Hey all
My blog has run out of space, soI had to make a new plan. Please visit me here for more stories from Thailand.
Thanks for reading!
Wayne
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A Cascading Affair
This post is a little late and happened a few weeks ago. A busy schedule at school has kept me from finishing this one on time. A couple of weeks back we were invited to spend the day at a co-workers house (who lives in walking distance of Taphae waterfall in Nakorn Si Thammarat). The chance to visit a new waterfall is always an exciting one and is hardly ever turned down.
This all happened, because for the last few weeks we’ve been teaching adult classes at the municipality. These adult classes came as a big shock to us, as they were not part of our contract and were never really discussed with us. At first we were told we would be teaching 60 adults, 5 times a week, from March until September. We were certainly not happy with that at all and made a little bit of a fuss. It then changed to three days a week, and eventually after some more negotiation from our side, we got it down to 2 days a week. This was perfect for us, as we take Thai lessons on Mondays and Wendesdays and could teach the adult class on Tuesdays and Thursdays with Friday being free time.
In the beginning we were really nervous about teaching adults, as it would be a first for both me and Angela, but the classes have turned out to be quite enjoyable and the students that seem to come every week (about 15 or so) are motivated and excited about learning English, which always makes our job a little easier. Over the past few weeks, we’ve become friendly with some of the Thai ladies that frequent the class and after an evening of coffee and roti (a type of pancake filled with egg and banana) at one of the popular road side stalls, the idea for all of us to visit Pee Sila (works at the municipality and is in charge of sorting out all our admin) at her home near the waterfall, came about. Everyone seemed interested, so plans were made and we were to meet at the municipality at 1pm the following day. From there we would be picked up and taken to the waterfall, which was about 45 minutes in a car. On the menu for the day was a late lunch, and then some fun time to explore and swim with our new friends.
the house is perched up on a steep incline. a good workout making it up that path everyday
the view from her dining room.
this is what we were greeted with when we arrived. a full seafood platter with prawns, squid and fish.
the bbq was ready and smokin
Pee Sila making some naam prik Thai (chilli sauce) and yum ma-muang (mango salad)
Angela, Pee Noi, Mot and Pee Ning
Angela hard at work
Pee Sila cooking up some seafood
having a little taste before the big sit down
yum wun sen talay (spicy glass noodle seafood salad)
some grilled prawns
some fish on the bbq
this dish is called yum plaa (it's a fried fish with a Thai salad on top). very tasty!
some bread we had made at home. no one really went for it. hahaha!
naam prik Thai (chilli sauce)
everyone tucking into the feast of prawns, squid, fish, seafood salad, fish salad, spagetti, raw veg. and bread
After the feast was done, I could hardly move. Honestly, I was ready to explode. There was so much food. Thai’s seem to eat a lot of food, but over a long period of time. I have seen some slim Thai woman eat twice as much as I do. I still can’t figure it out. I think they must just take little bites every so often, unlike myself, stuffing my face full of everything in the first 10 minutes.
A thai meal is a little different than what we are used to. The food is mostly shared amongst everyone, with different dishes placed in the middle of the table for everyone to pick at. This happens at restaurants too, where a few different dishes are ordered and everyone shares whats on the table. I quite like this way of eating, firstly because you get to try a bunch of different dishes and aren’t stuck with a big plate of something you don’t like and secondly everyone seems more social and chatty, while they take small tasters of whats on offer.
After all the food, it was time to see the waterfall. We had actually been once before with ollie pup and Jack (we had found it trying to find a view point, which we didn’t end up finding that day. We did however find the waterfall, but bad weather didn’t allow us much time there, so we were pleased to make it back).
By the time we had reached the entrance most of the people had left and it seemed we had come at the perfect time. All you could hear was the pounding of falling water, rushing over the tired rocks, creating a rhythm so peaceful, your body couldn’t do anything but follow it’s beat. At this point there is only you and the waterfall. Nothing else matters. Meditation is happening, even though you are doing nothing. Your soul awakens and a feeling of calm encompasses your entire body. It’s quite an experience.
everyone ready for the swim
Flowers make me Smile
During my time in Thailand, I have become increasingly interested in gardening. This hobby is not an easy one and takes time and patience to reap the rewards, especially when you have a dog that digs up your plants all the time. BAD OLLIE! Besides the frustrations, it’s really something seeing seeds sprout from nothing and grow into these amazing plants, that give us food and beauty. When I first began, with limited space, I started growing lettuce, cucumbers and basil and over time I have moved towards different things. In our new house, I have much more space to grow a variety of plants and I have been taking full advantage. At the moment in the vegetable garden I have basil, tomatoes, beans, lettuce and summer squash on the go, all organic of course! This post however is not about the vegetables, it’s about my new passion for flowers. We have some flowers blooming in the back section and they are all looking great. Luckily Ollie doesn’t dig much in the flower section. We can’t really figure out his passion for digging up the vegetables, but my hunch is it has something to do with ants (we have loads of ants) or maybe dogs just like to dig.
When I started, I was all about the vegetables, and didn’t give much attention to the flowers, but things have changed slightly. I think it might have something to do with my girlfriend and her love for these radiant plants. Our house is divided into two sections. The front and the back. The front has been allocated for the vegetables and the back and left side of the house, for flowers and any other plants we feel might work in that area. We (Angela and myself) have put a lot of work into the back garden and it is finally showing some promise. From being a dusty pile of nothing, it has been transformed into something with potential.
We made some garden beds using old coconut shells, that we obtained from the market for free. These beds are where most of the flowers have been planted. I would say nearly 90 percent of all the flowers we have, were started from seed, so its been a good long wait to see them bloom. It has been an interesting hobby thus far and definitely worth all the time and effort. I am now more inspired than ever to get stuck in and make this garden brighter and more colorful than before.
this is the back garden before the hard work.
beds made from old coconut shells
we bought some soil to mix in to the beds
Ang adding good soil to the coconut shell beds
This is what she looks like today. It's still a work in progress.
beautiful hibiscus flower
some bougainvillea flowers
a sunflower gone wrong I think. missing a few petals
another sunflower looking a lot healthier
this is my favorite flower in the garden
I know I said this post was about the flowers, but here are a few pictures from the vegetable garden.
Italian basil making good progress
the lettuce was difficult to get going, as Ollie had a field day digging up all my seeds on a regular basis
a baby chilli bush with some potential
these long beans just won't stop growing
tomatoes coming along nicely
these baby cucumbers started off well, then crashed for who knows what reason.
A Joyride to Pak Meng
I woke up early Sunday morning and realized I didn’t have anything to do. I got on the text to my mate Eugene and implied another biking trip. “Lets do a little exploring” I thought. I immediately received a phone call saying he was game.
“Breakfast and a shower, meet you at the gas station in 30min”.
“Sweet!”
A quick fry up (eggs and toast) filled me up nicely. I jumped in the shower, packed my dry bag (snorkels, towel and sunscreen) and off I went. We got the bikes topped up and a plan together. Pak Meng, Trang seemed like a good option for the day. It was very hot and we needed some ocean time.
“Do we know where we are going?”
“Not really, but I remember seeing signs to Pak Meng on our last Lanta trip.”
“Okay, lets hit the 403 (the highway to Trang) and take it from there.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Two hours later we arrived in Pak Meng. We ended up taking the 403 from Thung Song to Huai Yot, turned right onto Highway 4, which takes you to Koh Lanta and Krabi and then another left onto the 4159, and followed the signs until we reached sunny Pak Meng. We parked the bikes, had a quick walk on the beach and then swiftly decided we needed food and a beer. We managed to find a simple restaurant, that had tables on the beach, sat down, put our feet into the sand, ordered some calamari and our favorite ‘Leo” beer and took in the beauty.
From Pak Meng you can actually see two of the Trang Islands. One being Koh Mook and the other Koh Ngai. Koh Kradan is out of sight behind Koh Mook, so no views from Pak Meng beach. Getting to the islands seems like a pretty easy affair. There is a long tail service on Pak Meng that will take you to your island of choice. They also offer boat tours around all the islands and even a bbq option. From what I gathered, you go fishing, hopefully catch some fish and then bbq everything on the boat or on an Island of your choice. Got me interested! If long tails are not your thing, the Pak Meng pier has bigger boats that come in at specified times and transport tourists to all the islands.
I think it’s called Koh Cheuk, but not sure on that one.
pak meng has an enormous beach. it must run for 5 or 10 km
just in case!
tables on the beach. perfect!
koh mook in the distance
After our snack, we did a little exploring. There is a national park called Chao Mai National Park, which I have actually been to before when I did a summer camp last near February. There are facilities to camp, if you like being outdoors, or guesthouses for those of you who are not so fond of sleeping in a tent. The entrance is 200 baht and it’s definitely worth a visit. We also had a look at the Pak Meng pier, where you can catch ferries to all the islands. There are many different companies offering all sorts of things. There is diving, boat tours, kayaks and a variety of water sports.
While driving around we found some quiet spots to make our camp for the day. Hungry as always, we went and got some street food (fried fish and som tam), made our way back to the beach and spent an hour swimming and hanging out.
the pak meng pier where you can get ferries to Koh Mook, Koh Ngai and Koh Kradan
found a shady spot under the trees to make home base
som tam (spicy papaya salad), kao niao (sticky rice) and some pla tord (fried fish) for lunch
we saw these two Thai guys in the water for a long time. we think they were catching prawn or setting up traps for bigger things like crabs or crayfish.
TonSai in a Day
Rock climbing has always been something I wanted to try, ever since meeting an Argentinian guy named Maximo on our Everest base camp hike in 2011. This guy was a mean machine. He was one of those crazy people that took groups up to summit mountains in the Himalayas. He had some really interesting stories to tell and you could see that love for climbing was ingrained into his soul. We had told him we were planning on living in Thailand, and the first thing that came out of his mouth was, “you gotta check Krabi out, there’s some bad ass climbing down there” He preceded to tell us about this video he made climbing through his double story house and that we should definitely youtube it. It’s a pretty cool video. Well, a year later, I had heard that a friend of ours, Christina, who stays in ThungSong, had gone to an awesome bay called ‘TonSai’, which is in Krabi province and done some climbing there, so I was intrigued to find out a little more. There was a bbq and some socializing, and information began to flow about TonSai, the climbing, how beautiful it was, and how cool and genuine the people were. She had actually met a climber there and become friends, so we had a contact and possibly a guide to take us on our first climbing adventure. Krabi, famous for it’s lime stone cliffs is a climbers paradise. I have been told on numerous occasions that its one of the best places to climb in Thailand, and with it’s relaxed vibe and friendly people, it’s a popular spot for all travelers.
After all the good information, plans began taking place to bike to Krabi early Saturday morning, take a boat from Aonang to TonSai, find a bungalow, chill out on the beach, swim, snorkel, maybe climb, spend the night, spend more time on the beach, take a boat back to Aonang and then in the late afternoon bike back to ThungSong. It was going to be a busy two days! Lack of time, because we had work on the Monday, meant it was more going to be a scooping out trip. Go have a look, see if we like the place and then when we have more time, maybe head back and spend a week there, maybe two, possibly even move there (only kidding about the last part, although I wish I wasn’t). The initial biking group was only three, myself, Eugene and Christina, but after a birthday party at Collettes place on the Friday, another 3 entered the group making it six (Angela joined on, as well as Christinas friend Collette and her friend from the states Railey). Three bikes, six people and no idea where to go, meant it was going to be an interesting journey. I had downloaded a map at school, but ‘silly me’ forgot the map at the office and over a weekend the school is like a fortress, so it’s difficult to get anything out. We had a vague idea, a friend that had driven there a good few times (who was a phone call away), we spook some Thai (so asking directions wouldn’t be a problem) and then pure determination. Nothing was going to stop us from reaching paradise.
the perfect day to drive
the ‘Dream’ struggling up the hill
nearly there
a coconut monkey going for a joy ride
The drive was actually very smooth and took around 2.5 hours. It was a route we had not travelled before, which made it a lot more exciting. It was a beautiful drive. It’s so different traveling on a bike compared to a car or a bus. Visually, it’s so much more appealing, to me at least. I feel I can experience so much more on the bike. The smells, the friendly smiles, the fresh air and of course the scenery. I feel more in touch with everything around me. It’s also a nice adrenaline rush. We eventually arrived in Ao Nang after one flat tyre and a few missed turns, but that’s what makes it fun. Ao Nang is a very popular beach town for families and couples. It’s a little expensive and too overcrowded for my liking, but we needed to meet a friend for lunch and get a taxi boat to TonSai. After finding a suitable restaurant, we all tucked in to some delicious Thai food. With our stomachs filled to the max, it was time to get a 10 minute boat ride to TonSai for 100baht/person.
smiles all round
this place had so many orchids
the food was very tasty
6 tickets to TonSai please
we had to wait a few minutes for more people to arrive before the boats would move
TonSai in all her beauty
I didn’t know what to expect, but WOW! That’s all I could think of coming in on the boat. This seemed like the place we had been looking for. A paradise for all who come through. We had been told that TonSai was like a little hippie village, a place to lose yourself, forget about life and just enjoy the experience. There was beach for those who loved the sea, jungle for those who loved nature, and rocks for those who love to climb. A little haven for each traveler passing by. Next to TonSai is the bigger, more popular Railey beach. Situated in the same bay, Railey seems to be a popular destination for many who come to Thailand. When the tide is really low you can actually walk to Railey from Tonsai. However with popularity comes more people, more boats, bigger hotels and less of an authentic Thai experience. I was happy with the smaller, cheaper more intimate TonSai village. Bungalows go for as cheap as 200 baht/night. The rooms are very simple, but it’s all you need in a place like this and they’re 2 min from the beach.
Jimmy the bartender with an afro
Angela and Eugene chatting in the transformed long tail boat
having a laugh in the old long tail boat turned into a table
a view from the boat
Railey taking a moment
Ang and Eugene discussing music I suppose
Ang trying out the slack line
Railey giving it a go
the tide all the way out
Angela found a cute cat, and fell in love even though she is allergic
playing frisbee on the beach with two Thai friends from the bar
dinner with new friends, Christina, Jonas (the rock climber), Pascal (the sailer), Railey, Colette, Eugene and some girl from Norway.
It turned out to be an amazing day filled with swimming, snorkeling, lazing about, making new friends, eating and dancing, but unfortunately no climbing. We were all pretty knackered form the bike ride and needed a day to recuperate. We had also found out that our possibly climbing connection had damaged his foot and would be out of action for a couple days. Christini had also been a bit sick, so climbing would probably be off the list this time. We actually ended up partying a little past our bed time and spending more money than we had budgeted for (leaving no money to climb), but met some interesting charactors. One guy being from Belgian, had sailed his single mast yacht all the way to Thailand, but because the mediterranean was so dangerous and filled with pirates he had to put his yacht on a bigger boat in Phuket and have it shipped home. Anyway, like I said, we would use this short trip to test the waters and then when we had some more time, get back and do all the climbing we wanted. The Sunday was all about relaxing and doing absolutely nothing. We found a cool spot called Sabai Sabai cafe and we never left, until we had to of course.
our little resort with simple bungalows and a jungle feel
the cute little bungalow for a few hundred baht
everything you need: a bed, mosquito net and a fan
going for a walk
saw a few climbers doing their thang. looks rather difficult!
just hanging around hey
a little trek into the jungle found us an awesome organic restaurant
saw the sign and couldn’t resist
the backyard organic cafe had some good cheese and bread
back to the beach
Sabai Sabai cafe
eggs, toast and iced coffee
hammock time!
sabai sabai cafe
view from sabai sabai cafe where we spent most of Sunday
our favorite Thai beer
We totally fell in love with TonSai. The people were amazing and truly genuine. I felt so comfortable there, at ease if you know what I mean. We even left some clothes and snorkels at the chill out bar the night before and in the morning Ang went back to see if we could salvage something. We got everything back. They were so happy to help! I would say some of the kindest people I’ve met in Thailand.
It was way too short to really experience what TonSai has to offer, but we’ll be heading back very soon. The place is like a magnet drawing me there every minute of the day. I even made friends with one of the Thai barmen there, and offered for him to come and stay with us in ThungSong. He will be coming to ThungSong on the 16 March and then we’ll be heading to his hometown in HatYai the next day to watch JoB 2 Do. Should be fun!
time to go
met some cool peeps on the trip back to Ao Nang
he’s a serious fella
goodbye TonSai!
Indian in Ao Nang before biking home
You can’t evade this Roulade
We recently had a lovely barbecue at our friends Scotts house. I’m not really sure what the occasion was, but I think it was a pre party for Bills (another ‘farang’ Thung Songian) birthday. Thung Song is a small place and sometimes there’s not much to do, so when someone offers a venue for a bbq we all do handstands and jump for joy. This session can last for 10 minutes sometimes. It doesn’t even matter where you are. If you hear the good news while you are teaching, this doesn’t stop you, if you are having a haircut, shopping, or playing the guitar, the outcome is the same. LOL! Maybe this only happens in my mind, but I’m sure everyone has the same feelings of happiness.
Scott had said that all the meat and fish would be supplied and we should just bring ourselves and our beverage of choice. I did hear margaritas were being made which made a lot of people really happy! Then Henk (my South African nemesis) told me he was going to be making his famous potato salad, so I felt a contribution from my side was surely needed. “How about a loaf of some delicious homemade bread” I thought to myself. It would be the perfect addition to the barbecue. “What to bake though?” Keep it simple or go all in and try something different.
I had started making a basil and oregano loaf, when an idea (to try something new and different) dawned on me. This hardly ever happens by the way! I have attempted focaccia before and really loved it. Why not add a spin to that by using the same ingredients, maybe different ingredients inside the bread instead of on top of it. YES! This would be my ultimate offering to the good peeps at the party. I’m sure Thung Song has never seen bread like this before. I will say, this type of bread has obviously been around for ages and you can find many recipes online with different ingredients, so I can’t take any credit for coming up with this one. I do like to tell myself things like that sometimes, just for a little bit of a laugh. The loaf is called a ‘roulade‘ and can be made using savory or sweet ingredients. I think it’s a French word that means to roll. I choose to go the savory route with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, cheese and yogurt. My mouth waters every time I think about it! Anyways, I ended up making both loaves, one reason being, I had already started the basil loaf and the other, if the roulade was a flop, I always had the basil loaf to fall back on. Well, let me tell you, both loaves came out perfectly for a change, so this little experiment was a success.
Mushroom, tomato and basil roulade topped with chia seeds
What you need for the dough: 2/3 cup milk, 2 eggs (1 slightly beaten and the other separated into the white and yolk), 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp yeast, 2 tbs salt, 1tsp sugar, 3 cups flour, a handful of chia seeds (you can also use poppy, sesame or flax)
What you need for the filling: a cup of tomatoes, two small onion, a cup of mushrooms, a handful of fresh basil, a cup of cheese, a cup of plain yogurt, oregano, a cup of basil, salt and pepper.
heat 2/3 cup of milk, add yeast, and leave for ten minutes. if there are no bubbles after 10 minutes your yeast is dead
mix in the beaten egg, the egg yolk, the olive oil, salt and sugar
mix in the flour and hopefully you will get something like this. knead the dough for six or seven minutes on a floured surface
put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes in a warm place
this is what it should look like after 45 minutes.
flatten the dough into a rectangular shape and transfer to a well oiled baking tray
cover and let rise for another 30 minutes
the filling consists of cherry tomatoes, mushroom, onions, basil, plain yogurt (greek if you have) and mozzarella cheese
chop everything up and get ready to saute
a few droplets of olive oil and we are ready to go
saute the tomatoes with oregano (you can use thyme as well.) another option is to roast them in the oven for 30 minutes with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of basil or thyme. use your creativity. the options are limitless.
next up the onions, mushrooms and basil. saute the onions for 5 minutes until nice and soft, add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. finally cook the basil for a few minutes until the basil is all shriveled.
spread the yogurt over the puffy dough. try and cover the whole area.
sprinkle the cheese over the yogurt
layer the tomatoes and the onion, mushroom and basil mix over the cheese
roll the dough and flip it, so the seam side is facing down. do this so it doesn't explode while baking
cover with a cloth and let rise for another 30 minutes
take some egg white, brush the roll and sprinkle the chia seeds (you can use poppy, sesame or any other seed that you might like)
pop into the oven at 220 for 10 minutes, then 180 for another 25 minutes and it should be perfect
all done and ready to eat
there she is. the finished product. I must say it was really tasty and had great texture too
mmmmmmmmmmmm! delightful. now its time to tuck in
Classroom Olympics
Recently I had the awesome opportunity of hosting a classroom olympics unit with my kids. I was teaching comparatives and superlatives at the time, and after some research, stumbled upon the idea of a classroom olympics competition. It just made perfect sense. I spent some time on it and came up with these activities.
1) Who is the fastest runner?
2) Who has the loudest voice?
3) Who can write the most words?
4) Who can write the fastest?
5) Who is the stongest? (arm wrestling)
6) Who can hold their breath the longest?
7) Who is the best singer?
8) Who is the fastest backwards runner?
9) Who is the fastest on one leg?
10) Who can jump the furthest?
11) Who can jump the fastest?
12) Which team has the fastest wheelbarrow? (One student holds another students legs in the air, while his hands touch the ground)
13) Who can throw a ball the furthest?
14) Which team has the most points in a superlative quiz.
So basically you split your class into different teams. I had teams of five students. Students must then think of a name for their team or they can choose a country. Once each team has a name, you can start the games. If your students don’t know about the olympics, you could pre teach some vocabulary or even show them a video to give them a good idea of what they will be doing. For each event, all teams need to put forward one student to compete. I had a piece of paper I had prepared, with all the events on them and numbers one,two and three for gold, silver and bronze. After each event I would write the top three students names down. I would then ask students :
Who is the fastest?
Is _____ faster than _______?
Is _____ slower than ______?
Who is the slowest?
Is ______ the fastest?
running backwards for some of the students was a little difficult. had a few tumbles, which they all thought was hilarious
these kids can jump!
my assistant teacher Pee Kung
Who can stand on one leg the longest didn’t really work out. They stood for about 5min and no one was ready to let this one go, so I had to give it a skip.
rain delay
back to the games
this one was so funny. Who can shout the loudest? The kids loved it!
the one legged hop
some cheating going down!
running backwards is always a tricky one
getting the results in
not a happy camper
the wheelbarrow
this was a funny race. the kids had a big laugh.
After all the fun and games it was down to the real business. Prize giving! I had downloaded some certificates and medals from abc teach and printed them off. Due to the lack of facilities at our school, I could not print anything in color, but that didn’t matter too much to the kids. They were just as proud winning first place with a colorless medal and certificate. I drew a podium on the board and then began calling the events. First bronze, then silver and finally gold and first prize. I gave first prize winners a certificate and a medal. The kids really got into the the idea of winning gold and even put on some good dramatical displays. Some pretended to cry and others really gloated their success. It was great to see the kids really get into it and become the characters they needed to be.
Bas 2 the fastest runner
well done Tang! The loudest voice.
Bas again. This time for the fastest on one leg.
Good job Biw. The best singer.
Well done Fit. You can jump the furthest.
Jade has the loudest voice
Aom you are the best singer
finally had all the events up on the board with first, second and third place. students had to write the superlative for each event into their notebooks
M 1/2 hard at work
Phung and Book
Give me some Bread!
everything you need for the seed loaf : flour, olive oil, salt, yeast, seeds
My bread making experience isn’t that extensive, but recently I have really enjoyed putting time into making healthy homemade bread. Nothing is better than a warm fresh loaf straight out of the oven, straight into your mouth, too hot to eat, because you just cant wait for it to cool down… goodness. Think about fresh bread with eggs in the morning, with soup in the evening and fresh ‘melt in your mouth’ sandwiches all the time. I think for most people, making bread probably seems like something that is very time consuming, but in actual fact it is very easy and takes little preparation time. The whole process, excluding rise time (usually an hour), will take no longer than 20 minutes. There are however different types of bread (bagels, baguette and ciabatta to name a few) you can make which will take longer periods of time, but this simple loaf is quick and easy and tastes great. I love bread and have been eating it my whole life. I can truly say that nothing in my experience can beat a wholesome slice of freshly baked bread.
What you need :
3 cups flour
1 cup warm water (not hot)
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chia, flax and basil seeds (you can also use sesame, poppy and sunflower)
To start things off you need a cup of warm water (if the water is too hot is will burn the yeast)
throw in two teaspoons of yeast and salt and let it sit for ten minutes until bubbles appear
a few bubbles around, ready to move on
next up, three tablespoons of olive oil
now it's time for the flour. throw in one cup at a time until you have finally reached the desired texture
texture after one cup
after the second cup you want to throw in your seeds. I used a tablespoon of chia, basil and flax
mix it all up until your texture is firm and not too sticky
once you have reached the desired texture, knead for at least five minutes
this should be your final product. put dough in a greased pan, cover with a cloth and let it rise for one hour
the dough covered and left to rise in a warm place for one hour
after an hour your dough should look like this. I would say it's nearly doubled in size
I like to use different patterns on my bread
pop in the oven at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes
lastly with ten minutes left on the clock, I added chia seeds to the top of the loaf. all you need is a little egg white and then sprinkle some seeds until you are happy
serve with butter, olive oil and balsamic, cream cheese, the possibilities are endless here
mmmmmm, butterrrrrrrr!
Penang Pt 2
We didn’t have much to do on the final day, except pick up our visas at 2pm. We still had the scooter for a few hours, so it made sense to use our time wisely, and explore a little further. We started with a visit to a Chinese temple on Love Lane, and then made our way past Batu Ferringhi to areas unknown. Who would have thought, that we would end up at the Penang National Park. We had heard about it from a friend we ran into the last time we visited Penang. He had said some good things about it, so we were happy to investigate. The entrance was free, which was a little surprising to us. Normally we are paying to get into waterfalls and National parks in Thailand, but not on this occasion. We didn’t have much time, so I think we only walked for a couple of hours. We did see a few monkeys swinging around in trees, but other than that the wildlife was scarce. Like I said earlier, we had limited time, and with beaches like ‘monkey beach’ and ‘turtle bay’ (which we didn’t make it too), I’m sure you could see an abundance of interesting creatures. It’s definitely worth a visit. The park was really clean and well looked after. The trails were wild but not overgrown. You did feel like you were venturing into an untouched oasis. I have always been a fan of walking in nature. I feel it’s a great way to clear your mind, and just be in that moment. You become one with the land and land becomes one with you.
a fishing village in the middle of the ocean
the entrance to the national park
where shall we go?
got ya
another monkey we spotted
found this temple on the way back to George Town
After returning the scooter, we had some lunch at a vegetarian buffet (with about 50 dishes), recommended by Jim. The restaurant was off the beaten path, hidden from all foreign eyes. We were happy to find it, and enjoyed all the different options. We have vegetarian restaurants in Thung Song, but most of the time the food is cold, or there is only one dish to choose from. Other than that on a lucky day, you can get 5 or 6 different dishes, some which are really yummy. We had quick stroll around, and then back to Jims at 2pm to pick up the visa. We had spoken to Jim about booking us a bus back to Hat Yai at 4pm and he had said “no problem”. We picked up our visas without any hiccups. The process took 10 minutes. Not so bad for a visa pickup. I remember waiting at least an hour, maybe even two in Laos. We were back at Jims at 2.30pm and decided to have a beer to kill the time. 4 o’ clock came and Jim appeared out of thin air and said there was a problem with our bus. Something like, “your bus is overbooked”, “the bus has been stopped by the police, you will have to take one at 5am tomorrow”. With the process out of our hands, there was nothing much we could do about it. The last buses left at 4 and it was already ten past. Jim offered us a room for 20 ringit, so we took it. We spent our last evening in Penang, socializing with new friends at Jims place, going for some pizza at Ecco cafe and wandering up and down Chulia St. one last time.
jims place
this place has some good pizza
this is Jim showing off Ang' new glasses
some photos of Jim hanging on the wall in the guesthouse
Penang Pt 1
a view of Penang
After nearly two months of waiting, we finally received the papers we needed to complete a visa run. The kids were writing tests so we got the go ahead to make our way down to Penang. The process would take around 2 to 3 days (apply first thing Wednesday morning, wait a day and then pick up the visa in the afternoon). Now you can also do visa runs to Laos and Cambodia, but both charge a visa fee to enter the country (Laos being $30 and Cambodia $20), and Malaysia doesn’t, so Malaysia seemed like the most logical option for us. We are also closer to Malaysia (five hours to the border), where as, Laos and Cambodia would take at least a day, maybe longer. There is also an option of getting a train from Thung Song to Butterworth (Malaysia), which would have been our chosen mode of transport, but the train was fully booked (I do prefer trains to buses. They take longer, but are more comfortable and you can walk around when those legs of yours start going numb). The mini buses in Thailand are designed to cram as many people in as possible. They have even made special chairs that slide into the aisle to make space for extra passengers. What we have learned over our time traveling on these buses is that you shouldn’t sit at the back. There is hardly any leg room and every bump you go over, catapults you into the ceiling. Now let me be honest for a moment, we are always the suckers in the back seat. When the buses get called, we are the last to know and just have no chance of getting that good seat in the middle, where your legs can move freely and you don’t have a headache from banging your head every four minutes.
Thanks to Henk for helping with Ollie pup. Ollie was delighted!
So we jumped on a mini bus (yes at the back) just before noon on Tuesday morning, and arrived in Penang just before 8pm. We first needed to take a bus to Hat Yai (130baht = R40), and then from there, change, and get a different bus to Penang (350baht = R85). The trip was as any bus trip normally is, long and sometimes uncomfortable. I find it really difficult to sleep on buses. I think it’s nearly impossible for me, especially from all the bouncing around.
Our first night in Penang included, meeting Jim (the visa guy), at Jims place on Chulia St, searching for a room and getting bad pizza at the newly built reggae guest house. Jim is the guy you want to know when it comes to your visa. He is genuinely helpful and charges a small fee of 20 ringit (200baht) that includes: checking all your papers, filling out some new forms and organizing the taxi (2 trips). It’s not much to pay for peace of mind. After meeting Jim we began searching for a room that suited our budget.Western Oriental Cafe, ended up being our hostel of choice, well not really. Everything else was full, so we basically had no other options. We ended up paying 45 ringit (450baht), which was a little higher than we wanted to pay and during a crazy rain storm at two in the morning, the room began to leak like a waterfall. After Angela ran to get the manager, he came up to the room, looked at the floor (which was soaked), looked at the ceiling (which was an open tap), looked at the bed (which was dry) and then preceded to say “bed not wet, you can sleep”. We both looked at him with a stare of hell, and said “no way jose, we need a new room”, so he reluctantly gave us the room next door. Luckily, there were no more waterfalls that night.
our first nights accommodation
after the leak
flowing into the hallway
The next day we were all to meet at Jims place at 9am. From there we would make our way to the visa office, with all our paperwork and 220 ringit (2200 baht) and apply for the Non Immigrant B visa we needed back in Thailand to obtain our work permits. After some brekkie, we walked around, taking in some of the awesome culture of Penang. All together in one city, you have Malaysians, Indians and Chinese, living hand in hand. From little India to China town to Penangs vibrant city streets , there are many interesting things to experience. After changing some money at a terrible rate (100 baht = 9.5 ringit) we made our way to Jims, had a cup of coffee and waited for the taxi to show up while chatting to some new faces. The visa process would take approximately ten minutes. We arrived, stood in a short line, handed our passport, papers and money over. “Come back tomorrow at two” he said, and we left. Arriving back at Jims we had discussed renting a scooter for the day. Jim didn’t rent scooters, but next door seemed to be a good option. We chose to rent a semi automatic for 20 ringit (200 baht), very similar to what we have in Thailand. “Sorry mam, we don’t have passports as we are applying for visas”, ”Passports, you don’t need passports, all I need to see is your license please”, I look at Angela as mine is expired, she takes hers out of her wallet and hands it over. “So you can drive cars and motorcycles” Angela looks at me, “Yes” she says, even though her license is only for cars. The lady hands over the keys and we’re free to explore for the day.
The plan for the day was, get to the mall and check what movies were playing, change accommodation, go have some Indian food in little India and then hit the beach (Batu ferringhi is known to be the best beach in Penang).
Chulia St
cruising the streets
what to choose
mmmmm! mushroom masala, gobhi masala, butter naan and garlic naan and don’t forget the banana lassi
the food was amazing!
batu ferringhi
a secluded beach we found
a giant lizard
the third beach we stopped at
time for a beer
Here are few more shots from exploring the city.
The day was a busy one. We had not stopped for a second. A trip to the visa office, new accommodation (Love lane Inn at 30 ringit a night = 300baht)) a quick peak at the upmarket mall (1st Avenue), Indian for lunch, three different beaches and some nerve racking riding through the dense Penang traffic (It’s definitely not something you want to be doing everyday). And still we had more to do. We had planned for a movie at 6pm (Sherlock Holmes: Game of shadows, I must say I quick enjoyed it), and a sushi session at a swanky restaurant (Sakae sushi) on the 4th floor of the 1st Avenue mall. Every table was kitted out with an Ipad, where you could scan the menu and order items by pushing a few buttons. There were also plates flying around on a conveyor belt, that you could pick off at your pleasure. The experience was a new and exciting one for me. The high tech gadgets got my attention and I couldn’t keep my fingers off them.
a packed sakae sushi
more choices
This is where I sign off for the moment. More from Penang in the next few days.
