Vagabond Jim

  I have no idea if it's the same one.  Does it matter?  Nope.  Cool all the same. A bit prickly.  I went back to the place with the Crying Tiger and ordered "brisket."  AWFUL.  I have never seen 4" X 4" X 1/8" brisket.  Cooked to the point of shoe leather and doused with black pepper.  Dude could not get the charcoal fired.  It wreaked of butane from his torching it directly.  They did a bait and switch.  When I went to pay, I opened the menu to see the local presentation.  It was covered in tape - the way of saying "not available."  Same in a second menu.  (Ordering was done on the phone menu*.)  I could not eat it.  RM 44TH, ugg.  Wait, that's only $11. They young lady swore they gave me brisket.  That place was good before.  So, they get a time out for 1 month (could have been perma-banned.  There are plenty of places to eat here.  Plenty.  See, prickly. I paid RM 50 fo...

Not feeling poorly, health wise.  Nor in spirit.  But something was blue within me today.  Not sad, not bad, just a bit off. Tin Shack Aunties was not my intended breakfast.  But as I walked, I ended up there.  Never a bad thing. So. Damn. Good. Just Kolo Mee - no wonton left with my 1000 arrival Walked home and saw some signs I thought I'd capture: No Toto, we're not in Los Angeles anymore. The sign I referenced last night. Same location as last night -- high tide.   Cannot see crocs on the bottom easily then/ Couldn't find a croc; found a crotchety old dude dude though. The pool deck has a small garden. I was soaked when I got back so I sat at the pool deck and read until I was a bit drier.  Went upstairs and ...fell asleep on the couch. Low tide is well after sunset tonight so I knew I'd have to get lucky as I would not have as much tidal flat to look at.  But I went because it's 300m always and... a lovely spot. No doubts tonight.  W...

 A photo dump.  Text follows. REALLY low tide. Stumpy Bob, standing proud. The better AWAS! pic I just found.  No doubt in my mind: Croc. Dinner.  Tiger Cries (Thai) Wasn't calm when a bird's eye pepper stuck to the back of my throat.  It was tears. 2 guys unloaded at least 50 bags of rice by hand - 2 full pallets. This tiger was sweating before the tears. Roti canai for breakfast. Lunch, not shown, was at the Syrian Schwarma pop-up.  4th time there.  The food is really good.  Mamoud and his team will head to Bintulu next.  He's a good guy.  The other day I was craving chicken fingers.  I walked into KFC.  I could not do it.  Mamoud was driving by and honked at me.  Stopped for a second and looked quizzically at me.  I explained I just couldn't accept KFC.  He gave me a ride to his place and I had 2 kebabs.  He's beeped at mea couple of times since on busier streets. I have had others I do not recognize...

See that long lump not the right edge, where the water laps at the mud? (mid height, far edge of photo.  NOT the left side foreground.) That's the biggest blowup I can get. Look closely. Start at the left end...Look in the shadows as best you can. Awas! means Caution! or Warning! in Bahasa  I don't seem to have a pic of the sign 20 feet behind me,  The one saying  BAHAYA (Danger!) AWAS  Crocodiles Yeah, that's Bornean Crocodile in that photo. I do not know if dead or alive.  I thought "maybe" so I zoomed in .  And forgot to check in the moment.  WHen I checked it was too dark to get a better pic.  I walked back to see if it had moved and it was too dark to see. But in all the pictures of that spot, that lump does not move.  Could be dead, could be chillin'. 1) I will keep an eye out at the next low tide. 2) I will NOT be swimming in the river.  WOOOWWWWWW!  

Mala is the Chinese word that describes Sichuan food.  It means "spicy" + "tingling/numbing."  The tingle comes from Sichuan peppercorns.  Neither peeper nor a chili, it's a seed,I think citrus family thing.  But, it looks like a peppercorn so... (The real stuff is very hard to get in the USA - once banned.  When I was cooking I bought stuff from https://themalamarket.com/ and I can vouch for their quality and service.  Their vinegar selection is wonderful too.) I never really took the full plunge.  Until tonight.  Not in the form of the traditional Chongking hotpot.  But in a soup.  Mala Tang You pick your own ingredients: noodles, pork belly, bok choy, tofu, daikon, noodles, Napa cabbage, potatoes, broccoli (I'll skip the radish, taters, and Napa next time.)  The stuff hits hard.  I was not asked what spice level - they knew better.  I confirmed later it was MILD.  I wisely got a liter of citrus drink. Sweat b...

Wow, it's been a week since I posted.  What's happened? Not a lot.  Sleeping, eating, trying to avoid the midday heat, and generally acclimatizing to the weather and the culture. It's going well.  Made some 'friends'.  Bobby and his wife run a hawker stall.  They specialize in char kway teow -- wide, flat, very slippery, rice noodles with veggies, egg, prawns, and the family secret brown sauce (every family's sauce is different.)  Good stuff. Auntie Tin Shack continues to shine.  She took control the other day - I normally get Mee Kolo.  I walked in and she said "Wonton Mee."  Which was perfect as it was on my list of Mees to find (Pan Mee remains).  It's ...kolo Mee with pork wontons added.  I had 2 bowls.  RM13 with drink. I've been in the apartment for 11 days now.  Last week I bought 19L of water and I know I bought at least 9L.  28L in 7 days.  4L/day.  That's a gallon in the UK and more than a gallon i...

(Now you know how many holes it takes to fill James Albert's head.) What have I been doing the last few days?  Settling in.  And finding peace in the Mr. Roger's lifestyle. The last few days have been filled with shopping (beyond linens): floor mats for the bathrooms, drink mixes, drinking glasses, proper laundry and dish soaps, toilet paper, paper towels.  Today we added scissors and other little things.  I keep freaking out when I see the totals.  RM150 'feels' like $150 for a moment until you realize you just bought a whole hell of a lot for $40.  RM1500 for 4 sets of sheets (fitted, duvet cover, pillow cases, bolster covers - I might actually buy bolster!)  and 2 wonderful (tencel filled, in part) duvets is actually pretty damn good. The discounts and grocery stores here are wild.  Their organization structures leave me bewildered. Body wash next to dishwasher soap?  Take your local "dollar store" broaden the product lines by a factored o...

Home Slept in my proper room with the king-sized bed.  After buying new linens.  I've spent too much on those by a factor of 2, but... And, somehow the cut of the duvet and cover are not proper.  I checked that they are the same marked size, but it bunches funny.  So what, I'm asleep when it happens.  Tencel material, a big ass A/C unit in the MB (1 of 5: 3 bdr, 2 in the common area; each sized nicely), and quiet mean I've found my resting spot for a while. Woke after 0700 today.  I'm happy with that.  My days will be diurnal; my activities crepuscular.  1000-1500 is very hot.  Especially at street level.  In the Pullman The lounge on the 24th floor was wonderful.  Here the pool on the 5th serves me well.  Open air, great wifi, no direct sun at this time of year, grills if I ever wish to BBQ (clearly labels as Halal and Non-Halal; #respect matters here.)    Breeze is a bit lacking at the moment as I just "looked" for ...