Aussie-ism's Part Deux

Shortly after I moved to Australia, I wrote a blog post about some of the funny sayings I have heard. Since then, whenever I hear new ones, I have tried to remember them so I could write another blog post. Here are the latest:

• Crook - sick or ill. "Sorry boss, I am crook today. See you tomorrow."
• Under the Pump - a lot of work to do against a fast-approaching deadline. "Look mate, I would love to talk but am really under the pump."
• Cheeky - funny or silly. "Yeah he was cute and kind of cheeky."
• Flat Out  - busy. "I'd love to go to the pub but am just flat out at the moment."
• I Reckon - I figure.... "I reckon I need another coffee. I haven't had one in the last 20 minutes."
• No Dramas - used interchangeably with "no worries", a personal favorite. "I know you just made a huge mistake, but no dramas."
• How you going? - How are you doing? I still don't know where we are going, but I say this ALL the time now. They also will say "How are you traveling?".
• Bloke - guy or man. "yeah, look, he's a good bloke."
• Good on ye - good for you. "You won that game of Words with Friends? Good on ye!"

I love these. I hear them all the time and they are becoming part of my vernacular.


On the food front, I have had to learn some basics as well. One funny thing I've learned is that they are almost offended when they see you stir sugar in your coffee once they've made it for you. They'd MUCH prefer to prepare the coffee with the sugar stirred in by them. Don't ask me why...but if you don't order "plus 1 sugar" and have them stir it in while they make it, they will say something to you like "you know I could have added that in. Remember that for next time." So weird. But they take their coffee so seriously that I don't mess with that and now order my "plus 1" in advance.  Last thing you ever want to do is offend your Aussie barista. 


Also, important to know the following when viewing an Aussie menu:


Tasty Cheese - you'll actually see this on menus. It's a type of cheese, which I find hilarious. It's Australia's version of American cheese, but is actually a mild cheddar.


Capcisum - red or green pepper. It's in everything.


Prawn - shrimp.  If you say "pad thai with shrimp", they look at you like you have 6 heads. you have to say prawn.


Lettuce - there are all kinds of lettuce. "Cos" is your general leafy green lettuce. "Rocket" is arugula. "Iceberg" is iceberg.


Bacon - you've heard me talk about this before. I LOVE bacon. But bacon here is a slab of ham grilled briefly in a pan.  You'll see "CRISPY Bacon" on menus, and that is their attempt to placate all the Americans who miss American bacon. But it's still that same slab of ham just cooked longer in the pan. Do not fall for it...even crispy bacon isn't the bacon you know and love, and will miss desperately.


Tomato Sauce - ketchup. It's of course pronounced "toe-maah-toe". Again, you might as well have 6 heads if you ask for ketchup.


Lastly, I am starting to get used to the side dishes offered for breakfast/brunch. Your choices are: baked beans (not like American baked beans, more tomato-sauce based), avocado, mushrooms, toast or premier toast (premier is fancier, I suppose. To me, toast is toast.), pumpkin (cubes of butternut squash) or hash browns (which look and taste like McDs hash browns).


Until next time, xoxo


p.s. I am going to start a beach chair business. Let me know if you'd like to invest. At Bondi Beach last weekend, there were thousands of people and NOT ONE beach chair. Everyone sits on towels and blankets. I still don't know why but I will ask around and report back. This seems so silly to me....Chairs rule.

Old Friends in a New Place

Ah, Singapore. Just before and for several days after my trip to Thailand, I spent time working in Singapore. Our firm opened the Sydney office within which I work four years ago, and our Singapore office over a year ago. Given our focus on rapidly expanding our business into Asia, my boss Christy elected to hold our annual leadership offsite in our Singapore office. It was a great few days. But let me take a step back, as I have an emotional history with this island city/state.


For those who do not know much about this fascinating place, I'll provide a bit of history. Singapore is derived from the malaysian word Singapura, or Lion City. It was first settled in the 2nd century AD but existed in obscurity until 1816 when Thomas Stamford Raffles landed and signed a treaty with the ruler on behalf of the East India Trading Company to establish it as a British trading post. It passed between British and Japanese hands a few times before declaring independence in 1963. Under independent power, it rapidly developed as one of the most advanced powerhouse economies of Asia. Singapore now has some 5 million residents, over half of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent. Over a third of residents actively practice Buddhism. It has 4 official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The World Bank has rated Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business. Lastly, it has a rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons. In other words, it is HOT and HUMID every day of the year!!


My emotional history with this city/state dates back to 2003. I was visiting Australia on business, and then had a week in Singapore for more business. I was excited to make my first trip to Asia, and experience a completely different business culture at such a young age. From the Sydney airport before my 9-hour flight to Singapore, I called my sister Hilary and learned that my beloved grandmother "Sparkie" had passed away.  I can't begin to describe the sadness I felt....Sparkie was an amazing woman - independent, cultured, a world-traveler and SO chic. I adored her. In tears, I boarded my flight to Singapore, cried the entire way, and then in a haze worked for a week in Singapore. I took time to visit the Chinese markets, the national orchid gardens and the designer shops, all in ode to my grandmother who loved her Asian travels.  I left Singapore with a heavy heart, and sad memories.


My return was much happier. One of the reasons is because there are many of my favorite colleagues who have led the founding and development of our Asian business - Melissa, Jake, Jonathan, Tasneen, Saagar, Barlow, Michelle, Laura, Joel.  So through a lot of long working days, I was able to enjoy fabulous dinners and catch-up's with old and dear friends. Day one was a visit to Melissa and Sean's home to finally meet Miss Cricket (Charlotte Louise Bailey). What an adorable and happy child! My first night was an outdoors dinner at PS Cafe @ Harding with Michelle Kerner. Night Two was dinner at the Jackson Plan - a British gastropub with delicious cocktails - in Duxton Hill with Laura Foster and Joel Whitaker. The final night was a yummy, fancy dinner with our leadership team at 1 Altitude, with amazing top floor views of all of Singapore. 

The Singapore cityscape from way up high! 

Team Dinner

Our CEB office building...1 Raffles Place

Interestingly, Singapore has changed so much since I was last there, which was fortunate in that it helped me avoid sad memories and make happy new ones. There are American brands everywhere! The women are so fashionable with sky high heels and pencil skirts. The food is amazing, from the food stalls to the high-end restaurants. And the business is fascinating.


One last thing about Singapore that I find to be so charming is how centered it is around food. So much so that when someone intends to ask you how you are doing, they say "Have you eaten yet?"  It truly means 'how are you?', which in their mind equates to whether or not you have eaten recently. Hey Pops, reminds me of you! :)


I feel lucky to have a great group of friends in a place so far and different from home. I can't wait to return and see them again. Jake, Barlow and Saagar, that means an authentic Singa night out with you!


Until next time...xoxo

A Tale of Two Cities - Part II - Bangkok

In my last post, I highlighted the serenity of Koh Samui. In this post, I will tell you a bit about the one day I spent in Bangkok, which could not be more different from Koh Samui but is just as fascinating. 


Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, and as such is its largest urban city. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, it means the "city of angels". The actual background for the word BANGKOK is unknown. Bang is the word used by the Thai for a town situated on a river. Kok is unknown in origin but is thought to perhaps be a flavor of the word Koh, which as we now know means Island. 


What we do know is that Bangkok began as an integral port and trading community due to its location on the Chao Phraya River. For four centuries until the late 1700's, it was ruled over by the Ayutthaya Kingdom (the precursor to modern Thailand). It was taken over by the Burmese, and due to its strategic location, served for many years as a buffer zone between French and British colonials. In recent years, under the rule of several monarchs (one named Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua.....seriously) all under the Chakri dynasty, it has become vastly modernized while still maintaining its ancient heritage. Interspersed amongst massively tall skyscrapers and modern urban amenities are hundreds of Buddhist temples and ancient palaces like Wat Arun and the Grand Palace. I love the mix of modern and antiquity.


The flight from Koh Samui was a bit delayed, but a relatively easy hour-long journey to Bangkok. The Bangkok airport is HUGE and quite modern, having just been built in the past few years. It certainly signals when you arrive that Bangkok is a force to be reckoned with...it means business. Though arriving late on Friday night, I woke early the next day to take full advantage of the city!


We started by hopping the (very modern) subway and then a fast-as-heck river boat to the Grand Palace. The interesting part of the story is that we had a small adventure (some may call it a detour) before entering the palace. In short, we were "took took" by a "tuk tuk". Allow me to explain. Fresh off the friendliness of the Thai people in Koh Samui, we city gals let our guards down and immediately fell for the story told to us by an official-looking gentleman (well, he was in a uniform) outside of the Grand Palace. It went something like the Grand Palace was closed for 2 hours while the monks prayed, so we should go see the Standing Buddha, which is only open 1 day a year and today happened to be that day! And, oh look, here's a nice tuk-tuk (a small motorized scooter that seats 3 passengers) driver who is available who can take you straight there! How nice of them!!

Our river boat - the thing can haul!

3 city girls take a tuk-tuk ride.... 

I need one of these tuk-tuk's for Sydney

What we realized mid-way through was that it was a total scam. We indeed saw the Standing Buddha, but learned it is open all the time. But when our tuk-tuk driver took us to a jewelry store, we discovered the scam and that she was actually paid by shopowners to drive unsuspecting tourists to their stores in exchange for petrol. After finagling her to drive us back to the Palace, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The grounds were beautiful, the buildings ornate and the Emerald Buddha (only about a foot tall, made entirely of carved emerald, sitting atop an ornate, gold-encrusted structure about 40 feet tall) mesmerizing.


The Grand Palace has, until recently, served as the primary residence of the Thai monarchy since 1782. It is a vast series of intricately appointed buildings and temples. To enter, you must have your arms and legs covered, and as you explore the grounds, you are required at times to remove your shoes. The opulence of the Grand Palace is nearly indescribable, as is its beauty. 

One of the many statuettes at the Palace 

Moi, a la the Grand Palace. I bought the dress for $5 just outside so I had something to cover my arms and legs.

So charming! Each were actually about 6 feet tall.

A different type of statuette at the Palace

From there, we grabbed a real taxi (ahem) to a hidden gem of a restaurant called Chote Chitr recommended by my friend Christian as the best Thai food in Bangkok. Indeed it was. It was a tiny hole-in-the-wall cafe with only 5 tables, an aggressive Thai female owner named Tim and by God the most delicious food. My favorites were the spicy papaya salad, curried jumbo prawns and steamed fish in banana leaves. YUM!! There was a bit of drama while there, but I'll leave it to my friends to chuckle about the whirlwind we had, as well as my insistence on staying put while we tried to locate a lost camera, a massive swing and someone in Australia, all while enjoying the delicious cuisine. :) The rest of the day was spent traversing the city and walking through the local markets. 

Me at Chote Chitr - thanks Christian!

A classic street vendor offering (that I actually could identify)

After a quick shower and a mission to keep going despite absolute exhaustion, we headed out to enjoy an incredible view of the sprawling urban landscape of Bangkok high atop the 63rd floor of the open air SkyBar. While the wind was whipping furiously in the warm air of the evening, I enjoyed a glass of bubbly and amazing views! We then went to a famous Bangkok restaurant called the Blue Elephant. The menu was so cool. It had 3 sections - one for food inspired by the past, one for the present and another for the future. I chose the past, and did not regret it. Delicious!!

At the Blue Elephant

As I collapsed into bed after such an adventurous day, I reflected on the city of Bangkok and how different it is from Koh Samui. It's busy, dirty and enterprising. It's full of markets, big Asian business and traffic. It's loud and imposing. It's also fascinating, and much like Koh Samui, is filled with Thai people who are genuinely friendly and happy to have you enjoy their city.


I look forward to returning soon. One day was not nearly enough.
Until next time....xoxo

A Tale of Two Cities - Part I

One of the reasons I was looking forward to moving to Australia was to take advantage of the "close" proximity I'd have to places I'd always wanted to visit. (I say "close" with a hint of sarcasm because Australia is far from everything. EVERYTHING. But I am getting used to 8-9 hour flights being considered short.) As such, I decided to take full advantage of a business trip to Singapore by using the weekend in between to travel to Thailand, a destination I have ALWAYS dreamed of visiting.

The next series of blog posts will be around a theme of A Tale of Two Cities....this first post will highlight my trip to the mountainous beach island of Koh Samui, while the next will focus on its exact opposite - Bangkok.

Koh Samui Beach

Koh Samui is located in the Gulf of Siam and is the second largest island in Thailand. They believe it was first inhabited by fisherman 15 centuries ago. The terrain is beautiful with mountain peaks, jutting limestone, thick jungles and white sandy beaches. It is surrounded by 60 other islands that make up the Ang Thong Marine National Park. The inhabitants survived for many years on fishery and coconut tree farming, but now most work in tourism. Buddhism is the major religion, but southern Thailand is a melting pot of people inclusive of Buddhists, Thai Chinese, Muslims and traditional sea-faring gypsies. Everyone I met was peaceful, friendly and kind. While the word "ko" means island in Thai, it remains a mystery as to what "samui" means. Many think is derives from the Malay word Saboey, which means "safe haven". I can attest that it is indeed that.

One of the views from the Four Seasons

The beach at the Four Seasons 

I decided to treat myself and spend the 2 days I had staying at the Four Seasons. I have never before - and will likely never again - experience a more beautiful or luxurious setting. The pictures will never do it justice. The rooms were actually mountainside villas, each with a private plunge pool, large porch and incredible views of the ocean and neighboring islands. Everywhere I looked I saw fresh, brightly colored flowers, gecko lizards and smiling Thai faces. I was greeted at every turn with a "Sa-wat-ee-ka", which means hello in Thai. And the food was absolutely incredible.

The spa rooms were similar...to get to my private spa villa (I can't believe I am even saying that...but it's true), I traversed up and down many many stairs, which took me into a jungle along the side of the mountain with views, once again, overlooking the sea. My treatment involved a Thai massage (where the lady stands over you on the table and proceeds to stretch you here to there and everywhere in between) and then a deep pressure point massage using a handful of muslin local oil/herbs which were gathered into a muslin-covered ball, heated to a high temperature and then rubbed into my sore muscles. Thanks to my friend Stephanie for the recommendation for what was quite simply the BEST. MASSAGE. OF. MY. ENTIRE. LIFETIME. SO. FAR. Another highlight was an early morning yoga session, done on a platform perched atop limestone rocks overlooking the beach with a cool morning sea breeze cooling us off. It was intense (ladies in the class compared the pain in one pose to that of childbirth!!), but amazing and I felt ready to go for the rest of the day.

My personal spa villa

Spa treatment preparations

One evening, we headed into 'town', which is called Bo Phut (and Fisherman's Village) and had traditional Thai cuisine at a restaurant called Starfish & Coffee. The curried lobster was by far my highlight; it was perfect, Delicious food enjoyed under the stars with the salty breeze off the water on a gorgeous Thai night. We topped it off with delicious gelato. Indeed, it was probably the best gelato in Koh Samui. But just maybe.

What I loved most was the peaceful beach setting. The sand was cool and smooth, and the water was warm like bathwater but crystal clear. When I looked out at the next island over, I saw layers and layers of endless blue sea and gorgeous reef. And again, the Thai are so charming. I loved when they would deliver ice water and move the umbrella to give me some "shadow" from the sun. I challenged myself and for the first time tried paddleboarding. Needless to say, I AM ADDICTED. I absolutely loved it; I saw colorful fish, beautiful reef and amazing scenery from atop the board, and couldn't have been happier.

Me on the beach in Koh Samui 

Me & my mad paddleboarding skills

All in all, a wonderfully relaxing time with friendly people, amazing food and utterly gorgeous scenery. In other words....heaven.


Until next time...(Bangkok adventures!)
xoxo