The Valley of Dead Goats

Oh, what the heck. I might as well post these photos. Of the time we camped in Wadi Bih. (Since I’ve saved these photos up for posting… for a long time now…)


Wadi Bih, or what I called the Valley of Dead Goats… (What? I saw 3 goat carcasses on that day itself, OK?! If you look closely, you’d spot one too, in the photo above)

I thought we’d do a camping trip before the end of the year, with Justin, before he heads back to Singapore. But circumstances changed, and there were more important things to do… so we ended up not going camping. He’s heading back to Singapore tonight, to restart school. We wish him all the best. And that he will understand the importance of hard work, self-discipline and effort in achieving success, and that he’ll put his whole heart into his studies in his O-Level year. Take care my son, we love you. Give it your best!

These photos are of the last time Justin camped outdoors with us in the UAE… In Dec 2023. Here goes.


There! We’ve made camp! Definitely not a good thing to do, reaching a camping spot at night… But it’s something that happens (especially with us, …a lot. And most of the time, it’s bcoz of yours truly, ahem, but how would I know that there’d be a friggin traffic jam in Jebel Jais!! Wadi Bih is at the foot of Jebel Jais, by the way). If only we spotted the dead goat carcass nearby earlier, we might not have camped here. (Do you see it? It’s there if you look closely). But we reached after sunset and didn’t see it until way after we’ve settled in, and were looking for places to relieve ourselves. I just pulled it (by one of its dead legs) far away from us… (Yeah, there you go, goat. Be gone, rot in peace!)


Making fire. Mommy’s the expert and our guru. So, Justin, can you start one yourself now?


Good morning! Let’s climb some hills, while it’s early! (Our camp was by that lone tree, in the middle of the photo)


Heading out to the hills, Wadi Bih, Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE, Dec 2023


Exploring the hills…


The hills are alive, ...with the sounds of Jayden (he's the noisy one)


C’mon let’s get back to camp and have some breakfast!


Some morning yoga for mommy


Breakfast’s ready!


Tidying up. See the hard work we put in at night… Making that clearing, where our tent was, and propping up that tree… It’s full of thorns mind you, and rocks…


Happy New Year everyone! May 2026 be the greatest year ever for you! And may every year after that be even better!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Yes, we can only dream, coz alas, we didn’t get to see snow this season! Here’s a photo from our last white winter – in Kazakhstan last year!


The Ascension Church in Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! May God bless you and your loved ones with love, joy, peace, success and good health wherever you are!

Just got back to Dubai from a short family trip to India, to be with the mother and sister-in-law. Was planning to let them see some snow, but as luck would have it, the parts of India we visited (Himachal Pradesh) was all nice and sunny… Perfect. For a cosy holiday! But not much for snow. Don’t get me wrong, we saw snow, high up in the mountains, inaccessible, except if we climb, or hire a jeep to go up the mountains. We did play with some ice though, which is what old snow becomes when you leave it for ummm… a week? A month?!?

Nope, I haven’t downloaded anything from our recent trip. So, here’s something from when our winter was truly white! The missus and the kids are snow-freaks. They absolutely love snow, for some reason!


Anyone for a snowball fight? Near our hotel, the Edelveis Hotel, on Gornaya Street, the road that leads to Medeu and Shymbulak, Almaty’s ice skating and skiing centres




By the Esentai River in the woods near the Edelveis Hotel


Gornaya Street at night – That’s Samal Hotel, the plush hotel beside our ummm, budget one, hah! But it ain’t bad at all, the Edelveis!




Back to town, this is the First President Park, dedicated to the first president of an independent Kazakh Republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev


Another snowball fight? Ya, go ahead!




Back to Panfilov Park – its full name is the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park – dedicated to 28 guardsmen from Alma-Ata (the Soviet name for Almaty) who died in WW2 during the Battle of Moscow


The Museum of Musical Instruments, Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan




Ascension Cathedral, Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Dec 2024. This church is purportedly a wooden church built without nails!... (It doesn't look like it, but that's what Wikipedia said!)


That’s it for the post. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance! (Just in case I don’t find time to post before the New Year)