Pattaya is a seaside town about 2hrs from Bangkok. I'm quite impressed by the fact that we get a private car to take us there.
Arrived at Hard Rock hotel which is about 3 years old now. The lobby is quite well done with music memorabilia. But... when we got to our room... YUCK!!
The room has orange walls and big posters of Michael Jackson and some other chick above... Ewwwww. It's also a very small room!!
We are right in the centre of everything, just across the road from the beach and the hotel has a huge pool/recreation area. It was good to lounge by the pool in the arvo.
It poured on our first night in Pattaya so we ate buffet in the hotel. Met a really cool waitress called Ann... who introduced us to her 'girlfriend' who was actually a guy... but she calls him that cos he's gay. Was really funny cos we had live entertainment that night - 4 guys who come around to your table and serenade you wtih any song you request (as long as it's old!). Ann's friend, Joke (pronounced 'jock') decided to go around dancing everywhere - guess you had to be there. The musicians came around to our table but we didnt know any songs to request so eventually they were able to play us a Michael Learns to Rock song! YAY!
8th September - Our second last day in Thailand was spent looking for last minute things. Daph was finally able to find something for her dad. Lazing by the pool in the arvo was really good!!
Was supposed to go out on the town tonight but we were too tired and decided to do something quieter instead. Pity cos daph really wanted to go see the lady-boys at 'hollywood' which is one of the most popular clubs in pattaya.
9th September - we go home today... a 2 1/2 hr trip to the airport then a 9 hr plane ride back to sydney. We werent so lucky with the seating this time cos the plane was totally full on the way back. And daph wasnt so lucky with sleeping this time either..... hahaah. but at least the person we were sitting next to was quite nice and not stinky!!
It's kinda nice to be back... own bed... home!!!
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Monday, September 06, 2004
Shopping again...
Visited the Bangkok gems factory today. Daph wanted to buy everything.
I'm very picky so didnt see much i liked. Square cut isnt that popular (I wonder why cos I reckon it looks stylish but that might just be me)
Got back to our hotel room and Daph's first comments were - "can we go buy more shoes now?" lol
We did go shopping again... I think i'm all shoed out now...
Daph still hasnt found her digital camera... or one with a price she's willing to pay. We did go an visit a mall that was all electronics this arvo.
Just had dinner. The food is cheap but the portions arent that big. You'd get at least double in sydney. We just ordered won ton soup at a little coffee shop... what we got... two ton! hahahah...
It was quite small... Daph's comment is that Les would have to order 4 or 5 dishes to be full.
I'm very picky so didnt see much i liked. Square cut isnt that popular (I wonder why cos I reckon it looks stylish but that might just be me)
Got back to our hotel room and Daph's first comments were - "can we go buy more shoes now?" lol
We did go shopping again... I think i'm all shoed out now...
Daph still hasnt found her digital camera... or one with a price she's willing to pay. We did go an visit a mall that was all electronics this arvo.
Just had dinner. The food is cheap but the portions arent that big. You'd get at least double in sydney. We just ordered won ton soup at a little coffee shop... what we got... two ton! hahahah...
It was quite small... Daph's comment is that Les would have to order 4 or 5 dishes to be full.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Shopping in Bangkok
We shopped in 6 malls today!!! (7 including the one that joins our hotel)
Daph is still trying to find a digital camera.
She also bought her first pair of shoes. YAY!!! Now she's really starting to get obsessed with shoes....
NOTE TO SELF: NEVER shop for shoes in Asian countries with Daph!!
I'll explain - see everything fits me here so when Daph sees something she likes, she makes me try it on first. If she likes the way it looks on then she'll ask for her size.
Mainly bought CD's today. After shopping around I finally found a shop that has the new Michael Learns to Rock CD. I was getting desperate cos i cant buy it in Aust. Also got The Calling's latest CD that hadnt come out in Aust when I left. YAY!! They're my fav band!
Daph is still trying to find a digital camera.
She also bought her first pair of shoes. YAY!!! Now she's really starting to get obsessed with shoes....
NOTE TO SELF: NEVER shop for shoes in Asian countries with Daph!!
I'll explain - see everything fits me here so when Daph sees something she likes, she makes me try it on first. If she likes the way it looks on then she'll ask for her size.
Mainly bought CD's today. After shopping around I finally found a shop that has the new Michael Learns to Rock CD. I was getting desperate cos i cant buy it in Aust. Also got The Calling's latest CD that hadnt come out in Aust when I left. YAY!! They're my fav band!
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Bangkok - day 6
We went on a tour of Ayuthya which is the ancient capital of thailand.
waking up at 6am to go on tour was extremely painful (even tho it's only 9am in aust).
First stop by bus was the summer palace. the king of thailand and his family go there in the summer to get away from the palace in bangkok. the grounds are quite beautiful but i really liked the architecture - there are many buildings with different influences - the british and chinese buildings were the nicest.
The second stop was a ruin in the ancient capital. When thailand was invaded by the burmese, it was plundered and burnt - hence the ancient city because it was too damaged to rebuild.
There's a lot of culture here. 93% of thai ppl are buddhist with only 1.4% christians. We visited 3 ruins/temples in all.
The final part of the tour was a river cruise with buffet lunch. The river is very polluted and brown... eeeekkk..
The funniest thing was watching these little tug boats tow huge cargos down the river... i thought they were gonna sink!!
daph basically slept most of the cruise back. lol.. typical!
went to the nightmarkets last night.... didnt buy that much... mostly gifts (russ it's christmas for u i think)
waking up at 6am to go on tour was extremely painful (even tho it's only 9am in aust).
First stop by bus was the summer palace. the king of thailand and his family go there in the summer to get away from the palace in bangkok. the grounds are quite beautiful but i really liked the architecture - there are many buildings with different influences - the british and chinese buildings were the nicest.
The second stop was a ruin in the ancient capital. When thailand was invaded by the burmese, it was plundered and burnt - hence the ancient city because it was too damaged to rebuild.
There's a lot of culture here. 93% of thai ppl are buddhist with only 1.4% christians. We visited 3 ruins/temples in all.
The final part of the tour was a river cruise with buffet lunch. The river is very polluted and brown... eeeekkk..
The funniest thing was watching these little tug boats tow huge cargos down the river... i thought they were gonna sink!!
daph basically slept most of the cruise back. lol.. typical!
went to the nightmarkets last night.... didnt buy that much... mostly gifts (russ it's christmas for u i think)
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Bangkok - day 5
We're quite impressed with our room!!
There's a mall attached to our hotel - 8 levels and it spans the size of a large football field.
There's a mall attached to our hotel - 8 levels and it spans the size of a large football field.
Daph's strategy for avoiding harrassment in Phuket
- walk behind people who are obviously foreign. they will get hassled first!
- walk behind other asian foreigners and try to blend into their group. the front people are hassled and you keep walking!
- walk behind other asian foreigners and try to blend into their group. the front people are hassled and you keep walking!
Fanta sea
Went to visit an elephant theme park called 'Fanta-sea' tonight.
Buffet dinner was included. When we got to the dining hall we were surprised cos it was absolutely enormous. There were probably around 500 tables of 10 - that's 5000 people!
There was a main show about thailand and a story about an elephant who rescued the people during a war. The people then began to worship elephants.
There's not much else to see in the park - just heaps of stalls selling elephant figurines and toys at terribly inflated prices.
Buffet dinner was included. When we got to the dining hall we were surprised cos it was absolutely enormous. There were probably around 500 tables of 10 - that's 5000 people!
There was a main show about thailand and a story about an elephant who rescued the people during a war. The people then began to worship elephants.
There's not much else to see in the park - just heaps of stalls selling elephant figurines and toys at terribly inflated prices.
Phuket - Day 4
Central Festival
daph got all excited about the opening of a new shopping mall. the grand opening was today so we went to take a look. I must say, it was pretty impressive - reminds me of a really really new chatswood chase. All brand name shops - cheaper (than Aust) but no fakes
daph got all excited about the opening of a new shopping mall. the grand opening was today so we went to take a look. I must say, it was pretty impressive - reminds me of a really really new chatswood chase. All brand name shops - cheaper (than Aust) but no fakes
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Day 3 - Phi Phi Island
Today we did a day trip to phi phi (pronounced pee pee) island.
When we first arrived in patong and looked at the beach we were disppointed. But we certainly werent disappointed with phi phi - beaches with beautiful white sand and crystal clear water.
Snorkelling was heaps fun and we were able to do that at around 3 locations. Took quite a few photos with an underwater camera so I hope they turn out.
When we first arrived in patong and looked at the beach we were disppointed. But we certainly werent disappointed with phi phi - beaches with beautiful white sand and crystal clear water.
Snorkelling was heaps fun and we were able to do that at around 3 locations. Took quite a few photos with an underwater camera so I hope they turn out.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Nightlife
Whilst sitting at dinner, Daph and I looked at the map of Patong. She points and says "Let's go to the Hard Rock". I looked at the map and location and just said "err that's 'Rock Hard' and we DONT want to go there.
There's one main street and that's where most of the nightlife is. We wanted to jsut walk around and see why it's so popular.
Some outdoor bars are ok but there are 'go-go' bars jsut off to the side.
Apparently it's ok for us two girls to walk down the street but if we were guys we'd need to beware cos there are many scantily clad girls trying to lure them into the go-go bars.
We passed 'Soi' which is the main 'lady-boy' bar. We didnt go in but it was another curiosity. The lady-boys are really beautiful and it's really hard to tell.
We heard that many European men get a bit drunk in th bars and end up taking these absolutely gorgoeus lady-boys back to their hotel where they get a really, really nasty surprise... [serves them right!]
There's one main street and that's where most of the nightlife is. We wanted to jsut walk around and see why it's so popular.
Some outdoor bars are ok but there are 'go-go' bars jsut off to the side.
Apparently it's ok for us two girls to walk down the street but if we were guys we'd need to beware cos there are many scantily clad girls trying to lure them into the go-go bars.
We passed 'Soi' which is the main 'lady-boy' bar. We didnt go in but it was another curiosity. The lady-boys are really beautiful and it's really hard to tell.
We heard that many European men get a bit drunk in th bars and end up taking these absolutely gorgoeus lady-boys back to their hotel where they get a really, really nasty surprise... [serves them right!]
Pasa malam
Tips for bartering:
- work out what you're willing to pay first
- be prepared to walk away
The vendors actually have 2 colours of bags - when they make a sale they put your purchases in a bag. The colout you get shows whether you're a hard bargainer or a pushover - so when you walk to the next store they know how to handle you.
Tricky huh?
Hmm... I bought some shoes and got a red bag (there were red/green)... I wonder what that means?
- work out what you're willing to pay first
- be prepared to walk away
The vendors actually have 2 colours of bags - when they make a sale they put your purchases in a bag. The colout you get shows whether you're a hard bargainer or a pushover - so when you walk to the next store they know how to handle you.
Tricky huh?
Hmm... I bought some shoes and got a red bag (there were red/green)... I wonder what that means?
Makan Makan #2
We found out where the seafood market is in Patong.
You can go and pick what you want and it's all fresh. Then they cook it for you to eat.
Daph and I werent that hungry tonight so we just had a dish of garlic prawns. Yummo!!
You can go and pick what you want and it's all fresh. Then they cook it for you to eat.
Daph and I werent that hungry tonight so we just had a dish of garlic prawns. Yummo!!
Phuket - Day 2
Today we decided to go to Phuket town which is around 30 mins drive from Patong beach where we're staying.
PT seemed like a good idea and was fine until we got to a big hill... putt putt... I thought the bus was gonna die but we made it!
The good thing about phuket town is things are cheaper and ppl dont harrass u every step of the way.
Shopping is good. We're not in Bangkok yet and I already bought 2 pairs of shoes - Daph really is gonna hate me in Bangkok cos i'm gonna drag her to all the shoe stores.
She's already sick of jewellery stalls cos I've been hunting for earrings.
PT seemed like a good idea and was fine until we got to a big hill... putt putt... I thought the bus was gonna die but we made it!
The good thing about phuket town is things are cheaper and ppl dont harrass u every step of the way.
Shopping is good. We're not in Bangkok yet and I already bought 2 pairs of shoes - Daph really is gonna hate me in Bangkok cos i'm gonna drag her to all the shoe stores.
She's already sick of jewellery stalls cos I've been hunting for earrings.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Makan Makan
Food is sooo good here and so cheap. I can tell we're gonna come back 2 fat brown blobs.
[Daph: dont know about the brown bit cos there's no sun] [Mel: errr it's like 6pm!] |
Phuket - Day 1
Arrived in Phuket and just crashed at our hotel. Then we went for a walk. We're staying just across the road from Patong beach and there's a heap of street stalls along the road. We didnt buy anything but we did get a little annoyed because you cant walk 1 metre up the road without being harrassed by a tuk tuk driver or stall vendor. In the arvo we watched MTV in our room... which was actually in Bahasa not Thai which i thought was quite weird. The place where we're staying in has 2 pools and we also relaxed by the pool this arvo.
|
Mel and Daph's Thailand Diary
Our trip begins with a nice long plane trip to Phuket. We had to go via Melbourne. Had really bad seating going to Melb and Daph was complaining cos she was sitting next to some really stinky people. Whenever I have a stinky patient at clinic, I spray myself beforehand with perfume so that I cant smell them. So I told daph to do that but she threatened to spray them instead.
I always admire the people who can sleep anytime and anywhere. 2 mins in to the flight and Daph was sound asleep. I had to wake her up when the drinks cart came around. "How long have we been in the air for?" was her groggy reply... Ummm about 10 mins!!
On the flight from Melb to Phuket, the lady allocated us seats at the two opposite ends of the middle section - which we thoguht was a bit strange cos we are travelling together. We found out this was a smart move - it stopped them allocating people in the middle so we had the whole middle section (4seats) to stretch out and sleep.
The inflight movie was Shrek 2 so I conveniently annoyed Daph by copying donkey in the appropriate part of the movie with the line "Are we there yet?" |
Friday, August 27, 2004
People who cant read
Outside our front window at work there's a sign that says "No smoking in this area". But everytime I look outside there's a bunch of people smoking.
Their little trick is to stand behind the sign... I suppose it's ok to smoke in a "no smoking" area then... as long as you cant see the sign!
Their little trick is to stand behind the sign... I suppose it's ok to smoke in a "no smoking" area then... as long as you cant see the sign!
Thursday, July 29, 2004
God's grace is amazing
I started bible college 3 weeks ago... And i'm really really really enjoying it.
Something that i've just been so reminded by is God's incredible grace.
We've been looking at how God can be known. Last week we looked at approaching knowledge of God by human means and i've learnt how we really can't know anything about God by our own reason or logic or even experience. It is by God's grace that He reveals Himself to us by his word!
I mean even our own experience is very subjective - different people have different interpretations. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is also historical and can be tested and attested to by many people as is seen in the bible.
I guess what really blows me away is the fact that only God can reveal Himself to us. And that He has chosen to do it so we can know Him and be saved. His revelation is an act of grace that is just so amazing!!
Something that i've just been so reminded by is God's incredible grace.
We've been looking at how God can be known. Last week we looked at approaching knowledge of God by human means and i've learnt how we really can't know anything about God by our own reason or logic or even experience. It is by God's grace that He reveals Himself to us by his word!
I mean even our own experience is very subjective - different people have different interpretations. But the gospel of Jesus Christ is also historical and can be tested and attested to by many people as is seen in the bible.
I guess what really blows me away is the fact that only God can reveal Himself to us. And that He has chosen to do it so we can know Him and be saved. His revelation is an act of grace that is just so amazing!!
Did Jesus go to hell??
I had this discussion with a friend the other night.
So the way I know how to answer it is in a very round-a-bout way.
Firstly, the concept of hell. Many people say that hell is "where God isnt". If heaven is where God dwells with His people, then hell is where God removes Himself. I dont agree with this view and I dont think it's necessarily biblical. If God is omnipresent then why would he not be in hell too.The problem is seeing things from a locational view and not a relational view.
I believe hell is where God's judgement is exercised. And I think that this is a view more supported by the bible. John 3:36 says "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (NIV)Here we see two options and outcomes. The first is believing in the Son ie. accepting God's grace and method for salvation and the outcome is eternal life. The second option is to reject the Son and then being subject to God's wrath.
The key is the response to the Son (Jesus). Through the gospels, Jesus himself warns against rejecting him and ultimately rejecting God's grace and means for salvation. If you reject God then the outcome is God's wrath in judgement which I believe is what hell is about.
So... now looking at Jesus. Romans 3:21-25 and Col 2:13-15 talk about God's salvation. Romans talks about Jesus' death as an atoning sacrifice and Colossians talks about God being able to forgive our sins because the punishment was taken away on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." The way we can come to God is because of what Jesus has done on the cross. The bible says that Jesus was punished for our sins.
So did Jesus go to hell?? Well I would argue 'yes' because Jesus experienced God's wrath and was punished for our sins.
So the way I know how to answer it is in a very round-a-bout way.
Firstly, the concept of hell. Many people say that hell is "where God isnt". If heaven is where God dwells with His people, then hell is where God removes Himself. I dont agree with this view and I dont think it's necessarily biblical. If God is omnipresent then why would he not be in hell too.The problem is seeing things from a locational view and not a relational view.
I believe hell is where God's judgement is exercised. And I think that this is a view more supported by the bible. John 3:36 says "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (NIV)Here we see two options and outcomes. The first is believing in the Son ie. accepting God's grace and method for salvation and the outcome is eternal life. The second option is to reject the Son and then being subject to God's wrath.
The key is the response to the Son (Jesus). Through the gospels, Jesus himself warns against rejecting him and ultimately rejecting God's grace and means for salvation. If you reject God then the outcome is God's wrath in judgement which I believe is what hell is about.
So... now looking at Jesus. Romans 3:21-25 and Col 2:13-15 talk about God's salvation. Romans talks about Jesus' death as an atoning sacrifice and Colossians talks about God being able to forgive our sins because the punishment was taken away on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." The way we can come to God is because of what Jesus has done on the cross. The bible says that Jesus was punished for our sins.
So did Jesus go to hell?? Well I would argue 'yes' because Jesus experienced God's wrath and was punished for our sins.
Studying Theology
How do we know anything about God??
The Wesleyan quadrilateral contains 4 parts - Reason, Experience, Tradiotion and Scripture. These are 4 sources of knowledge of God.
Now reason is a good thing because God did create us to think and reason but if we base our knowledge of God on reason then there can be no consensus because everybody has different approaches.
If we base our knowledge of God on experience then there's always the problem of interpretation.
Tradition is good but what if tradition conflicts with scripture which is the word of God?
Scripture is the word of God... God actually speaks to us and it's written down in the bible!!
The Wesleyan quadrilateral contains 4 parts - Reason, Experience, Tradiotion and Scripture. These are 4 sources of knowledge of God.
Now reason is a good thing because God did create us to think and reason but if we base our knowledge of God on reason then there can be no consensus because everybody has different approaches.
If we base our knowledge of God on experience then there's always the problem of interpretation.
Tradition is good but what if tradition conflicts with scripture which is the word of God?
Scripture is the word of God... God actually speaks to us and it's written down in the bible!!
Serious Blogging!!
Ok... now for some more serious blogs....
I decided that this is a good place to share what i've learnt or been challenged by as a Christian.
I decided that this is a good place to share what i've learnt or been challenged by as a Christian.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Transit of Venus
I'm watching the countdown on the CSIRO website...
Ok this may seem boring to most... maybe it's just me...
I'm quite interested in watching the transit of Venus. Apparently the last one was in 1882. A transit is like a lunar eclipse except that it will be Venus passing between the earth and the sun!!
And cos u cant stare at the sun, the CSIRO are doing a webcast so everybody can see it... how exciting!!
Ok this may seem boring to most... maybe it's just me...
I'm quite interested in watching the transit of Venus. Apparently the last one was in 1882. A transit is like a lunar eclipse except that it will be Venus passing between the earth and the sun!!
And cos u cant stare at the sun, the CSIRO are doing a webcast so everybody can see it... how exciting!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Who dies with the most toys wins...
Well i was going to title this "Brad Pitt has nice legs" but thought better of it...
Tonight i went to see the movie "Troy". I'd heard it wasnt that great... and yeah maybe the movie was "hollywoodised" - actually it wasnt badly done. And u already know the storyline. For me i liked it because it got me thinking. i hated the violence and cried at the end so the movie must have been good in some way...
So now i have a bit to think about... i have quite a few questions...
i was actually wondering if all the guys in Troy shaved their chests for the movie?
and did they digitally enhance orlando bloom's pecs?? cos he looked pretty good!!
but what was with the hair?? looked like he had a perm!
hahahah... nah i'm only joking..
i dont think i know the historical context well enough - like what is actually true and what was "ad lib".
do women seriously make men crazy enough to go to war?
are guys really driven as far today by pride, power and possessions?
i think the movie got me thinking about the gods the ancient Greeks worshipped. although misguided the people really did put their trust in their gods over human reasoning...well in the movie anyway. it was a great reminder too of how great the true God really is....
the people relied on things they interpreted as symbols from the gods and put such hope in their gods to deliver them. they really took the desecration of their god's temples seriously... but in the end those gods were powerless. yet through the bible u can really see how awesome God really is because He really did deliver His people and He revealed Himself to us concretely in Jesus Christ!!
the movie also got me thinking about existentialism and achilles' quest for immortality --> through the fact that his name will live on because of his battle victories. I guess it's half right in recognising that this world is temporary.
gee..how much has history has been shaped by these battles over such things as pride and power...
ok now i'm rambling and having odd thoughts... think i'll call it a night...
Tonight i went to see the movie "Troy". I'd heard it wasnt that great... and yeah maybe the movie was "hollywoodised" - actually it wasnt badly done. And u already know the storyline. For me i liked it because it got me thinking. i hated the violence and cried at the end so the movie must have been good in some way...
So now i have a bit to think about... i have quite a few questions...
i was actually wondering if all the guys in Troy shaved their chests for the movie?
and did they digitally enhance orlando bloom's pecs?? cos he looked pretty good!!
but what was with the hair?? looked like he had a perm!
hahahah... nah i'm only joking..
i dont think i know the historical context well enough - like what is actually true and what was "ad lib".
do women seriously make men crazy enough to go to war?
are guys really driven as far today by pride, power and possessions?
i think the movie got me thinking about the gods the ancient Greeks worshipped. although misguided the people really did put their trust in their gods over human reasoning...well in the movie anyway. it was a great reminder too of how great the true God really is....
the people relied on things they interpreted as symbols from the gods and put such hope in their gods to deliver them. they really took the desecration of their god's temples seriously... but in the end those gods were powerless. yet through the bible u can really see how awesome God really is because He really did deliver His people and He revealed Himself to us concretely in Jesus Christ!!
the movie also got me thinking about existentialism and achilles' quest for immortality --> through the fact that his name will live on because of his battle victories. I guess it's half right in recognising that this world is temporary.
gee..how much has history has been shaped by these battles over such things as pride and power...
ok now i'm rambling and having odd thoughts... think i'll call it a night...
Sunday, May 23, 2004
I have nothing interesting to say
So i'll just crap on for a bit....
I was watching American Idol tonight... can you believe that in Hawaii they dubbed May 13th "Jasmine Trias" day!
And Guy Sebastian sang on tonight's show too...
I was watching American Idol tonight... can you believe that in Hawaii they dubbed May 13th "Jasmine Trias" day!
And Guy Sebastian sang on tonight's show too...
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