Author archive
3 October 2006
Above: Chinese Opera performer on the street in Xiamen. Leaving Singapore Today I take Mum and step-dad to Xiamen for a little holiday. Despite booking the SilkAir ticket online, electronic ticketing wasn’t available and we had to collect the ticket from a counter before proceeding to check-in. The flight 1120 flight left slightly late and […]
2 October 2006
Above: Chinatown by night in the lead-up to the Mooncake Festival. In the evening, Jacob and Janet took us out for a drive and a wander around Chinatown. The area was very nicely illuminated and decorated with lanterns for the Mooncake or Mid-autumn Festival. Janet was very proud of how Singapore celebrates the various multi-ethnic […]
30 September 2006
It was after 2100 when I was picked up by step-dad, Lawrence, from Changi Airport. Roaming charges in Singapore are quite reasonable and I was able to ring him from inside the plane before disembarking, so that I didn’t have to wait too long. Back at Lawrence’s place, Mum had been out and was dropped […]
30 September 2006
The core part of this trip is to go to northern India with Kim and family, as his father was born in India. My first leg takes me to Singapore where I’ll spend some time with my Mum and take them on side-trips to Xiamen and Bintan. Kim’s parents too me to the airport for […]
3 June 2006
I arrived back into Auckland at 1000 after an adventure like no other. Not many people get to visit Yemen. I get to stay, explore, learn and make new friends. I’d like to do it again. Watch this space!
2 June 2006
After 3 full days and 4 nights in Singapore with family, I departed on the evening Air New Zealand flight back to Auckland. I was fortunate enough to have three seats to myself to lie flat. The airline seems to have cut back on the meal. There’s no longer an appetiser or salad on the […]
30 May 2006
I hate flying from west to east because it’s hard to get up in the mornings. I woke at 0700. After a momentary doze, it was 0900. There’s not much we had to do anyway, being with parents who are approaching 80 years of age. Step-dad’s relatives Jacob and Janet came to visit. Mum asked me […]
29 May 2006
After clearing transit security at Dubai, I went to the lounge to kill some time. I had a beautiful mutton curry on tomato rice plus salads. The toilet in the lounge was truly special. I walked into the cubicle; the lid lifted automatically. It had a “front” and “back” washer and dryer! Truly advanced engineering […]
29 May 2006
What an awesome adventure it has been in Yemen. It was nice to follow it up with some chill time in Greece before flying to Singapore (via Dubai) to stay with my parents, who live there part-time.
28 May 2006
I have an evening departure from Athen to Dubai tonight, connecting there to Singapore. I have most of the day to kill around Athens. Going out after breakfast, I headed to Syntagma Square to see the changing of the guards. There were lots of people. The ceremony was more elaborate than I had expected with […]