Nathaniel K2 Graduation at BBTK 24 Oct 2015

In a blink, he has completed his pre-primary education at Bethesda Bedok-Tampines Church Kindergarten.

Nathaniel's first try of the graduation hat and gown.

Looking at these pics, I can see the uncanny resemblance and I feel like I am in a time tunnel, looking at myself as if I am my father from a couple of decades ago.

I am unable to explain the weird epiphany I had that day, but I guess when the older folks kept encouraging the married couples to have kids of their own, this kinda explains why.

I saw the better version of me and he has all the time in the world to make mistakes and change the world in ways I never did.

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Family outing to Ubin 5 Sept 2015

My children were born on an island.
But they have no idea what island living is all about.

So on this particular Saturday morning, I brought them to Pulau Ubin.

They had their share of sun, sand, sea, jungles, tracks, insects, crabs, mudskippers, mangroves,wild boars and did I mention sun?

And they said they didn't want to go back there ever again..

/me faints.

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CNY 2015 Visiting Dad's House 19 Feb 2015

It was the first day of the Lunar New Year and it's customary to visit our parents place for blessings and at the same time, snap some family photos with everyone dressed up.

Nathaniel wishing 姑丈 “恭喜发财”

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Paris London Trip 20 Dec 2014 to 30 Dec 2014 Arrival and Eiffel Tower Night

Once we reached Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport, we tried using the public train service to reach our accommodation for the first 4 days which was booked via AirBnB. I must say that I was quite impressed with the accommodation and will refer this place to all my friends visiting Paris.

The Metro Station was Place D'Italie and our residence was on top of a shopping mall that has its own supermarket (Carrefour) inside the mall.

This was day 1 of our free and easy trip

Bienvenue en France ( Welcome to France )

Lugging Serious Lugguage from CDG Airport to Place D'Italie

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Paris London Trip 20 Dec 2014 to 30 Dec 2014 Pre-Departure and Transit

It was our first long haul family trip and was just the 4 of us lugging suitcases full of winter wear to both Paris and London.

Mrs Neo ( aka Christine Koh ) was in between jobs and we have a period whereby we could afford to visit these 2 countries.

We managed to book the tickets at great prices at Emirates Airlines and transited at Dubai before arriving at Paris.

Pre-departure at Changi Airport. Nathaniel trying out his grins

Dubai Transit Experience

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Last staycation at Fairmont 12-14 Dec 2014

Possibly our last staycation there since the Feed@Raffles membership card no longer includes free 1 night stay at its chain of hotels in Singapore.

Nonetheless, we had a good time and took many photos.

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Korean Winter Sonata 11-17 Dec 2013

It was a winter wonderland trip for the kids in Korea.

Theme parks, snow, ski resorts, spas and hours of coach rides.

All set to board plane

Leanne and Alice

Isabel

Isabel, Charis, Leanna, Emmanuel and Wei Yang

Mummies and their daughters

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Bangkok Trip with Kids and Aunts 19-24th June 2013

It was a long awaited holiday for the Neo family.
Though it was largely a shopping trip, we made time for some sightseeing for the kids.

Here are some of the places we were at during our stay in Bangkok.

Traffic jams meant we walked most of the time

River Cruise to see the Floating Markets

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China Yun Nam trip Day 3 Dali 15 Nov 2010

On the 3rd day of our Yun Nam China trip, we were enroute to Dali and we visited a dinosaur remains extraction site where it was converted into a museum.

Once we reached Dali, we were greeted by another warm and friendly tour guide whom belonged to the local tribe aka Bai Tribe (白族). Their tribal dresses reminds us of the HongKong martial arts drama serials we watched many years ago. Most of these dramas were based on works from the author "Jin Yong" (金庸). And it's a fact that most of his literary works are based on the cultures of many lesser tribes of the Yun Nam province. So visiting Dali was like entering the olden towns of the pugilistic world of Jin Yong.

Again, it was advised that we address the local ladies appropriately. And this time, we have to call them "Golden Flower" in Mandarin. (金花)

Here we go again. However, the complications of each and every tribal locals way of addressing their males and females does indeed reflect the complexity of its languages and how their culture is intricate and their customs kept till this day.

I should probably say "our" language since me and my family should be classified under the "Han People" (汉族). Now we know that we, the Han People, are of the largest population/race in the world!. Cheers to that!

Though notably, the Han People had been conquered by the lesser tribes such as the "Man People" (满族) and resulted in the Qing Dynasty.

Enough of China's history and here are some of the pictures!

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China Yun Nam trip Day 1 Kunming 13 Nov 2010

Christine, Isabel and myself went on a trip to the southern part of China in "Yun Nam" for a holiday.

The trip includes the tour of Kunming, Lijiang, Dali and Shangri-La.

These are the pictures from Day 1 in Kunming.

We visited the caves and gorges of Jiuxiang.

Next, the tour guide brought us to the Stone Forest (石林).

It was an geological wonder and it is aptly named. You could literally get lost in the heaps of giant stones. The place owes its creation from the tectonic plates movements which resulted in huge undersea rocks and corals were raised above the sea level and form the "stone forest" of today. Some of the larger and taller rocks have clear horizontal cracks on it which according to the guide, was caused by the erosion of the surface of the sea when it was still submerged.

A wee bit about the local customs and culture..

We learnt that Yun Nam have many tribes, the one most prominent in Kunming is the Yi Tribe ( 彝族 )

In Kunming, it is rude to address the local ladies as "小姐" because the term is commonly used to associate with KTV hostesses and prostitutes in China. To address a young "YI" woman proper in Kunming, we have to call them "Ashima" so as to get their attention.

More ways to address a woman in different parts of Yun Nam later.

Franklin, Christine & Isabel at Shilin, Stone Forest in Kunming, China

Many apologies for pics not well taken due to new camera.
Also, the short timing for each tourist site means I gotta learn the trust the metering instead of taking the time for trial and error.

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