My Bali Experience



I am a person who loves the mountains and nature in general. When my daughter invited me to go with her to Bali, Indonesia I never hesitated, I never has second thoughts. Besides, it was my birthday, so here I go.

She booked a hotel for two at GrandmasHotels.com @ Seminyak in Bali. Seminyak is located Southwest tip of Bali. The location of the hotel is great. Since breakfast is not included in our accommodation, we go out every morning for breakfast. WOW, it is not so difficult to look for restos which cook native Bali Food. Adding to the very sumptuous Bali meal, the price is so cheap and the taste is delicious.

From our hotel, it takes only 2 minutes to walk to the beach. Very convenient. You could smell the sea breeze which is very pristine though the waves are what every surfer loves. NO SWIMMING in these beaches. You can walk along the seashore wetting only half of your body. You can walk on the very fine sand with the very fresh air caressing your cheeks. After your 2 or 3 hour walk, you can walk back to your hotel, have  a change and stroll along the rows and rows of restos where you can choose freshly cooked Bali delicacies. You could each much because your appetite was already activated by the sea breeze.

Shopping also is great. Owners of shops give you very steep prices if they see you are a foreigner. But an Indonesian friend of mine gave me the secret. If they give a price of IR150,000, offer to buy the item at IR75,000. If the owner won't agree, leave immediately. The owner then will call you and give the item at your price. This is the secret that we did and we were able to buy swimsuits which were priced at IR300,000 but we were able to get them at IR100,000. Quality of the items is very good.

My advice, go  on vacation to Bali. Whether you are a sea lover or a mountain lover, you will definitely enjoy there and you will never regret it.

My Bangkok Experience

 My Bangkok Experience

Hijos y Hijas , Buenos dias a todos.

Just a week ago I visited Bangkok for the first time. I stayed there for one whole week.

Well, having set up residence in Singapore for the past 3 years, I am used to all Singaporeans

who can speak English, though others may not be very good, but at least they can speak.

Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi  International Airport in Thailand, I was amazed at the very huge structure. Not only the building is huge, but also the giant image of their king is also displayed in the entrance of their airport.

Before I booked my plane ticket  to Bangkok, I read some travellers account of their experiences while they were in Thailand. I had known that taxi drivers do not know how to speak English. An advice was given that if a visitor wants to go somewhere else, we should ask a Thai who can speak English to write the address of your destination in Thai, and that upon boarding the taxi, you have to give the address written in Thai.

When I went out of the airport, I asked a counter girl to write for me the address of my hotel, which she gladly did. And, I did as I was advised, then I reached the hotel in good shape. Then I had my lunch  at the hotel and my first experience of Thai food  with peppercorn on it and some chili. Of course I was hungry, so I ate it. The after taste of the chili was enormous, so I had to buy some fresh coconut juice  on its shell and some ice cream. Whew! The chili taste still remains until the evening.

My purpose of going to Thailand is to experience eating Thai food for the entire week. So, After I had my rest at the hotel, I went out with the plan to have dinner which is purely Thai menu. To my disappointment, when I talked to the sales counter girl, she cannot talk in English, so I went instead to the mall and had dinner at  McDonalds. So frustrating. I thought I would have the same food until I will leave Thailand.

The Riverboat Ride was very amazing as well as refreshing. With a whole package worth 150 Baht, you can have the ride for the whole day and you can get on and off  in any chosen  landing that you want to. With more than 30 landings available, the  150 Baht is worth it for the whole day. In every landing you can  roam around and visit the beautiful places that Thailand has to offer. When you get tired of looking around, just go back to the Boat Landing and wait for any boat that comes, and presto….on board the boat again.

My best experience was having the Thai Herbal Massage at Dhara in Silom. The massage was heavenly and very relaxing. After the massage, lots of Thai food (with English translations) can be found along the streets of Silom. This is where I tasted the very best Thai food ever. In the menu, you can choose whether you like to put chili or not by just pointing at the drawing.  The drawing  shows = 1 chili; 2 chili; 3 chili  up to the nth chili as long as you can take it.  Also, the first time in my life I tasted the Thai Chicken Curry with a little chili in it. As they said, it is delicious and worth trying again.

Sawadee kap and Sawadee ka!

THE INTERVIEW

Once there was an Arab who was interviewed in the US Embassy by a Consultant.

CONSULTANT: "What is your name?"
ARAB: "Abdul Aziz, Sir".
CONSULTANT: "Sex?"
ARAB: "Six to ten times a week".
CONSULTANT: "No, no, I mean Male or Female".
ARAB: "Both, Male & Female and sometimes even Camels"
CONSULTANT: "Holy Cow"
ARAB: "Yes, Cows and Dogs, too"
CONSULTANT: "Man, Isn't it Hostile?"
ARAB: "Horse Style, Dog Style, Any Style".
CONSULTANT: "Ohhh Dear"
ARAB: "Deer? Nope, they run too fast"

Managers in this very small country though they are very progressive and highly developed don't know how to treat their subordinates well. They thought they are PERFECT and never commit mistakes. They shout and raise their voices at their subordinates even with a very small mistake. This work I dedicate to all of you.

RIGHT.....YOU ARE THE BOSS
by: Ophelle

Your subordinates are happy to serve you,
but you need to respect them.
TREAT them with DIGNITY. They are also
HUMAN BEINGS, like you.


Would you like somebody to be SHOUTING at
you when you commit a very minute mistake?
SHOUTING or RAISING YOUR VOICE won't let
you get what you wanted done.

Yes, you are the BOSS and you need to be
RESPECTED. But, RESPECT is earned, not forcibly
asked.

Ask yourself...... AM I A GOOD BOSS? If you are,
then SHOW RESPECT to your subordinates and
YOU WILL EARN THEIR RESPECT even if they quit
to be your colleagues.