Here I go…
If you are still interested to read all about my this and that
Saying goodbye to our house and our car…
Our faithful car which has been serving us since day 1. It is a good BRICK. Our wonderful house which has made our last two rears stay in Shanghai, so comfortable and so cosy. See the black and white fence. Told you, it will take some time before they will be finally changed. Oh well….
Our faithful car which has been serving us since day 1. It is a good BRICK. Our wonderful house which has made our last two rears stay in Shanghai, so comfortable and so cosy. See the black and white fence. Told you, it will take some time before they will be finally changed. Oh well….
Last day
29th July 2009, I landed in Shanghai and this became home. The thought of having to stay here for the next three years was indeed daunting. I can honestly tell you that this is not an easy place to settle down easily. 29th August 2012, exactly three years and one month, I say goodbye to this place.
When friends here know that we were heading home, some have asked "why so fast?". Some have asked "why go back?" I say, "why not?" Friends who were passing by drop by and visited us. Friends who were on business trip, visited and one friend made this comment, "you are wiser now." Yes, indeed. If there is any good which came out from this nomadic life, it is an increase in wisdom.
Thanks for travelling with me, thanks for reading. My writing will not end here, it will continue…
29th July 2009, I landed in Shanghai and this became home. The thought of having to stay here for the next three years was indeed daunting. I can honestly tell you that this is not an easy place to settle down easily. 29th August 2012, exactly three years and one month, I say goodbye to this place.
When friends here know that we were heading home, some have asked "why so fast?". Some have asked "why go back?" I say, "why not?" Friends who were passing by drop by and visited us. Friends who were on business trip, visited and one friend made this comment, "you are wiser now." Yes, indeed. If there is any good which came out from this nomadic life, it is an increase in wisdom.
Thanks for travelling with me, thanks for reading. My writing will not end here, it will continue…
For the very last time…
The kids and I went for our baking class…one last time before we say "farewell, Shanghai".
Master cheflings – the kids doing their brownies
Ann helping me with my carrot cake. I have thought that carrot cake is a very difficult cake to make but in reality, it isn't.
That's it for now. My baking and cooking journey in Shanghai will end here. Rest assured, my culinary journey will never end. There will be no destination, just a never ending journey of discoveries…"to infinity and beyond"
The kids and I went for our baking class…one last time before we say "farewell, Shanghai".
Master cheflings – the kids doing their brownies
Ann helping me with my carrot cake. I have thought that carrot cake is a very difficult cake to make but in reality, it isn't.
That's it for now. My baking and cooking journey in Shanghai will end here. Rest assured, my culinary journey will never end. There will be no destination, just a never ending journey of discoveries…"to infinity and beyond"
Ann, an animal lover
The past weeks have been filled with endless farewell lunches and dinners. Just yesterday, we were invited for another farewell lunch. This time, a very English lunch. Roast beef, potatoes and bread pudding. Apart from good food, great company, the family has a beautiful, black silky Labrador. She is a big dog. When standing on twos, she is taller than Ann. This little tough cookie has no fear at all. She is indeed a natural with animals. The spouse is seriously thinking of letting her have a pet. However, I always believe that animals must have the freedom to roam freely…so, we'll see.
The past weeks have been filled with endless farewell lunches and dinners. Just yesterday, we were invited for another farewell lunch. This time, a very English lunch. Roast beef, potatoes and bread pudding. Apart from good food, great company, the family has a beautiful, black silky Labrador. She is a big dog. When standing on twos, she is taller than Ann. This little tough cookie has no fear at all. She is indeed a natural with animals. The spouse is seriously thinking of letting her have a pet. However, I always believe that animals must have the freedom to roam freely…so, we'll see.
Here we go again
Rise and shine, bright and sunny day. Not too hot for the movers, great day to move!
The cat has arrived
Garage and family room
Kitchen, dinning and living rooms
Study room and walk-in closet. Big leh, don't envy, not mine anyway. *WINK*
As usual, we didn't fill up the whole container. 1/4 still available for all empty cartons.
Seven young men and four hours later…
Back to the original condition. Soon we will say, "goodbye Shanghai!"
In the night, we were getting ready for bed, it was Kai's turn to pray..."Dear Lord, please let the day we go back to Singapore come quickly..."
Sometimes as parents, we tend to forget that the decision we make affect the kids as well. The decision to return home was made together with the children and we know that it is indeed time to return to the place we call...home. 回家了！
Rise and shine, bright and sunny day. Not too hot for the movers, great day to move!
The cat has arrived
Garage and family room
Kitchen, dinning and living rooms
Study room and walk-in closet. Big leh, don't envy, not mine anyway. *WINK*
As usual, we didn't fill up the whole container. 1/4 still available for all empty cartons.
Seven young men and four hours later…
Back to the original condition. Soon we will say, "goodbye Shanghai!"
In the night, we were getting ready for bed, it was Kai's turn to pray..."Dear Lord, please let the day we go back to Singapore come quickly..."
Sometimes as parents, we tend to forget that the decision we make affect the kids as well. The decision to return home was made together with the children and we know that it is indeed time to return to the place we call...home. 回家了！
Short trip
We booked this short holiday for two reasons, 1) to climb the Great Wall of China. 2) To celebrate Kai completing all his exams. However, reason two did not happen cos' of the typhoon. Hotel booked, rail tickets bought so we have no choice but to carry on as planned. Kai had his holidays before his last two papers. One of our good friends said that we are such cool parents. Maybe all parents should do that. *WINK*
The big and spacious railway station
The Chinese bullet train
Neat, nice and comfortable seats but remember to bring your own headset if you want to watch in-house movie. Little packets of snacks were given out.
Living and dinning rooms
Two bedrooms
Kitchen and of course, the bathroom.
With Kai getting bigger, we now need at least two bedrooms. We booked a very nice 2 bedroom apartment, conveniently located at the Wangfujing . It has everything there from shops to food street to supermarket. We saved lots on transportation. For S$300 per night (worked out to S$150 per room), we thought it was value for money. We will never be able to enjoy the space if we were to book two hotel rooms.
Very, very interesting food street…
What have you identified? Interesting or not?
Then we saw a very different kind of "catching" being played.
The main purpose for this holiday is really this…
Yes, climbing the Great Wall. It was a pity that the city was covered with smog. It would really have been a great view from up there.
It was not your ordinary steps. On certain section, you literally have to go on all fours to climb up. It was an almost vertical climb. Thanks to zumba classes, yours truly made it on twos.
Magnificent. This is indeed a great masterpiece of man. The Great Wall is very long and huge. Almost impossible to cover from end to end. I suggest that if you only have a few hours, climb the Mutianyu section. Less crowded and not destroyed by the huge amount of tourists visiting it.
Guess who we saw…
Wedding couple. Amazing hor…heels, gown and long train. Not easy climbing up those steps. Hats off to them!
Totally exhausted after the climb.
Then off to the Forbidden City the next day. Huge, really HUGE palace.
Do you remember this lane? It was featured in the movie The Last Emperor.
These were the very original pieces. Some parts were falling apart.
That's the map of the whole city
Some places were locked but could still take a peek. My beloved, kaypo family.
My advice to you. Don't go during summer vacation and on weekends. It was so crowded. How crowded…
But still orderly.
What I really enjoyed was taking the pedicab, going round some of the old houses in Beijing. What they call, hutong.
Did you realise a tree growing out from the shop? According to the pedicab guy, the tree is about 300 years old and is not allowed to be chopped off. The owner of the shop could only build his shop around it.
Some of the old houses have been sold and done up nicely. But I think, the old ones have a special character.
All in all, a pretty nice short trip.
We booked this short holiday for two reasons, 1) to climb the Great Wall of China. 2) To celebrate Kai completing all his exams. However, reason two did not happen cos' of the typhoon. Hotel booked, rail tickets bought so we have no choice but to carry on as planned. Kai had his holidays before his last two papers. One of our good friends said that we are such cool parents. Maybe all parents should do that. *WINK*
The big and spacious railway station
The Chinese bullet train
Neat, nice and comfortable seats but remember to bring your own headset if you want to watch in-house movie. Little packets of snacks were given out.
Living and dinning rooms
Two bedrooms
Kitchen and of course, the bathroom.
With Kai getting bigger, we now need at least two bedrooms. We booked a very nice 2 bedroom apartment, conveniently located at the Wangfujing . It has everything there from shops to food street to supermarket. We saved lots on transportation. For S$300 per night (worked out to S$150 per room), we thought it was value for money. We will never be able to enjoy the space if we were to book two hotel rooms.
Very, very interesting food street…
What have you identified? Interesting or not?
Then we saw a very different kind of "catching" being played.
The main purpose for this holiday is really this…
Yes, climbing the Great Wall. It was a pity that the city was covered with smog. It would really have been a great view from up there.
It was not your ordinary steps. On certain section, you literally have to go on all fours to climb up. It was an almost vertical climb. Thanks to zumba classes, yours truly made it on twos.
Magnificent. This is indeed a great masterpiece of man. The Great Wall is very long and huge. Almost impossible to cover from end to end. I suggest that if you only have a few hours, climb the Mutianyu section. Less crowded and not destroyed by the huge amount of tourists visiting it.
Guess who we saw…
Wedding couple. Amazing hor…heels, gown and long train. Not easy climbing up those steps. Hats off to them!
Totally exhausted after the climb.
Then off to the Forbidden City the next day. Huge, really HUGE palace.
Do you remember this lane? It was featured in the movie The Last Emperor.
These were the very original pieces. Some parts were falling apart.
That's the map of the whole city
Some places were locked but could still take a peek. My beloved, kaypo family.
My advice to you. Don't go during summer vacation and on weekends. It was so crowded. How crowded…
But still orderly.
What I really enjoyed was taking the pedicab, going round some of the old houses in Beijing. What they call, hutong.
Did you realise a tree growing out from the shop? According to the pedicab guy, the tree is about 300 years old and is not allowed to be chopped off. The owner of the shop could only build his shop around it.
Some of the old houses have been sold and done up nicely. But I think, the old ones have a special character.
All in all, a pretty nice short trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)