#trysomethingnew

#TrySomethingNew: Getting cultured by food

We set the time to meet at 3PM @ Colony, and I’m grateful to be friends with these two because almost all the time, we’re all fashionably late. Yumi came first, me second, Rayceal won the game by only reaching at 4.45!

As it turns out, Colony only opens at 5 (despite the info stated on their IG page at that time!) so we decided to wait for it until it opens at their sister cafe, Hoppers. Sipped some local wine – aka tuak – called spirit of the harvest (?) and decided to try the appam. Mostly due to the new patrons who wouldn’t quit ordering!

I have to say, it was pretty good. We had one sweet and another savory just to keep the tastebuds guessing. If you weren’t a fan of appam before, I’m pretty sure this can convert you to one.

After Rayceal’s grand arrival, we decided to take the party of three upstairs. We don’t know why it was super quiet, but it was nice to have the whole place to ourselves! I ordered something that had soft shell crab (a weakness, forgive me) and regretted it after having a taste of Yumi’s soto-like Burmese noodle soup. It’s glorious but unfortunately I can’t remember the name! 

It was a quiet, intimate super late brunch and I am forever grateful I have these two in my life. 

Colony and Hoppers are definitely something to look forward to if you’re ever stuck in Pudu.

#TrySomethingNew: Eating our way around Penang

Getting into Penang was hard. My flight got rescheduled and delayed, immigration took at least 1 hour, and my Uber to the guesthouse was weird. But nothing could stray me away from the thought of having laksa the next day.

Although, I might have pictured it to taste so much better in my head.

1. Bora Bora, a bar at Batu Ferringhi which unexpectedly serves decent food and keeps their long island iced tea super stronk
   
2. Dimsum place near Jalan Pintal Tali where we cycled the whole of Georgetown for (lol)
3. Teochew assam laksa and rojak. Apparently rojak was just ok, and assam laksa tasted so much better in my head?
4. Random rojak from a van at Miami Beach. Definitely not as nice as Miami.
5. 3rd plate of the assam laksa I once fell in love for. I miss that feeling.

#TrySomethingNew: Climbing new heights at a new height

On my second impromptu trip (aka visa run) I went back to Bandung. Coincidentally my cousin was on her way to the city between the hills with the fam, and so I decided to tag along.

They said they were gonna do the whole obstacle course thing at Bandung Treetop, and I said I’ll come too. Big mistake!!

When we were going to the first obstacle, I allowed this 13-year-oldish looking child go before me and my uncle. He ended up draaaaaagging the whole thing (we only had 2 hours to finish them all!) because he was on the verge of crying and only doing it because of his toxic mother. Instead of letting her kid go when he was crying, she yelled and called him a girl.  

I’m gonna end that there, and just let you know that I ended up taking over the kid in between the obstacles and ziplined my way back down to earth. Like a girl that I am. 

Nonetheless, my uncle, cousins and I had fun - minus the part where my cousin was too heavy, so he got dragged to the middle of the zipline (lol) and he had to use his hands to reach the end. Poor thing. 

It got a little intense for all of us at one point and everyone questioned their ability but there was no way out!! And it was so high up!! I even almost cried. We were also Tarzaning at one point since we had to swing from one point to another.

Safe to say that my uncle beat us all, and that I woke up with super crazy sore thighs the next morning. Yum.

Would I do it again? Maybe. I forgot how enjoyable these are! But definitely bring a jacket. Not so fun ziplining when it’s drizzling and windy in Lembang.

#TrySomethingNew: New tastes

Somtam was once crowned as #1 True (Thai) Love, but this year, @ayesh-a introduced me to Laab and now I’m a Laab convert. 

It’s minced chicken with Thai basil and some nutty stuff and as I write this with an empty stomach, I think I might just cry and dream about it tonight. 

Second in the picture is a weird fruit called Santol and it’s weird because it’s sweet, bitter, hard and soft all in one. Not that I hate it I just don’t know how to feel towards it.

I guess it’s just one of those tastes that you’ll one day think about and it lingers in your mouth for a bit and it’s hard to get it around here so you’ll just miss it (like a rare nice moment from a mediocre day).

Please try them both and expand your tummy(’s horizons).

#TrySomethingNew: Scooting over to the south of Thailand

+ reuniting with my @ayesh-a after 5 years (aka the best plus point ever)

There’s always been a soft spot for Thailand because, duh, food. And I think the two out of three times I’ve been there, I beg Ayesha to come by to Bangkok but dummy me thought Hat Yai is like 20 bucks away.

It’s not.

Bangkok is further to travel to compared to KL (!!!), making it cheaper and making me shake my head for the poor Thai geographical knowledge.
So this time around I visited her and the plane ride was so short I thought I was dreaming. Mostly because I slept right after we took off and was at a constant half-asleep state until I ate something spicy. Only so that I could go back to sleep again (urgh lazy bum).

Songkhla is a bajillion times better than Hat Yai and no I’m not exaggerating but it’s a little biased maybe but you get the beach and in the words of Frank Ocean: Why see the world when you’ve got the beach?

You can have a nice picnic on the beach, swim a little (without getting yourself eaten by the waves), eat all the Thai food you want, and then have yourself a nice cup of coconut ice cream in Songkhla like Ayesha in the picture. (Side note look at how HAPPY she is – that is genuine happiness from the ice cream)
And you can also paint tiny potteries by the beach.
And it’s so quiet. 
I cannot think of any other way to forget the world.

There is also a really cute spot of sunflowers near the port of Songkhla (I honestly don’t know exact locations of things) as you can see from the pictures and there’s a sheep farm which I unfortunately did not go to.

There’s also Tesco Lotus which has almost every Thai thing and I love it because I’ve grown fond of grocery shopping and I wish I could go back there now.

Hat Yai has more of the “city vibe” going on and from what I saw, it’s a popular transit site for many travelers. There’s a couple of markets around but more interesting ones pop out during the night. Like seriously, Kim Yong is huge but it’s mostly for old people and the clothes just feel like it’s targeted to the late thirties gang. It’s good if you’re looking for peanuts, snacks and the like. Which you can get in Malaysia/Indonesia.

This was also the first time for me crossing the Northern border by land. 
Never again.

#TrySomethingNew: Coworking spaces are productive AF

Maybe it’s the surroundings or my productive mood, but I got a lot of shit done on my first time ever working from my rented table.

But honestly, I think it’s because I had a 6-hour time frame.
I really made use of my 360 minutes.

Co & Co is the first (apparently) coworking space in Bandung. Lucky me, it was so close to my Grandma’s! They have a variety of packages of desk rentals, including daily passes – full day, 3 hours and 6 hours. The receptionist was such a sweetheart, and there was a decent level of noise.

It’s one of the most memorable workspaces I had because my 6-hour pass left me no choice but to be productive. It even made me forget to eat!

It was also super affordable that it made me think of moving to Bandung (again). 
But that’s no longer an option.

Regardless, I’m really glad I did this!
It’s really funny how we’ve progressed from renting apartments to renting desks. When do we start renting water bottles?

#TrySomethingNew: Missing the floating market sunrise party

The tagline for South Kalimantan’s capital is “the city of a thousand rivers”, which is evident in Banjarmasin as the river is where some locals live, shop and even eat; it bridges small villages to another. 

On our last day in Banjarmasin, I knew I wanted to check out at least one floating market. At 6AM, we left for a floating market at Lok Baintan with our Grab driver who shared the same lack of knowledge of this floating market’s whereabouts.

We followed the map’s directions, only to find out that the roads were waaay too crazy for a small car to go through, and at that moment I knew we were gonna miss it. Even though 6AM sounds early, it’s hella late in terms of floating market time.

We got into a small village which was right next to the river, but saw very little boats carrying things to sell. It wasn’t until we stopped near a mosque and walked out to a little pier, and saw a group of boats hanging around.

The locals say we were too late (it was only 6.50!!!) and a lot of them left. We saw many boats passing by, and people heading home with their purchases of the day. Lots of bananas, fish and even food. If we were there much earlier, we could have rented a boat and be a part of the hype.

Oh well.

A break from Pokemon panels to try something new…. and failed had an idea to make little pineapples using a popcorn stitch which I have never tried before, and they all look different sizes lol. Oh well… back to Pokemon #crochet #crochetaddict #crochetersofinstagram #pineapple #crochetpineapple #yarn #yarnaddict #trysomethingnew

With everything moving online, I’ve been shipping more prints out, and finally decided to hand carve my own stamp! The kit was basic but easy to use and provided good tips, and I can see why stamp carving is a thing! The blade gliding through is so relaxing, the multiple-use outcome is worth the effort, and the possibilities are endless.
.
Of course I choose tiny letters for my first project, but ehh, it’s essentially lettering in reverse, right?
.
.
#handmade #stamp #lettering #handcarvedstamp #snailmail #smallbusiness #maker #diy #lettering #speedball #trysomethingnew
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWJnCUpcHZ/?igshid=15eqfft2g58f2

I must say that filling my travel times this week with #mermay drawings was a solid decision.
.
#arttherapy #mermay2019 #trysomethingnew #sketch #draw #illustration #ipad #digitalart #affinitydesigner #travel #mermaid #jellyfish #wacommermay2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByHKARuAnmx/?igshid=1x8piuz1gr6qg

The midst of battle! There’s nothing like being caught up in the middle of a reenactment battle - and we’re missing it pretty badly right now! May is normally when the season really gets going and the recent sunny weather has made us pine for hot clothes and cold beers in warm fields! We’re already thinking to next year when, hopefully, life will be getting back to normal and we can see our friends again. If you’re interested in joining up in preparation for a great new experience, check out our website by clicking on the link in our bio!
.
Craig Wilkinson
.
#hobby #fun #battle #giveitago #trysomethingnew #activities #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAJSMrwHboH/?igshid=essbgvnm6z5s

Another fruity drink ft my keychain. I love both the drink and my keychain both are amazing #starbucks #drinks #dragonfruit #yummy #trysomethingnew #myorder #starbuckslover
https://www.instagram.com/p/CI_P3PFHhEW/?igshid=bg6pmsrp98h1