One week to go

It is astonishing to us that we sit here, with just one more week of lessons to conduct, and then we will have completed 2 years at MAE already. We have never had a moment's regret about signing on for a third year, certainly look forward to another 12 months here and are confident our boys are managing very well with us at arm's length. It seems our extended family and friends are all happy for us too, many have been able to visit in the last 2 years and we are very grateful for that. After the Nepal trek we will spend a few days in Melbourne over Xmas with family and then hope to visit Darwin early next year.

We got bad news on Wednesday morning from Wayne and Pauline at Eric's Punggol Branch. A number of our friends from Butterworth days know this couple as they were also there at the same time. They had been riding bikes at Pasir Ris Park on Tuesday when Pauline fell, trying to avoid a collision with reckless children. She badly injured her knee and had to be operated on straight away. Dr tells her she wont be weight-bearing for 2 months. Like her knee, their holiday plans are in tatters. On Thursday Eric took Michael back along the Kallang River bike trail, I warned them to ride defensively!  This is the trail that requires you to carry your bike up and down the 6 overpasses.  I did't feel I need to exhaust myself again, so took the easier option of a gym and steps session to fulfil my daily trek preparation. Thankfully they returned unscathed and at lunchtime we all met up for the final Mahjong lesson. There were only ever meant to be about 6 of these but the others keep requesting more and it has been fun. I suspect mahjong sets might be found under the Xmas tree this year. 

On Friday morning we went for our regular walk in our local bird watching site, Bidadari. We should have expected something special when we found a male Common Goldenback in our street, not more than 100m from the condo. This woodpecker is labelled uncommon here, but this is the second time we have found it in the trees on our street. 

We were then blessed with our first sighting of a family of three Oriental Pied Hornbills once we got to Bidadari. We have seen them once or twice before on the island, but never here in our local bushland. What a thrill. 

Then we discovered a bevy of real bird watchers, with massive camera lenses, who were busy snapping the chestnut winged cuckoo. This bird is a scarce or uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant in Sg from the Indian Subcontinent and China.  We had seen it earlier, but without binoculars had mistaken it for something else, size of a coucal but silhouette more like a flycatcher. That was a real day out for any birdwatcher.

After work on the Sunday we began our weekend with an MAE get together at Walla Walla Cafe Bar in Holland Village. This has become a popular spot for us as it is fairly central for branches as far flung as Jurong and Bukit Punjung to the west, Tampines to the east and Punggol to the NE. Judy and Roger may remember meeting up with our colleagues at the same spot. Some will be making a very quick getaway after classes next Sunday so we won't be seeing them again until early January. 

Guitar practice has gone right out the window, too busy playing the ukulele. We are taking Eric's and the 2 that Peter owns with us on the trek so have been searching for songs with chords on the internet and printing off a songbook to take. I'm enjoying it so much I don't want to give Peter back the one he lent me to perform with at the Annual Dinner, so I have now purchased one of my own which will be delivered just after we get back from Melbourne. This week we will need to buy some spare stings to take with us.

Monday saw the trekkers (we have dropped off the casual walkers) tackle the longest trail on Bukit Timah again. The only good thing about this is that it is the last time for the year! It is very hard work, much harder than I did on any day of the trek last Dec. We all sweat like mad and are desperately in need of a big lunch when we finish. Then a lazy afternoon was spent tying up loose ends like printing off visas, confirming the lease arrangements for this place and tracking progress on our faulty laptop. Stayed home and watched the last episodes of Serangoon Rd.

At last we were able to collect the laptop on Tue afternoon, it has been frustrating wanting to use images or docs saved on it that we don't have anywhere else. Like the itinerary for our trek! I'll paste it below so you can keep track. We don't expect to have connectivity very often so details will follow, all in good time. If anyone needs to contact us and we are not online via skype call you can leave a message at the guest house where we begin and finish. Potala Guest House, Thamel, Kathmandu  Tel: 977-1-4226566 or e-mail: potalagh@wlink.com.np

ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP (ABC) TREK 2013

Proposed Itinerary

Dec 3    Arrive Kathmandu and transfer to Potala Guest House/same day visit Kathmandu Durbar square and/or monkey temple and back to the hotel, overnight.

                                                (Maybe) Day sightseeing Soyambhunath, Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and back to hotel

Dec 4                 Kathmandu – explore township/ shopping / hire gear/ trek preparation

COMMENCE TREK

Day 01_Dec 5    Early in the morning transfer to the domestic airport and fly out to Pokhara same day                       drive to Nayapul and trek to Tikhedhunga (1540m) overnight.

Day 02_Dec 6   Wake up early morning at 7:00am to have breakfast at the hotel and at 8: 00 O’ clock               start to climb up hill through small village and forest about 6 to 7 hours to Ghorepani                          (2870m) overnight (expected to be the hardest day)

Day 03_ Dec 7   Wake up early in the morning at 5:00am and climb up to Poon Hill (3210m) for the                    sunrise and to see the panorama of mountain views and trek back to the hotel and to                         have breakfast at the hotel and same day trek up hill and down hill through rhododendron                 and pine forest to Tadapani, (2710m) overnight.

Day 04_Dec 8   Wake up at 7:00am and to have breakfast at the hotel and around 8:00am start to walk               about 700m down hill to Kimrung khola (river side) and about 100m uphill to Larjung lunch               there and walking up and down hill to Chhomrong, (2210m) overnight.

Day 05_ Dec 9   Wake up at 7:00am to have breakfast at the hotel and start trek to dawn hill about                       150m to Chhorong khola (river side) and 200m uphill to Sinuwa lunch at Sinuwa and trek                  via  rhododendron and bamboo forest to Dovan, overnight.

Day 06_ Dec 10 Wake up at 7:00am and start gradually uphill via riverside to Deurali, (2710m)                              overnight

Day 07_ Dec 11  Wake up at 7:00am to have breakfast at the hotel and going up hill about 4 to 5 hours,

                    to Machhapuchhure Base Camp (3700m) overnight.

Day 08_ Dec 12  Wake up 7:00am and trek about 3 to 4 hours to Annapurna Base Camp (4130m)                     overnight

Day 09_ Dec 13  Wake up early in the morning at 5:30am for sunrise and to have breakfast at the lodge               and trek back to Dovan, overnight.

Day 10_Dec 14 Wake up 7:00am and to have breakfast at the hotel and trek to Sinuwa and lunch break

                   and trek to Chhomrong, overnight.

Day 11_Dec 15 Wake up same time and trek to via Kimrung River and to have lunch at Komrong                       Danda and trek to Ghanduruk, overnight.

Day 12_Dec 16 Wake up same time Trek downhill to Kimrung River side and going uphill to Landuruk

                   have lunch here and trek to Tolka, overnight.

Day 13_Dec 17 Wake up same time and trek to Deurali to have lunch here and going down to                               Dhumpus, overnight.

Day 14 _Dec 18 Wake up same time and trek downhill to Dhampus Phedi and drive in Pokhara                             (1990m).

END OF TREK

Day 15_Dec 19 One day rest/ sightseeing, Pokhara overnight

Day 16_ Dec 20 Fly back to Kathmandu and transfer to the Potala Guest House

Day 17_Dec 21 Depart, return to Singapore.

Early Christmas Present

An early Christmas present arrived for us this week when we discovered Eric Clapton will be playing Singapore in March next year on his world tour. Our Eric has loved his music for as long as I've known him and I quickly agreed once I was introduced. We have never before had the opportunity to go to a concert, though Eric did seriously consider flying from Darwin to Melbourne once, but then found he couldn't because of school commitments. Tickets went on sale at 9am on Thursday morning and we were online right then to secure good tickets for ourselves and a few colleagues. Now the long wait to Mar 4th. We had a number of friends over for tennis again once the tickets were secured and finished with a swim and lunch at the hawkers in the HDB. 

For the first time in my memory there has been no Christmas card from Uncle Royston in the mail by mid-November. He has always managed to send the first card despite the numerous addresses we have lived over the last 30 odd years. There will be no more from him as he passed away earlier this year but he can rest assured he will not be forgotten, at this time of year at least. The shopping malls are all putting up decorations and playing carols over the sound systems. 

 Plaza Singapura

On Monday the walkers tackled a 14km trail from Bukit Timah to McRichie Res. We all made it but were a little footsore and weary by the time we sat down for lunch. Most of the way we were under dense canopy cover so it was shaded but also damp underfoot. My new shoes are dirty already. We came across a number of locals collecting ripe durian from the trees in the rainforest and chalked-up a new bird sighting, most impressed by its song. 

 rufous-crowned babbler

 Durian anyone?

 monkey business

 Mushroom Cafe, McRitchie Res.

14 kms was a good trial for the new shoes I bought this week. I had been planning to trek in the pair of Merril's I wore last year, but have decided they are just not up to it again. On Friday morning we went to Novena, which we have discovered has a cluster of outdoor retail stores. We walked there with Heather and Michael, a cunning plan to make sure my feet were swollen and aching so I was sure to get the right fit. It seems to have worked. I was footsore but so was everyone else. 
I treated myself to a neck and shoulder massage after the walk Monday. She found some very painful tight spots and the more I squirmed the longer and deeper she worked on them. It was so good I returned for a foot reflexology session on Tuesday after we collected our new Employment Passes.  The pain in the tip of the big toe on my left foot was excruciating and she explained that this suggests the left side of my brain is dominant. Surprise surprise! The other areas I think were mostly the insertion points of my calf muscles. 
The branches are all having their end of year dinners even though there are still 2 weeks of work to complete. On Monday night we enjoyed dinner with Punggol Branch at Shish Mahal, in Albert Court, Little India. We found a micro brewery had opened up just nearby so that was a nice start to the evening for the lads while the ladies shared a wine just across from them. The court a lovely setting in front of the Village Hotel. On Tuesday night Kovan Branch returned to the popular ShangriLa Vine Restaurant for a smorgasbord featuring the biggest Canadian oysters you have ever seen and desserts to die for. 

Completing the family visits

Well, it's done! NT DET accepted my resignation without any attempt to have me reconsider. Not even a whimper of protest from them.  We noted in the news today that NT Teachers are on strike over cuts to staffing, so it seems like a good time to end relations. To confirm our plans we just signed a new 2 year lease for our condo apartment at Serangoon this morning and have the completed paperwork to extend our Employment Passes for the same period. So, we're are here for the next few years if all goes to plan.
Speaking of NT Schools, I skyped with the SRC of Clyde Fenton School in Katherine on Wednesday and they were excited to tell me that they have raised over $1,000 for Gudel School in Nepal. Their Principal, and our good friend, Sandy set the ball rolling earlier in the year after our trek to the village. Eric managed to Skype with them back in August, sharing photos and talking about the difficulties of living in such a remote place. The SRC set to work and held a number of events including market stalls, dance parties and film screenings. It is an amazing amount raised by a school community from a relatively remote area in itself. The students were keen for us to spend it all on sports equipment but Gudel couldn't use that much equipment in their small grounds. We are yet to finalize what it will all be spent on but some will certainly be used for sports gear. We've also spoken to both our boys recently on Skype. Adrian is busy building his first guitar from scratch from a block of mahogany and Luke sounds very happy with his job at Escape Travel. Tahlia is changing jobs to try an admin position at Marrara Christian College.

On Thursday we attended our final PD day for the year. It turned out that Eric facilitated the session I was attending. Of course, as you would expect, our group came up with some terrific ideas for refreshing the course delivery. Then on Friday before work we celebrated Michael Munroe's birthday with a few friends at VivoCity. 

Before work on Saturday my brother Col and his partner Beth arrived on their way home from France and Portugal. We just had time to leave them keys, show them how to heat water and where the laundry was before leaving for work. They walked with me to the MRT so they had some idea of the lie of the land. It seems they mostly regrouped and rested for the day after that long flight and then in the evening took a short walk over to NEX Mall before meeting us at the new Chuen Kee Coffee Shop that has opened in the Lew Lian Gardens HDB complex. The redevelopment has been a point of interest for everyone walking by in the last few weeks and on Friday morning it opened with plenty of fanfare, many flower tributes and with blessings by the Lion Dancers. 

Sunday we had to front up for work again but Col and Beth found their way via Little India to Chinatown without any trouble, and from there to the Kadampa Meditation Centre in Tanjong Pagar.  They had really enjoyed all the colour and old style architecture of the area. We met up at Dhoby Ghaut in the evening and had dinner at The Green Room located in Bishan Park. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was really too dark to appreciate the beauty of the park but it was lovely and cool and there were many people out enjoying it. The food was wonderful and the outdoor setting just lovely.

On Monday we tackled the trails of Bukit Timah again. I did my best to get out of it, insisting that I was hosting family but even they didn't support me. Gosh it was a hard slog this week and so hot! So hot in fact, that one of our team collapsed with heat stroke. Fortunately there were plenty of experienced people on hand to get her cooled down quickly and off home in an air-con taxi. No such luck for me, it was the usual bus and train ride all the way home.  

Meanwhile, Beth and Col wandered Gardens by the Bay and then the Singapore Art Museum. They too were ready to put their feet up when they got home. In the evening we joined Michael and Deb Canaway at Marche Restaurant in Somerset 313. They cook the food right before your eyes so it's fresh, high quality and free of preservatives, artificial colours and flavour enhancers. The variety of dishes is amazing, Dad would have loved it. 

Tuesday morning we woke to pouring rain. I think it poured most of the night. Beautiful and cool but shame about the visitors enjoying our pool. Beth enjoyed a shiatsu massage at the Fushouse Wellness Spa in the shopping strip of Lew Lian Gardens HDB while the rest of us didn't move far at all, just enjoying each others' company. 
Later we all followed a walking trail around Geylang, one of the distinctive older districts where the clan associations, set up as a first point of contact for newcomers in the migrant wave between 1840 and 1940, provided kinship and support in shophouses whose architecture has been preserved. Hokkien, Teochew and Hakka groups were either cast out or fled the Chinese mainland due to famine and abject poverty at that time and the Clan Houses served the purpose of integrating the newcomers into the ways and customs of locals. 
Geylang is also a red-light district for Asian prostitutes mostly from Thailand, Indonesia, China and Malaysia. The district is home to hundreds of brothels. Some are regulated, while others operate behind the scenes illegally. Eric tried to capture a snap of Beth and Col together, about to cross the road, but 2 of these girls were also in his field of view and they demanded that he delete the image. Even if they belong to a registered brothel they are not allowed to solicit on the street. He obligingly did as he was asked, concerned a pimp may be nearby. We did keep a few other shots of the local sites though.

 Soon Thian Keing Taoist Temple

 Hui Hwa Pugilistic Art Assoc wall

 Khadijah Mosque

 Strip of Buddhist shops in Sims Ave

 At Blk 134 we found a strip of shops all specializing in Buddhist products including statues, prayer tapes, monk robes and incense. We shared a vegetarian lunch here as there were grocers and hawker stalls.

 Chinese Traditional Medical Hall

 This traditional Chinese medical practice was first opened in 1922 and has been in the family for 3 generations. 

 Shophouses in Lorong 24A

 Sampling Herbal Tea in Geylang Rd

 Hua Tuo Guan is a 24hr teashop offering herbal drinks and snacks. Some, like the tea I tried have a 'cooling' effect on the body and are good for sore throats. Some are tonics to invigorate different parts of the body (if you know what I mean), or simply energizing a tired body.  Ingredients might include lily bud, lotus seed, gingko (for memory) and barley. the house specialty, served from the giant brass gourd-shaped vessel as seen above, is made from 24 herbs and is promoted to alleviate 'heatiness'. 

 Crn Lorong Bachok

This richly decorated corner home of 1929 now serves as the training centre for Lion Dance performers. We were becoming somewhat foot-sore and weary by this time and departure time was approaching for Col and beth so from here we made our way home. 

In the evening the visitors made their way to the airport and we joined the trekkers at New Everest Kitchen to meet one of the Chinese contingent who will be joining us. Cheng Wen is the husband of Chunjiao who trekked with us last year. Everyone ended up back at our place afterwards. A very full few days but so wonderful to have had everyone from the family here now.

A hectic social life

The Northeast monsoon season seems to have descended upon us a little early this year and we are getting regular heavy rain almost daily. Singapore has two main seasons, the Northeast Monsoon (December to March) and the Southwest Monsoon season (May to September), separated by two relatively shorter inter-monsoon periods. Although there are no distinct wet or dry periods, we do have drier weather conditions from May to July and wetter conditions from November to January. Not so different from the Top End as it reads, but in fact their weather is more reliable generally. In the Wet Season it's wet, and in the Dry, it's dry.

Our local bird haven hit the newspapers this week as plans to develop it into a housing estate accelerate toward a start date. The estate is to have state of the art gardens and an underwater reservoir but Nature Conservationists are urging a rethink which includes preserving the natural forest since the birds prefer that to manicured gardens. We have our fingers crossed but don't hold out much hope even though rare migratory birds are found here.


Eric has been struggling with a cold most of this week but soldiering on. On Thurs morning we walked Labrador Pk and finished up at VivoCity, the big mall overlooking Sentosa Is. We were with Michael and Heather. Michael has also been helping Bev with her new Windows 8 laptop and she had given him a voucher for Marche which has a restaurant on the rooftop at VivoCity. We helped him spend it on a sumptuous fresh lunch.
On Friday morning we travelled west to Lakeside, near Jurong, where Deb and Michael are living. This Michael is the guitar whiz and the focal point of the entertainment at the Annual Dinner on Monday night. We took the ukuleles along and Peter joined us so we could rehearse. Good thing we did, we were all over the place to start with but somehow by the end of it we felt we thought we sounded reasonable. Not sure if I told you last week or not that we were playing Israel Kamakawiwo's medely 'Somewhere over the rainbow/Beautiful World'. Not the easiest piece for novices.

Our final rehearsal was late Sunday night and we might have been better skipping that as it just got later and later. And we didn't get any better! As it turned out, the organisers had arranged for a DJ/Presenter to run the show and he was a hoot. A cross between Sanjeev Bhaskar of 'The Kumars at No. 42' and a Bollywood dancer. Very funny. Our number, to complete the Principal's speech, was short and sweet. A good thing since neither Eric or I could read the music from where we were positioned! All that practice for nothing.

Not to worry, Peter appreciated that support. Bev, in reclining position was responsible for all the colourful shirts collected at Salo's Recycle Shops around Brisbane on her last visit to Aust. There was also a caricaturist on hand to draw everyone's portraits. What do you think? Did he capture a likeness?

We backed up the next morning with a return to Kranji Turf Club for a day at the races. Being Melbourne Cup, we spent the day with all the expats of ANZAS, enjoying the benefits as guests. Like last year, it was a huge day beginning with a champagne breakfast and progressing through fashions on the field, best hat awards, sweeps and raffles. We got to watch all the action on the track on the big screens in the comfort of the flash dining room with full table service and the tote just outside the door. Peter had a good tip for No 3 in the first race which he shared with us - very kind but we didn't get our bets on, too slow at the breakfast! Pity, it came in third and paid very well. All up I came out about even for the day but Eric went down, a reversal of results from last year. It was a long train ride home for us to end the day, it has been a huge few days.

Think maybe Peter never got home between the Hawaiian Annual Dinner and the Race Meeting.

 In between all of that we managed to slip in a very special visit to the home of one of my students. Nidharshaan is in K1 and during 'Show and Tell' a couple of weeks back he invited me to his home to celebrate Deepavali. His older brother also invited his tutor Renee. On Sunday after work Eric joined us at the home in an HDB in Sengkang. The boys looked resplendent in their matching traditional outfits and the home was beautifully decorated. It turns out the father is from Sri Lanka so it was easy to engage in conversation with him, his wife is from Medan. We had the chance to meet and mix with other members of the family and their friends from all over the place including Vietnam and Australia.

The walkers opted for a trail through Bishan and Ang Mo Kio Parks that links you to Lower Peirce Reservoir on Monday, not too strenuous because we were all due at the Annual Dinner in the evening. It was very pleasant and then someone, who will remain nameless (June), came up with the bright idea that we could go on to Upper Peirce Res. This added another decent leg with rolling hills but well worth the view when we got there. Pity there is no bus service to take you back, we had to walk it too. "Enough already" my legs were saying. No pictures of any of that as we downloaded them to the laptop and then it died. Presently being resuscitated we hope at the local Service Centre. Over lunch we agreed to meet at the KPO Cafe Bar on the corner of Killiney and Orchard Rds, right by the YWCA where the Annual Dinner will be held in just a few hours. This turned out to be a terrific new find to add to the growing list.

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