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caffeinated musings in a steamy climate

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I sat in a cafe fairly close to the jetty drinking some of the strongest coffee of my life— they happened to have the drink I fell in love with in Chiang Mai at a coffeeshop named Carrot-- a very particular drink called “The Dirty”.  As far as I know, it’s 500 shots of espresso with a thick layer of magical heavy cream on the bottom and cocoa powder on top. This version, they served with a cinnamon stick, which I promptly put to the side.   That day, being blisteringly hot, I had an inkling that I wanted to go to an air-conditioned cafe and write, but which one? Castaway, my norm, overlooking the uber-turquoise sea and with better than average nom-noms, but generally giving eating— not fancy coffee--- vibes.  AND THEN, on my stroll, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a photo of my beloved MY “Dirty”  This place is also called Sanae Lipe, and in my neighborhood on Alberta Street in PDX, just a couple of doors down from me is the new-ish Sanae Thai Restaurant, which I ...
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deliciousness found in the Johor Bahru airport

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It was my first time going to the airport in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, even after having been to JB (as the locals call it) multiple times, as I was generally flying in and out of Singapore. Suddenly though, I discovered how much cheaper it was to fly to other Malaysian and Thai cities from JB. My boss said to me, “It’s a very small airport,” to which I nodded. I couldn’t imagine that it would be a large airport, as JB is a fairly small city. In fact, I had no idea that there was an airport there until recent times. Which is why, I was incredibly surprised when I did finally fly out of it, it had pretty amazing food options and shopping. Walking in, there were several Malaysian chain restaurants and kiosks as well as a fancy Japanese coffee chain. I got some coffee, and then bought some tiramisu almonds- SO yum!- at a Beryl's (Malaysian chocolate company) gift shop. I breezed through security, which was pretty easy and friendly. After security, I thought that there wouldn't be as ...
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back in my favorite spot, again- Koh Lipe

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Even though I went to Koh Lipe once this year already, I decided to go back again. It was the high season, though, this time, and I couldn't book the exquisite accomodation I had last time, but these cheap bungalows ($20 a night!) were right on the beach. There were frogs in the bathroom, a few monitor lizards walking around outside, and some nails sticking up from the bamboo on certain parts of the flooring (crocs came in handy for indoor shoes), but really, besides those issues, I couldn't think of a more perfect spot. Not noisy, save for the myriad of birds' songs every morning and throughout the day, and something about the complete lack of commercialism in this particular spot, really accentuated nature's pure and gorgeous self. I would go dip myself in the turquoise waters any time, and it wasn't too far of a walk to get to the North Point's pristine beaches and sandbars. colorful, humble bungalows But, hold up---- there she is, in her electric blue splend...
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Coffee shops and street art in Songkhla Old Town

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Exploring Songkhla Old Town on foot made for some interesting photography opportunities! I had heard that there was a lot of street art as well as local coffee shops, so I set out for a stroll. I feel like someone's watching me. . .  sewing machines anyone? hmmm... maybe I should apply for a job here. I find it interesting that a hair salon is open to the world like this. I would definitely have gone in to this costume shop if it had been open. ! I then wandered into this coffee shop. It was quite popular, spacious and airy. For some reason, they served my Americano with the hot water on the side. I thought it was just something quirky about this cafe, but I soon found that the other coffee shops in town did the same thing  (as seen in the second photo below at Comeback Coffee) another sketchy sketch I found a shop selling these weirdly realistic ice cream bars with animal faces. I wasn't exactly sure what these drinks were. . .  I checked out this coffee shop with a view...
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