Let's Play A Game!

It's the 'Name the Fruit' Game!

Fruit No. 1

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Name this fruit.

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Mango?

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Or Papaya?

Answer: 

A papaya that looks almost like a mango. 

A papaya from papa's papa-ya tree!

And if you think that's amusing, wait till you see the rest.

Mini Fruits Galore!

Mini papaya that looks like a mango, next to a mini pomelo that is a tad too yellow 

and two mini mangoes that instead don't quite look like mangoes. Just so you know, 

mini pomelo hails from the pomelo tree in front of my house too. 

Yup. Our mini garden bears mini fruits.

Oh oh! I just remember I had one more photo in my camera to share.

*goes off to hunt down the photo* 

There you go! 

Our Si Pendek Papaya tree. Hahaha. Super short but super fruitful.Contrary to the mango-looking papaya that was shown above, its many other siblings look and taste like any normal papaya. By the way, this photo was taken back in October last year. Si Pendek has turned into a fine teen-papaya now and is awaiting its second bloom.

:)

Only in Penang

Where else in the world will you see an expatriate mother fetching her child home 

from futsal, strutting confidently down the road, while a family of Malaysians looking 

helplessly lost in the middle of Penang?

Amusing sight don't you think?

Granted that the lost family was definitely from outstation, but still...

Now imagine Mrs Expatriate offering directions to these poor Malaysians.

*grins*

Don't you just love Penang? 

I know I do.

*hearts*

[L.E.P.A.K series: Amsterdam] Chapter 21: Brunch at Zaanse Schans

There is no way for one to come all the way to Amsterdam much less Zaanse Schans 

and never lay eyes on a pair of clogs. Impossibru!

So it's no surprise that I found myself in a pair of over-sized clogs. 

 And as if that wasn't enough...

We found ourselves together inside one gigantic clog. Hahaha. 

Why does this remind me of the old lady who lives in a shoe? 

Hmm... Of course, those giant clogs were meant for photography purposes.

But inside, whoah! It's as if you've stepped into a world of clogs. 

From left to right, up and down, you can even find clogs hanging right about you. 

Talk about space-efficient display. *grins*

Even Mr Salesman wears a pair.

The more traditional looking clogs. 

 These are traditional you say? Why yes. 

 That is if you compare them to...

THESE!! 

Totally don't look like clogs right?

There's also super mini clogs, perfect as souvenirs. 

 Okay okay, I'll stop with the clog overload now. Hehe.

 Well, we did not buy any actual clogs but managed to choose a few mini ones to be given as souvenirs to our dear colleagues. That's one of the many perks of travelling with a fellow colleague. Share-share buy souvenirs and therefore, share-share souvenir cost. XD 

 After that little mini shopping spree, we headed back out to the beautiful scenery outside. That's when our stomachs started to growl, demanding for food, food, glorious food! *excuse my enthusiasm as I had just rewatched Oliver (1968 version a.k.a. the best ever version that pawns over the recent one a few years back) last week* Anyway, leaving London behind and back to Zaanse Schans, there were not many dining options to choose from in this little village. The one main diner is situated right at the centre of the village and was a cosy (or chilly, depending on the weather) pancake house! 

 That's two proper sit-down-and-enjoy meals in two days! Yay! 

 Now you might be wondering where’s that signature chapter photo that was supposed 

to be right at the top of this post? Well…

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TADAA! That’s my brunch right there. 

Bacon filled pancake plus a cup of hot chocolate to warm ourselves. 

Looks super yummy right? Unfortunately it didn't turn out as good as it looks. 

Not so much because of its taste but more so, because bacon wasn't the best 

combination for a pancake. A tad too dry in my opinion. 

 HOWEVER!

Cik Anai's rum and raisins pancake topped with a beautifully squeezed whipped cream was made of awesome! Superbly yummy. Now the question is why did we choose to sit outside in the cold when we could have enjoyed a more cosy atmosphere indoors?

To enjoy the view of course! *sigh* 

For the next 30 minutes or so, we felt that we were living the fine life. Sipping hot chocolate and savouring pancakes with beautiful windmills as backdrop. 

 By the time we finished our brunch, we saw tour buses arriving and tourists of every possible nationality coming down in hoards. The next time we stepped into a souvenir shop, we found ourselves sharing space with tourists, tourists and more tourists. o__O

We decided then that it was time for us to take our leave as the place was no longer 

'belong' to just us, duckie and si manja anymore.

See see! See that gal. Umm… too tiny to spot? Wait I zoom zoom.

There you go! Hopefully she don’t sue me for this. 

Whoever you are miss, I envy you, sitting there, all laid-back, reading your favourite book. (Favourite or not, I dunno lah but still so nice right?)

On our walk back to the train station, we met an ice-cream....ummm... truck? mobile? Hahaha. Strangely it was selling Italian gelato though.

Bye bye ice-cream and bye bye Zaanse Schans. 

 Next up! Back to Amsterdam.

A Day Late is Never Too Late

Yesterday was our one year 'anniversary'. Can you believe it has been one whole year 

since Cik Anai and I set foot in London? That's like 365 days! 

 Waaaait a minute!! 

 It's 366 since this year is a leap year. 

Cis Cis!

 Before you go all roll eyes on me, I stand to defend that I take every 

memorable moment in life seriously. I remembered when it was a year right 

after Cubbie and I went to Japan. We texted each other with messages 

like "Can you believe it's been a year?" followed by a lot of 

"Oh my god, I want to go again!" and "I miss Japan!" 

 So yeah. It's been a year since our crazy adventure or as I prefer to put it, 

a year since Cik Anai wet her pants. XD 

 Good times my friend. Good times.

Cheers to the Freakin' Weekend!

I'll drink to that! Yeah yeah!

Extra Serve Yo! Bought this last year for daddy dearest when I paid a visit 

to Hatyai with fellow colleagues. That was like four months ago! -.- 

But who cares! It's never too late for some Chang beer.

That's one can of beer for the whole family minus young sis. Hahaha.

Ain't no drinkers, just a subtle feel good amount to go around.

CHEERS YO! :)

[L.E.P.A.K series: Amsterdam] Chap 20: Dutch Beauty!

It's time for some pretties again. I foresee there will be more photos than words 

in this blog post. What you will see here are some of my favourite shots of Zaanse Schans. 

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Here we go!

I love this. Cute little pink scooter for two.

Followed by cycling man. *kriing kriing*

The real mirror effect.

Crazy right?

Now back to our usual 'broadcast'. Hehe. 

It's the cheese factory and we're customers number one and two!

There was soooo many types of cheese for sale and free samples to try. Hahaha. 

The lady explained to us the various types of cheese that were available. 

From cow's milk to goat's milk, from plain to mixed herbs, from normal to 

smoked cheese. Yummmmy!! 

 We had to stop ourselves from unashamedly finishing up the smoked cheese with herbs. *embarassed* But it was sooo good that we each bought a chunk home to share with our loved ones. See at least we got buy too. And that's not all we bought. We had our eyes at these Dutch Stroopwafel or *ahem* in English, Syrup Waffles! I've read about how deliciously good they are and boy were the reviews spot on. Once again we found ourselves standing in front of the waffles and munching down at the free samples. Hahaha. To justify our actions, we bought ourselves six packs to take home with. Or at least I think it was six. Could be more. No less though. 

 And and there was more! We also bought bars and bars of chocolate! 

See all that 'free breakfast' is not exactly free after all.

SEE SEE! That's 27.16€.

Which is over a hundred ringgit and you see me enquiring about the windmill pen. 

Yikes! Stoooop. I did not buy the pen but I did bought a super cute and big Dutch lady 

magnet which costs more than the pen. -.-;;

That's me checking out the stuff I bought. And that's Duckie checking me checking out 

the stuff I bought. LOL. There may not be many people around the village but the animals 

here is pretty good at this hospitality thing too. Remember Si Manja? 

 Anyway, since he's all interested, 

I might as well asked him to smile one for the camera.

Nice knowing you Duckie! Thanks for the company.

And there we go pretending to be ladies on the farm. *grins*

Hard at work yo!

I love this shot! *hearts*

This is one way of getting a photo of us together without someone's help. :D 

 And that marks the end of part two of Zaanse Schans. 

I have one more part to go before we head back to Amsterdam. Wee!