Sekinchan Trip - October 2017

We finally made a trip to Sekinchan - check out the photos below! It was quite fun and there was more to do then I expected, which was good, of course.

Hope to return someday when the paddy fields are gold in colour instead 😉

Real-life Kingler? Haha!

Bangkok - June 2017

Bangkok with the kids - first time ever! MIL came with us as well. We had so much fun!

Ancient City Muang Boran - this is a really cool open-air museum with more than 120 replicas of famous monuments from different regions across Thailand. We got around in a rented golf cart- which we allowed the boy to drive in short stretches (shhh) - and it was so much fun, although it was very very very hot!

Erawan Museum

Bangkok is one destination that is definitely worth a repeat trip (or repeated trips...)! Oh, and we introduced the kids to the awesome desserts in After You 😊

Pangkor Laut - Merriment and Mishap

A work trip to Pangkor Laut Resort- HOW COOL IS THAT?!?

What a beautiful place, as you can see from the gorgeous photos below. Really hope to be able to bring the family here one day. 

So beautiful!

Hornbills on my balcony

What's this about a mishap, then? Well, I guess I shouldn't have mucked around doing wall sits in the afternoon. My legs were probably a bit wobbly in the evening, and with all the merriment going on- music, wine and dancing... I really don't know what happened. Suddenly my right knee gave way, I heard a crack and then I landed on the floor! OMG. I was in a lot of pain, but my karaoke song was up next and I braved through the song nevertheless. 

I really couldn't continue with the fun after that though- the pain was too much to bear and my colleagues helped me back to my chalet. My knee had swollen up by then and I needed ice, etc. Thank God I had a doctor colleague there.

I had to leave earlier the next day to get back to KL, given my injury. I hitched a ride with the big boss- very grateful for that. 

Went to the hospital the next day; the diagnosis- a dislocated patella 😭😭

Work trip to Hong Kong (Feb 2017)

I was back again in HK for work, in Feb 2017. I decided to go over the weekend to hang out with my dear friend, R- and as you can see from these photos below, we had a whale of a time! We were being absolutely ridiculous at the Line Friends Store- it was so much fun! Haha.

Hahaha!

Guess what these are? Kitchen sponges!

We also tried this dim sum place that served 'cute' dim sum. Yummy!

'Vomiting' dim sum- this was hilarious!

Errr... these are not condoms....

It was good to be able to spend some quality time with R- catching up and praying for each other. I absolutely love that girl. Wished we lived closer to each other...

Moved to Hotel Indigo in preparation for the work phase of my trip to start- nice hotel

I also managed to catch dinner with Y, another dear friend from my university days. We had a lovely Spanish dinner, and we had a good time catching up. 

Always nice to come to HK!

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 13): Au revoir, France!

Early the next morning, we caught the train back to Paris, and headed straight to the airport for our flight home.

What a truly wonderful trip. Despite being last minute and all, we made the most of it, and the ultimate highlight was seeing how much the kids enjoyed themselves, and how much they learnt from the experience. All the prep we did prior to the trip (books, movies, in-depth research, etc) was totally worth it.  They survived museums and art galleries, and the heaps of walking we did every single day.

My heart is bursting with pride as I write this; the kids have really matured, and they are totally ready for more travel adventures!

Au revoir, France!

Cute play area in Doha airport (our stopover)

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 12): Last full day in Strasbourg

We started the day bright and early with a boat tour on the River Ill, which was a great way to see the Strasbourg landmarks- not only the historic areas, but also the new areas where the European institutions are. The boat also goes through a few canal locks, which is of course interesting to experience.

Going through a canal lock

The old

The new

Next on the itinerary was to see the astronomical clock located in the cathedral. The main attraction was the procession of the figures of Christ and the apostles at noon, while the cock crows thrice. We waited a long time to see this- starting from the queue outside the cathedral, right up to the waiting in the area in front of the clock (a video was played to keep us occupied but the quality was fairly poor- so it sort of defeated the purpose). Was the wait worth it? Absolutely not. Skip this- what a waste of time! We could have done better spending more time at our next destination (see further below).

After lunch we caught a bus to Le Vaisseau, a really fun hands-on science centre for children aged 3-15. One of the highlights was a walk in the dark- which was really scary. It really helps one to appreciate what it feels like to be blind; and truth be told I almost had a panic attack doing this. Another good exhibit showed how canal locks work, and for some reason I could not get my head round this... I felt so dumb. Duh!

The kids had a whale of a time, and all of us wished we could stay longer. However, dinner with the rest of the family was waiting for us- our last dinner in France before our flight home the next day. It was a yummy home-cooked meal, a lovely end to a busy day!

Yummy!

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 11): More Strasbourg adventures

We began the day with a visit to the Musée Alsacien- an interesting museum dedicated to aspects of daily life in 18th and 19th century Alsace. The interior of the museum is really unique, and it feels like stepping back in time into someone's home hundreds of years ago. There was also a rather fun activity sheet for the kids- which made the visit a great learning experience for them.

The view en-route to the museum

Inside the museum

Next up was a quick visit to the Strasbourg cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame), before we took a guided tour (with an audio guide) of the town. We had a nice walk, and it was good to see the town at our own pace. In fact, we took so long that we barely made it to the cut-off time to return the audio guides at the Tourist Information Centre! Hehe. 

Our walk covered the famous Petite France- the historical centre of the city. The buildings looked a lot like those we saw in Colmar- quaint, as you can see above. We also saw the Barrage Vauban- a defensive structure built at the end of the 17th century. Unfortunately, we got there too late and could not go up to the viewing terrace. Still, we managed a pretty decent photo of the Ponts Couverts from ground level.

Ponts Couverts

We moved to the incredibly charming Hotel Beaucour for our last 2 nights in France. It was really cosy, and in a fantastic location so close to the river. The kids slept in the bed seen here, and we adults had a bed in the loft above. Lovely, isn't it?

Fabulous France Dec 2016 (Day 10): Onwards to Strasbourg

We took a train from Colmar to Strasbourg on Christmas day (long story as to why we were travelling on Christmas day, hmmm); fortunately the ride was a short and easy one. Once we got to Strasbourg, we managed to lug our stuff from the station all the way to the hotel on foot.

Finding something to eat after that, however, wasn't that easy though (another long story there...)

Gare de Strasbourg

We walked around the relatively quiet town (it was Christmas day, after all!), and to be honest it was a bit of a bummer that the Christmas markets were already closed for the season. The irony of it all... this entire trip was premised on the idea of seeing the Christmas markets in Strasbourg. So all I can say is- DUH!

Checking out some cute window displays

Thankfully we managed to find a restaurant where we could have a nice Christmas dinner- Caveau Gurtlerhoft; where the food was really yummy!

Lovely plates

Yummy desserts, with the Kugelhopf in the forefront of the photo