Wishing on a Lantern

While in Koh Samui, I had the chance to send off lanterns from the beach. This is an amazing experience – very serene and cleansing.

How it works is you tie a wish to the lantern or a forgiveness message (anything you want to release). Then you hold it while focusing on the moment.

When ready, you let go and watch your lantern float off into the sky.

Zen Time in Koh Samui and Recipes!

Private Beach at Koh Samui

Yes, it does seem like I’m always running around doing something adventurous, but there are moments of zen in my life. One of these moments was at Koh Samui.

The mediation mats

Koh Samui is an island about a hour away by plane from Bangkok. It doesn’t have much in terms of adventure, but it does offer a lot if you want to relax and enjoy the beach. 

Look at how great my Bua Loy turned out!

I was lucky enough to get two nights free at the Four Seasons Koh Samui Resort on their Summer Vacation deal. After all the traveling I had done and the move to Saudi Arabia just a few months earlier, I was ready to take advantage of all the zen they had to offer.

Learning how to make kluay thod

While there I did a morning mediation session out by the beach, read a book by the beach and did a Thai cooking class where I learned how to make Kluay Thod. Kluay Thod are little bananas that are covered in coconut and sesame seed batter. Then are deep fried.  

I also learned how to make Bua Loy.  These are little rice flour dumplings in a sweet coconut milk sauce. They were pretty yummy, but filling for such tiny little balls. Recipes for these are below.

The infinity pool off the room (photo courtesy Four Seasons).

It was a relaxing time and I admit the private infinity pool that came with my room was incredible.  I did try to sit in it but I came during the rainy season (thus the free night deal) so could only stare at it from my window.  But even looking at it was nice.

Yummy appetizers all wrapped up

Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the flowers – or eat things that come in little packages like the appetizers in the photo above. I'm not actually sure what these were, but I liked them. Chicken maybe?

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RECIPES COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS KOH KAMUI, THAILAND:

THAI DUMPLING IN COCONUT MILK "BUA LOY"

Dumpling:
300 g Sticky rice flour
100 g Pumpkin puree
300 g Sticky rice flour
100 g Pandan water
300 g Sticky rice flour
100 g Water

Coconut soup:
500 g Coconut milk
100-150 g white sugar
1 g gram

Place the sticky rice flour in three bowls and then add the pumpkin puree to one bowl, the pandan water to the second bowl and plain water to the third.  Mix and knead to a soft dough.  Roll into little balls and set aside.

Dissolve the sugar and salt in the coconut milk over low heat, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and add the balls.  When they are cooked through, remove from heat and serve.


THAI BANANA FRITTERS "KLUAY THOD"

250 g Rice flour
10 g Sugar
50 g Palm sugar
6 g Salt
250g Coconut flakes
150 g Black and white sesame seeds
200 g Cold water
20 pieces of Whole Thai bananas (little bananas)

In a bowl, mix together rice flour, sugar, palm sugar, coconut flakes, cold water and the sesame seeds until smooth.

Heat up oil in a sauce pan.

Cut the banana into bite sized chunks and place into batter. Cover them well. Then deep fry until brown on both sides.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Visiting a Local Market in Thailand

While in North Thailand, I had the chance to visit a local market. Forget Whole Foods. This place had so many colorful fruits and vegetables. I had no idea Thailand grew all these things – and they all looked so tasty. Except for the bugs. They did not look tasty, but my guide said they are good.

As we walked through, he explained how they cooked them. For example, my guide says crickets can be deep fried, but he liked them stir fried in oil with garlic. I admit, they did sound kind of good. Still…the crunch? I don’t know. The bugs there were fresh, which is how they like to buy them, so I didn’t get to try any, but maybe next time.

I also saw these fighting bugs. At first I thought they were toys as they were so big and shiny. Then it moved. Okay…creepy. They rope these insects on pieces of bamboo and then sell them for entertainment. 

 

The fish were still breathing on the platters, and my guide says things are caught that day and brought in right away. Things that are still breathing mean it’s fresh. If it’s not breathing, then it’s old.

Glamping with Elephants in Thailand

A view of the Mekong River from the my tent balcony

There are times in life when you just have to say, “I’m doing it” and pay the price later. In this case, the price was rather hefty, but totally worth it.

Visiting Thailand, riding an elephant and glamping are all things on my bucket list, and the Four Seasons Tented Camp in the Golden Triangle had all those things and more. It exceeded my expectations and is one my all-time favorite trips so far.

The tent from the outside

The trip began with a long 19 hour flight from Jeddah to Chang Rai that was immediately made better when the Four Seasons town car picked me up to drive me the hour past the rice fields to the Mekong River that borders Burma and Thailand.

 That’s right. To get to the tent camp, you have to take a Thai long boat that whisks you away to your exotic destination.

The tent from the inside - my version of camping.

The camp itself consists of only a dozen tents nestled in trees overlooking the river. They might look plain on the outside, but inside they are nicer than most hotels I’ve stayed in. There was a King sized bed, a giant tub, teak floors and when you unzipped the tent flaps, a view that was out of this world. Everything in the camp is all-inclusive including everything in the mini-bar and the cookies they have in this little cookie jar on the counter (I ate those immediately).

You can hear all the frogs and crickets outside your tent, and when it rains, you'll hear the soothing sounds of the drops against the canvas roof.  For people like me, who don't love camping, this is the only way to do it.

Elephants coming for breakfast treats

But the accommodations were just the beginning of my glamping experience. The elephant adventure was also incredible.

You know how some places claim you are going to ride a camel or ride a pony and all you get is five minutes with the animal as they walk you in the circle? Well, that doesn’t happen at the Four Seasons Tented Camp. You get all the elephant time you want.

They have 24 elephants that they rescued and are taking care of. So there are elephants waiting to be fed bananas every morning, you can sign up to bathe the elephants in the river, and you can do sunset or sunrise trekking with the elephants through the lush jungle and the hills by the camp.

 I even nearly ran into one during my morning run through the jungle. It was misty and there it was -- an elephant in the mist. It was so surreal to see her just there…in the road.

Me on my elephant

Then there is the ultimate elephant adventure and the reason you go to the camp. And that is the Mahout training. With the training, the camp staff provides you the denim outfit and shoes to wear, and then they take you down to meet your elephant who you’ll be hanging out with for four or five hours.

Having a moment with my elephant

During that time, you are sitting on the elephant (they are much taller than you expect). The staff shows you how to communicate with your elephant so that you can tell it where to go, to stop, to go faster and to let you off.

After the initial “OMG…this is so high” moment, I loved my elephant. I wouldn’t say that I’m ready to trade my road bike in to ride one, but it was an amazing experience.

PHOTO MOMENT: Gail's Bakery by Marble Arch

This is Gail's Artisan Bakery at 4-6 Seymour Place (by Marble Arch tube stop in London).  She had just opened the shop that day and I couldn't resist taking a photo…and then buying some of her yummies.

Photo Moment: London at Night

London at night is magical!

The London Eye…I can't believe I hadn't been there since it was put up.  

Photo Moment: Hyde Park

One of my favorites things to do in London is get up at sunrise and run Hyde park.  Which direction should I pick today?

Photo Moment: Snogging is Healthy

In London for the Nature Jobs Expo and couldn't help but take this pick….because who doesn't want a good 'snog'?

Walking through history in Al-Balad in Jeddah

Sometimes I can’t believe that I live in this amazing place. There is so much history to Jeddah and when you ask the people who grew up here they just shrug and think I’m crazy for thinking it’s so cool.

Just like we don’t look twice at the black squirrels that live in Toronto, these people don’t see their history like I do – probably because they are a part of it. Take Old Jeddah for example.

 Situated in the city of Jeddah, the locals call the area Al-Balad which translates into “The City.”

A street in Al-Balad, Saudi Arabia

Yes, it looks old in the photos and that’s because it is old.

 Al-Balad was founded in the 7th century and used to have walls around it to protect it. The walls were torn down in the 1940s, but many of the original buildings and streets remain.

The Al Shafei Mosque in Al-Balad

The Al Shafei mosque also still exists. Built in the 7th century, it’s currently undergoing a major restoration as over the centuries, it sunk into the ground. 

Fresh meat shop in Al-Balad

A lot of the shops in the area have been around for years and locals still go to the souk there for fabrics, fresh meat, dates and nuts and of course, frankincense, which was a big Saudi export before the oil boom. 

One of the most surprising things was that some of them didn't lock up during prayer time.  They simply hung a sheet across the doorway (see below) and trusted no one would come in and steal anything.  Now that's something you wouldn't do in the US!

Shop closing up for prayer time

The houses in the area were built using rocks taken from Arba’een Lake. They were positioned like bricks and set in place using mud with wood separating them to help distribute the weight. 

You’ll also see lattices in the windows. These are used to catch the wind and create a breeze to cool down the homes. It’s surprising how well this worked.

Ignore my hair. The intense heat and humidity makes it completely unmanageable. 

The entire Al Balad Historical District is 1.5 square kilometers. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage site in June, 2014.

And then there was this crater...

At 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning, most people are sleeping.  But not my friends.This Sunday in August, we are up and already on the road in an effort to beat the heat of the Arabian Desert. It was still dark out and already 38 degrees Celsius, but we had a quest. We were going to see the famed Wahba Crater.

The Wahba crater is located 254 km from Taif in Saudi or about 3.5 to 4 hours from KAUST. This will mean nothing to you unless you’ve been here so let’s just say, it’s a 2 km hole in the middle of nowhere. Really. It is in the middle of nowhere. The road just stops and when you get out of your car, you are standing at the top and it’s a long 250 meters down to the bottom.

But while it’s a bit of a drive. It’s worth seeing – as it’s strange. Some people told us that the crater was caused by a meteorite, but geologists now say the Wahba Crater is volcanic.

It was apparently caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption-an explosion. And if you don’t know what that means, don’t feel bad. I had to look that up as I had no idea what that meant. It means that groundwater came into contact with hot lava or magma and created a mass of sodium phosphate crystals.

It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, because frankly, how often do you come across a giant white lake of sodium phosphate crystals?

I know you are wondering….can you touch it? Yup…if you can find the way down. This was the hard part of our trip. It took us nearly two hours of wandering around the top of crater in the sweltering sun to find the path. In the end we cheated and had to call someone to guide us to the location. But once you are on it, the route down to the bottom is fairly easy and you can do it in 20 minutes.

The great thing about Saudi is that everything is natural and tourism is a big thing yet so if you can find it, you can see it, eat it (don’t do this), bike over it – whatever. But because it’s not commercialized, you won’t find restrooms, snack bars or any other people for miles around, so come prepared with water, sunscreen and a tank full of gas. Cell phone reception was also a little sketchy out there.

Do I recommend it? Yes!! (that's me in the pink shorts).

Northern Ireland…it’s just so green

The Rock n’ Roll Marathon series just happened to have their half marathon in Dublin the same time my workplace was shutting down for Ramadan.  And you know what that means…while everyone else is running to the beach for some R and R, I decided I had to run 13.1 miles.

I had already done a cycling adventure in Ireland a few years ago on my own, but I had never gone to Northern Ireland.  As I was I was already going for the race, I figured this would be the perfect time to visit that area as well – especially the Giant's Causeway.  

The Giant's Causeway is considered the fourth greatest natural wonder in the UK, and legend has it that it was created by a giant. Although, geologists say the columns were formed by a volcanic eruption -- still kind of cool though as most of the columns are hexagonal and you wouldn't expect a volcano could create do that.

This photo of the columns is from Wikipedia.

My original plan was to rent a bicycle and ride around the Causeway area, but that was before I got to Northern Ireland and saw how narrow the roads were.  Plus, there were all these great trails right along the coast that I could walk instead.

If you go to Northern Ireland, I highly recommend driving or walking along the causeway, but if you are going to do it, go early or go late in the day.  Numerous tour buses also show up at the area which takes away from the serenity of the experience.  You also might way to check out the suspension bridge which is on the way.

Nearby is also Bushmill's Distillery where you can do a tour of how they make the whisky or have a couple tastings.  

PHOTO MOMENT: KAUST mosque at night

A view of the KAUST mosque courtyard at night.  Such a beautiful, tranquil place.