Strawberries and Steamboats

You would have thought we'd had our fill of strawberries. Well, we thought so too until the next day, our last in the Cameron Highlands, when we decided to just take it easy and enjoy the lovely cool breezes while strolling around the town of Tanah Rata. And then, we happened upon an entire shop filled with strawberry-themed merchandise... and then another one... and then another one. We finally succumbed when Meg encountered a strawberry beach ball. How could you resist.

After purchasing two of them ("in case one of them breaks and I am distraught", reasoned Meg) and a lurid orange strawberry-themed t-shirt for Mark, we headed for the local park for a spot of light-hearted fun with the inflatable strawberry.

Mark also decided to try and fly his trusty pirate kite, and drew many curious stares from locals as he ran up and down the football pitch trying to get his kite to launch on an uncharacteristically windless day.

All the running around meant we were up for a big dinner, so on a recommendation from a local resident we headed to a Chinese restaurant to sample the regional specialty, the steamboat. Described as 'the Chinese answer to fondue' by the restaurant's menu, the steamboat was an enormous pot of broth bubbling away over a portable gas burner. It was accompanied by the most enormous mound of raw chicken, beef, squid, different types of fish, crab, mushrooms, pak choi, watercress, spring onions, lettuce, sprouts, three types of noodles, and two raw eggs, all of which were to be cooked by us in the broth and eaten with different sauces.

It was very delicious, and the interactive element appealed to Mark's active nature- lots of plunging and timing and scooping to be done. We now regret not asking for a fondue set as a wedding present....