Tuen's Blog

In early July, ourselves, Chongs and Chias went up to stay for 4 nights at Dinner Plain. We went up in 5 cars altogether , because ourselves and the Chongs needed two cars per family. We had no shortage of drivers of course, as all our older kids can drive now; so the 4 plus hour journey was quite pleasant. Melissa’s boyfriend and Jie’s girlfriend came along as well.

This was the first time we were driving in a snow resort in a 4 wheel drive, and what a convenience it proved to be. The Chias and my son’s cars were not 4×4s and they had to stop and put on snow chains; which was pretty time consuming and inconvenient.

Anyway the 3 families stayed in 3 different houses but we got together each evening for a combined dinner, which was cooked separately by the wives and then brought together for the combined meal. We had a really great time together. We even managed to squeeze in a mahjong session, thanks to Henry, who was capable enough to dismantle his mahjong table and bring it along, sans the legs, which gave us a bit of problem in trying to find a place to set it up, but we managed.  Henry, bring the legs in future!

The kids went snow boarding this time, like the last time we were up at Mt. Hotham.  It seems snow boarding is the in thing for kids now. Well, the three older, ’sub-prime boys’ were deciding whether or not we should stick to skiing or try snow boarding as well.  Thanks to some funny ideas from Tony, who later deeply regretted it, we decided that we should try snow boarding whilst we still could, and sort of tick the ‘bucket list’ on that item.

And so we hired our snow boards and joined a beginner snow boarder’s class, much to the amusement of everyone around us.

Well it turned out to be an interesting experience, although we could hardly stay upright on the snowboard. I shan’t mention who was the worst amongst us, but it wasn’t me and it wasn’t Henry. 

I was really impressed with how fast the kids picked up snowboarding, especially the younger ones like Louie and Raph. Little Ren didn’t try snowboarding of course, but he did go tobogganing.

Co-incidentally, Frank and his gang were also on Mt. Hotham around the same time, and Mary and I had an opportunity to catch up with them on one of the late afternoons.

The one disappointing thing was the poor snow cover and not cold enough temperatures. It was a far cry from the last time we where there, when it was almost blizzard like at times. This time around, I was almost convinced it was summer.

But it was still a great holiday, and I’m looking forward to our next holiday together!

Some photos can be found here.

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In early March (yes I’m way behind updating this blog) Mary, myself and Julian drove over 700kms to Adelaide. My parents had won 3 nights free accommodation in some kind of lucky draw, and we decided that it would be nice for us to drive up and join them, so that they can be more mobile with our car around. Of course, I also wanted to put the Prado through its paces and see how it handled over long distances. The drive was surprisingly pleasant, and we made a lunch stop and a few toilet stops each way. It took us about 11 hours to get to Adelaide from Melbourne.

On the 2nd day, we all drove to Cape Jervis and took the Sealink ferry to Penneshaw on Kangaroo island. We spent a day there, and saw the seals on Seal Bay. We also visited a bee farm and took a look at the inland sand dune on Kangaroo island. We weren’t able to do too much as we had to catch the ferry back to the mainland, and considering the cost of the ferry, we should really have stayed at least 3 days if we wanted to see everything on Kangaroo island and make the trip worthwhile. Well we plan to bring the rest of the family on a future trip and will definitely spend more days on this lovely island. The Prado was fully at home on the gravel and dirt tracks of the island.

On the third day, we did a bit of shopping and also visited an authentic German town called Hahndorf where we had a very nice lunch. And in the evening, we met up with Sr. Elizabeth and her mum, and we had a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Citi Zen Chinese restaurant.

We drove back on the 4th day, and again, we made quite good time.

Photos can be found here.

The Bali holiday was really good and refreshing, and it was wonderful to catch up with relatives whom we had not met for a while.

The first 4 days of Bali was spent with the Chongs. Since we were coming from Australia and the rest of the clan were coming from Singapore, we felt that since we were going to travel such a long distance, we might as well spend a few more days in Bali, rather than just the 4 official clan reunion days. So the Chongs and us stayed at a place called Villa Alumbrera in Canggu. We had a very good time there, especially the kids, who had their own villa where they could party all they want and leave us ‘oldies’ in peace. We had a staff of several waiters and cooks to look after our needs, and they prepared most of the meals for us. For Aussies, this was a real pampering that we don’t normally get at home.

On the 4th day we checked out of Villa Alumbrera and moved into Hard Rock Hotel. The clan gathering was also very enjoyable and activities included White water rafting, surfing, pool games, shopping, gambling and a Karaoke competition. We stayed for 4 nights there and had a grand time. This gathering was made possible thanks to the sponsorship of a rich relative; Bernard. Bernard has been living and working in the UK for many years, and this gathering was an idea mooted by him and Adeline, another relative of ours.

We left for Singapore on 15th Dec to start the next phase of our holiday.

Photos of Bali can be found here.

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I am typing this post whilst flying over the Indian Ocean, on a Virgin Airlines flight. It’s the 8th of December. We are on our way to Bali for a family holiday, with members of our clan. All in, there should be about 50 of us attending I think. We shall be in Bali for about a week, and since from Bali to Singapore it’s such a short hop, we decided to spend about two weeks in Singapore after that. The three boys won’t be flying to Singapore, but will fly directly back to Melbourne, together with Al. And our two girls will be extending their stay in Singapore for a further two and four week period respectively. Looking forward to Bali and Singapore…

Jie sent me to the airport on 10th Jan, and I took my flight to join Mary and the rest of the family in Singapore. The flight was uneventful and Mary met me at the airport when I arrived. Surprisingly, the weather was not too hot, and I didn’t feel clammy and sweaty. I had a little trouble adjusting to the time difference the first two days, but this sorted itself out after that. The first week was spent catching up with old friends, especially members of the cult. We met at the Chuas and we also spent an evening out on the town after visiting Francis’ shop. Co-incidentaly, the Lims were in Singapore at the same time, so it was great catching up with them. Furthermore, their good friends, the Murphys, whom we had met before, were also in Singapore and we had an opportunity to catch up with them too. During this time, we stayed at my parents’ place.

More photos can be found here.

On Friday 16th, we boarded the cruise ship Legends of the Seas for a 4 day cruise to Penang and Port Kelang. It was really nice on board ship, and we spent most of the time eating. The amount of food available and the number of times the food was served was almost sinful. It’s like you simply pass the time awaiting the next meal! Anyway, we also participated in some of the activities on board, like rock climbing, karaoke, Bingo and of course, I spent some time at the casino. No luck for me at the casino unfortunately! At Penang and Port Kelang, some of us disembarked to do some shopping on land.

It’s interesting that when we disembarked and entered Malaysia, we didn’t need our passports, nor did we need to clear immigration. All we needed was our cabin cards. This must be some kind of arrangement between the Malaysian immigration and the operators of the cruise. I wonder if the same process applies to foreigners entering Singapore from on board a cruise?

Photos of the cruise can be found here.

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