A Short Adventure

So it's been awhile.The past few months have been a series of short adventures.

I was employed on a brief temporary assignment drawing floor plans for this company. And I absolutely loved it! Did I tell you that when I was 5 or 6 years old, I used to draw floor plans of my so-called dream house? So this was like my dream job. Just too bad it was just a short stint.

In May, we flew 30 hours back to Malaysia. And I hope I will never have to fly with China Airlines again. We managed to cramp as much as we can into our two weeks stay - visited with family, old high school and elementary school friends, went on a family vacation to Penang Island (all 19 of us), and ate all the food that I have been craving for, for the past three years. Yes, it's been three whole years since we last went "home".

Curry Laksa

Cakes from "Secret Recipe"

Leaving Malaysia wasn't so hard this time because we brought my parents back with us to the U.S and they will be with us for a few months. But leaving is always difficult and teary.

Strange creatures and mysterious hoodoos

We saw this really weird creature at the dinosaur museum - Royal Tyrrell museum in Drumheller, AB

And the Hoodoos were just amazing.
Hope these natural beauties will remain for many more years

Weekend in Sneads Ferry

Here are some photos from our July 4th weekend in Sneads Ferry at Ronald and Tammie's place.
Details of our trip is posted here.

The dock

Jason raking for clams

Ronald knee-boarding

Tammie on the tube

Tammie, Asia and Bernie

Puerto Rico escapade

Day 1

We left on Friday morning and flew into San Juan. Rented a car and drove to Old San Juan about 15 minutes from the airport. Old San Juan's colonial architecture of hanging balconies and cobble stone streets makes you feel like you have gone back in time. We drove by the cathedral and museums and stopped to visit San Cristobal Fort. This castle was built in 1771 and was designed to protect the city from land invasions.
Parking spaces were limited in Old San Juan so we did not stop much but just drove around to see the sites.

After a quick lunch of arroz (rice) with pigeon peas, we proceeded to head south.
Traffic was awful getting out of San Juan. We were only moving at 10mph. But the view from the highway was awesome. Lots of mountains and valleys on one side and clear blue waters on the

other side and square houses nestled on the mountains.


Three hours later, we stopped at Ponce and bought some snacks, water, juices, tuna cans, buns, etc. We had been warned that meals in the hotel were exorbitant.

We were stuck in traffic again getting out of Ponce.

We finally arrived in Guanica about 6pm, and checked into our hotel, which was just awesome.
Realizing that our hotel is located far away from any other amenities or restaurants, we were glad we bought those cans of tuna.
Dinner was a quick treat at the Las Palmas cafe in the hotel itself because we were just too tired of being in the car all afternoon and did not want to drive all the way down that narrow winding road down the mountains at night. Jason had what he called the best burger he'd ever eaten.


Day 2

Today we decided we'd venture out of Guanica and head west. Armed with a map and plenty of water, we drove to San German,

Puerto Rico's oldest settlement outside San Juan. Streets were again, very narrow. Roads were hilly. Buildings were interestingly old and mostly pink or orange, with a lot of old Spanish charm. Getting out of San German was indeed tricky because the streets were mostly one way and we found ourselves on the same streets again, and again.

Then we headed to Boqueron, a small beach town. The locals love hanging out here. We had lunch at Galloway's which is built on a dock. I had a conch salad and Jason had quesadillas.
We then checked out the beach and all the little kiosks selling "pinchos" ( raw clams, oysters, shellfish). I was so tempted to try some but was afraid to, not knowing how long they have been sitting out in the sun.

After Boqueron, we headed Southwest to Cabo Rojo, in search of the famous lighthouse. We drove, and drove.. and the roads disappeared, and we were on some dirt track. But we saw some cars in front of us and felt not so lost.
Then the narrow path opened to a lovely view of the bluest lagoon I've ever seen. And the lighthouse was up on a hill on the left. We parked and hiked up a rocky trail towards the lighthouse and the view was just breathtaking. We found ourselves on a cliff, overlooking a 200 feet drop to the sea, waves splashing against the limestone cliff. Just magnificent.For dinner, we headed out to La Parguera, which is also famous for its Bioluminescent bay to watch the dinoflagellates (by the millions) emitting flashes of light that give the water a ghostly glow whenever they are disturbed. Unfortunately, I was so ill in the restaurant that we had to leave even before ordering our food. The next few hours, I had no recollection of what happened. I just remember throwing up and having to go to the bathroom numerous times and I had an awful headache. I think I remember chanting to Jason that if I were to die here, just sprinkle my ashes into the deep blue Caribbean waters.

Day 3
The next morning, I felt much better. Which leaves me to think I had a case of sunstroke. Or it could also be food poisoning from the conch salad, though Jason says that it was 6 hours since I had eaten it, so it probably was already digested by the time I got sick.

After breakfast, we packed our backpacks and hiked the Cuevas trail in the Guanica Dry Forest reserve. True to its name, the forest was absolutely dry. Almost desert-like. Lots of Agave and cactus everywhere. At the top of the hill, the view of the sea was just awesome.

For dinner, Javier from the front desk had recommended a place in Guayanilla, a small fishing village, where the locals eat. He told us to ask for directions to the waterfront once we get into Guayanilla. We did. We had to. Because we got very lost. A nice old man at the gas station told us to follow him and he led us to the village with little restaurants on wooden stilts by the boardwalk. We looked for La Rinconada (which means little corner). It was crowded and the waiter told us we would have to wait for our food. Wait we did. After an hour or so, our food came and it was soooo good. We had the camarones tostones( fried plantain batter shaped into a bowl and filled with shrimps) and carrucho (crab) empanadillas (very similar to 'Cornish pasties' or the Malaysian curry puffs).



Day 4

Since this was our last day here, we decided to just take it easy and enjoy the beach at the hotel and made our spa appointments.



For lunch, we drove into town for some Chinese food. The menu was all in Spanish and interestingly, the food was really good and pretty authentic.

We ate dinner at the hotel and decided it was ok to splurge a little since this was technically our anniversary. We ordered the shrimp mofongo (made from fried green plantains, seasoned with garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings, then mashed and stuffed with shrimps) and some calamari fritters.




Day 5

We checked out of our hotel real early and made the drive to San Juan. I was nervous about missing our flight because of the traffic but we got into San Juan early enough. In fact, we were too early. So we contributed some money at the casino at the airport.

There was a Puerto Rican walking band playing at the departure hall. Cute.

This trip allowed us to immerse ourselves into a totally different culture and I learnt a lot of Spanish words because everything is in Spanish, even at McDonalds.
The word "Damas" came in real handy because most toilets are locked and you have to ask for the key.
Most Gas stations only accept cash. So you need to tell the cashier (in Spanish) which pump number and the amount of gas you want ($$ in liters)
People are very friendly and generally helpful.

It was a wonderful Anniversary for us both... and a much needed vacation!

Cherokee

Friday evening we drove up to Cherokee, stopping by Harold's at Gaffney, SC for dinner. Harold's was featured on the Food network recently, famous for its sloppy burgers and hotdogs and fatbacks. Food was really sloppy and cheap. We took home some of the fatbacks and used it for the Fried Kuay Teow :)

After passing Maggie Valley, the fog came down and visibility was reduced to almost zero. Driving up the curves and bends to the mountain was a nightmarish experience. Poor Jason. Glad we took his stable truck and glad that having a GPS helped ! We arrived around 10.30pm and James met us at the cabin.
Somehow, we found the energy to get out and head on to the casino and got back around 1am. (We all lost some money)

Saturday morning was beautiful and relaxing on the rocking chair on the back porch overlooking the river was a peaceful retreat. (ahh vacation..). Then we made Roti Canai for breakfast. (Best part of staying in a cabin is that we get to cook!). It started raining and rain it did ALL Saturday. We drove 30 miles to the Tennessee border but the rain kinda ruined the view of the Smoky mountains, so we drove home to the cabin and just wasted the Saturday away.

We made one more trip to the casino (lost a bit more money) and came back to our cabin to play some games. That was "funner" than losing money.Early Sunday morning, it was time to head on home. We all drove down to Maggie Valley for some good ol' country breakfast at Country Vittles and James and Fiona left us and made their way to SC.

Jason and I spent the rest of Sunday afternoon at the in-law's watching the basketball game and we met up with Ronald and Tammie later before they headed back to Chapel Hill.

Vacation almost over

The last week of our trip was indeed pleasant, except for having a flat tire on Thursday night. But it happened at a good spot where we were able to change tires at a well-lit parking lot with accessible restrooms. If you have to have a flat tire, this would probably be considered a blessing.

Jason had a surprise early birthday celebration early in the week. The look on his face was priceless.

We also managed to meet up with some dear friends on Tuesday for a long tea and followed by dinner with an aunt. Spending quality time with friends and family always makes coming home to Malaysia worthwhile.

Back in Melaka, we managed to meet up with Adeline and family for a short while. Aidan is growing up fast. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to stop by to say Hi to some old co-workers of mine. That would have been nice.

My uncle also surprised us by driving all the way up from Johor for a brief afternoon visit. That really touched me. It made me realized that it will be awhile before we will be able to see everyone again.

We left for the airport on Friday. Aunt Shirleen, Uncle Victor, Adrian and Nicholas stopped by to say goodbye and we later had a farewell dinner with my parents, Aunt Annie and Kathy and Yat Onn. I was teary eyed when they left.
Stayed a night at a hotel close to the airport and we took a shuttle to the airport at 5.30am. I had a feeling my parents will show up at the airport and they did.

Yet again another long flight.

If I could have one human superpower, I will ask for the ability to teleport.

Europe in 7 hours

Question : What do you get after 7 hours exploring Germany, England, Ireland, France, Italy and Scotland on foot?
Answer : Sore feet

Yep, that's what Busch Gardens Europe did to us. But it was all worth it!
Out of the 7 hours, we probably spent a total of 3.5 hours standing in line waiting to go on 30-seconds rides. Still worth it ? Yep.
Now that we're a little smarter (hopefully), next time we'll try to avoid going there on a holiday weekend when the entire U.S population decides to go there too.
Standing hours in line in the 90 degrees heat was barely bearable but having to listen to a loud teenage girl talking incoherent teenage lingo into her cellphone behind us and almost shouting into our ears was unfair punishment. Even sweet, patient and nice me wanted to turn around and strangle the daylights out of her. But all I could do was turn around and give her my meanest glare. That did not work.Was I too chicken to ride the 205 feet world's tallest floorless dive coaster who hurtles you 90 degrees straight down at 70 mph ? OFCOURSE!
The Griffon was waaaay out of my league. It was almost painful to watch.
The most twisted inverted roller coaster, Alpengeist, was also facinating but also out of my league.

But we did get swung around on the Big Bad Wolf in the Bavarian Village and dropping 99 feet to nearly skim the Rhine River below.Awesome.!

Then we rode the Roman Rapids in Italy and got soaking wet.

Our final ride was the 4D Corkscrew Hill, a magical and mystical Celtic journey. They "shrunk" us and transported us on a horse and a flying dragon to a world where hungry witches and magical stallions are the norm.

The 3D Curse of the Darkastle ride was the coolest. The pyrotechnic special effects made falling off the cliff almost too real.
We also rode the train twice and the skylift once, simply because our weary bodies could not walk anymore. (And The Husband wanted to relive his childhood memories)

We had lunch at Das Festhaus in "Germany". Jason and I shared a German Sampler Platter and sat in the 2,000 seat festival hall to eat our lunch.
And dinner was a baked potato loaded with Annie Grogan's Bare Knuckle stew in Grogan's Grill in Killarney.
I must certainly say that Busch Gardens has the best variety and quality of food for a theme park!
Now, I am just itching to play my Rollercoaster Tycoon again. Jason may have relived his childhood, but I have just dug up an old addiction that took many hours away from my teenage years.... building fantasy rollercoasters on an imaginery theme park!

Our Anniversary weekend

Coincidently, our Anniversary falls on Memorial day, so we get a holiday on our Anniversary every year. We swear we did not plan this. Getting a 3-day weekend is absolutely a bonus. When you have been spoilt with 19 days of holidays every year, it is hard to get used to being deprived with just 10 days. So when I see a holiday marked on my calendar, I look forward to it excitedly like its Christmas.

This year we decided to go to Williamsburg, Virginia. I was there last December with my in-laws and my parents but without Jason. There are different things to see and do in Williamsburg in Spring/Summer. And the main reason we chose Williamsburg is so that Jason could relive his childhood in Busch Gardens. Not the most romantic of places I know. But hey, if you want to churn your insides and twist your guts on hellraising rollercoasters, it's better to do it now before we get too old for this kind of stuff. That said, I don't know if I'll be too chicken to go on the rides tomorrow. With every year that passes, the coward in me takes one step bigger and claims my brain. And I have learnt not to trust Jason when he tells me its "just ONE loop".

Here is a picture of us on the Car Ferry going across James River into Williamsburg.










Will post tomorrow if my intestines are still intact.

The weekend getaway

We finally had our much awaited vacation.
On Friday morning, we drove to Cherokee, a Native American Reservation about 3.5 hours from Charlotte. There are about 13,400 Eastern Band of Cherokee members, most of whom live on the Reservation. Properly called the Qualla Boundary, the Reservation is slightly more than 56,000 acres held in trust by the federal government specifically for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

We spent an easy Friday afternoon, strolling the streets and shops in Cherokee.


Saturday morning, we woke up and found snow!! And it was darn cold!! Temperatures up there never got warmer than 35F (2C). The nights were between 18-22F (-5C). We didnt get snow on Christmas but snow on Easter??
We wanted to drive through the Great Smoky Mountains and across the Tennessee border (about an hour) to Gatlinburg. Unfortunately, we saw signs on the road that US441 was closed to traffic due to bad weather conditions and a Park Ranger told us that US441 had about 6 inches of snow on the mountains so they had to close the roads on the parkway. We were determined to get to Gatlinburg so we took a different route and a much longer drive there and still saw plenty of snow on the way. It was a good thing we took Jason's truck and not my car. The truck has better tires.


Gatlinburg is nestled in the valley of the Little Pigeon River’s West Fork and surrounded on three sides by the majestic Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The town is only 2 miles long and 5 miles wide. Unfortunately, the nine million annual visitors have transformed this picturesque town into a tourist trap. It looked like a replica of Myrtle Beach except being on a mountain. There's Ripley's Believe It Not Museum, Ripley's Haunted House, Ripley's Aquarium, Hard Rock Cafe and a dozen shops all selling the same t-shirts and souvenirs.

We took the aerial tramway up Ober Gatlinburg which is a Ski Resort. No skiing because there was no snow up there. The view from the tram was rather awesome.
Leaving Gatlinburg, we wanted to see if US441 was back in business again so I called the Visitor Center, but somehow I ended up calling the Park Ranger's emergency number. Anyways, I was told US441 is open, or atleast I think that was what he said in his deep Southern drawl.

We didn't make it to Dollywood . You'll find out why later.

Once back on NC soil, I had this itch to go walking on some nature trails. Heck, we were on the Great Smoky Mountains for crying out loud! So Jason and I got all bundled up and took a short (very short) walk on the Oconaluftee river trail. It was soo cold I told Jason if he saw my fingers on the path, please help me pick them up. My hands and face was so numb I could barely feel them. The view was just breathtaking and everything was so serene. Now, that's what I call a vacation!


We also wanted to buy this neat vacation home. It comes with live fowl! Free chicken and eggs!! :)
Then we saw a sign that said it was a Mountain Farm Museum. Ahh well.
Here's where we spent most of our hours (and money) for 2 nights.... at the Harrahs Casino in Cherokee, hence losing $95 between the two of us, which was equivalent to the entrance fee to Dollywood.