Bangkok Foto Dump - May 2025

I'm back. It was a lovely vacation, we had a fair amount of couple time *ahem* if you know what I mean, but I cannot expound because Blogger will probably put a ban on me again.

I found renewed joy in being able to serve again. BIKSS always said I was a service sub. I'm not sure I enjoy being told what to do, or how to serve tho. I'm more a control-freak sub. Plus ok, maybe a bit of it is I want to serve, in general. I enjoy hosting dinners, organising brunches, sorting through tons of still-good clothes, toys and kitchenware to post on my re-homeing groups. There is a FINE line between service and bossiness, as you can see.

Anyway, it's wonderful to be appreciated. We had a lot of good conversation, about us, about our relationship, about how we interact with each other. I made him coffee, did some shopping on his behalf while he was at work, and managed a spot of ironing - and sewing, cos I saw some of his shirt buttons needed reinforcing. They weren't gonna pop off anytime soon, I don't think, but would have at SOME point! 

Our *ahem* couple time was also a little bit more spicy than usual, with some ripping of underwear (disposable panties are awesome!), mild choking, spanks and just a bit more relaxed banter and fun being had all-round. 

There was a point where I said I would endeavour to stroke Roger with my mouth 100 times. And I did. And I think that simple non-complicated act I'd done a thousand times before might have been the highlight of our fun times just because I put a number on it. I dunno what that's about, but it felt very satisfying. 

I got most of my shopping done on the first day! Located a supermarket that I chanced upon on my last trip there (and therefore didn't really take note of which mall it was in) in the second mall I came to... and spent a hundred bucks on snacks and condiments. It was madness. 20% of it was snacks. 80% was condiments. 

Here goes... (in no particular order... I'll post captions along with the pics)

The Promised Land... aka Tops Supermarket where I spent the MOST money in one go

Half of my loot -

Most of it was Namprik,  which is a dried chilli condiment that can be mixed with fish sauce and/or lime or vinegar to make a dipping sauce, or just sprinkled over a dish (rice, stir fry veggies, fried noodles etc). Some of it is plain dried chilli seasoned with shallots and garlic and what not, but I also got some with dried fish, dried squid, and some paste (in-oil) versions made with crab and shrimp.  There were also mushroom ones (vegan-friendly) which I got for the brother - let it not be said that I'm not charitable even tho' I know I said once mum was gone he'd be cancelled from my life! Hrmph. I have a soft heart, what can I say. Well, not really. If I'm being really honest, this is just me protecting my reputation and making sure NO ONE can say I was the asshole here. Ha! Take that!

I digress. It looks something like this - and I have a LOT of little packets. 

The view of the mall's facade from the connecting linkway from the hotel

Dinner at a restaurant that was recommended by one of the hotel staff

Stir fried something (veg), crispy squid and squid roe (I didn't know there was such a thing) in a bed of crunchy fried seasoned garlic bits. (They sell those in a bottle too, and I bought some, of course!)

Blended guava with plum puree drizzle. Not my thing. BIKSS enjoyed it tho.

And a sampling platter. Skinny chicken in filo pastry rolls, Thai fishcake, moo ping (yum!) and some prawn fritters.

I'm not sure if they intended for Eatopia to sound like Ethiopia. I thought it was most unfortunate.

(But seriously, Bangkok IS a lousy place if you're on a diet...)

Croissant-waffles. They go by a lot of different names, usually some combination of the two words, but I understand at least ONE of those names have been wordmarked. I didn't try any simply because there were a pair of flies hovering over the treats. 

I did have a mille-feuille. And some kind of earl grey lavender tea concoction that tasted neither of earl grey nor lavender. It was still delicious tho. It was also a very expensive afternoon treat (20 bucks!). But oh my, that confection was HEAVENLY.

I also did buy a couple of Cinnabons - well, BIKSS bought them to placate me after I got upset that the lady at the restaurant made a boo-boo when I was paying with my phone... she brought her silly handheld machine to my phone BEFORE I could toggle to the card I wanted to use. I mean, GO AWAY and let ME bring my card to YOU. Pfft. I was grumbling. I saw the shop. We stopped in. And I could see the excitement in his eyes at the opportunity to buy me some pacification by way of a sweet treat. 

"If I said I was still upset would you buy me more treats?"

"Uh-huh, for sure. What would you like?" 

LOL.

There's a music studio INSIDE H&M!

There's a cafe in H&M too. Seems there are cafes EVERYWHERE in BKK.

More shopping. Beauty haul. Got a foundation stick (not so great, so I'm glad I didn't pay FULL price for it which I would have if I'd gotten it back home). Tweezers and little scissors for beauty needs. A whole bunch of perfumes from a Thai perfume brand called Butterfly - they have a permanent booth in one of the marketplace areas of the mall and it was crazy packed. I'll admit, that was the only reason I wandered over to take a look - to see what all the fuss was about. Got BIKSS one too, and they gave some tiny samples. Picked up a bottle of lemongrass and mint essential oil blend - heavenly! And mixed nuts for half what I have to pay for them back home.

Very informative labelling on their cooking oils.

Dinner at Beer Republic on the ground floor of the adjacent Holiday Inn Hotel - the top left photo is a baked tandoori-seasoned cauliflower covered in some kind of yoghurt based dressing. And served with a knife stabbed into it! The chicken quesadillas had a crispy shell, almost like a deep-fried roti. Very delicious.

Fried vermicelli with crab and water mimosa. Tastes like kangkong (aka water spinach) if you ask me. That's green curry in the background. And we actually DID have stir fried kangkong too. That spoon tho, was absolutely perfect as a serving spoon. It really did the job! Looks like the bigger brother of what we used to get in the old days back home for tiny dessert spoons.

(This is a picture from Ebay - under Vintage Old Chinese Metal Spoon)

THIS dessert was NOT $20. Krispy Kreme had an Ovaltine thing going on and the lady recommended this from the 3 offerings they had on display. I was not disappointed. Cream covered Ovaltine glazed donut with mascaporne cream filling. 5 bucks, Thai milk tea included.

(Ovaltine Krispy Kremes)

Part of our Siam Paragon Food Court dinner. We traipsed over to the slightly farther away (20min walk) Siam Paragon cos the food court there is somewhat legendary. BIKSS had never been and he was pretty impressed by what it had to offer. We found a table and I sent him off to "find interesting food". 

He came back with moo ping (have I mentioned it's a favourite of mine?) and crab meat rolls (also something I enjoy tremendously!). Clever man. And that green dipping sauce? I got me a bottle of that from the supermarket too. Spicy, savoury, sweet and sour all rolled into one. Absolutely perfect!

While looking up the internet for a description / wiki page on crab meat rolls I learned they're actually called Crab Jujubes or Hoi Jo. Which sounds similar to what we call them at home - Hey Cho. I just didn't know they were called Jujubes!

After some dumplings and a layered pasta and cheese dish (that felt like it was supposed to be lasagna but wasn't - still delicious tho) I sent BIKSS off to get a banana crepe. I saw the sign as I went past the shop, but I didn't LOOK at what their version of a banana crepe actually was. I imagined slices of banana in a rolled up crepe. With a dollop of cream. I was wrong. As BIKSS said "There's enough cream in there to paint a house". I am wont to agree. Still, we DID finish the lot! LOL. Diet be damned.

(Assorted dumplings with chive, yam, bamboo shoot and turnip fillings)

Squares of 'Decepticon' lasagna with various toppings. It's meat + tomato sauce ala lasagna, but instead of layers of lasagna, it's layers of mozarella sheets, and between them, more meat, veggies, and at least one layer of fusilli.

We saw these WAY after we had finished dinner and while I desperately wanted to try some, I was too full of banana crepe cream. Originally a Japanese pancake, the okonomiyaki sold here are covered in a variety of delicious toppings and set on a stick for portable eating. Oh, but don't you fret. I'm coming back for you! 

(CLICK HERE if you'd like to watch a half an hour Youtube review - not by me - of said food court)

Then there was the fluffy pancake that was magic on a plate. Ricotta pancakes are the best thing since sliced bread, I'm telling you. It's the first time I've had a chance to try some, and I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. I console myself by believing there's more protein in them cheesy clouds of bliss than in a regular pancake plate. Check out more pics on Instagram.

I think ours was a macadamia and vanilla sauce with mango topping.

And that's that. I don't think I did anything else besides eat and shop. And have some fun times in the room with BIKSS. The PERFECT getaway imho!

(Yes, I'm sure you put on a couple of pounds just looking at those pics!)

Photo Dump KL

Alright as promised here are some highlights from the recent KL trip. Also, we're likely going to be in Bangkok at the end of May. BIKSS just got the green light from work today. I've applied for days off and had a quick chat with my HR person today who basically said GO MORE! DO MORE! TRAVEL MORE! Heh. I mean, if the boss thinks I should go and HR thinks I should go, I'm not going to fight it. LOL

And now, in no particular order, pics, vids, and my thoughts... 

We had tapas at a restaurant that opened till late as I only arrived at the hotel closer to 10pm. The ride from the airport to town was an hour and a half. And to make things worse even tho my plane landed ahead of schedule, the bay wasn't ready so we sat in the plane for a half hour.  NOT FUN.

Tun Razak Exchange - it's a shopping mall with fancy stores. But this is also where the nearest Puras store to me was so I decided to check it out. It was my first time here. Met a friend here for lunch too. It was HER first time as well. And she LIVES in KL. I guess it's just too upmarket for us regular folk. 

We had afternoon tea at the coffeehouse at the Marriott. 

The sugar syrup came in what looks very much like a test tube! 

Not a bad spread. The cannoli was pretty good. Better than the ones I've tried before which had super hard pastry. This one was flaky and fluffy and had some pineapple filling!

The linkway from the hotel to the dining zone. Trippy!

Seen in one of the shops. I mean, what is the purpose of this thing?

We had dinner at Tarbush restaurant TWICE while we were there. And we were only there for 3 dinners. The baba ghanoush was delicious. Lime and pomegranate made it refreshing throughout the eating of it. Most of the ones I've tried tended to get 'jelak' after a while. I tried translating that.  

And this is what Google AI threw at me -

In English, "jelak" translates to feeling sick of eating something, particularly overly rich or greasy food. It's a Malay word that essentially means "bored" or "sick of," and in the context of food, it describes a feeling of being overwhelmed and repulsed by a dish, often due to its richness or overwhelming flavors.

That's the chicken and sauce and french fries from this lovely thing - SHISH WITH BECHAMEL POT

The menu reads "You can only find this dish in Tarboush restaurants, which is a harmonious mixture of bechamel sauce, grilled chicken pieces and the finest types of mushrooms covered with a layer of mozzarella cheese and prepared in the oven."

Top - goodies from Puras in Tun Razak Exchange 

Middle - slides and mules from an outlet store to replace the sandals that I left behind 

as the straps were giving way and they were ready to give up the ghost.

Bottom - Gardener's shower gel from Crabtree and Eveleyn / 

Coconut blossom sugar - lower GI apparently

Chocolate treats for the people at work /

An olive green quilted "dumpling" bag with a long crossbody strap that I can wear across my torso without having to fuss with it now that my right shoulder is pretty much out of commission. 

BIKSS got it for me from the Mr DIY store in Fahrenheit 88.

Dim sum and some Chinese dishes (brinjal in claypot / black chicken soup) at 

Luk Yu Tea House in the dining zone in the basement of Starhill KL.

Went to a Tamil - English bilingual Mass on Maundy Thursday while BIKSS was at work. 

It was a good walk there and back. I felt that I worked off all the awesome food I was eating.

More Tarbush. This time a salad and some Mandi lamb. The meat was tender and fell off the bone. The rice was adequately flavoured, and that red gravy (whatever it was...) with the rice was perfection! 

From the finest types of basmati rice with a chef’s touch, the original Arabic spices and ghee with fresh chicken or two pieces of lamb with bone, we offer this dish for Mandi lovers.

And this was dessert - Warbat Qeshta... 

... a delicious Arabic pastry dessert consisting of layers of crispy filo dough (warbat) filled with a rich, orange blossom-flavored clotted cream (qeshta), and drizzled with a rose-flavored simple syrup. It is often sprinkled with ground pistachios and rose petals. 

I went to the supermarket and caved. Bought a box of peppermint tea. There were so many different tisanes tho... sigh. Too much tea, too little time.

Some of the delicious offerings seen at Japanese bakery - Top left - tom yum garlic bread

The date and peanut sticks and oreo cream puffs have labels (shown); 

That round yellow thing is a yuzu orange danish, and the triangle is one of 2 cheese scones I got for us in case we got hungry on the way to the airport.

And that, is that. I've emptied my gallery and in a few hours I will be making my way to the sister's house to spend the night as we leave at 5 tomorrow morning. And it's way nearer to the pick up point from her place than from mine. 

Stay tuned for more pics when I return!

Audiobooks, Anniversary, Au Revoir, Ailments

Hello beautiful people in Blogland. 

I have been away from here for so long. Not because there isn't anything to write about, but because I've been so busy. 

CG1 is going back to visit her family for a month next week, so I've been helping with organising the tickets, the admin stuff (like re-entry permits, insurance for renewing employment permits, etc etc) and I've also been the one in charge of planning the last two trips to Kuching and Malacca so I have found myself in a heap of admin recently. 

Also, and perhaps the bigger reason why I haven't written as much, is because I have been hooked to my raunchy audiobooks. The Uptown Girls series is what I'm listening to right now. And there are plenty more such *ahem* "romantic" novels. I AM fussy about the narrator tho and will only listen to the ones read by Justine Eyre. 

That aside, we celebrated our 13th year at the beginning of this month. I can't believe what started out as a sorta kinda flingy thing has ended up the longest relationship of my life. It's not been without its fair share of fights and stressors, he's the stressor, then we fight. LOL 

Most recently we had another long discussion about the difference in the flow of information between us. I tell him everything and he tells me nothing. Why? We've worked out that it's a psychological, childhood trauma thing (he doesn't think anything he has to say will be a thing I would want to know... clearly he's no stranger to self-deprecating thinking), and after hashing it out over and over in various different permutations over the years, and most recently because I refused to just let it go and sweep it under the carpet and leave things alone (do we NEED more cliches?), I said we need to deal with this and find a solution or else it's going to be hanging over me like a storm cloud and I'll resent him for it as we move through the months to come. 

If I wanna know stuff, I could keep asking. But I wouldn't know what I don't know. Most recent example, the boys' trip to HK for the rugby 7s I thought he was going on ended up being a bunch of people, some he didn't know, two he met once, and his best friend, going to HK separately and with various combos of family (wife, solo, wife+kids... etc) and the guys (and on the last day, also the wives, maybe one maybe two... who knew?) would meet up at the games on the 3 days. How is that a boys' trip?

I mean, if it's a boys' trip I assumed the 4 of them would travel there together and share rooms or at least room in the same hotel.  Not be a total bunch of upwards of 10 people, all travelling on their own, with no "together" involvement except for meeting up at the games and eating before and after - and in different combinations of who's eating and who's not at that. Cos not everyone had meals together. They just came and went as it suited each of them.

So in that case, how am I to know to ask "Are the wives going, are the kids going, are you travelling together, are you rooming with Joe..." ? There are some things that I'm allowed to assume when I hear "Boys' trip to HK for the Rugby 7s", no? Why would I ask if the wives are going, if it's a boys' trip? Cos I imagine MY response to such a question would be "I said it was a BOYS' TRIP... why would the wives be going?" Evidently this is not the case when a guy says "boys' trip". 

I COULD just ask a bunch of questions everyday. What you doing? Where you at? What plans for the day? Saw anything? Ate yet? Anything exciting happening at work? Any accidents on the road? Any medical issues I should know about that suddenly happened today? I mean, it's bluddy ridiculous. I would resent it. He would resent the questioning. And I would get tired and bored.

OR. I could just ignore everything and take an "I'll just accept what you wanna tell me when you wanna tell me" approach. In the meantime I would ask myself why I was being so stupid and needy and clingy and telling you everything that's going on in my day when you clearly do not share the same level of communication. I would resent it, and curtail the information flow. And then we would have the same relationship you have with your wife. Don't ask don't tell, yes? 

It would be the end of us. I'm certain. 

Anyway. After a frustrating evening of going round and round in circles (see conversation below) the man had an epiphany. And was also overcome with a stroke of brilliance - he said (before sharing said epiphany with me) "And with this I feel like I'm going to talk myself right into a spot". Which he really did. 

Me - Why do I tell you stuff? Why do I inform you of this and that? 

Him - Because it's exciting to you and you want me to know.

Me - Ok, how is it exciting to tell you my friend wants to borrow money. Plus, it doesn't concern you, it doesn't make a difference to your life, it doesn't affect you at all. And still I tell you. Do you want to know such things? Should I not bother to tell you this kind of stuff? 

Him - No, I like hearing this stuff. 

Me - And I like hearing YOUR stuff.

Him - But I don't have interesting stuff to tell you... my day is boring and mundane. 

Me - And my friend wanting to borrow money is interesting how? Saying "I'm on my way back from work" is interesting how? Telling you all the things I tell you .. isn't it mundane too? 

** this is the part where he had his epiphany and said what he said about talking himself into a spot**

Him - It's not mundane because it pertains to YOU and what is pertinent to YOU or affects YOU or bothers YOU or involves YOU matters to ME. Cos it's YOU. 

Me - Tada! Now do you get it? 

He says he did. He looked really uncomfortable lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling, and I could see the gears turning in his brain. 

Well then, let's see. 

At least we got that sorted somewhat... before moving ahead into the next year. I'm not saying it's going to be all hunky dory now, but at least he's figured THAT one out. I'm sure there will be other blocks. It's not going to be a fix all. But I'm nothing if not tenacious and if I have to chip away at his traumas one psychological barrier at a time, then so be it. 

Bring it on! 

Haven't invested 13 years only to give up now... 

And speaking of anniversary, he got me another silver coin - 

It's so pretty! I bought him a kazoo. LOL. It hasn't arrived. But I can't wait for him get his hands on it and make all sorts of noise! 

In personal medical news - I've changed my HRT to tibolone. It's a drug that when metabolised by the body produces the hormones I need. Don't ask me how it works. I can't fathom it myself. But it's supposed to be better than the previous one I was taking. Best of all - no withdrawal bleed. But it's early days yet... I've only started taking it this week. Hopefully the aches and pains I get during the 'low dose' week on the triphasic pills won't be as pronounced. 

Speaking of hormones, I've been to see my physiotherapist cos my shoulder pain is getting more annoying. And I'm freezing up. Apparently there is a term for it in Chinese he says - the 50s Shoulder. Seems the changes in hormone levels affects the shoulder (specifically the shoulder joint, he doesn't know why, but it does) in some women and a LOT of women in this age group end up with a frozen shoulder. Yup. It's an 18-mth curse on average, sometimes shorter in some people, consisting of 4 phases. We all suspect (by we I mean me, my boss-cum-GP and physiotherapist) that I'm in phase 2. It started presenting in November, so at an average of 3 months per phase, I'm in the Freezing stage. 

The good news is that once it's actually in the Frozen stage, there is less pain, just stiffness and limited mobility. I can't wait for this shit to be done with. 

In travel news, if all goes to plan, I'll be hopping into Kuala Lumpur with BIKSS on the 15th of April cos he has a worktrip coming up. Fingers are crossed.

And now I will sleep. Here are some pics from the last month.. 

Lunch at an unexpected Vietnamese restaurant while waiting for my physio appt

Tonight's Peranakan Dinner Buffet

Melaka / Malacca last weekend

A simple explanation of where my people come from - Melaka is the birthplace of my great great great Granddad. I think. I can't remember how many "greats" there are. And it's too late in the evening and I'm too lazy to dig out the books to check. But yeah, that's where we come from originally.

The Melaka River (and a hotel on the other side... Casa del rio I think it's called)

Enjoying a Peranakan Lunch

Clockwise from left :

Bak wan kepiting

Nangka lemak

Beef rendang

Cincaluk ulam

Babi tohay

Center : ngoh hiang with cili cuka

My own version of nangka lemak which BIKSS tried today - 

Young jackfruit in a coconut milk gravy, with prawns

on the river cruise

 

And that's all for now... I shall come back with MORE news! 

Travel Plans, Neuroses and Resolution Keeping

The Most Recent Thing to upset me is that BIKSS is going away on a play trip (as opposed to a work trip) at the end of March and I found out in the most disastrous way. 

Background - I have separation anxiety, adjustment disorder, and abandonment issues. I'm not proud of it or anything, it's not like I WANT to collect disorders, but these are all things that I've been in therapy for. And while I can function and survive in the normal world most of the time, sometimes it takes a bit of doing for me to haul my crushed and fractured soul off the ground and get it back in the realm of the living when something comes at me out of nowhere. 

Dramatic, much? Yes. On a regular day with a sane mind, I would agree. But that is exactly what it feels like when a thing comes flying my way and hits me square in the face. Reason and logic? What? No where to be found.

Anyway we talked (MANY TALKS) about it, and by now I'm feeling ok again. However, moving forward, there are some things that I will have to do to cope and compensate for such unplanned out-of-town trips tho, the most obvious being PLAN MY OWN out-of-town trips. And on his part, TELL ME WITH A BIT OF SENSITIVITY. Ahem. Moving on... the rest of the Plan.

If he's to travel more this year, being my 'leave the country every month year' and all, then the original plan was that I would tag along on his work trips. But if his trips are gonna be last minute and clash with my work schedule / cost too much in airfare / coincide with my periods guaranteeing NO ONE has a good time, then I would rather not go. (Which is what happened the last BKK trip he took - it was short notice and the flights were almost $500 return and it was period week. Plus my colleague was on leave the Monday that he was to fly off, meaning I couldn't get time off till Tuesday, shortening an already short trip. As for this upcoming play trip to HKG with the fellas - he suggested I come up and join him for a couple of days after the match, but $700 is NOT a price I'm willing to pay for a 2 day tag-on.) 

In all likelihood I'd have to beat the last-minute-high-priced-ticket situation by booking my own cheap-ass-on-promo tickets early. With other people. In order to keep my New Year's resolution (leave the country every month.... let's not lose sight of this!)

Which then means that by the time he CAN confirm a work trip I might already have used up whatever vacation days that month for my own travel plans. And that leaves us no better off in the "travel together" department. 

To address the issue we have decided that :

1) If tickets are too pricey for my cheap ass to hand over good money for,  but are within a range HE thinks is acceptable, and he's willing to pay for them, then I might go. (It took some convincing cos I'm not one to spend $400 on something that can be got for $200 you know? However since CHEAP is dependent on having "advance notice" and that's not going to be likely in most cases, I suppose something's got to give.) 

TO BE FAIR - he did offer. I would say "I'm not paying XXX for a ticket to YYY just to hang out with you for 3 days... it's too expensive!" and he would say "Then what about if I  paid for it?" And I would gasp in horror because WHOEVER paid for it, it's still too expensive. 

But ok. If the purpose is to vacay together on his short work trips and we'd be saving on hotel anyway, and he's willing to sponsor the ticket, then fine. (I also have a LOUSY relationship with money... I am aware, and I am working on it.)

And 

2) He'll try and plan in advance as much as possible, wherever and whenever he can. I'm not hopeful about this second one. But we'll see. 

Meanwhile, I've decided instead of sitting around and being depressed when he's in HKG I'm going to grab CG1 and my sister and we're going to hop onto a bus to Malacca for 3 days. We booked the tickets yesterday! Whoop!

There's also a legit teaching holiday at the end of April (I usually teach on Saturdays and it would be waste to let a free Saturday go by without doing something!) so the sister has booked me for a trip to Genting Highlands to enjoy the cool weather - and roam the Genting Premium Outlets. She's been, I haven't. I don't think I've been to Genting in at least 10 years, which is a shame cos they've made so many improvements to the space. 

So far I've left the country every month... my resolution looks like it's firmly on track. The plan to travel with BIKSS on his work trips... well, not so much. But we're only a quarter way into the year... so there is hope yet!