A Visit to a Feisty Aunt

This is a continuation of my last post, remembering my feisty aunt who passed away about 2 weeks back. She had a sharp tongue that would shoot down nonsense a mile away. This post is of the time we visited our aunt in Bangkok in Dec 2017, after we learnt of her sickness from my dad. She was at that time, staying with my cousin brother Alan (her son) and his wife in Bangkok. We arranged to meet up with Dad and Hazel in Bangkok, and we visited our aunt in Bangkok’s Nakornthorn Hospital just a day before she was transferred back to our hometown of Ipoh, Malaysia. Her children (my cousins Emily and Alan) had arranged this to keep aunt happy, because she felt more at home in Ipoh. We knew of this only after we finalized our Bangkok trip. Had we known before, we might not have taken the Bangkok trip at all, since we would also be back in Ipoh, later on, on the same trip. But it was nice to see my aunt and uncle, my cousins (their children) Emily, and Alan and his wife altogether in one place.

Aunt’s tongue was as sharp as ever, sarcastic at the slightest opportunity, and funny. Although her body was frail, more so in 2019 in Ipoh when we last met her, there was no dent in her mind, or her spirit. Despite being only a housewife, she's knowledgeable beyond what you'd expect. I remember her telling me years ago (yup, I’m quite chatty with my elders, hehe) that she’d read every article in the newspapers when she was younger to pass time while doing part time baby-sitting work at home in Ipoh. God bless her.

Here’re pictures of our time in Bangkok 2017. No, there’re no pictures of aunt or the hospital visit (who friggin snaps photos in a sick ward?).


Bhumibol Bridge across the Menam (River) Chao Phraya, Bangkok – view from our hotel room at Riverfront Residence, SV City, Bangkok




More views of the Menam Chao Phraya from SV City – This is the usual place we stay at, in Bangkok, if we’re on a family trip, as it’s close to cousin Alan’s apartment. Incidentally, this was also the same place we stayed at, on our previous family trip to Bangkok in 2005, with dear ol’ grandma when she was still alive… Alas, it was granny's last overseas trip... I miss her still


The kids with Dad and Hazel in our hired van for our visit. Road trip ahead!




The Three-Headed Elephant (Erawan Museum) was one of the places we visited. We also visited Pattaya, since we had an extra 3 days in Thailand, but that’ll be another story, ahem…


We actually visited Bangkok TWICE in one trip in Dec 2017. That’s because we booked a return flight to Bangkok from Dubai, not to Malaysia. We first visited Bangkok to visit our aunt, then flew back to Malaysia, and when we were due to return to Dubai, flew back to Bangkok from Malaysia to board our return flight! For the flights to and from Malaysia, we used Bangkok's old Don Mueang Airport. For the flights to Dubai, it's the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, quite a lot of hassle actually. Here we're having dinner at a road side restaurant in Lat Krabang near Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where we put up a night before our flight back to Dubai on the next day. How’s the Tom Yam Justin? You think he'd try?!? Anyway, it was yummy!


Sawatdeekha! Enjoy your food! At Lat Krabang (on a corner shop at Prachathon Rd, near the Wat Sangkha Ratcha)


Fried Pork Rice


Pork Neck, one of cousin Alan’s favourite food…


Justin and a pet bunny… or is it a squirrel? …or something else? (I’m pretty bad at animals)


Bye-bye Krung Thep (that’s Thai for Bangkok) – Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand (Hint: In Thai, Suvarnabhumi is pronounced ‘Su-vanna-phoom’, no ‘r’, no ‘bh’… Live with it, that's Thai)

City of Angels, Etc, Etc, Etc

Bangkok City, from Wat Arun, with the Menam (River) Chao Phraya in view. The thimble-shaped structure on the right, is called a ‘prang’, a common architectural feature of Thai temples, adopted from the Cambodians.

Sawadee-khap! Might as well chuck in more photos while I’m at it. Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, or just Krung Thep as Bangkok is commonly called by Thais, means the City of Angels in Thai. That’s not all. ‘Krung Thep’ I learnt, is just a fraction of the full Thai name, which is actually 65 syllables long (or 169 letters long if translated into English, yeah I actually counted it in Wikipedia!) It currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest place name, never knew that huh?

Come to think of it, it’s not unusual for Thais to pronounce ‘Krung Thep’ as just ‘Kung Thep’, without the R sound. Very peculiar language, Thai. They have R’s but they seldom pronounce it, and most people go by their nicknames instead of their given names. The place name, Phra Rama III, will just be ‘Pha-Lam-Sam’ – i.e. Pha (Phra) Lam (Rama) Sam (three in Thai). Suvarnabhumi Airport is pronounced ‘Su-wana-phum’, my name is pronounced something like ‘Kelly’, Michael becomes ‘Mai-khen’, and the English word ‘breakfast’ commonly comes out as ‘begfet’.

The ‘City of Angels’ describes Bangkok pretty well in my opinion. Especially since there’re so many temples all over the city, and they’re all decorated with weird mythical beings. Here’s a sample: -


A common image of Bangkok - a line of Garudas standing on 2-Tailed Serpents at the Wat Phra Keo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Grand Palace, Bangkok


Half-human half-chicken beings at the Grand Palace


Buddha figurines guarding the temple, Grand Palace, Bangkok


One of the many murals lining the corridors around the Grand Palace – we hung around for quite a long time here, taking a rest from our sun tanning session (and charging our camera battery – there’re power sockets all over the compound, ok? And nobody stopped us. Luckily it ain’t Singapore, or I bet you, we’d have been fined!)






More views of the Grand Palace, Bangkok


Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), beside the Menam Chao Phraya




Close-up views of Wat Arun showing the level of detail on the structure


Papa and son at Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha


Another view of Wat Pho – Wat Pho is known to be the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. We (yours truly and Anu) had a beautiful massage session at the massage centre inside the temple compound, while Justin slept nicely. (It was air-conditioned, not expensive, and we wanted to avoid the ‘extra services’ linked with seedier-looking massage centres outside).


Our hotel at the Khao San Road area, Bangkok’s backpacker area – forgot the name, budget hotel with a small but clean room with air-con, hot water and a useful safe. Pretty nice place in a very lively section of the city. Had dinner here with dear ol’ cousin Alan, and his Thai wife, Jib but did not remember to snap any photos! This was Jib’s first time ever to Khao San Road, and she’s from Bangkok! Amazing huh?


Khao San Road (nope, don’t have a better picture) – the famous (or more like infamous) backpacker ghetto of Thailand, where you can get anything – yeah, fried worms and insects, if that’s your choice of food (but no photographs allowed, unless you pay a small fee), and your choice of degrees, certificates, (I swore I even saw ID’s and passports!) for a fee (nope, photos of the advertising billboard are not allowed, not even with a fee).

Not Another Coup?

Road scenes, Bangkok, Thailand

What’s the problem with Thailand? 12 military coups in 8 decades, that’s what the news say. But I kinda see this one coming, with the long standoff between the yellow and the red shirts. I dunno how else they’re gonna settle this without some sort of intervention, military or King. Anyway, let’s hope it returns to normal soon. They’re our neighbours, my cousin brother and family live there (in Bangkok), and it’s one of our more frequent destinations.

Here’re some pictures of Bangkok, or Krung Thep, in Thai (i.e. City of Angels), in a more peaceful time. …I’m back to my picture-posting days. The Company secured 2 big projects (and 2 small projects) last month, now everything here is like a frantic rush!


Family photo at the Grand Palace, Bangkok – I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve been here before, but this is Anu’s and Justin’s first time. As usual, we got ourselves a super sun tan by the end of the day








More scenes from the Grand Palace


Anu, at Jim Thompson’s House – Jim Thompson was an American architect, entrepreneur and ex-military man whom people claim, ‘single-handedly saved the Thai Silk industry from extinction’ in the years following the Second World War. He made Bangkok his home, set up the Thai Silk Company and built a traditional Thai mansion made up of a number of interconnected houses, beside one of Bangkok’s many ‘khlong’ (canals). His home served as his headquarters, and a place for potential buyers to view his silk fabrics. It also showcased his vast antique collection. In 1967, while on a holiday in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, he disappeared without a trace, after going out for a stroll. He was never seen again. His home is now a Museum, and houses a gift shop and a retail store for the silk company he founded. It’s an interesting house, made up almost completely of wood, with slanting Thai styled windows and doors, and hosts an interesting collection of curios and furniture. It’ll be more wonderful if we could take pictures of the house interior though.


The River Taxi Station at Pratunam, a busy ‘khlong’ (canal) in the middle of Bangkok – we took a river taxi from Jim Thompson’s House back to this area near our hotel


Central World, Bangkok, opposite the hotel where we were staying in


A Buddhist shrine (I think it’s the Erawan Shrine), at a busy junction near where we stayed – shrines like this are common all over Bangkok, and you’ll see them by the side of the road, in front of 5-Star hotels, by prestigious commercial buildings, inside Shopping Malls, etc


A ‘chedi’ (stupa) in front of the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall




Siam Ocean World in the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall, reputedly the largest aquarium in South East Asia

A Long Time Ago in Thailand

Nothing much happening and have not explored new places for quite some time, so here’s something from the past – our family gathering in Bangkok in 2005.


The Grand Palace, Bangkok
(From right: big uncle (tuapek - dad’s eldest brother); big auntie (tuako - dad’s eldest sister); dad; granny (dad’s mom); big uncle’s wife (a-mm); and on wheelchair: second uncle (jipek - dad's second eldest brother)


The Floating Market in Damnoen Saduak


Granny & Jipek at the floating market


A Jedi Warrior (Gary Siteworker) in Ayutthaya


Pickle Art in the Ayutthaya Market

Thailand is seeing a little bit of unrest currently. Isn’t it strange that beautiful and peaceful places like these could sometimes become quite scary? I noticed that many of the places we’ve been to have had their violent spells at one time or another. I can recall a few more – the Mumbai terrorist attack, the bombing of Jaipur (May 2008), the frequent bombs in Guwahati (last one just last week), the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan (June 2008), the never-ending Kashmir unrest, the riots in Darjeeling (June 2008), the on-going war in Sri Lanka.

Let’s just hope that violence does not spread to our own homes. On a brighter note, Anu’s 1 month pregnant. And for those celebrating their new years at this time whatever they’re called – Songkran, Vaisakhi, Thingyan, etc – Happy New Year!