Malaysia Trip: Handicraft Batik Factory (Day 4 Part 1)

Posted on November 28, 2011 by admin

Handicraft Batik Factory

On the morning of 4th day in Malaysia, we went to Handicraft Batik Factory in Kuala Lumpur. The factory is a shop where they show visitors how they hand-paint silk, and other fabrics. They also display and sell authentic Malaysian handicraft such as hand-painted silk scarves, hand-painted silk Pajamas, hand-painted silk robes, etc. I bought a couple of items from them. The items sold were beautiful. They had a variety of colorful robes, Pajamas, scarves, etc. The ladies will find this place interesting. 🙂

 

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Malaysian Trip: Firefly Park Resort (Day 3 Part 2)

Posted on November 23, 2011 by admin

We took a boat ride in the river to view the fireflies

On our third day, after we fed monkeys (see the previous post), we went to Firefly Park Resort in Kuala Selangor which was certainly a very unique experience. The park was around 2 hours from our hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Here is what made the park special; Fireflies which are called lightening bug live on mangroove trees and at night, they produce light. Yep, you’ve heard it they actually produce light.  We took a very quite ride in an electric-powered boat in the river at night to view them.

 

Firefly Park Resort

The ride was about 30 minutes but the memory of witnessing such beauty lives in your mind forever. It was really dark with only  the moonshine and you can see lights flashing from trees. Mashallah,  a breath-taking experience. I was wowed. It was like Christmas Trees being lit up by flashing lights. Really amazing! Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures because of two reasons, one is that the fireflies (which are specifies of beetles) are affected by flashing lights & two is that the area is DARK DARK DARK so the camera can’t really capture the beauty. Whatever I say cannot do justice to the beauty of what I saw. If you are ever in Kuala Lumpur, I highly recommend going there. 

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Malaysia Trip: Feeding Monkeys (Day 3 Part 1)

Posted on November 22, 2011 by admin

The mommy monkey is getting to take the beans from my hand. Look at how she is grabbing her kid. سبحان الله

On our 3rd day in Kuala Lumpur, we went to Bukit Melawati which is a historical hill.  we went there to feed the monkeys. We took a mini-train up the hill because it was hot and didn’t feel like walking up the hill. Anyways, we fed the monkeys. They’re really friendly but kind of agressive when they see the food. I was standing very close to them. My nephew gave me a bag of peanuts to give to the monkeys. When one of the monkeys saw the closed bag of peanuts in my hand, he  jumped up and grabbed the bag from me and ran away. lol 😛 It was sealed so I wanted to get it back from the monkey so I can open it & hand it back to it but the monkey got aggressive. *lool* I learned a a lesson. Never hold the food in your hand because once they see the food, they are going to go after you for the food.  When I was feeding them beans I hid the  food in my handbag and would just present one bean at a time. One time I was sitting and feeding one monkey on my right side. Another one came from the left side and sat next to me. Whenever I took beans from my handbag, he’d pull my arm his way so I can feed him. It felt like a tiny cold baby hand touching my arm. It really didn’t feel weird at all. I didn’t feed like an animal touching me. I thought it would feel different somehow but it didn’t.

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Kuwait’s McDonald’s Nutritional Meal Information

Posted on November 21, 2011 by admin

Today, I went to buy some groceries when I passed McDonald’s. Suddenly I had cravings for French Fries (I blame today’s London-Like weather :P) so I ordered some and decided to eat inside. As I was enjoying my small fries, I noticed the paper they put on my trey had all the nutritional information about their food. Since my paper got dirty, I asked for a new one and scanned it so everyone can enjoy knowing what they put in their mouths. Looking at the nutritional value will explain why we are now a fat nation.  Enjoy! 😀

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Malaysia Trip: Elephant Sanctuary (Day 2)

Posted on November 20, 2011 by admin

People were feeding the elephants in the Elephant Sanctuary in Malaysia

 

On our 2nd day in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, we went to Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary. It was about 2 hours away from our hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The elephant sanctuary is managed by the Malaysian Department of Wildlife & National Parks. In the Sanctuary, they look after orphaned elephants or elephants that pose risk to farmers or their livelihood.

 

 

 

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Plant Herbs in Your Garden ازرع اعشاب بحديقتكم

Posted on November 19, 2011 by admin

I have always been fascinated when I see Chefs cooking with Fresh herbs on Food Network or Fatafeet. I’d say “Wow. I wish we had that in Kuwait”. Anyway, two years ago I started experimenting with herb seeds. I wanted to see which can live under our weather and which can’t. You can see below pictures of my herb “pot” garden and how YOU can have your own herb garden.

My Herb “Pots” Garden 🙂

Sage ميرامية

 

Sage. This plant is two years old. I started it from seed and it is living happily outside.  It has lots of medicinal benefits and also used in Italian Dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

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Malaysia Trip: Kuala Lumpur Orchid & Hibiscus Garden (Day 1 Part 3)

Posted on November 16, 2011 by admin

Hibiscus flower is a symbol of Malaysia

On the same day we visited Kuala Lumpur Butterfly park & the Birds park, we went to Orchid & Hibiscus Garden. It’s right in front of the birds park. You just cross one street and you will see it front of you. It was GREEN and peaceful. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit humid so we couldn’t explore the garden throughly but the areas I walked around were BEAUTIFUL. You really can’t have enough of green. Btw, Hibiscus is called كركديه in Arabic and it has lot of medicinal benefits. It’s also a symbol of Malaysia. I really enjoyed walking in the park. If you are going to visit the Birds park, I suggest you check it out as well ’cause it is right in front of it. But would I bother to visit it alone? I’m not so sure. It’s certainly BEAUTIFUL and GREEN. You can have a looong quiet walk in there to relax & look at beautiful colorful flowers.

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Malaysia Trip: Kuala Lumpur Bird Park (Day 1 Part 2)

Posted on November 15, 2011 by admin

Peacocks are walking around. Very cool to observe them up-close.

After I visited the Butterfly park, our tour took us  to Kuala Lumpur Bird park. It’s one of the largest walk-in bird parks in the world and it’s home to more than 3000 birds of 200 different bird species. It’s divided to zones. It’s definitely worth to visit. Kids and Adults are going to have fun. I was amazed at how bad I was at recognizing birds. I confused Emus with Ostriches and I didn’t even know peacocks are male and the female version of peacocks look different. There was a bird show which I enjoyed. The parrots did some counting and tricks. I saw birds live & up-close that I used to see on Discovery Channel. I also had my pictures taken while beautiful colorful parrots were standing on my arms. I also fed Emus which at first I thought were Ostriches.  If I had the change to visit Kuala Lumpur, I would definitely visit the park again.

This the female of Peacock called "Peahen"Flamingos at the park

 

 

This is how the “female” version of Peacocks look like. They look totally different but as beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

Flamingos at the park

 

There were many beautiful Pink Flamingos at the park. They’re one of my most favorite birds in the world. I always thought their pink color was fascinating.

 

 

 

The Parrot is doing some tricks

 

If you are with kids, I suggest you catch their birds show. Kids will enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

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WARNING: Green Tea & White Tea Drinkers

Posted on November 12, 2011 by admin

Japanese Green Tea Leaves

When I was in Kuala Lumpur, they were having a Japanese week in the one of their malls so many of Japanese brands had set up shops there. Anyways, when I was at one of the Japanese tea shops, I noticed when they served me the green tea, it wasn’t hot. It was kind of warm. I asked them why. They said you should NEVER pour boiling water to green tea or white tea because it will kills all of its health benefits (nutrients and anti oxidants). In order to get the health benefits of green tea, mix 1/2 boiling water and 1/2 room temperature water. It turns out in the past seven years I was drinking the green tea all wrong 🙁

After much googling, the ideal temperature for green tea should be between 65-75 C so how do you know you obtained the RIGHT temperature?  After you boil the water, let it rest for 2-3 minutes before you add the leaves OR do what the shop told me mix half boiling water and half room temperature then add the leaves.

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Malaysia Trip: Butterfly Park Kuala Lumpur (Day 1 Part 1)

Posted on November 12, 2011 by admin

Butterfly mainly live on nectars from flowers

During the Eid, my family and I went to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It was a very lovely experience. I had googled before what were the top attractions in Kuala Lumpur and I managed to visit them all except one. On our first day, we went to Butterfly Park, Birds Park and Hibiscus and Orchid Gardens because all of those parks are close to each other. Today’s post is about Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park.

 

This s the Largest Butterfly in the park

The park is covered with a net so the butterflies can not escape. I managed to observe many butterflies while they’re flying, sucking the nectars from the flowers, etc. There were many species of the colorful butterflies in different sizes. There was also a fish pond and Tortoise in a shallow pond. It’s a small park but worth a visit. The visit was relaxing and quiet. Too bad it was a bit cloudy so not so many butterflies were flying. I spent around 45 minutes in the park because I was taking pictures and observing the butterflies. The park is beautiful and quiet. There is a small museum in the park where you can observe more insects. Continue reading →

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