Tuesday 17 April 2012

tattered but loved

I admit, I am not the most techy of persons.  At the risk of revealing my age, I did not grow up with computers.  Instead, I loved writing letters.  And receiving them!  My two elder brothers are almost a decade older than me and when they left home, I was tasked with reporting the family news.  We had pen pals in those days too - I lived in a small town but I wanted to see the world.  And my pen pals took me on the road.

Decluttering and tidying, I came upon my little school bag I used to carry when I was in primary school.  Its old and tattered, has lost several pieces of hardware but I can't bear to throw it out.  It reminds me of where I came from, and its kept my old letters in there for more than 30 years.  Lovingly and beautifully written letters from my dad when I was abroad, from my brothers, from my best friend who moved away, from pen pals, or simply from friends who didn't have a better way to tell me the latest news.

I've seen a bit of the world with my own eyes now, and about to go around the world with my family.  I feel a little sorry my daughters won't be writing letters.  Instead, they'll be sending emails and updating family and friends via blogs.

Times have indeed changed.  But I think I'll hang on to my little bag for a little while longer.  Who knows, I may still get a letter or two.




Monday 9 April 2012

our world trip is around the corner

April 27th is tomorrow and we are still so busy getting everything ready for our big move. Farewell parties & dinners, packing and moving, house renovation, selling furniture and car, getting passports and visas ready, changing mailing address, clearing taxes, closing bank accounts and Internet line. Step by step, our to do list is getting smaller by the day and our mind is starting to think about this fabulous journey ahead of us. It is really Around the Corner now…


April 27th will be our 1st flight Kuala Lumpur – Auckland, with New Zealand as 1st enchanting destination. Then, we will flight back to Singapore and transit to Beijing and the Great Wall of China as 2nd stop. Japan will be the 3rd stop, visiting its 2 great cities Tokyo and Kyoto. We will rest and relax during our 4th stop with a week on the North Shore of Hawai. San Francisco, Las Vegas and the Great National Parks of the Wild West will be our 5th stop, driving a Camper Van from San Francisco all the way to Denver. On our 6th stop, we will have the pleasure to meet my brother’s family in Montreal. Then, we will start our return home back towards Asia, with New York as 7th stop. Then, we will do a little detour in the South direction, as 8th stop will be in Rio de Janeiro to enjoy a few days of farniente and samba. Our final 9th stop will be in South Africa to discover the beauty of Cap Town and encounter animals in the wild. Finally, our tour will end up where it started up in Kuala Lumpur on August 11th, before returning to Europe on the next day. 

What a fabulous trip coming: Once in a Lifetime. We just can’t wait to be on the road together…