A late night bite

On my last weekend off, I was walking on a sandy beach in Kota Kinabalu. 3 weeks have passed since then and this is my first day off. It was spent marketing, then waiting on contractors for some last minute house stuff before our first official house warming party. Why I say first is because it will be a string of events spanning 2 months as there are just so many people we’ve invited to our new flat. Since family comes first, today we had H’s family over and next week my mom’s side of the family and the next probably Dad’s. It was really exhausting but with my trusty Indonesian helper, we sort of managed. She cooked in the morning while I cleaned and arranged orchids and towels which I’m not sure were really noticed!

So after all that and visiting my grandma who is sick in hospital after an unfortunate fish bone incident (she’s better thank god) we got home really hungry. So I developed a cheat’s pizza. All you need is a tortilla, diced tomato, grated strong aged cheddar (yum) and a good sprinkling of dried basil and freshly ground pepper. All in the oven toaster (thanks for the gift Mel!) and its a cheat’s pizza. Served on a round wooden block which rotates from Ikea (I think its a cheese board) and one of those rolling pizza cutters, H was a happy man. The cheese melts and bubbles, the tomatoes get mushy and sauce like and the edges of the tortilla puff and brown like a thin crust pizza. I think store bought pizza bases do not taste great, but a tortilla as a base really really tasted like an oven baked thin crust pizza!

The only thing was, after close to 3 years of marriage, I know all or most of H’s food likes and dislikes but I can never predict how much he will eat. Its difficult to estimate portions as sometimes he eats really little when he’s had a good workout and is watching his weight, sometimes he eats an average amount and sometimes he seems to like whatever it was and wants more and more. So after making this tortilla cheese thing at midnight AND cleaning up (well it is a new house, I’m trying to have a good start and not leave dirty dishes in the sink). So my heart sank when he wanted another!

I need another weekend, this one’s moving too fast!

Kota Kinabalu Part 2

At the base of Mount Kinabalu

The manmade beach at the Shangri La Tanjung Aru

A fantastic lunch noodle buffet, pick different meats and seafood and the type of noodle then choose to have it any way you please, fried, in soup, in laksa gravy, with chilli, without, with condiments or without.

Lunch at Fratini’s at the Centerpoint the main shopping mall. I love stone baked thin crust pizza.

Sunsets are perfect when its paired with a soon deep black blinking night sky and a thousand fireflies at the Klias River.

More long walks at the picturesque Mount Kinabalu.

Dessert was eaten while I was awaiting my noodles to be fried. Chocolate mousee with pistachio crumbs, melon tartlet, a baked cheesecake, a banana and ?flavoured green macaroon, coconut cake and a raspberry financier in a clockwise direction starting from the little glass of chocolate.

 

No wonder people email me after I write about a certain trip, I’ve provided you with almost zero travel information, so I guess there’ll be a part 3, my new year’s resolution is to write better travel stories to help u when you’re there!

Random shots of Kota Kinabalu Part 1

I think looking at the number of photos we took is evidence of how relaxed we were on our holiday. We took slighltly over a hundred shots which was about a third of what we took in Bali. Kota Kinabalu, known as the Land Below the Wind is a cool chillout forget-all-your-blues place, perfect for the busy harassed souls that inhabit this tiny island state. Its barely 2 hours from Singapore and with airfares rock bottom, its perfect.

Slurping hot chicken noodles at a small food stall off the base of Mount Kinabalu. It was cold mountain air about 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu city.

One day we’ll climb the peak.. It looks pretty daunting though.

A thick layer of condensed milk at the bottom of my hot cup of Milo. I think this should be the official mountain drink

A reason why I’ll never let go of my DSLR.

Flowers at the mountain

Wild flowers

We were upgraded to a suite in the Shangri La Tanjung Aru. 2 tvs, 2 bathrooms, a huge living and dining area and a large balcony extending to the master bedroom.

to be continued..

going on a little break..

Sorry for the disappearance, have been busy with calls, work, settling the house. It looks like its a time of change for me with many things happening all at once. I’m glad I’ve booked my leave and a little holiday to Kota Kinabalu the capital of Sabah on the island of Borneo in the Eastern part of Malaysia. I will do what I miss and love, eat breakfasts (at the Shangri-La where we’re staying), walk thru markets, take photos, sit on the beach, explore the beautiful islands, visit (not climb) the tallest peak in Southeast -Asia Mount Kinabalu, eat lobsters and crab which is plentiful and cheap, enjoying sunsets and sunrises (maybe not too many of that), talk and eat and laugh with my best friend H! Catch up when I get back in 2 weeks, hopefully with some photos of our new place then..

 

Photo of Manukan Island from trekearth.com

Snippet of Ho Chi Minh

Doesn’t this look very neat? I think the custard apple is my new favourite fruit and the ones from Vietnam that my mother in law lugged back from her recent trip were absolutely fabulous, dripping with juice and super sweet. The thing I love most about Asian cities are the markets, and the fruit! With airfares plummeting, I am planning my next trip in February. Its a short getaway, in Asia, a city, its got one of the highest peaks, beautiful preserved jungle, pristine dive sites where I am going to finally going for that PADI diving course I’ve dreaming of and loads of fabulous food. Oh and lots of spas. Any guesses?

Biennale part 1

I don’t know about you but I need a mid week breather. I feel like its been a hundred years of being holed up at home in my pjs, but its only been 2 days.

Here is just a little peek to the biennale at South Beach

More soon..

Kerala part 3

This will be my last post on Kerala.. Its about a month since our return and it seems like ages ago.. Of course I may find the urge time again to continue posting photos just like I did with Bali. Sometimes I need to take a break, at least in my mind. I’m sure you do too!

We had a meal at Fusion restaurant along Kovalam Beach. I had this fish called seer fish which is apparently a Keralan specialty. Never heard of it till I went to Kerala.  According to wikepedia

“They are pelagic fishes ,fast swimming and predatory in nature and fight vigorously when caught.Seerfishes are mainly caught using hooks and lines.They are a delicacy in several regions of South India.  Seerfishes are also referres to as “king mackerels” in some areas.  They have very sharp teeth, and are handled with care by fishers familiar with them. “

Now I’m not sure what a pelagic fish is but I sure wouldn’t want to mess with a seer fish. The taste was good though, it was firm like tuna, almost boneless and had a salmony taste too. This ws done really well, pan fried and topped with just super crispy garlic flakes. I had these by the beach reading Indian Vogue. I don’t read womanly magazines as they bore me but this was really juicy.. The Indian bourgeoisie really know how to party.

H had grilled chicken kebabs. These were quite spicy as they had sort of deep fried chilli flakes, onion and garlic as a topping.

H has this thing where he pops his head in the most unlikeliest of places for a shot. He is quite affable, I think he always manages to pull it off somehow.

 

At the lake behind H’s grandfather’s house. Kerala is full of inland lakes and backwaters

I miss my hammock

I’ve never seen so many coconut trees. This is another shot from my buggy on the way up to the restaurant

How much I spent on silk is still a kept secret. A 6 metre saree made of pure silk with full beading and embroidery costs about S$80-100 (about US$60-80 estimated). My mother in law bought loads of raw silk to make pants and blouses.

Along the streets. These were red plums which were really very sour, lucky for us Keralan people are sweet and gentle so they didn’t make a fuss when we didn’t buy/

And so many of them are willing to smile for a photo.

Dinner at a local restaurant. We ordered another dish of fish and it was huge. We didn’t realize the portions were going to be so big. Food was so cheap there, we paid only a dollar for a full meal at the roadside stalls. This meal cost about S$15 as it was in a restaurant but considering how much we ate is really was amazing value.

I miss the swaying coconut trees.

Sunset and again on the hammock.

I can’t upload pictures

Hence the silence..

 

I can’t post because I can’t upload any photos on the blog, for some strange reason each time I load a photo and press the “insert into post” option, I get a blank page with a “!Done” message at the bottom of the page.. So unless this thing sorts out on its own, I’m not sure what I can do about it..

While typing this I’ve found out that this is a wordpress error http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic.php?id=32542&page=2&replies=49 and people cant upload their photos either.

 

I am currently posting on my other blog instead while this thing works again so pop by!

Of fruit and goats-Kerala Part 1

Mango by the beach with a sprinkling of chilli salt

This is banana country, we had loads of bananas of different varieties after each meal. It was eaten as a dessert dipped in a special homemade jam.

By the streets of Takkalay which is the village where we stayed. The little town is off the borders of Kerala, being part of Tamil Nadu

A type of coconut palm, I’m unsure of its name. I’ve never seen it in Singapore either.

Inside the fruit. Looks like 3 little hearts doesn’t it?

 Scraped into cups and mixed with syrup and ice. It had a neutral taste and sort of a jelly like texture.

Goats crossing a street in the village, don’t they look really smart?

By the beach.. Peas and nuts.

People here just love to have their photo taken. They’re really warm and friendly, full of smiles and really interested to know about you.

I spent long hours on the hammock in our resort. There were dozens and dozens of hammocks among the hundred of coconut trees.

We stayed at the Leela at Kovalam beach, the only 5 star resort in the area. The prices were lower due to the off peak season. It was really worth it. More photos in another post.. H and I don’t have many indulgences (besides good meals) but we love staying in top resorts. I feel lucky to be able to do so and we both see it as a great investment to our marriage and life together.

I’m in my balcony, having just touched down early this morning. I’ve never been up and out here this early and I’m amazed at how there is so much wildlife around from beautiful birds to lots of bees, insects, squirrels and the neighbourhood pets. This is the palm right in front of me.

We stay at H’s family home and it is quaint, with some parts of the roof falling down, i noticed that I have a new friend on the balcony. Don’t you love her little nest? Its nice to be home.

 

More photos in Part 2 and 3..

Hello from a monsoony place

Hello.. I guess this is unexpected, I was supposed to be absent from this blog for a week. But well, a cheap internet rate and some rain after dinner had me wandering around in cyberspace and of course to my comfort zone, this spot.

Let me tell you about this place, Kerala tagged as “God’s own county”. How I ended up here is a pretty long story that goes back about 60 years. H’s mom has 3 half siblings who live in Kerala. And there is a huge family here. We landed on Saturday night and were lodged in a local guest house for the first 3 nights. (We broke away fromt the rest of the group for some R&R at The Leela in Kovalamand we’re missing them terribly) Their hospitality is overwhelming and we’ve been having 3 home cooked meals a day in the family home. Each meal is surrounded by at least 10 family members who take turns and sometimes stimultaneously pile food onto your plate. We’ve had lots of uttupams, apoms, dosas, puttumayam, chapati, paratha, briyanis, rotis. And there’s something about the food that makes you want more. We’ve been having lots of bananas, there is an overwhelming variety here and lots of heady sweet alphonso mangoes.

There is something about this place with its sun and showers (only at night thankfully) where the green looks greener than green and the sky bluer than blue. Ignore the dusty streets and the honking of the trucks, the people are sweet and gentle and the family too wonderful. I don’t think I have been kissed by these many people and so many times in such a short period of time. I’ve taken loads of pics and I can’t wait to share them with you! Till then!