15 Going on 16

Express post coming up. Up to my neck with work, with the upcoming Eid holidays starting tomorrow, and a deadline to meet right after the long holidays. But I want to post this out before the end of the month. It’s a recap of Justin’s 16th year, and it’s way past when I usually post it (around January… His birthday’s in December! 5 months late) So, without further ado, here it is!


Justin, right after turning 15, in Dec 2024, at the Address Beach Residence Hotel, Dubai. We were all there to see his little brother, Jayden performing with the school choir at a pre-Christmas event at the hotel


Can I go cycling before I leave Dubai? OK. Here you go! (That’s Justin, speed junkie…) At Mushrif Park, Dubai, Dec 2024


It’s the schools’ winter break. Let’s head out. First stop, Kazakhstan! And his dream come true! At the Shymbulak Ski Resort, near Almaty, Kazakhstan. First time he skied down a mountain! This was his second skiing trip (after Uzbekistan in Dec 2023, where we took only a half-day pass, bcoz, who knows whether we’d like skiing or not?! He loved it, by the way, but we only had enough time for the beginner’s slope. He nailed it on his first try! Unlike yours truly, who rolled and fell himself down, the friggin beginners’ slope, twice, and then gave up. But at least I tried it twice!) This time, only the kids went skiing (ahem, I hurt my wrist, OK?!? Fell off the friggin snow the day before, OK? And that’s a valid excuse reason…)


Next stop, Meghalaya in North Eastern India, en route to his mother’s home village, in Assam, India. This was the first time he visited India, after starting school in Singapore. With a kacang puteh (that’s the Malay word for this, I don’t know what it’s called in India) street-vendor, at the Elephant Falls near Shillong, Meghalaya


Continuing on our road-trip in Meghalaya (might as well make the best out of our journey home), at the living root bridge of Riwai Village, near Mawlynnong, the so-called “Asia’s Cleanest Village”, with his cousin, Sonia (beside him), and aunt, Rekha (far right)


Finally, in Assam - Silchar city to be precise, where we call home now, with another of his cousin, Sweety, sharing a …ummm snack (I dunno what they’re having, but it looks like they’re enjoying it…)


On another road trip, this time with his granny and another cousin, Mahi, Rekha’s daughter at the Unakoti Rock Carvings, a UNESCO Heritage Site, in the neighbouring state of Tripura, India. We did this all in our little yellow car. Bravo Tata Nano! You still work despite years of lack of maintenance


Back home in Fulertal, Assam… Trying some paan (betel leaf and areca nut) – his first time. When in Assam, do as the Assamese do! Dec 2024


Time to go back to school in Singapore… tough going, but as people say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going… I hope he takes it in that spirit. Got this from WhatsApp. That Justin fella just isn’t very keen with photos… Those must be his floorball mates, SJI, Singapore


It’s June 2025, his school’s midyear break. We allowed him to visit Malaysia and stay with his aunt, June in Kuala Lumpur so that he could indulge a little bit in his hobby, racing, which is a lot cheaper there, than in Dubai, and also gel with his Malaysian side of the family, his granddad, aunt, etc. Here he is at ummm… I don’t really know which go-kart track this is. Somewhere in Selangor, Malaysia. On hindsight, we shouldn’t have let him do this, he’d be better off with us here in Dubai, studying… so that his results would be better. There’re little photos of him because his phone which was his mommy’s repaired Samsung S20+ phone, self-disassembled during the trip…


Finally, back with us in Dubai, June 2025, at DragonMart 2, Dubai


With his Dubai friends at our home… Moaz (left) and Yiro (right)… Look at how big the Dubai kids became?!? Is it the food?


Back to Singapore! Some sort of graduation party at his hostel (I think), St Andrew’s Hall, Singapore


An international school trip! To Shanghai, China, Nov 2025. That’s one of the only photos I found that had a decent view of him!


Back home with us in Dubai. Let’s all watch a family movie! Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, UAE


What do you want for your 16th birthday? Not racing again… Yes, racing, again… At a pre-race briefing, Dubai Kartdrome, Dubai, UAE.

Justin, I hope you stay focused and be diligent in your studies. Your efforts will pay off, and it’s only a few more months to go, for the O-Levels. All the best my son. Love you.

That’s all folks. To those celebrating, Eid Al-Adha Mubarak! Selamat Hari Raya Haji!

A Northeast Christmas

On the grounds of the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians, Shillong, Meghalaya, India

It’s way past Christmas, but what the heck, here’s a glimpse of our recent trip, a Christmas in Northeast India, with family and friends. "Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la…" Enjoy, and may peace be with you.


Smile! Anu with her sister, Rekha (right) and niece, Sonia (left) at the Catholic Church of Mary Help of Christians in Shillong

We decided this time, to take the long way home, i.e. by road (as bad as it may be) from Guwahati (main city of Assam) to Silchar (South Assam) via Shillong (Meghalaya). Not really recommended at a time like this, with the ‘amazing’ conditions of the road between Khliehriat, and Malidor on the Assam border. I’ve driven on this road (on return trips) twice before, first in 2006 and then in 2013. This time, we took a taxi, and the road was just horrendous (not that it was good in 2013, but that’s nothing compared to this time) especially from Lumshnong all the way to the Meghalaya-Assam Border. The potholes were humongous. None of the stretch had anymore asphalt on it, and it was road dust all the way (pity the villagers). Many of the bridges had their steel reinforcement bars exposed, heck, there was even a bridge with a friggin hole thru it! And trucks were clogged to the brim on both sides of the road, wherever they were allowed to linger. Numerous stretches were under maintenance, no, make that under construction. (There’s no way it could be maintained). Heck, this road could have won the World's Worst Highway if there was such a category in the Guinness Book of Records. Hopefully, construction would complete soon…


Another Shillong church, the All-Saints’ Cathedral, Shillong


The interior of the All-Saints’ Cathedral, Shillong


Putting up Christmas decorations in the Church of Epiphany in Mawlynnong, the so-called Asia’s Cleanest Village! It was coined by an Indian magazine called Discover India. I dunno how they measured cleanliness, but Mawlynnong was indeed neat and nice! And peaceful, and worth a visit. Bravo, keep it up!


Inside the Church of Epiphany, Mawlynnong, where just 10 days after we visited, some numbnut of a social influencer, went into the church and shouted out ‘Jai Shree Ram!’ (a chant celebrating Lord Rama, an Indian god) and posted it on video. Of course, it created outrage, which I think was just what that jackass wanted. (Publicity, you know?) If he’s so gung-ho, let him do it in a more prominent church, or a mosque, in Pakistan…


Christmas back home! In Fulertal, Anu’s home village in Cachar District, Assam. Anu’s mother and sister, Rekha on the main road in Fulertal on Christmas Eve


Merry Christmas!!! Jayden with his Boju (grandmother) at Fulertal’s main road, on Christmas Eve, 2024. This place is a melting pot of people from the North East. There’re no clear dominant tribe or race. Each village is different. For example, in Fulertal, Anu stays in Nepali Basti, a Nepali or Gorkhali village. Directly adjoining it on the east, is Hmarkhawlein, a Hmar (a Mizo subtribe) village. Further down the road are Naga, Kuki and Khasi villages. On the west of Anu’s village is the urban part of Fulertal which are Bengali, Naga and Manipuri. Right opposite Anu’s mother’s house is a Manipuri Shiv Temple, and directly adjoining this, is a big mosque, with a shrine of a Muslim saint, revered by Muslims and Hindus alike. The Hmars are mainly Christians, and therefore there’re churches. With such a mix, people here have learnt how to co-exist with one another. Although this is part of Assam, Bengali is the official language here, not Assamese. I hope this peace prevails continuously.


One of the 2 churches at Labac Pailapool’s Christian Basti (Christian Village). This is the Presbyterian Church. We visited the other church (the Baptist Church) on Christmas Day. Pailapool is the next big town away from Fulertal, 4km away, towards Silchar


Christmas Day service and performance, Labac Pailapool Baptist Church. The sermon was in Bengali, and the dance performance was in Nepali, nice! The pastor is the one holding the phone on the right of the photograph. The performers were all from the house of Anu’s college mate and friend, Moni. The church asked us to stay for a Christmas feast after the service, but we decided to visit Anu’s friend instead. Thank you so much for your invitation!


At the house of Anu’s friend, Moni (right most, with baby in hand) at Pailapool’s Christian Basti. The family who are Christian Nepalis did not attend church on that day, as they had a really young baby. Anu telephoned her friend to find out which church they attended, and we headed there for Christmas. Moni was a Hindu Manipuri, but converted to Christianity after marrying into a Christian family. Her husband is Manoj (third right), and the two young girls in the middle of the photo are their niece (in green), and elder daughter (in pink). They're the ones who performed a dance at the church, earlier on


At Anu’s elder sister’s Manju’s (left) house. Anu’s family is Hindu, but what the heck, what’s wrong with having a Christmas tree for Christmas! We were eating chhangban, a traditional Christmas treat of the Mizo and Hmar tribes, which Anu loves (sorry, forgot to take any photos). It’s made of slightly sweet sticky rice, wrapped in leaves and steamed. Anu’s mom is half Mizo, by the way


Boju (meaning grandmother in Nepali) – Anu’s mom, surrounded by some of her grandchildren, Justin, Jayden, Sonia and Mahi. Let’s see, she now has umm… 13 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren! (She herself had 8 children by the way)


Christmas decorations at the Asapalli English School. That’s the school at the end of the road where Anu mother’s house is. Many of the English medium schools in Fulertal are missionary schools


Finally, a family picture. Smile! At a random church in Cherrapunji (Sohra), Meghalaya, India. Cherrapunji was once the wettest place on earth. It’s lost that to its neighbouring village, Mawsynram, which is also in Meghalaya, India

That’s all for now. There're so many other family pics, but that'll have to wait. See ya soon.

Jayden on His Own

Jayden, 8 years & 4 months old, at Al Hafiya Picnic Park, Kalba, UAE, Feb 2023

Jayden is 9 years old! (As of last month, actually). This is my yearly post about the kid’s life, but before I go into it, here’s some GOOD NEWS!!!

Amrita, Anu’s sister, who is in Canada, just gave birth to a healthy baby girl!!! This is wonderful news for the family indeed, especially after a heart-breaking earlier pregnancy 2 years ago, that resulted in the birth of an extremely premature baby boy, who sadly did not survive. That pregnancy was complicated because of fibroids in Amrita’s womb, and all were worried about whether the fibroids would pose a problem for future pregnancies. Thank God for answering our prayers. Praise God. Jayden has a new cousin!

As I was saying, Jayden is 9 now, but he’s still behaving like a baby, sigh… Maybe, we give him too much love, or maybe it’s just the nature of him being the youngest in the family. Nope, it’s definitely too much love, so we gotta get tough and start being serious-er…

This past year, he was pretty much on his own, for a change. His elder brother left for further studies in Singapore last Nov, exactly one year before. I think it did Jayden some good. At least, he started having his own friends, instead of hanging out only with his koko and his koko’s friends. (Thanks a lot to his mommy actually, who helped him build up his courage, and arranged play dates). Here’s a recap of his past year. Enjoy!


A temple visit, with his Mommy and Koko for some divine blessings, before his Koko left for Singapore. This was like a week after Jayden’s 8th birthday – Dubai Hindu Temple, Jebel Ali, Dubai – Oct 2022


Jayden on his own, his first time attending a friend’s birthday party! (As far as I can remember). In contrary, Justin had attended countless birthday parties by the time he was this age. The birthday boy was Mosaab (the one in red) from Egypt. He’s the youngest brother of Justin’s 2 school mates, and they lived in a unit on the same floor of our apartment building. At The Zone, Circle Mall, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai – Nov 2022


Our first camping trip without Justin. Good morning, Jayden! How do you feel being on your own? (He missed his Koko). At some random suitable camping spot by the road near Ain Lighmour (aka Blossom Valley), Fujairah (Google Maps calls it Jabal Al Haleefah). The missus is pretty good at picking camping spots, when we need one (like when sun is setting, and yours truly hasn’t got a clue yet of what to do…) We were all alone for as far as the eye could see. It isn’t really a popular camping spot I think, but we’re no longer strangers to lonely camping spots, hehe – Nov 2022


This ain’t a pool, believe me!! It’s all natural and it’s in Arabia! Oman, to be exact. We made a 1200+ km road trip to Salalah, Oman (and another 1200 km back) during the UAE’s National Day holidays last year. This is a gem of a place in the Arabian Peninsula. Waterfalls in Arabia?!? Yup, it’s true. No wonder it is so popular with the Arabs – Wadi Darbat, Salalah, Oman – Dec 2022


Jayden and his Year 4 Teacher, Mr David Moore, GEMS Metropole School – Dec 2022. (He prefers lady teachers he says. He thinks they’re kinder… Are they?!?)


Back in Oman! We love Oman, ever since they made it free for UAE residents to enter, we’ve made 3 visits in a span of 5 months! – Jebel Akhdar (literally, Green Mountain), Oman – Dec 2022


New Year treat for the little one to his favourite type of place, an aquarium! This is the Sharjah Aquarium to be exact. We’ve visited it before, but what the heck, it’s the most affordable, nice aquarium around! – Sharjah, Jan 2023


Motor City, the name of our neighbourhood, isn’t just a strange name selected from nowhere. Its main feature is the Dubai Autodrome! Apart from this, it has an outdoor and an indoor Kartdromes for go-karting. When there’s a race, it’s a din!! – Jayden at the Dubai Autodrome, Motor City, Dubai – Jan 2023


It’s spring break, and we headed to India, to do our boring banking work and to visit family. Jayden at the Victoria Monument in Kolkata. We’ve visited this place before, a long time ago, before we had kids. But what to do? We’ve visited Kolkata so many times, that we ran out of new places to visit, ahem… West Bengal, India – Mar 2023


Jayden made lots of friends at his Mommy’s village! From left, Mahi (his cousin), Ankit, and Prince (whom Mahi and Jayden kept calling Princess… Jayden, Mahi, you shouldn’t tease your friends!), Fulertal, Assam – Apr 2023


Not Oman again?!? Yes, Oman again. Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain), again. It’s an interesting mountain, where access is only allowed for 4WD cars (which our trusty ol’ Hyundai happened to be, hehe). It’s a nice, cool place, with beautiful views and treks for as far as your feet can walk… Plus it’s rose harvesting season. Jayden pointing to some fossils, at the Sunset Viewpoint in Jebel Akhdar, Oman – Apr 2023


Yippee, koko’s back! It’s Koko’s school break, and he came back for a visit! Bloomsbury’s Café, Silicon Central Mall, Silicon Oasis, Dubai – Jun 2023


Jayden in Albania on his summer break. Koko’s school break and Jayden’s do not match. Justin’s mid-year school break is from the last week of May to the last week of June. Jayden’s summer break starts from the second week of July! By then, Justin would have been back in Singapore, and preparing for his Term 3 exams. For the summer break, we made a short trip to Albania. This is the first overseas trip we made without Justin – at our hotel, the Logu i Harushave, Theth, Albania – Aug 2023


Jayden made another friend! Daniel from Ukraine at our house. Daniel was staying with his aunt at the exact unit where Mosaab’s family (see third pic above) used to stay. The Egyptians have relocated to Abu Dhabi in April this year. Unfortunately, Daniel also left the UAE for Germany in early October. That’s how it is with the UAE, it’s a halfway home. People come, people go. Hope to see you again sometime, somewhere, Daniel! – Sep 2023


And finally, it’s Jayden’s 9th Birthday! At home! A small party with a few of his friends. Here’s Hardit (left) and Callum (right). Both of them are Indians – Oct 2023

A Side Trip from Silchar - Ruins of the Cachari Kingdom

Talking about side trips and not having any in our recent trip to India, here is one side trip which we took when we visited our Indian home the same time last year. Sigh, if only our little yellow car worked this year… Where would we have gone? (I could name many, haha).


Ruins of the Cachari Kingdom’s King’s Temple, Khaspur, Cachar, Assam

Khaspur is a short drive from our home in Silchar. It is only about 25km (yes, I checked it out on Google Maps), but it took us like an hour to get there (that’s how it is with the roads there in South Assam).


An interesting spot on the Airport Road (opposite of Moirang Gas Station), on the way to Khaspur. The road connecting Silchar to Khaspur is the same as the road going to Silchar’s airport (which we frequently use, because we FLY to Silchar!) (Kolkata to Silchar is 1 hour by air, and only 3 fascinating, bone-rattling days by road – so, pick your choice).


Here we are, the site of the Cachari Ruins, Khaspur. Kachar was an independent kingdom ruled by the Dimasa people in medieval times. Khaspur was the kingdom's last capital. It was eventually annexed by the British (which is what you’d expect from the Brits, don’t you?)


Old walls of the ruins – the steps that you see there I think are later additions to prop up the collapsing walls (coz these bricks have trade names… unlike the bricks on the wall itself)


The kids with their aunt, Anu’s youngest sister, Amrita. Notice that that little yellow car, far behind on the road? That’s our car that made this trip possible


The King’s Temple. Not a very big temple, I'd say, now that you can see Anu on it…


Roaming cows are a special attraction… Petting zoo cum ancient ruins! If you don’t mind the dung that dots the landscape


Another terracotta temple in the area. The temples, walls, moats and pools are the only thing still visible of the old kingdom. Besides cows and humans, there’re goats too. How wonderful!


Remainder of a moat in the Cachari Ruins Khaspur


Time to go! We, at the Cachari Ruins Khaspur, Assam, India. Here’s a link to another photo of this place with Justin


Tea gardens! Near the Dayapur Tea Estate. Instead of going back to Silchar, while returning, we decided to take the route less travelled and drive from Udharbond through Pallarbond to Fulertal, Anu’s mom’s house and spend the night in Fulertal. That’s the beauty of having a car, hehe


A tea garden temple, near the Dayapur Tea Estate




Views from our car – thru tea gardens on the Dayapur to Pallarbond road. The sun’s setting. Let’s get home!


Leaving one last pic, before I end this post. Near the Dayapur Tea Estate, Cachar, Assam, India – Apr 2022