Alive and kicking in SoCal

Hey folks, thanks for your well wishes. I am well and enjoying my stay in Orange County. The kidney problem has been resolved and life is back to normal and I've been drinking more water than ever.

YK has been busy, so I had plenty of time to wander around and do anything I like. I didn't rent a car and had to rely on the hotel shuttle to bring me to places within 5 miles from the hotel. DisneyLand and the other major attractions are more than 10 miles away, so I'm not going there. There are several large malls nearby (South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island) which I had already gone and bought lots of stuff.

Last night the kids gave me a new list of things to buy, so it looks like another trip back to the mall is very necessary. I don't mind actually cos I want to try some of the good restaurants in South Coast Plaza. It's autumn, so I am going to treat myself to truffle. I would like to go to somewhere scenic like Balboa Island to do some sightseeing instead of just hitting the malls.

I took some photos of the koi pond at Fashion Island yesterday. Everyone seems to rave about this but we have plenty of large ponds like this back home in the tropics. I was supposed to see lots of fashionable types walking their dogs here. Maybe I was there early for I didn't see many. The fashionistas must still be having their beauty sleep or getting the hair done.

After a couple of hours at the mall, the hotel shuttle came back to bring me to South Coast Plaza. The coach was 10 minutes late, so I took a photo to show you how SoCal (Southern California) this scene is....the palm trees, blue sky and dry air.

While the air is so bad for my skin, I love how it makes my hair so straight and well behaved. See, it can never be so shiny back home.

I found a magazine in the hotel room that featured some good restaurants in South Coast Plaza and was glad I managed to find ZCafe, known for its farm fresh fare. The rustica pizza with button mushroom, pepperoni and delicious sausage flavoured with loads of rosemary was the best I've ever had. Even the crust was so full of flavour (I tasted herb and spices), I cleaned up the entire plate!

Kidney stones and whatever

I've just completed a course of antibiotic for an infected kidney caused by kidney stones. I could hardly believe it when the doctor asked for a urine test. What has back pain got to do with the kidney? Apparently, plenty.

The doctor was right. The result showed blood in the urine and I started on antibiotic right away. After 3 doses, the pain went away but the area around the abdomen still feels tender. It looks bloated like I'm four months pregnant. It's not a good feeling I tell you. My stomach is bloated and self esteem is deflated.

I realised it could be due to my lifestyle. Not only do I drink insufficient water, I also do not replenish my body with enough fluid after running. In other words, I am dehydrated.

Needless to say, I have been drinking lots of water since. I suspect the stones are still there because I still feel painful twitches every now and then.

I haven't drank enough to flush them out. To make matters worse, I will be flying to Malaysia tomorrow and will be on the road all day. After a long day of meetings, I will fly back only to depart early next morning to Los Angeles. It will be impractical to keep drinking and running to the loo all the time.

Too bad for me. It's a painful lesson. Remember you all. Drink up!

By the way, the pain didn't stop me from meeting up with my good friends for a nice meal. I had ramen which came in a gigantic bowl.

After lunch, we indulged in cakes at Fruit Paradise.

You lucky dog!

Rusty is the luckiest dog in the world. When everyone is out working or studying, you will find him sleeping in the choicest spot at home - on my bed!

Plagued by back problems

I have been troubled by lower back pain all week. It hurts to sit, lie down or turn around. It even hurts to breathe or drive. If it doesn't go away by this week, how am I going to endure the long flight to USA?

More than 10 years ago, I woke up with such a bad backache that I almost couldn't get out of bed. The problem was resolved after several massage and accupunture treatments.

It's not as bad this time, so I have not resorted to any treatment. Still I'm feeling out of sorts and it's a real pain. I can't walk quickly or make sudden movements, let alone go for my daily run. I can't even keep up with Rusty during his walks.

In fact, I find myself hobbling along with the oldies. I can empathise with them now.

Stereotyping

Yesterday I received a call from a business consultant to confirm our meeting this morning.
"Can I speak to Mr Ting?", he asked.
"You mean Ms Ting?", I replied, feeling a bit annoyed.

He sounded quite embarrassed when he apologised for the faux pas. I have every reason to feel annoyed because it happens all the time.

If you are a consultant who is coming to offer your services, I hope you'll do some homework before walking through our door. Please don't assume I am a man just because I'm in a male dominated industry.

Granted I the one who has to change the lightbulb, paint the wall and trim the hedge at home, I'm still every bit a woman. Thank you very much.

And Poof! She is gone

My friend left yesterday and my life feels so empty now. One week flew by just like that. Quite frightening if you ask me. No wonder the kids grow up so quickly.

The last time she saw my boys, they were still young and chubby. This time, she couldn't stop raving about their built and good looks. I think all young people are good looking especially if they are blessed with clear, unblemished skin and shiny hair.

During the week long stay at my house, she also realised how my daily schedule runs like clockwork the minute I step out of bed. Well, I have to or I will never get anything done before my actual work day begins.

This has also set me thinking about my priorities as a single parent. I often envy friends who dedicate their lives to nurturing their children into top students in elite schools. Sometimes I wish I were a housewife. This is all wishful thinking of course. I'm just happy that my kids had not grown up deprived of most things.

Back to my friend. She has gone to Malaysia to spend time with her mum before flying back to Oregon. YK and I will be heading to Los Angeles next week. He's attending a convention and I'm going because I don't want him to travel there on his own. I'm not looking forward to the long hours on the plane nor the possible jetlag.

I'll try to make this whirlwind trip a worthwhile one, though I have nothing planned yet. It's not exactly my favourite holiday destination but I'll find something to do.

Friend in town

Time really flies. My friend has been here for 4 days already and we haven't done much together. Even though she has not firmed up the departure date, I suspect she will be leaving in a matter of days. I can't bear to see her go because it will be years before I can see her again.

We went to the market this morning to get fresh food. She's making steamed glutinuous rice for dinner. We're making ginger jam tonight and I'm frantically looking for a recipe. It's not really a gooey kind of jam but we know the raw ingredients needed are grated fresh ginger and raw sugar. I hope we get it right on our first attempt. I'll post the recipe if we are successful.

She treated us to a really delicious dinner at Nakhon last night. I love everything about this restaurant. It's merely 5 minutes away from my house. The food is good and priced so reasonably. The service is fast too. A typical dinner of 5 dishes for 4 persons costs just over $60.

Here are some of the dishes we had.

Raw mango salad.

Kang kong in sambal sauce.

Green curry.

Fried grouper with special Thai sauce.

The desserts are good too. The mango with sticky rice is served warm, which makes it even more delicious. I forgot to take a photo of that.

I'm so excited!

I am so excited because my dear friend who's like a sister to me, is coming to visit. I haven't seen her in more than 3 years and I miss her so much! She lives across the world, in a small town called Bend in Oregon. After traveling to Malaysia to see her ailing dad, she'll be coming over to spend some time with me. I can't wait!

Yesterday, Fry texted me to ask why I haven't been updating my blog. Gosh, it has been two weeks since I put up the last post. I'm still alive and kicking, just a bit distracted and indolent.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends. Last week, we celebrated my nephew's 12th birthday. Incidentally, he is sitting for his paper (PSLE) now as I write. All the best Marc!

We also celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival at best friend's house some weeks ago. Here are some of the kids, keeping the flies away from the food.

Last Sunday, we also attended a piano concert. My nieces played two pieces each. The 3-year old did a duet with her teacher. See, her legs are hanging in the air!

Ting played very well and I can see that she has a passion for music. Well done girls!

SK and I went to the Botanic Gardens one afternoon. He's becoming a gardener like me, except that he grows his plants in the vivarium instead of the garden. Here are some photos taken in the cool room.


I'll probably be busy catching up with my friend next week. We've so much to talk about and we want to cook together and go on a food hunt! I hope you won't have to wait another 2 weeks for my next post. Until then, have a good weekend!

A week of celebrations

I remember spending my birthday 17 years ago in the maternity ward of the hospital just hours after giving birth to SK. Needless to say, I was so happily celebrating the birth of my second son that I forgot it was my birthday.

For many years, I even stopped celebrating my birthday altogether. Then CH came along and changed all that. Suddenly it became a day to look forward to again.

This year, he made me feel extra special by buying flowers and presents. And he treated me to a sumptuous dinner at Via Mare, a Spanish restaurant at Bencoolen Street. Chris & EY were there to celebrate with us too.

Last Saturday, SK and I had a joint celebration at my parent's house. My brother bought us a gorgeous Chantilly Cream cake from Perlas Pastry Boutique, the confectionary arm of Ristorante Da Valentino.

It is always so heartwarming to celebrate this special day with my family. The little ones were so excited to taste the cake, they finished their dinner in record time! The cake was fantastic. The texture is so delicate and soft, it was such a pleasure to eat.

With SK and my nieces.

Yesterday, our friends came together to throw me a party. I wasn't allowed to cook for my own party. I didn't want to show up empty-handed, so I brought Rusty!

Rusty and Bev.

I received more presents and treats.


Relaxing by the pool.

Rusty was the star.


Everyone, including Kaya, took turns to play with him.

He had such a hectic day, he fell asleep at CH's feet before the night was up.

Once again, I thank CH, family and friends for celebrating this special day with me.

Life on the Tonle Sap

You don't really need an itinerary in Siem Reap because the enterprising Cambodians will create one for you.

Just after we had sealed the deal with the cab driver, who dropped us off with a big grin on his face, we were immediately 'accosted' by a tuk tuk driver asking if we wanted to catch the sunset at the floating village of Chong Kneas.

"$4 there and $4 back!" he said.

We gave in because his smiley kind of face makes him look earnest and honest. Besides, I really wanted to ride in these cool motorised rickshaws. A group of them hang around the hotel entrance daily. At the end of every night, they detach the carriage and ride only the motorbike home.

The journey to Chong Kneas was quite nerve wrecking as our driver was rushing to get us there before the sunset. We hung on tightly as the tuk tuk roared through a village road filled with potholes and puddles.

It was interesting, though, to see the villagers going about their daily lives. The kids played in the yard while waiting for the parents to return home from work.

We knew we were approaching the jetty when houses on stilts came into view.

We also knew the sun was setting very fast when the driver pulled up at the jetty hurriedly and we were quickly led towards a wooden boat after purchasing tickets (US$15 each).

The boat set off immediately, maybe they were worried we might change our minds? The entire jetty was empty except for the two of us!

I mean look at the seats below. The word "TIP" is clearly written behind each chair. We had already paid $15 each for the ride and we're expected to give more tip.

After traveling for about 10 minutes, the boat developed engine trouble. It was getting dark and I feared getting stranded in the middle of the vast lake. Luckily he got the problem sorted out and we continued moving in the direction of the floating village.

A bumboat came speeding towards us and this little boy leapt on our deck with cold canned drinks. Told you they're enterprising people!

The Tonle Sap lake is really the pulse of Cambodia. The villages and small towns bobbing on the surface of the lake were quite a sight to behold.

Everything floats in these communities, from the schools to churches and shops. The people move about on wooden boats. The girl below was seen paddling around in a big tub outside a floating school.

The sun finally set while we were out in the lake and we returned in darkness towards the jetty.

Mr Tuk Tuk was there waiting at the jetty. Over the next few days, we found out that our drivers are happy to wait for hours without showing any signs of annoyance.

We were famished after a long day of traveling on a plane, taxi, tuk tuk and boat, and I knew CH wanted to try the BBQ cow after seeing the photo in our friend's album (below), so we went in search of a local restaurant.

Initially the sight of an entire cow roasting over the fire was quite repulsive but when the dish arrived in a civilised manner, it didn't look too bad.

In fact, the meat (served in small chunks) was really tasty when eaten with dips and raw vegetable. We wanted to return for dinner one night but we couldn't remember the way to the restaurant.

The two main attractions in Siem Reap are the temples and floating villages. It's hard to ignore the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Life at the Tonle Sap revolves round the flowing of the great lake and fishing is the thriving industry here.

Our cab driver insisted that we should make a trip to Kompong Phluk one morning. According to him, the long journey through the long and dusty village will be worth it. In fact, we drove by Rolous Village where the Savong School and Orphan Centres are located. Siem Reap is a small place afterall!

He dropped us off at the jetty so we could purchase a ticket that costs $20 each. We had an entire boat to ourselves and wondered why they don't put more people in one boat for more efficiency. The business model here is different I guess. This time we sat on rattan chairs and didn't spot the word 'TIP' painted anywhere on the boat!

Kompong Phluk is an incredible village of bamboo skyscrapers. During the monsoon season, everything goes underwater, even the trees!

Even the pig sty is built on stilts!




It was amusing to see kids, even small toddlers, frolicking without guidance in the water. This girl wore home-made floats!

You will find shops, restaurants, dogs, chickens and even gardens here.




I was told of the possibility to spot a sky burial in the trees as some comunities still embalm dead bodies while awaiting dry wood and dry land for cremation. I only saw some dry wood stored up a tree.

The village is hemmed in by a flooded forest towards the south where the trees are amphibious. The only way to explore the forest is on a wooden canoe.

I forgot how much we paid to get on the canoe which was rowed by a young girl. We traveled through a half submerged jungle and saw only the top of trees. After a while, I began to feel sorry for her. We kept going for more than 30 minutes and her arms must have been so tired. It was only right to give her a tip.


It was good to return to land again after the long boat rides. We went to a nice restaurant nearby for lunch.

CH wanted to try the local fried catfish and beef which was grilled on a special hot plate.

After a delicious lunch, it was only right to take a nap on a hammock.