My Trip to Singapore on Boxing Day

Had a wonderful and interesting holiday in Singapore on the 26th December 2009. I had planned to visit two places which I have been wanting to go to. First was the MV Doulos, the remarkable floating bookshop. It was coincidental that 26th December will be their last day at their last port - Singapore. So I reckoned that I just have to make it.

MV Doulos is the world's oldest passenger ship. She has sailed the seven seas for over 90 years now, visited over 100 countries and had more than 20 million visitors on board. Their tag-line is - bringing knowledge, help and hope.

 Doulos has made literature (knowledge) available all over the world, especially in countries where it is difficult to access good literature. Doulos is also involved in providing help in areas of great need and tragedy. Its community is also a living example of hope. Different cultures of 350 volunteers from 50 countries give hope that it is possible for different people to work together, sharing their dreams, their future and purpose in life. What an amazing idea of spreading goodwill around the world!!

The biggest attraction to the ship is the bookfair. The books range from children's books, Christian literature and classic novels to science, business, arts and faith. I had a good time but wished I had more time to go through over 6000 tittles available on board. However, I managed to buy three books, some souvenirs, a poster of the ship, notebooks and some bookmarks.

Second was the red dot Museum in Tanjong Pagar. Since 1988, red dot has annually selected a design team which has made its mark in international markets. The Design Team of Tupperware won this award in 2009. Isn't that exciting?
For this, there was a display of Tupperware products that won the awards since 1993. Above this display, was another array of Tupperware products - really an amazing art-work!! Zumi, Yenn and I were mesmerized with this art-work!! We spent more than an hour just on this section alone.

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Above are some of the products displayed. The red dot award is the highest honourary disinction in the design world. I am proud to own 27 of the 39 products that have won this prestigious award!! I have been a keen collector of Tupperware since 2000, hence the interest to visit this museum!!

In the night, we had an opportunity to visit Orchard Road, well-known for Christmas lights and shopping!! There were crowds everywhere since there was a huge mark-down in prices. Boxing day Sale!!

I came across several Christmas trees and here are two interesting ones.....the one with a Nutcracker Theme and one.................an upside-down tree!! Wacky, isn't it.....somehow, i didn't quite like it, call me old-fashioned, if you like, but...............

Later, Jae-hann brought us to this cosy place for tea. What a treat!! Set in the backyard of the old Turf Club, this lovely Restaurant and Bar is really exclusive. Not only I loved the greenery and the horses that strutted by, the food was great!! And the decor in the bar, I just loved the contrast of colours.....See for yourself.......

What a lovely, lovely holiday it was!!. Now with the New Year just around the corner, I will resolve to work harder next year, and look forward to my NEXT HOLIDAY!!!!

A Tribute to Mama Moon

                             





This is Mama Moon. I met her last month, while I was holidaying with family and friends in Yangshuo, Guangxi Province in China.
A very unassuming lady, full of wit and charm. She has never been to a formal school and yet, because of her enthusiasm, she can speak English (quite fluently, I should say) and can offer greetings in 8 foreign languages. Apart from that, she was very willing to offer any assistance to tourists in her village.She lives in Moon Hill village.

It must be destiny that I met her. Before I left for my travels to China, some one had told me about her. But I never thought that I will bump into her while we were having noodles at a stall in the village one morning. When we asked the stall owner as to where we can find Mama Moon, she was just in front of us!! Without hesitation, she took out a travel map with her name printed on it, introduced herself to us and then showed us 3 little books, with lots of testimonies from travellers from all over the world!! She also showed me photos of her being interviewed over CCTV in Beijing and Shanghai. I thought to myself 'What an achievement for this lady farmer from a little village!!' Amazing!






She then continued to tell us about what we can do around Yangshuo. She said ' Let me show you the local way....walk to old villages.....walk up the Moon Hill and cycle to Yangshuo...many people like.' Immediately, she left the bicycle by the road side and followed us!!

I told her that we were planning to walk to the next village, Longtang. During the 2 km walk, she told me that she was once a farmer. And then upon chance, she guided some tourists and they paid her 30 yuan for the day. She then realised that being a tour guide was more profitable. She is now 63 years old.



This is Moon Hill Park. It is the entrance to the walk up the Moon Hill. She assured me that it is possible for me to walk up, she also told me that she can carry drinking water for me, and can 'fan' me all the way up if I felt hot and bothered!! She even said that she can help me up.....I wondered what she meant. (??)


All the way to Longtang, she explained to me (in English) the history of the village, telling me about the typical life of the farmers, showed me the local fruits and flowers in the region. Everyone greeted her and called out to her 'Mama Moon...Yue Liang Mama'. It seems that everyone in the village is very proud of her. Every time she sees some tourists, she will run after them and then greet them. What enthusiasm!!

Of course, there were times when some people chased after her to have their photo taken with her, the famous tour guide of Yanghsuo!

I asked her how she got her name, Mama Moon. She told me some years back, she helped a Canadian lady on her way up to Moon Hill. The lady suffered some stomach cramps. She then tried 'gua-sar' on her. 'Gua-sar' is a traditional method of releasing wind, by scraping the surface of the skin with a coin or scraping tool and some oil. It worked! After that, the Canadian lady wanted to pay her but she turned down the payment. So, the lady gave her the name -Mama Moon.




In the midst of our conversation, she found out that Yenn, my daughter, was born in the year of the Horse. Immediately, she ran to the side of the road, pulled out a rush and 'folded' it into the shape of a horse and presented it to Yenn. How clever!





Throughout the walk, she gave us many 'presents' - an orange from a nearby orchard, a pomelo, a gourd, some flowers, some rushes....and whenever I asked a question, she is all ready with answers!! She even showed us some medicinal plants that can ward off mosquitos. And some to cure rashes and skin ailments.

Like in the photo below, she got some dried persimmons for me to try and also the dried long beans - she explained that it is one of the ingredients in the Guilin noodles I was eating when I met her.





After two hours of walk, she asked us, 'Hungry now....you come my place, my dauughter-in-law will cook for you...farmer's food?'. It turned out that she owns a restaurant. What a modest lady!

So here, you see the array of food that was our lunch. It was delicious - unprocessed rice and vegetables. Also a yam and pork dish! We had it with local beer and even had a pomelo for dessert.



Mama Moon is quite tech-savvy. She has a mobile phone, and she was getting some business calls. After lunch, she was very keen to show me her new hotel!! She calls it Mama Moon Hotel. It is a three-storey building and has just been completed. She told me the calls were from a group of people from Guangzhou who will be arriving the next day.





Next to the hotel was a building with this red banner across it. She told me that someone had built this school and tuition centre. It offered English classes and they had paid her a royalty to use her name. I then realised that she is quite a phenomenon in the village.




This photo is of me saying goodbye to Mama Moon (taken in front of her restaurant). Also note the basket on my bicycle - full of 'presents' from her.

So, although I met Mama Moon for only half a day, she taught me a great deal. She was so thankful when I paid her. She kept on saying .....'if you like, you pay me, if you don't like..no beautiful, you no pay'. I told her I enjoyed myself tremendously and I wish to visit again. She then took out a post card, and wrote in English - 'Mama Moon loves you!' She also wrote her Chinese name and gave me a name card. What an enterprising lady!!!

Holiday!

Another Birthday treat!! A Holiday to Guilin in Guangxi Province in China!!

This is LCCT at dawn. Our flight to Guilin was scheduled at 6.40 am. Due to a long queue in the Immigration, we nearly missed our flight. Gate was closed!!! Good thing that there were about 40 passengers on our flight who were with us in the queue.

Our first stop was to the Reed Flute Cave, on the north-western outskirts of Guilin City. We had an amazing time exploring the undergrounds of Guilin, surrounded by remarkable stalactites and staglamites. It is believed to have been an air-raid shelter and can hold about 1000 people!!

The next day, we took a 2- hour cruise along the Li River to Yangshuo. Remarkable and stunning limestones karsts all the way. Many with nice-sounding names, like 'Nine Horses Fresco Hill' and 'Fish Tail Peak'. All the way, it was green hills and clear waters along the meandering river!!

Passing by little villages, we see sprays of bamboos lining the side of the river. Ducks paddling in the river, water-buffaloes bathing in the waters, women washing their clothes - it was a pretty interesting sight!! Also lots of tourists aboard bamboo rafts and everyone immersed in this remarkable and picturesque scenery.

This photo was taken aboard a bamboo raft along the Yu Long River, one of the tributaries of Li River. The boatman and a minority village maiden entertained us with stories and songs from the 'San Jie Lui' musical.

An interesting sight along the Yu Long river are the fishermen with their Cormorants. These birds are trained to dive into the waters to catch fish. This fisherman demonstrated to us how, in matter of seconds, this bird caught a fish. Their necks are tied so that they do not swallow their catch!!

At last, we arrived our hotel, Moon Hill Resort. We met Wei Wei, whom I have been corresponding with. She was really helpful while I was planning this holiday. The next day, we met her sister- in-laws, her mother-in-law, a niece and a nephew. Wei Wei and her family were perfect hosts. Her husband cooked most of our meals. Amidst the paddy fields and limestone karsts, this was a wonderful holiday retreat!!!

Moon Hill Resort is just about 8 km from Yangshuo. Transport is easily available. One night, we went to the ' San Jie Liu' Show. Set along 1.6 km of the Li River, amongst 12 peaks, and with more than 600 performers, water buffaloes and cormorants, it was an amazing performance!!

After the show, we went to West Street for dinner and shopping. Some Chinese musicians entertained us on the lute and accordion whilst we had dinner. Very interesting!

This is Moon Hill. a peak just facing the resort. In the three days we were there, we met most of the villagers in the Moon Hill Village. One morning, while having breakfast in the village, (a bowl of Guilin noodles), some women gathered around us, wanting to accompany us up the Moon Hill. They treated us very well, cooling us down with hand-held fans and one even provided me with a bamboo stick to help me walk up the hill!! She also accompanied me down, and showed me some postcards. All she wanted was for me to buy a drink and some postcards from her. Of course, I did!!

The above photo shows the Osmanthus flower. Guilin was named after this flower. It is sweet-smelling and has some medicinal properties. The flower can be dried and made into tea. It is very popular in Guilin.

The second photo shows a dish called 'Beer Fish', fish cooked with beer and some vegetables. You can find this in almost every menu in Guilin restaurants!! Food is really delicious here because it is not processed, just straight from the land to the table. Even rice is especially tasty!! I am going to miss this when I get home!!

This was taken on our last day. Seen here are some tourists (with Grace and JYenn) staying at Moon Hill Resort. They also joined us in our hike to Moon Hill. Also in the photo are Wei Wei, Lucy (Wei Wei's sister-in-law) and Nai Nai with grandchild.

All in all, it was a splendid holiday!!

Birthday - 2009!!

Today is my BIRTHDAY!! This blog was created for me as a birthday present. Thanks to all who had encouraged me to start this blog!





Had a lovely day!! Started with a walk in Gunung Lambak with Grace, Zumi and JYenn. Then Len came over to give me a present, a Nyonya cookbook that I had been eyeing! She then invited me over to her house......she had prepared my favourite Shepherd's Pie.....and scones!!! Sumptuous, best I've ever eaten.

Lots of greetings came along via SMSes and phone calls. Wonderful friends and family.......I am so blessed! Ever so grateful for each and everyone of them.

Surprise...surprise....JLynn called from London to wish me!! JHann, JYenn and Zumi bought flowers, presents...a beautiful mosaic frame....a video of my favourite photos.......made my favourite sushi...NY cheesecake and....a pizza with lots and lots of basil!! There goes my 3-week old DIET!!

Couldn't ask for anything more......and I thought I was going to have a quiet birthday this year!! THANKS EVERYONE!!