Hello Aoraki

A return trip from Wanaka at Easter had Aoraki (Mt Cook) clearly in my sights.  The plane window always adds a further haze - but it really was quite authoratative on the sky line, and easily seen for quite a while heading up the South Island to Christchurch after an intensely sunny weekend.

Its on the right of the image in the distance. I was as fascinated capturing the old school propellor.

The center peak in this image...

Its always good to get a good view of Mt Cook - a nice anchoring constant!

Les Cevelles D'Agneau

This week, for the first time ever, I was treated by a friend to Lambs Brains: lightly poached, and topped with a salsa verte (chocca with anchovies) on toast.   A Fergus Henderson recipe, and a great way to start a potential following of offal!

Malaysia - Part Two. Island Time, Langkawi...

So - this is where we stayed on Langkawi.  This place was bigger than our house! It is a 100 year old colonial home .  We got upgraded! Yipppppeee!  A bathroom each, a beautiful bedroom with mosquito net, I was Catherine de Neuve in Indochine (but I was at Temple Tree).

Every morning we would receive a beautiful breakfast with a surprise fruit and home baked cake - never two the same over 7 nights.

Malaysia has the softest green plalate going on...

 

This is Jay Jay - Temple Tree's Dog and, shared with neighbouring Bon Ton resort, Temple Tree's owner also has LASSie - a dog and cat shelter and clinic on the island - so you need to be down with the felines and canines to stay here! We took a couple of muts for a walk one day. They were totally cool dogs.  

Pool House

View down to the second pool - which sits alongside kitchen and bar

This is how I spent much of my time on the island behind Alistair on a motorbike!!!

 

...spotting things like this - real cashews (see it formed under the pear like fruit)?

Staple drink - lemon ice tea with ice and sugar syrup.

Classic eaterie, once you got out of the main tourist area.. All you can eat buffet costs $4 each.

Every meat bar pork that you could imagine - BBQd and spiced up with curry or sambal... I was surprised at how much tamarind and tumeric they use here.  

And as well as the freshest food ever and the most varied, the MAGIE noodle packs are never far, or the nestle ice coffee for that matter (which I have to say I did enjoy with the condensed milk 10 years on since I first tried it).  Its just so good!

Few chicken wings are going to get it!  Satay is also popular, but we didn't see it heaps in non tourist parts.

Back at Temple Tree - tea leaf choices at any time.

And down the road - roti - need I say more? I was a repeat customer here.

Good times on Langkawi.

(That's a lilly pond at Bon Ton's Stilt Bar).

Malaysia - Part One, KL

Just returned from our 'Asian Island Getaway'.  Did the job: restorative, warm and totally different!  Here are some views from our entry and exit stay overs in Kuala Lumpar.

The tallest 'twin towers' in the world (Petronas Towers) are 'jewelled' with light at night.  I fell in love with them.  They are just so 'Malaysia' and everyone is so proud of them.

 Hibiscus (the national flower of Malaysia) referenced everywhere.

 The best basement floor eating I've ever done in a mall. Chinese, Malay, Japanese, Taiwanese, Western, Indian, Thai.... We were pigs in mud and this is where we could be find most of the time...

We didn't have time for any purposeful cultural insights - and there wasn't much popping out on the streets - bar this light relief of a mural down a side street in a very trashy China Town. I like the cyclist.

The Islamic influences structure continues with so much of the architecture... This was in another shopping mall!

 Street scene looking down from Pavillions Mall (their most esteemed mall)!  

Tropical well planned urban spaces were few - but super good when they appeared!  We pretty much spent most of the time in airconditioned walkways to malls etc. Not much time - but great to be in a totally pumped city - making a go of everything, so much money, so much diversity, lots of ideas, kind of conservative and ordered for Asia, with no creepy crawlies (human or insect), yet full of 'Asia' including exotic food smells, the ever present sounds of scooters, phenomenal rain storms, traffic jams and that thick haze.  Asia is so good for the soul.  The everyday disorder makes Christchurch's post earthquake situation seem horribly dull and stagnant.  Maybe cities in the world are always changing like Christchurch currently is - but they do it daily - sans a disaster.  We're just not used to it, and haven't previously been forced to change with speed before? No population pressures, war or politics creating infrastructure issues here.   My brief impression reflected back home was this: we so have to get over ourselves and get on with trying some stuff.  

One Year, Marked

I don't really want to post on the one year anniversary. It was a media crazed week. But I think it is important to show 'where we are up to' here in Christchurch, one year on - just for the record.  

 Outside the Red Zone, facing Hagley Park, one of the four Viagra Towers is already down - the demolition was explicit and merciless! It attracted huge crowds and showed people's belongings being clawed out.  Seemed like another 'up yours' to humans and their need for things.

 Inside the RedZone. Looking to McKenzie and Wills from Alice in Videoland building.

'Getting rid' (bit harsh but kind of true) of the rest of High St (C1 down) and Poplar Lane

 This is the last building standing on that side of High Street.  We used to live to the right of it. 

 The Excellsior facade still stands! Bit like a Roman Amphitheatre!

This is how they keep it up.  Not sure why this one has been chosen to save - it has had a lucky break.

And still in the Red Zone, I walked through the tragic Victoria Square.  Tragic - in that the lanterns from the festival that had just happened there a year ago are STILL hanging from the tree. Tragic-  that the state of play for the Town Hall is still unknown. Tragic that this is where we were married - Boaters Restaurant. It now hangs literally from the main Town Hall building over the river. 

And back to outside the Red Zone and a little bit of cheer. We had a great day last weekend with Ribs, Riesling and Rubble - getting some people together in the many spaces that yearn for activity.  

 

This spot will soon be a super dope bar.  Its getting some good attention! 

To close! The back of the Odeon theatre (in the Red Zone).  Whilst this is just another example of a cleared site where you can't remember what used to be there, it shows how beautiful some of the buildings are when seen for the first time from a new angle. 

Malaysia - Truly Asia

We are going on holiday soon. So we prepped at Malaysia Delight tonight.  Recommend the Nasi Goreng shown here, roti and gravy and Beef Rendang.  Great benchmarking...

I just bought a new jacket designed by this sister...

http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Isabel_Marant

I'm in love. (With the jacket). Long may it continue...