Finding Paradise in Mirissa, Sri Lanka.

After a few busy days and a bus ride we are back on Mirissa Beach. This is a tropical paradise of note. Miles of unspoilt, clean, beautiful beaches.

Our little bay.

More Views.

As it is the end of the season we had the choice of places to stay.

Our Room!

Our Resort.Late afternoon the surfers would come down to our little bay and surf until the sunset. With "sundowners" in our hand we could just relax and watch these fellows wait patiently for the right wave to happen and then they would be up on their boards and ride the waves.
 I have total admiration for  their hard work and determination but was told that the game of rugby takes far more skill!

Catching the waves.

View from our room.

Just beautiful!

I got the giggles.

The Land of Serendipidty. 7th May 2012 Having only got to bed at 11:30 the night before, imagine the feeling, waking up to what seemed to be the roof falling on your head, at two in the morning! What a storm..it really sounded as though we were under a tin roof, as we could hear the rain crashing down. Actually we are on the twenty fifth floor of a building which consists of thirty floors .... So that tells of the immensity of the storm! Soon the alarms from our cell phones were ringing, to add to the cacophony as we were to be up early to be ready for the arrival of the cab at 3:45. We were off to Sri Lanka for a two week visit. This turned out to be one of the less pleasant flights, as we had a little boy sitting near us, who just screamed and screamed and screamed. He pulled at his mother, virtually begging her to get him off the plane. All the surrounding Grannies felt sorry for him and clicked and clucked but a lady next to me showed her hand and said" this is what he needs" a good smack. Quite a surprise in this day and age. Half an hour into the trip when his voice had started cracking up ( and us too) he began to settle down and accept defeat. We were all so relieved once there was quiet and we too could have a nap! The buses in S.R. are rickety, rackety old vehicles and the only air conditioning are the open windows. Once in Colombia, we found the second link to take us to Galle. All public buses have a driver, a conductor who collects the fare and a "caller" who waves his arms at all the Stops and shouts out, encouraging more passengers to come on board. The bus always starts off very comfortably with everyone seated but in India and in Sri Lanka, a bus is never too full to fit even more passengers. By the time we were half way though our four hour journey, the bus was crammed full, and the driver became manic and drove as though there was no tomorrow. Warren was sitting just behind him and could not believe that this crazy fellow could overtake in the face of oncoming BUSES!!! These are single lane roads with people, bicycles, animals etc. lining the sides of the roads, but he seemed to be oblivious to it all and ploughed ahead I had bums in my face, bags hitting me on the head, arm pits to cope with as the people were jammed in and THEN..... The little girl sitting on her Granny's knee started vomiting. It splashed and sprayed across the aisle hitting mostly young people standing around. Oh No. Granny had no packet at the ready, so what to do!!! Quick thinking and innovative, she grabbed her fold up brolley and turned it upside down, opened it just a little and forming a receptacle, she provided somewhere for her granddaughter to be sick in. These wonderful people of Sri Lanka rose to the occasion, with the maniacal driver continuing on his way and the bus turning and twisting, the people swaying and holding on for what could be their last trip anyway, they mopped themselves down, passed tissues and hankies to Granny, smiled and continued as if this was a regular occurrence. I confess I got the giggles!! Travel Tip One: Should you not have a packet on the ready and your child or grandchild starts to be sick, use your upturned umbrella!!! Needless to say it was wonderful to get to our Homestay in Galle.

Central Market.

Across the way from China Town is the Central Market which is also a mecca for tourists. the advantage of shopping here, is that it is Air Conditioned.....which one needs by midday!

I have been visiting this market for the past ten years and have seen it grow and become a great place to wander around or to shop. It is visited by both tourists and local folk looking for something special. there are bargains galore from China, India, Indonesia and local fare.

A wonderful selection of bags and purses are available.

A little shop upstairs sells the traditional Malaysian kite. It is called "Wau" (wow) because the wind is shaped lid the Arabic letter Wow. These kites are particularly popular in the Eastern states of Terenganu or Kelantan where farmers are said to have used them as flying scarecrows. There are many stories about the origin of these beautiful kites are they are beautifully made using bamboo and rice paper.

All sorts of "lekker" food is available.

Milo ice is a "hot" cold favourite!

Interesting coconut delights!

Books galore!!









Beautiful shoes!

If you are tired you can have your feet nibbled!!

Not like some workers.

And of course beautiful  batik fabrics.

I made this little quilt using fabrics purchased in the market.

and these.


A lovely few hours spent in a Kuala Lumpur's Central market.

Petaling Street, China Town.

Join me for a walk through Petaling Street.

 Anybody visiting Kuala Lumpur will be encouraged to visit Petaling Street or China Town, as it is referred to. It is a haven for shoppers to procure cheap and fun gifts in fact even if you don't buy anything it is a great place to wander around.

Entrance to Petaling Street.

There is the most amazing atmosphere as the vendors call out and invite you to check their wares.

It is a bargainers delight as you try to beat the price right down. The vendors  sell any and everything.

You can buy imitation goods of most well known brands including Prada, Gucci, Rolex, Calvin Klein etc.

The streets are lined with permanent shops and then just beyond the pavement the vendors set up their stalls. If you are feeling the heat you can walk along the pavement as it is covered but if you can take the heat the best way to enjoy the atmosphere is walking down the motor  traffic free road!

Roasted Chestnuts.

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Food is an essential part of any market experience but more especially in Malaysia as the people of Malaysia and the visitors to Malaysia, LOVE to eat!! There are many restaurants tucked away behind the stalls selling a wide variety of foodstuff. Vendors too have a great deal on offer.

Sweet pork Bao

 One of my favourites is Bao....a soft steamed bun
  filled with sweet pork!!

Sweet potato snacks

Anyone for porridge.

Rambotan (a hairy fruit)

Mangosteens (tastes like a lychee.

Longans

These are just a few of the wonderful fruits which are unique to Malaysia and surrounding Asian countries.

The KING of all the fruits is the Durian. I will endeavour to get a photo of one soon, however it is such a bad smelling fruit, one just does not want to get too close. I remember on one occasion we had boarded a plane and everyone was all settled in their seats. Our seat belts  were in place and we ready for take off when the pilot came on over the mike to say that the plane would NOT be taking off until such time that the person who has Durian on their bag, owns up. It is forbidden to take durian on the planes. We waited and waited as the air hostesses went up and down trying to sniff out the source of the overwhelming smell of Durian. The pilot threatened again and eventually I said to Warren that I had spotted two little boys eating durian while we were lining up to get on the plane. We call the airhostess over and I told her my story. She found the two llittle boys and their mother admitted to her sons having eaten durian but assured the staff that they had no more with them. But the smell lingered and lingered. We eventually took off once the cabin had been sprayed! 
It is something one HATES or LOVES!!

According to Wikipedia, British novelist Anthony Burgess writes that eating durian is "like eating sweet raspberry in the lavatory."
Anthony Bourdain, a lover of durian says your breath will smell as if you'd been French kissing your dead grandmother!!

And then there are T shirts, clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery etc. anything you could wish for.

I was most interested in buying a few DVD's which cost ten Ringitt ( about twenty five rand) but I was unable to find the ones I wanted, but I will be going back soon again and maybe I will get them then.

Before you leave the market, it is the best place to stock up with some fresh flowers!!

Locked out on May Day!!

Happy May Day to all of you. How lovely having another public holiday so we can all be together and do fun things. The first of May has been a day for celebrations and fun since pre Christian days! Europe and America continue to celebrate the day with Maypole dancing and the crowning of the Queen of May. The first of May is exactly mid year from the first of November and is the day the Northern Hemisphere celebrates the beginning of Spring!!

Queen of May (WIKIPEDIA)

 

 

These days the First of May is a national public holiday in many countries and is used for marking all sorts of different things. In Malaysia it is called Labour day and is a national holiday for workers.

We were invited to join Nick and Joshua and to go to "tea" at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club and Country Resort, to meet a friend of Nick's. The setting for this get together was absolutely delightful and before we could do much exploring we headed for the Coffee house. We ordered our sweet lemon tea ( my spoon could stand up on its own it was so sweet) and Roti canai which is a traditional breakfast dish. I was dying to pull my camera out and take a pic of this delightful dish and a favourite of ours but it was neither the time or place!!! So I have borrowed photos from www.rasamalaysia.com

Making Roti

These Rotis are served with "dipping sauce" and while using your right hand, you break off a piece of the roti and dip it into the dips, remembering one is HOT and one not!The hot sauce is made from Chillies and the "not" one from Lentils.

Our host  ordered ice cream  for everyone and as it was being served........Nick's mobile phone rang!

Oh no, our maid Lorna called to say that she had put a pot on the stove and then went into the wet kitchen and the door  slammed shut behind her and it was LOCKED. Lorna was trapped in the wet kitchen and could not get out.
To explain,  Malaysian homes have two kitchens, a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen. The wet kitchen is where the big wash- up takes place, hot cooking and messy work happens while the dry kitchen is used for light work. Lorna had put a pot of noodles on the cooker in the dry kitchen which is in the main part of the apartment and had gone into the wet kitchen for something when the door slammed and she could not get out. Fortunately, she had her mobile in her pocket and could call us. The worry was the pot on the stove!


This cut short our visit to the Equestrian club and Joshua did not get to feed the horses but all's well that ends well. Lorna had finished weeping by the time we got home and the place had not burnt down. The lock on the door no longer works!

This little incident reminded me of several other experiences of being locked out. Just three weeks ago, Sarah who lives in Johannesburg, had been shopping. She arrived home and managed to get the packets of shopping upstairs and out of the elevator. Sarah opened the front door to her apartment, greeted Oscar, put her bas down and asked the maid to help her bring all the other packets in from outside the elevator. The door slammed SHUT with little Oscar  inside,  together with the keys and the mobile phone.  PANIC. Panic. Panic.
 Is the iron off?  check!
Are the windows closed? Check.
Is the balcony door shut? Check

Fortunately Oscar is a chilled little fellow and thought it very amusing that his mother and the maid are on one side of the door playing peek a boo through the key hole  and he is on the other side torn between watching the T.V. and joining in. His Dad was called from the neighbours phone and he had to drive across Johannesburg, at a rate of knots, with the other key! Once again all ended on a successful note and lesson learned ...keep the key in your pocket at all times.

A while back Joshua  got locked in his parent's bedroom when the door slammed closed. He was on his own also did not panic too much and sat in the corner of the room, waiting and weeping quietly.  The adults on the outside were all for kicking the door down and doing other desperate things until we remembered where the spare keys were kept.....and lesson learned again. Now that door too has no lock on it.

The remainder of our day was spent in our air-conditioned apartment with Joshua playing with Thomas the Tank engine and the adults just chilling.

Have you ever been locked in or locked out?? Scarey!

Elephants in Malaysia.

Have you seen the movie "Water for Elephants?" We watched it and really enjoyed it. This reminded us that there is an elephant sanctuary just outside K.L. which would be fun to take Joshua to.
We packed up a picnic lunch and headed of to Kuala Gandah Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary.
Gandah is the Bahasa word for elephant.

It took nearly two hours to get to the sanctuary and we had to time it that we were there before two o'clock as that is when the "show" takes place.
The sanctuary is home to about eight Asian elephants and these elephants are trained to do a couple of tricks and entertain the crowds. One of the main purposes of the sanctuary is to educate the public and to encourage an understanding of these magnificent creatures.

 A few notable differences between the Asian and the Africa elephant is:
The ears....the Asian elephant has small pointed ears and we think it looks like the map of India whereas the African elephant has rather large ears and is more like the map of Africa.

The African elephant.

Asian male elephants grow tusks unlike African elephants where the bull and the cow have tusks.
The African elephant has wrinkled skin whereas the Asian elephant has smoother skin.
The African elephant is much bigger  than the Asian elephant with a shoulder height of 3 to 4 meters whereas the Asian elephant is only 2 to 3'5 meters!
The elephants at the sanctuary are lovely and everyone is encouraged to purchase a packet of shelled peanuts and to feed these friendly creatures. A great experience for the public, especially the children.
Imagine touching the eles in Kruger.

It was a HOT day and standing watching the show was difficult. Joshua was more interested in running around the magic garden and playing with a stick he had picked up. However, for those who did stay, they were able to feed the elephants and play on the elephant's back when they go into the river, to take a bath and cool down. A wonderful opportunity for the public.

 It did not take much encouragement for us to climb  into the air conditioned car and come back to K.L. for a swim and a bit of cooling down ourselves.

 

Time to get quilting!!

Days whiz by and I get that panicky feeling about there being so much to do and not enough time! To an extent, that must indicate that I am in a good space and enjoying life which I really am. I needed to get on with some of the projects that I have taken on. I have caught up on my blog so now it is time to get....Quilting.





Going through the many magazines I have collected I found a delightful pattern and went off to the local fabric store which has miles of fabrics in every colour and shade but just a small selection of "cottons". I played around and auditioned and eventually chose five coordinating fabrics. I was set to go.

My co-ordinating fabrics!

This was the pattern and quilt I set out to make.

what do you do when the ruler, the tape measure and the cutting board all differ in measurement? Who do you believe? Needless to say there was much fiddling and ixing. My unpick is my best friend!!Once the first draft was put together I stood back and thought I had lost my mind...this would NEVER do for a  delicate new born baby. Plus the joining fabric is just too busy.

Back to the drawing board. Now I have my own version of the "Gypsy Rose"!! 

Nothing like the original but I do like it!

Now to quilt it. 

Here is another little quilt I helped put together. Moira had started it and I have just got it ready to quilt. The lovely turquoise fabric is from Indonesia.

While I am at it I thought I should show off some of the lovely pieces I bought in India. I love to take them out, give them a little stroke, ponder over them and then put them away!!

I have LOTS to do but first to find an appropriate pattern for a BABY quilt!!