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Wow! I'm finally able to access my own blog... can't believe it's been over a year. I don't think anyone out there even reads this anymore... hahahaha! I'm just gonna post a new entry for the hell of it.

Mongolia Day 3

Didn't sleep a WINK the night before!! Stomach started churning round about midnight and by the time dawn came around I was grouchy as hell and dying for some sleep. JJ raced off over the plains clicking away while I huffily tried to come to terms with the fact that there wasn't toilet within miles of where we were and that I would have to actually dig a hole in the ground and... you know. (horror of all horrors!) Well I had psychological issues with using the wide open plains as a toilet and so decided to soldier through the day and hope my tummy would sort itself out...

Drove up to the ruins if the 16th century Ovgon Khud monastery that was destroyed - according to our guide, by the russians, and according to The Lonely Planet, Zanzabar's warriors - whatever.. it was destroyed. I personally didn't think it was anything to shout about but LP stated that a 45 min hike up into the surrounding mountains would bring us to a much prettier ruin. By this time my tummy was screaming for my attention and I had to finally relent - thank god for the hole in the ground with 3 wooden walls.

Background: My saviour!

Glad I was able to do the hike. It was an easy trek which allowed us the time to appreciate the stunning scenery and the fresh crisp air. The monastery was indeed much prettier and had alot more character and charm. The silence up there was mildly disarming and at the same time brought about a sense of peace and tranquility. I was content to just sit and listen to the sounds of flapping magpie wings as they call out to one another from their perches.

We arrive back to our driver and guide after 2 hours and it was off to the Mongol Els for camel rides! YAY!! We negotiate for an hour's worth but beg to be led back after only 20 mins - JJ coz his nether regions were giving him sharp reminders of yesterdays horse ride and me coz the up and down motion did NOTHING but aggravate my already grumpy tummy.

Once on terra firma, we were invited into the camel herder's ger for a sampling of some airag - fermented mare's milk. It's got a pretty low alcoholic content - even 5 year-olds drink it - and involves a simple but labour intensive process of making. The milk is collected and poured into a large barrel where it is churned by hand, CONTINUOUSLY for 24 hrs. What you get is a thin, slightly sourish milk that if consumed enough, apparently keeps you from feeling hungry. Hmmmm... diet option? hehehe

Next stop, Karakorum, ancient Mongol capital ruled by Genghis Khan. Did a quick tour as it was already late and all the monks were pretty much done for the day. Decided to spend the night at a tourist ger camp where heating was in the form of a log fire YAY! not so great thing was that the fire tended to go out in the night and then I was reduced to a shivering bundle under the covers. Had a typical mongolian dinner of 'booz' - meat dumplings that were OH SO YUMMY but OH SO FILLING! JJ then had the bright idea of taking out his bottle of Chinggis Gold vodka and initiated drinking games. Silly boy! trying to win against mongolians!! At least I knew when to stop. Needless to say, he skipped breakfast the next morning and suffered a pounding head. Sigh....

Mongolia Day 2

Woke up bright and early, mainly coz the sun was streaming in through our little tent window. Had a lovely night's sleep... well as lovely as I could get sleeping on the ground, but my sleeping bag was so WARM! I actually had to take layers off in the middle of the night. Hooray for good quality sleeping bags!! Breakfast was of bacon and scrambled eggs on toast. (Hooray for our gas stove and pots and pans!!)

Bleary eyed and tending to the bacon SLURP!!

Packed up and headed into the Hustain National Park to try and catch a glimpse of wildlife and the takh - Mongolia's re-introduced wild horses and the last remaining ancestor to the modern-day horse.. The takhi are very shy and we were lucky to get as close as we did. Was slightly disappointed at the fact that apart from the takhi, marmots (which scrambled off too fast for me to take photographic aim), eagles and vultures were the only other creatures I was able to spy (oh and the mostly intact skeleton of a deer). Didn't realise that the red deer, gazelles and lynx were up in the mountainous areas - far far away. BLEH!!!


Headed back to the ranger's office for a spot of horse riding. I made sure our guide translated the importance of me having a gentle horse, but I guess she did too good a job coz the horse I ended up with not only didn't trot, it kept bloody stopping every 5 steps to EAT!! I swear a snail would've overtaken us at the rate we were going!! So while JJ and our guide went cantering up ridges, I was left to fight with my horse. The saddle I had wasn't very comfy either. A piece of leather was placed over a mongolian saddle (which is basically 2 slats of wood tied together) and that just kept biting into my thigh bone. JJ thankfully suggested we swap horses so I could get the rush of a faster moving beast. But took pity on him soon after and swapped back coz he looked like he was in pain on that saddle :p Enjoyed an hour of meandering and then it was back into our Delica and off in search of our next camp site.

Decided on a nice level spot at the foot of a stone hill (to block out most of the wind) not too far from the Mongol Els which is like the mini Gobi desert but with sand dunes. Scurried down to some dunes to catch the beautiful sunset which gave me lots of opportunities to experiment with the aperture settings and shutter speeds on the non-digital SLR I was carrying.


Back at camp, dinner of rice and mutton was ready to be served. Wolfed it down and with full bellies retired into my sleeping bag in anticipation for the next day.

Mongolia Day 1

Flew to Mongolia with D & L. Was grateful for their company. They made the flight and transit more manageable. Touched down in Ulaanbaatar airport but my bag didn't. Was told to call the airport the next morning. BLEH! Lovely way to start the holiday. JJ met us at the airport with a large bottle of Chinggis Gold Vodka and insisted on a welcome shot so that kinda made up for the mild annoyance. Damn it was good! Spent the night partying at the wedding of someone we didn't even know and only got in through JJ's friend. Free flow alcohol! Woohooo! Survived the night with no hangovers the next day. Said goodbye to D & L around 10a.m. and hello to our O & B; our guide and driver for the next 6 days.

First task of the day... grocery shopping. Since we were gonna be camping in the middle of nowhere, we had to stock up on food (rice, pasta, veges, pre-packed instant meals, fruit, etc...) and water. JJ stocked up on beer.

Drove 2 hours along dusty, bumpy unpaved roads to Hustain National Park. It was a beautiful day, 15 deg C, with cloudless blue skies that stretched as far as the eye could see. Set up camp just outside the border of the national park while O whipped up a yummy dinner of pasta (which turned cold in a matter of minutes). Didn't expect the temperature to drop so much so quickly (3 deg C). Scrambled for warmer clothes and sat down to dinner in pitch blackness save for the light coming from our lamp.

And then I looked up and was completely blown away. The night sky was dotted with millions of stars! Bright twinkling eyes looking down. Such a sight is truly a rare treat for me! (Think big cities) Ordinarily I would barely be able to see a handful of stars in the city sky let alone the Big Dipper sitting just above the horizon; We spent ages just absorbing the magic of the night, the silence, the tranquility. After about half an hour or more (and a crick in my neck) we were preparing to crawl into our sleeping bags when I noticed a bright pin prick of a glare peeking from above a little hillock in the distance. I passed it off as light from a neighbouring village but the longer we watched, the brighter it became until we realised we were actually watching the rising of the full moon. Again we were content to just sit and watch till the moon settled into her place amongst the stars. I went to bed feeling like there simply couldn't be a better way to end a day. What a privilege!

Here are some pics from the trip... more to come once I sort the other set out.

The Big Dipper!!

Starry starry night

Nothing Like the Flavours of Home

Was having dinner at my favourite Cantonese restaurant, Hengshan Cafe (on Hengshan Lu) when I noticed that the diners on the next table were having something that looked suspiciously like kangkong. I was suddenly struck with this overpowering craving for kangkong belacan. Called the manager, and with fingers crossed enquired if they had it. Was crestfallen when he replied with a 'no'. I spent the next WEEK (i'm not kidding) thinking about kangkong belacan and Malaysian cuisine. JJ (bless his heart) searched, and FOUND, a Malaysian restaurant that claimed to serve authentic Malaysian food. So decided to give them a try. Spoke to some guy who WHOA! turned out to be Malaysian, and I was quite taken aback to realise how THRILLED I was to speak to a fellow Malaysian... from Melaka!! He couldn't speak Malay ironically enough... (lousy Malaysian!) but knew EXACTLY what I was craving for... When asked if he served kangkong belacan, he answered "No belacan how to eat!!" oh my god I could've kissed him! Then he asked if I wanted Nasi Lemak rice! Walau, I can't remember the last time I had Nasi Lemak man!! I was so 'into' the moment of being in the presence of Malaysian food that I wouldn't eat it any other way but with my fingers... Otherwise where got 'shiok'!! The kangkong was great, the rendang was OK, the spicy assam prawns was 'power', chicken curry even more 'power', the eggplant was damn nice, and the yong tou fu was so-so... was never a big fan anyway... Next I wanna try their Bak kut teh. Better not be like Singaporean bak kut teh... It's been YEARS since I've had proper Malaysian style bak kut teh with 'you tiao'. Looking forward!!

And then Add in a Spell of Chilled Holidays...

Every time I tell people that I'm gonna be camping in -6 degree C (night time) temperatures, their reactions are always the same... "Damn that's cold! Are you sure you wanna do that?" I've heard that so often now that I'm gradually starting to doubt if it's such a great idea to camp... me, a camping virgin at that! I can't help but wonder if we're just really adventurous or have absolutely no clue what we're getting ourselves into! If you think about it, we're gonna be in some forest somewhere and therefore not have a source of light at night save the torch - so I won't be able to read, or write much. Secondly, it's hard enough knowing that i'm gonna have to (finally) pee in a bush, and now I have to do it in -6 degrees and in the dark?!?! Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... I'm sure I'll survive it, but the thought just seems so unwelcome...

C seems to think that if I survive -10 in Mongolia I'll survive -30 in Harbin and so has proposed that we all go up to the Northern province of Heilongjiang next January for the Harbin Ice Festival followed by a skiing trip. I can't even bloody roller-blade properly!

T-4 Days and Counting!

Godammit! i think I blew my entire October salary already on camping gear and windproof / waterproof attire. Bought sleeping bag suited for -17 deg C, waterproof hiking boots and a whole bunch of knick-knacks. Decided to rent a tent once we get to Mongolia. I still need to get my travel insurance, rabies shot, heat pads, film, water purifying tablets, more Cliff Bars (I seriously don't think JJ bought enough... I can get rather ravenous when it's cold :p), AlkaSeltzer, mild laxatives (all we'll get is meat, meat and more meat... but come to think of it, those Cliff Bars should have SOME form of fibre in them!!) and I bet a long list of other styff that I can't remember right now... sigh... But FUN FUN FUN!!!

Frolicking with Reindeer!!!

Or so I'd hoped I would be when I get into Mongolia. Unfortunately, because we only have a total of 6 days including flights in and out, we were advised by a guide against doing the whole reindeer idea. I'm sorely disappointed. Was really looking forward to riding one of those beasts! I forget just how huge the country is and even 3 weeks wouldn't get you even close to finishing the Northern region (if you were to do a proper exploration). It would take us 24 hours in a jeep along dirt roads to get to the Khovsgol National Park (bordering Russia) and another 9 hours 'crazy driving' to get to the Dhuka (reindeer herders). We had the option of flying directly into Moron (just South of the National Park) but the available flights just didn't suit our schedule. Chartering a helicopter was out of the question due to rental prices (US$1,670 per hour and it's a 9-hour flight up!!) Furthermore, we wanted to camp and get around on horse-back and that would require so many more days. So we had to scrap that itinerary.

Itinerary #2 seems more do-able. Due to the fact that public transportation is almost non-existent and hitching appears to be the norm, we're considering hiring a 4WD and a driver... to help us maximise our time there. Hitching depends alot on luck and I'd much rather be hiking up an extinct volcano than sitting on my backpack by the side of the road waiting for a vehicle going by. So from Ulaanbaatar we'll head out to Khustain National Park (100km) to check out wildlife (takhi- wild horses of Mongolia and the last surviving ancestor of the modern horse. Extinct in the wild, the takhi are slowly being re-introduced thanks to the park's Takhi Re-Introduction Project) wolves, red deer, Mongolian gazelles, marmots, birds, etc...) and do a spot of hiking and horse-back riding. We'll stay a night or 2 (we're gonna be camping btw!!The not so fab thing is that temperatures are forecasted to fall to about -6 deg C. BRRRR....!! Plus, the last time I came even remotely close to building a fire was when I went camping with the boyscouts in 1994... since then it's been charcoal-barbecue fires and I really don't think that's gonna help :p).

Next day, we'll head out to Tsetserleg, the capital of the Arkhangai aimag (province)400km from UB. Apparently a great place to stay the night. We can also stock up on food and water. (Heard that mongolian instant noodles aren't too bad at all.)

From Tsetserleg, we'll push on to Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park - home to The Great White Lake and Khorgo volcano. Great for fishing, trekking, and 'dramatic' sunsets. Will probably do more horse riding (though JJ's not jumping for joy at the idea) and try to get in at least one yak ride!! Stay a night. This time maybe in a traditional 'ger', the nomadic mongolian tent. Stay a night or 2 then head back to UB.

Stop by Karakorum - ancient capital of the Mongol Empire founded by Chinggis Khan. Stay a night.

Head back to UB.

So that's the rough plan but as in all holidays, you'll never know what's gonna happen particularly when you're in a country where the only paved roads you'll see are in the towns. But excited none the less!!!

Pics of Yunnan trip

And here they are...

Yunnan Adventure Day 2 - LiJiang

Am out of bed and on the streets by 0800hrs. Perfect time to watch the Old City waking up. I stroll along looking for a place where I can treat my taste-buds to the local specialities - namely 'Crossing the Bridge Noodles', yak butter tea and 'ba ba' - a kind of local flat bread in which you can stuff with meats and bits. There's another speciality that I don't bother seeking out - something that contains pig blood. I eat and try to plan an itinerary but all it does is leave me overwhelmed and frustrated. There's so much to see and do but so little time and I have to leave for Tiger Leaping Gorge tomorrow morning. I decide to rent a bike and cycle out to the surrounding area. Bike rental guy (Ah Guan of Nice Hiking Club) is really friendly and gives lots of information and advice on things to see.

First stop, Black Dragon Lake - sparkling green waters that hold up the majestic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the distance, and is supposedly one of the best places for that perfect shot of the mountain. I on the other hand couldn't quite make out which it was :p

pic taken from http://www.regenttour.com/chinaplanner/lzj/lj-sights-pool.htm

Spend ages exploring the Dongba Research Institute and a small museum that displays Dongba scrolls and artifacts. Dongba being the pictographic script that was developed by the Naxi people, and apparently really difficult to interpret. The language is verbally passed down to fultur generations by Dongba (Naxi scholar-priests). Unfortunately, the lack of interest from the younger generation is slowly leading to the extinction of the language.


Was trigger happy so took loads and loads of pics too. Skipped the Elephant Hill as incidents of muggings have been reported especially to women who'd hiked up alone.

Hop back onto my bike and cycle 7km to Bai Sha villag. Stop at Suhe village first thogh. Regret it instantly. Nothing but tourist shops line the streets and it's completely commercialised! Entry fee is 3o yuan but a guy approaches me saying he can get me in for 10 yuan via a back way. I agree. hehehe. Hang around for 2 hours then leave. One thing that struck me was the fact that the water flowing through what we would call road-side drains, were crystal clear!! People wash their clothes in there and I swear it looked clean enough to drink. Find out that the Dongba religion is "...based on the relationship between nature and man. In Dongba mythology, 'Nature' and 'Man' are half-brothers, having different mothers." WIKIPEDIA.ORG and hence respect nature and put alot of effort into protecting it.

Leave Suhe after 1.5 hours (was trying to take a short cut but got lost instead). Continue on to Bai Sha taking small dirt roads through villages and padi fields. Stop to ask a Naxi woman who was leading a little girl (tourist) on a horse. Turns out they're heading in the same direction and they invite me to join them. I've got company! Chat with the dad who was born in Kunming and talk about travel. I'm impressed by my Mandarin! We get to Bai Sha and it's nothing as I'd been expecting. Thought I'd be going to a proper village where I could chat with its inhabitants. Unfortunately, this was a walled area with pretty much the same artifacts I'd been seeing the entire time. I can't help but think that I should walk farther into the area but I am 'fresco-ed' up to my teeth and I am in no mood to do anymore. Toy with the idea of checking out a couple of temples and pagodas but am told that they are at least 2 hours away and I still have to think of my return trip to the city. BLEH! I decide not to go.

Back to the Old City. My skin starts to prickle and sting as I've forgotten my sun-screen. Fabulous! Silly billy. I'm going to regret this. We arrive back at Suhe (via the short cut I couldn't fine earlier :p). Dad is really nice and we exchange e-mail addresses before parting ways.

I'm beat!

Yunnan Adventure Day 1

1130hrs

Touch down at Kunming Airport. Weather's fabulous!! About 25 deg and dry. Seeing how I have very little time, I decide to skip Kunming and Dali, and head straight to LiJiang. Grab cab to long-distance bus station on Beijing Rd. Managed to buy last ticket on 1430hr bus. 174 yuan, 8 hour ride. Oh well... I realise i'm the only non-Chinese here... where are all the tourists?!?

I have time to kill but it starts drizzling. WTF! Plus it's getting chilly. Head to the toilets but let's just say my objective was not met. The doorless cubicles and the constant traffic of females waiting their turn don't help. Sorry to get a little too detailed, but bare bums were in all their glory as row upon row of toilet goers perch themselves over a narrow drain. I get as far as pulling my pants down.

1435hrs

We're off! I sleep for most of the journey.

1620hrs

Our first pit stop and toilet break. Now I understand why guys can't go when another is standing too close. Attempt No. 2. I freeze again, mainly because this woman is standing right in front of me waiting for my spot. My brain is screaming at her to get the hell out of my face but it's such a normal thing for them I knew she wouldn't understand. Someone else finishes before me and she goes away. WHEW! I vow not to drink anymore!

2240hrs

Arrive at Lijiang! I'm knackered. Who knew that sitting on your ass for a total of 14 hrs could be so tiring :p Weather has gotten cooler. About 21 deg. I get a bed at the First Bend Inn, in the Old City. It's beautifully lit, with red chinese lanterns, and twinkling lights and it's ancient style buildings with cobble-stoned streets make it easy to imagine the scene of long-ago China. Well almost if you ignore the masses of tourists clogging the streets. It's incredibly commercialised! I share a quad with 2 teachers from Chengdu who'd been on the go for the past 2 weeks and are heading to Szechuan the next day. Unfortunately our itineraries do not overlap. I call it an early night. Lots to do tomorrow!

Yunnan, Here I Come!

HAH! so much for not having a mini-vacation!!! What started with a 2 day trip down to the nearby water-village of Suzhou has now turned into a week-long exploration of Yunnan!!! And believe it or not it all started when i found out that Yen was in Kunming (well at that point I didn't realise that she'd left). Anyway, Yunnan has been on my to visit list eversince I'd gotten here, and since JJ'd been there, he highly recommended that I do it so, voila! I'm flying tomorrow morning at 8 am. Now I gotta do some speedy packing! JJ's making it so much easier by lending me his backpack, mini first aid kit, and all sorts of useful little nick-nacks to use on my trip... The interesting thing about this trip is that I don't have a pre-planned itinerary. A first for me. I hate not knowing what I'll be doing each day. It's unnerving. There's a first for everything I guess.

Ok retail therapy got a little out of hand so I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to afford a mini-holiday after all :( but I've been presented with 2 options for which I'm grateful. First of all, one of the students from the English class I was teaching has invited a couple of us back to his home town tomorrow. I have no idea where it is but apparently it's quite lovely. And secondly, JJ's bought a new bike and said that he'd take a few half-days so that we can go to the outskirts and do a spot of cycling and kite flying! Yay! My diving has been put on hold as the the instructors would be away on some diving conference on the exact weekend I was planning to do the course. It sucks because that's the ONLY weekend I have off before going back to work. BLEH!

Celebrations!!

And so it has begun, the celebratory activities that mark the end of 4 gruelling weeks of work, sacrificed weekends and daily 4-hour shut eyes. The splurging commenced on Friday itself, on Sasha's gorgeous gorgeous pizzas and happy hour drinks, after which all 16 of us piled into cabs and headed for an hour or 2 (make that 5 and a half) of karaoke and i can't remember how many bottles of Johnny Walker with Green Tea. Was pleasantly surprised to wake up the next morning with zero hangover and my voice still intact. Seeing how I was in such good spirits, some retail therapy was in order - no therapy's not the word - TREAT for surviving the month!! New phone, new external HD, new laptop cable, a BEAUTIFULLY quirky looking sake set from Spins (site currently under construction - spinceramics.com), lingerie was on my list as well as a pretty little jewel for my piercing, to replace the one I'd lost a long long time ago, and not forgetting a trip to the nail spa, but couldn't fit them all in that afternoon as had a birthday dinner to attend. Teppanyaki eat & drink all you can for RMB150!! Copious amounts of sake and beer later it was on to Windows Tembo for more cheap drinks. Needless to say, I'm nursing a hangover today. But I still want my jewel so am forcing myself out of bed to get that taken care of before meeting Jess for brunch. groooooooooooooooan!

My yummy-looking sake set!

a sample of Spin

Breaking & Entering

My poor sis got her apartment broken into and her laptop stolen. Bastards even had the luxury of opening her cupboard to take her laptop case to carry it in, together with her power cables and phone charger. Nothing else was taken though. Cash and jewelery still there. She's freaked as hell now. Apparently she slept fully clothed, with her shoes on and her house keys in her hand so that she could run out if anyone decided to break in again. It was made to look like they got in through her bathroom window but according to the police the dust on the sill had not been disturbed and it was more likely that it was an ex-tenant who still had the key to the place. Why she didn't change the locks when she moved in I don't know. Anyway, she's adamant about moving out of the place now.

And since we're on the topic, just spoke to T and apparently his wife's purse was stolen while they were on their honeymoon in London. Worse part was that their passports, phones, camera, etc... were all in there. So they spent the rest of the time at the embassy trying to get new passports... how sucky!!

*GROAN*

1 Week Down 3 to Go

TGIF MAN!!!! Week 1 of CELTA is OVER! Unfortunately, tonight is the only night I'm allowing myself to chill and party. Tomorrow, it's back to the assignments... sigh... I AM glad to note that despite the heavy-workload I'm actually enjoying the course. It brings a whole new light on teaching, and GRAMMAR! So much of the language is finally making sense to me now. hehehehe In celebration of our survival of the first week, course mates and I are gonna hit the town tonight, especially since it's the first time most of them have been to Shanghai. So agend: HUGE dinner at Chinese restaurant, (hey after a week of wolfing down cheap university food in 30mins... we deserve this) followed by COPIOUS amounts of alcohol and ending the night singing our lungs out at my fav karaoke place. Damn it's gonna be a good night. :D:D And DAMN I'm gonna have a bad hang over tomorrow!

"First You Scoop out the Flesh....

...of the pineapple / mango / melon, leaving the skin and thus creating a bowl in which you can fill with the fruite salad you're about to prepare." And that's the first step to preparing a thai fruit salad. YUMMY! Went for a thai cooking class on Sunday and had a blast! For an incredibly decent price, chef Alyssa Han of Thaifoodstation at The Melting Pot takes you through the steps of a couple of simple Thai dishes that would be a breeze to do at home, provided you have the proper ingredients. So on the agenda that Sunday were spicy Thai fruit salad followed by the main course of Massaman curry and a sweet water chestnut dessert to finish. Absolutely yummy!! My favourite part of the entire class was the fact that we could sit down and savour the fruits of our labour! Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh... AND we had leftovers that we could take home! YAY!!! C is now asking that I cook for her. I say "With pleasure!"

Explorations

Had a lovely Saturday afternoon on my bike exploring the city again, but this time decided to drag JJ along since he's alot more familiar with the little obscure lanes and backroads. Stopped for brunch at Embre - a quite little cafe/restaurant which is fast becoming a favourite spot with me, mainly due to their food. Their Big Breakfast ROCKS! :-)


JJ then decided to mess around a little with his camera. The Objective? Capturing the clearest image of a vehicle in motion. The Verdict? I took the best shot. MUAHAHAHA!

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

JJ's Shot

Anyway, JJ was gonna have a BBQ (SLURP!) at his place later that day so went grocery shopping (YAY!!). Not surprisingly I got overly excited and started suggesting all sorts of things to accompany the meats, including potato salad, slices of eggplant topped with mozzarella and stuffed portobello mushrooms (sour cream and bacon bits! HELLO!!!). Unfortunately, JJ had much more restraint and vetoed everything I'd suggested except the potato salad. BLEH! Anyway, with bags of food and wine (and a pot of Basil!) hanging off our handle bars, we headed back for BBQ prep! Yours truly was in charge of marinating the chicken wings, (they had gotten very good reviews the last time I made them... hehehehe), while JJ tried to make mayo for the potatoes from scratch. Interesting endeavour. It didn't come out looking or tasting anything like the mayo as we know it but after the second try, pronounced it yummy enough to use. Mixed that with lots of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives and it was fab! And then the boys came over and it was all gone in a blink of an eye... sigh. But was happy to note that chicken wings tasted even better than the last time. Woohoo!

Back to School

After all these months, I'm FINALLY doing the CELTA course. And damn it's more intensive than anything I've ever done. I mean 2 assignments given today and due tomorrow? heh... It's only Day 2 and I'm already doubting the fact that I'll make it through the rest of the 18 days. But perseverance it will have to be, I guess and until then, there would probably be very minimal blogging for me... :p