Call of Nature

I joined a day tour in Malaysia few weeks ago. It's the first time I was able to capture several funny animal shots. An episode of the National Geographic/Discovery channel.

Place: Pengerang Ostrich farm, Desaru fruit farm and mini-zoo, Kota Tinggi firefly trip.

OSTRICH feathered friends

I was surprised to be greeted by a pair of ostrich 'in action'. It's really weird to see these tall big birds doing their thing. I have a feeling we're intruding their privacy. :p The next pic shows how to crack an ostrich agg, quite hard. And the egg yolk is the most humongous one I've ever seen. The last pic in the series is not a dead chicken. It's actually a Polish chicken playing some tricks. When the owner shouts 'Swei Chiao' (mandarin for sleep), he'll drop dead and sleep until the owner wakes him up again.

Another thing you can do with an ostrich, ride on it. (I wonder if it can support my weight as well, too bad I didnt try hehehe). I havent seen an ostrich flying. Can they really fly? If they can, wow that would be quite a scene with the little pink girl on her back.

Last but not the least, one more thing you can do with an ostrich, eat it. I actually didnt know that ostrich is edible, and that there are quite a lot of ways to cook it. Whew my first time to try ostrich satay and ostrich superior soup. It tastes ok. :)

MONKEYING

Time for some monkeying. There's an intellectual reading pose, a kamot and belat shot, and a mother-daughter pair.

A few more:

I think the goat looks like he is smiling and enjoying too much with eyes closed. The next is a streching goat, i didn't know they are quite flexible. Then I also have a bruised-in-blue weird-looking chicken. The last looks like an animal council to me, they are quite friendly with other species, aren't they?

Scenery

Refreshing nature landscape.

P.S. I actually had a firefly trip, but wasnt able to capture anything decent as it was too dark. I've never seen a firefly before. They do look like christmas lights at night.

The Mysterious Drink

I won't forget something I laid my eyes on (because it doesnt happen so often :p), thus I normally wouldn't give up so easily. :p

Last Nov I went for a spa in Hill Street, City Hall area. Massage is okay, but I fancied more the service drink they give the customers before the session. It wasn't the usual tea, but rather a white suspension-like drink that is not too sweet. Somehow after drinking it, I felt relaxed. After the massage, I was given another cup again. I dont know whether if it just felt good drinking something hot after massage, or was it the ambience has contributed to the 'cooling' effect that this mysterious drink had on me. I looked for the masseuse and asked her what drink it is, she answered in Mandarin 'i-mi-cha', 'ba-li'. I smiled and said thank you, though deep inside I really wanted 'mangulit' about where can I buy those. Hehe I dont want to sound like a taga-bundok.

Days after I looked for this 'i-mi-cha' in groceries and chinese drug stores near my place, but to no avail. In Chinese, I just know 'i-mi' means some kind of grains, cha is tea. But I don't know what's the direct translation, what specific kind of grain. I didnt find any drink that is labelled 'i-mi' in those that I searched.

Good thing I also bought my friend a spa voucher who's scheduled to have her session after 3 weeks in the same spa salon. I didnt hold back and called my friend to ask the crew where to buy this mysterious drink, because I really couldnt find it. She was told that it should be available in groceries, the staff told her all the drinks that they serve are available here in SG.

So another attempt, I went to a big chinese drug store. Finally they do sell this drink, the attendant showed me several packs of this 'i-mi' drink. The label shows either 'Chinese barley' or 'Holland barley'. Finally I knew what this'i-mi' is in English. I was surprised to learn that it's just made of barley, I have tried cold lemon barley drinks in malls but I didnt find them spectacular. I even asked the staff if they sell other types of barley, 'Bali perhaps or Indonesian barley?', the staff shook her head saying she only knew 2 kinds. I was reluctant to buy it at first, because they only sell the unprocessed version --- meaning I have to boil the grains myself and add water and sugar. I was expecting something instant that I could just flush hot water into it. The staff looked nice, she told me maybe I can find instant barley drinks in NTUC which is just across their store, she also taught me how to prepare the drink. Because she was accommodating, I felt guilty walking out of the store empty-handed so I bought one of this Holland barley grain pack.

Yet indeed so true, in NTUC (big supermarket) they do have this instant barley drinks where you just have to pour hot water. Finally an answered question that has been bugging me for quite some time. Success! :p

As I walked out of the mall with those packs of barley drinks, I suddenly remembered and realized one thing. One BIG realization. After all these, it was really stupid of me not being able to connect the dots. The masseuse already told me what it is in the first place. It's 'ba-li'... My goodness, I forgot it's Singlish. 'Bali' is the same as 'barley'. Haha so nagpasikot-sikot pa ako for so long, ako pala ang SLOW hehe. Anyway, it was worth the effort. :)

Is 'Ba-Li' drink:) recommended?
- I am amazed why a hot drink can have cooling effect at the same time
- I find suspension drink as unique
- it's not too sweet, pag hndi matapang ang panlasa mo this suits you
- good for pasalubong, and it's not expensive

P.S. I recently went for a haircut and was surprised to be served another mysterious drink again. (Seems like SG shops treat their customers generously with nice hot drinks hehe) I've heard about processed dried flowers because it's quite popular here among the locals, but havent really had the chance to taste it since I find it a bit weird or unhygienic. This time in the salon, I saw some dried rose buds floating on my cup, the flowers look clean and drink looks appetizing though. It's served hot and the color is a bit light yellow. The taste is also good, accented with rose flavor. I've discovered a store in Toa Payoh that sells this dried flower drink, mostly chrysanthemum and roses. I'm sure my mom will be glad when I bring these 'mysterious drinks' home hehe.