The day I became older with the butterflies

Birthday’s on the road suck, especially if you are not in the league of people who can willy-nilly perch themselves up on a fancy restaurant or get some exotic once in a life time experience. Or does it?

I had no expectations for that day. The times when I would be giddy with excitement about it for weeks are long gone. Now my age is of so little interest to me that I often forget how old I am and become a mumbling idiot when asked to deliver an answer, trying to count in my head to the correct number.

This year I was surprised after my morning shower with a bounty of food – crackers and blue cheese, Kopiko sucking lollies, salmon sashimi, Choco Babies (an old time favorite delicious Japanese sweet), Calpis (again from my travels in Tokyo), coffee cookies, a whole durian fruit and our new favorite discovery: peanut cakes.

 

Knowing I am not looking for anything more to carry and that I am a self-professed gluten, Mr.Blab made the right choice. A few lovely hand-made cards and presents from the girls and I was already digging into the sashimi.

You love me? Get me lots of sashimi, I love the stuff.

 

The durian? Some say it tastes like dirty socks in sewer water, others travel long distances to get their hands on the best variety during the season, this fruit as one of the most controversial out there. I happen to be a fan of its soft creamy flesh found on the big seeds under the threatening spiky exterior. Despite the smell, which has made the fruit banned on the public transport and various public buildings (which I also like), the fruit itself has a very mild flavor – a mixture of banana and…melon is the best I can do for you at the moment for the description.

When you buy it, the person that sells it would chop a little opening for you to see that the fruit is in good shape. They are not cheap, so its a good practice. I just had to have a bite and ended up picking into the cavity with my chopsticks.

Eating durian fruit with chopsticks – check.

I had to stop myself from continuing and sent Mr.Blab outside to open it up and get the rest of it ready to eat outside. I didnt want to stink up the guesthouse with my gift.

With the most awkward of mixture in my tummy – durian, sashimi, choco babies and wafers(which were given to me by Miss Fab and went lovely with my coffee), we took off to the butterfly farm in Penang, which was too expensive for any other day, but today I could indulge. Right?

It was nothing like what we expected. It was green and rich of colors, plants and yes, butterflies.

 

The pitcher plant section was one of my favorites. There were a few varieties and I enjoyed looking into their deadly liquid and the perfection of their set up – lure them in, drown them and eat their decomposing body.

Plants that are vicious are just so out of the ordinary and thus wonderful.

 

Those leaves hypnotized me.

Our resident celebrity doing his job without complaining.

Sorry, there are more butterflies.

And then some more.

 

The farm has other creatures as well, fish in the pond, turtles and lizards.

Beetles and bugs

And education, gasp!

 

We loved the Butterfly Farm in Penang and all it had to offer. They were going to do a big renovation stint to it shortly, so I dont know if it will be as good as we saw it, hopefully better.

For dinner we were supposed to splurge on some middle eastern dips, as it is what I had been craving, so we set off to the one restaurant we had seen on the main road of Batu Ferringhi. Once we reached our destination it turned out that their selection of dips left a lot to be desired and not willing to spend money in a restaurant and not get what we wanted, we took the way back. And then on the side of the road we found this place:

 

…which had dips to make this birthday girl happy. We ordered hommus, tabouli, tahini and baba ganush, served with freshly puffed Lebanese bread. And this was one of the best tabouli dips I have ever eaten! Hands down.

Looks simple, but this little spread was exactly what my taste buds had been calling for.

Yum, yum…yummm.

Then we walked through the street market to our favorite and affordable food court, where we filled up on fresh juices and wantan soup.

The ending of this day was better than I had hoped for. Cake ordered by Mr.Blab  from who knows where, hidden in the same place; surrounded by our new found friends and their frisky fingers ;)

And there I was – older, definitely wiser, somewhat wrinklier with falling hair and tummy full of just about everything, happy, content and exactly where I wanted to be.

Happy Birthday to me!

Cheers to all the other less perfect, but well used wings out there.