borneo part three...

I've never seen a 'rainbow ring' around the sun before, but we saw it several times whilst we were away.  Apparently, it's not an unusual phenomenom in tropical countries, although I don't recall seeing it in Singapore.

Whilst we're on the subject of weather, I can report that although it was hot, it wasn't humid (hurrah!), which was a positive delight.  The other thing I can report is that, despite poor Pickle being stopped in her tracks by a snake, we seemed to survive the wild life (cue huge sighs of relief all round).  It must be said, however, that we didn't stay in a treehouse...

That, doubtless, would have led to an entirely different experience, especially during the thunderstorms we experienced - should you ever find yourself in Borneo, don't forget to pack a torch!

Wishing you a lovely weekend x

borneo part two...

Day 3 was, for me, a little disappointing.  Firstly, we went to try to see the semi wild orangutans, where we saw the mother and daughter above.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any others, which was a real shame.  It did also make me realise quite how lucky we are having Singapore Zoo on our doorstep.

After that, we went to see the crocodiles.  Now, I've never been especially bothered by crocodiles either way but, after seeing them in Borneo, I can honestly say that I absolutely definitely loath and detest them.  Seeing quite so many of them simultaneously filled me with dread, so much so, that Betsy and I spent the vast majority of our time in the cafe studiously ignoring them, whilst Pickle and Mr W explored a little more!

Day 4 was infinitely better.  We went to the Cultural Village in Damai, where we saw lots of traditional buildings, crafts and dances - much more up my street...

See you on Friday for my final Borneo instalment x

borneo part one...

Hello again, we're back, and what an adventure we've had!  Borneo is truly amazing.  We stayed by the beach all the time, which we were unsure about, as lots of people had advised us to spend a couple of nights in Kuching, and we weren't sure if we'd be able to fill our days, but it wasn't a problem.

Day 1, we mooched around at the hotel and on the beach, which was lovely, as the beaches in Singapore aren't great, especially after we're used to the beautiful ones in Devon, so we spent lots of time collecting shells and paddling in the South China Sea - SO warm.  In the evening, we went to a local sea food restaurant in Kampung Buntal.  The food was absolutely delicious, (we had black pepper lobster, sea bass, chicken rice for the girls, noodles and rice for about £6 a head), but the setting was definitely simple (am surprised the girls and I were quite as brave as we were)...

Day 2 was probably the highlight of our trip.  We went on a boat trip to spot irrawaddy dolphins, which was amazing...

The girls haven't seen dolphins in their natural surroundings before, so it was a real treat to be able to share this experience with them.  There were a group of 3 of them swimming amongst the local fishing boats.  They were truly beautiful, very graceful creatures, making a lovely soft blowing noise.

After that, we moved on to the mangroves looking for crocodiles.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any (I'm not entirely sure I was anything other than relieved, as I'm not a great crocodile fan, more of which later), but we were in the mangroves for quite some time, and I have to say, Mr W and I both felt very privileged to be there...

Having failed to find any crocodiles, we went snorkelling off Satang Besar Island, which was too cloudly to be perfect, but was still thoroughly enjoyable, and again, to see the girls doing it was fab.  We then had lunch on the island, and this was our view from the picnic table...

And these are some of the shells we found...

I'll report in with more news on Wednesday.  Until then, enjoy your week x

blue skies...

Today, the sky has been endlessly blue, which is a great start to the girls' half term holiday.  We're off to Borneo for a few days, so I won't be around next week, and Mr W has just walked through the door (at quarter past 5 - unheard of), so I'm going to sign off now.

See you a week on Monday x

hair slides...

Pickle kept herself busy last week, off her own bat, busily making these lovely hair slides - I think she was probably inspired by the ones Aunty Nooms wears.  She also made one from an old school dress we had lying around (it's not in the photo as I think she must be wearing it today).  She has apparently started a bit of a trend at school.  So much so, that one of the girls tried to photocopy her dress and use that to make a hair slide!  Needless to say, Pickle was beaming from ear to ear when she found this out.  I'm hoping there's a budding designer in there somewhere!

See you on Friday x

under the weather...

There's very little action in our household today, as I am feeling a little under the weather.  So much so, in fact, that Mr W has, for the first time in living history, taken the girls to school AND arranged to collect them, so that I might stay in bed all day.  And this has been my view.

Here's hoping I'm up and about tomorrow x

friday farewells...

Last night being Mr W's little sister's last night, we went to Raffles for the ubiquitous Singapore Sling (I had my usual mojito), then went on to Chijmes for supper, which was a really nice way to end her visit.  Pickle was busy taking lots of photos (she's week 3 of her photography course), Betsy was reading about Animal Parents, whilst we adults were soaking up the atmosphere (& enjoying the wine)!

And today, we've just been pottering around, until Nooms needed to go to the airport.  Needless to say, sunnies have been the order of the day for both of us.  Tonight, Mr W is out and Pickle has gone for a sleepover, so Betsy and I had dinner a deux, and we're now settling down to watch High School Musical 2.

Wishing you a lovely weekend xx

wednesday ramblings...

I thought this picture might amuse those of you out there.  Apparently, it is fairly customary for Singaporeans to have a pre-wedding portfolio (you can just see the photographer in the background behind the bride).  Mr W took this photograph at the weekend - the wedding party (bride & groom, veil 'fluffer' and 3 guests(?)) were standing in the middle of the road whilst the traffic lights were red!!

See you on Friday x

this weekend we have...

1. been to Universal after hours to watch the fireworks (they proved a bit noisy for Betsy)
2. enjoyed a Family Day at the girls' school
3. had supper with friends
4. started off the day with one of Mr W's restorative cooked breakfasts (it did the trick!)
5. been to Marina Bay Sands and admired the Sampans with disbelief
6.  mooched around Clarke Quay
7. been on the Singapore Flyer at night (brilliant)

So today, I intend to do a few household chores, and then have a sit down with a nice magazine and a cup of tea before the girls come back from school and we have to juggle homework/supper etc etc

Happy Monday xx