Melbourne Life

The poor blog has been neglected for the past couple of months as Dan and I have settled into our new life in Melbourne. Come back soon for lots of lovely pics and ideas for cheap things to do in this fantastic city.

Melbourne: a hot(ish) Christmas

A huge thanks to Sophie and Rob for hosting a hot Christmas in Melbourne for Christmas orphans from the UK and beyond. It was certainly a day to remember!

Throwing another shrimp on the barby

Our second course amuse bouche vodka jelly from Sonny & Jules

We had a day of true Melbourne weather - sun/rain/hail/sun again...

Our pom pom style snowman created by Pete

Sophie & Alaric our little christmas reindeer

The fantastic Sophie, host extraordinaire

Our fish course, created by Dan, Tim, Sasha and I

Secret santa time

With a Scottish father christmas

ho ho ho

Thailand: Bangkok

Oh Bangkok how I love you.....

Bangkok has to one of the best places in the world for a vibrant streetlife - the food, the shopping, the people watching, the wandering. For me, there is nowhere better.

We stayed at the fantastic Cosy Bangkok which I would highly recommend, also if you are looking for a tailor Harry's tailor in the Basement of Narai Hotel on Silom Road is great.

The obligatory visit to the Golden Temple, so bling! We had Thai massages in Wat Po and ate lots and lots of street food. Who knew deep fried omelette could taste so good!? 

The massive feet of the sleeping Buddah

Duck tongues on the street. This was one of our favourite street vendors on the corner of Rama IV and Rama VI. Steaming claypot soups which you can add your own bunches of sweet basil, lettuce and meat.

Chatuchak weekend market is unbelievable. We had to rush around before catching our flight but I could have spent the whole weekend wandering about the hundreds of stalls selling everything under the sun

And onwards to Australia

Malaysia: Penang

We took the overnight sleeper from KL to Butterworth and then a quick ferry across to Georgetown on Penang. Georgetown is a world heritage site and famous for its plethora of amazing places to eat. It's a melting pot of Indian, Malaysian, Chinese and Thai cuisine.

Our train from KL to Butterworth

Kevin's last stop before he got sent on his merry way ...

An indian sweet shop in Little India

We took a trishaw trip around Penang with a brilliant guide who showed us the sights and sounds of Georgetown - Chew Jetty, Little India, Chinatown, Temples, gardens, old colonial buildings and many many places to eat

The Chew Jetty in George Town in a water village which was built in the mid 19th century on stilts out into the sea by Chinese immigrants. A lot of it was destroyed by the tsunami. Our trishaw driver showed us the three Chinese temples and the narrow watery lanes of the village

Rubbing the lucky lady dragon

There is a fantastic foody streetlife in Penang, the food is unbelievable cheap and fantastic and street vendors fill the roads with sizzling pans and plastic furniture every night.

Walking through the streets of little india felt like being back in Delhi, tunes were blaring out from the DVD shops and delicious smells permeated from every corner

A huge paper dosa with masala potatoes and other delights for 90p!

The brilliant spice gardens in Penang. Penang, a British colony was a major Pepper Port and part of the fabled spice route. 

More fantastic curry, we ate some of the most delicious Indian food in Penang - one of the standout restaurants was the Woodlands vegetarian Indian place in Little India, fantastic!