our Christmas at Nongsa Village

December 22 ..... and not long to go before we all celebrate our special Christmas Day.

Be it going to Church, participating in a peaceful and religious ceremony, a lunch with family, or just being together, a day with friends, maybe spending it by the beach or somewhere cold where you will have a "white Christmas" ...... where ever it is, enjoy whatever this special day means to you.

John and I are spending Christmas on the Island of Batam (part of Indonesia) where we will have a very memorable Christmas once again.

We spent last Christmas there at Turi Beach Resort and were overwhelmed with the generosity of spirit with all the local people and staff. They all joined in to make it a very special day for everyone. We did not expect to see all the Indonesian staff of the resort wearing red Santa Hats, or the school children to be singing Christmas Carols, nor did we expect to see an Indonesian Band singing "Away in a Manger" and other Christmas Hymns..... it truly was very special.

these images were taken at Turi 2007:



This year tho' we are celebrating Christmas in our own home there with our friends Sandra, Doug, Jamie and Scott ..... and a few others too. There is enough food to feed all of Batam with the amount we have taken over already and what is packed to take tomorrow too!!


There are many people that wonder why we spend time on Batam, but all I can say is we really love it....... the people are just so friendly and truly beautiful people.

They are very poor but this does not detract from themselves as human beings. They make the most of what little they do have and are always grateful for whatever comes their way.



John in particular enjoys Batam, probably because it reminds him so much of Mauritius when he was a little boy ...... if you don't know where that is, check the Wikipedia site here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius

This is where John was born and lived with his family till he was 11 years of age, they then all moved to Australia ..... but he still remembers all the antics he got up to on the Island as a boy. This is why he enjoys spending so much time on Batam.

He is getting his snorkling things so he can dive off the end of the jetty and "just have fun" !!

So yes....that is our Christmas.

Three weeks of bliss at Batam. Such a peaceful and restful little piece of paradise!!
Wherever you are spending or whatever you are doing for Christmas, we hope yours is a peaceful and memorable one too.

Christmas in Singapore - 2008

Christmas in Singapore is a magical time for everyone. You sense a great build-up as early as mid-November. A magical event no visitor should miss is the annual Orchard Road Christmas Light-up.

Now in its 25th year, the Orchard Road Christmas Light-up remains as enchanting as ever - fairy lights, multi-coloured ornaments, up-lit 15m tall Christmas trees, Singaporeans and tourists in uninhibited singing and dancing.......

......... some of the photos I took along Orchard Road last night (Friday December 19) are shown below. I did not take the tripod with me, so you will see the images are not of any quality. They are here purely to see the colors and how pretty Singapore makes Christmas time!



Singapore has a multicultural identity. Since people from different ethnic backgrounds and different religions have lived cordially in Singapore since its inception, Singaporeans get together and celebrate all festivals with the same vigor and cheerfulness as they would celebrate their individual cultural festival. Whether it is the Hindu festival of Diwali, Muslim festival of Hari Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year, or Christmas, all these festivals are celebrated with the same amount of happiness.


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Since Christians have a fairly strong following in Singapore, Christmas celebrations are a gala event. Christmas decorations can be found along Tanglin Road, Scotts Road, Marina Bay area and Orchard Road.


A wide range of activities, including countdown parties, concerts, internationally acclaimed performances; art exhibitions, attractive shopping promotions and culinary treats take place.

First time I saw the Christmas Decorations in Singapore was in 2001 ..... it was an amazing sight then and it has not changed over the years, except to get better, bigger and brighter!!

Must admit though last night was not a good night to wander along Orchard Road ..... it was the first night of all the musical performances and was just so busy!

What did not help was that we had to stand all the way in on the train, which probably should have warned us that it was going to be hectic in the city area itself.

We alighted at Dhoby Ghaut MRT and walked along Orchard Road past Wheelock Place and caught the bus near Tanglin Mall. We were both very tired after that little jaunt with thousands of others.

But it was worth it.

applying for PR and obtaining same in Singapore

On August 22 2008 we applied for our PR for Singapore.

That is our Permanent Residency status for the time we are in Singapore.

The process is very simple with the first step being to make an (electronic) appoint thru the ICA (Immigration and Checkpoints Authority) via their website:

http://www.ica.gov.sg/index.aspx

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is a government agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs. ICA has brought together the former Singapore Immigration & Registration (SIR) and the enforcement work performed by the former Customs & Excise Department (CED) at the various checkpoints. Operational on 1 April 2003, ICA is responsible for the security of Singapore's borders against the entry of undesirable persons and cargo through our land, air and sea checkpoints. ICA also performs other immigration and registration functions such as issuing travel documents and identity cards to Singapore citizens and various immigration passes and permits to foreigners. It also conducts operations against immigration offenders.

We had to take quite a number of documents with us to our appointment, all which are listed in the above website.

If anyone is intending to do this, RE-CHECK all the documents and what you need to take with you for your appointment ......... and then RE-CHECK again!!

It will delay the process if you forget one small or minor detail.

From the date of our appoint on August 22 it took one week short of three months before we rec'd our letter of acceptance.

Then we needed to go and obtain TB and AIDS clearance thru our doctor....... once that was done we needed to make another appoint for the final interview....which was yesterday!!!

All done. :-)

all I need do is go into the ICA next Monday and pick up our IC cards (Identity card) and we are off and running.........

But the whole process is really quite painless and super efficient. We were very impressed by the way it is organised on our first appointment, and then again yesterday. It really is amazing to sit there and watch the process unfold.

The ICA process about 400 PR applications per day...... Our appoint was for 8.45am and we were out by 9.30am.

That is the interview, the fingerprinting, the payment, picking up the passports etc..... all completed quietly and efficiantly.

so now we can call ourselves PEE ARRR's !!

job losses world wide

Job losses affect us all in some form or another. Be it our friends, a relative, a neighbour or even ourselves. Regardless of how strong we feel our position is and "we would never lose our job here", the simple fact remains - we can.

You only need to read the worldwide headlines - or the expat forums - daily:

SINGAPORE - Shipper Neptune Orient Lines said on Wednesday it would cut 1,000 jobs as part of cost cutting measures to help ride out an expected severe downturn in the shipping sector.

In a statement, NOL said it would reduce its global workforce by 1,000, with the largest impact being in North America. There will also be 50 jobs cut in the Singapore office. -- REUTERS

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DBS, one of the largest government-linked company in Singapore, has started to fire off the first round of the mass retrenchment exercise in this economic crisis. 900 staff were being laidoff, 600 from Singapore and the other 300 from Hong Kong.

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BANK of America says it expects to cut up to 35,000 jobs over the next three years amid a sharp economic slowdown stemming from financial turmoil and its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

"Bank of America expects to have a final plan early in 2009 and estimates it will project the reduction of approximately 30,000 to 35,000 positions over the next three years," the bank said in a statement.

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New claims for US unemployment benefits rose 58,000 to 573,000 in the week ending December 6, the US Department of Labour said.

It was the largest number of people applying for benefits since November 1982.

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Every company is effected worldwide.

But we all have to remain as positive as we can. Yes, these are hard times and yes we will be effected somehow or other. But we have to be positive and try and plan ahead where possible.

I heard just yesterday that one of the large International Schools here in Singapore is losing TWO HUNDRED students. These are students that will be "going home for Christmas" never to return to Singapore.

I imagine that there maybe a few families that will be quite happy to be going home, but there will also be many where this whole situation is a dreadful emotional and financial experience for them all.

We must all think of our expat friends at this time that have had to leave this beautiful Island they called home for however long they were here.

Our prayers are with you.

our weekend at Nongsa Village

we are back after four wonderfully relaxing and peaceful days in Batam....... arrived home late this afternoon and "the boys" were just so excited to see us.

Certainly nice to know we were missed!!

Lisa, Brian and their two children (Max and Gina) house sat for us while we were away.......and in their words they "had a wonderfully, fabulous time and Oscar and Pokey were sweethearts for them".

Pokey and Oscar with John....
We were lucky too as we came home to a wonderfully clean and tidy home and very two very happy boys!

But we really did have the most relaxing four days. We arrived at Nongsa Village at 6.30pm on Thursday. Then on Friday we lazed around reading and playing cards. Sandra and Stephannie came over for a while and we had coffee. I baked two Christmas (fruit) cakes on Friday and I was in "cooking heaven"!!!

Friday night four of us went over to Turi Beach Resort and had a Teppanyaki dinner in the Japenese Restaurant.......

we 'drove' over in our golf buggies.

our buggy at Nongsa Village ...

What a hoot!!!

At one point John missed the roadway and we ended up in the garden....but hey......we managed to get out OK and continue on our merry way down to the restaurant.....tho I do think we had better get brighter lights put on that buggy of ours if we want to be buzzing around late at night!!!

Saturday I baked Peach Danishes for us all for breakfast, we spent some time down by the pool, had a swim or two. Then had coffee with our friends Jamie, Sandra and Stephannie and a few others too. More reading and playing cards.

Sunday we had Heri (the driver) take us into Batam Center so we could get some shopping done. Needed a couple of electric fans, some food to stock up for Christmas, a ladder and a few other bits and pieces.

Pool at Nongsa Village:
We were back in time to go to the BBQ down at the poolside ...... chatted with Bobby and Andrew and ate Mee Goreng Noodles and pizza washed down with Bintang beer!!!

Today (Monday) we left to village at 11.15am to catch the 12 noon ferry back to Singapore.....

an awesome weekend.

but we have to wait TWO WEEKS before we go back again. :-(

December 23!

my friend Barbara - RIP

In my last posting on THE blog I was up to leaving Blackwood and arriving back in Melbourne late on Sunday night...... Monday is our last day, so we decide to go back and spend time with Barbara and David at Bonbeach.

We saw them briefly on the day we arrived a week earlier, but wanted to just spend a wee bit more time with them. David had a stroke two years ago and is confined to the nursing home. Barbara comes in daily to spend time with him......her whole life has been turned upside down with these daily visits. No more time for herself, no more genealogy, no more visiting friends, no spending the day shopping etc.

All our packing was done, Janine did not need the car so we were free to leave just after lunch. We arrived at Bonbeach Residential Care and went straight to see my mum first who was sound asleep, so only stayed a short while with her. Then down to the community room to check on David who was having afternoon tea.

As soon as he saw us he started crying. He was quite distressed saying over and over that "Barbara was dead and its all my fault".

We told him she was running late and she would be there shortly ......but he became more distressed than usual crying and repeating that Barbara was dead and it was his fault. We took him for a walk hoping that Barb would be there soon..... we waited for a couple of hours .... and David would not settle at all.

Bev (the carer) said she would phone Barbara to see what time she was coming in. We had to leave as we were going out for dinner - a supposedly leisurely dinner with Janine - and we needed to get back to her place. Had a quick shower and changed to go to the Lower Plenty Hotel. Janine suggested we get there early so we could have a few drinks first and then dinner..... didn't quite turn out like that as she wanted to get back home for Zac!!

It was Zac's first day at home alone after being away from Janine for 2 mths ....... so our last night with our daughter in Melbourne ended up with a dog taking priority!!

into bed early so we could be up and leaving by around 6.30am the next morning. Won't go into all the drama's of the return flight as this posting is already a bit depressing (and negative!) suffice to say it took us NINETEEN HOURS "door to door" before we arrived back home in Singapore!!

Managed a few nice 'in-flight' photos though that I will 'post' soon....

we went to bed at midnight only to be woken at 5.00am to be told of the death of our friend Barbara. She apparently had died on Sunday evening while sitting at the dinner table........with us being at Bonbeach with David on Monday and Bev phoning - or trying to phone - by Tuesday it was realised that Barbara had not been seen for two days..... their friend (Ken) went to check on her as they have a spare key and found her already dead.

So, so sad.

Even more so to know that David had a premonition of her death, as he kept saying while we were with him "Barbara is dead, I know it, she is dead".

the funeral is to take place next Monday on December 8 at Mordialloc.

BK

a good friend to all.