Dinner Under The Kites

A few Sundays ago, the cousins and I traipsed down to Marina Barrage for an alfresco dinner and a stint of kite-flying. Unfortunately, the kiterunner in our family - Hubby - was away for work, so the Bees did not have a kite to launch into the enchanting twilight sky! 

All of us brought along some food for the picnic - scrumptious chicken rice and roast pork with eggs by Irene, mouthwatering rojak, popiah and hokkien mee by Fio, and juicy grapes by me. We laid out the mats and played around a little with CC entertaining all the 4 active girls using his solo kite. 

Before long, we sat down comfortably and dug into the local feast with much gusto and relish! Yumz! The Bees, who are accomplished food connoisseurs, sat right beside me and joined in the food attack, not caring much about running around in the green meadow nor flying the kites. 

I always enjoyed Marina Barrage, despite the crowds. The scenery was breathtaking with the glittering Marina Bay Sands on one side and the placid sea on the other side. We were immensely lucky to have exceptional weather that evening, with the setting sun creating bewitching shafts of brilliant tangerine rays. 

The lavender skies above us were dotted with a kaleidoscope of kites, and there was a constant gentle breeze wafting all around us. What a mesmerising evening indeed. 

Big Bee took this photo, with one of the little girls holding the toy. Toy courtesy of Irene! 

The Bees soaked up the beguiling atmosphere, smiling, laughing and chattering incessantly with their cousins. 

We finished up the food eventually, as the dusky and mysterious gloaming descended on us. Twinkling lights came to life in Marina Bay Sands but Marina Barrage was shrouded in murky obscurity, making the kids squeal with excitement, thrill and a little dash of fear in the imminent darkness. 

We will be back very soon for another night under the kites! 

Sketching Our Great Solar System

The Bees are immensely interested in the solar system after our long-drawn homelearning theme of Planet Earth (which had extended into the theme of Space as well!). 

Big Bee now knows the names, order and characteristics of the 8 planets like the back of her hand. Little Bee shows significant interest in the planets, and could roughly indicate the order and key characteristics of some of the planets, eg Saturn has rings of ice and dust, Uranus has many moons, Jupiter has a big red spot (she thinks there are 2 spots though!), we can see Venus as a bright star from Earth, etc.

They had taken to doodling the solar system in their spare time, and here were a couple of sketches that they had done. 

Big Bee's solar system

Little Bee's solar system

Little Bee had also raised the concept of recycling to a higher level when she showed me what she sketched one day after I came home from work last week. She doodled her few favourite planets on Big Bee's old testpapers - right on top of the printed words! I had to applaud her for doing her bid to save the Earth :) 

Planet Earth

Saturn

Jupiter

Travel Memoirs: Cherry Blossoms in China

I was in China for a work trip 2 weeks ago, and went on a whirlwind schedule in 4 cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanjing. This was the season of spring, and I was enveloped by sights of exquisite cherry blossoms, alluring spring flowers and fields of golden yellow blossoms, almost as if the sun had decided to multiply its billion offsprings on the jade-green meadows. 

The cherry blossoms were enchanting - they were ubiquitous, even in the urban city of Shanghai. They burgeoned in blooms of snowy-white, clusters of brilliant fuchsia pink and flourishing in gentle pastel pink. Magnificent indeed.

Other flowering plants preened with floral bursts of delightful yellow, luxuriant purple, mysterious lavender and resplendent red. Truly breathtaking. 

I had missed the family badly this time (as this was my first trip after a whole luxurious quarter of no travels, staying grounded in Singapore). However, the sight of these delicate blossoms imbued me with inspiration, awe and amazement - encouraging me to snap photos as if I was an over-zealous tourist, so that my Bees could revel in the glorious rejuvenation of spring. 

This was the view when I stepped out an office after a meeting. Divine poetic beauty. 

Her Own Blog

Big Bee wanted to start a blog of her own - do visit her here at her blog, which is still largely work in progress. Her first entry was lifted from her Chinese diary (from school) where she penned about our March holiday in Penang. 

Enjoy reading, and do visit her blog and leave comments to encourage her! :) 

My Child, My Parent

Late on Sunday night at 2am, when Hubby and I were engrossed in watching the movie Munich on DVD, we suddenly heard the girls' bedroom door open followed by some furtive whisperings. 

I peeped across the dark corridor and saw a tiny figure - Little Bee - and ambled into her room. She clambered onto her bed, whispering like a nagging parent, "Very late already!" Oops. 

I patted her to sleep again, and sneaked out to continue watching the movie with Hubby. 

Within 10 minutes, we heard the door open again, followed by more urgent whisperings. I scampered into her room, and here was what she told me as she scrambled up on her bed again, "Mummy, better come and sleep, otherwise you will be tired tomorrow!" (we are still co-sleeping with them)

Awww....sweetest of all sweetness indeed :) I can't help but beam with happiness into the silent darkness - it does feel divine to be mothered by our children at times!

Tennis Under The Stars

On a languid Saturday night, what better way to whittle away the sluggish minutes than to indulge in a game of evening tennis? The breeze was gently welcoming, the stars were out gleaming at us - the weather was perfect! 

The Bees and I descended upon our tennis court with much anticipation, with Big Bee and I trying our best to engage in a smooth tennis sparring session, but I must say my tennis is not good at all to immerse Big Bee in a proper game! 

Cute Little Bee, on the other hand, was gamely picking up the balls that were flying in all sorts of bizarre directions, working up a sweat with her short little legs running around the court! She was also the sports photographer, taking pictures of Big Bee and me panting away. 

The results? No winning or losing (as Mummy's tennis skills were way too bad!) but plenty of perspiration and an abundance of spent energy - just in time for bed :)  

All Ready

The goodies are immaculately wrapped

The cake has been selected

The food is ordered

The entertainment is set

Her good friends were all invited

A party is brewing again

And we can't wait!  

Footprints On The Moon

We are learning about the moon this week and were amazed by many fascinating facts about it. We were also lucky to have gazed with wonderment at the Supermoon last month, when the Bees were intrigued that our moon had crept up so close to the Earth for the first time in 18 years.

Some easily digestible facts about the Earth's moon for kids:
1) It would take more than 2 weeks to fly there in a fast airplane!
2) The moon is about 1/4 the width of Earth.
3) The gravity on the moon controls the Earth's ocean tides.

We read a charming book about the moon and astronauts, and the Bees also learned about the concept of gravity and tides. Big Bee, being older, could grasp the theory of how our moon affected our tides, and Little Bee likened gravity to a magnet hidden deep within the Earth. Which was why she was slightly confused when she examined a picture with the cross-section of the Earth, wondering where the magnet was in the midst of burning magma!



Through this book, the Bees' imaginations were blown away when they read that humans walked on the moon before. I remembered my own ambition to be an astronaut when I was 9 - I wonder if my dainty little girls harbour similar ambitions?

Anyway, I love this book for its simple yet beautiful language, its vivid illustrations and its encouragement for our children to dream big.

Lost

Big Bee wrote an English composition in class, and her essay was chosen as one of 6 to be displayed on the notice board in her class. Big Bee was highly encouraged by this, although she tried not to show it. 

We were elated of course, and this brought back memories from days of yore when my secondary school's English teacher would read out my essays to the class, making me squirm in embarrassment. However, that was highly significant in inspiring me to develop a deep love for writing in life. I hope Big Bee would find much joy in literary pursuits as well, and I applaud her class teacher for reinforcing such encouraging measures to nurture writing skills amongst her students. 

In new age times like these, where short condensed messages in the form of Twitter and Facebook are the norm, I hope my Bees could sidetrack this vile and slow murder of the language arts, and instead, enjoy the sheer pleasure of appreciating the rapturous texture and intensity of the language arts - in any languages. 

Here's her simple little essay, titled "Lost". Enjoy! 

Chinese New Year was coming soon! Tom and his father went to Chinatown to buy some festive goodies. There were big, red lanterns and stalls selling pineapple tarts, “bak kwa” and Chinese New Year decorations. It was very crowded. Little Tom held onto his father’s hand tightly. He did not want to be lost.

There were Chinese New Year songs playing loudly in the background. After a while, Tom and his father decided to buy “bak kwa”. There was a very long queue. Tom was getting impatient. Boom! Tom heard some beating of drums. Tom went to see what had happened. There was a lion dance! Tom watched the lion dance happily for fifteen minutes. When the lion dance had ended, Tom skipped back to the cashier to look for his father. To his horror, his father was not there!

Tom walked all about Chinatown alone. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He cried loudly. Some passers-by asked him what had happened. Between sobs, frightened Tom told the passers-by that he was lost.

The passers-by said they were sorry for him and would help him find his father. Soon, Tom heard a familiar voice. He turned around and to his relief, saw his father. Tom grinned from ear to ear and hugged his father. Tom learnt his lesson never to walk off alone again.  

Prima Ballerina

We have another ballerina in the making, as Little Bee started her ballet classes at long last with Big Bee's ballet teacher! Little Bee was thrilled to bits on Saturday when we dressed her up in her ballet attire, and struck several poses to announce to the world that an up-and-coming ballerina is arising. 

She had been very interested in dance since very young, and had been emulating her jie-jie whenever she watched her in open houses or school performances. This is the day that she had been waiting for, and I am so pleased to see her mirthful elation. 

Big Bee was invited by the ballet teacher to stay in the class with Little Bee, so Hubby and I were thankful for this little respite to spend a little couple time together. Big Bee also took so many beautiful photos and videos of her mei-mei in class, and we were glad we could partake in Little Bee's first ballet experience vicariously through Big Bee's photojournalism. 

Striking a pose in class

We peeped at Little Bee secretly and was tickled to see her demonstrating many ballet poses that she thought to be appropriately "ballerina-like" to her teacher in class. She is being her usual extroverted and expressive self, and we love it. 

We are delighted to see her so happy, and we wish her a wonderful dance journey ahead :)  

To Market, To Market

We made a date with both sets of the Bees' grandparents last Sunday for a hearty hawker breakfast and an invigorating walk around the market of Chinatown! 

The jolly group of 6 adults and 2 kids met in the balmy morning setting of Chinatown's hawker centre, ready to have our palates tickled and tantalized. The aromatic, fragrant flavours of the busy hawkers titillated our olfactory senses, whereas the colourful sights of hawker dishes in all kinds of varieties teased our gustatory senses to no end. 

It was gratifying to see both sets of our parents chatting like old friends, and even more delightful to see how the Bees revel gleefully in the cocoon of the grandparents' pampering love. 

We had a thoroughly satisfying breakfast of splendid hawker delights, comprising of the best wanton mee I had ever tasted in a long time, succulent chee cheong fun, sweet beancurd and other epicurean wonders. The grandparents were thoroughly thrilled by our suggestion of meeting there - thanks to Hubby's brilliant idea, and they kept reminiscing about old times, especially the grandfathers :)

After breakfast, we sauntered to the wet market below. It was an eye-opener for the Bees, whose closest wet market they had experienced was a perfectly dry one in the neighbourhood. This Chinatown market had wet floors speckled with a few stray catfishes struggling and squirming on the floor, much to the Bees' fascination. 

There were also all kinds of exotic wares on sale, ranging from crocodile meat to eels.

Fresh abalones for sale

Fish maw before their dried up, preserved state! The Bees loved this.

It was noisy and crowded, filled with a multitude of aromas from raw fishes to resigned frogs waiting to be butchered to sweet-smelling fruits and vegetables.

There were a motley variety of all kinds of fishes, alive and dead, for sale, and the Bees were amazed as we meandered past many stalls. 

It was vibrant, alive and energetic, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

Sadly, Hubby and I always questioned how long such trades could survive in urban Singapore, and always made it a point to reinforce to the Bees our roots and historical past. It definitely helped to broaden the Bees' knowledge of history when their grandparents recounted stories of ages long past, in a different Singapore with a completely different pace of life. 

We certainly hope to be back here with our parents and Bees on a frequent basis! 

The Great Leap Forward

Now that Big Bee is well adjusted to her primary 3 life, we parents are the ones who are constantly amazed (and frazzled) by how quickly children adjust to changes. I am also truly impressed by children's capabilities to absorb information and tackle new challenges at whichever stage they are. It indicates that every child has an infinite pool of ability to assimilate new knowledge and we should always be encouraging this boundless retention. 

The leap from primary 2 to primary 3 is indeed startling, albeit not overwhelming - yet. There is more homework, but Big Bee kind of got used to it after 2 years in primary school. However, the work had elevated a fair bit in terms of difficulty, especially for Math, Chinese and the new inclusion of Science. 

Critical thinking is essential, and should be a fundamental skill by primary 3. This is very apparent in P3 comprehensions, when teachers would expect our little 9-year-old to analyse logically and think independently when tackling tricky questions. Very much like GP last time! No longer can they be expected to derive answers directly from the passages like in the first 2 years, but they are required to deduce answers from critical reading. 

Hence, I think it is important that we build up critical reading and analysis skills even in the kindergarten years. 

Big Bee had been delving a lot in Math homework this week, leaving her no time to dabble with the other subjects. Using models to derive answers for Math may seem irksome to many parents but I find it a wonderful tool to help children visualise the problem sum logically - and the beauty is, models can even be used for sums involving multiplication and division! It is fundamental for parents to learn modelling as well, so we can guide our kids along. It is not rocket science, and is actually very rational! 

A few samples of problem sums from her work tonight that needed modelling to solve. In these cases, using models revealed the answers in a logically simple manner!

1. Vivian had three times as many orchids as roses. She had 84 more carnations than orchids. If she had 120 roses and carnations altogether, how many flowers did Vivian have altogether?   

2. Each kilogram of prawns cost three times as much as each kilogram of fish. Mrs Pang bought 4 kilograms of prawns and 3 kilograms of fish. The prawns cost $36 more than the fish. How much did each kilogram of prawn cost? 

Other types of P3 Math will revolve around heuristics, a concept that would be practised starting from P1. An example below: 

It takes much longer to complete a Math exercise now, but I guess we have to teach our children to just bite the bullet and soldier ahead, rather than lamenting about how easy their previous work used to be. And of course, reward them fully with lots of sunshine and play whenever the weekend approaches! :) 

I Love Our Earth

We spent the last couple of weeks learning about the planets in our solar system, which left a deep impression on the Bees, especially Little Bee, who is still trying to create a framework about the world we live in. 

On Sunday, as we were reading a book about Earth, she copy-wrote the words "I love our Earth", and drew Earth with other planets in the solar system all by herself. Her favourite planet is Saturn, so she drew it in larger prominence just beside Earth. I particularly like her sun in sunglasses, so funny! 

The Bees and I also located Venus in the sky one night. It shone so brilliantly and the Bees were entranced yet a little fearful. I asked them why and they told me it is scary to think of outer space, before running into the house shrieking hysterically. Silly girls!

I am glad that the girls are beginning to ask probing questions beyond what was read with them in the books. I tried my best to answer some questions, although I must admit I was stumped by several! Hence, parenthood is truly a journey of lifelong learning with our children :) 

Some questions they asked:

Big Bee

How does space form?

How does the first day of earth look like? 

How does the sun form?

Where is the Mariana Trench?

Little Bee

How does earth form?

How do rainbows form?

Why can we see both the sun and moon at the same time in daytime?

This evening, I asked them what they could do to help our ailing Earth. Here are their suggestions:

Big Bee

1) Reduce, re-use, recycle! Recycle paper and cans

2) Don't litter

3) Don't waste water

Little Bee

1) Turn off the lights

Let's hope they will practise what they preach! 

A rainbow drawn by Little Bee

The Dogsitters

2 weeks ago, the Bees became dogsitters for Max, the adorable chihuahua! All thanks to my cousin Irene for this opportunity! Her family went for a holiday, and I grabbed the chance to look after Max, her dog, so that the Bees could fulfill their dream of having a dog at home.

The cousins and Max

And how excited Big Bee was! A week before Max was due to come to our house, she borrowed 3 books on chihuahuas and read all about them. 

Hubby and I used to have 3 dogs between us, and we truly cherish the companionship of our furry best friends. It is indeed sad how our eternally-loyal dogs' lives are so much shorter than ours. 

Anyway, on the night of Max's arrival, we were all thrilled to see a dog in the house again. However, poor Chloe cried so sadly when she realised Max was not going home with her that night, poor baby! 

Throughout Max's stay, we bonded closer as a family when all 4 of us went for regular walks with sprightly Max, who is so active for his majestic 14 years of age! Irene must be a wonderful caregiver for him! 

The look on Big Bee's face was truly priceless as she held onto the leash and walked Max with beaming pride. Little Bee was a little more nonchalant, whereas Hubby and I were both pretty excited too! We constantly greeted Max as he snuggled in his little corner in our home. 

Our dogsitting only lasted for 3 days. Furthermore, we had to depart for Penang on the final day, so my mother helped to look after Max. But what great fun we had - thanks, Irene! :) 

Palatable Pleasures In Penang: Part 2

Getting Around

Penang was such an easy place to get around, and we were privy to a whole host of very gregarious, chatty taxi drivers who were highly enthusiastic in sharing tourist information about their hometown, and even more eager to book us for the whole day as sight-seeing tourists, which we usually politely declined.

The public bus system was highly efficient as well, and we were lucky to have a bus-stop right outside the hotel with an air-conditioned bus (101) that could transport us in comfort right into Georgetown in 30 minutes. We took this bus to Gurney Drive for dinner one night and it was certainly fuss-free.

Attractions

We selected a few attractions that would interest us as a family, and they were:

Toy Museum

There was a mind-boggling array of toys in all sorts of categories, ranging from an extensive collection of small and life-sized Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings which got Hubby and I really excited - to an all-encompassing range of Barbie dolls that got Little Bee jumping in delight, and even a whole shelf of Disney’s Lion King that Big Bee loved. 

We spent a good hour meandering through the narrow aisles and examining the entire collection of fascinating toys. This toy museum was started by a private collector and all these toys are his! Amazing!

Georgetown

This is a UNESCO World Heritage city, but to us, it looks immensely like Singapore in the 70s and 80s. I bet it would be really charming to be lost in the little alleys of Chinatown or Little India, but the weather was sweltering and it would be hard to drag 2 girls on long scorching walking tours around the city. So, we selected parts of the city that we wanted to visit instead.

Fort Cornwallis

With Hubby’s and my interest in all things wartime, we traipsed to Fort Cornwallis with much zeal. This antiquated fort was built in 1786, and has a star-shaped structure. Apparently, it is the largest standing fort in Malaysia now, but being rather compact with no sprawling land, we were able to complete our rounds in 45 minutes!

We explored little dank rooms that resembled dungeons, and brave Big Bee and I went into a dim gun magazine building with a tiny window that reminded us of prison cells. 

The chapel of Fort Cornwallis

More enchantingly, we trooped to the highest point of the fort and posed beside a cannon pointing right at the quiescent sea adjacent to it – I love how this fort was perched just beside the sparkling azure sea.

Pasar malam

Hubby loves pasar malams in Singapore, so on the second evening of arrival, he immediately dragged the entire brood to the famous Batu Ferringhi pasar malam. 

Alas, the weather was not fair to us and dark broiling storm clouds prevented us from ambling around the narrow tentages of the pasar malam, pushing us instead into an excellent Lebanese restaurant. 

He persevered after dinner, and with an umbrella, he set forth alone to purchase a huge nautical yacht to be placed in our living room – for a steal, of course!

The FOOD

What can I say – Penang is truly a food paradise! Our main purpose in Penang was to gorge ourselves silly with all kinds of hawker food, and we truly indulged in all varieties of food.

The hotel’s restaurants

We tried everything in the hotel from room service on the first night of our arrival to Hard Rock Café to the morning buffet breakfasts to the pizzeria on the beach. 

While Hard Rock Café’s food is the typical robust American food, the rest of the meals taken in the hotel paled in comparison to the (much) cheaper hawker food outside! Certainly, it was definitely much more comfy relaxing in the hotel eating, but Hubby and I would rather fester in the heat of hawker centres with yummy albeit sinful food! We attained a food map of Penang which was a magnificent guide in leading us to the right places with famous hawker fare that we craved.

Lorong Selamat (Georgetown)

The very famous char koay teow (Penang spelling) in Kafe Heng Huat along Lorong Selamat was the first pit stop for us. Kafe Heng Huat was like a 70s/80s Singaporean shophouse kopitiam (like those in Joo Chiat), and it was really blisteringly hot as we went there at noon for lunch. The Bees were grouchy initially, preferring instead to dine in the hotel (oh, how pampered Singaporean kids are!). But after the first juicy char koay teow was slurped in their little mouths, you could see their eyes brightening and their pace of eating quickening! Thereafter, we did not hear any complains from the Bees whenever we brought them along in our food hunt!

We also ordered rojak from a roadside stall at Lorong Selamat, as well as the popular Penang ice-kachang with a scoop of ice-cream atop the flavourful ice mountain. Needless to say, Big Bee wiped out the entire plate of char koay teow whereas Little Bee was beside herself when the ice-kachang appeared!

Verdict: Immensely satisfying! Slurp!

Old City Food Court (Georgetown)

Their food court is not like Singapore’s sterile, air-conditioned food courts – resembling more like our open-air, single-storey hawker centres instead. I like this food court concept as we could order a sampling of many hawker foods!

Hubby and I ate wanton mee (the dark-sauce type), whereas the Bees each devour an entire plate of chicken and char siew rice all by themselves in record time – including Little Bee! This was certainly a big testament to the chicken and char siew rice!

We tried their Penang white coffee here, but I still prefer my cafe latte anytime :P Their kalamansi lime drink was truly addictive though! In addition, we had a little plate of chee cheong fun but I did not really relish their dark, oyster-tasting sauce, preferring the Hong Kong dimsum chee cheong fun instead.

After our lunch here, we strolled around the sleepy neighbourhood shops and I was really enchanted by the leisurely pace of living here. We bought a few 80s-style pastries from an open-air bakery (remember those bakery shops that peppered all over our HDB areas, way before the arrival of commercialized Breadtalk?) – coconut tarts for Hubby and me, and chocolate muffins for the Bees.

Hubby also made a dash at mee jiam kuey (peanut pancake) at a roadside stall, and we were both bowled over by its crispy thin pancake skin! YUMS!

Verdict: Slightly above average hawker food, but wonderful pastries and peanut cake as well as a lovely walk around that area!

Gurney Drive

We took a bus ride back into Georgetown that same evening to experience dining in an alfresco hawker centre – under the stars and beside the sea! Gurney Drive is famous for its wide array of excellent trademark hawker fare, resembling Newton Circus and Satay Club in the 70s/80s.

Little Bee fell asleep in the bus, so I had to carry her from the bus-stop to Gurney Drive food centre which was a distance away. With a snoozing child in my arms, I could not walk around to explore the plethora of yummy hawker stalls, so I left Hubby to choose our gourmet delights for the evening. We managed to wake Little Bee up when the table was overflowing with Hubby’s selections, and that little foodie was munching the moment her eyes opened!

What was a little frantic for us was when ominous and sinisterly dark storm clouds gathered right above us, just as we were starting to eat. Hubby had the quick wit to swap all our food to a table with a huge umbrella – just before it started pouring heavily! As we observed all the crowds around us dashing for cover in the downpour, it was pretty romantic to be huddled beneath the umbrella, eating our hawker dinner. As Hubby and Big Bee quipped, “If the rain doesn’t stop, we will just have to spend the whole night here, having a romantic time chatting with each other!” Haha!

Thankfully, the rain stopped just as we finished our dinner, in order to let us make our way back to the hotel!

Here were what we ordered:

Penang assam laksa (Hubby and I were not fans of this sour-tasting laksa, preferring the nonya Singaporean laksa)

Poh piah (I loved the soft poh piah skin and plentiful ingredients inside – really crunchy and scrumptious)

Chinese satays for the Bees (they feasted on 20 sticks of chicken satays and claimed those were utterly delicious!)

Fried rice for the Bees (the Bees and I were fans of this sinfully tasty fried rice)

Grilled cuttlefish (Hubby and the Bees loved this lightly grilled delight)

3 boxes of muah chees and 2 big sweet coconuts for desserts (they actually had muah chee hawker stalls and the muah chees were so soft and succulent with little bits of chopped peanuts – blissful!)

Verdict: Perfect combination of ambience and mouthwatering food! We all enjoyed Gurney Drive a whole lot (except for the famous Penang laksa!).

Relaxation

We had a couple of indulgent massage sessions, once in the Rock Spa and another time at a spa along Batu Ferringhi. The massages were divine for me, and the Bees thoroughly loved their pedicure and light foot massages in the spa! 

We also had the good opportunity to relax in the hotel lobby one night, where they were playing a movie (Night At The Museum 2). It was truly lulling to lounge in the big comfy seats and enjoying a restful evening as a family - away from home, where the daily stresses of everyday life are a distant memory. 

The Bees also bought 2 gigantic floats from a nearby provision shop - a friendly killer whale float for Big Bee, and a cute Hello Kitty float for Little Bee. 

As they busied themselves with exploring the floats in the pool one late morning, Hubby and I beamed broadly when we saw how much they relished the floats and we truly savoured these indelible memories. 

In all, this was a surprisingly alluring holiday destination, which truly enabled us to rejuvenate ourselves. We will be back for sure...! 

Singing About Planets

This evening, we read a fantastic book about the solar system that used the melody of the song "Where Is Thumbkin" to teach kids about the 8 planets in our solar system! And it was so effective to help the Bees remember the order of the planets, even for Little Bee! 

I don't usually sing much (because I have no musical sense!) but as I was croaking the songs out, the Bees were enthralled, sitting quietly, listening to the songs packed with so much fun facts about the planets and our sun! Even I was very impressed - not by my broken singing, but by the book, of course! 

Other than the song, there were also little tidbits of easily digestible facts about each planet that got the Bees discussing excitedly about the solar system. 

Some excerpts of the songs here - just repeat the tune of "Where Is Thumbkin" for every verse.

1. See the planets! See the planets! 

In the sky! Use your eyes!

Planets in their orbits

Form our solar system.

Aren't they great?

There are eight!

2. Mercury is the first planet (you have to sing this real quick!)

Number one! Near the sun!

Mercury is tiny.

It has many craters.

Formed by rocks. It's so hot!

3. Uranus is planet seven.

Bluish-green! Rings are seen!

It is made of gas, and

Moons float all around it.

Brrr...it's cold. Freezing cold!

And some examples of the more captivating facts that fascinated the Bees and drew them into excited chatter:

1. A thick blanket of poisonous clouds covers Venus' hot surface. This blanket reflects light from the sun, making Venus shine brightly.

- We then discussed about the difference between planets and stars when we see them in the sky. Do you know we can see 5 planets (Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Saturn) with our naked eye in the sky? Amazing! Looks like we should be going star-gazing soon. 

2. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Scientists believe Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm that has lasted more than 300 years. 

3. Mars has sheets of ice at its north and south poles, just like Earth does. 

The Bees could not bear to close the book tonight. Looks like I will be needing to sing a whole lot more every night! 

Palatable Pleasures In Penang: Part 1

We indulged in a 4-day getaway in Penang from 12 to 16 March – desiring nothing more but pure relaxation and total leisure. We came back revitalized, invigorated and with a few extra inches around our waists!

We stayed in the Hard Rock Hotel, perched right on the beautiful northern beaches of Batu Ferringhi. The resort was nestled up in hills where we meandered through narrow winding roads set precariously on jutting cliffs with stunning views of the Straits of Malacca – albeit with heartstopping vertical drops right down to the gently rolling waves.

It is disorienting to gaze in wonder at the panoramic views of the sparkling sea in the immediate wake of Japan’s monstrous tsunami. The ocean is seemingly so tranquil and placid, yet the world now knows the full wrath of vicious destructive waves with utmost capability of wiping out our so-called invincible humanity.

The beach right outside our hotel

Which is why I stared at the infinite vista of ocean right outside our bedroom every day with sobering thoughts and awed respect – the forces of nature are doth mightier than humanity indeed.

Daily scenes of tranquillity and calm

Here are some highlights of our trip. 

The hotel

Hard Rock Hotel is synonymous with blasting rock music, upbeat customer service, raucous activities and a whole atmosphere of casual chaos. For families looking for quiet calm, this hotel may not be suitable. But for us with 2 loud and boisterous girls, I relished this environment as no one would give our active girls dirty looks for making too much noise. Hence, we felt perfectly at home in this energetic hotel.

We slept with the Beatles above us every night!

We booked a seaview room right on the 4^th floor, so we had the pleasure of indulging in expansive views of the ocean and the surrounding rolling hills right from the spacious balcony. 

Scenes that greeted my eyes every day - right from our room's balcony. 

After researching in Tripadvisor, I also learned to ask for a room in a quieter part of the hotel, which was a blessing, as there were bands playing right till midnight in the lobby.

Another view from our balcony

I am particularly fond of the nights when the Bees slept, and Hubby and me would sit in the balcony, just listening to the hypnotic rhythm of the waves, taking note of their eternal patterns of movement, and gazing at the starry moonlit sky. Time stood at a standstill and we could truly return to our core essence again.

The free form pool is the largest in Penang, and the Bees loved the water play area and 3 huge pool slides. Bearing the usual Hard Rock Hotel trademark of sandy swimming pools, the Bees thoroughly enjoyed sandplay beside (and inside!) the pool as well!

Elated Little Bee at the waterplay area

There were also poolside performers in the form of a snake charmer, who entertained us for one whole hour with his colossol python and many highly venomous cobras! The Bees were enthralled by him. 

Big Bee has a strange fascination for snakes...

The beach

The beach in front of Hard Rock Hotel Penang is a public beach – which led to some touts marketing a plethora of services from massages to horse riding whenever we strolled on the beach. However, these touts were not pesky, so we were able to avoid much friction with them once we declined their services politely.

The sand was rather coarse at the beach, and the waves were really gentle and mild. The entire landscape was enhanced by enchanting emerald rolling hills on both sides of the oceanic vista, framing the halcyon sea in an embrace of verdant lushness. The horizon of the sea was stunningly unobstructed, hardly speckled with any boats or ships, except with a sprinkling of parasailers and banana-boaters that added a dash of excitement to the composed sea. Splendidly tall casuarina trees towered around the fringe of the beach, creating an informal barrier between the private land of the hotel and the public space of the beach.

Big Bee loved the tall horses trotting around the beach, and her utmost wish was granted one evening as we sat by the seaside pizzeria eating dinner. A tout with a large gentle brown horse ambled up to us as we admired the resplendent sunset. After some discussion between Hubby and the tout (50 ringgit per ride), as well as much wistful gazing by Big Bee at the horse, she was hoisted up the statuesque stallion and was led away to trot on the sandy beach, alongside the waves.

Soon after, she was riding the magnificent horse independently, even cantering at some instances on the soft sands. Hubby and I watched with our hearts in our throats, but it is very apparent she was enjoying herself tremendously.

It was breathtaking watching her ride the horse against a dazzling backdrop of brilliant sunset hues and the ravishing darkening sea atop a majestic steed. Both rider and horse looked like they were truly enjoying the moment.

Big Bee riding into the sunset...

Little Bee, on the other hand, a huge adoring fan of sandy beaches, has busied herself with a few long hardy twigs, squatting under a stately casuarinas tree, and creating little patterns and structures on the sand, oblivious to her jie-jie’s joy, whilst engrossed in her own happiness.

The sunsets

I never failed to be bewitched by sunsets all around the world, especially sunsets by the beach. My idea of a perfect holiday is to sit by the beach everyday, just gazing in wonderment at multi-hued sunsets. 

The sunset at Batu Ferringhi is a gradual and long-drawn process, starting from around 6.30pm and ending with a brilliant finale at 8pm! The skies were brightened by tangerine and ochre colours at first, before ending with ravishing blazing skies of flaming crimson, mysterious indigo and fiery coral, illuminating the adjacent sea below it with radiant, shimmering parallel reflections. I could just watch this over and over again.  

6.50pm

8pm!

To be continued...