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Singapore 2 - August 2009

To celebrate 50 years of Independence, Singapore announced an additional public holiday which gave us the chance to escape for another long weekend - this time to Macau, a special region of China. In 1557, Macau was rented to Portugal as a trading port. The Portuguese administered the city under Chinese authority until 1887, when Macau became a colony. Macau transferred back to China in 1999. 

After a quick trip up the hill to the lighthouse, our first day was spent walking around the Historic Centre of Macau, a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

After a full day of walking, it was time for some good Portuguese food, and a rest in one of the many casinos.  Yes, I did walk through multiple casinos in Macau and no, I didn’t gamble!  We had decided we were going to have one go each in a big slot machine that could win millions – but couldn’t work out even how to put the money in, so gave up!

One of the highlights of the trip to Macau for me was to see the ‘House of Dancing Water’ show at the City of Dreams resort. This show’s theatre transforms from a very deep pool for high diving, to a stage that stunt motorcyclists use – and is like no other show I have ever seen.  We also got to see the Musical, Ghost, as it passed through Macau – so the final pics are from our nights out!

Hope you enjoyed the report – next trip is Viet Nam in October!  Take care,  Trevor, Shanhong, Ted xx

Yogyakarta, or Jogja is a city and the capital of Yogyakarta Special Region in Java, Indonesia. It is renowned as a center of education (Kota Pelajar), classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to 1949.  Yogya means "suitable, fit, proper", and karta, "prosperous, flourishing" (i.e., "a city that is fit to prosper").

Always interested in seeing new places, we decided to escape Singapore for Chinese New Year and have a week in Yogyakarta, taking advantage of cheap flights and a good hotel deal.  The first day was spent at the most famous temple complexes, Prambanan and Borobudur. Candi Prambanan is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). Candi Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist Temple from the same century. Both compounds are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

Both complexes are impressive… unless, like us, you have already visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia, in which case, these fade a little in comparison.

The following day saw us visit two places, the first being Taman Sari. The name Taman Sari comes from the Javanese words taman, meaning a "garden" or "park" and sari, which means "beautiful" or "flowers". Hence, the name Taman Sari means an area of a beautiful garden adorned with flowers. An old article described it as a "water castle" as by shutting the watergates, the complex would be completely immersed in water, leaving tall structures standing out.

Next on the agenda was Kraton of Yogyakarta (formally known as: Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat). This palace complex is the main seat of the Sultan of Yogyakarta and his family. It serves as a cultural center for the Javanese people and contains a museum that displays the sultanate's artifacts.

The last pic there is a very happy Ted, who discovered that in Indonesia, he is a millionaire!  Obviously he was not so happy to discover even an ice-cream cost thousands…. Poor lad!

Well, that was our Chinese New Year trip to Yogyakarta, nice to see somewhere new again.

Take care and keep in touch!

Trevor, Shanhong & Teddy    xxx

 

We had another chance for a weekend away – using a hotel voucher from Thai Airways – so took the opportunity to go back to Chiang Mai for the first time since living (and getting married) there.  It was nice to see some old places and meet up with some old friends. So, arriving in the late afternoon it was straight for Thai food – and on to the night market.

The following morning we were ‘real tourists’ starting at the Umbrella Farm – mainly because the artists there will point on anything, and when we took the family during the wedding time, my brother had elephants painted on his jeans, and, as that was 8 years ago – he really wanted some new ones doing!

From there it was on to Tiger Kingdom, a place we had not visited before – where you can get up close with the tigers: very different to be inside the cages with the animals rather than outside looking in.

One moment of fun when we took teddy out of the bag, one very sleepy tiger that had ignored both Shanhong and I got up and started pacing – he did not look happy – we left quickly!

After Tiger Kingdom we stopped off in the Monkey park to see Sam (a performing monkey – who, when given a tip, when straight to the fridge and bought a drink!) and on to meet friends that we used to work with.

The evening saw us at another night market, and the next day we travelled back to Singapore. The next weekend away is booked for Chinese New Year when we’ll be heading to Yogyakarta in Indonesia.

We’ve had some more musicals passing through Singapore – the latest was Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, story of some drag queens crossing Australia! The show was held on Sentosa, Singapore’s beach and fun island – so we took some pics in the chocolate shops! Next week we’ll be back at the theatre for Mamma Mia – the last of the musicals before Christmas (although Cats is here early in the new year!).

So, there you have it – our most recent adventures. My final year of Law has begun, so life is busy again, especially as my books were sent to the wrong address so I started late, but I have now caught up.  We had a one-week holiday in October and joined a coach tour of Taiwan. Not the most exciting of trips, but I will get some reports written to share the photos we took.

If you haven’t been to the website recently – do go see the changes. It’s had an update and now has more of a blog feel. All the old reports are still there though – and some extras that I cannot put into a written document!  Http://www.mrhughes.net  Let me know if you find any broken links – and do go sign the guestmap!

All the best,
Trevor, Shanhong & Teddy
xx

Thanks for checking out my blog! Please come back soon for more news and pics from our life.
I‘m Trevor
Let Me Tell You About Myself


I'm half a century old, and have been teaching for a quarter of a century! I have the most beautiful wife, and the best-behaved child ever, and life is good!

I have been living in Singapore for getting on for ten years, having also lived and worked in the UK, Europe, Middle East and other parts of Asia.

Trevor Profile

Trevor Hughes

Hi, I'm a British teacher living in Singapore. This blog is to share my daily life and trips. Enjoy!.

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