Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009 started off with of course a big greeting to the ones physically closest to me first, and it was something rather different that many Christmas days I would have annually, like eating banana leaf Indian rice for lunch, exchanging presents and having northern Indian dinner again.

The special day started with bike rides for both Josiah and I. Both the couples, us and including Reyhan and Randell swapped partners. Randell took me on a motorbike ride on his chopper while Reyhan took Josiah on a bicycle ride Josiah had rented one earlier the day before. Reyhan was on her way to join her first triathlon this March and we’re all pretty excited for her. As for Josiah, for someone who had been winning lately before the holiday started, he wasn’t going to ruin his form during this holiday by not training at all. *grins*

We rode all the way to Diamond Head.

I could see surfers going into the waters.

How beautiful it was with the sun shining down. Some beach was closed this day because Obama and his family were within the area.

Cyclists and motorbike riders in Hawaii don’t need to wear helmets. The helmets we’re wearing was from our own initiative, how bizarre. Dangerous for people in Hawaii because the law says so. In fact, a few months ago, they had just started fining people who SMS / talk on the phone while driving. In Australia and Malaysia, we had that law many years ago!

Check out this video I made and promise not to laugh at my squeeky voice.

I like the helmet, it’s like a bowl.

Then, we had a quick swim at Kai Mana beach.

And I saw a pretty rainbow~! I jumped like a kid when I saw it. I can’t remember the last time I saw an actual rainbow.

Riding without a helmet and in slippers – this is very dangerous in our country and serves as a warning for all cyclists.

This is the typical view of a motorist. Not used to being on the right side of the road.

Christmas Dinner

It was dinner time and we were set to enjoy some yummy food at a friend’s place.

At the Christmas tree outside our hotel.

The view from the apartment. This is Hawaii.

These are some of the food that were brought in that day.

I prepared some mashed potato. Recipe here:

Mashed Potato with Capsicum  4 boiled potatoes
Spring onions
Oregano seasoning
Half a red capsicum
Half a glass of milk
A dash of parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

 

Boil the potatoes, peel them and then mash them all up while adding all the above ingredients. Yummy! Moist and smooth because of the milk.

Reyhan’s spring rolls.

And potato with celery.

The couple we had so much fun with during the entire trip, it was not made possible without them. They introduced us to adventure, excitement and a true experience of being Hawaiian (like being a local, not foreigner).

Someone made some yummy cake and it’s their family secret, so I couldn’t ask how it was made.

Melts in your mouth!

Some people also had some bread, olives, cheese and ketchup.

The people.

What a great view.

Some fireworks display.

Amazing!

Some card games being played – host is Mike, the one with the jester hat.

We had a wonderful time and then we adjourned to see some street Christmas lights in the city.

How will Christmas 2010 be?

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