Michael arrives

It appeared for a short while on Saturday that I had had my first raffle win of the year,but just like Australia's Top Model, there had been a mis-communication. The winner was from Punggol but it was not me! While I was at work Michael arrived back in Singapore. He met me after work and we had a very pleasant dinner at Firenze by the river, before he succumbed to weariness.
Sunday night was the end of term drinks at Potato Head Folk in Chinatown. Housed in a lovely old Art Deco style building it was, at $40 for 2 drinks, a tad expensive so some of us recovened at Rooselvelts for dinner and slightly cheaper drinks.

Potato Head Folk with Pinnacle at Duxton in the background

Catnap by the Bay!

As Mondays walk was an evening one it was the first Monday in a long time where I didn't have to set the alarm. After lunch at home Michael and I headed into town for a wander around the Gardens by the Bay as the walk was to start at Bayfront MRT. Michael found a bench that was capturing a pleasant breeze and decided to have a catnap, in preparation for the walk. The walk ended at Brewerkz at Stadium where Libby had a space waiting for us. Her operation appears to have been a great success and it is good to see her getting her mobility back. We had a drink before heading into the nearby hawkers for dinner. On the way home we called in to Peter's to toast Michael's return with a special whisky Peter had been saving.




















On Tuesday afternoon we visited the Da Vinci Exhibition at the Art Science Museum before meeting up with the Smiths and Bev at Wine Bos's new location close to City Hall MRT. It appears to be a work in progress as upstairs is still not usable, but at $20 for 2 hours of freeflow it is still good value. 

Dinner at SQUE

As Michael had not had the opportunity to visit his favourite bar, SQUE, while I was at work on Friday night he took the opportunity to have dinner there. Somehow Peter turned up there and I returned from work to find them sipping whiskey on the couch!
After work on Sunday night we had quiet drinks at Grapevine, by which time I think Michael was ready for a rest from Peter's walking/whiskey regime!

Whiskey at Rio Vista

Sri Lanka Part 2

It turns out Nandana was a bit loose with the truth regarding 'no more stairs' as on our journey today we stopped at Rambada Falls which were accessed by quite a few steps!

 We climbed rapidly through beautiful tea plantations with the temperature dropping noticeably as we progressed. We stopped at Blackwoods tea plantation for tea and cake before a tour through the processing plant.

After booking in to Haddon Hill Hotel, the most basic accommodation so far, we walked in to town with Nandana for lunch in a local eatery. It didn't look all that salubrious but the food was good and no nasty side effects. Nandana left us to our own devices so we wandered around looking at the Englishness of Nuwara Eliya. We decided it was time for a ride in a tuktuk so we hailed one for the journey back to the hotel.

Victoria Gardens, Bittern and Pile of puppies at Gregory Lake, lunch establishment

At 5 we met up with Nandana again and walked down to Gregory Lake. Fortunately we took his advice and changed in to some warm clothes as by the time we returned it was decidedly chilly.
Not so chilly that it required beanies, scarves, gloves, track pants and sweaters, as I saw on two young women out jogging at 6.30 the next morning! We left Michael in bed while we walked down to Victoria Park to do some bird spotting. Nandana was thrilled to see 2 birds he had not seen before, the Scimitar Babbler and the Forest Wagtail. We missed Michael with his camera, so will have to rely on the Internet for pictures. I also got to tick off the Grey Wagtail, Great Tit and Brown Shrike.

Brown Shrike, Sri Lankan Scimitar Babbler, Great Tit and Forest Wagtail

We had a lazy morning before boarding the train for a 3 hour trip to Ella, where Nandana was waiting for us. This was followed by a long drive on some spectacularly scary roads through the Ella Gap, passing Rawana Falls on the way. By the time we arrived in Tissamaharama we were all exhausted and ready for an early night.

The next morning, Liya, our guide for our day-long Safari, collected us at 5.30am and we headed into Yala National Park. Shortly after passing through the gates we saw an elephant in the trees munching on trees and then some spotted deer. We meandered around bird watching seeing some spectacular birds including the stork billed kingfisher and a hoopoe, until Liya received a call to say there was a leopard spotting so we spent 20 minutes tearing over rutted roads to find the leopard, along with everyone else, resting comfortably up a tree.
We followed this with a bit more birdwatching then a snooze and lunch in the shade, at the memorial site for the 35 people lost during the tsunami. The water here destroyed a couple of bungalows when it came through at 4m.

Tsunami memorial, with Liya, Malabar Hornbill, lunch

Stork billed kingfisher, changeable hawk eagle, hoopoe and little green bee eater

After our rest it was off to do some more birdwatching. As the afternoon cooled we stopped by a waterhole and waited a few minutes. We were rewarded by a visit from three elephants coming in for their afternoon drink. Then it was time to head out of the Park. As we were travelling alon Nandana called for a 'STOP' as he had seen a leopard. It was just off the road behind some ferns and after we eyeballed each other for a few minutes he was joined by another leopard and they wandered off in to the shrub. One of them settled down in the shrub opposite our jeep, still eyeballing us and licking its lips...maybe we were being sized up for dinner.

Elephants, leopards, spotted deer and mongoose in Yala

Nandana dragged me away from breakfast as he was thrilled to have finally found a scarlet fronted barbet. We had heard its call several times but never been able to pin it down. On the way to Galle we had a couple of brief stops finally arriving at Nandana's around noon.

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Post Chingay week

After such a big night at Chingay it was a quiet, early night at Grapevine on Sunday after work. Monday was a busy day starting with a walk from Eco Green in Tampines to Pasir Ris.  There were not a lot of bird sightings in Eco Green but when we arrived in Pasir Ris Park we saw a group of photographers with enormous lenses groupd around a couple of trees. They were photographing a family of Spotted Wood Owls, apparently a rare bird in Singapore. We also saw a Crested Goshawk in another nearby tree.

Spotted Wood Owl

Crested Goshawk

After lunch it was back to the Smiths for a shower and change of clothes before crossing the island to Jurong for the MAE 10 pin bowling challenge. Punggol branch were last years winners but, despite our matching Chandon sunnies and gold pompoms, we were not quite up to scratch this year and the winning branch was Jurong...fitting really as they had organised it! After a meal at an original style hawkers we retired to the Pinks poolside for a nightcap or 2.

Punggol (+) Team

Tuesday was a quietish day and in the evening I joined Bev, Helen, June and Jo to see The Theory of Everything, the movie about Stephen Hawkings life. I really enjoyed it and can see why the young actor deserved the Acadamy Award. It would not have been an easy role to maintain.
As Libby had had her athroscope on her knee on Wednesday I took some lunch over to her on Thursday before meeting with June, Amy and Kris at Kovan for our first Great Race committee meeting. 
June organised this weeks Friday walk so after meeting at Hougang we boarded the bus for our starting point at Changi village. It was a pleasant walk along the boardwalk taking in the ocean smells and enjoying the cool breeze.

Changi boardwalk

Peter couldn't resist pointing like a fairy!

You see all sorts of characters waiting for buses in Changi.

Another Emperor at Changi Hawkers

Chingay Festival

On Saturday night after work there was a rush into town to watch the Chingay Parade. Even one of our Punggol staff thought this was a Mardi Gras style event, and with the colour and noise one could be excused for thinking along those lines. In fact Chingay began in 1973 as a neighbourhood parade with only Chinese elements to celebrate Chinese New Year. Over the years since it has grown in to an event involving 14 countries, 17 international troupes and 11,000 performers. Thanks to Bev we had front row seats in the stand so we didn't miss anything. This years theme was We Love Singapore and there was a point where I felt we were participating in a Nazi rally, but it was very exciting, colourful and noisy!

Show began with a Sea of 'We Love Singapore' flowers made from plastic bags.

Arriving at Pit Straight with Marina Bay Sands in the background

Celebrating Singapore as an Eco city!

Indian float

A quiet week

After a quiet weekend with many kids away due to Chinese New Year, I caught up with Peter, Libby and Eric for dinner in Kovan. Most of our regular haunts were closed because of CNY so it was a simple meal in the local hawkers.
Monday's walk was Bukit Timah to Thompson Road Plaza, which Laura measured on her stepometer at 13km, so we were all hungry by the end of it. The only suitable eating establishment we could find was Wang's Cafe...for all you Wang lovers out there!!! only in Singapore.

Monday night was a MAE outing to Mortinis bar in the Mandarin Oriental. Their specialty is flavoured martinis and I can certainly recommend the lychitini and the chocolotini, but 1 of each was certainly enough. We finished off with dinner nearby at Gluttons by the Bay.

 

In our recent P4 classes we watched an episode of Wallace and Grommit in which Shaun the Sheep was introduced, so Kathy, Helen and I were inspired to see the recently released Shaun the Sheep movie. It was very funny but we did get a few odd looks when we bought the tickets as we were the only people in the entire theatre. 

Emperor in NEX at Serangoon

We have been seeing many of these Emperor costumes during CNY as they bring good luck, while the LIon Dances frighten away the bad spirits with the racket they make. Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Year and other Chinese traditional, cultural and religious festivals. 

Peter was the inspiration for Friday's walk so June, Jo, Peter and I did a familiar walk in reverse...ie AMK to Bishan. Eric caught up with us on his bike as we walked through Bishan Park before lunching at a hawkers in Bishan.

Chinese New Year No.2...in Australia

After a long night on a plane it was fantastic to be greeted at Brisbane airport by Michael and Duncan. After a delicious breakfast and an inspection of Duncan's new home we headed back to Ballina. Michael made Pauline and I a delicious salad for dinner which we ate sitting on her deck, watching her local kookaburra family, before I succumbed to weariness.

Delicious...thanks Michael

Shelly Beach

Lighthouse Beach

After a sleep in on Tuesday morning we went out for a walk around the local area on a perfect Ballina morning.
Then it was off to Lismore for the hairdresser etc before catching up with friends over dinner in a favourite restaurant in Ballina. All the crew joined us except for Sue who was still in Canberra caring for her mum...I did miss not having her with us, but she was in all our thoughts.

Despite the fact that we were beginning to see the effects of a Cyclone we headed to Byron so Michael could have his usual swim while I strolled along the beach and had a paddle. I was not brave enough to take my feet off the bottom as the sweep was extremely strong. Michael did the swim, which usually takes up to 30 minutes, in 15, so a coffee was in order.

Coffee at the Beach Hotel Byron Bay

We spent the afternoon in Lismore where I was able to catch up with old teacher friends. It was so great to see them and find that yet another friend will be living in Ballina by the time I return. Talking to 2 friends who are still in the workforce made me very grateful that I am no longer involved...any changes do not seem to be for the better!

After sitting on Don's "back deck"watching the rainbow lorikeets we headed down to the 'boys'local for a Chinese meal.

Thursday morning saw us back in Byron where the foolhardy again braved the cyclone affected waves,but at least this time he had some company. We returned to Ballina and took Pauline to lunch at the cafe at the Surf Club, a new establishment since my departure. A great venue on a clear day but a trifle windy today.

After lunch we headed to Brisbane for the night to catch up with Duncan and Bianca. It came as a shock to realise that it had been almost 2 years since I had seen Bianca last. It is great to see them so happy in each others company and to share delicious pizzas with them at a local across the road.
Despite the heavy rain on Friday my flight took off in time for an uneventful trip back to Singapore.