The Bangkok Experience: Patpong

Shopping and Sensuality
By AV Latinggam

In Bangkok, sightseeing and shopping goes together. It was with such eagerness and excitement that HEL and I decided to beat the sidewalk to Patpong Night Market on the second evening of our stay there, Nov10.
We wanted to walk, just to breath in the ambiance of a thriving city. This walk was from Sukhumvit Road, a mistake as it took us almost an hour to reach the Silom area. We rested on seats along the walkway, though. On the way we saw a couple sleeping on a mat on the ground. They looked so peaceful there laying on the grass under a shady tree. The dusk lent them an otherworldly look, as if they were floating on a space of 'then and now'...the contrast that is, between a huge bustling city and sleeping on the rough under the stars. Near them slept two dogs, oblivious to their surroundings as if they were just as exhausted as their masters. We wondered about who they were, what they were doing for a living...indeed, what was their life.
Once at Patpong though we forgot about our sore feet and our thoughts on the couple, and gazed, ogled and gawked at the various and many varieties of goods on sale. We just meandered into the crowd and wandered into the busy street.

Near Central World: Bangkok's shopping complex

It was a shopping haven: I was all over the place, looking, touching and admiring all the colourful stuff on display. A pretty lady boy selling handbags spoke to me in Thai and when I told him that I was not Thai and that I come from Malaysia, he said 'you look like Thai lady, I give you good price for bag...for you 400bhat.' Good deal actually, but I did not particularly liked the bags. 
Shoppers have to be very careful as they would cite the highest price for their wares, which could include Jimmy Choo, Prada and myriads of ‘branded’ goods. Goods available there ranged from undergarments to lingerie, to handbags wallets and belts, shoes…you name it; all for exorbitant prices. Be wise, haggle.

Good shoppers usually slashed the asking price by half and get away with it.

There were also some interesting outlets with languid girls undulating around on stage. The rather poetic movement were actually beautiful but the incessant come-ons from ‘mummies’ could be a tremendous turn-off. All these were seen from outside, as the doors to the outlets were tantalisingly open.

European or at least Caucasian tourists seemed to congregate in Silom as I saw more of them there than elsewhere, perhaps because of the nightlife available or the food outlets that were found all over the place.  

The girls seemed to frantically want these tourists inside their business enterprise, more so than we Asians, for reasons only known to them. As a woman,  I was practically ignored much to my relief. Blending serves one well when one wants to observe incognito.

Incognito or not, we did not do too well with the Tuk Tuk. Going by Tuk Tuk ‘cab’  a trishaw type transport on motorcycle wheels could be an experience in Bangkok too. Its ...Nice. 

However it would be better and wiser to ask the fare from one place to another as they could rip you off. We learned our lesson well when we were asked for 200bhat for a ride that a relatively comfortable taxi charged 90bhat for.

The ride was nerve-wreckingly thrilling to say the least as we held on for dear life during the 15 minutes 'jiggled-juggled and bumped' adventure. 

Much to our relief we made it back to our place before we were shaken to bits.                                 The Tuk Tuk Cab.....

The Bangkok Experience: Pictorial

Walking the Streets of Bangkok
By AV Latinggam

Walking along the streets of Bangkok is an experience worth repeating; the smell of burning incense along the walkway...water taxis, cheap clothes and other pretty things...
HEL enjoyed his street shrine sightseeing. Pix right.

One side of the street are Water Taxis

Looking from the other side...stalls!

The Bangkok Experience

Being in Bangkok
By AV Latinggam

I blend in well in Bangkok Thailand, as I found out recently. As soon as I stepped down at the Don Mueang International Airport I was ushered into the domestic immigration counter by a rapid-speaking young lady. I did not understand a word of what was spoken but I got the gist of it. No answer from me and thus after glancing at my passport maybe she got the drift and so exit a peeved young lady...stage left even.Jokes aside, Don Mueang was very busy as several airplanes had just spewed out their passengers at that time. HEL and I exchanged broad grins as we weaved among people of various nationalities. There was a loud rather screechy ambiance to that place as everyone seemed to want to leave immediately to their respective destinations.And who could blame them actually, we were rather tired ourselves having traveled since 7.30am from Kota Kinabalu Sabah, and two flights later reached the land of smiles and shopping.After rescuing our backpack from the carousel we went on to acquire the local currency Bhat. It was rather interesting if not disappointing. They want 8.90bhat for the Ringgit where in Wisma Merdeka in KK, they offered 10bhat for the Ringgit. Lesson learned.Anyway, there was a long queue waiting for the taxi; there was a constant low roar of complaining voices which was not encouraging; so HEL went ahead and chartered a van! That was the only airport taxi available , we were told.Grinning at our own ingenuity we breezed past people, all two of us in a six-seater van. Spacious and comfortable. High five! What a way to travel!

Bangkok City as seen from Novotel: Pix by AVL sx200

The Chao Praya River  Pix by AVL Sx200

Thus we reached out destination: Novotel Pleonchit at Sukhumvit Road. Rest glorious rest.To a tourist’s eyes, Bangkok was fascinatingly interesting and busy. Traffic flow is incessant and there was never that lull in traffic that allowed one to breath or jay walk. The skytrain that catered to commuters was a constant rumble as one after the other passed on the overhead railway.The accommodation at Sukhumvit Road was near a skytrain rail, and the constant rumble of this transportation serenaded guests and visitors all  day and well into the night.Getting into this train was an interesting experience, a first for me; we waited for the train and when it came, there was a mad rush.“Go in go in…” shouted our intrepid tour guide Sam and then when we could not go in fast enough, he pushed us in. Instead of breezing into the train, it was a tumble and spill, and in a second the door closed and the train zoomed away. There were low roars of dissent and some wheezy laughter of relief especially from among the tourists and foreigners. The train ride brought us to a station at Saphan Taksin area where we then board a boat to a small riverside village. The river ride was interesting as we got splashed and without the benefit of safety vest or life jacket, we surrendered our well-being to providence.We disembarked at a riverside village and weaved our way through stalls and the like, to see the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, locally known as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram.The village was a very typical riverside settlement found in most places in South East Asian countries, especially Sabah, where families live off the river and in this case, little businesses that cater to visitors. There were various types of food being sold on stalls, which actually invite samplings. The only problem with guided tours as this one was, was that we had to catch up with the guide, who in this case, was more hell-bent on showing us the sights and get it over and done with. Understandably after a few trips a day, he must have been bored, so it was not really a shock.The temple on our particular visit was swamped with tourists; it was a veritable ‘area of babble’ with people speaking various languages, almost shouting to be heard above the noise.Before entering the temple though, we had to don suitable clothes as traditionally women should don sarongs or long skirts to enter the temple while men should have long pants. So several of us had to rent a sarong for the day and shelled out 200bhat each. That is RM20.The temple is a must see; it was breathtakingly gorgeous and elegant in its setting; orange and green tiles on the roof, mosaic and marbled pillars. According to our tour guide, it was built and embellished by many Kings including King Rama III.  Wood work during King Rama I’s reign was replaced by King Rama III and King Chulalongkorn and later the doors and windows, as well as the wall paintings were added. Within there are depictions of Ramayana.It was a sensory overload for me to see so many elegant statues in gold, chimeras and demons with the pagodas and other statues that depicts lions and dragons.There was also the Angkor Wat model and Sam says it was a sacred Cambodian shrine that was started by King Mongkut and completed by King Rama III. The Kingdom of Cambodia belonged to Siam for hundreds of years before they lost it to France a long time ago.After a tour of the Temple, we were ushered past the Grand Palace near the Temple which was the former residence of the King but nowadays only used for official functions and to receive visiting foreign dignitaries. This was an imposing building to say the least.Sam told us the Thai King, King Bhumibol Adulyadej also known as Rama IX and his consort Queen Sirikit both in their 80’s are now living elsewhere.   After the tour, we were ushered out but not after returning our sarongs to the counter. We get our money back then.The tour of the temple and palace was an eye opener to another culture and I believe that there were many more sights to see not only in that area but elsewhere, that merit visits. As we left the area, I looked back once more and thought about the generations of people that had come to visit and pay homage to the king of that day and the deities. If the pavement could talk, how many stories could they tell, what glorious tale would they share...

Sabah Land Below the Wind: Food

There are many types of dishes and food of the indigenous people of Sabah that are unique to this region.  

 The Nonsom Bambangan/Binudu: pickled Bambangan fruit: one of the Kadazandusun's signature dishes.

 The Pinasakan/Pinarasakan Sada'/boiled fish with sour dried fruits/asam keping.

The Ginuring Lindung/fried eel.

Sabah, Land Below the Wind: Sandakan

Sojourners in Sandakan

By AV Latinggam

I have always loved meandering in Sandakan: it is a fascinating seaside city that showcases many interesting aspect of life in Sabah, from pre-independent to the present era. It also hold a memory of long ago in my heart. That time, as a child, I heard that a relative had gone to Sandakan to work. I was intrigued and asked his elderly mother where Sandakan was. 

She said 'Its where the sky ends.' This evoked a scene in my mind of a grey colourless place where there was no blue sky, just a skyline of buildings silhouetted against ethereal nothingness.

Years later I knew better, but that vision in my mind got stuck.

Sandakan is the second largest city in Sabah, located in the east coast of the State. It is the administrative centre of the Sandakan Division and used to serve as the capital of the British North Borneo during the British colonial time.

Most of us will associate Sandakan as a tourism destination that boasts lots of varieties. There are land, historical, islands and jungle attraction. The seaside restaurants in this township are also famous for its seafood!

Anyway, when HEL and I arrived in Sandakan, we made sure to visit the Agnes Keith House sited at Jalan Istana in Sandakan.

This house was the home to famous author Agnes Keith who wrote two of her three best selling books in that house. They are Three Came Home written in 1946, White Man Returns in 1951 and Land below the Wind in 1939.  Those who have read these books will have an insight of how life was during the colonial era.

The house was destroyed during the war but was later rebuilt in 1946. Agnes Keith stayed in the house with her family until 1952.

Artifacts of the family are showcased in the house today.

Just nearby is the Sandakan Heritage Trail. The heritage trail includes the town's important and interesting sites that contributed to its rich historical past.

On this walk, we could have passed by the 100-year old Masjid Jamek, the Pryer Memorial, a granite structure erected to honour the founder of Sandakan, William B. Pryer, the Tourist Information Centre, the WW11 memorial and much more. However, it was raining quite heavily during that visit so our taxi-man thought we should just drive past. But then we did not forget the oldest buildings in Sandakan, St. Michael’s and All Angels Church. These sites are part of the heritage trail.

It was the first stone building in Sabah, started in 1893. It took almost 30 years to complete. In 1906 a religious celebration was held in this church but the main entrance of the Church was not completed until 1925.

During the World War II, it escaped bombardment in the 1940s and remains one of the very few stone buildings in Sabah.

Sixty years later the Australians donated stained glass windows to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Still on the heritage trail: The most famous site in Sandakan Township depicts an atrocity that should never be repeated ever.  This is the Memorial Park, a site that bore witness to atrocities committed by the conquering hordes on allied prisoners of war (PoW).  On the site today is an excavator, a generator and a boiler which still lie in their original positions near the steps leading up to a small Commemorative Pavilion.

From this site 2,400 soldiers were marched to Ranau. Only six survived.

The visit to this area gave me goosebumps as I imagined the groans and moans as well as cries of sick and dying POWs. I was properly sober too. Until of course, a small rather petty incident occured.  

A woman at the entrance of the little building where the exhibitions of POWs photos and other paraphernalia are sited, did not look at me much less offer me her brochure, but gave my companion one very politely and humbly too. 

When I asked for one, she stared at me balefully and asked 'are you  his tourist guide?' (Was that even politically correct?) I did not know whether to laugh or cry. I was definitely mad.

Are we then so uninterested in what happened then that we as individuals never visit there unless we want to show off our 'museum piece' to tourists; especially Australians and Europeans? Or am I, a brown person of Dusunic descent, only worthy of being a tour guide to a Caucasian in our people's eye? Or was the person in front of the building, asking for donation, a foreigner herself? I would never know. But that was a presumptuous assumption...in my humble opinion.

So much for that! 

Accommodations are also many and various, although recommendations from tour operators and guides are essential for guests to have hotel rooms to their liking. Sheraton Four Points seemed to be one of the newest.

As for food, there are many places to eat in Sandakan but recommended is the stalls where they offer seafood very cheaply. There are also some good eateries at the esplanade. However if you want to eat at a quiet place or in a garden, visit the English Tea House near by Agnes Keith’s House. You will be able to sample English high tea there if you so wish.

The Sandakan Crocodile farm should not be missed at all. Feeding times are at 11.45am and about 3pm. Watching dozens of crocodiles slithering up for lunch or just yawning away can be awesome and scary. At least I felt that way. 

They have a farm at Tuaran Jalan Sulaman too and anybody who have watched these reptiles laying supine, slowly weaving through the murky water or splashing to their food, would know what I mean.

It must also be mentioned here that Sandakan is a well known eco-tourism destination. The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre is one of the better known places, where tourists can see the wild man of Borneo have their meal on a platform. That is the time when you can see Orang Utan at close proximity. This is also where you can see the long tail macaques by the dozens.

The other place is the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary where you can see these primates up close. They come in by the hundreds to feed at certain time. They are a wonder to behold. That and many more sights await visitors to this part of the world.

Our trip to Sandakan ended on the third day. Interesting really, as we get to know many people with their respective characters. If only it did not rain too much.

Nostalgia III

Just Remembering Cebu

By AV Latinggam

A walk in Cebu City is just like home; we see people that are just like us in Sabah; and the dialects spoken are very familiar, being that there are people who come from this island, residing in Sabah. In fact, I can walk the street although I don't talk the talk. Jokes, aside, it is a beautiful place to visit and my two weeks there a few years ago was very enjoyable. I hope to go back there again one day and enjoy the mango. Tons of them there, I can assure you..YUM!!

To share with you: Cebu is the main centre of commerce, trade, education, and industry in the central and southern islands of the Visayas. It has five-star hotels, casinos, white sand beaches, world-class golf courses, convention centres, and various shopping malls.

For sightseers who wish to know the historical aspect of Cebu, the Casa Gorordo Museum is probably one of the best sites to visit, besides the famous Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

The Casa Gorordo Museum is well preserved and has been maintained carefully through the years. The wood-and-stone house typical of Spanish era architecture in the Philippines was once called home by four generations of the Gorordo family.

This house was bought by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc in 1980 from the Gorordo family and opened as a museum in 1983.

The foundation hoped that the Casa Gorordo Museum will promote the conservation of cultural heritage and enhance public appreciation of local history.

The preservation of this house, its architectures and the artefacts contained within hoped to perpetuate local history, instil understanding on Cebuano ethnicity and inculcate consciousness on the need to preserve history.

Because of its historical and social significance, the house was declared as a National Landmark in 1991 by the National Historical Institute.

The preservation of this house enable the public and tourists to savour heritage, history, and culture through educational tours and other awareness-raising activities such as history lecture series, art exhibits showcasing Cebuano artists and poetry reading sessions.

After a walk around Casa Gorordo, a visit to the Magellan's Cross is just proper. It is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on April 21, 1521.

This cross is housed in a chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street, just in front of the city hall of Cebu City.  

Tourists will usually be informed that the original cross is encased within the present cross found at the chapel’s centre.

This is to protect the original cross from being chipped away by souvenir hunters or by superstitious individuals who believed that the cross possesses miraculous power. Soldiers have been known to chip away a piece of the cross and wear it around their neck before going to battle.

Some people however believe that the original cross is lost and has been replaced by the Spaniards after they successfully colonized the Philippines. Magellan's Cross is a symbol of Cebu, and the chapel's image can be found in its city seal. It is also seen as the symbol of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.

Move on and visit the Port San Pedro or Fuerza de San Pedro. This is a military defence structure, built by Spanish and indigenous Cebuano labourers under the command of Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi and the Spanish Government in Cebu. It is located in the area now called Plaza Independence, in the Pier Area of Cebu City.

Actually this port can be akin to a large mansion and indeed it is believed to be the smallest, oldest triangular bastion fort in the country.

It was built in 1738 to repel raiders and then served as a stronghold for Filipino revolutionaries near the end of the 19th Century. It was the centre of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.

The fort is triangular in shape, with two sides facing the sea and the third side fronting the land. The two sides facing the sea were defended with artillery and the front with a strong palisade made of wood.  Fourteen cannons were mounted in their emplacements and most of them are still there, a memento of a bygone era.

The date of construction of the stone fort is uncertain, although there are claims that a Jesuit Antonio Campioni built a stone fort in 1630, and the gate of fort bears the date 1738 together with the arms of Castille and Leon.

According to records, Fort San Pedro became a part of the American Warwick Barracks, a military garrison established in 1899 by American military authorities. It was abandoned in 1917 and from 1937 to 1941 the barracks was converted into a school where many Cebuanos received their formal education.

During World War II from 1942 to 1945, Japanese residents of the City took refuge within the walls. When the battle for liberation was fought, the fort served as an emergency hospital for the wounded.

From 1946 to 1950, Fort San Pedro was an army camp. After 1950, the Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner part and converted it into a miniature garden.

And today, it is a National Shrine but still a garden, playing hosts to photographers and their models, strolling singers with their guitars and curious visitors.

Visiting these historical sites should be made compulsory for those who visit Cebu. For with it we will get a glimpse of the people’s colourful history. In some ways, we get to know the people too, through these visits.

Sabah's sights and sites: Pictorial.

Sites and Sights of Sabah Malaysian Borneo.

Maranjak Homestay: Matunggong: 

Tip of Borneo: Simpang Mengayau: Kudat.

Mist from the Mountain: Keningau-Kimanis Road.