As much as I didn't want the vacay to end, it has and I'm now very much back at work. But what can I say, the trip was ab-fab. I mean an all-expense paid trip, company dime paying for my good times :D Who could complain? And there are none. Complaints that is.
Well, I did enjoy myself too much while we were sailing/yachting in the Gulf of Thailand and came ashore with a Kim Kardashian-style sunglasses burn. But I'm chalking that up as a testament of the good times had on the high seas. I mean, seriously, in my lifetime, I never dreamed I would be sailing on a magnificent yacht, mooring off private beaches and taking dips in the warm, crystal clear waters while exotic sealife abounds around me but thanks to the extravagance of "The Company", I, and 14 other colleagues, managed to do just that. Back on terra firma and reality-land, I just don't know how I'm going to cope with life as a worker drone. I know now that my life was meant to be spent living in style.....looks like I'm going to have to aim higher if I ever consider seriously taking the plunge into marital waters :D
Anyways, the overall trip was fantastic. ELEVEN DAYS OF PAID VACATION PEOPLE! The first 3 nights were spent in Bangkok, before moving on to the jungles of Kanchanaburi for a night and subsequently motoring off to Pattaya for 2 nights with a roundabout back to Bangkok for the remainder of the trip. It was good times all around. My own personal trips to Thailand mainly consisted of moi spending time in the main shopping arterial part of Bangkok and my only other sojourn outside the Bangkok city limits was back in 1993 when we stopped over to visit my aunt and uncle who were posted in Bangkok en route to the US for my sister's grad. It was good that I got to do all the touristy bits like visit the Grand Palace, Ba In Palace (where I managed to rip my faved plaid shirt in my over exuberance posing for piccies in the palace gardens), Reclining Buddha, Ayutthya, Bridge on the River Kwai (it was nostalgic cos I was visiting again after more than 10 years had passed) and the Hellfire Pass (pieces of tragic history there my friends). Most of the sites we visited in and around the greater Bangkok area had been featured on reality show "The Amazing Race" so for those of us who watch the show, we were ecstatic and kept going on and on with one upping each other remembering which season was the place featured in. Nerdy I know :)
I also got to overcome my fear of being mauled by a crocodile in the jungle river when I spent about an hour and a half floating downriver during the 2 days we spent at the River Kwai Jungle Rafts resotel. The water was about 4-5 metres deep and the current going downstream was so strong, basically all you had to do was slip yourself in the water and the current would do all the work of moving you along. Great fun! And the fact that I was assured multiple times before the trip that crocos were definitely not available in that area was a major confidence boost. I also managed to rip another piece of clothing here. I was wearing my favourite Old Navy cargo pants while doing the river float and as I was doing my second round, I slipped off the pier too close to a jutting plank and it caught and ripped the back of my pants. I suspected a rip but only after I was done and was changing did I get confirmation of the state of my pants. Sigh. Was a bit sad and pissed off but that's life. The jungle rafts were great. It's completely back to nature. No electricity at all. I did have a hard time cleaning off after the river dives cos it was past sunset and the lantern was not casting suffiecient light but a good experience nonetheless. We spent the night collectively hanging out on the pier in front of our rooms and one of the boys had somehow procured a guitar and we were raucously singing (and disturbing I'm sure) the night away.
We also made a stop at the Saiyok Elephant Camp for a special 1-hr long elephant ride through the jungle. That was an experience in itself. Now, I know that some places abuse the elephants and whatnot but this camp appeared to be legitimately humane and caring when dealing with these massive, gentle-ish mammals. The elephant that I shared with R was named Tetty and she is 45 years old. She is sweet and such a doll. I even got an oppurtunity to ride on the back of her neck but owing to my inexperience at riding bareback on wild jungle mammals that was an experience of scary porpotions which I graciously absconded in favour of the less comfortable but relatively safer steel seats harnassed atop of Tetty's back. R, however, rode her quite a distance as our mahoot (i doubt the spelling is correct but it means elephant caretaker) guided Tetty along using just the sound of his voice. After, graciously taking loads of piccies for us atop his elephant, he dutifully got back at the helm, since we were about to tread the river again and I don't think between the two of us, we were capable of guiding Tetty to the shore without either falling into the none too clear waters.
Another highlight was the 45 mins train ride from Nam Lok to Lua Phin on the old, rickety Thailand railway system was also an experience to be had. It was a throwback to the olden days and you just had to use a little bit of imagination to see yourself riding the trains fifty to seventy years ago. Another highlight of the trip was the Tiffany show we took in when in Pattaya. What's a Tiffany show? Well, it's a musical extravaganza put on by the most beautiful girl boys I have ever had the pleasure of seeing :D I mean, these men who are now women (or very much on their way to becoming one) are gorgeous with flawless skin. My female colleagues and I were in awe and we even had a few male colleagues feeling a bit confused about themselves after finding that they were slightly attracted to a couple of them :D. And they are a brazen bunch. A male colleague and I were seated in the middle of the VIP section facing the center of the stage and they outrageously flirted with both of us, winking at us and raising their eyebrows. Even I fell under their spell for a bit. Fortunately, it didn't make me question my sexuality cos at the root of it I know that they were males but for my poor male colleague, he felt a bit funny with himself after that night. He's recovered though now :P
And of course, what is a trip to Thailand if you don't help shore up their economy by doing extravagant amounts of shopping. One colleague of mine, the one who had her birthday party the night before we left for the Bangkok, ended up bringing back 10 handbags and a large amount of clothes. The best part of it was she only spent in total about USD200 on ALL her purchases. That's the thing about shopping in Thailand that I love. The goods are cheap and of reliable quality. It's definitely one of my faved shopping destinations. Even the boys in the group came home with a lot more baggage than they bargained for. We only had carry-on luggage going but coming back, everyone paid to have their luggage checked in. We wouldn't have passed customs otherwise! For myself, I did limited spending, just got a floor length kimono-style dress ala the Cate Blanchett Kenzo dress I coveted last year, 2 vests (one long one and a fringe-style waist vest), 2 cotton tie-front cardies, a pair of spiffy heels, some jewelery (includes my most favourite ring of the moment), 2 books, a shopping bag and a convertible clutch/handbag. A relatively tame haul if I do say so myself.
I can't wait for next year's trip, if there is one that is :D
Well, I did enjoy myself too much while we were sailing/yachting in the Gulf of Thailand and came ashore with a Kim Kardashian-style sunglasses burn. But I'm chalking that up as a testament of the good times had on the high seas. I mean, seriously, in my lifetime, I never dreamed I would be sailing on a magnificent yacht, mooring off private beaches and taking dips in the warm, crystal clear waters while exotic sealife abounds around me but thanks to the extravagance of "The Company", I, and 14 other colleagues, managed to do just that. Back on terra firma and reality-land, I just don't know how I'm going to cope with life as a worker drone. I know now that my life was meant to be spent living in style.....looks like I'm going to have to aim higher if I ever consider seriously taking the plunge into marital waters :D
Anyways, the overall trip was fantastic. ELEVEN DAYS OF PAID VACATION PEOPLE! The first 3 nights were spent in Bangkok, before moving on to the jungles of Kanchanaburi for a night and subsequently motoring off to Pattaya for 2 nights with a roundabout back to Bangkok for the remainder of the trip. It was good times all around. My own personal trips to Thailand mainly consisted of moi spending time in the main shopping arterial part of Bangkok and my only other sojourn outside the Bangkok city limits was back in 1993 when we stopped over to visit my aunt and uncle who were posted in Bangkok en route to the US for my sister's grad. It was good that I got to do all the touristy bits like visit the Grand Palace, Ba In Palace (where I managed to rip my faved plaid shirt in my over exuberance posing for piccies in the palace gardens), Reclining Buddha, Ayutthya, Bridge on the River Kwai (it was nostalgic cos I was visiting again after more than 10 years had passed) and the Hellfire Pass (pieces of tragic history there my friends). Most of the sites we visited in and around the greater Bangkok area had been featured on reality show "The Amazing Race" so for those of us who watch the show, we were ecstatic and kept going on and on with one upping each other remembering which season was the place featured in. Nerdy I know :)
I also got to overcome my fear of being mauled by a crocodile in the jungle river when I spent about an hour and a half floating downriver during the 2 days we spent at the River Kwai Jungle Rafts resotel. The water was about 4-5 metres deep and the current going downstream was so strong, basically all you had to do was slip yourself in the water and the current would do all the work of moving you along. Great fun! And the fact that I was assured multiple times before the trip that crocos were definitely not available in that area was a major confidence boost. I also managed to rip another piece of clothing here. I was wearing my favourite Old Navy cargo pants while doing the river float and as I was doing my second round, I slipped off the pier too close to a jutting plank and it caught and ripped the back of my pants. I suspected a rip but only after I was done and was changing did I get confirmation of the state of my pants. Sigh. Was a bit sad and pissed off but that's life. The jungle rafts were great. It's completely back to nature. No electricity at all. I did have a hard time cleaning off after the river dives cos it was past sunset and the lantern was not casting suffiecient light but a good experience nonetheless. We spent the night collectively hanging out on the pier in front of our rooms and one of the boys had somehow procured a guitar and we were raucously singing (and disturbing I'm sure) the night away.
We also made a stop at the Saiyok Elephant Camp for a special 1-hr long elephant ride through the jungle. That was an experience in itself. Now, I know that some places abuse the elephants and whatnot but this camp appeared to be legitimately humane and caring when dealing with these massive, gentle-ish mammals. The elephant that I shared with R was named Tetty and she is 45 years old. She is sweet and such a doll. I even got an oppurtunity to ride on the back of her neck but owing to my inexperience at riding bareback on wild jungle mammals that was an experience of scary porpotions which I graciously absconded in favour of the less comfortable but relatively safer steel seats harnassed atop of Tetty's back. R, however, rode her quite a distance as our mahoot (i doubt the spelling is correct but it means elephant caretaker) guided Tetty along using just the sound of his voice. After, graciously taking loads of piccies for us atop his elephant, he dutifully got back at the helm, since we were about to tread the river again and I don't think between the two of us, we were capable of guiding Tetty to the shore without either falling into the none too clear waters.
Another highlight was the 45 mins train ride from Nam Lok to Lua Phin on the old, rickety Thailand railway system was also an experience to be had. It was a throwback to the olden days and you just had to use a little bit of imagination to see yourself riding the trains fifty to seventy years ago. Another highlight of the trip was the Tiffany show we took in when in Pattaya. What's a Tiffany show? Well, it's a musical extravaganza put on by the most beautiful girl boys I have ever had the pleasure of seeing :D I mean, these men who are now women (or very much on their way to becoming one) are gorgeous with flawless skin. My female colleagues and I were in awe and we even had a few male colleagues feeling a bit confused about themselves after finding that they were slightly attracted to a couple of them :D. And they are a brazen bunch. A male colleague and I were seated in the middle of the VIP section facing the center of the stage and they outrageously flirted with both of us, winking at us and raising their eyebrows. Even I fell under their spell for a bit. Fortunately, it didn't make me question my sexuality cos at the root of it I know that they were males but for my poor male colleague, he felt a bit funny with himself after that night. He's recovered though now :P
And of course, what is a trip to Thailand if you don't help shore up their economy by doing extravagant amounts of shopping. One colleague of mine, the one who had her birthday party the night before we left for the Bangkok, ended up bringing back 10 handbags and a large amount of clothes. The best part of it was she only spent in total about USD200 on ALL her purchases. That's the thing about shopping in Thailand that I love. The goods are cheap and of reliable quality. It's definitely one of my faved shopping destinations. Even the boys in the group came home with a lot more baggage than they bargained for. We only had carry-on luggage going but coming back, everyone paid to have their luggage checked in. We wouldn't have passed customs otherwise! For myself, I did limited spending, just got a floor length kimono-style dress ala the Cate Blanchett Kenzo dress I coveted last year, 2 vests (one long one and a fringe-style waist vest), 2 cotton tie-front cardies, a pair of spiffy heels, some jewelery (includes my most favourite ring of the moment), 2 books, a shopping bag and a convertible clutch/handbag. A relatively tame haul if I do say so myself.
I can't wait for next year's trip, if there is one that is :D
