Amazing Thailand

Sawadikapp!!! Yes I just came back from Amazing Thailand. Phuket to be exact. And yes, I am still on vacation from my day job (hah!). Unfortunately, my fantastic 2-week vacation is coming to an end.

This entry is not gonna be about Phuket. I’m still speechless on the beauty of that beach-haven (but serioiusly, I’m proud of Redang too… it’s slightly better) … and it’s gonna take a while before I can find all the right adjectives for it.  So you’re gonna have to wait for that one.

I’m more interested in talking about Thailand as a whole and how far it has gone when it comes to tourism.

I’ve been to most of the major towns and tourist spots in Thailand, namely Bangkok, Haadyai, Songkhla, Chiang-mai, Koh Samui, Phuket, and  the southern regions of Pattani and Narathiwat. So although I haven’t been to all the major cities in Thailand, I have been to most of them throughout my life.

The one thing I noticed about Thailand no matter which city I am in, is the value they put on each and every tourist that arrives in their country. They have a profound respect on how much a tourist can bring, and they will go out of their way to make sure that tourists feel welcomed and will experience a stay that they will never forget.

For example, Thailand has now a rule that the Airport Authority has enforced, whereby free local simcards are given out to each arriving passenger at the airport. Not only that, a guide will be standing there to explain how the Thai telecommunication system works, the charges that apply, and why they are giving away these simcards for free. That’s one thing I haven’t seen here in Malaysia (or any other country yet for that matter) since each Telco here is still pushing for their sales and trying their best to make profit out of each person they see, regardless if it’s a local or a tourist.

The Thais are also of a different level when it comes to service. They seem to put an extra amount of effort in whatever services they offer and I keep seeing that for whatever services both our countries offer, theirs is always slightly better and of higher quality. For example, I once took a taxi when in Bangkok and we were kinda lost in getting to my restaurant. Even though the driver couldn’t speak English, he actually took the initative to park the car, took out his map and actually went through the route with me in order to figure out how to get there. Whereas here in Malaysia, I was recently following a tweet string of a fellow KLite on how a taxi driver actually refused service to a tourist when he was asking for directions. The driver just waved him off and actually said “Ini KL la. Takde masa aku nak tunjuk jalan. Kalau bayar lain la” (This is KL. I don’t have time to give directions, unless there’s payment). Sad isn’t it? A compadre’ of mine told me that it’s because the service industry in Thailand survives and thrives on tips and gratuity. OK sure. But honestly, so do we… so why the difference?

The other thing I noticed about Thailand is the cleanliness of their country. Sure it’s not as insanely clean as it is in Singapore… and I’m not talking about metropolitan-like clean sidewalks and streets… even in the rural areas or a small town like Phuket, everything is clean and it looks like someone just swept the ground at any moment of the day. And believe it or not, that is actually the case! There’s always someone sweeping the grounds to make sure that everything looks good! And when I was in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Phuket, it was amazing to see the locals actually sweeping the public beaches to remove garbage, right at the break of dawn. Hence why their beaches actually have golden or white pure sand… that basically ends up in a breathtaking view every single time! They care... and continue to care… naturally… without any law enforcement or campaign… which is truly remarkable. Sadly, I don’t see that attitude among us here… except for a few… who sincerely want preserve and protect what we have.

I also believe that another reason behind Thailand’s success in the tourism industry is their pride in their heritage and tradition. They are not just proud of it, they FLAUNT it. They push it and they sell it like mad. And, unlike us, they don’t charge a premium for it. It’s just part and parcel of visiting Thailand. It’s almost as if one can’t get away from it as soon as you get there. Yet, they still manage to be internationally friendly to ensure that the tourism is sustained throughout. Let’s take their language for example. Thai language is almost the one and only language spoken there. There’s no English in their basic education system and communicating with a Thai is actually close to impossible without the assistance of sign language. But, they adapt… they ensure that each and every major sign are also written in English and those in the tourism industry (from guides all the way to the roadside peddlers) are able to speak English (though minimal) in order to communicate with the tourists. They go out of their way to get it done. And it’s only because, like I mentioned earlier, they value the tourists that much and they know how much their lives depended on them. I’m not saying we don’t. But we’re not as serious about it as they are.

There’re still many other factors leading to Thailand’s success in tourism, namely freedom from religious and traditional limitations and less strict laws for tourists. I’m not going to comment on that but it does have a profound effect on tourism.

The reason behind my strong salutations to our northern neighbors is only out of experience and nothing else. Each and every time I visit Thailand, I have nothing but good things to say about it. And it’s unfortunate when I compare it to the comments I receive from friends and colleagues who visit Malaysia. It seems that things are always better up north.

What’s amusing is that the numbers don’t show. According to Tourism Malaysia’s statistics, we had 20.9 million tourists in 2007 while Thailand had only over 14 million in the same year, according to their Tourism Authority (no solid data yet for 2008 and 2009). So the numbers don’t add up to what I’m saying I guess. But somehow, I see more tourists there than I do here, anywhere I go. Hmm… One wonders when it comes to statistics.

Photos from Phuket in the next entry! Already on FB!!

Won’t be around next weekend but will definitely see you guys in March. Don’t forget, you’re share of 50Gs is just waiting for you. Here’s a tip. Brush up on your song knowledge!! 

Putraja Night Run (PNR) 2010

Believe it or not, I entered myself into another run. This time it’s a 7.7km tread (2.3 clicks shorter than the first event I participated in: the 2009 Standard Chartered KL Marathon).

The original plan was a bunch of us were supposed to be taking part, but somehow ‘registration issues’ caused everyone else to cancel so I was left to run alone… at night… in Putrajaya. Thanks guys.

I got some comments about entering the 7.7km which is sort of a downgrade to the 10km I ran previously. But this is because of the simple fact that there wasn’t a 10km category in this event, and I don’t think I’m ready to do a half marathon just yet. (21 kms… are you mad?)

So yeah, there I was on a Saturday night, quite nervous as I didn’t know anyone there and I was about to run 7.7kms at night in a city that I’m not too familiar with. Plus with the little training I had before the event, I was also worried about being able to finish the job!

But all my worries were washed away as soon as I arrived to Putrajaya. This city is truly beautiful. It kinda reminded me of D.C. But as soon as night fell, the city turned even more majestic and spectacular than any other city I have ever seen! (Sorry didn’t carry a camera thus no photos only file pics – go see it for yourself!). I was excited to see the rest of it up close… and that pretty much alleviated most of my nervousness.

The event started with full and half marathoners being flagged off first, as usual. Everything seemed pretty smooth. I noticed some of the 7.7km runners milling around at the back of the full and half marathoners, so I went ahead and chilled there. But the funny part was that the sound system wasn’t that great so when the half marathoners were flagged off, the back end didn’t realize it! They were still chilling at the back and had to be chased down by the organizer marshalls! To add to that some of the 7.7km runners thought the gun shot was also for them so they started to run together with the half marathoners! Again, the organizers had to chase them down and asked them to turn back! Damn funny la I tell you.

Anyway, it turned out that the 7.7km and 5.5km runners were supposed to be flagged of on the other side of the road. So since me and a bunch of others were on the full and half marathoners’ side, we were also chased down by the marshals to change lanes.  (It sure seemed like the marshals did a lot of chasing that night. Hehe)

So yeah, after standing at the starting line for like half an hour we were finally flagged off. The run itself was pretty uneventful except for the fascinating views of the Putrajaya skyline at night. Our route took us down the road from the Palace of Justice, all the way down to the new condos being built then across the bridge to PICC and back down to the main road for the finish. The track is a bit tougher than the KL marathon thanks to the hilly Putrajaya Terrain. And I never realized that the bridges there were THAT high. But it was all okay la.

Unlike the KL Marathon 10km, there was no digital timing for the 7.7km category in the PNR. So once the runners crossed the finish line, there was no way to tell his or her placement except for doing it manually by lining up the finishers (and obviously, you had to time yourself lah). So after finishing I had to join a loooong queue until they handed me my final result. But I did catch some runners of the same category bypassing the queue all the way to the front. Some of those, the marshals caught, some they missed. So some ended up with better results even though they finished behind me! This was one of the major minuses of the event and probably the only thing I would complain about.

It turned out that I was 335^th out of about 2000 runners in 41 minutes (wooohoo!!!). I was happy with the result although it could have actually been better if they had properly administered the finish line. Anyway, I still got the finisher medal (400 or below) and the certificate which was my target. To be honest, I was starting to doubt getting them midway of the run at the rate the others were overtaking me. Still can’t figure out how it happened. Hmmm… (wondering who were those people I saw… hehe)

The best part is that after finishing the run, I successfully gained back all the calories lost thanks to the slice of pizza and muffin from the snack pack provided, and by downing 6 glasses of oh-so-delicious iced milo and 3 glasses of 100plus. They went down like shots. But seriously, PIZZA?!! Anyhow, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life!!! I was absolutely famished!!

All in all it was a lot of fun. There’s still more room for the organizers to improve but overall they did a fantastic job. (The snack pack, end of run drinks, and drinking stations along the route were definitely better than that of the KL Marathon, I hope StanChart takes note).

Would definitely be joining again next year. Who knows, I might be fit enough for the half marathon then… NOT!!!! hahaha 

Eating Healthy?

I’ve been trying to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle since last year. It’s not been easy but it’s progressing so okayla. Am quite happy with where I am right now. Although it’s nowhere close to where want to be.

The biggest challenge of getting there for me is the diet. I’m not very disciplined when it comes to eating… and I don’t deny that I quite often fall of the diet bandwagon with the mamaks and mom’s food etc. But when I’m in the office or roaming around town, I find it really hard to eat healthy in KL. Sure there’s always healthy food around but it’s just too darn costly!

For example, at lunch last week in my workplace cafeteria, I had 2 pieces of fruit, a diet coke and a yoghurt..and it cost me 6 bucks. The thing that really ticked me off was the guy in front of me had like rice with the curry and the chicken and the veggies and fried egg some more… with his teh ais, it cost him RM4.70! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! The amount of food he had was three times more filling (at least) and twice as heavy! And he paid over a buck less than me! It’s just ridiculous!

The other thing that annoys me when it comes to healthy food choices here is Salad. As soon as the word ‘salad’ appears in the dish, the price increases. And this is only because the perception of ‘salad’ being a type of ‘Western’ cuisine!!! C’mon people. Vegetables! Its supposed to be cheaper than your Nasi Goreng Seafood or Maggi Goreng! But nooooo. Because it’s a ‘SALAD’ kena la mahal kan.. Western… have to be something special.

I wonder how long it will take before the whole food scene in Malaysia (and maybe asia) will placate that of Europe and US where healthy choices should be similar if not cheaper than regular food. I mean, veggies and yoghurt and dairy products are almost free in the western world. Why is it such a big deal here? We don’t have to import anything too. Just sell what we have here!! Is that so hard?

Sigh.. all this ranting is making me hungry… time for a burger…