chocolate dates ball

Inspired by "nakd" chocolate date bar and raw vegan cake by an instagramer @fully_vegan (http://instagram.com/p/gGuJrrwOyX/)

I made these as little balls like chocolate rum balls that I used to like, except these are coated with desicated coconut instead of milk chocolate sprinkle. Healthier, happier! 

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup raw cashew

1/2 cup raw chocolate

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup ground almond

2 tbs agave nectar/golden syrup

Desicated coconut for dusting

1. Soak the dates and cashew for a few hours.

2. Put all ingredients together in a food processor except desicated coconut. (As I don't have food processor, I used hand blender on the soften dates and cashew first, then mixed the rest of the ingredients).

3. Add ground almond if it is too wet. 

Make little balls (or big balls, which ever you fancy)

4. Coat with desicated coconut. 

5. Freeze or refrigerate for a couple of hours. 

Ready for some nice but naughty nibble!

 

Indonesian Vegetarian

I went to Indonesian Christmas party today, catching up with old friends, sharing stories, and at the centre of this gathering: sharing food!

The little problem that I faced was that I have recently decided to become vegan and gave up all animal products. There is no cencept of vegetarianism not to mention veganism in Indonesian - and most South East Asia - culture. When I lived in Indonesia, being vegetarian means not eating meat. I, like most Indonesians, never fussed about how the food was cooked. If there is a bit if meat in the stew, just took them out and eat the vegetables. Being fussy means troubling others and we Indonesian don't like to trouble others.

So today, seeing old friends and a table full of authentic Indonesian food (and after hours of writing essay I was hungry...!) I decided to forget veganism and be Indonesian. Gosh what a wonderful taste authentic Indonesian foods are! 👍😋 My best friend Heni made "soto mie", noodle soup with sliced springrolls, vegetable and all sorts of cow's inside. 

As an Indonesian vegetarian, this is what I did: I 'donated' all the meat and parts of dead cow on my plate to whoever next to me. I never met the girl next to me, she is one of the new Indonesian student in Manchester. But it does not matter, she was very very happy and grateful for the extra meat...! 

This reminds me of my mutual symbiotic relationship with a carnivore friend called Patrick. He hates vegetable and I don't eat meat. During our days of working on the streets of Jakarta, we always sat next to each other for lunch. Whether street vendor's  "nasi bungkus" or posh meals during seminars in five star hotels, if the meal was prepacked, we just swap meat and vegetable. Win-win!

So even though I'm keeping my vegan lifestyle as consistent as possible, I am still in my heart, an authentic Indonesian. And the Indonesian way of being vegetarian is not to make a fuss and to make the person next to you happy 😃😜

Merry Christmas!

Ps. This is Heni's daughter Chinta (Indonesian word for Love). I vote her chocolate-smeared face as the definition of happines. 

Words of Wisdom

We always prayed to what we took. 

Before cutting down a tree, we'd say "Forgive us, understand that we need your warmth." That's what my father taught me. 

(Marie Smith, Eyak Tribe, Native Alaskan)

Quoted from "The Sacred Gift: Words of wisdom handed down. Speak to each generation." Compiled and illustrated by Peter Dunn, 2001, Wiltshire: Axiom Publishing

Vegan Cornbread recipe

This recipe is originally from the Post Punk Kitchen website (www.theppk.com). I improvised a little to add moisture, texture and taste.

Vegan Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 cups (260gr) cornmeal

1 cup flour (120gr all-purpose flour + 10gr corn starch)

3 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 (80ml) cup canola oil / rapeseed oil

2 tablespoon margarine

2 tablespoons maple syrup/golden syrup

2 cups (480ml) soymilk

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar / white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional:

Sweet corn kernels

Grated cheese/vegan cheez

Chopped red pepper

1 teaspoon chipottle chilli paste

Methods:

Preheat oven to 350F (170C) line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper or spray the bottom lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, wisk together 1 teaspoin baking powder and the vinegar. Add the soymilk, wisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt).

Add the oil, margarine and maple syrup to the soymilk mixture. Wisk with a wire wisk or a fork until it is foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix together using a large wooden spoon or a firm spatula. Add the corn kernels, grated vegan cheese, chopped red pepper and chipotle chili paste, mix gently. 

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice into squares and serve warm or store in an airtight container.

People's power?

I might sound old, but I can't help to compare the people's power that toppled dictators in Indonesia 1998 and Philippines 1986 to today's trade union march against the tories in Manchester, UK. 

 

The big difference was that in Jakarta 1998 and Manila 1986, people march united as one against a dictator - Soeharto and Marcos. The people were anonimous Joe Everybodies. Today's protest in Manchester, UK, was filled with banners and placards of organisations or political parties all advertising their interest. None provides practical and logical sollution. 

Indonesians toppled Soeharto's dictatorship by marching as one, not by advertising organisation A, B, C...

I do agree that today's government in power - coallition between Conservative (or Tory) and Liberal Democrat - is evil. Any government who kiils the poor - Cameron in UK 2010-2013 or Sutiyoso in Jakarta 2002-2005 - is indeed EVIL. I agree that they need to step down and be replaced by human who work for the people, not for the greedy bussinessmen and international conglomerates.

Well, this guy said it nicely

Still, it made me sad that today's trade union march was more about promoting individual unions or political parties or institutions or causes, rather than marching together as one. I do not buy the advert of trade unions because all they wanted is our subscription. I had been a member of two unions, both had no union representative available when i really needed them, and I was not the only one with this experience.

I am still waiting for politicians with real human hearts who will defend the people, the poor, with all their hearts until the last blood... I have not seen the quality of Chico Mendez and Romero here in the first world England. 

I am disappointed of the country where modern democracy was born. Still I cannot just leave this modern society, go to the jungle of West Papua and join their Liberation Army. Well, of course I could, but I still have a responsibility of raising my son until he goes to university and independent. Neither does joining badger resistant army would do any good for now. 

Therefore I will continue doing what i can do - fighting for what is right in anyway I can, working togther with those who have human hearts, and fight the evil of greedy capitalistsm, politic of selfishness and injustice. I will fight with my service user for the right of public service for those with no internet access (damn you manchester, advertising the city as digital champion while discriminating against those who are not internet-literate!). I will advocate for those who are entitled of student bursary but their social workers are too lazy and beaurocratic to provide. I will fight for the better treatments of new social workers by the dictatorship of their local authority and fight for transparency in local authority management. I will fight for the stop of badger cull for this is human laziness to address the real problem and find innocent creatures as scapegoat....

Come and join me all human hearts, with care and love we can defeat the evil little by little...

In all our different ways, we can unite in one compassion for fellow human. We can continue to question injustice especially by those in power. We can refuse to be victims and take responsibilities to make a difference. For it is better to light a candle than curse at the darkness....

Candle

A reminder to take action rather than moaning. Fight the unjust, change your world, take action and fight hard. If you cannot...then keep your mouth shut. Human have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Complaining with no action does not change anything, it just make others miserable.

If you listen, the universe will provide some answers. If you would not take action, don't talk!

http://instagram.com/p/d4NXFnPjO8/

What’s in a Cup of Tea?

I was never a big tea drinker. The English obsession for “a cuppa” (or a cup of tea) is a nice concept that means having a break and sit back, but when I needed to sit back, I would have coffee – or a pint of beer. Still, I like Indonesian original Teh Botol – direct translation: bottled tea. I like the sweet bottled ice tea for the nostalgia of those hot days after school, going to Juju the drink seller, chatted with him, and buy one Teh Botol on ice. Oh so refreshing the sweet bottled tea!

 (Image from wilipedia)

There were varieties of Teh Botol as the 21^st century coming to Indonesia. There was Lipton Ice Tea with all sort of fruit flavour, and different brands tried their own blend of bottled sweet ice tea.

Come back to a cuppa, maybe I would say that I like a cup of green tea. Japanese Ocha is perfect with fatty meal – gives me the fresh taste as well as the illusion that the fat would be washed by the goodness of the green tea. Green tea with lemon, that is also nice and refreshing hot or cold – although my British husband and most of my British friends would cringe when I said “iced tea”.

However today I learned something new about tea. Started with a conversation with Jack in Piccadilly Garden about the silliness of the word “chai tea” on the board of one of the food vendor in the Picnic in the Garden event. Jack pointed out that as chai means tea, the phrase “chai tea” means “tea tea”. I guess it was like Lake Danao in Leyte, Philippines. The word “danao” in Tagalog and Indonesian means “lake”. That makes “Lake Danao” “Lake Lake”.

Anyway, I then walked around Manchester and ended up in Castlefield Artisan Sunday Market. Walking almost aimlessly and taking pictures of the unique and funny things around, I came across a stall called “Quinteassential” and chatted with the guy. Although I did not buy any tea today – and I do feel bad for not buying from this very nice guy – I learned a lot about tea.

As a believer of “everyday is a school day” philosophy, here I try to summarise what I learn.

Tea are named according to the way it was processed.

White tea is a lightly oxidized tea harvested primarily in China. White tea comes from the buds and leaves The leaves and buds are allowed to wither in natural sunlight before they are lightly processed to prevent oxidation or further tea processing.

Green tea is made from the leaves (Camellia sinensis) that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea it is unfermented and have less caffeine.

Yellow tea “usually implies a special tea processed similarly to green tea, but with a slower drying phase, where the damp tea leaves are allowed to sit and yellow.”

Blackteas, the most common her in England, are “fully fermented, usually for 16-20 hours which results in a full and robust liquor. It contains the highest level of caffeine amongst all other types of tea.” Wikipedia said, “the Western term "black tea" refers to the colour of the oxidized leaves. In Chinese, "black tea" is a commonly-used classification for post-fermented teas.”

Oolongis “a traditional Chinese tea produced through a unique process including withering under the strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting”. Quinteassential said, “In between Black and Green, it is fermented for only 5-8 hours. Often referred to as Chinese tea, it is fragrant and renowned for its digestive properties.” 

“Redbush” or “Rooibos” or "Red tea" is “native to South Africa and is derived from a different plant. It is high in antioxidants – rivals the health properties of green and white tea – and totally caffeine-free.”

 

Now coming back to my childhood Teh Botol, Wikipedia said that it is actually jasmine tea. Jasmine tea is a green tea infused with jasmine flower – both plants are very common and easily grow in Indonesia especially in Java. According to the maker of Teh Botol, PT Sosro, jasmine tea is also “mixed with jasmine and gambier flowers” It also said that “According to research, jasmine tea is good for decreasing cholesterol level and refreshing body.” Although I’m not sure that the amount of sugar in Teh Botol would lower anyone’s cholesterol!

So… there you go, I learned about tea today…! Thanks to this guy in Castlefield

Artisan Sunday Market (mate, I’m so sorry I forgot your name….) He is Greek, and his wife is Singaporean. And his knowledge of Indonesian tea and food deserves two thumbs up! I will absolutely come back in two weeks time, this time with more cash with me. I fell in love with their “jasmine gold” green tea!

Space, Kayak, Orca, Manatee and Mickey Mouse

“Cocoa Beach was the resort town for all the Low Rent folk who couldn’t afford the beach towns farther south. Cocoa Beach was so Low Rent that nothing on this earth could ever change it…Even the beach at Cocoa Beach was Low Rent. It was about three hundred feet wide at high tide and hard as a brick. … At night some sort of prehistoric chiggers or fire ants – it was hard to say, since you could never see them – rose up from out of the sand and the palmetto grass and went for the ankles with a bite more vicious than a mink’s. there was no such thing as “first-class accommodation” or “red-carpet treatment” in Cocoa Beach. The red carpet, had anyone ever tried to lay one down, would have been devoured in midair by the No See’um bugs, as they were called, before it ever touched the implacable hardcracker ground. And that was one reason why the boys loved it! Even Glenn, John Glenn...” (Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff, 1980)

That was also one reason why we chose Cocoa Beach - in the area now called Space Coast - as our basecamp for this two weeks holiday in Florida, USA. If it was good for the Mercury astronaut like Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and the rest... then it should be good for us!

Wednesday, 3^rd July 2013

We arrived at Sanford Airport about one in the afternnon, went to the car rental Alamo. Friendly salesman Alex assisted us to upgrade to bigger car for $29 a day. We went out to the parking lot and a staff told us to choose. We choose Chevy (Chevrolet) Impala, four doors. It’s bigger than our car at home, and it’s all so automatic and hi-tech! On the way to the condo we rented, I found out that the roof can be open! I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never been in a car so modern…

Before the trip I booked the accommodation through a website called VRBO (vacation rentals by owner). It’s a ground floor ocean view two bedroom two bathroom condo in Cocoa Beach.

We arrived tired and hungry (because we only realised on the aeroplane that they only served main meal, the snacks in between are horribly expensive!). So Andy and I went to the nearest WalMart, and bought snacks, beers, etc. We went for dinner in Sonny’s diners where I had mac n cheese and fried okra (my new favourite snacks!)

Thursday, 4^th July 2013

It’s American Independence Day! Everyone we met said, “Happy fourth!” and we caught up with the spirit…

Andy and I started the day with sunrise walk on the beach. As Cocoa Beach is on the East coast of Florida, we watched the beautiful sunrise at 6:30am. We had toasts for breakfast and then a long drive to Kissimmee area to collect tickets for SeaWorld and Kennedy Space Centre. The free satellite navigation app was very useful! We then had a drive to Merritt Island’s Manatee Cove. It looked very nice to kayak around the river there, but apparently we had to book in advance. So we pencil this for another day.

We had lunch at a riverside place (I never know when a place is a restaurant or café or diners!) called “The Island Waterfront Bar and Grill”. Another new meal to try to cook at home: fish taco! Hmmmm

Part of the 4^th of July tradition – as I learned from books and films – is the fireworks. Jack did a good online research and found a place where there would be concert by Brevard Symphony Orchestra and fireworks on the riverfront. It’s in Cocoa Village’s Riverfront Park. The website said, “come early”. We arrived two hours before and the park was already full of families on their blankets and chairs, but we managed to get a good place to sit. Though we could barely heard the orchestra, we did hear and stand for the Star Spangled Banner. I admire the American nationalism where they all stood solemnly, some with hands on their chest, singing along to the national anthem. We don’t have this patriotic attitude in Britain, we don’t even have any national day when we could proudly fly the Union Jack.

As expected, the fireworks on the riverfront was SPECTACULAR! I have no word to describe it, you just have to be there to experience this.

Friday, 5^th July 2013

Kennedy Space Centre…!!!

We started with the bus tour passed the vehicle assembly building (VAB), then stopped at the observation tower overseeing Launch Pad 39A and 39B, and stopped at the Saturn/Apollo exhibition hall. One of the many things to see at the Apollo hall was a wall full of newspaper headlines from all over the world featuring Armstrong and Aldrin's land on the Moon in 1969, and guess what, an Indonesian newspaper Merdeka was there....!

 

Atlantis, the new exhibition featuring the retired space shuttle Atlantis.

The rocket garden features Mercury capsule as well as the latest Orion...

There are much more memories from this visit that words fail to describe. I was almost in tears watching some films about the early space exporations from Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, to the latest Space Shuttle. I don't think any of the modern sophisticated computerised system can ever replace the human spirit of exploration and the bravery of the first astronauts. As Tom Wolfe rightly described, it took "the right stuff" to wear those historical NASA badges...

Saturday, 6^th July 2013

Even though yesterday was a full space day, we were not finished with manned space travel history yet. With Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff” in my head, we visited the Astronaut Hall of Fame. I guess it’s very good for me who almost remember every single detail about Alan Shepard, John Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts. It might not be as exciting for the boys. I have Andy and Jack to thank for putting up with my ‘pilgrimage’ to the early space exploration….

As the hall of fame in Titusville not open until 12 that day, we detoured to Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge visitor centre to gather information about the area. A day walking with nature is planned….

We were going to see what’s on Cocoa Beach pier, but as it was Saturday and a 4^th July weekend, there was no place to park the rented car. So instead we went back to our condo and walked to the beach in front.

We had dinner at Sunset bar and grill, where as its name, it’s a good place to see the sun setting, facing the Banana River…

Sunday, 7^th July 2013

A sunrise walk on the beach, up north to Cocoa Beach pier. It was 3 miles away from our condo. We had coffee at the pier where some people went fishing. A guy caught a big king fish.

We walked into Ron Jon Surf shop that opens 24 hours. Imagine working there as a shop attendance at three in the morning… who would come and shop? We had breakfast at “IHOP”, International House of Pancake. The waitress called Andy ‘young man’ and called me ‘young lady’. I think she was rather impressed with Andy’s British accent that she gave him extra hash brown potato 😉

After our long morning walk, we had a chill out day on the beach. It was HOT HOT HOT…! I think I got more tan in a day here than a full year back in the UK.

Whilst on the beach, a small aeroplane flying pass towing banner advertising special menu on a bar/grill restaurant.

We had dinner at a place called “Slow & Low Barbeque”.

The food was delicious, the beer was good (I had Hawaiian beer Big Wave), and the waitress was very friendly and helpful. She told us all the choices of dips and sides in a very fast American accent. I really enjoy listening to the American accent around here, and even more because most people talked with friendly smiles! I did not miss the miserable British attitude (and weather) at all…!

Monday 8^th July 2013 – SeaWorld, Orlando

The highlight was the Shamu show! Shamu is the famous name for SeaWorld’s main orca or killer whale. According to Wikipedia, the original Shamu died in 1971, but the tradition continue: main star of the show is always named Shamu. What really impressed me was at the beginning of the show, the master ceremony dedicated the show to all servicemen and women and invited all US, Canadian and British military and veterans to stand up as the stadium filled with applause.

The dolphin show was spectacular. Actors ‘flying’ around on harness and wires, riding the dolphins, and also colourful tropical birds.

Then there’s the sea lion and the walrus show….

We also tried the Manta, Kraken, and Atlantis rides. To overcome my fear of the roller coasters, I imagined being a passenger on one of the Red Arrow Hawks and guessing the gravity force that we’re experiencing.

SeaWorld has a silly policy of not allowing any food or drink from outside into the park. Our bags were searched at the gate. Good job Andy read the whole ‘no food’ sign and said one word to the staff who looked into our bags, “Gluten.” The staff gave us a sigh and let us walked in with sandwiches, bottles of cold water, banana and crisps. Apparently there was some exceptions such as baby food, special food for allergies of medical conditions, and gluten-free. Though our sandwiches were not gluten-free, Andy did not lie by saying “gluten”. Indeed he was very correct, our lunches were full of gluten!

It was a long day at SeaWorld, with the one and a half hours drive back to the Space Coast area where we stayed, we were tired and hungry. We decided to find a restaurant nearer to Cocoa Beach and went to Cocoa Village, about 15 minutes from where we stayed. We found this gorgeous Thai and Japanese restaurant called “Thai Thai Cocoa Village”. The waiter who served us was very friendly, chatty and American. He was from Thailand and said that his wife is Indonesian, but what amazed us is the pursue of the American dream in him. There was big pride when he said, “I am American.” I wish British of all origin could say the same thing with pride, “I am British!”

Tuesday 9^th July 2013

As our condo is not too far from Patrick Air Force Base - and Patrick AFB was mentioned several times in the history of the first Mercury Astronauts by Tom Wolfe - there is no excuse not to check it out. I was hoping to see some fighters or any exciting military aircrafts. So Andy and I had a drive south. We passed the base – it was a big complex! But all we saw was three Lockheed C-130 Hercules. And there was no place to park the car and watch the runway – there was no sign of flight activity anyway.

We drove further to Melbourne village, found a public park, Wickham Park. It was impressive how such public leisure facility was equipped with barbeque facilities, even a stone oven to heat pizza! We could only imagine how wonderful it should be to have family barbeque weekend at a park like this….

The park has lakes, camping ground and toilet facilities, and some hiking trails. We went for a walk (or hiking in American term)…

With Mac the Macaque of course...

Next was a chill out afternoon, beach, lots of reading and looking at photos from SeaWorld and Wickham Park…

Wednesday, 10^th July 2013

A walk on the wildside....! Andy and I visited Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

Start with watching manatees at the Bairs Cove, we learned from volunteers some interesting facts about the 'sea cows'. They are closer relatives to elephants than to other sea mammals, their teeth are all mollars and keep on growing new teeth. Fancy never need go to dentist and brush your teeth...!

Walk on the Scrub Fire Trail was probably the huglight of today's trip. Scrub jays nest here and there was one that was very friendly – or shall I say: obsessed with hats? (Or maybe just defending its nest)

This one flew onto Andy’s hat and posed for a long while, letting me snapped pictures from very very near. Then I put on the hat and this scrub jay flew onto my hat! Andy was very sure that this one bird was trained by Florida tourism board…!

We went to the visitor information centre and took the ¼ mile boardwalk. I finally saw a real life hummingbird. I did hear and read about this amazing bird since I was a child, I even wrote an article about humminbird and the principle of helicopters' rotary wing. Seeing the real life one was sooo amazing!

We continued the day with the seven miles Black Point wildlife drive 

We then drove to the beach (Playalinda Beach on the Canaveral Coastline), had a rest in the hot sun and called it a day.

Thursday, 11^th July 2013 -  Disney World Magic Kingdom

Full day of childhood dreams ended with fireworks in front of the signature castle….

Friday, 12^th July 2013

After 16 hours in Disney World yesterday, we slept until late. I still felt giddy of all the excitement Afternoon of rain. At least the tropical storm Chantal did come full power…. We had a late breakfast at the International House of Pancake – I had the blueberry pancake and it was gorgeous!

In the evening we went for dinner at the “Slow n Low barbeque” again. There was live music.

The dessert of peanut butter pie was delicious! Just as recommended by our friend/waitress Nicole.

Saturday, 13^th July 2013

A drive to Melbourne Beach. It was a nice beach with calmer water. But... big cloud came suddenly bringing rain and wind. We decided it's time to get lunch then back to our beach, Cocoa Beach, in front of our condo.

Dinner at the condo, we made grilled shrimps (prawns in UK term) and had them with rice, refried beans, salsa, and yogurt.

Sunday, 14^th July 2013

Andy and I had a morning sunrise walk on the beach. We made breakfast of banana and blueberry pancakes. Hmmm... they were too nice that I forgot to take picture.

Then it’s time for a plane spotting day! Andy and I drove to Merritt Island Airport. It’s a small airport for single engine training aircrafts, there’s a Twin Otter, and a biplane.

We then drove to Cocoa Village and had a walk around the nice village. It was like Totness in England – full of little independent shops and cafes, even a vegetarian organic café.

In the evening we went kayaking with Calypso Kayaking (www.calypsokayaking.com). We took the bioluminescent tour which started at 19:30. We started kayaking on Manatee’s Cove. Like its name, the water was full of manatees. Manatees – also known as sea cows – are herbivore or vegetarian sea mammal that could be as long as 10 feet and weigh up to 1,000 pounds. They don’t do much, just floating about – they need to stick their nose out of the water every five minutes while awake and every 15 to 20 minutes while asleep (http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/aquatic/manatee/).

The best thing for us is that because manatees have no natural predator, they are basically fearless and curious.

  So… while kayaking slowly in the cove, we could stop, splash our hands in the water and some curious manatees would pop their head out of the water looking at us. We can stroke their nose or back and they seemed to enjoy this. For me this was the highlight of the kayaking experience: looking eye to eye to a manatee, stroking its nose and watching it closed its eyes like a dog enjoying a good stroke on the head. The best thing is that they came to us, not like in a zoo or seaworld where we pay a fortune to touch animals in cages.

We then set off kayaking with our tour guide Phill Galloway towards the Indian River. We saw dolphins and stopped on a little island waiting for the sun to set before setting off again to see the magical glow in the dark water. 

Watching the water glow as our oars touch the water with under water ‘fireworks’ or glowing trails of fish was like entering the scene of Disney’s 1993 Little Mermaid with the song “Kiss the Girl” playing.... 

To summarise, this is what I wrote for Calypso Kayaking's facebook review: We just came back from the magical bioluminescence tour and it was AWESOME...! First we had close encounter with Manatees... they were really gentle curious creature who love a good back rub or a gentle pat on their heads, just like dogs. As the sun set and the sky darkened, the water glow with "Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates". The scene was like Disney's Little Mermaid scen when the song Kiss the Girl playing... I enjoyed everything! Although i did scream when a big fish (mullet) jumped onto the kayak, almost on my lap! Thanks Phill..!


Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th July 2013

Not much to write here, except that we had beach days in sun and rain. Rain in Cocoa Beach was strange: it came out of nowhere and it stopped as quickly as it started. I don't mind this kind of rain, reminds me of the tropical storm Andy and I experienced in Weh Island (Pulau Weh), Aceh...

Sandcastle Condo

Tuesday 16th July was my mum's birthday. She is now 69-year-young!

Our last dinner was in ThaiThai Cocoa Village. It's got to be! We love Cocoa Village...!


Wednesday, 17th July 2013

Sadly, this is the day we say goodbye to Cocoa Beach, to the lovely condo that had become 'home' for us the last two weeks, to the A1A road that bear witness of the corvettes driven fast by the first astronauts in 1960s, to the Space Coast, to Florida and to USA. 

Although we left the condo with a rather sad and sinking feeling.... (for me it's coming back to the grim and messy social work world in the beaurocratic city council that made me dreading coming home to England). I got one more treat: the sigh of Boeing 787 Dreamliner taxing at Sanford Airport...! To be precise, it was Thomson's Boeing 787-8 with tail number G-TUIC. 

Florida is now behind us, but the memory is in our hearts forever.... Maybe one day we can move there and work as tour guides for Kennedy Space Centre? Andy said he does not mind working as the bus driver talking about all the history and facts to tourists (and I think his British accent will be a good attraction on its own haha..!). And if there's no journalim or social work jobs there for me? I don't mind working in anywhere in Kennedy Space Centre or Disney World.... Hahahaha.... 

For more pictures from Florida, visit my flickr photo stream with photos from Cocoa Beach and Village, Kennedy Space Centre, SeaWorld, Disney World Magic Kingdom, and Merritt Island nature