By keef and annie hellinger, Jan 13 2019 08:37AM
Not the Motorhome trip No 11 : 10th December 2018 – 10th January 2019 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->Gatwick to Singapore to China to Singapore ->NOTTS 19,346 miles Spent Christmas and New Year with Doug , Phoenix & Charlie in Singapore and China. Wonderful times and so nice to be able to spend so long with them all.
It should be noted that the concept of Motor homing in Singapore (not big enough, but tent camping is possible in East Coast Park) and China (just culturally so foreign to their nature) is unlikely but who is to say in the future whether or not it will happen. When our daughter-in-laws parents visited us in the UK way back when and I showed her father around our Wendy House he asked if English people lived in them. This trip allowed us the opportunity to repay the visit by spending time with them in their home town of Foshan, Guandong province, China and most welcome they made us too. It is fair to say that language is a barrier but Phoenix and Charlie (as interpreters) and a snazzy app on the iPad meant we could communicate just a little. We loved China, what an opportunity, not somewhere I suggest westerners try without some language skills and WeChatPay and Alipay or a whole stack of cash. Most purchases are via the aforesaid app via your phone! We were extremely lucky travelling with Norwegian from Gatwick to Changi that we got a Premier economy upgrade, the extra comfort and luxury made the 14+ hours journey to Singapore a whole lot better. Top films in my humble opinion – Hoover by Clint Eastwood (way out), Bad times at the El Grande (way back) We went to Balalaki Greek Taverna in the historic Tiong Bahru heritage area for Doug’s birthday, and very nice it was too, plus a revisit to Muddy Murphy’s for Xmas dinner, although a new venue this time at the other end of Orchard Road.
We flew out to China the day after Boxing day and spent time in Foshan, Guangzhou and Zhuhai (on the border with Macao). Such an experience, loved every moment. We celebrated Annes’ 65th birthday there at a local village wedding and the Western New Year (clearly not Chinese New Year.. 2019 being the year of the Pig). We returned to Marine Terrace, Singapore on the 4th and made good use of the pool etc at Nora & Michaels at Cote D’Azur near Parkway Parade before sadly saying our good byes and returning home to a somewhat cooler UK. Singapore was 34c, China sometimes 3c and UK 6c Among the many highlights in Singapore apart from seeing family were the Q8 at SAM , Singapore Art Museum's spin off for new Artists (the old colonial art museum is currently closed for refurbishment for 3 years), this is located at Bras Basah, The Singapore Heritage Museum, Muddy Murphys in Orchard Road, The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Chinatown, Parkway Parade, the ever wonderful East Coast park, Cote D'azur pools, Tiong Bahru heritage area, Gardens by the bay, Asian civilisation museum, Cavenagh bridge area of the Singapore river and the Paranakan Museum and restaurant in Armenian Street. Among the many highlights of our time in China I would list shop and chop house establishments, Starry Four Seasons Hotel, Lingnan quarter, Lion dancing, old orange peel, turtle soup, Zumiao museum, firecrackers, Titian village family wedding, Annies 65th, Nanfeng ancient kiln, Ming & Qing pottery, the Canton or Pearl river, Guangzhou south station (so busy), High speed trains, Yuwenquan hot springs resort, Macao boat trip, MGM studios (Macao),Tea, Dim Sum, cantonese food, deep fried scorpion, gooses intestines, worms, beef knuckle, Hong kong-zhuhai-macao bridge, Cold and Warmth, Rickshaws, Paw-Paw & Gong-Gong, straw hats, Air B&B, Chen Clan academy, Starbucks, Guandong museum, Fans & western trade historically, Canton Tower, young chinese girls wanting their photo with me (what an ego boost ;) ), Buddha in many forms, chinese weighing scales, crocodile and goat, buttons and zips. Looking forward to the next family meet up, “missing you already” Longer term 2020 Beijing for 600th anniversary of the Forbidden city but hopefully also before then!
To see more family fun, visit our FAMILY page here on the site
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