Birthday Cakes
After work today I went to Taka Cake House and ordered three cakes for my birthday! I'm going to bring the cakes to work and share them with my colleagues. That is always appreciated! ;-)
Normally, I like to bake my own cakes, but here my kitchen is very limited and I don't have an oven, so I have to buy them. The good thing is that in the bakeries here there are lots of cakes to choose among and the prices are significantly lower than in Scandinavia.
Here are photos of the cakes I ordered for my birthday last year:
Coral Garden
Today we received the message that our little coral fragment has been planted in the coral garden in the open sea. Before it was placed on the bottom of the sea it was measured and weighed so that we can follow its' progress. Hopefully the coral will start to grow healthily. In four months time we will recieve a new update of how it is doing. Good luck little coral!
Tag number: D 920
Weight: 260 grams
Height: 4.4 centimetres
Width: 8.5 centimetres
'Our' little coral in the sea!
These photos show what the coral garden looks like.
(All photos by MERC)
The Junk
Yesterday I had dinner at the Junk, which is one of my favourite restaurants here in Kuching. I had bruschetta as a starter followed by salmon as the main course. The bruschetta at the Junk is the best bruschetta I have found in Kuching so far! It's topped with fresh cherry tomatoes and a mix of onion, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. Mmm...
The name of the restaurant has nothing to do with garbage or trash, a Junk is a Chinese sail boat in this case. :-)
The restaurant is housed in some old shop houses and has a number of different rooms, all decorated in their individual way, with a lot of antiques. It's really a cozy place and the food is good! The servings are huge in most cases, the plates look more like trays, but the prices are reasonable.
The Junk's bruschetta.
Marine Ecology Research Centre
At Gayana Eco Resort they have a Marine Ecology Research Centre. At the centre they are breeding giant clams and they are also planting coral fragments back into the sea.
As a visitor you get the opportunity to learn more about the work at the centre through a video. Then you can have a closer look at some different sea stars, crabs and sea cucumbers in the touch pool.
The centre also offers an 'Adopt a Coral' package. To support the work at the centre we decided to adopt a coral when we were there! The centre's divers have collected broken coral fragments from the sea bottom and those fragments are replanted with the help of visitors at the centre. We picked a coral fragment and planted it in a little bowl with cement. The coral will now stay in a stabilization tank for two weeks before a diver will place the cement base with the coral in the coral garden in the sea.
At the centre they will monitor the coral for one year and send us updates of how much it is growing. :-) So now we are waiting for the first report, the notification that our little coral baby has been planted in the sea.
I really like this kind of initiatives and this was actually one of the reasons that I wanted to stay at Gayana Eco Resort when we went to Gaya Island.
If you want to read more about the incredible work they are doing at the centre, you can klick on this link: Marine Ecology Research Centre
Giant clam babies.
Some of the sea stars that you can interact with in the touch pool.
'Our' coral fragment.
Place him gently in the cement base.
The coral fragments will stay two weeks in the stabilization tank before they are planted in the sea by divers.
We got a certificate for our effort to help the corals.
Gayana Eco Resort
Last weekend me and Didin made a trip to Kota Kinabalu. From there we took a boat out to Gaya Island.
Outside Kota Kinabalu there is a national park called Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. The park comprises a number of islands; Manukan, Mamutik, Sapi, Sulug and Gaya. All of the islands are just a short boat ride from the city. Gaya Island is the largest of the islands and it has three resorts.
We had decided to stay at Gayana Eco Resort, which has villas built on stilts in the water. It was really nice there! A high class resort with lovely staff.
Our villa was a 'Lagoon Villa' and we had a balcony with a nice view over the resort and the lagoon. You could sit outside on the balcony and listen to the waves, so relaxing.
The resort also has an infinity pool, which is located next to a Western restaurant, a SPA and a bar. We spent some time by the pool, reading and swimming. In the evening we had dinner at the Western restaurant.
After dinner we sat outside on our balcony with a glass of wine and enjoyed our time on the Bornean paradise island. Gayana Eco Resort is a perfect weekend destination!
Party Play Cafe
We left Gaya Island around four o'clock today. On the way back to Kuching we stopped at Party Play Lifestyle Cafe in Kota Kinabalu for dinner. I had nachos and salad. For dessert we ordered the 'Signature Dessert Platter' and we got five different chocolate themed desserts. I'm so full... :-)
Now we are waiting for our flight to Kuching. Back to work again tomorrow. The weekends are too short!
Signature dessert platter
Gaya Island
We are enjoying a weekend on Gaya Island outside Kota Kinabalu. After having breakfast at Starbucks this morning we took a transfer boat out to Gayana Eco Resort, where we are spending the night.
We are staying in a 'Lagoon Villa' built on stilts above the water. Now we are lying in bed and listening to the waves outside. So relaxing!
Earlier today we spent some time by the swimming pool. Then we went to the bar to have sunset cocktails. I had a Tequila Sunrise, which might not be the best sunset cocktail, hehe...
The view from our balcony.
Valentines Day
Some hours ago we arrived in Kota Kinabalu where we are spending the weekend. Tomorrow we are going to take a boat to Gaya Island.
I got a Valentine gift today! A chocolate heart. :-) So cute and it tastes good also. ;-)
Pizza Heart
Today I had a rather hectic day at work. When I came home I went to the gym to work out for a while and clear my mind. That is the best thing to do after a stressful day.
After the gym we went out for dinner at Pizza Hut. Tomorrow is Valentines Day and at Pizza Hut they were serving heart-shaped pizza. :-) We shared a 'Valentine Menu' with one pizza heart, two strawberry fizz drinks, two mushroom soups, garlic bread and ice cream. Wow, that is actually a three course dinner, at Pizza Hut, hehehe...
The pizza was cute anyway.
Deerland
Not far from Kuala Gandah Elephant Centre you can find Deerland. At Deerland more than 30 Indonesian deer are kept. When I went to the elephant centre we also visited Deerland. There I was feeding some really cute deer. :-)
Batu Caves
Approximately 13 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur you can find Batu Caves. Inside one of the caves is a Hindu temple. To enter the caves you walk up a flight of 272 steps guarded by the giant golden monkey god Hanuman.
I went to the caves when I was in KL to pick up my passport. It was during the last day of Thaipusam, an annual Hindu festival. Unfortunately the area outside the caves was covered by garbage and tents where people were selling flowers, food and drinks. It really looked like the day after a big party. :-)
Hungry macaques are stealing fruits that people are offering in the temples.
Jim Thompson
When I was in Cameron Highlands I heard the story about the American Jim Thompson, who was the founder of the modern Thai silk industry. In 1967 he spent the Easter holiday in Cameron Highlands together with some friends. He went out for a walk and disappeared. There was no sign of him to be found and what happened to him is still a mystery.
When I found a book about the story I decided to buy it. I like to read books that are based on a true story. The last couple of days I have been reading about Jim Thompson and the only thing that I don't like with the book is that it doesn't give an answer to what happened to him. That is unfortunately still unknown! :-)
If you go to Bangkok you can visit Jim Thompson's house, which is a museum nowadays. Thompson had a large collection of Asian sculptures and paintings, which are on display in the house.
Tea Time
There are two famous tea producers in Cameron Highlands. Along the road up to the highlands you drive past Cameron Valley. From the road you have a beautiful view over the tea plantation and they also have two tea houses that you can visit.
The other producer is BOH and they have two plantations. We visited one of them. From their factory shop I bought two types of fruit teas; one with strawberry/raspberry taste and the other with passionfruit/orange taste.
In Tanah Rata there are a number of shops selling tea. I bought strawberry tea from Cameron Valley in one of the shops. For the time being the strawberry tea is my favourite!
I don't like to drink black coffee, but I like to drink cappuccino and coffee latte, which often contain sugar. At work I'm trying to reduce the number of cappuccinos that I drink during the week and to do that I need a good alternative. Now I have some really good teas! :-)
Strawberry Park Resort
During our days in Cameron Highlands we stayed at Strawberry Park Resort. The resort is located on a hill approximately 7 kilometres from the town Tanah Rata, which is the main settlement in Cameron Highlands.
To reach the hotel you have to take a taxi from Tanah Rata. It's a bit too far to walk up there. We were actually happy with the location, because the weekend we spent there was Chinese New Year and Cameron Highlands was crowded. So it was nice to escape the crowd in Tanah Rata.
Cameron Highlands
Cameron Highlands is located approximately 3.5-4 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. We travelled there by bus, which we felt was a better alternative than renting a car and drive on our own. The road up in the highlands is narrow and very windy so I'm happy that I didn't have to drive up there.
The highlight during our weekend in Cameron Highlands was the visit to BOH Tea Plantation. The view over the endless rows of tea bushes was so nice.
I'm usually the one behind the camera, but this time Didin thought that I should be on the other side.
The pavilion at BOH offers a wonderful view over the plantation.
After visiting the tea plantation we went to Rose Valley, which is like a large greenhouse where a lot of roses in all different colours are growing.
The next stop was at a strawberry farm where we picked strawberries. It was nice to get fresh strawberries, but to be honest they are not as good as the Scandinavian ones. :-)
Our hotel was located on a hill close to 'Jim Thompson's Cottage'. We walked up to the cottage to have a look. The place became famous when Jim Thompson, the founder of the Thai silk industry, went missing during his holiday in Cameron Highlands in 1967. He went out for a walk along one of the hiking trails and disappeared. He was never found. What happened to him is still a mystery.
'Jim Thompson's Cottage'
The last place we visited before going back to KL was the Smokehouse, which is an old English style hotel. There we had afternoon tea with newly baked scones and strawberry tea in the garden.
The old Smokehouse.
Strawberries & Tea
Today we have been out on a very nice sightseeing tour here in Cameron Highlands. The first stop was at BOH Tea Plantation. The view over the tea plantation was so beautiful! In the factory shop we bought some tea to bring home. I chosed two types of black tea; one with strawberry/raspberry taste and the other with passion fruit/orange taste. I'm looking forward to try them!
Another stop we did was at a strawberry farm and there we picked our own strawberries. :-) The strawberries here are nice, but not as good as the ones you can find in Sweden and Norway.
