Sarawak Day 1 (23 October 2008)

Before I recount my trip, I would like to explain a few things. Caleb and I were originally not supposed to go as this trip was Jinxgirl's educational school trip to Sarawak. However, after Jinxgirl's form teacher, Mrs. Sng, met us, she agreed that we could come along as long as we were checked in with the luggage at the airports.

Secondly, since the night activities were almost as exciting as, if not even more so than the day, I have created separate posts for the 'illegal' night activities. Two hilarious nights of fun and excitement---yay!

On the morning we were to take off, we arrived at the airport early. There was already a whole lot of people there, most of whom are Jinxgirl's classmates. Jinxgirl introduced us to her groupmates: Hope, Ka Ying, Marianne, Athira and Michelle Khoo. Athira was wearing a head dress---part of her religion.

Once on the plane, it was apparent it had NOT been a good idea to fly Silk Air. We encountered a lot of turbulence and there was no in-flight service. In the middle of the flight, there was a sudden 5-second free fall. We started screaming. Then, Ka Ying yelled: "STOP SCREAMING AND SHUT UP!!!!!!"

When we reached the airport in Kuching, Ms. Lim tried to go into the men's toilet!!! Then, at the same time, about 23 of us yelled, "Ms. Lim, that's the MEN'S TOILET!!!" She looked mortified and immediately rushed into the correct toilet. Everybody was staring at her. Oops.

After we left the airport, we went to the Waterfront where we had lunch in a restaurant.

Athira took a picture of Hope, Jinxgirl and Michelle sitting by an enormous iron-cast crocodile by the river after lunch.

In the bus, Jinxgirl pretended to wear a headdress.

Then, we went to the Sarawak Museum where we entered the diverse Kuching history. We learned about the hunting, living, dressing and habits of the people living in Kuching in the past. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos. Sigh.

The next stop was Sara Craft. We learned to make placemats from straw. Jinxgirl did pretty well, considering that she has absolutely no artistic talent.

We had dinner at Top Sport---a small seafood restaurant. Then, we finally left for Merdeka Palace. We had a debrief in the Conference Room and learned to wear the Sarung. Then, we went to the room. To read about our escapade and over-paranoidness that night, read the night post for 23 October 2008.

Shanghai Day 4 (20 October 2008)

After breakfast, we packed up and checked out. In the lobby, Jinxgirl did some "educated game-based research", as she calls it, using her Pokemon guide book. Then, we finished reading Queste minutes before the tour agent arrived to send us to the airport.

We looked in the shops of the airport for souvenirs to buy for our friends back at home. After finally making our decision, we waited at Gate 69 while the adults went shopping. We took turns on the DS again. Finally, it was time to board the flight. The three of us watched the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull together. Then, we watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Unfortunately, the inflight entertainment was switched off just as we were getting to the good bit (sigh).

It was very late by the time we reached home so we went to bed at once.

Shanghai Day 3 (19 October 2008)

After a hearty breakfast, it was off to the Bund! Jinxgirl had read in a guidebook that it was famous for its breathtaking scenery and wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, the scenery WAS breathtaking, but not in a good way. The Bund was packed to the gills and there was rubbish strewn all over. Disappointed, we headed to the sightseeing tunnel, but its name was misleading. It had lots of sound and lights to pretend that we were in a scenic spot. We decided to leave for our next destination... the Super Brand Mall!

The Super Brand Mall, fortunately, lived up to its name. We ate a delicious meal of xiao long bao (Shanghai's signature dish). After that, it was shopping time!

While the two adults were shopping, Jinxgirl, Caleb and I went to Tom's World, Shanghai's arcade centre chain. Caleb claimed a faulty coin for his own. We had fun playing the games, but with little reward. Then, Caleb inserted our last two coins and began jabbing at the buttons randomly with his horn. To our utter surprise, when the game finished, a long row of 40 tickets came out!

With our 44 tickets, we redeemed two stinky tofu erasers. Later on, as we were snacking on fries, we saw a cute little Japanese girl eating a burger and gave her one.

We then visited the Underground Shopping Mall. It was similar to the pasar malam, except in an air-conditioned place. We got several bargain buys. The best thing is, Caleb and I got a bottle of SparkleHorn Glitter each for free! Hooray!

Dinner was at Pizza Hut Gourmet. It was yumcious! We had nothing else to do, so we went back to the hotel.

Jahhhk out

Cool scenery: One of the only good shots that can be taken at the Bund.

Jinxgirl took this picture of a girl selling wheels for shoes along the Bund.

A ship passing by the Bund.

Shanghai Day 2 (18 October, 2008)

Jinxgirl, Caleb and I woke up before Jinxgirl's parents did so we had fun taking turns with the Pokemon DS game. We went downstairs for a breakfast buffet, careful to stay away from milk products. Despite the fact that China has already claimed to have removed all tainted milk products, Caleb and I decided to play safe and drink orange juice.

After breakfast, we met the tour agent downstairs for a day of city sightseeing. First, we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower. It is one of the many high rise buildings in China. We went to the middle bubble which is at 263m height. We could see the whole of Shanghai from there! Jinxgirl took snapshots of the scenery until her camera ran out of battery. Undeterred, she borrowed her mum's camera and continued to capture photos of the scenery.

At the giftshop, we were allowed to choose a souvenir each. The three of us decided on the same thing: a key chain with a unique 3D design of the Oriental Pearl Tower! Isn't it marvellous?

After we left the tower, we visited Tianmai Jadeite. we were given a tour of the jade pieces and taken through the history of jade. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph anything (sigh). After the tour, we went into a small room where the sales lady showed us how to tell the value of jade and even allowed us to try on some of the pieces. I wore a jade pendant from my horn while Caleb used his bangle as a mini hula hoop. Jinxgirl fell in love with a jade bangle which everybody agreed suited her. After much persuasion, her parents bought it for her. 'This is your inheritance, so keep it carefully!" Jinxgirl's mother told her in a mock stern voice.

We had a scrumplicious steamboat for lunch. The best part was the choose your own sauce mix & match counter! Caleb, Jinxgirl and I had fun perfecting our sauces. Jinxgirl added about 5 spoonfuls of mashed garlic to her sauce!

With our stomachs filled, we headed to the Botanical Gardens, one of the only outdoor places in Shanghai that did not smell bad due to smoke and pollution. We engaged in a tea sampling session upon arrival. Jinxgirl gave most of her tea away as she disliked the smell and taste of it.

After doing so much, we headed for a Foot Reflexology Centre. We had our feet( or, in Caleb's and my case, hooves) massaged. It felt really good and the debris trapped in my hooves were finally flushed out!

We ate Hong Kong duck, char siew and shao rou for dinner. It tasted so-so. The day was topped of with an exciting ERA acrobatics show. It was really colourful and the stunts performed seemed really daredevil and impossible. Tired out by the excitement, we all headed back to the hotel to get some rest.

Jahhhk out


A landscape view of Shanghai.

















Foot Reflexology: Shiok!

Tea Pouring Ceremony.
















The great, the magnificent, the only... Oriental Pearl Tower!!!






















Jinxgirl's favourite: Mashed GARLIC!!!


















A wide range of sauces for selection.

Shanghai Day 1 (17 October 2008)

Jinxgirl, Caleb and I woke up at 5 am. Caleb was particularly excited as this was his first trip with a flight. Jinxgirl had just finished her PSLE not long ago and her parents had decided to take advantage of the PSLE marking days to go for a quick holiday in Shanghai. After arriving at the airport, we waited to board the plane. Breakfast was nasi lemak- my favourite!

Finally, we boarded the plane. We were flying Singapore Airlines, which has lovely inflight entertainment. Caleb marvelled at everything, from the airplane food to the exciting games. Jinxgirl, however, got bored after beating the computer in 5 consecutive rounds of Reversi and started to play her Pokemon game.

5 hours later, we arrived in Shanghai. Hooray! Caleb was so excited that he sped down the steps and arrived at the baggage area way before anybody else. He received bemused looks from the airport officials.

After meeting the tour agent, we boarded the maglev train. Maglev stands for magnetic levitation. The maglev train can travel up to a speed of 430 km/h!!! It was travelling so quickly that jinxgirl had no time to take proper photos of the scenery outside.

However, there was a massive traffic jam on the road after we clambered into the minivan the tour agency provided. The traffic in Shanghai is crazy and nothing like Singapore. The traffic lights are redundant as nobody bothers about them. Every 5 seconds , you can hear a car horning. Another odd thing is that the vehicles in Shanghai have the driver seat on the left!

We finally arrived at our hotel at 4.15 pm. So much for an early flight! Our hotel was called Charms Hotel and we were assigned Room 1010. Caleb was in awe of the size of the bedroom. "You mean you get to sleep in huge beds like this whenever you travel?" he exclaimed.

We ate lunch, if it can be called that, at 4.30 pm in an udon shop. The food was delicious, but that was probably because we were ravenous. We decided to walk around after lunch and look at the shops. Caleb almost got run over by a car while crossing the road. I had an idea and started crossing the road with my horn stuck out as a warning. It certainly worked very well!

Towards the end of the evening we had a supper of delicious fried buns and mango passion fruit juice. It really hit the spot! Finally, we returned to the hotel where Caleb and I watched Jinxgirl playing her Pokemon game and read Queste over her shoulder.

Jahhhk out

At the airport, waiting for the train.

Look! What did I tell you? 430km/h!

The scenery in Shanghai is nice...

...but it is very polluted (it was only 6pm when the picture was taken)!

Delicious Fried Buns for dinner! Hooray!

Muar

I just got back from Muar yesterday afternoon. We left on Sunday evening. Jinxgirl brought me, Caleb and Roxanne along to visit her maternal grandmother. Roxanne is a grey coloured dog that Jinxgirl's Aunt Priscilla bought her from a Precious Moments shop.I talked with her and she is really nice. You can't see her eyes, though. And her body is long and almost as thin as a snake.

The day before our trip, we brought Caleb for a check-up as we wanted to be sure he did not miss out on his first vacation. He had been too young when we went to New Zealand last year and he got chicken pox this year and could not join us in Japan. Fortunately, the doctor certified he was healthy.

After jinxgirl's Chinese class, we set off for Muar. Jinxgirl, Caleb and I had dinner in the car. Roxanne was in the luggage. We watched Ballad of the Prince on the portable DVD player after that. Caleb fell asleep in the car. We got there at 9:30, unpacked Roxanne and put Caleb to bed before playing Pokemon(jinxgirl's new favourite game).

After breakfast the next morning, we went out. Jinxgirl was delighted to find that Rudolph was still alive. Caleb and I talked with him and found out that he had gotten his name after he turned up at his current owner's doorstep on a wet Christmas eve. He was homeless, hungry and has a flu that had caused his nose to turn red.

We played with the car after feeding Rudolph. Uncle Pat bought the car for Jinxgirl when she was 4.They left it in Muar because her Po Po's house has a huge compound to drive around. It was red and had a lot of screws. I twisted my horn inside one of the screws and used it like a screw driver. It certainly felt much sharper after that. Caleb tried it too but he could not stick his horn in properly.

While we were half way through another episode of Ballad of the prince, Jinxgirl's relatives arrived. Her cousin, who is older than us sat down and watched the rest of the episode with us. Then, we started doing some craft together. It was sure hard work! Even then, we did not manage to do it properly as we had tied the strings wrongly. Thus, we had to cut it away and abandon.

Finally, it was "mee hoon kueh class" time! Jinxgirl's grandma had agreed to teach us how to make mee hoon kueh. It was definitely not as easy as we thought. Caleb fell into the basin of flour while we were mixing it! Luckily for him Jinxgirl said that it is not toxic; all he needed was a new coat of blue paint. Meanwhile we teased and called him Snow White! The mee hoon kueh was yummylicious...we each had 3 helpings!! Yum!

The next day, we packed up and went to meet Jinxgirl's relatives for breakfast at a bak kut teh place. Jinxgirl, Caleb and I were hungry so we ate a sandwich each before hand.

Then, we went to a more distant relative's house. Jinxgirl's aunt, nicknamed Aunty Jambu for the delicious jambu fruits she grows, served us a platter of fruits. Sweet and juicy!

Finally, it was homeward bound. We rushed Caleb to the paintbrush clinic to get a new coat of blue paint. Despite this ordeal, he said that he had enjoyed his first vacation thoroughly.

"It's a pity we didn't take a plane, though," he commented.


Rudolph...the black nosed dog???
This is Rudolph. He belongs to Jinxgirl's grandma's neighbour. He loves treats! Jinxgirl, Caleb and I fed him 3 crackers for breakfast and another 3 for dinner. When we introduced him to Roxanne, he sniffed at her and then turned away, looking bored. Sigh. Guess he's not ready for a girlfriend yet.





Mee Hoon Kueh-the making of it
Jinxgirl and her grandma are making Mee Hoon Kueh. Mee Hoon Kueh is a Chinese dish made from flour. Water is mixed with the flour. The dough mixture will need to be kneaded repeatedly until it is sufficiently mixed.



Then, the dough is pinched off and spread out by pulling at the ends to make it thin and in a circular shape. The ones jinxgirl did were easily identifiable-they all had holes in the center and were thick around the edges. :D

Dropping the Mee Hoon Kueh into the pot of boiling water.


Putting the cooked Mee Hoon Kueh aside.


Pouring hot water into the soup wok.


Putting in vegetables.


Adding meat.




Adding pepper.


A bowl of the finished product. Voila! Absolutely delicious!!!











Walking around the neighbourhood, we see lots of fruit trees. Our friends, the Frutties, live inside the fruits. The Frutties have wings like insects and round bodies like fruits. They also have parsely for hair. A lot of them died recently due to the floods and droughts. We spoke to some of them in these plants and they said that global warming had become a swear word among their people.






A papaya tree laden with roundish unripe papayas!


A banana tree with tiny, unripe bananas.

Jahhhk out

Chinese New Year

Chinese new year is just around the corner and Jinx Girl is already talking about all the Red Packets she will be receiving. I am not surprised, since she has already started making lists of presents she needs to buy for other people. Meanwhile, I have been thinking about the Red Packet of 1000 Neopoints that I will be giving to Jinx Girl.


I have also made Caleb a lovely new green coloured cardigan which will go very well with his colour. Caleb loves cardigans as he thinks they make him look nice. I've also asked my good friend Harry ( he's a human)to help me cast a spell on the cardigan so that it won't be too hot for Caleb. After that, I gave him an enchanted good-luck necklace which cost me 50 Neopoints and wished him good luck fighting Voldermort. To him, it was like hitting jackpot."Just what I needed!" he exclaimed.


I hope that we will have a Chinese New Year countdown this year as I love staying up past midnight. To me, Chinese New Year is a time for family and friends to get together.

Jahhhk out