Well I took the leap and caught the bus to Singapore today from Johor Bahru. What an experience that was, such an adventure and the bus fare was only RM2.00 approx 50p in English. The trip across the causeway and into Singapore centre was about an hour - value for money or what?? Singapore is so different from what I imagined with vast numbers of tower blocks and several shopping arcades. Don't know what I expected but certainly not that. Somewhere in the annals of my mind I expected some jungle somewhere along the route or something that looked like jungle but no. I visited a market with all sorts of unusual products on sale and such a fishy smell - urgh nose pinching time, but I have never seen the like before with bags and boxes of dried tiny fish like minnows, dried squid, something that looked like octopus and no end of different types of dried shrimps, cuttlefish, prawns and the most humungous bags of dried mushrooms. When I get back to KL tomorrow I'll download some pics!!
Sitting here I have to pinch myself to realise that I went and came back to Singapore all in one day. With customs, immigration in and out and that much rubber stamping on my passport the ink is there for all to see as proof!! - but another memory to add to my little picture book stashed away in the brain before I shed this mortal coil - how lucky am I??
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Friday, 19 August 2011
Reflections
No. 1 son 30 tomorrow where has the time gone? First time I think not been there for his birthday and its a special one. Should be "skyping" to wish Happy Birthday - how strange technology is - wasnt even thought or heard of when he was born, now we have IPods., Mobile phones as thin as paper and computers you can put in your pocket, wonder what will be on this planet in another 30 years time - hopefully me - just?!! Will I be writing on a "blog" then or will I have lost me marbles and just be a machine or will a machine be typing it for me - mind boggles?!!
In this country where I am today - will the rain forest's last remaining strongholds still be here - doesn't bode too well by all accounts and will the last Orang Utan have long since died out? I hope not for the sake of my grandchildren that are here and the grandchildren that my son may have one day will be able to see them in the wild still.
I must write down my life story it will all seem so different in a 100 years time!
In this country where I am today - will the rain forest's last remaining strongholds still be here - doesn't bode too well by all accounts and will the last Orang Utan have long since died out? I hope not for the sake of my grandchildren that are here and the grandchildren that my son may have one day will be able to see them in the wild still.
I must write down my life story it will all seem so different in a 100 years time!
Back in Malaysia
Just updating blog now back in Malaysia again. Now in Johor today the Southern tip of Malaysia after visiting students on business again. I have a lovely view of the sea and across to Singapore. Tomorrow going over the border to Singapore - just to say I've been!! Flying back to KL on Sunday my favourite city I think and looking out on the Petronas Towers once more a really breathtaking piece of architecture.
I will post some piccys of a market I went to today later. Apparently there's a Chinese festival on - Ghost Night - and in the market today the stalls were selling "Mooncake". A traditional gift given for this festival. I had a taste and wasn't impressed. They have all flavours from Chillie Bean to Almond and all sorts of flavours in-between!! They don't look like a cake to me just a very thick biscuit with patterns and designs on them but in beautiful packaging I must say.
Unfortunately during my stay here all I am being asked about are last week's riots and how shocked everyone is about them. I wish the UK could be remembered for better things, such a shame that a once proud nation can only be remembered for its riots. The Government has more to salvage than the property of the shopkeepers - I fear our reputation has been badly damaged too and some of that "stolen" along with less valuable items!!
Anyway back to brighter things of which the best bit of the market visit was a group of young Chinese Drummer Boys and girls, they were amazing, accurate and timed to perfection. Just wasn't long enough what a treat it was to see them. The heat is oppressive today but don't care once in a lifetime experience and I can put up with it a little longer!!
I will post some piccys of a market I went to today later. Apparently there's a Chinese festival on - Ghost Night - and in the market today the stalls were selling "Mooncake". A traditional gift given for this festival. I had a taste and wasn't impressed. They have all flavours from Chillie Bean to Almond and all sorts of flavours in-between!! They don't look like a cake to me just a very thick biscuit with patterns and designs on them but in beautiful packaging I must say.
Unfortunately during my stay here all I am being asked about are last week's riots and how shocked everyone is about them. I wish the UK could be remembered for better things, such a shame that a once proud nation can only be remembered for its riots. The Government has more to salvage than the property of the shopkeepers - I fear our reputation has been badly damaged too and some of that "stolen" along with less valuable items!!
Anyway back to brighter things of which the best bit of the market visit was a group of young Chinese Drummer Boys and girls, they were amazing, accurate and timed to perfection. Just wasn't long enough what a treat it was to see them. The heat is oppressive today but don't care once in a lifetime experience and I can put up with it a little longer!!
Monday, 11 April 2011
Steam (y) Day
No not what you were perhaps thinking!! Handsome & I had a day trip out to Chester via ways of a steam train - The Princess Elizabeth! You really cannot beat the sight and sounds of steam rail travel. Sitting in the carriage brought memories flooding back of when I was a little girl being so excited and perhaps a little frightened of the mighty roaring beast that pulled into my local station. I loved sitting near the window then as a child looking out at everything whizzing by at what I thought was "mighty fast". I sat by the window again and looked at out the scenery once more and everything was definitely "mighty fast". I was reminded of the poem "diddly dee, diddly dah, diddly dah diddly dee" etc., and played the poem over in my mind. The smells coming out of the steam stack never change and how I wish for those what seem to be now like halycon days. A Virgin train sped past impressive no doubt, but you cant beat a bit of steam, the engineering workmanship, the pride in the brass polished engine cannot be matched by any of today's train travel. What a great day!!
Friday, 1 April 2011
Retro Petrol Day
It's a while since I had anything remotely interesting to put on to my blog - but I forgot last Wednesday!! GEM 106 our local radio station had a retro petrol day that means rolling back the petrol prices 10 years and you could buy petrol at a petrol station somewhere in the East Midlands for the nice price of 76p per litre! What happened? I was one of the lucky winners. Literally a case of being in the right place at the right time. Sam & Amy announced the petrol station just as I was approaching it on my way to work here in Loughborough. I drove down to the roundabout and charged back up the petrol station and I was car number 19! The first 106 cars got petrol. I filled up my tank for the princely sum of £23.53p wow woz I chuffed to bits!! The guys from the radio stopped to talk to me took a piccy of my till receipt and I'm now on the radio's web site displaying my receipt!! I'm still running my car on that petrol boy am I pleased. How lucky am I? Thanks GEM 106 for making my day - after all it was budget day too needed something to put a smile on folks' faces!!
April Fools Day
Whilst on my way to work heard an announcement on my local radio that Facebook is due to shut down today at 5 p.m. U.K. time and mid-day USA time. There is apparently a legal battle going on about the validity of the site based on the film "Social Network"! My immediate thought was "Crikey all those people who won't be able to talk to each other across the World today"!! Then I thought, telephone companies will be pleased because folks will start talking to each other on the telephone again instead of using Facebook! Then the penny dropped it's April Fools Day today!! Now I'm wondering if this is an April Fools joke!!
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