In less than 24 hours, I’ll be on a plane flying across the pacific. It’s a long awaited trip but I guess it’s always rushed when you reach the last few days. So many things to finish up, wrap up and pack that it all feels like the days are running away so quickly… So no updates for a bit. I know the past 2 months have seen erratic updates on my part but I hope to at least blog once or twice while I’m over in the US…
Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by, A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun. 
~ J R R Tolkien, Frodo Baggins, Lord of the Rings, Return of the King.
Posts in Travel
Seriously Stuck
Weighed down by 340kg of rice sacks, the soft ground gives way!
How do we get out?
I really wanna go on a Safari
Some lucky friends of mine are going in June of this year… In the meantime, while they’re prepping to go, they’ve decided to be really bad-asses and send me a few links with lots of photos. Bad, bad…
Carolyn Hammett’s Tanzania/East Africa and South Africa/Zimbabwe, Daniel Basica’s Tanzania and Peter Price’s extensive Tanzania and Ngorongoro crater gallery.
© Carolyn Hammett
500 Fishballs, 30 guavas, 16 piglets on a stick!
Fields of white cat tails or wild grass…
Starting on a wet morning, it was another amazing race of sorts. First to get to Kampar so that we have to make a time-critical rendezvous with 500 fishballs. A foam eski packed with ice and coolant blocks was waiting at the back of the truck. That done, we had to take care of breakfast, lunch, whatever. So came the huge bread with stuffed curry (or herbal) chicken. Afterwhich came beef ball and tripe noodles. Making our way back to Bidor (we have a wedding to attend afterall), we decided to detour into the orchards and farms, and which happened to include a Kaolin (more info here, here and here) mining operation! Oh boy, and the day isn’t even half-over yet! Photos are here.
The Chiling Feast
As the sun rose on a cloudy morning, a convoy of 7 cars made their way to the falls. Traffic was smooth and the arrival uneventful. The hike in began around 9am and went at a rather rapid pace. It was a bit dry at most places and the river level probably lower than most times I’ve been there. The water, however, is still as cold if not a bit colder! The food, well, this is one reason why it’s called the Chiling Feast. Home-cooked yam balls, a carrot and walnut cake, hokkien mee, satay and peanut sauce, spam pan fried in olive oil, tuna and salmon sandwiches. Green tea and Ipoh old town coffee complimented the meal. Lychee and pineapple in syrup was dessert! Oh, we have potato bread, char siew pau and donuts for breakfast! And, what’s more, there’s still fuji apples, ice-cold longan and 100 Plus when we got back to the car (plus leftover yam balls and cake). What a feast! Now I wonder if I should post this under food or escapades? Hmmm…
After a Chiling Trip…
Photos are here.
On a morning after Chiling
No aching muscles – good, one sandfly bite, not so good. one pressure washer (redeemed from Credit card points) arrives – great, one dirty pickup-truck – needs washing. No sunburn. Photos and adventure coming up soon…