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Friday, January 31, 2014

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

under the sea




the beauty of being on holiday and on a tropical isle was we had absolutely no agenda. we'd sleep in, squeeze in a cheeky breakfast just before the buffet shut then go about the day. there was a water sports centre we could use kit from, and after signing a probably non-binding indemnity form (unfair contract terms act, anyone?) it was just us vs the indian ocean. the sea was calm (phew!) and we'd kayak out to the pontoon, scoot onto the deck and haul the kayak up. the mister would then snorkel around the reef (actually he's his dive licence so it seemed a bit silly to snorkel!) while i tried in vain to create some shade out at sea. we also kayaked to the dhoni, tied our kayak to it then promptly fell asleep on the soft mattresses.

Monday, January 27, 2014

villa






we were really fortunate to spend four glorious days in this villa. it's hands down one of the most beautiful places we've stayed in and i felt we had to tear ourselves away from it if we wanted to get any activities at all done. then, of course, there was FOMO to contend with and for the first half day i kind of went into a frenzy trying to make the most of the various sitting spots (i counted 8!!!) in the villa, and run outside to go kayaking / paddleboarding / snorkeling too. with 8 sitting spots, how do i ration where to place me bum and for how long in each seat??? the strange things we're compelled to do on holiday haha. the mister was laughing at me as i'd move from the settee by the door, to the table, to the hammock, to the other hammock, to the deck chairs on the deck, to the day bed upstairs, to the wooden chairs upstairs, to the window seat, to the bench in the huge bathroom, to the desk chair in the bedroom... it was literally musical chairs! lucky for him, i soon tired and the FOMO wore off and things slowed down to vacay pace. phew :)

Saturday, January 25, 2014

getting around





now this is the sort of morning commute i'd relish! the villas were beautiful and when the tide was out, you could walk for miles in the shallows. it did get a little weird at parts when the sea grass made it look like we were in a field. or padi. loved how the villas were constructed from new zealand and thai (!!!) timber, and had that lovely rustic feel to it. sent photos to MIL and she joked that it looked like a kelong from days gone by. the first photo is of the spa complex, the second of the jetty our villa was off and the third of the next villa. 

one thing i particularly liked about the place is how well the staff are treated. embarrassing as it may sound, we had a butler (!!!) and he gave us a tour of the staff village. basically the island is tiny and there are some facilities on it (restaurant, fresh water pool, tennis court, gym, library, shop, dive centre etc) but all the villas are built off jetties and into the sea bed. the other half of the island is where the staff village is built. 

this may come across as hypocritical but i don't feel good enjoying myself when service staff aren't properly treated. which is why the mister is particular when we book holidays to only support places that take a generous stance on staff welfare. when we were in india, we were aware that most freelance guides are often not paid for their services till a year later. now we can't change the way things work, but we can choose to put our money where our mouths are and book with a agency that has a good track record of prompt payment to the local guides. 

same with the maldives. there are a few hotel groups with a low staff turnover, and we chose the group that most impressed us. and if our butler was to be believed, with an extensive professional development program in place for all staff (english lessons for everyone, regardless of whether they were in visible roles or not!) and good staff facilities (soccer pitch, air-conditioned recreational room, their own beach, their own NYE party etc) we knew the group we stayed with had a winning formula for staff and guest satisfaction. 

Thursday, January 23, 2014

maldives


after an amazing time in the mountains, the mister shook things up by planning a maldivian getaway. oh the mister, so cheeky throw in a beach holiday after a fortnight of swiss cheeses and wines. the maldives is somewhere we've been wanting to go for a while, but just couldn't get the timing right. 

much as we try to keep our travels continental / west-ward, we made an exception this time. just like how we made an exception for india a few months back. the indian ocean is some thing else, and we're conscious of the rising sea levels. to put the maldives off any longer means risking the islands not being there when we finally got round to going. christmas in the alps followed in quick succession by new year's in the maldives. we were bracing ourselves for a busy year ahead (as if we needed to justify the holiday!) and figured we may as well bite the bullet and spend some time in the maldives while we could. 

will be posting on our short time there over the next few days, do check back if you'd like to see :)

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

apres ski


mid-piste bar aside, the outdoor hot tub was something we looked forward to every evening. didn't matter that it was sub-zero outside. the inviting waters were in the low forties/high thirties, depending on who else had been in before us. we'd some of the best conversations in the tub, and i was chuffed to practice my pidgin french with the other guests. what i liked was how considerate and unobtrusive the guests were, with a fair bit of give and take. with tub time a precious commodity, no one really stayed longer than polite, making sure others had a chance to soak in the restoring warmth.


Sunday, January 19, 2014

siviez


when we first got to tracouet, i was admittedly a little miffed that the mister had bought us a ski pass for the four valleys. i mean, with a husband who couldn't ski and an as yet unconquered mountain on your doorstep, i'd my doubts that we'd ever make it beyond 'our' mountain. however, the mister never fails to astound me. and within two days he was parallel skiing like he'd been born on skis. to be fair, he probably knew that penny-pinching wife would grumble about being saddled with a ski pass we failed to maximise. having gone on all the home pistes in double time, and always up for a challenge, we ventured to the next valley for the day. the crazy bus was not for the faint-hearted, and i'd a good time practising the one french phrase i've managed to master i.e. je suis desolee, j'attend mon marie be it at the bar, or bus stop.


siviez was a nice change of scenery and we found a piste that i fell in love with and could ski over and over again. we made it back to tracouet in time to take the last telecabine up, and our time down to the lodge. and who says it's only the early bird who gets the worm? as we descended tracouet one last time, we chanced upon the hang glider gracefully floating down from the peak to the valley. how's that for a swan song?


Friday, January 17, 2014

tracouet

the mister picked us a sweet little ski in / ski out lodge about 4/5 down the mountain. every morning we would emerge from our cosy digs and make our way down this slope to ride the telecabine to the peak.




that's me working on my parallel skiing, and being a big baby by refusing to use poles the first couple of days. look ma, no hands?


and with all good things, they should come to an even better end. we chanced upon the cutest bar next to our 'exit' where we spent a good many hours for apres ski. there's something so calming about reclining in sub-zero weather on adironack chairs with hoegarden in hand, watching the world ski by.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

bistro


initially wondered if we'd enjoy dinner for seven nights in a row at the same place, but were soon won over. in fact, we even opted to dine there the one night dinner wasn't included.

the very talented chef/owner created something new and exciting for dinner each night, and we did not have a single repeat. the quality of the food was amazing. simple ingredients but prepared in a way that really brought the best out of the local produce. the fusion of swedish/swiss food was melded culture at its best. we particularly enjoyed the steak tartare with smoked mayo, and F has a deft touch that ensured the perfect preparation of 'tricky' cuts. we'd turkey breast for christmas dinner that was deliciously moist (we don't usually like the breast meat but this was sublime!) and he cooked a pork collar 'just right' and it too maintained its moisture.

the largely swedish waitstaff are attentive yet unobtrusive, and A (owner) is sommelier supreme with extensive knowledge of local wines. it was such an education for us and we fell in love with the creamy, oaky swiss whites that grow within view of the bistro.

while only dinner was included in our room package, we had lunch at the bistro in between skiing on most days too. the CHF20 lunch menu is excellent value, seeing how it got us a big mix salad and meatloaf / pasta bolognaise. where a plate of substandard pasta at the tracouet cafe (on top of the piste) would set you back CHF18. even if the dinner hadn't been included, CHF60 for a delightful 3 course menu is excellent value given the standard and quality of the dishes.

to risk sounding like complete snobs, we enjoy the odd m*star. what the bistro served was comparable, and dare we say better, than some of the one-star places we've been to. it was hard leaving this treasure trove of culinary delight at the end of our week's stay, and i can only imagine the poor mister's disdain at having to regress to my cooking.

we were told that a 63deg egg is the perfect egg - slow cooked at said temperature for 3h.
it did not disappoint!

Monday, January 13, 2014

kjus

edit: just noticed the previous posts posted without text. whoopsy! 
have gone over them and added my thoughts :)








in true action man fashion, the mister wanted to go skiing over christmas. the only problem being the mister not knowing how to ski, yet. content to be the sleeping partner / free rider in this arrangement, i left all the arrangements to him. little did i know that he'd book us into a ski in / ski out resort. great for me, not so great for someone who was only just learning how to ski. little did i know that after a 3h lesson on day one, and a 1.5h lesson on day two, the mister would've surpassed me (who has been skiing for 20 years...) and successfully parallel ski down the hardest intermediate slopes the resort had to offer. ugh! it's kind of ego trampling hanging out with that boy some times. i mean, i know my sporting ability is lacking but do i really need my husband to rub it in my face? really?

husband humblebrag aside, one of the things we try to do when traveling is to stay local. sounds like a paradox but the mister tends to eschew overtly 'touristy' places. the lodge he found was no different. we were the only non-swiss guests, and as it was a tiny bit off the beaten track (30min walk from the village) we enjoyed the peace and quiet being nestled in the mountain afforded. we stayed at kjus, the loft room, and it was incredibly well-appointed. the space was well-utilised and it even had its own fireplace! the comfortable, luxurious furnishing and clean lines made for a very stylish mountain lodge with gorgeous views of the pistes / valley depending on which way your cabin faces. the nespresso coffee maker and sound system was a nice touch, and the underfloor heating a real treat! it was such a cosy room with the most comfortable bed and bedlinens that we had a hard time tearing ourselves away for a day's skiing.

luzern



chance meetings with kindred spirits is high up on my list of favourite things. over four years ago, i'd the opportunity to be part of an amazing party in hoi ann, vietnam. didn't matter that i'd a "take home" final due the same week. figured i'd "take it to vietnam" and have absolutely no regrets, though it took every ounce of discipline to wake a little early to hammer away at my 5000 word paper before breakfast, and the day's festivities. self-indulgent nostalgia trip aside, it was at this party that i met the effervescent S. i cannot think of a better word to describe her, as she is goodness and light personified. we happened to be seated together during one of the meals, and i like to think we got along like a house on fire. after hoi ann, we kept in sporadic contact over fb, as you do, and she was very kind of invite us to visit if we were ever in switzerland.

fast forward to winter 2013 and the mister and i were indeed switzerland-bound. i was a little sheepish about visiting, because honestly, people don't always mean it when they invite you to stay. but S was so warm we felt most welcome. long story short, our time with S and her lovely family was sheer inspiration. her two teenager  are superstars, and i'd give an arm and a leg to raise babies like that. it's not often that we meet teens from privilege who are as driven and self-motivated as hers. they're unassuming, unaffected, and work part-time jobs on top of their demanding high school curriculum. mature beyond their years, they more than hold their own during table talk and have an amazing relationship with their parents that money cannot buy. while we are still far from having little of our own, S was kind to indulge my deluge of parenting questions. it's scary and exciting at the same time - to see the direct effect of good parenting. ohmymama, the responsibility! 

S was a real sweetheart and showed us around luzern one day, and brought us all the way to engelberg to visit glass and cheese factories (two separate places!) the next. she spoilt us with al fresco fondue (!!!) and we'd the most authentic italian (go figure!) at their local. what meant most to me was how the family was so giving of their precious pre-christmas time, and i felt incredibly lucky to be on the receiving end of such gracious hospitality. 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

mingle jingle

it's somewhat apt that i'm typing this just 15minutes before some friends come round for dinner. hermetic as i like to think i am, it's good to have company on occasion. hosting a christmas jumper party was such fun i think we've to make an annual affair of it. we also had, literally, an hour's sleep before leaving for the airport. guests left by 2, cleaned up and packed till 4, taxi at 5. didn't hurt that our wall clock has been out of commission for the longest time (we've yet to get the hang of this 'living without battery replacing parents' thing!) and every one lost track of the time. funnily enough, of our "top ten" friends who came by, only one had to work the next day so maybe that explains the disregard for time. isn't it nice when you don't eye the clock?

london isn't the friendliest of cities but we're so blessed to have good friends and family close by. the year has brought some new transplants to our neck of the woods, and we're looking forward to seeing more of them :)

logistics-wise, if you're interested, we assembled (popped pizza, quiche, canapes etc in the oven, laid out cheese platter), most things with the help of our earliest-arriving guests. singing for their supper, if you like! i'd laid out all the chairs and tried to coax guests to the living room but seemed like they were all content to cram in the kitchen to hang with the mister and his magic pot of mulled wine. we did eventually make it over for the cracker pull and some serious single malts older than me. and despite my whinging about our resident shutterbug going on strike, he was ever so kind as to oblige.  more photos over on fb!