Thailand, A Photo Diary 2/4

It took me a week before I had the chance to write and publish the second of our Thailand series (check out the first here). Our schedules are crazy with all the events happening in Riyadh. Have you noticed how frequent we publish events in our Facebook page now compared to two years ago? We're glad that Riyadh is more open to these events and that a lot of people are thinking of ways on how to promote skills and camaraderie. Yey, Riyadh!

Choosing the photos for the blog entries took me quite a while. We have a thousand photos to browse.  Masyado kasing camwhores eh! Haha. Both Eyecandy and I brought our DSLRs and we also took photos with our iPhones. Consider this a disclaimer; this entry contains 50+ photos.

Anyway, back to Thailand... as I said on our first entry, Pattaya was our base in Thailand, not Bangkok which is the capital of the country. I think it was a good thing because we get to see one of the beach areas of the land of smiles and still had enough time to tour Bangkok's temples on our third day. 

This is our view from our hotel room in Asia Pattaya Beach Hotel:

Good morning, Thailand!

Our That 70s Show-themed hotel outdoors. :P

Our day 2 started with a breakfast in our hotel's restaurant. We had a good view of the pool and the place is filled with music from the 60s-90s. Told you, seems like we went back in time. I had Nasi Goreng for breakfast. It's not a Thai cuisine but more of Indonesia's. Eyecandy had a crab omelet.

Nasi Goreng and satay

Their version of Coke/Pepsi

Being the OC when it comes to travel itineraries (I'm obsessed making them and making sure that we cover as many places in such a short amount of time), I came to Thailand prepared with a plan. Tripomatic helped me make it so if you're having a hard time making itineraries for your trips to other countries, grab this app! But then, itineraries should also be flexible just in case something doesn't go on as planned or the tip of a local makes much more sense than the one you researched.

Our taxi driver suggested we go to Mini Siam first to avoid the noon heat. By the way, Thailand is HOT! We should've been used to it coming from a tropical country like the Philippines but Thailand is hotter! We suddenly missed our aircon in Riyadh! (Can you believe we actually wished to be transported to Riyadh during the hottest time of the day? :P) It might also be disconcerting to find that the Thais drive in the left side of the road.

Mini Siam: Around the World in 2 Hours

Welcome to the world!

Mini Siam is basically the place of miniatures filled with small replicas of the wonders and iconic landmarks of the world. It started as a research project in 1985 and constructed in 1986 with 29 Rais (unit of land measurement equivalent to 1,600 square meters) divided into Mini Siam and Mini Europe. Entrance fee is 300 baht. Check if you can identify all the monuments, buildings, and national heritage sites:

Bright, sunny day

Eyecandy and I went on separate ways. She started in the Mini Europe while I went to the Mini Siam area and roamed Mini Europe after.

China

Those are "people" holding the flags!

Cambodia

Amazing details on the temple and people

Stone shrines and temples in Asia

The Grand Palace in Bangkok

So colorful!

How cool are these miniature elephants standing guard

The beasts of burden, the Philippines' prized hardworking carabaos.

Fly Thai!

An accident in the making (see yellow car)

The trains are ready to go!

Can you identify this building? (Because I can't, hehe!)

I reached a mini lake at the corner of Mini Siam where visitors can feed fishes. The lake is packed with fishes! I don't know how they can swim properly in such dense conditions. I reached for a pack of pellets and paid 20 baht. The moment I threw my first handful in the lake, the fishes swarmed in my direction like crazy!

Huwaw! This ain't an aquarium.

The Mini Europe zone featured a lot of more familiar landmarks around the world:

Singapore, Australia, France in one photo

Singapore, Australia, France in one photo

Russian Palace

A colorful palace in Moscow

The Christ Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Statue of Liberty (wait, why is it colored teal?) + Mt. Rushmore

We won't give you a clue on where this is. :P

Lean to the left. 

With matching stairs... and moth? :)

The Cathedral of Notredame

The details in this miniature are incredible!

The fountain of Rome... make a wish!

The details on all miniatures were amazing! It took us an hour or so to roam the area. It would have been longer if the weather wasn't that hot. Eyecandy was taking a bath in her own perspiration. LOL. And I was basically skipping in my desire to see every featured landmarks and get out of the heat pronto. The Thai sun wasn't that cooperative, mind you. But it was indeed smiling broadly at us.

After Mini Siam, we went to the Sanctuary of Truth. It's located outside Pattaya, just 20 minutes away from Mini Siam. This is the place I enjoyed the most because we get to go on a speed boat ride and the Sanctuary of Truth was a marvel in itself. Entrance fee is 500 baht. We added 200 baht for the speed boat. Being a sacred place, we rented sarongs to cover our exposed legs (we were wearing shorts). Dressing modestly is a must in temples.

Sanctuary of Truth: Heaven on Earth

Breathtaking at a distance

More breathtaking up close!

It was so hot I needed some Thai iced coffee (my favorite drink in the land of smiles!):

I need my dose of caffeine even when traveling!

We arrived on time to watch a cultural dance performance.

Those are looong nails, young lady! :P

Gorgeous! Fawn Lep of fingernail dance from Chiang Mai!

Rabum Talikipas or fan dance from the Southern part of Thailand

Love the myriad of colors in her costume and hair crown

Couple dance

 I want her headdress!

After the performance, we were then given life jackets and whisked into the sea by our speed boat driver. And this is where the fun begins! Woot!

Woohooooo!

The speed boat took us to the other side of the Sanctuary and we saw Pattaya from afar. The modern buildings line the shore and we enjoyed the wind. There were rough parts though that we were sprayed with water, but it alleviated the warm weather. It was tempting to jump out of the boat into the water. Wished we prepared our bikinis (yikes!).

Pattaya shores

The Sanctuary of Truth seen from the sea

The island on the other side of Pattaya

After our mini photo shoot, haha, we went back to the water area near the Sanctuary of Truth and took our photos from there. We had a hard time taking our shots because the boat kept on moving; the direction of the waves being opposite to where we wanted to stay still. The sea is not that cooperative too. My sarong was wet by the time I got out of the water that I was tempted to not wear it anymore but I'm afraid the gods might take my exposed leg as an insult. (It is quite insulting on its own, sashaying my varicose veins and all, lol!)

We wished the speed boat ride lasted an hour! But it was a probably a good thing it didn't last that long also because we didn't slather on enough sun block. Kung hindi, sunburn ang ganap! We got our hard hats aka helmets and finally entered the Sanctuary of Truth.

Ready to go inside!

The Sanctuary of Truth is a gigantic wooden construction (yes, it still is being constructed up to now that's why the hard hats are a must when one enters). Every inch of the building is covered with sculptures that reflects the ancient vision of earth, ancient knowledge, and eastern philosophy. It was termed "heaven recreated on earth."

What a welcome!

Surreal!

Amazing carvings on the walls... every where!

We were awed by the magnificence of the place. Every inch shows how religion, philosophy, and art can bring about so much goodness. E and I tried hard to capture how grand everything from the inside is but our cameras can only do this much:

A window overlooking the sea... reflective.

The light and wood has an ethereal feel to it.

The inside.

Under construction 

These wooden sculptures of women in the exit definitely caught our attention. Uhuh, I know it did get your attention too!We had to have a photo with them! We asked one of the employees of the sanctuary to take our photo and she gladly obliged.  Please try hard to look at us. :P

What a view!

There are guides who can speak English and other European languages so you might want to check the schedule before entering on your own. Well, we just did our own touring around of the place so we definitely lost on some major historic details. There are other activities like horse riding and elephant riding.

It's quite a long entry filled with photos so I would have to cut this day and put our elephant ride experience in the third post along with other activities we did in Pattaya. Come back for more of our (mis)adventures in Thailand! ~ Sundrenched

Zumba at Ramah (and more!)

IT'S SUMMER AND it's the perfect time to sweat and get back into shape after the repercussions of hibernating last winter. If you're like me, who's finding the solo ride on the treadmill a bit passe for my liking, then perhaps something like a Zumba class can bring you the dynamics and group energy that you need in the gym. Last week, I had the pleasure (and pressure) of working out at Ramah Fitness Studio, an up and coming haven for women who wants to take on Zumba, Yoga, Pilates and Belly Dancing (among others).  Yes, you read that right, Belly Dancing! It's been a while since I've worked out and trying out something new such as Zumba, became an incentive for me to go back in the gym (Heaven knows I need it!). 

The Ramah Fitness Studio is modest in size with a reception, changing room, bathroom and a full-mirrored studio that can probably accommodate 10-15 participants per class. I particularly loved the stenciled quotes all over the place, making sure that everyone feels a sense of well-being and motivation as they go along with their classes.

By the reception.

Motivating messages, up to the changing room.

They also support the Zahra Breast Cancer Foundation

I was lucky enough to meet the owner of the establishment, Ms. Shada AlDahash, who said that she was inspired to put up the Ramah Fitness Studio after her training in Yoga helped alleviate her back pain. She also said that she wanted something different from the usual gyms in the city that were crowded with equipment and lacked the feeling of camaraderie with its participants. 

In Ramah Fitness Studio, she says, "they treat each other like family." And true enough, I felt it too when I was there. 

First of all, I was initially there to try out the Zumba class only. I have never done Zumba in my life so I decided to do a little research before going there. Long research cut short, Zumba is essentially a dance-fitness-party -- where you dance and follow the instructors' steps without it feeling like an actual aerobic exercise and more of like partying it up in a dance club. They use the latest pop music to get you in the mood and the energy of the instructress, Ms. Heba, was electrifying. We were seven in the class and I guess she just assumed that I was not a beginner and started the class right away. Thanks to my background in dancing, I was able to reasonably catch up with the steps. Once I got the hang of it, I began to enjoy the atmosphere and the activity (despite sweating profusely) in the next 45 minutes. Afterwards, I approached her and thanked her for her awesome energy in leading the class. 

Where the Zumba magic happens.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fittest of them all? 

Shelves for thy things.

As I was getting ready to change in the other room (and catching my breath at the same time), the next class (the Yoga class) was about to start. One of the ladies in the room with me suddenly asked me to join them. I said no at first because A) I only planned on trying out the Zumba and B) I was a bit spent after the Zumba and I was not sure if I can handle another exercise class. But then I thought, Yoga is about being "zen" and "centered" right? So that may help me cool down in a relaxing way... (not exactly as I had imagined later on, hahaha!). The kind lady kept inviting me despite my initial decline, and she even said, "Don't worry, the instructress is my friend. Please join us." She gave me a mat and a yoga block right away and I eventually found it rude to not go ahead with it. 

I've experienced Yoga around five years ago, but never really pursued it. So this time around, instead of expecting zen-like positions, it was actually a struggle for me. I've always found myself to be a flexible person (I can make my fingertips reach my toes without bending my knees and can do the 'indian sit' fairly well), but this yoga class had me sweating even more, and balancing even more. A lot of my bones actually cracked during the stretching segments, proof that I haven't been exercising that much in the last six months. But towards the end, we spent around 10-15 minutes meditating and our instructress had a really soothing tone and manner about her that we did end up 'inhaling the positive vibes and exhaling the stress and negativity.' 

Interestingly enough, I didn't feel like collapsing after both the Zumba and Yoga classes. I felt internally refreshed and externally rejuvenated. The kindness of everyone there helped too. I am definitely recommending the Ramah Fitness Studio to the ladies out there who wants to dance out and work out in a cozy but fun environment. A very cordial attendant named Haifa, will greet you upon entry (yes, she speaks good English).

Their website, http://ramahfitness.com is pretty solid in information regarding their location, classes, instructors and prices. But to give you a preview, here are their rates:

Zumba classes are at 90SR per visit / 700SR for 10 visits / 1300SR for 20 visits [Valid for two months]

Yoga-Pilates classes are at 90SR per visit / 800SR for 10 visits / 1500SR for 20 visits [Valid for two months]

This is the location map of their studio (located just beside McDonald's Takhasussi):

So shall I be seeing you there as one of dance mates in Zumba? Or in the Belly Dancing class? I hope so! ;) 

Cheers! 

-Eyecandy

The Janadriyah Festival 2013

It's already a ritual for The Pink Tarha ladies to visit the Janadriyah Festival every year since we started the blog. This year, it's our fourth time... and it's probably one of the most memorable because 1. it's the shortest time we've ever been in, 2. it's Shoegarfreeruby's first time to see the festival, and 3. an earthquake, a sandstorm, and a downpour didn't prevent us from going.

The afternoon of our visit to Janadriyah, a killer earthquake hit the border of Iran and Pakistan and tremors were felt in the Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia. News reports said that almost 40 people died in the province of Balochistan. This is the first earthquake I felt in Riyadh and it would have been a reason to cancel our trip to Janadriyah because tremors would likely be felt again in the coming hours. But no, we couldn't cancel our trip because Tuesday is the only day that we're available and the festival will close on Saturday so we rode the bus in our workplace and went on our way around 5:30 in the afternoon. We were joined by other employees in the workplace.

It was drizzling when we arrived but it immediately came to a stop when we alighted from the bus (thank you, heavens!). Because we only have 3 hours to go around the area (actually, just 2 hours because of the 2 prayer times), we immediately searched for the... restroom. Lol. Just so we can go around without having to look for one again. 

Eyecandy got her henna tattoo while waiting. The price of getting a henna doubled this year! SR30!

E having her left arm henna tattooed.

Anyway, the restroom we went to was near the pavilion of the United Arab Emirates, which we haven't seen on the past few years. This pavilion is also in the middle of controversies in the past few days because of 1. a female singer who was not on the line-up to perform, 2. a religious police being taken out of the area by the National Guard, and 3. three Emirati men who were deported because they were too handsome and the religious police felt that the women visiting the festival would fall for them. SERIOUSLY. This story is so annoyingly funny that even TIME picked it up and a lot of friends in the Philippines were making fun of it in their Facebook and Twitter statuses. Oh well...

The Emiratis

We saw a group of singers performing during the time of our visit. This is the only pavilion we've seen so far that segregates the men from the women. We couldn't get past half of the pav because it was for men only. (It was pure coincidence that we were looking for too handsome men to fall in love with. LOL. Just kidding!)

Performance from the UAE crowd

After visiting the UAE pavilion, we went inside the Eastern region's pavilion. We've seen this on our first Janadriyah in 2010 and nothing much has changed.

A man playing a wood and string instrument

Old and new.

The bridal scene

This might look familiar.

The barn of yesteryears.

From a distance, we saw the stage where the guest country, China, was performing their famed dragon dance. After that, several martial artists performed with their swords.

The Chinese stage is the most popular!

We went inside the China pavilion too. 

The very red China pavilion

"Jackie Chan" welcomed us.

Cool screen!

It was much simpler compared to the pavilions of Japan and Korea. They only showcased their crafts and highlights of their culture. Very interesting crafts though.

Ms. China should wear this in the Ms. Universe pageant.

Love the floral designs in Chinese fabrics!

More red carpet worthy gowns

Painted ceramics

Close up on the blue/black design of a plate

This is paper art. Brilliant!

Calligraphy! (I want to learn this!)

We had our name written in Chinese and had commemorative pins as souvenirs.

Our souvenir.

It was another salah when we went out of the Chinese pavilion so we walked around and found ourselves in the Gulf countries' pavilion where men were praying together and the religious police were milling around with policemen in tow. The presence of the muttawas kind of dampen the festive atmosphere of the place. They were far too many! They were even hounding men to pray and shouting at them. There's nothing wrong with praying, of course, but they don't have to shout and embarrass these people.

Men praying.

After the prayer finished at around 8:15, we went to buy our food for dinner. R and I went for McDonald's, Eyecandy went for Shawarmer, and a friend went for felafel. We decided to go outside the gate already to wait for our bus. Call time was at 9pm and we wouldn't want to have a repeat of that time when the bus left us! LOL. 

We were halfway through our dinner when the bus sidled along the road and parked near our benches. We went inside the bus to wait. Lo and behold, a sandstorm suddenly came and covered every thing around us with brownish orange sand! We made it in the bus in the nick of time!

Sandstorm brewing.

RAIN!!!

The wind was howling and the bus was rocking. It toppled some flags and monobloc chairs in the distance. And then the rain came. It washed away the sand in the atmosphere but it brought in mud. It was one of the scariest moments I've experienced in the desert.

Some of our bus mates were lost in their way back to the gate and some were not allowed to go out in the weather so we had to wait for them for another hour. They finally arrived quarter to 10 and we were on our way back to the workplace. We arrived an hour later. Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe.

Outskirt of Riyadh; not a version of the Kingdom Tower. :P

The Janadriyah Festival will continue to be a good showcase of the best of Saudi Arabia's culture and tradition. Even if there are a few issues that pop up each year (ie. sandstorm) or just repeats (ermn, muttawa encounters), that's not enough to keep you from going. We're looking forward to Janadriyah 2014 already... we hope the Philippines gets to be the guest country! ;) ~ Sundrenched

Janadriyah 2010
Janadriyah 2011
Janadriyah 2012
Janadriyah 2013