Our 'Frodo-Frolics' on South Island

Leaving Singapore for a 2 week trip to New Zealand in winter was always going to be laughable. The Lobsters arrived in their happy place on the 12th of May (which was a Saturday) ready to drive ourselves to the ends of the earth! After a brief stint in the earth-quake battered Christchurch, we flew down to the adventure capital of South island, Queenstown. Our expectations were exceeded immediately upon landing over the most breathtaking, snow laden 'Remarkables' one ever did see. 

We gladly donned our second long sleeved t-shirt and headed to Avis where we took possession of our Toyota  - the sweet bird of freedom after 6 months of no driving in Singapore! Pure bliss! First things first, we needed to get warm! With a daily high of around 8 degrees Celsius we quickly found our way into the shops of Queenstown and purchased ourselves a goose down jacket each - basically a Jo-burg puffer with sleeves! After my dreams of a city-chic coat had been shattered I realised the time had come for me to get up close and personal with this 'winter-camping-experience' that we were about to embark on! We were in New Zealand, the Blackberry's were off and 3 cold fronts were rolling in! BLISS!

It was love at first sight! Queenstown blew us away with its quirky mish-mash of artsy-cafes and high end restaurants and pubs. Slightly irritated that we were 2 weeks early for the ski season, Nick decided that golf was medicine and manged to get 2 rounds in at Kelvin Heights and Jack's Point. He did his new Singapore bought golf shoes justice shooting lower scores than he has ever managed in Joburg with an 83 on Jack's Point on possibly the coldest and wettest day we could have imagined. 

We braved the cold and went ahead with a jet boat ride over the Shotover River which was quite simply, RIDICULOUS! Freezing cold and lots of fun! Completely worth the dollars :)

In short, the highlights of Queenstown were the Atlas Cafe, serving insanely good food (at half the price everywhere else) and the Gondola ride to the top of the hills overlooking town while the snow came down and covered us all in white. Such a beautiful spot! Was great to catch up with Geoff Parr over the 3 days and be reminded that Economics can be fun!

After 3 days of fixed-roof accommodation we traded in our Toyota for a 7.2m long, 3.5 ton Maui 2 berth ST (a Mercedes Vito converted into a motor-home). The instruction video is compulsory viewing and takes up 20 mins of your life that you will never get back but at least we knew how to change a tyre and roast a turkey in the Maui if needs be. After an interesting grocery shopping experience at New World we were off on our 10 day South Island adventure! 

Our first stop was Te Anau (which we soon learned we were pronouncing completely wrong and may have been the reason why nobody knew what we were talking about). We had booked the Milford Sound cruise and were not disappointed! The Sound was more spectacular than we could have imagine - dramatic, mystic and prehistoric are the words I'd probably choose to describe it. We headed to Manapouri for our second campsite night so as to be ready for our all day Doubtful Sound cruise the following day. We were checked in by one of Frodo's direct relatives and were the only camper-van in the entire park which freaked me out completely as there were strange little statues dotted around all facing the lake. I couldn't help but let my imagination get the better of me and barely slept a wink......It was all worth it though as we set sail on the graceful Sound the following day. Breathtaking and simply beyond expectations. And that only describes the cruise across Lake Manapouri. We still had the Sound to discover.....Why have we never heard about this place before? 

I haven't mentioned the driving between each of these 'destinations'. Perhaps the easiest way to sum it up is incessant 'wow' moments. There is not a SINGLE dull (or straight) section of road on the whole of South Island. It is beyond 'Travel Channel's' descriptions as 'beautiful' and certainly had me marveling at God's handiwork in a way I don't think I have ever done before. What a privilege. We kept remarking to each other how lucky we were to be experiencing this and how we wish that our families were with us to see it all.  The drive from Manapouri through to Wanaka was simply breathtaking in a way that I'm not sure I have the words to describe. I took 237 photographs over the 230km stretch which took us most part of the day. On average, a kilometer takes you a minute to drive which means that 120km's takes you 2 hours. The blessing is that you don't want it to take longer. Thankfully, the Maui Ultima 2 berth ST was surprisingly nimble and cat-like under Nick's enthusiastic driving. I took the wheel for a total of 30mins....the rest I've left up to him. 

After Wanaka we headed to Glacier country and were awed by our first glacial encounter. Fox and Franz Josef are simply awesome and their scale is beyond comprehension. In addition, you have to walk through virgin rain forest and dry river beds before you reach the foot of each glacier. The walks could be an attraction in their won right with views and vistas far surpassing your general expectation. We decided after much deliberation to drop the dollars and do a helicopter flip over Franz Josef Glacier. We were spoilt to be the only 2 in the helicopter with our trusty and friendly pilot Lance. We even had a landing on the sparkly snow atop the glacier with a classic photo op. Wow!

We headed north towards Carters Beach and spent the night a stones throw from the Seal Colony that, in summer, boasts hoards of seal pups and their lazy mums. Unfortunately there were only a few seals lazing on the rocks but were gorgeous to see regardless. We spent a night in the metropolis of Nelson and got our 'City fix' of overpriced food and drinks but in a gorgeous setting before heading through Blenheim and down to Kaikoura where we are now. Reputationally this is 'whale-watching' country and we are planning to head out tomorrow to get our fix, weather permitting of course. With the gorgeous afternoon we had today, we busted our the gas bbq and enjoyed a rib-eye steak and a bottle of NZ's best shiraz on the grassy lawns just beyond our van. I've just bought a book about 'understanding dogs' from the local bookshop and shed a tear over a glass of wine about how much I miss my pooches. Weird to think that in 5 more sleeps we'll be home in Joeys with our pooches, family and friends! Can't wait. 

"Shooting Singapore" - sweaty but fun!

Against our better judgement Christine and I decided to go 'photo hunting' in and around Singapore yesterday. It was an absolute stinker and before we even got down the road from our condo we were dripping in perspiration! Our first stop was Bugis to 'sus' out the scene at the famous Bugis Street Market. It took me a while to get the hang of it but eventually I was working like a pro, down on one knee, angling myself to get the right shot. Bugis was buzzing as always but I found that with my camera in hand I started to notice the smaller details instead of looking only at the handbags and clothes hanging in the stalls. 

It truly is a sensory extravaganza  and my favourite fresh watermelon juice stall made for some beautiful picture opportunities. I was a bit nervous about taking up close pictures of people face on as I wasn't sure whether folks would get a bit uptight about that....but as the day went on I got braver or perhaps just more sneaky! 

From Bugis we made our way towards Little India where we took refuge in the air conditioning and popped up in Chinatown! This was where I really started to 'get my shoot on' and I am very pleased with the way some of my pics came out! I'm just loving our new camera and the picture quality - it really does make a big difference when you are using a sophisticated camera versus a little 'point and shoot' number. I'm learning slowly but I'm determined to get the hang of it and learn to use all the functions and settings etc. 

Chinatown is possibly the most colourful district in Singapore and the restored shop house facades are my best! They are so pretty and the colours so bright that you can't help yourself taking the same picture every time you go down there. It was here that I started to get a bit braver and started taking pics of the people going about their daily tasks jobs and activities. 

After about 3 hours of photo shooting Chris and I were bushed and in much need of a rest. We settled for an ice cold Tiger and some delicious sweet and sour prawns and noodles for lunch! What a treat :) 

We did feel mildly guilty enjoying a beer at lunch time on a school day whilst both our husbands slaved away in the office allowing us to come up with and enjoy our desperate housewife excursions......The guilt didn't last that long however and we both agreed that if you're going to do something you should do it properly! 

I must have shot over 300 photos yesterday in those 3 hours but I'm probably only going to keep about 30. These are some of my favourites and ones that I'll definitely include in our 'Memoirs from Singapore' coffee table book that I'm hoping to compile once we are home. 

Such a fun day and I've decided that for the next 3 weeks my Sony camera is coming everywhere with me. I want to capture it all and take it back to JHB with me! 

Go check out the rest of my photos on facebook - 'Shooting Singapore'

xx

The beginning of the end

6 weeks left! I can't believe it. I have suddenly become aware of all the things I still want to do before we leave our first Asian home in just over a month and a half! I've been unstoppable. I'm booking tickets to shows, photo shooting everything for the second time round, eating as many Thai honey mangoes as possible and making endless lists of the goodies I want to buy before we head home! 

I'm savouring every Starbucks coffee en route to my Pilates classes and ordering local over western wherever we go! I'm really conscious of 'drinking in Singapore to the lees', knowing that soon I will be trading in my late morning rises and casual clothes for office winter wear and JHB traffic once again. Full of mixed feelings really. So excited about the idea of getting home and being re-united with all things familiar, from family and friends and my pooches to Woolies vegetables and my dishwasher. I remember clearly the lifestyle shock I experienced making the transition between full time student in Grahamstown to full time teacher at Greenside High all those years ago. My body took weeks to adjust to 6am wake-ups and constant brain stimulation. I'm hoping my transition back into JHB life isn't going to be quite as hectic.....

We've had Garth and Jax with us for the last couple of days which has been lovely! Perhaps the thing I've been most grateful to them for, other than the impeccably chosen sparkling wines they bought us, is their insistence on going to Singapore's Universal Studios. Not big fans of theme parks, we had turned up our noses at the idea after visiting the chaotic Sentosa island on 2 separate occasions and hadn't really revisited our decision. However, Garth and Jax's enthusiasm for the latest Transformers 4D simulation ride was not something we could easily ignore and so, on Easter Monday the four of us headed to Universal Studios Singapore for what can be described as one of the most fantastic days out ever! What a treat! 

You certainly have to find the inner child in you in order to fully enjoy the experience but this certainly was not difficult! Within half an hour we found ourselves queueing for rides a second time and marvelling at the sheer genius behind the movie themed concept stores and activities. What fun! It was a STINKER of a day and I finally resorted to wearing my 'Queen-of-Masinga' hat and hourly sunscreen application sessions. It truly was an excellent experience and one that I would recommend to anyone coming through Singapore. I can only imagine the credit card damage one might incur whilst visiting the park with kids in tow - the gifts and nik-naks are just mind boggling and  even Nick succumbed to purchasing some over priced t-shirts and coffee mugs! It was all just too good to resist! 

Jax and Garth's holiday plans have worked out perfectly with them planning a mid-week trip to Thailand whilst Nick is at work and I do my domestic chores! They are back tomorrow afternoon in time for the weekend and then fly out on the 2am flight on Sunday. Thankfully their trip to Thailand has not been impacted by the earthquake in Indonesia yesterday.....just too terrible for all those affected by it. 

Nick and I are off to see 'Cirque Mother Africa' tonight at the Esplanade Theatres. Very excited about that! I have also managed to get us tickets to see the Broadway Musical 'Wicked' on Sunday evening! All just too exciting. Nothing wrong with a couple extra 'date nights' before we head home. 

Gold Class Movie Cinema

We treated ourselves to Gold Class movie tickets the other night which is just the best thing ever! The deal is that you buy a completely overpriced movie ticket which entitles you to the Gold Glass lounge before and after the movie as well as movie viewing from a reclining padded velvet armchair with a waitress who serves you anything you like from an impressively comprehensive menu throughout the movie. It certainly is an experience and makes the ordinary movie watching pale in comparison. We saw 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' - exceptional movie! Ewan McGregor is just lovely in it and it certainly surpassed the expectations we had based on the, shall we say 'uncreative' title of the movie....

Our movie watching experience has not been limited to swanky indoor sophistication you'll be glad to know. We joined another several hundred people a couple weekends ago to watch Kung Fu Panda II on the lawn adjacent to Marina Bay! What a fabulous experience! I'm always astounded at the Singaporean people's ability to enjoy public facilities without there being any drama. Everyone was so well behaved and the organisers had gone to great lengths to provide everyone with a 'build-it-yourself' florescent light box that we all powered up in unison for earth hour at 8pm. It was a lovely evening out, aided by some biltong (courtesy of Mrs Bonnie Beckley) and an ice cold Savannah. Watching animated movies with a couple hundred kids is certainly medicine for the soul. 

Dr S welcoming kids into the library

Talking of kids, my weekly KidsREAD sessions at East Coast Primary have commenced and I'm thoroughly enjoying the experience. I was allocated the lead for the first week's session in which we decided to introduce ourselves to the kids and then talk to them about books and reading in the hope of inspiring them to get excited about them. They are all just too cute, mostly grade 1's and 2's. I spoke to them about how magical books are and how they allow you to visit worlds and places you could only imagine. I then went on to ask them about why books are so important and why the paper they are printed on is so precious. I was leading them towards the notion that paper comes from trees and that trees are precious therefore books are  precious. However, as I soon learned, that was far too boring an answer. Instead, one little guy stuck up his hand and told me that paper is precious because it's what pirates write their treasure maps on! Just too beautiful! I have my 3rd session with them today at 2pm - can't wait!

Beautiful sky after a massive storm 

Congratulations to Nick's cousin, Christina who  married on Monday in Cape Town. We know that it was a very special day and we really look forward to seeing some pics. Enjoy your honeymoon! 

Love you to all.

xx

The Count Down Begins.....

It is 2 months today until we set foot back on South African soil! I can't believe how the time has flown! South Africa has started to reel us back in, aided heavily by the stream of visitors that we have had and are still to welcome to our life here in Singapore.

Grootes' and Skibbe's at the Marina

Nick's folks were able to spend 3 nights with us post their South East Asia Cruise and so it happened that there was a gathering of Grootes' in Singapore over the birth of beautiful little Evelyn May on the 17th of March 2012. Although we would have much preferred to have been in JHB for this prestigious occasion, we did pop a bottle of pink bubbly and welcome the little precious into the world from across the seas.

The weather participated nicely and although sweat beads were a prominent feature on the brows of the Grootes and Skibbe Seniors, we managed to get around and see the sights including cocktails atop the Sands and a Sling at the Raffles Hotel.

Slings at Raffles

Like an aeroplane turn-around on an international flight, our guest room and amenities were scrubbed and polished and ready for Bonnie's arrival last Thursday! What a treat to have a girlfriend from home here for a week - and all to myself! We quite literally shopped until we dropped! Such fun and certainly a shopping experience to remember. My voice is hoarse from the amount of talking that we did - poor Bons bore the brunt of me being out of circulation from my girlfriends back home for almost 6 months!

Peanut butter ice-cream and toast for breakie

Some of the highlights from the week with Bons were cocktails at the Sky Bar, Marina Bay Sands; sticky rice with mango (quickly becoming my favourite Thai dessert!); yummy curry at Zaffron Kitchen on East Coast Road; meze and ice-cold Tigers on Arab Street (possibly the first time Bonnie and I have ordered beer over wine willingly); chicken satay and a Courtyard Sling at Raffles. I have new respect for my fabulous friends, Heath and Bonnie! What inspirational parents they are. Heath did a sterling job looking after Jack and Emily whilst Bons was over here on her "Me" holiday and I am astounded at Bonnie's determination to enjoy her time out even though I know how hard it was to leave her beautiful family for a week.

Cocktails at Sky Bar - Marina Bay Sands

Thanks for coming to visit us Bons! Your visit was so well timed and certainly just what we needed! I packed as many hugs and kisses as possible in between the shopping in Bons' suitcase to all our buddies in JHB. Can't wait to see you all when we get home!

Thankfully, we still have JHB coming to us in the way of Garth and Jax who arrive for a week next weekend and then Sarah and Jamie who will be with us for 2 weeks at the end of April. We have managed to book a 4 day trip to Langkawi with the MacDonald-Wynne's which is going to be FANTASTIC!!!! Very excited for that and then Nick's last day of work is the 11th of May. Where has the time gone?

I have 2 weeks of ironing to get through today! Delightful! But it's one day closer to the weekend and we have outdoor movies planned with Rafe and Jean on Saturday - should be fun!

Love to you all.

xxx

And life goes MARCH-ing on.....

March? I can't believe it. Time seems to both stand still and fly past at the same time for me. Funny that - how in certain areas of your life you long for time to stretch itself out as long as possible whilst at the same time willing the days and months to dispose in others. Have had to remind myself recently of my 'Bangkok mantra' - Live in the moment! 

At least we won't get lost at night!

It's been a while since my last post. I always knew we'd get to this point where you feel like your steps are finally falling into time with the beat of life in a different place. In some ways life has 'normalised' in that I've made some lovely friends and the coffee, lunch and dinner dates have become more regular. My last coffee date with the girls might as well have been a UN meeting with representatives present from South Africa, Peru, Germany and Turkey! Amazingly, girls are girls wherever you go and conversations touched all the same subjects including, politics, love, children, shopping and next holiday destinations. Thankfully Nick and I have been running a lot more, inspired by our recently purchased ridiculously lumo trainers. It makes me feel better after all the cappuccinos and muffins :) I'm enjoying my Pilates classes twice a week in Orchard, even though I think my instructor Eric thinks I'm super human for some reason. I fear he is dismally disappointed after every session :( but I'm certainly feeling the difference and my but cheeks aren't as squishy as they used to be :)

Sweaty post Pilates kisses!

I'm spending more time out and about rather than contemplating life from inside the 4 walls of our flat. As always, there have been highlights and low lights. I remember saying to Nick before we left Johannesburg that I knew we would come back home changed forever. The unknown, of course, was what the change would be! I can report that it is change on all levels, on all fronts, in all regards. We are different but the same. Perhaps the biggest change is that when we left I couldn't get further away from JHB or quick enough had I tried. Right now as I sit here I feel an aching longing for JHB, for familiar faces, for familiar chaos, for home. How fabulous it is to know that just as I begin to miss it I will soon be returning. On the 28th of May 2012 we'll be back on South African soil. Back to our beautiful, complicated, full, contradictory, blessed life in JHB. 

However, the line up here is pretty packed until then with anticipated visits from M&M Grootes on the back of their South China Sea Cruise. Then a visit from my lovely friend Bonnie (for her 1 week 'Me' holiday). We have Jax and Garth visiting us for a week over Easter followed by Sarah and Jamie for 2 weeks at the end of April and into early May. On top of all of that we are looking forward to welcoming Rafe and Jean to Singapore in a week or two and also look forward to Lucy and Alan's visit in May whilst they prepare for a piece of work in Singapore. We certainly will be leaving on a high note with  weeks of holiday before we return to SA. Coupled with the excitement of being reunited with friends and family as well as a new niece or nephew who is due to arrive at the end of March, the smell of home is growing stronger! 

Singapore Air Show - VERY busy!

We've managed to get quite a few things in over the past month including a second visit to the National Museum of Singapore, a completely disastrous trip to the Singapore Air Show, our fare share of dim sum and noodles as well as discovering a few more parks and 'green' areas in Singapore. I've been through the training to start volunteering in the KidsREAD programme, which will kick off next week Thursday. I'll be based at East Coast Primary and the programme involves storytelling and doing activities with little ones (3-8 years old) which makes me nervous as my teaching experience has been very limited to high school. Anyway! I'm sure it will be fun! It's definitely a model that I'd like to bring home to SA and start implementing in our schools and nurseries. 

Dinner at Chris and Agus - Yum!

Unfortunately the work front hasn't slowed down for my Nick - he headed back into the office last night at 10pm after dinner at Christine and Agus's house. Thankfully he wasn't too late but to be honest, I'm not sure how much he would have been able to concentrate after the delicious meal that Christine prepared for us! 'Sop Buntut', i.e. Oxtail Soup with a traditional Indonesian salad and peanut dressing! Delicious!! 

Wedding Invite :)

Nick is quite literally dreaming of the Volvo these days and I'm sure there will be a very emotional reunion in the leafy suburb of Kloof over the weekend of the 1st of June. Other exciting news is that the soon-to-be-wed Brent and Navashni have asked Nick to be the MC at their wedding on our first weekend back home! How fabulous is that? Very excited for that wedding. 

Talking about weddings, we are so looking forward to our first traditional Chinese wedding tomorrow night. Yu En and Celine are getting hitched and we've been invited to celebrate with them. I've been shopping and have a new pair of shoes, a new clutch bag and earrings. I'll be sure to take lots of pics.  

We had our first movie watching experience in Singapore last weekend when we saw 'The Grey' with Liam Neeson. Strange movie but quite well shot. I'm a big fan of Liam Neeson so I wasn't too phased about the content really :) We decided to follow up with Wednesday night movies and saw 'Iron Lady' with Meryl Streep. She is, as always, exceptional in her role and kudos to her for being able to legitimately pull off being 80-something for the duration of almost an entire movie!! We have decided that our next visit to the movies will be to the Gold Class cinemas at 112 Katong - double couches with foot rests etc and a waitress on standby throughout. Just so decadent! 

It's been pouring with rain for the last 2 hours and it looks like 'London' sky outside. I'm going to go and think about what we're having for dinner and maybe do the last of the ironing before the weekend officially starts! Domestic bliss? Mmmm.....

xx

Magnificent Malaysia - Part II - Tioman

Our beach on Tioman

If somebody had told me a year ago that I would have the privilege of discovering ancient cities, magnificent beaches and virgin jungle in South East Asia over a six month period I would not have believed them! However, here I sit, having spent yet another awe inspiring weekend away on a Malaysian island with the opportunity to start planning our next trip! Life truly is an unpredictable journey, surprising you with each turn and change of direction. I've become acutely aware of the fact that it is my responsibility to embrace every opportunity to swim in the sea, sweat on a jungle trek or eat something new. As one of my good friends said to me yesterday "you better be soaking up the sun and all this beauty for all of us". And that's exactly what I did this weekend.

Tioman island is located off the east coast of Malaysia. It's only a 40 min flight from Singapore but let me tell you, you couldn't be further away if you tried! We touched down on Tioman in our little prop, 40 seater aeroplane just after midday on Friday! Our descent was just too beautiful as we doubled back on ourselves and flew over the turquoise sea towards the thick, green jungle that bordered the runway and finally touched down in front of the tin roofed, single story structures which we quickly realised were the airport terminal buildings. I immediately had that bubbly feeling in my stomach that we were on the verge of entering paradise but we bumbled along with the rest of the expectant travellers through the immigration counter and onto the rickety open-sided shuttle bus that was going to take us to our resort. We knew that we were visiting during the 'monsoon' months so were not expecting azure blue skies and soaring temperatures. The weather was mild which was a welcome relief to the humidity of Singapore.

We arrived at the resort, checked into our room and immediately made our way onto the beach for our first glimpse of paradise! We were not disappointed! The tide was right out so the beach reached for meters with the calm, flat sea gently lapping on the shore. Just beyond the shore break Rengis island jutted out of the sea close enough that you could probably swim out to touch it. I was glad that we had 3 nights ahead of us to enjoy this spectacular place.

Holidaying out of season is really good for romantic weekends away. There is hardly anybody about and you usually have the beach and facilities almost to yourself, at least, that was the case this last weekend. Lazy days and early nights was what it was all about with a couple of activities in between. I finished an entire book over the 3 days which is something I've never done before I came to Singapore. A nap on the lounger next to the pool, a chapter or two then a dip in the sea - perfect bliss! All this with my wonderful husband right next to me. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

Sunset spot

On Friday night we set off for a walk down the beach as far as we could go and got to a heap of massive boulders where we watched the sunset! The sky was breathtakingly beautiful. Orange and grey with fairytale silver linings. Of course we didn't have our camera on us so we decided it was just for us and enjoyed the moment together. Sometimes forgetting your camera can be a blessing - you often miss the full extent of a moment if you are trying too hard to capture it. We had a delicious buffet dinner and spent the rest of the evening lying on a lounger listening to the gentle lap of the waves on the beach.

Over the next two days we managed to kayak out to Rengis island and decided that we definitely needed to do a snorkeling stint as the sea was crystal clear and teaming with life. When we did finally get to snorkeling we were thrilled by the reef just off the shore and spent at least an hour with our faces submerged and bums in the air. The guy driving the boat that dropped us off warned us that we might see a few reef shark but that we shouldn't be alarmed. Although they can be up to 1.5m long they are vegetarians and have never been known to harm humans! With already being a nervous snorkeler, I clutched to Nick's flipper and didn't let him out of my sight. But it really was beautiful and we saw loads of different varieties of coral, spiky sea urchins and more fish than I could have imagined. There were these long little ones that would jump out of the water and others that would literally school around you as if they wanted to taste your skin. It was beautiful and I'm glad we did it.


The resort itself was slightly dated but seemed to be making efforts towards rejuvenating itself. The grounds however were magnificent and beautifully maintained with roaming legavaans around every corner and loads of monkeys (which I stayed far, far away from).

There was a beautifully placed 18 hole golf course which caught Nick's eye the moment we arrived. It was just lovely, tight so I was told, but really beautifully laid out. So after our snorkeling trip on my 29th birthday my husband played 18 holes of golf and I dutifully walked around the course with him and photographed almost every single swing. It really was quite something with the front nine focused more on the beach setting and the back nine higher up into the jungle. The trees on that course must accumulatively constitute hundreds of years. Some of them were so tall that it was virtually impossible to get a photo of them in one single shot. The walk certainly made up for our lazy Saturday and I found myself a bit more flexible after the stiffness of my most recent Pilate's class had left me walking around like I had a carrot up you-know-where!

Tee off on the 7th hole

Nick had purchased a bottle of Veuve Clicquot in duty free, so once showered we headed down to the beach for sun downers. What a magnificent evening! The sky was just gorgeous and once the bubbles had made their way to our heads we mozied along to that Thai and Indian restaurant called the Coriander Leaf where we had booked a table for dinner! Thankfully we had booked as there wasn't another person in sight! We had the restaurant all to ourselves and enjoyed Thai starters followed by Indian mains whilst seated on the floor in traditional Thai seating. Nick decided he needed something sweet after dinner so he ordered banana cooked in coconut milk. It sounds bizarre but was actually one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. Full of champagne and curry (what a combination : >) we called it a night! We were due to fly out the next day.

Birthday sun downers :)

Of course, fate would have it that we got up early, packed our bags and rushed breakfast to get to the airport only to be told that there was a 2 hour delay on our flight. So we sat, and sat, and eventually 2 hours turned into 4 which turned into 6. Finally, at about 4pm they told us that the flight had been officially cancelled and that we would not be able to leave until the next day, weather permitting. The crazy thing is that there was no bad weather to speak of! No high winds, no rain, just overcast skies with intermittent spots of sunshine! Frustrated that we had spent the entire day sitting on a stool looking at the runway instead of on the beach, we headed back to the resort to book in for another night. We decided to go for a run to get rid of the frustrations of the day and headed along the golf course towards a turtle sanctuary that we had seen signposted but hadn't had time to investigate yet. The run was exceptional! Thankfully my stiff Pilate's legs had begun to ease and the views along the route were more gorgeous than ever. The turtle sanctuary turned out to be nothing more than a protected beach sponsored by the Pehang Royal Family where turtles are able to go to lay their eggs. We didn't see any turtles but we did count about 8 legavaans and wondered if the turtle eggs shouldn't be protected against those too!

Our little prop plane

We got chatting to an Australian couple when we got back from our run to have a swim and they invited us to join them for dinner, which we did. They own and run a caravan park in Western Australia and were out in South East Asia for a 3 week holiday. We got an early night in lieu of getting back to Singapore the next day.

Birthday dinner

Thankfully, there was not a breath of wind this morning and we were able to take off without delay and were back in Singapore by midday. Nick quickly showered and made his way into the office for an 8 hour day at least I'm sure. It's Valentines Day and I'm Singapore is booked up with couples wooing each other with promises of love and endearment. I can't face another restaurant dinner so I'm making chicken and salad wraps for dinner. Hopefully Nick won't be too late from work. Either way, I'm a happy, relaxed and blessed 29 and 2 days old lady. Thank you to everyone for the beautiful birthday messages. I had an exceptional day. Will post soon about our trip to Malacca the weekend before last! It was also a goodie.

xx

PS - I can't put all my pics on the blog but I have loaded them onto facebook so go and check them out. xx

Highs and lows - the way life goes



Flower Dragon ushering in the new year

Goodbye January 2012. Can you believe it? First month of the year is over leaving us one month closer to ending our time in Singapore. I'm  excited about that, excited to think that we'll be home soon to see all our friends, cuddle our dogs, drive our own cars and sleep in our own beds. I'm really looking forward to it but I'm relieved we still have 4 more months on this sweat drenched island in the South China Sea. I'm not quite ready to come home yet.

I'm not even going to try and give a sequenced account of the last couple of weeks simply because I don't recall it. It's been somewhat of a roller coaster on all levels. Rather, I'll remember the highlights and the low lights because unfortunately we have had a few.

Night Safari

The Singapore Night Safari surprised us on the enjoyemnt front. It is actually something we hadn't intended to do at all, but we did, and loved it. We were really impressed with the mangrove bat sanctury which is an enclosure that you go into and you can observe different bats and flying foxes eating and doing thier thing. It can get a bit freeky when they fly right over you but I had my big strong husband with me so it wasn't too bad. It's great being able to just walk around the premises of the zoo after dark and it cerainly is a different experience. They have very cleverly designed the enclosures so that you often don't see fences or glass at all but rather have a view directly into the enclosures as if there were no barriers at all. It was a stinker of a night and we got our sweat on properly but we thouroughly enjoyed it.

Drinks before the Ballet Revolution

I managed to get us tickets to Ballet Revolution at the Esplanade Theatre for thier last night performance. The dance company is a Cuban outfit who have produced an incredible show combining various dance genres from ballet to hip hop all to the sound of a live band. The talent was exceptional and the lean mean male cuban dancers had the predominently female Singaporean audience screaming for more. As one of Nick's colleagues put it, she went to see the show "to see some real men with muscles" :) It was a phenomenal night out that left us both feeling like we need to see more theatre and more live shows. I think the display of ripped torsos was motivation enough for Nick's gym work out for the week.  

Fort Canning in the rain

After Brig's whirlwind visit I needed a couple of days to get back into my solo flying again, which admittedly, took a couple of days and some determination. My visit to the National Museum of Singapore with Brig had wet my appetite for more museum encounters and as a result we've seen more of what Singapore has to offer on that front. We spent a very wet but lovely afternoon on the Fort Canning grounds admiring the original Fort facade that still remains as well as the incredible foliage and flora adorning one of the most historically important hills in Singapore.

Fort Canning original fort gate

Nick is currently reading 'Singapore Burning' which is an extremely detailed account of WW II's approach and impact on Singapore. As a result, I don't need to hire the little audio travel guides that are available when visiting these historical sites as I have my own very knowledgeable (and far better looking) tour guide who buys me lunch afterwards too :)

Display at Asian Civ Museum

After one of these lunches (all be it during the week and prior to a museum encounter instead of after) I made my way to the Asian Civilisation Museum and spent the afternoon there. I was blown away by their exhibition from the Tang Shipwreck. The Tang is a 9th century Arab vessel discovered in the Java Sea in 1998. The ship is believed to have been travelling between China and the Middle East and was laden with ceramic and gold goods thought to be designed and produced by the Chinese for foreign markets in the Middle East. It was absolutely astounding to see artifacts dating back to 830 AD and see the craftsmanship and design talent that already existed back then. There were items on that ship that look like better quality than what you can buy in the shops today! Astounding!

Massive Dragon at Sentosa

Of course, our daily January experiences have all been taking place against the backdrop of Singapore's preparations for Chinese New Year. This year CNY took place over the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of January which meant that Singaporeans had a 4 day weekend. Just about everyone takes the rest of the week off too, resulting in a 9 day break for 3 days of leave.

Tempat Senang

Unfortunately Nick wasn't taking any leave but we did decide at the last minute to try and get away for the Saturday night and managed to book ourselves into a little boutique spa on Batam island which is just 45 minutes away from Singapore by ferry. We were torn between getting out of Singapore all together for the 4 days or staying to witness the CNY festivities. We figured that one night away would be perfect and then we could enjoy some time out in Singapore on the Monday and Tuesday.

The place we stayed at was fabulous - little spot called Tempat Senang. It is a Balinese villa that has been converted into a tiny spa with only 9 suites. Located right next to the golf course (to torment Nick further) it is a little piece of heaven, cleverly laid out to ensure maximum relaxation.

Our 3 hour spa treatment was sensational and I can honestly say that its possibly the most relaxed we've been in years! However, we returned to our room to extremely sad news as Nick received an email informing us that one of his colleagues in the Singapore office had been killed in a bicycle accident earlier in the day. Nothing can prepare you for news like that. Nick had started to become friendly with James as they both go to the same gym over lunch time during the week. I had met James and sat next to him at the quiz evening we were invited to right at the beginning of our stay. James was from the London office originally and had been in Singapore for a year. He had just gotten engaged and his fiance was also over here, a lawyer too. The news of his death due to a bicycle accident in Singapore on the long weekend was devastating. We were and still are gutted. Life is so precious and can be taken from you so quickly and unexpectedly. God knows our family and friends have realised that in the most agonising way in the past year.

With that sadness in our hearts and all that comes back to you in times like that, we have been on the down low a bit since then. Certainly the reflection and contemplation intensifies and again you are able to see more trivialities that stand where they shouldn't and you find new strength to break through them in order to claim back relationships and celebrate what you do have instead of what you don't. Perspective. Again it has been revealed to me in a less than subtle way. I could be forgiven for thinking that someone is trying to get a message through.....

Karaoke

When life is getting you down you have to look for the fun and Nick and I found some on Friday night just down the road from us. After dinner again at Three Fat Men, we found our way into a karaoke bar. Nick had to do some serious convincing to get me inside because from the road it looked like a dodgy, dingy, divey spot that I would certainly not want to step foot into. After adopting the attitude of 'When in Singapore', we went inside and found a seat. What fun! People actually go there to sing! Not in the cane-and-cream-soda induced way that ex-Rhodians do at certain establishments located in Craighall. Rather, people were in there singing their favourite ballads, everything from Lionel Richie to Celine Deon. We even heard a few Cantonese ballads which were really beautiful. It was interesting. And of course, in true 'Nicola' style, I decided I had to try - 'once in a lifetime', right? Indeed - and never again! I decided that Elton John's 'Can you feel the love tonight' was an excellent choice as I'd sung it in my high school choir and even sang the last 2 lines as a solo! I clutched the microphone and began singing - OH MY WORD!!! Nick managed to catch the whole thing on video which he really shouldn't have. I sounded more like a choir of mating cats than the way I remembered sounding back in my red school uniform in 1998. HIDEOUS! Anyway, I was a hit regardless and the very polite patrons applauded despite my key change half way through the song that probably left them all with splitting headaches. Yikes!

We did another 10km walk through a series of parks on Sunday which once again reinforced Singapore's dedication to creating and maintaining public amenities. The walk starts at Mount Faber and then each park is linked by a series of pedestrian bridges, canopy walk ways and paved forest walks. What a splendid way to spend a Sunday morning.

About to watch the tennis

We made our way home for a swim and then headed out on our bikes to find a spot to watch the Australian Open Men's Final. We landed up at a Micro-brewery just down the road from us and had the most delicious fish and chips. We got the timing a bit wrong and ended up only watching the first set of the tennis and decided that our intentions of watching a 5 hour tennis match seated on a bar stool was ambitious to say the least. We headed home and resorted to bbm updates from 43 Old Main Road Kloof on the war of the titans, Nadal and Djokovic. My man won in the end and I suppose that's all that counts :)

We are off to Malacca this weekend. Very excited as we are driving up by coach which will mean we get to see some of the countryside into Malaysia and its only a 4.5 hour drive. We spend the night there and then head back late Sunday afternoon. Should be fabulous.

Of course next weekend is our Tioman trip - BRING IT ON! 4 days in island paradise - can't wait!

Love to you all and take care of yourselves. Be careful and be safe.

xx