Malacca/ KL 2008

As far as I can remember, there's always a wedding to attend in Malacca during the Christmas season. It was no exception this year. We were in Malacca for one night to attend the wedding of Mervin's cousin then proceeded to KL. Alison & Zac generously hosted us for 3 nights at their new home in USJ. Zac was determined to feed us 5 meals a day but we were of course more interested in shopping. On our last night there, Alison arranged for Santa to visit during our dinner at Elena's house. The kids were looking forward to it but were rather suspicious of Santa. Poor Santa was prodded and poked and eventually stripped.... confirming that it was actually Uncle Jonathan under that suit. We had a fabulous time. Wonderful company!

I told you it was Uncle Jonathan!

The next generation - Mitchell, Ariel, Arlene, Raphael, Tim & Erica

Anne, Mitchell & Alison

Erica and Uncle Zac

Apparently that's how you keep your car cool - KL style

We visited Aunty Jeannie in Malacca

Singapore 2008 - Sentosa with the Stewarts

We spent the day with Andre, Hui Ping and their children, Julian, Megan and my god-daughter Nadine. Tim & Erica enjoyed swimming in the warm sea as it's always too cold to swim in the sea in Auckland, even when the sun is real hot in summer. Mervin and Andre went looking for fish but found a pair of mating crayfish instead.

Singapore 2009 - Titanic poses

You can't go for a cruise and not do the titanic pose so off we went one afternoon looking for the tip of the ship but were told we could not get up there until the ship was anchored. So these are the best shots we got - back in Singapore with Sentosa in the background. Sigh! Would have been so much nicer in the open sea.

Singapore 2009 - Cruise - Thant

Thant was our Myanmese room attendant. He was attentive, friendly and made us smile (and the kids shriek with delight) when we came back to the room one evening and saw these lovely towel animals made up for us. Such talent!

Sinagapore 2009 - Cruise - Room with a view

Mervin took these lovely shots of Penang as we were departing that evening. I love the ones of the Penang Bridge.

Singapore 2009 - Cruise - Penang

In the lantern above me, the upper Chinese character is pronounced

Qiu. That's my surname Khoo

One of the stops we made in Penang was the Khoo Kongsi, the Khoo clan ancestral home. As far as I know, we are not related to this clan but hey, we do share the same surname and are probably linked further back in time. I remember studying about the Khoo Kongsi when studying Penang history in secondary school but though I have visited Penang several times, this is the first time I'm visiting this place. Quite educational I must say!

Singapore 2009 - Cruise

Mum kindly booked us on the Super Star Virgo Cruise that took us to Penang and Phuket. For me the best part of the cruise was the Live Entertainment. There were live musicals and shows with amazing acrobatic performances every night. The cast and the quality of the shows were just outstanding. Food was plentiful, a bit too much actually but the shopping in Penang and Phuket was gooood. More fun than shopping in Singapore anyway.

Singapore 2008 - Wild Wild Wet

This won't be repeated in our bathroom girl!

Don't worry Auntie Priscilla, we're almost there.

Gaby's new garb

The children remembered Wild Wild Wet from the previous Singapore visit and couldn't wait to go. The first time round, we went with Priscilla & Catherine who were also in town. It felt that one of our regular Auckand outings. We made a second trip after Mervin arrived with Andy and gang . The hot favourite was the U lah lah!, where 4 or 5 persons sit in a giant inflatable float and get washed down a giant water slide. The foam machine a la Siloso Beach Foam Party, a new feature at the water park, was also heaps of fluffy fun. It's a great place to spend the day and get the children all tired out.

Singapore 2009 - The Liverpool Gang

We spent several lovely days in Tampines. Tim & Erica had their first taste of winning a gambling session. They were introduced to xi, gor, luck (4,5,6 in Hokkien) which they enjoyed tremendously, and kept asking for more. Tim was also converted to a Liverpoolian, it's hard not to be one when you are surrounded by them. Erica of course, preferred Dumbo.

Singapore 2009 (not a mistake) - Dinner at A&A's

Dinner at Adrienne & Adrian's home is always a highlight of our trip to Singapore. Our favourite Eurasian devil curry and feng are always on menu, amongst Adrienne's other scrumptuous dishes. It's always one of those dinners where you keep eating and eating and eating then when it's time to get up from your seat, you feel umm, like you can't lift yourself up.

This is the first time we're visiting A&A's new home in Pasir Ris. It's so beautifully put together. I particularly like the full height showcase custom made for all the lovely miniature ornaments that Adrienne has collected over the years.

We were also meeting babies Caitlin, Erik and Natalie for the first time and it was most interesting watching the different personalities of the littlies. They are all so gorgeous. Wai Ling & Phil, Nick and Sus - watching you guys running after them, I'm glad mine are the age they are at... as you can tell, no more babies for me.

It was great to catch up with Marilyn again after such a long time. She's off to another new mammoth challenge. I've always admired Marilyn's drive and energy.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to come along and Adrienne and Adrian for hosting us, though for fewer hours than I expected to stay :) Till we next meet, God bless.

Singapore 2008 - Gerard

Not long before we arrived, Gerard was enlisted into National Service. It's the first for our family. I got a call from Mum after she had sent Gerard off. She was quite emotional and understandably worried. With two daughters, she had never had to go through the heartache of having a son go through NS. She brought Gerard up as a child and like all grandmas doted on him. She was concerned about how he would cope with the tough training since as we all know, Gerard is overweight.

Anyway, I was glad to see when we arrived that Gerard was surviving quite well. The training only made him miss his food more so Saturday and Sundays were eating days. MEAT is what Gerard wanted and that's what he got.

Time flies..... above, see picture of Gerard when he was ring bearer at my wedding. He, and thank goodness not Mervin, got cold feet when he saw the sword bearers at the altar and refused to budge.... Thankfully he was "persuaded" to move along.

I should also put on record that with his very first pay check from the government for, as he put it, "running around and wasting my time", he bought my children soft toys for Christmas! Dumbo for Erica and Yoshi, from Super Mario for Tim. Thanks Dei! Love you and love your rendition of Hindi songs.