Ice-skating in the Netherlands winter 2013/ Schaatsen op naturrijs in 2013

 

The last 2 weeks in the Netherlands have been extremely white! We had few snowfalls which are still visible due to the (almost all the time) minus temperatures outdoor. Of course with all of this cold the ice-skating fever started too and for around now one week one could skate on several frozen lakes and canals. Most of them are maintained and even cleaned by ice-skating clubs...With good skating buddies I had the pleasure to skate on few of the lakes aroudn the Hague (we went to Vogelplas next to Leitschendam, Rottemeren next to Bleiswijk with some windmills and last but not lest Reeuwijk, having 13 connected with eachother lakes)... As you can see from the pictures every day there were different conditions, sometimes ice like mirro with cloudy weather and freezing wind, sometime sblue sky and sunshines, or sky with white clouds and windmills in the background...Enjoy the winterland tour:-)))

 

And below is how a perfect sunny day ice-skating looks like! Reeuwijk on thursday 24.01.20013...

The fantastic Bangkok Seashell Museum

I have been always fascinated by seashells. My first encounter was if I rememeber right aroud the age of 3-4. My grandmother has this huge and shiny cone (almost the size of a kids head) and I simply loved to put it on my ear and "listen to the sea"... Since then every time on the sea coast I could spend hours collecting and watching shells. Thats why when I passed by the 4-year-old Bangkok Seashell Museum I did not need to wonder any minute. The 3-floor-exhibition is simply mindblowing (absolutely fantastic colours and unusual shapes), it is everything else than similar to the European shells. Most of the exponates originate from Thailand, Philippines and other Asian countries. On the last floor there are also some fresh water shells and rain snails in unexpected colours. Definitely worth a visit! 

 

Btw if you ever see one of the beauties above dont even think of touching it, as it might be too dangerous experience. Same as the ones belo if you walk on them while they are hiding in sand...

 
The last picture shows some old and colourful building next to the museum, close to the Silom Road.

Diving at the Boonsong wreck, next to Similan islands

 

It is always simply amazing how much underwater life a sunken ship may attract. The Boonsong wreck, a tin mining boat  sank in a storm in the 1980s. Since evolved into a fully inhabited coral reef habitat..

To be able to imagine the abundance of fishes, have a look at the video too:-)

Bangkok's biggest fresh market: Klong Toey market, part 2

 

... I had to simply bring you one more time to the Klong Toey market :-) It was such an overwhelming experience that I have decided to show you here few more glimpses from the market life...Of course we have seen few stands selling unusual stuff: such as insects (first picture), or jumping tiny shrimps (second shot), or live frogs (few pics down). With our guide from the cooking workshop we have also learned that Thai people use nature for their colouring agents as you can see on the third picture, green liquid colour made from plant leave. Same goes for all of the other flashy colours (mostly used in desserts): as pink, orange, purple, etc...

 
Fish and seafood is a major part from Thai cuisine and everyday life too. At Klong Toey one could find anything from still alive fishes, dried seafood (fishes, squids or shrimps) up to grilled and ready to eat as the grilled carfishes on the top!

 
Our guide gave us to try some fresh Thai peas to try, they were yummy.

And of course we could not stand the temptation and did some shopping, just the basic stuff: fresh fruits (local mangoes& mangosteen), fresh spice (peppers, lemongrass) and a bottle of fresh coconut blossom juice...

Bangkok's biggest fresh market: Klong Toey

 

If you love going to fresh markets and discover the local culture in a cool way then you should definitely not miss the Klong Toey market! This place is huge, its the biggest Bangkok's market for fresh fruits, veggies, spices, fish, meat and cooked food. The market is opened every day starting from 6 am till after midnight. Spicy is an unthinkable part of the Thai cuisine and one may find here peppers in all colours (green, red orange, yellow), the bag in the middle (with the green looking grapes) below shows fresh black pepper.

 
The drink to go are surved in plastic bag and always with a straw.

 
The choice on fresh seadood is huge An interesting way to know if a crab is male or female are the colourd on its belly, as on the pic below the top one is the female one and the one under it: male.

 

The walk might be something narrow as a lot of locals come here and a lot of luggage carriers help the buyers for restaurants&shops, but the visit is really an exciting experience. Next to mountains of fresh local fruits and exotic spices one can see tons of still live fish and seafood and choose from different food stands...We came twice. Once before our cooking workshop and one more time before we left in order to buy some fresh things for home:-)

 

Below one may see the famous mix for Thai soups (like for the "tom yum"), made out of lemongrass (the long stalks), kaffir lime leaves (the green leaves) and the galangal (the root ginger-like pieces).