Bangkok: Condoms and err... where's the Cabbages?

On the 5th day of the month of Syawal, I packed my (relatively) empty bag (yes... singular) and headed out to Bangkok for the long weekend with a few friends from office. And our purpose of this trip is for one thing and one thing only: SHOPPING!! (Are you surprised?)

It's not hard to narrow down places of interests once we've set out our agenda for this trip. And even then, 3.5 days is still not enough! Sure... we covered Suan Lum Market... Chatuchak Market... Siam Square... MBK... and walked till our feet swells and turned purple and blue and violently protested every alternate step we took and till our purse begged(!) to be put down. But we still didn't get to a chance to go through the wholesale area of Pratunam or stroll down the streets of Chinatown or just soak up the atmosphere of Khao San Road. And this is already my 3rd trip here. Even if given a week, I don't think I'd be able to fully experience Bangkok.

Anyways....

I  managed to get hold of Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok (after a few recommendations) and it is heaven-sent! Full of colourful crayon doodles of the streets and river and shopping malls and markets and restaurants (etc... etc...) of Bangkok, it also includes useful tips of note-worthy places to go. I find it especially useful when trying to decide places to eat.

My friends and I went to the legendary Cabbages & Condoms on our first night...

 It was such a great place for a dinner - tables lined up in the gardens, overlooked by shady trees twinkled with fairy lights...

Rice served square...

Of course, it aint a complete meal without a serving of tomyam. This one was quite good, although not the best I've had in Bangkok.

Deep-fried fish which was fresh and not overly cooked, topped with mango salad...

Lukewarm red rubies was not the highlight of the night.

Oh look! They gave us mint with our receipts!

What? You're telling me this is not edible??

They named it 'Cabbages & Condoms' for a reason...

... although I'm still not sure about the Cabbages. Hmm...

Spied this picture in the halls on our way out. It's too cute not to be given a mention.

And of course, a night here will not be complete without a presence with the infamous Captain Condom!

(yes... he is wearing nothing but condoms and pills)

Well... it is an educational restaurant after all. So we took a moment to do some self-learning.

(notice that the pictures includes girl-boy, boy-boy & girl-girl examples)

Hang on there. More of Bangkok coming soon!

Hare-brained

Okay. You know what? Call me crazy but I swear there's a hare-brained scheme hopping around in my head, making a dent in my rational (rational!) skull. And now I can't think straight. I need help!

Here's the deal: I've a study leave due this November for 5 weeks - 2 weeks of studying + 2 weeks for exams + 1 week of free & easy. Now, my hare-brain of a scheme is suggesting that I take the first week of studying elsewhere. And I'm talking about just spending 7 days in a Quiet-Place-that-is-not-KL and actually study. Ok. I was thinking of doing both studying and a teeny-bit of travelling. But I'm serious when I say that I want to study! Only 'You-know-who' knows how much I need it.

My criteria for the place in mind must be quiet. It must not be that interesting of a place that would make me feel compel to travel the entire time I am there. And the cost of living must be cheap - including airfare - because I'm setting a budget here.

The few places that came to mind happens to be beachtown areas, which includes....

1. Krabi, Thailand

2. Phuket, Thailand

3. Bali, Indonesia

4. Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia (just keeping my options open)

And I've looked up AA and the air tickets for these places are quite reasonable. Trying to look up some homestays/hostels that would be reasonably cheap and comfy enough for me stay in for a week. But... I dunno... do you think I should go ahead with this?

Morning Coffee vs Late-Night-Cuppa

Do you know one of the things that I miss most during the fasting month? Having a good cup of coffee in the morning. It just drives me crazy (bordering on lunacy!) whenever I pass by a Starbucks or SF in the morning on my way to office and the smell of freshly ground roasted coffee permeates through the air, provoking my senses in more ways than one, and with no absolute consideration to my addiction - seducing me with its full bodied aroma - that just makes me sigh and melt into a puddle of goo with just a whift.

Today, I crumbled. Right down to my knees, (almost) begging the barista for:

"Onegrandelowfatvanillalatteextrashot."
**blink**blink**
"Please."

Sure. It satiates that greedy monster in me and guilt that conscience of mine for downing a cup full of empty calories (and skipping the gym - again). BUT it's still not the same as having that particular brew of coffee first thing in the morning. It doesn't evoke that same brand of courage that makes it bearable enough to pull you through the day. Instead, all a late-nite-cuppa (LNC) does to you is to be your only companion as you try to work through the night shift, a small badge of courage against that dreaded feeling of having to meet a deadline. And LNC tends to not be a loyal friend, especially when you need it the most. It'll abandon you without much of a warning, to fend for yourself against that feind - sleep.

A Baking Project

You see... I had this "P.R.O.J.E.C.T." that I had made up in my head - to bake my own cookies and unearth the ever elusive domestic goddess in me and everyone will bow at my feet by just a simplest lick of my cookie crumbs. That's how good I was expecting my cookies to be. I had poured over my Green&Blacks cookbook and scavenge through sosososo many foodblogs for recipes. And now, 4 days and 2 batches of cookies later I've come to a simple conclusion.

FACT: I hate roll-out cookies.

(and roll-out cookies hates me)

I'm not even going to bother sharing pictures more or less cookies with you. And I don't want to re-live those moments - those precious precious hours slaving in the kitchen! - by recapping it here. So there. I shall leave it buried and gone. Out of sight, out of mind. I think I should just stick to cupcakes and muffins and drop cookies.

A successfull attempt: flourless chocolate cupcake

(recipe courtesy of Donna Hay)

Ramblings @ 07092009

Okay. Here's a few facts that you should know about me: I have been recently engaged (okay... not so recent if it's been almost 2 months now) and the wedding is set for early next year.

Now. My problem: I don't want to think about the wedding. It makes me nervous like... umm... a heavy lead inside my chest, hammering against my ribcage. I had a stressful time dealing with my engagement to the point that when my future mother-in-law finally slipped on that ring on my finger, I felt like I could finally breathe. As if a huge weight had been taken off my chest, and I was just so relieved that I had made it to that very moment without much incidence that I - okay, and I'm very embarrased to say this but - cried. Wept. Shed tears. Sob. Blubber. Snivel. You get the point right?

And the thing is, I'm not an emotional person in the first place. Ask any of my friends. They often get frustrated at my lack of facial expresion (which is something I've been improving on for the past few years). And you know the first thought that crossed my mind when I cried during the engagement? I was thinking like... "Am I gonna cry like this for my wedding day as well?" Okay. Some people would say, "Hey! It's happy tears! No shame on that." But... I don't want to start crying on my wedding day too. It's embarrasing.

And yes. The wedding is like an impending anvil hovering over my head, just waiting for the cue to crash on my head. It's not the idea of marriage that scares me. It's the wedding itself that I'm afraid off. Being the first wedding in the family (O.M.G.) both of my parents (and aunts... and cousins...) have already formed different ideas and expectations of what they want the wedding to be like. The father wants something that is acceptable enough to share with his (present and future) business partners. The mother wants something whimsical and fun and ... sorta grand. Me? I just want the solemnization ceremony, and a small private dinner party for those closest - which I'm aware will be the least likeliest to happen.

*sigh*

Would it be bad of me to say that... I hate weddings? The more people talk about it, the more I see the elaborate plannings (and yadda yadda crap stuff) that goes into it... the more nervous I get. And the more I feel like running away. And no... you cannot have an opinion on this if you are not getting married, or have a wedding planner, or do not have an absolute aversion to wedding details.

PS: Huh. Would you look at that? My first honest ramblings on this blog!