I've neglected my blog!!!

To the few people who are actually reading my blog - a big apology for disappearing for the past couple of months. I have been crazy busy with life. Other than the hectic travelling - which I usually loves. This couple of months, I've been travelling like mad, but I've been super stressed about it. The reason being is that we are repatriating back to UK but instead of a straightforward when, we have been stringed along for a month before being told exactly when. Thus explaining my recent last minute trip to the UK for 3 weeks and the least amount of planning I've ever done for a trip - our october trip to New Zealand which almost didn't happen. 

Anyway long story short, we are moving back in early 2013, and I'm squeezing as many travels in between now and then. Travelling every 2 weeks is not what I call fun, more like crazy. I flew to UK for 3 weeks then came back for 2 weeks and we flew to Christchurch. At the moment, I have again 2 weeks of breathing space before I jet back to UK for another 2 weeks!!! In between, I will be visiting some friends in KL which I am looking forward to before flying to UK. So I am really sorry if I have not been updating my blog. I've so much more of my trips to write about, but I just can't. I think it will be when I am back in good old England before I can write about my adventures. And instead of being stuck in tiny Singapore, I will probably have to call my blog - No longer stuck in tiny Singapore :)

I will just put a little snippets/photos of the beautiful New Zealand. It's a beautiful country filled with friendly locals, and the sceneries are magnificent. I am glad to have a chance to visit the country twice before returning to the Northern Hemisphere. Till the next time, keep healthy and always wear a smile on your face. 

The beautiful sceneries of South Island

Back in London

Sorry all for being MIA. Was in UK for over 3 weeks. It has been 2 years since my last visit and it was great to be back. Another friend of mine was in UK at the same time, and we had a great time checking out old hangouts and discovering new places too. We were also lucky with the weather. It was in the teens and lovely sunshine, the perfect weather for walking around. I also got to drive a lot, from London out to Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Kent & Surrey and it was great. After driving over 1000 miles in a manual car, I didn't grumble at all. It was therapeutic to drive in the UK as almost everyone is a polite driver. Now that I'm back in Singapore, I am missing that very much.

Lots of stuff have been happening since I'm back. The hubby and I are rushing off on our New Zealand South Island trip for 10 days. The shortest planning time I ever had for a holiday - 2 weeks! Followed by arranging to go to Kuala Lumpur for a short weekend to meet up with some friends in november. The hubby also will be popping back into London for another business trip and it is very tempting to follow along.

Anyway, here are some highlights from my trip:

This was taken from the cab from Heathrow to our service apartment

Sun was shining when we arrived in Heathrow. I had to snap this picture as we drove past Buckingham Palace in our cab. The sun was shining and London could not look more beautiful!!!

View of Canary Wharf from our service apartment

London Day out

The next day after I arrived, I met with my friend and off we went for a day of fun!!! We went to check out the British Museum. It was good to be back. We spent a few hours there and went for lunch. Found a quaint little french restaurant that offered a great lunch deal. My friend ordered this yummy pork belly dish. The pork was done amazingly, it was crunchy outside and soft on the inside. After the heavy lunch (plus desserts), we had to walk it off. We went from Holborn all the way to Covent Garden to Leicester Square where we checked out the the humongous M&M shop! It has 4 stories of everything M&M!!

Kent 

The weekend, the hubby and I picked up our rental car and went off to explore Kent. We drove over the familiar Dartford Bridge and entered Kent. We checked out the lovely quaint English villages along the River Medway. Ended up in Maidstone where we stayed for the night and went to have another lovely french meal at Cafe Rouge. The confit duck was heavenly, totally worth every ounce of fat I've ingested :p

Highlights of Hertfordshire & Bury St Edmunds

My friend and I spent a lovely day exploring parts of Hertfordshire. The lower left picture was taken at the village green at Hatfield Heath where we enjoyed a lovely day sitting outside. The temperature was perfect at around 18C. Another day, I drove up to Bury St Edmunds on my own. Went up to see some friends as I used to live there before moving to Asia 4 years ago. We went for a lovely lunch followed by a walk with my friend's beautiful black lab. It was great to be back in the outdoors. I missed this lifestyle whereby the dogs get all this space to roam and fellow dog owners are gracious. Anyway I ended the day with a steal from the wednesday market in Bury with a big bag of cherries costing just a quid!! :)

Another weekend in Kent

The 2nd weekend, the hubby and I popped back into Kent. This time we explored further. We went to a village which had the most beautiful postcard view ever. A lovely bridge over the river Medway, with willows swaying in the background. We had a lovely pub lounge overlooking the river and went off on the public footpaths for a lovely saturday afternoon walk. Life's just dandy!!!

Exploring London

The last weekend in London, we decided to spend some time exploring her. We went off back to Covent Garden and discovered an area that was new to me. I had always gone straight into Covent Garden but this time we turned left into an area known as Neal's Yard. It looked really bohemian. There were cutesy boutiques, and one of a kind shops. Even the cafes and restaurants in the yard looks really funky. A note to check it out the shops proper with a girlfriend. Hubby is not a shopper at all so I didn't want to bore him that afternoon.

London Part 2

For Lunch, we had it planned to go for the Four Seasons Roast Duck as mentioned in my other London posts. It is the most amazing, yummylicious duck ever. Even my fussy tongue hubby loves the duck, so we went there just before the lunch crowd to grab seats to enjoy our lunch. It is still as good as I remembered. After that, we went off to Piccadilly and walked to Fortnum & Masons to pick up some goodies to bring back as gifts. I spent a good while wandering around all the selections to pick up what I wanted. Finally we were back in Canary Wharf. It has a different feel to the rest of London. It reminds me of Singapore with all the tall gleaming offices, and clean streets.

Final Day

Three weeks came and went so quickly. Before we knew it, it was the day to fly back to Singapore. As we had some time to kill before getting the cab to the airport, we went to check out the big new Westfield mall at Stratford. It was huge and had all the known high street names in there. They even have a nice selection of restaurants and an ultra cool food court. I settled for a meatball pho as it's been a while since I had any nice soup noodles. What a great way to end my trip back to London. Will be back soon!!!!

Top ten free things to do in London

I will be travelling to London soon. It's so good to be back as the last time I was there, was April 2010, two years ago!! Truth to be told, I miss UK. I consider UK my second home. Lived there for more than a decade, most of my most important adult life was spent there. I learned to drive there, got married there, graduated with my doctorate, bought my first house and all my other properties there etc etc. You are probably getting my drift here. So I am over the moon to be flying to the UK again. So before that, I thought of writing a blog post on top ten free things to do while you are there. I wrote a recent blog post on the off the beat things to do in London, so this post will probably tie in nicely with the other one.

Along the Thame

Our trip to Alaska : Overview

Known as America's last frontier, Alaska is also United State's largest state and is over twice the size of Texas. Alaska has always conjure an image of the grandest natural landscape and awe-inspiring sceneries. Her wild and rugged wilderness, glaciers, mountains, wildlife, and interesting people are Alaska's many offerings.

The best and most popular way to see Alaska is from the coast, on board a cruise ship. Each year around 1 million people arrive to see Alaska on board a cruise ship and now I understand why. It is a fabulous way to see the coastline of Alaska, otherwise largely inaccessible.

Top ten things to do in Macau

What are the things that comes to mind when someone mentions Macau? - Casino? Pork buns? Macau has been slowly creeping up the popularity ladder as one of the favourite place which Singaporean goes to for a short getaway. It is getting so popular that even the recent season of the the last few episodes America's Next top Model Show was filmed in Macau!! To help you to plan your trip to Macau, here is my list of top ten things you can do when you are there. Bear in mind that what is listed are my suggestions, and may not be your cup of tea.

The one and only Casino Lisboa

My Quinton turns 7!

Couldn't believe that it was Quinton's time to turn 7 years old today. His Birthday was only a couple of weeks after Reegan's. So after Reegan's mini birthday party with her Therapy Dogs friends. It was Quinton's mini birthday gathering with his Golden Retriever Club friends at Bishan Dog Park.

Quinton at 8 Weeks old

How to plan an Alaska Cruise from Singapore -Overview

Going on an Alaska cruise has always been a dream of mine and yes I realised that my travel bucket list is long or getting longer!! I have been lucky to have been ticking off the list especially with the Scandinavia Trip to see the Northern lights earlier in the year and now going to Alaska!! But can't a girl be greedy?? :p

Top ten offbeat things to do in London

With Olympics happening right now in London, there must be a lot of tourists spending time in London. I love London!!! You will never get tired of visiting her. I am sure there are no lack of things to do and places to visit while you are in London. The numerous historical sites, buildings, amazing architecture, world class galleries and museums, the west end for the musicals, the markets, the shopping, the list is endless. But there are also many other things to do while you are there that you won't find in conventional guide books. If you are looking to do something different while you are there, why not check out my list of offbeat things to do in London. Without further ado, here is my list of top ten offbeat things to do while you are there.

Tower Bridge, London

Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco in Singapore

I am a great fan of Cirque du Soleil's shows and the great news is that they are in Singapore till August 5th 2012 for the show Saltimbanco, playing at the Indoor stadium. A little information about them - Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun) originates from Canada. They have done over 19 shows showing over 271 cities. The uniqueness of their shows are their bright costumes, beautiful scores, live music featuring amazing singers and musicians and most breathtaking acrobatic performances. Don't take my word for it, go and catch one now.

Source: Cirque du Soleil's website

My Reegan is 5 today!!!!

My darling Reegan is 5 today! Happy Birthday!!! Can't believe how time has flies. My baby girl is growing up faster. I cannot believe I love her so much more day after day and I wish she will have plenty more of healthy and happy times with our family!!

Reegan - at 7 weeks when we brought her home

Exploring Singapore for dog-friendly places - Sun Ray Cafe

Usually when I need to bring your dogs with me for a pet friendly eating place, I would go to Canopy Dining in Bishan Park. That usually occurs after morning at the dog run, then lunch at Canopy. This week I had the chance to visit SunRay Cafe which is totally dog-friendly. I have heard about it from my friends from the Golden Retriever Club as they regularly have gathering at the cafe.

Told you..they are pet-friendly

Post Alaska Cruise thoughts

7 days of bliss and pampering on board the Diamond Princess in Alaska, we are sad that it was all over in a blink of an eye. The hubby and I are cruise virgins and I am glad to report that we are now converted to cruising aficionados. 2 years ago when I first asked my hubby if he wants to go on a cruise, he had refused, fearing that he would have do a lot of socialising on board the cruise and be bored but it wasn't the case at all. We loved it so much that we have put deposit on another Alaskan cruise for June 2013!

Hubbard Glacier

Live from on board the Diamond Princess in Alaska

It's our third day of our southbound Alaska cruise from Whittier to Vancouver. The last two days have been sea days. We set off from Whittier, Alaska amidst a lovely sunny day, which was a rare occurrence and so far, we have been very lucky with the weather. We saw the Hubbard Glacier followed by today we were at Glacier Bay National Park. We were again super lucky with the weather, as the sun is out shining bright for us. The cruise so far has been fantastic. Will do more detailed blog posts after the cruise. In the meantime, here are some teaser photos. Enjoy.

Alaskan Landscape

My Cats - Part 3: Sumi

Sumi is my third cat, and she joined the family by 'accident'. The husband has already put his foot down that 2 is the final number of cats we can have. For awhile after, I volunteered with the Hertfordshire Cat Protection to do home checks of potential adopters, and that's when I got involved in fostering.

Sumi at one year old

Off to our Alaska Cruise!

Hey all,

I will be flying off soon for my trip of a lifetime. We are flying to the US to join our Alaska Cruise on Princess cruise followed by a road trip exploring the Canadian Rockies!! Please be patient as I will still try to post while on holiday. Just so excited as I get to cross off another 2 places off my bucket list!

Alaska Cruise

I will still try to write at least 2 posts a week and will write about my most recent trip when I get back in July. Till then, happy travels.

Therapy Dogs Singapore - We were invited to be on Cesar Millan Show at MBS!

I have been volunteering with the Therapy Dogs Singapore for 2 years now and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. No words can describe the joy and achievement when you see one of your charges laughing loudly when she has been non-verbal for as long as you've known her, or when you see someone who is so scared of a dog that she breaks into cold sweat to sitting next to one of our Therapy Dogs and posing for a picture. It is a wonderful organisation and all the volunteers and their doggies are amazing people that I've got to know and I am glad to be part of this group of people.

Therapy Dogs at work

Mother's Day Lunch at Seafood International Buffet

Interesting factoid: Do you know that in the UK, Mother's day is celebrated on a different day than in Singapore? I only realised during my first year there, when a friend exclaimed she has forgotten to get something for her mother. So I hastily rang my mum up on the particular sunday in March, and my mum went - Huh? Mother's day not till May. Oops, my bad, bye mum. Did you also know that different countries celebrate Mother's day on different days as in the UK. The second sunday of the month is the most popular amongst countries. Some of them are Singapore for one, Canada and USA to name a few. Norway celebrates Mother's day on the 2nd sunday in February while UK and Ireland celebrates on the 4th sunday in Lent. What is Lent? Lent is a Christian Festival. In the past it was a long, strict religious fast when people gave up all rich food. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and lasts for six and a half weeks and is moveable which means every year, the date for Mother's day is different. It tends to fall around February or March. In 2011, it was on the 9th of March and in 2012, it fell on the 22nd of February.

Doggies outing to Botanical Gardens on Mother's Day

My cousin recently got a little miniature Poodle puppy from a pet shop as he has been there for more than 5 mths and nobody wanted him. I am against buying pets from pet shops especially when you do not know the specifics of where the pet comes from. It may be a product of a puppy mill :( etc. The last thing you want is to support a trade that makes money from the suffering of animals. Anyway I am not here to judge, but doing a favour for my cousin. It was an impromptu purchase and she was going away for a holiday. She already has another poodle who will be looked after at home by my cousin brother, while Koro, the new pup will come and stay with us along with Quinton & Reegan.

Koro, the miniature Poodle Puppy

Travelogue: Dogsledding in Tromso, Norway

We had five days in Tromso, one of which we went to the Polar Zoo. Check out the blog entry. And another day, we went to do dog sledding. It is a great winter activity that you cannot miss when you are in a winter wonderland. Despite the high costs, it would be a wasted trip if we didn't go on it. 

Dog Sledding

My Cats - Part 2: Yuki

Since Tom arrived into our family, we  enjoyed all of our time with him. He is very affectionate and you cannot tell that from his look as he looks like a proper tough Tom cat living on the rough streets of Glasgow and he has the scars to prove that. He loves nothing much then sleep next to you at night and purr super loud. We were living happily together for a year when I took him to the vets for his annual booster shots and that was when the vet asked if I was interested to see some kittens he had from one of his clients. Would I want to see some kittens??? Of course :p. How could anyone turned that proposal down? Lo and behold I came face to face with 3 beautiful kittens, 2 were white and one was a tabby. Then came the one million dollar question, would you like to have one? I said yes so fast you would have thought that someone had given me a million pounds. Anyway, the vet went on to say that another client had been given dips to which kitten she wanted (by the way, she wanted two), so which ever kitten was left, that one would be mine. I was too happy to have a kitten so I was not fussy, no one would say no to a kitten.

A week later, I was asked to return to the vet's to pick the kitten up. There she was, a pretty little white thing. She was so skinny, scared and super adorable. The amazing thing was when I got home, Tom totally embraced and took in this skinny little kitten as his own. He was like a daddy to her, sometimes pinning her down to groom her. They got along like house on fire. I named her 'Yuki' which is Japanese for snow, since it was obvious she is as white as snow :).  Everyone who meets her only asked if she is blind and/or deaf. Apparently a lot of white kittens are, but luck has it, she is neither. If you noticed from the photos, she has a little black tuft of fur on her head which disappeared as she grew older. Only cute thing is when you take a picture of her with flash, you will see that she has bi-coloured eyes - one red and one green :). You can read more about bi-coloured eye cats or odd-eyed cats here.

Beautiful Yuki