Bangkok

I've found another favorite destination! Bangkok was great in so many ways. The flights are easy (meaning hardly any call bells and people who actually say please and thank you), Thai food is magical, and the people are incredibly welcoming. I've been twice already and still can't wait to go back again.

The first time I went, we got to our hotel pretty late, and usually this means I'm going straight to bed. But since the flight was so nice and easy, I wasn't too tired to meet the crew for drinks and dinner. The captain knew of a good place down the street and had never been sick from the food there, and that was as good a reason as any for us to go.

The alley where we ended up was home of my new favorite dessert and the biggest rats in the world. Seriously, these rats were big enough to be lap dogs. Before you judge me for eating somewhere where rats also enjoyed the food, they were in the sketchy bathroom down the alley. While our restaurant wasn't anything special to look at, it was clean and the food was great. One little old lady cooked everything by herself on an outdoor oven that looked like a hot dog stand. And my new favorite dessert? Mango sticky rice. I crave it everyday now.

The next morning, I took a tuk tuk to the Grand Palace. Not going to lie, my life flashed before my eyes a few times on the back of that thing. Anyways, because it was a billion degrees and a billion percent humidity outside, I wasn't going to wear long sleeves. I bought a scarf to cover my shoulders inside the palace, bought my ticket, and was ready to go in when a guard stopped me. Apparently you have to be wearing sleeves under the scarf, so the guy wouldn't let me in. Like sleeves will cover my shoulders any differently than a scarf that covered my whole upper body (can you tell I'm still bitter about it? lol) It was hot and I was hungry and combining the two means I was grumpy. I got my money back and left instead of buying a shirt to cover my harlot shoulders.

I rented another tuk tuk and the driver took me to one of the many temples of Buddha, Wat Intharawihan, with the biggest Buddha statue I'd ever seen. He also drove me to some shopping places and we had some street noodles for lunch before I went back to the hotel... Where I ordered more mango sticky rice. I'm addicted.

The second time in Bangkok is a really short story because a) I was sick and didn't want to go out and get worse, b) I left my debit card in Dubai so I only had the allowance we get on layovers so that, c) I couldn't do much without more money. I had been planning to get a facial and a massage. I just got the facial. I was going to order tons of mango sticky rice and hang out in the hotel. They ran out of mango sticky rice. I was so frustrated with myself for leaving my card in Dubai and with the hotel for not having my beloved sticky rice that I just went to sleep.

They don't sound like the best trips now that I'm writing about them, but I still love Bangkok. The flights are easy (there were only 50/500 passengers back to Dubai on the second trip!), the locals are the nicest, everything is super cheap, and best of all, mango sticky rice!

Singapore

A lot of firsts happened with Singapore.
First time in Asia,
first multi-sector flight,
first visit to a Hindu temple,
first "authentic" Chinese food,
and first time having my palm read by an ex-Buddhist monk.



Asia has never been at the top of my list of places to visit until I went to Singapore. I had a stereotype in my head of Asian cities being a really crowded and chaotic mess of buildings and traffic. But it was such a peaceful, modern, and pretty place. The architecture is the most creative I've seen anywhere, and unlike most big cities, there are gardens and plants mixed in everywhere. One second it looks like you're in downtown LA and the next you're lost in a jungle.

Singapore was part of my first multi-sector flight, meaning I flew from Dubai to Singapore, Singapore to Melbourne, then back to Singapore and back to Dubai. It was around a 5 day trip and I felt dead by the end of it, but I was happy to get two days in Singapore.



I walked to Chinatown and stopped at the Sri Mariammam Hindu Temple. It's famous for its colorful towers and shrines covered in Hindu gods. I had to take my shoes off before I went in and paid a little fee to take pictures. The monks (if that's the right word) were there doing their prayers and chants with Hindu followers in their gorgeous traditional clothing.

Chinatown was HUGE! I bought a lot of souvenirs I didn't need, tried Asian candies, and got dragged into a few shops by the owners who wanted to sell me things (I'm really bad at saying no). There were all kinds of Asian restaurants there: Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Chinese, etc. For some reason, I went with a Chinese restaurant even though I never have good experiences with Chinese food. Actually the waitress standing outside guilted me into going just like all the shop owners guilt me into looking at their stores. I really need to work on saying no... Anyways, this Chinese food experience was the same as always. Me and Chinese food just aren't meant to be. But I did have possibly the best cup of coffee I've ever had in this restaurant. I don't know what the little old lady put in it, but I was in heaven!



The second day I was in Singapore, all I wanted to do was sleep because it was the last day of my trip and I had just flown seven hours from Australia. I forced myself to go out even though I was grumpy and the humidity was slowly killing me. I went to the Gardens by the Bay, one of the places to see according to tourist guides. If you're into gardens and pretty things, this is the place for you. If you're a jet-lagged soulless zombie like I was that day, then don't go and just sleep. The gardens were beautiful, but I wish I would have waited until next time so I could have been in the mood for it.

The best, best part about my two days in Singapore was meeting Chon, the ex-Buddhist monk mentioned above. I was on my way home from Chinatown, ready to get back to the hotel and relax, when I passed Fort Canning Park. I felt like if I didn't go there, I was going to miss out on something. So off I went, walking around another garden. I was taking lots of pictures when a little old man came up to me and asked me where I was from and if I knew anything about the plants. I told him I didn't know much, and he took my arm and said he was my new friend and tour guide for the afternoon. Chon told me all about the plants and spices of the garden, Fort Canning, Singapore, and how he had been a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Then, and now it gets really good, he read my palms and knew my life story. It was crazy how much he knew and how specific he was! He gave me lots of advice I hadn't realized I needed and told me to come back and visit him again. I'm pretty sure he was Buddha reincarnated.



Now Asia is on the top of my list of places to go, especially if I meet more people as interesting as Chon.