Holiday season

I just spent a frustrating morning trying to book a flight out to Bangkok for a meeting on 17th December. The trouble is, most of the flights are fully booked. As you know, it is the holiday season here. In Singapore, people plan their holidays way in advance to secure the best tour packages. I find that a little puzzling. I mean, how can you tell if there'll be blizzard or flooding 6 months down the road?

I've aborted trips that I have paid for due to last minute emergencies. So, I tend to be more careful (read as: last minute) when it comes to planning for holidays these days. That usually means paying a premium during peak season.

C.H.'s sister is leaving for the USA tomorrow. It's not exactly the best time to travel there as we've been reading about the bad weather and flight delays in the places she's heading to. I've also read about hurricane-force winds and heavy rain battering the US North-west, blocking roads with trees, power lines, high water and mud.

I am so grateful that we went there last year instead of this year. Despite the better weather last December, Mother Hen still had to brave through heavy snow to drive us from Portland to Bend. Thank God we didn't encounter any storms or got stranded anywhere. In fact, we were blessed with good weather and managed to visit many beautiful sites in Oregon.