Starting over

I realised that I have not been blogging for a long while. Many things have changed since my last post.

For one thing, we have left BKK (a place we have called home for the past 10 years) and are now living in Saigon or HCMC. Life is very different here. We have been here for four months and I am still trying to get used to many things.

Slowly, but surely we are settling down to life here. I will rouse my lazy bones to blog about the ins and outs of living in Vietnam.

Counting sheep

"Sheep? As is baa- baa, in Thailand?" That was my reaction when I heard about this farm/resort. I Googled it and it looked really nice. But pictures do lie don't they. So we decided to make a day trip out of it. Three families set off (seven adults, five children and one big dog).

It was a fairly pleasant two hour drive but I was still recovering from spending three days in the sun, so I was a little stoned (so to speak). This farm/hotel is located in the Ratchaburi province. It is called the Scenery Resort and it really had sheep like the ones we think Mary had. We paid our entrance fee (80 baht) and after putting on the apron (in case the sheep get excited and jump up) we went into the enclosed area with a big bunch of leaves.

Man, these animals may look all fluffy and cute but they were aggresive when it came to food. They pushed, they shoved and baa-ed really loudly while we held onto the leaves and tried not to get trampled on or fall on the grass that was strewn with little nuggets of poo. They had really thick coats of wool and I wonder how they survive in this heat. It was about 37C when we were there. They were pretty energetic and I even saw a few jump over the fence to get at the food.

There is a restaurant there that surprisingly has only one lamb dish (and it's NZ lamb) on its menu. Guess the sheep there are to add to the scenery only and not to feed the hungry hordes (people like me).

Only drawback is that becuse of the heat, there were loads of flies and the restaurant is open air. So if you don't fancy fighting with flies I would suggest that going there during the cool 'winter' months would be a better idea.

On the whole it was a nice way to spend a Sunday as we discovered yet another part to Thailand that we never did.

Water, water everywhere

This year's Songkran was marred by the political unrest that started a few days before the New Year. Since living here, we have experienced a coup, state of emergencies (think it was three) and a few protests. In a way, it's been interesting to see this kind of political mechanism work (rightly or wrongly).

I was horrified as I watched the news coverage of the protests and the storming of the hotel where the ASEAN summit was being held. If I wasn't living here in BKK, I would fear for whoever was living in Thailand. It felt quite surreal to watch the violent images on TV and then look out my window to see my son and his friends screaming with joy and laughter as they doused each other and any car/bike/person that was unfortunate to come in their path. They were oblivious to what was happening out in the real world. Their immediate thoughts were just to have fun. And I was glad that they did. It was contagious as we adults joined in the water fights that went on. We chased the kids and each other with pails or water.

For two whole days, we 'played Songkran' as Sean would say. The children started in the morning, took a break for lunch and continued in the late afternoon. I honestly odn't know where they got the energy from. I was exhausted and I didn't run around as much as they did.

I felt guilty as so much water was wasted. All over BKK, water fights were happening and people were chucking water like nobody's business. I admit that in this heat (38C) it felt great to have a bucket of water thrown on you.

At the end of the Songkran holidays, it was back to reality for many people. Messes had to be cleaned up and life had to go back to as normal as it could.

This is one fun and fabulous festival that I will miss when I leave BKK. It's such a simple thing - using water. No electronics, no gadgetry and nothing high tech. Back to basics and it is great!

Splish, splash

This is what Songkran is ALL about.

Thais celebrate their festivals with great gusto. This is most evident during one of the most important dates on the Thai calendar - Songkran. Songkran is the Thai new year (it doesn't stop them from celebrating the English New Year with a bang). It occurs sometime in April and it's normally a three day event. It's also known as the Water Festival because huge amounts of water is used to throw on people. The splashing of water is meant to wash away the bad luck of the previous year.

It helps that April is normally the hottest month of the year (it can reach to 40C). So having water thrown at you is welcoming. If you are walking along the main Sukhumvit area, you will generally be asked (very politely) if it's OK to have water dribbled/squirted at you. It's hard to say no in the spirit of the event. But if you do decline, a smile goes a long way.

Since coming here, we have gone to Pattaya once and it was water,water everywhere! The traffic leading there was horrible (normally would take about two hours but it took us four). Pubs and restaurants were crowded. It was an experience that I would not repeat again. But Pattaya is one of the popular spots for Songkran. The others being Khao San Road (in Bangkok, also known as backpackers road) and Chiang Mai. Water fights there can get pretty wild so it's not advisable if you have young children.

Last year we decided to have a 'moo baan' (estate) Songkran celebrations. We inflated the plastic wading pool, filled it and a few buckets with water, added a cooler of beer and soft drinks to the side, topped up our water pistols and we were ready! No one was spared - pedestrains, cars, motor cyclists and even cyclist who stopped to let us cool him down! Throw in a water fight with a truckload of Thais and we all had a blast! The children loved playing with the water and having water fights. We had to stop them from running after the cars. Many drivers were nice enough to slow down fo them to get a shot in and a few even stopped in the middle of the street (I suspect they wanted a semi car wash). The adults loved behaving and feeling like kids again - soaked to the skin while taking part in a good old fashioned water fight.

Cooling down!

Next week is Songkran. As it will be our last one, I definitely will be out there with the children, armed and ready to go! As we say here ' Sawasdee pee mai' (Happy New Year!)

Thank heavens, for little girls....

Today I am thinking of the women who have in one way or other affected my life. The most important person is the one who gave me life - my mum.

I never appreciated her till I was an adult, and appreciated her even more when I became a mother myself. Looking back, she made everything seem easy. She worked, tutored us and almost all my cousins, cooked and cleaned. I used to tease her that she lived in la-la land because she was always cheerful. She was terribly old-fashioned and I think if she could have kept me locked up away from lecherous boys till I was 40, she would have. I didn't understand it then, but now, I do thank her for it.

She showed me what courage was. When she was diagnosed with cancer, it didn't stop her from working or traveling. Even when it was affecting her leg and she could only hobble, she drove to school everyday to teach. She went to Finland with what I called her 'poo bag' after part of her colon was removed. A little thing like that was not going to stop her from seeing Santa Claus!

It's been seven years since she died and I think about her every single day. I am what I am because of her.

The next woman who played a part in making me who I am was my maternal grandmother. She had it tough. 10 children and no maid!

She was a great cook and I remember going to visit mamma and having my favourite steamed chicken. When she was about 70, she discovered pizza and loved it. So we would bring a pizza for her and she'd chew on it (took some time cos she was wearing dentures). When I hear the phrase 'tough old bird', I'd think of my grandma. Her will to live was strong. She was a cancer survivor and lived way past the time the doctors gave her.

It's been a long, long time since I've held my grandma's hand but I still remember how those hands felt - wrinkled and small. Hands that have held 10 of her own babies and 14 of her babies' babies.

I would not be here if it wasn't for these two women. They have played a part in the way I think and act. Our past does define who we are as adults and I have been lucky to have had two strong role models in my life.

A taste of home

One of the things that I miss being away from Singapore is the food. Many people I have met often rave about the variety of food found in Singapore. Whenever I go back for a visit, I often feel like I'm on a food safari (ie hunting down my favourite food and devouring it!).

Being away from Singapore, I can't just go to the nearest kopi tiam for my cravings when it hits me. I've had no choice but to start to learn how to cook some local dishes. One of our favourites is 'hae mee' or noodles with prawns. On my last trip back, I was upset to find that the 'hae mee' stall near our place had closed down. I felt short changed.

I recently had a whole bunch of prawn heads and shells (my maid thought I was strange for not throwing it out) and decided to cook 'hae mee'. I even have extra big bowls for it so that TH can have an extra portion and slurp to his heart's content.

It's actually pretty easy to prepare just a little time consuming because I grind the prawn heads and shells before straining the stock. I love it when there is a red film to the stock. It's all the yummy sweetness from the prawn heads.

Ingredients:

1-2 kg prawns (de-shell and keep the heads and tails)
10 cloves of garlic
500g pork ribs
bean sprouts
kangkong
2-3 tablespoons of sugar
salt to taste

Fried shallots for garnishing

Method:

Fry the garlic with the prawn heads and shells till shells are a bit burnt around the edges.

Transfer prawn heads and shells to 1 litre water. Simmer. Add pork bones. Simmer for about an hour. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Scoop out prawn heads with stock and blend.Take out pork bones and put aside.

Strain the stock and add pork bones back to strained stock.

Simmer for 15 minutes. Add shelled prawns. Scoop out when cooked.

Add stock to egg noodles, bee hoon and serve with bean sprouts and kang kong.

One tough Cookie

Cookie: Born ? Died 26 March 2007

Dear Cookie,

This week marks the second anniversary of your death. I can't believe that two years have passed so quickly. I often wonder what you would have been like if you had the chance to grow old. Difficult, I would imagine, given your handicap. But your poor broken back and backward legs are not how I remembered you. Your spirit and sweet, sweet nature (guess your name is quite appropriate) is what I recall.

I remember the first time we (Sean and I) caught sight of you. We were on our way home and at a traffic light. I saw this white shape 'slither' across the road. Couldn't believe that you could move so fast using only your front paws. Needless to say, we took you in and brought you to the vet. Funnily, I was never afraid that you would bite me. You were a stray that had been knocked over by a car and left with paralysed hind legs, life must have been hard for you. Yet, you let me carry you and never growled even when you were poked and prodded at the vet's.

Trying out the 'wheelchair'

Sean loved you. You were HIS. He never felt this way about our other dogs. He named you Cookie because he didn't like the nurses at the vet giving you the nickname "men" (which means smelly in Thai). He insisted we visit you every single day after school. Poor you. You were in the hospital for almost two months. You had a host of parasites in your blood stream, on top of that, your hind legs were raw and almost scrapped to the bone because you were dragging yourself across rough asphalt.

You loved treats. You would come with your tail swishing from side to side when you heard 'Cookie.... treat'. You were a wanderer. I guess given your history, to keep you caged up would be the worst kind of punishment. You took to your 'wheelchair' and would zip around in it.

But I guess you were not meant to be long with us. We were devastated when you died. My little boy cried for days when he found out. He kept asking why did God take you when you didn't do anything wrong.

The last picture of you with Sean.

You may have been with us for a very short time, but you will always be remembered with love. I know that you are in doggy heaven and running around free and without pain. You may have been unwanted when you were born, but you were loved when you left this world. Rest in peace.