Savvy Traveller, NST Tues 25 Aug 2009

WINNER THIS WEEK : LOO MUI LEE in Bangkok, Thailand


MUST DO

Bangkok, Thailand, is a very popular destination for Malaysians with many hitting the common tourist trails. But for a touch of the extraordinary, try a Thai culinary tour like the Bai Pai Cooking School Tour.


The itinerary does not include temples, palaces and tourists hot-spots but it veers towards food, good eats and a hands-on cooking session as the highlight.

It may be the usual 3D/2N tour but it is packed with activities and includes a night cruise down the Menam Chao Phraya. The cooking school itself is hardly a building, but who needs concrete walls? Craftily landscaped and artfully arranged furniture and utensils transform a two-storey get-up into a well-equipped, functioning gourmet establishment. The cooking lesson is informative but informal with fun elements incorporated to make even the most novice of cooks into a chef extraordinaire.

I must commend the young Thai teacher for her command of English and patience in coping with our motley crew! We cooked four dishes – green curry, mango salad, sticky rice appetiser and screw-pine wrapped chicken. Lunch at the cooking school was tastefully prepared and savoured in authentic Thai surroundings!

Despite the hectic schedule, the class was fast-paced, leaving no time for boredom, yet we had lots of free time for shopping, a full-body Thai massage and the proverbial night-shows!

AVOID

Going out alone as you put yourself at the mercy of thugs or conmen. Needless to say, do not go to any sleazy club alone.

If you wish to try real Thai body massage, go in a group and ask your tour guide to recommend or bring you to established places. Be forewarned, Thai massage can be a very painful exercise because the masseurs really bend and stretch your limbs. Not many people can take it! Petite little me got a big masseuse! Imagine her strength! Also, agree first on how much you will tip the girls, as dissatisfaction can arise when one girl is tipped more than the others. Or check with the tour guide.

GOOD EATS

A must-try is a dinner cruise on board the Chao Phraya Princess where you can enjoy a sumptuous buffet as well as the sights and landmarks of the city bathed in neon lights. Quite a change from seeing them in the day time. Also try Baan Khun Mae Restaurant where Thai dishes are served in quaint Thai plates and bowls.

TOP SHOP

Forget the swanky tourist joints with glass windows and air-conditioning. Almost all the souvenirs can be bought for a quarter of the price at street kerbs and roadside. I got a whole set of Thai silk cushion covers and trendy clothes from the biggest mall in the city, The MBK (Mah Boon Krong). Suffice to say, Bangkok is a shopping haven.

INSIDER TIP

There are many themed tours and they seem to be in vogue now – cooking tour, health and spa tour, food tour... the list goes on. Bai Pai Cooking Tour can be found in most travel brochures. I chose it because I wanted to learn Thai cooking from a native Thai in a Thai surrounding. The chef took us to the supermarket where she showed us rows and rows of Thai condiments, sauces, gravies and spices, all that you’d need to cook up a Thai storm. Of course, we bought all that we could bring home.
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Dainti Hill, Pavilion and Oriental Health Recovery Center

Since the holidays have started, I have the time to go to Pavilion again to use up all the vouchers before they expire.First I went for a massage at Oriental Health Recovery Center
this thai Malaysian boy spoke a smattering of English that is hard to understand and he ended up being my masseuse



He did quite a good job and I am now quite used to having men as my reflexologists....


Next, I wanted to use all my Dainti Hill vouchers....the last time I tried to use my Wong Kok one, I was told it was not applicable on Sundays, so I gave it to Kenneth. Dainti Hill is good: not only could I utilise it for a Sunday, I could even use all three at once!! RM30 worth!!!



Nice interior decor..supposed to be of the Tang Dynasty..."New Tang Dynasty gourmet"...My drink came very fast..before I could change my mind to another drink:this is Calamansi Fragrant Iced Tea at RM12..rather pricey....My meal should come to R30 with main dish of RM16....very expensive!

I ordered this beef noodle dish and it came with a side dish of kim chi and a piece of seaweed dunked unceremoniously in the soup..mee was springy (good) but the beef!!! like leather!


After I was done...this is what it looks like: a mountain of beef left untouched because they were hard, tasteless and unchewable......! Don't order this...at RM16 it tasted like Japanese miso soup



My bill came to RM33, with RM2.00 for the above wet tissues!!!! Still, my lunch costs RM3 only
At the back of the receipt: 15 per cent off for next visit!! Marketing ploy?

Lastly, I went to Memory Lane and bought a gift box with my RM5 voucher. Quite a fruitful day but my parking was RM9!!!!! BTW my little daughter refused to tag along, she cannot stand waiting for me to do my spa stuff!!!! (I got all these vouchers from the first day the mega sale started, after the liuli fountain came up.  A lot of them have expired and some I had given away).
>..<  

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How to Eat a Pomelo

I was so surprised when Pn Nirmala asked me, How do you eat a pomelo? Apparently she cut it like you would do an orange, and ruined the whole fruit, creating a mess, I should think.So,  let me  show you how to eat a pomelo.....First, choose a lovely, medium sized one, I got the help of the seller and Pavinthran

                              then cut it like lotus

                peel off the sections and serve chilled

                     Enjoy!!!!! Juicy and sweet!

Going To Ipoh....14 - 16 Aug 2009

On 14 august, 2009 the Drama Club under Pn Pauline, and the Debating Boys under Pn Nirmala, me and Pn Jay set off for Ipoh to put up at the Majestic Hotel and to watch a play later on that night.    Picture below show the boys waiting for Pn Nirmala to give them the ok to naik bus..
Who is this with his babyhood smelly pillow!!! I cannot imagine a form 2 boy bringing a pillow!Gordon the masked one at the Majestic, a heritage 2 star hotel...........
Deep in studies oblivious to surroundings and cleaning lady is.........

none other than Michael Fork, fitting in some revision for Monday's Trials.....
Below someone's lost..




The 100 year one and only old lift that still works...you can see the shaft behind and the car riding up and down, that's what the boys were all looking at, the sua koos



You have to close this outer door manually for the inner door to close and the car to move!!This is Otis (legendary lift makers)' safety feature!
My room looks pretty in pink, but is actually very antique and SPOOKY!!had to sleep alone here

The boys' rooms..many rooms adjoining, with dark unused rooms and nooks and cranies...

I was dragged to an abandoned room where out popped ...The Scream!!!


The room downstairs and the hallway looked like  railway platforms...the halls had natural lighting (no need for artficial lights and air con)with skylights and air vents where you can actually see the real railway platforms and trains!!!!  Antique, ancient, antiquated ,OLD!!!!




Here the four of us chaperones having our dinner at the "reseved table"...before we went to SMI to catch the play..."Warlord of Terror" (please see earlier post)




So free, nothing to do and nowhere to go before dinner(no  hawkers and stalls in the vicinity) so I had foot reflexology. Not exactly what you call spa like and if you are not squeamish about the lack of hygiene and fancy oils, sit back and enjoy the ride!  RM20 for half hour sessions.....no need to book too, they entertain walk ins...and no Chinese nationals too!




Pn Pauline is always saying: Pn Tay take my picture, Pn Tay put up the photos in FB fast!! While the debate boys battled it out with the Michaellians at the SMI library, we Ipoh Paraded....














At night we went for supper!!! I cannot name the place but it was near Syuen Hotel and Excelsior...we did not have Taugeh Chicken or Ipoh Sa Hor Fun, but we had these......









Next morning, we had to go to St Michael's again because Ave Maria Convent was not receiving visitors due to the H1N1 scare, much to the chagrin of the boys.



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This is the boy who acted as Kuo the Imperial Scholar and he is only in Form 2!




Wei Loong is very fascinated by the word erection which used to have an inocuous meaning









The boys dashing across the road because it won't do to keep the bus driver waiting! The most grumpy, fierce and unpredictable bus driver we have ever met! Always complaining: "Now I have not enough rest, fetch you here, fetch you there....tonight I am not fetching you for supper again!!!" Hello? Isn't his job to fetch us here and there????

The only tourist spot that the bus driver very kindly offered to take us was the Perak cave














On the last night, we had to walk out because Mr Bus Driver need to have enough sleep....we saw this Indian festival on the streets of Ipoh....btw Ipoh's one way streets had rows of cars that dashed when the lights changed, the boys and me!! had to run for our lives across the road!!!!





Expensive lalas that cost RM14 a plate.......pictures below...Wai Hung's pasar malam gun
The last food and biscuit shop before  we head home....pomelos are a must: rombongan ke Ipoh tak sah kalau tak beli buah pomelo.....RM7 for a small sweet one.


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The Kuala Lumpur skyline!!!!HOME! HOME!! Muah! Muah!!!! I heart KL!

Heh! Heh! I found some old Ipoh photos circa 1994 and by a great coincidence we stayed at Majestic too!!!!! Errr, what do you think of my 90's hairdo and gaudy costumes!!!Fashion faux pas!!!  My 2 kids were so puny then, and the drama and debate boys were still being born, some already running around naked.



The verandah were verandahs  (serambi) then, now it is full of cafe tables and chairs where the boys had their  catered meals...the pic above looks like the one I stayed hor.


The Steak House at the Ballroom, now defunct.. where we had great steak meals




Majestic Ipoh.....Ipoh Railway Station........St Michael's Institution...Ipoh, Ipoh,warlord of terror...........................................................................................................................................IPOH