My new blog: For those who came here for the cake pop class, I've created a new blog with updates on classes and photos over at guiri in the kitchen



Saturday, December 31, 2005

White F..f..frreeezzing Christmas in Türkiye

Oh, my family and I had soooo much fun in Turkey this Christmas!!! We knew that the weather would be cold, but we certainly did not expect snow! Boy were we surprised when we arrived the hotel in Bolu on first night only to find it snowing.....it was the FIRST white christmas for all of us and despite the cold, we were hopping around in the snow and taking lots and lots of pictures. The first night, the temperature reached -11 deg Celcius during the night, and next morning was about -2 to -3. Our poor li'l fingers and toes almost turned into icicles but we didn't care (we do look like a bunch of jakuns though...hehehe).

I was really amazed with the friendliness and hospitality of Turkish people. Almost everywhere we went, we were sure to be greeted with smiles, adults and children alike. Our tour guide, Sinan was like our history teacher as well, giving us all interesting information about the history of Turkey. We also had a wonderful driver, Ugur, although he had to drive on ice for few days, made it seem effortless. Not to mention the those at the souvenir shops, they really must be applauded for their iniative. First they thought we were Japanese, and greeted us with Konnichiwa, but when they saw no response, they asked where we were from. Upon knowing that we were from Malaysia, they all chanted together, "Mari, mari....lelong lelong!" That really caught our attention ;)

There were several highlights in our itinery, to mention a few, Cappadocia, Troy, Ephesus, and Istanbul. But for me....one of the interesting highlights of the trip was WC visits :P We spent lots of time on the bus travelling from one end of Turkey to the other, and we had toilet stops every 1.5 - 2 hours. Couldn't help but took pictures of some of the interesting WCs, dating from 200 AD till today.....hehehe...


Anyway, I was hoping that I could meet up with Zeynep in Ankara, but our trip itinery was really tight, so we didn't get to meet. Next time perhaps!

Here's the link to the rest of the photos taken in Türkiye.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Tourist Guide "Celup"

Spent my first week in Malaysia as a tourist guide....a loyar buruk one :P Antonio, a friend of Stefano, happened to be in Singapore, and decided to visit KL while he was here in SEA, so I became his guia for 3 days. Thanks to the ASEAN Summit, we spent 2 hours looking for a place to stay for him.

It was then I realise how little I know about Kuala Lumpur, the dear old city that I have been living in for 18 years at least. I don't even recall having any proper photos of it, despite having snapped more than 10,000 photos in my life. I am almost a foreigner in my own city! I have never been up to the bridge of Twin Towers, have never travelled on the PUTRA LRT, have never walked in the park of the KLCC, have never been to Batu Caves.... and the list goes on. When Antonio asked me about some of the places mentioned on the Lonely Planet, I have never even heard of it!(gotta korek one lubang and hide myself) :P I was also a tourist myself when I visited some of these places for my first time (shame shame lar...)

Anyway, we did have lotsa fun. On his first day, I took him to RedBox for a karaoke session with my darling, Sam, SC and KH. Having heard how the rest sound like when we sing (as well as those from other rooms, of course...ehem!) , he was not anymore shy to sing along .....heee... Then the next day we went to KL Tower, KLCC, Chinatown, Dataran Merdeka, etc. The funny thing is that once he walked alone in KLCC (with people giggling at him) wearing a t-shirt with vulgar Cantonese sayings , not knowing what it meant beforehand because a banana like me can't read and translate it for him. Pobrecito....:P

I got him to try nasi lemak, cendol, ais kacang, claypot rice, tomyam seafood noodle and teh tarik. Even with all the spices, he did not sweat...way to go Antonio! ;) Espero que hayas gustado Kuala Lumpur! Un abrazo fuerte!

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

I am HOME!

After 16 hours mas o menos in the plane and in transit, I finally arrived Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Sunday afternoon. Oh boy was I relieved. I have been so worried for the past few days about my excess baggage, but finally escaped without having to pay a cent though we were exceeded by approx. 35kg! *phewwww*

Weather was perfect when I arrived, though some thick clouds could be seen ahead in the centre of town. I have been told that KL has been raining for the past few days without fail. Oh well, it's not so bad, I would always trade a nice gloomy warm humid Malaysian weather with the cold autumn in Spain anytime. :P Let's hope I have not spoken too soon...hehehe...

I'm now haunted by a stubborn flu.... *sigh* guess it's my own fault for eating too much heaty food before I board the plane. Roasted lamb chops, fries, and churros con chocolate! Padan muka. Keeping my fingers crossed now it will be gone soon.

Will be changing the title of my blog soon. My Life in Spain is no longer valid I guess, if I am going to continue updating it. Will see what my genius brain tells me later......... :P