Moose in Bangkok

Moose has not travelled for a long time. Although living in Singapore is kind of like always being an adventure - Moose is after all, a handsome Finnish Moose and not some ugly Singaporean monitor lizard. Still, although the country of the Merlion (that according to some Miss Singapore candidate was an animal species that became extinct in the 1930s) is a comfortable and fun place to be in, sometimes Moose needs a Real Adventure. What better place for an adventure than Thailand.

Unfortunately to Moose he needs to drag that stressed out T woman around with him, and this time T was - although after a lot of coin tossing (indecisive procrastinating hopeless woman, Moose says) of the opinion that this time it's time for a nice, relaxing holiday. Not one of those where you wake up in a backpacker in bangkok and wonder where your Finnish friend has disappeared, naked, without money, phone or passport. T claims she does not need another holiday like that. Moose has never gone missing, but Moose still kind of understands. Ok, ok, we'll stay wherever T wants to.

On a (way too) early Saturday morning Moose found himself at Changi airport sipping a Moose sized cup of coffee. Moose can drink coffee like a Finnish secondary school teacher.

Moose and appropriately sized coffee at 5.30am.

Eventually Moose got to Bangkok and after T had almost accidentally obtained a Rabbit Card from the Skytrain station Moose boarded a train towards the hotel. Slightly reluctantly though, because Moose could not really understand what Taitti needs a Rabbit for when Taitti already has a Moose. Rabbits are puny little animals, besides they are not very intelligent, either. Moose is more handsome - and not at all jealous.

"Puny Rabbit. Hmpfh."

"OK, maybe I will not complain about not staying in the backpacker place." Moose thinks.
"Moose could get used to this luxury travel. Fund out they have a spa and in-room massage.
Moose can't decide which Moose wants." 

At the Madison restaurant Moose used his charmer skills and got lots of compliments from the female waiting staff. "Oooohhh, so cute!" Moose is smiling. Moose does not mind being called cute, as long as the girls like him. Waitress also thought Moose is a lucky Moose because Moose get to travel the world yet she has never been outside Thailand. Moose is feeling lucky. In particular Moose understands how lucky he is to stay in Four Seasons hotel for free of charge (free because T is picking up the bill, hahaha).

Moose and fancy-named seafood soup.

T ordered chocolate moose for dessert!
Moose was horrified, they dip my brothers and sisters in chocolate and eat them. Stop!
But then Moose realised he may have misunderstood.
"THAT kind of chocolate mousse. (Excuse my French, it's obviously really bad.)
Mmm... I'm changing my mind, I'll have some of that!"

In the afternoon Moose decided to go sightseeing. A train ride to a random station, a long walk and some temples sounds like a perfect plan. Moose was not born yet when T was last time visiting the famous sights of Bangkok so T decided to show Moose around. Moose likes that.

Moose also found some friends from the forest! Bambi, Snowhite and the little birds seemed to have gone for a bus ride in Bangkok. A little far from home, but why not, even Snowhite needs an adventure now and then. Surely getting away from that evil stepmother and that perhaps-ah-so-handsome-but-ooh-so-boring-prince is a welcome change. Besides, Moose is better company than any prince.

Moose finally found it's way to Wat Arun (after Taitti had taken the longest possible route through some boring side streets and undersides of the bridges of Bangkok.

Because of Taitti's slow pace, Moose only reached Wat Arun around 3.45 - and the temple closes around 4pm. On top of that, it started pouring with rain as soon as Moose arrived. Moose was still rather entertained, because T had of course not dressed up appropriately for a temple visit (hello who wears the tiniest little board shorts to a temple - the fact that Moose himself wears no pants whatsoever is irrelevant here. Moose is a Man and Moose is always decent.) T therefore got approached by a young Bangladeshi monk, who asked first for money and then for T's email and  "Skypie ID". Can't believe T gets targeted even at temples. Hopeless case. In any case Moose wanted  picture of T's "new friend" as evidence for the Moose blog.

On the way across the Chao Phraya river to Wat Pho (a ferry that cost 3baht for Taitti and Moose had a free ride), Moose had an excellent seat. Moose refused to go any closer to the side of the boat - it was raining and moose don't like rain.

T did much better at Wat Pho. They do also provide clothes for ignorant tourists like T who have no clue of an appropriate dress code. T also got herself a guided tour - according to T that was a good idea since last time she was here (over 10 years ago) she had no guide and missed out half of the temple grounds. This time our friendly guide helped Moose take several pictures with the statue of the reclining buddha and even told T that she has to look well after  Moose because he might otherwise be left behind and never be found again. Moose agrees - and although Moose liked the temple grounds, Moose is no monk!

Wat Pho and Moose Pose!

Hmmm. Moose thinks these pictures of massage points posted all over the temple grounds look kind of like the before and after photos that T's trainer posted on FB of himself. Well, the difference is that T's trainer might be slightly more handsome - but just about equally naked.

Because it just continued raining, T and Moose eventually gave up on sightseeing and retreated to the hotel. The next day Moose just followed T around for some shopping - and almost got himself in trouble.

"Woops! I think I may have ended up in bad company.
Happens so easily here in Bangkok."

"I wonder which one of these thrones would be the most appropriate for my royal status as Moose the Monarch?
I quite like the golden seat - although NOTHING can beat a throne made of ice cream. That's it! I'm buying this one. Shipping to Singapore, please. Oh, and send the bill to Taitti."

After a visit to the spa it was time to check out the night market. Honestly, a rather boring place. Moose and Taitti agreed on this one. Chatuchak might be hot - but it's got some charm to it. It's all part of the experiene. This one? It was kind of like Chatuchak meets Resorts World on Sentosa. Nah. Not for Moose.

"Who in their right mind would ride a ferry wheel where half of the lights don't even light up?" Moose asks.
"Someone who doe snot much value their life? Or someone who wants an unexpected adventure?"
Besides, it's raining, so I'll just hide in Taitti's bag and wait for the ride home.

More posh adventures for the Moose on Monday at the Mandarin Oriental thai buffet.
Moose even found some Moose sized soup bowls - although T used them for vinegar and chili sauce, stupid woman.
The dessert mountain still made up for the disappointment with the incorrect use of the soup bowls. But next time, T, you better ask them to serve me my own tom yam from one of those tailor made soup bowls.

All fun comes to an end and eventually Moose found himself in a taxi on the way to airport. It was fun travelling again, and Moose will visit Bangkok again.Even if he has to put up with the company of the Puny Rabbit. It was worth it.

Moose Joins a Gym and Does a Good Job as a Personal Trainer ....according to Moose....

Baby Moose thinks that he could do with a bit of  workout and decides to join a gym. Above all, Moose thinks T could exercise a little more - so Moose is heading to the gym to keep an eye on whether T actually gets any exercise done, or whether she spends all of her time just chit chatting with her trainer. There is a high likelihood that T is only talking - she always does.

"Here I am! Hand me my locker key, I'll test this place out and if I like it I might sign up for a membership, too. Although why bother, I'm so small I can just sneak in on Taitti's bag. Nobody will notice." 

After being a little disappointed that this gym does not have t-shirts and shorts in Moose size, Moose still decides to have a workout. 

"The smallest size you guys have is a human size S? What's that? Where are all the mini sized clothes? This is Asia after all, they should make clothes in smaller sizes here. Oh well, I'll wear my Finland t-shirt, it's always appropriate to do some extra publicity for the homeland."

Yet, Moose will start with first observing T. Moose suspects T might attempt to skyve.

Moose thinks Moose should take over from this trainer. Hadi is way too nice to T.
Moose had better observe this more closely. "Come on, a little faster, that does not even look difficult. I said faaasteeer! " 

Moose got bored of watching T. "Useless" , says Moose. "She will never get fit at this rate.
I shall just leave her with that trainer (yeah, good luck with training that one...) and have a look around.
I'll start with a little warmup on this treadmill."

"Where is the button for 'Vertical Climb' on this machine", Moose wonders.
"This flat surface is way too easy for me, I am after all used to running around in a Finnish forest."

"I don't know why Taitti thinks it's so difficult to try to stand up on this swiss ball.
Look, I can do it! Learned one word from Hadi today that suits this situation perfectly: Easy."

"Hop, hop, hoppety-hop, jump-jump-jump. Haha, rules don't apply to Moose.
Sometimes it's good to be small."

"T keeps saying this is hard and always complains to Hadi about climbing this one. Not tough at all -
I'm already on step number 3 and it has only taken me about 15 minutes. Moose is Super Moose."

"Ok, I can lift this kettlebell. I'll just first need to get all the way to the handle.
Just a little jump and I'll be there. Show T how this is done."

"Oooh, here I am. NNNGGgghhh. Hmmm... Try again, piece of cake. Hnnngghh...
Hmmmpppfhhh... Stupid weight...." 

"Let's do some abs instead. A lot. Moose is a Man, after all.
Well, not a man but a male moose, almost the same. Actually tougher than any man,
because Moose is a moose."

Moose can do a plank. Almost. Ha, this is easy, too. 

Moose is a litle exhausted. Moose will lie down here for a while after all that exercise.

"Could I have a cold drink, - oh yes and a pile of fresh hay?
What you are not going to serve me a cold drink? Any hay? No!
Well, at least change Taitti's personal trainer.
I have observed this and the current one is way too nice for her.
But don't tell her I asked to change,
just tell her Hadi does not want to train her anymore because she's too lazy.
Find someone really mean and evil. Great, thank you!"

"Now that I've done my good deed for the day (well, T wouldn't agree but it's for her own best),
I can take a shower. Bah, the water does not reach me. But that's ok, moose don't like showering anyway."

"Hooray, they have a sauna!" Makes a Finnish Moose happy.

All wrapped in a  towel after his almost-a-shower and the sauna.

"This hairdryer is a little big for me. Hmmmm.... What could I think of?"

Oooohhhh, awesome, a spin dryer. Perfect for  drying Moose.
Moose is going for a real spin now, yippeee! See you later!"

Moose Goes to Work and (almost) Becomes a Banker

What has Moose been up to? Taitti has started working so Baby Moose has been left all alone. Moose is not happy - although Taitti is quite irritating and annoying so actually maybe it's better this way.

Anyway, Moose has decided to start a career in banking. Taitti works in some funny bank, so surely if they hired her Moose can also get a job in a bank? It can't be very difficult if even Taitti can do it. Taitti is not very smart though, she works in HR, and Moose knows that if you want to make money and be a Banker you should not work in HR. Moose is going to be a trader.

Moose commutes to work early in the morning. Not exactly the limo ride appropriate to Moose's new status as a high flying superbanker but at least they had a seat reserved just for Moose. Moose feels quite privileged - although they'e posted pictures of some big bellied people above the seat, no idea why.

After a ridiculously long train ride Moose arrives at Marina Bay Financial Centre. Perfect, the place to be for Moose-almost-the-world's-most-famous-trader.

Moose gets himself a visitor pass from the friendly man at the reception. Better check this place out first before signing up for longer term. Friendly man did not even ask Moose for an ID in exchange for the card - seemed to think Taitti's presence was proof enough. They trust all kinds of people these days, seriously, like Taitti was any trustworthy at all, hello?

They didn't let Moose in on the trading floor! What a career setback on Day 1. Well, Moose can use this phone and make  some client calls in the meantime until they get his access sorted. Moose know some quite important people very good clients for this Bank. Moose still thinks he would be just in his own element on the trading floor. Moose knows it - Moose could for example buy the traders some coffee and lunch. 

Before doing any more work Moose needs a cup of coffee - and this pot filled with tea will just not do.

Ahhh, finally some proper coffee and they grind it from real coffee beans too. Moose is going to send a thank you card to the good folks in real estate services who have installed these nice coffee machines in the pantry.

Over his lunch break Moose admires the world's best office view.  Ok, the big building over there is kinda ugly and blocks the view but other than that it's quite nice to look at.

Before doing any more work after lunch Moose needs more coffee. Bankers  drink a lot of coffee, Moose knows these things. Let's see if Lisa and the guys at Spinelli are brewing up anything interesting today. Yummy coffee treats for Moose and some cake, too

After lunch Moose is busy checking emails, connecting with important people - and even getting some work done.

Moose attends an Important Meeting - but where is everyone else? Probably saw Taitti and got scared, she is quite scary. Again getting in Moose's way as always. Someone should just sack her.

"Ok, a few more important phone calls. Tomorrow they do need to give me a better fitting headset if they want me to stay, though."

"I'm getting outta here" says Moose and decides to quite for the day. Don't even have Moose sized headsets here, hmpfh! Besides, surely that was enough work for one day, or even a week, for a genius superstar banker. Moose doe snot need to work as hard as others, Moose is so much smarter.

Moose is contemplating on taking a taxi home. Moose made a lot of money today so Moose can afford a taxi ride. (Unfortunately Taitti again disagrees... Says something about Moose not having made any money at all, liar)

No reserved seats for Moose on the way home. "Yes, should not have listened to Taitti, should just have taken the taxi. On the other hand, this career in banking is way too stressful, think I might quit." 

I love my new grads (because they buy me cake)

Hiring the new intake of graduate trainees has been keeping me busy since August last year. It's been amazing to see them join this week, and guiding them through their induction week has been lots if fun - particularly since the bulk of the work after joining is done by my colleague who manages the graduate development.

The sweetiepies also bought us a cake today, on the last day of their induction week. Awwwwww.... We did not say no. We like our cake!

Where is my brekkie?

Hungry. Maybe the pretty purple seats on my morning train are edible? For once can't wait to get to the city. Buy breakfast.