A little rough.
There were so many cats running around in Kuwait! Unfortunately, they were especially rough looking. But still so cute.
Ahaha!
xo, jill
Archives for 2012
March 14, 2012
Kuwait is great.
For a weekend trip.
Mike and I only spent about two days in Kuwait, and I think that’s probably the perfect amount of time. We were lucky to be the guests of two very hospitable hosts, Adam and Aniko. They showed us all of the city’s top sights. While it was fun to see life in a different gulf country, it made me appreciate life in Abu Dhabi all the more. In short, there’s not much going on in Kuwait.
After a delicious pancake breakfast Friday morning, we walked from Adam and Aniko’s (very nice) apartment along the Corniche to the Kuwait Towers.
Ha, Mike’s face! / Photo from Aniko
The towers are the symbol of Kuwait. From the viewing platform you can see the entire city… perhaps even the whole country (if the sky is clear and the windows clean).
Photo from Aniko
That evening the country was celebrating National Day. The festivities this year were quite mild due to recent restrictions over silly string and foam spray. The new celebratory-weapon of choice is water guns…which weren’t too popular in the surprisingly chilly weather.
The next day we ate breakfast and enjoyed a heavy rainfall from Adam and Aniko’s apartment. That’s not something you see everyday.
To recap, we saw all of the city’s main sights in a single day and spent the rest of our time relaxing. Kuwait is the type of place that is best enjoyed if you have a friend there to welcome you.
xo, jill
March 12, 2012
Disappointing Highlands
Also known as Genting
We had one last day in Kuala Lumpur so we decided to check out Genting Highlands, home of the only legal land-based casino in Malaysia! This adventure was more for Mike than for me but I was happy enough to tag along. Besides, you get to ride a gondola…which sounded like fun (despite my fear of heights).
Well… the approximately one hour trip outside the city actually took more like three? And we just happened to arrive on the first day of the two week maintenance closure for the gondola. That meant a very long line for the shuttle bus.
The casino and theme parks were a bit run down but still amusing. Everyone likes giant reproductions of random famous things, right?
Mike played the slot machines but wasn’t quite as successful as his jaunt in Vienna. By the time he was finished, I was ready to go.
We didn’t even see any monkeys to not feed!
No gondola, no winnings, no monkeys.
The plus side to this disappointing trip is that the air in the Highlands is much cooler than in the city down below. I was actually chilly at times.
Early the next morning we headed back to Abu Dhabi, via Sri Lanka. I think we were ready.
xo, jill
March 10, 2012
More Malacca.
And a bit of KL
Our second day in Malacca we set out early to explore a bit more of the city and enjoy breakfast in the cooler weather.
We stopped by the Malacca Fort and walked down to the Naval Museum and back through the main square.
Then we returned to our hostel, picked up our bags, and got back on the bus headed for Kuala Lumpur.
During our first stay in KL we didn’t realize how close we were to a major shopping district. With nothing much to do, we decided to head to the mall to have a nice meal and see a movie. Outside the mall we found the Buddy Bears! I had previously seen them in Helsinki so it was fun to bump into them again.
Malaysia’s Bear
He was performing a song on the radio while everyone filmed him on their phones.
After the movie we headed back to our hotel and caught a glimpse of the Petronas Towers on the way.
xo, jill
March 8, 2012
The mixture of Malacca.
Getting away from KL
After staying the bulk of our trip in Vietnam, we had a few more days to spend in Malaysia. We knew we didn’t want to spend much time in Kuala Lumpur, so I asked Flora for advice on where to visit. She suggested Malacca. It sounded good to us so after spending the night in KL we jumped on a bus and headed out of the city.
The hot and sticky weather in Malaysia was certainly a change from the dry and chilly weather in northern Vietnam. I did not enjoy the long and sweaty walk to our hostel in Malacca. We stayed at a $5 place that was nice enough but definitely not luxurious. Or near our bus stop. Oh well.
We spent most of the day walking around the historical streets of Malacca and visiting a museum. The city definitely has a unique vibe due to the combination of several very different influences. For example, it was once a colony of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Plus, you can’t forget the local Malay and Chinese populations. It all comes together to form Malacca.
We got caught in a very wet downpour that night which was actually more delightful than anything else. Living in a desert will do that to you.
xo, jill
March 6, 2012
Frilly Thai
A new in-home Thai restaurant.
A few weeks before leaving for Thailand I suddenly got a big idea. I should throw a fundraising Thai dinner for the Thai Child Development Foundation! That’s sort of a big undertaking when you have little experience cooking Thai food and don’t even have your own apartment to host it. Thankfully, Frances agreed to help. Not only does she have a beautiful apartment, she’s also taken Thai cooking lessons. Score!
After discussing the menu and budget with Frances, I set to work making it all happen. The timeline was short. It was about a week between conception and execution. Considering how anxious I started to get, that was probably a good thing.
When our guests arrived we kept them busy with drinks and a coloring contest. Who doesn’t love to color?
Frances was the head chef for the evening. I played the part of sous chef and waitress. We decided to call our venture Frilly Thai. (Frances + Jilly)
The meal consisted of Tom Yum soup, make your own spring rolls, pad thai, and bananas in coconut milk for dessert (not pictured).
We even played a little “Pin the Trunk on the Elephant.”
I suppose it’s a little weird to praise your own party, but I honestly thought it was pretty awesome. The food was delicious and the guests were generous. Frances’s apartment truly felt like a little Thai restaurant.
In the end, with the addition of donations from my family, I was able to raise $400 for the Thai Child Development Fun. Not too bad.
Thanks to everyone who attended, Frances for helping me host, and Molly for being our photographer!
xo, jill
