ordinary days

Introducing our Kate...

2008-08-10T15:40:00.003+08:00

After 40 weeks and 3 days - I thought I had to wait much longer! - our daughter Kate Elizabeth decided it was time. She was born on Saturday, 2nd August 2008 at 10.41am. It was a beautiful, blue sky morning here in Beijing and the last we've had since which is a pity. At birth she weighed 3.1kg, birth length was 49cm and head circumference was 32cm. My first thought when I first looked at her a minute after she was born was she didn't look anything like me!

Unlike Tom, Kate is born with some hair which is the same colour as Tom's and is a little curly. We were home the next day as I could not get comfortable and was really bored. Kate has settled into home environment really well and Tom has been brilliant with her. A week since she was born and I think she is settling into some kind of routine.

feeling their pain...

2008-05-19T14:35:00.004+08:00

At precisely 2.30pm there were loud sounds of sirens mingled with car horns from outside. I went to look out of our balcony window and saw all the cars, bicycles, carts and even pedestrians were standstill. Didn't know it was 2.30pm but looked at my watch and realised that that was the exact time the earthquake struct in Sichuan Province. It was a moving scene. I don't think I can even comprehend how the victims feel especially parents. They're only allowed one child and put so much into that one child.

It was my first earthquake experience. At first I thought it was my pregnancy hormone - why else would I suddenly feel as though the world was moving apart from me? Then I realised the lights above the dining table were swaying just like our apartment building and then realised that this isn't pregnancy hormone but is either builders were messing about in the basement or an earthquake. I did think that if the swaying went on for another minute I was going to get Tom (who was having his nap) out pronto but as it was the swaying stopped so I called our landlady Jenny and asked her if she could call the management office to see if they were doing any work in the basement. [They put notices up but can't read Chinese so it would go unnoticed if they were]. Anyway, Jenny called back to say that it was infact the aftershocks of an earthquake perhaps from the one that hit Taiwan the day before. I switched on CNN and there it was the breaking news saying that China was just hit by a massive earthquake.

We were lucky that we are 950miles away from the epicentre - James and even our landlady who worked on the 3rd floor of her building didn't feel any movement. Only us who were on higher floors felt it. I could only imagine then the kind of damage there must be nearer to the epicentre and we now know what the people in Sichuan had to and are dealing with.

of strawberries and cream & Tous Les Jours...

2008-05-09T14:08:00.006+08:00

Yippeee I am now in the third and final trimester - fingers crossed only 10 more weeks to go (ever willing my baby to want to be born in my 38th week). My weekly pregnancy newsletter from babycentre.co.uk tells me that I should gain about 5kg from this week onwards - yikes! Last I checked I've only gained 8kg so fingers crossed at Monday's check-up the nurse will tell me I've gained only another kg more.

This is, of course, me having wishful thinking. I am devouring huge amounts of strawberries topped with yummy fresh cream from Jenny Lou's (essential expat grocery store) and can't seem to stop eating Tour Le Jours' (bakery) melt in the mouth sponge cake and cream filled bun. Bought more cream filled bun lastnight as had to pop over to get bread - resisted the sponge cake though was very, very tempted - and J's eyes almost came out of its sockets when I was into my third portion of the bun (which is about a foot long and cut into 5 portions). May I add that this was after a scrummy Korean meal complete with BBQ'ed beef sirloin, grilled mackerel, cuttlefish rings, a huge amount of salad and a whole bowl of the best ever kimchi plus when we got home I had a banana too! Will this eating ever stop??

My baby girl is getting more active by the day - wonder if all the cream and sweet things are getting her all hyper and of course my belly is getting bigger - and my son tries as much as he can to get me to carry him especially when we have to walk to somewhere. After 5 minutes he will say "cannot do this (walk) anymore. mummy carry?"

And speaking of Tom, school this week has been more fun as his class were given a new music CD which coincidentally has his favourite theme songs - Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam that is. As I write this I am also experimenting to see if I can view my blog again as think I have been censored due to last blog post. This is not the first time mind. J says he's not surprised :-P

Anyway, here are more latest pics :

Weird weather...

2008-05-04T10:53:00.003+08:00

This is our first experience of such weather in Beijing so thought I'd record it in my blog...

Yesterday we woke up to a bright albeit very polluted day in Beijing - so polluted that we can't see pass 200 metres or thereabouts. Nothing new to us Beijing laowais. Anyway, at 9.30am-ish it began to get dark so I thought great finally the rain comes. Then it got darker and darker and lo and behold it was night time again. Called J and asked him what was going on but he told me hurriedly (he was teaching someone - whoops!) that there was nothing to worry about and will speak to me later. Then 10 mins later the sky just poured it down. By 11.30am the sky was back to normal daytime rainy day i.e. gray and very cloudy.

This weather phenomenon is the work of great Chinese weather wizards who seem to have magical tools/powers that can induce rain, wind, storm and even snow. It's no wonder that Beijing-ren can predict weather spot on - they obviously have inside information! Amazing? Call it govt control. Can't complain though as today is a lot less polluted and we can see and feel Mr. Sun's rays upon us again - hurray!

School days at Ivy Bilingual

2008-04-16T11:00:00.002+08:00

The weekly journal entry for Tom's first week at school was lots of pics showing my son having lots of fun. If you asked him what he'll be doing on the way to school in the morning he'll say "play"! Hopefully learning something at the same time. Anyway, think pics speak louder than words so enjoy :-)

Baby announcements...

Also, some congratulations are due to be mentioned. Firstly to Tom's godfather Simon and Erin on the arrival of Kota Kimmel Hoskins on 10th March and to Mike and Celine who welcomed their new baby boy Cameron Matthew on 4th April. Waiting for Nick and Anna's baby's arrival next month and ours in July.

2008-04-09T14:03:00.003+08:00

Thinking of having Tom go to school on the school bus. The driver of the taxi we were in this morning moaned for the 20 mins we were stuck in traffic. Why can't the drivers just be calm and get on with it I don't know. It's not as if this isn't a daily problem.

Anyway, I promise not to moan about taxis next time I write! Tom was good about going to school and when he got to his classroom, he was greeted with a chorus of 'Hi Thomas' from his classmates and his Chinese teacher, Julia, was there yet again with her cheerful welcome. And this time we managed to say goodbye and he was good about that too.

Then off I went for my 24th Week doctor's appointment. I had the one off blood tests and I have to say the nurse who took my blood was excellent - I didn't feel any pain and she made no mistakes. Ultra sound scan showed baby is 610g, active (I suppose I won't like it either if I was trying to sleep and someone kept poking at me) and healthy. My weight is 60kg which is good news - at this same stage when I was pregnant with Tom I was already 64kg with 4 months to go - and the doctor thought it was a good steady weight gain (I only gained 1 kg since my last appointment). Spent all morning at Amcare and my assigned nurse (I am assigned a nurse as she is one of two who can speak English) Sherry was very helpful. After the ultrasound scan I had an ECG then they took my blood for the second time (this time for glucose which I had to drink up an hour before hand), had a glass of warm milk curtesy of Amcare then went to fetch Tom.

He looked tired when I got there and I think seeing that the rest of the class were already in their little beds ready for naptime he was sleepy too. Today, he ate half his lunch and was good apart from throwing sand, some of which landed on his classmate Alex's face. Friday they are going for a half day field trip to Chaoyang Park and I've decided to go so I can meet other mums and hopefully make some friends.

Just got a call from nurse Sherry and apparently my glucose readings is a little high so I have to go back on Sunday and do another round of blood test - this time they'll take my blood 4 times every hour. Why I didn't have to go through all these tests with Dr. Lim I'll never know!...Just called Dr. Lim and he doesn't think my glucose results are high. I'm just going to do the tests on Sunday to make sure although I think I am normal.

Anyway, back to Tom and school. I've now got username and pasword to get into IBS childcentre so I will be able to see the teachers' comments and see some pics of Tom and his classmates. Hoping Friday will be as nice and warm a day as today.

Tom's first day at school

2008-04-07T15:18:00.005+08:00

Sending Tom off to school on his first day was a lot easier than expected. Managed to get him changed without much argie-bargie but couldn't get him to have even a spoonful of his breakfast. Did I mention that he woke up before 7am?! I heard someone 'playing drums' (which in Tom's language is him giving his tummy some very loud smacks) in the living room and told James that T was up and it was only 6.50am! Don't know exactly what time he woke up.

The only hardship getting to Ivy Bilingual School was the taxi ride. The driver, being as some taxi drivers here are, was irritating to say the least as he didn't know the way! Had to call the school twice to give him directions. Perhaps there are too many new roads in Beijing that they can't keep up. Anyway, James came for the ride and moaned most of the way about the driver's incompetence.

Upon arrival at the school, which btw is only 15 mins away when there is no traffic jam but took us about half an hour in the morning traffic, it all went rather smoothly. Tom was greeted by a boy from his class with a big hug and James tells me that he got another hug from another classmate whilst I was talking to his English teacher, Erin. I didn't get to ask the Chinese teacher her name but managed to tell her that Tom ting bu dong he bu hui shuo zhongwen. But she was delighteld to see him none the less and I'm hoping that she can get him to speak some Chinese before July when the school ends for year 2007/08.

Apart from changing him into his new indoor shoes and seeing him being taken into his classrooms by his new classmates I didn't catch another glimpse of my son until after school! James on the other hand was observing Tom's every move and was happy to see that our son was well into his friends and environment within 2 minutes of being there. I was rather sad that Tom didn't even say bye-bye to me but we thought a quick getaway would help in that he wouldn't have time to think about where his mum and dad were.

Anyway, when I picked him up they had just finished cleaning up after lunch and I had to call out to him 3 times before he recognised my voice - perhaps he thought that I wasn't coming to get him just yet! Asked if he enjoyed his first day he said he did. Told me he played a lot and had rice for lunch though I couldn't make out with what, that he'd used the toilet and not potty (they have proper kids sized toilets and sinks). Erin told me that he helped clean-up after lunch and cleaned himself up too. He also told her that dad and mum were at home and were coming to get him later. She also said that he wasn't so good about sitting down for more than 5 mins during circle time (their lesson time) or during lunch but she said that this was normal for 2 year olds and couldn't expect more from him (this is of course the same at home so we are hoping the teachers can teach him to keep still for a little longer!). Other than that he seemed to have enjoyed himself very much and was rather sorry to leave! Wanted to play in the outdoor play area but I told him it was time to go and as I expected he was well into his afternoon nap 5 mins into the taxi ride. I notice that his top has been changed and can't find the other in his bag...hope they still have it - perhaps I'll get it back nice and clean on Wednesday...

He's now awake from his 2 hours nap, full of energy and here I am finding it difficult to stay awake - pregnancy symptom! Couldn't take a nap as the ayi now comes to clean the house at 1.30pm instead of 8.30am and my morning was spent just lepak-ing doing nothing and before I knew it I had to leave to pick Tom up. I have to say that though I missed my son, I enjoyed the peace!

I am looking forward to the school's weekly report on Tom's progress and I am told that they include pics of the kids so I can see how my son is behaving at school. Lets hope Wednesday will be as smooth running as today and am so glad that Tom likes his school.

My pregnancy...

2008-04-04T08:47:00.008+08:00

My friend Joyce has been asking me to update so here goes.... Fortunately I have no horrible stories to tell - no constant puking, no dislikes, no complaints. I have however been going a little too ga-ga over multigrain (specifically and not white) toasts with lots of butter and honey. I am also thankful that I am not in KK as I think I would've doubled my weight by now and would look close to resembling me pregnant with Tom. I recall rather vividly Simon Hoskins saying I was as big as a buffalo then...DO NOT want to look like that again! [Pic: 5 months pregnant, 118 days to go]

Amcare Women & Children's Hospital in Lido, Beijing is the choice venue to welcome my daughter into this world. I have only just started going there for my prenatal check-ups having previously gone to Beijing Vista Clinic. Unfortunately Vista don't do deliveries so after some research I found Amcare which coincidently is less than 10mins away from our new apartment and offers much better facilities than Vista at a much more reasonable price.

Issues with this pregnancy: blood tests. Acccording to Amcare prenatal care schedule you are required to have a total of 8 blood tests between weeks 12 and 40. They either take from your arm (5 times) or do capillary blood testing (prick your finger). I have issues with needles and although this has improved tremendously over the years I still am uncomfortable with them. As I am new to Amcare my next appointment may require a blood test - which will make it my fourth test this pregnancy. Didn't even have one when I was expecting Tom so I feel a little overwhelmed with the tests. You tell them your blood type and rhesus type and they tell you they need to have a record of it presumably via their own lab test that what you say is of course, true. Perhaps this is the same in other parts of the world...

Anyway, all is going well with baby. She is healthy and is developing as expected. She's quite active and is now quite sensitive to J's, T's and my voice. Think she even enjoys the stories we read to Tom at bedtime as there is a lot of wriggling going on in my belly. Tom knows he's having a sister and would, every now and again, say good morning to her and would kiss my belly and say "hi, baby" which is always nice to see. [Pic: First glimpse. 3D scan at 14 weeks old

Have started stocking up on her clothes. Went to Yashow market (Jatt this is where I got your bag) the other day and when you are confronted with so many choices it's quite hard to resist especially when they are so affordable. Going again in a couple of weeks time to bring my Dutch friend Dolly there so she could stock up for her baby girl due in mid June. My mum, who'll be here for a month from mid-July) is helping me bring over some of T's baby stuff so I need not stock up much but who can resist buying these pretty little body suits!

Next appointment is 9th April when I'll be 24 weeks. Fingers crossed blood test not required!

Spring in Beijing

2008-04-03T16:23:00.003+08:00

Trees are fast sprouting leaves and the blossoms have emerged in abudance. Spring has finally arrived in Beijing. The weather has thankfully warmed up - nothing compared to what we experienced this time last year when it was freezing cold. Lately we've been enjoying daytime temperatures of above 10 degrees (even going up to 20 degrees at one stage) accompanied with the wonderful Mr. Sun and blue skies. Pollution is, on the whole, decreasing evidence of the Government's effort in countering the situation in time for China's biggest event of the year. I have heard that the weather will be perfecto during the 2 months when the main Olympics and Paralympics take place in the capital with zero pollution and what a perfect time then to welcome our daughter into the world.

Today we decided to visit Agrilandia which was highly recommended by tbjKids in their March edition. The only thing they failed to mention was that it's desolate in early Spring and that it's best to visit in the Summer months! Despite this fact, and due to the warm sunny day, we enjoyed our time in the sun strolling pass the large chicken area and another animal area which is their mini zoo, throwing stones in their fishing pond (oops!), playing in the children's play area (which is basically a very large sand pit in which you will find four sets of swings and a slide set), pick strawberries in their green house and have authentic yummy Italian lunch. Hope we'll have time to visit it in it's peak season as at the moment it looks like it's in need of a good maintenance team. But we had a wonderful time so can't complain and am looking forward to those juicy strawberries for dessert tonight!

Tom begins his half day, 3 days a week school next week at Ivy Bilingual. I am hoping he will take it well and will enjoy having the company of kids his own age. My pregnancy is progressing well and I've found a place to have the baby which is less than 10 mins away from our new apartment - fantastic! Took Tom there to have a blood test a couple of days back - they actually took 5cc of blood! Poor boy had a proper butterfly needle in the back of his hand for about 3 mins - it was not pleasant to watch and I was glad he didn't cry a bit. His reaction was just "mummy... aow"

Some pics of us basking in Beijing's spring sun...

Into 2nd Trimester and moving apartment...

2008-01-23T09:40:00.000+08:00

Pregnant again...

Today I begin my second trimester and pregnancy the second time round has thankfully been better than my first. We don't know the baby's sex yet but all is well and that's all that matters. Still deciding where to have the baby - KK or Beijing but only time will tell I suppose as summer is a busy month for James at Bayhood. Going back home to KK on Wednesday next week and looking forward to going to my doctor there as not quite satisfied with the doctor here!!

Moving apartment...

With the impending new arrival we thought it would be good to move to a bigger place so we'll be saying bye-bye to our Lu Gang apartment next week and will start moving things over today to our new place in Jiamei Fengshang. It's on the 17th Floor and much quieter than our current place which we're looking forward to - less traffic noise and hopefully not much banging from nearby contruction sites. Anyway, I like it very much as it's much cleaner than Lu Gang and much more organised. We're lucky again to have landlords who can speak English so will not have a problem communicating.

Looking forward now to going back home for some sun, sea and lots of relaxation. Think Thomas is getting fed-up wearing so many layers so he'll be happy to just be running around in shorts and t-shirts!

Some pics for those of you who haven't seen the pics on facebook....

Matt and Michelle's wedding on 30th Nov, 2007

UK Holiday pics (Dec 07)

Christmas in Beijing...

October

2007-10-18T17:38:00.000+08:00

September went by quite quickly. We celebrated Tom's second birthday with a cosy gathering and Tom got his plane cake (I only realised after looking at pics that his 1st birthday and christening cakes are the same colour as his 2nd birthday cake!!! Mental note to make sure next year I use a different colour.

I think S&J did enjoy their trip over to see us but they could have done without the final three days of bug attack. But they managed Xian to see the terracotta warriors, forbidden city, summer palace, a stay at the Raffles Beijing and of course the great wall.

The weather is thankfully not as cold as that in the UK but we are starting to feel the dryness and electricity shocks between me and Tom are becoming far too frequent for my liking. Note: the humidifier in the apartment doesn't seem to do it's job properly though my husband had predicted this fault blaming the price - but hey! when in china try to buy cheap right?....perhaps not...perhaps we need two units...

Lynn's Wedding

2007-08-08T09:21:00.000+08:00

Our trip to KK for Lynn's wedding can be described in one word - fast. The wedding went as planned and so many turned up for the evening reception that there was no way to find friends. Relatives from my dad's side of the family came with lots of tapai (local rice wine) to drink and think everyone had a sip from specially made bamboo glasses.

Thomas started out looking very smart in his pageboy outfit but as he fell asleep when we arrived in church, he didn't make it for the aisle procession. Then because there was no air-conditioning in the church, my boy ended up so hot and sweaty he decided it was more fun playing with his little Emirates plane and eating raisins!

Anyhow, Lynn looked beautiful in her gown and was almost in tears as she recited her vows. Someone made a kiss sound over the microphone just as Vijay was about to give Lynn a kiss on the cheek as instructed by the priest (!) which shocked not only Vijay but also the priest. As is was a wedding blessing i.e. not full service, the whole thing was finished in less than an hour and we were off to my mum's house for the luncheon. The heavy downpour that arrived with the bridal car did not hamper our celebration and so it was on with the sosopon (drinking tapai from the huge jars with bamboo straws).

KK had changed in the short time since we've been away for the better - traffic less conjested due to opening of bypass. Anyhow, even though there was rain some days it was so good to wake up to blue skies and no pollution.

Beijing...leisurely times

2007-06-10T15:20:00.000+08:00

Here are some pics of our daily life in the Chinese capital...

Visits to the park... Tom's favourite place to practice his golf swings. People here are into being healthy so you will see lots in the park exercising or early weekend mornings you will see them practice their fox trots. One of their favourite past time is flying kites but you can also catch them sleeping on the park benches as well as take their dates for a stroll - ah how romantic!

At home... We like our 2-bedroom apartment on the 15th floor. Our block is one of the 11 blocks of apartments called Lu Gang Jia Yuan Community located in the north of the city in the Wangjing (aka mini Korea) area. It's convenient in many ways: about 10mins away from work for J, a huge park is just next door, supermarkets and other shopping areas close by and the airport is only 20mins away.

Playtime at playgyms and at Gymboree....

Hong Kong

2007-06-10T14:27:00.000+08:00

We enjoyed Hong Kong very much. Coming out from Beijing, it was like a breath of fresh air - the pollution there isn't as bad - but being understood by almost everyone was truly wonderful. Anyway, though our visit was mainly for reasons pertaining to visa extentions we tried to cramp in shopping and some sightseeing. Shopping was good - bought lots of stuff for Tom - and we also replaced our not-working camera with a new slim version.

Not that we went into every shopping mall but our favourite shopping centre was the Harbour City on the Kowlood part of the territory. The night cruise around Victoria Harbour in a Chinese junk called aqualuna was also enjoyable. The sound and light show was good too but think it would have been better, we think, if we were watching from the Kowloon side of the harbour instead of being on the boat. Anyway, the tram up to The Peak was also interesting and the views of HK from up there is fabulous.

Why Tom had fun? He got to go on an underground train (much better than the London underground btw), a boat, a tram, saw helicopters or helicop as he calls them, a car, a bus and if you include the plane ride well that just made his day. As you might have gathered by now - he loves anything mechanical.

Tourists in Beijing...

2007-06-08T06:58:00.000+08:00

Places we've visited so far...

The Great Wall - Badaling section

First time we went was in early March. There was still snow up in the mountains and the wind was bitter cold. Tom was not impressed! James and his colleagues did the walk up to the top whilst Tom and I sought refuge in a cafe and had a delicious hot chocolate. Badaling is very tourist oriented with a shops lining the road up to the entrance. The second time Tom and I went up was with my mum in April. Weather was much better and all three managed to walk all the way up to the highest point (at least at Badaling anyway). My mum didn't think it was that tiring but I think some of the other climbers beg to differ! This time we went up via what they call sliding cars which are basically carts which travel on rollercoaster like rails. Tom thought the trip up was scary but the trip down was fun. Was it safe? I was strapped on and Tom's safety belt were my arms - but yes safe as the carts travelled attached to one another (there are 15 carts, 1 per person) travelling at slowish speed.

Tiananmen Square...

Is a large square of concrete slabs and like most touristy places in Beijing, is very crowded. The 'square' is actually part of the main gate through which you enter into the Forbidden City. When we went, there were loads of local tourists and a few groups of foreign tourists. Mao looks down upon us from the gate itself and he, together with the gate, seem to be the most sought after photo background. Our thoughts were on the pro-democrasy events of 1989 which became our main topic of conversation on site. Anyway, didn't stay very long as Wangfujing (main shopping area about 10 mins walk away) was calling and well, there were other places to explore...

Forbidden City

You think once your through Tiananmen Gate (and this is a claustrophobic experience to begin with) you're in the Forbidden City - think again. We walked what seemed to be miles before we reached Wumen Gate which is the proper entrance. Not to bore you with the historical reasons - let's just say it's for the emperor's security. Anyway, once you've bought your tickets and your own audio guides (optional) equipments you enter Wumen Gate through to FC - all 720,000 sq m of it. It is magnificient. Think the colours red and gold, mythical beasts, beautiful carvings everywhere - the details are beautiful. Like I said, it's huge so we only managed a few halls, a look at the emperor's throne (although you can only view from outside of the building's main door, it is still impressive. I only wished they did some dusting - the place looked run down), the nuptial bedroom (think there are 3 beds in the 'room') and we strolled through the imperial garden (where emperors chose their concubines and basically spent most of their leisure time). It was then out of the FC through Shenwumen Gate only to find that we have to walk around the palace moats and miles back to Tiananmen Square. Exhausting but certainly worth another visit.

Wangfujing Snack Street

Feel like having some Chinese satays? What about some scorpions? There are a lot of weird culinary treats here but if you're adventurous and like to try everything then there's loads to fill your appetite. I read about the place in Lonely Planet but my mum and I stumbled upon it by chance - because lots of people were coming out of there with yummy looking finger food. Have yet to take James there.

When you take organised tours they might also take you to The Ming Tombs, The Beijing Jade Museum and The Beijing Institute of Traditional Medicine amongst other places. They are interesting in their own way esp. the Ming Tombs but places like the Jade Museum and the traditional meds centre, well, they just think you're loaded and can't wait to spend a few or hopefully a hundred or so kuai (slang for Renmembi). Few photos taken in these places as I allowed Tom to fiddle so much with the camera it began to not work i.e. left pic taken at the tomb of Emperor Chang Ling at the Ming Tombs.

Beijing...To begin with

2007-06-07T07:13:00.000+08:00

Many of you have been asking about our life in Beijing and what it’s like. As with other places in the world, Beijing has its positives and negatives. Note: please bear in mind the following is Beijing according to me who has only been here for 3 months.

First the bad.

No. 1: Beijing's rather infamous smoggy environment. When Tom and I first came to land at Beijing's Capital Airport we could not see the city until we were about 200 metres (well that’s what it felt like) from the ground. What I initially thought to be thick clouds, I soon discovered to be an almost impenetrable layer of smog aka pollution. When we got out of the airport that morning of 1st March, I looked up to the sky and almost choked. For a second I couldn’t breathe. Immediate thought: Shock. I truly have taken blue skies for granted and I missed them terribly. This is all despite prior warnings from husband. Sad Fact 1: Beijing has a target quota ‘blue sky days’ per year - think its 238. We rejoice when we wake up to a blue sky day. Sad Fact 2: Beijingers have started to see stars at night only recently. Sad Fact 3: The smoggy air is filled with pollution from nearby factories, construction sites and car fumes (an apparent source of lead poisoning because of the number of cars on the road - did you know that people here buy a total of 1,000 cars per day?!). Note: Next time you see pics of Beijingers with surgical masks on it really is NOT funny. Positive Fact 1: The most infectious disease is apparently the common cold - hurray! Those SARS days are thankfully gone. [Pic above: This is what we woke up to today - a non-blue sky day of course.] Blue sky days are beautiful...and look at that sunset...

No. 2: Extreme temperatures. It gets incredibly freezing cold in the winter (I have yet to experience this btw) and oven temperatures (this began two days ago) in the summer. Apparently winter sees drops in temperatures to below - 15° Celsius whilst in the summer we enjoy temperatures up to 40° Celsius. And by the way throughout these times it’s dry, sometimes windy (bitter cold wind in the winter) though better in the summer I suppose. Sad Fact 4: Because of freezing temps, Beijing is cloaked with one colour in winter - dirty claylike gray. Sad Fact 5: Body lotion is essential unless you can live with scaly, dry and itchy skin. Positive Fact 2: This year they recorded the highest temps in Jan & Feb (normally the coldest months) of up to 16° Celsius. Very good news for husband who is more accustomed to Sabah weather. Positive Fact 3: Spring, and am told, particularly Autumn is wonderful weather and is best time to visit. [Pic: Winter scene from apartment window and of Tom enjoying his first snow]

Warm Summer days means swimming, playing in the park, strolling around a garden

No. 3: Construction seems never ending. The city is physically developing fast. When we first chose the apartment in December, James warned that there was still on-going construction. Why am I not surprised that the on-going is still on-going? Sad Fact 6: There are construction sites every 200 or so metres. Which brings us to Positive Fact 4: Tom finds it fun to count number of cranes seen. In the words of my son, wow! Positive Fact 5: In anticipation of providing blue sky days during Olympic, we’ve heard that all construction will stop on 1st Jan 2008.

No. 4: Spitting is common. Sad Fact 7: My son thinks it’s funny and will attempt to imitate when I am not looking.

No. 5: Putonghua (modern standard mandarin to you and me) is not easy. My first attempts at the language drew not only curious questions (Where are you from? You look like Chinese, why you don’t speak Chinese?) but also in most cases laughter and shaking of heads. The language first sounded like sounds with lots of ‘r’ - I found out that it‘s very Beijing to have an ‘r’ to end words. I am now happy to say that despite very little training I can decipher words and can offer a word/phrase or two in return. Positive Fact 6: All the phrasebooks I’ve bought helps. Sad Fact 8: I have to bring them everywhere just in case.

No. 6: Crazy and almost lawless driving. Here it is all about tolerance. Taxi drivers are highly skilled in overtaking, driving within inches of the car in front and being able to quickly divert path to avoid collision with other cars, buses, horse carts, cyclists or pedestrians. Sad Fact 9: Sometimes when you least expect it they will give you your change back with false money. My experience: received ¥ 50 once. Positive Fact 7: Lady taxi drivers are better at not speeding and are also friendlier than their male counterparts. Positive Fact 8: At the speed in which everyone is driving you get to your destination fast.

Funny story in relation to taxi drivers and their ‘clean-up’ for the Olympic [From Scotland’s Sunday Herald (on-line)]: This week, a 12-item evaluation chart was published for taxi drivers: Male drivers must cut their hair short and female drivers should avoid dangly earrings or "odd" bright red or blonde hair. And there's to be no more spitting, littering or overcharging.

"Taxi drivers are a window through which the foreigners will see Beijing, and we need to further regulate their services," announced Liu Xiaoming, vice-director of the Beijing Transport Commission. Sporting a neatly cropped bowl haircut, crisp white shirt and ill-fitting dark suit, Liu sweated slightly under the media spotlight.
Body odour and a post-meal "garlic smell" inside cabs were persistent issues in written complaints from foreign officials and executives said his colleague, Liu Tongliang. "On top of that, many drivers love to smoke," said Liu Tongliang. "Some sensitive female passengers smell it, then refuse to get in the car."

So sensitive are the Lius about making the right impression upon the estimated 550,000 overseas Olympic visitors next year that the bureau is dispatching "undercover passengers" to sniff out the city's 277 cab firms. Rankings will be published, with the biggest stinker of all shut down.

Okay, now for the positive.

No. 1: People are friendly and helpful. However it is still all about face. Therefore, we try to avoid confrontations. One bad experience: we were on a narrow path outside the apartment, on our way out for dinner. We let Tom walk which of course takes slightly longer. Old man and his wife comes along. Old man pushes past James with a shoulder tackle. James let out a ‘humph’ sigh. Old man is furious and starts shouting. Tell me who’s fault was it in the first place? Sorry is hard to come by here. Positive Fact 9: You will get the gist of the language fast as even if you say ‘wor boo ming bai’ (I don’t understand) they keep talking anyway.

No. 2: Food is good here. Positive Fact 10: Beijing has plenty of expat thus the variety of food choice and restaurants to choose from. Chinese food varies from Shanghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Yunnan. What’s famous in Beijing? Peking duck of course. Best restaurant to sample them is Da Dong Roast Duck. Yummy. Sad Fact 10: Because Beijing is massive and the fact that we live in the north of the city, restaurants are quite far to get to! I have no idea of distances so I calculate base on taxi fare from our apartment. ¥ 50 is quite far. Positive Fact 11: There are plenty for us to dine at. Note: We have not found a good Italian (I miss Little Italy), Japanese, Korean or even a good steak yet.

No. 3: Satellite TV can be obtained illegally and you pay nothing for subscription. Sad Fact 11: Most people have their satellite dish pinned to their building’s wall. Ours is free standing in our bedroom. We have since gotten over the sight of that ‘thing’. Sad Fact 12: Because I messed up our 1st installation settings, we now only have 12 channels therefore no StarWorld, AXN, Discovery Channel, HBO, Cinemax etc. Sad fact 13: We have asked supplier to change back to original setting. It has been two months and no sign of them yet. Positive Fact 11: We have ESPN and Star Sports (but with lots of basketball, NFL and baseball - James has not seen a live football or golf match since January), Hallmark, etc and National Geographic.
[pic - Notice the dish?]

No. 4: You can find loads of bargains here. Positive Fact 12: Clothes, bags, accessories, electrical appliances, shoes - anything for that matter - can all be very, very cheap. All depends where you shop of course as the likes of Prada etc. can be found in Beijing. Sad Fact 14: You have to bargain for deals. Be prepared for shouting, rude sales assistants who may also pull you and sit you down until you buy the product. This of course only happens in the famous markets here i.e. YaShio, Silk Market (have yet to discover its bargains), Jiayi and Sunny Golden Market though think there is more of these markets in town. Note: Bargain goods are all fake even if they tell you it's grade A product, don’t believe them.

No. 5: DVDs are plenty. Positive Fact 13: They can be bought very cheaply at ¥ 10 per disc. That’s 66p to you in the UK and RM4.47 to you in KK. Positive Fact 14: The quality is superb and they offer dvd5 or dvd9 or was that dvd12 - can’t remember. Sad Fact 15: They are all pirated. Positive Fact 15: We live very close to the best place to get them. Positive Fact 16: They stock up-to-date stuff.

No. 6: Broadband is cheap therefore one can be online all the time.

No. 7: History and culture is rich here. Positive Fact 17: Main attractions (Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Ming Tombs, Great Wall, Summer Palace) are close to where we live. And there is a long list of places near enough to explore on day excursions.

No. 8: Olympic Village is close to Wangjing (where we live). Positive Fact 18: The main Olympic stadium is about 10mins taxi ride from our apartment. Anyone intending to visit us during that time please book earlier. Room, sofa, floor available on first come first serve basis.

This is all I can manage at this time - otherwise this post will not be published. Will update you as I discover more of Beijing. In the meantime, I will summarise Beijing as follows: An interesting city. Colourful in many aspects and though the pollution casts a gloomy spell, Beijing is very liveable and I at least am beginning to like it very much.

Copenhagen

2007-03-17T09:41:00.000+08:00

Finally some time to update. Thought I should start with our visit to Juliet and Per in Copenhagen in Feb. Tom and I arrived on 1st Feb in the evening and Per kindly came and picked us up from the airport as Liet was working in another part of town. We were treated to delicious seafood paella ala Per for dinner - home cooked meal always a treat!

The next day Liet took us to a zoo (Zoologisk Have) nearby and then to the city centre. Felt safe and unintimidated in Copenhagen. Lots of people on bicycles some with attached carriages in which their children sit or just carts. I couldn't believe how family friendly all the services were. Buses and underground all catered for strollers - it was easy to move around.

Then we had blue skies for Saturday which was just as well as it was a sightseeing day. Went to the city centre again where we enjoyed the architecture including the palace, strolled along the famous harbour in Nyhavn, and of course visited Den Lille Havfrue - the Little Mermaid. Per toned down my expectations for this maiden but I was still impressed all the same.

After breakfast on Sunday, Per and Liet took us to the airport and off we went back to Wells. A very enjoyable trip and glad to have finally made it to see the both there. Hope Per has found all the rubberbands which Tom has been hiding in various places in their apartment! Thanks you two for a wonderful time. Still owe you dinner....!

christening

2006-09-01T00:04:00.000+08:00

A little slow (!!) in updating (sorry Lynn and Si). Got back from our holiday in Wells, England and we had a very enjoyable time especially Tom. The christening was just as we expected if not better. Weather was wonderful and we enjoyed our friends' company.

After the Christening service...

Tom certainly enjoyed the company of Luca Fricker (only days younger than T, our friends Geoff and Gemma's son) and Lenka Carter (1yr8mths - James' cousin Kirsty's daughter). Kirsty stood in for Tom's godmother, Shirley, who couldn't make it to the christening.

Luca

and Lenka

The pic below is of us after the Christening with the Rev. Goodman, Simon Hoskins (Godfather), Lenka and Kirsty, and Grandma and Grandpa.

With Grandpa (Grandma was very busy so did not get to take pic with her!) inside the church and with daddy (below) outside

Pics Below: With Godfather then Si looking very comfortable. With Matt and Michelle - thank you Matt for taking the video at Church. Pics below are of Tom with his Great Grandpa Harold and his christening cake.

my little smile bringer

2006-07-08T23:37:00.000+08:00

My cousin Amanda's 20th birthday today - can't believe how fast they are all growing up. Tom with the birthday girl and with Moing and Godmother Shirley and second cousin Heather.

I think Tom knows he's being photographed now - look at his pose and those smiles? More pic of him in action:

updates...

2006-07-05T23:48:00.000+08:00

Tom now has his Malaysian passport so we are ready for our hols in the UK at the end of the month - we can't wait as a holiday is very much needed. His sixth teeth, though has already cut his gum, is taking forever to grow so not sure what's happening there but there is no shortage of biting my shoulders.

Have I mentioned that he is a fast crawler now? And since our visit to our friend Celine's house so he can play with kids similar his age, he has discovered the joys of playing with things on wheels so this morning J got his remote control car out and it was a hit. Tom was chasing the car around the apartment!

Baby Einstein videos are also very much his interest these days and is mostly that he's allowed to watch on TV. Favourite at the moment is Baby MacDonald and in particular the hand puppets.

House - Basically it's progressing but in a little slower pace than anticipated. The outside wall paints are on and work on the flooring has started. As you can see the windows are in too though think they will only install the sliding glass doors when the floor tiles have been installed.

engagement

2006-05-19T23:16:00.000+08:00

Wonderful news this week - my sister and Vijay have decided it's time to tie the knot so their engagement will take place in Sept this year. My mum is happy as can be expected and Lynn, over the moon, has set herself planning for the big day and as I am in KK and she in Dubai, I will be helping out with the organising. Another celebration to look forward to. [Pic: Tom with Aunty Lynn earlier this year].

At our home there hasn't been much going on. J busy as usual at work and T has caught the flu bug. You'd think that he would be a little quieter than usual but no my son thinks his voice is the best thing ever so has been shouting (and VERY loud too) quite a bit just to make sure we agree. Not sure if it's the medication but T is now sleeping through the night which is brilliant. Couldn't quite believe it. The first night this happened we were told that there was a bad storm - apparently one of the worst KK has experienced - but neither one of us heard it! Out like a log all three.

More pics of Tom...

homes

2006-05-06T14:56:00.000+08:00

My sister Lynn has just moved in to her condo in PJ which she is sharing with her partner Vijay and my brother-in-law Matt and his partner Michelle have just bought a very nice house in London. M&M are moving in soon I should think and us - well our house is almost completed. The plumbing work is in progress this week - finally after 3 weeks! - though it doesn't look like it's getting on very fast. I still have high hopes that we can move in by end of June beginning of July but John thinks that it'll be August.

This is how the house currently looks like. Once the plumbing is done the ceiling will be completed and then the tiles go in then the bathrooms' WC and sinks and then paint... well sounds like a lot more to be done but I'm still hopeful.

The workman whom you can just about see in the pic told me that there are loads of snakes coming out of the back wall at night - frightful! The developer has told me that they will spray sulphur to get rid of them and supposedly spraying the wall with garlic water will keep them away too - well whatever it is you can be sure that they will be gone before we move in. But back to where I started - it's nice that everyone's settling in so to speak.

T' s third tooth has just cut his gum today - upper left! Quite fast but I guess there's no stopping them coming once the first has popped out.
James installed Tom's new car seat this week and he was very happy to be facing the same way as everyone as you can see.

He has been practicing his standing up moves this week and has started to walk with our help - not steady yet. Gave him some egg plant in his food the other day much to my mum's disapproval - not good if he has rashes it seems but he has none and had none since so I'm not feeling so bad - best to get him to try as many vegies as poss. Loves red pepper.

We have been lucky with him having no bouts of allergies and illness so far. Probably strong as an ox like his dad. Lots of fresh air should do the trick - Sue will agree to that. Even a bit of drizzle is no harm I think but that's me.

To begin with...

2006-04-22T23:53:00.000+08:00

My cat is staring at the PC as I write - good ol' Mia pie (her name is Mia but James (my husband) added pie to rhyme with sweetie pie so the name has stuck along with Mimi and Mi Pea - my loyal friend). Tom has finally fought off his fever with the help of Neurofren and paracetamol. It has been a tiring few days (not to mention all the worry) what with rushing to a 24hr clinic in the wee hours of the morning yesterday (mad! but I fear that this will be ordinary thing for parents certainly for us I think) when T's temp was over 39C and the crying last night but all is well after this evening - quite a fighter my boy is.

This is T. He is now in his cot sound asleep and J has just gone after deciding that he can't keep up with the Liverpool and Chelsea match.

And Mia has left now - decided the typing is boring and has gone off to hunt me a cicak I hope or off to her bed in the spare room.

S&J (my in-laws, Sue and John) were here the last couple of weeks and we had a break with them, spent mostly at STAR and Rasa Ria - wonderful to just lie (under the shade for me but nonetheless..) sun with nothing in mind but the book I was reading, wondering what to have for lunch and what fun T was going to have swimming at 5pm.... Anyway, had a good time and can't wait to be with them again in 3 months' time.

I have decided to get a helper to clean the house on a part time basis - why refuse help when you don't have to and besides T requiring more and more attention (a valid reason I think to get help). The truth of the matter is I need the help - it's almost chaos the apartment. Hopefully this lady Neela is the right candidate - meeting her next week.

Time for bed now.