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June 18 Next weekend is nearly here! Yeay, only 1 day to go! I'm planning to have my climbing lesson Friday night and Sunday as well. Other than that, we'll be going for thai with some friends and I have to stock up on tropical fruits for our next visitors on Tuesday. Oh yes, and shoes for the 'event' have to be bought as well. Nearly all done though... A brief note on today's lunch - since most things here evolve around food, my blog has kind of developed in this direction as well. We went to a chinese vegetarian place and it was awesome! So many dishes to choose from - so I had tofu with black beans, various greens, tofu with mushrooms and roast pumpkins. I started to bring my own rice to work, as its usual to have plain white rice here, and I prefer the red rice, for taste and health reasons. Rice cookers are such a handy thing. I soak the rice overnight and in the morning just press the 'on' button. By the time we are ready to leave, the rice is done. :-) June 07 Another weekend nearly gone... ... and this one was quite eventful. Well, on Saturday, I went shopping for the 'event' with a friend, and later on with Troy and we ended up in a cosy italian eatery, having a nice meal. Today morning, we went to play golf with some friends, followed by a very nice japanese lunch at the golf course. As I told myself that I would go climbing to the new gym, about 1 min walk from our apartment, every 2nd day, I dutifully went after golf and totally exhausted myself. Well, my climbing teacher still manages to exhaust me more, but it's only human to not try kill youself, right? ;-) Sunday is also our grocery shopping evening, so I went to the night market and got our weekly load of fruit and vege. Mangosteens (the queen of fruits) are in season :-). Now i am home, very tired (in a good way) and waiting for the chicken curry to be done, that my husband to be has been cooking. Probably will read my book afterwards... May 29 Big Bad Wolf Booksale Malaysia is known for its sales. There are sales on nearly all year round, so one has to become a sales specialist! This means for me that unless its a warehouse sale and its at least 50% off I don't even bother. So I got all excited when the big bad wolf booksale came up, as prices were around EUR 0.60 to EUR 1.6 per book. And I was sooo not disappointed. :-) Of course I came home with books I normally wouldn't have bought, but hey, it's all about expanding your horizon, right? (and doing it cheaply...) May 11 BBQWe had our first BBQ here yesterday - a nice number of people, too much (but great) food, an awesome BBQ chef ;-) and lots of fun and pics. Looking forward to the next one! May 06 Pinch Mee (Ban Mee) It's been a long time since I have had a new favourite Hawker dish - now I got one. Ban Mee (a hokkien style dish). It's anchovies soup with bits of dough (pinched from a big loaf of dough), with dark fungus and some green leaves. I opted to not have the pork mince included. Pretty good, I would say! :-)May 04 Weekend in FranceA few weeks back now, I took Troy for a weekend to France. Well, France inside Malaysia. Ok, so there is a alsass-french themed Hotel plus cobbled Street in the Hinterland of KL . That's as french as it was. It was nice, but nice in the way that if you go to Disneyland you expect to have fun, but no 'real' castle and stuff. It was the same here. It was fun. It was different but don't come with the expectation to actually get real french stuff. Not even the croissants tasted half french.
The main reason why we came up here was actually the Berjaya Golf course. As the whole resort is at around 1000 m above sea, it is a pleasant change to play with a breeze and not to have many people around.
  Mabul Diving ExperienceOver the labour-day weekend, we flew into Tawau (Malaysian Borneo) to dive at the world-class diving site called Sipadan. Or so we thought... Sipadan island is a marine park and access is controlled by the park authority via a permit system. We knew that. But we also thought that as we only had 1.5 diving days we surely would get to go there once. Well, at the resort we were told that the unwritten 'rule' is that after 3-4 days of diving at the surrounding islands, you get to go to Sipadan. So, big surprise, we didn't get to go.
A bit sad at first, we quickly realized that being on a tropical island, staying in huts above the water and still going diving in other spots does not really warrant any sadness! so, we had a great time, saw HUGE turtles, sea snakes, a fish eating a sea urchin incl. the stings and much more. :-)
Weekend saved, all good, but Air Asia still managed to have our return flight delayed by 3 h, which had us arrive back home in the middle of the night. There IS a reason why we take Malysian whenever possible. Check out the pics... April 28 Chinese Doctor ExperienceWell, nearly forgot to mention. I went to see a chinese doctor out of curiosity if i was inbalanced, to hot/cold, etc. So I found this one from China, but as she didn't speak English, I brought my old Mandarin teacher to translate. Of course I was inbalanced and got some herbs to drink (2x a day). Imagine the worst food, liquified and hot and you have to drink it. I managed in the end, but not easy, I tell you. Well, I had belly ache after drinking 4 rations so I stopped and went back to the doctor 1.5 weeks later. And guess what - she was angry at me - in Mandarin! - via my friend, why I havent called her to tell her that I was sick and I should have continued. And then she got even more angry when I told her I can't take the medicine for a while now, as I may have a dental treatment. Oh, I tell you - angry chinese woman = no good.
Well, I am not seeing her anymore. Decided that I need to be able to actually speak to my doctor. Not asked for too much, right? Time passes...and since my last blog entry we had some friends over, visited Penang island (photos will be uploaded shortly) and had our normal day-to-day life. Over this weekend we'll be going to Sippadan island (Malaysian Borneo) for diving and surely a great update will follow on this site. Keep you posted! February 23 Sarawak MeeNow this is currently my favourite Hakwer dish - hand-made Sarawak mee in chicken stock with tofu skin, onions/garlic and some roast pork. It's not oily and not salty and just tastes great! In the back you can see some grilled chicken and fruits that we shared over lunch.
 Chinese MedicineThe other day, I had a sore throught, so my friends suggested I drink some herbal chinese medcine drink. Well, why not? A good reason may have been 'cos it tastes so bad that you'd rather have a sore throught'. But I did it, and of course didnt enjoy it (see pic), but the sore throught was gone next day. :-)  Hakka MeeI often go for lunch with local friends and we usually eat at real hawker stalls. And I mean those that are deep down in the suburbs of KL, where I am the only white person. It's cheap (around RM 4-5, EUR 1) and tasty and the choices are endless. These noodles are one of my favourites, although I have a new favourite now (but wait for that blog). These noodels are hand-made Hakka Mee in soy sauce with pork mince, fish cake and some chillie sauce. Yummy...
 The best steak in KL!As my other half could basically survive on meat alone, we've been having quests to find the best steak in each city we've been to. Well, I can confirm that for KL the search has come to and end. Suzy's Corner in Ampang is the absolute winner! I had a tenderloin (as on the pic), perfectly good and sized for RM 32 (EUR 6). Nothing to add here - other than the fresh fruit juices are great as well, and the ambience is typical malaysian - plastic chairs outdoors. :-)
 ClimbingAs many of you know, a few weeks ago, I started indoor-climbing in the biggest Asian climbing gym called Camp5. I am going with a friend and am taking technical climbing classes once a week. It's so much fun (and super hard work). My teacher pushes me to my limits, well over my limits and I leave the gym totally drenched every time. But I am progressing! Here is a picture - not of me, but of my teacher. Long way to the top...
 January 28 Phi Phi Island :-)Over the chinese new year holidays, we went for 4 days to Thailand, to Ko Phi Phi, which is a lovely, hilly island, south of Phuket. After 1.5 h on a speedboat from Phuket, we arrived at a beautiful lagoon with white sand, palm trees and huts along the beach. The water was sooo turquoise! The welcome cocktail tastes great and to make things better, we were offered a hut-upgrade to a beach front one. What a start! T checked out the PADI certification courses and he started basically instantly - like in 2 h he was in the pool already, floating masks, breathing under water. The following two days we did 2 dives in the morning and Troy had some theory in the afternoons. Diving was great there - such a plethora of different fish, turtles, even lobsters and snails!
When we took the boat Tuesday afternoon back to the airport, we were two very happy and content people! :-) January 23 anything happening?Hi Folks, the last few weeks passed rather quietly and uneventful. Well, I ate really good home made hakka noodles with soy sauce and spring onions at a hawker stall for lunch one day. Then, we found a good pasta/salad place called 'Delicious' with some friends one night. Then, I have been taking up gym and swimming again - I love swimming after work! And, I have started regular climbing lessons. :-)
KL has the biggest indoor climbing gym in Asia called Camp5 and I am having technics lessons there once a week with a colleague. The trainer is awsome. Really, really good. He explains things logically and his concepts always work on the wall. He pushes you far and leaves you totally motivated and eager for more. yeay! So, how many pull-ups do you think i will be able to do by July 24? January 11 SingaporeThis weekend we went to visit a friend in Singapore and checked out the Volvo Ocean Race, which made a stopover here, before heading on to China. I expected to be able to see more of the in-port race itself, but couldnt as it was further out on the sea. However, we saw all the boats and the team. So the rest of the weekend, we just hung out around the city, went to the chinese Buddha Tooth Temple, Clarke Key and walked around the colonial buildings. Next day we checked out the local Holland Park Village and Dempsey Road, which are both non-touristy, expat aras. DubaiOn my way home to Austria for my xmas holidays, I made a 1 day stopover in Dubai. I had a reservation for breakfast in the Burj Al Arab (sail hotel) and could explore the hotel plus its neighbouring hotels afterwards. It was great to see these absolutely impressive hotels! The rest of the day, I visited Jumeirah Mosque, the gold and scpice souk, took an abras (local boat) across the creek and checked out some historical buildings and squares.
I had an abfab meal at a local iranian restaurant for 4 Drh, which consisted of fresh flat round bread (just made in the traditional oven) with some chicken and salad, followed by mint tea. :-)
Overall, I had a good time in Dubai. The city is rather different to what I have seen before, especially when you arrive by plane and realize that this all was really built in the desert... December 19 Hong KongI recently went to HongKong for a long weekend and seriously enjoyed it! I had a mix of sighseeing on Hong Kong island, watched the famous skyline in the evening from the mainland, went to all the touristy markets, went on the boat across the harbour and also checked out Jumbo, the biggest floating restaurant in the world. Of course, I tried for some shopping, but gave up quickly as it is pre-xmas and there were masses of people! Also, I dont find it cheap, compared to KL. So instead I went to some tranquil chinese gardens and temples and rode the double-decker tram around just for fun.
I especially loved the chinese food over there - so much that you'll see an extra photo album for it.
Hong Kong is great and 3 days really were not enough. October 30 Angkor WatLast weekend, we did a short trip to Cambodia to check out the Angkor Wat temples. We flew into Siem Reap, which is only 2 flight h from KL. Once arrived, we took a tuk-tuk and had Mr. Thet drive us around various temples and ruins from around the 11th century. Some are better preserved than others, some are half swallowed by the jungle. After a day out in the heat, when we returned to the hotel, I jumped into the pool and enjoyed the relaxing part of the trip. In the evenings we went into ‘town’, which is one of the most touristy places I have ever seen. Street names like ‘Pub Street’ should give you an impression of what it’s like… bar/restaurant/bar/etc and all white people… well, it was cheap, but no Cambodian flair. The remaining days we basically did the same and in the end drove to a ‘floating village’. As Cambodia is often flooded due to the rain, a part of the population lives on boats that reside at different locations, depending on the season. By boats I mean like the Dutch houseboats, just the very very poor version of it. We even saw a floating school. So, overall, very nice trip, Cambodians are very poor but extremely friendly and nice people. J October 19 Ants climing trees I bought a chinese food/cooking book a while ago and tonight we tried a recipe called 'Ants climing trees'. It's a Sichuan recipe with Rice Vermicelli (the very thin rice noodles), sliced marinated beef (of course from Australia!), black bean paste, a little bit of greens and some red chillies. As all the ingredients, other than the noodles, have to be cut very small, when all is mixed up, the red and green bits look like ants... Tasted good, but someone took TOO MANY CHILLIES and it was so hot... Malaysian Celebrations Over the last 2 weeks, we went out quite a bit with people from work. Celebrations are fun here and a bit different than home. One agrees on a time to meet and one generally comes some time later than that, orders some food (no-one waits for the others here with eating) and always offers some to others. After that, it's basically pure fun. People make jokes, talk cynically about each other, pull each other's leg and so on. And normally with no alcohol. Well, at once occasion one girl was bought a lot of drinks for her birthday, and it didn't end that well for her. ;-) Yesterday, we went to a farewell party of a german friend of mine. She lives within walking distance and had a get-together around her pool. Was a very nice evening, and we met some interesting people - a Macedonian guy, a Taiwanese Girl, a Czech girl, etc. All of them had interesting stories and good advise for traveling in the region. By the way - the internet speed is sooo slow here, that I can't upload any pics. I need to find a time when others are not using the the net, I guess early morning would be good. October 13 The Weekend It's Sunday evening and we are sitting at home trying to watch a DVD, but the sound is playing up. We had a nice weekend. On Saturday, I went to Spanish class and in the evening we checked out the local indian Deepavali festival tent, where they sell lots of incense, cloths and also some food. We ended up going for Indian Vegetarian at Woodlands, across from where we live. Today, we had our first ballroom (waltz) dancing class and it was a great experience. I understood the price wrongly before and thought it would be Euro 36 per hour per person. Well, it turned out that it is Euro 4,5 per hour. What a nice surprise! Our teacher, Mrs Jovy, is a chinese lady in her 50s, who has been dancing for 20+ years. Her last name should be Stickler, as she is so precise with the foodwork, the head position, where we look, where the hands lie, etc. But no complaints - she is great, a real character. In the evening we met with a Alex and Alina for Chinese food at Fong Lye. We like that place, but it's a bit more expensive these days. Still, for european prices it's ok, as we had high quality chinese food (steamed red snapper in soy sauce, beef and green veggie, spicy mussles, mixed veg and rice) for Euro 10 each. Our evening ended with a little way through KL, past some DVD stalls, chinese medicine stores and of course many people! October 05 Look who's on fire! Always wanted to do it, but never did it. Until today! You can see from the picture who was the brave one to try 'ear-candeling'. They stick a hollow candle inside your ear, lit it and let it burn down. This somehow gets all the stuff out of your ears and the sinuses are also clearer then. T didn't like it that much though, as it did nothing for him... oh well... I however, had a foot reflexology massage in the meantime, which was so nice, tender and relaxing that I just got up from an afternoon nap. :-) October 04 Ni hao ma? Hao! Yes, it's true - I am doing 'good' with my newly started Mandarin classes. My private teacher, Joe, comes to our place once a week and teaches me mainly speaking Mandarin. We will also work on chinese character recognition and some writing. The main motivation behind my efforts is that we want to travel to the Yunnan province in China next year, but WITHOUT the typical tour-bus. So, I 'had to bite the bullet' and start learning the language. Well, I love doing it, actually... :-) It can't be compared with anything I have learnt before, as every (!) character, every pronounced word has nothing in common with anything in any other language that I know. This is train-the-brain, plus train-your-tongue hardcore. but enjoyable! Duibuqi, ni hui shuo yingwen? - Excuse me, do you speak english? Guess I will be using this sentence a lot... |
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