Izzy

Cub Scout - Prawn Fishing

2010-01-31T04:30:00.001-08:00

Another outing for Lil' Izzy #2 with his scout gang. This time around they went prawn fishing. The place is called Bottle Tree Park. The place is called Bottle Tree because there is a tree in a bottle shape! His elder brother tag along as well. This is their 1st time doing fishing.....

Lil' Izzy #2 managed to catch 2 prawns before his brother got another 2 as well. Just nice for 4 of us as baby Izzy still cannot take prawn. So what did we do with the 4 prawns? .... splash some red pepper + olive oil + crushed garlic + butter... a recipe that we never tried before..... Then, place in hot oven..... BUT... two of the prawns jumped out of the oven-plate.... yah.... they were still alive! The result..... SEDAP! We had a nice dish of fresh prawns .... 1 each.

Quest for IMMORTALITY

2010-01-02T02:05:00.000-08:00

School holiday... so we headed for the National Museum of Singapore to learn more about the Egyptian mummies! The museum have an exhibition titled Quest for Immortality: The World of Ancient Egypt. The boys enjoyed themselves... of course this time around, they stick close to us when walking around :-) in the dark & spooky exhibition areas... what do you expect? There was a real mummy. After we're done... we had late lunch at Popeye's.

haha... someone too excited & couldn't wait

Children's Day

2009-12-08T04:33:00.000-08:00

Yup... that time of the year again... the company's children's day. This time, only the boys could go because it was too hot and stuffy for baby izzy. The boys enjoyed themselves especially in picking up their toys, playing in giant bubble & many other games :-)

It rained a bit but luckily the rain only lasted about 15 minutes. All in all... we had lots of fun!... just too bad mama & baby izzy could not join us.

Visit to the Doctor

2009-11-21T17:52:00.001-08:00

Yup.... with new addition, we surely have to make visits to the doctor.... here is one of them. Baby Izzy having her scheduled jab... just look at the big bro' reaction.... but baby izzy was just cool about it... she is looking at the box her big bro is shaking... good diversion technique :-)

Cub Scout Camp-out

2009-10-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

Yup.... camp-out time for the kids! Time to head towards Sarimbun Scout Camp located at North West of Singapore. No need to say much... wonderful time.... activities + dinner & even the maggi in the cup supper. Furthermore, the weather was great. Both Izzy Jr #1 & 2 enjoyed themselves though this time around the camp-out was for Izzy Jr #2 together with this Wolf pack.

reading the compass+knot tying+flag football

yah.... dinner time

camp fire and Izzy Jr & his den doing a skit

Izzy Jr #1 Burfday!

2009-10-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Happy burfday to you! Just something simple after delicious dinner.

Singapore F1 2009

2009-10-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yup! That time of the year. Nite Singapore F1 and this time around we tried the walkabout tickets... you can walk-around to find the best spot.... but need to be there early to 'mark your territory'. With kids.... the height limitation made it a bit more difficult but nevertheless we managed to get a nice spot to see part of the actions!

Penang Ferries

2009-09-06T02:08:00.001-07:00

Photos taken in 2006 during an impromptu trip to Penang to settle our crave for Penang Laksa!

Kebab @ ECP

2009-08-15T07:19:00.001-07:00

Yup... had supper at ECP... we headed for our favourite kebab near the McD area. Baby Izzy also joined us. This is her first time to ECP... well, just like any baby, she slept almost all the way... after all she can't enjoy the food like her brothers. We had kebab rolls + Turkish Moussaka + Baklava. Yummy!

After that went for a quick stroll along ECP before calling it a day.

Welcome Back

2009-08-01T03:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, July was such a quiet month (for the blog)... the kids and mama and baby spent their time back in Malaysia during the confinement period. So not much update. Nevertheless, our little baby Izzy is now almost 2 months old now. She finally spent some time outside to join us for a late breakfast... along the river back in Singapore.

The main meal for lil' izzy

The boys were also excited as this is their first outing with their little baby sister!

Haziq's Elementary School Graduation

2009-06-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

yup... the petite boy in the front row is him

Yes, early June ... apart from the new addition to the family, Izzy Jr#1 also graduated from his Elementary School. After 5 years in elementary school, next August he is going into Middle School! His school had a graduation ceremony to mark the occasion. After the graduation, everyone was invited to a cake party! Yummy.

New Addition!

2009-06-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Izzy family is now 5. The latest addition is a baby girl... She was safely delivered on 2nd June 2009 at 0640hrs. Yes, early in the morning (her two brothers were delivered in the afternoon). Mama & baby doing well. As Izzy Jr #2 & his Year 1 classmates say...

Welcome to the World!

HMS Bulwark Navy Ship

2009-05-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

Got to know that our school friend was visiting Singapore for work. He is a freelance journalist who writes about military stuff... One of his normal routine includes going to ship receptions... & we managed to tag along. We were on-board the HMS Bulwark @ the Changi Naval Base.

Unfortunately kids are not allowed so we (papa & mama) went without them!

Mama's Burfday!

2009-05-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

Yup... it's May & it is mama's burfday! We celebrated at home on Friday evening with B&J ice cream cake. Izzy Jr #1 played the happy burfday song on the piano.

Then, on Saturday we went and had dinner at the Grand Hyatt hotel and supper at a PS Cafe at Dempsey Hill. We had steak + chocolate cake + lemon pudding + lots of cheese!

Moon Bear

2009-04-27T06:02:00.001-07:00

Yes... time for the Year 5 kids to host their 1st exhibition... part of their preparation before going into the middle school. The theme for the school project reseach this year is about world issues (on sustainable development). Many topics such as recycling, global warming, smoking etc were researched by the kids in groups of 4-5.

Izzy Jr and his group did research on Moon Bear... an animal that is facing extinction. He is the leader for his group. The pinnacle of the research is an open day where all the kids have to present their work to parents, children from other schools, teachers and even to younger kids. They did this by displaying their work, do presentations and even play their own-produced iMovie.

During their research which lasted 2 months, the learning profiles & attitudes that they learnt together are confident, open-minded, communicator and appreciation. Well done to Izzy Jr #1 and his team and all his classmates for the great work!

He is now a TIGER!

2009-04-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Yup! Izzy Jr#2 has completed his 1st year as cub scout and has officially graduated into a Tiger Cub Scout! Good Job & Congrats to him and his Tiger Den1! Hopefully more fun in the coming years (... and more sewing of patches for his father!).

F1 Malaysia 09

2009-04-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

Yup it's F1 season. The boys went to Sepang to enjoy the race. It rained in the afternoon and somehow the boys successfully got their shirts wet & so got new F1 shirts! They must have planned for this cause my shirt was dry!

The race itself had to be stopped midway due to heavy rain later during the race. It was buckets of water + sunset + lightning + darkness.... Whatever the case.... next year we still want to go! But Izzy Jr #2 wants confirmation that Massa will win before going.... Hmmmmmm... any suggestion?

afternoon before the race, it rained... boys got new Ferrari shirts

4:30pm Preparing for the race...

The Race!

Then.... the rain & the end of the race!

Melaka Bandar Bersejarah

2009-03-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

Spent 3 days & 2 nights at Melaka over the weekend. It was a simple trip to get out of the city life. You can visit many places at Melaka. Since we wanted to have a relaxing trip, we did not have any to do or to go list.... just find spots nearby the hotel. We ended-up visiting Muzium Kapal Flor De La Mar (Flower of the Sea - a Portuguese ship that sank off the coast of Melaka while on its way to Portugal carrying precious items looted from the Sultan), Muzium TLDM, A Famosa and the Istana Kesultanan Melayu Melaka... fun and educational for the kids. Not forgetting we had ikan jenahak & Ikan pari asam pedas... a must when you are in Melaka & enjoy spicy food!

photos...

Nasi Daun Pisang

2009-03-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

It was nasi daun pisang for lunch last weekend with the kids auntie. Then on the way back after sending their auntie back home, stopped at ECP for some ice cream and rojak buah before heading home. The original plan was to go to Pasir Ris after lunch for a clean-up activity with the cub scout but the weather was not good at all!

Nite Safari

2009-03-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

Last December the boys brought their uncle and auntie to the Singapore Night Safari...

ECP - a wet day

2009-03-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

Went to ECP last week for cycling and roller blading... managed to do them for about 45 minutes before.... rain.... rain ..... & more rain! so, enjoyed Turkish kebab!

School Camp-out at Singapore Zoo

2009-03-01T05:44:00.000-08:00

Article written by Izzy Jr #1

Yup.... It is Camp-out time again but this time it is NOT with the cub scouts. This time Izzy Jr #1 had his camp-out with his schoolmates. It is part of our preparation to go into Grade 6 end of this year. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at the Singapore Zoo.... what FUN! Parents NOT ALLOWED.... mobile phones NOT ALLOWED.... Electronic games NOT ALLOWED but we all still had lots of fun.

Though it rained, we still enjoyed themselves. Apart from sleeping in the zoo with all the animals, we went to the night safari, visited the zoo main attractions including Kids Worlds. We also visited the Animal Hospital, the Animal Research Center and Insects and Bugs Center where it is not accessible to public visitors. We learnt lots of new things including being responsible for our own stuff and being on time.

Since I did not bring any camera, below are photos taken at our school leaving for the zoo!

That's my teacher... take care of us please!

Various Locations in Nederland

2009-02-22T05:09:00.000-08:00

Various locations at Nederland... business trip.... only Izzy Sr went there.

Schevenigen

Den Haag

Scheidam

Delft

Rijswijk

Rotterdam

Cub Scout - Grand Finale

2009-02-19T04:09:00.000-08:00

The proud boys!!!

with their mommies

Both Boys before the ceremony

Yes... Izzy Jr#1 has reached the pinnacle of cub scouting.... he graduated & received the Arrow of Light award. It was sure hard work for the last 1.5 years... but sure worth it. They enjoyed all the activities indoor or outdoor. They have sure grown into bigger boys!

carbo intake time.... look at their facial expression... hard work!

waiting time

the 'burning' of the cub scout neckerchief ceremony

receiving his certificate and award

boy scouts helping the cubs to wear their new boy scout neckerchief

Izzy Jr #2 together with his den was responsible for the closing ceremony

The ceremony was held at the Singapore American School last weekend. The boys in his Webelos II Den 5 must be very proud of themselves.... CONGRATS!!!

Cub Scout - SCDF Visit

2009-02-09T05:02:00.000-08:00

Izzy Jr #2 visited the Fire station last December with his cub scout members. This time his elder brother joined in the fun. They tested the high pressure water gun (free shower on a hot morning) & went-up the fire engine boomlift.

Hafiz's B'day

2009-01-23T22:20:00.001-08:00

Before the game starts

b'day boy giving out his party pack...

1...2....3 smile!

Hafiz looking soooooo cheeky

Yup... Capricorn boy had his b'day party at a bowling club. He sure enjoyed himself! It was bowling, food & boys havoc for 2 hours!!

what's the score?

Cub Scout - Singapore Historical Trail

2008-12-09T06:05:00.001-08:00

quite obvious where this place is

1...2.... smile

Several weeks ago, the boys and 1 of their cub scout den mate & his sister went for the Singapore Historical Trail. It was quite a walk... about 3.5 hours walk visiting more than 20 locations... they had to answer questions along the way as well... & they took turns to do that. All in all, a good educational trip for them + all the goofing around as well! The weather at that time was great for a long walk as well!

Al-Abar Mosque built between 1850 and 1855

Ok.... what is the answer to this one?

Tian Hock Keng Temple built between 1839 and 1842

Ok... this is not part of the exhibit!

at Singapore River - Cavenagh Bridge which was opened in 1869. Sir William Orfeur Cavenagh was the Governor of the Straits settlements in 1859 to 1867.

OK... time for Izzy Jr #2 to pen down his answer.... Question: Did Sir Stamford Raffles have a beard? (look at the statue and answer...)

Fullerton Building - Constructed in 1928 as the Singapore General Post Office

at Victoria Memorial Hall & Theater

Cub Scout - Pack Hike

2008-11-23T00:10:00.000-08:00

This week, Izzy Jr#2 had his second outing with his den.... he went pack hiking at the MacRitchie Reservoir... It was an easy and fun walk. His brother also joined the walk....

In the beginning... everyone had more than enough energy!!!

Then... everyone slowed down...
time for a rest

who wants to go home?

The walk home...

Cub Scoting - Boy Scout Familiarisation

2008-11-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

Well... next year Izzy Jr#1 will have to decide whether he wants to continue his cub scout (& join the boy's scout). To help him decide, he spent 1/2 day at Pulau Ubin checking out the boy scout activities... the boy scouts were having 3 day-2 night camping. Izzy Jr together with his cub scout den joined the mountain bike activity... We cycled for about 3 hours.

Here are the photos....

The trip to Pulau Ubin

Stop!! We forgot our bikes...

Start our engine.... vroooom

let's start a fire....

Below are photos of us riding around the Quarry!!!!

Double black diamond means... Bad... real bad!!!

Lots of pushing at the double black diamond trail!!!

Sentosa Outing - part 2 nite time photos

2008-11-12T01:54:00.000-08:00

Songs of the Sea...

Merlion Walk

Beach Station

Merlion & Imbiah Lookout

Ok taaa good nite!

Sentosa Outing - part 1

2008-11-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

from our hotel room balcony

Hi there!

It was the company's Children's Day last weekend & it was held at Sentosa Island. Believe it or not... finally after 2 years living in Singapore, we made our trip to this "touristy" island. We decided to stay overnight at Sentosa... just to relax & unwind. We stayed at Treasure Resort Sentosa and got a room right across The Merlion. We enjoyed the break... though it was very-very short!

The Luge... a sure favourite for the boys!

it's a 3-way dead-heat!!!

up again for the next race...

at the hotel entrance

hmmmm....... what are we supposed to see?

ok.... all clear... jalan!

Family Day 2008

2008-11-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

the kids at background... this time fighting is approved whack...whack!!!!

It's time to have family fun. The family fun carnival was held at one of the project's ferry terminals. The theme was Pirates Adventure. The highlight of the event was ferry tour to the project construction site. Due to it's proximity to live plant, the ferry circled the project island without stopping... but enough to show the boys where their papa is working..... full of tanks and columns and cranes and big-big structures.

The boys enjoyed themselves including the carnival games & stage shows... & not forgetting the 'wrestling' match. They brought back many prizes... We even won a lucky draw (but not the 1st prize).

Before going back, the boys (yup.... all 3 of them) went for cycling on pedal go-karts which is located at a park just outside the ferry terminal.

Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers

2008-10-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

Was attending a course in KL & took the opportunity to take photos of night view of PTT and KL Twin Towers... taken from KLCC park

Cub Scout - Ice Skating

2008-10-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

Oooppsss

2 weeks ago, the boys had their cub scout activity... this time it was ice skating for Izzy Jr#1... Izzy Jr#2 also followed and joined-in the fun! The boys had 30 minutes of lesson before they were let loose. Quite amazing... the first time they went into the ice skating rink, they could not move at all! But after 30 minutes of lesson, they ventured to all corners! Izzy Jr#2 had already written in his 'to do' list ..... 'go to ice skating' and reminding his papa almost every week to do it!

Cub Scout Camping - Story by Izzy Jr #2

2008-10-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Story by Izzy Jr #2

Well, finally the youngest Izzy managed to pencil down his first experience camping as a cub scout. Here is his short unedited story... again...all in one single sentence!

I went to boy scuoot (scout) and I can play water balloon and we can make a cam (camp) and it is raining and it was fun and we sing song and we did babaqu (BBQ) and I prates (practice) my compass and I play games and we eat magee (maggi) and we sleep 12:24 a.m.!

a game of flag football

With his den members

Knot tying exercise

It's water balloon fight... where will the blue balloon land?

Izzy Jr#2 trying to tease someone into throwing water balloon to him

With his den flag that he won together with his den

Cub Scout Camping - story by Izzy Jr #1

2008-10-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Article written by Izzy Jr #1

We had cub scout camping this weekend. It is the first time Izzy Jr #2 attend the camp-out as a cub scout. However below is the story from his elder brother as Izzy Jr #2 was too tired and went to sleep very early. We'll wait for his version in few days time! So go ahead Izzy Jr #1...

In my cub scout camping, there were lots of activities. There were First Aid workshop, knot tying competition and orienteering activity; where I learned to use compass. I enjoyed all of the activities. My favourite activity was the water balloon fight. In this game you throw water balloons to anyone to make them wet... we played in the rain so everyone ended up wet!

preparing for the balloon fight!

haha we all got wet!

Then, it was time for dinner. I ate my dinner with my den members. We ate chips, BBQ salmon, nuggets, BBQ chicken, hot dog and had marshmallow for dessert. After we're done eating dinner,we had pack meeting where we had lots of skits and singing. At 9:15pm, we then played Capture The Flag game with some boy scouts until 10:00pm. We played in the field and it was totally dark and still wet! We had to use our torchlight. When the game was over, I had my shower and cooked maggi with my father and lil' brother before going to bed.

Dinner time.... had to do it in the canteen because of the rain!

Enjoying the skits during pack meeting ... before the nite capture the flag game

The next morning, the Webelos cub scouts which include myself, had to cook pancakes for the whole cub scout pack. I made chocolate chip pancakes. After eating breakfast, we went home. I enjoyed myself.

Singapore F1 - Qualifying + Race Day

2008-10-10T05:17:00.000-07:00

Izzy Jr #2 was quite upset when he saw what happened to Massa during his pit stop but nevertheless, we enjoyed our time at the track. The race atmosphere was great.

Singapore F1 Nite Race - circuit preparation

2008-09-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 24 Sept 2008. Workers were still busy doing final touch-up of the circuit. Most part of circuit has been closed from vehicles but pedestrians can walk almost the whole part of the circuit. While walking along the circuit saw DC doing his familiarisation on the 5.067km circuit.

cuti-cuti Malaysia - Cameron H'land (FB)

2008-09-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

April 2007... spent 3 nights at Cameron Highland to relax & unwind. the company's bungalow is sure a great place & not forgetting the great food as well! Though weather during daytime is not that cold anymore, nigh time is very different. Went there with the kid's grandparents and uncle. Their cousins joined them the next day. Went to the Boh tea plantation, butterfly park, vege market, strawberry picking & tested scones at few places.

Satu Pagi di Cherating

2008-09-15T05:02:00.001-07:00

Berbuka Puasa

2008-09-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, thought of having a good berbuka puasa outside.... the family wanted western... so kita orang pergilah to this restaurant..... the spaghetti aglio olio & lobster was delicious tapi the grill meat (chicken + beef + lamb) was quite disappointing... macam marinade in soup...

So, bila balik, the kids and their mum agreed that Izzy Sr to make roasted lamb & spaghetti aglio olio the next day ('cause the spaghetti olio was eaten by Izzy Jr#1 alone.... yup he was very hungry!).

So, on Sunday buka puasa... everyone baru puas-hati... and at less than half the restaurant price!

the menu:

roasted lamb with vegetable

spaghetti aglio olio with prawn & scallop

couscous with sour cream

... the best way to eat... a bit of everything in a single plate!

Soccer Class

2008-09-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

Izzy Jr#2 had his first soccer class last Saturday at his school. He had fun and as he said...."I learned so many stuff like you need to jog a lot, look where you want to kick the ball & not forgetting the goalkeeper must always look at the ball and not daydreaming!"

School Outing & Camp Out

2008-08-30T23:30:00.001-07:00

This week, Izzy Jr#1 had a school field trip to the shopping mall during lunch break... the objective of the field trip is to try different cultural food. Each of them had to buy food from different stalls or different meal. The mall is only about 10 minutes walk from the school.

Over the weekend, we spent the nite camping out at East Coast Park... just a change in environment & to get away from all the TV's & computer games & xBox! BBQ is in the menu for dinner & morning was pancakes. We also brought our bicycles with us.

August '08 Izzy's Top 7

2008-08-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 6th issue of Izzy's Top 7
The votes are finally in! The counting has been reconfirmed!
The Izzy kids have decided on their Top 7 for August '08

*****

This Top 7 can give you a simple insight of some of our favourite things.

If you are wondering why 7 and not 10?Well... our respond will be why 10 and not 7?For this month, our Izzy's Top 7 is...

Izzy's Top 7 Movie

7) Polar Express

6) Cars

5) Mummy

4) Ironman

3) Eragon

2) Indiana Jones

1) Star Wars

1st Few Days of New School Semester

2008-08-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

The kids got busy again with their new school semester. The eldest started his Year 5 while the smaller Izzy joined Year 1... no more Kindy for him!

With his new teacher

abang having his lunch break...

while the mums also got busy (taken by Izzy Jr #2)

National Museum Singapore - Night Festival

2008-08-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

2 weeks back, we went to the National Museum of Singapore for their Night Festival. We went there with our uncle & auntie who visited us over the weekend. They had the museum decorated with light projections done by the Sydney-based The Electric Canvas. Altogether there were 12 different designs and they were all so wonderful. Our favourites light projection designs are shown below...

July '08 Izzy's Top 7

2008-07-31T06:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 5th issue of Izzy's Top 7

The votes are finally in! The counting has been reconfirmed!

The Izzy family has decided on their Top 7 for July '08
*****
This Top 7 can give you a simple insight of some of our favourite things.If you are wondering why 7 and not 10?Well... our respond will be why 10 and not 7?For this month, our Izzy's Top 7 is...

Izzy's Top 7 Ice-cream flavours

7) Apricot (Haagen Dazs)

6) Macadamia Mania (Swensen's)

5) Strawberry (Ben & Jerry's)

4) Chocolate Therapy (Ben & Jerry's)

3) Belgian chocolate (Haagen Dazs)

2) Sticky Chewy Chocolate (Swensen's)

1) Vanilla (Haagen Dazs)

ccPT (part 4 - Finale)

2008-07-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

Yup, time to return to Shah Alam before heading back to Singapore. We took the Kuala Terengganu - Kuantan route and made stop-oevr at paka to visit the kid's uncle n auntie... who happened to just recovered from chicken pox... for the 2nd time. Of course the stop also included a keropok lekor meal near the beach.

Bye-bye Redang

Paka stop-over

We then drove to Cherating & stayed overnight at Impiana Cherating before continuing our journey to Shah Alam. Along the way made a stop at a relative's house just outside of Kuantan.

Below are pictures at Impiana Cherating & the nasi dagang n some kuih we had for breakfast ( a makcik's stall about 1km south of Impiana Cherating... recommended!)

ccPT (part3d - Redang Island)

2008-07-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

More Photos at Redang...

Posing time before taking the dip in the sea

the lepak place...

the view from the beach

an island when reaching Redang

The Spa... re-energize (from the lepak) the nite before leaving Redang

ccPT (part 3c - Redang Island)

2008-07-27T01:37:00.001-07:00

Snapshots from our snorkeling trip... we went to 5 spots in 1 snorkeling outing and spent the other days snorkeling near the resort... even at knee-high water level... you can see colorful fishes.

Taking a break at Long Beach for lunch

The kids and Steve after lunch break... heading back to the boat for 2nd half of snorkeling

Stingray at one of the snorkeling sites

Snorkeling at the beach...

One of these bit papa... they were soo attracted to the bright pink camera that he was using

using the underwater camera... macam taken from outside aquarium aje but nope taken in the sea.

Izzy Jr#1 with mama

ccPT (part 3b - Redang Island)

2008-07-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

Article by Izzy Jr #2

Well it is time to let Izzy Jr #2 to write his article on Redang Island in this blog. The intention here is to have him express his experience in writing ... a good exercise for him before he starts his year 1 school next month. Try to read 'em... everything is written unedited! If you can't figure out what he wrote, I have also re-written them below... Well done Izzy Jr #2... keep it coming!

On rdae I play on the bach and I play with stif and I went with Stif to play at the sweming pool and a man sade Im a god semer and I tik I can go to Rdae agn and I sor a ailld and on the ailld I mac a wever and my brude mac a pon and on the bot I mac a paper frog and we go up of the bot and one man sade the bot is like a spet bot and I went to a bug and I do snocling and I sor a lot of fish and my fuder sor a sting rae and I see a fish thnt can chne a lot of cule and under ser they have a lot of fish and some fish can moof fas and we pl sucer and my buder allwes wen.

After few clarifications from the author and after having his permission, below is the re-written article in adult's spelling and with the use of punctuation (something Izzy Jr#2 will soon have to learn to use... If you have not realised, the above story is completed in 1 sentence only!):

On Redang, I play on the beach and I play with Steve (the kids new friend at Redang... he was traveling alone & we met during the snorkeling trip... also made friends with another couple... Andy & wife) at the swimming pool and a man said I'm a good swimmer and I think I can go to Redang again.

(he then jumped to a new topic... about him playing sand castle at the beach) I saw an island and on the island I made a river and my brother made a sea and then a pond (near the sandcastle).

(he then jumped to a new topic again... this time on the boat for snorkeling) On the boat I made a paper frog (he did this to keep himself busy when the boat moves from one snorkeling spot to another). When we go up (into) the boat, one man said the boat is like a speed boat and I went to the back (to get off the boat) to do snorkeling and I saw a lot of fish and my father saw a stingray and I see a fish that can change a lot of color and under the sea they have a lot of fish and some fish can move fast.

(now, as a finale, he changed to a new topic... us playing snooker at the resort at night) We played snooker and my brother always win.

ccPT (part 3a - Redang Island)

2008-07-25T03:39:00.000-07:00

Spent 4 days & 3 nights in Redang. The boat ride to Redang from KT is about 90 minutes. We spent couple of days at Redang Spa and the rest at Redang Beach Resort. Redang Spa is for those who wants privacy with not much activities (& no spa... go figure) while Redang Beach is where the beach is & oh yes where the spa is also. The hotel provides van shuttle between both hotels & the trip is about 10 minutes crossing a small kampung area.

Our daily routine is quite simple... beach.... swimming pool... beach... swimming pool. We also went island hopping for snokerling. It is the kids 1st experience snorkeling and I must say that they had much fun! You can even snorkel near the beach with fish all around you. The water is very clear just like the swimming pool.

During snorkelling the kids made a new friend... mind you their new friend is >20 years old. I'll let Izzy Jr#2 to write all about it including his personal experience in Redang in the next article. So keep looking at this site... it will be his 1st writing on this blog (unedited)!

... pagi hari di Redang...

photos from our Redang Spa bedroom patio

photos at the beach in Redang Beach Resort

ccPT (part 2 - Kuala Terengganu)

2008-07-24T04:05:00.000-07:00

After Kota Bahru, it is time to head for Kuala Terengganu (KT). Since we were on vacation, we opted to take the coastal road... better scenery. Normal driving time is 1.5 hours from KB but we took our time and reached KT after almost 3 hours of driving. We made few stops along the way for zuhur & keropok lekor & we also made a photo-stop at MRSM KT where Miss Izzy did her high school.

sorry yea... pls turn your head to the left!

Having hot and crispy keropok lekor at Kampung Penarik

MRSM KT entrance

In KT, we took opportunity to stop at the Masjid Kristal... don't think the place is fully ready yet as many more touch-up needed & they were still constructing some of the miniature masjids from around the world. Nevertheless interesting place, only need better access for the locals to use the masjid's facility. We stayed overnight at Permai Inn as all hotels we called in KT were fully booked...part of the Inn was under renovation. The next day before taking the boat to Redang, we had breakfast with a friend. He brought us to this nasi berlauk KB restaurant... I think it is the best nasi berlauk we had during the journey.... as evident in the photo below.... tak sempat ambik gambar the nasi is already in the tummy! The sambal belacan is so kaw & the gulai ikan had nenas... always a good combination!

see... food already in tummy. even the high speed camera could not capture the moment!

Must make it a point to visit Terengganu again as there are many interesting tourists spots that we came across along the way but did not manage to go.... next time... can have more keropok lekor as well!

ccPT (part 1c - Kelantan)

2008-07-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Shopping time at Pasar Siti Khadijah...

My mom bought many keropok, ikan kering & some clothing for herself and her friends.

ccPT (part 1b - Kelantan)

2008-07-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

More photos from the Kelantan trip...

with little brother and I with my uncles

family in Kota Bahru

ccPT (part 1a- Kelantan)

2008-07-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

article by Izzy Jr #1... a summer holiday writing project

my brother posing after arrival at Kota Bahru

It is cuti-cuti Pantai Timur (ccPT) time!. We spent our vacation in Kelantan, Trengganu & Pahang. The trip started on July 4th (Singapore to Shah Alam) before we drove all the way to Kota Bahru on July 5th. Umi (my grandmother) and my family went to Kota Bahru in our MPV. My father drove for 8 hours from Kuala Lumpur. We stopped at Gua Musang to have our lunch and arrived Kota Bahru at about 6pm. When we reached Kota Bharu, we slept in Umi sister's house for 1 night. We had nasi kerabu & nasi berlauk for dinner... yummy!

Photo with our host of day 1... her husband already left for work

The next morning, we had nasi dagang for breakfast. We then went to visit Umi's father (my great grandfather). That night we had ayam colek... it is roasted chicken with rojak dipped in thai-chilli sauce..we never had it before & it was delicious. The whole family liked it... .

makan ayam colek

The next day, we went to another of Umi's sister's house. My little brother & I watched TV and played Play Station with our uncles. 2 of my uncles are younger than me! My mother and father then went to market (Pasar Siti Khadijah) to do some shopping.

The next day we had dinner with my mom's aunty... we even had roti bakar for supper... the roti bakar was delicious. My mom said that the roti bakar place is very popular here... it is called Whitehouse Coffee Shop. Before leaving Kota Bahru we also visited my Atuk's mom. We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Kelantan.

my parents and aunty having roti bakar at Whitehouse Coffee Shop

Vacation Preview

2008-07-20T01:35:00.000-07:00

Whole family just got back from cuti-cuti Pantai Timur. While we sort out the photos (thousands of them), showing sneak preview on the road trip...

Some interesting facts:

# of states covered (from Singapore): Johore, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Pahang, Kelantan & Trengganu

Places stopped: Gua Musang (lunch), Kota Baru n Pasir Puteh n Pengkalan Cepa n Kubang Krian (visit relatives n shopping), Kampung Penarik (keropok lekor stop-over), Kuala Trengganu (site-seeing), Redang (main vacation destination), Paka (visit uncle n keropok lekor stop-over), Cherating (over-nite rest), Kuantan (relative visit) & Shah Alam (main HQ)

Total distance: slightly above 2000km

Days covered: 16 Days

Vehicle used: Nissan Presage - Highway Star 2.5

Fuel consumption: about 9.5km/ltr (Shell V-Power)

Total luggage: soo many (especially the beach tools & swimming/snorkeling gears)

Side effects: Very much darkened skin (except for Missy Izzy who seeked protection under the beach huts!) n total lost of track of the day/time.

BBQ at ECP (part 2)

2008-07-03T05:25:00.001-07:00

More photos from the BBQ.... makan time.. nyum-nyum enak berkali-kali

BBQ at ECP (Part 1)

2008-07-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

article by Izzy Jr #1
... a summer holiday writing project

Two weeks ago, in the evening, we had BBQ at the East Coast Park beach. We actually wanted to go to the beach in the morning but it rained so we had to wait till 4:00pm. My uncle, cousin, lil' brother and I played at the beach. My cousin and my lil' brother like to play with the sea water. I also brought all the beach tools to make sandcastle. My uncle built four sandcastles. My papa and mama was busy making the BBQ while my umi was taking a short nap.

Then my father called us to eat. We ate BBQ chicken, mash potato, lamb chop and grilled salmon. After finishing our BBQ party, I tried to make more BBQ fire using wood and leaves, but it didn’t work. When it was time to go, there’s only a little fire in the BBQ pit.

I enjoyed the BBQ and the food was delicious.

June '08 Izzy's Top 7

2008-06-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 4th issue of Izzy's Top 7
The votes are finally in! The counting has been reconfirmed! The Izzy kids has decided on their Top 7 for June '08

*****

This Top 7 can give you a simple insight of some of our favourite things.
If you are wondering why 7 and not 10?
Well... our respond will be why 10 and not 7?
For this month, our Izzy's Top 7 is...

Izzy's Top 7 Leisure Activities

7) Watch TV

6) Cycling

5) Swimming

4) Playing Basketball

3) Play board games (Life & Monopoly)

2) BBQ

1) Playing xBox

Number 1 is not surprising at all as the kids just got their xBox few weeks ago...

Nite Safari

2008-06-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

article by Izzy Jr #1

... a summer holiday writing project

Last Friday, my grandmother, my uncle, my auntie and cousins came to Singapore for a vacation. On Saturday, we went to Night Safari. The animals have very good vision at night. I told my father that I want to go to the Night Safari show. The show is about animals performing on stage. When we reached there, the line was full. So, we took a walk instead to see the animals. We also walked on a suspension bridge. It was old, very long and it was also very wavy. It was also dark. The animals we saw are lions, crocodiles, bats, golden cats, leopard, otter, indian wolf, flying squirrel and flying fox.

After walking a full circle, we reached at the place where we started. We wanted to catch the animal show. The show was again full and we can’t watch them. So, we took the tram to explore more at Night Safari. In the tram, there was a rule not to use flash photography but some people did not follow the rule. The animals we saw from the tram ride are Malayan tapir, giant anteater, elephant, flamingo, rhino, water buffalo, golden jackal and giraffe. Some of the animals are tame but some are not. Before going home, we had Ben & Jerry's ice cream ... yummy!

Cub Scout Jungle Trekking (FB)

2008-06-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

article by Izzy Jr #1
... a summer holiday writing project

November last year, our cub scout had jungle trekking activity at the Mac Ritchie Trails. We walked into a deep jungle. The weather was a bit wet... it drizzled during the first hour. The walked was 9 km and we managed to complete the walk within 3 hours. We had to climb hills, walk on a tree top bridge and crossed rivers.

There were lots of animals and insect in the Mac Ritchie Trails. The animals we saw include birds, eagles, turtles, bugs and even monkeys.

The tree top bridge is about 200 meters long. You can almost see the whole jungle from the bridge because the tree top bridge is even higher than the jungle trees and near the top of a hill. Luckily most of us were not afraid of heights! After the bridge, we walked in the jungle again.

Then, we saw a viewing tower called the Jelutong Tower. We went up there to enjoy the view and had a snack and drank water. We completed our walk before noon.

K2 Final Bow

2008-06-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Izzy Jr #2 taking the final bow to K2!

Cub Scout Camping - part 2 (FB)

2008-06-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

article by Izzy Jr #1

... a summer holiday writing project

In the evening, we started to set-up & prepare for BBQ dinner within our den. We had hot dogs, chicken and we also ate marshmallow. It was delicious. I felt rejoice and re-energize with all the food and games.

Then, later that night, the whole cub scouts went to the big camp fire. Luckily I remembered to bring my torch light as we had to walk in the dark. When we reached the camp fire, we sang songs and played more fun games. We even had people telling good and awful jokes.

The camp fire ended at about 9:00pm, our den and the other Webelos dens were lucky because we were allowed to play more games with the boy scouts. It is called tag glow. The rule is simple; first you need to have a glow stick, and hide it anywhere in the soccer field. Then the other team will try to steal it, but if you are tagged by your opponent, you have to freeze yourself and can only move again if tagged by your own teammates. Our group lost the game but I enjoyed them.

Then it was time to go sleep. Before that, my father and I made maggi for supper before going to sleep. Next morning, we woke up early to make pancakes. We ate the pancakes together. I enjoyed my camping trip. My father, mother and little brother joined the camping trip as well.

Cub Scout Camping - part 1 (FB)

2008-06-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Article by Izzy Jr #1

... a summer holiday writing project

Last October, our cub scouts had a camp out activity. The cub scouts spent 2 days & 1 night at the Sarimbun Camp. We arrived at the camp site in the afternoon & my father helped the organizer to put up some signs; to show the areas for camp-fire, canteen, kitchen and the Webelos, Tigers, Bears and Wolf camping areas. Then we set-up our big tent for sleeping overnight and a small tent for eating and resting.

After finishing our lunch, we had some cub scout activities. Firstly we played flag football, secondly we practiced our knot tying techniques and thirdly, we played rescue game. We also learnt how to use the compass. I enjoyed all the games. After we finished our games, all of us ate ice-cream.

My Kinder Graduation part 2

2008-06-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

More photos from my kinder graduation

My Kinder Graduation part 1

2008-06-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

idea by Izzy Jr #2

Yay! It is my kinder graduation day. On my graduation day, I got my kinder scroll from my school principal. After getting the scroll, every kids in kindergarten 2 (K2) performed on stage. We sang and do a little bit of 'actions'.

After the performance, we went back to class for our class party. There were lots and lots of food and drinks....yummy! My papa and mama and brother came to see my graduation day. It was fun!

Next year I will go to grade 1.

Malam hari di Singapore River (2)

2008-06-05T03:53:00.000-07:00

More photos from the nite-walk...

Malam hari di Singapore River (1)

2008-06-05T03:39:00.000-07:00

Went for a walk with the kids along Singapore River. Covered part of Clarke Quay, Boat Quay & Marina Bay while waiting for their mum to finish her night class. Took some nite-time photos along the river while enjoying few ice-cream cones.

It's Durian Nite

2008-05-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Yep... time to have the king of fruits.... the durian. We have been craving for durian for quite a while now. We wanted to have some at the North-South rest area just before entering Singapore from the 2nd link but unfortunately, when we were there 2 weeks ago, there was none available.

In Singapore, if you want durian, it would most likely mean you will be heading towards Sims Avenue. Aaahhh... the creamy taste of durian and not forgetting the wonderful smell... some may have very different opinion 'bout the smell, but we like it!!! 4 of us managed to finish 3 durians... must make sure we have enough water before going to sleep.

May '08 Izzy's Top 7

2008-05-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 3rd issue of Izzy's Top 7

The votes are finally in! The counting has been reconfirmed! The Izzy family has decided on their Top 7 for May '08
*****
This Top 7 can give you a simple insight of some of our favourite things.

If you are wondering why 7 and not 10?

Well... our respond will be why 10 and not 7?

For this month, our Izzy's Top 7 is...

Izzy's Top 7 Breakfast Menu

Before we announce the countdown, Izzy Jr #1 was tasked to do on-line research on breakfast. These are the 5 main points that he has learnt:

1) Having breakfast gives you better math grades and higher test scores

2) Cereal is invented by a vegetarian person

3) Some of the most popular breakfast are cereal & toasted bread (I guess only for western countries)

4) Kids who skipped breakfast have negative habits

5) Banana is the most popular fruit for breakfast

OK, time to reveal the

Izzy's Top 7 Breakfast Menu

7) Apple Muffins (can't remember when we had this?)

6) Pancake

5) Eggs (scrambled/omelette)

4) Nasi Goreng

3) Roti Canai

2) Toasted bread with jam + butter

1) Nasi Lemak (Yup.... True Malaysian)

Cycling at Pulau Ubin (FB)

2008-05-26T04:17:00.000-07:00

Last year took the bum-boat to Pulau Ubin for cycling. The kids brought their own bicycles (additional $1 each for the bike tickets) and we (the parents) rented a 2-seater bicycle. Started the day with high intake of calories (nasi lemak + mee siam) at a famous old pakcik stall near the Pulau Ubin jetty. Then we cycled around the island for 3 hours. Most of the track is nicely shaded from the direct afternoon sun. Did not manage to try the off-road track.... maybe next time-lah.

Panjat bukit maa....

Singapore Flyer

2008-05-20T02:45:00.000-07:00

Photos taken at the Singapore Flyer. Latest tourist attraction that started operations in March 2008.

Happy BURFDAY to You!

2008-05-11T04:20:00.000-07:00

Article written by Izzy Jr

It's mama's burfday! We had a simple celebration with presents n Ben & Jerry's ice-cream cake at home since it was a school night. The real celebration was on Saturday & Sunday... together with Mother's Day.... Saturday nite was mama's burfday dinner n Sunday morning was mother's day breakfast...

On Saturday nite, we went to a Japanese restaurant called Yumeya. We had our dinner outside the restaurant... under the moon. We ordered salmon n unagi teriyaki, miso soup, sushi, maki, shasimi and more. We got all of our food on time except for our fried rice which was late. It was actually garlic fried rice and it was delicious. After dinner, we went to Haagen Daz for ice-cream. I ordered Belgian chocolate, my lil' bro ordered strawberry and my father ordered apricot. My mother ordered Turkish ice-cream.

On Sunday morning, we went to a restaurant near the river to have breakfast. We ordered bread with butter n jam, eggs and also some pancakes. I had hot tea and my lil' bro ordered orange juice. Mama ordered carrot juice n papa ordered cafe latte. Mama also got free orange juice because it is Mother's Day!!!!!

Uncle's Wedding 2

2008-05-01T02:35:00.001-07:00

More photos...

Uncle's Wedding

2008-05-01T02:32:00.001-07:00

Photos from the wedding

Uncle's Wedding - URGENT CoN meeting

2008-05-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

Heated debate in progress

We have achieved resolution

Just before their uncle's wedding, the Cabinet of Nephews (CoN) called for an urgent meeting to deliberate whether such an action can be approved. The debate went on till late and finally the decision was made just 1 hour before the wedding reception. The concern was obviously on the CoN's ability to keep on having a strong grip and influence on their uncle's activities after marriage. The CoN believes that they should proceed in approving the marriage as they now have golden opportunity to extend their influence on their auntie-to-be as well!

This was then announce during the wedding reception by non other the Head of CoN... Izzy Jr... surprisingly the speech was in strings of 'pantun'!

The resolution announced!

April '08 Izzy's Top 7

2008-04-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2nd issue of Izzy's Top 7

The votes are finally in! The counting has been reconfirmed! The Izzy boys have decided on their Top 7 for April '08

*****

This Top 7 can give you a simple insight of some of our favourite things
If you are wondering why 7 and not 10?
Well... our respond will be why 10 and not 7?
for this month, our Izzy's Top 7 is...

Izzy's Top 7 TV Program

7. Formula 1: Race Day

6. Camp Lazlo

5. Tom & Jerry

4. Jamie at Home

3. Spongebob Squarepants

2. Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends

1. Kids Next Door

Well, surprise...surprise... many cartoons got into the list. But take note that Jamie Oliver & Formula 1 is also in the list. "Anthony Bourdain No Reservations" & "Air Crash Investigation" almost (sikit lagi) made it into the list as well.... a definite influence from their father!

Cub Scout Swimming Sunday

2008-04-20T06:08:00.001-07:00

article written by Izzy Jr #1

It is cub scout swim-day!

The cub scouts went swimming at the Singapore American School (SAS). First, we had to swim in various styles (freestyle, backstroke & breaststroke) for 100 yards. We then learn how to rescue swimmers in the deep water. After that, we had swimming games; the first game was racing with a watermelon (sometimes the watermelon can sink), in the second game, we had swimming race on a floating noodle and the final game was to collect treasure under water. We also played with the spring board... Up-Up and away...way down!

Cycling ECP to Changi Beach - part 2

2008-04-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

...More photos from the cycling trip. This kind of cycling track should also be made available in Selangor... our home town... proper cycling track with minimal need to cross main roads (maybe 2 or 3 and all with proper pedestrian crossing) and not forgetting shades by the big trees. A good and healthy alternative to indoor family activities (i.e. shopping complexes!).

Time to go home. The kids slept in the car ...almost within 1 minute into the journey home.

Cycling ECP to Changi Beach - part 1

2008-04-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

Went for cycling at East Coast Park (ECP). The plan was to have lunch at ECP (we had fried kway teow, satay & tauhu bakar) and cycle around for 1-2 hours... but we ended just a little farther than expected... Changi Beach Park which is about 16km of cycling! Even the smallest member of the Izzy family managed to cycle all the way without feeling tired... considering this is his 1st time cycling in public track on 2 wheels! Mama Izzy also enjoyed the whole trip.

As for papa Izzy.... he cycled 16 x 2 = 32km... yup to get the car at ECP and pick them up at Changi as the kids & mama spent time at the beach right before the airport runway with many planes landing. One thing for sure... we all burned all our lunch before dinner time!

BBQ at ECP

2008-04-15T05:10:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since we did our family BBQ. Happened to be watching Jamie Oliver on the TV and he was showing his recipe for BBQ salmon...... it looked yummy and we tried this new recipe..... yup..... it tasted yummmyyyyy. Our BBQ menu also include chicken & mashed potato..... with Jamie, you always boil potato with garlic). While waiting for the food to be ready, we set-up the tent, tossed football and then went cycling after having our late afternoon BBQ. Must do it again!... soon.

Wedding

2008-04-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend and this weekend will be busy travelling to Klang Valley to attend the kids' uncle's wedding. The akad nikah was held last Friday (4/4/08) and the uncle's reception will be next weekend.

March '08 Izzy's Top 7

2008-03-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 1st issue of Izzy's Top 7

This Top 7 can give you a simple insight of some of our favourite things

If you are wondering why 7 and not 10?

Well... our respond will be why 10 and not 7?

for this month, our Izzy's Top 7 is...

Izzy's Top 7 Reading Material

7. Seal Pup Grows Up (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld)

6. Samurai Jack (Tracey West)

5. Can You Keep a Secret (Sophie Kinsella)

4. Mountain Bike Action (Magazine)

3. Books on The Adventure of Tin Tin (Brown Little)

2. Books on Dilbert (Scott Adams)

1. Books on Geronimo Stilton (Geronimo Stilton)

... Geronimo Stilton is a favourite among the whole family members!

Mika Hakkinen in Town

2008-03-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

2-time F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen is in Singapore today & demonstrated his skills at the Padang (St. Andrew's Road) from 4pm to 6pm. He came out 4 (or maybe 5) times and completed 2-4 laps each time. It was exciting to be so close to the burning tyres!

The event was presented by Johnnie Walker with the theme "Never Drink & Drive"

HK Disneyland 2

2008-03-29T03:56:00.000-07:00

More photos... + fireworks at the end of the day.

HK Disneyland 1

2008-03-29T03:47:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken at HK Disneyland...

Hong Kong - trip to Disneyland

2008-03-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

2nd day evening, time to change hotel nearer to Disneyland, so senang sikit.... no need to make long trips to the place for the next 2 days. Got the package deal of 1 day tix + 1 day free from the hotel. The place was not so full... so can take many rides without having to wait in the long queue.

Hong Kong - Kowloon & City

2008-03-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Hong Kong mid March with an obvious destination target for the kids. However, spent day 1 & 2 in Kowloon and HK city before heading to Lantau Island. Went up The Peak on day 1 to view the city at night before walking along Temple Street to do some late night street shopping. Travelling in HK is quite convenient & easy... we used the MTR throughout our stay there. More photos later...

Cuti-cuti NZ5 (FB)

2008-03-24T07:47:00.001-07:00

from Te Anau, we head back to Quensstown for another round of snow at Remarkables before driving to Wanaka to spend a night there. Visited the Puzzling World before heading back to Christchurch (430km or 6 hrs journey)

Cuti-cuti NZ4 (FB)

2008-03-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Queenstown, we stopped at Shotover Jet to pump-up our adrenalin level. We got a healthy dose of thrill therapy going down the spectacular Shotover River Canyons. The boys just went crazy and wanting even more!

Next stop... Milford Sound & we spent 2 nights at the small Te Anau Town as our base. At Te Anau & Milford, we spent time to recover & to slow down our heart rate by visiting a glow worm cave & went for a scenic boating at Milford Sound.

Cuti-cuti NZ3 (FB)

2008-03-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

Next stop.... Queenstown.... for the snow (I think we saw less than 50 cars for the whole 300km from Dunedin). Went up the Remarkables Ski Mountain for some snow action.... ski + tubing + snow fights

Cuti-cuti NZ2 (FB)

2008-03-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

After 4 days using Christchurch as our base, we then drove south to Dunedin. It is 360km from Christchurch and the journey took us slightly more than 5 hours. Just managed to arrive on time to visit a Cadbury factory before calling it a day.

Our main target at Dunedin was the Natures Wonders located in the Otago Peninsular (1 hour drive). The weather was quite lousy (wet & very cold) & we turned out to be the only customer that braved through the weather to visit this place at that time. The service was very-very friendly and as the guide told us..... the lousy weather is no fun for humans but a paradise for the wild.... among the wild animals that we managed to see are cormorant birds, fur seals, a blue penguin & a yellow-eyed penguin. Let me that you something.... seeing a penguin in the wild is more fun than seeing many in the zoo! The search & the hiding (& keeping the boys quiet) to locate a penguin was thrilling!

Cuti-cuti NZ1 (FB)

2008-03-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Last year, after more than 12 years working, finally we went for a real cuti-cuti... took 3 weeks leave and 2 of those 3 weeks were spent in New Zealand. We chose NZ cause the boys wanted to see snow... badly. Our target was only the South Island... self driving.... 2 weeks were still not enough.

We started in Christchurch and drove north to Kaikoura (pronounced Kai-Ko-Da) the next day. It was a 3 hour journey by road. Kaikoura means "eat shell fish" and this place is popular for whale watching. After having a quick and simple lunch, we spent 3 hours in a boat and managed to locate 8 sperm whales and 2 humpback whales.

We also took the famous TranzAlpine Scenic train from Christchurch to Greymouth crossing the Southern Alps. Return trip was about 9+ hours (including a short stopover for lunch at Greymouth). It is a nice way to relax and enjoy the view. The train also had an open viewing area for you to enjoy the fresh air. Cold... very cold wind was also available at no extra cost!

Cub Scout Kayaking

2008-03-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

Last February, Izzy's cub scout had an outing at the Paddle Lodge for kayaking. It is located in the Mac Ritchie Reservoir. The place is quite secluded and in fact hidden. The damage for an hour is S$10/hour regardless whether you take a one or two seater kayak. The cub scouts enjoyed themselves very much and the activity ended with a simple picnic to replace the burned calories. Monkeys were also all over the place waiting for opportunities to grab any unattended food (sorry... no pictures of monkeys here... only the cubs)

Cub Scout Forest Adventure2

2008-03-22T21:24:00.001-07:00

To do the stunts, you need to wear harness and attached to a safety line. The final stunt involves decending down the trees using flying fox. The boys loved it and felt sooo macho after that!

Cub Scout Forest Adventure1

2008-03-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Early this year we went to Forest Adventure Tree Top Course at Bedok Reservoir Park. It was Izzy's cub scout January activity. Lil' Izzy also managed to join in... the activities involve going through obstacles on top of trees (about 5 meters above ground).

Pangkor Laut 6 (FB)

2008-03-22T02:39:00.001-07:00

This is the final posting on Pangkor Laut. This trip was out of this world... definitely must do it again & not forgetting the Chinese Meal was oooohhhh yummy! O.k tata Pangkor Laut... for now!

Pangkor Laut 5 (FB)

2008-03-22T02:34:00.001-07:00

Pangkor Laut 4 (FB)

2008-03-22T02:31:00.001-07:00