So I have a bit of time b4 leaving to Jaipur, so I decided to drop by the internet cafe one last time to update my blog.
Anyways, last night I finally took a somewhat of a half assed shower. Before that I haven't really showered at all... Yup. That makes 3 days that I went through in Delhi without showering. But! But! But! Its not because I was too lazy to shower or due to the fact that I didn't like the facilities... well actually I didn't like the facilities BUT I would have showered in them anyways. It is actually because I have no change of clothes or towels... Now why is that you may ask yourself? Well this story actually dates from my arrival to India.
Just as what happened on the time I got off at Hong Kong airport; they informed me that the airlines have lost my luggage. But this time I wasnt the only one. There were a lot of other people yelling and complaining at the airline's representatives (The airline which I would not name but simply note that it is Indian and that it is composed of 2 words, one of which is King and the other is Fisher). Now, when I was in HK that wasnt much of a problem, as I had somewhat of an permanent address where my luggage could be sent to, as well a cell phone number where they can reach me. But in India I knew that I was gonna stay in Mumbai for only 1 day b4 leaving for another city, which made things much more complicated. So at the beginning I kept telling them to send it to Jaipur because that's where I planned to go next. However what I didnt know, is that I had to book the train tickets at least 24 hours in advance. So when I went to buy the train tickets the next day; there were no seats left to Jaipur. Therefore I was left with no other option than to buy the ticket for the next train to Delhi which left that evening at ten to 6.
When I got to Delhi, I simply thought that I might as well call them once I get to my new hotel and ask them to send my luggages to the new location. But when I saw the Main Bazaar, where my hotel was located... I promptly reconsidered my options. My hotel was literally located between the cracks of a wall. We passed it 2 times without even noticing that it was actually a hallway where we can pass through. I had a feeling that there was no possible way for anyone to find this location, let alone send stuff here without it being damaged or stolen. So I decided to put it off until I get to a better Hotel in Jaipur.
So thats all for now... I havnt really proofread my blog; ill do it when I have time :D. Till Jaipur then!
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Monday, 5 July 2010
July 6 2010
July 6, 2010 6:10 AM
Traveling in New Delhi with Holly and Tom
Well I’ve almost got picked pocketed by 2 brats off the streets on my way back, after walking Holly and Tom off to the train station. Since the main bazaar was so narrow due to constructions, they tried to get me when I was letting a car pass by. One of the damn brat even knew how to say some stuff in Japanese and Korean. Luckily I felt it and told them off.
O yeah! By the way Holly and Tom are my 2 British friends that I’ve met on my trip from Mumbai to New Delhi. Ever since we got to New Delhi, we’ve been traveling together. I’m so glad that I’ve met them cause I wouldn’t how to handle all the stress of the city all by myself. Everywhere we went, we were being deceived and tricked. Everything costed more for foreigners! Being able to split the cost of traveling with two other people was a lot more comforting. But honestly with no jokes, its nearly impossible to ask for directions without being brought to a “Tourist office” where it’s once again a network of scammers who get commission from bringing you around to other places than your destination. Its impossible to trust anyone! We went to many temples, palaces and forts of which the names escape me right now, but were splendid anyways (pictures will be posted only once I’m back).
Delhi is a lot better than Mumbai. You can tell that the infrastructures are a lot more modern and up to date. However there are still heavy amounts of dust in the air due to the constructions that they are undertaking in order to prepare for the commonwealth game. We’ve passed by a half finished stadium next to the Connaught place (Central area in New Delhi I believe) where the games are supposed to take place. Apparently they only have 3 months to finish it. But from what we saw; they had only had the metal frameworks and the foundation in place. There is no way that they can finish that in time, unless they are to make the estrades the same as the cheap baseball field ones.
Today, there are still a couple of places that I would like to visit such as the Lotus temple, though I believe that it is way too far out. Then tomorrow I’ll be leaving for Jaipur to catch up with Tom and Holly. Till Jaipur then!
Traveling in New Delhi with Holly and Tom
Well I’ve almost got picked pocketed by 2 brats off the streets on my way back, after walking Holly and Tom off to the train station. Since the main bazaar was so narrow due to constructions, they tried to get me when I was letting a car pass by. One of the damn brat even knew how to say some stuff in Japanese and Korean. Luckily I felt it and told them off.
O yeah! By the way Holly and Tom are my 2 British friends that I’ve met on my trip from Mumbai to New Delhi. Ever since we got to New Delhi, we’ve been traveling together. I’m so glad that I’ve met them cause I wouldn’t how to handle all the stress of the city all by myself. Everywhere we went, we were being deceived and tricked. Everything costed more for foreigners! Being able to split the cost of traveling with two other people was a lot more comforting. But honestly with no jokes, its nearly impossible to ask for directions without being brought to a “Tourist office” where it’s once again a network of scammers who get commission from bringing you around to other places than your destination. Its impossible to trust anyone! We went to many temples, palaces and forts of which the names escape me right now, but were splendid anyways (pictures will be posted only once I’m back).
Delhi is a lot better than Mumbai. You can tell that the infrastructures are a lot more modern and up to date. However there are still heavy amounts of dust in the air due to the constructions that they are undertaking in order to prepare for the commonwealth game. We’ve passed by a half finished stadium next to the Connaught place (Central area in New Delhi I believe) where the games are supposed to take place. Apparently they only have 3 months to finish it. But from what we saw; they had only had the metal frameworks and the foundation in place. There is no way that they can finish that in time, unless they are to make the estrades the same as the cheap baseball field ones.
Today, there are still a couple of places that I would like to visit such as the Lotus temple, though I believe that it is way too far out. Then tomorrow I’ll be leaving for Jaipur to catch up with Tom and Holly. Till Jaipur then!
July 3rd 2010
Date and time of this blog: July 3rd 2010, 7 PM.
I am currently on the train to New Dehli. There are magnificent sceneries outside of the train but unfortunately my spot does not allow me for taking good pictures. So let me paint it out: The dark clouds that drenched me in rain earlier in the day still fill the sky. As the night approaches closer, the view outside is of a somber rainy paysage with hills in the background, lonely palm trees and short leafy trees shadowing over the mid-ground and flooded marshes rising all the way to the foreground. It’s a bit reminiscent of the rural Thailand that I saw on my way down to Pattaya; except for the dark and flooded deserty scenery.
Anyhow… IM IN INDIA! And boy is it scary. Mumbai is far less developed than I thought it to be! Infrastructures such as roads, rails, service centers and irrigation systems are so backwater. Only a puny part of the city is clustered of high-rise buildings and with no super mall, let alone any mall in view. Trash everywhere! People litter freely, though I would understand why. But it was hard for me to grasp the reality at the beginning.
The first thing that shocked me was the Mumbai airport. It was so small! It had a simple design, it wasn’t very spacious and it lacked color. Out of the airport; it was completely the 3rd world. Only Rickshaws and old 19 hundred type taxis filled the streets. Half of the streets were beaten up dirt paths. With all the cars so tightly packed and spewing out exhaust; it was impossible to breath. There were no rules for traffic. It was every man for themselves. On the roadsides were cell like shops and residences stacked on each other in a valley like format with the road at the center. Then I realized that what I saw from the planes’ bird eye view truly represented the city. The slums are the reality and Bollywood is the fantasy.
I am currently on the train to New Dehli. There are magnificent sceneries outside of the train but unfortunately my spot does not allow me for taking good pictures. So let me paint it out: The dark clouds that drenched me in rain earlier in the day still fill the sky. As the night approaches closer, the view outside is of a somber rainy paysage with hills in the background, lonely palm trees and short leafy trees shadowing over the mid-ground and flooded marshes rising all the way to the foreground. It’s a bit reminiscent of the rural Thailand that I saw on my way down to Pattaya; except for the dark and flooded deserty scenery.
Anyhow… IM IN INDIA! And boy is it scary. Mumbai is far less developed than I thought it to be! Infrastructures such as roads, rails, service centers and irrigation systems are so backwater. Only a puny part of the city is clustered of high-rise buildings and with no super mall, let alone any mall in view. Trash everywhere! People litter freely, though I would understand why. But it was hard for me to grasp the reality at the beginning.
The first thing that shocked me was the Mumbai airport. It was so small! It had a simple design, it wasn’t very spacious and it lacked color. Out of the airport; it was completely the 3rd world. Only Rickshaws and old 19 hundred type taxis filled the streets. Half of the streets were beaten up dirt paths. With all the cars so tightly packed and spewing out exhaust; it was impossible to breath. There were no rules for traffic. It was every man for themselves. On the roadsides were cell like shops and residences stacked on each other in a valley like format with the road at the center. Then I realized that what I saw from the planes’ bird eye view truly represented the city. The slums are the reality and Bollywood is the fantasy.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Thailand Last Day
So today is my last day in Thailand... I'm actually staying in to prepare for my trip to India.
At the beginning I found Thailand to be a very scary place. The old Bangkok where I started my journey was very cramped and dirty. Most of the buildings were just small time manufacturers/ producers of the secondary sector. So you had many random junk products such as pipes, tubes, motor parts, rubber parts, cables, etc. being produced in a small and dim lighted garage. The people didn't seem that clean either. Their clothes were all are dirtied from the dust and dirt floating around that place that just adheres to the clothes because of the humidity. Temples reigned over the area, along with markets, bazaars and street vendors. I thought that was all there was to see in Bangkok until I visited the downtown area. Now I find that Bangkok look more like HK, except for the Tuk Tuks and the networks of scammers. At the center of it all, is always the capitalistic empire of sky-rises and shopping malls, with a large range of poverty at the outskirts of the city.
Also, I find that Bangkok is like a sponge; It absorbs all the foreign influences. Unlike Korea, which is much more nationalistic and rejects western cultures (western products or FDI), in Thailand you can find products and restaurants originating from many other countries. From Japan, there are many Japanese restaurants, Japanese nick nack shops and large amount of Japanese porn (Street vendors all sell japanese porn in Bundle loads). From Hong Kong, there are so many noodle shops, bbq pork and bbq duck vendors. From Korea you got the KOREAN MUSIC! YES INDEED, they have commercials with BIG BANG playing all the time in the skyrails. Korean and Japanese pop culture here is big! Probably just as popular as their local Thai pop culture. Mc Donalds, burger kings and KFC are plentiful here. OHHH and the Mc Donalds here have PINEAPPLE PIES AND SPINACH PIES!! Pineapple pies are good! Spinach pies... didn't try.
I know I was suppose to talk about the Paragon Mall, but I rather do it through facebook, with pictures backing it up.
Well till India People! So scared! Bwahahhahahaha
At the beginning I found Thailand to be a very scary place. The old Bangkok where I started my journey was very cramped and dirty. Most of the buildings were just small time manufacturers/ producers of the secondary sector. So you had many random junk products such as pipes, tubes, motor parts, rubber parts, cables, etc. being produced in a small and dim lighted garage. The people didn't seem that clean either. Their clothes were all are dirtied from the dust and dirt floating around that place that just adheres to the clothes because of the humidity. Temples reigned over the area, along with markets, bazaars and street vendors. I thought that was all there was to see in Bangkok until I visited the downtown area. Now I find that Bangkok look more like HK, except for the Tuk Tuks and the networks of scammers. At the center of it all, is always the capitalistic empire of sky-rises and shopping malls, with a large range of poverty at the outskirts of the city.
Also, I find that Bangkok is like a sponge; It absorbs all the foreign influences. Unlike Korea, which is much more nationalistic and rejects western cultures (western products or FDI), in Thailand you can find products and restaurants originating from many other countries. From Japan, there are many Japanese restaurants, Japanese nick nack shops and large amount of Japanese porn (Street vendors all sell japanese porn in Bundle loads). From Hong Kong, there are so many noodle shops, bbq pork and bbq duck vendors. From Korea you got the KOREAN MUSIC! YES INDEED, they have commercials with BIG BANG playing all the time in the skyrails. Korean and Japanese pop culture here is big! Probably just as popular as their local Thai pop culture. Mc Donalds, burger kings and KFC are plentiful here. OHHH and the Mc Donalds here have PINEAPPLE PIES AND SPINACH PIES!! Pineapple pies are good! Spinach pies... didn't try.
I know I was suppose to talk about the Paragon Mall, but I rather do it through facebook, with pictures backing it up.
Well till India People! So scared! Bwahahhahahaha
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Thailand Day 5
Today is the 5th day that I am in Thailand. Time to recap on the things that I didn't talk about.
I spent a day and a half down in Pattaya. To get there I had to take a Van suggested to me by the host at the hostel. First time to ride on the back of scooter in the middle of Bangkok... thought I was gonna die. Then took the ever so cheaply van (only 120 baht/ compared to the 100 baht i payed the Tuk Tuk to go a simple mile) to get down to pattaya... thought I was gonna get tricked and get chopped up by the side of the road. SCARED SHITLESS all along the ride. But I finally got down to Pattaya with all my limbs attached.
First thing I noticed: THRONGS of white old dudes with their Thai partners... Dirty or awkward as it may sound... There is actually an interesting story to all of it. I found out a lot about Pattaya and the system that works there, through a dinner that I had with 2 very experienced and knowledgeable expats living there. Pattaya is a very interesting scene in the midst of Thailand. I want to do more research on it when I have the time. But there is so much that I found out so far... come have dinner or coffee with me some time, and I would not mind discussing it with anyone.
So from this one end of Thailand I came back to Bangkok to visit the commercial an business district of Thailand. THE PARAGON!!! Is what I shall be talking about on my next blog. This MEGA MALL made me feel so insignificant...
I spent a day and a half down in Pattaya. To get there I had to take a Van suggested to me by the host at the hostel. First time to ride on the back of scooter in the middle of Bangkok... thought I was gonna die. Then took the ever so cheaply van (only 120 baht/ compared to the 100 baht i payed the Tuk Tuk to go a simple mile) to get down to pattaya... thought I was gonna get tricked and get chopped up by the side of the road. SCARED SHITLESS all along the ride. But I finally got down to Pattaya with all my limbs attached.
First thing I noticed: THRONGS of white old dudes with their Thai partners... Dirty or awkward as it may sound... There is actually an interesting story to all of it. I found out a lot about Pattaya and the system that works there, through a dinner that I had with 2 very experienced and knowledgeable expats living there. Pattaya is a very interesting scene in the midst of Thailand. I want to do more research on it when I have the time. But there is so much that I found out so far... come have dinner or coffee with me some time, and I would not mind discussing it with anyone.
So from this one end of Thailand I came back to Bangkok to visit the commercial an business district of Thailand. THE PARAGON!!! Is what I shall be talking about on my next blog. This MEGA MALL made me feel so insignificant...
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Bangkok Day1 Revised
So what happened on day 1?
It was a very eventful and tiring day. Lets start from what i liked.
-Take out drinks in plastic bags!!! Bwahhaha imagine drinking coke from a bag with a straw (though i never tried).
-Cheap food only 30 Baht for fishball noodles; which is around 1 canadian dollar
-Cheap breaverages too, all less than 30 Baht
What i didn't like.
-Impossible to find a satisfying meal! At the right price of course...
-OMG so dehydrating! Find myself buying drinks at 711 4-6 times a day
-EVERYTHING ON THE MAP IS FURTHER THAN IT LOOKS!
-Never know what is real or not, lies or truths (DAMN TOOK TOOKS)
Now for the story of how i have been taken for a fool all day!
Usually I like exploring everything on my own independently; away from external influences or suggestions. So that day I took my map and the trusty compass that I bought back in my Busan trip to visit the city.
So starting from around 8 AM, I walked through the streets of Bangkok finding all the touristic attractions displayed. Unfortunately the touristic maps of Bangkok are non-representative of the actual streets. So many smaller streets have been omitted, making the city seem smaller than it actually is. So in reality I had to walk so much more to reach from one landmark to another, which got me lost so many times.
Then, By around 12 o clock at another visit to a random temple, that's when I fell into "THEIR" trap. In the temple that I visited there was a man lighting incense and praying in front of a buddah. Me being the visitor that I was, walked around admiring all the golden beauties of the temple. That's when the man smiled at me and said "You're a foreigner aren't you; you know this temple, mainly the locals people visit it." My first reaction: WOW THIS GUY SPEAKS GOOD ENGLISH! So then we got into a conversation, cause he said that I look thai (And many Korean said I looked Korean). He asked me where I was from; I told him montreal. And what shocked me even more was that he knew where montreal was and was aware that people speak in french there. Then he told me that he lives in LA and he was here on vacation and visiting family. AND ALL OF IT SOUNDED SO LEGIT! Usually i'm very weary of strangers but his story checked out! He sounded like a relatively educated man, which made me accord more time talking with him.
So after the Small talk he asked me did i know that it was a special week in Thailand because of Buddah's birthday? Me remembering vaguely that my Thai teacher told us that the week of Buddah's birthday in korea was different because it was before the one in Thailand (Singapore as well) reinforced my feeling of legitimacy of his informations. Then he showed me things to do on my map, and called the special "GOUVERNMENT SPONSORED TOOK TOOK" that would take me around to few of the temples and the low cost of 10 Baht. Obviously this Took Took driver was part of THIER network of scammers (I took a picture with the Took Took man. If u guys ever see him, spit in his face for me). He then first took me to a "popular temple" which was closed then appologised to me cause he "didnt know". Then it was the shopping places. Then to the closed temples again and then shopping again. But they do it in a way that keep you convinced the whole time that it was a "Gouvernment sponsored" thing and that it was legit. The driver keeps telling me that he gets gaz cupons whenever he brings me these specific places; making me understand the motives under which he brings me to those shops. And at the every now and then temples, there is conveniently another english speaking Thai (or pretend Philippino tourist) that shares his/her story (one of them told me that his brother works in Toronto); keeping you in their game (they tell you about the legitimacy of the stores that you are being brought to).
I always questioned the legitimacy of it all, but only snapped out of it and came to the fact that I was being led along the whole time only at the before last temple I visited. I was at another closed temple when I the "Toronto Brother guy" sitting down, twith 3 empty bottles of water right beside him. And then I realised, "shit he has been sitting here all day talking to foreigners..."
It was a very eventful and tiring day. Lets start from what i liked.
-Take out drinks in plastic bags!!! Bwahhaha imagine drinking coke from a bag with a straw (though i never tried).
-Cheap food only 30 Baht for fishball noodles; which is around 1 canadian dollar
-Cheap breaverages too, all less than 30 Baht
What i didn't like.
-Impossible to find a satisfying meal! At the right price of course...
-OMG so dehydrating! Find myself buying drinks at 711 4-6 times a day
-EVERYTHING ON THE MAP IS FURTHER THAN IT LOOKS!
-Never know what is real or not, lies or truths (DAMN TOOK TOOKS)
Now for the story of how i have been taken for a fool all day!
Usually I like exploring everything on my own independently; away from external influences or suggestions. So that day I took my map and the trusty compass that I bought back in my Busan trip to visit the city.
So starting from around 8 AM, I walked through the streets of Bangkok finding all the touristic attractions displayed. Unfortunately the touristic maps of Bangkok are non-representative of the actual streets. So many smaller streets have been omitted, making the city seem smaller than it actually is. So in reality I had to walk so much more to reach from one landmark to another, which got me lost so many times.
Then, By around 12 o clock at another visit to a random temple, that's when I fell into "THEIR" trap. In the temple that I visited there was a man lighting incense and praying in front of a buddah. Me being the visitor that I was, walked around admiring all the golden beauties of the temple. That's when the man smiled at me and said "You're a foreigner aren't you; you know this temple, mainly the locals people visit it." My first reaction: WOW THIS GUY SPEAKS GOOD ENGLISH! So then we got into a conversation, cause he said that I look thai (And many Korean said I looked Korean). He asked me where I was from; I told him montreal. And what shocked me even more was that he knew where montreal was and was aware that people speak in french there. Then he told me that he lives in LA and he was here on vacation and visiting family. AND ALL OF IT SOUNDED SO LEGIT! Usually i'm very weary of strangers but his story checked out! He sounded like a relatively educated man, which made me accord more time talking with him.
So after the Small talk he asked me did i know that it was a special week in Thailand because of Buddah's birthday? Me remembering vaguely that my Thai teacher told us that the week of Buddah's birthday in korea was different because it was before the one in Thailand (Singapore as well) reinforced my feeling of legitimacy of his informations. Then he showed me things to do on my map, and called the special "GOUVERNMENT SPONSORED TOOK TOOK" that would take me around to few of the temples and the low cost of 10 Baht. Obviously this Took Took driver was part of THIER network of scammers (I took a picture with the Took Took man. If u guys ever see him, spit in his face for me). He then first took me to a "popular temple" which was closed then appologised to me cause he "didnt know". Then it was the shopping places. Then to the closed temples again and then shopping again. But they do it in a way that keep you convinced the whole time that it was a "Gouvernment sponsored" thing and that it was legit. The driver keeps telling me that he gets gaz cupons whenever he brings me these specific places; making me understand the motives under which he brings me to those shops. And at the every now and then temples, there is conveniently another english speaking Thai (or pretend Philippino tourist) that shares his/her story (one of them told me that his brother works in Toronto); keeping you in their game (they tell you about the legitimacy of the stores that you are being brought to).
I always questioned the legitimacy of it all, but only snapped out of it and came to the fact that I was being led along the whole time only at the before last temple I visited. I was at another closed temple when I the "Toronto Brother guy" sitting down, twith 3 empty bottles of water right beside him. And then I realised, "shit he has been sitting here all day talking to foreigners..."
Bangkok Day 2
WOW SO MUCH TO SAY!
First of all, I must apologize for not having updated my blog at all in the last 3 months or so. I was actually concentrated in my studies at school. And that's no lie.
Proof? Hows about 3 A+, 1 B+ and 1 more grade to has yet to be posted. Yahhhhhh that's right!! Hehe but truth be told; exchange in Korea is the easiest. The fact that your a foreigner, and your english is better than the teachers' would automatically guaranty a grade above B+ regardless of the effort you put in.
ANYHOW! That is already the past, cause now i'm in BANGKOK!
Lets start from day 1.
Plane from Incheon - Shanghai and then Shanghai - Bangkok. Lucked out! The flight from Shanghai to Bangkok was overbooked, so they upgraded me to business class. Saturday june 26 12:50 AM, I arrive to BKK airport. Not wanting to pay for taxi, I stayed at the airport until 6 in the morning where I took a bus into town. During that time I was doing my research on the tourist attractions in Bankok. Total hours of sleep: 1-2 hours. By 7 or so I finally reached my hostel, but could not check in to my room, cause I had to wait for other people to check out first. So then I left half the baggages in the hostel and went out looking for breakfast, but then ended up walking the whole day and only came back to the dorm at 6 pm
What happened between I must write on another blog, or else it would be too long on this one.
THUS CONTINUE TO NEXT BLOG IF U WANT TO FIND OUT
First of all, I must apologize for not having updated my blog at all in the last 3 months or so. I was actually concentrated in my studies at school. And that's no lie.
Proof? Hows about 3 A+, 1 B+ and 1 more grade to has yet to be posted. Yahhhhhh that's right!! Hehe but truth be told; exchange in Korea is the easiest. The fact that your a foreigner, and your english is better than the teachers' would automatically guaranty a grade above B+ regardless of the effort you put in.
ANYHOW! That is already the past, cause now i'm in BANGKOK!
Lets start from day 1.
Plane from Incheon - Shanghai and then Shanghai - Bangkok. Lucked out! The flight from Shanghai to Bangkok was overbooked, so they upgraded me to business class. Saturday june 26 12:50 AM, I arrive to BKK airport. Not wanting to pay for taxi, I stayed at the airport until 6 in the morning where I took a bus into town. During that time I was doing my research on the tourist attractions in Bankok. Total hours of sleep: 1-2 hours. By 7 or so I finally reached my hostel, but could not check in to my room, cause I had to wait for other people to check out first. So then I left half the baggages in the hostel and went out looking for breakfast, but then ended up walking the whole day and only came back to the dorm at 6 pm
What happened between I must write on another blog, or else it would be too long on this one.
THUS CONTINUE TO NEXT BLOG IF U WANT TO FIND OUT
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