satu dua tiga.. SMILE

Yesterday we had a Raya and good bye event for some of the people at work who are leaving. We had crazy lot of food and even more different cookies.. We played charades and had a hilarious photo session snapping 4*10 auto pictures at once with a different pose in each. This is my favorite from the collection :)

KL Social Media Event

Yesterday I met up with Mita to attend KL Social Media Event 2012. Unfortunately it was not what we had expected. We had hoped for a bigger exhibition but instead the venue was at a small cafe and the speakers were nothing but impressive. They spoke of the power of Social Media, especially Facebook pointing out a lot of statistic and the threats of your safety. While mentioning the usage of smart phones and how much time we spend on Social Media platforms I couldn't help but smile when seeing these 3 Europeans in front of me all checking their Facebook at least every 10 minute.. So the question to ask.. was the event really that boring (me and Mita sneaked out half through to hunt for beer...), or do we over use our smart phones to the extend it becomes silly..?

Today we are having a relaxed Sunday at home, weather is bad with a lot of haze coming in from Indonesia. It is not very pleasant to be outside. Even though we went out to get breakfast, roti canai and nasi lemak.. yum!

Raya cookies and snakes

As promised I will give an update on the Hari Raya weekend in Penang.
It all started with a bus ride from KL early Saturday morning and I had expected a very bad traffic but the loud Indian bus driver took the old road with less jam so the trip took about 6 hours +, instead of 4 (which was not too bad since I had feared for 10 hours). We arrived in the late afternoon to Mun’s family house where we entered a cooking marathon. The whole family was sitting on the floor in the kitchen rolling sticky rice in bamboo leaves. We spent the evening preparing for the next day and I was admiring the nearly 20 different kinds of homemade cookies..

The next morning we woke up early for the traditional prayer at the Mosque. I followed and watched from outside. The prayer was over within an hour, I was enjoying my time in the shade doing some serious people watching. I had borrowed one of Mun’s sisters Baju Kurung, which is the traditional Malay dress. Its a knee long loose fitting blouse worn over a long shirt. They can be very beautiful and usually for Hari Raya women in the family match the colour or the pattern with each other. I did not match the sisters however, mine was very light green, compared to their red and blue. I wore it to the Mosque and for the rest of the day but not to worry.., I also wore the “modern and sexy” one (which is just a top, not a Baju Kurung) but not until the day after when visiting relatives. For the record, there was no one in the family who gave me a high eyebrow look, for this time I got by smoothly and passed the test =)

After coming back from the Mosque we went for a little road trip with the mother, grandmother and the sisters up to Perlis where grandmother has a house. Perlis is a state up north and we were as close as about 30 km from the Thailand border. The Malay Raya tradition is to visit one another and eat. We had visitors coming over to the house and we also went to see other relatives close by.

Despite the heat and the sun we got some outdoor exercise while helping mother do some cleaning and gardening at a small house she has inherited not far from grandmothers house. The garden (or I should rather say the land) is very big. The house is for now unlivable, the plan is to renovate and rent it. Mun acted farmer boy and sprayed the whole land with weed-killer and I was taken care of all the leaves next to the house. My heart stopped for a second when I saw a large snake curl out of my pile of leaves, clearly I was not wanted as I most have woken him up from his sleep. Luckily he was still in a good mood and made his way away from me and the house.. After that Mun changed his flip flops into proper rubber boots and I could carry on feeling a little bit better..

The last day back in Penang Mun took me to Georgetown to see the wall paintings. We walked for a few hours around town. Photos was shared earlier :)
Back at the house I met Mun’s aunt with family. Turns out that aunt's American husband has Swedish roots. His great grandfather is from Gotland! Once again the world has proven to be very small! 

I had a nice time and I am still enjoying the homemade cookies I got back with me home =)

Street art in Penang

While spending the weekend in Penang we went hunting for the new wall paintings in Georgetown that I had heard and read about. The paintings are done by the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic during the Georgetown festival about 2 months ago. The paintings have become very popular, especially the main one on Armenian street of two kids on a bicycle. We had to queue to get a proper photo of the painting. However the queuing itself wasn't that bad, it was rather amusing in fact watching the Chinese tourists bring one pose after another next to the painting.

Here is my collection of the Ernest Zacharevic's street art. I sure look forward to see more!

Happy Hari Raya

This coming weekend is the Muslim festival Hari Raya when all Muslims break the fasting month. It is the biggest holiday of the year in Malaysia. We are off to Penang tomorrow morning to spend 4 days with Mun's family. I am really looking forward to it and excited to experience the traditional celebration. Mun's mother and sisters have already picked out my outfit which was kind of a surprise to Mun since its not what he expected, its modern and sexy according to him.. lets see the reactions I will get from the rest of the family.. to my defense, I didn't choose it myself! I promise I will tell you all about it and I will get some photos uploaded as well :)

Besides from Penang we also have some other nice trips planned soon. First weekend of September we are going to Perhentian islands again for a few days to relax and enjoy the beach. I cant wait! And.. In mid October we are going for a 11 days trip to Myanmar (Burma), finally! I booked the tickets earlier today so now there is no turning back. Just need to figure out the visa and decide our route.

Tonight I will enjoy a nice meal and some drinks with the gang at Jalan Alor before everybody is off for the holiday. I wish you all a Happy Raya and I hope you will have a great weekend!

  

Sunday shopping

Grocery shopping a la Asian style; pack as much as possible onto the bike without falling off..
Last Sunday we went to Bangsar Village and this time (to my big surprise!) I remembered to bring my very pink big recycling shopping bag. You see.., the packing of your groceries here is a bit different from what I am used to back home. Here the cashier lady will do it for you and she will separate all the things depending on the type of product, soft things in one plastic bag, cold things in another and so on.. Rather convenient if it wasn't for the complete unnecessary waste of plastic bags!!... When doing light shopping I will have 4 plastic bags with me home even if I just got some breakfast stuff! This usually end up me having to hold several plastic bags on each side of the bike balancing the weight not to fall off.., resulting in us looking like a crazy shopping Christmas tree.. Anyways, the Sunday shopping this time went more smoothly than normal even though my bag is more over loaded and heavy than it looks like..

 

Since last time..

I realize I cannot blame lack of time for not updating the blog since March so therefore I wont start listing a bunch of excuses.. However, the main reason is because my blogging and Asian food inspiration came from my friend Lina who left KL to go to NZ in April..  Come back Lina pls!

Now.., way too many things have happened since last time to fit in one post but I will share a little bit to get back on track. I have recently enjoyed two nice weekend get-aways in Kuching, Sarawak/Borneo and a road trip to Cameron Highlands.

In Kuching we went for the Borneo Music Rainforest Festival in the middle of July. The festival was during three days but I only managed to visit the festival one day. It was cool music and a nice atmosphere. The day after, before heading back to KL we visited the Orang Utans at Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Center where we got to meet the Orang Utan named "Hot Mama" among others..

The weekend after we packed the car for a road trip to Cameron Highlands. In the highlands you can enjoy beautiful tea plantations, yummie strawberry farms and nice hikes. We visited the Boh tea plantation on the hill with a stunning view over the green scenery. We also had a hilarious moment in the souvenir shop trying out Cameron Strawberry ear muffs..     

And not to forget.. we started a new trend! Make sure you look after this in the new autumn collection this year.

For more pictures check out this album:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150683958170941.446968.587000940&type=3&l=82264248ce