Word of the Day

Arai (allai): The Thai word for "what".

Below are a few examples of how the word is used.

Allai kadai: "whatever you want" or "anything". You can do/have whatever you want. "Allai" being the Thai word for "what" and "dai" the word for can.

Allai-na: A polite way of saying "what?" as an indication that you didn't hear or didn't understand what someone said.

Allai-wa: The impolite expression of the above. It basically equates to saying "what the hell?". This expression is only to be used with friends as you might get yourself into trouble for using it on someone you don't know.

Ani allai?: What is this? "Ani" (ah-knee) being the Thai word for "this". The Thai word for "that" is "ana" (ah-naa).

Cheu allai?: What's your name? "Cheu" (choo) being the Thai word for "name". This is to be responded to with "Pom/Chan cheu (insert name here)." Pom being the male "I" and chan being the female "I".

So there you have it. A few different uses of the word "allai". I prefer typing the words phonetically so as to assist in learning the correct pronunciation.
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Some very un-PC keyrings

Clearly politically correct is not a term the Thais are familiar with...

Interesting ad

This bench is actually an ad for Siam Ocean World (the aquarium at the Siam Paragon Mall). Brilliant, isn't it?

A beautiful bougainvillea tree

Spotted on the temple grounds, this gorgeous specimen was an absolute treat on the eyes with 3 different colours of bougainvillea flowers.

A temple in KSR

This little building on the temple grounds looks like something straight out of a children's story.

Spotted at Gazebo

This guy had the most amazing dreads ever... They went all the way down to his ankles!

An awesome live band

One of the Thai cover bands that played at Gazebo. They did everything from pop to hip-hop to dance music to rock 'n roll to reggae.

Step into my parlor...

Some more beautiful decor above the exit from the lounge area.

Take your pick

Whether you want to sit down on some comfortable couches and have a couple of drinks or maybe smoke some hubbly, play a game of pool with some friends or simply wanna dance the night away, Gazebo caters to it all.

There is a separate room where the disco is located and in the main lounge area there are usually some live bands playing.

Some of Gazebo's gorgeous decor

Lovely, isn't it?

Inside Gazebo

This lovely rooftop venue can be found just round the corner from Khao San main road. It has a very Moroccan kind of feel to it with persian carpets everywhere and the smell of Hubbly in the air. The waiters can be recognised by their red fez.

Khao San

Our favourite soi in the Khao San are is undoubtedly soi Rambuttri. Amongst all the bright colours and various kinds of fairy lights you'll find some nice hostels and restaurants. It's also one of the more chilled out sois in Khao San.

The boys

From the left: Michel (from Belgium, but his parents are Vietnamese), Avtar (India, obviously) and Tom (from the Netherlands). And Shannyn's claw photo-bombing (as usual) from the far left.

Dance Saffas Dance!

Courtesy of our friend Avtar who was using his phone to communicate with the group over the music.

Altitude rooftop party

This party takes place on the rooftop of the Imperial Queen Park Hotel in Sukhumvit soi 22. This one was the last one for the season. Entrance is 300bht with one free drink and they have free-flow beer from 9-10pm. Pity I don't drink beer...

There are two sections, each with their own DJ booth and, as you can see, an awesome lazershow.

Word of the day: Finished

There are two ways to say that you are finished with something.

There is "set lao" and then there is also "mot lao".

"Set lao" is used to indicate that a task has been completed whereas "mot lao" refers to having run out of something.

Eg. When taking a test, one will use "set lao" to indicate that one has completed the test.
When drinking coffee, "mot lao" will be used to indicate that there is no more coffee left.
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I like...wait...what?!

Only in Thailand.

It's all in the presentation...

Having a lazy Sunday brunch in Khao San and found the presentation of my coffee very aesthetically pleasing.

Strange visitors

A lizard perched on our gate.

Word of the day

I realize that I have become rather lax in the upkeep of my blog as life has started to settle into a routine so I have decided to start posting any Thai vocabulary or expressions I pick up along the way. Perhaps it will be of some use to someone in the future.

Words for today:

1.) Lah (the A is pronounced like the A in 'act') - the Thai word for 'and'. This is a word I've been meaning to acquire for a while as it is one of those fundamental little words of any language.

2.) kao niow - sticky rice. This is a very popular snack here made either savoury or sweet and is commonly served as an accompaniment to fried pork or mango (among other things).

The sweet variation forms part of my favourite dessert (the one served in the banana leaf pyramid), which brings me to my 3rd word for the day:

3.) Kao Niow Sung Kha Ya - the name of the sticky rice dessert I love so much and previously posted pics of. It consists of a small portion of sweet sticky rice topped with a sliver of a baked dessert similar to creme caramel (made with egg, sugar and coconut).

That is all for today.
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