Chiangmai Trip

So I've been chastized for not updating the Lair for AGES!! Been busy at work and when i'm not working, i go for vacations!! Went to Chiangmai and Phuket since my last post update.

And YES! I went to "Love At First Bite" which is known for their fabulous cheesecake and highly recommended by Ling, Matt and Egg. Managed to find the hidden place thanks for Ling's direction on his blog. All was fine until one part where he said, "go NORTH", huh?! i was halfway walking and i see that... ahh?? where is north?!?! I don't have a compass with me!! lol... it was a crossroad and my first instinct was to head up straight.. apparently that's not north! Finally found north on my third try..hahaha.. I tried their white chocolate cheesecake and chicken pie. I guess my expectation was way too high after hearing all the good stuff from friends. The cheesecake was good and decent. About the same standard as Secret Recipe cheesecake. Didn't bring my big cam out that day and all the photos are in my Dopod, which I lost on my way back from Phuket few weeks ago!

Gonna make this quick so let's go straight to the Chiangmai photos! :)



Ride this elephant for half an hour across the village. Won't say that it was a peaceful and relaxing ride since every step was like going over a huge speedbump! And of course, had to lookout for those tree branches since i was so high!



My sticker to Maetang Elephant Park for elephant riding and bamboo rafting.



Bamboo rafting down Maeteng River. After going for whitewater rafting, bamboo rafting felt like a sedated ride.



Lisu tribe village



Also went for ox-cart ride



Picture made of gemstones. Chiangmai is well-known for their umbrellas and gemstones :)



Handmade paper umbrella



Random shot at Orchid farm... yawn.. it's part of the tour or i wouldn't have bothered.



Nightmarket near Changklan Road



Tuk-tuk ride at night


Food in Chiangmai!!!


Saturday market outside this shopping mall.. err, forgot the name.. that's what i get for posting my November trip now!



Bug snack!! Silk worm, grasshopper, whirligs, bamboo worms, etc. I've eaten them ALL!! hahaha



The grasshoppers are crunchy! :P



I like the bamboo worm! Bought some back for colleagues to try!



Also ate this... looks like normal egg cooked in banana leave right? Well... this actually is...


Egg with Ants' Larvae!!! Pretty okay stuff once you got over the ick factor... i got this milk-like liquid squirting out when i bit on those ants larvae... kekeke


Okay, that's that for Chiangmai. It was a pleasant trip but between Chiangmai and Phuket, i definitely prefer Phuket!! Love all the island-hoppings!! Similan Island is absolutely GORGEOUS!! Will post the pics from Phuket soon! ;)

New PDAphone - HTC Touch

2nd generation HTC Touch - I got this Burgundy color! :)

Lost my Dopod 838Pro a week ago and i got myself a new HTC Touch (2nd generation), not to be mistaken with HTC Touch Dual! HTC Touch Dual comes with a slide-down numeric keypad and a smaller screen. Didn't like the reduced screen size because i read ebooks on my pdaphone. Can't have a small screen for that!

So i went for the new 2nd generation HTC Touch in which HTC has wisely doubled up both RAM and ROM specs and added built-in Wifi feature. Yes! The original HTC Touch (1st generation) does not have Wifi but have 3G! So they switched that in the 2nd generation, put in Wifi and stripped off 3G! WTH! oh well, i'd prefer to have Wifi than 3G anyway so it works for me.

Considered HTC Tytn II but except for the built-in GPS, the build and design is very much like my previous Dopod 838Pro. Nothing new there especially since i already have external GPS paired with my previous phone. I'm now reusing the GPS with HTC Touch.


Sleek and slim - side by side comparison with Motorola Razr v3 (right)

Gotta love the sleek and slim design! My bag is now so much lighter! :) oh, not forgetting the TouchFLO too! :)

My only complaint is that it is really SLOWWWW when i open my ebooks on IE!! urgghhhh!! Had to wait few seconds for every scroll, oMG! I can't read that way!! So now i have to chop off my books into parts, thus smaller file size, to be able to read smoothly. yerghhh!! Other applications and phone features are fine though. Sacrificed some performance for the slim design?! yeah, why not! hehehhe