since the arrival of the multi-purpose cooker, life is like a love song. slow, steady and deep. one piece lesser to complete the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. my friends have been saying that, once the puzzle is completed, 4 months stay is over. i'd say, anything as long as i can survive.

so i had fried eggs and chicken from 7-eleven for dinner yesterday.

notice the HALAL sign?

had maggie a few hours after, for sahur, which tasted HORRIBLE!. watched the movie munich half-way through my lappy and i can't seem to get it out of my head. some awesome shit that was. and i only found out that the movie was based on true events in 1972 makes it even harder to slip off of my head.

waking up for work was a dread. i hope that doesn't continue for 4 months. haha.

the rooster gets very annoying at times in the morning, but they reminded me of my kampung in melaka. how lovely. yeah, there are roosters along the road. haha, perhaps they are better known as stray rooster or ayam tepi jalan in malay. there are plenty of dogs here as well. most of them look like they have HIV or STDs or something like that. they look terrible i tell you. but they don't bite. well, maybe those dogs in the shops will if you were caught shop-lifting. maybe! i dont know. should try that one day. haha.

over in the lab, had to learn how to subculture cell suspension of oil palm which is actually quite difficult to master. followed by subculturing of tobacco plants, 25 of em'. then, chrysanthemum plant, another 25 of em'. ended work at 4plus. went home to my bloody bed. was so tired. prior to that, i had a very nice afternoon shower, and slept til 645pm. and yes, i missed buka at 6.08pm. prayed and cooked tuna with fried eggs and chicken again. ate em' with bread.

enjoyed the night view from my balcony as i'm losing grip of my eyesight. maybe they're a lil too tired.



pretty dark actually. oh well, so here i am. gonna finish up watching munich. probably the thing that has been keeping me sane nowadays.

and i realised, tomorrow is hari raya. and yes, i am gonna be working in the lab. probably knocking the seeds open.

i'd like to extend my hari raya wishes to my family, relatives, cousins and friends. Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

and to daniaal, the only muslim i know that exist in bangkok. selamat hari raya.

and to hanna tan, LUCKY YOU! but thanks for understanding and missing our presence. selamat hari raya.

so long not goodnight.

nothing much today really.

except for the fact that i was charged 350baht for the taxi fare from thailand science park back to my dorm yesterday evening. its funny how the taxi driver asked me for money when we reached the toll. came across two tolls, 35baht and 55baht respectively.

had cereal for sahur. at about 1030pm. yes. 1030pm while watching p.s i love you from my lappy.

its 4pm, and im in the lab. came to work at 730am and had to continue skinning the oil palm. then pee glau assisted me in the medium preparation. pretty dreading, but at least i've got my own desk, locker and music!

the weather in bangkok is getting a lil moody. and i've got no umbrella! at all. nevermind that.

i am having ulcers around my upper lips. probably the aircon. i've already planned what i'm gonna have for buka later. i'm gonna have fried eggs and bread and probably tuna. since i already got that cooker.

my chemical romance is my lifeline in bangkok.

so long not goodnight.

even though a week ago, i wanted to be here(bangkok) so bad. i wont deny that i am already starting to miss what i had in TP for the first 2 weeks of SIP/MP.


the slackings. the shoutings. the crappings. the talkings. and the luxury of having to be able to break fast at home or geylang. and the frequent meeting ups with hanna were the spice of life.

the school that i miss. my sunday just started actually, but since yesterday my head has been echo-ing what Hanna Tan said or asked us.

but yes, see how happy we were slacking at 'cable'.us, enjoying our slacking time in the library.

and it was the words of this lovely lady that's been haunting me;

"aren't you guys sad that you won't be able to celebrate hari raya with your family?"

all that was in my mind when she asked us that was bangkok. how badly we wanted it. only now, the question has really settled in. yes, i am gonna be sad during hari raya. while you guys back at home will be celebrating hari raya or a public holiday for non-muslim friends, i will be working in the lab probably sterilising oil palm.

and hanna, treasure all the time you gonna be spending in singapore, at least you can spend hari raya with your family and friends. i miss the times we had, that 2 weeks, despite the ups and downs you went through, or maybe just the downs. i bet dan does too.

had fried egg and tuna with bread for dinner last night, using our NEW COOKER! awesome stuffs. i will be back at my lonesome dorm later tonight, prolly after dinner.

so long not goodnight.

just whither away.

happy moments like the start to this dreadful weekend have to be treasured. i think, every weekend i am gonna sleep over with the rest.

had cereal for sahur and woke up at 11am. after alden rolled down the bed, waking both me and dan alive. only to laugh in our small hearts as our initial reaction.

went to chatuchak weekend market via van, 30baht per head, at around 2pm. we dropped at mochit station and walk our way through. it was damn hot, spent 2-3hours there, walking. ended up buying one My Chemical Romance shirt. i was drooling over it. literally. haha.

160 baht after bargain. its still too early for shopping i guess.

we then headed to JJ mall, just opposite chatuchak market. in search of a rice cooker. my legs were almost giving up. we walked and walked and walked, but found nothing. so we took a cab to victory monument. was so pissed by the fact that the taxi drivers we unable to understand us.

so we went to center one plaza to find the rice cooker and neccesities. to no avail. we moved on to century mall (i wonder why these names are in english and people there don't understand english) and found nothing too but a map book. we had our dinner there, at the food court. ate some seafood pattaya mee. again, i was agitated by the fact that they were using cash cards in the food court. so much for trying to be "cashless" in bangkok.

after which we flagged about 5 cabs in hopes that one of them understand our next destination; carrefour at rangsit. about 45 mins from century mall.

we were so eager to get around and found the cooker we were looking for. shopped and shopped. i spent 1234.50 baht. sweet digits. close to 52 singapore dollars.

then took the cab back to thailand science park. lovely. we were so contented with what we've got. or maybe me.

aight, here's the pictures. in chronological order.

in the van, otw to chatuchak.

the rice cooker we found at JJ mall. but it was too large.yep, the victory monumentmy dinner!the stupid use of refundable cashcard.otw to carrefour.cooker!big fat durian.kick ass toilet.

so long not goodnight.

as much as i'm looking forward to the end of the week, the work in lab is some kind of a labour work. went to work via motorcycle taxi. was frustrated by this language barrier shit. how i wish they all speak english here, at least basic english. but not many can.

reached the lab at 7.45am. dr kanokwan immediately gave me something to do. she told tham (some laos trainee in the lab) to teach me how to harvest the fucking oil palm. i thought it was some easy work. but it took me 5 dreading hours to harvest 3 of the 7 bunches of oil palm. imagine having to piece out every fruit of oil palm (those in acceptable conditions) from one bunch. there are approximately 400-500 fruits in a bunch. and you have to count every single seed.


yes, that's how bad it is for the first day of work. and i don't consider this shit to be some kind of 'lab work'. after which i skinned 100 fruits. swell my damn right hand. imagine skinning a coconut. oil palm is a super small version of a coconut.

so much for introducing my project to you guys. okay, here's what i have to do, my project title:

Efficient transformation of cell suspension in oil palm: a tool for rapid functional analysis of transgenes in oil palm.

i will elaborate on it some other day. but i can't disclose much shit here.

so on monday i will be sterilising the fruits i skinned.

after work, i went back to the dorm, showered, prayed and left. i became a tourist from singapore for the first time in the week. walked for 1 hour sightseeing (breathing carbon monoxide most of the time) until i found the van that travels to Thammasat University (to meet my buddies!) for 30baht.

while waiting for the van, i took a picture of a busy bangkok area. it is somewhere in around the Victory Monument, the orchard of bangkok. (orchard is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy organise though). the van came at 6.00pm.

it's so difficult to get there, all i have is a note in thai that says (i want to go Thammasat University, please show me the way), credits to my supervisor. and on the way to the van that took me 1 hour to find i met Norchit (some thai guy who speaks a lil english that helped me through).

seriously, when you're in need of help, you have to put your guards down and ego aside. esp in bangkok and you know nuts about their language.

slept my way through to Thammasat University.

reached, i waited for daniaal and alden so we can go dinner together. while waiting i took this gloomy picture from the bus stop.



FINALLY, some proper meal from Sulaiman's Stall which i had on the second day. (refer to my second post).

its been YEARS! i seriously felt like its been years since i ate a proper meal.

and yes, the outcome of a hungry person. praise to the god.

ultimately, i am here with my friends now. something to be happy about, someone to talk crap with. share my misery with. will be sleeping over throughout the weekend.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

will be shopping tomorrow. but first, a decent warm shower (which i can't ever get from my dorm). second, SLEEP LIKE PIG!

won 't be able to spend hari raya proper.

so long not goodnight.

and so i travelled and will be travelling by bus to work at yothee building everyday. it's near actually, but i couldn't be bothered to walk all the way there. the ride is very slow due to massive traffic jam and you will have to stand cause the bus would be so packed. every ride to yothee will cost 13baht.

oh well, the reason i am isolated apart from my friends is that the project i am working on requires specific equipment that is only available in the pioneer building of BIOTEC, at yothee building.

pee ying took me around since we came early. praise to the god, i found out that there is a muslim stall at the canteen.

at 9am, she brought me over to Dr. Kanokwan. she's very nice and speaks excellent english. what could you expect, she graduated from a university in Australia. she showed me around and at around 1030am, she gave me some materials to read and discuss about it tomorrow. she gave me a whole thick book about Agrobacterium Tumafaciens. sad to say she reminded me that the project will NOT involve any molecular science, if there is, it will be sent to a specialist. so, okay, whatever. i am already in Thailand. i'll do whatever shit i am suppose to do and do it well.

she let me off at around 2pm, since she have got nothing for me to do until tomorrow. so i wandered around. bought a dozen of cherry apples. went back to the dorm by a motorcycle taxi that costed me 40 baht. at least i know how to say where i wanna go in thai.

to the dorm: soi sat sa na sarm.

i am staying at soi satsana 3(sarm), samsen nai, phaya thai, bangkok, thailand.

i think i am settling quick. don't you people worry about me back at home, i am fine and will be fine.

and so i had bread and canned tuna(again!) that i bought in the 7-eleven near yothee for buka plus the apples, since i found out that it wasn't a rice-cooker as what i initially thought. i bought some cereal and snacks to munch on later tonight.

what's great is that Dr. Kanokwan begged! me to bring my laptop to work since the computer at work is always in use. so i'll be spending long hours at work and do some reading back in the dorm. and i am thankful that she understands about muslim and fasting month. however, they wont be any holiday for Hari Raya Puasa.

everything is settling in place and i was disenchanted from life.

weekend is near, probably i'll go get a rice cooker. i need one badly now.

yes, NSTDA at Yothee.

cherry-apples, 100baht.

so long not goodnight.

its a death wish.

everything was okay in the morning, had cereal with milk and oreo dunk with the remaining milk. oh don't worry, the milk are thai-based, not china. and there's a halal sign on the pack.

and so we had our orientation of BIOTEC this morning. from 8.30am to 2.30pm. which i found it useless for me as i am gonna be working in Yothee Building instead.

okay, my brain cells are depleting by the minute. i'm actually too tired to blog. but i find this important.

at 3.30pm, i met up with pee ying with my luggage at the NSTDA Dormitory. yes, i am finally leaving to downtown. the journey took exactly 1 hour. i was disillusioned by the fact that there was no muslim food around. but the living condition is okay, NSTDA Dormitory is way better though. the new 'old dormitory' is situated at Samsean, Soi Satsana Sarm. followed pee ying to Victory Monument via bus that costed 13 baht.

then she went for dinner at around 5.45pm, at that time i still couldn't eat just yet. so i wondered around. looking for halal food, apparently there aren't any.

then headed back to the dorm via a 20baht motocycle taxi. and the owner and i have a lil chat. and i found out that there is no internet connection unless i buy an 'internet card'. i dont know what shit she was refering to. and told me it can be bought at the NEAREST 7-eleven, 1km from the dorm. it was 6.05pm, time for buka, so i break fast with a chewing gum.

the misery was only beginning.

then i walked 1 km to the nearest 7-eleven. bought an 'internet card' worth 199 baht for 20 hours usage. some expensive shit in my opinion. 8 singapore dollars for 20 hours of internet. bought some bread and milk(thai-based) and canned tuna for buka. couldn't be bothered to speak thai this time. walked back through the dark alley with dogs barking mad at a fresh blood from singapore. reached at the dorm around 7plus pm (bangkok time) by 6 plus, the environment gets very dark.

i then settled the internet shit (dial-up 44kBPS!), showered, prayed and EAT! not very happy nor satisfied today, but i'm not complaining. on the way back, i saw a rice cooker. i am gonna get that tomorrow.

and i am so tired, i'll let the pictures do the talking. showing how miserable my life is becoming.

one more thing, i'd like to thank both my parents for their blessings, pee ying for settling my lodging, myres! (daniaal and alden and kok and weiqiang) for the peaceful 2-days stay with them and to Hanna Tan for the moral support or whatever shit that was which i appreciate it.

Korp Kun Kalp PEOPLE!

the alley to 7-eleven.

the new samsean dormitory.

yep thats my buka and probably my sahur.

so long not goodnight.

SATISFIED! is the word of the day today.

i am beginning to adapt well in bangkok. although the start of the day today was shaky for both dan and myself. we overselpt and woke up at 4.55am. confused and dismayed to learn that the imsak time was probably over, we went on(tawakal) to consume our sahur for the day. i had cereal, koko crunch, with what was first known as 'strawberry flavoured milk' by me. but it turned out to be some strawberry YOUGURT DRINK!

had my 'strawberry milk' changed with dan's plain UHT milk. had bread as well after which.

we cleared our doubts of the prayer time in pathumthani, and performed our fajr prayers.

i woke up at 8.20am and headed to work after a sweet morning shower. attended the forum/seminar from 9am to 11.30am. ahhh, it was dreading. to be real honest, i only payed careful attention when the presenter were presenting on oil palm, cause that's directly related to my project. but it hasn't start yet. chatted with a vietnamese, cambodian and a phillipino. their english are a lil bit tough to understand, but they're all fine.

from 11.30 to 1pm, i slacked in the staff room and surf the net, lonesome. since everyone went out for lunch and i am fasting.

then at 1pm, pee rainee finally called me into the lab for some practical actions. yes, i have been begging for one. but all we did was subculturing of oil palm plantlets til almost 4.30pm. thats bloody long for a session of subculturing. and she was shocked that i knew almost everything on subculturing. (cheeky smile).

went back to the dorm and perform my prayers while waiting for the rest. then had mineral drink for buka again along with some chocolate orange sticks. after our prayers, Pee Tom (some thai friend), brought us to some place for dinner.

we walked out of the Thailand Science Park and took a free-tram. haha, we were excited.

yep, we are pretty much back in the 80's (like as if i lived a life in the 80's before).

as we entered the makan place, dan sigh a relief as he saw a muslim stall. we rushed(again!) to the stall, have a lil look at the meal. by then our appetite was fuming mad by the look of the pictures on the menu. we had a lil chat with the owner while he prepared chicken rice for us including Alden. spoke abit of arab to him and he understood and told us his name, Sulaiman. and we did exchange names after which. he then offered us a few dates along with the chicken rice which costed 35 baht.

while waiting for the rest, i got my first mosquito bite of many since landing. was agitated, and saw the egg in the showcase. so i went up, this is what i said.

me: kor nheung kai (i'd like an egg)
sulaiman: (i have no idea what he said then)

me: kap kun krap, tow rai? (thank you, how much?)
sulaiman: har baht (5 baht) (along with the hand sign)

YEAY! one decent conversation in thai achieved! then we took a picture with Pee Sulaiman.

this time around, i looked appealing. and it tasted super nice and decent, for a 40 baht meal.

kap kun karp pee sulaiman. SATISFIED!

a 20 baht drink for 6 people. 80 singapore cents, imagine people, imagine!

we then proceed back to the dorm, on the way, we dropped by 7-eleven. i bought a 29 baht oreo and 300(sarm roy) baht prepaid top-up.

and we reached 'home' SATISFIED!

so long not goodnight.