Our Beach Vacation

Hubby and i try to keep to our annual beach vacation. We love the blue sea which never stop to amaze us. We also love to get away from the city and to just relax and do nothing for a few days. Well, we are back from our annual beach vacation and it's the most amazing beach vacation we've ever had thus far. To begin with, we've not been to that many beach vacation actually. ;-p To date, we've only been to Aryani Resort, Terengganu, Bubu Resort in Pulau Perhentian, & Legend Water Chalets in Port Dickson.

Let me introduce to you:- Kapalai Island Resort, the best in my book so far and many years to come, i think.

Last Friday,we embarked our journey at 4am as we took the earliest flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau. Upon reaching Tawau, we travelled some 100km to Semporna jetty via trunk road to take a speedboat to Kapalai Island. After many hours of travelling, we were greeted warmly by the locals there, also the staffs in Kapalai Island Resort. ;-)) This is the beginning of our fabulous weekend.

This picture looks familiar to me. I don't know about you. It looks like the Mild Seven poster i've seen when i was small. I thought such scenery don't exist. Well, i know for sure now, they do exist. U just have to keep looking...

Us walking towards our villa...*PEACE* 

Dear automatically occupied one of the lazy chair...

I on the other hand preparing for a soak in our bath tub....

Stay tune for more pictures & updates!

Love is in Blijdorp Zoo, Rotterdam

Hubby and I went to the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam today. This is exactly one week after our trip to the Burgers Zoo in Arnhem. This zoo is also interesting in its own way. Lots of utilization of materials from nature as design into the sidewalk barriers and benches. Tree trunks were used as sidewalk barriers and poles of bamboo were used to make benches. 

If asked which zoo I liked better, I think it would be the Blijdorp. We saw lots of exotic animals and I found love to be in the air in its surroundings. 

LOVE is an elusive thing. Now you see it, and now you don't. Impress your partner with your special skills like this seal who is blowing bubbles in the icy cold water!

LOVE is approaching you for the first time. Like this lone seagull, he swims towards a gaggle of penguins on the rocks, making his first move!

LOVE is having all eyes for you only. Like this blue fish, he has eyes only for the frog fish perched on the rock.

LOVE is making me glow brightly like a star; radiating with happiness whenever you are here. Like this jellyfish who glows in the dark waters.

LOVE makes my world go round. Like the shoals of fish here swimming round and round towards the sunlight - full of hope, full of life.

LOVE is respecting you. Like this seahorse, by bowing its beautiful head low, he garners more respect in return.

LOVE is making you laugh. Like this cow nose sting ray, he laughs till the cows come home. No joke, this sting ray really is called the cow nose sting ray!

LOVE is waiting for you to come home for dinner. Like this prairie dog, standing on the rocks, looking out in the distance, waiting for his special someone to burrow into the hills.

LOVE is standing tall with you. Like these bamboo growing tall and strong even in winter.

LOVE is making a good impression. Like this pheasant, he is colourful so that he can attract a female mate.

LOVE is keeping on the lookout with you. Like these two lion cubs, watching silently as prey (ducks, in fact!) move by.

LOVE is looking the same direction with you. Like these two kangaroos, both looking at something which caught their eye.

LOVE is eating healthily so that I will forever be there to take care of you. Like this monkey whose diet consists only of broccoli and lettuce.

LOVE is being at peace with myself. Like the Japanese garden with its flowing waters, I am calm and serene.


On an end note, we had a wonderful day at the Blijdorp! On our way home, we dropped by KFC to have dinner. This is also where my good old pal Michelle and her husband Kaie dined with us when they were in Holland. As we have indulged then, here too we have indulged, forgoing our diet for just this time. It was well worth it because we had worked hard for the past 2 weeks in keeping up with the regiment!

Hash Browns from IKEA

Hubby and I went to IKEA Haarlem this evening. We never fail to buy the hash browns each time we are here. We like the minced potato - onion - broccoli taste. We had it for dinner tonight along with chicken balls and lasagna; also from IKEA frozen food.

Vegetarian Carbonara Pasta

Hubby made this pasta for lunch today. We are now trying variations to our diet because we wanted something tastier, and this was indeed so as hubby also added sambal into the pasta. It gave the pasta an extra "oomph" factor.

Chef Jonker's Egg Pie

On Saturday afternoon, hubby created this recipe of egg pie. What sparked the egg pie was that initially he wanted to make a hearty omelette. He wanted to add bell peppers as well as long beans to the omelette. He came out with the idea to make a baked omelette instead. He mixed the beaten eggs with corn flour and vegetables, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes.

The egg pie was simply delicious. A variation of our diet meal; healthy and mouth-watering. I would say this is our best diet meal!

A Walk after the Snow

For nearly two weeks, hubby and I kept to the strict regime of walking at least thirty minutes daily. This we did before he went to work. We walked in the Alkmaar forest. Now that the snow had thawed, we saw the first signs of the upcoming spring in the air.

Snowdrops are the first flowers to bloom in spring. They are called February's fair maidens in England. In Dutch they are called "sneeuwklokje" or snow bells if translated directly. This is because the flowers' heads droop towards the ground as if resembling a bell.

Molehills made by the burrowing mole in late autumn or early winter. The snow and ice had preserved the molehills which are conical mounds slightly raised from the ground.

Our tulips at the balcony have bloomed. I cannot wait for the tulips to flower.

My crocuses from its bulbs are also blooming. I have planted these bulbs in late autumn. I expect to see crocuses, narcissus and tulips in spring. 

Every day the landscape is changing. Every day is a new beginning for these plants. 

Diet Food Diversified

This morning for breakfast I had porridge instead of cereal. I made Knorr's instant mushroom porridge (bubur cendawan) and it never tasted so good due to my abstinence from it for two weeks. I added vegetarian anchovies (ikan bilis) and rucola on top. 

In the grocery store further down from our penthouse, I bought this biological mint plant (or at least that is what the label said) for only 99 Euro cents. It smelt very fresh and I can now make mint tea as and when I want - direct from the plant.

I used to buy mint without the plant from the Turkish supermarket at 50 cents a bundle. It was a big bundle but the mint withered very quickly eventhough it was kept in the fridge. So now I get fresh mint from my plant. I have to remember to water it every day though. Good things come with some effort.

For lunch when hubby was at work, I "tapaoed" sayur lodeh and kidney beans for lunch. In my mind, I was deliberating whether or not to keep up with the usual salad. I was kind of bored of it after nearly two weeks of eating the same food for lunch. For a noodle and rice-eater for lunch, it was too much ... ahem... "suffering" to undergo.

Yet I did try. I went to the usual grocery store to buy salad vegetables. Only thing was luck was not on my side.  The shop was closed for renovation until late March. So I had to walk further to another grocery store where I did manage to get the salad vegetables.

On the way home though, I passed the Indonesian economy rice shop. I just could not resist. I had my lunch with me but it felt so unappetizing compared to sauced and stir-fried vegetables. So I gave in to my tummy and went to "tapao".

Since I "tapaoed" just the sayur lodeh and kidney beans, I mixed them with my own salad vegetables and I had them for lunch. Needless to say, this meal was much tastier than salad alone.

 

We had this Italian pasta with vegetables topped with rucola for dinner yesterday for two days in a row.

Instant noodles

A day after Valentine's Day, we had this as our dinner.

A plate of al dente instant noodles with Chinese sausage omellete. *LOVE*

I craved for instant noodles on and off, do you?

Seafood Feast

We travelled to Penang last weekend, 3 weeks after our last trip there for CNY. CNY affairs felt some time ago though it was celebrated just a month ago. On Saturday night, we feast on seafood and let's skip the talking, pictures ahead:-

 1st dish arrived at our table, promising looking steamed clams with garlic & lemon. It tastes as good as it looks!

 2nd dish served was the steamed flower crab. Fresh, sweet & succulent! Good to be savoured in it's orginal sweetness without having to add anything.

 3rd dish came was the mantis prawn coated in egg yolk. I had this the most although it has the highest  cholestrol. So good to care!

 4th came was the Hawaiian sotong cooked with tomato sauce & macademia nuts. I'm crazy about macademia nuts & sotong, i heart this dish!

 Marmite chicken is lacking in Marmite taste. I suspect the chef is only good in making seafood dishes and not meat dishes. ;-p

 Our pot of fish came last as the kitchen mistaken our order and served us a pot of curry fish which looked very good to me but hubby sends them back. Next time maybe...

6 of us ordered 7 dishes and as you can see, all gone within an hour or so. If not for the wrong order of the fish which made us waited for an extra 30 minutes,this must be the best ever seafood meal i've had thus far in hubby's hometown . The seafood is fresh and prices are so reasonable (Only RM161 for all the food above including rice & tea). You must come to try when you are in Penang!

Diet Meals

One day for dinner, we were extra hardworking. Following the book, we prepared, or rather hubby prepared the spicy chilli rice. He added sambal from Malaysia so it was extra tasty.

For another day, hubby made pizza. He added the toppings on top of the pizza base.

The pizza; ready from the owen!

One day for lunch, we had grilled vegetables. I called it salad also but hubby said we were not following the diet properly with grilled vegetables. Nevertheless it was a tasty meal. Easy for me as I do not have to cook for lunch now. I just make salad.

Valentines Day Omelette

On Valentines' Day, I got up late. Real late nowadays for my standards. We were to go to Almere and hubby's alarm clock with the bird chirps only make me sleep more. I am immune to these sounds now.

After wishing hubby a Happy Valentines, I headed off to shower; my mind still groggy. I was surprised when hubby was not still in bed as hubby normally waits for me to get ready before he gets out of bed (due to the reason I am slower than he is with my make-up).

I went to the kitchen and saw that he had prepared this lovely omelette for my breakfast. He shaped the tin-foil himself after not being able to find our omelette heart-shaped metal maker. Yes, we actually have one of that. It was a present we received from his friends.

Hubby added rucola leaves on the ready-made omelette and then it was time to eat. Delightful because it was made with love. I, however did not cook hubby anything for breakfast as he said he would eat cereal; following strictly to our two week diet.

The omelette was the highlight of Valentines, because our restaurant dinner in Almere was anything but romantic! We were seated too close for comfort from the other couples. Hubby could hear the couple on our left bickering while the couple on our right forged a friendship with the couple on their right.

The restaurant was cashing in our Valentine Day business; it was very obvious.

Despite it all, we enjoyed our pasta meal. We talked not of matters of the heart (too many people listening!) but of general stuff...though it did raise the eyebrows of the couple next to us on the right when I said I made two elderly women cry with my piano music!

After that, I was all prim and proper seated in my chair just like a scene from Downton Abbey...fancy hard-rock muffins with plain tea, anyone?

Lessons from Observation of Animals

Today, hubby and I went to the Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem. It was by far the best zoo we have been to in the Netherlands over a period of five years since November 2007. Why have we not discovered this gem earlier? The animals were great; the ambience; amazing and so was the weather; sunny and bright.

I cannot help but notice that each and every animal has its own characteristics. I spent some time observing the animals. Maybe I am being philosophical or just an animal rights activist; I found that we could learn something from each animal.

 Name :           Malayan Sun Bear
Inspiration   :  I was delighted to see this creature; coming so far from home and being smack right here in the                 Netherlands. He was enjoying life; sleeping so soundly even when he was perched precariously on wooden trunks.
Lesson :          Relax....relax....and when you do, enjoy it to the fullest! When you wake up, it might well be a        long way down; just like for the Sun Bear. Yet while it lasts, forget everything else. Attention = Inner Peace = Beauty Sleep.

Name :                 Pink Stork
Inspiration :          This Pink Stork was walking by and catching fish in the pond where tortoises dominate. He did not seem to care.
Lesson :               Daring to be different and enjoying it!

Name :            Savannah Giraffe
Inspiration :    The giraffes were in their stables; the weather being too cold at 3'C to venture out to the savannah.
Lesson :          They were huddled together and each one was doing their own thing. Papa Giraffe was eating some hay; Mama Giraffe just staring at the observer (me!) and Baby Giraffe sitting down; being too tired to stand up tall. Although they and their neighbours were all close together not by choice, but by necessity (dreadful Dutch weather!), they managed to stay harmoniously well together in a group. No man is an island really; we need companionship and solidarity with others to survive.

Name :                   Zebra
Inspiration :           They all looked alike; prima facie at least!
Lesson :                  Look closely again...and then you'll see that each stripe pattern for every zebra is different. We are all humans. Yet each and every one of us is unique. We have special characteristics that the other does not possess. Thus we should not judge a book by its cover without knowing the other more.

Name :                 Lion and lionesses
Inspiration :          This happy polygamous family were sleeping together in their den.
Lesson :               In the animal kingdom, most of the female kind tolerate the other for safety reasons under the protection of a single male. I am by no means advocating for polygamy. What I am advocating for is that our world today could do much better with tolerance among humanity. Tolerance and acceptance for a greater good; for peace and for happiness.

 Name :                   Clown Fish
Inspiration :              Swimming only at the base of the ocean in the aquarium.
Lesson :                   Be grounded when you are little. No point competing with the shark up there!

Name :                   Shark
Inspiration :           Swimming solitary in the glass aquarium, yet commanding attention of the people watching below.
Lesson :                 The shark knows no fear in the murky waters. We should not fear anything. Even if we do not know what is going to happen in the future, we should take challenges face on. By being brave we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Just like the murky waters here, the shark swims on, exploring and finding itself. We should do the same.
 

Name :                  Sumatran Elephant
Inspiration :          The gentle giant was gobbling up all the hay it could without a care in the world.
Lesson :                 Have to add that it took so long a time for this gentle giant to pack up some hay in its mouth. Every time it got some hay from the pole out with its trunk, 90 percent of the hay dropped to the ground. Yet the Sumatran Elephant never gave up. He kept on staking enough hay either from its trunk or from the ground and after five tries, managed to eat finally. So never give up. Keep on trying and in the end, you shall succeed.
 

Name :                  Otter
Inspiration :          Swimming so gracefully in the water and only bobbling up once in a while to catch its breath.
Lesson :                 Be cautious at all times. Think before you act. Always have a Plan B when Plan A does not work. Just like the otter. He swims gracefully in the water and comes up to the surface to breathe only when necessary. He does not show off. He is cautious and a teeny bit shy. Of course we can forgo the shy part...

This scenery at the zoo was just so beautiful I could not resist including it in. May I also add; appreciate nature. Do not complain about the weather. Come snow, hail or rain; sun or wind; let it be. Just be appropriately dressed! Thanks to my mother in law who provided me this tip. She said better to have more and not need it than to have less and need it. She said this in regards to dressing, but I find it is applicable in everyday life.