Me-like-a Malacca

Just about the time I fell ill with a stray hair, I took a road trip with my friends the Baker and Don’t Mess with Texas (DMWT) to Malacca, a fishing town on the Straights of Malacca.

No, my friends are real people not cardboard cutouts!!

The Baker & DMWTS - Real live people

The city is large, but we were focused on the Old Town where there is a strong Dutch influence as evidenced by this windmill.






















Malacca is famous for its chopped chicken and rice balls. Delish. I could have eaten these balls all day long.

I forced the Baker to mooo-ve down to her knees and pose for this, so I thought I better post it. The cow turned out to be a fake.
They also have great museums, historical homes, temples, beaches, and shopping.

This is none of those things. It is a highly decorated bike!
St Paul's Church...the first Christian church in Malaysia. It was built by the Portuguese in 1521.

The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple is the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia. It was built in 1646.

We saved the beach for our next trip, and went straight for the shopping.











Malacca is famous for nonya shoes. These are hand crafted with glass beads and Malacca is the only place in the world where you can buy them. DMWT picked up a pair. I wanted to think about it. Hopefully, I will get back to the one place in the world I can buy them now that I've made up my mind.

No glasses! (She's not wearing contacts, we asked.)

Malacca is better suited for a 2 or 3 day trip, but we made the most of our afternoon!

Phang Nga Honeymoon

We're baaa-aack! We are rested, relaxed and ready for a second honeymoon. We had two weddings, so two honeymoons only seems appropriate!


The trip was unforgettable. We stayed at the Aleenta which is a small luxury boutique resort in Phang Nga about 30 minutes outside of Phuket, Thailand and away from all the hustle and bustle of the tourist community there. Conde Nast proclaims it one of the nicest resorts in the world, and so do I! The grounds were beautiful, the service was extraordinary, and the food was out of this world.

Our room was decorated in true honeymoon style!

Mr. Happy was more into the chocolate than the roses.
We spent the first few days relaxing by our private pool and on the beach.

We enjoyed some of the most amazing food we’ve ever eaten.

Each morning we feasted on a gourmet breakfast. The food was presented so beautifully we didn’t want to eat it! They start you off with a three tier tray of goodies.

Tier 1: meat, fish, cheese

Tier 2: fresh fruit

Tier 3: pastries

Another tray of delicacies was also brought out to compliment the first.

Then you selected your main egg course.

Steamed kafir lime and lemongrass eggs with coconut milk:

Poached eggs with roasted sesame seeds served over bok choi with porcini mushrooms.Poached egg with Italian breadcrumbs and prosciutto in a parmesan sauce.Fluffy egg whites over roasted tomatoes with asparagus:The golden egg: Soft boiled egg with dauphinoise potatoes:
And that was just breakfast!

On Wednesday we left the Aleenta for a few days. We chartered a 50 foot sailboat along with a captain and cook and we set sail around the Phang Nga Bay, stopping only for deserted islands and clear blue swimming spots.We enjoyed some onboard massages!

Captain Nick guided our craft, but sometimes Captain Happy and Captain MerBear took the wheel. Mr. Happy was very serious about honing his sailing skills.

The scenery was beautiful. Large cliffs rise out of the ocean and dot the seascape.

It was a perfect getaway on our perfect getaway!

After a few days we returned to the Aleenta for more eating, relaxing, drinking, and eating.

Papaya Salad

Massaman beef currySeared scallops in a citrus vinaigretteThe Classic: Phad Thai
Our final night there – which happened to be our first anniversary – Mr. Happy surprised me with a specially prepared dinner for two on the beach.
It was by far the most romantic dinner of our life. The setting was stunning and – as always – the food was amazing.

It may have taken an entire year to find the time to take our honeymoon, but it was without a doubt worth the wait!




Oh, Mr. Happy, I would say I do all over again (of course I don't think we could convince any guests to come to a third wedding!!).