Food (Kuala Lumpa ~ Malaysia)

 20 October 2022

Given that we were only going to be in Kuala Lumper for a few days we opted for a nice, albeit a bit pricey, apartment - complete with access to an infinity pool on the 51st floor. Now while we were here there was some general maintenance going on (window washing etc). When you look over the edge of the infinity pool what you see is a trough (about 300m wide) for water and then a ledge, also about 300m wide. There were maintenance workwes walking along the ledge - one slip and it was a 51 floor drop. Fairly sure this was breaking one or two health and safety rules.

Primary reason for stopping over in KL was to eat and drink. Starting with two iconic Malaysian drinks - Iced Milo and Lime Juice (where the little back lump at the bottom of the glass being a dried, salted sour plum).

Followed by Kang Kong (aka morning glory aka water convolvulus) with Belacan (fermented shrimp and chilli paste) - there's nothing quite like it and XO sauce fried rice.

This one was a new dish on us Laksa Johor and quite different from the other regional laksas we have tried. The noodles, are covered with a rich, thick gravy made up of fresh fish, dried shrimps, coconut milk and curry powder, and aromatics like ginger, lemongrass, garlic and onions.

All topped with cucumber, bean sprouts, mint leaves, Thai basil, sambal belacan and lime.

V tasty and not super spicy.

We didn't spend every minute eating and lying by the pool (not for want of trying) and did have a bit of walk around the area where we staying - put not a huge amount as it was stinking hot. A short distance from where we were staying spotted an odd structure in the distance. 

On investigation found it was an ornate covered walkway called "Pintasan Saloma" and is the longest single span steel walkway in Malysia and it's design was inspired by Sihn Junjung (ornate flower arrangement) traditionally offered in ceremonies as symbol of Unity.

Not far from Pintasan Saloma was this tower block and I'm fairly sure that the vegetation growing on the outside was intentional (but not 100% sure as the jungle round here is quite invasive).

From here it's another 17 hours or so back to New Zealand - and then back to work - sigh.

Salina Bay (Salina Bay ~ Malta)

 15 October 2022

Our final port of call for our last few days in Malta was in Salinas Bay. Called Salinas as it is home to some truly massive salt pans.

We choose Salinas as out base as from there we could do day trips to Vittorosa and Valetta (places we wanted to visit but really did not want to try and drive into).Vittorosa is part of a massive natural harbor that includes Valetta.

What isn't obvious in the picture above is that every one of these promontories into the harbour are seriously fortified and walled.

Nowadays the harbours are home to lots and lots of very big and expensive super yachts.

and with each yacht there were the associated super cars.

Unfortunately, at this stage, we had both picked up a bit of a bug (snore throats, cough, temperature etc) so after Vittorosa we decided to have a day of doing nothing except sunbath and relax at Golden Beach.

Valletta was built by the Knights of St John and is squashed into an area 1km long by 600m wide and it's founder decreed that it should be a city "...built by a gentlemen for gentlemen..." and that charm is still present today. A major plus being the heart of the city is pedestrian only so wandering around was a joy.

In the center of Valetta is St John's Co-Cathederal which is famous for being the home to the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta, aka the Knights of St John (a Roman Catholic religious order). The cathedral was built in the 1500's. The ceilings and walls are decorated in the baroque (over the top) style and take your breath away.

The floor is covered in ornate marble slabs which are just a little bit creepy as every single one of them is a grave stone.

One of the more famous, and very un-PC, painting depicting the nasty moors being trampled over by the order of the Knights of Malta.

For the geeks out there Malta, in particular Valetta, was used for som on-site filming of the last Jurassic  Park Movie and in celebration of that movie as temporary statue of the velociraptor "Blue" has been  installed.

From the gardens in Valletta there are nice views to the entrance of the harbor and to Vittoriosa. Woe betide any enemy warship sailing in here as they would have been pounded upon from all sides.

The other really big sight that we wanted to see was Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum. Getting tickets is not the easiest as they only allow about 50 people per days to visit the Hypogeum and when we looked online to try and get tickets two months earlier there were only two possible tours, we could go on in the 10 day period we were in Malta. Numbers are restricted so as to control the impact of light, carbon dioxide and moisture from visitors has on the walls of the temple.

The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni is a Neolithic subterranean structure about 5,500 years old. The Hypogeum is thought to have been a sanctuary and necropolis, with the remains of more than 7,000 people found and is among the best preserved examples of the Maltese temple building culture that also produced the other Megalithic Temples on Malta and Gozo.

The Hypogeum was discovered by accident in 1902 when workers cutting cisterns for a new housing development broke through its roof. Excavation of the Temple started in the early 1900's but real attempts to preserve the structure didn't really start until the lates 90's. In the intervening period it had been open to visitors, excavated (and some of the excavated material simply tossed away), used as storage chambers, animal pens, bunkers during the war and so on.

All of the subterranean chambers were carved out of limestone using basic stone and horn tools and were carved to as to look as though they were made out of solid slabs of stone.

In some of the chambers the ceilings are decorated with strange patterns using ochre. This artwork was near destroyed as once the Temple was open to the air and visitors allowed the chambers were subject to large amounts of light, water vapor and smoke. 

Got lucky and on our last night in Malta found a restaurant serving Lampuki aka dolphin fish for dinner. 

What's fascinating is the way the fish is caught. In a technique known as "kannizzati", local fishermen cut down the lower fronds from palm trees which they then weave into large, flat rafts.

These rafts are then put out to sea. As the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, the lampuki seek shade under the rafts.

The fishermen wait for a large number of fish to gather before casting a net over them. This is a technique that has not changed since the Roman times.

From here we next fly to Kuala Lumpa for a few days of rest, relaxation and eating before heading home to NZ. Can't say I'm looking forward to the flight as it will be about 17 hours of travelling as we hop from Malta to Cypress to Dubai to Malaysia.

Marsalforn (Marsalfron ~ Malta)

12 October 2022

The car ferry ride from  Malta to Gozo takes about 30 mins and seems to run pretty much constantly throughout the day. Driving to our accommodation it became quite obvious that Gozo is not quite as prosperous as Malta - roads are rougher etc...

Our Airbnb was a stone's throw from the local beach (Xwejni Bay Beach) and like most beaches round here gravely (but there ar always sunbeds and umbrellas to rent) and the water ain't that deep (but is a very nice temperature). Not a bad place to spend a bit of time.

Just past the Bay are a huge swathe of salt pans that have been used by the Cini family for the last 100+ years. Salt pans like this consist of a few reservoirs for holding salt water, lots of shallow ponds in which the salt water will evaporate from and a few raised platforms where the salt deposits can be dried before being bagged.

There aren't a lot of big sights to see in Gozo, but enough to keep up busy for a few days. One of those sights was the Basilica of Ta'Pinu. Built in the 1920s after a local woman claimed to hear Mary speak to her. It is quite amazing though as you drive around the island the sheer number of large stone Basilicas, Cathedrals and Churches you see on the skyline.

One the western side of the island is an inland sea - a lagoon that can only be accessed from the ocean via a sea cave. The passageway is large enough for small fishing boats which means this becomes a great natural and safe harbour, Plus the locals run short boat trips from the lagoon, out to the open sea along some quite dramatic cliffs and back to the lagoon.

Much like Malta Gozo has a Citadel (Il-Kastel) and next door a Rabat. The walls of the Citadel date back to the 15th century and has been under the rule of a variety of people over the years, The Ottoman Empire, Knights Hospitallers, the French and finally the Brits.

Within the walls of the Citadel is the old prison dating back about 600 years and complete with graffiti scratched into the walls by prisoners.  

With a morning to kill before we were due to head back to Malta we decided as few hours on the beach would be nice and given that there was a very strong northerly picked a place on the south coast, Mgarr ix-Xini, and took a punt that it would be ok. The road to the beach was a bit of a challenge, rutted, cut into a slope, one way with passing bays every few hundred meters and the car park at the end of the road had spots for a half a dozen cars - luckily, we were one of the early visitors. Have to say we got lucky as Mgarr ix-Xini is in a very small and sheltered cove -great place to chill.

En-route from the beach to the ferry terminal we passed through the village of Nadur, which, coincidently, is famous for Makrens Bakery and their Gozitan Ftira. Looks like pizza but it ain't. The toppings tend be white goats' cheese and potatoes with other stuff but it's the base where the big difference is - think of sour dough and you'll have a vague idea. Seriously yummy.