Yesterday Pit, nonno, nonna and I met Papa and Frunty at the airport in Tawau and the six of us were driven to our private boat in Semporna. We traveled for about an hour to our resort on Mabul Island and when we looked in the clear waters, we could see sea life without even going snorkeling. It was truly gorgeous.
Normally it is sunny and hot in January but since we arrived in Asia, we seem to be experiencing "global cooling". It rained most of yesterday and today and although we got a short snorkel in today off the pier, we all ran home for cold showers! We could feel miserable but somehow, we are making the most of our time together and have no excuses to avoid doing the kids' homework!
Tomorrow we will go on a snorkel trip by boat around Mabul Island and we are hoping for sunny skies for good visibility so we can see "millions of fish" like we did for that brief time yesterday.
We did walk around this tiny island today which took about an hour and saw many villagers and even the local school. The small babies run around with no diapers and the really tiny ones are being held by their small brothers and sisters. Pit was not very comfortable with our village visit but I am proud of him for continuing to explore "whether he liked it or not". Frunty wanted to walk along the beach the entire way but there are many boats blocking that path. I am always impressed by his adventuresome spirit. Crossing our fingers for warmer and drier weather here on out as we explore this National Geographic, world-class diving area off the east coast of Borneo.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Friday, 28 January 2011
Teck Guan Cocoa Plantation
We had a great day trip today to the cocoa plantation near Tawau, Borneo. We saw the tiniest, unripe, brown cocoa pods and big, red, ripe ones as well as a special strain that were green. We learned that this particular Teck Guan company ferments and then sun dries their cocoa beans. We had hot chocolate, pieces of chocolate and fried spring rolls filled with banana and chocolate. Most interesting was the cocoa pasta for lunch! Delicious and decadent! We brought home boxes of chocolates to sustain us during our week of snorkeling on Mabul Island. It was really fascinating to see the whole process from pod to product and after six years of eating chocolate in Belgium (and all around the world!), it was intriguing to finally see the source. Great choice of day trips, Pit! Fun and yummy! Especially hilarious were the "cheerleaders" who performed a chocolate-pouring show before our very eyes while we tried not to salivate too much!
Thursday, 27 January 2011
CNY: Borneo
An entire year has passed since Frunty and I took the bus to Cameron Highlands to celebrate Chinese New Year, 2010. This year we are so fortunate to have Nonna and Nonno with us on our family trip to Borneo which we are now enjoying together! The nonni, Pit and I decided to spend a few days before Papa and Frunty arrive by visiting Tawau on the southeast coast of Sabah, Borneo. We are staying in the small, non-touristy town of Tawau because it is near the Cocoa Plantation which we will visit today.
We asked Pit what he would like to do with his extra days with the nonni and gave him some choices. Pit, a self-professed Belgian-Canadian, said he wished to visit a cocoa plantation. In Belgium, we visited the cocoa museums in Brugges and in the center of Brussels and Pit sampled trays of fine chocolate while watching a movie on the origin of this delectable treat. He even shook a dried cocoa pod. Now we will see the process from start to finish but not on a movie screen, but for reals!
The following pictures include the nonni with Pit at the airport in Singapore, a picture of Nonno reading the Borneo Times at our "bird" hotel, the Sarangnova, in Kota Kinabalu, several islands from the air as we fly near Tawau, the beautiful, lush scenery from the Tawau airport to our hotel Emas and a picture of Pit at reception, holding a cocoa pod. But guess what!? That cocoa pod is not a dry one. It is fresh. And guess what else! The hotel sells, of course, chocolate in so many different forms! Last night we tried a delicious, homemade chocolate mint bar. We won't leave this hotel empty handed when we check-out tomorrow to take our transfer to Mabul Island to snorkel/scuba at the famou, NatGeo, Sipadan site! Until then, off to the plantation we go to learn more about chocolate and enjoy some more samples! C'est si bon!!!
A special message to Papa and Frunty: have a safe flight tonight and see you tomorrow at the Tawau airport where we'll meet to take our transfer to Mabul Island! Hope your Borneo Beach House will be fun tonight! Can't wait to see you! Love, Mama and Piteau
We asked Pit what he would like to do with his extra days with the nonni and gave him some choices. Pit, a self-professed Belgian-Canadian, said he wished to visit a cocoa plantation. In Belgium, we visited the cocoa museums in Brugges and in the center of Brussels and Pit sampled trays of fine chocolate while watching a movie on the origin of this delectable treat. He even shook a dried cocoa pod. Now we will see the process from start to finish but not on a movie screen, but for reals!
The following pictures include the nonni with Pit at the airport in Singapore, a picture of Nonno reading the Borneo Times at our "bird" hotel, the Sarangnova, in Kota Kinabalu, several islands from the air as we fly near Tawau, the beautiful, lush scenery from the Tawau airport to our hotel Emas and a picture of Pit at reception, holding a cocoa pod. But guess what!? That cocoa pod is not a dry one. It is fresh. And guess what else! The hotel sells, of course, chocolate in so many different forms! Last night we tried a delicious, homemade chocolate mint bar. We won't leave this hotel empty handed when we check-out tomorrow to take our transfer to Mabul Island to snorkel/scuba at the famou, NatGeo, Sipadan site! Until then, off to the plantation we go to learn more about chocolate and enjoy some more samples! C'est si bon!!!
A special message to Papa and Frunty: have a safe flight tonight and see you tomorrow at the Tawau airport where we'll meet to take our transfer to Mabul Island! Hope your Borneo Beach House will be fun tonight! Can't wait to see you! Love, Mama and Piteau
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Fort Canning
Nonna and Nonno arrived on Friday from BKK and we have been having a fun time catching up with them. On Sunday the six of us took the MRT to City Hall and enjoyed an excellent church service at the Good Shepherd. It is the oldest, Catholic church in Singapore and the choir was incredible. Afterwards, we had a big burger lunch at the Handburger followed by a visit to Fort Canning. We all really liked the Big Battle Box which included tunnels and wax soldiers discussing battle plans etc.
Before heading home, we went to the Long Bar at Raffles. It is always fun for the kids to be permitted to throw the peanut shells all over the floor...I mean, gently drop. Nonna and Nonna ordered a Singapore Sling. The last time they were in Singapore was 50 years ago. Well done for coming back!! I would like to take them to the Intercontinental for an Oriental Fling...a cocktail I much prefer but alas, I digress.
Today we leave for Borneo. We will fly to KK and then onto Tawau where we will take a boat to the world-class diving area called Sipadan. I really hope the weather conditions are good for scuba/snorkeling and that the coral is still healthy. We have not had very good snorkel experiences in Thailand and Vietnam lately so hopefully we will not be disappointed!
Stay tuned for updates about Sipadan...
Before heading home, we went to the Long Bar at Raffles. It is always fun for the kids to be permitted to throw the peanut shells all over the floor...I mean, gently drop. Nonna and Nonna ordered a Singapore Sling. The last time they were in Singapore was 50 years ago. Well done for coming back!! I would like to take them to the Intercontinental for an Oriental Fling...a cocktail I much prefer but alas, I digress.
Today we leave for Borneo. We will fly to KK and then onto Tawau where we will take a boat to the world-class diving area called Sipadan. I really hope the weather conditions are good for scuba/snorkeling and that the coral is still healthy. We have not had very good snorkel experiences in Thailand and Vietnam lately so hopefully we will not be disappointed!
Stay tuned for updates about Sipadan...
Monday, 17 January 2011
Home Improvements
With Papa's parents on their way, our family decided to make some changes to our home to make it more comfortable. Papa feels bad that everything was not ready for Gramma and Grampa but I am sure they understood how busy the end of the year was and how we enjoyed spending time researching Vietnam instead of painting walls.
So in short, Papa's office has become a guest room, Frunty's space ship room has become a family office, and Pit's dinosaur room has become a tv room. Our master bedroom has become the "dorm" room with beds for 4 people and our basement has become another guest room as Amy has moved out! Happy 2011. Our home is now a lot more user friendly with rooms based on function and quite eco-friendly. On super hot nights, we can all sleep in one room with the aircon on instead of cooling several rooms.
I guess this is not the most exciting topic but it reminds me of the changes. I became sad when Pit's orange and green walls got painted over. He told me today he wants the new colours to be dark brown and orange. Well, we'll see about that! I thought both boys were very generous to let their rooms be converted. Our home now sleeps 15 quite comfortably and with 5 bathrooms, we are hoping to host our entire family here one Christmas! (wishful thinking?!)
We are looking forward to Nonna and Nonno's visit as they arrive this Friday. Shortly after their departure, Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Paul arrive and the day after they leave, Scot, Ninon and Kyle from Toronto arrive. Hopefully everyone will enjoy our home and pool/steam room/exercise facilities as much as we do! As they say on RyanAir when you arrive in Ireland, "you're very, very welcome!"
So in short, Papa's office has become a guest room, Frunty's space ship room has become a family office, and Pit's dinosaur room has become a tv room. Our master bedroom has become the "dorm" room with beds for 4 people and our basement has become another guest room as Amy has moved out! Happy 2011. Our home is now a lot more user friendly with rooms based on function and quite eco-friendly. On super hot nights, we can all sleep in one room with the aircon on instead of cooling several rooms.
I guess this is not the most exciting topic but it reminds me of the changes. I became sad when Pit's orange and green walls got painted over. He told me today he wants the new colours to be dark brown and orange. Well, we'll see about that! I thought both boys were very generous to let their rooms be converted. Our home now sleeps 15 quite comfortably and with 5 bathrooms, we are hoping to host our entire family here one Christmas! (wishful thinking?!)
We are looking forward to Nonna and Nonno's visit as they arrive this Friday. Shortly after their departure, Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Paul arrive and the day after they leave, Scot, Ninon and Kyle from Toronto arrive. Hopefully everyone will enjoy our home and pool/steam room/exercise facilities as much as we do! As they say on RyanAir when you arrive in Ireland, "you're very, very welcome!"
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Reading Time!
We really enjoy the night time routine which ends with story time. I know it is a special time for many families at the end of a busy day. Our time together is even more special now as both boys read a story to us. Or two, or three. Tonight Pit wanted to read all of his story books from the Hooked On Phonics Kindergarten series. So we heard about a rat on rats and wondered if cats can have caps and saw Jan and Stan who ran, ran, ran. We giggled too when Pit sometimes made some funny mistakes. I am really proud at how he loves to read.
And then it was Frunty's turn. Frunty has become such an excellent reader. Remember that he had to switch gears quite quickly from French to English when we arrived in Singapore. It was stressful for him to do homework before we arrived while we were in camping in Provence and Corsica. He had a hard time sitting still long enough to read a sentence! He has really grown into a great reader now due to maturity and practise.
Last year, he started to get very lazy though with his pronunciation to the point where I could not understand what he was reading. He would mumble and was clearly influenced by Singlish. So we worked at remembering to read well and Frunty has improved a great deal. He read the book of prayers tonight and it was very nice. I like this book because it has prayers from many different religions and from all over the world.
Then it was my turn. I read the Beautiful Butterfly story from an inspiring book which encourages children to imagine different scenarios. This story was about "friendship". At the end of each story, there are several affirmations and Frunty and Pit like to repeat them. I am hoping that they fall asleep with cheerful and inspiring ideas in their minds.
Although I may be very tired at the end of the day, I am never too tired to hear my children read to me and I get a lot of joy when sharing stories with them. I don't always have the energy to make up stories like Grampa does. He has a special gift. But hopefully spending that time together, surrounded by lovely books, will be a lasting gift too.
And then it was Frunty's turn. Frunty has become such an excellent reader. Remember that he had to switch gears quite quickly from French to English when we arrived in Singapore. It was stressful for him to do homework before we arrived while we were in camping in Provence and Corsica. He had a hard time sitting still long enough to read a sentence! He has really grown into a great reader now due to maturity and practise.
Last year, he started to get very lazy though with his pronunciation to the point where I could not understand what he was reading. He would mumble and was clearly influenced by Singlish. So we worked at remembering to read well and Frunty has improved a great deal. He read the book of prayers tonight and it was very nice. I like this book because it has prayers from many different religions and from all over the world.
Then it was my turn. I read the Beautiful Butterfly story from an inspiring book which encourages children to imagine different scenarios. This story was about "friendship". At the end of each story, there are several affirmations and Frunty and Pit like to repeat them. I am hoping that they fall asleep with cheerful and inspiring ideas in their minds.
Although I may be very tired at the end of the day, I am never too tired to hear my children read to me and I get a lot of joy when sharing stories with them. I don't always have the energy to make up stories like Grampa does. He has a special gift. But hopefully spending that time together, surrounded by lovely books, will be a lasting gift too.
