The Inland Sea-Khor Al Daid

This was the desert trip we had last month.  We went to the Inland Sea or Khor Al Daid, it is a huge inlet surrounded by giant rolling sand dunes. My first time and it will not be the last one, the desert trip impressed me so much with it beautiful natural feature.

It is important to go in convoy, as you don't know what will happen there, the car stuck in the sand is the last thing you want it to happen there. There is no tarmac road leading to Inland Sea, you drive whatever you like off road! It was so fun, we have to deflated all four wheels outside the Beach Resort before we enter into the desert. It took us 1.5 hours to drive from my place to the Beach Resort and another 45 mins from the Resort to reach Inland Sea. It is advisable to go with someone knowing the way, then it will be a smooth and easy drive or else it will be a bumpy and roller coaster trip! 

It is really a surprise for me to see such a clear and beautiful sea in the middle of desert, across the sea you can see Saudi Arabia. The beach is so soft, so soft! We can't get this type of beach any where in Singapore or Malaysia. When your feet steps on the sand, you thought you are stepping on the mud, that is how soft the sand is. 

Singing Sand Dunes, Qatar

Last month, I visited Singing Sand Dunes with my family, yes, it was really a busy month until I have no time to try on the new recipes which I planned to bake. Or may be my priority has changed?

I have been here for nearly three months and I think is time to tell you more the place where I stay. Singing Dunes is not far away, just about 30 mins driving from the place where I stay. 

First time, experience the desert, purely sand and dust. We were there in the morning, no other visitors were there. Oh, yes there is wind and when the wind is strong enough it created the roar like the jet fighter flying across your head this is why its name is Singing Dunes. The sand is really soft. In this place it is so quiet that you can only hear the wind. 

My son is still young, he doesn't know the different between sand pit and the real desert. He thought this is a big sand pit! And for me, I suddenly think of a late famous author, she wrote a book around 1990 on "Crying Camel in the Desert" that still touch my heart until today.

在这里只有沙和尘土，还有让我想到三毛哭泣的骆驼，那一幕黑哑奴要被带走时三毛拼命的把床毯子往他怀里推，而黑哑奴拿了毯子没命的往家的方向奔去。在风里，三毛说只有哑奴的声音和那条红色的毯子在拍打着她的心。好多年前，我看到这一段已哭得不成声，今天的我站在风沙中，那震撼还是一样的强烈。怀恋你，三毛！

Mt. Baw Baw and Tanjil Bren

We were blessed with snow last week when we went to Mt. Baw Baw, it was Gabriel first encountered with snow. The first day the snow wasn't very thick but it was enough for tobogganing, the second day we saw white everywhere and Gabriel was blessed to see snowing for the first time in his life! However, if you check on the live cam on Mt. Baw Baw now, the snow had gone...really can't imaging it was covered with snow one week ago!

As the trip was planned in the last minutes, we didn't manage to get the accommodation at Mt. Baw Baw, luckily we were able to get one at Tanjil Bren, Moosehead Lodge, it was a 16km drive to Mt. Baw Baw. AUD$340 for a 6 pax. one night stay. Moosehead Lodge is self contains with kitchen, toilet facilities and the best part of it is the heating system is using big slow combustion wood burner! Is amazing how effective the wood burner heating system is if compared to the modern heating system! 

The Moosehead Lodge is surrounded by big gum trees, it has beautiful view overlooking the valley of the mountains. Bird watching is one of the outdoor activities, with bird feeding seeds in hands they are not afraid to come up-close to you, not sure of the bird's name but you are able to find stunning combination of colours on their feathers, we saw blue-orange birds, and the below one was with red-green feathers. 

...and there is no Wii-Fi connection, no telephone, the power is by solar system and some of the light are using gas, forget all the electric equipment because the power voltage is just 12V. Go and experience it, is refreshing for the soul! 

A view from the window, is beautiful! 

Dinner bell! 

Is snowing! He was so amaze by the snow! 

Happy sliding down the hill with toboggan! 

Laying on the snow, feel so happy!

Kelly's Cafe, a simple cafe with creative design, I love their pumpkin soup to go with bread. It is in the middle of Mt. Baw Baw. If you want more from a meal, The Village Restaurant at the entrance of Mt. Baw Baw will be a better choice, it offers spectacular views and also takes booking for special occasions such as conferences and weddings.    

Sunny Ridge and Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens Easter Trip 2

One day while waiting to pick up my son from school, a mother chatted with me and told me she let her kid bring frozen bread with cheese to school as lunch... my jaw nearly dropped as I never prepare lunch for my kid using frozen bread before!

 

However, after that conversation I started to appreciate how we should look at life and the ways we should consume and preserve our food. The main reminder here is ...don't waste food! I started to think on the bread I threw each week...the unfinished big loaf! Then I make an effort to frozen the nearly expired bread.

 

The trick to make the bread comes "alive" is to apply butter on the frozen bread and heat it up using medium heat on a pan, the bread will turn soft and bouncy, you can't tell that the bread was frozen before. I tried to buy the green salad vegetables which come with root, as it can last much longer, the lettuce above already 3 weeks but still staying fresh in the fridge. And lastly, oh yes the main actor for today should be the strawberries, which we pluck it from Sunny Ridge Strawberries Farm :)

 



We went to Sunny Ridge Farm during Easter, the strawberries there really amazing, not just big but sweet as well. We bought the family ticket which allow 2 adults and 2 kids for $20.

Beautiful Yarra Valley Easter Trip 1

 

 

 

 

 

On Good Friday morning as usual we went to church, after the service we headed straight to a Life Group (LG) member home to continue our LG meeting where our LG leader conducted the course for Alpha. It was a meaningful Good Friday as the topic of the course coincided to ask us think on why Jesus die for us.

 

The next day my family and I visited Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery and Yarra Valley Dairy Handmade Farm House Cheeses. The chocolate factory is quite small but it was a good experience for my son to see how the chocolate was made and packed. My son was so excited when he saw the super huge chocolate eggs! and there are lot of free tasting chocolate for you to eat :) One of the chocolate packaging that attracted my attention was the one painted with Yarra Valley local scene. It was inspired by images shot by local photographer Adrienne Gilligan on Yarra Valley.  

 

Pulau Ubin

Last weekend we went to Pulau Ubin with friends.

Pulau Ubin is a small island situated in North East of Singapore near to the west of Pulau Tekong. It is an undeveloped land of Singapore. When I was still working in NUS, I heard about the staff from Raffle Museum discovered rare species of marine creatures at Chek Jawa, in my mind Pulau Ubin is fill with large piece of wetland or mangroves. Actually it is not totally right. Pulau Ubin is a village, with no single bank can be found at their town area. In the town area, there are many bicycle renting shops and a few eating places.

We took boat from Changi Point ferry terminal, the type of small fishing bum boat that can carried 12 person from Singapore mainland to Pulau Ubin jetty. After reaching Pulau Ubin, the transportation is mainly by walking, pedaling on a bicycle or by using so call "taxi" (a small van), through mostly the rustic rocky road. If you are looking for a high class resort or hotel, Pulau Ubin is not the place to go.

The Pier Geelong

This is another long overdue post... it is about 5 months overdue. I want to keep this memory before I totally forget.

We were on our way to Great Ocean Road, stop over Geelong. The good thing about rent a car and drive by yourself, you can stop whenever you feel so. This was the third time I came to Geelong (the other two times were during year 2004) and to me Geelong is a small town with not much happening but it has a stunning views.  

Baveras Restaurant is sitted on Geelong's historical Cunningham Pier, it oversees the Geelong's waterfront. It has a bar on level one and the restaurant is on the ground level.  The food at Baveras Restaurant is not just thumbs up but can consider as great delicacy. Great food, stunning view, of course it comes with a good price tag. 

Chasing Dreams: Myuna Farm and Enchanted Maze Garden

Thinking for very long on what should be the title for this post. Finally is this one, direct to the point I want to share with you, the life over there and the environment which we hope our children can get to grow up in.

I fall in love with Melbourne, not the city but the space and the life there make me wanted to stay longer. In year 2005 I was there for nearly a year, under a special campany mission, I was very depressed then. This round I was with family members and only 3 weeks, I fall in love with this big piece of land, I'm still asking myself is this real? 

The most valueble gained from this trip is ... friendship! Yes, through my sister, I met some new friends. Well, I'm a simple woman who want a simple life.

I promise myself to record down this trip for Gabriel, so bear with me, it will not end in one post :) Most of the photos were taken by WT and my brother-in-laws.

I'm back with ...

These chicken siew bao were made when I was in Penang. The pastry is better than my previous siew bao  but there is room to improve on the sealing part as the BBQ chicken source still leak out. I really love the taste of this yummy pastry :)

This is one of the busiest hawker centre at Lip Sim Garden in Penang. We were there on the morning of Deepavali (Indian's New Year) 

Banana Chocolate Cake from Secret Recipes.  

Is Grandpa's birthday!

Gabriel insisted to cut the cake and not to share the cutting session with Clement. Eventually it was Grandma holding Gabriel hand to cut the cake.



Gabriel had a great time staying in Penang because Clement is big enough to play with him. On the morning when we were going to leave Penang, Clement said he wanted to go Singapore with us. Gabriel who sat behind the car seat said "Of course, you can come Clement! No need to wear shoes, come!" When grandma took Clement away, Gabriel was very sad, he asked "why Clement can not come with us?" I told him, Clement has to get permission from his mommy.

Staying at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, having opportunity to see Kolam the decorative artwork drawn on the floor using coloured ground rice powder. It represents Hindu deities and auspicious signs that are intricately displayed in front of a home or a prayer room.

This is one of the shop which sell various types of coffee powder in Melacca. It is located at 鸡场街, this shop is full of coffee aroma. There is an atrium to allow sunlight coming down in the middle part of the shop, with a cup of coffee in hand to enjoy the quiet time this is beautiful.

I found another special thing in Melacca which I will share with you in my coming post. Bye and keep tune!

Cameron Highlands: Family Outing

Beautiful "Boh" tea plantation.

I would like to end this year posting with my Cameron Highlands family outing. It was a happy event, a family gathering and lot of new experiences. I've been to Cameron Highlands for a few times but this was the first time visiting the tea plantation and hand-on plucking the strawberries...and home-stay in a farm. It was refreshing to wake up and saw the fresh vegetables just outside your room.

"Boh" tea plantation is sitting deep inside the mountain, we have to drive for 15 mins from the main road to reach the tea plantation. It was a very narrow one lane road, when faced with the opposites cars, either one side have to stop and give way. Initially, we thought we had lost the way, but the road ended with this beautiful eyes catching greenery.

There is a restaurant protruding from the edge of the hill overseeing the tea plantation, my heart dances because my soul breathe the fresh air which is full of life. 

The First Test: Bintan

We were thinking of travelling to Hong Kong but decided to give Gabriel and ourselves a test on short distance travel before embark on the longer journey.

There were lots of concerns and finally we chose Bintan because:

1) It is only about an hour ferry from Singapore

2) We need to bring snacks for Gabriel just-in-case he doesn't eat the food. (luckily we did bring the life saving snacks ^_^) 

There are many activities at Nirwana Garden. For instance, golf, horse ride, archery, elephant ride, etc. Nirwana Garden provides free shuttle services so it is not an issue to travel from one place to the other, though you may rent a buggy. 

Gabriel has many new experiences at Bintan and WT & I love the ocean. I like the good service provided by the staff at Rin, Japanese restaurant, of course they served yummy food too. The food at Thai restaurant was terrific. As for Kelong seafood restaurant, well, the price for the food was a bit expensive, the food was not up to my expectation. The steam fish was over cook!

There was power failure when we dined at Dino Bistro, we had to wait quite long time for the dinner to be served. However, the restaurant's staff was sensitive, they served basket of bread to calm our tummy and also the little boy :) Unfortunately, Dino Bistro kids menu was not suitable for Gabriel.   

Overall the stayed at Nirwana Resort Hotel was remarkable, it's worth to give yourselves a try if you have not done so.        

Sea view from my room.

A comfortable king size bed, louvre sliding window allows you to view the sea.

Spacious suite with a sea facing balcony.

A star added to Nirwana Resort Hotel by providing this special baby crib for Gabriel. He loves this crib very much, willing to sleep alone without snuggle with Papa and Mama.

Gabriel was willing to sit down on the beach for the first time. He likes the seaweed but dislike the wet sand :)

A view to the ocean from Thai restaurant, according to the staff during weekend they always has full tables booking at night. The wall photos at the restaurant tells us it has hosted many beautiful beach wedding event.

Soft sand and clean beach with seaweed everywhere. Nirwana Resort Hotel has special programme to bring the kids to the beach and explore the nature.  

Breathtaking view of the ocean in the evening.