A Suzhou Christmas

Christmas is today but it felt like it happened a week ago.

Firstly, the boys already had their Christmas Concert a week ago and have been enjoying their Christmas break since then.

Also, our Suzhou extended family already had the Christmas gathering (cum gift exchange) more than a week ago. This was to make sure everyone could turn up. Almost everyone (except us) already made holiday plans and are now away from Suzhou.

The boys are really enjoying the presents, something they didn't have quite as much in Singapore. This was just a sample of the presents we received. So beautifully wrapped, aren't they?

We also did a little bit of decoration here and there around the house. And by some lovely concidence, our one remaining chilly fruit decided to turn to its true colour - RED! Even our red gloxinias bloomed. Red and green do make the house look more Christmasy.

So, here's wishing all our friends and family all the best things that money cannot buy....love, joy, peace and good health!

Ho Ho Ho....

Kids on kids

We were having a discussion with Keane and Zern over dinner one day. The topic was whether they want to have children when they grow up.

Zern: Nope. Don't think so.

Us: Why?

Zern: Because I want to be an explorer when I grow up.

Us: Oh, so having children makes your job difficult.

Zern: (Nodding).

Us: But you know, you can teach your child all about digging and stuff.

Zern: Maybe.

Us: What about you Keane?

Keane (with devilish grin): Yes, I want children.

Us (secretly happy with the answer): Oh. Why?

Keane: So that I can control them.

Us: Like we control you guys now?

Keane (same devilish grin): Yes.

Going home

Just the other day, someone asked me,"Are you going home?" after a lesson at yoga. My immediate response was,"Yes, going home. Anything on after this?" Actually, what the other party was asking was,"Are you heading back Singapore for the hols?" We had a laugh over "home" as in "home", or "home" as in "hometown".

A slight breakdown in miscommunication? Or perhaps it's just that I have begun to see "home" differently. Not that Singapore is not my home; it will always be my home country. Just that "home" conjures up images of a place where you immediate loved ones are, where your everyday life revolves and that place, at least for now, is in Suzhou.

By some strange coincidence, SL shares the same sentiments the past week even though he was not in Suzhou. He's been in Singapore for a business meeting, finding time to indulge in his favourite meepok and nasi lemak, and swimming outdoors under the sun (not cold and indoors like in Suzhou) too.

While he enjoyed (some of) the comforts of familiarity from back home, he couldn't help but comment that he missed too the nice cool weather of Suzhou, the family (us of course!), and surprisingly, the sense that things can change and do change here in Suzhou. Singapore seemed so "boring", in comparison.

Indeed, home is where the heart is.
But, more so, home also has to evolve as the heart evolves.

ZhangJiaJie 张家界

Last weekend was the boys' mid-term break, perfect for us to venture to another part of China. This time, to ZhangJiaJie.

Surprisingly, ZhangJiaJie doesn't seem to feature in my friends' travel plans. Most haven't even heard of it. But for us, it's another tick off our list of must-visit places in China.

Located in HuNan, ZhangJiaJie is a region of varied landscapes. So varied that you can be exploring a stalacite cave one day, mountain climbing the next and even strolling down river paths on another. It was tiring but the view was well worth it. Very thankful that the weather was fine throughout our trip.

"Yellow Dragon Cave" (黄龙洞）was the boys' favourite. They loved to awe at the stalacites and stalagmites, with the tallest standing at over 19 metres. It's still "growing" as water continues to drip on it. There's also a boat ride that brings you from one part of the cave to another. It is that big.

Next day, we went to the "Son of Heaven Mountain" (天子山). Sandstone peaks covered with lush vegetation greeted us. We took the cable car up, but decided to walk down. Over 7000 steps down. Aching calves and all but you get to see more this way.

Last and SL's favourite is the Golden Whip River (金鞭溪）hike. It was a simple walk along a well-built path beside a wondrous river -- reminds us of New Zealand's river sceneries. It took us more than 3 hours, rather long for the 7 km route. We rested many times because the boys were getting tired. Nonetheless, the breaks gave us the chance to soak in the views. Wished we had brought along our picnic mat and food!

We couldn't have managed to squeeze in quite so much without a local tour guide, a 20-ish chap from the local Tu tribe. According to him, local customs dictate that a guy is only considered a "worthy" man if he is afraid of his wife. The woman heads the household in ZhangJiaJie, apparently. And of course, the guide himself admitted he is very afraid of his wife-to-be.

Here's the only shot we have of him....he's the one on the left. (The one on the right...well, he's not afraid of his wife of course, or so he says:P.)

There're just so many pics of the place, so will put them up in Flikr. Soon.

Green or red chilly?

Much to the boys' joy, our first chilly plant has indeed borne fruit. However, the chillies failed to turn red. I distinctly remembered that we planted seeds from a red chilly! Think it's because we started late, around July. The boys and I have already made plans to start planting earlier next round, beginning late Spring. We've even decided on what to plant, ranging from cucumbers, tomatoes, to lemons and of course, chillies...

We're also quite pleasantly surprised by the purple Gloxinia plant. Its sleepy buds decided to rear their heads out perhaps coaxed by the cooler weather. Isn't it beautiful? I don't think I can ever grow that in Singapore's humid hot weather.

Of eggs and milk

Since shifting here, we've been cooking at least one meal everyday except on weekends. It's not easy to come up with new dishes and varying menus but at least, we tried.

Nowadays, the same question,"What should we eat today?" takes on a whole new difficulty.

First milk.

Now eggs.

Sigh...

Suzhou family

My Suzhou extended family. Even my own family wasn't that close.

Buffet's Wisdom

SL and I are big fans of Warren Buffet, as some friends know. In the midst of the gyrating share prices and economic news, I need and thrive on his wise words. This is an article recently on him.

NEW YORK: Legendary investor Warren Buffett has said he is buying American stocks and feels that fears regarding long-term prosperity of country's many sound companies 'makes no sense'. In an opinion column written in the New York Times, the billionaire investor said he "cannot predict the short-term movements of the stock market". "...I've been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I'm talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds," said Chief Executive of Berkshire Hathaway Buffett.

"A simple rule dictates my buying: be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors," he pointed out. According to Buffett, the financial world is in a mess, unemployment would rise in the near term and business activity would falter.

Writing in the New York Times, Buffett said "to be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions". "But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nations many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now," he asserted.

Pointing out that he does not have 'faintest idea' whether stocks would be higher or lower, Buffet noted, "what is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or economy turns up." He felt equities would almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade.

To heed his words is one thing.
To act on his words, well, let's just say it really takes nerves....

Osmanthus = Kwai

The weather's turning cool nowadays -- perfect weather for the fragrant osmanthus flowers to bloom.

KT - your namesake is permeating the air with a sweet smell that reminds me of Wrigley's spearmint chewing gum. Remember that smell?

Writing again...

Been busy writing again and my article appeared in an expats magazine. It was one of those meet-with-editor-and-the-article-got-accepted type of thing. Seemed like a breeze compared to what I had to go through in Singapore.

Speaking of Singapore, Jerome and Li Lian - hope you're reading this blog. Never thought I'd say this but I kind of missed those days fighting deadlines and working on the nth re-write. Maybe it's because I had you guys to take the brunt from the customers!
If I have never said this before, let me say it now,"It was a privilege to work with you guys...hang in there!"

Visit me someday...before I leave Suzhou for good. Ha.

Golden week

The National Day Golden week started on 29th Sep. We were regularly greeted by thunderous rumblings at 8 o'clock sharp.

When Suzhou celebrates, they spare no expense on fireworks and water/light laser displays...and they had this 3 days in a row! I remember in Singapore, one fireworks display for National Day was already quite an event.

It is quite a privilege, I think, to have a bird's eye view of the performances. After all, thousands of people fight jams and crowds simply to have a glimpse of it. Just look at the snaking traffic/people jams...

For us though, the novelty wears off and it's back to DVDs. Here're the boys (young and old) munching on their potato chips transfixed on their "Ironman" movie...

Gardening

Shifting in, the boys and I (mostly me) decided to start our little indoor garden. It has since grown from a few small plants to include mint, cacti, gloxinia, and even chilly plants.

It's lovely to see things grow...the trick is to just discreetly discard or replace the dead plants...nothing to do with green thumbs actually. It also helps to have friends give you plants that have already learnt to survive in the indoor environment!

Recently, the big chilly plant that we grew from seed has started to develop flower buds. The boys love to check everyday if any of the white droopy buds bloom.

The mint shoots we got from Auntie BL are growing very well, long enough to twine around the wire rack. The orphaned spiky leaf plant left behind by Auntie C is is also growing baby shoots.

Wondering whether the garden will survive when the cold sets in. But again, I have learnt in Suzhou to just do what you think is right and then. If not, nothing ever gets done :P.

Happy 9th Anniversary!

To my dear friends BL & KM (and their product J)

Nine years of wedded bliss

Many more to come!

It's great sharing this day with you...

From us, your Suzhou "extended family"

Thousand Island Lake

During the mid-autumn long weekend, we took a self-drive trip to Thousand Island Lake.

It was a long 5-hour drive to reach there and our first in China - one of those trips where the journey mattered more than the destination.

You see, SL and I missed those days back home when we would drive for hours to destinations in Malaysia. The sense of freedom we used to have was just too irresistible.

The drive there was quite easy. The drive back...well, let's just say a certain someone misplaced (or lost) the toll station card. In China, the toll card says which entry point you started and determines how much you pay for highway tolls. We looked and looked, couldn't find it and had to do some explaining. We were let off with a RMB20 fine.

Oh yes..back to Thousand Island Lake. It's a relaxing place. Yes, there are over a thousand islands, I understand. Kinda reminds me of Lake Kenyir in Malaysia.

We also took a day trip to some islands, but their offerings are mainly man-made really.

Nothing much in terms of places of interest, so we spent most of our time reading, gaming, munching on sunflower seeds, relaxing, talking, eating.

And of course, gazing at the lake with its hues of blue and green. It helped that our hotel was just overlooking the lake. Yes, that's what we were there for. And exactly what we needed.

Snapshots of Lijiang

I hope a picture can paint a thousand words, because I've decided to simply put up photos we took of Lijiang. I figured that my one Lijiang entry thus far simply doesn't do it justice, but I'm too lazy to write more. So, here's a quick photo tour of LiJiang:

Gaga over Yoga

It's funny how it took me so long to discover Yoga. "Re-discover" is probably the better word.

I remember several years ago, SL and I signed up for a basic Yoga course. We just had Zern then and it was really tough keeping up with weekly lessons. My only impression of Yoga was of the instructor - quite an old Chinese man - who was much more flexible than I was.

My image of him is very fuzzy, not so much because of the years that have passed, but because he was always too far away during the lessons for us to get a close look. You see, we were always kind of late and had to be at the back of the room most of the time.

I had almost given up on the idea of ever doing Yoga again. Until last year. I signed up for a gym membership then (yes yes, another trapping of Tai Tai life, I admit) and as fate would have it, my first class was one on Yoga. I didn't quite like it. I couldn't balance. I couldn't stretch. It was embarassing to fall down. I thought I would just stick to Aerobics. Then, very slowly, I could feel the usual aches and pains (literally that "pain in the neck" sensation) dissolving away as I perservered. It was enlightening.

I'm glad I held on to the practice. Nowadays, I cannot do without Yoga for too long. Even on holidays like the recent one to Li Jiang, I would do yoga. It doesn't need props, the right shoes etc, and SL joins in too. One of those rare "sports" we both like. He even suggested putting up pix of Yoga at Li Jiang.

Next time you feel age is catching up on you, give Yoga a shot. Maybe all you need is just a good long s-t-r-e-t-c-h....

Back to school

The boys headed back to school yesterday.


Zern's moving to the so-called Key Stage 2 in a British International School. His enthusiasm is infectious (big yawn). Actually, all 3 of us found it a bit tough to wake up early yesterday. After all, we had been sleeping in late almost every day of the summer hols!

Keane is eager to get back to school not for anything else but the school library! We all miss books in English and are suffering from "literary deprivation". Wishing that somehow the Woodlands Library would land in Suzhou.


I for one am glad to get some time of my own in the day. (Finally time for catching up with yoga and reading.)

Housewarming

Our house is warmed today by the visit of good friends. In between helpings of curry chicken, fried bee hoon and nasi lemak, we chatted the hours away.

Gatherings like these must surely be one of the perks of expathood.

The kids have their own table too! They seem to be enjoying themselves but ahem, in their own ways.

Thank you to the families of BL, BL, C, I and J! C & LL - this is what you missed. Hee hee.

Lijiang 古 城

Lijiang is one of those rare places in China that can grow on you. Once you step in, you may feel like you've been there before. Even after you leave, you may still reminisce about its sights, scents and sounds.

The old city ( 古 城〕, where we stayed in, is a quaint mix of old and new. Inns ( 客 栈〕 and shops dot the cobbled-stone walkways, alongside coffee houses and bars.

Waterways link the old city, against a backdrop of willow trees and colourful flowers. The mild weather makes it tempting to spend the whole day outdoors, and nothing beats sipping a cup of tea and daydreaming ( 发 呆〕.

In touch again

I know I promised an entry on Lijiang. That's being drafted, I promise.

I just had to thank all who responded to my first entry. It was great to hear from old friends, some whom I thought have forgotten about me.

Thank you J,LL,KT,R, K and BL. You gave me the motivation to continue blogging. I need it you know, what with the "exciting" life I now lead (as one of you commented). Distractions abound.

Seriously, blogging rocks...it's a great tool for staying in touch. Special thanks to KT who gently reminded me to start updating again, after such a long hiatus.

Our new home

Friends from near and far, I am back on the web. I don't know how long I can sustain this blog but like Lao Tze once said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step." Hopefully, I can continue this journey before failure in web access, or some other unforeseen circumstance, stops me in my tracks. For now, I hope this is the permanent new home for the latest from us in Suzhou.

We're also now comfortably settled in another new home - the physical one. It's located within the same compound but in a newer phase. It's also on a much, much higher floor than our previous 2nd level. Guess which floor we're at?

The mosquitoes have stopped bothering us, our air-con works most of the time(keeping fingers crossed) and we now have a stunning view of the JinJi Lake!

The boys now have their own beds instead of sharing a double deck. And they are obviously quite thrilled with that. Of course, they're smiling too because of the two whole months of summer hols ahead of them when this picture was taken:P.

Holidays are coming to an end soon next week though, which is why we spent the whole of last week in Lijiang, sort of to catch up on our travelling. Lijiang is a town located in Yunnan Province -breathtakingly beautiful, albeit crowded in the town centre. A sneak preview of what we saw (this is not taken from the wallpaper photos, I swear, but during the car journey from Lijiang to Airport!) but more on that in my next entry....