Sukhothai! (Sounds like some kind of spicy thai sukiyaki)

Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Now I understand something, it is so true that 頭沒那麼大就別戴那麼大頂帽子 (especially if you are riding a bicycle).

Everybody like fried spring rolls!

Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

世界上最遙遠的距離不是生與死，而是menu上美食當前卻無法品嚐. Sore throat, cough and flu. The irritating trio. 

"Fresh or fried spring rolls?"

I really want some spring rolls. So I settled for some fresh ones. Obviously it's the fried ones that are good. Like some guy said any thing deep fried taste good, frogs, insects, any kind of animal. And even if they deep fried the sole of your shoe, he bet it will still taste good. 

It's strange. What I miss most is some decent Tom yam soup. And since eating leafy spring rolls are not getting me any better I had a bowl of Tom yam soup for dinner. Maybe a different strategy of 以毒攻毒 or is it really 自我安慰. I just want some Tom yam soup. 愛到飛蛾撲火是種墮落. 

蘿蔔？菠蘿？

Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Sometimes my chinese sucks. Shouldn't speed read when you're not too good at it.

Savory pies are just so much nicer. Like the tuna and corn pie in Thailand.

蘿蔔派？

At the sight of the word 蘿 I assume it's carrot pie and rush in to buy. I only realize when i got back to the hotel. Even the words 我就喜歡 seems to come with a mocking laugh. It's really just pineapple from some pineapple tart but in a pie.

乾清宮

Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

So it's really Qian qing gong. No wonder the group of chinese tourists who's standing too near to me turn and look at me when i happily announce that we are at "gan" qing gong. 明明就是葡萄乾的乾。

I was reading a chinese guidebook that i bought at the ticketing counter. I could have bought the english version, but you will never know which is the Palace of Heavenly Purity. 乾 乾 乾 乾 乾

古琴

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

From 6 strings to 4 strings to 21 strings. Abit too much. Its like playing 3 guitars or 5 ukuleles at one go.

Although I started learning because one day I would paint my 古琴 black with neon pink phoenix and maybe appear on Jay Chou concert. Hahaa I would have continued if I knew I had this much time. Now all i can play is what 花菲花.


因為古琴能彈奏出高山和大海的聲音。

BKK again

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

From quite sometime back, little to say, everybody love Bangkok.

Before going on a trip like this, without a compagnon de voyage, reading Eat, Pray, Love seems appropriate. I look forward to read about traveling to a foreign land, learning their language and eating their food or finding romance in an exotic island. But mediation or chanting in India is definitely out of my league. I nearly gave up reading when she say she's going to extend her stay at the Ashram. You can't see your reflection in running water, only in still water. Yeah right just see it in the mirror then.

I knew I was never the spiritual kind but I didn't know it's this bad. The closest i went was maybe reiki which I didn't continue anyway. Maybe like what the book says I am one of those whose eyes are caked shut with the dust of deception and will never see the truth, no matter who tries to help them. I can never get past the 1st chapter of a book titled Unlocking the mysteries of Birth & Death.

I'll leave the love part of the book when I get on the road.

Eat pray love.

人生偶爾會走上一條末路
像是沒有指標的地圖
別讓他們說你該自足
只有你知道什麼是你的幸福

人生中有很多事沒有值不值得，只有想不想要。

=D

Angkor what what what???

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

From a thousand years ago, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The very famous Angkor wat. The iconic 3 maize on the building. Build by a succession of kings, the whole place is very much Hindu. Might be very much better if I had read some Cambodia history beforehand if not they are pretty much just ruins and some cravings. I had watch Tomb raider but too lazy to read about history.

The main sites have undergo restoration but the rest are pretty much in shambles. There are wooden poles here and there for support and sometimes I feel that I could be buried in rubble anytime.

Definitely worth a visit but once is enough. After visiting the main sites, the rest looks almost alike, long flight of stairs and nothing up there. Siem Reap is like just like Thailand with lots and lots of tourist. Khmer cuisine is almost the same as thai as well. Even their nightmarket sells all the stuff that you can get in thai. I like Amok, some kinda khmer curry dish. Food choices in abundance and beer for 1usd. It's a great place to spend some time.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Apsara dance which is the Khmer traditional dance. Maybe music and dances in the entire region share some similarity. Thai, Burmese, Javanese and Khmer all seems quite alike but with slight variations. Twisting their hands to the music, wearing sharp pointy crowns and dances with a vivid storyline involving a bird or a beast.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Angkor wat. Waking up at 4am to get there to watch this "on-every-single-postcard" sunrise over the Angkor wat. Just to see hundreds of people in the dark armed with their dslr and tripods aiming at the same direction.

Can one really tell the difference between a sunrise and a sunset? Just watch the sunset la.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Hahaa 這些是狗嘴嗎？

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Ta Prohm. Where Angelina Jolie was there to search for I-can't-remember-what and fight off some guardian statue. They are doing some restoration work because the whole place look like it might collapse anytime. The trees growing out of the ruins makes the place look "untouched" but it seems like it's destroying the structure as well.

If there isn't woodcutters or many other tourists around, you might feel like you have just stumbled upon some lost temple in the middle of the jungle. This place feels peaceful. In contrast, the faces at the Bayon temple makes the whole place eerie.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

The very famous Bayon temple. I don't know why but he look really creepy. 又加上綿綿的細雨，更加感覺眼前一片淒涼。

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

There are lots of carvings. Some with a sense of humor.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

And the more beautiful ones.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Do the ancient cambodians have small feet and long legs or what? I find myself spending 1/4 of my holiday climbing up flights of stairs that look exactly alike. And another 1/4 of the time climbing down.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

So is this a sunrise or a sunset?

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

Also from a thousand years ago. Phuket. Somewhere common and every other person been there before. Just felt that it's very much overrated or I had too high expectations for Thai beaches. Sandy shores and clear blue water and that's about it. As usual, the whole place is full of angmos, lobster red from both alcohol and sun. It's just nice but not excatly my favorite. But anyway you'll still get all the good food as long as you're in Thailand.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

It's really just a beach.

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Originally uploaded by Abducted by pirates

The picture that everybody must take when they are there.