A Beach Digging Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Here’s one for the road, and for the end of the year. Goodbye 2019.


Digging up the beach at Hot Water Beach, North Island, New Zealand

Gearing up for a short 1 week break, (after a long and difficult period of cajoling and pleading to get my bosses to approve my leave). For goodness sake, it’s only a friggin week, OK?

But they have their reasons. Earlier they said I have to get the consent of the Consultants (i.e. the Resident Engineer) to go on leave. The RE finally consented, about 2 weeks back. “OK Gary, take the last week of December off”. And so I did. But that leaves precious little time for trip planning, visas, tickets, etc, etc, etc. Finally when all is about settled, and after I booked the tickets (and they’re mighty expensive tickets coz of the last minute thing), the Consultants threw a huge shocker! They friggin sacked our Project Manager! Since I am the deputy, that puts me fully in charge of the project, until a replacement is found. And on top of that, I have another Project which I’m responsible for!

What do I do? Fuck it all. I’m disappearing. It’s not like my company’s gonna pay for the tickets or hotel bookings if they’re cancelled. Let’s see what happens.

Meanwhile, here’s our little pre-Christmas outing with Kim’s family in NZ last year – Fancy beach digging for Christmas?? It’s pretty fun!




Is this a friggin mine or what? No, we’re looking for natural hot water springs below the sand! – Hot Water Beach, North Island, New Zealand


There found it! – See the bubbles in the water, they’re boiling hot. The sea was friggin cold (yeah, even in summer). So people just mix the cold sea water with the hot water and Voila! A hot water bath!


Hot Water Beach, NZ – This beach has natural hot water springs just below the sand. New Zealand’s North Island is a thermal wonderland – hot springs, geysers, volcanoes, abound.




The approach from the car park – the sea water is cold, but the sand is burning hot! Here’s where you can train for some fire walking. Good luck, if you lose your slippers!


The little village of Hot Water Beach – A little 'village' with cafes and accommodation has sprouted around Hot Water Beach


Family lunch, after a tiring dig up!


We didn’t stay in Hot Water Beach – It’s Christmas season, it’s the peak season in NZ. Most accommodation were filled to the brim. We confirmed our plans only at the last minute, so we stayed instead in this little cottage in Whitianga (pronounced Fiti-angga by the Kiwis, for some reason), 30 mins drive away! There were 2 rooms in the cottage and the garage at the back had another room with 3 beds.


The suburbs around our cottage, Whitianga, NZ


Family pic everyone! Whitianga, North Island, NZ


Dad, at the Waiwawa River crossing, NZ

And here’s wishing all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! See you in 2020!

Ten Years of Justin

Justin is 10! Time flies huh? Felt like just yesterday that Justin was a teeny-weeny toddler.

Anyway, here’re the photos of his tenth year’s adventures: -


Justin in New Zealand, Dec 2018 – No, it’s not a sea, it’s a lake! Lake Wanaka, Wanaka, South Island, NZ. (That tiny tree in the lake is the so-called Wanaka Tree)

We were in NZ last winter break (or should I say summer, since that was summer in NZ), visiting Kim’s family, with Dad and Hazel. It was awesome! How I wish we had the liberty to go as we desire! But the demands of work and school say otherwise… Damn!


With Jayden and their NZ cousin, Jared – at Wai-O-Tapu, near Rotorua, North Island – watching the Lady Knox Geyser erupt


OK, let’s create a geyser of our own …mucking with his volcano toy set (his Christmas gift from Kim) at our International City home, Dubai – April 2019


Justin wins an award – CNY (Feb) 2019 – Getting an award from the Counsellor of the Chinese Consulate General in Dubai, for scoring full marks in his YCT2 Exam (a test created by China for foreign students studying Chinese)


The brothers at DragonMart2, Dubai – May 2019


Justin wins another award – July 2019 – From his school (GEMS Royal Dubai School), for ‘Year 4 Excellence in Music’. The school awards the best students of each year for ‘excellence’ or ‘progress’ for all the chosen categories / fields – e.g. overall academic excellence, English, maths, science, Arabic, art, music, etc… With one of his close friend and ex-classmate Jiexi from China. He too won an award, ‘Year 4 Progress in Science’ if I’m not mistaken… But sadly, this would be Justin’s last year in RDS. (He loves RDS. He’s made lots of friends and are close to the teachers as well). We’ve moved and he’d start school in another school. Coincidentally, Jiexi would also be changing schools. So this was a farewell of sorts


All set for another adventure (home trip to Malaysia) – July 2019 – at Sharjah International Airport


With Jayden and their Singapore cousin, Stacey – outside Queensbay Mall, Penang – at a so-called Japanese ‘Bon Odori’ food festival (Bon Odori is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival) – Here’s another picture of the kids at this event


Hey, there’s a butterfly on my hand! – At Entopia, Butterfly Garden, Penang, Malaysia


On a ropeway – at Escape Theme Park, Penang, a theme park featuring adventure activities (rope courses, zip lines, etc) and rides in a natural jungle environment – Anu, Stacey and Jason are right behind, waiting for their turns. Papa and little Jayden (who’s too young for the rope course, and absolutely petrified of heights at that age) are downstairs watching


At the Royal Regalia Museum in Bandar Seri Begawan, on our 1 day transit in Brunei on our way back to Dubai – Aug 2019


Justin at our new home (Oia Residence, Motor City), all dressed up for school (GEMS Metropole School), which is just across the lane from our home, a 5 minutes’ walk!


Happy Diwali! At home with cousin sister, Sweety who was here for a visit (and to look for a job) – Oct 2019 – She got the job by the way


Justin meets his old pal Rayaan from the Royal Dubai School – at the Kenken National Round Competition in Dubai Knowledge Park in November 2019. No, Justin didn’t manage to make it thru to the International Round. If he had, we’d be in New York!


Jiko (Hazel) comes for a visit! Happy Birthday Hazel! Happy Birthday Justin! Hazel and Justin’s birthdays are just a day apart, so we had a shared birthday celebration


Justin at Bukha Fort, Musandam, Oman – Justin’s birthday is almost always a holiday in the UAE, because it is the day before the UAE’s National Day (and the day after UAE’s Commemoration Day) – We headed to Oman’s Musandam Peninsula for the long weekend with Dad and Hazel. Anu and I had visited Musandam back in 2008, before the kids came into existence! (Didn’t realize it had been that long!)

Tales from Old Dubai

Here’s a quick update. It’ll have to be a picture post again, because yours truly have again got himself entangled in some messy work arrangements between the 2.5 projects that he’s involved in. Plus today is the first day of work, after a long weekend for the National Day holidays. I am as blur as a …sotong (OK, that’s Singlish, so what).


Dhow Wharves (dhow – traditional Arab wooden boats) – seen from my temporary office last year at the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Tower in Deira, Dubai

On the home front, we’ve shifted (in Aug). The new house is nice and cosy, with a neighbourhood with lots of green areas that we can walk around. The kids and missus are OK. Dad and Hazel are on a 2 weeks’ visit. We went on a 2 day trip to Musandam (Oman) during the National Days holiday, with Dad and Hazel. I’ve until now not got approval to take the 2 weeks leave that we’ve been planning for during the kids’ winter break in Dec. Justin’s just had his 10th birthday (and of course, I’ve not sorted out the photos for a post). And that’s about it. What is there to post about? How about some photos of old Dubai (yes, again) to coincide with the National Holidays? Yup, that’ll be it.


Deira Clocktower / Roundabout – Used to be called the Dubai Clocktower. Built in 1965, it is one of the earliest landmarks of Dubai


Yaqub Mosque, Deira, Dubai – near where I used to work

Enough of Deira, now we’ll skip to the other side of the Creek, Bur Dubai.


These water taxis carry passengers from Bur Dubai to Deira and vice versa. It’s 1 dirham per trip per passenger. Kids go free. Can’t get a cheaper boat ride than that nowadays! Notice Sweety, the kids and I on the dhow?


The kids at the square in front of the Hindu temple (yes, there are Hindu temples in Dubai!) There are 2 temples in Bur Dubai alone. The temple here (housing a Shiva shrine, a Sai Baba shrine and a mini Gurdwara) is hidden in the maze of passageways behind the shops shown in the photo. The minaret belongs to a mosque just behind the temple


The passageways beside the temple are lined with shops selling Hindu religious paraphernalia – flower garlands, prayer items, Indian sweets, idols, altars, you name it. The kids at the passageways near the temple


Anu at Dubai Creek, in front of the temple square


The area adjoining the temple is the Old Souq (old market) – Justin posing with a closed door


Mommy at the Old Souq


The Old Souk is somewhat of a tourist souk nowadays. For some real discount on traditional Indian clothes, accessories, locals (we consider ourselves locals now, ahem) usually head to Meena Bazaar, the area just south of the Old Souk – This is Al Fahidi Souq at Meena Bazaar, Bur Dubai


Dubai Museum (Al Fahidi Fort) – The kids love forts museums. Not so much Mommy though… But this one is only AED 5 entrance per person


We’ve had mosques and temples. Why not throw in a church? Here’s the church (or should I say, churches) we frequent. This is a complex of churches in the Oud Metha area (near Bur Dubai)– the main church in this complex is the Holy Trinity Church, and the buildings surrounding it are mainly used by Evangelical churches of multiple denominations and languages. There’s Malayalam churches, Hindi / Urdu churches, Korean churches, Tagalog, etc, and you see nationalities from all over the world. Outside this complex are Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches with their own compounds. I call this place the Church District…

Inside the Walled City

Walls of the Inner City (Icheri Sheher), Baku, Azerbaijan




A walk inside Icheri Sheher, Baku

I have nothing to write about. I am full time juggling 2.5 Projects. Family life has taken a hit, partly because of that. I’ve not got an approval for my intended December leave (not yet, anyway). On the contrary, they’ve heaped extra work and extra responsibilities on me, with no pay rise! What a life!

But blogging goes on. It’ll have to be picture posts for the time being. Guess I’ll post more pictures from our Baku trip in 2018. I’ve posted some before, but I’ve not posted the bulk of the photos from inside the old walled city of Baku, Icheriseher (i.e. Inner City). Here goes.


This was near where we stayed in Icheri-Sheher, the Old City Inn


An Azeri dinner at our hotel’s restaurant with Piti (that soup dish) and err… forgot what the other dishes are called. You can find Piti everywhere you go!


At the Gates of the Walled City


Parks and buildings surround the Walled City – exploring them was part of the fun




The Inner City is a mix of cobblestone roads, small cobblestone alleys, tiny cobblestone walkways and staircases


The bust of …umm didn’t bother to find out (let’s zoom in – it sez Aliaga Vahid), near the Museum of Miniature Books and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs


A cobblestone road beside the Shirvanshah’s Palace




Near the Maiden Tower


Hey honey, are you allowed to climb up? Maiden Tower, Icheriseher, Baku, Azerbaijan

That’s all for now folks!