The Stranger in Bangkok finally gives a hint of what he is actually doing

What a month. After an extended lull season, the sudden upturn in business hit us so so hard. Time and again I find myself toiling away in the office until goodness-knows what time to finish the bare essentials to ensure everything runs smoothly and customers are kept satisfied. Anyway, this is a good thing and I really should not be complaining, it's just draining.... and I'm tired.

Still, it's not a good reason to neglect this blog which I had spent so much effort to maintain over the last year. On the eve of returning to Kuching for a week to celebrate a very special Chinese New Year with my family (my wife's coming along and there's a new baby in the house called Rene), I shall finally blog in length for the first time about my company.

Ok, basically, I have been given the task of helping my company open a branch here in Bangkok, selling small equipment and their corresponding spare parts, covering the entire Thailand market. My instruction was simple: build a team, get customers and at the end of the day, earn money.

To cut the story short, I just have to say that to carry out that simple instruction is easier said than done, especially in a foreign country, grappling with a foreign language and for the first time, realising the how small Singapore is and how merciless large geographical areas and extreme weather conditions can be. I came in August 2009, and this being January 2011, I have been here across 3 calendar years now, quite incredible when it wasn't so long ago that I was still sleeping in a room with nothing but a bed and a closet with the sun shining right at my face every morning because my curtains took months before they were delivered. That was the time when I woke up everyday, running a new company all alone, not knowing what's gonna happen on the next minute.

A team was gradually built and business picked up. However, being in a small townhouse, moving our goods is always going to be our sticking point. Every month, up to 2 containers reach our office, each carrying nearly 800 cartons weighing 10tonnes on the average, and my staff and I would painstakingly carry every box manually into the building, of course, out again when each box was sold.

The recurring theme at the company, carry goods, carry goods, carry goods.

There were times when the goods arrived in the night, and everyone would flex their muscles till as late as 2am. I also remember goods arriving on exceptionally rainy days/nights, and everyone just moved around drenched. It sucked, and as a manager, I really did not want my staff to work like that, but the more we sold, the more we had to carry, seemed like a never-ending vicious cycle.

Thankfully, within a year, we did enough to convince the management to rent a bigger place, and found a 806m2 warehouse (more than 12 times bigger than our space now!). It all finally started to sink in when I saw this picture.

Life will never be the same again

A truck of goods unloaded with a forklift might not be an impressive sight for many of you, but to me, it is well and truly, a milestone accomplished. Not only has the company grown to a good degree in a short space of time, but our capacity, efficiency and staff welfare has now gone up a few notches. I can finally feel the satisfaction of one who has built up something from scratch with his bare hands.

With this post, I would like to thank everyone who has given me tremendous support, including my lovely wife Li Li, my parents, my brother, my management, my staff, my friends and of course my God watching over me from above. Also, to everyone reading this, I would also like you to know how beautiful a country Thailand is. Despite all the political unrest and bad press it has gotten in the past year, a complete Stranger in Bangkok like me has survived unscathed, and even in the toughest of times, I have pulled through, because never for one second has Thailand made me feel unwelcome. Instead, the people around me always greet me with a smile on their faces, offering kind words of encouragement from the depths of their hearts, and I really, really appreciate it.

Our entire team as of now

I finally understand the meaning of the word "company". A company comprises of a group of people with a common goal, who work hard together to achieve it as a team, lending support to each other in the process. Once the goal is achieved, the team will be collectively rewarded, and everyone can gradually upgrade themselves from their current standard of living because of the good work they have done.

This is just my definition, but I hope all of you can take something away from it. I will not stop working hard, because it is my responsibility to push the company forward to achieve its potential, so that I can make my staff's lives (and my own of course) better.

The Stranger in Bangkok would hereby like to wish everyone a very heart-warming Chinese New Year spent with your closest family and friends. May the Year of the Rabbit bring you truckloads of joy and laughter, see you after my one-week break.

The Stranger in Bangkok leaves his footprints on Coral Island (Koh Larn)

Happy New Year everyone! The Stranger in Bangkok has finally summoned sufficient energy to revive this hibernating blog. Since my last post, I have left my footprints in the freezing cold Hong Kong, stuttered through a work-filled Christmas (it really ain't a great feeling to slog in the office on 25 December) battling an inflamed throat and embraced 2011 in a resort island with a group of great people.

Thailand, being a predominantly Buddhist country, does not celebrate Christmas or Chinese New Year. Instead, the biggest celebrations fall on Songkran and the New Year, when Thais flock back to their hometowns to countdown with their loved ones over varying doses of booze. This was the very first time I was here for the party, so I really could not miss out on the fun. Therefore, I called a few new friends and left for Koh Larn (aka Coral Island), 45minutes by ferry off Pattaya on the 1st of January to experience how to party the Thai way.

Why Koh Larn and not Pattaya? I did not know at first, but after a short drive through Pattaya, I realised the answer:

Signs in Pattaya have words in English and Russian (??!!!!) but not Thai. This was really too ridiculous for me to accept, so Koh Larn here I come!

The colourful view that welcomed us on our arrival

Of course, hearing the name Coral Island, I was expecting sun, sand and sea in abundance, and it did not disappoint. The great thing was, though the Russians flocked to Koh Larn in the day to enjoy the turquoise blue waters and fine white sand, they were running to catch the last ferry back to Pattaya by 430pm, giving the island a nice local bustle towards nightfall.

The only people you will see in bikini are the Caucasians, in all ages, shapes and sizes.

Lots of water activities to do under the glaring sun, or you can rent a deckchair under an umbrella for 50THB/day



We don't swim, so we climbed to the top of a hill to enjoy the view.



And made sure we chose the right beach to be mesmerised by the sunset.

Enough of the beach then. It wasn't the beach that inspired me to spend my whole night on this post, but the kind hospitality we got from our hosts, Suntree Home Koh Larn! Just one night at this wonderful homestay made me realise that dreams do come true, as long as you work hard enough for them.



Welcome to Suntree Home Koh Larn



We stay in one of the 2 penthouses on the rooftop

Our rustic but cheerful room for 6

We're forced to bathe in the open, a vulnerable feeling indeed.

This chic homestay situated 10 minutes' walk from the jetty is run by 2 young men, Amp and Oui. Aside of being the only 2 contacts for reservations and customer service, they have to:

Drive the pick-up, (hereby introducing the gang of Nong, May, Par, Xinyi and Li Li)!



While we were waiting to go crazy on snacks and booze



The 2 owners had to prepare all the seafood we bought

Before quickly transforming into acoustic band Bakerou to entertain us on the rooftop



Then waking up early next morning to make sure we had tasty pork porridge for breakfast

Amidst all this busy-ness, they had to endure with me breaking a chair and our constant requests for the 3rd mattress to be quickly placed in the room though we weren't planning to sleep yet. They even took the trouble to make us dipping sauces for the seafood, advising us not to use the sauces we bought as they contained too much MSG.

Anyway, I just want to say a big thank you to Amp and Oui for the great New Year weekend at Coral Island. Seeing them do everything from head to toe at a beach resort on a remote island, drawing pleasure from keeping guests happy, it feels like a scene from Beach Boys, just that this is all real, and they are living proof that anything is possible if you follow your passion!

For all who are thinking of somewhere to go when you have too many days in Bangkok, Russia Pattaya is a no-no but Koh Larn is a go-go because it is really a great place to chill and relax. I believe this will not be the last time the Stranger in Bangkok leaves his footprints there... meanwhile, Sawadee Pii Mai everyone, have a smashing 2011.

A song that will forever be etched in our hearts

The Stranger in Bangkok and Co's special wedding surprise for Li Li!

Everyone who has made the effort to drop by this blogpost, please give this video a chance and share our joy. I would like to hereby give another round of thanks to Jay, Daniel, Chye Hou and Aaren Tan for making this possible!

歌曲/Song Title：我给你幸福 (I give you happiness)

歌手/Original Singers: 动力火车 Power Station

深深爱一个人
原来可以改造灵魂
不再做率性的人
讲什么都认真

宁愿像个神灯
你的梦都想去完成
你是我的美好我的责任
真爱让人无所不能
给我全世界也不在乎v1
失去一切也不想要被弥补v2

chorus
我只要你靠近看清楚
我的情感到什么浓度
当你眼睛起雾
感动会在心里跳最美的舞

我只要你在爱的沿路
感受一个晴朗的国度
当你脚步停住
情绪都被照顾不再起伏

我给你幸福

只给你幸福

A Pictorial Flashback of my 1st full year in Thailand

2010 went by in a flash. In fact, I have never felt a year fly by this fast before. It's been an eventful year, anyone outside Thailand can see it from the global news. For me, it's been a big adventure with many defining milestones accomplished. In January, I did a post-mortem of my first 6 months here, now that December is here and we're sprinting towards 2011, I would like to follow that up by recounting 2010 month by month using pictures, please hold my hand and walk me through this year again....

JANUARY

Somehow managed to get myself into the winning team on Gibthai's Sports Day

FEBRUARY

Went back to Kuching for CNY and met some nephews and nieces for the first time

MARCH



Went for a superstar concert on the day the red shirts arrived in Bangkok

APRIL


Survived the hottest day in Bangkok in decades, 39.7 degrees Celsius!

MAY


Hurdled pass my first ever curfew, hopefully my last

Witnessed Spurs qualify for their first ever Champions League, hopefully not their last

JUNE

Welcomed my first real guests to Bangkok, not that I did a good job of taking care of them

JULY

Sent wedding gifts to Li Li's family

AUGUST

In the midst of marriage prep, set up our online lifestyle mall http://www.b-living.com/

SEPTEMBER --- the BIG month that will forever change my life

Took Li Li as my wife for the 2nd time (after ROM) on 911

And again for the 3rd time on 18 September, this time in Kuching

Became Uncle in Bangkok to Rene Yii Qian Ying, my lovely niece whom I held in my hand just once

OCTOBER

Confirmed that my warehouse space would increase 10 times to 806m2 within a year of operation

Took care of my mom in Bangkok for the first time

NOVEMBER

Became a Krathong hawker on Loy Krathong!!!

DECEMBER

Witnessed a blissful wedding take place to a couple of dear friends in Bangkok

2010 has been the ride of my life. With 2011 right around the corner, I shall savour every last bit of this exciting journey before embarking on another one.

A Day in the Life of a Krathong Hawker

2009 was my first year in Bangkok. Trying my best to be as Thai as possible, I made it a point to join into the festivities of Loi Krathong and the celebration of King's Birthday.There wasn't any doubt that the latter left a much bigger impact and inspired me to write this post, which is now the undisputed most-read article on my blog.

This year, both Loi Krathong and Father's Day fell on Sundays, so I insisted my wife joined me in both occasions as I knew it would be an experience of a lifetime. That said, I am still not exacty sure what Loi Krathong was really about, aside of the fact that its date varies every year depending on which day the moon is at its fullest, and that Thais will bring their whole families along to release boats (aka Krathongs) into the rivers to send away their past sins as well as bring better fortunes to their futures.

Can you see the sins floating away? They will eventually be stuck somewhere for poor cleaners to clean up.

This year, however, I was given the very unique privilege to follow my staff Rit and his wife Om to become Krathong hawkers! That is to say, we make these little boats from banana tree branches, banana leaves and assorted flowers, and sell them to be released into the rivers!

The 2 of us beaming with Om, who was surprised at Li Li's speed at making Krathongs

The ladies were responsible for the manufacture and beauty of the Krathongs, while the guys took care of the rest, including sales. It wasn't easy at first as I failed to sell many Krathongs and got some friendly mocking from the gang, but eventually I warmed up and did a decent job, selling quite a few to pretty young Thai ladies!

Our small but steady Krathong stall

Our Krathongs, not too shabby eh? 30baht each, anyone?

At the end of the day, business was great, and we sold more Krathongs than expected (albeit after dropping prices from 30baht to 20baht). I really think we contributed positively to Rit and Om's night and hope to get their invitation again next year.

From my experience as a roadside hawker, I had my revelation of the day, which can be explained from this picture below:

This slipper-stall was our neighbour, and despite our great sales efforts (including big discounts) and flawless craft-work, the interest we generated could not compare with theirs. It was shocking for me to see 2-5yr old girls' eyes glowing with delight while browsing through the colourful slippers one-by-one. Their mesmerised gazes then falling on their parents who had no choice but to part with hard-earned cash to remove slippers swiftly off the racks onto their daughters' feet. This fateful night, I understood the universal truth of life: Women are BORN shoppers. They are destined to become shopaholics, like it or not.

Anyway, the night couldn't possibly be complete without releasing Krathongs ourselves, so we made our way into the temple to do so.

The special Krathongs we made for ourselves, no incense for me though

Li Li with our mega-size Krathong

Photo of the night: What does Loi Krathong mean to Thai people?  Rit's expression says it all.

While we were having the time of our lives, a tragedy happened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where the same festivities turned into a horrifying stampede which took hundreds of innocent teens, turning joy into a day of national mourning and regret which will never be forgotten. I could feel my heart wrench as I flipped through the massive coverage of the mishap on Bangkok Post over the next couple of days.

Supposedly good days could turn fatally bad in an instant. Let's live everyday to its full and treasure the ones around us, because they deserve it.

I finally understand what High Tea is all about

Time flies. It has been a year (!!) since our ROM. Only a while ago, I invited all of you to re-live my ROM with me, and now I am blogging about our ROM anniversary. I think it's brilliant that this year has passed in a flash, because it just means that I am loving every minute of being married to Li Li (I hope she does too).

To make this a memorable day, I decided to bring her 25km away from my home (think living in Jurong West and going to Changi) just to drink some tea. For all who are interested, this place is called the Author's Lounge in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok, which is also the very first luxury hotel in Siam.

It's a classy old-style British-colonial type lounge that has the garden setting as they illuminate the place fully by sunlight. We were the first to arrive, but before we knew it, people from all over the world (including Thais of course) have filled every seat, turning the lounge into a bustling indoor garden with waitresses zipping around balancing pots of tea and three-tiered snack trays. It is interesting to note that there was an international crowd who came specially to have this authentic afternoon tea experience. Which tourist would spend half a day in their short vacation soaking in a lounge on a Sunday afternoon when they have 1001 other things to do in Bangkok unless this place is really famous?

Poor pianist was almost banging his fingers in vain in amidst noise produced by the chatty crowd

High tea is, in my humble opinion, the defining relaxing activity of taitais, especially after a tiring dose of retail therapy. I am trying to convince my wife that she can become a taitai here, and what better way to start?



Relaxing like a true Thai-Tai

 Of course, no high tea is complete without tea. We chose the most expensive tea on the menu and it did taste very refined. But to be honest, I would prefer a cup of icy cocoa from the shop opposite my office any day.


So finally, to the food. There's nothing much to say here, as I am going to show you the full menu of our traditional high tea set followed by a montage of the actual spread.

The place was great, service was excellent, ambience was fantastic, but was the food great? Errr..... it was ok, but probably forgettable is the apt word to use. Everyone has a soft spot for warm buttery scones with a dollop of clotted cream/jam followed by a sip of hot tea, but assorted sandwiches, cookies plus a single mouthful of panna cotta and a similar serving of creme brulee did not leave any note in my head that I should come back in the future for more of the same food.

Back for more pictures? Maybe. Haha...

At the end of the day, I think both of us felt that it wasn't too steeply priced considering the entire package, and it did give us an actual feel of what the Duchess(es) in Europe do in their afternoons while waiting for their husbands to come home for dinner.



Oh ya, we were under a palm tree too!

Moral of the story? High tea is NOT about the food, it's more about the company, and about how you sit back and relax over a book and some decent snacks. The Author's Lounge sure made it happen.