Monkey

We had some proper monkeys swinging in the trees at the hotel in Malaysia and then there was the teasing monkeys that spread the garbage all over. The black dusky leaf monkeys were a lot fun watching as they jump around, picked leaves and cuddled the brown baby. The long tailed macaque were noisy and after the monkey in the stroller episode I am not fond of having them to close. The trip has been exciting on animals and not as many creepy crawlies as I had feared.

Nemo

Was just off our beach, so many anemones with clown fish.

Merry Christmas

Snorkel and fins are packed and we are off tomorrow morning, vuuhuuujj I´m looking forward to the time on tropic islands. And to see Lauge´s reaction when a fish pass under his snorkel mask.

Toys

Where to buy toys? Still need to find a place like Into The Wind in Boulder, but two stores we can recommend: The Better Toy Store in Ngee Ann City and for Lego the little shop on third floor in Great World City.

Get off

In the Zoo I enjoy watching the monkeys play. Moving out here I was looking forward to meet monkeys in their natural surroundings. I have not yet, only met monkeys looking for human food, why does some people feed wild animals. It is just the end for that animal and it can get such a nuisance before it reach the end. Last week a monkey jumped in our stroller. GET OFF!

X-mas

December is a really lovely and cozy time of year, but also a time for feeling guilty about not being able to be with all of your parents. I just gotta put it in a box and enjoy the lights in the dark of x-mas.

Family day

So nice again to be invited to get together with Janus´ work colleagues. In Boulder we had a lot of welcome and farewell evenings and I so enjoyed them. In Oxford there was nil. Here it is quite a big group, so no chance to learn all the names, but still really good to meet up. Wednesday we were on Sentosa Island for the yearly x-mas dinner and all four of us had a fab time.

Mosquitoes

Aarst they sometimes freak me out, they are everywhere and you do not see or hear them they just put their marks on your body. Was it one of those black and white striped ones? Was it infected? I´m so happy we are not living in a malarial area.
Dengue Fever is enough to scare me.
In Boulder it was the West Nile Virus that scared me and I still so remember the slogan: One Bite, One Life Changed Forever.

Rambutan

I so like to open these skins that reveals a hidden yummy fruit. This week we got rambutan at the market (and we did not have to buy a whole box, one kilo could do it). Like many of the other local fruits it is both sweet and sour and I like it (but which local in season fruit/berry not to like).
The spikes are soft and the skin way thinner than on mangosteen, but harder to open. On the mangosteen it is just a push with thumb and forefinger, the rambutan need a two hand hard twist.

How to write

Food is so simple to write about (and I´m already at the computer reading about the ingredient or simply trying to figure out its name). Harder to put down that I love the colorfulness of the people around. All the black hair from China, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Malaysia, ... and the colorfulness is not just about hair ;-) My address book slowly gives an impression of the surroundings and it makes me smile when I see all these names that I have a hard time pronouncing.

Feels weird, but I have talked way more with English moms here than I did in Oxford. Expats talks to expats, here and there and almost everywhere. US is really special in that sense, it was so easy for us to meet local people in Boulder.

Amanita Design

In Oxford we played Samorost 1 and 2 quite a lot. I loved the small stories we made from the scenes and Lauge´s questions and excitement over the game.
Amanita Design has done it again, we have now played Machinarium since our computer arrived, we were so lucky that Amanita Design released right around when we landed, it is perfect with a new game when settling in a new country. We talk about this little guy in Machinarium almost every day and Lauge tells some fantastic stories about the setup, refers to the story and (of course) ask questions about it.

Another game that has been a lot on table lately is memory game, I´m pretty sure that Lauge will soon win a game. Lauge then thinks I will throw the cards like the guy in Machinarium. He might be right if Janus wins, but I guess I will just be very proud when Lauge tips both of us over.

Box of Mangosteen

It is a fairy tale fruit, a bit boring on the outside, though I like the little flower shaped end at the bottom. A squeeze the right place and the treasure is there, white and shiny surrounded by all the red.
Went to the wholesale centre yesterday and could not buy less than a box so have quite a lot of mangosteen on the balcony. Come by and eat as many as you can.

Machine Park

New in town, no maid and no plans to get one, cleaning, never had a clean home in UK (those wall-to-wall carpets in combination with no suction in the vacuum cleaners), ready to try WipesIt or Domestic1. Four weeks later, yet another Monday waiting for the cleaners for hours, I was so done wasting money and time. We are back to swinging the mop ourself, brooming though takes quite a while and have not had success finding a vacuum on craigslist - and why buy an old fashion machine that need a hand? Zojirushi and Kenwood need company so we will soon welcome Roomba to our house.

Wiggle

In West Coast Park we have found quite a good spot for our hammock, I bet some of the small branches and leaves can wiggle in another way than on danish trees - more like rocking or tic tac clocking.

Choo choo train

Tried to figure out whether we could surprise friends by splashing their hotel pool in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, train would be the option. Unfortunately they are in KL soo short and not even in the weekend, but for next time we look for train options I will go straight to The Man in Seat Sixty-One...

Tap your feet to the beat

Free outdoor concerts, that is the way to go with kids. We will be there for several of the ones in December. In Botanic Gardens we might build a shark from palm leaves (you should see the thorns of some of them, the could make a shark envy) while we listen, dance and clap. On the Esplanade who knows.

Taiwan

Will Taiwan be our next holiday stop?

Hopenhagen

Since Monday morning we have seen quite some ads for Hopenhagen.
media.asia hopenhagen.org hopenhagenlive.com

Vinegar

I´m addicted... Our local Japanese take away guy introduced me to vinegar drink. Now we have two different in the fridge, one sweetened with honey the other sour.

Singapore Philatelic Museum

There we went yesterday. Sounds cool, eh? Actually a really nice little museum with various rooms. Pressing buttons, opening cupboards, playing post office, sitting on a scooter, talking about countries. We had fun for several hours and met some nice moms and toddlers.

The American Dream

Every year in November we take a number in the Diversity Visa Lottery. Wonder what we will do if we actually win the prize.

Warm sensations

An old friend just had a newborn boy. I so remember the feeling of truly happiness. For both my boys the memories first popping up is 12-24 hours after birth.

With Ulf I was walking home from his first doctor check. It was dark, rained a bit, I turned down from the main road towards our road and just started crying. This little guy had arrived sound and safe and I felt so lucky having him right there next to my skin.

Tapioca

The local starch. Tried one, should have taken a picture, the tapioca root looked like a rat. Used half of it for a chocolate cake and other half for thickening a chili con carne. Worked fine, actually both really yummy, but not bc of the tapioca, so wont buy one again. Beet root would have done the chocolate cake more spongy and smashed beans is my favorite thickener for chili.

Other new things on the food list this week.
Thai Rose Leaves, Lauge enjoyed them - quite rare he goes for green leaves.
Pandan leaves, is on the ingredient list on several products, now we have them fresh in the cupboard, have to try boil them with our rice, untill then they should help keep the cockroaches away (aargh on Bali we saw this gigantic coackroach, luckily the last night in that cottage, have only seen tiny ones here, but still, just do not like them - geckos though are just nice visitors).
Ulam Rajah (name in Malay: King of the Salad), found the texture too coarse.

Have been trying a bunch of different mangoes and the best one is the honey mango from Thailand.

We bought vegetables till it tipped our stroller on Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. It is located right at the West Coast Container Terminal. The auction hall for vegetables is full of forklifts emptying containers, busy people and lots and lots of veggies. The smell was impressively intense from herbs and all sorts of onions. We met one of our local take away chefs and saw a lot of people buying for more than a household, so probably chefs.
The fruit options was not as good or might we did not find the right place. But 20% off the price on honey mangos from Thailand compared to the local chinese wet market - and if we keep eating (and drinking) as many as we do right now then it is a really good deal.

Phoon Huat

I love the shops and markets, the smells, the people, the quick talking Chinese. If you need a break you can just go to IKEA or somewhere similar (and air-conditioned) and almost forget that you are not back in Denmark. Today we went to Phoon Huat and it is true what they state on their website, they do have an impressive amount of bakery and confectionery ingredients.

Beep beep beep

My social network at the moment must be singapore.craigslist... Looking for furnitures and other stuff as a newcomer it is a good place to search. We found a friend for our rice cooker, she does not chat as beautiful, she was cheaper (but I should have bargained that price), she makes a good crisp crust. We like the bread Kenwood bakes. And how simply it is, just pour in the ingrediens and tell when you want your bread to be done. It smelled to lovely of fresh baked bread this morning, but could have done without all the beeping.

Rice rice rice

Brown, white, hard, soft, how do you like it, how do you cook it best. We have got a maid and she fits perfectly in the bomber shelter (unlike a lot of maids in Singapore), most of the time though she has been in the living room so far, she plays twinkle twinkle little star when she starts cooking rice. She has porridge ready when we wake up in the morning. Sure we will be very happy with our new Zojirushi Rice Cooker.

Fully booked

And it is not Christmas nor contractors who fill our condo with workers (from now on they are restricted to Mondays, yesterday was a busy day with people in and out of our condo (in the afternoon six men came out of the elevator, bringing along our new huge solid teak dinning table)). Noop, this week it is play dates every day from Tuesday-Friday. Wonder who we will meet.

Kindergarten

Attended open house at little skool house this weekend and met a women that you just want to be your kids teacher, she was so lovely, the way she talked, the way she moved. She is not at the center we signed up for - and no doubt too much commute to her center.

After some disappointing visits in kindergartens, Lauge (and I) got the good feeling, so we are back on the road and now just looking forward to hear when Lauge can start.

Excited

Too cool to see the kids unpack their stuff.

Arrived

The container terminal back home in Aarhus is like first pack of Duplo, here is Legoland. For the next couple of nights one of the blocks will contain our stuff. Go quick custom, can not wait to see the boys unpack their toys.

Ginger

Young, old, blue, yellow?

White x-mas

Will wake up for Christmas eve in a tent, might be the white stuff isn't cold and fluffy, but still perfect for playing.

Address

Our address for the next two years:

Wesenberg

12 West Coast Rd #03-13
The Stellar
Singapore 126821

Come by for a chat, a glass of lime juice and a dip in the pool.

Jackfruit

The largest tree borne fruit in the world, can reach 36 kg in weight. Yummy texture and taste. Jackfruit, Wikipedia.

Pineapple

For cooking, juicing or eating?

Blåbær, brombær

og klart efterårsvejr. Det har været en smuk sidste uge i Danmark. Vores 5-8 rummeter der skal med står nu i en container - og mon ikke den allerede er nået frem til havnen i Århus. Nu mangler vi bare at rydde op efter os og pakke det sidste til flyveren.

Det begynder at dæmre

Første flyttekasse er fyldt. Sommerhuset bliver tømt i weekenden. I næste uge skal bilen til UK og sælges. Den 14. kommer flyttefolkene og henter en 5-8 rummeter som vi ser igen i starten af november i Singapore. Den 15. flyver vi østpå. Dagens valutakurs på SGD (Singapore Dollars) er 361.

Tidsforskel

Solen står op i øst, så morgenen starter tidligt i Singapore. Om vinteren 6 timer tidligere end i Danmark og om sommeren 7 timer tidligere.

Bali

Så har vi flybilletter til fra Singapore til Bali. Vuhuuj.
Vi satser på at starte med at bo ved Pemuteran, men først skal vi måske lige købe flybilletter til Singapore.

Bolig i Singapore

Singapore er på størrelse med Mikronesien og kan med sine 700 km2 være fire gange på Fyn.
Singapore stryger med sine knap 5 millioner indbyggere lige ind på andenpladsen, når det gælder befolkningstæthed.

While Singapore is a modern western society populated by largely English-speaking ethnic Chinese, the similarity to the west does not extend fully into real estate. A country the size of San Diego County, its lack of land translates into a hefty rental for real estate - a bracket that while most Manhattanites and Londoners find reasonable, the rest of us find outrageous. [1]

Dejlige Danmark

Skov og hav, det er godt.
Og mange kendte ansigter.

Papir

Hvornår kommer kontrakten, den er på vej, men det er ikke nok, jeg vil gerne købe flybilletter i dag.

Kasser og lister

De fleste af vores ting er nu på fjerde år i kasser, det nye er at vi har en slags overblik over dem. Vi brugte fire dage på at tømme, skrive ned og pakke om. Ungerne var god hjælp under tømmedelen. Ofte når vi har rodet med vores ting, har jeg fået lyst til at købe et hus. Den var der ikke en eneste gang i denne runde, det var til gengæld drømmen om det tingløse liv.

Buy our English car?

We need to sell our English car, which has served us very well during our stay in Oxford.
The car is great for sightseeing with large windows all around, including a panoramic sunroof. It has seven seats in three rows, and with the back row folded flush with the floor, there is a nice big boot for camping accessories. In everyday use, we really came to appreciate the keyless entry/start-stop which we initially wrote of as a gimmick.

The Car is a 2004 Renault Grand Scenic 1.9dCi Dynamique with 45,000 miles. We bought it from the first real owner in December 2007 and have not used it for commuting. The car comes with an AA Extended Warranty that runs till December 2009.

You can have it at a good price since our alternative would be to drive it back to England and sell it for 3800 at an instant sale shop, while you would have to pay around 4800 for a similar car at a dealer. If we split the difference and trade at 4300 have both saved 500 pounds.

The car is currently in Denmark, but we'd be happy to drive it to the UK for you.

Reviews
- WhatCar http://bit.ly/ygpos
- UsedCarExpert http://bit.ly/9uoXw
Standard features of notice:
- 7 individually foldable seats. Back row folds flat with floor.
- Big windows -- excellent views from all seats
- Space-age central locking/auto start
- A/C
Extras:
- Panoramic Electric Glass Sunroof
- 6CD Changer
Blemishes:
- A small dent in the back (see photo)
- Small mark on instrument panel
- Missing trim on luggage compartment floor cover

Beat it

Vores base i Cornwall: St. Anthony in Roseland Cottages.
Fantastisk selskab, natur og vejr.

Cornwall

Der venter os en forlænget weekend i Cornwall, denne gang på sydkysten. Vi prøver igen en hytte, vejrudsigten indbyder ikke ligefrem til at satse på telt. Vi er dobbelt op denne gang, fire børn, fire voksne - og en fødselsdag.

Træer

Det nærmer sig, at der igen skal tændes for:

En af forskellene fra sidst er, at vi ikke kan forestille os at bo her fast, men afskeden er stadig svær.

At skulle sige farvel til dem, der har fulgt ens børn tættest og miste muligheden for at mødes dagligt. Allerede sidst markede Lauge, at han savnede nogen af børnene i Boulder, hvordan mon han vil tage den manglende kontakt med Janna, Alvar og deres familier.

Vi har mange smukke oplevelser med hjem herfra og håber at komme til at feriere landet senere.

Spring is it

Lam der hopper og ællinger der vrikker afsted på stribe. Sprøde lysegrønne blade og blomsterorgier på træer, buske og blomster. Lunt, lyst og næsten ingen regn. Så skal der cykles.

Cambridge

10 point. Vi var der blot en halv dag, men indtrykket var godt. Kunne være sjovt med en måneds ophold der...

Sommerfornemmelser

Samorost

Oline har længe været favorit, men er nu slået af banen af Samorost og Crayon Physics.

Pubs

Kommer du forbi The Bush Inn, så prøv deres Sticky Toffee Pudding og kaffe. Tag dagen efter forbi Hoops Inn og sæt dig i lokalet på bagsiden af baren, kig på deres gnomer, nyd deres mad og mest af alt drøm om at vandre i UK og spise god mad i stemningsfyldte lokaler.

Rigtig skov

Skoven vi har manglet er her! Lige om hjørnet, over et par smalle broer (hvor den der kommer først til midten slipper for at bakke) og op, der vokser smukke træer og der er udsigt. I søndags sneg vi os, men i dag bliver ansøgning om at benytte Wytham Woods sendt.

Growth chart

I'm fascinated by nature...

Påskegækker

Og andre forårsbebudere i Batsford Arboretum. Store fugle i Cotswold Falconry Centre. Alletiders første weekenddag med forårsvejr.

Tosproget

Burde klinge lige så positivt som bilingual.

Som modermålstalende (under fremmede himmelstrøg) homemaker* med min ældste hjemme til han var knap 3 giver debatten om at tvinge små børn i vuggestue mig mavekneb. Jeg er helt enig med Frans Gregersen i at Vi skal have trænet ørerne.

*Fordi hjemmegående klinger lige så skævt som tosproget.

Cornish Coast

Efter at have set en del på vejrkortet, National Trust og Hoseseasons' hytter kan vi nu glæde os til den 28. februar, hvor der venter os en uges ferie i Cornwall. Nu skal vi bare se nærmere på Lookaround Cornwall.

Et bette snemand

Var hvad det kunne blive til i haven, men alligevel nok sne til at skolerne er lukket. Ikke sådan når nedbøren pludselig er hvid frem for gennemsigtig.

The Ugly Duckling

Jeg var i teatret for første gang i laaang tid og det var Lauges allerførste gang. Vi grinede stort set lige meget, Travelling Light får toppoint herfra.

Foråret er på vej

Kollegiet i går var et gensyn med en af favoritterne og turen i haven (der var fuld af vintergæk og erantis) efterfulgt af leg under træet ved buegangen var lige så godt som husket.

Real Oxford

Fredag er igen dømt kollegieturdag og tro det eller lad være, det var en fornøjelse at finde det hemmeligste sted på den våde sti i Green College og amme, mens de tre andre rollinger fint undgik græsset der ikke måtte betrædes men fandt andre lege og vist bare nød mødrenes begejstring over at være tilbage bag kollegiernes mure og den meget specielle stemning der er der.

Online grocery shopping

Det kan de her! Vi er yderst tilfredse med Sainburys service.

Ooh, du skønne Vesterhav

Vi har haft en fantastisk uge plus med duften af hav, sten i vand, hvidbehårede sten, bølger, frossen vand og sand - og gang i brændeovnen.