Mathew learns to blog

N.O.A.H.

2009-09-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last watched a musical. Last weekend, when I was about to go to the library, a good friend of mine texted me that he has extra tickets for N.O.A.H. (No Ordinary Aquatic Habitat) which is currently being staged at Meralco Theater. I said yes without hesitation although I felt guilty of not being able to work on my school paper... a very important paper.

I've read about N.O.A.H from Leah Salonga's column in inquirer.net. It's a modern (and colorful) version of the biblical story of Noah and his famous ark. The play features Carlo Orosa (Noah), Sheila Francisco (Noah's wife), and real life brothers Marek, Enzo and Ruiz Sison (Noah's sons Japeth, Shem and Ham). Sam Concepcion, whom I've seen as an anorexic Troy Bolton in High School Musical shown in the same theatre two years ago, played as the Narrator and God.

At the beginning I can't help but wonder how can they show the part where they have to bring in the different animals in the ark. When the "The Animal Parade" scene came, I was amazed of how creative the production is. They used shadows of animal cut-outs, and from the side entrance of the theater came in the life-size animal frames worn by the ensemble. Then came the intermission:

God said "Ladies and Gentlemen, there will be a 40 days and 40 nights intermission... Just Kidding!"

The second half showed that "Animals Got Talent." There was a giraffe who sang Nessun Dorma ala Andrei Bocelli, a tap dance from a caterpillar, tango dance from Mr. and Mrs. Pig, and a very cool hip hop number by the cute baby pig and Sam whose moves is at par with Gary V.

It's a fun fun fun show and I was laughing in most of the scenes.

I supported Earth Hour

2009-03-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

... a vain way.

Acceptance Speech

2009-03-04T02:26:00.000-08:00

"This can't be real. I didn't expect to get it. I didn't even prepare a speech."

"OK, that fainting thing, penelope... well its not a shampoo bottle now..."

"I'd like to thank my sponsors (Timex)... especially my fans for supporting me..."

"Thank you! Gracias! Arigato! Grazie! Merci! Xie xie! Danke! Salamat po!"

PAGCOR Hyatt Manila presents Basil Valdez

2009-01-25T13:21:00.000-08:00

Gaano kadalas...

ang minsan madinig ang kay gandang mong tinig...

sana'y dumalas, sana'y dumalas ang minsan...

PAGCOR Hyatt Manila presents Jaya

2009-01-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

December 30, 2008

She's the queen of the night. Performance and voice, she's one of the best. Although she's pregnant, it didn't stop her from shaking her booty during the concert.

Thanks Lovi!

PAGCOR Hyatt Manila presents Jed Madela

2008-12-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

He may not be a total performer like Gary V or a crowd pleaser and charmer like Martin Nievera... his voice, however, is at par with the two legends. This guy, with his vocal power and range, can sing any song and make it his own. Thanks Lovi (again!) for the VIP seats.

Photo-op after the concert:

Instant fan

Ate Lhen, Anna, Tobbie, Jed, Lovi, Kuya Jonathan, Me

To my dearest ate

2008-12-29T03:09:00.000-08:00

Despite all the trials and problems we faced the past few months, you were able to realize your dream wedding. Congratulations!!!

Thank you! Thank you!

2008-12-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the greetings...

Thanks for the gifts...

Thanks for having good friends...

Thanks for another year of wisdom...

Birthday Eve with (a and The) Company

2008-12-09T05:46:00.000-08:00

I spent the eve of my 23rd (ahem!) birthday at PAGCOR Hyatt Manila. No, I didn't play t the casino for I'm not lucky when it comes to gambling. It’s only last week that I lost 100 MOP in “Casino Wars” at Venetian Macau, and although it’s only 700 pesos, I still feel bad for losing.

Every tuesday nights the Hyatt Hotel and Casino is hosting concerts featuring artists like Sitti, Rachel Alejandro, Francine Prieto (Oh yes!), etc. For this week it's The Company, one of the famous vocal groups which started in the early 90's. The group popularized the song "Everlasting Love." We were seated at the front row and we were singing along with them as they performed medleys from famous bands such as the Carpenters, Beatles, and Everly Brother. They sang James Taylor's "Smiling Face," Burt Bacharach Medley, Elvis' Crazy Little Called Love, Take a chance on me by ABBA, and other songs for the oldies. Since the audience is mostly casino goers who are in their 30's-50's, they have to fit their repertoire to the target market. Surprisingly, I know all of the songs that they performed. My favorite is their rendition of "Girl from Ipanema" originally sung by Astrud Gilberto. I had the chance to talk to them before and after the concert, and they are very nice and humble. I would like to thank them for greeting me and I'll surely watch them again one of these days.

Thanks to my good friend Tobbie for inviting me, to Lovi for giving us VIP seats, and PMart for assisting us. After the concert, Lovi treated us with Hungarian Sausage sandwich and ordered a chocolate cake for me. The staff at the casino are polite and friendly. The pretty waitress who served the cake greeted me and apologized for not being able to find a candle. We asked her to dance, and without any hesitations, she did a sort of stripper dance. Me, Tobbie, Lovi and PMart laughed and talked for the rest of the evening.

I'm on birthday leave but I don't have any plans yet for today. I still have to attend class though tonight. I'm already expecting the "pa-cheeseburger ka naman" line from my classmates.

Balikbayan Boxes

2008-12-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Two years after she migrated to the "Windy City" in Illinois, my mom took a month long off from work to come home for my sister's upcoming wedding. After watching a Star of Hope concert, I went home and found my mom unpacking her things. I gave her a big hug and kiss. She handed me a plastic bag saying "eto para sa inyo." It was an Aiptek Digital Camcorder. I can definitely use this to capture ~~scandals~~ memorable moments and events.

One by one, she pulled out the contents of her luggages and 2 balikbayan boxes. When we were kids, we are more excited to see the contents of the balikbayan boxes than seeing our Dad who only comes home once a year. But as I got older and having experienced what it takes to fill up those boxes, I'm not as excited. While I was changing to my sleeping clothes, I can't help but laugh hearing my mom saying things like:

"Etong stuff toy para sa inaanak ko kay [name]... kawawa naman yung bata iniwan ng nanay nya at sumama sa ibang lalake.."

"Etong pants para kay auntie [name].... tawag ng tawag saken. Alam mo naman yun gusto may tatak...

""Etong blouse kay Sister [name]... kasya siguro ito sa kanya..."

"Wala pa pala ako pasalubong kay [name]... pwede na siguro itong mga sabon..."

I think she mentioned all the names of our relatives and her churchmates. "Madami nga ako naiwan na pasalubong anak kasi excess baggage na ako. Papadala ko na lang sa susunod" she added. She got a phone call from one of her "sisters" in church. I heard her saying "Akala naman nila pinupulot ko pera sa America..." and I laughed once more. That was my (and thousands of OFWs in USA) line to her few years ago. Now she knows how it feels to work abroad.

If we are to decide, we'd rather have her stay here or with my sister but going to America was her life long dream. She was even a victim of fly-by-night recruitment agency back in the 70's. I don't know for how long she's going to stay in US but we're just glad she's here to spend the holidays with us.

Is it charm, is it poise? No, it's Hairspray!

2008-12-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

I had a chance to see Atlantis Production's "Hairspray" at the Star Theatre (which I thought was the same as Aliw Theatre) in CCP Complex with three of my friends. We were seated 2nd to the last row and at the left most side of the theater (no budget to upgrade). Here are some of my comments:

1. The sound system is bad because we can barely understand their dialogues and the lyrics of the songs. Maybe because we're almost seated at the last row? That's what you get from getting the cheapest ticket =p
2. Can't help but compare Madel Ching, who played Tracy Turnblad, to Nikki Blonsky who played the same part in Hairspray Movie. But I got to give props to Madel for pulling off those butt shaking moves. In movies, you can have several takes while in the stage, you only have one.
3. I can't think of any actors who can perform Edna Turnblad as effective as Michael De Mesa. He's really really good. =)
4. I adore Menchu Launchengco (Velma). I've seen her in couple of plays like The Sound of Music. She's a veteran stage actress with vocal powers.
5. Dulce's (Motormouth) voice alone can wow the audience. She doesn't even need to act.
6. Nyoy Volante (Seaweed) is obviously a Michael Jackson fan. His moonwalk is as smooth as his voice.
7. Tim Espinosa (Larkin) is hmmmmm.. is somewhat ok too. As my friend commented, either he has a lisp disorder or he has a defective microphone.
8. My favorite scene is the "Welcome to the 60's" where Tracy is showing her mom Edna how things have changed since she haven't out of their house for so many years. It is the part where the three "chuwariwap" ('Dynamites' in the movie) girls in orange dress came out. They really moved and sounded like "black" singers, their voices are powerful. One of them even look like Laarni, the current Pinoy Dream Academy winner.
9. Costumes are very colorful and nice backdrops.

There were some minor distractions for us while watching the play. There was this girl (bigger than Tracy but not as young) seated in front of us who is part of the production staff (we saw her badge). She kept on singing and wiggling her butt and arms thus drawing our attention (and other people) to her instead of the play. She should have been casted in the play because we were all laughing at her. Overall, we had a blast watching the play.

Paskong Walang Hanggan by MADZ

2008-12-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of The Philippine Madrigal Singers (MADZ) from the first time I heard them live at PhilAm Life Theatre back in college. PhilAm have this yearly free Christmas concert featuring famous choirs from La Salle chorale, UST, Ateneo etc. for the benefit of the street children. I've known about the concert because of my classmate Haya whose dorm is few steps away from PhilAm.

Thanks to my friend tobbie, I've been constantly informed and been watching some of their major performances for several years now. This year alone, I think I've attended 5 of their performances including last night's Christmas concert at CCP's Abelardo Hall. In all of their concerts, they never failed to make me laugh and give me goose bumps… and last night was no exception. Their rendition of "12 Days of Christmas" was hilarious while their arrangement of "A Christmas Song" was very pleasing. There were 2 songs in foreign language performed by sopranos Liaa and Rina which is really impressive. They ended the evening with “Paskong Walang Hanggan” which send me chills all over.

I hope to hear more from them in 2009. After all, they are the best choir in the world. =)

PASKONG WALANG HANGGAN

Lyrics from: http://npf007.multiply.com/

Tinanong mo sakin kung ano ang gusto ko
Upang mapaligaya ang aking pasko
Bakit mo pa kaya sabihin sa akin yan
Para namang kasi hindi mo pa alam

Ang aking araw-araw ay iyo nang iniba
Mula pa noong ikaw ay aking nakilala
Pinasayaw ang ikot ng aking munting mundo
Binigyan ng dahilan ang bawat oras at minuto

Ang bawat kong pangarap iyong pinalitan
Binigyan ako ng lakas, tiyaga at tapang
Na harapin ang bawat tanong at pag-aalinlangan
Dahil alam kong ikaw ay katabi ko lamang

At sa tuwing pagsikat at paglubog ng araw
Nagsisimula at nagwawakas sa salitang ikaw
Kaya’t huwag mo nang itanong kung ano pa sa akin ay kulang
Dahil bawat araw kasama ka ay Paskong walang hanggan

Berkadoods in Macau

2008-12-03T16:06:00.000-08:00

I already exceeded my quota in one of my to-do list for this year, which is to travel to 2 new countries. I've been to Thailand (Bangkok), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), and Singapore. Thanks (again and again) to CEB's zero fare (+ 3,708 Tax), I was able to add Macau, China in the list. Although I've been to Shanghai 2 years ago, Macau is entirely different in terms of structures, culture and people. With me are my travel buddies JP, Tags, Jo, Ria, Gen and Irene.

Thanks to all the pinoys we met during our trip, from the time we took the bus from airport to hotel, in Senado Square, San Ma Lo, Macau Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Venetian, Grand Emperor, Lisboa, in all street corners, and in all the bus rides we took. Pinoys are everywhere, and are very eager to talk to you, show you around, and give you directions and tips. Thanks to them, we were able to find our way around in Macau, getting lost only once. As the casino capital of Asia, life in Macau for them is indeed a gamble. I wish them luck and hope they will still have jobs despite the global recession. They're very talented and hardworking people, and I hope their respective employers will consider that despite the "prioritizing the locals" policy in Macau.

I didn't bring a cam with me but Jo let me used her Powershot S series digital camera while she used her uber cool dslr Canon EOS 50D . I seriously want a dslr for Christmas. We will be exchanging photos next week so I don't have any pix to post as of the moment... pix below are from JP.

Blue Corals, Laiya, Batangas

2008-10-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, while October showers soaked Metro Manila, we were out enjoying the hot sun and cool blue waters of Laiya, Batangas. Although the sand is not as fine as Boracay’s and the water is not as pristine as Malapascua’s, the 3 hours drive (4 if you you’ll stop by at Petron, Shell or Caltex in SLEX to eat) to this 7 kilometers long white sand beach is one of the best ways to enjoy the weekend.

Stomach crunch at 'The Stock Market'

2008-10-05T04:54:00.000-07:00

My Michael Phelps wannabee swimmate Mark Gabriel, who happened to be my college classmate's cousin (it's a small world after all...), invited us to try his boss's newest restaurant in Bonifacio High Street named "The Stock Market." A flashback came to me....

Who: Me, my classmates in Financial Analysis, and a market education staff
What: Stock Market Orientation
Where: Philippine Stock Exchange - Ortigas
Why: So we can submit a 3-5 pages reaction paper
I may not be knowledgeable in the stock market but thanks to our field trip, some of our dumbest questions were answered. At least I know how to answer questions like "What is a stock?" and "How come there are a lot of old Filipino Chinese people who can barely walk or in wheelchairs are actively participating and clapping in the Philippine Stock Market?"

I wondered what the menus are in The Stock Market. Will there be grilled chicken ala AIG? Merrill Lynch Bull brains and balls? How about bailout burgers with eggs? Are the menus listed in a stock board with prices listed as share prices? With all the US financial crisis mumbo jumbos, this is a very timely branding for a restaurant.

As we entered inside the restaurant yesterday, I found out its entirely different from what I wildly imagined. The logo of The Stock market contains a pineapple, which, as Mark mentioned, suggests that is partly owned by Del Monte. I am not sure if they're actually selling pineapples. The place looks like an improved version of Heaven N' Eggs.

Here's what we ordered (I don't know the names but all of them are deliciously good):

Tomato Fondue with Mozzarella and Parmesan Croutons

Fettuccine

Chicken

Catfish

Ravioli

Peach Drink

Because it's a little bit pricey, it's a restaurant that I'll probably visit on special occasions only. When it comes to taste, it's definitely worth it.

Satisfied customers: Claire and Cheng

W@W Davao

2008-09-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Philippine Airlines' mileage program, I get to fly to Davao City for free (plus VAT & fuel charge - not so free). It's good that the company I currently work for is a loyal customer of PAL, and whenever I can, I use my credit card to do purchases because "sayang ang miles" (HSBC paid advertisement). It's my first time to avail PAL's local flights for I've been taking advantage of Cebu Pacific's zero fare promos in my previous domestic trips.

Here are some of the highlights of my very first trip to one of the must see island in Mindanao:

1. While looking for a place to eat inside the boarding area, I saw Tourism Secretary Joseph Hotchkiss "Ace" Durano browsing a magazine inside a "Christian" bookshop. Part of me wanted to approach him, congratulate him for his tourism programs, and take a photo-op. The usual shy me resorted to just zooming the cam and took a blurry picture of Secretart Durano.

2. I stayed at Joey's new house in downtown Davao City which he designed himself. The subdivision has this ridiculous policy that you cannot build a house that has a value of less than four million pesos. Working in Los Angeles for almost seven years, he surely can afford to build one. I asked myself where did my hard earned money go after working abroad. Other than a scholarship grant, I don't really know.

3. I carried a green-black-gray baby crocs (not the overpriced and somewhat dangerous plastic sandals). Davao crocodile park is selling crocs skin belts for as high as 21,000 pesos.

4. I had my first cup of Dragon fruit shake which tastes like kiwi, strawberry and pear. Dragon fruits are native to south america but they do grow it here in the Philippines.

5. I ate Durian fruit in one of the popular Durian market in the city. They have a saying "Durian smells like hell but tastes like heaven." I don't have problem with the smell, really, but I don't agree with the "heaven" part either. It's not that I don't like it. It's probably one of the fruits that I will not crave for a long time. I still like it when it's in yema, pastillas, pulvoron or tart.

6. For three consecutive nights, I was drinking Red Horse beer - a brand of beer I never really liked but I do now. Our drinking sessions usually starts from 10pm until 4am. I enjoyed our 'probinsya - kanto' type of 'inuman', complete with 'bangko' and long wooden tables. My new found friends often forget that I don't speak 'bisaya' so I just laugh with them whenever they crack jokes.

7. A trip to the world class resort in Samal Island, Pearl Farm, completed my stay in Davao.

Happy Three Years

2008-09-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Last week, I received call from Joey, one my 'barkadas' and 'kainuman' when I was still working for Uncle Sam. It's been three years when I decided to go home and I do miss my friends there, our adventures and misadventures. On the bright, it also means that I've been working for Trend Micro for three years though I started as a contractual / consultant.

Dinner at Max's Restaurant Glendale

San Fernando Valley with Paul, Richard and Waki

Hollywood Boulevard with Billy and Trish

Universal City walk elementary and high school classmates

I was still sleepy when Joey informed me that he just arrived in Manila and he's heading straight to Davao City. He was asking if I'll be visiting him in Davao. I said "Syempre naman! Tuloy na ako." I've never been to Davao and visiting 2 new provinces is part of my to do list for this year. Now, I have a chance to cross them out. I called PAL reservation hotline to confirm my flight.

Pearl Farm Resort

More entries and pictures to follow...

The subscriber cannot be reached

2008-08-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Three months ago I lost my wallet. I was hoping someone would return it even just the cards because it's hard to apply for replacements. Yesterday I lost my phone. It's much harder to get the 300+ numbers of friends, relatives and acquaintances. To my textmates, my apologies for not being able to reply.

Boarding at NAIA Terminal 3

2008-08-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

It was only on the day of my flight to Singapore that I found out that the International flights of Cebu Pacific were moved to NAIA Terminal 3. I thought that only local flights operate in the new terminal for it fails to conform to some international standards. Thanks to manong taxi driver who mentioned it to me on my way to the office. With two large bags on my arms, he assumed that I was going to the airport. But no, I still have to go to work that morning. I went to the CEB and even asked my coworker if CEB international flights already operate in Terminal 3, and the answer is “yes” since August 1. After my last meeting in the afternoon, I hurriedly went down the IBM building and hailed a taxi.

As I entered the departure area, I rolled my eyes in the spacious and modern look of the terminal. It was spacious and has a lot of seats for passengers. It was far from the bus terminal look of the MIA and Terminal 1.

I proceeded to the check-in counter of CEB and found some announcements on printed paper that flights to some countries were cancelled due to typhoon. I was relieved that the SG flight is not one of them.

Though it has a new look and state-of-the-art facilities, it has not improved the speed of checking-in. Passengers still battle with long lines including the payment of terminal fee. I didn’t have much choice in terms of food for there were only 3 food establishment in the departure area: Jollibee, Kopiroti and Mister Donut. I settled for a burger champ and peach mango pie.

I’ve already booked two international flights with CEB before so I’m already used to their delayed flights. To my surprise, my flight to SG was on time and we even boarded ten minutes before the scheduled boarding time. At exactly 8:30 pm, our plane departed and I was so excited that I wasn’t able to sleep during the flight.

Fulfilling my 2008 travel checklist with close friends

2008-08-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a 4 days trip in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. I arrived in Manila this morning around 4:30am. With only 2 hours of sleep, my mind is still in vacation mode as I write this blog entry. I was thrilled not by the reverse bungee jump at Clark Quay in Singapore or the 15 minutes cable car ride to Genting, Malaysia but the chance to see and spend time with childhood friends whom I haven't seen in a long time.

A heartfelt thanks to Ryan and Dowa for hosting our KL trip, and James and Noreen for touring me in SG. James, Dowa and I were classmates from elementary to high school. It seems like it was only yesterday that we go to Dowa's house after school to play street and board games.

Things may have been a little different right now (we've all grown up and both of them have a family of their own), they're still my closest friends. It's comforting to know that there are really are forever friends.

For the next few days I’ll be posting my adventures to both countries but for now, back to reality (work).

Mathew's South Park character

2008-05-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to raimon...

3 Days and 2 Nights in the city of smiles - Part IV

2008-05-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

Day 3

We spent our last day in bangkok shopping at Platinum, Pratanum, Robinson, Big C and other malls within the vicinity. I end up buying 10 t-shirts, 4 long sleeves and 5 shorts for myself. I also bought t-shirts, bags and native Thai goodies for pasalubong. We went back to the hostel at 9 pm, packed our things and went to the airport. Our flight was sheduled at 1 am but the plane arrived past 3 am.

This concludes our Bangkok adventure. Special thanks to our tour guides who made our trip memorable and with loads of fun.

3 Days and 2 Nights in the city of smiles - Part III

2008-05-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

Day 2

We woke up around 5am to catch the earliest bus going to Ayutthaya. I felt well rested though we only had 3 hours of sleep. Our next destination was the former capital of Thailand in the 13th century. Ayutthaya was invaded by the Burmese and destroyed most its temples, until the government decided to transfer near Thai Buri which is now part of Bangkok. A bus ride to Ayutthaya takes 1 ½ hour and costs about 50baht.

In all the buses that we took during our entire stay in Bangkok, the bus conductor carries a cylinder made of aluminum (perhaps iron) which they use to dispense ticket and to store coins. I personally think that this a neat tool that bus operators here can also use.

When we arrived at Ayutthaya, there are a lot of tuk tuk and vans waiting for tourists to rent their services. It costs about 1 thousand baht to rent them but as our tour guide suggested, the best way to tour around Ayutthaya is through a bicycle which only costs 50 baht for the entire day.

And our journey to the Ayutthaya ruins started……

Most of the Buddhas in Ayutthaya were beheaded by the Burmese......At 12:00 noon, we headed back to the bus station. The entire afternoon was spent shopping at the famous Chatuchak weekend market. Since we’re busy looking around for some stuff to buy, we were not taking pictures. We’re all sweaty with the 36 degrees temperature and the crowd of people bumping to each other. At the end of the day, we were happy to get back to the hostel with loads of plastic bags.

After dinner at MK restaurant, we went to Silom night market for another round of shopping.

To be continued...

3 Days and 2 Nights in the city of smiles - Part II

2008-05-07T01:13:00.000-07:00

After a very spicy lunch, we went to City Parapet, Wat Ratchanada and Wat Saken (Golden Mount).

While walking in the street, I was surprised to see a hot pink taxi followed by other bright colored taxis. Depending on the operator, there are about six taxi colors: green, blue, orange, red, pink and yellow & green combination. It seems that all of the taxis in Bangkok are relatively new unlike here in Manila wherein 10 yr old taxi cars are still being run by other operators.

After 20 minutes of walking, we arrived at Saranrom Palace. After few picture taking, we went to Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace is amazing.....

Though our feet were already aching, we still managed to go to Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) via a boat ride in Chao Praya river.

On our way back to the hostel, we tried the skytrain. We rested a bit and went to Silom Road to find a place to eat. As usual, we settled for street foods. I ordered Thai fried noodles, also known as Pad Thai.

When you buy a bottled water at 7-11 convenience store, they'll give you a straw. They are already selling Sprite Zero....

They say that if you haven't been to Phatpong (red light district) then you haven't really been to Thailand. I will not give details as to what we did/see in this night market - club area but suffice to say that we enjoyed the rest of the evening.

3 Days and 2 Nights in the city of smiles

2008-05-06T02:20:00.000-07:00

Part of my plans this year is to travel to two countries that I still haven't visited. I was very pleased to have chosen Bangkok as my first stop. Thanks to Cebu Pacific for making flying more budget-friendly and despite the 2-3 hours delays in both going in and out of Bangkok, the trip was pleasant. I stayed in Lub-d (means sleep well in Thai) Hostel and got a twin bedroom for 980 Baht (x1.3 for Php) with "buy 1 night, get 1 night free" promo. Below is the summary of my trip and some things that I learned about this intriguing city.

Day 1

In the morning, we went to Chitralda Palace, Ampon Park, Throne Hall,Vimanmek Museum and Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple). A ‘Wat’ is a Buddhist center and Bangkok has a lot of them.
The Monks are camera shy....

We had breakfast and lunch in some street food stalls. They are serving authentic Thai Food complete with condiments. Most restaurants and food vendors has 4 jars or glass containing different spices: chili in vinegar, chili in fish sauce, dried and flaked chili, and white sugar.

Thai people loves eating fruits as part of their daily diet that's why there's a lot of fruit vendors.

To be continued..........