December #worldcolours - it has been a fun year!

We are pleased to present to you the colour Grey for our December worldcolours post.

It has been fun going back through the thousands of photos we have taken since this blog started, and going through recent photos.

Home of The Crown Jewels, Tower of London

Christ Church Cathedral after the 2011 Earthquake
Photo taken: July 2013

An overcast day in Akaroa, New Zealand

Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Disneyland Paris

Rangitoto Island, Auckland, New Zealand

 

Crowding around a warm fire after an adventurous day skiing.

Check out our previous worldcolour posts by clicking here.

Merry Christmas from Expat Kiwis :)

The festive feasting will commence and presents will be torn open with anticipation and expectation; have you been naughty or nice? ;) 

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our readers and followers; a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

We'll have more posts coming up. In the meantime drop us a comment or hit up that follow button to ensure you don't miss our posts.

Merry Christmas! Now where's that Trifle :)

PS - For those who are wondering about the picture; it is of the Pohutukawa Tree, also known as the "New Zealand Christmas Tree". 

Expat Blog Awards 2013 - Vote for Expat Kiwis!

We've submitted our entry for the Expat Blog Awards 2013. There are 10 prizes up for grabs and a Gold, Silver and Bronze Award for each country.

To vote for us, please do the following:

1. Read our post at: Our Top 5 Little Singapore Facts, Especially for You! :)
2. Leave a comment of at least 10 words.
3. Verify your email address. (don't forget to check your spam)
4. Don't forget to like/share on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks in advance :)

Salil Hotel Sukhumvit - Bangkok, Thailand

Salil Hotel is a small 30-room boutique hotel, located on Soi 8.

This hotel is located about 30 minutes about from the New Bangkok International (Suvarnabhumi) Airport, and should cost no more than 300 baht using a metered taxi. To get from the airport to the hotel, you have to pass through toll booths, so remember to take a note of how much the driver pays as this gets added onto the final metered bill. Don't underestimate Bangkok traffic, as it is horrendous no matter which time of the day you arrive. 

The hotel is a little hard to find, it's located almost near the end of Soi 8. The sign is not very prominent from the street, but here's what the lobby looks like . . .

The Lobby

The Reception Area

There are a total of four floors, and each floor has a different coloured hallway.

The lovely 'Pink' Hallway

Double-bed

You gotta love the Elephants that welcome you into your hotel room.

The rooms a nice and tidy and intimate. However, they did not replenish the soap and the shampoo and conditioner. We had to phone Reception each night to request more.

There are a bars and cafes and two 7-Eleven's, a laundromat among other shops located along Soi 8. This hotel offers a complimentary golf cart to Nana BTS Sky Train Station (2 minutes), or you may walk down Soi 8, which takes about 10 minutes.

Sukhumvit is the longest road in Thailand and has many 'sois' (side streets), and is rich in shopping, eating and nightlife. Here's some links which you may find useful:

• Sukhumvit Guide
• A British Girl Abroad

 I copied the following instruction in Thai from the hotel website. It's useful as most of the taxi drivers speak and understand very little English.

Salil Hotel Sukhumvit Soi 8, Bangkok Thailand

  50,50/1 Sukhumvit Soi 8, Sukhumvit Road,

Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Phone: (662) 253-2474-7

It's about the Moustache - Movember 2013

<<Post by @SGVekNZ>>

As November 2013 finally drew to a close; Wives, Spouses, Partners,Girl  Friends, Families, Work mates and perhaps even the family pet, all breathed a sigh of relief. Their "Mo Bro" was finally going to shave off the Moustache that had been gradually invading his upper lip for a month. Yep; it was Movember.

Movember (a play on the word November)  is a global charity where each year on the 11th month, lads around the world get together and grow a Moustache (Mo for short). This must be sustained for the entire month and grooming is of course encouraged. It is a charity that supports Men's mental health, Prostate and Testicular Cancer. For their efforts, donations can be collected from friends and family, no matter how cringe worthy the Mo looks! It is a great cause.

I've been a long time observer, but this year became a first time participant. Another two Mo Bros also joined in; plus one Mo Sista, making us a team of 4.

Being Singapore based we joined the ranks of the Singapore participants. 

We did pretty well and collectively raised SGD$1,825 :)

Singapore did well overall too. Look at the official leaderboard pic below :)

Great Global effort and well done to the 2,712 members of Team Singapore!

On the 29th of November, all the Mo Bros in Singapore got together for a Gala Parte at Club Kyo; on Cecil Street, Singapore.

Celebrate good times!

It was great to see so many Mo Bros and Mo Sistas attend the parte and celebrate our achievements. There were drinks specials with all proceeds going to the Movember cause. I was very happy about this as it kept the donations coming in. The mixes were Gin or Rum based.

Party time :)

It was a bit dark to take pictures but I love how my Gin glows!

Our Mo Bro MC for the night

Great Mo Bro costumes were spotted on the night

So far, the lads and I are talking about doing Movember again in 2014. We'll definitely try and recruit more to the cause and it was fun seeing how our Mo would turn out by the end of the month. We also picked up some bad habits like stroking our Mo during conversations, meetings, well everywhere!

Until next year we're all cleanly shaven again. You can definitely hear those big sighs of relief from our other halves! :)

Did your fella take part in Movember this year? How did it go?

Cheers

@SGVekNZ

The Tavern, on the Sidewalk, out East :)

<  Guest post by @SGVekNZ  >

If you're out East in Singapore and need a great place to chill out; have a drink and a bite to eat, you can't go wrong with Sidewalk Tavern.

It's a little local Pub based on East Coast Road and on any given day, you can definitely see many regulars there. This is no surprise with a whole menu full of different Beer (on Tap and Bottled) as well as Wine; mostly Australian or New Zealand based (it's run by an Australian/Singaporean Husband and Wife team).

The food menu is a great mix of Western and Eastern food. The Western food covers Beef, Pork and Chicken. The Eastern choices are Curries and even Char Kway Teow. It's actually not that bad!

I'm a pretty frequent visitor so will cover what I've eaten on my latest visit :)

On this day I had a need for Seafood and Meat!

The Seafood had to be a Starter so the classic Chilli, Garlic and Salt Squid was ordered.

Perfectly cooked; get it while it's hot

The Squid was lightly Floured before it was cooked so had a wonderful crispy texture, giving it a bit of crunch. 

Best eaten hot, the Squid was cooked perfectly, not chewy at all. It was a WIN! I wished the Chilli was a touch hotter though but the Garlic and Salt was great.

With the Seafood craving out of the way, it was time for the promise of Meat for the Mains.

The Schnitzel cast it's line and had me hooked. Order was placed for a Pork Schnitzel with Fries, Salad and Mushroom Sauce.

THIS didn't disappoint!

Picture says it all. This Pork Schnitzel was serious on taste. Key word; "Gravy" :)

The Pork was crumbed nicely and was a very generous size. Fries were great; bliss for dipping into all that Mushroom Gravy Sauce! The Sauce was very good. The Salad; well it's Greens, but was fresh :)

I was a very happy chappy with this meal.

@KiwiinSG ordered the Lamb Cutlets; cooked medium rare. They were also incredibly good, cooked perfectly, the crusted herbs on top was tasty and the side of roasted Veges added to the experience. Another excellent reading on the Yum-o-meter.

Perfection.......

This was all washed down with Wine, Cocktails and a cheeky Whisky for me ;)

Sidewalk Tavern is a must try and if you're not convinced then maybe this next factoid will help...... They also serve all day Breakfast (one of the best inventions ever). My regular dish there is the Eggs Benedict. Always comes out perfect and goes with my add on order of Hash Browns and a naughty extra side of Bacon. This one is on my faves list! Just look at that pic below <drool>...

I'm speechless just looking at this. I'm a sucker for Eggs Benedict

And if all day Breakfast still doesn't convince you, then what if I said they also do a brilliant Sunday Roast on; well, Sundays. Always a pleaser, so good that I don't think I've ever taken a photo of it, I've always just started eating. The choice of roast Beef, Pork, Lamb and Chicken is there. Sides are the roasted Vege and Yorkshire Pudding!

So...... Convinced yet? 

Sidewalk Tavern is a great little Pub and never disappoints me with their great comfort food and drinks. 

Give it a go at 924 East Coast Road :)

Are you tempted to go? What are your favourite Brunch places to go in Singapore?

Cheers

@SGVekNZ 

November World Colours; bought to you by the lovely Turquoise

<<Post by @SGVekNZ>>

Turquoise is such a unique blend of Blue and Green. It brings about a very pure essence to whatever it touches. It was interesting going through the photo collection to find shots of Turquoise too because it is so close to being a Blue. Hope you enjoy our contribution for November...... Turquoise is November's World Colour :)

Spot the Turquoise Macaroon

Jelly Beans; such a sweet treat, spot the Turquoise one :)

Espresso hit!

An underwater experience at the SEA Aquarium in Singapore

Disney Castle being lit up; Disney Land Paris

Helicopter flight over Queenstown in New Zealand

The hustle and bustle of Hong Kong

The water feature at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Singapore

A Kiwi icon! Spotted at Fern and Kiwi bar in Singapore

The Coffee menu. Liking the quote on the sign below :)

Peranakan pots lining a stairwell

Peranakan Slippers; wonderfully bright designs

And there you have it for November's World Colours. Hope you enjoyed the Turquoise Photos.

Did you have a favourite Photo? :)

Cheers 

@SGVekNZ 

Bangkok Sea View Restaurant

An evening was planned with some friends, and it went something like this . . .

When an idea of going to a seafood restaurant came up, we jumped at the chance to go. We left Sukhumvit at 4pm, drove about 30km south of Bangkok to a river, then took a 20 minute boat ride (50 baht for adults and 20 baht for children), through mangroves, where we saw different birds, and saw a glimpse into the different types of houses of the people that live by (and on) the river.

View along the river

The first wow factor for us was when the river opened out into the Gulf of Thailand.

Emerging into the Gulf of Thailand

 As you can see from the picture below, the restaurant is resting on bamboo stilts.

Approaching Bangkok Sea View Restaurant

Another area of the restaurant

Another area of the restaurant

They also have areas that have low tables.

We arrived just in time for sunset. It was an overcast evening, but that didn't stop the sky from looking amazing as it did. As you can see from the pictures below, it was a calm evening and the sunset was just in the right place.

This restaurant serves mainly seafood (I can't remember seeing anything else on the menu). I have to credit A British Girl Abroad for the names of the dishes, as I couldn't remember the dishes that we ordered.

Here is what we ordered. Spices were ordered separately so that those among us who wanted a real kick could add as much chilli paste and dried chilli as they wanted.

Crab Fried Rice

Tom Yum Talay, which contained prawn, squid, cockles

Grilled Squid

Wing Bean Salad

Glass Noodles with Prawns

Shrimp and Sea Bass Cooked in a Black Pepper Sauce

Yam Pla Duk Foo (Fried Catfish Salad)

Then the "main event' came out. Our last dish was a steamed crab which came with a small wooden board with a rolling pin to hit it with in order to crush the shell.

I don't think I have ever tasted crab meat so sweet. It was a pleasant taste.

I managed to make quite a mess trying to crush the crab claw. The shell flew everywhere!

The Crab

The boats leave the restaurant for the mainland every hour, and from memory I think the last boat is at 8.45pm.

Thank you to our friends who made this an amazing and unforgettable evening!

Cheers!!!