How's My Day In UTAR Kampar?

Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Overture (โหมโรง)

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I'm quite a fan to Thai movies because they are really amaze me in all aspects. I got full hilarious scenes through the whole movie. Got touch with some sad and romantic moments. Getting chills through your spine and got scared to hell even you mute the video and close your eyes and ears. It's hard to find this genuine feelings and most of the movies end with bad endings or unsolved mysteries.

So, Thai movies attract international movie awards like Cannes Film Festival. Although some of the movies aren't getting any awards back in Thai, eventually they will get it internationally. Most of the Thai movies, we can view them via by parts in Youtube and other video hosting sites. I don't think they will ban the links because they need to rely international views to boost their videos.

I would like to share a 2004 movie called "The Overture". I've seen the title before and can't view the whole story because Youtube is damn slow. Can't ask Youtube to take the blame but also my sucky internet service. Gonna curse the service everyday! The movie is for those who takes music as a life and loves traditional instruments only so don't get bored with it.
The story is actually happened on a real person called Sorn Silpabanleng (Luang Pradit Phairoh). He was a famous Thai traditional royal musicians who played Ranad-ek, a Thai treble xylophone.
His talent was discovered by his father and old brother since he was about 5 years old. His father got shocked and questioned himself how did he play such notes without references. When he entered childhood period, Sorn lost his brother. Since then, his father kept the ranad-ek away and nobody can't touch that. Sorn tried to sneak out the instrument with his best friend's help to a abandoned temple. He did it until his father discovered that he is desperated and bonded to the ranad-ek.
Sorn's father became is mentor to teach not just only ranad-ek but other instruments and let him to join the ensemble. I'm not going to tell you here about the whole story so be patient if your internet is slow and see all the parts below! All videos were subbed with English. If you can't see them, enable the CC feature on the youtube panel.























So, what's your comment about this movie? I love it at the first site. Combining the musical melodies with the dramatic life, it's superb. I was really touch in the end of the story when Sorn died. Before he passed away, he still move his fingers as if he's still playing ranad-ek. Hope he's playing his ranad-ek in heaven to please the god.
If you like the musics in the movie, you can get it from here for free.

  1. "Assajun" ("อัศจรรย์", or "Miracle", composed by Petch Marr and Pijika) – 4:40
  2. "Kaek bor-ra-tes" ("แขกบรเทศ") – 0:53
  3. "Ton worrachet" ("ต้นวรเชษฐ์") – 1:35
  4. "Kum warn" ("คำหวาน") – 1:34
  5. "Kra-tai ten" ("กระต่ายเต้น") – 1:18
  6. "Lao duang duen" ("ลาวดวงเดือน") – 1:10
  7. "Hom rong pra-derm chai" ("โหมโรงประเดิมชัย") – 1:39
  8. "Hom rong um-ma-baht" ("โหมโรงอัฐมบาท") – 1:37
  9. "Hom rong chor paka" ("โหมโรงช่อผกา") – 1:22
  10. "Home rong jeen dok mai" ("โหมโรงจีนดอกไม้") – 1:55
  11. "Saen kum-nueng" ("แสนคำนึง") – 3:11
    • Tracks 2-11 traditional Thai music performed by Chaibhuk Bhutrachinda, Korphai and Narongrit Tosa-nga
  12. "Raek phob" ("แรกพบ") – 2:12
  13. "Terd toh" ("เติบโต") – 2:38
  14. "Berk barn" ("เบิกบาน") – 0:50
  15. "Sum nuek" ("สำนึก") – 1:10
  16. "Chai-cha-na" ("ชัยชนะ") – 2:10
  17. "Kwam wung" ("ความหวัง") – 2:23
    • Tracks 12-17 are cues from the original score by Chatchai Pongrapaphan
A bientot!




Happy New Year 2010

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newyear
Oh my! This 2009 year passed so fast. I'm already pass my half journey of my uni life and it's more exciting in each every year. Make new friends, having some quarrels with my friends and family members, getting deeper experience in blogging and money making in Internet and... ah! I have so much happenings in 2009 and they just come and go in a blink of an eye.
I haven't decide my resolutions for the new year (or don't want to think about it :P). I just want to do everything with my whole strength and full effort especially my CGPA. I want to aim at least 3.00 to ensure my step towards Master Of Science in the same olde UTAR, other universities or somewhere out from Malaysia... I'm looking some of them right now and target them in future. My life mission is still the same:- Being a professional chemist doing research.
...or being famous becoming a photo spread in a magazine (but not in women mags! I'm not leng chai and hunky enough! :P).

*dreaming*

Bang! *knock my head on wall*

Anyway, I wish everyone Happy New Year 2010 and let us welcome the second decade of the 2010! :)

And hopefully I won't having this...I don't know whether to trust about 2012 phenomenon but don't strike a disaster on my first year job! I still want to live!!! >P<

A bientot!





Sunday, December 27, 2009

UTAR Survival Kit - Orientation Day

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Introduction

This day is very important for all UTAR newbies because it's the time where we know about UTAR stuffs, about your campus, your Chancellors, your faculty, rules in UTAR and other things. You must attend this event. I repeat, YOU MUST. Some of you might not be able to come but please ask your coursemates about it. Don't take it for granted and ignore those people who said it's NOT important. They are lying!

When you receive your feedback from UTAR about your application, you will be provided with a pamphlet about the orientation. If not, you can refer the schedules and events from these sites:

Orientation January 2011 (Perak UTAR campus) ***Updated***

You SHOULD attend these events according to your own faculty (Don't skip these!):-

  1. REGISTRATION OF NEW STUDENTS (BOTH Degree/Foundation Programmes)
  2. INDUCTION PROGRAMME
  3. VIDEO PRESENTATION
  4. GET TO KNOW
  5. ORIENTATION BRIEFING & MEETING UP WITH STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
  6. MASS CALL
  7. BRIEFING OF DEANS & HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS
  8. FINANCIAL & BRIEFING
  9. SOFTSKILL TALK (Additional course for skills just like co-curicullum)
The events below are OPTIONAL (aka you can skip):-
  1. CAMPUS ADJUSTMENT TALK
  2. SAFETY TALK
  3. ICE-BREAKING AND TELEMATCH (Mostly would be games and fun)
  4. INTEGRITY TALK
  5. CAREER TALK
  6. CAMPUS & LIBRARY TOUR
***The next events are at your 1st week of your lectures***
  1. SAFETY CAMPAIGN
  2. NON-SMOKING CAMPAIGN
  3. COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITY
  4. BLOOD DONATION CAMPAIGN (You can help though but don't skip your classes)
  5. CITY TOUR
  6. PROMOTION OF UTAR STUDENT SOCIETIES & CLUBS (Choose your societies & clubs and you need to pay [not more than RM 10 or depends on your clubs] for each registrations)
  7. TALENT TIME (I don't what you are going to do except showing your talent. Duh!)
More info about your orientation timetables, refer them:-


Orientation Foundation in Arts (FA) & Science (FS) [PJ Campus]
Orientation Faculty Of Accounting & Management (FAM) [Sg. Long Campus]
Orientation Faculty Of Creative Industries (FCI) [PJ Campus]
Orientation Faculty Of Engineering & Science (FES) [Setapak Campus]
Orientation Foundation and Degree Courses (Perak Campus)


The events which I've not stated here are very important and DON'T MISS THEM. You will regret if you do so...

Things you do before the orientation


You might be nervous (if you come alone) to meet new things like make friends from other states, knowing the routes and buildings of UTAR Kampar and get to know your first lecturers and homeworks. Relax. Your first day will be fine and nothing supernatural gonna happen.

Appearance
Those who have super duper body piercings, remove them. Tattoo(s), remove it/them or just hide it/them under your clothes. Wear LONG trousers, sneakers, jeans and casual shirts. DO NOT WEAR short skirts, short trousers, sandals, overly fashioned clothing, sexy seducing clothes and other things. You won't pass the UTAR gate as the guard will ask you to go home and change. You can have a bit of style but not too much.

Don’t make yourself a shame at the first place. Just make your image as a university student instead of punk and gangster. For girls, don’t be so fashion like putting heavy makeups and dress as if you’re going for a fashion show to attract hunks and single dudes at the first day. Nobody will be interested, okey? So, play nice, look good and be normal.

Stuffs
You might see some of them have their ID cards with UTAR lanyard. Don’t worry as at you first day, you won’t need them. You will get them soon. I have some good tips to ease yourself at that day:-

  1. Get a document file and put some paper along and a pen (or just simply your pencil case). You might need to write important information rather than memorizing them. It’s gonna be a lot of things. Plus, get a BLACK ballpoint pen because you must use only this kind of pen to fill your application forms and make signatures on UTAR documents. Paper comes when you need to jot important informations.
  2. This is the important ones:- Your Timetable. I advise you to print this template (Click here to download) for your ease. You will find it very useful because you need to copy your timetable manually. So, ask anyone who is in charge on your faculty about the timetable and look for the place where you can get it. It also resembles the printed UTAR timetable on the noticeboard so you will copy your timetable easily.
  3. If you have a digital camera, I suggest you bring it along if you don’t want to copy thousands of important stuffs with paper and pen. Camera phones is okey but not a good choice to do so because you might get blur shots. If you are lucky or having nice camera in your phone, ignore this steps but get the idea of snapping infos.
  4. You can bring small bottle of water and when you ran out off water, you can refill them at the 'drinking fountain' around the campus for free.
  5. If you sweat a lot, you might need to bring another shirt. If not, UTAR is going to provide UTAR t-shirt for you on the spot. During the mass call event, you need to wear it. So, be lucky to have the t-shirt of your size. If not, you need to return to UTAR office to get them. No payment is required as the shirt is included in your fees.
This is your goodies.
*Psst! You can see the UTAR - My choice behind your T-shirt*

So, I bet you will be tiring after sitting on a chair for hours. You will know your Dean (the person who leads your faculty) and see whether he/she is going to teach you.

After these orientation process, you're officially a UTARians!

In these days, you can pay your fees together with your receipt (computer-printed or letter). You are given the 1st and 2nd week period to settle your bill. If not, additional fees will be imposed. If you don't have the money, borrow them from your family members or friends and pay them back after you get your PTPTN money or scholarship. You can't wait for both of them to pay it because they will come after the 2nd week. So, don't waste your money by paying additional bill.
So, with the additional time, go look for new friends and hangout with them!

A bientot!


UTAR Survival Kit - Becoming a UTARian

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P.S.: Quite a few visitors of my blog kept asking me questions about UTAR Kampar and I'm glad that I can help them to become one of my juniors. Just thought it would be simple to create a few posts to guide them. I'm going to put a halt about mu happenings during my semester holiday and continue them after the guides. Upcoming posts will be going the kit for the UTAR Newbies!

UTAR Kampar Block E, D & C (from left)

Introduction


So, you're gonna be one of the UTAR member huh? I'm glad that you chose UTAR as your next life destination which is either Foundation or Degree. Later on, you will find our 'famous' tagline:- ‘UTAR - My Choice’ somewhere (not gonna tell you now).

I can say that the only cheapest private university you can find in Malaysia is here, UTAR. As you might know, we have a large field of studies includes business, arts & social science, ICTs, engineering and bioscience & chemistry. You can find more details about the courses at http://www.utar.edu.my.

In this and upcoming posts, I will emphasize more on my campus , UTAR Kampar. If you're not belong to this campus, you can also take some guides from here and ignore those infos which are not applicable to your campus.
I can say that we have most of the facilities, accommodations and hangout areas here but Kampar is kinda boring. For those who like outings, I have to tell you "Sorry, you have to get along with it." We have no cinemas here but you have to reach Ipoh (about 1 hour drive) for them. Shoppings? We have one.
Tesco Kampar

It is located at Taman Kampar Perdana (at the Eastgate of campus), if you are not bored with it. :). There are quite a lot of shops especially photostat shops, 3-5 cybercafes, and we have KFC at Tesco Kampar and Kampar Old Town and Pizza Hut at Kampar Old Town. Sadly, we don't have McDonalds here... :(

The place is kinda sub-urban which is a good site for the campus. Quiet, full with nature and virgin. For those who don't like to go out (like me), you can adjust yourself in no time.

Let me see what you can do in the preparation to come to Kampar. I suggest that you should come earlier like about 2-3 days before the orientation days. In these extra days, tour around Kampar by yourself like restaurants, shops and other things and familiar the roads here. It's easy and you won't get lost. Plus, you will make sure that you will attend the orientation day. It's important!

Accommodation

UTAR doesn't provide hostels for you. Instead, you can stay at the Danish house (Westlake Homes) and nearby housing areas like Taman Bandar Baru Kampar, Taman Kampar Perdana and etcs.
Manchester (Danish House)

In my opinion, Danish house is kinda expensive and you need to pay extra money for additional bills especially the utility bill. Don't trust the site's informations as some of them are not true at all. Plus, each time you enter the area, you need to show your entrance card before you enter and for those who have vehicles, you need to get a sticker which cost you a bit. Kinda hassle huh? This area might be noisy because first, you are staying with other people you don't know under one roof and second, you can't guarantee that the who-are-not-study-but-to-enjoy-their-life people didn't exist around you. I stayed there for a semester and left because of the stupid, outrageous electricity bill and noisy neighbors. All of my housemates were good and nice except one which is a retard! Sorry if my words kinda hurts...
Manchester (From Xing Hua building)

Although it's a bit expensive, you have some nice facilities here like hot shower, refrigerator, study and dining tables and chairs, free laundry service, housekeeping (once in a week), internet services and security guards. If you like to enjoy your life with lots of friends, this place is yours. You can call them (the details in the site are not accurate as I said) for the renting fees and further enquiries. They have houses and shophouses to choose from. There are other rental service other than Danish House like KT Management and etcs.
Classic House (Danish House)

For those who prefer others than Danish house, you can look for rents around. You might have some troubles like bargaining the rental fee and getting the facilities like hot shower, furniture and other stuffs with the landlord. You can get an agent to solve the problem. For me, I preferred to get the business done straight with the landlord. You can get a house, shophouse, apartment or a room in an occupied accommodation. You can get cheaper rent if you can stay with another stranger as your roommate.

If you're staying outside, the first trouble is that you need to get Internet connection which means you need to register for it yourself (or with your housemates) because some of the landlords won't do it for you. Don't know get into wireless broadband like P1, Maxis, Celcom and DiGi here because the coverage sucks. Kampar is situated nearby a hill so just stick back to Streamyx. I know Streamyx provides shitty service but they are still the best of the best. Just get a Streamyx combo and your boredom will end soon. I know some of you can't survive without internet. We need internet not just only for the sake of entertainment but for your studies too!
UTAR Kampar campus (Eastgate)

I suggested that for those who are science students like from engineering, ICTs and other science, you might want to stay at Taman Kampar Perdana because your faculty blocks (D & E) are nearer to you. Unless you have motorbike or car, you can stay at Danish house. Taman Kampar Perdana is for those who prefer more quiet environment and less entertainment people. The shops in this area mainly are not occupied but still, you have Tesco which is about 5-10 minutes walk.
Taman Kampar Perdana

Currently, I’m staying at Apartment Perdana at Taman Kampar Perdana. If you want to get an apartment of three rooms and two bathrooms, you can message me via comments and I try my best to get informations about my place. You can try to get the contact for rents from here.

Choose wisely and be clear on the information to avoid misunderstanding. Get written agreements as the legal records. Make bargains until you get the reasonable deals.

Things to bring/get

Usual stuffs

You must bring things as if you are going to have a new home. I can’t tell what you should and shouldn't bring but if you forget or can’t bring them, you can always purchase them here or at Ipoh. I saw some of them bring their own gym stuffs too. He he he… It’s your choice. Anyway, you MUST bring at least a formal apparel (Male & Female) if you don’t want to purchase them again. It’s crucial especially for business students. Science students and other won’t make use of them but they are needed during presentations. So, remember to bring them.

Transportation

If you don’t have a vehicle, you can get a bicycle here in a cheap price. For those who wants to drive, you must bring along your vehicle documents for registration. The charge for motorcycle is RM 10 per semester and car is RM 100 per semester. Bicycle is free of charge. So, which would you prefer? One thing you need to take care is don’t simply park your vehicles around the campus because the guards will lock your tires. This rule is applied to all vehicles INCLUDING bicycles. Fine will be charged to free your property. :P

If you can't afford both, you can take UTAR bus by paying bus tickets which you can purchase them at the finance department at Block C - Student Pavilion (offices above the canteen). If not, you can walk towards the campus but you will be sweating during the journey. For those who stay at Eastgate (Taman Kampar Perdana), the distance is shorter (better for science students).

Important documents

Please have make photocopies of your important certs like SPM, STPM and equvialent qualification certs,your own IC card, your passport size photos (in case), your parents'/guardians' IC cards and your parents' signature. Please ask UTAR workers which documents need to be verified and verified them before you come to UTAR. You might don't want to get your application back to your hometown just for the sake of approvals from your parents and all those stuffs (unless your hometown is near to your campus). That's why it is important to have them. Just that you use your parents'/guardians' signatures only when you have their permission.

Computer & Other Devices


Yes. You must have one PC either it's a desktop, notebook or netbook. You need them to do your homework and assignments and look for information in internet. Other than that, it's your only entertainment you will have (there's no time for you to watch TV). You can use the wireless internet from UTAR when you are in UTAR compounds. Register your computer and make settings at third floor in Block B for free.

If you want to save your money, you can get a inkjet/mono laser printer for your convenience. There are a few shops where you can do your printing but they ain't cheap. If you have a camera, bring it with you because you can take shots on important details such as your lecture slides, notes, announcement and others. This way can save your time and energy without jotting them with pen and paper. Just that turn off your flash when you use your photo during lecture because you will attract/distract other people especially your lecturer. You can use your phones to take photos too but the picture won't be so clear.

Books

You might want to bring a few of them (if they are related to your course). As you know, in university, the books we are using are all darn expensive. There are two ways for you to get them:- purchase them at bookstores or get a photocopy of the whole book. I choose to get photocopy ones because I'm not a rich guy. I will buy them when they are really important to me until the day I work. Consult your lecturers about the reference books. You can get a list of ideal reference books based on your course structure details (when you have access to your UTAR web portal).

Money

UTAR will ask the students to apply their individual Public Bank account for payments. They won't accept other banks.
Plus, you can apply UTAR Master Debit Card from the bank after you've registered. It's free and no annual fee. This card can let you gain some points while you make payments just like other debit cards. It's not an ATM so you can use it anywhere. For me, I have Maybankard Visa Debit Card and UTAR's one because I used my Maybank card for saving and purchasing while UTAR card is for my payments in UTAR. For those who are going to apply PTPTN loan, you MUST get a Public Bank account and SSPN account. Finish the applications before you come to UTAR.

To withdraw money, there are two ATM machines in UTAR Kampar at upper floor of Block C. If not, you can reach to any ATM outlets at Kampar New Town or Tesco Kampar. I suggest that you should take precautions to avoid snatchers and thieves. There are few cases in Kampar where the UTAR students become the victim. So, be careful when you are having a sum of money on your hand.

Life Adjustment
You will feel a bit lonely when you came to a place where you don't know anyone. Don't be sad. Your friends might feel the same and you might not notice that some of them are actually studying at the same campus. No matter how, it's a good start to make new friends. Don't be shy to talk around, get to know people from other states and try to be good.

Talking about my experience, I came to UTAR Kampar with my classmate from Form 6. At first, during the orientation, I released that there's no one I know or met in my own course. A bit sweaty and nervous. So, during that time, my faculty was Faculty of Engineering & Science (FES). While waiting to get my goodies before going for the orientation, we need to prepare our documents for verification. In a sudden, I dropped my IC on the floor. There's a kind guy who help me to pick it up and we started to chit chat. I called it as a fate that we know each other but not very well. I'm not sure where is he now since he was in my course. Maybe he got transferred or something else.

During my orientation, I was lucky to meet two schoolmates which are not so close but we know each other a bit. Although that I have companions, I still feel that I'm alone in the hall. To distract my nervousness, I browsed my goodies and there were manuals and other stuffs that I can read. Lolz! You can consider me as introvert and shy which is true.
You might feel awkward during the orientation and at the first week of your lecture session. But then, you will get lots of friends and hang out in a group of people in no time. My group was formed about 2-3 weeks time! Fast huh? I felt that we are meant to be together at that time and they was like my close friend back in my schooling period. See? No sweat! So, don't worry about friendship. Some of them take higher level:- Getting into relationship! I don't know what they are thinking about but it's their choice to do so. Just make sure that your mission here is to graduate with your degree...
Homesick. This is one of the problematic issues faced by every UTARians including me. Although my hometown is only about 35 km far but I still homesick. Can't help it unless you call your family everyday. At the first two months, I feel happy to meet new friends but after that, my mind started to roam back to my family. Quite desperate but I managed to deal with it by video call my family once a while when I'm free. I hardly use my handphone because I rather send and receive SMSes than make calls. It's good to talk to your family members to get rid of homesick feeling. At the same time, you are letting your family that you are doing fine in UTAR... So, remember to call them when you are here! :)
Next, Food! Some of them prefer to cook and some prefer to eat outside. It depends on yourself but if you're staying at Danish house, you are prohibited from cooking meals. Small meals like Maggi mee and bread is fine but cooking 2-3 dishes is a no no. So, this is another aspect to think where you should get your accomodation. That's why it's important to choose suitable home for yourself. The price of meals here are reasonable but they might taste bad for your buds. Cooking on your own is kinda troublesome but at least, you can cook your favorite meals. So, which is your choice?
UTAR has two canteen: The main cafeteria at Block C and the dry cafeteria between Block D & E. For those who are science students, you will prefer the dry cafeteria because the place is not as full as Block C. You hardly can find a proper sit at proper place.
See? How to look? The chairs and tables will never be enough!

The dry cafeteria doesn't provide much choices of food, I think they are okey in the aspect of taste and money. If you want to dine at Block C, you should be there before 11 am or after 2 pm because between these two hours, you might have chance to grab chair!

Anyway, make yourself comfortable and suit the condition.

"Adjust yourself to suit the environment rather than the environment adjust itself to suit you".

A bientot!




Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Merry Christmas

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xmasgreetings
Merry Christmas

Here's another festive greeting from me and I hope you guys like it.

For those who are:-

Christians: May you all have a wonderful Christmas celebration with full of joys.
Non-christians: Take the opportunity to join in the festival with friends.
Away from home: You're not alone and enjoy yourself around. Hopefully you can get home next time. :)
You know, if you believe in Santa Claus, you need a sock and hang it somewhere on the wall of your house. He will get into your house by chimney. In Malaysia, we don't have chimney in home and I wonder how he's gonna come it. Maybe, break in? XD. I think my dog will give him a bite first... Then, he put your presents into the sock. You might wanna leave something for Santa to eat...
Just don't do that for the sake of your ideal present. :P

So, I might want to get my socks from here...
Hopefully, I'm still in the 'good' list and might need to leave a note for him.

Use gloves to handle the sock. Handle at your own risks!
:P Just some lame jokes here... Ignore it.

A bientot!





Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Haadyai (Day 2)

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P.S.: It's gonna be three posts instead of four (if you follow up my Twitter) because the last part kinda boring and not related to Haadyai vacation at all... :)

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After one day of shopping at malls, street stalls and not forgetting the night market, we woke up about 9 am (it was 8 am in Thai time), we continued our objectives: explore around Haadyai city.
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Kinda a bit lonely and quiet Sunday morning.
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The street signs with the alphabets and an uncle...
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We preferred to find our breakfast around the street rather have it back in hotel. Finding something authentic and special...

Found one!
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The stall is just a regular mee stall but we decided to try something new to us. The lady boss here is very fluent in Mandarin so it's not a problem to order stuffs...
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Some customers (they are Thais)...
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See? They preferred to use glasses to fill additional seasonings rather than keeping them in bottles. I tried the chilli padi powder to spice up my food! Really nice! I saw a few stalls sold such seasoning but in large amount...

*sigh* I hope to get some of them and bring them back to Malaysia. The soy sauce is kinda different because they are rather fragrant than the salty taste. Lime juice is odd. Maybe they like spicy and sour food after all. :)
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My mee and some duck meat! It's the first time I eat the original Thai duck soup mee and taste better than the instant noodles of Pama duck soup mee... *Yum yum*
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Their rice vermicelli rather hard than soft...
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This one is really special. I saw such mee in rolls and they are hard in dried form. I wandered what it is and asked my mum to try it.

Actually, it was Hor Fun (white type of mee in broad strips) but they taste marvelous. It was like eating Pan Mee (another kind of mee mainly made from flour) but taste like original Hor Fun! I shall try this dish again on my next trip to Haadyai!
It's a good experience to try Thai food, drinks and delicacies even they are alien to you. I heard that Chiang Mai is quite famous of roasted insects. Looking horrible but I would like to try them out! I would be brave to eat them for the sake of life experience...
Not only for the experience purpose, it can save your money too. Try new stuffs sometimes doesn't require to spend to much. For example, eating outside is much cheaper than in hotels and you are trying out rather than the same old stuffs you will have back in hotel lounge, right? Be smart while try something new! :)
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Some tourists from China, Malaysia and other Asian countries... Hardly can see Caucasians around... Maybe they don't like to buy stuffs because I think they would like to see things around rather than stocking up souvenirs.
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Asian people is like that. They will buy lots of souvenirs for themselves and bring them back. That's why I just bought not more than 10 stuffs. I like to see and learn their cultures, understand their country and of course, experience things which can't be found back in your town. (I push myself to experience by saying this word many time :P)
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A map on the street. Not helpful because I hope it can show me the map of Haadyai town instead of the whole south part of Thailand. Plus, it was fully written in Thai so not so convenient to foreign tourists...
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My RM 50 that I used to buy stuffs... The King is handsome, huh? :D

When the day almost come to midday, we need to check out at least at 1.00 pm. So, be alert or else you will need to pay for another day hotel fee. While we waited, we decided to try the afternoon lunch at the hotel...
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Kinda nice but not for my mum... X)
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This coffee is not the usual one... Taste not so fragrant but with mild coffee taste.

I didn't took the pictures of our meal because I forgot to take them. They are damn delicious when they are Thai food like Tom Yum, thai fried rice and other dishes. I tried their Tom Yum and until today, I still can remember the perfect taste! Awesome! Can't have the original Tom Yum back in Malaysia...

Tom Yum is one of the Thai cuisine you shouldn't miss during the visitation in Thailand. They have a few kinds like the original Tom Yum which is vegetable and suitable for vegetarians, Tom Yum-Goong which added with prawns and Tom Yum-Gai which added with chicken. I like Tom Yum-Goong with some seafood...

Rather to scratch my skin (I have some allergies to seafood) to satisfy my appetite! :P

We took off back to the Malaysia-Thai border about 2 - 3 pm because we don't want to arrive home at late night. In that evening, the rain poured heavily when we checked out and passed through the custom. My mum bought a few pots and made me to carry them...

Lucky for her that the custom officers didn't tax her items since there was too many people to cross the border.

When we are almost reach Seberang Prai, I saw a few paddy fields.
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On the track...
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Paddy instead of padi (typo error)
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Want to ask my father to stop at the side of the road while I snap some pictures of the dawn...

*Tsk*

Can't ask him because it was kinda late to reach home...

So, that's was the end of my second time Haadyai vacation and I hope I can go there again before my semester comes on mid January next year...

My final tips to Thailand:-

  1. For those who are allergic to seafoods, bring your own medicine because most of the Thai food are with seafoods. Even you are dared to try them like me, don't forget about your health. On my first Haadyai vacation, my mum's friend ate a fried rice and got her neck swollen. She requested that her food was prawn free but her meal was not. So, be prepared and keep them with yourself whenever you go. If you have problem to bring them across when you were asked my immigration officer, inform them first that you have your medicine along with you before they find it out. Honesty always come first...
  2. I regret to put my notebook in my bag during the luggage scanning. The machine suck up my notebook battery almost 30% and the stupid Malaysian immigration officer said it's fine to put my notebook in my bag for the bag scan. For electronic devices, don't ever ever put them in the scan because it might spoil your stuffs. I would rather showing them my stuffs rather than the stupid scans... Hmph! I don't know whether I'm right or wrong in this matter but I'm sure that my notebook is fully charged. Even the battery is discharge, it won't take until 90%... Correct me if I'm mistaken in this matter.
  3. This is mainly for photography tip. For those who like to take photos, please don't view them after taking shots in your camera. If you want to delete those you don't like, please do it in a computer. The camera sound is not necessary and don't simply use the flash because flash can ruin your shots by over exposure. All these steps are mainly to preserve your battery. I'm sure you don't like your camera to end up battery-less when you need them to shoot things especially in vacations. If you have some money, get a second fully charged battery. If not, bring along your camera charging cable and find some place to charge them. Notebook is the best place to charge them although it will drain your notebook battery.

That's all folks.

A bientot!





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