Life is Colorful

Cruising along Chaophraya River

2007-03-17T15:11:00.000+02:00

Have you ever been watch movie titled ' The Beach ' played by Leonardo Di Caprio or ' The man with the golden gun ' one of the James Bond movie played by Roger Moore in the 80's ? if you watched that there was a scenery where those great actors got boat ride in Thailand, that scene located in Chao Phraya river - Bangkok.

This boat ride / cruise also one of the famous tourist attraction in Thailand, it's quiet bumpy ride though.. especially when the driver got fully throttle, no doubt you will get splash of water from the river, the boat ride / cruise usually took around 1 hour or so, I had been experienced this at least 3 times and guess why?..not because addicted of course but more for entertaining our relatives when they were visiting Thailand for holiday, so again this one is our a must itinerary in Bangkok.

Beer anyone???..

Since we took the boat ride during the day, so we can see clearly what is happening along the river, we can see what is day to day activities of Thai people, if you were thinking this cruise is some kind of 5 star cruise then you were wrong because this cruise is more like traditional way, which is to experienced the culture of Thai people live in the old days until today , even The King of Majesty Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej took a ride ( more fancy & extraordinary boat of course..) in certain & special occasion like last year on celebration of his 60Th year running the country as King of Majesty of Thailand.

The boat ride will cost between 1500 up to 3000 Thai baht / per boat - during the day, but if you want to have dinner cruise it might cost from 3500 up to 10000 Thai baht / per person, this dinner cruise normally managed by famous hotel along Chaoprhaya river like Oriental Mandarin or Shangri-La hotel or some travel agent .

Just be prepare for not sick when you take the boat ride, otherwise this adventure won't give you any fun like we had.

view from our boat ride of Buddhist temple

Location : Chaophraya River - Bangkok

Photographer : Simo

Choreographer : None

Passionate shopping at Catuchak Market

2007-03-13T16:55:00.000+02:00

For those who has been or still living in Thailand, Catuchak weekend market is one of the top list destination, do you know why?..if your answer is huge open market, thai handicraft, cloths, bargain, stainless steel , souvenirs, plants, animals , glassware , pearls, lots & lots cute stuff plus a bottle of water - at least, wear sandals & hat to comfort, damn sweating if you stay too long, shopping , shopping & shopping you are right!

This weekend market in Bangkok is tremendously exhausting to be around in a short of time, you need to be there around 08.30 in the morning when the shops just about to open, there is hundreds or even thousand of vendor sell things that make you want to swing by just for a quick look what is in their shop, especially if they have catchy display.

It seems no matter how much money that you think is enough to spend in this market is never been enough once you were there, unless you are living in Bangkok then you can go there every weekend - if you are not bankrupt yet , shopping in this kind of market is like cardio or retail therapy for me.

Kamphaeng phet MRT Station

This day is even more convenient to go to Chatucak market, you don't need to hustle with the traffic, you can use the subway / MRT , you just choose your destination to Kamphaeng phet MRT station then you'll be arrive exactly in Chatucak market, I tried this & loving it!!!

Let say you are stay in Bangkok hotel somewhere, still..you can find the nearest Skytrain / BTS then change into the subway / MRT, if you are someone like me which is living outside bangkok then you need to drive there as early as the shop open, not every shop open at 08.30, some of them even open after 10.00, but I meant if you are already in this market around that time you will find parking space easily & have cup of coffee or tea in a Cafe while you check once again your shopping list , take more cash then you can start exploring your eyes.

Based on my experienced, after 12.00 noon the market start to get crowded already, you can not concentrate because of the heat from the sunshine & last but no least becareful with the pick pocket in packed area, but still..shopping in Chatuchak brings you tons of fun & plan to go there again & again!

Location : Cathucak market - Bangkok
Photographer : Me
Choreographer : None

Sightseeing at The Grand Palace Bangkok

2007-03-05T02:45:00.001+02:00

No wonder so many tourist come & go to Thailand, this country have a lot to offer about their tourism, either you are bag-packer, someone famous , just normal tourist or thai resident like me.

Since we are living in Thailand, our friends & relatives had been so excited to visit us, their motivation is variety, starting from splurging goods, tanning on the beach , out of curiosity to try the famous Tom Yam Goong , just sightseeing or other things that you really can experience only in Thailand no matter what it was.

2 years ago we took my hubby's uncle & aunt to stay in Bangkok just few days before they got back to their cold country ( because it was still winter time there..).

Way towards The Grand Palace with big picture of King & Queen Majesties of Thailand

We arrived at The Grand Palace around 11.30 and ooooh boy..it was so hot! it was about this time of the year which is the climate start to raise & reach over 30'C..I kind of remind them to wear something light but yet polite, so we all are agreed with cotton shirt short sleeve, trouser & sport shoes. and seems all of us agreed as well to bring sunglasses & hat - good choice by the way!

Hor Phra Dhart Monthian

Legendary of The Grand Palace

The Grand Palace is really worth it to visit at least once, the historical record were amazing and of course there is prohibitited area inside such as The Borom Phiman Mansion because this mansion usually to serves as the Royal Guest House for visiting Head of State and guest of The Majesty & number of members of the royal family.

Apart from that prohibited area, you can see other buildings in Grand Palace complex & for sure it's worth to take pictures & since this place also a temple so you will see them praying, so please pay some respect for not disturb their activity.

Finland & Me ( II ) Sauna - A Finnish national institution

2007-01-10T08:38:00.000+02:00

As someone born & raised in Asia, I got used it to with the heat, with climate over 34'C and eat lots of chili is my day to day habit.
but the first time I went to Finland on winter time to visit my hubby's family and noticed that they had habit to enjoy the sauna, and believe it or not in every houses , apartements nowdays HAVE sauna on their own, even the sauna room is only 2x2 metre, they just have it .

Finland is the land of the sauna and the Finns are a nation of sauna-enthusiasts. Finland has a population of 5.1 million and 1.7 million saunas — one for every three inhabitants. The sauna is considered an age-old Finnish feature, although it is not a Finnish invention and certainly not the private property of the Finns. In the late 19th century, sauna-bathing was practiced in the Old World all the way from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains.

The Finns are, however, a special nation of sauna-users in the sense that they have kept the tradition alive and adjusted it to their modern lifestyle. As conservers, developers and intermediaries they have spread the sauna round the world under the trademark ‘made in Finland’.

If I start to describe the relations between Sauna & Finns it will be such a long ( but yet interesting..) & funny stories about this.
This sauna thing became part of my life now & I am crazy about it, as a matter of fact there is a lot of benefits that you can get by enjoying sauna such as cleanses and heals the body, soothes the mind, and provides agreeable sensations and many other pleasures , indeed it's true.

So, all year long no matter what the season is in Finland we just like to relax, unwind & enjoy the sauna.

Sea, Sun, Sand, Spa & Samui

2007-01-09T10:27:00.000+02:00

This is our 3rd times in Samui , to be honest for me I prefer to be at home in our condo, because everything is just the same, the scenery I meant..
it's more comfortable & enjoyable of course to be at your own place no matter what, especially we are living in resort area like our sea view condo.
but anyway, since my hubby got more than a week days off for christmas & new year's so we decided to go to Samui (again..) the other reason is also because we had that holiday package free nights that we have to use, so..let's go then!

We departed from U-Tapao aiport, it took only 55 minutes to go to Samui and it seems it was great idea to escape from Pataya during that time ( tourist season like this month & Songkran ), somehow this small famous city packed with tourist, they just everywhere..hupfffffsssss!!

Samui is a small island, in fact you can round around this island just about 1.5 hours by car, so you can figure out how compact this island is.

as one of the famous tourist destination in Thailand, so this island had been improved alot since we went there 3 years ago, now there is more of resort & spa , restaurant or cafe so you just decide where you want to eat or stay according to your budget.

There is some attraction in this island you must check it out like 80m Namuang waterfalls , Grand father- Grand mother rocks (Hin Ta & Hin Ya ) & mummyfied monk, to be able to enjoy the waterfalls you must ride the elephant, it took 1/2 hour or so to get up there & cost around 3000 baht for 2 person, but I guess you can bargain for that, or at least try to ask if you can get lower price, who knows?

the grandfather - grandmother rocks actually bit interesting ( not for small children I guess..why??..) it's because the rocks is visualizing of male & female private part, indeed it looks like giant 'thing'. ..:)

mummyfied monk in Wat Khunaram is story about monk who had been meditated for so long ( years & years ) & became mummy since then, his body is stil in part & complete.

The rest of attraction is more or less same in anywhere in Thailand, so if you like to have sun bathing on clearer ( than Pataya) beach , get pamper in spa & get away from busy big city then you can check this island out & don't forget to save the water usage to make everyone happy ! save the planet :)

Location : Namuang Waterfall Samui , Peninsula Resort Samui
Photographer : Us
Choreographer : Us

Flying Finn in F1 Shanghai

2006-11-14T12:53:00.000+02:00

This year is Kimi's last dedication to Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes and to be honest it seems that team can not provide reliable car for Kimi , it's make me sad to see such a talented driver like Kimi somehow always got 'Jinx' in this prestigious autosport race.

But anyhow, me & my hubby so glad to be part of thousand crowd in Sinopec - Shanghai F1 one race live.

Kimi Raikkonen in McClaren behind Michael Schumacher in Ferrari

Well.. see you next year in red Kimi! hope that we will see you in every podium, finger crossed!!!..

Location : Sinopec Circuit Shanghai
Photographer : Us
Choreographer : None

Finland & me ( I ), World Rally Champion 2006 - Jyväskylä

2006-11-02T10:44:00.000+02:00

This year is my third times of excitement for WRC held in Finland, not like 3 years ago when the event is in mid summer, this time was late summer which mean the weather is unpredicted, especially the rally stages usually is in the middle of forest, that's the reason why I had to skip my WRC ritual this year a.k.a woke up early morning to get good view point with my hubby in those rally stages , this time I prefer to be home doing other things, since we just got new home or town house to be exact, I like to enjoy it , make sense huh?!...

People came here from every where to see this event ,we can see so many RV / trailer register number from different countries , and of course since we have good rally drivers representing our country such as Marcus Grönholm , Mikko Hirvonen , Tony Gardemeister , Harri Rovanpera - not driving this year though..so we need to give them support as a good crowd. it bring lots of fun actually watch this rally it's kind of picnic in the forest , you bring small chair , radio , ice cream , beer & snack , somehow your nationalism is pumping even more for such as event like this.

and...Marcus Grönholm came back as a winner (again..) for Finland Rally 2006, Yipppiiii!!!..

exciting spectator waiting for the next rally car

Location : Jyväskylä

Photographer : Mika

Choreograher : None

Monaco in our holiday agenda

2006-11-02T07:14:00.001+02:00

Beautiful park in front of Monte Carlo Casino

Mid summer is the best way to travel anywhere in europe, people doesn't need to pack lots of things unless you are a woman like me, somehow there is always things to keep you pushing & stuffing your luggage with something, am I right?..don't start to argue with the 'necessary list' because every single item in woman luggage is a necessary, my advice is if you are travel with your sweetheart do not make unnecessary comments while she is packing, otherwise you will get into trouble - believe me.

Around noon time we arrived at Nice Côte d’Azur Int’l Airport, after flew couple of hours from Helsinki & transit at Zurich we finally excited to begin our holiday in Monaco, with rental car we head it to Monte-Carlo , none of us had been there so with our guts plus map and of course we studied little bit in internet 2 weeks before to acknowledged about our destination,so it's wise & smart advice for everyone.

Less than an hour we arrived in Monaco, I amazed seeing the beautiful skycrapers and the apartment blocks everywhere. after checked in into hotel we didn't waste our time in the room we just changed our cloth with something casual but yet representative , common' ..it's Monaco baby! Thanks God beautiful weather is in our side, it's warm , breezy and shiny what did you expect more?..

We decided to left our car in parking lot, since our hotel is just a few hundreds metre from Monte-Carlo city so we want to explore, spoiled our eyes & digi-camera, just about a minute of walking we heard roar of sport car that me & my hubby try to guessing and ...Yaapp!!!it was 2 red & shiny Ferrari - cooooll!!!..and then another roar came from somewhere and this time was 1 yellow Lamborghini and 1 silver the newest Porsche, then while we had coffee in Cafés de Paris we saw in front of Hôtel de Paris there was black Maybach & Roll Royce ,ho ho ho..awesome!!!..

There lots of things to see & experience in here, it just depends what is your interest , lots of great restaurant & cafes , museums , branded boutique , opera house , don't forget the famous Monte-Carlo Casino , Hôtel de Paris and of course Place du Palais is a MUST thing you should check it out while you are here.

The Carabiniers of Place du Palais

We went to the Place du Palais with a unique panoramic view overlooking the Port and Monte-Carlo, stretching as far as Bordighera in Italy (to the north-east), Fontvieille and Cap-d’Ail (to the south-west, and we got lucky because we saw the spectacular changing of the guard ceremony performed by the “Carabiniers” in full dress uniform, then we also went to Exhibition of H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco's Private Collection of Classic Cars - love it..love it!!

Seems every tourist like myself came here to feel & look how glamourous this city is, I can't tell or totally describe it because you really need to be there, no wonder if Monte-Carlo resident feels so proud and I could say they are kind of snobbish people because they raise the bar so high as a socialite...well, don't take it personally though!!!..just enjoy your time whereever you go & have fun with it, don't you agree with me more???...

PS: see you next time Monaco !!.. we'll visit you again for sure.

Living in Thailand

2006-11-01T13:45:00.001+02:00

After I got married around 3 years ago in Jakarta, I officially moved my life in this land of smile , apart of Asian culture with generous hospitality living here more or less are same like when I was still in Indonesia, the climate are similar it can be very dry & hot or very rainy. but since we live in condominium with sea view it can be quiet breezy sometimes, especially when the weather transition is coming, the wind from sea can be very windy. we live in very nice location , this area has been developed quite well they build jogging track , view point and proper side walk for pedestrian.

The things that I missed the most from my lovely country is of course my family , food & friends. those 3F is little bit hard to manage at the first time I moved here, I need to adjust myself for a while to get used to it, doesn't anyone do the same?..when you are in new place you need to make yourself in that moment, try to make everything easy for you or at least not to make it things difficult, otherwise you will so stress out.

For family & friends I can handle very fast because with the telephone or internet I could communicate with them whenever I feel, thanks for the technology. for food I can survive because Thai food also are not that far from Indonesia, but there is some ingredients that definitely I can not substitute such as kemiri , gula jawa ( palm sugar still not the same for me though..) , kecap manis also can not be replace with sweet soy sauce, it's big no no for me..but Thanks God since my hubby likes to travel to Indonesia for business so it's really help, because I just need to call my mom to buy those little things for cooking stuff then my hubby will bring it back home..Kiitos ihana mieheni!

I have some indonesian friends here, all of them already with kids - so jealous..we liked to had gathering for lunch, dinner, birthday or just casual coffee morning. usually we had it at one of my indo's friends house, we do the rotation for a change from one house to another, it's fun of course ! I learned a lot from them due to their experiences as a wife & mom in away of having & managing their family with busy hands handling kids , cooking & all kind of family stuff, especially when you are abroad..so Thanks to Lisa, Nia & Ita as my biggest inspiration, he he he..

seaview that we love

Since I'm no longer working, so my life has been changed my activities is more like hobby than work, I just started to do yoga 3 times a week and I love it because yoga is more like balancing your mind , body & soul than regular exercise like fitness or other sports. I used to go to the gym but since I am not consistent doing that so I quit, because after you paid the member in advance
you need to motivate yourself to go to the gym otherwise you pay for nothing. I intended to do yoga because the yoga instructor have a yoga class in our condo facilities room, so why not?..it's practical anyway..I play squash here also sometimes with my hubby..we have good facilities in our condo.

the breath taking sunset that we did enjoy everyday,indeed !

If you are a golf lovers then Thailand is a good place to spend that hobby, my hubby said in here it's also a good place to learn how to play golf , buy the clubs & other sports ware, still cheaper compare to indo..hmmm??..should I start play golf?..let's see..