Kiddos June 2025

 

Book Haul #1

There was a 20% off all books at Kinokuniya this weekend. So we brought the kids there for a shopping spree. I had my fair share of loot too hehe. 

Work Travels: Making A Cultural Faux Pas

I'm in Bangalore office this week from Tuesday to Thursday. I flew on Monday morning and was originally going to work in the hotel. But the team wanted me in the office to work through some of the blueprint documents so I made my way there right after I arrived and had a quick lunch.

I was going to fly home on Friday morning so we had our team dinner on Thursday night. It so happens that it is one of the team member's Birthday. He was gracious to join us and we invited his wife too to join us as a gesture of thanks.

The team also bought a birthday cake and we sang a song for him. At the end of the song, I started asking him to make a wish and blow it out. Oddly he did not react to me and I repeated myself, thinking he didn't hear me due to the loud music.

It was then that Savita tapped my arm and told me that in Indian culture it is not auspicious to blow out a light. Ohhhhhh Shittt!! I made a boo-boo asking the birthday boy to blow out the candle! I immediately made my apologies and retreated.

I should be more careful to keep quiet and not get into the moment. Better to go with the flow and what others are doing than try to lead them somewhere like what I do in the office. Thankfully all of them are pretty understanding haha.

Sudoku With Ah Ma

I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed 萱萱 playing Sudoku with Ah Ma that I had to catch the moment in a photo. Both of the kids would typically be on the phones at Hillview but somehow 萱萱 had noticed Ah Ma trying her hand at Sudoku and decided to help. It's such a loving moment between Ah Ma and 萱萱.

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 5: Going Home

Our flight was at 2pm so we had to leave the hotel by 11am. We decided to go to the beach again to enjoy the morning breeze and some photo-op moments.

The rest was a rush to try and pack everything before setting off for the airport. Clearing the custom wasn't too difficult and we found a nice restaurant Made's Warung which was close to the gates for lunch. They serve one of the best Gado-Gado I've ever had. Sadly we forgot to take photos of it!

The kids were their usual self, engrossed in playing Pokemon while waiting for boarding time. Overall it was a comfortable place to rest.

All in all a wonderful relaxing holiday. It helped that I switch off all notifications - badges included - for all my work apps.  

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 4: Sunrise & More Pool Time

We were along the east coast so getting up to watch the sunrise is one of the key moments we want the kids to witness. It may sound mundane but they never get to experience it in Singapore.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so we could only get glimpse of the rising sun. Nevertheless it was a meaningful activity. Helps the kids understand the beauty and calm of morning. 

Morning was pool time again. Meimei found a nice spot in the shade with good view of the slides where the kids were playing at. 

We didn't plan for any outing today, just a short trip to the Bali Collection Mall. We walked around for an hour and the kids bought some small trinkets. We ended up at KFC for lunch which is probably the best idea for lunch.

After lunch was more play at the kids club. I stayed in the room to watch YouTube and basically chilled the whole afternoon. Meimei joined them at the club and managed to catch 阳阳 dancing to some video.

Dinner was room service again with delivery add-ons. 阳阳 was so happy about the holiday that he wanted to write a thank you note for the hotel staff. We thought that was a nice touch and Meimei actively encouraged it. Good job 阳阳! 

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 3: Waterfalls & Padi Terrace

Meimei had arranged for a driver to get us around Bali today. Our first stop is to a popular waterfall which has been totally commercialised to the point where there are viewing platforms, restaurants and even an infinity pool facing the waterfall. I suspect the waterfall isn't really natural but that doesn't matter. I'm glad we have a nice cool place to rest after a good hour's trip to get to the place. Lunch was the usual fare catered for western tourists ... which suits our kids perfectly.

After lunch we made our way to the padi fields. I recall being at one years ago and seeing ducks in the water fields. However instead of a spot more authentic our driver brought to a fully purpose-built paid field 'theme park'. It has all the trappings of a full feature park with zip line rides, various tall long swings, attire rentals for that picture perfect shot, restaurants nested nicely on the hillside etc.

We didn't bother going down to the fields. They don't look like they are really grown for food but more as a prop. So we let the kids play on the swing (which are paid rides). They had a blast of a time and that was most important.

By the time we were done it was already late afternoon. We spent more time on the car ride than at any of the spots. But that's how it is with holidays. We are too used to the proximity of everything in Singapore. Anyways we made our way back after the padi fields. Hopefully this little outing help set the pace for future trips.

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 2: Relaxing At The Pool

Day2 was a pool day. We were there all morning and the kids were loving it!

They even brought snacks to the pool and Ana was "feeding the dolphins". 

We had lunch at the Italian restaurant on the premise. It was ok, nothing fancy. I wasn't looking for anything terrific, just glad the kids had food they were willing to eat. After lunch we brought them to the kids club room for afternoon kite making activities and other fun.

We left the kids with Ana and took to the beach to relax. The endless breeze, the bright afternoon sunshine and pristine beach and sea view was so refreshing and intoxicating.

If we ever retire, I don't mind finding a seaside place and watch the waves hit the shore all day everyday, That would truly be a luxury of life.

Family Holiday @Nusa Dua Bali: Day 1 - Chill Afternoon

It's holiday time! 

We are on a 10am flight to Bali Indonesia. I had upgraded everyone on Scootplus so we had big comfy seats. The planes don't have backseat entertainment screens but we already knew and Meimei had made all the preparations with the iPads for the kids.

We reach there around 2pm and took us about another 40 minutes to reach the hotel since we took a short stop to get water at a grocery store. After settling down we made our way to the beachfront. The kids wanted to go to the pool but it was already late evening and we didn't want them to get overly tired after the journey.

We got a seat by the beach and had a wonderful afternoon snack. The wind was constant so it was such a chill experience to sit there and stare at the sea.

Shortly after that we were back in the room and basically chilled there the rest of the evening. Dinner was room dining plus add-ons from food delivery. We called it an early night though the kids were pretty hype about being on holiday and couldn't really sleep early.

 

Expiring Passport

We had a major 'excitement' the last few days. For no reason I decided to check the passports on Monday. And lo and behold ... 萱萱's passport expires in less than 6 months. The moment I saw that all my alarm bells blared till I saw red. How is 萱萱 going to come with us next Monday? Indonesia will not let her in with a passport that has less than 6 months on it!

The moment we found out we tried to submit a new application online. Meimei brought 萱萱 to take a passport photo immediately that evening and submitted the application. We also started to explore alternative options such as going to Sentosa or Mandai for a staycation. I had resigned to the possibility of losing the Scoot tickets. But I couldn't care less ... we've tried to use it many times. At this point if it goes to waste I take it as fate and would not give it a second thought.

I googled furiously to see how we can expedite the application and thankfully there seemed to be a way to accelerate the process for special circumstances. Naturally such appeals need to be done in person. So I went to ICA building on Tuesday to make the special request to get 萱萱 issued before end of the week. Thankfully it worked and the passport would be ready by Friday.

I also took the opportunity to complain about not receiving the passport renewal email. I received it for 阳阳 a year ago in our joint email and for mine too recently and was able to get the passports renewed timely. Well ... it turns out 萱萱's email was tagged to Meimei's. So I had the officer help us change it to the jointed email so I could help to track the critical tasks going forward.

Phew .... so glad we managed to get it done. And so thankful this is Singapore. I doubt there would be any other country in the world that would be able to turn this around with such efficiency without special offerings to officials.

 

Packing For Holiday

Pleasantly surprised that 萱萱 has been drafting a list of items to pack for the holiday. Glad Meimei initiate the activity to give her more responsibilities. And after putting the list together, both kids went about preparing the items and put them nicely on the bed so we can pack them into the luggages quickly. This really gives me an impetus to plan for more holidays!

Raid: Another Mediocre Mythical

I don't ever get a break in this game .... another "yap-yap" Mythical champion. Why can't they just give me something more meta.

Kiddos May 2025

I was away most of the month for work in Cincinnati. So I could only catchup on what's happening with the family through photos. 

Fun At The Beach

One of the rare occasions where the stars align and we were able to bring the kids out to the beach for some "Sun, Sand & Fun". The kids were obviously excited. And even more so for Xy since it was probably more than a year since the last trip with us to the beach. The last round she didn't even want to step on the sand. This time she seems to be less picky about the sand and so was having more fun.

Expired Cashcards

There is one carpark in Singapore that is still fitted with 90s technology. You would not be able to get out of the place unless you have a traditional cashcard to insert into the carpark terminal. To pile on the total crappiness, there is no cashcard top-up terminal at the place. This happens to be the place where 阳阳's orthopaedic has her practice. 

And the biggest problem I have? All of the cashcards in the car don't work. And most have expired for years. And unfortunately there is a 2 years grace period to refund the cards. So whatever cash that was on those cards .... all the money is gone. Which is total BS in my book.