Taking a break without breaking a leg

It's that time of the year again- my gf wants to go on a holiday. Apparently she has decided long time ago that she would visit a country she's never been to before once a year. Last year she went to HK and what did I got? One tiny Davidoff Cool Water EDT... then again, we were not together yet, due to some "complications" on my part.

Anyhow, this year she was thinking of visiting Australia or Thailand with her friends, but looks like they are going to fong fei kei her this time round. When your friends FFK you, who are you gonna call? Not the Ghostbusters, but your bf. Trying to be a good bf(not that I'm not), I decided to join her for the trip- lor. Unfortunately for her, this bf is infamous for being stingy and constantly low on cash.

As much as I would like to visit Sydney again, the plane ticket is just too expensive for me. So we talked about flying to Bali and stay at a relatively value-for-money(read: CHEAP) resort, without the spa package she had wanted. Paying extra RM221 just for 2 hours of massage and stuff is just too much(I could get a 1 1/2 hr full body massage at the reflexology centre for less than RM100).

Then I voiced my concerns about the security in Bali(started as just another lame excuse which turned a bit serious later on). So maybe going to Phuket is a better option- Given the choice, I'd prefer to perish due to acts of God than acts of terrorists. Phuket package offered by Air Asia is relatively cheap, only RM400++ per person for the plane tickets and accomodation. Then something on the right column caught me eyes.

Being a cheapskate prudent person I am, I decided to check out what I can get if I go to Bangkok. Out came a long list of places I could stay in Bangkok at a dirt cheap price! All in all, accomodation is only about RM60 for 3 nights, and add in the flight tickets, it's less than RM300 per person! I kinda like this budget place called Big John's Guesthouse, Hostel & Internet cafe, Bangkok, Thailand. Besides being run by an Aussie, apparently most of their staff speak English(I've returned my Thai back to my aachaan since I left uni). All guests also receive 20 minutes free 512kbps ADSL internet access or computer time per day, and best of all:

Traditional Thai massage, Oil Massage and Reflexology (Foot Massage) is now available from Praiphana on the mezanine level, above the internet cafe - 1 hour from 300 Baht, 2 hours from 400 Baht. Other services include manicure, pedicure and waxing.

Thai massage is definitely the way to go man!

The great thing about this package is both of us have not done backpacking holidays before and we're total suckers for new experiences. I've proposed the idea to her and she seems just as keen as I am about it. So if everything works out well, we'll be heading to Krungtep in September.

Woo hoo!