sugar descended from heaven...

Monday 16th March 2009

another great thing about living here is that you constantly make these little discoveries. i mean you can be walking along and discover a little restaurant that you've never seen before, or you can find a shop selling items you never knew existed or you can even just be wandering around the supermarket looking for something totally different and you stumble upon a gem. this is what happened today...i found this charming little container of cinnamon palm sugar. i couldn't resist. it just had to be bought. i think it was almost calling out to me. and what pushed me even more is that it was locally produced. when i'm living here, i feel much happier buying produce that has come from local industries. it gave some nice suggestions on the lid of what you could use it for...making french toast, glazing ham, putting in chai tea and when i opened the lid...

wow! beautiful golden granules met my eyes. and the taste...well because i just had to pop some in my mouth was lovely...a soft crumbly texture...coupled with a warm, aromatic taste. so with not having time to rustle up instant french toast, or being too lazy, i thought that the next best way to have a good sample of it, was to brew a cuppa coffee and pop in the palm sugar and wow! my usual cup of joe was transformed into something so much more flavourful and rich. what a great find!

the company making this wonderful sugar, is called Big Tree Farms and you can have a look at some of the other fine artisan foods they produce and how they help the local community. i love what they are doing, i love their packaging - simple and very organic looking and i want that vanilla palm sugar next...

blissed out at COZY...

Sunday 15th March 2009

ok, if you're here in Bali and you've never been to COZY, well then, sorry but you just haven't lived...for me, it is THE best place for foot reflexology and i would gladly sell my soul to have a lifetime worth of weekly massages.

so why is it so special...well first of all, you arrive off a busy road to a place of peace and tranquility with cascading waterfalls at the entrance. you take a seat and if you haven't made an appointment, fear not, because you are never left sitting more than 10 minutes to wait for the next available therapist. i do make an appointment, simply because i have fallen in love with the hands of one particular therapist who knows exactly the amount of pressure i like. you choose the kind of reflexology you want...there's anti-stress, insomnia, poor circulation, energising, etc. and you also choose the kind of music you want to listen to on the little mp3 player you're given.

once you are called, you head upstairs to a very comfy chair that faces a calming fish tank, the lights are down low, and the bliss begins.

the massage takes 1.5 hours and includes an hour on your legs and feet plus half an hour on arms, shoulders, neck and head. you can ask for the pressure to be strong, or light, depending on how you like it. i kinda hover somewhere in-between. i like to know i'm being massaged but hey, no need for agony either, right. i mean it's supposed to be relaxing. and it is just right...phones are silenced, people speak in whispers and with your chill out music gently playing in your ear, you just kinda float away. and suddenly the therapist is whispering in your ear that it's over...and with a sigh, you gather yourself back together and prepare to face the world again...a little more prepared and a little less tense.

this is a popular place, when i go there are always people in various stages of arriving, waiting, leaving...and the customers are local and western alike. the prices are incredibly reasonable for the service, the ambience and the experience. my 1.5 hour foot reflexology is about Rp. 80,000. for that price, really how can you resist. they offer lots of other massages and services including facials and manicures/pedicures. i haven't tried anything else so far...i just love the foot reflexology too much...

COZY,

Sunset Road Blok A/3

Kuta

telp: (0361) 7472762

bamboo...it's just you and me again, baby!

Monday 2nd March 2009

NEVER say never....and aren't i lucky i didn't...i wrote a certain little love post some time back about my tumultuous love affair with bamboo and even though it was rocky that one day i might welcome bamboo back into my life...and lo and behold...a charming bamboo cottage found it's way into my life that i am now renting in Batu Belig in Canggu...with a mere 3 minute walk to the beach. it's perfect. full of character and charm and i just adore coming home to it every evening and find it hard to tear myself away to leave in the morning...and let's face it...isn't that supposed to be the way you feel about the place where you set up home. i am blessed...and bamboo...thank you...i didn't give up on you, nor you me...and we're together again...

why does it always rain on me...?

Wednesday 4th February 2009

and just when i thought we were well and truly OUT of the rainy season, it comes back with such a vengence that i can hardly believe it. the past few days have been absolute misery...it reminds me of a post way back when i was still in dublin...these grey skies...it just doesn't seem right to be in bali and to see grey skies. and of course, needless to say, it sure ain't a lot of fun being on a motorbike when a torrential downpour strikes...you can't put down the visor because it's tinted and makes everything too dark and when i ride with it up...well my glasses get all spotted with rain...yikes! i like rain when i'm snuggly under my blankie. anyway, the batik above is one of my absolute favourite designs. it is called mega mendung, which means huge rainclouds and comes originally from cirebon in java. when i see it, i remember that rainclouds can be beautiful and no matter what, after every storm, there are clear skies. so here's to the rainclouds...pour down for the rest of the week, but please, please, clear up by saturday morning, so i can have a day at the beach...please?

toot! toot!

Saturday 31st January 2009

yes, yes, today i feel like i have many things to toot a horn about...first things first...i'm back! yes, finally i am re-connected to the world wide web after an absence of close to a month! such joy...as i have missed blogging so much...serious withdrawal symptoms!

second bit of news to toot about - i have moved house AGAIN! but this time, fingers (toes and eyes) crossed that this will be the last move for awhile. i finally re-opened boxes today that had been sealed up for months and it was like christmas all over again, opening objects wrapped up in newspaper and re-discovering their contents. my house, which is actually a cottage, is so beautiful and magical, that i have fallen hopelessly in love with it already (and i haven't even spent the first night here yet!) it is made of bamboo (yes - i have made my peace and the stormy love affair continues anew!) and is just so full of character and it gets better...it is walking distance from the beach! photos to follow shortly...

third piece of fabulous news to toot about is that i am finally mobile - i have slowly mastered the art of motorbike riding and life has just not been the same since. i never knew that being able to get myself around would bring me such a sense of freedom and pleasure...but then again, i am destined to be the captain of my own ship - so why not a motorbike too. admittedly it's an automatic and all you have to do is hit the gas or brake...but for any of you who have ever been here and experienced bali roads...well you would know what i mean when i say that every day surviving on the alleys and back roads, is a day to rejoice!

so there you have it, a quick update of all the fantastic things i've been celebrating about these past couple of weeks...and there will be more...2009 is off to a tooting good start!

oh, mee rebus...i have missed you...

Monday 5th January 2009

this trip to Singapore has been a lot about eating many of my favourite dishes...food that i have craved and not always been able to find that easily in Bali. anyway, when i was growing up here there was a food centre called Taman Serasi that served great food. it ended up being closed down - which was such a shame. recently when the botannic gardens were under renovation, they rebuilt a more modern version of a food court and named it Taman Serasi, in the hope of bringing back people.

not so long ago, when visiting the food garden, i discovered an indonesian stall selling mee rebus - an absolute favourite local dish of mine. a little help from wikipedia might be needed here...

Mee rebus (literally boiled noodles in English) is a Malay inspired noodle dish. It is most popular in Indonesia where it is called Mi Celor, Malaysia and Singapore.
The dish is made of yellow egg noodles, with a spicy slightly sweet curry-like gravy. The gravy is made from potatoes, curry powder, water, salted soya beans, dried shrimps, and peanuts. The dish is garnished with a hard boiled egg, calamansi limes, spring onions, Chinese celery, green chillies, fried firm tofu (tau kwa), fried shallots and bean sprouts.

the mee rebus at Taman Serasi is THE best mee rebus i have had in a long time...i have been back a few times during my trip here just to enjoy this dish...the gravy is particularly good...not too thick or thin (as is the case in some places), the noodles done perfectly, lots of fresh green chillies that give bursts of hotness in your mouth...it's so good...truly! and at only $4.50...quite a steal!

another discovery at the same stall, was ayam panggang, which literally translates as roasted chicken. the chicken is roasted with a sauce made of special spices and served with rice, omelette and vegetables. the sauce that the chicken is roasted in is absolutely delicious...a little sweet but perfectly spiced and it has obviously been left to marinate in the sauce for some time, because the chicken is soft and succulent. i could have eaten a few platefuls of this...again at only $4.50, how can you say no?

Taman Serasi Food Garden,

1 Cluny Road,

Singapore.

a lucky rub...

Sunday 4th January 2009

so the christmas decorations are down already on the streets of singapore...and very hastily being replaced with chinese new year lanterns, cherry blossoms and chinese characters...chinese new year comes early this year, on January 26th and so, as it is celebrated in a big way in singapore...decorations are very important. anyway, while walking through the chinese new year market at bugis the other day...i spied this happy, chubby buddha for sale and just had to give his rotund belly a rub...for luck of course - not some deranged fetish of rubbing men's stomachs, ok! i hope my little rub will bring me much luck, prosperity and good things in 2009 and if you feel so inclined...please feel free to rub away...there just might be enough luck to go around!

get fruity!

Saturday 3rd January 2009

one of the greatest things about being in Asia (apart from the beaches, weather, culture, etc...) is of course, the fruit! and what better way to start off the year than getting a little more fruity with life...so i'm here to share some of the fabulous ways i get more fruity...and it's definitely pretty exotic, fantastical and very delicious!

mangosteen

longan

star fruit

guava

custard apple

dragon fruit

New Year...new roads to travel...

Friday 2nd January 2009

i love the start of a new year...it's so full of possibilities, opportunities and just that sense of the unexpected...of what might happen. it's like you are setting out on a new journey...you pack your bag with all the things you think you might need in anticipation, ready yourself for the journey ahead and set off. along the way, you have to expect the unexpected...sometimes it's good, sometimes not...but there are always going to be bumps in the road and you just have to learn to accept them and remember that there'll be plenty of smooth sailing too.

i'm really looking forward to 2009...there are lots of opportunities in the pipeline and it's great to kickstart the year knowing that there's lots to look forward to.

I hope that 2009 brings to one and all lots of exciting opportunities...Happy New Year!

a Happy Christmas from the tropics!

Thursday 25th December 2008

it's weird...Christmas in the tropics for me...will NEVER feel like Christmas - it's like any year i celebrate it in the tropics...i skip Christmas that year, it just doesn't happen, i can't bring myself to celebrate it. i have tried in past years but it just never felt the same. even now, as i am in Singapore for Christmas, with Orchard Road decked up to the nines with decorations...it's like i don't even see them. as someone who grew up spending every Christmas in Ireland...it just cannot be Christmas for me anywhere else! so what am i thinking about today, what makes Christmas for me...champagne and orange juice for breakfast, the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven, heaps of presents piled under the tree, the pop of crackers being pulled, twinkling lights and sparkling decorations, the warm glow of the fire in the hearth, the crisp cold winter air but mostly loved ones...so far away on this day...but so near in my thoughts...my dear family, i miss you all so much that i hope my thoughts can traverse the miles today and be with you. Christmas just ain't the same without all of you. Happy Christmas everyone...

sunset at seminyak...

Sunday 30th November 2008

so where is one of the best places in the world to watch the sun drop right into the ocean and create a fireball in the sky as it takes its' last shimmering rays of light away for the day? why seminyak beach of course! it's a little further along the way than kuta and legian, but well worth a visit simply to see one of the most magnificent natural displays of light and colour blaze across the sky. and every sunset is different...no two the same, just like every day is different...it's a fabulous way to bring a close to the daylight hours...to just lie on the beach with your toes in the sand and watch and breathe and remember how tiny we are...earth, our planet, in contrast to the magnificence of the sun...its strength, light, heat and power make us earthlings and our planet seem like mere shadows to its' great existence...and remember that...we are but mere specks of dust compared to the size of the sun...and no matter how much we think we are the centre of our own universe, we are not...so get your toes down to the beach, sink them in the sand and marvel at the wonder of it all...

moringa oleifera...moringa ole-what???

Thursday 20th November 2008

so what do you do when you find that you have one of the world's most useful trees growing right in your back garden? well you make sure that all those people who aren't in the know...get in the know...because it doesn't get much better than the moringa oleifera, my friends. this tree packs a punch of the most healthy kind. read what wikipedia has to say about it...

Moringa oleifera, commonly referred to simply as Moringa, is the most widely cultivated variety of the genus Moringa. It is of the family Moringaceae. It is an exceptionally nutritious vegetable tree with a variety of potential uses. Considered one of the world’s most useful trees, as almost every part of the Moringa tree can be used for food, or has some other beneficial property.

The leaves are highly nutritious, being a significant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron and potassium. The leaves are cooked and used like spinach. In addition to being used fresh as a substitute for spinach, its leaves are commonly dried and crushed into a powder, and used in soups and sauces. The tree is a good source for calcium and phosphorus. Moringa leaves contain more Vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas, and the protein quality of Moringa leaves rivals that of milk and eggs.

so don't you think, after reading that, you just have to have one of these trees in your garden.. you can use it in soups, salads, casseroles and you get all that incredible goodness..i mean imagine, you might never have to leave home again...everything you need, right there, on one tree...now if only we could get it to grow money...hmmm...

sunlight falling on bamboo...

Tuesday 11th November 2008

i do love you, bamboo...i really do...the past few months have been a bit rocky between you and me...there have been ups and downs with you...you gave way when i needed you to be strong, you leaked when i needed you for shelter, you cracked when i needed you to remain tough under pressure...i have often felt like saying that i never want to see you again...EVER. but never is such a strong word and despite everything...there might be room for you again in my life, some day. so i vow to think good things about you...to remember how tall and upright you are, how you can bend so flexibly and change your shape and mostly how the sunlight looks as it dances across your smooth exterior. you did not choose the destiny that befell you...you too were pulled from the earth and transplanted here, forever to be a part of a vision you knew nothing about. and so, bamboo, stand tall, feel connected to the earth, remain true...for in the face of all else, these are the things that you can control and know and find solace in when all else fails...i leave you with that thought...i leave you...

desiderata...

Thursday 6th November 2008

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant;

they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment.

it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

by Max Ehrmann©1927 (renewed)

Bell & Son Publishing,

Reprinted with permission.

as i take a step, i think of the words of this poem...and they remind me of so much...so much to be grateful for, thankful for and humble about...and i take a deep breath and take another step...one step at a time...that's it for now...

the veins that bind...

Wednesday 5th November 2008

it's been way too long since i posted and it's been mainly due to the fact that things are just crazy at the moment and life is manifesting itself to me in strange ways but i am beginning to understand that it is its' own way of telling me that things are not necessarily in balance right now and i need to stop and think and breathe before i make the next step. the saving grace through all this madness has been the amazing small network of people who have supported me through this and to me, they are just like all those veins branching off that main stem...for without them, i think i wouldn't have been able to stand. the worst part of it all is that the person who has probably been there for me the most, is about to depart these shores. and i know that when you live the life of an expat, people come and go in and out of your life all the time and you should expect that, but sometimes, just sometimes, i wish we could hold on to some of those people a little longer. i'm not asking for everyone, ok...just the select few. but alas, that's not meant to be for now...so on sunday i will bid a very bittersweet fare-well to Lisa, Victor and Loy and while wishing them a beautiful journey ahead, will hope that our paths will cross again soon somewhere on this wild, turning planet of ours...for we are bound forever by the green-ness that brought us here, the uphills and the downhills these past months and the blood, sweat and tears and hopes and fears of a little bamboo village we once inhabited. so we shall travel our own paths for now, but always, always remember the veins that bind...