dxb – ktm: flying cattle class

waiting for boarding…

flydubai, emirates airlines’ budget flights…

cattle class. that’s how one would feel when flying budget. well, i guess budget flights would be the natural choice for workers flying back to their home country. and with so many nepalese working in dubai, it’s no wonder that nearly 90% of the passengers on flydubai flight bound for kathmandu are nepalese. not that i have anything against nepalese, but the way some of them act can really give you a bad impression of the people as a whole.

dunno if they really don’t understand english or really obstinate, but some of them really act like boh tak chek (hokkien: never go to school). this guy was still talking on the phone even after numerous announcements for us to switch off our phones. and he was not the only one! even the flight attendants don’t seem to care! *rolls eyes*

then my 7.00 am flight was delayed for more than half hour, because some passengers didn’t board the plane after checking in their luggage.

after numerous calls for them through the p.a. system, the crew decided to fly off without them. but they had to remove their luggage from the plane.

it really makes one wonder. how can someone just “forgot” their boarding time like that? these kinda incidents always make me think back of my late poh-poh. she was always flying off to hong kong and china by herself to visit my uncle, and never once had she missed her flight. if an elderly, illiterate woman, who can’t understand a single word of english can find her way around the big maze of an airport, i really don’t understand why other younger, literate, working class people can’t! looking at the picture above, it’s obvious that those luggage belonged to a whole family, and not a single individual stuck in a toilet somewhere due to diarrhea. *rolles eyes*

ok, enough of ranting. not a good start to a long-awaited adventure, right? so, i arrived at kathmandu airport at about 1.00 pm nepal time, and quickly found the sign with my name on it. i’m just so glad that i’ve booked my driver and guide in advance, coz the whole airport, the people waiting outside, the taxi drivers and tour agents accosting you trying to get you to engage their service… it’s all pretty daunting.

anyway, as soon as i got close to the guy holding the sign with my name, he grabbed my bags from me and asked me to follow him to the car. but once he put my bags into the car boot, he turned to me asking for tips! as it turned out, he’s not from the tour agency at all, but just some guy tying to get extra tips by helping tourists to carry their bags. and my tour guide allowed it! the guide and driver were just sitting in the car, waiting for this “porter” to bring me to the car. weren’t they supposed to do everything, instead of making me pay extra for such things?

the streets of kathmandu are a total chaos! most of them are like the roads in our kampung baru (malay: new village), without road dividers or traffic lights. and they’re really using their honks to their fullest. every little obstruction, it’s honk!! honk! HONK!!! phew, what a noisy place!

after stopping by the tour agent’s office to make the balance payment for my package and checking into my hotel, we set off to our first stop: boudhanath stupa, a world heritage site.

said to be the world’s largest stupa…

around the square of boudhanath stupa, there are little shops selling souvenirs and there are a few featuring the thangka painting. i feel the guide purposely brought me into this shop with the hopes that i would buy something and he’ll get a cut from it. coz when i went in, a guy in there proceeded to explain to me about the materials used to make the paints, the canvass, the meaning of the medallion and the images etc., to get me interested in them. really feel like when we go to china and the guides would bring us to the jade factories, tea shops, chinese medicine factories, jewelry shops etc. that really put me off and i lost interest for it immediately!

giant prayer wheel…

next stop is the swayambunath stupa, also a world heritage site.

also known as the monkey temple…

view of kathmandu valley from swayambhunath stupa, which is on top of a little hill…

smaller prayer wheels… that guy there is my guide in kathmandu, badri.

see why it’s also called monkey temple?

after visiting swayambhunath stupa, it’s already evening. so i was dropped off at my hotel for the day.

my room at kathmandu resort hotel…

but i’ve not had anything to eat since 4.30 am and was famished! so i wandered off again on my own in search for food. it’s a good thing that my hotel is in thamel, the part of kathmandu where most tourists stay.

since it’s a tourist area, they have all sorts of restaurants. i chanced upon this korean restaurant in a side street, and since i was craving for korean food, i decided to give it a try. i know, many of you are thinking that i should try the local food right? hehe…

surprisingly, the bibeembab was really good! even the kimchi was nice. at least they didn’t incorporate in some weird local vege as replacement, as what happened in siem reap. and they’re cheap too! total bill for a bibeembab (with 5 complimentary side dishes) and a bottle of coke came up to (if i remember correctly) only npr 300 (about rm 12.50). the waiter and waitress were nepalese, who can’t really understand my english, but i still managed to have a small chat with them and they said that their owner is a korean. too bad i can’t remember the name of the restaurant… :(

a side street of thamel…

after dinner, i took a walk around thamel. it’s really a very touristy place, with shops catering to tourists. their streets are really a maze, and i had to really pay attention to where i was going so as not to get lost. but i only walked about for a little while, coz i got really irritated with all the honking vehicles!

they also have baskin robbins, ok? dun pray-pray…

on the way back to my hotel, i saw a baskin robbins shop! whoa!! i bought 2 scoops just to see if they’re any different from those that we’re accustomed to. they didn’t have the regular flavours that we know, but the taste and texture are really that of the brand. i guess the shop can only survive in thamel, with all those tourists around.

so that ended my first day in nepal. as per my previous post, i had to take an early flight to pokhara the next day, so i slept quite early that night, after a good shower. oh yeah, i have to mention here that the tap water in kathmandu tastes and smells really weird! and yellowish in colour too! i had to be really careful not to swallow any when showering, and used bottled water to brush my teeth! :D

*more photos in my fb, if you’re my friend there (soon, maybe tomorrow – it’s late and i need to go to bed to avoid getting nagged by my parents tomorrow!)

korean food review: da on fine korean cuisine

been meaning to post this up, but somehow or other, other things seem to get in the way. hahaha... ok, that's procrastination, i know! :P

anyway, i had to go to pavillion last 2 weeks to pick up something for a friend. as i went there quite late after work, i was scouting for something to eat when i saw this korean restaurant, da on fine korean cuisine, on the topmost floor. it looked like a high end restaurant, so i just browsed through their menu at their door to check out their price range. their kimchi jigeh is RM28 ++, same as klcc's koryo-won. feeling rather expensive that day, i walked right in and ordered a bowl of kimchi jigeh + rice and a glass of iced korean green tea.

the food was served pretty quick, but only 4 side dishes! for the kind of price they're charging, it won't hurt for them to serve a few more! as for taste, it's ok lar. not VERY fantastic. the stew was a tad too thin but at least there weren't any 3-layered pork in it (mainly coz i think it's a halal restaurant).

food presentation was nice, though...

overall, not a really fantastic meal. i've tasted better at a cheaper price. i guess most of the price went to the ambiance! would i go there again? not likely, unless i'm really craving for korean food and can't find any korean restaurant in that vicinity!

read also:
1) on a food hunt!
2) korean cravings...

on a food hunt!

one fine day after work, i was just thinking about what to do about dinner and feeling so sick with all my regular food hunts... when suddenly i remembered x telling me that my phone's navigator has a list of places to go that were recommendations by users themselves. so feeling a tad adventurous, i whipped out my phone, switched on garmin...

asked the phone where should i go...

asked what were my options...

told it that i'm hungry...

it asked me what kinda food i have in my mind...

after browsing thru the choices it offered me, i came to
the first korean restaurant in the list (out of only 2!)

ok, let's go and see how good is the recommendation!

seoul korea restaurant is in tmn desa... with some help from the disembodied lady voice from my phone, i found the place easy enough, tho' looking for a parking lot is really a bitch! but in the end, i managed to squeeze into a spot so tight that if i were to be driving a new car, i wouldn't even think to attempt it.

anyway, remember i used to be so obsess with bibeembab? well, i'm so over that... now, kimchi jigeh rocks big time man!! hehe... so after just a quick glance at the menu, that's what i ordered...

i can barely contain my delight when i was served 12 side dishes! yes, 12!!!
this is by far the restaurant that served the most side dishes that i've been to...

here are some of the side dishes that i'm tasting for the first time...

cucumbers fried in eggs... not a big fan of cucumbers, but i still tried it. it's ok lar...

beef! tasted like canned meat... only had one piece, coz i don't really eat beef...

some sort of meatball... beef again.
had to force myself to finish up the piece that i bit into

braised egg...

jellyfish cucumber salad... this is yummy!

the kimchi jigeh itself... well, i'm sorry to note that they served it with pork! argh!!! those 3 layered fat kinda pork some more! *screams and runs for cover* and the taste, other than the can't-be-ignored pork taste, it's kinda bland compared to the one served by the korean restaurant near my office that i always go for my korean lunch fix. ah well, we can't have everything, right?

these side dishes, i've tried before, but they were so delish that i just had to take a pic of it... i'm salivating now just looking at it! :P

fried anchovies in some kind of thick chilli sauce...

marinated oyster mushroom slices...

marinated seaweed...

well, even with the can't-be-ignored pork taste, i still enjoyed the meal imensely. i was so full in the end that i did not finish everything. what a shame to see all those good food go to waste! made a mental note to bring along someone to share next time... and not to order their full-of-pork kimchi jigeh!

after i've asked for the bill, not only did they serve me the usual
2 slices of watermellon, but also this ginger-barley and a korean mellon sweet!

and the bill? it's not expensive at all. only RM16.50 in total... cheap or wat? and imagine me paying RM28++ for the same thing (in a smaller pot and with only half the side dishes!) in klcc!

after dinner, i remembered there's a 100 yen shop in that area... so based on just my doggie sense of direction (no need navigation for this lar!) i traipse over and found the shop around the corner.

among the other stuff i bought, here's something i got for N.

with her recent interest in crochet, thought this will come in handy

read also:
1) korean cravings...

siem reap: day 2

i was looking back at some of my posts, and realized that i've only posted day 1 from my siem reap trip more than 1 year ago! kakaka... so here goes day 2. hopefully can still remember the details.

6.00am

despite waking up so early, the sky outside had already discarded its dawn cloak and the sun was already shining brightly. it felt more like 8am than 6am! we excitedly jumped out of bed and prepared for a full day of adventure with some serious wat (temples) to see!!

7.45am

breakfast bright and early at the Boosters Cafe...

see, the streets were still empty!

my menu choice, Tropica Muesli = USD3.00

N's breakfast: Sausages & Eggs (comes with a basket of buns) = USD3.25

8.30am

arrived at the main gate of the angkor ruins complex...

3-day entry pass = USD40 per pax

ok lar... i won't bore everyone with descriptions of all the different wat we saw... to tell you the truth, i myself also forgot the names of the wat and the story behind them! now when i look thru all the pics, they're just one stone wat after another! need to refer to our guide books only i'll remember... :P

but from what we saw, we can tell that these amazing structures will not last long. thousands and millions of tourists come here each year, and yet the cambodian gov is doing little to preserve them. all the preservation efforts we saw when we were there were by foreign associations or organizations. and it's sad to see many parts in most of the structures crumbling or lying in ruins... at the rate they're going, it could all be gone from the face of the earth in a little less than 20 years!

the Baphuon site is being restored by the French gov

Baphuon is so dilapidated that they cordoned off the whole structure

old and new... the parts that were restored

were easily recognizable from the original

11.00am

taking a rest in one of the many huts

with fresh coconuts... 2 coconuts = USD0.50

N with our tuk-tuk driver, Saman

2.30pm

the sun is really out for the kill!

we went to see a few more wat... until our legs

couldn't take it anymore and were screaming in protest!

btw, that's N at the top of the steep and narrow stairs...

3.30pm

initially we had wanted to spend the whole day seeing the wat, but our bodies thot otherwise. we were beat! so we decided to just see the more famous sites and forego the smaller ones.

on the way back to town, N's guidebook fell from the tuk-tuk. here,

she's running back to the tuk-tuk after retrieving her book! keke...

N, nearly reaching the tuk-tuk, sempat lagi take pic of me.

see, even Saman can't tahan us and is laughing at us! :P

in my previous post, i posted a pic of their roadside petrol station...

that was in the rural area lar. in town,

they do have modern and proper petrol stations.

4.00pm

finally we reached the old market place, bid Saman goodbye and went to look for food! have not had anything since breakfast!

craving for some 'normal' food... something we're familiar with!

so decided to try out this italian place...

my choice, creamy fettucine with shrimp = USD3.20

+ can of coke = USD0.75

N's lunch, fish fillet in yogurt = USD4.20 + coke = USD0.75

5.30pm

well, even tho' we were dead tired, but how can we just go back to our guesthouse to rest, right? we need to make full use of our time here mar! so we enquired ard for a tuk-tuk to bring us to the silk farm.

worker boiling the cocoons and extracting the silk strands...

silk dyed in different colour, some

using natural dyes from tree barks, leaves, flowers etc.

workers spinning silk...

half of the cocoons at the farm were left to mature and the pupae

to turn into butterflies for the production of more silk worms!

silk worm... no, that's NOT my hand! nor N's, for that matter...

6.30pm

the silk farm is kinda far... took us abt 45min on the tuk-tuk to get back to the old market place. on the way...

rush hour cambodian style! this sepia version

made the place looked very rustic hor?

the roads were very pot-holed and filled with water, that we don't really know how deep the holes were until one of the tuk-tuk wheels went into it. more than a few times, we were worried our tuk-tuk would overturn!

along the way, we saw many interesting things... one was a family of three on a motorbike. the dad was at the wheel, the mom behind and the child terkepit in the middle. the interesting part was, the kid had his/her head in bandages and the mom was holding on to an IV drip pole, with the tube attached to the kid!

this is how pigs are transfered in cambodia!

7.00pm

moving around the town of siem reap, we noticed a lot of korean establishments around, esp korean restaurants. both of us being korean food lovers, we can't help but salivate at the thot of bibeembab! keke...

yums... so happy to be eating korean food!

long wait......

finally! their bibeembab is quite nice lar... only thing is that they substitute some of the vege with local vege, and it was kinda weird

8.00pm

when we got back to our guesthouse, we discovered that there was a power failure in the area... no lights, no water heater, no air-cond... so we decided to go out again, to the old market place. the whole place was running on generators...

and we met N's friend! imagine, of all the places to meet ur friends...

we shopped and walked ard for another hour or two before calling it a day.


read also:
siem reap: day 1
weekend trips, mini holidays & vacations
snippets: siem reap trip
next stop: siem reap