If you’d have called me a few evenings ago, I wouldn’t have been able to answer, for I was in Trafalgar Square in London, filling my big, stupid grinning face with Malaysian food.

The most famous of city squares was once again playing host to a celebration of Malaysian food and culture. For one night only, Londoners could sample food from around 30 different stalls whilst being entertained by traditional Malaysian music and dance on the big stage. The atmosphere was terrific, helped largely by the fact everyone was high on Satay, Laksa and Nasi Lemak.

Here’s what I had;

Penang Laksa - Rice noodles in a hot & sour mackerel sauce with prawns, pineapple and garnishes. Delicious and quite unique. Not at all like the Curry Laksa I’m used to.

Satay - Grilled chicken on skewers in a spicy peanut sauce. I loved it before having this serving and if anything, I love it even more now. Amazing!

Roti Punai - An Indian-inspired flatbread, torn, with a vegetable curry gravy. Great texture and really tasty.

Aneka Kuih - A quartet of steamed Malaysian cakes. Kuih Lapis is a rainbow layered, jelly-like cake that is eaten by the layer and made with coconut milk and sago flour. Kuih Bakar is likened to egg custard. Kuih Serimuka has a bottom layer of rice and an upper layer flavoured by pandan leaf. Finally, Binka Ubi is made using Tapioca and Coconut Cream.

And to wash it all down, I had;

• Teh Tarik - I first had Teh Tarik, a strong “pulled’ tea made with condensed milk, in the Arab quarter of Singapore. It was a real treat to see it being made again and obviously an even bigger treat to drink it. The preparation process was as labourious and showy as it should have been.
• Coconut Juice - I was informed before trying this that Coconut Juice is an acquired taste. Not so. It is refreshing, sweet, creamy and lovely.

The year between now and the next Malaysia Night in London is going to feel like an age. Perhaps the only answer to this problem to go to Malaysia before Malaysia comes back to me. Well, alright then, I will!

Look at that naive fool in the photo above. That’s me, about the climb the 100 metre high Te Paki sand dunes at the northern tip of the North Island in New Zealand.

See how I playfully paddle through the shallow water at the foot of the dunes, shoes and socks off. Little do I realise the tortuous anguish that’s about to befall my inexperienced & asthmatic self.

Perhaps I should have judged the size of the dune before deciding to run up it. This second photo shows two tiny specks in the sand. Those are humans. Perhaps I could have taken note of the extremely humid conditions or listened to the voice in my head suggesting I ought to stop running, else I might damage myself.

Ahh, well. Not too much trouble was caused. It only took 10 minutes of dizziness and panting whilst flat on my back to muster the power to stand-up and descend. Plus, I only threw-up once.

Lesson learnt. Next time, I’ll get someone to carry me up.

Hundreds of thousands of cycling fans turned out in central London over the weekend for the final stage of the the Tour of Britain 2011. And I was one of them.

I’ve been going to the London stage for around 5 years and have seen the event mature and grow in stature each time. Having been to the final stage of the Tour de France in Paris a few times and seen how huge an event that is, I can genuinely say that in terms of set-up, London is certainly beginning to rival Paris.

There’s still some way to go before we start seeing in the UK the sort of crowds that turn out in France. That said, we’re heading in the right direction. The Tour of Britain has never seen so many spectators at the roadside.

It was a fantastic occasion, made even better by British rider Mark Cavendish crossing the line to take the win. And I was right there on the finish line to see him punch the air in celebration.

I’ll always remember this breakfast. It was a great way to say goodbye to Singapore.

Hot Milo (a malty chocolate drink that also comes ice cold), two soft boiled eggs (fun to eat with those big spoons) and Kaya toast (Kaya is a sugary spread). About £1.50.

As is abundantly apparent from reading my trip notes, I consider food to be a major part of the travel experience. Trying new things is what it’s all about. It’s this policy that lead me trying Puffin (with Blueberry sauce) in Iceland.

Hong Kong’s cuisine isn’t as varied or exciting as perhaps Singapore’s, but there are still plenty of new things to try. Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island boasts plenty of outlets where adventurous eaters can feast for next to no money. Ying Heong Yuen was my favourite place and certainly seemed to be the most popular in the area with the locals. The list of food on offer was enormous and rather overwhelming. In short though the menu consisted of the body parts of various animals skewered on sticks and deep-fried. Some of it looked rather grisly, though no doubt delicious. I just ordered randomly and ended up;

Fish Balls with Curry Sauce - Really tasty. The fish taste wasn’t overpowering and the sauce complimented them nicely.

Chocolate Waffle - I fancied something sweet. This was warm, soft, light and crunchy on the outside.

Coconut Milk Sago - I never envisaged I would end up favouring the drink of a meal, but in this case I did. Small balls of tapioca mixed with a thin, milky coconut juice. Beautiful.

In which my epic journey comes to end and I run out of things to say, to the extent that I just start listing tv shows and films.

19 April 2011 - 0505 Hong Kong

Just arrived at Hong Kong International Airport which is completely dead. There’s no staff & nothing’s open. I’ve never seen an airport like it. Mine is literally the first flight of the day so as a result, there’s about 20 of us here, all milling around with nowhere to go. All the desks are closed. Staff are now arriving.

Taxi journey was a breeze and came to $362.50. It took 40 minutes. Enjoyed the ride.

0650

Right, boarding to commence shortly. My last flight, thank goodness. 12 hours and 50 minutes. Hopefully my row of four seats is still completely vacant by the time I get on board.

0440 United Kingdom

That’s 1140 Singapore time. Been up in the air for 3 hours.The flight has felt shorter than the other flights which is a good sign. Watched Griff Rhys Jones explore Hong Kong on my entertainment screen. I was interested in seeing what he thought. On the whole, he saw the same Hong Kong I did, though he found the people of HK to be ‘hospitable’. Personally, I didn’t experience any notable hospitality. He didn’t appear to experience any of the pace or rudeness either. Not that he mentioned anyway.

Also watched a film; How Did You Know starring the lovely Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. I give it two of a possible five MorelliStars. It passed the time and had some nice, well portrayed moments. Jack Nicholson was excellent given the script he was given.

0609

Going well. Lots of bumps. While I can’t ignore the turbulance, I’m certainly coping with it a lot better. Just watched Undercover Boss USA which was excellent. Next, I’m going to give Due Date a try. If it doesn’t work out, I have another episode of Undercover Boss to watch. After that… hmmm. While there’s plenty on the system, there’s slim pickings when it comes to good stuff. By Qantas’ own rating system, most films have 2 out of 5 stars.

Almost half way. Pleased I’m coping so well and that time isn’t crawling like on my 12 hour flight from London to Singapore.

1520

Landed. On the M1 on my way back home. Mum and dad kindly came to pick me up.

And that’s it. Thanks for reading. Now to start planning for my next trip!

18 April 2011 - 2050 Hong Kong

So, my time in Hong Kong is coming to an end. It’s a good time perhaps to reflect on my time here.

I think what will characterise my visit will be the people. By my standards, they’re generally rather rude here and always in a rush to get somewhere. The pace of life here is rapid, which contributes to the atmosphere considerably. I’ve now gotten used to the noise, the smells, and pace, the shoving, the bright flashing lights and the tall buildings, but coming from New Zealand as I was, it took a few days. On my first walk through the city streets, I was definitely falling victim to culture shock. It is very, very Chinese here. The people look considerably more ethnically Chinese than they do in Singapore and generally, they don’t really speak English.

I came expecting there to be some noticeable signs of former British rule. There isn’t. Hong Kong is much more suited to be a Chinese territory than a British one. Apart from tiny suggestions of the past, such as British designed road signs and number plates, the Queen appearing on some coins still and of course the presence of the English language, this is China.

I’ll go away with fond memories. The food of course has been fun. Lots of rice of course, but lots of different flavours to explore (and some to definitely avoid). Beef Innards on a stick anyone? As a fan if flashing lights, Hong Kong provides. Wandering the streets at night is an altogether different experience than by day.

And a quick reflection on the entire trip; Have I learnt anything? Not really. Perhaps I’ve learnt I’m much more capable of doing things i.e. social interactions, challenging myself, facing fears, jumping into things.

Have I missed anything? Beans on toast with HP sauce. That’s literally it! I’ve not missed home at all. I’ve not even thought about it. I’m keen to get back and see my friends and family so perhaps I missed people subconsciously. It’s hard to think of home when you’re having so much fun in such amazing places.

What was the best bit? So many things to choose from. That’s really hard. Singapore as a whole was absolutely brilliant! I really, really want to go back soon. I was really sad to leave. The people were friendly, the cultural mix was extraordinary, the city itself is wonderfully clean and open, and the food… My god, the food!!!

My time in New Zealand was incredible as a direct result of the Stewart family, my hosts in Auckland, who basically redefined kindness and generosity for me. I’ve genuinely never experienced that level of kindness. I’ll never forget the way they welcomed me into their home and the lengths they went to to ensure I had the best possible time in their brilliant, brilliant country.

I’m really keen to make a list of all the cool things I did. Thinking now, I walked through tropical rain forests, white water rafted, climbed a sand dune, went to a rock concert… That’s just four things. There’s six weeks of stuff!!! I am truly lucky to have been able to do what I have done. A majority of the worlds population won’t come close to doing what I’ve done.

If you are in the privileged position of being able to afford to travel, do it! This world we live on is incredible, and if we don’t take our opportunities to explore it, then it is wasted. We live only once (according to my own beliefs). Make the most of your time on earth and see as much of it as possible! I know I will continue to do so.

Tomorrow, I have to wake up at 0400 to get to the airport. My only option of getting there is to hail one of the thousands of red taxis. The front desk say it’ll cost about $400 and take 45 minutes. Keen to see if both of those are true. Should be a fun ride though and my last opportunity to see the city.

Top Gear on TV now. No escaping those entertaining morons.