A Season to be Merry

I headed back to Muar for my Christmas break last Friday, 21st Dec. First on the agenda was Willie's wedding on Saturday. It was to be a full day event with fetching-the-bride in the morning, church wedding in the afternoon and dinner at night. However the festivities started slightly earlier on Friday night, as I hopped over to his place soon after I arrived in Muar. A bunch of old school friends were already there and we chatted until we realised it was past midnight and time for the bridegroom to get his rest.

Saturday began early at 7.45am. Here was how it went ...

Willie : "Brothers, keep heart. What's a mouthful of odd tasting spices and a few strands of hair?"

Justin : "Wait, not the whole lenghth of my lower leg! Oooh, I'm regretting this..."

Brothers :"We're still good. The worse is over. Hope it will be lunch soon ..."

Willie : "I have got what I came here for ... luckily her 'chi muis' didn't know about the 'angpows' in my left pocket."

Brothers : "Hey Sigrid, he's yours now, catch!"

Willie : "This is the day that the Lord had made ... "

Willie & Sigrid : "Cheese ... (our cheek muscles are aching so much)"

"Dam dam damdam ... " (ok,maybe not the bridal march...)

Kids of the seventies; one for the road.

Yuletide Getaway

It's just four days to Christmas. My bags are packed, and I am ready to head home tomorrow after work. The presents under the Christmas tree are waiting to be rounded up and bundled into our taxi ride tomorrow. December has been quite hectic inspite it having a holiday feel to it. Work has not let up but at least it is easing off now that our US counterparts are starting their Christmas vacation. A flurry of meet-ups with friends and hunt for christmas gifts also ensured that time passed swiftly. When I am back from my short holidays, it'll be time to prepare for the new year. For now, let's hope it will be a good Christmas; less rain, more merry making.

'Merry Christmas!'

Santa's on his way

Orchard Road has been turned into a fairyland. Small Christmas ornaments are popping up around the office. Christmas CDs, new and old, are given prime spots in Music stores. Friends and colleagues are heading off for vacations. The nights are getting cooler.

Yes, it's December again. The air has a holiday feel to it (no doubt helped by the Christmas Carols replaying in my head). And tonight, we got our tree out from the store and we dressed it up in red, gold and dancing christmas lights, while Josh Groban belts out songs from his latest album Noel.

It's definitely 'Chestnut roasting over an open fire' time again.

A double eleven wedding

One of my dear friends got married on Sunday. I was on hand to capture some of the magical moments as well as to partake in the little 'fun' that the sisters dished out. I guess this is a phase that everyone passes through. Soon I'll run out of bachelor friends and will moved up the evolution ladder where I'll be taking photos of their little ones. Oh drats, I think I have started on those.

Anyway as this is my number 200th post, let me end on a bright note by wishing the happy couple a wonderful journey ahead.

Ernie & Rubber Duckie finally tying the knot?

*******

"Love is blind, but marriage restores its sight."

Suzhou short trip

I’m procrastinating too much these days. I guess it’s much easier to succumb to one hour of mindless navigating through FB, biting werewolves, racing online pets and creating new groups then to put my thoughts into words in my often neglected blog. Anyway, I’ll interrupt my Ozzie holiday series to update on my latest trip to Suzhou.

So there I was again in Shanghai, almost 8 months after my first trip there. This time, there was no Shanghai stay as the meetings were in Suzhou. As I had made a late booking, I could not get on the same flight as my colleagues. Thus I had roughly 2 ½ hours to wait for the rest to arrive as we were sharing the same transport to Suzhou.

This gave me the chance to try out the Maglev or bullet train from Pudong Airport to the train station in Luoyang Rd. After paying 80RMB or S$16 for a round trip, I dragged my luggage into a sleek-looking MRT-type train. Once the train pushed off, it was accelerating from 0 to 430kmh, where it maintained the speed for a while before it started decelerating. The 30Km journey took just 8 min. At Luoyang Rd Station I got off and started looking for a place to have lunch. I ended up with two dishes that were drenched in chilli oil and a hot cup of tea to washed it away. Well I told myself that the food could only get better.

Back at the airport, my travel weary colleagues finally stepped out of the arrival hall around 6:30pm after suffering a two over hour flight delay. We arrived at our hotel, Youngor Central, in Suzhou around 9pm. We were terribly famished by then.

The next two nights we got the opportunity to explore the Shopping belt along Guanqian St where we stayed and Shiquan St which was another popular tourist spot. We got to visit countless DVD shops (my colleagues were hoping that newer movies could be found in different shops but no luck), pastries and sweet shops (Suzhou is famed of Sasame Seed biscuits), boutiques and handicraft shops. I prefer this kind of shopping compared to those mega complexes, and some shops even allow bargaining. I ended up with some simple titbits for the office, souvenirs and half a kilo of ‘long jing’ tea.

As for food, we treated ourselves to buffet dinners, Szechuan fare, local noodles and rice, and even Satay. I had to get use to the food there which uses more oil and salt. We also avoided fish as we were warned of the many bones and ‘fresh-water fish’ smell.

Well if had a chance to come back, I’ll certainly try to find time to visit the many famous temples and parks around the city. And not to forget the boat ride along the canals of Suzhou that I was hoping to squeeze in this time. Not to fret, I’ll be back again to this city of UNESCO heritage parks and mammoth industrial parks.

You've Got Mail

It's amazing how fast e-mails get replied in Facebook. I wrote three mails to old friends tonight and all three replies came back within minutes. All three from different countries. I couldn't help replying and got back replies soon after. Are these people perpetually on FB? Huh, they must be addicts like me.

Because We're Tuesday People

I guess most people has read Mitch Albom's book, momentarily ingested his message about living and dying, and soon after pushed it all into the attic of their minds. Well there's now ten short youtube clips that tells the story. Well if there is one thing I took away from it, it is, in Morrie's own words,"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into our life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." It's Tuesday, start living.

Oz Trip Day 5 – City Explorers

This was the day we finally ventured onto the streets of Sydney. With a trusty map and comfortable walking shoes, my family and I took to the streets. We started off from Wynyard Train Station …

Outside the Townhall. They just had a ceremony to mark the torch run of the Shanghai Special Olympics, that explains the green flags that we were waving.

Queen Victoria Building. Not a place for us to shop ...

Darling Harbour, filled with sea gulls and school children on day trips.

Grilled seafood on sale at Sydney's Fish Market

The fisherman wharf next to the Fish market. A good day to be outside.

A friendly motorcyclist posing on Harris Street

The busy Chinatown. A good place to buy cheap souvenirs and chinese food (where else?)

The Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park

Hype Park and the many parks around Sydney are splendid places to spend your time chilling out or just reading a book.

St.Mary's Cathedral. The interior is just as imposing ...

After a tiring day of walking, we had a quick dinner as the shops were closing and headed home. The next day promised more time in the city and beyond.

Oz Trip Day 3 & 4 – Yum Cha and Little Vietnam

It was a lazy Sunday, we slept in after a late night in the city. We were picked up from the hotel before noon. Lunch was at Chatswood, at a Dim Sum restaurant. I must say that the Hong Kong chefs in Sydney are certainly keeping up the level of Chinese Food there.

After a full stomach, my uncle took us for a ride up north to the beaches. It was a winding journey through small towns and forests, passing rivers and sandy beaches. We made a short stop at one of these beaches. It was chilly as the wind blew in from the sea. There were quite a number of people living in this part of Sydney, with their homes on the hill side, some with magnificent views of the sea. I wonder what is it like to have a home like this.

Northern Beaches. No surfer today!

When we headed back it was almost dark. We had dinner at another Asian joint, The Istana, that served Malaysian food. Looks like we are not missing Chinese food at all.

The next day, we headed north again, but this time to Cabramatta, the Vietnamese town. The town was about 2 hours away from Wahroonga. This was a place that would make any Vietnamese feel at home. We took a leisurely walk through the town. Like any Asian street, there were butchers, food stalls, pharmacies, and the odd body-piercing shop. We settled our lunch at , no surprises, a Vietnamese restaurant. Sadly the Pho here wasn’t up to the homeland standards, but the popular Criskin Chicken was selling well.

Streets of Cabramatta, Criskin Chicken and even a Singapore Plaza!

That night, we had another family dinner (Chinese!), at Carlingford Court. We had to take two separate tables, with the younger ones on one and the old folks on the other. It was a good time to catch up with my cousins as we did not have much time to talk during the wedding. Soon the night came to an end. But before we headed back to our inn, my Uncle took us for a drive through the city. I couldn’t wait for the next day, as finally it was time to take to the streets of Sydney after two days of exploring the outskirts.

After Dinner at Carlingford Court

Oz Trip Second Day – An Aussie Wedding

It was Saturday, the sun was out of bed and at its dazzling shinning best by 7am. We slowly pulled ourselves out of our warm beds. We had to dress up for the wedding.

Eugene came to pick us up soon after 9. the Church wedding was to be held at St.Joseph’s College, in Hunter’s Hill Sydney. St.Joseph’s is a Catholic School for boys and only old boys had the privilege of holding their weddings there. The church itself needed no decoration as its architecture and stained glass windows were a sight to behold. Not long after, the ceremony started and Su walked down the aisle with her dad (Un Daniel). The service was brief and sweet, and soon we were out in the sunshine taking photos.

The Wedding Lunch was to follow and it was held at the Sydney Opera House. They had a marquee tent just outside the famous landmark, that had a fabulous view of the harbour bridge. Inside the tent, we found our seats which were easily identified by name tags. It was to be a long lunch, spanning the whole afternoon. We were served three delectable main courses, and were entertained by speeches from both fathers and the best man, serenaded by the Robinson Brothers who do Bee Gees quite well and laughed at the jokes from the MCs (brothers of the bride and groom). It was sunset at the harbour when the event ended.

The day did not end there. The younger crowd adjourned to the Argyle, a hip looking bar at the Rocks, while my parents and uncle settled for coffee somewhere else. Eugene gave us a lift back to our inn sometime after midnight, but not before we got a glimpse of Su’s bridal suite at the Shangri-la.