Batam

In spite of the boys holiday camp I have been so busy that have not been good at updating the news here. I used their last week at camp to get an interview done with the Eu Yan Sang people and it was a truly great meeting. Learned a great deal and am trying to put it into some kind of form now. But with the boys being off school and off camp a bit tricky.

Last Friday we went over to Batam to see where Robert is staying. Quite a hassle the getting away from here - a lot of running around in the terminal and many checks and very busy with people. Also on the other end had to get visas for everyone etc. So this way the trip takes considerably longer than just the ferryride of about 1 hour. But we got there. It was dark when we arrived so didn't see much of the island. The resort where he stays is very funny though - Harris. It is by the seaside with own beach but facing the Singapore Straights, so wouldn't want to go into water there. But they have a great big pool and masses of activities. Robert has a junior suite there and they had kindly put in beds for kids. The kids are always so excited to go to a hotel anyway! All the staff are so happy and friendly all the time even though Robert complains that things don't work perfectly. I found the friendly and personal attitude makes up for that any time. The manager is a round happy Greek guy from Cyprus who is always around greeting people, answering phones, shaking hands, joining in karaoke and line dance. On the BBQ night the boys had their first go at karaoke with "twinkle twinkle".

Saturday morning Robert went to work and we explored the resort. Soon Beatrice discovered the kid's club "nanny" and was not to get away. They played outside, indoors, went fishing. There were two other kids from Singapore in the club for most of the day and all played really well together. And "nanny" Rofi is a real Mary Poppins - she really joins in the games and is not superwising the kids. So I didn't almost know what to do with my day! Got a lot of work done on my article, went to the gym and foot reflexology (ouch!!!). There is also a nice roof top spa that I will plan in for next time! In the afternoon we all went fishing with the kids club - just to a pond outside and funnily they all caught lots. Karl thought he won as he was the first one to catch a fish but later Raoul took one after the other. He thinks he caught at least 10. Beatrice got 6. We released the fish afterwards. (And when they went fishing the next day almost nobody caught anything at all - the fish knew already!)

The resort was very busy on the weekend - lots of local groups for daytime activities (a great attraction among others is a long "flying fox" that starts from the roof of the hotel and goes over the pool!) and a few big church groups for their gatherings. That ended in very loud and extremely bad karaoke style singing until late night under our window. Couldn't understand much apart from a few halleluja's from time to time but otherwise sounded like some really bad chinese pop. Well, I was so tired of my busy day that it didn't really matter.

On Sunday met Robert's big boss at breakfast, he was very nice and friendly to us, talked about his 4 kids and let Robert have a day off. Not that it mattered much because the kids just wanted to go to kids club anyway. With bribes and threats we managed to drag them away for a little swim and lunch in between play. Beatrice had been keen to go bowling - there is an alley at the resort - so we went but after 5 rounds she had had enough and ran back to play. Karl followed soon. Which left Raoul, Robert and me bowling for all 5 of us. Raoul carried the heavy balls bravely and was happy with his strokes no matter if he hit. Well at least great stamina. But we are all rubbish at bowling and really only went because Beatrice wanted it!

None of us got sick or had any problems at all. So I guess Robert must have been really unlucky with his Batam belly and that gave him very hard time for the first couple of weeks. Hopefully better now.

So we didn't manage to do any sightseeing at all. Next time I'll know and just send the kids to club and go shopping on my own. On the way back to ferry could see a bit of the surroundings. It is really still a developing country in spite of it's proximity to Singapore. Many many wooden huts on roadsides, just like some remote corners of Bali. Roads full of holes, buildings broken or unfinished. It will take ages to catch up even with Malaysia. But people seem to be very laid back and happy.

We will not have to move which is really good news. I would hate to do it again so soon. So now just looking forward to going to Europe in 20 days time!

Meanwhile the boys have started a holiday camp at a preschool near us. At first they were not really sure if they liked it and told me they wanted to go to their own school instead. But as their school is closed and doesn't have a camp there is no choice. By now they have started to enjoy it actually. They have been doing lots of nice things - going to museum, theatre, big new indoor play, butterfly farm, baked gingerbread and pizzas etc. The teachers there were surprized after their first day that the boys could speak Mandarin. Next week will be Mandarin camp so we shall see how that goes. But I am really excited about them learning it. Hopefully they will get a good strong base by the time we leave Singapore.

I have my mornings off and can continue Yoga classes and other stuff I need to get done. Last week we had some interesting encounters here. There was a group of Estonian entrepreneurs visiting Singapore for what they call "innovation seminar" which is organized by a management magazine in Estonia. I know some of the organizers and got involved with the project a bit. Helped to arrange a meeting with the oldest and biggest traditional chinese medicine company in Singapore and could attend that meeting as well. It was very interesting to learn about the company but even more to taste some of their herbs that were integrated into a special lunch. They had created a special menu together with Conrad hotel's chefs and used many traditional chinese herbs. Each course had two dishes using the same ingredients - one a western version, the other a chinese version. Very exciting and interesting tastes and textures. Some I knew and use regularly but some were completely new for me. So my shopping list will be more adventerous from now on. Also great was to talk to the people in the group. I find it always very inspiring to meet somebody who has achieved something due to own smart ideas and creativity. My circle here is mostly limited to other mums and  there is not much brainfood in this interaction with a few exceptions. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum and take up some writing again.

Day after that we joined the group at dinner at Samy's curry which is a Singapore institution - at the otherwise posh Dempsey Hill, very simple and basic but great food. Later Sonny invited some of the group to his house and there were very interesting discussions, especially as among the guests was an Indian sikh from the University's School of public policy and he provoked quite a discussion about cultures and values, democracy etc. Must have been such an eye opener for the Estonians that our values of individual freedom and democracy are not that important here.

Robert has been working in Batam now for over a week and it is a different world, still very much a developing country and the working culture is very different from Singapore. In addition to that fighting with the Indonesian microflora that is new for his system. Not easy.

Change is no change

It was quite a rollercoaster week, the last one. As we are getting towards June we were planning our move away from Singapore and have already cancelled schools, apartment etc. On Thursday went to boys school for parent teacher conferences and said all the emotional goodbyes. Everybody was really sad as the boys have made so great friends at school and have really thrived there. Especially Raoul has found a lot of confidence and seems to gel really well with his teacher. In fact the way she describes Raoul makes me feel that he is a completely different child there and she has found a way into him that I have yet to discover. Karl is a bit naughtier in class although academically brighter and faster. He got a lot of praize from their Mandarin teacher - always hand up and wants to particpate and quick at picking up the language as well. Raoul in Mandarin class is more like the one I know at home - stubborn and only does what he wants to.

They even got farewell presents and all. And I thought I really don't want to take them away from this school.

Then Friday afternoon Robert had a meeting about a job here and on Saturday signed the contract. Which means we will be staying for a little while longer. Hopefully the market will have improved by the end of this project. Anyway, we are discussing all sorts of practical matters now like trying to lower the rent here or move to another flat as the prices have come down so much in the last year. That also means, that Robert will be with us in Estonia for only a week this time yet again. 

He is working in Indonesia in fact, but on the island of Batam which is just a 40 min ferry ride away. He'll commute weekly and some weekends we might go over and stay with him like a mini holiday - he stays at a resort with pools and kids club and all. So all set for a while, hopefully the landlord will be generous enough and we can save the hassle of moving!

Rawa pics for those of you who can't open picasa

The real paradise island

We just got back from Rawa Island in Malaysia and that must be pretty close to a paradise island - very small, just one resort, absolutely pristine white sand, turqoise sea, corals right by the beach and amazing underwater world to top it up. It is on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia and only a few hours drive from Singapore plus a 20 min boat trip. What drags the trip a bit is crossing from Singapore to Malaysia - tight controls on both sides of the causeway, people have to get out of buses and carry all luggage through airport style security controls etc. All that takes at least 30 minutes. The rest is really smooth. We had a minivan pick us up at home at 5.30 am so that we would be on time for the 9 o'clock boat. There are only two trips daily so you really don't want to miss it! And this way we had a whole long day on the beach already on Friday. There is a water slide on the jetty which proved very popular with the kids. Quite a ride especially at high tide. There were also so many colorful fish right at the jetty and around the slide that the kids didn't have to swim out to snorkel at all. We did a few trips though to see some special things. The coral started so close to the beach, especially at low tide so that didn't have to swim out at all. The coral and fish life was quite different from Bali. There were many sea anemones in Rawa and of course clown fish in them so that was a pretty sight and we went to look for Nemo a few times. Once at low tide I was so close that two clown fish swam strait into my hands and I could have easily caught them. Karl and me saw a blue spotted ray on Friday. And I saw it again yesterday at the same spot digging away in the sand. Then together with Robert we chased a cuttlefish for quite a while. That was a sight - it kept changing color according to the sea floor - really light when above sand and much darker and patterned above coral. When it stopped Robert dived down and touched it and it gave him a very angry look. It swam very close to where the kids were playing but while Robert went to get Karl to come and have a look I lost sight of it and couldn't find it again. There were lots of beautiful parrot fish very close to the jetty and then some funny little stripy ones that swam very close and started a fish spa business nibbling away on us. Until a big white one wanted to join the feast. We didn't like that!

The rooms were pretty basic so we spent most of the time in the sea, in hammocks, reading, kids playing with their new friends and the rabbits. A very laid back and pleasant feel all in all as there were lots of families with young kids, mostly expats and many scandinavians among them. Beatrice made friends with some danish and swedish girls and we didn't see much of her except from far away or at mealtimes. The boys made some friends as well and ended up being brothers in crime with another set of brothers as they managed to break a rubber boat that they had "borrowed". The owner was not too pleased. Raoul had an extra boating experience - he and Robert went on a kayak around the island. He was also excited to see how they were trying to dig a stranded yacht out from the sand. 

On the second day all the kids got so brave that they started to jump down from the jetty - several meters into the water. I would not have dared.

Food was simple but fresh and tasty. Luckily no desserts on the buffet!

Singing sands of Bintan

Bintan

Last weekend we went for a short break to Bintan, which is an Indonesian island very close to Singapore, practically almost part of Singapore because all the resorts there are run by Singaporean companies and Singapore dollar is the currency. The ferry ride takes 1 hour but there are lots of formalities on both ends as you are technically crossing borders etc. We stayed in a place called Bintan Lagoon, mainly because it has 2 golf courses and Robert had a first chance to play while here in Singapore. As we went together with the boy's friend and his parents we were well able to entertain ourselves while the dads played. The hotel is huge, almost like Bali Hyatt but by far not as luxurious. The beach was very nice though with funny singing sands - lovely and white and when you stepped on it hard, it made a squicky sound. I did some snorkling but had to swim out quite far for that to get to some rocks where there were fish to see. That was too far for the kids. Karl came with me once but after I had been pointing to fish for a while for him I looked up and saw he didn't even have his goggles on, so back we went. They enjoyed the pools as well with waterslides and all. On Sunday morning there was a cooking event for the kids on Mother's day, so they made some banana fritters for me. That was a funny choice for kid's cooking class - deepfrying something in hot oil! I would have thought decorating cupcakes would be safer... .
The hotel was not really the greatest hit, to be honest. Our friends had been before and said there would be a mattress/daybed in the room. Now after renovation there was none and the housekeeping insisted it was not ment to be. We had only booked one room for all of us so would have been in trouble. Luckily found a mattress standing around in the hall and just like in old holiday camp days just "borrowed" it for the night. So it worked out rather well.
Food was miserable unfortunately. Nobody fell ill but it just didn't taste at all. And the resort is so far away from all other places that you are really stuck with their restaurants. So all in all would not recommend that hotel. Ok for just one night. Still golf was good and beach nice so did ok for a mini holiday.

After that we have had an intense movie-going week. There is the European Union Film Festival here so we went to see the Swedish movie (Vargen) on the opening night and the Estonian movie (Magnus) last week. The last one must have been so shocking for the Singaporeans as most of the time it showed people who were doing drugs or just high - all of which comes with death penalty here! The rest of it was about suicide plans, porn etc. - also not very public subjects here. And to make the things more curious, the movie is forbidden in Estonia and the EU due to a privacy lawsuit. So we were really lucky to be here where we could see it. Especially as normally movies are under quite strict cencorship rules here!
Then on Saturday went to see Angels and Demons. So much better than the previous one - Da Vinci Code. That was an exciting evening for the kids as well - we couldn't get our regular babysitter so instead my Singaporean friend's 18-year old nephew came to babysit. Karl was so excited, asked him "are you a boy?". They are still confused about the fine line from when a boy becomes an "uncle". But I guess in case of Jia Ming they defined him as a boy. Karl keeps asking where he is and when he can play with him again.
Then yesterday we finally managed to get some Estonians together here to play the Estonian trivial pursuit that we have planned for ages but never managed to find a weekend suitable for enough people. We were just 5 players but it was great fun especially as one was an Italian who doesn't speak any Estonian at all. But he still read the questions out very well and gave us great laughs and as a result came second in the game. Obviously had to translate the questions for him. And guess who won? .... A good fun afternoon finished off with the best pizza in Singapore!