Kopi--tiam

This is my little corner, but I'm missing the good coffee. That smell of fresh roast.. that taste of extra hot latte.. just me, myself, and a cup of some intense caffeine :) I have to admit there are so few places to go for real good coffee here, and to some people's surprise (esp you from the west), SBUX is already considered very decent coffee. And as a result, I go there for personal treats. Not too often of course.. That decent coffee comes with a price tag.. At least not something I want to spend $$ on everyday :P

Alternative is.. going local. 100 Baht at Starbucks vs 25 Baht at Stargolf.. hmm.. tough choice! But to the Silom crowd, perhaps you've heard of this kiosk somewhere in soi Lalaisap. Either this, or Little Coffee on Silom, I think it's good enough for my daily dose. Yes, daily. Or should I say twice daily. Cannot go without. Partly it is psychological, but the girl's gotta have her caffeine to go through the afternoon work hours.. you know how it is when food coma strikes! hehe..

Fun facts about ordering local coffee:
1) Farangs get surprised.
Don't be. Thais do put ice in their coffee, even in the morning. I learned that some foreigners never do, and what we do is just simply bizarre to them. But it's probably not too hard to understand. It's the heat you have to deal with..

2) Espresso can mean coffee + ice + MILK.
When technically, ordering an espresso should just be a shot of espresso i.e. that dark, bold, bitter coffee in a tiny little shot cup. Here, you can get cold espresso, in tall plastic cups, where they give you lots of ice and milk. So what's the difference between iced espresso and iced latte? The only explanation I got was, iced espresso is just stronger! Yeah.. big difference.

3) Non sweet means still sweet.
When I just came back from the US, I had to take some time to adjust to the local lifestyle. I bought my first coffee after lunch near my workplace, and my, it felt like drinking syrup! Next day, I specifically ordered "less sweet" version or หวานน้อย.. Again, still it was super sweet I feared I was going to get diabetes. Further attempts I just changed to "non sweet" version or ไม่หวาน.. And to my surprise, non sweet is still sweet?!?! Funny, ain't it? I just can't seem to figure out how to not have sugar/condensed milk in my coffee. They just think for you, convinced that they know what you like. My last strategy which worked sometimes is.. don't bother using relative terms. Just tell them you want half a teaspoon of condensed milk. And stick your head over to make sure it is really half a spoon. Then, I could perhaps get the acceptable taste.. and not having to wait till it's diluted to be able to drink :P

Okay, 3 points is popular among consultants, so i'm going to stop here. Thinking about coffee makes me want to have one already. Prolly not a good idea when it's 1.30am.. Guess i'll save the rest for the next post kopi#2

..I do miss Peet's coffee in E-town.. That one is bold! I l..i..k..e ^^

Full Moon

Saturday was Loy Kratong.. Been a while since my last time to celebrate this day. Well at least it has to be more than 2 years.. I missed it, so called up some friends to go Loy Kratong with me :) Initially planned to go to Phra Arthit.. and changed to Rama VIII bridge.. but didn't get to either of them hehe.. We just stopped at Saphan Put. It was still early, but people were flocking the pier already. Tons of kratong for sale.. We got ours at one of the intersections on the way for half the price, huhu. That was the happy part ;)

Unfortunately there wasn't any stairs to walk down to the river. The only way people did it was to use ตะแกรงหย่อนลงไป which wasn't so ideal. Besides, ten seconds after you float your kratong, someone else will pick them back up right in front of you :( So we chose the other option - to take the boat out for 20 baht and float it in the middle of Chao Phraya. Okay, we still needed the ตะแกรง in the end, but it was a nice, breezy boat ride. And your kratong will float for a while at least :)

Got a nice view of the Bridge. We walked up later, and looked down at others floating their kratongs. Caught a couple of the big boats with all those light-ups. Quite a sight. Would be so cool if the whole fleet come at the same time.

Ended the night with yummy dinner near Hua Lumphong. Four starving people just went silent once the food arrived hehe. Ordered like crazy, but finished every single dish. It was absolutely satisfying. No frills.. Just chill..

"..บุญจะส่งให้เราสุขใจ.."

Feel the difference

So glad that it does get chilly in bkk..
Yet, so sad that I have no time to enjoy it..
And worse, no one to enjoy it with..

Now winter feels a little bit more like winter, even though it doesn't compare to the past two winters I had in the windy city.. But for here - the city of angels, this is really nice already. Feeling the breeze and the chill as you walk in the morning.. Lying in your room with the windows open at night.. Or even during the day when the heat is not there as it normally is. I hope it stays like this till the end of year. That would be perfect..

Now, back to work! How sad..

hit me!

On my way to work one morning, and I stopped at a light. Looked out the window and there I saw this car, wrapped in some cushy thingy :) Some unique style there! Honestly it looked just like a running sofa - because of the material I guess. Not sure why it's wrapped up like that, but I think I saw some sign saying it's for testing of some sort. Hope it's got nothing to do with crashing into another car.. It was still a red plate even..

Bangkok streets have got some interesting sights..

Well, not like you'll find something like this every day. But at least it's a much better way to kill time. Drivers today are making me crazy..

As I am

"Everywhere I'm turning
Nothing seems complete
I stand up and I'm searching
For the better part of me

I hang my head from sorrow
Slave to humanity
I wear it on my shoulders
Gotta find the strength in me.."

Alicia Keys, As I Am