Archive for the 'Travel' Category

Let our wet markets be!

This morning, I headed to the Pulau Tikus Market in Penang.

I heard some ang mo who was carrying her Tesco cool bag in one arm and a re-useable shopping bag in another, say to the stall owner “How are you?” before paying for her goods.

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Manado, North Sulawesi: Day Five

Our last day in Sulawesi found me starting it off with another pisang goreng and then heading off toward Bitung.

Here is the map of our route.

Jengji Market - those piles of shredded vegetables are bamboo shoot (white)

Jengji Market - those piles of shredded vegetables are bamboo shoot (white)

In the early part of the day, we headed to the Jengji Market and finally found the Manado coffee beans that I’ve been searching for.

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Manado, North Sulawesi: Day Four

There is one thing worth mentioning here in Manado, and it’s the goreng pisang, or as the locals say it, pisang goreng.

I like the way they cut the banana and fan it out. The ratio of crust to banana is that much better. I can imagine a very ripened and sweet banana cooked this way. Crust and sweet. Heaven.

Pisang Goreng and noodle-filled Tauhu.

Pisang Goreng and noodle-filled Tauhu.

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Manado, North Sulawesi: Day Three

Today gave us clear bright blue skies, heat and humidity.

Yesterday, when we visited the Hill of Prayer, when it rained, the mist rose up the mountains and it got so cold, it felt like we were in some other country in winter.

We basically covered the same area. Today, I have a more accurate map.

Not your ordinary Coke Lite.

Not your ordinary Coke Lite.

We went further than yesterday and visited Lake Linow, the traditional houses of Minahasa, looked into some Japanese caves, snacked on local pau at Kawang Koan, visited the Hill of Mercy which is set up to represent all 5 religious groups, etc etc.

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Manado, North Sulawesi

Yes, I’ve not even finished updating my travel logs on the USA and I’m now here in Manado, a city in the northern finger of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

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Albuquerque to Mesa Verde and Cortez, CO

12th & 13th August.

We left Albuquerque and headed back to Colorado. The high road into Taos was lush and green, the road out back turned dry and harsh.

There was little in between. No towns, no gas stations. Just a long straight road through red dirt. Well, there was a small casino along the way. Sticking out in the middle of nowhere. What dusty traveller would wander in there?

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New Mexico: Taos to Santa Fe to Albuquerque

11th August.

Boy, it’s tiring playing catch up with blog posts. Especially on a trip so long.

Santa Fe is like Taos on steroids. If Taos grew up, it would want to be Santa Fe. It’s bigger, more touristy with proportionately more art galleries. Up the number of tourists and cars, and you have one rather overcrowded Taos. That, to me is Santa Fe.

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Colorado Springs to Taos, NM

10th August.

Our journey to Taos was extended for over an hour as we were diverted from the main highway from what appeared to be a bad car crash.

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Colorado Springs: Garden of the Gods, Pike’s Peak and Manitou Springs

9th August.

Garden of the Gods was pretty neat. These massive and yet marvelously thin rock that jut out in the middle of nowhere, pushed up by tectonic action and then weathered down.

Here’s a panorama shot from the visitor centre.

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Hays, KS to Colorado Springs, CO

Picking, up from where I left off last:

8th August.

Wheat growing.

Wheat growing.

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