12 Aug 2026 – An Amazing Trip

Sat: bus36 to T3/Basement and had sometime to spare for 20mins wait@MrCoconut, no would not normally stand in line for it but today the craving was there! SIA-BusinessCounter/Level3 to check in – seriously do not recall when last on an SIA-flight, not even to mention BusinessClass! Tkx to Shawn for arranging this and glad to see his family+helper arriving in time to get us into the BusinessLounge.

A stunning lounge offering an infinite selection of food&beverages to satisfy both your heart&appetite and this is only the start…

Complete seat to myself with comfort&space enjoying the sunset takeoff and dining on ShrimpCocktail,ChickenRice w Champagne+desset – omg if this is the way to heaven let me be in…

Furthermore, Kai was present, as adorable as ever, to maintain the joyful atmosphere on this ~1+hr flight.

Landed on schedule in PhuketInternational – Kai enjoys the robot cleaner, and he uses a cute sign language to explain how it needs to go away for charging. ~1+hr drive/~20k in the dark on curvy roads was the least favourite part of this trip. Les&family had a scrumptious spread ready at their villa@IndoChineResort&villas/PotongBeach but could not stomach more food. https://www.indochineresorts.com/

Edited – Sun: Happy 61st-National Day to SIN –  will get Kai more of these when his fingers are stronger to press the trigger, bringing back fun memories with the grandchildren are the Nerf&WaterGuns; grateful for those days when the energy&time were there then to run around chasing them – hahaha! https://amylamsg.com/2011/10/21/nerf-guns-battle/

Tusen takk #6-Olai/Oct2024 during one of his visits in SIN, then still at an age when it was OK to be seen in the company of his mormor – hahaha. Blessed&thankful for blogging helping the memory is stay in tact to remember these wonderful moments…

Ascending 55 steps to reach my room will either enhance my fitness or exhaust me; however at this stage of my life journey when there is a view and the pool on my patio, there is no need to venture elsewhere.

Pool,gym,public patio and restaurant, unfortunately these pix do them no justice as the lens had too much condensation from the overnight AC-room and did not realised it with the sun in my eyes.

Scrumptious Thai-Lunch@BaanRimPa by the sea with pleasant seabreeze, what a good idea to serve the CoconutJuice&IceCream inside the fresh young coconut. The drive towards OldTownPhuket was cut short by just grocery shopping and thank goodness as the roads again curvy and after too much good food was not feeling my best – after 55 stepsX4 up&down the staircases finally broke me! Tkx to Shawn for Nuberlizer meds – a short soak in my pool,showered&off to bed.

Mon: could not bear the sight or smell food and such a headache – stay-put in the room for a well-needed rest, no complains when there is a view! Relaxation is not a luxury; it’s necessary for our well-being. Downloaded 4above pix to show what it is really like while learning to adjust using a camera again – the younger gen are out with the elephants&shopping for the day.

Tue: took the buggy to the bottom of the hill and crossed the road but there was an eatery in front, so not possible to get near the water and believe me that was the closest near the sea on this trip! Made it up with 1hr oil massage,another soak+a snooze in the room. Massage is both an art and a therapy,offering relaxation,healing, and a moment of self-care.

Enjoyed the afternoon watching the family in their cooking class with their chefs.

The food tasted yummy – an early night for an early flight tomorrow. It is nice to observe that my brother is taking pleasure in his new chess-set and engaging in a game with his daughter&granddaughter.

Wed: bright&early, the last 55steps down the staircase make it a total of 10x55steps=550 up&down the steep stairs and still alive to catch another SIA-BusinessClass back to SIN. This time round asked to sit in front so as to concentrate on the road to discover that there are still rubber-plantations here and they are still tapping for the latax – have not see that since childhood days! Also to learn that our driver’s parents are from Ipoh&Penang/Malaysia and that he survived the 2004Tsunami but sadly not his wife. Still remember vividly on that day where I found my cousin sitting on the stairs in tears when we were in Laos.

Looks like a full plane and long lines for Aeroflot but thank goodness no line for SIA-BusinessClass, even managed to squeeze in 15mins massage at the PhuketAirport BusinessLounge/part of the service here despite having to take a bus to the plane.

SmokedSalmon,HokkienMee with Bellini+ChocolateCake dessert for lunch – can certainly easily get used to travelling like this – hahaha! And so ends this amazing memorable holiday tkx to broLes for the 5*accommodations+F&B; Shawn for arranging the tickets+meds; Gladys for her pix&thoughtfulness; Kai for his adorable company.

Had to rest for an entire day in between the 4days, was offered a room without steps but die die must try and now to recover from those 550steps! Really feeling that the energy or the appetite are not what they were – such is life and in future will take the room without stairs to climb. AnthonyHopkins said – Getting old ain’t for the faint of heart.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough – Meister Eckhart

7 Aug 2026 – Future

Tue: the present renovation of the playground below evokes memories of the time we had to lift #6-Grandchild to the MonkeyBars during his initial visit here. By his visit in 2025, he was able to swing independently from the first to the last bar. Hopefully they will install new MonkeyBars. Embracing change does not imply that you forget your history. Progressing does not mean you overlook the past. You are simply evolving…

Wed: tkx to FB for the memories from 2013/13yrs ago was hiking UKc2c; 2021/5yrs ago the passing of my beloved eldest broLawrence; 2023/3yrs ago hiking on the PEI/Canada. Memories encapsulate the core of our experiences and contribute to our identity. They serve as a reminder that our past constitutes a personal archive we bear throughout our lives, impacting both our present&future.

MarineParadeRd by MarineParadeMRT-Exit4 now and then in 2000 when I just moved into this area. Do miss the old trees…

now its underground in the AC for shade!

This is the only solitary old tree standing on this section of MP-Rd – sincerely hope that this magnificent tree will be permitted to remain for as long as possible in a location where the elderly strive to keep pace!

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man ― George Bernard Shaw

Earth’s temperature rise has shifted into overdrive, with the past decade warming faster than any other since modern records began. Recent news on natural disasters such as avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and heat-waves are unavoidable due to the impact of human activities on MotherNature; however, I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to the subject of man-made-wars. It is distressing to hear&read about it, not to mention viewing the images, so no downloading of any pix…

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260801093239.htm

Because, underneath all of this is the real truth we have been avoiding: climate change isn’t an “issue” to add to the list of things to worry about, next to health care and taxes. It is a civilizational wake-up call. A powerful message—spoken in the language of fires, floods, droughts, and extinctions—telling us that we need an entirely new economic model and a new way of sharing this planet. Telling us that we need to evolve ― Naomi Klein

Thu: PrawnMeeLunch on EC-Rd and dessert@TimHorton/I12 – tkx May for this Nebulizier and to Shawn for the medications which were useful the past few days.

Where has all that time gone now with #4Sophie starting in her SeniorYear of HighSchool – seems like yesterday when we found this adorable toddler sleeping in the laundry-basket in the laundry-room!!

Fri: haircut and running errands@PP before taking off to Phuket/Thailand tomorrow. Glad to have an early start and not aware that it is a short-school-day today, was just about done with the crowds started. Will be offline away from the RedDot for her 61stBday this long weekend with Monday being a public holiday. Looking forward to catching up w nieces&grandnieces from NY/USA and to seeing NDP pix from all. NDP-2014 first&last one attended for me.

https://amylamsg.com/2014/08/10/ndp-2014/

Postings here to be edited&updated sometime next week…

3 Aug 2026 – The Crown

Sat&Sun: hello Aug – under the weather with a runny nose+slight temp, staying within the 4walls catching up with reading&screen-time after May’s visit. Seems like my immune system is on vacation without me! but this too shall pass, hopefully gone by the weekend before trip to PhuketHKT/Thailand. New rental neighbours moving in who informed me that his wife+baby-boy will arr sometime in Sep who are now still in China.

Feed a cold, starve a fever… or just feed me everything – Modern twist on old proverb

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Tkx to Linn for this share from Facts They Don’t Teach You/FB – interesting read and for me everything is a balance in life including books&tablets, digital&handwritten, up to today still read books and hand write some notes as well as using the laptop&iphone for digital notes.

The world spent years pushing screens into classrooms. Tablets replaced textbooks. Digital assignments replaced handwritten notes. Schools were told that the future of education was sitting behind a screen. Now some European countries are starting to reverse course.

Denmark,Norway,Sweden(Scandinavia),Finland,France&Italy are all moving away from heavy classroom digitalization and bringing back something many schools thought was disappearing: printed books, handwriting, and traditional reading. And this shift is not happening because of nostalgia.

It is happening because researchers have found that writing by hand and reading physical books can improve memory, concentration, and understanding compared with relying only on digital devices. Sweden was one of the first countries to change direction. In 2023, its Ministry of Schools paused the push for mandatory tablet use and redirected hundreds of millions of kronor toward printed textbooks. Then other countries followed.

Denmark committed 540 million kroner to replace tablets with books, sending thousands of new printed copies into classrooms and moving toward a plan to make schools completely mobile-free by 2027.

Norway reports that most primary schools have removed mobile devices from learning spaces, while Finland introduced similar restrictions in 2024. And in Scandinavia, the change has been widespread.

France and Italy have already taken steps to limit smartphone use in primary and middle schools, bringing back paper planners and more traditional pencil-and-paper activities.

For years, the assumption was that more technology would automatically create better education. Now some of Europe’s most advanced educat ion systems are asking a different question: What if the best tool for learning was something students have used for centuries? A book. A pencil. And the ability to focus 

Mon: took more than a week and finally completed watching Netflix 6Seasons/60Episodes of The Crown released in Nov2016 with the last season Dec2023. Spanning ~6decades, beginning shortly before the wedding of PrincessElizabeth&PhilipMountbatten in 1947 and ending with the 2005 wedding of PrinceCharles&CamillaParkerBowles. Have always held admiration&respect for QE2; otherwise, would not be able to endure this historic drama. https://amylamsg.com/2022/09/10/queen-elizabeth-ii-1926-2022/

It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult – QE2

All pix in this posting downloaded.