Just Went For Dental Cleaning Today

As someone who has a deep seated fear of dentists since childhood (thanks to primitive dental instruments, blood, and fierce female nurses and dentists then), I avoid going to the dentist as much as I can. As such, my last visit was a few years ago and my teeth were way overdue for a good cleaning. 

So I finally plucked up courage today and visited the dentist for a cleaning and I was pleasantly surprised - of course, the grating, screeching sound of metal on tooth still caused my toes to curl and body to stiffen involuntarily but the overall scaling procedure was relatively painless. I skipped the polishing procedure as apparently, unlike in Singapore where scaling + polishing usually comes together, the two procedures are separate and they will do what you ask them to do here. 

The total cost of consultation and scaling - THB 500 or SGD 20. The same will easily cost double this amount or more in Singapore. 

Now this is what I call affordable! 

Places of Interest: Pentatonic Rock Bar Chiangmai

The Pentatonic Rock Bar is located at the Zoe in Yellow corner, a lane just off the city centre, in Chiang Mai. There are many pubs and nightspots here and the area is frequented by tourists from all over. Here is their Facebook page

The Pentatonic Rock Bar is not much to look at (interior/exterior) and its menu is sparse – beer only (at 120 baht) and no cocktails. But if you are looking for real rock/metal music, this is the place.

A few bands take to the stage each night, each playing for about an hour. Once in a while, guest bands drop by.

The night usually starts off slow with some quieter, slower music, before the thrash kicks in later on, usually after 10pm. Some songs that I have heard there before include:

Holy Wars… And the Punishment Due – Megadeth
Symphony of Destruction – Megadeth
Master of Puppets – Metallica
Enter Sandman – Metallica
Raining Blood – Slayer
Walk - Pantera

In short, this place is definitely worth a visit for rock & heavy metal lovers. A word of caution though - a quick search on online reveals that several tourists have been assaulted while in the area, so it is best to keep a low profile and watch your surroundings while you are there. 

Places of Interest: Chiangmai Balloon Park

A new tourist attraction in Chiangmai, the park gives you the chance to take a ride up into the sky in a hot air balloon. A ticket costs about 1600 baht (btw it is cheaper for Thais) for a ride lasting about 15 minutes. However, this is a tethered flight (meaning the balloon is attached to a rope throughout) so the balloon only floats up and down at the same spot, up to a height of about 40 metres.

Apparently, untethered rides are also available but it is much pricier at about 5900 baht for half an hour’s ride.

Here is a video of the balloon in mid air:

https://youtu.be/8F0bACvX5rY

Here are the official Youtube/Facebook pages:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHvWoOvRp4g

https://www.facebook.com/cbp2015.con/

Rain & Showers in Chiangmai

Generally, Chiangmai is a place that seldom rains. I have gone through periods of time for as long as three weeks without seeing a single drizzle, let alone a shower. Of late, it has started raining more often. I guess this signals the start of the rainy season which typically lasts from June to November.

I am not a fan of rain in Chiangmai. Don’t get me wrong, the rain is a welcome respite from the heat but rains and showers here are usually not of the nice, constant type that is conducive to sleep. More often than not, they are passing showers or just sudden bursts that last only a short while – from fifteen minutes to about an hour.

Also, regardless of whether the rain is a light drizzle or a heavy downpour, they are often preceded or accompanied by strong winds. These winds kick up sand and dust and are sometimes strong enough to knock over trees, power line poles, billboards, roofs, and even entire houses that are not properly constructed. I have ever been knocked off my feet, trying to hold down a tarp, in a storm with strong winds.

I like rain but I can do without the strong winds. Sweeping up leaves, clearing broken plant pots, or sitting through a power failure brought by the winds are things I can do without.