June Holiday

It was with deep regret that we had to head home for Wayne's dads funeral. We are going to miss him terribly...he was such a wonderful father-in-law to me and an awesome grandfather to the boys.

As a last respect for Poppa he was driven around his farm on the tractor. Charlie (Femy's son) drove while Wayne, Ian and David held him on.. The day was clear, crisp and sunny.




























As Poppa was put into the hearse we let some helium filled balloons go and watched them float away.











It was the first time that Poppa and Nana's grandchildren had all been together for a number of years so we took the opportunity to take a photo. Back row - Logan, Bradley, Craig. Middle row - Loryn and Katie. Front row - Jason, Lloyd and Geoffrey.






Being in Singapore we don't get to see the frost so it was an amazing feeling and sight to see. (My poor car.)









I had never been out fishing with Ian and it was a treat to have the time and weather to be able to do this while home. The morning was frosty and cold and there was some wind.
Ian's boat, Runaway Cash, is huge (especially compared to our little boat) and it had a cabin where I could watch us going out from Whakatane to the Raus. I was fine for a while and caught some fish but after a couple I had to just look straight ahead and only could look down when emptying my stomach contents...not nice for me but the crew were very understanding and kept very quiet with their comments.




We even went in closer to the shore to help but this didn't help me at all. I don't remember what fish or how many fish we caught but when got back home and had some for dinner they were very yummy.









The boys sat on the boat and ate sandwiches of cornbeef while I walked around taking pictures.











Whakatane is a pretty city.












Looking out to sea is a wonderful sight.












Another frosty picture.












And at last a real fire...and it did keep us warm...Beth's children (Jacob, Claudia and Dominic) are standing in front of it.

The Great Race

The amazing group of helpers Ben, Ruth, Jo, Tim, Wayne, Juliet and Chris...these guys were such a great help.











At the top of the Pagoda in the Chinese Gardens.












Re-enacting a scene.











Hougang Pernicious Pirates













Orhard Goodlookers doing their puzzle to start.












Bishan Babes











Simei Slingers












Goodlookers of Orchard











The Brotherhood of Bishan












Wayne and Juliet at the evening

Some Sights Around Singapore

This is across from Clarke Quay to Boat Quay....which is famous for its eating...you walk along the street and get accosted by restaurateur's to have a meal at their place and you can bargain with them and get a pretty good deal They have lots of live fish, crabs and similar in tanks for you to choose your meal. The boats in the front are bumboats and they are now cruise boats for you to see some great sights and hear some history of Singapore.









This hotel is The Fullerton which started its life as a Post Office. It is rather grand and amazing on the inside full of marble and great decorations and staircases. So much out of our league....not sure of the price but was so worth a look around.












This is a night view Wayne took while I was tutoring...Most of the buildings are banks.

A weekend in Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok at 8.30 in the morning after a two hour flight with Tiger Air...the budget airline from Singapore. We took a London Taxi to the hotel and were able to check in straight away. We looked out our window and this is the view from the window.The area we stayed in was a few minutes walk from the skytrain and the area is Sukhimvit.

We took a river cruise up the river to visit the palace and the emerald temple. These buildings were so ornately adorned that they just glittered and sparkled in the sun.
This is a photo of a mural along one of the walls of a temple.
This is the palace. We couldn't go in as there was a state function being held. This weekend was their New Year celebrations.


















This bridge was awesome to see...we could see the wires from way back.

Another day we walked in a shopping mall and Wayne was able to dream about the car he would have liked to have. Just as well dreams are free.
Wayne was given some gorgeous flowers made into a circle by a delightful little boy dressed in national costume.






Overlooking the road we could see travel banked up for ages and then we looked up and we could see where the skytrain goes in the other direction - on top of each other. The pink cars are taxis but I couldn't get Wayne into one of them.
This family travels together but the youngster doesn't have a helmet on. Notice the water pistol in his hand. Used for squirting people during the Songkran New Year Festival.
This guy was sitting and having fun wetting everyone in either the car or on foot...he sent some children over to get Wayne as he saw Wayne taking his photo. The children came over and Wayne chased them and wet them as well. .As you can see the children were having a great time. We were just amazed during this weekend how many people entered into the spirit of it and if you didn't want to get wet all you had to do was hold your hand up like a stop sign and they didn't wet you. Absolutely incredible...not sure it would be like that back home. It is neat to see that all people of all ages and races could enjoy this festival, where if you get sprinkled with water it is like rubbing away the bad luck.











One night we decided to go to the night market...this was a big mistake...although we had heard that the night market was a good one to go to. We got off the skytrain and heard this loud hum...we looked over the side and this is what we saw...we were gobsmacked...you couldn't see the ground, only peoples heads, there was even a vehicle trying to travel along the road. The sounds were only happy ones and nobody seemed to be disgruntled. We decided we couldn't face all the hoards so we went up a side street close to our hotel for dinner and to watch the people.









After dinner and a couple of drinks we strolled slowly back to our hotel. On the way back we found the coolest little bar we have ever seen...brings a new dimension to the VW. We just had to stop and have another drink on our way...you know how it is.








One of the malls had all these sausage dogs lined up along the walkway...we just had to take my photo with one of them...isn't it quite cute?

Baku National Park

We booked a trip to Bako National Park for our last day in Kuching. We had to travel by van for 40 minutes and then by boat for 30 minutes. Thankfully the sea was flat this day as it hadn't been for friends when they went across a few days earlier. The main reason for going there was to see the proboscis monkeys and the pitcher plants and we got to see them as well as the long-tailed macau and silver leaf monkeys.

Our guide could speak broken English and was a lovely guy. He had had his front teeth filed down and were like stubs for teeth left in his mouth. He was very good as he showed us four different types of pitcher plants and made sure we got to see all the monkeys and a wild pig. We walked for a couple of hours to a beach cliff top and the view down was awesome. We then walked back to the camp to see the proboscis monkeys and they are absolutely beautiful. We even got to hear them calling each other and the sound was like a loud snore. It really surprised us.
Waiting for the rain to stop so we can go for a walk in the park.








One of the four pitcher plants we saw.








On top of the cliff with the South China See in the background.
















The Silver Leaf monkey playing on the beach.





On the boat on our way back after a long trek through the park.




During our walk we were watching these things we thought were ants going walkabout...their trail was about 10 metres long and there seemed to be thousands of them. We spied them going across a seat and then realised they were termites.





















Just two of the proboscis monkeys we saw. they were stunning.

orangutans

On of the days we visited the orangutan rehabilitation centre, this is where the captured orangutans go to be free. One of them, Ritchie, was bought and given to the centre to free him from being a captive pet. We walked around the area and were lucky to see 5 of the 7 they have. The first two we saw were mother and baby. We then went to the feeding platform hoping to see the other but they didn't show. As we were walking back they said he was up in the tree looking for a lady one. We watched him for a bit and as it was such a hot day I sat on a bridge in the shade and had to make a quick exit as Ritchie quickly came down the tree and promptly sat where I was sitting. He then came up closer and ate from the fruit the keepers had put on the ground. It was absolutely amazing...we were lest than 3 metres from him. This the male one is enjoying the fruit after taking my seat. This is the mother watching her baby...up in the trees. We couldn't get over how hairy they were. The baby is standing beside its mother watching all the people watching it.
It was an absolutely amazing to see them in their natural surroundings and freedom.