An early Christmas Present

I can't deny that public transport in Singapore is good and efficient and that the taxis are cheap, but after 8 months of towing my groceries home from the supermarket in a trolley, collecting children from playdates in out of they way locations by taxi and waiting at bus stops, the novelty finally wore off.

To be honest, there were a couple of incidents that speeded the process up, such as accidently running over my toes with a trolley full of food and cutting them quite painfully. However, the final straw was when a wheel fell off the trolley in the supermarket and my shopping bags were far too heavy to carry home. Fortunately, I found the bits on the floor and was able to fix it, but enough was enough.

After some research trying to find out what was a good car (make and age) to buy second hand (pre-owned as it's known here) to minimise our overall losses, we settled on something called a Toyota Vios. It's a medium sized, by UK standards, but small here, saloon (in red). It's wonderful. It's pleasant to drive and takes us where we want to go when we want to go there. It waits whilst I collect the children and brings my groceries home in the boot. Dealers were keen to sell us enormous vehicles - big seems to be best here, when it comes to cars, but I like to fit easily into parking spaces.

The whole research process was an adventure in itself. The system here bares no resemblance to buying a car in the UK, and dealers baffled me with COEs, OMVs, PARFs and depreciation rates. For instance, they would say "so on this car, the depreciation is $3,947.23 per year". I had to question such a precise figure - was that what we would loose in a year? "Ah no, that's the depreciation of from the COE to the PARF, what you loose depends on the market next year..." Eh?? It's all very complicated and I think we only ever partitially understood the whole thing, but went ahead anyway and the freedom is worth it - however much "it" turns out to be.

The downside of all this is that before we've been here a year, we need to convert our driving licences to Singaporean ones and this means sitting a theory exam at a driving school. I really thought we'd finished with driving tests, but the taste of freedom that we've experienced over the last few days will be the incentive to get this done.

When Adam realised we were talking about getting a car, he was devastated, and asked "does that mean we won't go on the train anymore?". We consoled him with assurances that there would still be odd occasions when it was easier/better to go somewhere by public transport.

Before actually collecting the car though, I did do something we'd been promising for a while. I took Adam round the whole circuit of the train line on our side of the island where it runs above ground. When I agreed to do this, I did envisage having a seat for all of the journey and not just the last half though! And then on the LRT (a small, computerised and driverless train). Adam loved sitting right at the front where he could see the points change on the track, but I'm quite glad we've done that and can tick it off the list. We also took a double decker bus from here that runs down Orchard Road (the main shopping street) to see the Christmas lights and managed to get the front seats upstairs.

Using our new car, we went to Junior/Senior school carol concert this week. As Adam was doing a recorder solo, we had to get there early. We had spent hours practising this and I was glad I could still remember how to play a recorder to help. However, the early arrival requirement was useful as parking was limited and we were fortunate to be one of the earlier families to arrive.

It was slightly odd going to a carol concert in a summer dress. With memories of large draughty churches in Britain and everyone dressing up in their warmest clothes to survive a Christmas concert, I asked Adam if the church was a bit cool. He said it wasn't too bad because there were fans. I can safely say it was the hottest Christmas carol concert we've ever been to. It's also the first time we've heard Oh Come All Ye Faithful sung in Japanese and The First Noel in Korean, and all in a church with open, glassless windows at the sides, ceiling fans and a congregation fanning themselves with the programmes to keep cool.

We used it again (the car, not the church) to go to Hannah's school Christmas play. It was lovely, a mixture of scenes to give different perspectives on Christmas. I had given up an afternoon to help make props, so we got seats near the front as a thank you - and then afterwards, instead of hanging around outside the school with a number of other families, waiting for a slightly illusive taxi (it's not the busiest road), we drove home...in our own car....no waiting around with tired children. Yippeee!!

Hannah made us laugh though, when she told me that the Three Wise Men took Gold, Myrrh and Frankenstein to the baby Jesus.

Term here has finished and it's back to Britain for Christmas in a few days and we're really looking forward to seeing people. However, we're nervous about the cold as, apparently, the December temperatures are under our current comfort threshold of 25 degrees. This bit, I can safely say, we are dreading - today is very cold here, only 23 degrees, and we're cold!

Grandma Comes To Town

Just after we returned from Thailand, Grandma (David's mum) came to visit us. She came via a few days in deepest, darkest Borneo and arrived in Singapore having got over the inevitable jetlag. Having been here once before but many years ago and remembering little about it, Singapore came as a very pleasant surprise as she found it more modern, clean and green than she had expected.

The original plan had been for us all to spend the first weekend in Malacca, about 3 hours drive north into Malaysia, as it was a public holiday in Singapore on the Monday. I'd booked the hotel weeks before but when I went to the bus station to book the bus tickets (I couldn't get the website to cooperate), they said they were restructuring their price scale so, could I come back in a few weeks time? When I returned at the appointed time, I was told that all the tickets had been sold out as it was a holiday and many Indian families were returning to Malaysia to spend the weekend with family. Did I know it was a holiday weekend? Yes, that was why we wanted to go! At the time, that was particularly frustrating.

There were other ways to get there, such as getting a taxi to the border and looking for a Malaysian taxi on the other side and then haggling over the price. Certainly, in our former days of backpacking, we wouldn't have batted an eyelid at this. But with David's mum and the children with us, 5 people being too many passengers if we all wanted seatbelts and some comfort (and we did) on a busy holiday weekend, we concluded that wasn't ideal and so we ended up cancelling the hotel reservation.

As it turned out, it was a good thing. She came with us to the childrens’ Saturday morning tennis and dance lessons and then slipped and fell on a wet tiled floor, bruising her foot very badly. Walking round Malacca would have been a non-starter for her, so spending some time recuperating in a nice hotel and at our condo (plus an open top bus trip round parts of Singapore) turned out to be a much easier way to spend the long weekend. (Janet, I hope you don't mind me posting a photo of you all in the pool, but you were all having so much fun!)


With mobility improving, she hit the shops and we did some sightseeing, including the night safari zoo and the bird park on the final weekend. The timing of her visit was such that she was able to attend Hannah's school assembly held for the Indian festival of Deepavali, too.

The assembly was a very colourful event in which all the children in the infant part of the school dressed in Indian clothes and performed a play about the festival along with other songs and short sketches. Hannah is now an expert on Rama and Sita and has been reciting the story as fluidly as if it were Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The requirement to get an Indian outfit at reasonable cost took us to one of Singapore's great institutions - The Mustafa Centre. This is a huge department store in "Little India" run by an Indian man who started with a very small shop that has grown beyond all recognition. It now fills two large buildings over 6 or 7 floors and is open 24 hours. It's also the only place here to buy the full range of Indian cooking condiments and English made Cadburys chocolate (can't image how I know that last bit!), not to be confused with Australian or Malaysian Cadbury’s chocolate which is made to a different recipe and just not the same.

It was David's first visit and he can't wait to go back with a bit more time to spare. It really is quite an extraordinary place, an incredible emporium. Mr Mustafa keeps prices low by putting as much on display as possible (saves warehouse costs) and not worrying too much about beautifying the displays. Everything is piled high and the shelves overflowing into aisles barely wide enough for 2 people to pass. But there's not much you can't get there either. There were so many gorgeous Indian outfits it was a tough decision, but Hannah does look fabulous in the one we finally settled on.

To end Janet’s trip, we had dinner in a lovely restaurant located in the Botanical Gardens and finished with a night time stroll, wandering along the paths with the trees and shrubs subtly lit. It was a fun week and it really brings home how much there is to do here - she was here for 10 days and there are so many things we never got to. Of course, all those shopping possibilities proved something of a distraction too!

Building Business Relations

Mid October brought our half term and as David can't spend all the school holidays exploring Asia he managed to plan a business trip to Bangkok to coincide with our week so we could tag along and be tourists.

The first few days we spent in the north in Chiang Mai, and took several tours to explore the region. This was great fun and I think the highlight for the kids was a ride down a river on a bamboo raft. Gotta love those hats!

Had to add this photo in. We took this from a car on a road near Chiang Mai. We just loved the guys sitting on the motorbike sticking out of the back door of the mini-bus. No wonder the locals think we're weird when we feel uncomfortable about travelling without rear seatbelts!

We left Chiang Mai to head to off Bangkok where David was going to spend the week days seeing clients whilst we were tourists.

At the weekend we visited some of Bangkok's major tourist attractions like the Grand Palace and even the children were impressed with the gold and opulence on show there.

But one of David’s clients got wind of the fact that his family were in Bangkok too and kindly offered to take us out for a day.

Arrangements were made for us to be collected at 9am. This may not sound much, especially as we catch the school bus at 7.55 each morning at home, but getting Adam through a breakfast buffet on the scale of the one offered by the hotel we were in, in less than an hour, is quite an achievement. The lady who was going to take us out arrived early, too.

We met and she said that she was taking us first to an orchid farm. We drove, first through central Bangkok and the driver pointed out sights and she translated. We then drove for another hour or more to the outer edges of the city. Hannah was too short to see out of the windows so was, understandably, bored and kept asking how much longer. Finally we arrived. Surawee (the Thai client) was very proud of the orchid farm and I enjoyed the visit, but it was hard keeping two young children interested. Fortunately, an ice-cream or two helped.

We were then driven for another 40 minutes or so, to arrive at a temple by the river. A near disasater when, as we arrived, Adam felt sick. As we dashed out of the car in search of toilets, I turned my ankle over on an uneven bit of the path, so with me limping and Adam all green, we were directed to some chairs to sit on. 5 minutes sitting down and we were both feeling a little better, fortunately.

We saw parts of the temple and were then taken into the market. Here, with the aid of Surawee acting as translator, we tried and tasted things, then had lunch on a sort of floating platform at the back. The plan had been to take a boat trip to the floating market, but unfortunately there wasn't time to do that before Surawee had to return to Bangkok for an afternoon meeting (and besides, from the information we had, we do not think it was open that morning anyway!). The children were disappointed, but I think we hid it from her, then they were dispatched to the loos before we headed back in the car.

But 15 minutes into the journey, whilst on a highway with nowhere to pull over, Adam said he needed the loo again. He held on for a while longer, but when we got into town and were passing shops he was getting quite desperate and asking if there was anywhere we could stop. There was not. Despite not speaking English, the driver suddenly realised what was going on. He quickly emptied the contents of his water bottle out of the window and passed it to us in the back. Despite having an interest in and an aptitude for science, Adam lay back and aimed into the bottle upwards. Fortunately, I spotted this in time and managed to get him rearranged on the edge of the seat before any spillage occurred.

When done, I put the lid on and planned to dispose of it back at the hotel, but Surawee insisted on taking it and putting it in a bag to take away. I felt this was a duty beyond normal client relations, but she insisted. Finally, we were dropped off by a skytrain station as Adam wanted to travel on the Bangkok Skytrain (a raised metro system which must be the fastest way of getting around). I think that bit was the highlight of Adam’s day. The train, not using a bottle, that is!

Well, we wait to see if Dolphin gets any more business or if our slightly bored children with apparently weak bladders have ruined what used to be a good working relationship. Time will tell!

The Mozzie Man and UN Day

Before we came to Singapore, I had read that to leave pot plants sitting in water was illegal. There is logic for this slightly odd sounding law and it is to avoid providing breeding grounds for mosquitos - especially the Dengue carrying variety which have a strong preference for clean water.



When I mentioned this to David, he said something along the lines of "ridiculous! How would anyone know? I mean - who can see your pot plants 20 floor up?" etc, etc. Until two days ago, I thought he had a point, but then.....



We had just returned from the half term break and with the kids at school, I was just catching up with a few bits and pieces. Then the door bell rang. There on the doorstep is a man with a clipboard and ID badge, claiming to be the "mosquito inspector" and he needed to check our apartment.



Well, there were suitcases everywhere and everything was a tip. I hoped he was averting his eyes as he asked "do you have any house plants?". I showed him the two we have. Fortunately, I'd completely forgotten to water them since returning from holiday and they were so dry that they were probably about to drop dead. This seemed to be how he liked them though and happily ticked his sheet. Next, he checked the kitchen (complete with piles of dirty dishes I was getting round to washing up) and our bathrooms, to check for stagnant water. Finally, he asked to see the aircon shelf. This is a sort of inaccessible balcony style arrangement full of aircon units. He told me it was in good condition (phew) and departed after ticking a few more boxes.

He visited a neighbour here too who told me that in her previous condo, a friend there with a pot plant in water got fined $5000. Wow - so glad I'd forgotten to water ours.

Meanwhile, just before half term (which was last week), the school had it's annual UN Day celebrations. Most international schools celebrate this day in October and it is an opportunity to appreciate the multiple nationalities and cultures in the school.



Each national group dresses up in their national costume, then they do a parade. Each country has some traditional music played, and a few words spoken about their country as they paraded around the school buildings holding their flag. It's something like the Olympic opening ceremony with commentary and only slightly shorter.



Of course, being English, we don't actually have a national costume, so each year the parents come up with a representative theme or two. This year it was summer sports founded in England (cricket, tennis and the odd England football kit crept in), kings and queens (lots of little girls in princess dresses and tiaras) and Alica in Wonderland. Adam, who hates dressing up, wore his tennis kit and Hannah was one of a number of Alices. The English teachers had opted to dress as morris dancers. It was an idea suggested at the parents meeting for the kids, but nobody took it seriously at the time!

Some of the costumes were fabulous and colourful. The biggest group was the English, but only just, as the Koreans in their wonderfully colourful national dress numbered almost as many. Overall, there were 45 nationalities represented. Most had a national costume although the South Africans dressed as animals with amazing masks and the the lion costume from last years "Wizzard of Oz" got another outing. The Scots wore their kilts and someone even played the bagpipes. Many nationalities were represented by only one family, but everyone had their moment.

I felt a little sorry for anyone who's national dress was desgined for a somewhat cooler climate. Fortunately, there were no Eskimos, but Hannah's friend from Estonia, the Welsh girls and a few others must have been BOILING.



After the parade, parents had decorated the classrooms with posters and artifacts from their country and provided samples of traditional food. The English had gone for cupcakes. Apparently in previous years, they'd done English high tea with cucumber and salmon sandwiches, but the cakes were always the most popular by far, so this year, we just went for the popular vote. The children all had their Dover Court "passport" which was stamped in every classroom they visited and is a momento of the day.

The many children of mixed nationalities could choose what to be. In our English group was a Portuguese lady. She had insisted her children were English this year as being the only Portuguese mum had been hard work last year decorating the Portuguese classroom.

This was followed by a concert where each year group/class sang songs including some in Mandarin, Italian and French. A Korean group did a traditional masked dance, an Indian girl did a wonderful Indian dance on her own, then rushed off stage too shy to take a bow. The Aussies did a rendition of Australian childrens songs and the Malaysians did a fashion show of Malaysian dress styles. All in all a wonderful event, but without enough room for chairs for parents as the the whole school was also in the hall, it was one that ended with parental numb bums. Boy, that floor is hard! But never mind - Adam and Hannah both said it was the best day they have ever had at school.

Missing Teeth, Lanterns and Lightening

Well, after several weeks of progressively imcreasing wobbliness, Hannah's first tooth finally fell out. The Singaporean tooth fairy was suitably generous for a first tooth and Adam surprised us the following morning with monetary awareness by trying to work out if $3 was worth more or less than the 2 Euros he got for his first tooth (it fell out in Greece, so the Greek toothfairy paid in Euros, naturally). Fortunately, the value was similar enough that he was suitably pacified.

This was quickly followed a few days later by the second one, so now both bottom middle teeth are missing and the new ones are already on their way up.

Last Saturday night we headed off (slightly toothlessly in Hannah's case) to the Chinese Gardens to see the annual lantern display. We thought this would be a half hour walk around the gardens just after dark then back home, but it turned out to be a bigger event than we'd realised.

Not only were there numerous huge lantern displays, some traditional lifesize scenes, others more closely based around the Hello Kitty characters (being the sponsor for the event), but there were jugglers, acrobats and a gymnastic lady whose joints had no sense of decency about when to stop bending. The children were fascinated seeing it all so close, especially Hannah. There was Chinese Opera (another of those tastes I feel we're unlikely to acquire), Chinese dragons, a short firework display and a small fun fair.

The highlight for the children was the fun fair, where they climbed inside a huge clear plastic ball like a giant beach ball which was then zipped up and pumped full of air before being pushed onto an enormous padding pool with lots of others. By throwing themselves around inside, they manouvered it around the pool bumping into others and generally having a fantastic time. It was certainly an usual but popular form of entertainment.

And the lightening? Well, this morning we were woken early by heavy rain and rumbling thunder. As we got up, the rain got heavier still and, unusually, the monsoon drains flooded across the road as we found ourselves right in the heart of the thunderstorm.

Amazingly, in the space of about 5 minutes, we actually saw two buildings within 150m of us get struck by lighting. Seeing the forked lightening so close and the sparks flying off the lightening conductors was really quite exciting, but did nothing for our enthusiasm to go out in it to catch the school bus. Fortunately, the worst lightening was over 15 minutes later when it was time to leave.

Later, the rain slowed down, the flooding disappeared as if by magic and within half an hour of the rain stopping, the sun was out and the place drying up as if it had never happened. Unfortunately, we didn't quite catch a photo of the lightening.

The Mid Autumn Festival

With the ghosts all now safely back in heaven and hell and the children back at school, we're into the Mid Autumn Festival. To celebrate all the above, I took a tour around China Town to learn about the area and festivals just finishing/starting.

Our guide was Geraldene, who is quite simply the best tour guide in Singapore and she is a walking encyclopedia.

This was my second tour with her, the last being tour of Black and White colonial houses on which we got to go inside 4 houses, plus we received a constant and often entertaining stream of every kind of information along the way. Meanwhile my friend, Pippa, and I, muttered about the furniture and mosquitos etc (it helped us cope with the fact that we were never going to live in one these beautiful places).

This time, we walked all over China Town, learning the history of the area, people, architecture and the culture. We learned that in Chinese culture, on death everyone goes to hell. Here, you go to a court where your earthly crimes and sins are listed for you and a fine given out. On payment, you get to go to heaven. To ensure that their deceased relatives can pay their fines, the locals burn special paper money (Hell Money) and in case they're already in heaven, they also burn Heaven Money to ensure they can live comfortably until reincarnated later on.

We visited a range of shops, chinese pharmacies (more sea slugs, but dead this time), pawn shops etc, and also learned about the mid autumn festival. There is an ancient story of course, but it is celebrated when the moon seems to be at its largest, so all things round and moonlike are popular. Mooncakes are made and consumed and despite being of numerous flavours (lotus paste, red bean paste etc), they're an acquired taste that we haven't yet acquired and, I suspect, never will.

Our condo management held a Mid Autumn Festival Party, so, we went along. We didn't eat first as we saw them laying out lots of food. There were various competitions for the children, including a national dress competition. As us Brits are a bit short of a national dress we only observed. Having a large number of Japanese here, the place was a sea of gorgeous little girls in kimonos. (Hannah says that next year she is going to change nationality to become Spanish and wear her Flamenco dress).

After some very good displays of Japanese dancing by both children and adults, it was onto the "pomelo peeling competition" - a team event for children. For anyone who isn't familiar with the pomelo, it is a large citrus fruit fairly similar to a grapefruit but about twice the size. The skin is really thick, as is the pith and skin of each segment, but if you can be bothered to get at what is inside, they are very tasty.



The pomelo skins were slit by a knife to give the groups of kids a place to start, then the rules were that they had to peel them (removing as much pith etc as possible) and arrange them on the plate, within a time of 5 minutes. As frantic peeling took began, we checked out the food. It was pomelo - nice, but not filling, cold potatoes and, yes, mooncake. We really should have eaten first!



Judging followed and marks were awarded for peeling skills, beautifully arranged segments and extra marks for having a clean table. Then, following the judging of the latern making competition and just before the lantern parade (which nobody saw because they went round the outside of the condo grounds) it was the grand finale. Now there are some things that have to be seen to be fully appreciated, and this was definitely one. It was billed and the floating of the laterns across the pool.



In the event, an elderly man got into the pool and assumed a floating position. He was then handed a stick with two lighted lanterns on it. He then proceeded, with this free hand, to propel himself feet first around our end of the pool. I have included a photo because a description can never do a sight like that justice.



At least this provided an explanation, as, over the course of the previous two weeks, we'd all seen him floating around the pool, totally straight and rigid, just one hand propelling him along feet first carrying an empty stick. Finally we understood the reason for this new and unusual swimming style.

Pulau Rawa and back to school

Following the shoe shopping debacle, just before school began, we headed off for a final short break.

We booked 3 nights on a Malaysian Island called Palau Rawa - a tiny, idyllic place with just the one resort, rain forest in the middle, rocky ciffs on one side and a talcum powder, white sand beach along the other.

We travelled by mini bus, organised by the resort, across Singapore and over the checkpoint and bridge to Malaysia. We were then driven for a couple of hours up to the small port of Mersing, from where we took a 20 minute boat ride to Rawa. Our driver on the way up spoke excellent English and appointed himself as our guide. What we now don't know about palm oil, rubber plantations and the historical buildings and places of interest between the Singapore border and Mersing probably isn't worth knowing. After a 20 minute boat trip from the mainland, we finally arrived in time for lunch.

Some time ago, we had bought the children snorkels and masks and they had been very happy practicing in the swimming pool. On our first afternoon, we just had a little go around the front of the reef (just off the beach). Hannah got water in her mask and refused to clear it the way she has been shown, so swam back to the beach. She refused to join in, so wouldn't look at fish and didn't get to see anything, meanwhile Adam had terrific time. However, we were later told that some small dark fish were very territorial and would try and chase us away and could nip.

Day two and with the children wearing life jackets, Hannah decided she could clear her mask after all, so as not to miss the excitement and headed out over the reef. Adam, meanwhile, was having a major wobble about the prospect of being nipped by a territorial fish. The fish in question all lived along the front of the reef, so we had to swim past them to get out to see the other coral and fish. As the tide went out and we got closer to the reef and fish, we became increasingly aware of the threat as they confronted us menacingly (albeit that they were no more than 4 inches long) only inches from our masks.

It took a while, but finally both children were snorkelling confidently and happily and a great time was had by all. They were so excited we could hear them shrieking and talking into their snorkels when they saw something new. With lots of coral and about 25 or so species of fish, they felt as if they were swimming in an aquarium.

When the tide went right out, the top of the reef was exposed. It made a very impressive rock pool when wading around the beach front - if you didn't mind wading with the crabs and foot long sea slugs. Personally, I preferred to stay on the beach and observe the sea life from above when the tide was in.

Our little chalet was basic but clean and comfortable ane was on stilts, hanging out over the rocks and sea. From the veranda, we watched a huge shoal of thousands of tiny fish that lived underneath. We also saw their numbers start to diminish slightly, courtesy of the local cormorant.

After 3 days of snorkelling, sand castles, a few games of table tennis and paddling round the island in a canoe, it was time to head home. This in itself was quite an adventure. The little bits of rain we had experienced whilst on Rawa were a full blown monsoon on the mainland, causing burst river banks and flooded roads. Some highly creative driving by our driver down the outsides of traffic jams speeded up our progress though.

Term time is now whizzing by - and Adam and Hannah have both settled into their new classes with their new teachers. Hannah is thrilled that she can now do ECAs (extra-curricular activities) and is doing football (long story, she wanted gymnastics) and Scottish dancing, while Adam has joined the choir and is doing basket ball.

After 8 weeks off and with lots more homework this year, they're feeling pretty tired already. I have to say, we're feeling it too, being back to those 6.45am starts. It's most uncivilised!

Childrens' shoes

As the last week of the holidays started, we began going through lists of items and finding things for school - pencil cases, rulers, books etc and sharpening a mountain of pencils. With everything found and labelling completed, this only left the task of ...... buying new school shoes.

Simple, you would think, but not so. In the UK, we'd go to Clarks. We'd wait our turn, have feet measured (length and width) and be presented with a range of suitably sized shoes intended for the purpose we required - school, sports, sandals, etc. The assistant would take over the trying on session, advising on fit and suitability and we'd depart with new, correctly fitting shoes, albeit our wallets somewhat lighter.

Here, I greet the prospect of shopping for childrens' shoes wtih great trepidation.

We go to a shoe shop and browse the childrens ranges. An assistant comes up and asks what size we'd like. This is where the problems begin. For a start, there a numerous scales here - UK, European, centimetres... and, I'm sure, others. Hannah has just outgrown three pairs. One a size 8½, one a size 24 and the other a 15. If I don't know the size, the assistant starts to wander off, disinterested, so frantically, to get their attention back, I guess wildly at what I think they may be wearing in UK sizes - "umm, well, I think around a size 9, in UK sizes, but I don't know what that is in these......" I finish lamely, waving around a size 37 or 14 or something.

"Can we measure them please?" I suggest.

At this point, the assistant usually looks at me as if I'm from outerspace "we don't have a measure".

Having narrowed it down to a vague size range by discussion, we start trying things on. I have two children with narrow feet. Here, all shoes come in one width - wide. So even if they fit one way, they rarely fit the other.

So, nothing fits and at this point Hannah "Imelda" Landau will have fallen for a totally unsuitable pair - cue tears, because there is no way they will ever fit and she simply can't have too many shoes in her wardrobe. Meanwhile, the assistant thinks I'm completely paranoid when I start feeling for toes and saying pairs are too big/small/wide etc.

I did, finally, start to track down a very small number of shops that stock some Clarks shoes. Their stock is random and very imcomplete but one actually has a measure, albeit with limited undestanding about the width - but it's a start! More frustrating, if we get the size sorted but there is nothing that fits in stock, the other shops I've found are scattered far and wide in different parts of the island.

I'm given advice by the assistant such as "try Tanglin Mall". I say, "no, I went there two months ago and there are no Clarks shoes now. The shop has closed. I found some in Robinsons."
"No, won't find in Robinsons. No childrens' shoes there. Go Tanglin Mall" But two months ago, I bought some there....so where to try next?

So, after just two days of travelling around, trying on and shopping, and we had finally bought enough shoes for Hannah and Adam to start school in, do PE etc. What's more - they fit, in both directions, and seem to be comfortable!!!

Best of all, whilst looking for some school stationary, we found a small shoe shop tucked away in a large shopping centre that only stocks Clarks shoes and has a measure. Of course, we'd managed to buy almost everything by then -but it will be there for next time. However, as September approaches, with Clarks being a UK outlet, they are getting a nice range of winter stock in. But right now, if it fits properly and takes less than 2 days to track it down - do I care if it's a snow boot?

Hannah is 6 (and the ghosts are hungry)

Just after our arrival back from Bali, it was the beginning of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. This, according to Taoists, is the month when the gates of hell are opened and the spirits roam the earth. Having not done this for a year, they are hungry and bored. Incense sticks and offerings of food are placed all over the place and during the evenings we frequently hear music meant to entertain them.

Hannah was most concerned the other day when she saw some birds eating cakes left for the ghosts. She also wanted to know what a hungry ghost looks like. Like any other ghost, but rubbing its tummy? I suggested. Oh, it's good to experience another culture!

The week before last, the children attended a tennis camp each morning. This was at a location I had heard of, but had never been to, called Turf City. It is the most odd shopping centre, more like a market, and the whole thing is in the grandstand of an old, disused race course. It is, however, a great place for kids' activities. Along with the small tennis school, there is a covered football pitch, a judo centre, two childrens' gymnastics centres and a childrens' art centre. There is also a dance school called Swingapore. I mention this in case anyone from our early Ceroc days remembers a little Singaporean girl called Sing, who was the most phenomenal dancer. Swingapore is her enterprise and now does all kinds of dance classes for chldren and adults alike.

The tennis was a huge success. Both loved it and they have great coaches there. Hannah's coach for 3 days was gorgeous Swedish blond with an awesome figure. It would be so easy to dislike her if she weren't a good coach and such a friendly person. David is considering taking up lessons again....I can't imagine why.

We are now booked in for Saturday mornings next term. As Adam's class is longer than Hannah's, Hannah is also now booked in to a Hip Hop dance class at Swingapore. Hannah really wanted to do ballet (only because she wanted to wear the pink ballet shoes) but the class times don't work for us. She was so disappointed when she learned that for hip hop they wear trainers, a green T-shirt and black leggings and went off the whole idea.

However, when we asked for a description of Hip Hop (my attempt at an impression at home hadn't quite hit the spot), it was described as "like High School Musical dancing". At this point, not wishing to loose face, she said "OK. I'll do it .... if I must".

The idea was made even more appealing when we made a family outing last weekend to see "High School Musical on Ice". It was a great show and there, with us, was practically every other little girl in Singapore.

Last weekend, after staying up to watch the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday it was Singapore's National Day on Saturday. It was unfortunate timing for their show and parade - the Olympics were a tough act to follow!

This last week, a whirl of playdates and a visit to the zoo culminated in Hannah's birthday on Friday. We went to an indoor play centre (at Turf City) which is really good. It may seem odd here, but there are times when it's nice to be cooler! We went with one of Hannah's school friends and a great time was had by all.

On Saturday, Hannah had her party which was a bowling party, followed by lunch. 6 school friends and 2 new friends from her tennis group came along and displayed a range of interesting techniques, pushing or throwing (if only) the balls, often missing their toes by inches. The lucky ones managed to get the ball to the other end AND with sufficient momentum (just) to knock a skittle down. They all seemed to have fun. Lots of lovely presents, then a visit to the bird park on Sunday (dodging the rain storms) concluded a very busy fortnight.

This week (before we take our last short summer break) we are out getting the bits we need for next term, which starts next Tuesday.

Tomorrow we have be out before 10am. Why? Because we've just received a letter from the condo management telling us the power will be off from 10am til 1pm. This means, as they point out, that the lifts won't work, so we'll "need to use the stairs instead". WE LIVE ON THE 25TH FLOOR!!!! Well there's an incentive to get up and out tomorrow morning, if ever there was one!

Adam's Birthday - and what David has in common with David Beckham!!!

Well, 4 days after getting home from Borneo (that is 4 days of unpacking, laundry, play-dates and re-packing, with David at the office about 14 hours a day), we got up at the totally uncivilized time of 4am to head off to the airport again. This time, to Bali.

This was to be our main summer holiday - we've got 8 long weeks of it and a whole continent to explore - and after hours of research and bookings, we arranged 3 nights at a small hotel near(ish) to Ubud in the hills followed a week in a private, staffed villa near the sea.

The hotel, which was recommended by friends, was surrounded by palm trees and padi fields, with fabulous views and was stunning in all respects, with the exception of the food. Breakfast was OK, but after that it went dramatically downhill. The hotel was in a quiet village in the "real" Bali so unfortunately, we were captive as there were no other food options.

They provided a twice daily shuttle bus to Ubud which we took each day to go sightseeing, have lunch and shop and the late afternoons were spent back at the pool. In the evening, we used the spa concluded that masseuse there must be the lady with the strongest fingers in the whole of Bali. Ouch. But she was good!

On the final day we did find another restaurant locally where we had a lovely dinner and at a fraction of the price– if only we have known earlier.

Ketut, the driver from our villa, collected us from the hotel and proudly announced that he spoke "a little English". A little turned out to be correct. As we drove off, David couldn't strap Hannah in as the seat belt was broken.

"Ask him for a screw driver so I can free it up" said David.
I felt this request was a little optimistic and this view was quickly confirmed when the reply came "We go to Denpassar then to Canggu" - our route.

After some attempts at explanations and sign language that would have won no points in a game of charades, he pulled over and tied a sort of granny knot in the belt, saying “no problem”, but then did continue to drive to the villa at a snail’s pace.

The villa was vast and our Master bedroom and en-suite alone could easily have swallowed our entire apartment in Singapore. Both Adam and Hannah each had their own en-suite king size doubles and complained that they got lost in the beds as they were too big.

Ketut was our driver for the rest of the week and his bold claim to speak a little English (which we estimated at perhaps a couple of hundred words or so) soon turned into an apology for not being a good guide. The language barrier resulted in us taking 3 hours to get to an Elephant Park. He insisted it was at the Marine Park and we must have been only minutes from the Marine Park entrance before the penny finally dropped and we then took a sharp left turn to cover the same distance again but in an entirely different direction.



It was the Elephant Park that provided David's new claim to fame and name dropping opportunity. We took elephant rides into the jungle while the mahouts (elephant handlers) chatted as much as their English allowed, pointing out plants and giant spiders etc. It transpired that the elephant that David and Hannah rode (called Arume) was the very same elephant that David Beckham, Victoria and Brooklyn rode on their visit to Bali. Now how many people can claim to have ridden the same elephant as the Beckhams? (And how many elephants can claim to have had 2 Davids on their backs?)

Remarkably, after our epic journey to the elephant park, it then took only 1½ hours to get back.

During our time at the villa it was Adam's birthday - he is now 9.

He chose our day out which comprised a traditional Balinese dancing show, followed by visits to see silversmiths, woodcarvers and weavers in action. Then off to a volcano for lunch. The old caldera was enormous and a road runs round some of it. We had lunch in a restaurant perched on the edge with fantastic views (another buffet, so Adam was able to eat until he was suitably stuffed). Inside the enormous crater was a lake and a smaller cone of a volcano that last erupted 14 years ago and much of the hillside is still black from the lava. On our return, we visited a coffee and spice plantation and another temple, then back for a birthday dinner.

The staff bought a lovely cake and even got him a card.


We saw quite a bit of Bali, including various temples and stunning, coal black beaches and also succeeded in filling an extra suitcase with shopping. On this last point, our driver proved very helpful indeed, teaching us the Indonesian for “I have no money” (an unlikely state of affairs to the local’s ears) and "I'm not going to buy", the latter proving very useful when badgered by the numerous hawkers as it actually worked!

Bali was beautiful, but - er, well, a bit chilly. We didn't take enough (for enough, read “any”) warm clothes, because we thought it would be hot, like Singapore. It is not far away, after all and is only a little south of the equator, but it was probably in the low 20s. For us, now fairly acclimatised to 30 plus, we found it too cool to eat outside most evenings. But, for a week, we didn't cook or wash-up and that was a treat.

Now we're back in Singapore, some of the relaxation benefits having been lost due to our midnight flight being delayed to 2am so that we finally got to bed at 5am. But we're back to the heat and I've finally caught up with 10 days worth of laundry (does it ever stop?).

We're now half way through our 8 weeks school holiday and next week , the are children doing a tennis coaching course, so we'll see what adventures that brings.

Deepest Darkest Borneo

Well, we have just returned from a long weekend in Deepest, Darkest Borneo. Actually, most of what we saw wasn't too dark, but we felt very quickly deep when walking in the rain forests.

The nearest corner to here is Kuching in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and it's only just over an hours' flight. We left early last Thursday morning and by the afternoon, covered in several gallons of insect repellent, we were off on a tour (just us, as it turned out) with a guide, to the nearby Orangutan sanctuary for the afternoon feeding session. We were lucky enough to see a couple of the orange guys, as they live wild there and don't always feel the need to show up for breakfast or tea.

We followed this by a drive to the foothills of the mountains "backbone of Borneo" that separate Malaysia from Indonesia. The scenery was spectacular with miles of dense, tropical, virgin, rain forest climbing over the mountains and we eventually arrived at a "long house" community - basically a series of adjoining wooden huts where, as the family expands, they simply add another unit to the end, forming ...well... a long house. We took a tour round and were introduced to a skull in the "trophy room" while learning that the people used to be head hunters. It was pretty old and we were glad to learn that they were apparently talked out of this activity about 130 years ago. Phew!

Friday saw us take trip to a nearby national park (there are so many there) and we trekked up a small mountain to a waterfall. We were again covered in tons of repellent and for once, it wasn't Adam, Hannah or I that were attacked by the smaller wildlife elements. In the damp rain forest environment it was David who was attacked, this time, by leeches. He found at least 4 while the rest of didn't get any. One actually got inside his shoe and had a marvellous feast there without him being aware until he got back to the hotel and removed his shoe to find a very red sock! All very messy. I can't say just how relieved I am that he was the one they found so tasty.

Saturday saw a different park and this time we had to take a boat trip to get there as there are no roads in. Quite exciting whizzing along in a small boat. The scenery was, again, fantastic. This time we saw macaques (a type of monkey), a bearded wild pig and a poisonous pit viper to add to the list of giant ants (more than one inch long), butterflies and enormous millipedes (4 or 5 inches) etc. of the day before. The boatman said he would pick us up from the beach for our return trip rather than the jetty. This all made far more sense when we returned from a 4km trek involving scrambling up rocks and over matted tree roots up the steep sides of another small mountain. The tide was out and we now needed to walk across acres of beach to get to the sea, then wade in (amongst the crabs and a huge starfish) to find our boat. And yes - even in the jungle, Hannah still wears pink!

We had a worrying moment as on our return, crossing the raised boardwalks over the mangrove swamps, we ran into a group of very aggressive macaques guarding a bridge that we needed to cross. Unfortunately for Adam, he happened to be in front. As he went to go up the steps onto the bridge, a large growl was followed by a face between the steps with bared teeth and hideous hissing. He (Adam) backed off pretty fast and it was quite some minutes before the group finally dispersed into the trees and let us pass. By this time, there was a group of 10 or so returning trekkers, so maybe they felt out numbered. We know how the billy goats Gruff felt.

We returned by boat and then public bus. This was a local bus, air conditioning provided by leaving the door open, and it reminded us of our back packing trips BC (Before Children). It was so strange, a step back in time, but with Adam and Hannah sitting there. We'd never imagined doing something like that until they were a few years older.

The state capital, Kuching, is a very nice town and we spent our final day exploring, visiting the museum, Sunday market, local park and strolling by the riverside. We stayed in the "best hotel in town" (we are talking Borneo here, remember) and got a great deal by booking a suite with two extra beds. This was far more economical than two standard rooms, and we benefitted from use of the "executive lounge" including free canapes and drinks in the evening. Some nights, we didn't even need dinner later!

The staff were fantastic. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who finds themselves going there, and the buffet breakfasts? Well, all I can say is that I didn't know Adam could consume quite so much food in one sitting. We did a buffet dinner once too and Adam ate so much they'll probably be reviewing their buffet policy as a consequence.

Back home for a few days, then off for our next adventure in South East Asia - got to make the most of school holidays whilst we're here!

First Term Over

Wow - where did the time go? I can't believe that we're now on summer holidays and Wimbledon is in the second week.

During the first three weeks here, everything was new and there was so much to do along with doing some fun things with Adam and Hannah before they started school.

When term began, the 10 weeks stretching ahead felt like a very long time and I had so many plans. Getting our apartment organised and buying many bits and pieces that we still needed, doing some sight seeing, planning our holidays in the region, joining an expat group that do social tennis, coffee mornings, evenings out and tours etc. There seemed plenty of time. And here we are, almost at the end of the first week of the school holidays (7 more weeks to go).

Well, I've made a start on the things I wanted to do and have achieved some to some degree or other, but we really can't believe we've been here 3 months already. It's flying by at a scarey pace and there are so many things we haven't even started to do yet.

By the end of term both children were pretty tired. With the small class sizes, the amount of work in the school books that they brought home, suggests that they've really covered quite a bit this term. They both got good end of year reports and have clearly settled in and coped with the work well. In addition to the school production, performance assemblies, extra curricular activies etc that have been on going, the last week term was rounded off with the sports days.

Hannah's began well enough and they did running races and a selection of activities, showing off the different skills they'd been learning - gymnastics, ball skills etc. Unfortunately, about half an hour in, the sky had turned black and the wind suddenly picked up. We've now been here long enough to know that that means rain. Heavy rain. Everyone dashed into the canteen where the snacks we'd bought to eat after the sports day were consumed early. The children then had to return to their classrooms, as by this time the tropical downpour was in full flow.

The following day, for Adam's sports day, the weather was hot and sunny and most parents were glad to be watching from the shaded stands. They did some ball skills/obstacle race type of activities, but also did running races, long jump and high jump. Adam was thrilled. After watching the Olympics almost 4 years ago, he has spent many hours in Clarence Park in St Albans practising long jump into the sandpit. He was very happy to be doing it for real in a proper long jump pit and all those hours of practising paid off too, as he did one of the best jumps in his class. (Photo is Adam's 50m race, he is on the far right).

Despite many school friends having trips back to their home countries we are managed to get lots of outings and play dates in. A week of tennis coaching each morning is booked for one week in August, along with some holiday breaks for us. So far, this week has been a whirl of activity - a trip to the zoo with school friends yesterday, different school friends over today, swimming lessons, the weekly tennis lesson, a birthday party....I shall be shattered by the time they return to school!

At the zoo, Hannah had her first ever pony ride - double click on the photo to get a close up of the smile on her face!

David has been particularly busy just lately as his office move finally took place a couple of weeks ago. There are still the last bits of finishing off to do, but the new space looks great and works very well. I visited one day last week to admire the paint colour I chose for them and join them for a celebration lunch - there was a great range of takeaways chosen by the staff from one of the many local hawker centres. Quite a feast and neither of us needed dinner that evening.

Flying High and the Wizard of Oz

Since we have arrived here, Hannah's confidence seems to have grown and she often seems less shy. Some of this is probably down to dealing with so many new people and situations successfully - maybe some of it from school, but either way, she is becoming braver about new things each day.

This was demonstrated last Friday when she was invited to a birthday party at a beach at Sentosa Island. It was a Trapeze Party. At this particular beach is a full scale trapeze swing and (fully harnessed and supported) people can have a go. Hannah was so excited and all ready to start swinging. I thought I'd believe it when I saw it.

First, all the children practised hanging upsidedown from their legs on a raised bar, supported by one of the staff. Hannah did this with no hesitation, then put on the large safety harness belt ready for the trapeze session. She looked at the vertical ladder that had to be climbed up to the platform which must have around 25 feet up, then looked at the swing, suspended high above a safety net.

I wasn't too surprised to hear "mummy, I don't want to do it". I told her to go to the man in charge to ask him to take the belt off and, expecting to hear "will you come with me please?", and was suprised that she went off and asked alone.

The birthday boy went first. Up the ladder, a rope clipped to him that meant if he slipped he couldn't fall more than a few inches. Part way up the ladder, at the safety net, he had to go around the outside so he climbed the last part on the otherside of the ladder above the net. From the top, he was helped to the platform, where a different harness was clipped on. He then grabbed the trapeze and off he went, swinging from it. After a few swings, he was told to let go and run. Whilst running like mad in the air, he was lowered slowly to the net where he could then slide down a pole to the ground (with help) rather like a fireman.

Hannah watched a few of these, then said she did want a go. I sent her back to the man in charge, expecting my presence to be required, but again, she went off alone and said she did want a go. I saw the man say, "are you absolutely sure?" and she said yes. The belt was put on and she joined the queue. As her turn came closer, I reminded her that she couldn't fall for her to reply "yes, I know, mummy", clearly unimpressed with my powers of observation.

Well, her turn came. She skipped up the ladder, round the outside and on to the top like a little monkey. She got to the top and off she went. Video clip attached! (Hope it works).

Here's the photo of her face straight after - she couldn't wait to have a second go. She wants to go back and do it again for Daddy to see now!

Whilst Hannah was honing her circus skills, Adam was in the first night of the school's big annual musical, The Wizard of Oz, along with the rest of the junior and senior parts of the school. They had been rehearsing all term.

They did two performances, 2½ hours long. I have to thank the parent who attended of Friday and warned us to take a cushion to sit on - that was a great tip.

Adam was a munchkin and performed beautifully. The production was on a huge scale for a school production, with fantastic scenery, costumes and music and we have to commend the leading characters, because Dorothy and her friends were hardly ever off the stage. Their parts were huge and the whole thing went very well.

Adam was on an exhausted high after each performance but has thoroughly enjoyed being involved. The school managed to make sure everyone did something, a few chose to be back stage, but everyone was included which was great to see. We wait to see what musical they will choose next year - maybe Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, complete with flying car?

Bad Hair Days - they are hoovering my husband !!

Everyday here is a bad hair day - the humidity sees to that very effectively. Fortunately, I brought a selection of hair-slides, which are necessary here to gain a semblance of control over the toilet brush that I seem to have on my head these days. However, soon after arrival, we all needed our hair cutting.


Our hairdresser from St Albans, Man Ling, who used to visit the house, did offer to come here to continue cutting our hair, but we had to conclude that, realistically, it wasn't going to be economically viable, so we had to find somewhere new. Not all hairdressers here are used to cutting caucasian hair and anything that has any waves or curls in can be whole new territory to the locals. So it was with great trepidation that I ventured into the salon in our local shopping centre.

I did a terrible mother thing there. Before letting them loose on my own hair, I tested them out on the children as they both needed haircuts before starting their new school. Adam gained a slight variation on his previous style and was left with slightly longer side burns than before, but after several attempts to get it all shorter, I finally gave up as it was looking reasonably presentable. They did do a very nice job of trimming Hannah's fringe though.


David, in a moment of bravery (or complete madness) tested out a local phenomenon - a high speed haircutting booth "$10 for 10 minutes" ($10 is approximately £3.50). They cut it very short, doing all the lower parts with a razor, then snipping at highspeed around the top. I think the hair line at the back altered slightly, moving upwards, but overall, it wasn't too bad. But the final part was interesting and unexpected. Having trimmed and shaved, they then attacked him with a flexile hose. It turned out to be a vacuum which cleaned him up by hoovering his head, neck and shoulders.





For Adam's second hair cut, the first only lasting about 3 weeks before he was desperate for another with the sideburns having reached the bottom of his ears, I left David in charge. So, it was off to the local $10 place, not a booth this time, but a small establishment in the local shopping centre. I have to say, they did a better job than the salon and Adam didn't even mind being hoovered at the end! Sometimes, his bravery surprises me!




And what did I do? Well, after a little market research with mums from school who have lived here longer, I booked an appointment at Toni & Guy. A new friend here went first and reported back, nice haircut and lovely hairwash and head massage, all done lying down on reclining bedlike seats, but she wasn't sure about the ear scrub that she received. On my visit I didn't get my ears scrubbed so felt just a little deprived (and dirty) but overall, they did a good job. It looked great (until the humidity got to it about 30 minutes later).

When I arrived, it was raining in true monsoon style and even though the walk from taxi to front door was only 50m and done with an with an umbrella, I managed to arrive soaked, so before starting on my hair, they kindly dried me off with a hairdryer first!

Down t’ pit.

A few weekends ago, we booked a BBQ “pit” here in the condo's garden, to have lunch with the Carr family (the family that we met them on the Ducktour). What a great arrangement! The pit is a brick built BBQ, surrounded by acres of granite-topped serving and cooking areas (much bigger than our actual kitchen worksurface) a sink and mains power. You book it together with the required number of tables and chairs and then simply turn up with your coals, lighters and food.

We chopped, marinaded and threaded skewers of chicken, fish and vegetables and then took them, salads and drinks down the 25 floors in our fab new super-de-luxe “oldies” shopping trolley. Oh yes! We know how to live! (Actually, it is invaluable for doing the local shopping as we have no car and carrying anything any distance in this heat is not a lot of fun.)

We had our first decent BBQ result ever, thank goodness (but had it been one of our usual failures, there is always the electrical point so, we could have taken the microwave down and plugged it in!). Then, when done, we clear our stuff up, throw away our rubbish and walk away. The condo staff then come round and clean up the actual BBQ, grill and work surfaces. How good is that!

The kids all swam and played on the climbing frame while they waited. The BBQs are right by the jacuzzi, swimming pool and kids playground. Fantastic! A great recipe for a successful afternoon.

This is such a good arrangement that we did another a couple of weeks later and have yet another planned for this coming weekend. However, as I am type this, it is raining. This plan is great if it's dry, but there is always a danger that two families and whole lot of kebabs will find themselves dashing back inside to our small apartment where, of course, there is no pool, jacuzzi or climbing frame.....

However, weather permitting, there are some things that we'll really miss when we finally leave here!

Vesak Day and Our First Night Out

Just over a week ago, we had our second bank holiday here. This one was Vesak Day - the Buddhist day that celebrates the birth and enlightenment of Buddha.

The children had learnt about this in school and when Hannah came home she proceeded to draw lots of pictures of Buddha. She particularly liked his elongated ears - to be honest, I'm not sure I'd noticed them particularly before, but she's quite right. She even made us a little Buddhist shrine for our bedroom out of paper, making and colouring a tray, statue of Buddha and some candles (coloured bits of paper). Unfortunately as they're all paper and a little flimsy, when we turn the aircon on, they all blow over, but it was a nice thought.

We decided to visit a Buddhist Temple on the day itself, as they are open to worshippers and observers alike. It was a Thai temple, wonderfully decorated with bright colours and masses of gold. It was very busy and in addition to numerous workshippers and monks, there were stalls, shrines and candles everywhere. Next year, when the children are older, I hope they'll be able to stay up to see the evening candlelit parade that finishes the celebrations.

Last weekend, we had our first night out. Having found a cleaner to come in one morning a week, she offered us babysitting if we went out on a Sunday evening (she is a live-in maid in the block next door and this is her day off). Well, having just had our wedding anniversary and not having been out for over two months, we decided to treat ourselves a little and set off first to a bar on the 24th floor of the Shangri-La Hotel. It has great views and from there we could see our condo, along with the lights of many other buidlings. We had our first "Singapore Sling" which was rather delicious and when we discussed the ingredients, the waiter wrote them all down for us so we can try and make our own. I think it may take some practice!

Afterwards, we set off by taxi to a restaurant whose location was described as "just inside the Botanic Gardens". The taxi driver had never heard of it, so took us to the main entrance. From there, golf buggies were doing a delivery service to a nearby restaurant. On arrival, it was the wrong one. They gave us directions and we then took a 10 minute night time walk through the gardens. They are beautifully lit and it turned out to be a delightful walk. We weren't alone as there were quite a few joggers there too.

On arrival, we found a restaurant with a small indoor area entirely enclosed by glass walls and doors and a larger outside terrace. We'd booked a table indoors and it turned out to be a gorgeous place to sit, with the floor to ceiling windows right next to the tropical plants. It was almost like being outside, but without the mosquitos. A live jazz band, fantastic food and first class service made for a suberb evening. We took a taxi home and discovered that we should have gone in through the "Ginger Gate", just 2 or 3 minutes walk - but we now know for another time.

Well, my plan to go the social tennis organised by a group called ANZA (an expat social group) on Monday morning was thwarted by a thunderstorm. With all this wonderful food around, I felt the time had come to hit the gym here. It's so easy - just change, grab a towel, water and IPod and off I go. Trouble is, when it's that easy and doesn't involve packing a bag, driving there and fitting it into my plan for the day, I don't always quite get around to going, but I finally arrived. It's been a while and I'm feeling pretty unfit. However, I do have to question the accuracy of their machines. Surely all that exercise and pain was more than 150 calories' worth? I mean, that's just a few squares of chololate and I need to make space for far more than that here - there is just too much good food around.

It's no good, I'll just have to keep going back. At least I may eventually feel I can face buying (and therefore standing on) some bathroom scales!

School Charity Week and a Visitor

Last week saw the children's school charity week. For the duration of the week, various events took place to raise money for a selection of good causes. Each section of the school - infant, junior and senior, had an afternoon when they provided stalls and events that the other children paid to participate in, with all money going to the charities.

For the infant afternoon, the parents were also invited. Hannah's class had set up a nail painting stall, with her teacher and classroom assistant quickly decorating the finger nails of numerous little girls. Hannah queued up but instead of choosing one of the many pretty bright pinks or sparkly purples, as one might expect, she chose what can only be described as bogey green. It looked disgusting and for the rest of charity week her fingers all looked as if they'd just emerged from a particularly deep nose excavation. Thank goodness that at the end of charity week I had a good reason to remove what was left. She also managed to return home with very brightly coloured hair two days running and the last remnants of colour have only just come off her scalp.
The week culminated with an infant assembly for the parents, in which Hannah was a cheerleader for one of the sponsored events and we went to watch as proud parents. It also gave us a chance to meet up with some of her classmates' parents and see the school in action.


The same day, after several failed attempts, I caught up with a friend from last year's Spanish class, Jane. She was here on business for a few days, planning a conference and had extended her stay over the weekend to do some sightseeing, as it was her first visit to Asia. With Hannah at a birthday party and Adam at a friend's house on Saturday, we met up on Sunday. After lunch at our local "coffee shop" (not Starbucks or anything similar, but a local, small scale foodcourt, which serves only the most local of food and drink), we then headed to Clark Quay for a walk followed by a ride on a "bum" boat up the Singapore River.

As the weather last weekend was probably the coolest it's been since we arrived here, we then took a late afternoon walk in Fort Canning Park, where the trees and tropical flowers looked wonderful as we climbed up the hill and down the other side to the shopping area of Orchard Road.

On Monday, Jane and I took a trip to the Botanic Gardens and the Orchid Gardens there. The gardens are stunning as is the range and array of orchids. A pleasant surprise was to find it is less than 15 minutes away by bus. We were caught out by a downpour of rain , but fortunately, nothing too heavy (well, not by local standards, anyway) and it considerately rained whilst we were close to shelter so we didn't get too wet.

As the gardens are so glorious, I will undoubted be visiting them again, many more times. As for Jane, she will be returning here next March for the conference proper.

It's great to see a familiar face here but next time, as we will have been in the UK over Christmas, hopefully we won't be asking her to bring out a small mountain of Boots sun cream for us again!

Photo is of Jane, Adam and Hannah at Clark Quay - not sure about the other guy though, he doesn't seem to want his picture taken.

Impressing the locals

Friday night brought about our dinner party for the office staff and Seiw Mei's friend, Brian (before he departed back to the UK).

After some intense discussions to agree a menu suited to accompany the long awaited Tiramisu (see earlier blog entry), we decided that something more local would be good to offset this very rich, European dessert. So we opted for a Thai style chicken rice dish. (Here, although you never see ready prepared meals in supermarkets, there are a handful of cook-in sauces and we've found one Thai brand which is particularly delicious and we thought might go unnoticed).

As for the rice to accompany it, due to a shortage of saucepans, and following several sets of verbal instructions from our landlady, we decided to experiment with the rice cooker. Let me explain: When we first viewed this apartment, there was a very large, round, electric kitchen gadget taking up most of the work surface (that which was not already occupied up by the oversized microwave). Our landlady said it was a rice cooker and naturally, I commented that I'd never used one. She looked astonished and asked if we'd never eaten rice! I explained that we've always cooked it in a saucepan, thereby confirming her belief that we're slightly odd in the UK.

Here, people usually eat their rice plain - steamed, but David often flavours his with stock, spices and sometimes lime juice. This time, he made his lime rice. When dinner was served, they all really seemed to enjoy it and ate loads. David's rice received particular compliments and requests for the recipe - David is so proud of himself, actually making rice for Singaporeans, who eat it almost every day of their lives for breakfast , lunch or dinner (or even all three), and impressing them with it! He likened it to selling ice to the Eskimos!

Finally, they all ate the dessert too, and some people even had seconds, so I'm happy too.

A Chinese Baby Party

One of the staff in David's office had a baby a month ago. As maternity leave here is so short, she worked up until the very last minute and, fortunately, gave birth at a weekend.

Her baby girl, Jorvin, is now a month old and to celebrate this fact, she had a traditional baby party, to which we and the other members of the office staff were invited.

Firstly - what gift to take? We asked Siew Mei (who is our source guidance for local cultural and etiquette matters) and she said she didn't know what Agnes wanted, so we should just give money. Well, just giving money is a generally a slightly odd concept to us - gift vouchers, maybe, but not just money. Next problem - if that is the norm, and apparently here it is - then, how much? Eventually everyone from the office plus myself and Siew Mei's friend, Brian, who was also invited, gave an equal amount which was put in an “angpao”, a special “red envelope” – (which was gold!) specially for the purpose of giving financial gifts. This was ceremoniously presented by David (with two hands, of course).

We had our invitation and the address. We checked it on the map. Agnes lives on Hougan Avenue 3. Note, Hougan Ave 3, not to be confused with Hougan Ave 1,2, 4, 5, 6, 7....10 or indeed Hougang St which goes up to 91! (A little more imagination might make navigation easier.) Well, it's a long road, but all housing blocks here have numbers and we found her road and the block no. 25 on the map and set off.

Although there was a bus almost all the way from here, we left a little late so we took the MRT guessing it would be quicker with the just the one change and a short walk at the other end. We arrived in Hougang (the district) and despite a rough sketch that David had copied from the map, we were lost on arrival at one of the many exits from the station not knowing even which direction we were facing! We tried asking people, but either they didn't know or didn't seem to speak sufficient English.

I have to explain that whilst the perception is that everyone speaks English here, the reality is that most do. Almost everyone (locals) also speak either Mandarin, Hokkien (Chinese dialect), Malay, Hindi etc - unfortuntately, we don't.

Here in Hougang we were deep in the "Heartlands". This is the name for areas where the locals live and there isn't a condo block in sight for miles. There is an expanse of the local government housing blocks (HDB's), a few small houses, roads, areas of state owned open grass for recreation and maybe a corner shop or two and various churches, temples, schools and the necessities for everyday living. It's the sort of area that expats wouldn't normally live in and to say we stood out would be something of an understatement. As it was an important event, I'd put on shoes with heels (not sure why, as no-one EVER walks inside a house/apartment with shoes on here anyway, as it would be deeply offensive), smarter clothes and lipstick. The kids were a little smarter and so was David.

We found ourselves walking round in large circles round various housing blocks and saying "ah ha, this is Hougang Central, I've just seen a sign on that bus stop" to get a reply of "but weren't we on that a few minutes ago? Or "was that sign to one of the Hougang Avenues over there? Which one?"
"Ah, a sign to Ave 7. Isn't that near Ave 3?"
"No, not on my map... this just doesn't make sense".

Eventually it did make sense and David spotted a short cut across a grassy area (with a few free range chickens) to the main road beyond between some buildings. We set off, only to find a monsoon drain (the size of a small river) blocking our way. But we were saved from doing a U-turn when we found a plank crossing it. So there we were, the only caucasians for miles (except Brian who was sensibly in a taxi), dressed up, me in high heels and lip stick, balancing one by one across a plank over a monsoon drain amongst the chickens. I did notice a guy watching us from a window looking, possibly, slightly incredulous...he'll be dining out on that description for months!

We did finally arrive and were greeted very warmly by Agnes, her husband Andrew, both their mothers and various other friends and family. I was given Jorvin to hold (which seemed quite an honour, as I didn't notice anyone else except the family doing so) and she didn't cry (thank goodness).

There was a huge spread of food and Adam particularly, who has really taken to the food here, ate heaps. He returned for seconds and possibly even thirds and wisely filled himself up before dessert. I say wisely, because it's simply not what we're familiar with. It was squares of a type of jelly with lumps of strong ginger and some very bright pink and fluorescent green balls. It is really something of an acquired taste which we haven’t yet acquired. It had ice-cubes to keep it cool and Hannah ate those with enthusiasm, which was good because it appeared as if she was really enjoying the dessert!

We had an enjoyable time and Agnes' mother had an equal amount of fun trying to teach us more Mandarin and Malay. I've extended my Mandarin repertoire to three words and on departing we were able to say thank you and goodbye to Andrew's mother (who didn't speak English) in Mandarin - or at least that's what we thought we were saying.

We eventually left - by taxi.

This Friday, the staff have been invited here for dinner, as we want to do it before Brian returns to the UK next week (he is British, but has spent 40 years of his adult life living and working abroad in some very diverse places). Don't know what to cook - plus we have very few saucepans and implements etc at present, adding to the challenge. Do we try something more Asian or do something western and hope they like it? It's a long story but I have to make tiramisu for dessert which will be somewhat different to the local desserts. They will probably describe it rather as we described their dessert. Oh well, if they don't like it, it's all the more for us later!

First Week at School

After moving in and an IKEA delivery or two (see our children put to work below), last Monday brought our "orientation day" at school. All new children and their parents are invited to meet their teacher and spend an hour or so, finding out anything and everthing about the school and their class and it is an opportunity to ask questions. They also get to meet each other and Adam met one new girl and two new boys in his class and Hannah met the two new girls, one of whom she already seems to be becoming good friends with. For the parents, it is an opportunity to meet and swap names and phone numbers too.

On Tuesday it was the first day of term. With Adam and Hannah dressed in their new school uniform, we headed out to the front of our condo to meet the school bus. It arrives around 7.55 - ugh! 5 to 8 sounds so much more civilised. I had originally arranged to go on the school bus with them for the first morning, but when Hannah realised I would be the only mother, she said I was just to wave. We expected a last minute about turn on this decision, but the bus pulled up and they leapt on and waved to us as the bus "auntie" ensured they were strapped in and the bus departed. This was an unexpectedly brave move and we were so impressed!

Yes, those are white shorts that Adam is wearing. I can only assume that whoever thought white shorts was a good idea for infant and junior boys had an army of maids to clean them.

There are 5 other children from this condo of various ages going on the same bus.

At 3.20 (more or less) the bus returns and drops them all off and they arrived back with beaming faces having had a lovely day. They have continued to have a great time all week and, as we don't go to the school and have any opportunity to meet the teachers to ask any little questions etc, every day the children bring home an "communication" book. In this, we can write comments or questions and the teachers write back. Hannah's teacher has given daily feedback this week and thinks that she has made a good and confident start. Adam seems to be doing fine too, and has a teacher who has an excellent reputation amongst the parents. So far, so good.

Hannah has already been invited to two birthday parties, the first of which was after school yesterday (Friday). She had a marvellous time and when I dropped her off, she rushed off with one of her new friends without as much as a glance back at me.

Because of the school buses, we don't get to meet the other parents at the school gate, but there seems to be an active "class mum" for each class who produces a contact list of all parents to help with parties and play dates etc and also organises a few social get togethers so we can all meet up. I met about 4 of the mums from Hannah's class at the party collection time and they all seemed very friendly, plus, I have two coffee mornings to attend next week - it's a tough life!

Well, both children have had their first Mandarin lessons and Hannah, in particular, was excited about hers and told me 3 words that she could remember (1, 2 and dog - an interesting combination, but I'm sure it made more sense in the context of the class!).

Hannah has her first school swimming lesson next week and can't wait, as her swimming has come on beyond belief since arriving here. From a girl who needed armbands and would dip her face in the water but had limited confidence, she can now swim without armbands. She can do a few metres on her back and front, jump in, float and swim underwater. Last Thursday she mastered diving down and doing a handstand on the bottom!

As for us, well, on Wednesday morning after dropping them off at the school bus, we booked a tennis court for an hour. The court nearest our block is in the shade until around 8.55 which is pretty much prefect, but even so early and in the shade, it was surprisingly hot . By the time we finished, I believe I was a fairly unattractive shade of purple. Meanwhile, David had a shower and changed and then headed off to the office and still arrived around 9.40. It seems so expat, tennis before work - but if we have to get up so early for school, we may as well make the most of it!