I attended an external course this week and took the opportunity to go for 2 interviews on Thursday. On Friday, one of the companies (Co. A) informed me that they will be offering me the position, details of which they are still working out and will let me know by next Tues.

I'm in a dilemma over whether to accept it.

1) Salary: My current company's increment for this year has yet to be announced. I'm expecting a substantial jump because Boss has recommended me for a promotion. Co. A has also me informed that they are unable to match my expected salary. Therefore, a comparison still has to be made when things are clearer.

2) Job location: My current work environment is at Raffles Place, the ideal location for me. Office is new. I'm surrounded by professional-looking people. I can go shopping if I don't wish to have lunch. Co. A is located in an industrial estate nearer to the East side while I live in the West. It will take me at least 1.5 hours to get to work. The environment is super 'ulu', meaning no nicely dressed people, but plenty of dirt and flats. Very bimbotic, but it matters to me.

3) Job Opportunities: Prospective Boss seems nice and willing to give me opportunities. The new job involves chances for travel to Australia and China while the current job is limited to Indonesia mainly. The main push factor is that Boss has a fixed opinion of me (which isn't great) and it might be better for me to start anew. There will certainly be plenty of satisfaction is giving her my resignation letter.

4) Company: My current company is a US MNC. Therefore, there is a certain level of prestige associated with working there. Co. A, although it has investments and subsidiaries overseas, is still a local company and a subsidiary itself. Most job advertisements nowadays request for experience in established listed companies or MNC. I'm not so sure whether this would be a good move for me in terms of future jobs.

Anyway, I have to wait for the salary on both sides to be confirmed before I make a final decision.

# posted by Shopaholic : 12:18 PM

8th Feb 05 - CNY Eve
I arrived in Changi Airport at 11:15pm and he has already cleared the customs . Although our original intention was to go for supper before heading home, there was a change of plans because I was still so full from my Reunion Dinner. He brought some food as presents for my parents - Pre-packaged carrot cake, HK style, and abalone noodles (Very yummy btw!).

We exchanged Valentine Day's presents just before bed. Well, I was too anxious to see his present to me and my presents to him were too heavy to bring along to Hua Hin.

His present to me: A gorgeous sparkling diamond bracelet . It wasn't what he has been hinting to me, but still a big surprise nevertheless.

My presents to him: A blue Puma sling bag because he mentioned he needed one previously, and a black photo album which I created myself. It took me 3 weeks to decide on which album to purchase from Prints and on the photos I want to include. I packaged it with a silver ribbon and a silver tag with our names engraved in blue.

9th Feb 05 - CNY Visiting
First stop, my paternal grandparents' house. He wore my Christmas present to him - a pink/orange striped Zara shirt, and I wore my bare-back FCUK beaded top. All the relatives were gathered here for lunch. I knew that he was quite nervous about meeting so many of them at one go, but I thought it went quite well in the end. My relatives engaged him in conversation and made him feel at ease. I stayed by his side and chattered on (after changing out of the stick-on bra which wouldn't stick because I was hot and perspiring).

Next stop, my maternal grandfather's house in Johore Bahru, Malaysia. I had more cousins here around our age and all of them being male, I thought the conversation flowed quite smoothly. My auntie commented that we have "husband-wife look"! We had our usual CNY gambling session where YY managed to beat them all in Chor Dai Di , winning the Dai Di King title and their money . Not that much, thankfully. They also played some PS2 games while I was sleeping in his lap.

At night, we proceeded to dinner in a Chinese restaurant. 2 tables of 8-course dinner for 10 people and we only had about 7 people at each table. By the 4th course, we were all bursting from the food.

10th Feb 05 - Off to Hua Hin
6:30am
My dad gave us a lift to the airport, together with my cousin and his wife who were going to Bangkok on a flight 5 min before us. Our Tiger Airways flight was scheduled for 8:35am. (Cost: S$468 for 2)(Yes, the flight which I had so much trouble booking!) We grabbed 2 Sausage McMuffin w/egg Meals before staking out 2 good seats in front of the boarding gate.

So much for their Tiger's claims that they were affiliated to SIA, implying order, and had assigned seatings. Turns out it's free-seating afterall. As with my previous experience with free-seating, the moment someone stepped in front of the barricade, all the rest also rushed and pushed to the front (us being one of them, of course). When the aircrew announced that they were giving priority-boarding to those with children, people still jostled. When our turn to board came, this man beside me pushed me until I nearly fell onto the air stewardess. So ungentlemanly! When I told him in a raised voice "Don't push!", he still dared to claim that it was because someone behind him was pushing.

Anyway, we did manage to get 2 seats together near the front. Unfortunately, it was right behind a young kid (maybe 2 years old?) who started screaming halfway through the flight?! His grandma sitting beside me and mom sitting in front of me kept passing him to and fro.

10:35am (Bangkok Time) - Bangkok Airport
Upon arrival in Bangkok International Airport, we headed to Don Muang Railway Station across the road hoping to catch the next train to Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Railway Station (BRS). The next train is due only in about 40 min. Not wanting to waste any time, we went back to the Airport and hopped on Airport Bus Route A4 which also goes to the same destination. (Cost: THB200 for 2)

12:00pm - Train/ Bus?
An hour later, we reached BRS, where we intended to take Train 171 (1:00pm) along the Southern Line to Hua Hin.

A) We were waylaid by 2 officers from the TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) office who claimed they can get us to Hua Hin faster by bus. So, we lugged our luggage to their office down the road. She offered us 2 seats to Hua Hin on a minibus, departing at 3:00pm, at about THB650 per person. On our request, she also called to check that there are still tickets available for Train 171, 2nd Class Aircon Seats THB302 each.

B) Deciding to stick to our original plan, we went back to the train station to get tickets. However, the ticketing officer informed us they are only left with 3rd Class tickets for Train 171, no aircon. The next train with 2nd Class aircon seats available is Train 37, departing 3:15pm.

C) As the minibus also leaves at the same time, we went back to TAT for that instead. Alas, the lady told us the last 2 tickets has just been sold and the next bus leaves at 7pm !

D) Once again lugging our heavy luggage into the train station, we were told even the 2nd Class aircon seats for Train 37 were sold out. Dilly-dallying over what to do and finally feeling courageous enough to try out the non-aircon 3rd Class seats for Train 171, we were disappointed again with news that that too has been sold out.

E) Left with no choice, we had to fork out more for 2nd Class Sleeper seats on Train 35 2:45pm (Cost: THB492 lower + THB582 = THB1074).

So you see, this road trip of ours was fraught with difficulties . I had slight pangs of regret about not booking a car prior to arrival (THB4,000 return).

1:00pm
Having settled our transportation arrangements, we can finally relax and feed our growling stomachs. There was a food court in BRS which I wasn't too keen on initially because of the smell. Finally sitted in a corner, we feasted on Pad Thai (Thai fried noodles), papaya salad (very spicy!), chicken rice and fishball soup.

2:00pm
With time to spare before the train departs, we walked around the train station, taking photos. We were particularly interested in the platform. It reminded me slightly of the train platform portrayed in Harry Porter.

2:30pm - Train Ride
We boarded Train 35 at Platform 5 armed with 2 drinks. We made ourselves comfortable and settled in for a 4-hr journey. (We couldn't figure out how to transform the seats into beds even after twiddling with all the knobs.) Seeing how empty the train is, I would recommend any couples to get 2 high seats (cheaper) instead of a High & Low ones.

2:45pm
The train started chugging along at snail's pace. I can see why it takes an hour longer by train than bus! Still, it was interesting observing the scenery and locals along the way. We entertained ourselves taking videos/ photos of each other and sneaking in kisses when no one was passing by. At each stop, locals will hop onto the train, selling local food and snacks, not that we dared to take any.

A couple got on halfway into the ride and took the seat beside ours. At about 6:00pm, they were served their dinners (which can be ordered from any of the train waiters walking by occasionally). The table is actually slotted out from an opening below the floor! Gross!

We witnessed a beautiful sunset. The train officer also came around asking everybody whether they wanted him to convert their seats into beds. Mystery solved! He requires a tool for that.

7:00pm - 1st night in Hua Hin
The Hua Hin Railway Station is an attraction in itself. Too bad we were too exhausted when we alighted the train to fully appreciate it. We only had energy to bargain with a "taxi" driver for a ride to our hotel Casa Del Mare (Cost: THB12,000 for 4 nights).

I was a bit surprised to see how far out the hotel is from the town area. Definitely not within walking distance like I originally thought ! The website we booked through messed up our booking and we were given twin beds instead of a double bed. They couldn't change our room for the remaining days either, claiming they were fully booked. Neither could the beds be shifted together. No choice but to squeeze together! I teased YY about sleeping on separate beds.

We dumped our luggage in the room and went to look for dinner. Not knowing that we had to request the receptionist to call a tuk tuk for us, we ventured outside ourselves, wanting to flag a taxi/ tuk tuk. Not seeing any, we decided to walk further down the road in the direction of Hua Hin Town. 15min later, I was ready to drop down from exhaustion. Our prayers were answered when we glimpsed a tuk tuk on the opposite road.

We dined on pizza and pasta at an Italian Pizza restaurant opposite Hilton Hotel. Though tired out, we loitered around the area, shopping around the Night Market. I had my eyes on a pink imitation Christian Dior cap but the vendors were unwilling to budge lower than THB200. So, we ended up returning empty-handed to our hotel room.

To be continued......

I've posted some of our Hua Hin pictures up in the gallery.

Resources
Budget airlines flying to Bangkok:
Tiger Airways
AirAsia
Valuair

Transportation information:
Bangkok International Airport
State Railway of Thailand - Train schedules and fares
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)

Hotel booking:
HotelThailand - I booked through this website.....response quite slow.

General information:
GoThailand.com
Sawadee.com
Hua-Hin.com
Hua Hin Map

Others' experiences:
Tales of Asia
Virtual Tourist

# posted by Shopaholic : 3:06 PM

I just started work today. YY arrived in Singapore on Chinese New Year (CNY) eve night and we went visiting on Day 1 of CNY. We then departed for Hua Hin and spent 5 days there before returning on Valentine's Day. I sent him off yesterday afternoon. This is the longest period we have spent together and it was difficult for me to adjust again after he left. I miss him by my side.

More of Hua Hin later, I need to go vegetate in front of my TV now.

# posted by Shopaholic : 8:41 PM