30 Nov 2008 – Pre & Post wedding

Yun, Dika & May enjoyed varieties of local dishes at the Esplande Makansutra which is the nearest outdoor upscaled equivalent hawkers’ food across from the Marine Mandarin where Yun & Dika were staying. 

29 Nov- the wedding day started with the fetching of the bride followed by the exchange of vows, reception, tea ceremony at the Old Parliament House and dinner & dance at the Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa. A whole day with wonderful company, excellent food & drinks in beautiful settings. Greg TRIBBE, welcome to the family. Happy 2nd Bday to my grandson JohnW HALL and Happy Anniversary to LAM Kwok Lock & May YUNG. Many special occasions on the same day make it easier to remember, especially at this stage of life 🙂

May commented that she was sad that it was over and I reminded her about the saying to not cry because it is over but smile because it happened! We stayed the night at the resort and had a good night’s sleep. Today was spent at Vivo City shopping and watching the movie Four Christmases.

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person – Mignon McLaughlin

27 Nov 2008 – Happy Thanksgiving

There is indeed so much to give thanks to, especially to my family & friends here and around the world. Running around like the MadHatter the past days was a challenge but fun. The Asian Civilisations Museum ACM- http://www.acm.org.sg is exhibiting an interesting collection of photos titled- Neither East Nor West

To Kenson Kwok- (over half a century! of friendship is quite something and May’s godfather) thank you for the company and dinner. To Eng Ting Ting- for all her help with providing orchids to the Thanksgiving dinner… not your usual turkey & pumpkin pie but lamb & durians! To Clement & Leonard- for your time with us.

Yun & Dika have landed in SIN safe & sound and jet-lagging. 

Oh East is East & West is West and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth & Sky stand presently in God’s great judgement seat,
But there is neither East or West, Border, nor Breed nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from ends of the earth – Rudyard Kipling

24 Nov 2008

We have been on the go since May’s arrival 2 days ago. The Peranakan Museum showcases the world’s most comprehensive collection of ethnic SE Asian origins and our guide Ms Ho was informative with a good sense of humour.  The museum should have provided her a mic so that everyone in the crowd could hear. http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg

National Museum did an excellent job with retraining the original building with the new extension added on behind- http://www.nationalmuseum.sg

Singapore Flyer- recently completed in Feb this year. It reaches 42 stories with a 150m diameter and at present is the world’s biggest observation wheel. The breathtaking views are certainly worth the half hour spin- http://www.singaporeflyer.com

A lovely way to end the weekend with a slide show and dinner at my brother’s Leslie to initiate Greg Tribbe into the LAM family. 

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly – GK Chesteron

19 Nov 2008 – Family Tree

Happy Bday Yulis! Great to catch up for lunch with Aileen… must do that more often. Raffles City has changed after the new additions in the basement. The Olive Chicken Fried Rice at the Thai Express was plenty to eat.

Thank you to the Zonta Club and National Library for hosting the AT talk. To Zonta Club, thanks for a wonderful dinner of Hainanese Chicken at the Soup Kitchen. It is especially delicious with the ginger and garlic sauce wrapped up in a piece of lettuce.

Colour coding the names in my family tree is a tedious process; editing blog and Excel chart gives a clearer & more colourful picture! The red generation will be for my grandparents, blue– parents, green– me, orange– my children and purple– grandchildren.

Looking forward to May‘s arrival on Fri night.

15 Nov 2008 – Zonta Club

PowerPoint presentation on the AT thru-hike for the Zonta Club at-
The Singapore National Library – Multi Purpose Room on 19 Nov 1900hrs 
Check out this site or call the library if interested to attend- 
http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg/Event.aspx?EventID=26465

The National Library building consists of two 16 storey blocks, with three basements and car-park lots. The blocks are linked by sky-bridges. Two of the gardens are opened to the public. Courtyard on Level 5 and the Retreat on Level 10 have good view of the city. The Plaza, space outside the main entrance is sometimes used for exhibition. A number of old bricks from the old building (the library I remember!) are in this new building.

Zonta Club of Singapore http://www.zonta-singapore.org is part of Zonta International, a worldwide service organization of women executives in business and the professions. Zonta International was founded in USA 1919. The purpose of the club is to render a greater level of service to humanity.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need – Cicero

12 Nov 2008 – Grand Generation

Uniquely Singapore is the official website for the Singapore Tourist Board but what is a Singaporean? Nationality & race are not wholesome words and passport is for immigration purposes. More important that you feel comfortable where ever you choose to live. Home is where the heart is and today it is content to have adjusted to the time and climate. Tomorrow is another day and another story and maybe even another country!

While waiting for the air condition to be fixed, my thoughts  back tracked to the 1950s. Good sign as this will be useful when I continue with the family tree. Catching up with family was a nice way to spent the weekend. The stomach received it’s dose of local food and the body rested… life is good.

Welcome YEOH Chin Hong, Lucas (Jo’s grandson) and AMEEN Isabelle Yuen (Joyce‘s grand daughter) both born this year. The family chart for my grandchildren’s generation is colour coded purple, at present with 22 names including my cousins’ grandchildren on the paternal side, my 3 grandchildren HALL Cathrine May, Elisabeth Iris, John Whitham and the 4th due Jun 2009.

Grandchildren are your reward for not strangling your teenagers –

8 Nov 2008 – Airports

Departed OSL in freezing temperatures on the airport bus Thu 0600hrs, app 1hr ride from town to the airport. There are no direct flights from OSL to SIN. Flew with SAS from OSL to CPH (app 1hr), connecting with SIA from CPH to SIN. The flight was packed with Scandinavian sun-worshippers in search of warmer temperatures. Landed safely Fri 0630hrs after app 11hrs 30mins of flight time.

Terminal 3 at Changi airport was opened early this year and this is the first time I set foot on the jarring designs carpeted floors. Wall to wall carpets are unhygienic, especially in a public building. Otherwise the well-marked signs are clear and easy to follow. The sculpture at the immigration control is gigantic and rather unusual. The moment I stepped outdoor, the feeling and smell were Uniquely Singapore!

Will take me a few days to acclimatise with the time difference in this heat. My air-conditions are acting up due to age and lack of use in the past 8 months! To be without heaters in Norwegian winters or without AC in SIN?? But I can look forward to the CUISINE in SIN 🙂 

There’s nothing like an airport for bringing you down to earth – Richard Gordon

4 Nov 2008 – Goodbye Norway

Congratulations to Barack Obama. The signs indicate that USA is in for interesting times ahead. He is a living proof to show the possibilities of Dr Martin Luther King jr’s dream.

Beautiful occupation signs when words should not be necessary except for some translation. Apotek=chemist, Farve Handel=paint shop. Some signs should not have words… especially the last one from China!

Like the migratory birds, there are no need for signs to fly to warmer climates and spicier foods. It has been 5 wonderful months of educational experiences. To L&M’s Norwegian family and to all my Norwegian friends… tusen hjertlig takk for denne gang!

Words are but the signs of ideas – Samuel Johnson

Edited 28Jan2021: Mar-Nov 2008 was a busy time glob-trotting and somehow unable to locate pix from Clem & Garry’s visit in the first few days of Nov2008. Tkx to Garry for the pix to refresh the memory of the fun times we had.

Met them at the ferry arriving from CPH on a cold&misty early morning and later turning into a beautiful visit@Akershus Festning

A drink&snack to warm up in the OperaHouse

Dinner&drinks@UnderwaterPub – my favourite pub, where we were entertained with opera arias, sadly&unfortunately it is no longer. In search of Munch’s grave in the dark@VårFrelsersGravlund=OurSavior’sCemetery

Walked from Majorstua to Bygdø Kongsgård, Kon-Tiki Museum, Vikingskipshuset. Poor Clem, do remember that he did not really have decent shoes to be walking this distance or weather, but he never complained and did not even know until we were back at Majorstua.