a trip for everything: some kicks don't change

A birthday crepe/cake with an umbrella

2008-10-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

and custom hand made - raspberries, chocolate, vanilla ice cream , chocolate chips, whipped cream and the umbrella .. hehehe .. awesome! Thanks K

Songs from Wala

2008-09-11T23:01:00.000-07:00

I think its an apt name for this post. Currently stuck in HK coz my Chicago connection is delayed by 3 hours. But I am psyched to find free wifi and power sockets!

It was nice to go to Wala and watch the UnXpected one last time before I left. Am going to miss some people and some places back in Sg.. but will be back once in a while so no worries. There's quite a few things which will bring me back but none of them will keep me there for long.

So anyway.. maybe I will blog again like I did in California, since there will be a lot more happening (I hope).

-------

PS. I am writing this so that I remember. I usually messaged Gabs when I was at Wala and sent her songs later. She has a playlist called "From Manas" .. Yeah.. might not make much sense.. but Thurs nights had become such a daily fixture.. I have a deal with Shirlyn to send her pics of all the gigs I go to in Coldland :)

¿uɐld ɹɐǝʎ 5 ɐ ǝʌɐɥ plnoɥs ı ǝqʎɐɯ

2008-08-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

˙ǝɯ punoɹɐ ǝldoǝd oʇ uoıʇɐlǝɹ uı ʎlʇsoɯ uǝǝq sʇı ˙pɐq puɐ pooƃ ɥʇoq ˙ʇol ɐ ǝʇınb pǝƃuɐɥɔ ǝʌɐɥ sƃuıɥʇ puɐ ˙ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ʎɹǝʌ sɐʍ (ǝuo ʇsɐl ǝɥʇ dsǝ) sɥʇuoɯ ʍǝɟ ʇsɐd ǝɥʇ 'ʍouʞ ʇ,uop ı ˙ǝqʎɐɯ ¿ʎʇıɹnʇɐɯ ɟo uƃıs ɐ ʇɐɥʇ sı

˙pɐǝɥɐ ʞuıɥʇ oʇ noʎ sǝɔɹoɟ ɥɔıɥʍ 'suoısıɔǝp pɹɐɥ puɐ ƃıq ɹoɟ ǝɯıʇ ɐ sʇı ˙ɯooq puɐ ǝɹǝɥʇ puɐ ǝɹǝɥ snɟɐus ǝɯos ʇnq ˙(ǝɹǝʍ ʎǝɥʇ ʇɥƃnoɥʇ ı ʇsɐǝlʇɐ ɹo) uǝɥʇ loɹʇuoɔ ǝsınɹɔ uo ǝɹǝʍ sƃuıɥʇ ƃuıɹǝpısuoɔ ˙ǝuo pǝǝu plnoʍ ı ʞuıɥʇ ʇ,upıp ı ʎllɐıʇıuı ˙uɐld ʎɯ oʇ ʞɔɐq ƃuıɯoɔ ɥɐǝʎ os

˙ʇɐɥʇ ʇnoqɐ ʞuıɥʇ oʇ ǝʌɐɥ ˙ǝʞıl ı sƃuıɥʇ punoɹɐ ʞɹoʍ ʎɹɐʇunloʌ ɟo puıʞ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ǝqʎɐɯ ˙ʇı ɹoɟ dn ɯɐ ı ʞuıɥʇ ʇ,uop ı ʇnq 'looɔ ʎllɐǝɹ spunos ʞɹoʍ ʎɹɐʇunloʌ ˙ǝslǝ ƃuıɥʇǝɯos op ɐuuɐʍ ı ¿uǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʍ ˙ʍou ɯoɹɟ sɹɐǝʎ 5-4 uı suoıʇɐƃılqo lɐıɔuɐuıɟ ʎɯ ɟo ǝǝɹɟ ǝq uɐɔ ı ˙uɐld ǝɥʇ s,ʇɐɥʍ os

˙ǝɯ punoɹɐ sʞloɟ pooƃ ǝɯos sɐʍ unɟ ʇı ǝpɐɯ ɥɔıɥʍ ƃuıɥʇ ǝɥʇ ˙ǝɹoɟǝq ǝɟıl ʎɯ uı ʎʇuıɐʇɹǝɔun ɥɔnɯ os pɐɥ ɹǝʌǝu ǝʌɐɥ ı ˙punoɹɐ ƃuıɯɯnq ʇsnɾ unɟ uǝǝq sʇı

Karma is the way to go. More on that later.

¿uıɐƃɐ ƃolq plnoɥs

2008-07-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

I look back at the past 6-7 months and I have had so much fun.. so many things happened.. so many revelations. It would be a nice to have a record of all the factors which lead to the present. When I read my entries from 2005/06, it brings back good memories.. and most of the times.. a very clear visual with it.. this time around.. its more a like a "good", "happy" feeling, without many specifics.

Actually life's slowed down so much suddenly, that I am back on this blog.. hahaha... hopefully it will pick up again in the next week or so.

sǝʎqpooƃ ƃuıʞɔnɟ (ʇsod ʇsǝnƃ ɹǝɥʇouɐ)

2008-07-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

I am sure I have mentioned goodbyes somewhere in my blog before. Its deja vu over and over again. Hell man.. it sucks.. some would think I am used to it by now. But nopes.. each time it sucks and more and more. Even if a great band dedicates a whole set to the person who is leaving... its sad.

I clearly remember how it went down after the Happy Feet screening in California with E. I acted like an asshole the week before, but realised my mistake very soon and have rectified stuff since then. That was 2006 and since then its not been easy. Sometimes I just detach myself on the day to avoid embarrassment, but come to think of it, maybe its not the best way to do it.

Ah Fuck it.. I am just too angry right now about this whole goodbye thing.. so am not going to even try to be philosophical and shit. Goodbyes suck but don't shy away from them.

PS. Thanks to this site for the flip title

PSS. Just got back from the airport. Not happy :(

A random thought came into my head that I shouldn't interact with people who are around for short term because it sucks when they leave. But then I realized the pain of saying goodbyes lasts for a few days and then it gets better. When you compare it with the quality time you spent with the other person (its priceless), the pain of goodbyes is worth it.

Sally can wait :) Thanks for the memories !

2008-05-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

No title can describe the feelings I have right now. I finished college today. Had my last exam a few hours ago. Called my dad and mom right after and then went to Double O for a good night out. It's like Nirvana or Moksha. Back in India kids are told all their life to study hard for the High School exams coz that "apparently" is the most important thing ever. And it determines which college you go to. Next comes four years of college where you work your ass off for a great job! It's like it never stops. Fortunately for me I had the job thing figured out half way so I pretty much spent my last 1.5 years caring a lot less and having lotsa fun. It got over today. The cycle ended. I will be making tonnes of more cash than my batchmates who worked their ass off. Yeah.. I am bragging. But oh well, I got lucky on the way, found some great some people who helped me so much.

So yeah... life's like that.. now on to the next big thing. The other thing I want to talk about is saying goodbye. Never thought I would feel sad seeing someone say goodbye. It happened today. Gabs and Rahel said their goodbyes at Double O and man it was hard for me to hold my emotions. I am back for the few "last" posts on this blog. I wrote more than a year ago that you never need to say goodbye to your friends. If you know them really well, then you had your chats all the way, and the last day should be a simple - "Yo! Love you! See you soon!"

Back to the "feelings". Andy told me he still remembers how he felt after his last undergrad exam. For me, I will always remember the urge to go and pee! I had an option to sit in and look at my answers one more time, but what the hell, lets go and pee! I remember walking out with the biggest grin on my face (and the look on the invigilator's face) and then calling home and listening to Sugarcult walking back to PGP. God its over just like that. 5 years (plus one year at St. Stephen's)... 6 years since I finished high school.... Wow...!

PS. I will be posting a few more last posts as the monstrosity of this moment hits me again and again over the next few days.

The last post.

2007-11-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

Wow.. I just realized that it's been 3 years since Nov 6, 2004. Here its is.... the last post.

Thanks for reading... I am out.

The Fakebook Generation

2007-11-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

An article from New York Times (via Techcrunch).

Funny video on Halo

2007-10-28T02:16:00.001-07:00

A book on Probability and a bottle of Vodka

2007-10-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

.. on a Friday night .... Fun? Yeah.. but it did not involve any of the two items .. I finished my programming languages assignment.. leaving out the "challenging" part. Ask me why .. coz I don't really see what we are learning by doing this assignment. Does it solve global warming? Maybe .. since I don't waste electricity by leaving my comp off :)

Some folks would have had a busy day today .. esp the ones at Akamai .. who run the content distribution network for Singapore (and Korea). Something went haywire and people here couldn't access sites like Apple, Facebook etc. Maybe it was something wrong with NUS .. I don't know.. I just have Trey's word .. didnt bother to check it myself.

A day without coffee

2007-10-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Finally I have survived one day without a single cup of coffee. This is a first in the last five years. Maybe its time to say bye coffee... welcome Red Bull :) Nah.. I like coffee except the crappy stuff I get at NUS canteens sometime. We will see how this goes :)

Anywho, the Facebook Developer's Garag last night was awesome. We at e27 are awesomeeee!!!!! Ok so much for bragging.. there are a lot of things which could be better .. for starters .. the video conferencing between Dave Morin (from Facebook) and us.. and then the f*$#king mikes in staff club .. but all in all .. if the organisers had fun then the audience should have had a good time too .. in the end it's all about having fun. And I can say, when I logged into FB this morning.. the number of FB friend requests was a glowing testament. We plan to hold another such event soon .. so keep a lookout :)

Just got back from Wala Wala in Holland Village. Superb performance by Unxpected and not to forget the great company of Noah, Yuting, and David.

Brick Walls

2007-10-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

I watched Randy Pausch's "last lecture" at CMU yesterday. I initially thought it was over hyped so I had delayed watching it for so long. But when I finally did, it was totally worth the one and a half hours. As he says on his website - "The lecture really was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful." I was just happy and in the end re-assured to hear his story and taking some good advice.

The 23 on 22 post

2007-10-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mohit S., President of St. Stephen's sang this song at Harmony 03 - Time of your life by Greenday. That was the first time I heard it and it became one of my favorite songs since then. And every major event since then makes the lyrics more meaningful.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

---------

It was nice going out for dinner with Tea, Harsh, David and a guest which came back from the dead just for the dinner.

Kela S. is coming...

2007-10-21T01:11:00.001-07:00

It's one of those times, when I have been itching to write a philosophical post for days but never got a chance. So I finally take Saturday night off and decide to give it a whirl and that too without WUI (Writing Under Influence). I have been in Geekland lately and its nice in there. Brings back fond memories for 2-3 years ago. Anyway the probability midterm, I think I passed that, so that's a good thing.

I went through a pretty rough patch in the last few months and we (me and Lord Hash of Patrakarpuram - IX) coined the term "kela syndrome" for it. I went through it, Tea did and Harsh did (twice.. poor dude..). It's one of those times, when everything just doesn't go the way you wish it would. Some of it is your fault the rest is out of your control. Had it not been for duty free at Changi, we might have killed ourselves.

I think it has something to do with my personality that I like things being organised and planned. In a way, I feel un-comfortable when the "unknown" element is involved. I will never change with respect to that. But I have learnt a little about how to handle it lately. And this time I can foresee shit hitting the fan or more like me undergoing kela S. (sounds like someone from Kerala) in a month or so. But this time around, I am prepared (or I think I am). It feels better knowing that the unknown is going to happen.. hahaha

So yeah .. for my own reference.. last weekend was fun going out with Mich and the gang and then the movie on Sat. Had a slight disappointment when Al-Ameen was closed on Sunday .. but Korean BBQ wasn't too bad. Friday night was good hanging out with Gwen, Roy, Wenxiang and J-Lo. Had semi-lecture for 4.5 hours starting at 830 this morning for a IBM certification I am doing. And just finished my resume to apply for a job at a MRT construction site. I will be one of those guys who hold the stop/go sign (David and Harsh should be cracking up by now).

The week that was (the midterm week) ...

2007-10-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

2 midterm tests - flunked one and had to go print notes for the other one during the exam. Isn't that nice! Partied the hell out on Friday and Saturday to make up for it. Oktoberfest at Paulaner's was good but the beer was expensive! My advice - buy one there and the rest at 7-11 :)

Another midterm this Wed and then it's one last lap comprising of several projects and my HYP which ends in finals in about a month and a half.

PS. I forgot to post this earlier.

It's here finally! Asia's first!

2007-10-18T00:42:00.000-07:00

Hello all.. I am proud to present to you.. Asia's first Facebook Developer event ---

http://www.e27.sg/2007/10/17/facebook-developer-garage-singapore-asias-first-is-here/

Organised by us at E27

More coverage - http://www.ideapreneur.net/calling-all-facebooks-developers-asia

Homespace.sg

2007-10-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here's their first ad (you will like it ... if u have seen Borat) -

More "other" posts...

2007-10-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

Got this off Meebo's blog ... very funny account .. I so miss the Bay Area ! 85 and Central Expressway .. and when I had the bike ... Sunnyvale Saratoga and Maude!

Some posts...

2007-10-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

I agree with Erick Schonfeld's post on Techcrunch - Bubble Indicators. And more so with Paul Graham's essay here. A very good read. My favorite part in the essay was -

"""The value of startup hubs, like centers for any kind of business, lies in something very old-fashioned: face to face meetings. No technology in the immediate future will replace walking down University Ave and running into a friend who tells you how to fix a bug that's been bothering you all weekend, or visiting a friend's startup down the street and ending up in a conversation with one of their investors."""

and then his remarks on how all this is going to change the way school works. Maybe I should send this link to our Vice Dean before the feedback meeting this friday :)

There are some cool web start ups out there, but people sometimes tend to overlook the fact that there are other kind of start ups too. For example look at Bit Gravity, they are planning to give Akamai a run for their money (hopefully) by coming up with a completely new Content Distribution Network (CDN) suited for today's rich media oriented world.

Ok and here comes the disclaimer, I have nothing to do with BitGravity, just that I read about them on TC a while ago and I know an ex-colleague who works there currently.

The trailer's up!

2007-10-02T03:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.skinet.com/skinet/videos/article/0,26958,1632136,00.html

Thailand and Cambodia!

2007-09-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

Day Zero : Friday -

Got to know the layout of Changi airport's various terminals as well as number of flights in and out of Singapore and also the visa policies at a certain embassy!

Day One (2 days later) - Chiang Mai

The hills surrounding the airport were a welcome sight.. reminded me in some ways of San Jose airport ... but that's where the similarities ended. Took a cab straight away to the city centre and dropped in the Art's Cafe for breakfast. it was a lazy sunday morning and it felt good to be at the American style diner (as we learnt later.. the owner's from North Carolina!). Tea and I were slightly hung over from Oleg's cocktails the night before.. but we survived!

Later we set out walking in the city looking at tickets to BKK as well as for tours around the region. Finally we decided to take a red taxi to our CouchSurfing hosts in Chiang Mai. Daniel and Kelly are from California and have been living in Chiang Mai for two years and will be moving on NZ soon.... A great couple with a very nice house... even though we had to get the floor mats since they were already hosting 3 other couch surfers .. but it was good..

A little while later, they took us out for a nice drive through the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai.. I loved it.. felt good to be back in nature and mountains. Daniel and Kelly offered us insane amounts of info about life in Thailand and kept us entertained all the way!

During the brief stop at their place... I had some Indian food prepared by Americans in Thailand! Now that's what I call - true globalization :) And it was GOOD!

Later that day we went to the "famous" sunday night market. (Chiang Mai has a regular night market as well). Spent a couple of hours there ... (felt like being in a mela in India).. had a foot thai massage and called it a night!

Day Two - Tour#6 - Couple of hill tribes, random hot spring, golden triangle and some white wat

Next day we got on a set tour of the nearby areas. It involved a 3-4 hour drive in a mini bus up to Chiang Rai and covered several attractions along the way.

Our first stop was a village housing Akiah (sp?) and Long Neck tribes. These tribes are originally from Burma (Myannmar) but some of them have moved to Thailand since it has better living standards plus they get some kind of concession from the Thai govt.

Moving on we went to the Thailand-Myanmar border and then later to the Golden Triangle. It's called so because at one point in time it was an important juncture for the gold as well as opium trade. It's the place where the border of Loas, Burma and Thailand meet. We took a fun boat ride on the river and spent half an hour in Laos ;)

After this some other temple and then a slightly long drive to another white temple. By the time we got there, it was dark.. this sucked coz the temple was closed and there were no lights ..! WTF! Anyway on our way back we dropped into the regular Chiang Mai night bazaar and Tea and I did some shopping ;)

Day Three - Around Chiang Mai and off to Bangkok

We just spent the day hanging around the town/city of Chiang Mai. We got train tickets to Bangkok and after being influenced by Tea I got a manicure and pedicure :) Our hosts took us to a nice place for lunch - Aroon Thai (sp?) and then we went back to the city centre and looked at some more temples. This was followed by another drive to a little town near Chiang Mai, where Daniel picked up another truck and we got to ride in the back! The Dee Dee video featuring Tea was hilarious!

Anywho .. we set off to Bangkok at 6pm. The train was nice.. very comfy and clean for a change!

Day Four - Bangkok and absolute mayhem

It's like any other big city - loud, dirty and full of people. After spending some time trying to figure out how to get to the floating market we gave up on it and decided to eat somewhere. We saw this nice little restaurant on the waterfront and decided to go in. It was called S & P restaurant and had a very extensive menu + extremely clean toilets! After a nice filling american breakfast.. started planning our itinerary for the day. Then Tik happened to us :) Tik is a very friendly manager Thai girl and the manager of the restaurant. We asked her if we could leave our backpacks there for the day. She agreed and since she had the day off offered to show us around! This was awesome! Being a native, she knew all the routes, the rates and the best places to see and eat and she spoke Thai .. woo hooo!

We went around the city looking at the magnificent wats - Grand Palace, a place with a big reclining Buddha, a Thai driving school ;), Temple of the Dawn and then Khao San Road. Khao San road is a backpacker's heaven. Lined with numerous travel agencies, internet cafes, cheap hostels, food places, and tonnes of shop ranging from hair dressers (Tea got braids) to fake ID shops... it's a good place to be. We got bus tickets to Cambodia for the next day and then got a hostel for the night (Donna guest house - bare but cheap and clean). Then we ate a sumptuous (but cheap) meal at a restaurant recommended by Tik, it was called Tom Yum Kung. If you go there.. try their Tom Yam soup .. good stuff!

(Insert --> We also saw the Thai queen!!)

Things just got better... a friend of Tik offered to drive us back to S&P where we picked up our backpacks (and I forgot my Lonely Planet :( in the car) and came back to our hostel. Later Tik joined us again for another Thai massage :) We were lucky to get that the night before ... coz the drive to Siem Reap (Cambodia) next day racked each and every bone in our body!

Day Five - 6 am - Off to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Leaving Bangkok in another mini bus, we set off to Cambodia. The drive to the border was pretty uneventful. On the bus we met Karolina and Volker, a couple of German students. They were a fun lot and all of us had a good time over the next two and half days.

The transition from Thailand to Cambodia was mind blowing. The best part was the immigration post in Cambodia, which was a make do structure which leaked when it rained. For this reason people didn't queue in a straight line since there was a huge hole in the ceiling right at the counter ;)

We had to switch buses at the border. Our new bus was a sight in itself. The wind shield was cracked in three places and was held together by scotch tape (and I thought my Corolla in the US was bad). The roads were BAD. As the rumor goes, a certain airline is paying the Cambodian govt to keep the road that way so that people fly from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Anyway, we met a group of Americans on the way there which made the journey less painful.. but it was bad nevertheless. Now I am used to such buses and roads in India.. but I have never sat in one for 7-8 hours. Rural Cambodia will make you feel very very lucky to have certain facilities back in your home countries .. take my word for it. This is coming from an Indian who has seen and lived for a few years in rural India :)

We arrived in Siem Reap which is so different from what we just saw. All lit up, perfect roads, Las Vegas style hotels .. with rooms going as high as several thousand US dollars a night! But we stayed at Garden Village (has free internet in the lounge .. as well as mosquitos.. so be prepared).... which was just 6 USD per night .. without AC (didn't need it) and our private shower! In Cambodia, tuk tuk drivers approach you from every direction and follow you! It's scary as hell!

Keep this in mind.. you are a tourist and people here are out to get your money! Be mentally prepared for it! Even though, it's a few cents and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, but being mentally prepared helps a lot. Sometimes, I even get amused :) And this is the same any developing third world country, I think - be it India, Thailand or KL (once they realize you are a firang!)

We were so happy to get to our guest house and see a hand written note from our German friends. Sometimes in a foreign land.. when you have had a long tiring day - both mentally and physically - something like that makes you so happy! Btw, the germans and three japanese were put in a taxi to Siem Reap. They would have made great time but the car had a flat tire and it took a while to change it. (Something funny - As Volker described it - the cab driver was a cambodian boy and he had some really whacky music in there - Scorpions - Winds of Change (Retro Remix version)) So a piece of advice, if you are coming to Siem Reap via road and try taking a taxi from the Thai border to the city.. you will save atleast two to three bone racking hours in a bus.

Also, if you go to Cambodia, make sure you have a lot of 1 USD bills with you. Everything is a dollar in the country and that's the most widely accepted currency (it's preferred over Cambodian Riel .. even by beggars)

Day Six - Angkor Wat

After another american breakfast (the Cambodian version ofcourse) at my beloved Sunset bar (at our guest house), we got a taxi to show us around all the temples for two days. All four of us headed out to the see famed temples. The first day covered the big temples - Angkor Wat, Bayon etc.. and the second day was two smaller temples .. which were located an hour's drive away.

The temples are grand in their own way. It's really fascinating. I can't even begin describing them. If you noticed, all this while I didn't really describe the attractions. Reason being - they are just too good! You have to be there and experience it yourself. Some of natures' wonders and the man made stuff is beautiful in the true sense of the word. No wonder, there are so many guide books about them.

Being the more popular ones (and the ones closer to Siem Reap), they throng with tourists all day long.. especially Angkor Wat. So if you want some time to yourself to think go to the less popular ones.. and rent a bicycle (or a motor bike).... and go on your own ... it's going to be hot .. don't wear black!

In the evening we explored Downtown Siem Reap :) Believe me it looked like Holland Village in Singapore ... hahaha ... they had soccer matches being played on the big screen. Siem Reap is a pure tourist town..... expect nothing else ... oh yea .. it has 70 cent beer in bars .. Angkor Wat beer ... not too bad .. give it a shot :)

We had dinner with Karoline and Volker at a small and not too fancy Cambodian food place. And it was packed! Food was awesome.. I stuck to my usual curry tastings .. (like Volker's fried rice samplings!) and then we had some beer tasting and also a Cambodian dessert which tasted like bad cereal in milk. Beer tasting was fun .. our final tally (good to bad) -> Angkor Wat, Chang, Crown, Anchor (Anchor was BAD!) .. didn't try ABC beer!

Day Seven - Trip to Kbal Spean temple

These two (I forget the name of the first one) are located slightly far off. It takes about an hour to get to the first one, which is nothing to write home about .. unless you are into architecture and stuff ... it's made of a different kind of stone and is much smaller... etc etc.

The next one was about 30 mins away and this was fun. You had to hike up for about twenty minutes to reach it. And it was nice little waterfall on the way so pack your swimming trunks (and drinking water). When you get to the top, there's no majestic temple! The temple (or whatever) is a set of carvings on the river bed! Pretty neat!

So we hiked back down, chilled at the waterfall for a while.. had some more Cambodian food and headed back. On the way back our tour guide/taxi driver recommended we see the sunset from a temple on top of a hill. You can also take an elephant to go up.. costs 15 USD for a 15 minute ride. For all those people who have never ridden an elephant before.... you can do it ... you can also do it in Chiang Mai, Thailand (don't know the details).

There were SO many people on that temple, we decided to skip the sunset, get Angkor Wat beer and go back to the hotel. There's no concept of parking in Cambodia so our taxi was blocked by a mini van whose driver was not to be found. So along with ten other Cambodian drivers, an Indian, a Croatian and two Germans .. pushed the van! It was HILARIOUS!

Anywho.. on the drive back .. we saw the sunset .. it was gorgeous! Cambodian landscape is flat for most part and the clouds etc make the evening sky look really really good.

Another night at Downtown Siem Reap, we said our good byes to our German friends ... who were heading back to Bangkok the next day (by bus) followed by a week in Koh Samui and then back home.

Day Eight - 6 am - Flight back to Singapore

Combining all the good and the bad experiences, I think it was great overall. And Tea and I still talk to each other so that's a good sign ;) It took me a day to adjust back to Singapore but I miss Chiang Mai and Siem Reap. Life's so slow and leisurely there, so unlike Singapore, where I am running around all day.

------------------------

From Thailand and ...

Tea and me in Chiang Mai

With our hosts - Daniel and Kelly in Chiang Mai

A wat (temple) near Chiang Rai (not Mai)

From Thailand and ...

The road to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Bangkok

At a waterfall in the woods near Kbal Spean temple, Cambodia

Bayon Temple, Cambodia

Me at the Elephant terrace, Angkor Tham, Cambodia

Me, Tea, Karolina and Volkev

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

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Other pics at -

Thailand and Cambodia

Yahoo acquires Zimbra

2007-09-17T20:54:00.001-07:00

Here's the link to the story via TC

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/17/breaking-yahoo-acquires-zimbra-for-350-million/

Milo Bahaar

2007-09-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

A new drink invented behind LT 13, NUS... named after the middle name of my good friend's son!

Watching cars go by...

2007-09-15T02:50:00.000-07:00

It was my second consecutive day watching cars on AYE from the overpass connecting NUS and Dover. It's intriguing how things can change so much in such short time. Makes you wonder why certain things happen and sometimes the order in which they happen. And you look up searching for an answer. And unlike in Bruce Almighty, I don't have a spotlight on my face with a voice giving me the answer.

I am faced by Singapore's night sky, which is anything but beautiful, but I have come to appreciate it a lot over the last six weeks. Anyway back to the topic, when we don't get that logical explanation, we look inside us trying to find something. For some of us, the lucky ones, we get one. It might not be accurate, but it satisfies the human mind's desire to put things in order and attach some kind of an explanation to events. Sometimes when I write these things I wish I had taken a minor in philosophy.

So what now? The events, the incidents and the sequence in which they occur teach you something. Or atleast I think they do to me. I just hope I can remember them when it's time to stand on the over pass again in another place and in another time. Or is it better to just let go and stop trying to find a reason? I don't know what's the correct choice, but I am more comfortable with the former so I am going to stick with it.

Great people!

2007-09-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

I must have done some really good things in my past life to deserve some great people! I hope this is it .. this is the point when things turn around for good .. and I don't need to get a tattoo of a banana!

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I could have changed the title of the last post .... but oh well .. it's all related :)