F E L I N E R S

My solo backpacking kicked off with one night in Chiangmai, the national treasure of Thailand as the Thais would put it. It is very Thai - unlike the foreign-invaded beaches in the south coast - very cultured and somehow oozes bohemian flava. As according to the words of Lonely Planet, it is a welcoming walled city and a sophisticated base to study Thai cooking, traditional massage or meaningful meditation.

I had never been to Chiangmai before and little did I know how much I'd love it! I noticed the absence of 'trashyness' that one usually find in touristy places across Thailand.

Bye Bye KL

Hello Chiangmai!


Moat surrounding the walled city of Chiang Mai. I didn't get a good photo of the wall sorry! The medieval-style wall was built 700 years ago to defend against Burmese invaders.

Chiang Mai? or London? The city has some interesting mixture of architecture.

Wat Chedi Luang - ruins of huge chedi that collapsed during an earthquake in 1545. Partial restoration preserved the 'ruined' look.


When I went into the Mandalay Air ticketing office I met Ann. We ended up chatting and she invited me to hang out that night with some of her friends at this hip local bar. I found out grooving to Thai bands totally rocks!

The lovely Ann

Stolen shot of the DJ. We all thought he was cute.

I think Thai girls are hot!

Then again, so are Thai guys. Especially if they're popstars I suppose.



At this point, the crowd really goes off. I started standing on the stool I was sitting on and unashamedly pointed my camera into the Thai popstar's face every few minutes. If I remember correctly I also joined the throng of screaming fans in their oohs and aahs.

I was mildly intoxicated and when the performance ended I rushed to his side and said, "Hey u. I'm from Malaysia and I think you're cute. I need to take a photo with you!" The rest of them had bewildered looks on their faces but decided that they want to be in the photo as well. Since then Ann has contacted me to remind me 'to email them the photo'. Haha. It was a bloody fun night.

They even brought me for supper at a fish ball noodle stall before dropping me off at my guesthouse.

Now ain't he a lucky popstar. Hehhe.