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July 2014

“Who would have thought we would be what we are today after all the things we’ve been through? It’s as if I were riding on a roller coaster without knowing when it was going to stop.” She broke the silence while looking outside the window toward the sunset the sunset hanging just above the horizon between golden sea and sky. He looked up from his computer and raised his eyebrow thoughtfully before saying.

“Life is a mystery. Who knows what the world will bring us in the next second. I quote “Keep calm and carry on.” while you’re whirling around.” Then he waved his finger, mimicking the action of a roller coaster.

“How on earth could I “keep calm and carry on” in a roller coaster, huh?” She asked with a hint of sarcasm but smiled nonetheless.

“Would you rather jump out of it?” He glanced her way mockingly as he sipped his evening tea before went back to his work.

“No! I might be crazy but not stupid.” Turning around, she huffed at him. He just shook his head then patted his knee in a come-hither gesture.

“Then sit back and relax, we always have to be ready for the ride.” Her face brightened up with his invitation. She gave him a coy smile as she settled herself on him.

“There, my grown-up man,” She threw her arms around his neck, kissed his cheek lovingly and played with his jet-black hair. “Why weren’t you smarter when you were younger? It would have been a lot less complicated--” She looked up longingly and locked her eyes with his. “--loving you.”

He knew what she meant by that. He watched all the sparkles dancing in her brown eyes and as she blinked, he dropped the butterfly kisses on both her eyelids and around her pale face. Whispering incoherent, he tightened his hold around her petite body, feeling her to warmed him up physically, mentally and spiritually as he buried his face in the hollow of her neck. Breathing in her scent, he spoke, saying:

“Because I was just getting smarter when I started loving you.”

Every time he looked at her reminded him it was worth the effort. Her eyes always bored into his soul even without her presence. However, he did not care whatever she would have found inside. Every part of him was always eager to be discovered.

“Oh, by the way, where is the new mystery book you promised me?”

And she was and will always be a mystery to him.

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28th February 2004 at 3.56 PM

Our second term was going to end soon. It meant summer holiday and time away from this busiest school of province. However, I did not feel like relaxing. I just wanted to train my ping pong skill to the best I could do.

“Really, since when he ever gets a life? He always appear here and there wherever I go. You know what? I encountered him at the mall last weekend and I have to get a lesson from him almost everyday. He is everywhere, for God’s sake, like he never worked.” I complained to Rae. She hissed under her breath while eyeing the said person we had disliked discreetly in distaste from outside the practice room which was the old art room.

“He is a git. That is all I care.” She responded then continued on her dim sum.

“Seriously, we met him since our first year here and it has been every bloody evening for bloody 3 years. What does he do for living anyway.” I scrunch my nose as if I smelled something bad when I mentioned him. We all knew he was harmless but his arrogant aura was always shining around.

“If you hated him that much, why did you even bother learning ping pong from him?”

“You thought I was willing to learn? You had seen, he just came and taught me. What could I do, shout at him to stay the hell away? I may dislike him but I still have respect for the elder and I have no intention to destroy my image anytime soon. Beside, I wanted to know what he could coach me.”

She snorted at me then said. “Whatever, as long as he does not mingle around too much, I can handle your endless ramble.”

“Thanks, Rae.” She shrugged and we continued to dig on our pre-training snacks.

“Hello my dear!” The familiar voice greeted us. We looked up and found our table tennis teacher stuck her head inside our hut.

“Hello Mrs. Chaba!” We greeted back in unison then I asked “The meeting is over, finally?”

“Yessah, love. Took me long enough, I’ve got cramped, nuh!” She spoke in her Northern Thailand accent and we could not help but smiled and giggled at her weird gesture that looked like heavily pregnant woman which I assumed it represent her back cramp. She was, after all, one of friendliest teacher in this high school so we better hung around her. As she was walking away, I asked. “Are you going back home right now?”

“Oh no, not yet, nuh. I am waiting for students to give them detentions. I’ll just go to take a rest a bit.” She waved us kind of goodbye before strutting out to her own room. We continued our snacks and got ready for the training.

We finished it a few minute later and now we

“The term is almost over now. What should we do for our fourth year here?” I asked Rae while we started our warm-up basis. I hit a forehand shot lazily back and forth with Rae. She looked a bit confused before asking.

“What do you mean by that?”

I replied as I sped up our playing. “Ping pong. I mean, I think it is the time we have our own club to train to compete in tournament. Don’t cha think?”

“There is a ping pong club in school existing already.” Rae said.

“Not a problem,” I smirked as I hit another forehand shot and sped up the battle of topspins and loop. “we can always offer Mrs. Chaba we will take care of it for her. She would be really happy.”

“But to compete in tournament? That serious? I don’t know.” Rae practically shouted at me as she jumped back to try to save my ‘Loop Kill’ by returning topspin back. “We don’t have the real coach just yet, Son. Mrs. Chaba will surely have no time for this. She had told us that.”

I slid to the right, bending my knees and lowered my paddle down to swing out another topspin shot while trying to say. “That’s true!” I panted as another shot came uncontrollably into my backhand way, caught me off guard. “But I don’t think we have to trouble her at all. I have a potential choice already.” I waggled my eyebrows to my left side as I backhanded the spinning ball with ‘Counter Drive’ stroke right into the middle of the table.

“Don’t tell me it’s him!” Rae waggled her eyebrows at the direction of the guy we disliked and sneered, at the same time she just simply 'push-blocked' the spinning ball with such speed. I shuddered mentally at the thought of that arrogant, self-admiring and self-concentrating being a coach in our team.

I shouted, almost sounded like a scream as I stepped back until my back hit the wall behind. “God, hell, no!”  I stumbled on my feet to ‘Lob’ the next shot awkwardly since I was too busy speaking to actually adjust myself. The ping pong ball which hit my paddle at the weird angle now bounced a lot higher than intended and technically floating in the air above the table. Rae saw this as her chance, she ‘smashed’ me forcefully with her best offensive stroke.

I could swear I saw her flashed a small evil smile as she killed me off but I really did not care though, let her had this little satisfaction. I quickly caught a ping pong ball that bounced right into my face with my left hand and walked over to Rae. “I have a whole lot better plan.” I tilted my head outside the window-less concrete room to the football field.

“Shane?” Rae’s eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at me as if I had gone nuts.

“Yes. Who did you think I referred to?” I said sarcastically. Shane was a big guy, and I meant very big guy. Weighted over 100 kilograms yet his flexibility and talent on table tennis was unbelievable.

“This is one of top ten table tennis player of the young national team you’re talking about! He seems nice, though. But I’m not sure if he wanted to, uh, hang with us?” Rae asked me bewilderingly but skeptically. I just smirked and said smugly to her.

 “Very easy. We will just have to convince him then.”

Nonetheless, my friend did not even seem convinced at all.

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Tonight is Loy Krathong Day! The festival has been taking place around Thailand and even some parts of the world by Thai communities since yesterday. It is my favorite festival because there’s the light everywhere in the river, lake, sea and the sky and it is the most beautiful night I always dream to take picture of.

Loy Krathong festival’s history could be dated back to 700 years ago in Sukothai Era. Krathong is made to pay tribute and respect to Buddha. Thais also use Krathong to apologize and pay respect to Kong Kha, Goddess of Water in Brahman belief. Read the rest of history on Wikipedia [here].

Krathong was first made from banana tree and leaves decorated with lotus petals, candle and three joss sticks. Then Krathong was made of styrofoam and plastic material and later was replaced by recycled and eco & environment-friendly disposable materials like Krathong Sai in Tak is made from coconut shell or Bread Krathong.


This year, government has been promoting Loy Krathong Festival around Thailand with Go Green concept (1 family, 1 Krathong which my mom claimed she had this idea since a decade ago but we disagreed :P). Though I didn’t go out tonight to loy (float) Krathong but there are live news from major cities like Chaing Mai, Bangkok, Sukhothai and Song Khla to share us beautiful night that shining bright with candles and laughter all around.

Loy Krathong Day this year was also another important day because our King who has been staying in hospital for over a month had came down to float the Krathong along with other members in Thai Royal family. It was probably the first time ever Thais people witnessed them joining in this festival. We are so happy he has been recovering pretty steady and hope he will go back home (his palace) soon. Long live the King!


Here are some Loy Krathong festival pics from all around Thailand. Thank you some image from talented photographers on Taklong.com. The first and most fabulous place of Thai photography website I ever learned about photography! Also another sites as credited below.



Extra: Ever heard of Loy Krathong theme song? If no, download here! (From Loy Krathong Sai, Tak [Official Website (Eng)]) [Thai version] [Eng version] [Instrumental version]

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November is most of writer's long-awaited month of the year to run for 30-days long 50,000 words novel writing festival, "NaNoWriMo".

Apparently, I joined again this year. (After my first attempt last year stopped at 25,000 words.)

As for myself, I decided to write new YA (Young Adult)/Romance/Friendship/Drama novel I have been wanting to write for a while, "Intimacy by Mystery".

The plot will take place in high school years of a group of students in Thailand which bonded together through table tennis club while one girl from the club met a boy who was transferred student from Australia and eventually found themselves connected in the weird way: by mystery books.

I used to joke my friend that I would write fiction about our Ping Pong club which really the place that bonded us together with so many things we'd been through, she laughed and totally agreed I should do it. And now, I'm going to make our wish come true...within this November!

It's already 1st November in Thailand and some parts of the world so I wish all the participant a good luck...no writer's block and finish your novel in time!