My new baby Puku

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Today we are delighted to welcome a new addition to the family, a little black kitten whom we adopted from the SPCA. I actually wanted a puppy but Jerry said a dog's meant to work on a farm. hmmph! But he's being practical. It will be hard for someone to take care of him when we go on long holidays. Cats are much more independant and easier.

Poku was abandoned at Taupo SPCA with her mum and brother. She's all black with a cute adorable patch under her chin and is about 4 months old. Quite pricey to adopt here NZ$65 (RM156). Puku means tummy in Maori and we thought the name sounded cute. At least I didn't go Pookie.. No, she doesn't have a fat tummy or anything like that. Here she is.

Princess Puku

Was not really much of a cat person but I'm liking her. She's very sweet a bit like a dog. Curls up under my comfortable and sleeps on the couch with me. Loves being cuddled and stroked. And follows me around the house too. I feel needed and loved hahha.

House training her now. Have to keep her indoors for at least 2 weeks before I let her venture out.

Grow up nicely my lovely.

Sleeping on the couch

Brewing my 1st Beer

Thursday 14 April 2011

I finally started on my beer brewing which I've been 'too busy' to do. Funny huh that I'm so busy taking into consideration that I don't have a job. Well, been busy going on trips, learning my body balance routines and doing some freelance writing on the side plus cooking & grocery shopping and stuff so I'm forgiven right? Hmm bought the kit in Rotorua on 11 March 11. It's 14 April now, just over a month. What excuses people can give huh?



My home brew starter kit

So first things first. Cleaned all my equipment with some Cold Water Cleaner Detergent and sterilised it with a No Rinse Steriliser. Used the bath tub as it was the only place big enough to put my fermenter in. Took me ages to clean everything plus my 30 bottles. Whole process can be found at Brewcraft's website. Quite a good one I might add.

Cleaning & Sterilising all brewing equipment is important

Warm the can of beer concentrate in warm water for 10 minutes so that the contents will soften. My kit came with a can of Mangrove Jack's Munich Lager. There are many variety available at the supermarket. Add 2L of boiling water into the fermenter and add in 1kg of Beer Enhancer. Stir to mix. Open the can and pour the entire contents in. Extract the rest with warm water and mix everything well.

The Mangrove Jack's Munich Lager (left) and Beer Enhancer

Top the fermenter with cold water up to the 23L mark. Keep an eye on the temperature as you want it to be between 18 - 30C. 24C is the ideal temperature. Sprinkle the beer yeast on the surface and stir well. Do not put your yeast in if the temperature is above 32C it will kill your yeast and spoil your beer.

Fill the airlock with water to protect the brew while its fermenting and fit it on the lid. Screw the lid tightly on and there you have it! Now wait for 5-7 days for your yeast to turn the sugar into alcohol. The secret to a good beer is constant temperature so pick a spot where the temperature doesn't change much. I chose my water heater cupboard.


Now what's that brewing in my closet?

The airlock protects your brew during fermentation

If you want to determine the alcohol content, take the Specific Gavity (SG) readings before and after the entire process with a hydrometer. There's some complicated calculations involved and it's explained on the hydrometer sheet. My initial SG reading is 1.0448 at 24C. Let's see what the alco content will be after everything's done.

Hydrometer - tells you the SG, alcohol & sugar content

Tuesday 19 April
Temperature fell to around 20 so I put a small standing heater to warm it up just a bit to 22.

It's day 6 today. My yeast seem to have stopped working as its not bubbling anymore. Took a reading with the hydrometer and it came to 1.018. It should be approx 1.009 or 1.010 if you used a Beer Enhancer which I did so not sure if it's still on the high side.The reading has to be stable for 2 days in a row before I can bottle it.

Using the hydrometer to take the SG reading. 1.018 on Day 6.

Wednesday 20 April

Day 7. SG reading is 1.018 so I guess it's time for bottling. Still on the high side though as it's supposed to be 1.010/2. That means my alcohol % will be lower. Damn. Using the calculator on the website, my alcohol % is 4.1%. Supposed to be 5.2%. Hopefully my reading was wrong then the % will be higher. Fingers crossed.

So before the bottling process - A good brew needs clean bottles so take time to clean and sterilise properly. Use your kitchen sink to clean your bottles. For a clearer beer, add Beer Finings and stir well just before bottling.

Cleaning & sterilising the bottles in my sink

Use Beer Finning to clear your beer and carbonation drops for priming your beer

Adding sugar into the bottles will produce bubbles or carbonation. This is called priming. Easiest way to do it is with Carbonation Drops (basically sugar balls) coz then you'll get a perfect level of carbonation. I use 2 drops for each of my 750ml bottle. The drops produce less sediments too compared to sugar.

Bottling process

Managed to get 30 750ml bottles filled. The bottles must be stored in a warm place (21-27C) for 7 days before moving it to a cool dark place to mature. Your beer will be ready to drink in 2 weeks but if you can wait, 3 months down the road would be better.

Brew well my sweets

Happy brewing!

2011 New Year's in Lipe

28 Dec 2010 - 2 Jan 2011

"Come to Lipe la.. your last chance to party kau kau with us!" said Sim & Hema. I was going to move to New Zealand in February and this would be my last chance to lepak with the extended party crew. Well, haven't really made any plans for New Year's and I've never been to Koh Lipe before so why not.

Koh Lipe, meaning paper island in the local Choa Ley language, is a small island in the Satun Province, located in the southern part of the Andaman Sea. It forms part of the Butang Islands in Tarutao National Marine Park. Wrote about it in Star Weekender too.

Lipe used to be one of Thailand’s best-kept secrets. What once used to be a quiet, laid back island frequented by mainly local Thai tourists is now a growing hot spot for Westerners escaping the touristy scenes of Phuket and Koh Samui. More and more backpackers and Malaysians are heading to the island as it is an easy one-hour ferry ride from Telaga Harbour in Langkawi.


The island is divided into three main areas of accommodation - Pattaya Beach, Sunrise Beach and Sunset Beach. Pattaya Beach would be the most happening place to stay with dozens of chalets, restaurants, bars and massage centres lining the beach. This is the venue that hosts the New Year’s party every year. Pattaya Beach is also where you will land if you are coming from Langkawi. The Immigration Centre is actually a very very small shack!



The Immigration Centre at Lipe

There was about 30 of us noisy Malaysians who disrupted the peace at Sunrise Beach - family, singles, couples, kids and toddlers. We booked more than 10 huts in total. Pity the other guests who had to put up with our boisterous partying and loud music!

Our pad at Sunrise Beach

 

Mummies & babies chillaxing

We celebrated Aarti's birthday too with a cake imported all the way from KL and a nice bbq dinner.
 

Happy birthday Aarti!

Now what is there to do at Lipe. Nothing and everything I should say. We mainly chilled out in our huts and walked the island at night. Quite a lot of stuf to buy in the town. Food takes ages though and is relatively expensive compared to the rest of Thailand. I like the fruit shakes and "horny mangos and fake corns" as advertised. 



Honny bananas or fake corn anyone?

Not much bars or clubs but it's decent enough. Nice bars on the beach where you can lie on thai pillows under the stars. Pattaya Beach was the scene of our New Year's party. It was simply amazing. Festive music reverberated through the air with happy revellers dancing on the sandy shores. Each beach bar played it’s own kind of music but the different melodies seem to gel seamlessly together somehow.

The beach was hardly recognisable with pretty, colourful lights decorating the sand. Short bursts of fireworks were lit every now and then, a preview to the fireworks feast to come at the stroke of midnight. You know it will be a good send off seeing the rows and rows of huge fireworks placed strategically all around the beach.

What I loved the most were the hundreds of paper lanterns that filled the sky. My heart lit with joy every time a lantern launched successfully into the air, carrying the wishes of the person who released it. It was a scene taken straight out of Disney’s Rapunzel.

We ushered in the New Year's amidst thousands of fireworks and Happy New Year hugs way into the new morning. Headed back to our pad to greet the first dawn of the new year. Such a tight crew. Love them to bits. So glad I saw the year 2010 go and greeted 2011 early in the morn. It will be a good year I know.

 

Some of the crew who stayed awake to see the first dawn of the 2011 New Year



First sunrise of 2011


We were all quite stoned from the lack of sleep the night before. Most of us just chilled at our pads the next day. Sunrise Beach is an excellent spot for topless sunbathers. Many of the boys (and girls) enjoyed the view. Besides sunbathing and relaxing, there’s plenty of snorkelling that can be done straight off the beach, especially the two tiny islands Koh Kra and Koh Usen just of Sunset Beach. Best is to join the snorkel tours that take you out to four or five nearby islands where you can snorkel and soak in the sun till your heart’s content.



View from our pad



Pristine white sandy beaches

Diving is also a favourite with plenty of great dive sites offering peaceful and relaxing dives mainly at Koh Chabang, Koh Sawang, Koh Phung, 8 Mile Rock and Yong Hua wreck dive. Just ask any of the dive centres in town for the best rates and trips.

Koh Lipe is a lovely island that is simple and charming. I initially thought a week on the island was too much but it was with a very heavy heart that I bid farewell to the gorgeous paradise. I will return soon and hopefully, the place will be just as I remembered it.

Koh Lipe is an hour ferry ride from Telaga Harbour (www.telagaharbour.com) in Langkawi. A return trip will cost roughly RM230. For more information on the island, visit www.kohlipethailand.com.