SYD -> KUL -> ALA -> FRU

Accounts of a journey.

Sub par meals on the Sydney - Kuala Lumpur leg.

KL airport.

A well deserved Malay breakfast. For the outrageous price of $21.

Funny signs in airport toilets.

Kuala Lumpur -> Almaty. Snacks in the Kazakh airline.

M in Almaty's departure hall. He likes duty free stores.

The menu on Alamty's airport's cafeteria. Food groups are translated, however individual food items are not. Good luck ordering.

(and yes collations is misspelled, but I guess that is the least of my problems)

A well deserved (Turkish) beer in Almaty's airport. Also shown, some Kazakh money.

Horse jerky! 

The brand name is "Meat Flakes" and their slogan says "Traditional snack for nomads". It comes with a complementary toohpick (see middle photo), what a deal!

It was rather chewy and salty, more so than the beef jerky I'm used to, but other than that not much different.

The plane to Bishkek was actually very nice, but the trip only lasted 30 minutes. I blinked and we arrived, so that's why I didn't take photos.

Once in the airport M was stressing out a little bit and that is why I didn't take photos there.

After 31 hours of leaving home, we were greeted by a lot of people and they brought us to M's family's house where they made me eat and drink shots of Hennessy VSOP (cognac) until I passed out. Everyone is very sweet.

These were my kankles the next day:

They gave me these slipper to walk around comfortably in the house. M's sister calls them wedding slippers because they are rather lacey.

...

Stay tuned for more!

On living without boys...

M has been away in the last couple of weeks -he's coming back tomorrow!- and I had some time to reflect on the current state of things...

Pros of living without boys
1. It can be incredibly productive
2. EVERYTHING around the house stays cleaner longer
3. Having to do only about a third of the usual amount of laundry
4. Getting the cat's undivided attention
5. Being able to get deep, sound, restful sleep (because he moves a lot...)
6. Nobody is around to ask me to cook or wash dishes

Cons of living without boys
1. It can get lonely
2. When the time comes to clean something, there is nobody around to help you
3. There's nobody who folds my clothes the way I like it!
4. Realizing that the cat likes him better
5. Having to use hot water bottles and wear four layers to bed (because he keeps me warm...)
6. Nobody is around to cook for me or wash my dishes

Overall boys also are there to help move heavy stuff, open jars and do odd jobs around the house. So I guess that says it... I missed him a lot.

Parry Hotter

I just came from seeing the latest and (so far promised) last Harry Potter movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

I should admit that I never read a single HP book. At the time the first one came out, I was too busy being a rebellious teenager to subscribe to fads. Everyone in school was reading it, which only meant that I wasn't going to. By the time all my friends were on book 3, 4 or 5, I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing by sticking to my very adult-like classic literature. By the time the last book was published I was just finishing college and too busy with more artsy, dark, contemporary literature thanks to my (new) artsy, dark and contemporary friends. So in short, I just didn't have the time to read Harry Potter.

However, I, never missed a single one of the movies.

And here I am, puzzled as ever, as to why I continued to waste my time and money with a plot I couldn't follow or understand. I like the Harry Potter movies, I really do, but if you ask me who is who, or what they do, or whether they are a bad or a good guy, I would probably not have an answer for you.

Combine the lack of context with my inability to understand the british accent and you end up with 19 hours and 38 minutes, and at least some $120 (some popcorn included) of my time and money completely wasted.

HP&TDH Part 1 was impossible for me to follow for the reasons above. Luckily Part 2 had more action than lines, so it was far more entertaining. A few things that I took from the movie:

1. Daniel Radcliffe is very short. Seriously, he makes everyone look like giants.

2. This guy:

Source

It's Willow!!! I never noticed him before but today I did. Now there's a movie about wizards that I love.

Source

Not that I would watch it again, it would probably ruin it for me.

3. These kids are grown up! Deathly Hollows Part 1 and 2 had some serious adult scenes. There was some naked making-out action on Part 1 and several very bloody (and one very abstract) scenes on part 2. This last movie was rated M (recommended for Mature audiences) in Australia.

Source

4. Whatever happened to the Asian girl that Harry had a crush on? When did Ron all of a sudden have a sister? And when did she and Harry fall suddenly in love?

5. Thumbs up. Even though I still don't know who's who in the world of HP, I think I was able to tell that there were some bad guys who turned out to be good, and some good guys that were not so good. And there were a few loving characters that evolved from being nobody on movie 1, to being the hero who saved the day on movie 7. I quite liked all the twists they added at the end.

6. I don't want to spoil it for you, but the ending is nothing short of cute.

So will I read the books now? Probably not... but maybe I should watch all the movies again.

Candied Orange Zest

We had too many oranges at home :-)

Step 1. Cover (loosely) he bottom of a pie dish or baking dish with caster sugar.

Step 2. Wash your oranges really well and dry. Use a citrus peeler, thin or thick, up to you and peel anywhere between 1 to 5 oranges.

Step 3. In a small sauce pan bring 1 cup of sugar, a half cup of water and 3 tablespoons of Cointreau (optional) to a slow boil. Stir to ensure all the sugar has dissolved.

Step 4. Add the orange peels to your boiling syrup and wait until they start to look a bit translucent. Then wait a bit more, for good meaure.

Step 5. Drain (do not rinse!) and toss in the dish with sugar (I used chopsticks for this). Let it set for 5 minutes and toss again. Repeat as many times as you like.

I plan on using it as a topping for delicious baked goods.

Plagiarism?

Does the melody in Coldplay's new single sound familiar at all?



Try...



Mmm?

************
Edit: Here's the answer to our questions.

Adorable things my cat does #27

She keeps you company during breakfast.

How to Make a Manhattan

M and I put this together. Make sure you watch in HD if possible!



Not for the faint of heart ;-)

It's May!

To all of you who were in any level concerned that I wasn't blogging much lately, you are so sweet. When even my brother asks me why I haven't been blogging, it means it's been too long.

Nothing wrong happened and I am healthy and well. It has been a wonderful month at my new job and I like it more and more each day. I work with great people, the job is fun and interesting, and it makes me feel useful and needed. Life is great.

M is doing well too, he got a haircut and he looks so handsome!!! I have been telling him for months to get it done and I'm happy to announce that he will never look back again :) 

So back to my promise... here's a couple of beers we tasted this month...

The brewery: Matilda Bay (Victoria)

The beer: Dog Bolter Dark Lager

Appearance: dark brown, however not really cloudy. Little to no head after pouring.

Aroma: Molasses, roasted coffee, very mild.

On the palate: As expected with most dark ales, a thick malty flavour, with a touch of sweetness similar to molasses. However it is not overpowering and a great addition to any warm meal of red meat or spicy food.

The brewery: Matilda Bay (Victoria)

The beer: Bohemian Pilsner

Appearance: Pale gold and clear (after a few seconds of settling). Lovely head retention.

Aroma: Very mild scent of hops.

On the palate: A classic Czech style lager, crisp and refreshing. A firm and pleasant aftertaste reminiscent of sourdough bread. A classic, in every sense of the word.

The brewery: McLaren Vale Beer Company (South Australia)

The beer: Vale Ale Pale Ale

Appearance: Pale and unfiltered (ie. cloudy), fine and dense head.

Aroma: Mild, of wheat or bread.

On the palate: Spicy and hoppy. Medium bitterness with a touch of fruity sweetness. Caramel-like aftertaste.







We've been cooking up some other amazing things around here lately and I hope I get to share some soon...

Australia's finest

I am a beer fan.

Always have been since that first chilly can of cheap watery beer. Not really, not then at least.

I *am* a huge fan of beer, and our love affair started when I moved to Boulder, Colorado to attend graduate school. The United States is the country with the largest number of breweries in the world, and did you know the state of Colorado has the largest number of breweries per capita? It is therefore little coincidence that the Great American Beer Festival takes place every year in Denver, featuring over 400 different breweries, over 2,000 different beers and hosts almost 50,000 beer lovers in one long, magical, beer heaven weekend.

I did attend the festival and I will leave those embarrassing stories for another occasion, my point here is I loved beer ever since and I love to drink my way to variety and look forward to the surprise of opening a new brew every time. 

Recently I was gifted with The Beer Lovers Guide to Australia, which I quickly devoured and learned (in general) about the history of beer, how it's crafted and how it can be served and enjoyed. The book also features a long list of Australian craft beers and micro-brews which in turn inspired me to go out and taste them!

So I give you...

20 OF AUSTRALIA'S FINEST BEERS

Randomly selected by me ;) 

I plan on enjoying each one of these over the next few weeks and sharing my tasting notes right here on Bongaloo, so stay tuned and don't blog and drive.

New new beginnings

After 5 long months of application after application and rejection after rejection, I finally landed a full time position in the hospitality industry. I mean a real job, a job with a salary, benefits and other perks. A job where I get to dress up as an adult, and get to meet very interesting people.

Needless to say I am jumping-out-of-my-socks excited. Today was my first day and I met so many lovely faces and places and learned a thing or two about the business. Last but not least, the office is in a *beautiful* location.

Oh proletariat, how I've missed thou.