Happy New Year

It’s that time of year where we resolve and try to be better versions of ourselves in the coming year. On my part I’m going to stick to making only 3 resolutions and keeping up to them
- cooking one new dish a week. After moving to SG and getting completely pampered with full time help I’ve nearly stopped going into the kitchen. It’s only Sunday dinners and there I restrict to stuff like pasta or aloo paratha. As a result we are not eating much new stuff at home and the girls are developing a very small palate for diverse food. And it’s about time they learnt to make some food themselves.
- try to be home by 7 pm at least twice a week. This will give some time to have dinner with the kids, take Fido for his walk and relax before the girls bed time instead of always being in a rush
- drink less.
For this years New Years Eve we went to the pool party at the Sea World Resort in the Gold Coast where we were staying. S got tired by 9:15 and A by 10. After putting them in bed the hubby and I tried to stay awake as long as possible but only succeeded till 11 pm. We had seen the fireworks at 8 pm and 8:30 pm and the lure of 12 midnight fireworks didn’t do it for us. We spent some time reminiscing about what we had done on New Years till now and this is the list we came up with
2000 : Naval club with friends in Mumbai
2001: something in Bangalore
2002 : something in Bombay with friends
2003 : Lonavala (near) with friends
2004 : at our place in Mumbai with friends
2005-2007 : something with Mumbai friends
2008 : dinner with S at a hotel in Bangalore
2009: Kashi at friends place
2010: at home in Mumbai
2011: something in Bangalore
2012: in Chicago with Anita, Ravi and Raju families
2013: in Paris near the Eiffel Tower
2014-2016: something in Bangalore
2017: Auckland welcoming the New Year the first!
2018: In Suratkal with in laws and Anita family
2019: asleep in our beds in the GoldCoast

Maybe my resolution should include being able to stay up longer on New Years Eve!

Australia holidays Part 2

The first day in the Gold Coast we set out early for our first surfing lesson. Alas the tide was too high so the teacher suggested to postpone by a few days. The girls were thrilled to postpone the lesson ( they were scared of jellyfish and sharks). Instead we went to watch Jumanji 2, have a Mexican lunch and relax by the resort pool in the evening. Dinner was steamed rice with ITC stuff in the room

The second day we went to Movie World. We didn’t have the Express Pass and for once the girls learnt to be patient ( they are completely spoilt by the express pass at Universal back in Singapore). We started with the BatWing which shoots us up in the air. Then it was Green Lantern which is a roller coaster with the two corner seats hanging off the edge. Quite thrilling. It was already 2 hours for these two rides. We then stood in line for the DC roller coaster but it started having technical difficulties about 15 mins into the wait. We decided to wait another 25 mins but it didn’t reopen. We probably misjudged that as it then left us very little time to grab lunch and make it for the 1:45 show of Speed Cars. The lunch queues were Long and we managed to grab quite a disappointing lunch. In our rush at the Speed Cars show we sat in the 2nd row which became unbearably hot. We tried to move onto the shaded steps but were asked to move from there quite rudely. We were overall in quite a bad mood by the late afternoon. However an ice cream and a very mediocre western show cheered us up and the relatively short queue for the Doomsday Destroyer put us back into a good mood. We went back to the DC roller coaster but the wait time was 100 mins (!) so we did the Justice League 3D ride and Green Lantern again. Willy wonka’s chocolate bar and some extremely sour gummies fortified us for the 60 mins (turned out to be 35mins) wait for the Superman Escape ride which was in my view the best ride of the day. We were shot out at full speed to the TOP of the rollercoaster and did a very fast loop of the track. We have the horrified photo to prove it. Ok it was just the hubby and me screaming in terror, the girls were fine. 

After the Super Long queues the hubby wanted to relax by the bar at Surfers Paradise so we set out for that. Had a lovely dinner by the beach and got home completely exhausted ( and smelly !).
The next day we went to the Currumbin wildlife park. We got up close to kangaroos and saw many other animals such as koala bears ( got a video of them moving around and not sleeping for once) Tasmanian devils, wombats, emus, crocodiles etc. we caught the sheep shearing show and the birds of prey show ( I braved through that). We got back to the hotel around 4:30 quite tired. After a nap we went to the beach opposite the hotel and lounged around for a bit before heading back for an early sleep.
The next morning we had our first surfing lesson. The girls did pretty well and even managed to stand up on the surf board while the hubby and I flopped quite miserably. Still I enjoyed paddling on the surf board and we’ve signed up for another lesson before we leave. Breakfast was Swiss muesli at the cafe by the beach and then it was a lazy day at the hotel. Evening we set out again for Surfers Paradise with an hour by the beach, dinner again at our favourite bar (Sandbar) and some shoe shopping for the girls at UGG.
Today was Dreamworld adventures. The hubby and I had come here on our honeymoon 18 years ago where he flipped out after Wipe Out and refused to go on the Tower of Terror with me. These 18 years have taught him how to brave roller coaster rides if nothing else. So he decided to brave both these rides with us. Sadly for us the Tower of Terror was shut down a month ago and Wipe Out no longer existed. We did the Giant Drop instead. It lifted us about 150m and dropped us sharply down. We felt like we were plummeting to our death. I was the most scared and shut my eyes during the fall. The hubby and kiddos were braver than me! Our next ride was the BuzzSaw. This takes us vertically up and in a corkscrew upside down and brings us slowly down in a very scary manner. This was my favourite ride of the day. Luckily for us it was cloudy in the morning so not much crowd for the rides. In the first 2.5 hours we did 6 rides as against 2 rides in Movie World. The Claw, Shock Wave, Hot Wheels roller coaster and Tailspin. Hot wheel roller coaster was a bit jerky but the Claw and Shock Wave were good fun.
After lunch of pizza and fries (!) we went on the Skyvoyager virtual reality ride (was amazing) and then went to Dreamworks world where we did Pandemonium ( hard thrill version) and the kids did the flying seats ride. We watched the Fun Show which had magic, acrobatics and some crazy dancing. Then we went to the White Water World ( we were lucky the Über driver told us about it) where we did some fun rides. 

Australia holidays

This year for the Christmas holidays we decided to revisit our honeymoon destination after 18 years with two kids in tow.
We started with Cairns. The hubby had booked a lovely apartment overlooking Trinity beach (about 25 mins from Cairns) with an awesome large balcony and well stocked kitchen. I was happy to just laze around the apartment after our hectic work schedule in Singapore reading a book or watching a movie. The first day was just settling into the appartment, catching up on lost sleep (night flights are always stressful) , checking out the beach and Swimming pool, and stocking up the pantry. We had a VB lunch to start the holiday, reminiscent of our honeymoon days.
The second day we went to Hartley Crocodile farm. It was amazing to see the keepers feed the aggressive crocodiles. We got to hug koalas and pet wallabies. And see a kangaroo family jump around. We even saw a kangaroo Mum with the Joey in its pouch. The snake show was interesting and the boat ride was also good, with us being closer to the crocodiles. We got back to the appartment in time for a late afternoon snooze, followed by the beach opposite and the kids lazing around in the pool and jacuzzi.
The next morning was a very early rise for us. We had to leave the appartment at 4:30 am to go hot air ballooning. It was amazing to rise up in the sky and look out over the fields below. It was a half hour ride and we were done and in Cairns city by 8:30 am. We went to the Esplanade which has the most amazing playground for kids and had a lovely breakfast at Muddys cafe by the Esplanade overlooking the beach and watching some pelicans. Avacado on toast with flat white coffee - yummy!
We walked down the Esplanade to the lagoon, stopping for the kids to exercise on the machines on the way. Sadly we didn’t have swimsuits for the lagoon and by 11 am we were exhausted and happy to head back to the appartment. We spent the rest of the day sleeping, beaching and Swimming. Hurrah for ITC pindi chole  - no worries for the girls dinner for once.
The next morning was again an early rise, we had to be at the Ferry terminal by 7:15 am for the day cruise and snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef. After one hour cruising we stopped at the first reef from 10-12:30. It was amazing snorkeling on TOP of the reef. We had lunch on the boat - there were vegetarian patties for the 3 of us and some nice salads. We then went to the second reef. This time S snorkeled for longer with me and we were able to get some great pictures in the water. The hubby and A snorkeled for a bit then went out in the glass sided submarine with the marine biologist with another look at the reef creatures. We were done with snorkeling around 2:15 and got back to the Cairns terminal around 4:30. Then it was back to the appartment for some rest and then Christmas dinner ( I had the best lasagne!) at the nearby restaurant Lunico.
The next day we decided to just relax around the appartment. We hired cycles for the day and in the morning the girls and i cycled to the skateboard park. In the evening we cycled along with the hubby to the wallaby watch our point and then to the next beach. Possibly 10km in all. Most of the restaurants were shut so it was quiet lunch and dinner for us at home
The next day we were leaving for the Gold Coast. Since checkout was 10 am and our flight was only at 2:30 we decided to take a walk by the beach. We got stuck in quite the thunderstorm and rushed to a nearby cafe for some cake and coffee. The flight to Gold Coast was longer than expected and out hotel ( Sea World Resort) was some distance away so by the time we got to our room it was close to 7. Just enough energy for pizza and pasta in the cafe in the hotel. Part 2 coming up next.

Europe holiday July 2019 : Part 1 Switzerland

We are just back from a two week holiday in Europe. Started and finished with lunch/dinner at Molino's Zurich- our favourite ever restaurant. First three days in Zurich- was hotter than Singapore, made worse by the fact that there was no AC/fan in the Airbnb we were staying at. Me and S escaped for two days to London where S has been asking to go and visit her friends. After a rushed visa process and last minute booking on Swiss Air - hate BA, they cancelled  our fight the night before and rebooked us from Basel to London, where it takes 3 hours to go from Zurich to Basel; we made it to London. It was a birthday party for one of S friend's so she got to meet all of them in one shot. WE visited the school the next day, ate at all the restaurants S likes and visited Waterstones twice, suffice to say S had her fill of reminiscing over our London days.
Meanwhile the hubby and A were busy in Zurich visiting the Zoo, Kunshaus and trekking down from Uetliberg. A got to spend the afternoon with one of her best friends P. so she was happy as well.
After Zurich we went up to the mountains at Murren. We stayed at a lovely Air Bnv- a swiss chalet overlooking the Eiger face. It was much cooler than Zurich and the hubby's sister and family also joined us in Mruren so the girls had fun with their little cousin brother who's 3. WE managed to do some treks- the first day was long one -10.5 km from Murren to Lauterbrunnen. Kids were exhausted after that. The second day was 5.5 km from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. It was quite a long process to get to mannlichen- train & cable car from Murren to Lauterbrunnen, then train from Lauterbrunnen to wedge, and finally cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen. Bu the walk was amazing, There's a lovely playground at the top of Mannlicehn so the kids had fun playing there, an the view is amazing. The third day we did a short trek down from the flower trail to Murren (3.5km) and then spent the afternoon scootering around Murren and celebrating I's birthday.

The views and weather in Switzerland is amazing and the AirBNB. treks and food was lovely. But as usual disappointed with the local people/service. Had two bad experiences at lunchtime at the restaurants. At the first place, they served us last after all the others, and the in the second place they refused to serve little I bread as we had not ordered the soup. Talk about poor service. Now I know why I didn't;t mind leaving Switzerland and moving to London.

Skiing holidays in the last few years

We have always been skiing only in Switzerland. Even after moving to London in 2016, we went back to ski in the February break (2017) to Engadin (St Moritz) and Davos. That was a lovely trip as we stayed together with friends in a hotel in Davos and all of us had a lovely time skiing and spending time together. Funnily enough, we bumped into A's friends in St Moritz so she got to spend time catching up with them for dinner, ice skating etc. Strangely enough we ended up taking an Air BnB next to A's friend L, much to A's delight.
In 2018 we went back to Switzerland in the February break, this time the whole week at St Moritz.
We got to catch up with a few friends (A met her best friends L and P) and S met her good friend N, and I got to meet some of the moms I sent so much time with in Zurich (really miss those days). In the St Moritz mountains it was just us though. We took a lovely Air BnB with a view of the mountains, rented the skis at Signal (like we always do) and skied on the various St Moritz slopes.

In 2019 we decided to bite the bullet and try skiing in Japan. WE had heard so much about the amazing slopes and snow conditions. Well it  turned out to be quite the disappointment. The journey itself was quite involved. We flew to Sapporro (about a 6 hour flight from Singapore) and then hired a car to drive 2 hours to Niseko. Looks like Niseko is the destination for international schools from Singapore. In our flight there were more than 6 families from the girls school, with 2 families from A's class itself. The drive from Sapoorro to Niseko was scary to say the least. WE set off around 4 pm when visibility started to be low, and got caught in a severe snowstorm. The hubby was super stressed while driving in the blizzard, the car kept sliding and he couldn't see anything. I prayed furiously to all the Gods and somehow we made it to Niseko. I mad him promise we would make the journey back in the daylight.
The skiing itself was disappointing. There were snow blizzards on many days and two of the days the slopes were shut. The other days it was sunny for about 1-2 days and the other days it kept snowing, so it was very uncomfortable and cold to ski. We had to take many 'warm up' breaks and I never ventured beyond the blue slopes, didn't want to take any risks in low visibility.
We tried some non skiing stuff too - the hubby tried snowboarding the girls did snow moiling and snow tubing. S and A had their birthdays in the Japan break. On S birthday we called her friend B who was also skiing with her family in Niseko) and the girls did some indoor rock climbing. A's birthday we were in Sapporo. It was the snow sculpture festival there- we walked around Sapporro watching highlights of the snow sculpture but it was too freezing so we quickly dashed to an Italian restaurant where the girls had their pizza dan then went to a local Japanese restaurant where the hubby and I had some local Japanese food. I was disappointed that there wasn't much non skiing stuff to do- like ice skating, or movies, or other stuff, so when we were not at the ski slopes we were either relaxing in our Air BNB (which was also good fun, we watched the Terminator series with the girls) or else eating pizza in the restaurants (no one wanted to try to local stuff to the hubby's disappointment).
I think we won't go back to Japan for skiing.Much prefer the weather conditions in Switzerland. Have to figure out the ski trip next year though -the CNY holiday is in January itself, too early to go on holiday again after the winter Xmas break.

Thailand beach holidays

I've been giving grief to the hubby that we only go skiing and never do beach holiday despite living in Singapore and amongst the best beach holiday destinations in the world. After a not so exciting trip to Bali just after moving to Singapore (chose a hotel in the wrong location, did too much travelling to see temples and volcanoes, exhausted and tired at the end of it) we decided to take a break from beach holidays.
But after much persuasion we planned two beach holidays in the same April-May season this year. the first one was Phuket and the second one was Krabi. This time we booked resorts in isolated beaches (away from the city centre) and spent most of the time in the resort. Lazing in the pool, long lunches, lie ins and massages. One day was devoted to snorkelling. In Phuket we made a day trip to Banana Island. The island was beautiful but the snorkelling not so much. There were lost of jellyfish so the hubby and A did not venture into the water, and S went bak to the boat in 5 mins. We had better luck at the island itself, no jellyfish only sea urchins. Could convince S & A to come snorkelling, while the hubby lazed around admiring the beautiful views.
Krabi snorkelling trip was a day trip to Phi Phi islands. We stopped at Maya beach (were Island was shot) -shut now, could only stop to take in the view (& take photos) and various other breathtaking locations. We did snorkelling twice around Phi Phi islands, the corals were beautiful and we were lucky not to have jellyfish, or sharks :) Could not convince the hubby or A to come, but S and I had a good snorkelling swim. A admitted that she is more of a mountains person!
the last day in Krabi the hubby hired a car and we went to some tourist destinations - Emerald Lake, Tiger cave temples, but it was not so exciting. He enjoyed the drive (we miss having a car in Singapore). 

Just a quick update

can’t believe its been 2 years. Life has been very hectic with mire than full time work and nqvigsting two children through their new school. But good hectic, family is fine, parents are fine, work is fibe and I’m fine.
Few milestones passed, S completed 10, in last year of primary school now. A had her first tooth fall out naturally. I completed 40 and the hubby is completing 20 years in his company. Will try to post more regularly!