what a month!

march isn't over yet but what a month it has been!

the kind folks from san francisco were here for a short visit. auntie lydia and uncle joe are still as funny and warm as i remember them from my stay at their place last march.

they did the touristy stuff, like riding on the Hippo bus twice(!). these two trips took them round the CBD and areas like chinatown, little india and geylang and equipped them with more general knowledge of singapore than we, the residents, ever have ;-)  

they also did the Hippo cruise and the night safari. ok, so i was the tour guide for the latter. no, actually, i was more like the driver cos the night safari was pretty new to me too, my last visit being some eight, nine years ago.

they also got to do the local stuff like stuff their faces silly with food. 

like durian, kindly bought by gal pals C and L who have met them before.

the mangosteens were for uncle joe, a typical kwai loh who can't stand durians.

then there was an evening when we had a homemade popiah party. the rain kept the party indoor but didn't dampen our spirit. drinks flowed, tummies swelled, glasses tipped and broken! am not making this up - auntie lydia was a little inebriated, i guess.

they fitted in two morning walks and were most impressed with the east coast park.

and this:-

uncle joe was so amused he took a few pictures :-)

they were here for only four days but we managed to pack a lot in. dinners, walks, hippo tours and cruise, MRT rides (from city hall amidst the IT show crowd!!), and even a karaoke night. what great fun!!

then we took off to KL for a few days. i call it my yearly pilgrimage - for retail therapy and to meet up with close friends.

must be age but with each trip, oz and i find ourselves appreciating more, the warm ties with these KL folks. it's always good food, good wine, good company and we drink to that all the time, from the bottom of our heart (and glasses, hahaha..)

the first night was spent with K and wife, and D, who brought us to this new restaurant in damansara kim which served the most unbelievably delicious steamed river fish. its name is hard to remember so the owner taught us to call it the 'wang bu liao' (unforgettable) fish. it's not on the menu so you have to know how to order. K brought a bottle of my fave Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and another from Cape Mentelle. i must have had at least 2 glasses of each and i must have been the happiest person in that room that night :-)

it was a present surprise when, on the second night, after a yummylicious dinner at kepong with mike and family, we adjourned to their new house and found it was actually mike's birthday!

that's their son running away from the camera. you can see our reflections in the back.

mike popped open a bottle of champagne and we had a lovely evening, basking in the glow of friendship and love.

on the last night, i caught up with my old classmates. as usual, M took the effort to round up a few others and i really appreciate that. 

we went to the curve and chose to eat at this place called the apartment. the setting was informal, as if one were in an apartment and tables set up around the place.

wanted to sit at this table which was the bathroom setting (no, you don't sit on toilet seats) but it was already reserved.

the concept was novel but the food truly forgetable.  

but it didn't matter. as with our yearly get-togethers, we try to catch up with one another's lives, gossiped a little about others' and in so doing, strengthened our bond which goes back all the way to primary school.  

also found time to catch up with our monash U niece, X. met for lunch at sunway pyramid. not knowing where to eat, we ended up, unfortunately, at a crappy japanese joint where the tempura tasted of stale oil. cardinal sin!! 

but it was great to do girly stuff with X, like shopping for clothes  :-)

on sunday, we met up with auntie lydia and uncle joe again with other relatives, this time in seremban as we visited father-in-law's grave. we did a quick wash and scrub and laid flowers. 

later, we had lunch with more relatives at a restaurant. these are folks we see on an irregular basis, more on birthdays, weddings and deaths. but heartening to know the ties are not cordial but strong. saying goodbye was a protracted affair, as always, right outside the restaurant, on the road, by the car. with over ten relatives to hug and say bye-bye to. 

not a chore at all.

i also hope that these trips are as meaningful to the girls as they are to me. as they grow, i wish for them to see these trips not as chores but as affirmation of kinship, love and friendship.