Archive for the 'Travel' Category

Tioman: Salang Sayang Resort + Monkey Bay

Seeing our last holiday together was Bali in March,
Clem and i decided to take off to Tioman for a short holiday,
before flying to Shanghai to meet his mom + stepfather.

The last time i’d been to Tioman was in 2008,
and i decided to stay at the same place again – Salang Sayang Resort

No air con room was available when we booked,
save for the RM170 one which i thought was so not worth it.
So we stayed in the sea view room for RM100 a night.

tioman malaysia

View from our door

tioman malaysia

Breakfast is the only meal where we have clashing issues at times.
He always wants Western – toast, eggs, sausages, etc.
I always want Asian – gravy! oil! rice!

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

Two little island boys ventured near us (probably mesmerized by all the colourful things i had in hand)
so i gave them some chocolate i had in my bag.
Watched them munch it, thinking to myself they have no idea that the choc was from Tuscany.

tioman malaysia

Hat from Baci, Amedei choc from Selfridges.

tioman malaysia

We took a boat to Monkey Bay, which is more private and where we spent 2 afternoons.
Packed a cooler of beer,
lots of colourful scarves,
pastels + paper, food, snacks,
etc.

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

tioman malaysia

Continue reading ‘Tioman: Salang Sayang Resort + Monkey Bay’

Amsterdam: Burgermeester + flower market + truffles

It rained in the morning of our second last day in Amsterdam.
We whinged a bit at first, but not for long cos we really did have brilliant weather all the other days we were there!

amsterdam

Went to try Burgermeester.
I feel like quite a trend-whore for going to all these places Wallpaper recommends, but figured it’d be a better guide than none at all!

amsterdam

We ate the burgers the proper way – grabbing at the whole thing with both hands till burger juice and sauce dripped down our forearms.

amsterdam

amsterdam

Walked to a nearby market that was quite boring,
lots of trashy stuff we wouldn’t spend our money on so i just snapped around.

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

Weather cleared up so we went to do our next favourite thing after hanging out at Vondelpark = hanging out by the canal!

 :xsilly:

amsterdam

I’m wearing >
striped maxi dress; baci
striped vintage scarf; wow… i can’t remember where i picked it up from… either amsterdam or london
leopard necklace; me & zena

amsterdam

Then we put the camera on self-timer to snap us on this marvelous platform we were hanging out on.
(It really was marvelous, cos we went back the next day and other people beat us to our sunspot!)

amsterdam

Looking back at the picture… i’m mighty glad we didn’t tumble into the canal, Yishyene.

 :xwhatevah:  :xlaughing:

amsterdam

I spent ages being mesmerized by the reflection of the buildings and trees in the water,
just look how it looks like melting paint!
Makes me feel like attempting to replicate it in oil paints.

amsterdam

Pottered about a flower market after that…

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

This reminded me of MadcapperSa’s Starlight  :xwinky:

Continue reading ‘Amsterdam: Burgermeester + flower market + truffles’

London: Columbia Road flower market + shops + Campania Gastronomia

On my last Sunday in London before flying back to KL,
you can guess we packed in a full day of running around!
Went by Spitalfields where i’d spent a few afternoons wandering around alone,
and headed straight for Columbia Road where we were to browse + have lunch before Lovebox.

columbia road london

Cute doormats. I fancy the one on upper right   :xlaughing:

columbia road london

Aunty G can’t multitask. So when she BBs, we gotta stop walking.

columbia road london

Supercool shops on Columbia Road!
How come nobody told me about this road before i went to London!!!
All the displays and things for sale were so inspiring and quirky!
You can view how all their store fronts look *here*

columbia road london

columbia road london

columbia road london

columbia road london

Oh, you know me and my fascination for peeling paint.

columbia road flower market london

The flower market was madness!

Full of colour and
people shouting bargains,
people buying flowers,
people carrying flowers,
people pushing flowers,
people wishing they brought their 4WD so they could buy everything there.

Last one refers to my aunt tee hee.

Continue reading ‘London: Columbia Road flower market + shops + Campania Gastronomia’

Amsterdam: flea market, Van Gogh museum, Vondelpark (again!)

I know i’m jumping posts all over the place
but i really want to put up as many pictures and notes about my Euro-trip as i can,
before other trips follow and i NEVER END up blogging about anything!
And the reason i’m doing so is more for myself (sorry being a bit selfish!) cos i know i’m going to forget lil bits and pieces i wanna treasure, and by doing that i’d like to look back at it easily!

Just in case you missed the first two Amsterdam posts -
* Amsterdam: mecca for the alternative *
* Amsterdam:  Restaurant As & Vondelpark *

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

It’s easy to find yummy food in Amsterdam.
One of the times we decided not to use the Wallpaper guide
and simply duck into the nearest okay-looking cafe,
the food was satisfying enough!

amsterdam

amsterdam

We walked on and stumbled onto a flea market.

FLEA MARKET.

FAVOURITE.

LOVE.

MUST HUNT FOR BARGAINS.

amsterdam

Warning: Shopaholic Talk Alert
Yishyene and i were pouncing on colourful bundles of clothes on the floor,
all vintage and each costing around 4 euros.
For a while i was trying to be REASONABLE (note: ‘reasonable’ does not exist next to word ’shopaholic’) and not buy too many pairs of vintage leggings cos they’re quite heavy, and i still had to take into consideration all the other clothes/books/stuff i was to bring back to KL.
But after feeling its authentic thick material paired with crazy-ass prints, i threw all ‘reason’ out the window and picked more than one.
I couldn’t NOT pick just one… i know i’d be thinking of the prints and regretting it back home.

amsterdam

Lots of vintage bathing suits for cheap too, but most of them were too large, i swear the crotch would be hanging off me somehow. NoT attractive!

amsterdam

Went gaga over this stall selling only ribbon.
All TYPES of ribbon – new, vintage, colourful, floral, graphic.

Thanks to the “wannabe fashion designer in me with good intentions”,
i ended up buying a few metres of some patterned ribbons which were too precious to ignore.
And now… they’re sitting in my room. Somewhere.   :xwhatevah:

amsterdam

Old books

amsterdam

Ye olde baby’s chair

See. Even things like this chair i want to buy okay.
I think of where i’d put it, and how kitschy and precious it’d look in a room.

amsterdam

Lots more interesting bits and bobs i spotted while walking around the streets of Am -

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

amsterdam

I love how the reflection of the real trees and sky go with the glass painting!

Went to the Van Gogh museum after that,
much to my insistence.

We tried entering as under-18s (seeing how we always have trouble passing as 18 to buy drinks) but it didn’t work.
Dammit.
When you WANT to look young, you can’t.
When you DON’T, it doesn’t work either.

amsterdam

I think Van Gogh had a sense of humour…
because amidst all his paintings of still life and portraits,
there is suddenly one that sticks out like a sore thumb -

amsterdam

Feeling cultured from visiting the museum,
we went to Vondelpark to do our favourite thing… nothing.

amsterdam

Got food, beer, and sat there talking rubbish.
Like below.

My favourite line:
Me: “Imagine if you walked around in public doing that.”
Her: “I am in public.”

Hahaha, Yishninini i miss you so!

aamst3_23

amsterdam

FYI, those polka dots you see are SHORTS alright.
Just in case you got the wrong idea.

amsterdam

Love my cloud tights from Public Beware.

Went back home after that,
checked out our shopping,
and LAUGHED at this word we both didn’t spot on one of my vintage tights.

amsterdam

Tension?!

So corny!!!

I love it.

olympus-pen-button

Italy: Elba

Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy,
and is also the 3rd largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia.

elba italy

It was inhabited by the ancient Ligurians;
before being invaded by the Etruscans,
and later on after 480 BC, by the Romans.

Between that period and early 1800s,
Elba passed through many hands – barbarians, Saracens,
the Republic of Pisa, the Visconti of Milan, the Appiani,
Grand Duke of Tuscany, and King Philip II of Spain.

In 1802, the French took over the island,
and is most well-known as where Napoleon was banished to for 300 days.

That same century in 1860, Elba became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

elba italy

It’s a beautiful colourful place with many steps leading you further up the town,
round-arched doors, and windows with shutters (you know, like the types we used to play with using our Lego sets :p)

elba italy

elba italy

elba italy

The group from the boat making their way up up up

elba italy

elba italy

You can’t get anymore kitschy than a bright orange floral cloth used as a makeshift curtain,
right below an equally bright orange wall!

elba italy

Besides my never-ending fascination for stones, leaves, insects and the sky,
i also have a deep fondness for peeling paint on walls…   :xsurprised:

elba italy

elba italy

I love how the picture above looks like two separate photos!
Such a great angle to take some crazy shots if properly planned…

elba italy

Remember the polar bear in The Golden Compass?
I don’t want that bear anymore.
I want THIS ONE that drinks straight from the bottle.
*glug*glug*glug* So cute!

elba italy

elba italy

Isn’t it crazy pretty…
And people wonder why i don’t get so many pictures of myself in the shots.
I really think it’s so much nicer without anybody in it,
let alone silly me trying to be funny posing with my big hat or something!

elba italy

It’s SO BEAUTIFUL.
I could just EAT the picture.
(i didn’t edit any colours too!)

elba italy

These were the quarters where Napoleon was banished to,
along with 600 of his men (i think).

Looking around, i thought, “Man. If i had to be banished here with 600 people i knew, with ample food and wine… I’d be HAPPY.”

So easy to please   :xsilly:

elba italy

elba italy

elba italy

Ok, so here’s one of me posing with my big blue hat.

elba italy

elba italy

elba italy

elba italy

Yishninini and i took silly pictures of us balancing on a low pole.

elba italy

We asked Nir to do it too, and to our surprise he hopped onto one.

elba italy

After that morning walk, we went back to the boat.

elba italy

Spot the evil jellyfish…
This is why we didn’t jump off the boat into the water there!

elba italy

Einat prepared us a fresh brunch of salads.

elba italy

Ok don’t judge me.
I promise the last time i played with my food was when i was in primary school…

elba italy

Cassie came along the cruise,
but she mostly stayed inside the cabin cos she doesn’t like the wind or water.

And plus, when i took her out for some fresh air and a picture,
she’d get abused by Nir.

elba italy

Poor Cassie.

olympus-pen-button

France: Port Macinaggio, Corsica

There was no electricity when we arrived at Port Macinaggio,
and we went through much trouble ordering in the dark.

You know what is harder than reading a menu in the dark?
Reading a menu in French, in the dark.

 :xwhatevah:

I think i guessed lots of the dishes from a few words i knew here and there,
and Yishninini and i had to ask what the rest were.

corsica & port macinaggio

Power came back on just after we ordered!

corsica & port macinaggio

Soupe de poisson / fish soup
One of my favourite starters to have…
Even took a picture of a soupe de poisson recipe to try at home.

corsica & port macinaggio

A seafood pasta Yishnini and i shared.

corsica & port macinaggio

This is a picture of the whole dish, with Yishninini behind just to show its massive proportions.
Oh, ignore the prawns photoshopped on her head.
I was showing Nir the wonders of Photoshop and decided to just leave them there.

Since we arrived at the port pretty late in the evening,
Yishninini and i went for a rather short walk around the rather small town the next morning before we set sail again.

corsica & port macinaggio

corsica & port macinaggio

corsica & port macinaggio

corsica & port macinaggio

Little lamppost for little people…

corsica & port macinaggio

Yishninini’s toys, and Wilson   :xhappy:

corsica & port macinaggio