Chillivaganza

We went chilli picking last weekend and had a ball of a time picking all sorts of chilli. There were about 12 different varieties of chilli from the real huge, humongous ones to the small miniature "chilli padi" variety.

From the variety also, you will find the variance from the real mild ones to the fiery variety. There were ones that even our kids who don't take chilli can consume without any problems and there were ones that even the chilli king himself have trouble eating!

Here are some of the variety we picked. Note the varying sizes!



The ones on the left are known as "fire crackers" and these are mind blowingly HOT although they don't look potent enough! The bowl at the bottom of the photo was picked from our own garden. The small variety in that bowl is the Malaysian "chilli padi" variety, locally (as in New Zealand) known as "super chillies". The single long one on that bowl is known as "banana chilli", not that hot as us chilli eating folks would call reasonably hot. The bowl on the right contains two variety. This one clearly shows the two variety.



The giant ones are known as "Carazon Chilli" and the slightly smaller than the giant ones are "Mexican Chillies". The carazon ones are just red and juicy but not hot at all. The mexican variety are medium hot.

Now, just to show how big this chilli is, I took a photo with a teaspoon next to it for perspective. And I didn't even pick the largest that I could find.



All this went into a wok this evening and out came a deliciously tantalizing super extra hot sambal ikan bilis (also known as anchovies chilli paste).



And onto the plate as a condiment to the Malaysian unofficial national dish, "Nasi Lemak". Of course this has a Kiwi twist to it, cashew nuts and cherry tomatoes picked from our garden.

Car Wash Anyone?

I just couldn't resist taking photos of this car wash in Wellington. For $399 a year you get your car hand washed for as many times as you wished, or $15 per hand job as this banner says.



What is more appealing is that each Friday, you get ladies clad in skimpy two piece bikinis washing your car while you get to sit in the car. The fine print below the ad sums it all up. "Keep your hands on the wheels at all time".

A lot can happen in a day!

As the title of this blog says, we had quite a bit of action today.

In the wee hours of the morning in Auckland, a restaurant opposite a cemetery blew up sending glass and furniture across the street.

Early this morning, we heard on the news that a man drove his car into the library in Karori, in the literal sense!

Then there was this motorcyclist who rode off a cliff just out of Wellington.

Then as we were leaving the house for another action, a helicopter and a glide plane crashed mid air just 500 to 600 meters from our home.

After navigating through what we Wellingtonians will call horrendous traffic, we reached the action we were waiting to see. The second largest cruise ship, Queen Victoria, at the Wellington harbour. It was quite a sight, almost bigger then the Westpac Stadium it was anchoring next to. The Interislander ferry almost looked like matchbox replica.

Here Vera and Ashwini posing in front of the cruise liner.



I know its too small to see if this is the real one so, here is a close shot of the ship.



This is quite a day for New Zealand as headlines here don't usually have that many casualties in one day!

Gong Xi Fa Chai Kiwi Style

Chinese New Year here is not a holiday but it is celebrated as a festival alright. HSBC sponsored a Chinese New Year Parade complete with lion dances.



We are finding it more difficult as each year passes to have a "traditional" new year's eve dinner with the family. It is getting further and further away from the Asian fare.



But what is Chinese New Year without Ang Pows?

What a scorcher!

It is totally unimaginable!

This evening at 7.14pm the temperature here at Paraparaumu was 39.7 deg Celsius. It is now 8pm, the temperature has dropped slightly to 39.2 but the sun is still bright and does look like it is planning to set at least for another 2 hours!



Despite the heat the humidity is only 47%!

What a summer we have this year!

Our annual holiday

As I was looking back at my posts I see that as time goes by, my posts have been further and further apart. The first post almost 3 years ago was almost daily and now, the last post was 4 months ago! There certainly are enough things to write about and share but I guess one tend to get a little lazy over time.

It was time again for our annual holiday. What an adventure this turned out to be! We always wanted to go somewhere we have never been to but when we visited Ohope last year, we really liked the place that we booked it this year as well. Since it was our second time to the same campsite, we decided to spend time doing stuff we did not get a chance to do on our initial trip.

First up, we booked on a fishing trip out to sea. Like 4 four brave fishers (that is the politically correct word to use for more commonly used term: fisherman), we went with our fishing rods, bait and all. Half way out to sea, Ashwini got sea sick, next was Anil and that left us with only two trusted fishers. In 30m of water we were looking for Snapper and the elusive Tuna which every other boat seem to say they were catching. Being beginners all we managed to hook was Mackerels, Tarakihis and a baby Shark! We thought catching the fish was the hard part but soon realised cleaning the damn thing was worse. I smelled like fish for the next 3 days.

Here's the fruit of our labour on the barbie!



Optiki had its annual Rodeo while we were there and we took the opportunity to see some real "cowboy" stuff that we normally don't get to see back in the city. It was fun, exhilarating and HOT! It was scorching hot as there not a single cloud in the sky. Quite an experience, I must say!





Also nearby is New Zealand's largest mud slide. We were told that the mud was imported from Rotorua, as if that would make it appealing. Just looking at the elevation of the fall and the speed made my blood run cold.



Then my sense of adventure kicked in and decided to join the brave kids! Ended up with bruises and cuts all over but survived. I thought even better than the slide was the "Super Shower" to clean yourself off the mud. A gigantic shower with cold water gushing from the roof at high speed to cleanse you! Man that felt good!



We still had quite a bit of time left on our hands and the weather was on our side. So we decided on venturing into some horse riding - inspired by the rodeo earlier. At the end of the 1 hour ride, my bottom felt like it had been hit by a bull! I wonder how cowboys ride on horses all day!



Still taking on the good weather, from land back to sea. Vera and I decided to kayak with dolphins at Whale Island which is about half an hour off shore from Whakatane. Again being green with these stuff, I capsized into freezing water almost immediately after I started paddling. That was refreshing but then found my balance and had a fantastic time kayaking around the island. Did not see any dolphins but was still amazing being able to paddle the 1 metre waves and going into caves.



We also took the kids out kayaking but not to Whale Island. We went to the Ohiwa harbour where the water is waist deep, just in case son decides to follow the father's footsteps in checking the water temperature.



Need to take kayak lessons when we return to Wellington.

Last event of the holiday was taking a look at the Annual Sand Sculpture Competition. It is amazing just looking at some of the sculptures being built and the stuff these pros use.

Sand castles took on a whole new meaning with this one. It was a city in the making complete with clock tower, bridges and moats!



One was trying to replicate a crayfish (also known as lobster) which was huge but not quite as stunning.



Then there was the imaginative Hedgehog, which we thought was quite interesting. They used pointy grass for the hedge effect on the body.



These must be Australians as they were trying to recreate the Sydney Opera House using sand.



This one was my favourite!



Then there are the watchers and the beachgoers who found the water more interesting than the sand.





Also during this holiday, Anil discovered his hidden talent!



Ashwini couldn't for the life of her understand why golf cannot be played like hockey!



What would camping be if not meeting up with old friends and making new ones!





It was time to return home now. I decided to take the East Coast route back home. My trusted GPS suggested that I drive to Napier via Taupo. Yours truly decided to switch the GPS off and follow instincts. Was heading east when I saw a sign suggested a shorter route. Decided to take it and ended up driving over 50km on unsealed farm roads. Scared the hell out of some cattle and sheep. Not sure about the shorter distance but the time taken was about 3 hours longer!





Luckily my Pajero was silver or it would have ended up a different colour. The trailer I was towing at the back had a dark blue cover. When we came out of the dirt track, it was a pale blue and was on the verge of turning grey!

My new job

I just changed jobs, yes for those who know me, again! As some of my friends would know, I hate a desk bound job. While I don't like travelling, I love getting out and about. As part of my work, I have travelled to parts of the world most people don't think of visiting or want to visit, and to some places, even cannot visit.

This new role I have taken up is quite exciting as I now get a chance of visiting some fascinating parts of this country. My five weeks on the job has been really exhilirating. As part of my induction, I was sent to see what we do as an organisation and how we work.

This is just two of the modes of transport to work.



This one was taken as we disembarked on Tiritiri Matangi, a beautiful island 30km North East of Auckalnd.



Here is one with two of my colleagues at Karamea, one of the remotested parts of New Zealand.



This is the view from my transport to my place of work. Flying across the Southern Alps from the skies.



If only all offices are like this. This is the Heaphy Hut on the Heaphy Track.





Views from the hut.

And these are some of the living things I share my office with.



A native protected New Zealand bird, Kea.



A Takahe, an endangered New Zealand flightless bird.



Another endangered, New Zealand creature, the Yellow Eyed Penguin.

All in a day's work!

New addition

It has been about 3 months since I last wrote anything down. I guess it is a bit like once you have settled in well, everything around you is no longer a novelty and there is nothing much that catches your eye!

We have been in New Zealand for 2 years now and we like it here so decided to add another member to the family, a four legged one. We were looking for a pet for awhile and came across this adorable face on a website. We went, we saw, we liked and Jasmine or Jazz for short, followed us home.



We have had dogs before and we, actually it was just me, never knew what Beagles were like. She has an energy level like you would never have guessed. She loves to play and she has not learned that the word "stop" or "enough" means we are tired. She is not only an extremely intelligent dog but also an extremely mischievious one.

After she came to live with us, my perspective of dogs has just changed!

Father and son fishing expedition

If you have ever suffered an itch to catch a fish, the advice would be “don’t do it”. Instead, what you should do is to go down to Pacific Catch and buy yourself a nice sized blue cod or snapper. That way, you won’t need to put up with an eight year old whining, when one fine Saturday morning you decide to go fishing and spend time with your son. Shopping for fish is a lot easier and hassle free, to say the least.

Fishing has been a passion of mine for sometime but we lived in a land locked part of Malaysia for many years that the only fishing I could do was to walk down to the local fish market and feel, see and smell the fish. When we arrived in New Zealand, the sea was just a stone’s throw away and my interest in fishing was rekindled.

When I told Vera that I was going to take up fishing, she was a little sceptical and at the same time gave me “The Look”. A look that suggested “What do you think you are doing?”. Obviously she would not have known about my fishing as when I met her, I was already “land locked”.

So, how did I get hooked on fish?

My compulsion was probably inherited from my dad. He wasn’t a fisherman but he is one who loves his fish. It was my dad who taught me how to love fish. Penang, where I grew up, was surrounded by water and to find a fish was never too difficult, even if you can’t fish. My dad had a friend who was a fisherman and we used get all sorts of fish to try and often more than we can consume. Of course, being only my dad and I, who loved fish, didn’t help.

And the times I now recollect as the closest I ever came to my dad were when he would shake me awake at four a.m. on a Sunday morning, say in a whisper, so as not to disturb the whole household, “Hurry and get dressed before the fish gets sold out”. I would climb out of bed and get dressed quietly, then slip out of the house and hop on my dad’s motorcycle. It would still be dark but we would set off down to wholesale fish market, Chowrasta Market. We would pick the best catch of the day before it got sold, take it down to the corner restaurant, and turn the catch into a delicious pot of curry. We would then sit and have coffee and curry for breakfast. A weird combination but it worked for us.

These are the moments when everything that was unexpressed between father and son would fall into place and we would share all the love in our hearts without a word being said. This is the only time I had all of my dad as he was one who always worked long hours.

My son on the other hand, is not one who loves to eat fish, so the least I thought I can pass on to him is the love of catching fish. I am begging to find out even that is quite a daunting task, given his lack of patience.

Yesterday, we went on a fishing expedition at the Mana Wharf, complete with rods, reels and some fool proof power baits. Of we went, cast our rods, and “nada” not a single bite. After all of 5 minutes, Anil started checking to see if he had hooked a Barracuda. After about half an hour, it was stomach growling time. And an hour later, I was quite sure I did not want to continue to hear “I am hungry” like a broken record and neither did any of the fishermen in the area.

So much for our father and son bonding fishing expedition!

Next time, I will need to set a fish finder and find a spot in the sea with lots of fish. Then I need to find a super-duper bait that will find a fish to hook it (not the other way around). Failing which I will probably need to dive and hook the fish for him. Just to get him excited about fishing.

Imagine the things a dad needs to do to get his son to love fishing! Or shall I put it another way…the things a dad needs to do to spend time with his son!

On a roll...

The population of Wellington is rather small in comparison to KL. I maybe wrong but I think it is in the region of about 300,000 or so. And due to its size, the likelihood or probability of being able to win anything from a contest or a draw is also relatively high. If there was one prize to be won in KL, the chances of getting that one prize would be one in 4 million and in Wellington it would be one in 300,000, assuming of course every resident participates.

A few weeks ago, there were tickets being given away by a local radio station (The Breeze) for the movie "Mr Bean's Holiday". Each winner was to get 2 free tickets to the movie. Vera called one morning when they said "Be the 5th caller...." What do you know? She was the 5th caller and won 2 free tickets. Having just 2 tickets, when there are 4 of us would mean someone needs to baby sit the kids, so we tried calling for another chance on another day. Bingo! We got another 2 tickets.

After the first win, I went over to their offices in the city to pick up the tickets. Had no problems picking it up on behalf of Vera. No identification was asked – just mentioned her name and got the tickets. Then a few days later when we got the second 2 tickets, I had to go to their offices again to pick up the tickets. This time the receptionist asked me "Didn't I see you earlier this week for tickets?" I said "Yes, but this is for someone else" to which she replied "At the rate you are doing favours, you better get yourself invited as well".

Last week, there were tickets to be given away for the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" movie. Kids were asked to call and talk about their strangest pets for a chance to win a family pass of 4. Anil called up this time and talked about his pet "fly" called William, which mysteriously fled from captivity moments after he won the tickets.

And just this morning, yet again another chance for a free family pass to "The Robinsons" was announced over the radio. This time, Anil and Ashwini called but only one won. Anil managed to get through and got himself a family pass for 4. As it coincides with Ashwini's 6th birthday, it will be her treat courtesy of The Breeze!

After this, we need to keep a low profile or might be banned from getting free tickets to the movies.

I was thinking...since the population of New Zealand at 4 million is only slightly smaller than the population of KL, I might try my hand at Lotto. Mathematically the chances of winning Lotto in New Zealand is surprisingly higher.

I read somewhere that the adult population in New Zealand is approximately 60% of the total, which is about 2.4 million people. I am assuming that of that, only 60% will play Lotto, which brings the number to 1.44 million. If 20% of that were out of town, out of the country or are in a hospital somewhere and could not buy a ticket, that brought the number down to 1.15 million. If half of that bought more than one ticket to increase their chances, that would make the total number of tickets competing for the $2 million, to be 1.73 million. So, mathematically, the chances of raking in the $2 million is one in 1.73 million.

Ok, I can start building my castle in the air. The foundation can come later.

Rain is rain by any other name

How many different ways can we say that it is raining? That is the question!

We were and still are the last time I checked, planning on a holiday during Easter, which is a 4 day break here, to Taupo. So, we regularly check the weather forecast to see what the weather will be like. Which direction the wind is blowing and hence how cold it was going to be.

The heat and the lingering summer seem to be coming to an end as the holidays are approaching. It was bright and sunny with temperatures in the mid to high 20’s up until yesterday, but this morning when I checked, the temperature has dipped a few degrees and is now hovering around the lower end of the 20’s band. Still relatively warm I think (depending on the number of layers you have on) but given the fact that Taupo is situated on an elevated part of the country, the nights are going to be a lot colder.

Somewhere there, along with the lower temperatures, are those mean dark rain clouds coming our way from Australia. The website we use to monitor the weather is run by the New Zealand Meteorological Department (or Metservice for short) and is usually pretty accurate and changes every 2 hours or so. It uses these symbols of dark clouds to describe a rain cloud and with it a short narrative to describe the kind of rain. You get to see the forecast for up to the next 5 days usually but I was so tickled by how they described rain for the next 5 days.

To me rain is rain is rain. However way you see it, rain is when it spits down from way up there and you get all wet. The degree of smile on your face is relative to your age when it comes to rain. The younger you are the more you smile as you get to soak yourself with your clothes on and it is beyond your control. As you get older, you need to attend to the wet clothes and foul state of health after the rain all by yourself, so the smile slowly creeps away and we seek shelter. How else could one describe a weather so miserable when the clouds are dark, the air is humid and you feel gloomy.

The Metservice, on the other hand, has an interesting array of words to describe this. Here is what I saw describing rain!

Day 1 – Overcast with occasional rain

Day 2 – Periods of rain

Day 3 – Outbreaks of rain

Day 4 – Rain easing to showers

Day 5 – Showers clearing then rain developing

In short it was going to be raining for the next 5 days! Period! However, I still have not figured out what the difference is between rain and showers, though.

All in a day's fun

This afternoon we attended an International Food festival here in Kapiti. We arrived at 11 in the morning and the dances had begun. There were lots of different cultural dances and food from the various communities that make up Kapiti. We sampled food from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Brazil, England, China, America and of course host New Zealand.

At the event, we migled with people from these ethnic backgrounds and had an invitation to an Indonesian get together next Sunday and an open invitation to camping with the Filipinos! Not bad for a day's event. We also got to meet and speak with Nathan Guy, National MP and the Alan Milne, Mayor of Kapiti Coast District Council.

All in a day's fun.

McDonald's Fun Run

Summer is still here! It is still a balmy high 20's for now and the weather is good for all that outdoor sports.

This morning McDonald's together with Kapiti's Rotary Club organised a Children's Fun Run as part of the Children's Day celebrations. Anil took part representing his school, Paraparaumu Beach School.

At the start...





And, at the finish...

Save Hector

New Zealand is home to the world’s smallest and rarest marine dolphins – the Hector’s dolphins.

Once distributed in waters all around the New Zealand coast line, these very special animals have now declined to just 7000 individuals and have been fragmented to a degree that threatens their survival. Read more about this on the Forest and Bird website.

Anil's school distributed this leaflet he is seen holding and asked students to go the beach and create a sculpture of Hector using things you find on the beach. His creation is below.



It was a real nice warm day for an end to summer but who's complaining? In about a month's time, anywhere near the beach would probably require a thick sweater.