Bric-a-brac

Portobello Market, the world’s largest antiques market. I can't believe I haven't been more frequent than I should have. KL’s previous trip to the market was not memorable – hence we’ve never made it a point to come (until now, that is). I suspect he probably came on a wrong day.

Anyway, after a hearty breakfast of ‘karipap’ and ‘nasi lemak’ washed down with ‘teh tarik’ at the Malaysian Hall, we took a 5 minute bus ride down the road to Nottinghill Gate. Though we were unsure of the exact location, we just followed the throngs of people hoping that they would lead us there and they did!

The market stretches the full length of Portobello road was bustling with activities and the streets were infested with people though it was wet, cold and gloomy!!

The stalls offer anything and everything that you can think of – (mostly) second hand items from clothing, jewellery, furniture, cameras, telescopes, chinas....


Further along the road, there are stalls offering household items, fresh fruit and vegetable stalls , lovely flowers even fresh fish.


I had an excellent time - it was really fun browsing through the stalls (new and antiques). I'm definitely heading back there soon.

More photos on Travel Pod

Carlsberg Brewery København

How can a trip to Copenhagen be complete without a visit to the famous Carlsberg brewery? That’s what I thought anyway. Since the hotel that we stayed in was only 20 minutes walk away, it only affirms our decision to make a quick trip to the brewery.

The whole tour was quite enjoyable and quite value for money. It costs DKK40 per entry which equates to roughly £4. With that comes 2 free vouchers that entitle you a pint of beer or soft drinks at the end of the visit. We obviously opted for beer as we wanted to try the different beers available (bad decision!!) …. E.g. Limited Christmas Beer, Brown Ale, Caramel Beer. As KL and I were not beer drinkers – we basically had to force the beer down! I think we were the only ones there who did not finish the beers. If my dad was there, he’ll probably reprimand us and finish it for us. =)

The bar where we got our free drinks from.

The tour was really informative – it shows us how beer was processed as you would expect, stables where horses were still used as means of transportation around the brewery, video presentations comparing the traditional and modern method of beer processing….etc. The highlight I thought was the amazing beer collection they had on display. It is apparently the largest beer collection from all over the world.


Presenting the world’s largest beer collection…




Did you know that Carlsberg was first brewed in 1847 by Jacobson? The first brewery was built just outside Copenhagen on a hill (berg in Danish). The brewery was named after his first son Carl hence the name ‘Carlsberg’. ;)

Epping Forest

It’s been awhile since we explored the vicinity of London as any chance we get, we’ll be trying to get away from the city. Anyway, we were looking for nearby places (by our definition - less than an hour to get to) so we decided on Epping Forrest - a forestry area well known for its fine woodlands and wildlife. A definite must for nature lovers, walkers and keen photographers!

Epping Forest stretches for about 12 miles, running from the town of Epping. It's easily accessible from London by jumping on the red Central Line to Theydon Bois or Epping station. So, it’s a great day out.





The vibrant colour of the moss stands out among the dry leaves.

Taiping

The trip back to my hometown, Taiping was a very short one. As we had only a morning to spend in town before we head back to Kuala Lumpur - it was either sight seeing around the lake gardens or stuff ourselves with food - guess what we chose?! Heh!

..... pit stop to one of my many favourite food stalls! The stall below serves the best char kuih kak (stir fried radish cake with egg & bean sprout) I've ever had. It's located in Taman Sening and is only available in the morning. So, if you are in town - remember to try it!



The cendol man in action - a favourite dessert with my brothers. Though I never did acquire the taste for it. The usual stall that we normally go to is the one near the St.George's but as it was not opened yet, we settled for this one round the corner and I thought it tasted equally good!

Rubbery rubber

We were on the way back from my uncle's durian plantation in Bentong when we came upon acres of rubber plantation. It was definitely a photo oppurtunity for us, so we asked our uncle to make a photo-stop.





On a different note, KL's brother mentioned that we are becoming more like tourists - wanting to take pictures of everything and anything that we come across. I guess after being a way for so long, looking at these snapshots on a cold and miserable winter brings you much closer to home.

Carn Mor Dearg

Over the August bank holiday, a group of us went up to Scotland hoping to summit Ben Nevis via the classic route, the CMD arete.

We didn't make it to the top due to horrid weather but I had a good time nonetheless This despite getting soaked through from top to bottom; having bad blisters on both my feet. To make matters worse, the heavy showers and strong gusts of wind made each and every step an effort. (I must be getting KL's syndrome - i.e. KL's definition of a holiday = challenging, suffering, pain & more pain).

The evening before, our tent in the valley over looking the notorious north face of Ben Nevis.


The before shot...


And, after ......PH salvaging what's left of his tent.
(Oh.. did I mention that PH's tent was thrashed by the wind and rain?)


Click here for previous post on our last trip to Scotland

Going Home...

2 more days and we're heading home for 2 weeks.... YIPPEEEEE!!!!!!

Bags are all packed, all set to start pigging out on local food ... oh, and of course seeing loved ones. :p