Travels .......Haadyai

Taking a break from work after a long gruelling year has been the best reward for me in 2017. I made my decision to take a long break as I really needed it as I struggled much in the year 2017. As I looked back and turn the often worn-out pages of 2017, I realised that there had been occasions I could have done better while there had been occasions, I could not change one damn bit of the situation I was in. Sure, laughter and joy filled the year while people from all walks of life literally coloured my life tremendously while being wounded in my daily battles with work and my life are a constant pain in the ass too.  All in all, it had been much of a struggle for me as I dissected my life on the post mortem plate as the days passed by before it leapt in 2018.

So, being able to spend some quality time with family ( I get to meet my son and fellowship with him! ) was indeed the greatest reward for me. You see, I longed to have spent some time as a family as we hardly get that chance to be together. In an environment whereby people dropped dead faster than flies in our modern rat race world, I do cherished every moment I could spend with my family members. Though I have to travel 6 to 7 hours to see my son, my sister, Lee Lee, Felicia ( son’s girlfriend ) and get together as a family, it was worth every minute of it.

To compensate for the lost times, we spent some great days in Haadyai , Thailand. So much have changed too. There is the new Thai immigration counters and some really grumpy people behind the counter, I tell you! I guess, it is due to the fact that there is just no need to slip in the usual RM 2.00 “ processing fee “ and there you have it folks, the grumpy & “mad as hell” look at their faces! Anyway, we ( SLing, JWee, Felicia, SYuen and myself ) just wanted to have a good holiday together and so we did, actually.

Our accommodation this time was Diamond Plaza Hotel , right smack in the heart of Haadyai town. Our two rooms were spacious and linking. It was great for all of us. As we had arrived early, we were able to immediately start our adventure in Haadyai town. Yup, shopping was the name of the game while I was just enjoying the walk. 

It was off to Kim Yong Market – the ever busy, bustling and must go market to get food stuff and even Zebra products! At the end of the day, I had to lug bags of cashew nuts, pistachios, dried longans and even Zebra thermos & pot. We had a good walk and some pretty good time sampling coconut ice cream and the array of bits and pieces of the nuts and other goodies. For me, I must get the Thai pineapples which were really succulent, refreshing and sweet. Lovely, just lovely indeed.

As our stomachs were screaming for food, we stopped at AR Restaurant which is situated not too far from our hotel. Lunch was seafood Tom Yum Goong, kailan with pork, chopped prawn/shrimp rolls and stewed pork ( Yeah! The ones that vibrates nicely when one knocks over the table!) We washed all the goodies down in our stomachs with two bottles of chilled sugar cane drinks. Perfect start! Then it is off to more sightseeing and window shopping.

Like I always said, I am not into shopping and so, to have some rest was really much need. Then it was off for some festivity mood at Lee Gardens and surrounding area. SLing and I decided to see if we could get a reservation at our favourite restaurant, SuanChunSuk Restaurant. Lo and behold, we managed to get reservation and we decided to have our dinner there. 

The restaurant is located at the outskirt of town but the trip was worth it though we paid a little more for our tuk-tuk fare. One point to note though is that I realised that the tuk-tuk drivers at Diamond Plaza Hotel ain’t as friendly as the ones at Asian Hotel or maybe I am being too critical. Anyway, we ordered the Paku Salad ( lovely sweet, tangy sauce with half boiled eggs, prawns and paku plant, of course! Heavenly! ), BBQ pork nett meat, fish cake and deep fried silverado whitting fish with lovely salad. It was really a good dinner and the price was reasonably good indeed. I guess, I must mentioned that as we were having dinner, we were serenaded by the elderly owner himself who sang some old Thai songs and sounded quite nice. Though we did not know the meaning nor the pronunciation of the lyrics of the songs, we were thoroughly enjoying the evening. I guess, Thai music can be quite soothing too at times especially the oldies.

The owner seemed happy enough when we clapped our hands in appreciation when he finished singing his songs. Noooooo! We did not clap because he finally ended his songs,ok? He is a crooner la…so give him some credit ,ok? On our way back, as I sat nearest to the end of the tuk–tuk, I felt as though I am in a movie scene whereby I have this phobia feeling that some car is gonna rammed the back of the tuk-tuk and we will all be flying in the sky! Huh! Just my wild imagination, I guess! Maybe, just maybe, it had been a long day………I presume.

Bright and early next morning, SLing and I walked out to the nearby wet market. I learned a lot when I walked the market in the mornings. I guess, I like seeing people and life in their natural element. The sights, colours, sounds and smells excite my sensors a lot. Seeing a group of people in a circle with an elderly Buddhist monk in the centre intrigues my sensors as they seek blessings from the monk. You could see the reaction on their faces , the expressions of hope on their faces and even their piousness over the God they believed in. It is poignant and a moment of bliss for them. That morning, it was drizzling and the streets at the market were wet but these people were just yearning after their soul’s refuge and a high being blessings.

Don’t we all do this in our own special way too by the way we worshipped? I often wonder if we sought the blessings more than we sought the actual blesser of our blessings. Too deep, huh? Well, like I said, I woke up way too early and I get philosophical as the early morning hits my brain! Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………..

The flower stands meant for blessing and worship were a sight to behold. The vibrant yellow, orange, white, red and purple flower garlands and lotus flower are definitely gonna perk up your sensors. I just could not resist to feast my eyes on such beautiful flowers and array of colours playing my sight sensors. I wanted to see simple lives in action and I got them as I watched the street vendors, the customers and even the monks. 

I like to experience life that way. It made me think and decipher what I experienced at that morning market scenes and it made me realised how blessed I am for being what and who I am, yunno. I shared this experience with Felicia as SLing and I brought her the following morning to the same wet market just to experience the whole experience all over again. Crazy people in a crazy world is what on your mind, perhaps? Yunno, one smell I would not forget is the smell of coffee in the early morning from the push cart drink vendor. This lady would make one lovely smelling coffee which will permeates the area she was in and people would go to her for her coffee served in a small translucent glass with coffee aroma emanating from the glass too. And that’s how I would enjoy my morning walk at the market!

Then it was off to the right side narrow street for some morning food of kueh chap, Thai style. Lovely broth with nice wantan, noodles, fish ball, sliced fish cake pieces and some slices of char siew pork. Really good, I tell you. SLing and I then packed some roasted pork ( crispy, crunchy and succulent ! ) , fried chicken ( Thai fried chicken are the best, I tell you! ) , chicken rice Thai style and yue tiao ( butterfly shaped ! ) for the sleeping young people at our hotel.

I guess, the highlight of the trip was a visit to Greenway Night Market and Asean Bazaar Market which is nearby to one another at Kanjanavanich Road. Yup, this place is for bargain hunters and there is so much to see. I liked the Greenway Night Market more as local frequent this place while Asean Bazaar Market is more upscale and stuff are pretty expensive as it is a tourist attraction. Food is halal here and it kinda disappointed me in a way. I ended up eating roti canai pisang with condensed milk just to fill my stomach! People can be rowdy at Asean Bazaar Market while it is not good to stay too long here. Maybe because there are just too many tourists at this place and Thai youths hang out place. Whatever it is, I was glad to have spent some time here. The Greenway Night Market was the upscaled local night market SLing and I ventured to a long time ago. So, some of the nearby scenes looked familiar to us and it was good.

Our supper was the late night pork porridge which was really nice. This again, is familiar food to Sling and I as we roamed the streets of Haadyai at night a long time ago. JWee, Felicia and I ordered all the glory parts of the pork porridge while SLing & SYuen shared the pork ribs porridge. We had a good time out there and it was nice to see smiles and laughter all around.

For me, nothing beats the times shared with family. In places like Haadyai, one can only get happier with great food, great places to shop and great company. I am often reminded by words from my late dad who says to me “ Happiness is time spent with family even when we do not even have a dollar to our name. At least, we are together.”

Moments like the laughter and teasing in the tuk-tuk, the moment of silence when savouring a dish in the restaurant or even a walk at the ridiculously cheap products in the bazaar or even just watching the good, the bad, the ugly side of human beings ; these are best moments shared with family and that is very close to my heart.

Moments like these pass only once in your life and these are memories of a life time. I guess, in many ways, I have been blessed with family and some people who are very dear to my heart. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that simple things in life should be simple and memorable. More often than not, we complicate them with wealth, status, ego and even personalities. I will say it again – live simple , live life and be life itself.

We are all going for sure to our 6’X4’ plot someday. So, I would suggest that you spend great times and make life with your family and dear friends. Here’s to life : CHEERS!