Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Khao Phad Naam Prik Long Rua (ข้าวผัดน้ำพริกลงเรือ)



A very delicious Thai dish called Khaoo Phad Naam Prik Long Rua or ข้าวผัดน้ำพริกลงเรือ in Thai. Had this meal at Café de Bua which is on the 2nd floor at Esplanade, Bangkok. This dish is not served in common street side stalls, but many restaurants have it listed on their menu. It consists of sweet pork, salted egg, deep fried fish, shrimp paste.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Good old Hua Lamphong station



Managed to grab a picture of Hua Lamphong station from the back of a taxi. Hua Lamphong (หัวลำโพง) is the main railway station in Bangkok and is located in the center of the city. The station opened 92 years ago on June 25th 1916 and even survived a World War II bombing by the Allies in which the bomb hit a nearby hotel instead. Hua Lamphong station is directly connected to the MRT subway station of the same name.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Hippo sized rat fossil discovered in Uruguay, Rat Hippo or Hippo Rat?

Largest fossil rodent species Josephoartigasia monesi, discovered in Uruguay, with an estimated body mass of one tonne.




The fossilised skull of a one tonne rat the size of a hippopotamus has been unearthed in South America.

The creature, nicknamed Mighty Mouse, is believed to have lived around 4 million years ago, weighed about a tonne and ate mostly soft vegetation. It was so big that it probably spent much of its life semi-submerged in water, like a hippo, to reduce the stresses caused by its vast size. Its skull was discovered in a boulder that fell away from a cliff in the San Jose region of Uruguay.

However, the importance of the find was not immediately realised and the fossil was stored in the Montevideo national history museum for many years.
Known by its Latin name, Josephoartigasia monesi, the vegetarian rat looked like a cross between a guinea pig and a beaver. The rodent was estimated to be around three metres (10ft) long and 1.5 metres tall.

Cloverfield didn't make me throw up

I had 2 free tickets to the Esplanade Cineplex on Ratchada and the best choice movie was Cloverfield. I watched Cloverfield without puking, but the movie has made a lot of other people sick as there are multiple reports of motion sickness like on a rollercoaster ride. Cloverfield is a unique movie made to appear as if it has been shot through a single shaky consumer handheld camera. I didn't find any clovers, just a single field towards the end of the movie.



I would describe my Cloverfield experience as fantastic, totally thrilling and nerve-wracking. I enjoyed the movie entirely and I would recommend this movie to all who love thrilling adventures.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Nok Air and One-2-Go near miss mid-air collision

One-Two-Go Airlines is on the watchlist of aviation authorities and subject to more stringent safety standard certification, following a near-collision with another commercial aircraft on Dec 15.



Still reeling from the Sept 16 fatal crash in Phuket, the budget carrier faces fresh image problems related to the competence of its foreign cockpit staff and reliability of its ageing MD-80 jetliners.

The incident took place over Nakhon Sawan when a One-Two-Go aircraft en route from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, erroneously entered the flight ceiling assigned to Nok Airlines' Boeing 737-400, flying from Chiang Rai to Bangkok, causing potential for mid-air collision.

Disaster was averted thanks to the TCAS warnings on both aircraft. TCAS _ Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System _ is a computerised avionics device designed to reduce the danger of mid-air collisions between aircraft.

Since January 2005, all commercial aircraft registered in Thailand were required to be fitted with TCAS, which begins to sound off alarm when another flying object is about 10 km away.

The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) will also review safety standards of One-Two-Go's aircraft at its next scheduled inspection.

Furthermore, a set of new regulations is being drafted by the DCA requiring foreign pilots working for Thailand-registered airlines to be knowledgeable and go through flight tests on simulators.

According to Mr Wuthichai, initial investigations showed that the One-Two-Go Airlines' pilots were ''negligent'' for not monitoring the flight status, failing to take immediate action when the auto-pilot was disengaged for some reasons that caused the aircraft to stray from its designated flight ceiling of 32,000 feet, to encroach Nok Air's authorised altitude at 33,000 feet.

The pilots on the One-Two-Go flight were Indonesians. The pilot who commanded One-Two-Go's Flight OG 269, which crashed at Phuket International Airport that left 89 dead and 41 injured, was also Indonesian.

The cockpit staff involved in the incident were grounded for one week by the airline itself after the event and the MD jet was later checked and cleared for service.

DCA director-general Chaisak Angkasuwan said the department had not taken any punitive action against the airline as the incident, in accordance with the internationally practised regulations, was not serious enough to warrant doing so.

The One-Two-Go/Nok Air incident was not unique. ''We see incidents of this nature happening once a month involving Thailand-registered aircraft operating on domestic and international routes.''

One-Two-Go founder and chief executive Udom Tantiprasongchai said it was too early to suggest whether the two aircraft were really in a ''near miss'' situation, or on the path of collision as some news reports indicated, pending investigation reports.

''If they were really on a collision path, the whole world should have known soon after it happened,'' he said.

Mr Udom said safety was not compromised, insisting that One-Two-Go had gone a long way to enhance its safety standards. ''We are confident in our safety.''

UFC Mocha Arabica Coffee

Just found this new canned coffee at 7-Eleven and grabbed one. I just cannot resist all the fruit juices by UFC, so thought of giving a shot at their coffee and see how it tastes.

I haven't been drinking much canned coffee for a while, maybe because I've heard people ask the following questions about coffee:



Can coffee cause headache?
Can coffee cause acne?
Can coffee help you lose weight?
Can coffee help you gain weight?
Can coffee make you fat?
Can coffee make you tired?
Can coffee make you sleepy?
Can coffee stunt growth?

and another dreaded one........... Can coffee kill you!?

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Bangkok Kathmandu low-cost flight launched

Recently One Two Go Airlines launched the Bangkok (BKK) - Kathmandu (KTM) route. The schedule is every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.



Also known as Orient Thai Airlines, One-Two-Go is Thailand's first budget airlines. It claims to be Asia's only low-cost airlines to offer a one-price policy for all its fares to all destinations. It was involved in the Phuket plane crash in September 2007 when it exploded and broke in two after it slid off the runway and crashed into nearby hills, with a death toll of around 90 people.


Wednesday, January 09, 2008

California WOW Bangkok - their treadmills

Here are a pictures of the treadmill used at the California WOW Xperience Fitness Center at Esplanade, Bangkok. I guess even their other branches must be using the same equipment. It's called the Star Trac Elite treadmill - sounds like Star Trek? Quite impressive!



Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Mural wall paintings at Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok

An artist restores the mural wall paintings at Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok by repainting on the original mural.



The murals inside tell the Ramayana epic in its entirety. On the columns of the balcony are stone inscriptions of the verses describing the murals. Each gate of the Balcony is guarded by the five-metre tall Yaksa Tavarnbal (Gate-keeping Giants), the characters taken from Ramayana.



Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha is one of the most visited sites in Bangkok. Officially known as Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram it is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. Located in the historic centre of Bangkok, within the grounds of the Grand Palace, it enshrines Phra Kaew Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), the highly revered Buddha image meticulously carved from a single block of jade. The Emerald Buddha (Phra Putta Maha Mani Ratana Patimakorn) is a Buddha image in the meditating position in the Lanna style of the north, dating from the 15th century AD.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Top 10 Thai movies of 2007

1. Tamnan Somdej Phra Naresuan Part II: "Prakad Issara Phab" (The Legend of King Naresuan: Reclaiming Sovereignty) - Bt256 million
2. Tamnan Somdej Phra Naresuan Part I: "Ong Prakan Hongsa" (The Legend of King Naresuan: Pegu's Hostage) - Bt254 million
3. Bodyguard Na Liam 2 (The Bodyguard 2) - Bt98 million
4. Teng Nong Khon Ma Ha Hia - Bt91 million
5. May Narok Muay Yok Lor - Bt85 million
6. Ponglang Sading Lumsing Sai Na (Ponglang Amazing Theatre) - Bt71 million
7. Tud Soo Fud (Kungfu Tootsie) - Bt70 million
8. Sailab Jab Baan Lek (The Bedside Detective) - Bt70 million
9. Faed (Alone) - Bt65 million
10. Ma Mah See Kha Krub (Mid Road Gang) -
Bt58 million


Hippo Layout

A Hippo Layout


Saturday, January 05, 2008

Just got this Gillette Arctic Ice after shave



While much of the arctic sea ice has been melting down due to global warming, this Gillette Arctic Ice after shave splash is keeping me cool in this Bangkok heat, but only for a few minutes.

Christmas Tree cleanup at Esplanade Bangkok



A man cleans up litter by the Christmas tree at Esplanade, Bangkok after the New Year celebrations.

No Hawking Sign