two steps behind

It is confirmed that Zen, a section of the Central World Shopping Mall, has collapsed due to fire. The building was set on fire today by the anti-government protesters. This building is only one of many buildings that they set on fire!

Bangkok will never be the same after today. Many significant places and buildings were destroyed by terrorists. Hence, the curfew is being enforced between 8:00 PM – 6:00 AM until further notice.

What is happening to Thailand?

The picture was taken on May 13, 2010 just days before the civil unrest evolved into a full force military crash between the Thai government and the anti-government protesters. I don’t want to get into much detail about the issue. Please search online for more information regarding the event or you can try to check it out at http://www.nationmultimedia.com, a website that I often check for updates about the situation to know if it is safe or not to travel to certain parts of the city.

Oh well, I do believe that PEACE will prosper in Thailand once again.

photo by: PaHn
processed by: Natt

In Bangkok, people don’t really get to drive their car because of the tremendous amount of traffic. Sitting behind the steering wheel and pressing – releasing the break paddle can’t be considered as “driving”. It’s rare that we would go above 20 km/h in the city. Ironically, without traffic, people don’t know how to drive their car and often cause accidents; hence, more traffic occurs. That is simply the cycle of the Bangkok’s traffic.

This photo was taken while I was “not driving” but stuck in traffic on a hot day here in Bangkok. Having air conditioning on in the car helps mitigate the irritating and unbearable heat. However, this doesn’t seem to affect that maintenance man in the city’s service truck. I envy him, to be able to endure the heat, the sun, the traffic and the air/noise pollution. He should get a medal of honor or something.

One amazing man, indeed!

The temperature has reached 43 C in Bangkok during the past few days. One of the places I wish that I could go for a cool down would be at Aum Pha Wa. There are many resorts and home-stays provided for all kinds of tourists. If you are a luxurious or a simple ECO traveler… there will be place for you.

A little suggestion is to arrive early in the day to check out all the best rates and offers for staying along the Aum Pha Wa floating market which will also let you get the place of your choice.

The Wat Phra Prathom Chedi in Nakorn Phrathom is the house of the remains of the great Buddha since… I don’t really know when. After doing some research on the website, I am yet to find a solid history about the Temple (Wat). But I am certain that it was already build for at least 20 years because I remember visiting this place when I was about 7 years old. Then, I found this temple to be huge but now I found it to be amazingly ginormous.

I really wonder how long did it take and what method were used to build this temple. A curiosity that is best not to be understood by me… just so that I can keep my imagination going wild about it.

It was during a walk at Aum Pha Wa market some weeks ago that I found this little alley and this coffee shop. The use of space here is really amazing. As it seems, every inch of the space are use for one or more purpose!

Now imagine  you are in the alley and were walking where there is everything  imaginable to the left and right hand-side and even above of your head constantly everywhere you walk. Your eye will simply try to look at everything, but you won’t be able to unless you stop. The experience at the market was beyond explanation. I was there twice during the past few months, yet I couldn’t explore the entire market.

If you like to eat, here is the place for you
If you like to shop for souvenirs, here is the place for you
If you like to take photographs, here is the place for you
If you like to take a boat trip to see fire-flies, here is the place for you
If you like to “whatever it is”….
… Aum Pha Wa is the place for you