Ho Chi Minh Day 3 - Can Gio Ecological Tour

We all woke up bright and early. We would be meeting the guide at 8am. The 2 ah mas use
d the free bfast and had free nice hotel bfast. Daddy Lim took the responsibility to buy us Mac bfast. I would usually do such shopping but the thought to cross the road on my own is seriously daunting.

We were ready and on time and met our guide at the lobby - Tan. He looks young, probably in his 20s. He speaks an American accent English, which he said was learnt in university. He has been a tour guide for 6 years.

All ready to go! The 1st full family picture.

It was a private tour and had the mini van all to ourselves.  It was spacious. As usual, I took the seat with the boy and Daddy Lim with the girl. After about 30 mins ride, we came to a wide river and the "car" took the ferry across the river, similar to what we had in Penang. Right before the ferry trip, Lil Shauna complained that she had a tummy ache and needed the toilet. We had to use the public toilet, which was pretty "sightful". The moment Lil Shauna entered the cubicle, whatever that meant to come out probably went back in and she said that she didn't need the toilet toilet anymore.  Poor girl.

On the boat.

While crossing the river, we saw a shipbuilding yard. Daddy Lim said that he can come to Vietnam to work. What??!!

After the ferry, it was again a drive for probably half an hour. That was when the kids started gotten impatient. Finally, we turned into a mud path, got to use some doorless and flushless toilet before we switched to the speedboat and started our boat ride to the conservation area.

The speedboat ride took about 20 mins before we switched to some kind of sampan and our visit to the bat cave. Getting on and off the sampan was challenging. There was some some swaying and it would be wise to all lean to one side.

It wasn't really a cave, it was a mangrove swamp and the huge fruits bats were hanging on the trees. According to the guide, some of the bigger bats have a wing span of 1.5m!

At the disembarkation point, there was a crab farm and we attempted to catch some crabs but failed. Haha. Daddy Lim had a glimpse of one of them and said that it was huge!

After the bats cave, we took the speed boat to the crocodile farm nearby. We alighted from the boat and had to wait for some shuttle to bring us to feed the crocodiles. While waiting, we climbed this tower to have an bird's eye view.

Then some pictures with the huge crocodiles.

We saw some baby crocodiles before we board this metal boat to feed the crocodiles. Lil Isaac said that they looked like chameleon.

We used this home made rod with pieces of eel as baits to "fish" the crocodiles. There was this loud "pop" sound when the crocodiles snapped at the bait. They must have used a lot of force! The crocodiles were huge! Lil Shauna had fun feeding them. Lil Isaac was a little overwhelmed.

After the crocodile farm, we took the speed boat back to where we started off then another short car ride to the beach for seafood lunch like the locals.

The eating place was right next to the beach and there were many people swimming. The eating places come with many low tables, mini beach chairs and even hammock! There were many people peddling their seafood. The food was very fresh. We had tiger prawns, clams and catfish. It was very yummy.

We all enjoyed the lunch except for the little boy. The food wasn't to his liking and he just dozed off when we reached the eating place. He wouldn't even walk back to the van.

After lunch was the final destination - monkey island. The kids had been so excited about it. Lil Isaac said that he would make monkey talks with the monkeys. The so called island wasn't huge. We took this dirt path and was met by the local who would scare away the big naughty monkeys so that we could feed the baby monkeys.

The baby monkeys swarm the moment they knew that we came with food.

Lil Shauna was so happy feeding the monkeys. After a while, the monkeys became braver and started climbing onto the girl. Lil Isaac was hysterical with fear, running and hiding. Lol. None of that monkey talk happened. Then he spotted this monkey trying to steal a keychain  off another tourist's bag and he lost it and started crying that he wanted to go home. Daddy Lim had to carry him and he cried all the way out of the island. Haha.

We took the van and started out 1 hr car ride back to the hotel. Lil Isaac resumed his nap while the rest of us doze whenever.

Overall, the trip had been great. It was a great educational tour. I even saw a horseshoe crab! I have never seen a live one. It was also a great experience. We would never have such an experience in Singapore. Though pricey, but worth it.

Mummy Lim

Ho Chi Minh Day 2 - Tiniworld & Ben Thanh Market

I had to go to the Vietnam office today. I had been worried that I would oversleep and woke up to shock when I saw the bright sky outside of the window! Was I late? Luckily not. The sky brightens at 5 am in Vietnam! It was 5ish and I doze on and off to 7 am. Lil Shauna was up at 6am, complaining that she was bored. Luckily Mr iPad came along with us and boredom is something that he could easily handle. Hoho.

We all had troubles sleeping in. The 2 ah mas came over at 8pm and they all headed for bfast. I munched on sandwiches that I bought the night before and got ready for work. The driver would be picking me up at the hotel at 8.30am.

The office was about 20 mins drive away. It didn't feel that far, just that there were quite some vehicles on the road and traffic was a little slow at times. On the way to office, I saw that  there was quite some food places, including a japanese place near to our hotel and made a mental note for dinner place tonight.

I couldn't get connectivity until the afternoon and found out that the family was already back at the hotel. They were supposed to head to this indoor playground that some seem to fave about on the Internet - Tiniworld. I had high hopes but was told that it was really tiny. They spent about 3 hrs but was totally worth the price. With all the fun, it was less than 200k VND, about S$13. I was also informed that Lil Shauna was down with fever this morning for no apparent reason. She had taken 2 doses of fever medicine.

My work ended at about 3 on and I came back to the hotel. Daddy Lim and the kids were just back from swimming. The kids spent another good 10 mins soaking in the tub before we headed out for an early dinner. We had Japanese food at the Japanese restaurant that I spotted this morning and the food was delicious! Before dinner, we had some fun at the playground in the park opposite our hotel with other local kids.

The boy fell asleep during dinner and we had to wake him up using ice cream. They have Baskin Robbins!

We attempted to go to the Ben Thanh night market again but were too early - the night market hasn't been set up yet. We eventually brought some fruits from the make shift stall and headed back to the room with 2 tired kids. Popo bought us lychee, which is in season now and super sweet and yummy!

Given that we had an early morning, we headed to bed at 8ish. We would be heading to the Can Cio Ecological Park the next day. I hope it is good. We have booked an expensive private tour. Good night Ho Chi Minh.

Mummy Lim

Ho Chi Minh Day 1 - Arrival

One word to describe... tired.
I had to be in the office for a regional meeting and could only leave at 3 pm.  I had initially planned for the taxi to deroute and pick the family before heading to the airport. But we figured out that the timing wouldn't work out and headed to the airport in 2 different taxis.

Daddy Lim and the rest were at the airport at about 3ish. I reached and only at 3.45pm. Luckily there was no jam bcos of the SEA games. We checked in and seemed to be on the plane the next moment. Daddy Lim sat with Lil Shauna at the window seats while I was with the rest.

The flight was fairly easy. There was in flight entertainment and there was meal. The 2 hours past very quickly.

Upon arrival, I followed the instructions that I had found on the Internet previously to look for trustworthy taxi - basically either Vina taxi or Mah Linh. We were lucky to find one 7 seater after a 10 mins wait! We had intended to take 2 taxis initially and had worried that only one taxi would make it safely to the hotel. Haha.

The taxi journey wasn't too bad too. There are so many motorcycles on the road. Lil Isaac and I were in a competition to spot the most motorcycles that carried more than 2 human beings. The highest record so far was a bike with 6 people - 3 adults and 3 kids! It was a bit like acrobatics act.

We have a nice big room and bed.

After we had settled down, we headed to the Ben Thanh night market for some shopping. Haha, so typical of us Singaporeans. The merchandises were not cheap and there was plenty of bargaining involved. Ah yee would have loved this. Lol. We only bought kids' stuff and probably paid higher than necessary for some of the stuff that we bought but who to know what is their true value lah,so long as the kids are happy.

So how did we feel about Ho Chi Minh? It was warm! The market was 4 mins from the hotel but we were perspiring the moment we got out of the hotel lobby. I can't imagine how the day is like. Also, we successfully crossed the roads! I read how it takes skills and courage to cross the roads here. There is no traffic light and cars doesn't stop for the pedestrian. The rule is to gather for strength, step off the curb and keep walking. We did well for the 1st crossing that wasn't too busy but had to hide behind the locals for a major road. Thereafter, it wasn't that tough, just don't care and walk! Popo and Nainai did fantastic crossing the roads. After a while, they were literally looking down on the floor while crossing the road.  Haha.

We are all beat.

Mummy Lim

Family Day

This is my 1st Family Day with the Company. It takes place once every 2 years. Coincidentally, I am also part of the organising committee. However, it was so much easier as compared to the previous times, the crowd is so much smaller. We only expected a turnout of 200 inclusive of family. We also had the luxury to rely heavily on the events company and could hands off on so many things. The events company even sourced and recommended venue! Most importantly, my colleague was the one spearheading the event this time and I got to free ride a lot. Lol.

We had envisioned the event to start in the late afternoon and ended off with a movie screening under the stars, coupled with a bbq dinner. It all happened as planned except for the bbq dinner. It was way out of our budget.

The event was to start at 4pm at Riders' Lodge (RL) located near Turf City but I had to meet up with the committee at 2.30pm. Lil Shauna headed to her phonics class and I brought Lil Isaac along as promised. He was definitely happy!

On the way to RL, it started raining. Lil Isaac and I prayed for good weather. It was still raining when we arrived but fortunately lightened to a drizzle. It didn't completely stop until about 5 pm.

Lil Shauna joined us at almost 5pm.  The kids had fun. There was some games and pony rides.

There was a magic show and the kids loved it.

Buffet dinner followed and we waited for the sky to darken to complete the event with movie under the stars.

I got lucky this time and won $100 Taka vouchers! Greedy me was hoping for one of the iPads though. Lol.

The wonderful people who made the event a success.

The kids had fun and are looking forward to going to mummy's office for kids at work day.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating Lesson 13

We left the house slightly later than usual. Lil Isaac caught us while we were leaving the house but no fuss. Bcos mummy promised to bring him to the company event in the afternoon while jiejie goes for her phonics class.

We practice the usual before her class and spent some extra time on her front crossovers, trying to get the right postures. They are so hard to master! We also got stuck at the 3-turns. She has learnt to do the turns in so many ways that even I am confused.  We couldn't seem to get what she learnt 3 weeks back right. I took extra efforts to video the different turns during class but am still puzzled as to which hand and leg and turn which way. Aiyah! Still blur after 3 lessons! Somehow, I seem to have reached my capability to help her. Many times, I have to rely on videos and verbal instructions. There were times that I attempted to physically demonstrate the moves to her but I was never successful and almost fell. Zzzzzz.

Her class went well. She didn't learn new moves but Teacher Raymond helped to correct some movements. They spent time on the turns too. So tough! Let's see if it helps to increase her lesson in July. Jia you, baby.

 The only comfort is that there is no promotions during the June holidays and the rink was so much emptier as compared to the May's weekends.

Mummy Lim

ILDO Taekwondo

With the end of Lil Isaac's gym class, we have been thinking about what to sign him up next. For a moment, he said that he was interested to learn ice skating. Then, he said that he wanted to learn kungfu and fighting.  Zzzzz.

On one hand, I thought that it would be fantastic if both kids can go for ice skating classes but was fretting over the possibility of paying attention to 2 kids in the rink at the same time. I started contemplating splitting them to 2 different time slots, which would mean that I would spend a long time in the rink watching over them separately every Saturday.  Hmmm.. efficient use of time?

Last Saturday, Daddy Lim brought Lil Isaac to ILDO Teakwondo in West Coast Plaza for trial class. The boy loves it.

He enjoyed single bit of it including the warm up.

What was surprising is that they included play in the 50 mins lesson.

Conclusion? The boy obviously chose Taekwondo over ice skating. I heard about how martial arts and related are actually good for hyper kids too. We will this sign him up after we come back from Vietnam. The uniform cost a freaking $70. I do hope that he continues to keep his interest. 

As for me, I can continue to concentrate on Lil Shauna for the time being. I actually contemplating taking lessons with Lil Isaac if he had opted for ice skating and was even thinking of buying a pair of skates to lessen my poor feet suffering - the rink's hard and old skates are terrible and they smell awful too. Zzzzz. Well, let's see if the boy changes his mind when he is older. For now, let's do some punches and kicks!

Mummy Lim

Festive Hotel

Popo was given 2 free nights hotel stay at the Resort World. My brother's family redeemed one night and invited us to swim at the pool and basically mess up the hotel room. Lol.

Daddy Lim was off and we w arrived at Resort World at 12ish. Popo had been rushing us to get out of the house since early morning and I suspected that it was bcos she wanted to go to the casino. Luckily, the room was already available and we could escape the heat. We were just fretting over where to go in Sentosa under the hot sun.

My brother's family arrived at about 1.30pm. We had already made ourselves very comfortable in their hotel room by then, munching tidbits with coffee and watching cartoon network. Muhahaha.

After some messing around in the room, what else to do then to head to the pool!

We had a lot of fun in the pool. I am amazed at how much fun the kids can have when they are in the water and when they have great companions.

Then, we headed for dinner. On the way.. Lil Isaac and Feline are so adorable. Feline said that she wanted Lil Isaac to be her boyfriend. Haha. They have a love-hate relationship; one moment holding hands and all and the next tearing at each other's hair.

We went for the laser light show after dinner.

The tickets are expensive. We paid $54 for our family of 4 and I don't think the 20mins laser, light and water show is worth.  Zzzz.

The kids were reluctant to leave for home on the night but the room is definitely too small for all of us. Our turn is coming up 2 weeks later. We redeemed the other free night. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Growing Mimosas and Tomatos

I bought these from the Botanic Garden sometime back.

However, they remained in the bag for the longest time bcos I am no fan of dirt. I had been waiting for Daddy Lim to be available to do planting with the kids.

Finally, on one of the evenings.

The instructions on the container look really easy. However, there is this more detailed one hidden inside the package. It says that the mimosa will take weeks to grow and it would take months for the tomatoes to appear - if they even would. Lol. I don't even know if we planted the right way or have already killed the seeds. Oops.

The kids watered the plants for the past weekend. Seriously, did we give too much or little water? Moreover, we would be away next week. Let's hope that the plants are resilience enough to survive our absence.

Mummy Lim