Dinner in Camden

We also spent a super evening at a very nice Indian restaurant in Camden Town with Meera and Fiona - so nice to meet up with them again. Camden town is host to a varied and buzzing community.

Bath

The Royal Crescent - Bath Spa


Bath Abbey.










We spent a very pleasant and relaxing day in Bath – as beautiful a city as I remember.

We had lunch in a local pub, The Huntsman, took in the atmosphere and rode the two bus tours on offer.

Arrival in London

Arrival in London was something else! There had been an incident on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow to South Ealing. This is the least expensive way of getting into the city; the alternative is to use the Heathrow to Paddington Express. The incident had caused a massive backlog of people wanting, or should I say demanding, to get into the city. In times of crisis you see the best and worst of people. The Heathrow to Paddington Connect service was doing its best to help relieve the pressure but that didn’t do much to appease the angry and frustrated travellers.

I have to admire the way the staff handled the anger, frustration and rudeness of the public, many of whom were looking for some-one to ‘blame’.

When we eventually arrived in the city and deposited our bags at the Paddington left luggage room, we took a nostalgic trip on a Big Bus tour of the city, including a boat trip on the Thames. We had done this tour 20 years ago and it was a good way to make a quick trip to remind us what London was all about. Spring is well advanced – 23 degrees - so it was great to see the greenery and spring colours.

Later in the day we spent time familiarising ourselves with the underground, visited Camden town, took in the New Zealand memorial sculpture in Hyde Park, sat on the grass and had an ice-cream and checked into our hotel near Marble Arch.

Reflecting on the trip so far – I’m glad we are travelling light (about 12 kg each) although there is room for more pruning of luggage yet!

Cousins

As we were leaving the plane in Frankfurt we spotted a group of four people wearing jackets emblazoned with ‘Wanganui Rock and Roll Club’. Later in the terminal we spoke with them and surprise, surprise! One turned out to be a cousin (her husband is staying with my sister in Perth) and another person is married to my brother-in-law’s brother. They were on their way to Norway – small world!

...and on to London

The flight from Singapore to Frankfurt was smooth – I got about 7 hours sleep but Lynne got a lot less! We spent about 3 hours on the ground in Frankfurt, enough time to catch up on some text messages, make our way through the terminal to our departure lounge. As we have done previously in the US, we had to be taken by bus to our aircraft – a journey of some 15 or so minutes – this is a huge airport, Lufthansa’s main world hub.

We waited until Quinn went to bed before taking a taxi to terminal 2 at the airport; what a wonderful clean, spacious and relaxing place. It is so well laid out and the people flows and facilities have been so well integrated you wouldn’t know that thousands of people use this terminal at any one time. We had time to do all the official departure ‘things’ have a meal and soak up the ambience before departure.

Duncan gave me a haircut to set me up for Europe.

My last swim with Quinn before leaving for Europe.

Mothers' Day Lunch

Quinn and Dionne study the menu.



Hong Kong Tea House for Mothers' Day Lunch. This was celebrated a day earlier than the calendar indicated so that the three mothers – Lynne, Dionne and Myrna could celebrate a Dim Sim lunch together; Myrna has Sundays off. She usually goes to church and then meets up with her relations – also foreign domestic workers.

Duncan pours Chinese tea to get lunch under way.

Quinn certainly enjoyed the Portuguese Custard Tart (as we all do).

After dinner Myrna took Quinn home for a sleep while the rest of us went up to the Parkway Shopping Centre to find some salmon for a salad for tea.

At the end of the day!

Although Quinn wasn’t very happy about going to Kindergarten she obviously settled down after we left. Here she is as happy as one thing when Lynne went to get her. A few minutes earlier we peeped through the window and saw her playing happily; the tears don’t last long!

Malaysia

After visiting Singapore American School we made our way by train and bus to the border control between Singapore and Malaysia. Upon completing the departure formalities for Singapore we decided to walk across the bridge/causeway in the mid day heat – not the best move! Next time we will take the bus. We were pleased to have walked this time though since it gave us a chance to see the contrast with Singapore in terms of the debris in the water.

This was one of our less memorable excursions - made even less memorable by a man presenting himself about ½ km inside the border as a ‘helper’. After lots of drivel about being an engineering graduate from Auckland University he attempted to ‘help’ us get a taxi to one of the big shopping malls. Why he thought we needed his help to do what was pretty obvious was beyond us. However we remained courteous and let him join us in a taxi which (presumably at his direction) seemed to take the scenic route to where ever!

After several reminders and questions from us about the location of the shopping plaza we duly arrived where we wanted to be.

We were expecting it and weren’t disappointed when he announced that the fare was R90 (about $NZ40). I had to deliver the bad news to him; that we wouldn’t be paying anything like that price since the ride we ordered should have cost no more than about $NZ4.00. When he asked about the ‘tour’ part of the ride we had to disappoint him by telling him we didn’t order the tour; left $S10.00 (didn’t have anything less) on the seat and departed to the sound of him cursing loudly!

Jahore Bharu has some lovely aspects to it such as sweeping, curved streets/roads and lovely green areas. In the very limited time we spent there – about 4 hours – the most lasting impression we got was that the city is in need of much infrastructural work - town planning, roads and paving in particular. The whole place could do with the same dose of medicine Singapore took in the mid 1960s.

For future reference: take a bus after completing the formalities on the Singapore side, ride it to the Malaysian border control, complete their formalities and continue with the 170 bus to the main bus depot. From there take another bus or taxi to where ever you want to be.

For the return journey catch the 170 bus from the main bus depot (cost 1.4 Ringat). The bus lets you off at the Malaysian border control to complete departure formalities. You go down the stairs and board the 170 bus again and that takes you across the causeway to the Singapore border control post. There you complete an entry card, pass through the control point and make your way down the escalator. At the bottom turn right to join the queue for the bus (you can use your Singapore travel/bus/MRT card) to the nearest MRT – in our case, Marsilin.

Garmin nuvi 200w

I have been trying to get to grips with my new 'toy' - a Garmin nuvi 200w GPS system. The objective of the purchase is to minimise the risk of getting lost while driving in Germany and the UK in particular. So far so good - I can turn it on, pick up sattelites and navigate to obvious places such as shopping malls! The real test will come when we get on the road!

White Lodge Kindergarten

This is Quinn's kindergarten. Signage at the kindergarten was as obvious as one can get!

She wasn't particularly happy about being here! Along the way she exhibited all the avoidance strategies at her disposal e.g. wanting to turn right instead of left!












The staff were friendly and welcoming but I guess when you are 20 months old and would sooner be in the comfort of your own complex, that doesn't matter much.

There were lots of tears but we know from our own experiences of parents dropping children off at school, that doesn't last long.

The Journey to Kindergarten

Quinn has met up with Sajan; he is three years old and goes to the same kindergarten as Quinn. This photo was taken in the approach to the back gate. Sajan is accompanied by his maid; likewise with Quinn!

Quinn gets ready for Kindergarten

Just a few things to tend to in the kitchen first!

Myrna and Quinn go to kindergarten on Tuesday and Thursday. Here she is with her hair done for the morning out.

Poolside

With such beautiful weather it is a shame to not spend as much time as we have in the pool. The other residents wait until around 4:30 pm when the sun goes down – we go any time!




This is Fred with his entourage of foreign domestic help. Quinn is trying to con him out of his food - again!!

Duncan and Quinn enjoy the cool water.

Family and friends

Our AFS daughter and her fiancé Mac, came to visit us while we were in Singapore. They get married in Bangkok in December so that will be another trip to Bangkok we have to look forward to.

Duncan and Mac look especially happy - must have been something in that Japanese vodka from the guys at the table next door!

Quinn is the centre of attention - again!

Mary's Corner

Paul, Dionne and Duncan at Mary's corner - not quite on the footpath but very close!

Food

Earlier in the day we had lunch at a very popular eatery called ‘Mary’s Corner’; famous for several dishes as can be seen here.

Ananda Bhavan

Ananda Bhavan is a simple, no frills set-up offering quality Indian vegetarian snacks and meals. The restaurant has a 70-year history and a number of outlets. We visited one in Serangoon Road.

This is our docket

Paper Masala Dosai

Northern Indian

Southern Indian

Mustafa Centre

Mustafa Centre in Little India is a bustling 24-hour shopping centre. The tourist brochures describe it as ‘a paradise for budget shoppers’ Its strategic location attracts locals as well as many tourists. Mustafa Centre is the only Shopping Mall in Singapore that is opened 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is plenty of time to shop for anything you want.
It has just about everything you could want – electronics, jewellery, household items, shoes bags, CDs - all at bargain rates. The range of electronic products sold here alone is enough to compete with any of the other major electronics outlets in Singapore. Yesterday in another shopping complex I paid $16 more for a memory stick than I would have here – patience is a virtue! The brochures say that ‘close to 100,000 different items’ are sold at the Mustafa Centre – I believe them!

Quinn shows us around her place

Quinn stands atop the slide ready for a fast trip down the other side. I think she only stopped so that she could give us a look that proclaims, 'see I told you I coud get up here by myself!'








This cat does have an owner in the complex but today she belongs to Quinn who proceeded to shower her affection on it - kisses and all. Both grandparents stood by to carry out a rscue mission if necessary!

Above - grandma lends her support to make the see-saw work as well as Quinn believes it can!

Management has installed several pieces of children's playground equipment around the complex. Quinn is doing her best to encourage her horse to wing the rich Katong Garden Cup!

Around Katong Gardens

Myrna, Quinn and Lynne take a walk around Katong Gardens. Eveyone we met seemed to know Quinn and George. One woman must have really been in the good books because she got to kiss George!

Quinn and Koko share the seat. George had to be in te picture too of course!