Friday 24 January 2014

Thailand/Singapore Part 1

I just read this beautiful blog post on Enchanted Fig. She is so true in her writing, it inspired me to try and open up to you all. To try and hush my inner editor, or english teacher or whatever, inside me - it has inspired me, you mean. Let it just flow. Show my creativity. Show myself.

Candles and insense at a temple
Galangal
Na Muang waterfall
I just got back a few days ago from overseas. We went to Thailand and Singapore, my family and I did.  Everyday there was something new. In Thailand, it was colorful and elaborate temples the first day, waterfalls the next, and always, always seafood that had just been swimming when you ordered it.
Koh Samui, where we stayed, was frightening at first; I found it hard to trust the place, as if anyone would try and take advantage of me if I so much as looked at them. But after a few days, I relaxed. I learnt how to barter, to ignore the people outside restaurants and shops who were trying to beckon you inside, or to politely accept and scan their wares, without letting their eagerness bother you. When I smiled shyly at the shopkeepers, they warmly smiled back. Vegetable sellers would explain the cooking techniques of their produce, and I tried to keep up. The people were kind and lovely and helpful, and everything was different. But that is why we travel, isn't it? I left wishing that we could have stayed longer, to have more time to lie on the beach, to see more of the island, to learn more about the culture that is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Powerlines are more like birds nests, and once I even found a string of fairy lights around a low hanging section. How did they even put those up with being electrocuted? It has a certain kind of feeling, not quite like beach life - although everyone has that kind of relaxed approach to things - but far from the electric air of a big city. It is perhaps a mix of the two - but then something else as well.

The Big Buddha and Surrounding temples 

A baby elephant we met

Na Muang waterfall



A local variety of eggplant

The most amazing 'pancakes' you will ever eat - more like a crispy crepe, but filled with any combination of sweet or savory centre. Ours was filled with banana and coconut before being slathered in Nutella and a drizzle of condensed milk to finish...

Monday 6 January 2014

Lettuce Redeem Ourselves



I'll admit it. I had a very bad day today, food-wise. I started out innocently enough, but boredom and procrastination led me time and again to the kitchen, seeking out chocolate, lollies, meaty pasta and pad thai. It got to the point where I was making single portions of chocolate chip cookie in a mug. That was the bottom. After that I felt a little bit sick. So I got up, and did those jobs I was meant to do. It actually felt quite good doing something, because before then I had been feeling lethargic, disappointed and angry at myself. And dinner was another attempt at redeeming myself too.