Amazing Thailand Part II

    I'm back with the second part of my wonderful trip to a beautiful country called Thailand. In part I I described my visits to Nong Nooch Village, Coral Island and Mini Siam. This portion includes my favorite parts of the entire trip.
First Stop: World's Biggest Gems Gallery
    We had an en route visit to The Gems Gallery at Pattaya.  There was this Dark Ride Presentation System that presented the history and making of precious stones. Photographs were not allowed. There were a variety of Gems, no wonder it is said to be 'the world's biggest gems gallery'.

Second Stop: Safari World, Bangkok
    I was very excited to be visiting Safari World especially because of the Dolphin & Orangutan Show. My cousin had told me that Dolphins were amazing creatures as she had been to a Dolphin Show in Dubai.
    Some pictures from the Animal Safari are shown below.

        
    The safari was a great experience for me specially because it was the first time I had visited a foreign country and all flora & fauna of Thailand seemed so 'THAI' to me.

    
    It was Christmas time due to which most parts of the city Bangkok were painted in red and white. Like I said before that I celebrated Christmas at Thailand because of which I had to miss the celebration in India with my family and close friends. I loved everything about the country but I missed someone very special to me. If I had that one part, everything would be 'PERFECT'.

   My favorite part of all the time spent at Safari World was without any doubt, 'The Dolphin Show'. My tour group gave me a little surprise by giving me a chance to be a volunteer at the Show. I got a kiss from the Dolphin & that made my day.

        I also enjoyed the Sea Lion show. The prices to click pictures with the mammals were quite expensive but I had more than enough money to spend so I went ahead with my decision of having pictures with them.

    After visiting Safari World we headed to the Hotel where we had lunch. In the evening we went for a special cruise on the river Chao Phraya. Our Hotel Montien Riverside was quite close so it didn't take us much time to reach there. We reached quite early and spent some time window-shopping. We were asked to dress up in Black. I wore my favorite black dress and got many compliments for the same.

 

 

    There was buffet dinner with both Thai & Indian cuisine. I enjoyed the live music and danced as well.

    It was Christmas Eve that day. I had a great time but missed someone very special to me. "Wherever you go, whatever you do, the absence of your loved ones will always prick you".
    This ended my trip to Thailand. We did a lot of shopping as well at various malls but I didn't feel the need to mention all of that. I fell in love with the country but I missed my homeland.
    The first thing I did when I reached India was, I text-ed my friends and asked them to meet me that evening. It felt good to be home again.

Want a Celebrity-like life, sure?

    I wake up in the morning feeling like 'going back to sleep' Sorry Ke$ha, I don't feel like P Diddy at 6am, I feel more like a zombie, a zombie who just wants to rest leave alone partying and passing out at the end of it. Sometimes I wish I had a life like that but then I'm glad I don't.
    Everything comes with a price, a lavish life full of fame & glory comes with a hefty fee I'd rather not talk about. Such things need to come out right from the horse's mouth and I'm definitely not the horse. I lead a simple and easy life with less hassles, I don't own a Lamborghini or a posh bungalow at Colaba(a high profile area in Mumbai, India) and I don't have closets flooding with shoes, bags and designer clothing.

A life, one can only dream about.

    Every person dreams of a celebrity-like life in spite of knowing that there may or may not be a fairy tale ending to the story of their riches. I'm not saying being rich and famous is a bad thing but I'm also not saying that it's a good thing. Imagine having million people just wanting to know what goes on in your life even if it is personal and not meant to be disclosed. People won't leave you alone because 'you're famous, you're a star, you're in the movies'. Now that's more of a responsibility because you never know what people might derive out of your words and actions. Like Eminem rightly pointed out through his lyrics(Renegade), "But I'm debated disputed hated and viewed in America as a m************ drug addict like you didn't experiment?" The world has done it at some point or another then why specifically point fingers at Eminem?

Eminem - the best rapper alive in my opinion.

    Whenever I go through magazines and browse through social networking sites and forums, one thing I always notice is how critical people are of celebrities. He has a big nose, she looks like a mouse, she's a bitch and a bad influence on our kids, how could she do that to him etc. like you don't have imperfections and never made mistakes. If Miley Cyrus likes clicking racy pics that's her choice and if a certain celebrity looks odd to you, well he or she wasn't created to please you because for a single hater there are 500 fans who keep following no matter what unless you do something really bad enough to piss em' off.
    I have mixed feelings about this because I also think, you can't blame the audience for being overtly judgmental. This is the down-fall of stardom. "Things will never change and people will always want to have a taste of stardom even after knowing about the hazards" I'll continue with this in my next few posts, till then take care :)

Amazing Thailand Part I

    I celebrated my Christmas last year at Thailand, a beautiful country & a great shopping destination for good affordable clothes. I mentioned in my earlier posts about me being thrifty and not making the most of the shopping aspect of my trip, well I'm still regretting that. At times I see myself searching for trendy clothes and roaming around the malls in Bangkok in my morning dreams. I won't get into that much because that makes it harder for me to get over it.
   It my first ever trip abroad without my parents. I was 18 at that time and I felt a sense of freedom because I was on my own. I went through a tour operator and they were really very friendly and made the experience even better for me.
    I reached Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok early morning and then proceeded to Pattaya where we visited Nong Nooch Village for the Thai Cultural show, Elephant show and spent some time clicking pics at the Tropical Garden, Orchid Garden and Pottery Garden. Below are some pics I clicked there.

  Me at my hotel room in Pattaya.

        

At Nong Nooch Village.

    Pisit and Nongnooch Tansacha purchased the 600-acre plot of land in 1954 with the intentions of developing the land as a fruit plantation. However, the owners instead decided to plant tropical flowers and plants as a wildlife conservation project. The garden opened to the public in 1980, and management was transferred to Pisit and Nongnooch's son Kampon Tansacha in 2001. The garden currently fills 500 out of the 600 acres.

The Elephant Show

    Here the elephants play basketball, give massages to volunteers from the audience and do many other fun stuff. I enjoyed that show. The elephants were really cute and almost all of them or I guess all of them were females.

Click a pic with the tigers for only 30 Baht, pretty cheap!

Elephant fight

Thai Cultural show - Boxing

After spending some fun time at Nong Nooch we headed back to the hotel, had some rest and then went for 'The Spectacular Alcazar Show'.

Anyone would mistaken them for beautiful real women ;)

     It’s been said that if you want to see beautiful ladyboys, go to Tiffany; but if you want to see a great show, head over to Alcazar. Extravagant costumes, convincingly stunning lady boys, spectacular stage sets are all part of a grander show that delights you with non-stop fantastic entertainment, from the Russian stage to K-Pop to Persian harlem and even outer space. It was truly SPECTACULAR.
    The next day we headed to the Coral Island in Pattaya where we enjoyed parasailing, speedboat ride, snorkeling etc.

    It was really sunny, I ended up getting really tanned and that for me was not a good thing at all. We returned to the hotel to freshen up and then visited 'Mini Siam' in the evening. Mini Siam offers miniature replicas of some of the most famous attractions in the world.

 

 

    Mini Siam was a nice place according to me even though many of my tour members thought it would've been better if they were taken to see 'The Floating Market' instead.
    We spent almost 2 hours at Mini Siam and then proceeded for dinner to an Indian Hotel. This was just half of my Thai Trip, the remaining will be continued in my next post, 'Amazing Thailand Part II' Till then take care :)

Crusader

CRUSADER

In the dark of the night, shadows burning, wounds are ripe.

He goes in search of a refuge; he needs some place to hide.

No one knows this unknown entity; a crusader with no identity.

He is the nestling of bloodshed; he is a seeker of serenity.

All I want is a one last kiss,

Clinging to a life I didn’t own.

The dark angel’s got the best of me,

I wish I’d told you everything I knew.

Time gone can never come back.

If I had one single wish,

I would ask for an ENDLESS KISS.

Looking down on his wretched life, he covers himself in dirt & grime.

Halfway through to Hades, he prays to pass another night.

All of life plays like a tune, with painful parts he wishes to prune.

With one woman on his mind, he keeps wishing for the moon.

All I want is a one last kiss,

Clinging to a life I didn’t own.

The dark angel’s got the best of me,

I wish I’d told you everything I knew.

Time gone can never come back.

If I had one single wish,

I would ask for an ENDLESS KISS.

Spender or a Thrift?

    I've always been the DIFFERENT one in my family. I do have similar qualities like my parents but a few things make you think otherwise. I have a keen interest in English literature like my dad, a moody nature like my mom but the things that set me apart are my singing skills and love for music, interest in algebra and of course my habit of saving.
    My dad is a spender. He prefers extravagance over simple things and my mom is just like him. My grandmother, she is a tight-wad. She is the kind of person who would rather starve than spend a few rupees. I might have picked up the thrift trait from her. However I am more balanced between spending and saving. I do love extravagant, lavish parties, food, drink and snob appeal but that's limited only to special important occasions. If I were a billionaire I would definitely opt for such a lifestyle but since I'm not I'll stick to the normal things most people go for. I have this habit of comparing cost to the worth of an object. An object has to compulsorily be at par with my expectations especially if I'm paying a good amount for it. I wouldn't call myself a miser or even stingy because I know I'm not. I wouldn't mind cashing out on useful things and stuff that had the ability to make my loved ones happy like arranging a Birthday Bash for my best friend, buying a branded watch for my dad, taking my parents out for dinner or indulging in services at the salon.
    I remember going on a trip to Thailand alone through a tour operator last Christmas where my dad gave me a more than sufficient amount of Bahts to spend on shopping. At first, I made up my mind that I would spend like it was the last day before all the malls would be closed down for good. When I reached Thailand, I went back to the old thrifty me. I thought ten times before buying any garment, whether it was worth the price and if I could buy the same kinda thing at a lesser cost in India. I was perhaps the person who did the least shopping in my entire group so much that my room mate, a 30 year old Homeopath asked me if I was alright. She told me that she had never seen an 18 year old care so much about money and think twice before spending. She said that was a unique trait. I was quite flattered by her comments. I ended up bringing back more than half of the money given to me for spending purpose. I regretted that later because there were so many things in Thailand that were hard to find in India. I wish I had thought twice before saving instead. I might go to Thailand again, may be next year if possible.

    My mom really appreciates my saving habit because she thinks it can help me someday for sure because the work you do today will reap fruits in the future. "Its good to save but be sure you don't lose out on all the great things in life". Take care :)

   

Fluke shots or what?

    Ever wondered how you ended up with that perfect shot without much effort? You have your camera all set, make-up check, location...err, lighting...err, skills...don't even talk about that, still you have a picture that most of your friends would call, 'pro', 'awesome', 'simply perfect' or even 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...no words to describe'. People have unique ways of describing things, some flattering and some plain weird. Let's not get into that now.
    The camera may or may not be very friendly to you but that doesn't mean you can't have a pic, the way you want it to be. The mirror can be easy on you but the camera has the ability to capture minute details from that scar you got after a brawl with your neighborhood bully to the faded marks left behind by an acne flare up. These little problem areas make you so conscious that some folks go m.i.a. when its time to flash those pearly whites.
    You spend time trying to find ways to look picture perfect, browsing through numerous beauty websites and asking your lucky friends if they've struck a deal with the camera or what? You can keep trying and there are many folks all over the internet ready to help you with that. Good luck!

    I am not very photogenic or probably I just don't know how to wear make-up the right way but I end up clicking some equally good and bad pics. I remember this one time, I put on some make-up for fun, had my hair all messed up and decided to click a pic with respect to my quest for finding the most flattering angle for my face. I stood in front of a tube light so as to let light fall directly on my face. I tried a few shots and then after two or three trials came 'The Perfect' picture I always wanted. Above is the picture I'm talking about in this post. I haven't done any editing except for auto-correct.
    Almost anyone can have a good click provided you keep trying and by the way, the many folks giving free advice on the internet about making yourself look picture perfect are ACTUALLY very helpful.

    'Everyone is beautiful, the camera needs to know that' Good luck!