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Saturday, November 29, 2008

WINTER BREAK

For
Sunday Scribblings – ‘A Winter’s Tale’
Writers Island Journal 8 – ‘Memories’
Matinee Muse – ‘To Overcome’

A WINTER’S TALE – MEMORIES of how TO OVERCOME
The $700 price-tag, attached to a simple, but essential journey

WINTER BREAK
3DAYS/4 NIGHTS IN MALAYSIA, FOR $50
(Includes accommodation and transport from/to Bangkok)

Visa-run; vacate Thailand.
Can’t buy
Stand-by;
No fly

Hualamphong trains are full
No fuss
Don’t cuss
Take bus

VIP coach, door-to-door?
First class?
Alas!
Hopes pass

Twelve seats; sixteen passengers
I mean,
Sardine
Routine

No fun for the feint-hearted
Seat share
Sleep, rare
Nightmare!

Thousand kilo plus journey
Highways
Delays
Wrong ways

Adds two hours to the timeframe
Complain?
No pain –
No gain

Trang, Songkhla, Hat Yai, Sadao
Unclamp
Ease cramp
Book-stamp

Border post formalities
Check bag
Smoke fag
Chin-wag

Warning to in-bound tourists
Drug scan!
Don’t plan!
Hangman!

Butterworth, Malaysia
Road/rail.
Short trail
Set sail

Nearby island, our target
Calm seas
Cool breeze
At ease

Disembark Pulau Pinang
Georgetown
Run-down
Port town

Looking for a place to stay?
Cheap rate?
Room mate?
Private?

Lorong Cintra, hostel dorm
Twelve beds
Dead heads
No zeds!

Late at night, Chulia Street
Beer shack
Street snack
Back-pack

New-age travellers abound
Long hair
Tale share
‘Stoned’ stare

Impromptu midnight market
CD’s
Movies;
Copies

Daylight street sights come to life
Hustle
Bustle
Tussle

Indian, Chinese, Malay
Food trade
Gold weighed
Hand-made

Imposing Komtar Tower
Chain stores
Brace scores
Of floors

Penang Road Bridge; direct link
Mainland
Island
Strait spanned

Passport process to complete
Join queue
Review
Then stew

Two days in the ‘waiting room’
Time out!
Get out
Find out

Shun tourists; check out locals
I steer
To rear
Folk here

Liven up a bland sojourn
Feed me
Roti
‘Toddy’

Tell me of their history
Brit rule
Life cruel
No school

Faced with abject poverty
No stash
Of cash
To splash

To ease the wretched lifestyle
The poor
Endure;
But more

Uncomplaining dignity
They dare
To care
And share

Welcome me with open arms
Glad I
Came by
Said ‘Hi’

Suitably shamed, yet inspired
Trust fed
Street cred.
Face red

Immigration; visa stamped
Long wait
Pay rate
New date

Border crossing to Thailand
Last chance
Quick glance
Advance

Still twenty hours from Pinklao -
Sai Thai.
Hopes high
Hours fly

Say ‘Sawasdee khrap, Krungtep’
Year more
In store
Before

The process begins again


Hualamphong – Bangkok Railway Station
Trang, Songkhla, Hat Yai, Sadao – Thai place names, en-route south
Pulau Pinang – Penang Island, (Malaysia)
Lorong Cintra – Love Street
Roti – Similar to Naan Bread
‘Toddy’ – Alcoholic drink made from fermented coconut
Pinklao – Area of Bangkok
Sai Thai – South-bound bus terminal, Bangkok
‘Sawasdee khrap, Krungtep’ – ‘Hello, Bangkok’


Self Catering breakdown

Public transport to Hualamphong - $1
‘VIP’ bus to Penang - $20
4 nights hostel accommodation - $8
‘VIP’ bus to Bangkok - $20
Public transport home - $1
Total - $50
(Plenty of stories to tell)


Package breakdown

Taxi to Bangkok airport - $20
Economy class Penang return air fare - $400
Taxi to hotel – $15
4 nights mid-range hotel accommodation - $240
Taxi to airport $15
Taxi from Bangkok airport - $20
Total - $710
(Nothing to write home about)

23 comments:

  1. I love the short sharp rhymes. (You cheated with 'private' though, unless you have a quaint accent:-))

    This poem was obviously based in reality. Very clever.

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  2. You got an awful lot out of a "brief" experience, just as your reader gets a great deal from your pared down comments. It was fun to go along with you, I laughed and smiled during the whole trip. The flavor of your words, matches your experiences well. Thanks.

    Elizabeth

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  3. Thanks to:
    Rinkly Rimes; Imagine it as spoken by a Malay (that's my excuse). And yes - it's a true 'story'.
    Elizabeth; Wherever I go, and however I travel/stay, I try to get the most from my visit.

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  4. This was excellent -- I loved the momentum that built as I read further and further... well done! ;)

    ...rob

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  5. Parts of this reminded me of train journeys across China! Kind of making me wish I'd written about that for my winter tale now!
    Anyway, very well done. I like how the short, sharp verses echo the sound of a train chugging across it's tracks.

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  6. cleverly executed... but next time i say save up for the luxury travel package... more money less pain??

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  7. A whistle-stop rhyming tour, there. Very clever.

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  8. Delightful little rhyming snapshops!

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  9. I kinda want ta travel now.........

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  10. Loved the crisp rhythm of this piece. It definitely felt real!

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  11. reminded me of every step
    of my last trip to Malaysia!!
    especially this part:

    "Nearby island, our target
    Calm seas
    Cool breeze
    At ease"

    Excellent n delightful read
    cheers!

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  12. Great rhymes out of what sounded like a terribly adventurous and sometimes tedious trip.

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  13. Nice one Stan, Don't you go to Cambodia, sometimes?

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  14. Thanks to:
    Rob Kistner; Lots happening in a short space of time.
    Fearfully Made; I'd love to travel to China.
    Paisley; This was my first time - last time I took the plane - it was no better - just a quicker journey.
    Anthony North; Yes, short ans sweet; cheap and cheerful.
    Linda Jacobs; It was looking at the photo's that made me write it.

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  15. Thanks to:
    Whitesnake; I feel that way all the time.
    BJRoan; It happened in winter 2001.
    Doe; Last time for me was 2006 - I flew.
    Lilibeth; You summed it up perfectly.
    Andy; Yes I do - and Laos, and Burma, Singapore...

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  16. I love the sound of this piece, the action, the tension and the fun!

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  17. I mean sardine routine I found these short rhymes quite amusing, clever and to the point Well done.
    Went to Maleisia as well ages ago so I could add pictures to it as well

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  18. This was a fun read! Very clever. What an experience.

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  19. Thanks to:
    Tumblewords; All of thet and more.
    Marja; Sights, sounds and activities, all different, but memorable.
    Alisa; It was an experience, and one I've repeated 2 or 3 times.

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  20. this one has a natural rhythm but i cant really help but to smile on your very first line, lol

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  21. that was brilliant...loved the way this whole reads!

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  22. Your crisp poem caught the inner journey as well. Nice post, colorful, specific and true. Hurrah for the independent traveler!

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  23. Thanks to:
    Totomai; I know what you mean - same-same; but different, every time.
    *sis* a kind of love/hate relationship for me.
    Beth; It's certainly an education.

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