2018 : Xiamen Holidays :May-2020

I found this trip to Xiamen particularly meaningful.  Not only it gave us a chance to visit where my grandfather come from but also to visit our distance relatives who are still staying there.

Holidays in Xiamen : Dec-18

This was my first holidays in China also for the gals.  It was a trip which I wanted to do for a while, to 回乡下 or visit my grandfather's hometown, and take a look for ourselves where my grandparents came from. To bring my dad to Xiamen where he still has relatives he knows personally. Also an opportunity to show the kids and ourselves our roots, the place our ancestors lived.

New car for ling : Dec-18

One of the biggest waste in Singapore is the usage of car.  The COE system forces people to change their cars every 10 years as there is less benefit to keep an old car with that high priced COE.  Shin Yang car is closed to 10 years now and we are very fortunate to be able to replace it with a Toyota Vios, one of the more affordable model.  Nevertheless, the old Hyundai Avante served us well and we hope this new car will take over his role for Kosen-Rufu. :-)

Xuan dancing Kpop : Nov-18

Qi is always the person in the family who is very passionate about dancing, however, I did not realise Xuan can dance well just like her sister.  Watch how she dances along the Kpop song in one of her school event.

Meeting a Nobel Peace winner! : Nov-18

During my trip to Japan in November, I had a wonderful surprise to be able to sit together with Dalai Lama in the same business class section and also took a picture together with him.  What an once in a lifetime experience, it was even more difficult than striking a lottery! Really make my day!

Qiqi birthday : Nov-18

Qiqi birthday this year is enhanced with a steamboat dinner prepared by Dor, this is just like having an advanced reunion dinner.

Alex's 50 birthday party : Nov-18

Actually our family and Alex's family 很有缘份.  Bernice and Qi are best friends, Cecilia and Shin Yang used to be sunshine aunties, Cecilia and me are colleagues, Alex and me are from the Angsana team and we also have 3 beautiful daughters in each family, so many coincidence is it?
This November Alex celebrates his 50th birthday and Cecilia organises a party for him and calls it the "五零大会", our family is cordially invited to this celebration too!

Ling's Birthday : Oct-18

Ling's birthday falls on a Sunday this year, and because of that, we managed to celebrate 3 times in a day and cut 3 cakes!  I guess it must be very satisfying day for my dearest 老婆.

Crown installed! Top right... : Oct-18

Ten months, 3 surgeries, 2 impression taking and 2 crown installation, I finally had my right molar restored!  It was a wonderful feeling to be able to eat with molar again, although they were "artificial"...

A visit to Grace's family in Nagano : Oct-18

During my Japan business trip in October, I managed to arranged a visit to Grace and family in Nagano.  My initial plan was to visit them just on that Friday evening and then I would set off to Sado Island on Saturday morning and stayed there for two nights.  I had even booked a car in Sado Island and all ready and excited to see the island where Nichiren was exiled to.

Friday finally arrived, but in that morning, my team member told me that a typhoon would be heading towards Sado Island and hit there on Saturday.  She had advised me to cancel my trip there as I might not be able to go or come back if the infrastructure was affected.  Without a doubt, I was disappointed as I had been planning this for a while, and the bad news came at such last minute.  Moreover, if I had to cancel this, I would need to find another place to spend my long weekend (following Monday was a public holiday).  Nevertheless, I cancelled the idea to Sado, not willing to take unnecessary risk.  Jokingly, I also requested my Japanese colleagues to suggest an alternate place for me to spend my time.  After querying about Grace's address, they proposed a place called Karuizawa where there were nice waterfall and volcano.  I took up their suggestion without much hesitation and booked a hotel there.  In that evening, I started my 'journey' to Sakudaira in Nagano, where Grace, Misaki and Aoi-san picked me up at the train station and we had dinner together.

Dinner with Grace and Family

I spent a night at Grace's place, sleeping in Yasu's room.  Next morning I took a walk around Grace's neighbourhood before setting off to explore around the place.  We made a brief stop at a kaikan in Nagano, then headed to Grace's in-laws place.  Along the way, we also visited some apple farms and a kind farmer even offered me a Fuji apple! Towards noon, Aoi-san and his brother 'activated' their motorcycles and kindly 'usher' us to visit the famous Karuizawa waterfall, Kusatsu Onsen area and also the Karuizawa volcano.

Kaikan in Nagano

Apple farm

Aoi-san and his brother motorcycles

After resting a night in my hotel, I took a train to Grace place the next morning to experience a brand new experience, harvesting the rice in the padi field!  Grace's in-law had about 10 plots of padi fields and they only harvested them once a year, so I was very lucky to play a small part in the harvest this year.  The experience was fantastic although a bit tiring for me, I also came to appreciate and treasure every grain during this harvest.

Taking a short break during the harvest

Thus, I did not manage to visit Sado Island this time, I thought I had gained something even more priceless, a good gathering with Grace's family and a good experience in the rice harvest.  I had also learnt that it was not necessary to be too disappointed when things did not turn out the way you wanted, because something greater maybe awaiting, so applicable in our life, isn't it?