. Fast forward 10 years after I left my secondary school, I completed my 'A' Levels, served 5 years in the Army, spent 3 years in the construction sector and now I am in the Oil & Gas Industry. There are many stuffs which are left hiddened in me as I am unable to diverge it out to anyone. Therefore, I turned to writing a blog as an outlet for my expression and confidement.
A normal 27 years old bloke will definitely not take the plunge to have a career change when he was married, with his HDB flat on the way. However the salary scale in Oil & Gas Industry proved too attractive and worth the risk to gamble. So in the April of 2012, I resigned from my post as an Operation Executive and joined the O&G Industry as a lowly positioned Technical Clerk. This position required me to travel to Luanda, Angola and I must admit that my foresight has definitely widened after I joined this industry and meeting people from all walks of life. Thankfully, I met a nice boss who transferred me to Ghana after my stinct in Luanda was completed. And again, I must thank my lucky stars, that my current immediate superior in Ghana also take care of me very well. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met and has taught me greatly. Do pardon me as I am trying to be as annoymous here as possible without reflecting too much of personnel details on the internet.
My wife is currently heavily pregnant and due to give birth in July. My first child. I sometimes worry if I am qualified to be a good daddy or role model or good example. I mean, my childhood was fantastic only until the point I entered secondary school. From then it was all downhill and I can confidently say that the culprit was and still is my own father. Many atimes during my teenager years, money was barely enough and we managed to scrape through with my Mum's salary as a chamber maid. I even worked part time when I was in JC to support my own weekly allowance. Life turn for the better after I finished my 'A' Levels. The Army beckoned and I signed on for 5 years so that I could provide a better life for my family. This was also the reason that I did not manage to attend University.
There are Pros and Cons down this route i took. The independent life I had since young allowed me to mature fast and learnt the lessons of life, however, I lost out on my acadamic qualifications. I know that a University Degree will enable me to have a better platform to look for jobs and also better positioned myself for promotion and etc. Thus, I registered with UniSIM back in 2010 for my Degree in Business in Finance. Another obstacle appeared after my 1st year of study and I deferred my study because I am required to travel frequently in this industry, sometimes staying overseas up to 3 months at a time. I loved the feeling of going back to school,interacting with classmates, rushing to complete/ submit my assignements and the project works required. Things aren't that simple as back then when we were full time students in secondary or college days. I am now a full time employer and a part time student.
I will be going back home soon at the end of this month for my home leave. A petty home leave of 7 days only. I know these 7 days will pass by in a wink of an eye. To maximize my time, I planned out my itinerary for these 7 days so that I will be able to fully complete my errands in Singapore and also to spend the maximum allowed time with my wife.
To end this off, I hoped that by publishing this ,I won't bored any reader to death with my monotonous style of writing. I prayed that my command of the English Language will actually improve as my blog entries accumulate. Thank you and have a nice day!
Regards,
a-guy-next-door
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