CNY Eve

13 Feb 2010 - Sat

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year 2010 which falls on a Sat. We had a reunion dinner this evening & adjourn to midnight praying which lasted for a good 2 hrs before we packed up & went to bed.

Our reunion dinner was mainly steamboat with a variety of food ranging from abalone, prawns, veggies, chicken, duck, fish, mushrooms, etc. After the dinner, we wld hv a round of " yum seng" where everyone gathers round. Then my sil wld usually start her round of trying to get everyone drunk. She & some other cousins wld mix & match liquors, wines & spirits & get all to drink. But this year was an exception. My bil did not allow that to happen cos they need to visit some other relatives that evening.

I do not have any fotos to show. Excuse me! Busy eating la... :P

Below posts are all updates of our 2010 outings from 14 Feb - 19 Feb on a day to day basis:

1st day of CNY

14 Feb 2010 - Sun

Wishing one & all a "Happy New Year! 恭喜发财，虎年行大运! Also wishing a Happy Valentine's Day.

We slept very late the night before & awoke to a knocking on our door this morning. It was my mil who asked if we were going to pay 大舅 a visit. She had js returned from the temple. So while she waited, we went to wash up & changed. We went over to 姑姑's house for a bowl of ching teng before setting off.

Opps! 大舅 did not seem to be at home. We knocked & waited but nobody came to open the door. He must hv gone back to Msia. We then went over to 王伯伯's house. We stayed only abt 10 mins. My mil was suppose to go with my sil to Science Center but they cld not confirm the time yet cos they were at my ils' shop preparing the items for praying.

So my mil went with us to Marina Barrage instead.

Naturally, the kids had their fun , splashing in the waters. This was our 2nd time to Marina Barrage. The 1st time was last year in 2009 but i did not had my camera with me then.

After sending my mil back home, we continued our new year visiting. We went over to my grand parents' place for lunch. This has always been a yearly affair where all cousins, uncles & aunties wld gather. To me, i wld usually only see them once a year, unless we have been invited to some other functions, mostly weddings. You see, us cousins were all grown up & we were gettin married one by one. And most of us are now parents with Lionel being the oldest at 5 years. I was the 1st one to give birth but the 2nd cousin to get married.

Seriously speaking, in terms of seniority, they were mostly my uncles & aunties cos they were actually my father's generation but from young, we called each other by name & so we remained that way. To complicated to explain la...

We left for Science Center abt 4pm plus. Again, the kids had fun, wandering ard everywhere. There were diff kind of exhibits, far different from my sec sch days. After graduating from sec sch, i had not visited the Science Center for ages.

In the evening, we left for my mum's place for dinner. Nothing much except to eat & watch TV. I wanted to kids to sleep early as we were going over to Msia early the next morning.

Visiting Msia relatives

15 Feb 2010 - Mon

We set off abt 7.30am in the morning. Traffic was a breeze over at both Singapore & Msia customs but security was tight. The custom officer even stepped out of his booth & walked over to our vehicle & looked inside, asking who was who & comparing the foto in the passports with each individual person.

I was abit worried cos Rachel's foto in the passport was a little diff from hw she looked now. That foto was taken in year 2007. Now she had grown & changed so much.

We head straight for Desaru where 大舅 stayed but we were nt confident he wld be at home. My mil gave us his Msia's ctc # to call but before we cld call, 大舅 called us instead. Haha..

We picked him up & over to 表哥's house ( my mil's eldest sis's son). 大姨 was also there. The kids called her 大姨婆. Wow! I loved their house; so big & spacious & very nicely done up.

We went towards Muar to visit 二姨. Enroute we stopped for lunch at one of the chinese restaurant, 隆城, in Muar's city center. Service sucks. They took our orders & we waited for a very long time before we gt our food. We had to ask for it several times. Even the table beside us were complaining. However, one of our dishes was nt served. Reason given by them: the chef did not prepare the neccessary items. Forget it la! We told the waitress to cancel the item. We had already finished most of our food. No point in waiting again.

By the time we visited 二姨 & made our way back to Desaru, it was close to 7pm. We stopped by Tesco some shopping. For dinner, 大舅 brought us to an open air hawker where he ordered a little of eveything, satays, rojak, claypot toufu soup, etc

Rachel was frightened by the sound of the fireworks but she soon gt used to it. We saw a few 孔明灯 in the air too.

After dinner, we sent 大舅 back & went back to Singapore. Mil was to set off for Hanoi the next morning & we wanted to do a send off as well. So again, the kids wld hv to wake up early.

Pulau Ubin

16 Feb 2010 - Wed

My ils were gg to Hanoi for a holiday. Initially, they had booked a trip to Japan via Japan Airlines but since the company had declared a bankruptcy, the trip was nt able to be confirm. So they changed plans & booked for Hanoi instead.

We all went to the airport for a send off & thereafter, headed for Pulau Ubin to spend the day.

There were only 7 people gg on the holiday but the whole kampong came along for a send off. In total, there were abt 18 of us. After checking in, we went to the staff canteen for a meal. At the last & final call, those 7 went in for boarding.

We left for Changi Ferry Terminal while the rest went home or to their appointment for the day.

We parked our vehicle at Changi Sailing Club which was next to the jetty.

Lionel & Daddy had a tummy ache, so we waited for them by the car. We adjourned to the jetty & queued up to board the bumper boat. S$2.50 per head & no tickets issued. Cash only, payable on board.

.

Bumper boat ride to Pulau Ubin, enjoying the sea breeze.

We arrived some 15 mins later & proceeded to rent bicycles, our mode of transport for the day. The 2 kids rode with Daddy while i rode with no responsiblity. Or so i thought! My major resposibility for the day was my bike which caused me to end up in aches & pains. I cldnt ride up the slopes cos my wasnt a mountain bike. And therefore, i needed to pushed my bike up & was panting.

I thought Pulau Ubin was all levelled roads & paths but i was wrong. There were many many slopes. To those of u thinking of gg to Ubin, bear this in mind. Choose a good bike. But i am nt a bike expert so i hv only myself to blame. Haiz.

There were still many on land residents, mostly doing business like restaurants/coffee shops, provision stores & bicycle rental stores. Along the way, we saw many kampong houses clustered together. The residents can be seen doing their washing, cooking or js lazing ard.

We rode to the wetland reserve but to our disappointment, it was in high tides at that time & so there wasnt a tour conducted. We cld only walked along the boardwalk & if we were lucky enough, we might spot some marine creatures. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed ourselves.

I was reminded of a SBC local serial production ( now known as Mediacorp la). If you were born in the 70s like me, you shd vaguely remember a serial which was filmed on spot at Pulau Tekong -" 西阳西下, 海风青送晚霞, 德光岛, 美如画" (pardon me. my pinyin may nt be accurate).

We breaked for lunch at a kopi tiam near the jetty where we ordered some seafood. Ard 3 in the afternoon, Lionel had an accident which caused me to cancel the cycling for the rest of the day & headed back home. You see, he was seated in front & Rachel behind with Daddy in the middle on the same bike. Lionel accidentally slipped his right leg into the front wheels instead of putting them on the front stand. Luckily Daddy was riding very slowly. Lionel yelled & screamed & we stopped to hv a look. Daddy took off his shoes & socks & there was a nasty bruise. I hurridely took out some ointment & gently rubbed his ankle. Daddy massaged his legs & asked if he cld walked abt. We were afraid he might hv sprainked or twisted his ankle in the midst of it. He came down from the bike & gingerly put his foot down on the grounds. He walked a step or two. Seems ok. I asked him to walk for a few more steps. Looks ok too.

Daddy & i went back to the bicycle rental shop & returned or bikes. We took the next available boat back. I wanted the kids to hv their naps too cos later in the evening, we wld be gg to Lay Khim's house for dinner & "lao yu sheng"

About 6pm plus, we made our way to Lay Khim's house. The kids had an enjoyable time playing with wii (actually so did the adults). And of cos, the most happy moment was when they received more ang paos.

I did not take any fotos of the "lao yu sheng" ceremony cos i had foreseen that it wld be very very messy. The " yu sheng" wld not go high; rather it wld fly in all directions. True enuff, we had yu sheng in our hairs, on our clothes, on the table & floor. No one was spared. Everyone had a little bit of yu sheng on themselves. But everybody enjoyed themselves.

Again we went back early ard 10pm . Again we needed the kids to have an early rest. Again we needed to wake up early the next morning at 5.30am. Our ferry leaves for Batam @ 0750hrs. We had to do a check in by 0650hrs.

Batam Day 1

17 Feb 2010 - Wed

This morning, we were off to Batam for a 2 Days & 1 Night getaway. We stayed @ Harris which was 5 mins from the ferry terminal. Our ferry leaves for Waterfront City @ 0750hrs via Sekupang. We were needed to check in @ 0650hrs.

And since we arrived early, (0800hrs Indonesia time), we requested to check in early if rooms were available. To my shock, the front desk staff told me my reservation was cancelled. I stared at him, eyes wide & asked him to double checked again. There has to be a mistake. I did not called or emailed in to cancel my booking. He told me to hang on while he checked with his reservation department.

10 mins later, he told me that my room wld only be ready after 1300hrs. So i asked him if this means that i hv a room. He assured me yes. We parked our hand carries with the conceirge & glanced at the activities map given.

0900hrs - Indonesia timing - The Kids Club was open. So we went to hv a look. Nothing fanciful except for a mini playground with slides & swings, tables & chairs, a TV which was not switch on, some wall drawings & soft toys on shelves.

We made a booking for the 14oohrs bus shuttle to Nagoya Town but decided to change it to the earlier timing which was at 1030hrs for there were nothing to do & see. We cldnt go for spa as kids were not allowed in.

Do u believe this? We literally spent 7hrs in the same shopping complex. We arrived ard 1100hrs. ( the journey from Harris to Nagoya Town took abt half an hr to 45 mins). Upon arrival, i noticed one of Rachel's sandals were missing. She had became Cinderalla with only the other sandal on her feet. I must hv got it off accidentally without noticing when she slept on the bus. She gt her leg jammed into the corner ( we sat at the last row). I pulled her leg to the front when we were abt to get off. So her sandals were still sitting in the corner.

We went to have lunch first cos we thought we wanted to catch the 1430hrs shuttle bus back to the hotel. Lunch was good. We had it at Grand Duck Restaurant. The total bill came out to Rp312,180

And after lunch, we walked ard aimlessly. Of cos we brought another pair of shoes for Rachel. We went to the pick up/drop off point at 1430hrs. No one was ard except for 1 couple. We waited for the bus, and after 15 mins, we gave up waiting & went off for more aimless shopping. In the evening, we met the couple & they told us they were the only ones who took the shuttle bus back. They met no others.

Once the kids woke up from their afternoon nap, we took them for a splash in the swimming pool. And adjourned for dinner. Dinner was pathetic as there were nt much variety to choose from - buffet style.

We went for a game of bowling. Nothing else to do so we went to bed. Good thing is that the TV's reception was able to captured Singapore's show so Daddy was very happy that he cld watched "赌场风云" which was aired on Channel U locally at 10pm.

Nighty Night!

Batam Day 2

18 Feb 2010 - Thurs

We woke up in the morning & had breakfast. Again, pathetic choices. Haiz! After that, we went for a game of archery. Our ferry leaves for Sinagpore at 1410hrs so were told to wait the hotel lobby at 1330hrs. Check out time was at 12 noon so we went back to the room for a morning nap.






Upon arrival back in Singapore, we shopped ard Vivo City. Daddy's car was an OP car which means we were nt allowed to drive the car during restricted hrs, which means we cld only run on the road after 1900hrs.

So from 1630hrs to 1900hrs, we were walking ard aimlessly again. We brought Rachel another water bottle. Less than 2 mths since the start of term, she had already spoiled 2 bottles. One was cracked as she loves to swing the bottle abt or drag it on the floor. The spring was damaged for the other one as she loves to press the gadget to open the cover & close it again, repeatdly.

So concludes our trip for Batam. Tomorow is another early departure as we were driving up to Desaru & Kota Tinggi for a day.

Desaru/Kota Tinggi

19 Feb 2010 - Fri

Our last holiday outing for the CNY period. This morning, we begun our trip with a drive into Msia again. We were going to visit the much talked about Ostrich Farm, Fruit Farm & see fireflies.

With compliments of http://www.etour-singapore.com/johor-tour.html

We sourced thru the website & found the above link which we literally followed for directions. Our first stop was the crocodile farm which opened at 9am & that's exactly the time we arrived. The admission fees was RM8/adt & RM4/chd.

We had a guide with us who took us on a tour ard the farm. We saw baby crocodiles, huge ones & even one without a tail. According to the guide, it was born without one, so it stayed by itself in an enclosure. Poor thing, It must hv felt handicapped without its tail for crocodiles fend off enemies with the help of their strong tail.

They even sold crocodile meat which of cos we did not buy any. Next stop was the famous Desaru Fruit Farm. Admission was RM20/adt & RM10/chd. We gt 4 boxes of fresh fruit given to us. The only disadvantage to us was that not all the fruits were in season at this time so we cld only see very limited.

Dun ask me what trees, plants, fruits or flowers these were. I had totally forgotten to note them down. But there might be a few which u wld know. We saw sugarcane, bananas trees, papayas, pineapples, chillies, laksa leaves, basil leaves, some herbs & spices which u wld used in your cooking & rose apples which the guide gave some to us FOC.

We even saw a mini animal farm, where they had ostriches, rabbits, goats, owls, monkeys, etc.

Lionel & Rachel cld not resist feeding the goats so we brought them a pkt of fresh grass & hay to feed. Rachel was a little afraid the goat wld bit her fingers so she did not really dare to hold onto the grass while the goat munched. But Daddy was beside her to guide her thru. Lionel, on the other hand, was feeding the goats fast & furious & asked for more.

After the tour, we were given an introduction on their self produced honey. We did some shopping & brought honey, tea leaves, juices, etc. We wanted to buy some honey mangoes as well but we were afraid that the mangoes wld be spoilt by the time we reached home. Its a long day ahead & under the hot sun & inside a humid enclosure (car), the mangoes wld be in heaven soon.

Our 3rd destination for the day was the Ostrich Farm after we had lunch. Lunch was at a recommended restaurant by our local channel U program, hosted by ( i cant remember), something like " 美食好介召" We spent abt RM103 for 3 dishes - fish which cost RM45, prawns which cost RM30 & claypot tofu which cost RM15. Then there were those miscellaneous items like rice, drinks & even their hand towels were chargeable.

Restoran Makanan Laut Yoou

55, Jalan Pantai, Sungai Rengit,

81620 Pengerang, Johor

07-8263071, 013-7049971, 019-7222755

Admission at RM12/adt & RM8/chd. We were there just in time for a guided introduction on the farm & the kids had a chance to balance themselves on the ostrich's egg. We even saw a baby ostrich just hatching from its egg. "Welcome to the world" , the keeper quoted. One ostrich egg can feed 25 people when cooked. We bot the kaya & had ice cream. Rachel was a little tired & nt in the mood for a 'run ard the farm'. I was hestitating to ride on the ostrich. There's even a cert presented to certify that u hv rode on an ostrich.

The guide told us that no one will know if the ostrich is a male or female when born until it has grown & changed feathers. And when the ostrich show signs that it can submerge its head under water, it means that they are ready to stay out there with no shelter, be it rain or shine.

The drive to Kota Tinggi Waterfalls was approx 1.5 - 2 hours from Desaru. This was the time for both kids to have some nap. We called up to book the firefly cruise which was RM20 per head. Children below 3 FOC.

We arrived at Kota Tinggi way too early, so we asked for directions to a waterfall. Follow the below directions:

From Jalan Niagra ( Plaza Kota Tinggi - the tallest building in KT), turn right at the traffic junction to Air Tejun. You shd bypass Hotel Mayres. Then go straight all the way. You wld arrived at Kota Tinggi Waterfalls Resort. Admission is at RM10/adt & RM5/chd & RM5/car.

We spent abt an hour or so & proceeded for dinner. I did not go down into the waters initially but upon seeing that Daddy & the 2 kids were having tremendous fun, i decided to join them. We were js at the bottom of the falls & there were alot of rocks & boulders, slippery ones too. Most people wld js sit ard & enjoy the coolness of the waters. We did free fish spa, haha, cos the fishes wld come & snap at your feet if u wld sit still.

Rachel almost had an accident. She wanted to join Daddy & Lionel who was on the other side & so she stood up to walk across. Opps! She slipped & fell into the waters. Luckily for her, i was only 2 steps away & so i managed to catch hold of her. Else she might hv knocked her head on the rocks below her feet. So darling, u did not listen to me. You were being notty. See what wld have happened to u if i was nt there.

We had dinner at Pizza Hut ard 6pm. We were told to wait at the jetty at 7pm. Skies were still bright so the boatman told us to hang on for a little while more. It must be dusk before we can set off, otherwise, we wld nt be able to see the fireflies.

We were nt able to see anything as our boat slowly cruise along the river. Then, there were "wows", "aaas", "woos", etc. There were many twinkling lights by the bushes, trees tops & across the river. How superb to see the fireflies gliding along the waters. I was nt able to capture any of those lights on camera as they were too tiny. Even our flashlights wld scare them off. Video-ing also did not show anything ( i do not have a superb camera cum video on hand).

It was late by the time we arrived back into the city of Johor. We went into Tesco to buy milk powder & headed straight for customs.

This concludes our CNY holiday for 2010. I hoped you have enjoyed reading as much as we have enjoyed our outing.

Chinatown Shopping

We went to Chinatown for a "look look see see". This is the last weekend before cny so the streets are still as crowded. ( 07 Feb 2010 - Sun)

Taken from inside the car. We were turning right to park our vehicle at OG's.

Taken from up the bridge.

"人山人海" - People Mountain People Sea.

New Year Decors.

Cute cute tigers. ( And this woman hv to get in my way)

God of Fortune...giving out chocolates.

All the ever green Chinese New Year Goodies.

This is us fooling around. ( i dunno what Lionel is doing! Haha)

And js on Mon evening, we went to Xiang Wei's Bak Kwa Factory along Woodlands to buy some bak kwa. S$42 for 1 kg. We brought 5 packs; they come with boxes. We wanted to buy some nian gao as well but they do not seem to hv the "tiger" (虎) design. Only those standard round ones. Even the "fish" (鲤鱼) design also nt available.

We gt our box of "kam" ready too. Spring cleaning mostly done. New year clothings for the kids bought except for mine. I will made do with last year's. Hehe. Counting down to Chinese New Year - 3 more days.

Visit to the dentist

Mummy: Lionel's complained of pain whenever we brushed his teeth so this morning, my sil brought him to the dentist to hv a look. True enough, he had two decays & i guess that's what causing his pain.

He was very cooperative thru out & proudly declared he did not feel any pain when the dentist did the cleaning & washing. He is due for another visit on Fri. Right now, the dentist forbade him to eat hard stuff that requires proper chewing, else the fillings in his teeth may not harden & erodes away.

Then hw is he gonna enjoy his reunion dinner on Sat if he has another filling being done on Fri? I asked. My sil told me can. His appointment is on Fri afternoon, by Sat evening, the fillings wld hv set & harden up. And anyway, our food stuff for the dinner are all soft items, no hard food. And he can also chew his food on the other side of his mouth.

咏鹅

Mummy: Rachel was looking thru the fotos taken during her trip to the animal resort recently & came across the foto of some geese. Daddy asked her what were those & she cleverly replied: "goose".

Then she recited a poem in chinese automatically. When asked who taught her that, she replied: "大姑"

咏鹅

鹅，鹅，鹅
曲项向天歌
白毛浮绿水
红掌拨清波

Another poem which she knows by heart:

静夜思

窗前明月光
疑是地上霜
举头望明月
低头思故乡

Then again, whenever we go thru her counting book, she wld sing a song of a donkey cos the page wld show 3 donkeys with 3 saddles:

小毛驴

我有一只小毛驴
我从来也不骑
有一天我心血来潮
骑着去赶集
我手里拿着小皮鞭
我心里正得意
不知怎么哗啦啦啦啦
我摔了一身泥

And when we do the finger counting, she wld rather skip the lesson & start reciting another poem taught by da gu again:

大母哥

大母哥
二母弟
三中央
四小弟
小妞妞
来看戏
手心
手背
心肝宝贝