Hua Hin Part 3 : Summer Palace & (Bangkok) Chaopraya Dinner Cruise

Later that evening, we had a meeting back at our hotel.

Basically, on fam trips, we have meetings every now and then to provide our feedback to the Thailand Tourism or Hotels to improve their services for future tourists.

I was the only blogger represented there.




Don't tell anyone, but I was actually chatting on msn when they were having the meeting. :p


The next day, we packed and left for Bangkok, but not before stopping by the summer palace for a visit.





This is the Mrigadayavan Palace, the famous summer palace of His Majesty King Vajiravudh, Rama VI.


Big family huh?


FYI, this is the current King of Thailand.




King Rama IX.
Quite the loyal guy if you ask me.

If you can't see the image of the royal family tree properly, here's a clearer image of it.


The Summer Palace has been abandoned and was converted to a tourist area.




But there are some parts of the palace where you are forbidden to visit to respect the royalty. Like the concubines quarter for example, where only ladies and lady guards are allowed inside.




Like down this corridor which led to the sea was the resting room of her queen who was constantly sick during her reign.




The whole palace was made of wood, hence was severely deteriorated decades after it was abandoned.

I've always like walking through an ancient building or structure. It's like you've been transported back in time to how the olden days was.




Where royalties have to be dressed properly every evening before being adjourned to gather at the royal dining hall to dine.




You will see some of the ancient instruments where the king and his concubines would sit and listen to the music played by their servants/performers.




Walk down the staircase at the back of the palace,




you will find the servant's quarter.

Row of four walled rooms where a pair to four servants will sleep at night.




The head of servants however will get his/her own room.

At night, with the help of oil lamps, the lady servants will stay awake to do some sewing for the royal wardrobe.




This must be the cutest sewing machine I've come across.




It's pretty cool listening to the stories of the olden days, of how servants washed mass amount of heavy royal clothing daily, or scouted and guarded the palace at night.


Then like every tourist place, we were ushered to the souvenir shop to buy some things where has no relation to what was visited before.




I got this huge pink straw hat that cost me 600 baht (RM60). -.-

If you think the hat I got was huge and ridiculous,

you'll be surprised that I was almost tempted to buy this straw hat.




So big it drooped to my arm and it cost RM120.


If you're a shopaholic, remember to drop by the shopping village before you head back to Bangkok.




The last time I visited a shopping village was in England. God I didn't know they have something like this in South East Asia too.

Basically it's like a whole village area created for the sole purpose of shopping. All outlets here are shops and shops and cafes, a shopper's heaven.




The final leg of the journey was back to Bangkok.

That night, as a farewell party, we have the inevitably most romantic dinner you can find in Bangkok - Chaopraya Dinner Cruise.




Anyone who wants a complete Bangkok experience cannot leave the country without experiencing dinner cruise on the Chaopraya river which separates Bangkok old and new town.

The boat cruises pass some of the most prominent sculptures and buildings in Bangkok, like the imperial palace.





Hilton hotel?








While having a saxophone serenade you through your dinner.




Good view, good food, good music, good company.

Really, top that for a perfect romantic evening.


ps// read Part 1.
and Part 2.

Hua Hin Part 2: Lunch at Winery

Short Note: I'm torn between moving overseas again or take up a job offer here. What should I do?



This is the world largest Luang Poh Tuad's sculpture at Wat Huay Mongkon.







Believe it or not, this was a temple built by a celebrity in Thailand who dedicated his life to Thai Buddhism. He then collected donation from the public which helped in expanding the temple,


during a festival


soon you will see a shelter over this Luang Poh Tuad sculpture - a famous monk who lived 300 years ago, it was said that he has achieved nirvana and was able to perform miracles like turning sea water to drinking water.


Director of TAT Malaysia - very humbl and funny guy who kept suggesting that TAT would sponsor me to be Miss Malaysia -.-


Underneath the sculpture there were two elephants.

It was said that if you want to be prosperous in life, you walk underneath the elephant once (one way, no return).




Makes you wonder what do they mean by "prosperous"?


Richard, what's your hand doing?


But what the heck you know, everyone was doing it.




After the temple, we proceeded to visit another favourite destination of mine in Central Thailand.

They call it Hua Hin Hills, I call it another bloody awesome winery.

As you may know, this would be my second Thai vineyard (Monsoon Valley) I've visited in Thailand. The first one being in Pak Chong - North Eastern.




Hua Hin hills was set in the hearth of Monsoon Valley where it can get pretty hot during seasons other than winter.




But what I liked so much about the place was the exterior and interior design. It's very western, modern and the owner even bred a wine dog.




It sure didn't feel like I was in an Asian country.




I have taken some pretty shots of Hua Hin hills vineyard here which I will feature them as my global destination wallpapers in my upcoming entry.

But here's a teaser for you.




Paired with pretty Thai girls,




dining at Hua Hin hills became the highlight of my trip in the central Thailand.







Hua Hin hills offered a variety of wines, which I found really interesting. Amongst of them all was the white Shiraz, which was unheard of for me.




And my favorite sweet dessert wine made of muscat grapes.




You can come here to savor most of their wines for free before you buy any, which was a plus point of visiting a winery.




I took my every chance to try as much as my gut can handle.




I took a liking to most of the wines there that I bought four bottles home.




If I remember correctly, I bought a bottle of white Shiraz for my friend Ron, two bottles of Rose (or god these were heaven) and a bottle of Muscat. And since I was dining there, I spent enough to get myself an exclusive membership with Hua Hin Hills.




Next time if I am in Bangkok and I want wine, I'll just order 4000 baht (RM400) of wine from them and they will deliver them to me for free to my place of stay in Bangkok. :D

Cooliest! I think I'm going to Bangkok again next month.

And people wondered why I love Thailand so much.




Where else can you see Asian labor workers trimming grape vines in a vineyard?





Read Part 1 here.
And Part 3.

To be "Mom-a-licious" or not?

I am mom-a-licious. I am not mom-a-licious every day, but I’d say I rank up there 4-5 days a week. That name makes me smile, not because I am snarky but because it reminds me that I am a mom, first and foremost these days, but I also need to stay humorous, healthy, grounded, happy and svelte. The name encapsulates that goal and is light-hearted. That said the website and business surrounding healthy motherhood is already claimed by Domenica Catelli.

When I originally started this blog, the goal was to share recipes and some neat finds/ideas with my local friends and cooking lesson clients. The blog address was free, so I snatched it up and started writing away! But in the little over two months I have been writing this blog, it has logged over 4,000 visitors and it’s clear based upon the emails you all have sent me that my audience is much broader than Fairfield County, and broader than my immediate friends.

With preschool on the horizon, I am muddling through what I want this blog to evolve into. My primary job will always be my children, and I am thankful that I have the luxury to keep it that way—at least for now! But requests for cooking lessons keep coming in, and I have a head full of ideas of things that can help make being a mom more healthy, fun and inspiring for all of us. The problem is, if I am going to grow this business I think I need to back-up and re-name it. While I love mom-a-licious, Domenica claimed it first, and it’s her name. I need to come up with a name that captures the spirit of my blog, but that I can call my own.

Hopefully my technological skills are up to snuff for this part... If you’d like to help re-name the business or give me feedback on this blog, simply click on the following survey. It should just take a couple of minutes and your feedback will be so helpful.

Here’s the fun part: If I choose your name for the blog and accompanying cooking lessons, the prize is a 2-hour cooking lesson in your home (see the fine print below…). So pour yourself a glass of wine and get those creative juices flowing!

The fine print about the re-naming contest: survey responses will be accepted until June 10, 2009 (so don't dally!); in the event that more than one person submits the same winning name I will have my oldest child randomly draw a winner (trust me, he'll be insanely excited about this honor); winner must live within a 30-minute drive of New Canaan, CT; cooking lesson is for one or two people; lesson to be scheduled on a mutually agreed upon weekend or evening during July or September, 2009; winner has the option of a 1-hour grocery shopping trip + 1-hour in-home cooking lesson OR 2-hour in-home cooking lesson; groceries not included; groceries can be purchased by me and reimbursed or a shopping list can be provided.

May the best mom win!

Pilot Batches

In our neverending effort to bring new, interesting beers to the table, Tyler and Jay have been spending the week working on some small pilot batches of newly created recipes to see what turns out worthy of a full Bruery batch.  Brewing 10 gallons is much easier than brewing 10 bbls and can lead to some interesting new techniques as seen below...

We can't yet reveal what went into that beautiful wort, but if all goes to plan and it tastes as magnificent as we hope, you'll all get to try this and other new recipes soon enough.

 

Hua Hin (Cha-Am) Part 1 : My Hotel Room

First... watch this video.




Do not scroll down until you watch the video k?

Don't spoil the fun, be a good sport.

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So as you may see from the video.

This was my room!!!




Haha, finally, after going through so many places, here, here, here and here.
I finally arrived in Hua Hin! :D










From Richard's DSLR camera,




I hate it when I get a room all to myself. Especially when it's a super fancy room. Makes you feel lonelier. I want my baby!


Btw, I found out what's outside my balcony.

At first I thought it was the night view of Hua Hin,

hoho... It was WAYYYY better.

Check out the view I discovered from my balcony in the morning!




Say Hello to Hua Hin!




You know, this is part of the reasons why I love travelling.


ps// I swam in that pool the night before. Tee hee

ps// Read Part 2. and Part 3.