Our last week in Taiping... Tomorrow we head back (temporarily) to KL.

It's always sad to be moving on. And despite my initial misgivings, it's been a really great little place to work and spend time.

Highlights:

1. Always finding something beautiful in the park





















2. Continuing to discover "new" food (as well as enjoy "old" food, of course). This week's big find was the Lian Thong Restaurant, where over the course of a couple of visits we pigged out on "tofu-pops" (minced meat wrapped in beancurd and fried); bom mee (crispy noodles, which gradually and deliciously soften off under their jacket of egg gravy, chicken, shrimp, and vegetables); a very garlicky garlic kuay teow; excellent mee Jawa; a fish and preserved vegetable soup with a distinctive creamy/spicy/sourish broth; and an aromatic drink called lime and honey, which is made from the fruit you see steeping in jars all round the shop (and on the bonnet of the car outside). All absolutely delicious. But we've also been back to Ansari Famous Cendol, where we not only had another sampling of the eponymous cendol (still no pulut...) but also tried their pasembur rojak. It's ages since I've had this, and I'd forgotten how delicious it is. Chopped up crispy fritters, tofu, boiled egg, shredded cucumber, beansprouts, and a spicy sauce. Wonderful.











3. Visiting Antong Coffee Mill, the oldest coffee factory in Malaysia (and Sun Yat Sen hung out for a while in the house next door, which is now the office)













4. Celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary with red wine from Australia, blue cheese from Denmark, and dozens of kind FB messages from many corners of the world

5. Enjoying the "Indian fiesta" in the mall next door (so nice to get warm samosas and pakora as our evening snack)



So, farewell.

We can't leave without another shout-out to Doubletap. Coffee shops that open bright and early are few and far between in Taiping, and so we've kind of worn Doubletap out a bit. It's been a lovely place to get the first bit of the day's work done.







And a special round of applause for all the animals we've encountered over the three weeks. It's been a pleasure, guys. An absolute pleasure.