A short trip back - 2014

The long break for schools in Thailand starts from March till the 1st week of May.  That is for the majority of public schools in Thailand.  I took the family back to Singapore to visit my sis and mum again.  We hit the road on 29th March and returned on the 7th.

This round, we flew out from Chiang Mai instead of Bangkok like last year and due to financial constrains.  We didn't even stay in Chiang Mai when we returned from Singapore.  Normally, we would stay a few days either in Bangkok or Chiang Mai after our return from Singapore but we didn't.  We just took a taxi straight back to Maesai and actually for this trip, we aren't as tired as it used to be.

  It might be due to the kids are older so its now as daunting as it used to be.

This trip to SG was mostly unplanned.  Plainly just to let the kids to spend some quality time with grandma and aunt.  The road trip started with a Sam Law (Tuk Tuk)  trip to the Maesai bus station.  From there, we took the bus to Chiang Mai.  Then we switched to a Sawng Tiao (Red Pickup truck taxi) to the airport and flew out via Silkair.  It was hectic but actually quite fun as the kids get to try different sorts of transport in a single day.  Over in SG, we spent most of the time at their aunt's home.   We did however,  revisited the Sentosa Watercove Park and Jurong Bird Park.   

My sister also took some leave from her busy work schedule and brought the kids to a toy store and they bought another set of LEGOs.  So they are pretty occupied at her flat.  

Overall, I didn't get to meet up with friends on this journey.  I will be returning to SG again in early July.  Reason?  Bloody reservist again.   

Holy Crap! I didn't write anything for October 2013?

That's weird man.  I thought I posted something but I guess I was too busy with some side projects over here.  Anyway, I have become a full-time house-husband ever since I was back from SG.  The missus went out to do some sales (sell property, MLM and other stuffs) and we like to switch roles once in a while. :P

I am kind of enjoying it though and the recent Oct was the children's break over here in Thailand. I  do receive onstant nagging, screaming, pestering, whining kids with me 24/7 over the month.  Nearly went crazy.  Supposingly want to visit Kengtung but pulled out the last minute and went to Chiang Mai for holiday instead.

We went to the Night Safari and basically it's just a usual RnR trip.  I have posted some photos of the trip on my facebook and yes, I am still shooting.  I'm not posting photos as frequent as I seems not to have enough time to process them.

Will post something more of a substance later.  Need to cook for the kids liao... :P

It's a month!

I've just realised I haven't wrote anything for almost a month!  It was work all the way when I came back to SG as there was this big Malaysia election and all my colleagues (who happened to be Malaysians) took leave to go back and vote.  Too bad the ruling party BN won again and it is pretty discouraging day for fellow Malaysians.

There was much update since.  I have thrown in the towel and submitted my resignation letter recently.   No more shift work for me in June 15 onwards.  A few reasons are the recent changes to my job scope and I can't find myself submiting to the constant nonsense I am facing.  Money is important but so is my health.  It dosen't help if my blood pressure keeps rising while working right? :)

Anyway, I have also started my backup plan of being a Taxi drive in SG.  Yup, me, a bloody taxi driver..hehe.  My course will commence in 17th June and it should end in early July.  If I managed to pass the test, I would most probably be back in Thailand for a month or 2 before coming back in September for my reservist.

There are some long term plans but nothing concrete so far.    Sincerely, I just want to get out of the company that has changed so much so at least after I got out of it, I will have more time to plan my next move.

Speaking of family.  The two little monsters are back in school.  Boy boy started kindergarden and seems happy to meet some new friends.  Though he does cry everytime in the morning when my wife send him in.  The surprising one is my girl.  Those who follow me on facebook (though I was wrong in the ranking :P) would have know this great news.  She was actually 2nd in Standard and 1st in Class!  Scoring an average of 3.88/4.  Hope she keeps it up!

And I finally have a long break .  4 days in total.:P  And this is just my 2nd day.  hehe...  

In the pigeon hole and Bangkok stop over

We didn't went out after the watercove park trip. Wify did went out to Tampines mall for a short shopping trip while I let the kids have some fun at the playground downstairs. Girl is a natural climber like my wife. Boy boy just go crazy with the slides. I think this is one area that is pretty cool about Singapore. We do have plenty of cool looking, safe and clean children's playground (especially in my area).  Basically whenever we are not going anywhere and staying in the flat, we would drop by the playground to let the kids stretch their arms and legs.  A flat in Singapore is small and unlike in Thailand, the kids can't shout or jump in the flat.  Well, I used too but that was the time where people are more tolerant and we are still in a kampung(village) style but not the case now.  I think its better this way too as at least I can teach the kids to be considerate of others.  Not making too much of a ruckus...

So it's a lot of cheap entertainment for my kids :P. We finally took a flight back to Bangkok on the 3rd of April. Boy started to become very chatty on the cab we took from the airport to the hotel in Petchuburi. I think it's because of the familiar Thai they are speaking. Boy do understand Chinese but he is just not like his sister, not willing to speak in Chinese. (even with me as he knows I can understand him)

He was so chatty with the cab driver, speaking of his experiences in Singapore and Thailand that wife and I were just laughing away at his illogical response to the cabbie. Girl does not loose out and shared her experiences too. Pretty entertaining for the long ride as the traffic was all jammed up. We managed to check into the hotel at 7pm and its a very family oriented hotel called Centrepoint Petchaburi. I took the executive suite which allows up to 4 adults in a room.

We settled down and since we had some food on the flight, we didn't bother too much about the dinner. I did went out and bought some McD and the kids had some french fires before we called it a day.

Initially, we planned to stay in BKK for 2 night and wanted to take the bus home but it was full. Song Krang was just around the corner so all were heading back for their new year break. Luckily wife's cousin was heading back to Maesai with her husband and kids and they have a big van like truck that could fit all of us. We had to extend one more night at the hotel as they need to settle some business on the 6th April.

We didn't go anywhere in particular in BKK. Wife was happily shopping at Pratunam next door. Kids were having fun at the hotel's play room for children or a dip at the hotel's pool. We did dropped by MBK to buy a bag for my sister the day after.

Finally checked out on the 6th. Wife's cousin picked us up at the hotel lobby and we went to his house to prepare for a roadtrip back to Maesai.

Singapore revisted part 2 - Watercove Park

This is the new waterpark playground at RWS that just opened just this year. My sis needs to work and my mum needs her rest from yesterday :P So, it's just the 4 of us and I have to say. This park is pretty good.

Boy got all psyched up when we reached the entrance and saw all the rides. I think he would have jumped straight into the water if I have not been there to pull him back. It was nightmare trying to control him when both he and girl girl get excited. Wife was not smart enough to change before we go so we have to wait for her. (Try asking a 3 year old to wait to play... :P) Finally she got dressed and we hopped into the river adventure which takes us all around the entire park. We stopped halfway at the wave pool and have fun at the wave pool and big bucket. It's a pity though as most of the rides are for teens and adults so most of the rides the kids can't take part. Wife and girl did try one of the more adventurous one while boy and I have fun at the wave pool.

We then try to snorkel but boy was too young and not allowed... (Bah) . So we just continued with the river adventure and went back to get some money for lunch. Both of them ate alot this round (replenish all the energy spent. We continued to play at the wave pool and the big bucket playground until I have to pry them out of there. Took some effort but managed to do so by promising them to visit the aquarium next door.

Big mistake. The aquarium was great but boy was all psyched up and tired from the watercove park. So he was just running amok in the aquarium and wife and I took more time trying to calm him down rather than enjoying the display. Girl was ok though and she loved the huge Manta ray in the large aquarium. She asked me how come the Manta like not happy like dat... hehehe.. And the jellyfish. She just stared straight into that tank for minutes...

Again, we managed to leave the island at around 5.30pm and we had our slight early dinner at Sushi Tei at Vivo. Then it's all bus ride again on bus 30 double decked bus. They really enjoy the bus rides as we do not have that in Thailand. This round, boy was wide awake and making engine noises when the bus is moving. Again, we managed to get front seats on the bus. I think next round, I don't need to plan anything. Just take our "World Class Transport" can liao...

All photos in this post taken with my new waterproof phone. Sony Xperia Z

Singapore revisted part 1 - Universal Studios Singapore

This is the 3rd time my wife and kids came over. For this round, it's a bit different as the last 2 trip we came during Chinese New Year. Since my girl started her Primary school formally last year in May. We can't come back during CNY 2013 as she is still in school. (No official CNY in Thailand). Her term break started in the 2nd week of March and will end in May. So I took the opportunity to plan this trip just before the water festival (Song Kran) in April. It's free and easy this time but I bought tickets to Universal Studio and the new Adventure Watercove Park. Since the 2 of them really enjoy playing with water.

It's free and easy for the 1st 3 days in Singapore. My sister took a day leave to be with her niece and nephew at home. We went shopping for some new swimsuits at Tampines Mall next day and took them to the Tampines swimming complex the day after to cool off the hot weather in Singapore. My mum and sis also took them shopping at Orchard and my boy was totally in awe with the amount of toys in Takeshimaya. Ended up my sister bought him a bit transformer toy.

On Sunday, I booked a Maxi cab and the whole lot of us visited the Univeral Studio at Resort World Sentosa. As it was a long weekend (Good Friday). It was a bit crowded but still manageable. Some hiccups did occurred though. The Sesame Street ride was down while we were queuing for it halfway and boy boy was a bit disappointed. We then took the car ride, followed by going through the Waterworld Live Action show. The 2 kids were totally enjoying the explosions and stunts that they wanted to watch it again.... O.o. Took me sometime to pull them out of the theatre.

Then we had Lunch at the Far Far away castle. Girl girl really like the castle as it looks very pretty. We then went for the Far Far away 4d movie. Girl got so high from the 3d effects she tried to snatch the bugs and ghost on the screen.. heheh.. Took a break and enjoyed the Madagascar ride. They had watched the cartoon before so they are aware of the characters. Then the merry go round but its a bit short ride compared to those we have in Thailand. Not even a minute... :P

It started to drizzle when we finished the Merry - Go - Round and we tried to go take the Sesame Ride but it was so packed with people that we skipped it totally. The sound stage opposite was next and the last we visited. I was carrying my boy we got splashed by water in the Live Action Sound stage. Boy was a bit poofed around this time so we decided to call it a day as we have the waterpark the next day. We took the monorail back to Vivo and took a double decked bus 30 home. Boy was sound asleep on the bus while girl girl was enjoying the bus ride at the front seat of the double decked bus.

Reached home around 7pm and we had our dinner at a hawker centre near our house.

A bloody short week.

It's has been a week and now I'm on my way back to Land of Slavery to slave again. I was just getting used to the weather in Maesai. It's 25 during the day and about 19 degrees at night. Damn I will miss the weather.

The kids are great and they are happy I was back. I managed to teach my girl some string games I used to play with my sister when we were young and boy boy was getting better everyday in using the computer mouse... :P hunting down zombies in Plant vs Zombies. I also somehow managed to complete their own bedroom. Yup, finally bought a pair of beds and setup their little kingdom. I still need to fix the AC and maybe a table for them to study or draw but from the way the jump on their beds I know they loved it... :P One thing bad is that boy boy still sticky with mummy so my wife still accompanies them in their room while I slept alone in our own bedroom :(

I was also busy sorting out some slides I took last time and managed to copied them this time using my a900. It's actually about half a year of backlog negatives and transparencies I cleared while the kids were in school. I also managed to finish 2 rolls on my Fuji 690 and will be looking forward to develop it back in SG. I have found a new home based lab via Chiff and he did a fantastic job on my last roll. For those interested in shooting and developing slides in Singapore, do search for Lo Sheng of Analog Film Lab in facebook. Just mail in the rolls and he will work his magic. And its bloody affordable too!

Weekly Conference

 

I usually Skype at least once a week unless some special circumstances that I might do it more than once.  I do call back every night to check out wife and kids daily activities but its pretty usual updates so I didn’t wrote much about them recently.

Some interesting development recently is that the 2 monsters are starting to find each other a “bit” of pain in the butt so they started to fight (quite often as reported by my missus).  Yeah!  next stage of development;siblings fight! 

I think those with more then one kid or you are not a single kid family will understand the normal situation.  Sister or brother sitting there playing and the other one will come and disturb for no apparent reasons.  Then follow by whacking around and eventually one of them cries and run towards the parents phase…   So guess what,  normally it’s always the boys (or the younger sibling) that are the one who starts the fight…. initially the elder sister (or brother) will relent but the pressure is building and finally the elder sister could not stand any more of the nonsense and started to fight back…   Hehehe not a good sight at all.

Anyway, the above paragraph summarises what’s happening in my home.  Coming 2 weeks time I will be back to join the fun.  Wife is a bit burnt out from the 2 monsters' constant bickering, whining and complaining.  So don’t say I’m back to enjoy a break… more like going back to control a war zone….  Still, I’m actually looking forward to it (think I might take this back when I’m in the war zone)

End of break soon...

Just a quick update.  Girl's 6years old birthday was on 18-May and we had a little small celebration at home.  Well, not exactly at home as we went out to have dinner at one of my favourite restaurants over here.  We only invited one of our best friend's to come over to celebrate.  Sophia whom is 1 month older then my boy.  Her mum (our dear friend) is in Bangkok working and couldn't come so her youger sister came with a cake as a present.  I too, bought one in the afternoon so we had 2 cakes.  Girl was happy to get to blow the candles twice :P  Some fp100 shots below.  You can click on them to see a bigger version.  Not shooting digital that day as I don't feel like it :P

It was a good break for me actually.  Although it was hot like hell over here, I managed to finished some personal projects that was on hold for quite some time.  I will write about them when I'm back in Singapore.   

And here's a great photo of Didi poking away on his sister's ipod... :P

 

Hot Hot Hot!! (Part 2)

Part 2 is about my boy.  Now really going to be 3 years in July.  He is really showing off his traits now.  Stubborn like hell, a bit of a loner (like me) and like to do things HIS way.

Which makes it really difficult for us to instill discipline and order in him.  He tends to whines a lot even if we try to talk some sense to him.  My mum say this is the rebellous stage and I was a pain in the ass too during this period.... :P

Anyway, little things (that dosen't suits him)sets him off into a angry fit and tantrum.   If you try to grab hold of him he would start punching and biting.... really can kena left right center.  I ask my mum I got so violent anot and she said that was unlike me:P I whine but I don't turn violent leh...

Wife's not helping that much too.  She normally gives in to his demands everytime he throws his tantrums.  

I quarreled with her a few times when I tried to implement some discipline on my son.  Think this one will be really challenging.  He used to be the mellow and quiet one but now become a real headache for me liao..

 

Anyway boy is not as fast as his sister in speech.  He still have some issues forming sentences but he would have no issue when he wants to play the Ipad, ask for food/milk and toilet breaks.   He still displays a keen sense in his surroundings and although prefers to play alone, he enjoys his sister's companionship.  This is always the case when girl girl was away in school and he was at home and kept whining about his sister's whereabouts.  

I hope this bad behaviour is just temporary and I am trying to talk some sense into my wife of not relenting to our son's demands.  This will only fuel his arrogance and I fear for him if he goes to school with such attitudes.

Hot Hot Hot!! (Part 1)

It's really hot here in Maesai.  So hot I have no mood to even surf the web as my computer room dosen't have an AC.  I'm actually sweating like a pig while typing this! :P

The thermometer registers 35 degrees but the air is so warm that even with the fan blasting at full speed actually makes the whole room worst.  The idea was to dial at a slower speed so there is a constant breeze of air movement.  Wonder how anyone can survive outside in the rice fields over here...

The first part of this series will be about my girl.

Girl girl is back in school yesterday.  She's in her new school just a few blocks away from our house.  She could actually walk there if she wants to:P.  I was a bit concerned about the new environment because it is a government school and not the old semi-private school.  The change was necessary as the old school made some administrative changes and a lot of the good teachers left.  Moreover, they just had a 200% price hike!  Money is not a issue but still with that amount of money I could actually apply for a full international school in Chiang Rai.

Since I'm not around and most of her friends in her old school applied for this one.  We enrolled her here.  It's pretty good environment but girl gril complained about the toilet.. :P  We have to explain to her that it's due to the number of students in the school.   It's a pretty big class of 38 students but I would say the competition would be great too.  2 of her old friends are in the same class as her and she was quick to make new friends. (Not too worried in that department) 

The Barbie doll toy I bought for her was a sucess.  Although technically it's still not her birthday yet.  She has opened it and we had some fun time decorating the dress.  One bad thing is that the inks from the pens tends to smudge and spreads if you apply too much pressure.  So in the end instead of getting beautiful patterns you get blotches.  But after some coaching from me, she did pretty well... (for her age :P)

Its pretty great to be back at home,  I started shooting again with my Mamiya Press and I plan to bring that back to shoot.  Funny thing is that although its hot here, we are in constant overcast so my new 24mm Zeiss was not in the field.  I was also too busy with girl girl's 1st day in school and my problematic boy boy which I would write about later.... headache....  

TBC

Toys for the children

Apologies for the lousy shots of the toys as I took them at 4am in the morning.   After working for 6 consectiuve nights, I still need some time to go back to my old normal time zone.   I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so decided to write a short entry.

Girl's birthday is on the 18th May.  (The main reason why I would be going back on the 10th May).  So naturally, I need to get her a birthday gift for her.  I asked her on the phone and she gave me the usual answer... I want a Barbie doll!

I actually don't really like toys without any form of education or stimulation in it.  Figurines are actually one of them as I find it as just a fad (because of TV or a movie).  But my sister reminded me that dressing up dolls and playing with them is actually a good form of brain stimulation and creativity.  That kind of seal the deal for me so I got her a Barbie doll set.

Not just any Barbie doll set but a Design your own Barbie doll set!  

I found this at Tampines Toy'r'us and I was quite happy Mattel thought of such a wonderful idea.  It even comes with refills sets for additional dresses, templates, markers or stickers!  Pretty good toy!  I got the starter set for her.  It comes with the doll, 5 blank coloured dresses,some stickers, markers and 2 templates for her to design and colour.  Girl loves to colour so its really god send.  I also have some permanent sparkling colour markers I got for my Instax photos and this should be able to be used on the set too.  Which means she would have more that 3 choices of colour markers for her dress. :)

I plan to guide her in the process of making it when I'm back with her.  (Actually I want to play oso :P hehe)

I think this is a better set then those pre-made sets on the shelves.  Yes, those are more colourful but less meaningless then this one.  All dresses are a personal design and totally unique.  How cool is that? :)

 Girl's toy was easy.  But not for my 3 yr (coming) old boy.  Need to get one for him just in case he snatches his sister's.  It's the age of not too small and not too little :P.  Hard choices.  A transformer toy would be too difficult for him and those toddlers toys would be too mudane to him.  Wife and girl girl mentioned to me over phone he loves Ben 10 cartoon so I also got him a doll..... 

Yes, I know it's a figurine.  I broke my rules but hey, ain't rules meant to be broken? :P  Hope he likes the "Fourarms" 

Home Alone

Yup.  Wife and kids are having a slumber party at her friend’s place so which means I have the house all to myself… well… not really, I still have a Dam with 4 pups and a rooster .  They just left an hour ago and I was planning to watch some movies but I guess I will just pass.  Think I will go to sleep early after I finish writing this entry.

The 4 sisters.

 

Taking care of the puppies are quite a chore actually.  Especially so when they are in week 3.  They are starting to pee and poo everywhere and have some strength to climb around.  I used part of the old broken wooden crib of my girl and fixed a little fence to keep them in.  Their nesting area is just beside my garage and I would not want to worry that when I am parking I might crush one of them.

Wife already decided to keep one of the pups again… .  Although I don’t really like the idea but I am kind of attached to them too .  Since I am taking a lot of time taking care of them too.  Cindy (my dog’s name) is a good and protective mother. It’s her 2nd batch and so she’s a bit more experienced.  She would clean up the mess (pee and poo) by licking and eating the contents (even though I try to stop her from doing it).  Every time someone is looking over her brood, she would be on her guard and growl if they are too close to them.  Only Me and my wife could touch her brood.  Well, not my wife if I’m not around, she even got bitten by Cindy once while I was not around ! hehhehe

I guess its because I would pat and look at Cindy in her eyes first every time before I even touch her brood.  She seems to know I am seeking permission and normally she would lower her gaze.  That’s telling me I am allowed to do so.  Another reason I guess is because I am the one who always feeds her hehe.     Anyway it will be another month’s time before we give the others away.  We found homes for 2 of them and still looking for 1 more home for the last pup.

PS:  The one we are keeping has a spot of white on her head.   Wife named her Cookie…..

A great holiday for the kids.

Apologies as I did not take much digital shots nowadays so some of the photos may need to be scanned and posted later.  I have been shooting but was being very selective recently on my shots.  I think the main reason is I am shooting in film medium more rather than digital.  I had also send in my a900 for shutter replacement.  I have not serviced it for more than a year so I send it in to Camera hospital for CLA and replaced the shutter.  It should last me for at least another 3 or more years as I don't shoot with it that often nowadays.

The week to Singapore was much more enjoyable this round as there are more things for the kids to enjoy at my sister's new house.  My mom and sis has moved to a HDB flat while the old house was renovated and prepared to be rented out.

There are some newly furbished playground just below our block and almost every morning we would bring the kids to play.  

  

We also went swimming at Tampines Swimming Pool.  Kids loved the slides :P

So much so that when we tried to leave the pool, boy boy throw a big tantrum and everyone was staring at us. Luckily I brought along a pre-mixed bottle of milk for him.  Works everytime.

We spent most of the time exploring around our new neighbourhood.  Wife also spent some time off with some new friends from Maesai that we got to know from this humble website :)

Its a bit less hectic than last year and we did not visit any major attraction this year even though the weather was kind to us.  Both of them got a bit darker from the swimming and running around.  All in all good fun.

I would also like to offer an apology to those who miss the opportunity meeting us during this trip.  Another time maybe!  :)  

 

Puppies!!! (Again.)

Its actually pretty embarassing but we had no idea our doggie Cindy was pregnant all the time until she gave birth yesterday.  :P  This was because she ate a lot and I gave her more food then usual, so we thought she was just getting a bit fat..

On the 14th, she was whimpering and her nose was a bit dry and shivering.  I thought she was sick so I ask my wife to get a vet to take a look at her.  The $%!$%! lousy vet came and just gave her two shots and said there is a common cold.  We kind of believe him because our neighbour Ah Ma's dog was sick too.  

Anyway, at night she actually felt better and was able to walk around the house and eat a little. I gave her a thick blanket to keep her warm but she was still breathing heavily.

Next morning which was yesterday on the 15th.  Wife woke up and screamed when she saw a pool of blood around Cindy.  At first she thought she was dead but she was actually licking something.  Babies! 

Wife woke me up and as usual, Cindy was pretty protective of her babies.  Ah Ma came over too and we were pretty excited.  We counted 4 but one of them seems not to be moving.  Closer inspection we actually see it was dead. :(  My wife distracted Cindy and Ah Ma managed to get hold of the limp body out.  It's a boy.  We put him in a little shoebox and send him away.  An hour later, another puppy came out and so a total of 5 was born.  All very pretty and have spots on their bodies.  We can't really go close as Cindy growls everytime we get close to her. 

Later that day, we removed her dirty soiled blanket and moved her to a corner.  Its pretty cold here so we were the puppies might get too cold.  The kids were excited, especially girl girl.  Boy boy just looks on in confusion... hehe..

At night, I deliberately put Cindy's food some distance away so wife could transfer the puppies to Cindy's little dog house that we had cleaned up.  Wife was dissapointed as all 4 were girls! hahahah.. All look cute though.  Now we have to start looking for people who wish to have a dog in Maesai here :P

 

Last post of 2011

Just want to post a short one on the last day of the year :P .  Wish all have a Happy New Year and hopefully your resolutions and wishes will come true in coming 2012.

For those a bit concerned about my last post... I'm safely back in Singapore yesterday night :P  And here's a short video of girl girl's performance in school on their New Year Eve's school performance 2 days ago.

My new garden

My garden was in a mess ever since I came back from SG.  After some heckling from my wife.  I decided to do something about it.  We cleared off all the plants and trees and dug out all the stones and weeds.  Then we removed the pots and my wife enlisted her cousin’s help in paving the garden with sand and bricks.  The whole project took us about a week.  5 days to be exact actually and it was quite labour intensive.  I helped mostly by moving the bricks and laying the sand while her cousin laid the bricks.  We also enlisted our friend’s help and roped in her brother to help too    I would say the project was pretty successful, the kids now have a new playground in the garden

Finished!