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 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

A Home Trip with a Difference

At the neighbourhood temple, Fulertal, Cachar, Assam, Apr 2023

Finally, here are the photos of our recent family trip to Assam, India.

This was a trip of many firsts. This was the first home trip that we went without Justin since he was born 13+ years ago. (He’s in Singapore studying). This was the first trip that did not have any side trips (save one silly excursion out of Kolkata that nearly ended up in disaster). This was a pure banking and family trip (although while planning, we had a whole bunch of side trips lined up that we wanna do). This was the first time that we did not get to use our little yellow car since we bought it 10 years ago (it friggin broke down, probably due to last year’s flood and a lack of maintenances, and we spent days trying to get it fixed). That partly accounts for why we didn’t make any side trips… (And it’s not even fully fixed when we left!) But this was not the first trip that we got food poisoning. This was the second in a row, actually. Maybe we’re no longer accustomed to the water in India. (I blame it on that blasted COVID. It made us too clean, ahem). So, to Anu, this felt like a wasted trip, because she couldn’t fully enjoy the ‘feasts’ that we used to have on home trips! Anyway, here comes the photos of the family in Assam and a few friends.


Anu with her sisters and mom… at our Silchar home. They’re only 4 sisters this year. The youngest sister, Amrita has moved to Canada with her hubby


Yours truly with Anu’s eldest brother Ramesh (sitting), second eldest brother Ganesh (right) and Ganesh’s brother-in-law, at Ganesh’s in-law’s home, Pailapool – Ganesh’s brother-in-law just became a brand-new father, but we forgot to take a photo of the new-born… or her mom


Cheers! Having a beer with Anu’s third eldest brother, Manoj at his home in Fulertal (Anu has 3 brothers and 4 sisters…)


Anu with her godbrother Rajendra’s family, in Fulertal. On the left is Savita and their kids are Deb (elder) and Ankit (younger). Ankit is Jayden’s age


Jayden loved it in Fulertal (except for the toilet, ahem). He made so many friends. There’re lots of kids his age. Plus this time, Jayden didn’t have Justin to play with. Here’s Jayden with his cousin Mahi (left) and a friend, Arohi


More friends! The kids from right are Mahi, Jayden, Prince (whom Jayden and Mahi kept calling Princess) and Ankit. The lady behind is Sudadi, Rajendra’s sister. Behind in the ‘auto’, you could see Deb and Kunal (Jayden’s cousin)


Here they are! The cousins 3, Kunal, Sonia and Raja. They’re trying to replicate their posts in a photo I took more than a decade ago (in 2008). Many of the cousins are no longer in Fulertal or Silchar. Rohan and Sweety are in Delhi now, and Aakash is in Punjab


The new cousins 3. The 3 youngest of the family, the Generation Alpha. Mahi and Jayden are the same age both born in 2014 (Mahi is 8 months older though), and Anshu was born in ummm… 2019 I think


More of Jayden’s friends, Fulertal – From right, Ankit, Jayden, Mahi, Sangvel and Prince


Some old friend of Anu’s at neighbour Mamuni’s house – Rinku and his family. Rinku grew up in this house but have settled down in Jorhat, another part of Assam. He was on a one day visit


Back to Silchar, we met an old aunt I’ve met more than a decade ago. She used to stay in Fulertal in the house opposite to Anu’s mom’s house. Anu called that house ‘the Clean House’ because the family staying there was obsessed with cleanliness


And they have a new grandchild (or is it great-grandchild, beats me – I only put this photo because that’s such a cute baby, haha)


Birthday party! For niece Sweety’s mother-in-law. Sweety got married a month before this, but has already left for Delhi to resume work. Her husband is Debanjan. He’s not seen here because he’s the one taking the picture, duh! From right, only the people I know, OK? … our nephew Zeeva, Debanjan’s cousin who’s a manager in the Tata Automobile’s Silchar showroom, Debanjan’s elder brother’s wife (yeah, that small girl there, she’s a grown-up, OK?), Sandi (Anu’s sister and Sweety’s mom), Jayden, an uncle of Debanjan, Anu, Debanjan’s eldest brother’s son (the little boy), Debanjan’s mother, Gopal (Sweety’s dad), a boy umm… I forgot whose kid this is, Manju (Anu’s eldest sis), yours truly, one of Debanjan’s relative who’s a British citizen (her family owns these flats), the lady’s daughter who’s also a British citizen, and finally, Debanjan’s elder brother… Whew!


Finally, dinner time. Gopal, Debanjan and yours truly, at Silchar, Assam, India, April 2023

That’s all for now folks! Ciao!

All in the Family

The sisters 5! Fulertal, Cachar District, Assam, India

Do you know what we did for our first overseas trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic? We visited our India home, after 5 years (our last visit was 2017). (By the way, we have 3 homes, in 3 different countries, ahem.) Here are the family photos of our trip home. And oh my, how the ‘kids’ have grown in the 5 years since we last visited. See for yourself!


Anu and her sisters. From right, Manju (eldest), Sandhya (2nd), Anu, Rekha (3rd) and Amrita (youngest), in front of Rekha’s house


Justin, Jayden and cousin Mahi (Rekha’s daughter) – Mahi was born in the same year as Jayden, but is 8 months older


Jayden and Ankit (Anu’s godbrother’s son) – Ankit is also a 2014 child. He’s 3 days older than Mahi if I’m not mistaken


The youngest cousin in the family, Anshu, born 2019 I think, (left most) with his father, Anu’s second eldest brother, Ganesh. Finally, Jayden became a ‘dada’ (elder brother). Together in the photo are the kids’ cousin Sonia (middle) and aunt Amrita (right)


Ganesh’s house in Pailapool, about 20+ mins slow drive from Anu’s mum’s house in Fulertal – In the photo are, from left: Justin; Sumitra (Anu’s sis-in-law, wife of eldest brother Ramesh); Anu’s mother; Ganesh and son Anshu; Ganesh’s mother-in-law; Jayden and Amrita; and someone whom I can’t remember…


Breakfast at Manoj’s house – Manoj is Anu’s third eldest brother – In the photo are, from left: Rohan (Ramesh’s eldest son), Sonia (Manoj’s daughter), Deb (Ankit’s elder brother), Anu, and Akash a.k.a. Chhandam (Manoj’s son). This was where we stayed when we were in Fulertal. Thank you Manoj dada and bhauju Ruati


Akash’s a keen footballer – Here’s he (middle) warming up for a match against an opposing team. Akash is his Gorkhali name and Chhandam his Mizo name as Manoj’s family used to live in Mizoram until a few years back. Till now, Akash is more comfortable with Mizo. His team mates are mostly, if not all, Hmar (a sub-tribe of Mizo), from the neighbouring Hmarkhawlein village. That’s the beauty of this place, it’s mix of all types of people! This football match was played in Singerbond, a predominantly Manipuri settlement


We’ve come to watch the football match! Akash! Akash! Akash! (We don’t know his team’s name). From left: Ruati (Manoj’s wife & Akash’s mother), Ankit, Amrita, Anu, Justin, Jayden and Rohan


Visiting a friend at their riverside abode. From right: – Amar Gurung (son of Sangeeta Gurung a local politician – Amar used to work with us in the Pune-Solapur Highway Project in Maharashtra in 2011); Amar’s grandma I presume; Anu; Jayden; Sangeeta Gurung (Amar’s mother); Justin; Manju; Ramesh (Anu’s eldest brother); Anu’s mom; and Amrita


How can we do a post on Fulertal, without a picture of the Barak River? – A view from Amar’s riverside house. At the time of writing, the river has swelled up considerably, and big parts of Assam including the Barak Valley are flooded. Pray that the rain stops soon and the waters recede before more deaths and damage occur... 


Justin and an old friend Vineeth from his past home visits


Anu meets her college friend, Gayatri, in Pailapool


Family pic at the Mukam, Fulertal, Cachar District, Assam, India


Bye till we meet again, gotta get back to work in Dubai – Family in front of our Silchar home. At the back, from right: Sandhya, Gopal Singh (Sandhya’s husband); Debanjan (Sweety’s husband – Hey, when did she marry?); Sweety; Justin; Kunal (Manju’s son); Deb; and Amrita. In front, from right: Ramesh; Manju; Jayden; Raja (Ramesh’s son and Rohan’s younger brother) and Zeeva (Sandhya’s son and Sweety’s brother)

That’s it for now folks!