Itchy brains

These days, I try to read news during my morning coffee. Today, I saw that our TFR has fallen to 0.97 in 2023. 

Statistically speaking, TFR, total fertility rate, is the average number of children born to a woman over her reproductive years (15-49yo in Singapore; I seem to recall some countries go up to 44yo) if she were subject to prevailing fertility rates. Something like that - I regret dumping that old population stats book when we moved.. Actually I didn't finish the book but I attended an illuminating lecture by the author on TFR...

Formula-wise, it's five times the sum of the number of births to women of five-year age group / number of women in same five-year age group, for the five-year age groups between 15 and 49 inclusive. 

From the two statements above, you can see (or I tell you la) that the TFR is a theoretical number. But it suffices as an indicator to tell us where the trends are headed.

But it is only an indicator and one that should be read together with other population numbers and also our cultural context. 

The easier one to understand is cultural context - in Singapore, the majority of kids are born after marriage but the TFR base includes women of all marital statuses. So the TFR among married women, if there is such a thing, would be slightly higher, considering that some 70% of women aged 15yo and above were ever-married.

Now, numbers. Our TFR is stated as "resident TFR". Since residents refer to citizens and PRs, I should think that the TFR is based on births to residents and on number of resident women. 

We had 32,290 resident births in 2022, dropping to 30,510 in 2023 (DOS). As for resident women aged 15-49, we had 986,990 in 2022, rising to 1,001,023 in 2023 (DOS). It's expected that TFR dropped from 1.04 in 2022 to 0.97 in 2023.

Does it mean that if many more people decide to have a kid this year, the TFR will increase? Hard to say... TFR can be affected by not just the number of births but also the number of women. So if the number of women increases more than the number of births increases, the TFR can drop despite more births. Conversely, TFR can increase if the number of women decreases more than the number of births decreases! And it's possible for the number of women of reproductive age to decrease, e.g. more turned 50yo than entered 15-49yo coz ageing population.

Anyway... The number of resident births has been 30k-38k in the past 10 years, mostly decreasing y-o-y (DOS). 

The number of women aged 15-49 has also been decreasing by under 10k y-o-y for most of the past 10 years. There was a large drop of 30k between 2020 and 2021, likely due to PRs leaving due to COVID? But the numbers have picked up in the last two years, by 14k-17k y-o-y (DOS). 

Resident deaths stand at about 18k-25k in the past 10 years, roughly increasing y-o-y (DOS). Based on births and deaths alone, the population should increase a little each year. But the overall population increases by 18k-86k in the past 10 years, with the highest in 2022.

(At this point, I have five excel files opened, and realised I have dug a rabbit hole for myself - but I have started so I will finish, even if this becomes more and more incoherent... Nvm, I'm not behind any government policy!)

In 2022, we had 21,802 naturalised citizens and 34,493 new PRs (source). So the 86k increase must be also due to residents returning to Singapore. Now, any kids the naturalised citizens, new PRs and returning residents had before entering Singapore are not factored into the TFR calculation. (But if the kids come to Singapore too, they are included in the overall population count.)

Point is, the TFR cannot tell us everything. But there is no denying the TFR trends - people are having fewer children.

I really dislike the Baby Bonus cash component. Or rather, I dislike how people thought of it as an incentive for having children. At the rate we’re going, I think we should not increase spending in this area to encourage people to have (more) children. Not that we do not spend - we should still support parents in child-raising coz there are those who want (or sadly, just have - recent news of abuse make sad reading) children regardless of government support. 

It is just difficult to fight the trend. Giving more cash or leave will not make people have (more) children. Working is hard. Not everyone can work during child care centre hours. Not everyone has access to affordable child care options. There are always things cropping up at work and with the kids, and work and kids do not arrange not to clash.

Then, housing, education and healthcare are expensive. HDB flats are smaller than before. Education and employment are more competitive than ever. Good healthcare helps us live longer and hopefully more healthily but brings about my next point.

Government spending should be focused on care of the elderly. By 2030, one in four will be aged 65 and above. That's on the society level. What about at the family level?

Now I'm not estimating for 2030. 

Among ever-married women aged 50 and above in 2023, 8% had no children, 19% one, 39% two, 23% three and 11% four or more (DOS). For now, the majority still has at least two children. These children are lucky - they can spread out elderly caregiving for their parents. But over time, we can expect the numbers to shift more towards zero and one. More single children will need to bear the full weight of elderly caregiving. From the elderly perspective, more elderly will have fewer children to care for them.

Another reason for not increasing spending simply to encourage having (more) children is that, those who are not married also need support. I doubt the single/childless groups will outsize the parents but the numbers are, or will grow, significant enough such that there will be increasing pressure to support them as well. 

Elderly caregiving often falls on the unmarried sibling(s), based on anecdotal sharing. Singles also need support, and more when there will be fewer or no siblings to help out.

In 2023, 6% of those aged 70 and above (cannot find 65yo and above) are unmarried (DOS). Again, we can expect this number to increase. In the context of our society, singles mostly do not have children. Married or unmarried, elderly without children still need caregiving in the later years. If they are lucky, nephews and nieces, however few, may step in. This means heavier burden for the children today - they have elderly parents and elderly uncles and aunts, and for some, their own young children. 

Let's not have children then, don't give birth to them only to burden them?!

Then society has to step in.

First of all, I think everyone has to plan for our own caregiving in later years. You may be single or married. You may have no children or 10. Plan to support yourself.

But society has to provide the infrastructure to allow individuals to plan for themselves.

Ideally, elderly can age in their own homes until they pass. But it is likely that at some point, they cannot safely live on their own. There are only a few options:

1) Hire a live-in helper if the elderly can still communicate. MOM says employer must still have the mental capacity to be the employer. So at some point, this may not be viable. 

2) Move in with children or other relatives/friends. Discuss early with your family. This can put a strain on relationships as the elderly will still need help for daily activities. As I mentioned, HDB flats are smaller these days. How can society support willing children to care for their elderly when living space is limited and there may be a need for a special bed or wheelchair?

3) Move to a nursing home. This can be costly and there may not be available spots. Sito and I plan to check into a nursing home when we can no longer take care of ourselves. I don't want to stay in my boys' homes and have them (goodness, no!) or a live-in helper wipe my wrinkly bum! But will there be good nursing homes? Will there be spots available when we need it? Can we afford it? 

Any other options? I can't think of any.

Ok, kids home now. Busy so abrupt ending - just die before getting too old and weak la! But must live healthily until at least 80yo to max out CPF life ok, haha!

Note: The DOS links refer to latest data so will say different things next year but the data series can be downloaded from there.

A lizard's tale

I had a huge lizard scare this morning. I don't know which was bigger - the lizard or the scare...

Monday night, I turned on the light to find a huge lizard just above the window in the kitchen. I shooed and it went out. We closed the kitchen window and our bedroom window which are separated by only a narrow wall.

Yesterday morning, I sprayed lizard repellent all over the underside of the awning right outside both windows and all walls outside these windows. Last night I left the windows open as usual.

This morning, I turned on the light and saw a huge lizard on the door of a base cabinet in the kitchen. It looked just like the one on Monday night. It must be biding for a chance to enter our home! Grrrr...

The thing is, this lizard froze. It didn't move when I shooed it. I remembered how JY killed a roach and a lizard recently with her Magiclean stick so I pulled two dry sheets over mine and armed myself in front of the lizard.

But I could not do it!!!!

And it was not just because the pad was wobbly due to the rotational function of the stick.

I was scared. And I didn't dare to kill a big thing.

I thought of shooing it again but it didn't move even when I put the stick very close. I wondered if the lizard repellent had made it blur.

Kai woke slightly later than usual which bought me some time. But when I heard him turn off his aircon, I decided I had to get the day going. Nuked the milk first. Armed myself again.

Still cannot!!!

Kai was upset when he saw that breakfast was not ready. This boy is always gan cheong in the morning...

"It's just a stupid lizard!"

Then you help me la... But I didn't say that. I just held my stick sadly. By then, the lizard turned its body a little... 

Then Yang and Yu got up. Oh no, I had to get the day going!

I asked Yang if I should kill it. The last time we had a lizard in the morning, a small one, I trapped it under a clear box and he asked me to set it free. But this time...

"Yes, kill it!"

I hesitated. And this boy came over and took the stick from me!

"I'll help you do it."

Wa! My hero!

But no la, I didn't let him do it... No blood on my child's hands, hoho!

I went to tell Sito. I don't know why. Was I expecting he would kill it? Eh, maybe. But no, he muttered sthg and remained in bed *.*

Yang encouraged me and offered his, um, service again. On the other hand, Yu was standing a bit further.

"I'm scared..."

Don't teach my children such fears, I told myself. 

"Ok, I'm inspired by my brave Yang! I shall do it!"

I hesitated some more but eventually, I whacked it!

And I didn't let go. I knew it was under the pad now but what would happen when I let go?

Well, first the tail dropped and continued to wiggle on the floor! (Btw, it continued to move long after the lizard was dead!) Then the lizard piaked onto the floor and moved off! I chased it with the stick and quite quickly killed it. It took another three whacks? There was slight blood stains on the door and two spots on the floor.

I felt a bit sad :( Relieved, yes, but also a bit sad. Or maybe scared. I don't know.

At this point, Sito came out and told me it was less easy to kill as it was a vertebrate. Thanks ah...

My brave boy with his roselle plant which I dumped ytd coz it was dying

It was interesting to see the reactions of the three - one couldn't be bothered, one wanted to help, one was hiding. All three were super cute, even Kai's irritated response. But Yang was the cutest la. Next time your turn! But let me get a non-wobbly stick first.

It was also interesting to see my reaction. There were always lizards in AMK. And their poop. I leave them alone coz I didn't need to do anything about it. I mean, Mother was there right? Haha! But there was two memorable episodes.

I saw two big, fat, white lizards fighting under the TV shelf one day. I heard noises and peeked. I think I backed off. Not my fight! On retrospect years later, I wondered if they were mating :p

The second episode was downright horrifying. I was having dinner on the chair next to the wall when a lizard jumped from the wall right behind my ear into my plate and continued running off! Wth! I cried, tears and all. To this day, I couldn't fathom why it would do that...

When Sito and I moved into our first home together, there was also a few memorable lizard episodes - lizard ran across the kitchen counter, lizard giving me a scare behind the dish rack, lizard in the bathroom! We put up lizard traps a couple of times. 

I think it was in our second home when I began to fear and then hunt lizards. We had many, many lizards. When I was working from home, I kept heard the tsk tsk tsk noise from somewhere near the fridge. After helper left, it took many lizard traps to finally reduce the population to nothing except for an unlucky few which ventured in. Now that I think about it, there was an insane number of lizard scares.

• Lizard crawled over my foot in the kitchen! 
• Lizard ran across the middle of the living room and over my foot again! 
• Single popcorn on the floor in the morning when I dumped it in the bin last night - thanks, lizard. 
• Lizard ran from me to in between kids' mattress and the wardrobe - wa liao I just had to let it be else I would wake the kids! 
• Lizard on the microwave door frame kena squashed when Sito closed it to heat up his food - yes there was a crunch! Then helper said the food was covered so could still be eaten *.* Nope, we threw the food away.
• Lizard scaring me when I pushed the curtains aside to clean the floor. 
• Lizard on clothes hanging in the yard. 
• Lizard escaping from dining table / pantry counter when we turned on the light. 
• Baby lizard on desk which I ignored but climbed from behind to under the desk, ending up on my thigh!!

I have SKP boxes to trap lizards to throw. But they only work for small lizards. And it may take a long time for them to crawl up so that I could slide in the cover. In the past six months of living here, I had trapped only two or three. The rest, apart from this morning, I had to use the lizard spray to help kill it.

My heart is thumping as I write this. Very scary to kill something this big. 

Yes, yes, I know some people say that lizards are good coz they eat small insects. I saw online how some people set up "humane traps" for lizards and then release them outside. Then they'll go back or to another house?! I can't stand lizards coz they leave poop about and worse, they look damn scary! 

I know it's impossible to keep lizards out the whole time but I'll keep up my weekly sprays. If it cannot repel 100%, at least let it retard the lizards so I could whack them!

Pre- and post-LNY celebrations

Haven't posted some of our regular days for a while!

So a new mall opened in our neighbourhood in December and new places keep opening up every couple of weeks. Just yesterday, we saw two new places. Probably that's about it already...

Anyway, we were particularly happy when Paradise opened! And they had a 1-for-1 deal! We went for a late lunch after a heavy breakfast and queued for maybe 30 min. The restaurant offered water to queueing customers coz it was a hot day. The kids were restless so Sito sent them on missions - to find out what it would take to get the popcorn and play the games in the atrium :p

Else they ran about the LNY tree - which was previous a Christmas tree!

I really want to make a Santa craft with them and turn it into Cai Shen for LNY :p

Sharing a pack of popcorn after lunch

Free play at the ballpit - it was less crowded than before lunch

Both of us wearing new slippers!

Sito's slippers broke suddenly when a boy stepped on one on their way home. Luckily he had a standby pair so there was no rush to buy a pair. Found an even older standby pair but it was all mouldy so I took the chance to wash it.

My slippers were from Mum who passed through Brazil on their Antarctica trip. Antarctica leh! Sito and I were tired just thinking about it haha!

Also realised at the point of taking the photo that Sito didn't get anything - jialat, relegated liao! Haha! But actually I find it difficult to get presents for men. Toys and clothes for kids, pretty much anything goes for women, but men? Very hard. Lucky for me, my husband is very happy with food :)

They said they were hungry but not that hungry so they shared fried chicken at J8 foodcourt

Sito and I shared an ice kacang coz still full from our late lunch. It turned out to be the best ice kacang we had! No ice kacang in HV. The nearest was near Siong Sheng at Tanglin Halt but we seldom go there. But Bishan? Our fave :)

First time seeing smelly beancurd at pasar malam!

It was located away from the other food stalls though.. Too smelly? We could smell it all the way to the library though!

Brought Kai to cut his hair while his brothers read in the library. Kai had a photo-taking session in school the following Monday for his secondary school concession card. Didn't know it's taken so early but probably it's for convenience as the P1s had to make their first card.

We found Mixue on the way so after dinner, we came back for dessert. Also learnt the whole song haha!

Very tall and yummy ice cream!

Suddenly noticed Yu still has such small fingers :)))

He was so cute. Last night, I asked him what if I were to forget about him when I became very old. He took his phone and made a video recording of me saying he's my son and I'm his Mama :) Yes, we will keep that video forever. Don't worry if you change phone - it's on the cloud :)

Playing with the latest board game 

It was from Yan and so fun to play! Only Kai had not played it. I don't know why. Tween??

We had lunch at Ikea on the Tuesday after LNY weekend - no school and I had a medical appointment at Alexander Hospital (more on that later). As usual, must walk through all the showrooms! Also bought a few things for the house. The kids had ice cream too. And we packed some hotdog buns for lunch the next day. Everyone was happy!

One was focused on drinking, one wanted to talk to the brother, and one just wanted to rest...

Must hug all the fluffy things *.*

We're going to Beauty World tmr to get a haircut for Sito, Yang and Yu - $6 is the cheapest we have seen. Just hope no LNY surcharge... We'll also have dinner there - so many options!

The dog who wasn't useful

Came across the Huayi Festival earlier in January and saw a Mandarin production for 5-8yo 我的“汪汪”在哪儿? or The Dog Who Wasn't Useful. I asked and Yu said ok. But I did not mention it was in Mandarin :p 

The plan was for his brothers to stay home with Papa and join us for dinner in town later. As it happened, we went to AhMa's place to bainian last Sunday so the brothers stayed there instead. Probably no difference in what they watched but they certainly had unlimited access to snacks there!

We took a bus to Raffles Hotel and walked to Esplanade from there. The underground area right before reaching Esplanade was full of foreign workers sitting around on picnic mats - didn't expect that. I had faced questions on why there were people sitting on floors of MRT stations before (from Kai, I think) so I told Yu that many of these people were like his kakak who took a break on Sundays.

Scanned our ticket and got our stickers!

The lady who greeted us spoke in Mandarin so I think Yu probably got it that the performance would be in Mandarin? I still didn't mention and he didn't ask or complain :)

We're 小牛！

We were seated amid empty milk cartons. There were also sheep and chicken. Before the performance, the cast went around to tell the audience what to do on certain cues. For us, it was to go moo moo with pulling down actions when we heard 奶牛！奶牛！

But Yu seemed a bit shy to participate so I held his hands and moo-ed loudly :p At first he thought the dog was very useful and asked about the title of the performance. Then he realised the dog didn't feel useful in the same way as the other farm animals. Yu liked the dog's tail but he didn't want to ask to touch it :p

It was a short 50min performance. We came out to the waterfront to look see. It was a nice afternoon with many people strolling. We could see many people on the bridge leading to the Merlion and of course the Merlion was crowded!

Just take a picture from afar...

He could recognise MBS

He mentioned this to Papa again this week - he wanted to stay there coz his brothers stayed there with the grands back in March 2020. Eh, baby, but I brought you to Goodwood Park for a staycation when you were five!

The way to Raffles City was crowded with foreign workers - walking to and from the train station, and picnicking at the park. The crowd dropped off the moment we stepped on the escalator from City Hall MRT To Raffles City. Met the rest for dinner at a Japanese eatery and ice cream at Macs before going home.

I asked Yu if he liked the performance. He said he didn't know *.* But he said he would want to go to another performance again :)

Happy Dragon Year!

The last dragon year, I was pregnant with Kai. Now, we have three bouncy boys and Kai is turning twelve!

Festivities started kind of early this year, for me at least, as Na asked me out to Chinatown the week before Taipei. The bazaar wasn't all up yet but there were lots of see and buy already.

I used this for our WhatsApp group LNY greetings :p

We had my brunch / her breakfast, and bought candy and decor before sitting down for my tea / her lunch. 

Digression: We were at Toast Box when a old lady next to us speaking Cantonese asked the staff to get her a tea and couldn't understand the cost in Mandarin. I told her the number in Cantonese then she started talking to me in Cantonese. The limits of my Cantonese are like numbers and food so.... :p

We planned to bring the boys to Chinatown like in recent years. There were only two weekends before LNY after I came back from Taipei. The first weekend, we had to return library books and lucky us - we came across a pasar malam at Bishan with LNY decor!

"Are these real coins?"

I pasted the decor from Chinatown and got Yu to help me make lanterns from hongbao as the lower primary kids could upload their work which might be showcased during the school cele - I never know whether his was chosen but we had fun!

Watching Yang staple the hongbao

Yu was a bit fearful of the stapler after accidentally stapling himself a couple of years ago. But after watching me and Yang, he decided to do it after all :)

Happy with their lanterns

He wanted a "hat"

Instead of a Saturday, we decided to go to Chinatown on a Friday and what a good choice it was - way less crowded in the day!

Yup, we left right after school - Yu had a poop so changed out of his uniform

Think Yu wanted to daydream on the menu at first but decided to return the menu to my side and daydream on the table instead :p His brothers were playing some game.

We were at Monster Curry at Chinatown Point. We tried to go to Peach Garden but they had only LNY menus and gosh, so ex! The kids probably wouldn't enjoy that as much as Monster Curry anyway. 

你一口，我一口 :)

No otters this year?

The setup was more spacious than last year but we didn't linger much to read coz it was drizzling. Went on to shop instead.

"What is this?"

We bought only baked goods this time. I think next time, we would always go to Chinatown to buy all the baked goods - way cheaper than the bakeries near us, or even supermarket. And they were yummy too!

It started pouring while we were getting drinks so might as well sit it out. We left the kids at one table and sat two tables away :p

They look like three uncles drinking at kopitiam!

The downpour eventually stopped. We went to get some buns from Dough Magic outside People's Park Complex before going home - very yummy!

Then, Kai started having a sore throat on Monday, 5 Feb. I kept urging him to do an ART but he refused. By 7 Feb, I insisted when he came home and the sore throat was still there. True enough, COVID positive. The rest of us tested too - all negative. 

By then, we had all had dinner together for at least three days. So I didn't bother with quarantine. Just tested the brothers before they went to school for the next two days even though they had no symptoms. I have many ART kits expiring in March so might as well...

So only these two dressed up for celebration in school

Kai didn't want to wear a festive top anyway so I didn't buy for him. Kind of lucky??

At first, we planned to leave Kai with me at home while Sito took the brothers to AhMa's place for reunion dinner. But Mum said to just go over. But but but, as it turned out, Kai tested negative just before we left for dinner!

He wanted to wear a mask, "just in case"

But the mask went to the bin in no time! Anyway, bad photo by me - can't even see the yusheng!

Mum and Dad were going to Malacca to visit PoPo the next day so the kids gave them oranges right after reunion dinner. We asked them to think of two lines of greetings each and they faithfully greeted their grands. Kai tried to test me on the greetings he got from tuition class - I got only one wrong and he couldn't believe it haha!

The youngest one went first

Yang next

Dragon boy finally

As usual, we gathered on our bed to watch TV and eat snacks. But the boys are so big now! I managed to sit next to Yu but Sito had to sit on the floor. Looks like next year, we would have to do this in the living room, provided they don't break their sofa ha!

Think this was pre-snacks

There was no kid-friendly late show and the boys kept irritating one another so we called it a night early. Also didn't eat much snacks I think... Forgot to bring out the melon seeds...

Yang gave us oranges first coz he's sweet :p

This boy said his greetings so shyly!

He wasn't kneeling to us; he happened to be playing on the floor and refused to budge much!

Standard annual shot

This year, we have a different background :) There's also a banner on our main door - can't see from here.

And before we could continue, Sito tested positive for COVID *.* The rest of us were still negative! And the brothers and I probably interacted more with Kai - the monkeys play together all the time while I lie down with them at night. So I gathered that Yang and Yu probably got it earlier and recovered - Yang had like a day of sore throat the week before. I got it back in December so safe.

So I brought the kids out on my own. Sito cooked his own LNY lunch :p

Must monkey around on the way to WaiPo's place

Huge apple with words on them!

I wanted Yu to hold the apple but he wanted to watch TV *.* I took a selfie instead. Love this apple :)

Next was Ah Yee's place. We bumped into MY and JW at Bishan MRT, and came out at Braddell to see Jiejie, MT and their mum - probably on the same train too. 

Adults chatted while the kids happily ran ahead to the playground. It was too late when I got there and saw Yu emerge from the tube slide with wet pants *.* He couldn't see the puddle at the bottom of the slide. So I got him a towel but it was too obscene haha! Then Ah Yee lent us a pair of pants which I tightened with an elastic band. His pants and brief were hanging on a bamboo pole - thank goodness for the strong sun that day!

He was sad to wear flowery pants (haha!)

Standard LNY shot

Yan was back for LNY!

We met for lunch the week before too. Else hard to chat with so many people around and with kids to mind... Though I must say, the boys played very well on their own so I really could chat with relatives.

Reward #1

Reward #2 was Macs for dinner. It was early but I figure they didn't have much lunch and could always top up at home. 

They tore open their hongbao last week and guai guai handed over their money for my safekeeping. I kind of just keep the notes for next year - don't want to queue online to book and then at the bank to collect new/fit notes anymore! But I jotted down their money - will invest for them!

Counting counting...

Last Saturday, we met with Sito's uni mates. Five families, 14 kids! Ours were among the youngest. Oldest already 19!

They had fun playing pool in the condo entertainment room

Got Sito to hit one when he came to get us to go home

That night, there was lots of incense smell in the air and we let it be until buay tahan, must turn on aircon. But I caught a cold by Sunday - not sure if it was the incense or the aircon!

Anyway, the incense is strong in this neighbourhood - Sito once saw a neighbour in a further corridor burning stuff at the corridor! So we would be careful and turn on aircon once we smell incense.

Only three more days to end of this LNY period. I got my tangyuan ready :)

Taking a break from the boys to spend time with myself

For six days in January, I heard very little of the boys, and had no small hands touching me or small butts sitting on me...

我离家出走了！

Sito had wanted me to experience business class flights. But I wouldn't (let him) pay for it. Then, his miles were expiring, and enough to redeem one biz class trip to Taiwan or Japan. My Japanese is almost non-existent now and I didn't want to work my brain too hard so I chose Taipei. Tokyo would be colder as well, brrr...

Can't remember now but the dates were kind of limited even though we booked in July last year. Eventually we settled on mid Jan, and included a Friday so I might catch a play or something. Preferred term time to school holidays so the kids would be off Sito's hands for a large part of the day. Yes, Sito signed on as full-time 奶爸 for six days!

I started booking stuff in mid December - a Vietnamese shampoo, a private hot spring, and a play. Also prepared a note on my phone to share with Sito, detailing all the things that needed to be done while I was away - kiddy stuff, laundry and mopping - and how. Very OCD :p

I was feeling all anxious in the lead-up. This would be the first time I was away from three kids for so long! Last time was back in 2020 and for only one night. Yang and Yu didn't want me to go but Kai was fine *.* Sito assured me he would be fine with my to-do list :D

So off I went!

Monday, 15 Jan
Travel day

OOTD

Yes, I hiao, took a picture of myself in front of the mirror every day!

Anyway, I didn't sleep well. Dreamt that I was trying to steam gyoza and panfry spring onion pancake at the same time and pans were falling off! Anxiety about the trip indeed...

Dreams aside, I kept waking coz I was so scared of missing my alarm. It was an early flight at 8.10 am and I was afraid it might rain so I booked a taxi for 5.30 am.

Yang must have woke when I went in to see them. He came out to say bye bye. Always the sweetest :)

I reached T2 quite early as the driver and I were early. Gosh, I haven't flown since 2018! I found it quite easy to print boarding pass and baggage tag. A staff was present to help stick the tag to my suitcase. Then it was off to baggage check and I was free to roam!

Was surprised to see the shops all open at that hour. But I didn't linger. Went straight to the lounge:

• Need coffee! Had two cups - happy :)
• Pinched some food coz greedy, not hungry
• Checked on the boys via the camera; managed to catch all three boys :)
• Filled in arrival form for Taiwan using a QR code I scanned at immigrations earlier
• Scrolled phone. Realised that paying by credit card on the Comfort app attracted a 10% admin fee! Gosh, never again! I paid by PayNow for my return trip.

Somehow my plane was in T1 so I took the Sky Train to get there. During the security check, I had to remove my boots. I didn't realise I hadn't unzipped my right boot all the way and gave it too hard a yank - I ripped off a third of the base from the back!!!

Later on the flight, I asked the attendants if they had any glue - trying my luck. They didn't but gave me cable ties and rubber bands in case the base fell off completely. But I was in luck - an attendant found glue in her own bag and gave it to me, so nice!

For once, I could stretch out my legs fully and even lie down in my seat. But biz class or economy, one thing that doesn't change is the height - still bumped my head on the overhead cabin. And again on the return flight *.*

And I had suaku moments... Took earphones at the door but found a set of noise cancelling headphones in my seat *.* Also didn't know there was a harness on the seat belt; thought it was to hold the seatbelt in place! Later on the return flight, I saw the video talking about it. Did I miss that earlier?

Big headphones

Must wear mask. Not so much for fear of COVID though. I started this habit almost 20 years back so I don't catch a cold during the flight. Works like a charm. No more running nose upon arrival at holiday destination!

Anyway, despite the bad sleep, I wasn't sleepy. I watched Barbie and loved it just 10min into it! Breakfast was lobster thermidor via SQ's Book the Cook service, yummy but not more than Margot Robbie :p

Easy to eat coz it was cooked and put back onto the shell!

Spent most of the time scrolling my phone. I still remember some 20 years ago, I had to use a card or something to access in-flight internet. Now it's just a few clicks to get connected.

Immigrations was a breeze as our passport can go through the auto gates. And I was in Taipei!

Took the airport express to Taipei MRT. Kel lent me his Easycard which was already registered for bike sharing but I didn't rent a bike in the end coz 1) wearing dresses, and 2) scared of traffic! So I just topped it up to use for public transport. Spent some NT670 in six days, with NT150 x2 for the airport express. I must say their public transport is very cheap - most MRT rides cost NT20 and most bus rides NT15.

I chose to take the blue line to hotel and had to navigate through endless crowds! On the return trip, I chose the green line from hotel instead and it was a much smoother and faster walk to the airport express.

Surfaced to find Ximending crisp with a very light drizzle, so light that I was surprised to see people carrying umbrellas - mf, who carries a brolly for the slightest rain. So I happily pulled out my brolly. It wasn't very cold; my hoodie sufficed.

The hotel was a short though bumpy walk away. It was very nice! Found it on Booking.com and was attracted to its decor and price. Reception was friendly and gave me an upgrade to a slightly bigger room. She emphasised on "slightly". Indeed, it was still quite small, haha!

Nice smell in the corridor

Queen bed all the way to the corner

That's the welcome pack in brown card paper on my bag. Very nice - tear-off postcard, jigsaw piece to write a note for the hotel, a bookmark and a souvenir map of the area. Come to think of it, my postcard has not arrived!!! (I wrote that on 15 Feb; two hours later, Yang came home with the mail and voila, the postcard got here!)

I'm standing right outside the bathroom to take this picture

Yes, very small room!

Chatted 40min with the boys before I left with a cardigan and a coat. The original plan was to head for Shilin but with the rain, no matter how slight, it would be very irritating. So I walked around Ximending.

Got pulled into a shop to try beauty products. Bought a large bowl of mee sua NT75 - I said no oysters but forgot to say no intestines... I tried a couple of the intestines and gave up. The rest of the mee sua was really good though, especially given the weather.

The beginning of rounding up my face :p

Bought snacks from 红樱花 and 海边走走 as recommended by Kel. Sito and I have now finished them all - very nice! But not cheap. A box of eight 红樱花 cakes, similar to 太阳饼，cost NT280 while each box of four packs (with two sticks inside) of 海边走走 cost NT270 - I bought three boxes for NT780 to try the different flavours. Peanut butter and black sesame tied.

Was going back when I passed by 蜂大咖啡 Fong Da Coffee which was recommended by Kel. In fact, all the cafes I went to on the trip were all his recommendations... I had intended to visit this one later in my trip but since I was there, I went in.

Gosh, the auntie wasn't friendly at all! Asked me if I wanted cake. If so, order first as cakes were upstairs and she was going up now, else she would have to go up again. I asked for recommendations, and her response: 我会说不要点，这样我就不用上去！

The coffee smelled really good but I didn't fancy their cold drip coffee much. The crepe cake was a mistake, sighs...

You can see from the background - quite an old spot (but Kel said charming *.*)

Kind of tired after the coffee so I went back to the hotel. I was very near the hotel when I felt something strange in my step. I looked down and saw a black chunk on the floor just behind me. The soles of my boots were dropping off!

I inspected them - really cannot save anymore. The soles were curved according to the boot at the front, middle and back. Wouldn't be able to find a replacement for repair. Anyway, they were 14yo!

I dropped the snacks and stepped out in socks and walkers to buy new boots. My walkers would be disgusting in heavier rain. And somehow they were cutting into the back of my heels even though they were not new. In fact, I wore them to work daily pre-COVID.

Found boots like my old ones but with a bit of a heel. They felt comfy - more toe room than my old ones! I put them on straight away but after walking to get supper, I found that the heels made my toes slide forward a bit and hurt a little. Rather a bit of pain than wet and cold feet!

Anyway, supper was 八方云集 but I didn't get gyozas as I had to wait longer. Dumplings would do. Ate them after a nice shower. Every night, I left the TV on - sometimes there were nice movies - and chatted with Sito and/or watched TV drama :)

Bubble tea of the day: Gong Cha - forgot the flavour!

Tuesday, 16 Jan
Pampering day

OOTD

I was disappointed when I woke at 7 am - that cannot be my 自然醒 right?!!

Maybe the toilet light was too bright... When I turned it off that night (and used Google TV screensaver as night light!), I slept way more. I tried with toilet light once more and woke early.. So yes, must be the toilet light!

Breakfast was at 永和豆浆 where I had, yes, soy milk, egg pancake with bacon and youtiao. So full!

I got a nice seat - perfect background to take photo!

Why is the egg pancake so much nicer than the ones I make??

Funny sign - noticed it only when I was reviewing the photos of the day

It was still early so I went to the 24H Donki nearby. Bought a lip balm that I didn't see in SG and some snacks for the kids.

I asked the hotel staff about taking the bus - the last time I took a bus in Taipei was 2005! So I could enter and exit the bus at any door, and must tap in and out. Got it.

Google Maps directed me to Zushi Temple bus stop. But instead of a temple, I found this:

排骨大王？！

But many shops in the area make references to the temple. So I asked an auntie at the bus stop if there really was a temple nearby. She said it was across the road, further inside. But actually quite cool to name a restaurant after a temple? No? :p

The bus stop has multiple signs but only one combined digital display. The frequency was not high, with some waiting times like an hour??! I guess the MRT is the main mode of transport.

Inside the bus! Why I so suaku? :p

The highlight of the day was Vietnamese shampoo!

See the list of things included:

For almost two hours, I sat or lay in the same "thing" which morphed from a chair with sink for feet, to a massage bed with a hole for facing down, and to a salon recliner with a hairwash/facial stand. Really head to toe! Wait, more like toe to head in sequence...

The foot massage was minimal. Most of the work was on the head and face. I don't know if it was the herbs or essential oil, but my nose cleared up towards the end of the treatment. They had Dyson hairdryers so my hair was quickly dried. The whole thing had a healthy end - fruits, green bean soup and tea. The soup was a bit cold, maybe coz I took some time to put on sunscreen...

My Vietnamese therapist said this was common in Vietnam but slightly different. She also said I looked under 30, haha!

Glowing inside out, I walked to 行天宮 and what a walk - the wind blew my dress up to my hips! Lucky not many people around. I quickly turned my back to a pillar, pulled down my dress nicely and carried on!

I'm happy this was the first temple I visited on this trip. I had long forgotten but when I read my post on 2005 Taiwan trip a few weeks back, I (thought I) saw that I wanted to explore more temples in Taiwan. So I visited a number of temples this trip. But as I'm writing this, I went back to the 2005 post and saw that I had wanted to explore temples in SG. I'm such a winner... I went to maybe six temples in SG since then...

Anyway, this time at 行天宮, I queued up for 收惊 by the old ladies. Had to shift my bag to my left and give my name. Later, I went to a counter that says 敬茶 but the lady said it was for me to drink, 喝平安 or something like that. In fact, all the temple staff said 平安 as a greeting.

With one bus ride under my belt, I thought I would take the bus to my afternoon tea. Had a hard time finding the bus stop! There were four such bus stops at the junction - in between the two carriageways so I must cross the road halfway to get there. Somehow I didn't manage to use the temple as landmark to figure out which bus stop *.* So I crossed roads halfway a few times. And it was very hot.

I was lucky to find the bus stop and my bus was waiting for the lights. This time, I managed to press the bell for the bus to stop, cheap thrill ha!

成真咖啡 Come True Coffee was located in a nice neighbourhood with interesting fashion shops but I really didn't need clothes.

I ordered a Soufflé pancake and a special coffee with guava juice. The coffee came in a separate container from the cup with the guava juice. The staff gave me details of the drink when she delivered it to my seat, and told me to test it first without and then with sugar sprinkled on the rim of the cup. She poured the coffee in and left me to savour it.

It was one of the nicest meals I had on this trip!

Saw a queue on the way to the MRT so I queued :p It was for 天津葱抓饼 but I couldn't really taste the spring onions. Later, Sito confirmed that we had that before.

Chatted with Yang and Yu when I got back to the hotel; Kai was at tuition.

Had fun with these confetti etc :)

Then it was time for night market. I was excited to head for Shilin coz of good memories there but this time, I was quite disappointed. Only bought sausage, buns and gyozas.

The highlight was 慈诚宫 which was behind the sausage stall. Didn't recall seeing this last time but Sito did - I definitely had baby brain that trip...

I first spotted signs of a temple on another street - there were temple arches above a nail parlour. I thought it was just the remnant of an old temple but when I turned the corner, gosh, nice temple!

仙童有零食

I asked the staff about the snacks in their hands. She said people would pray to them for a child (wa, lucky never pray to them!) and bring snacks to thank them. But people may also pray for kids to be good. That's fine. I went back to pray to them!

Sausage wrapped with glutinous rice - yummy!

Authentic Singapore satay??

大侠请留步！Looks like a pub - had my 生煎包 by the roadside

Somewhat dissatisfied with my food, I bought some pineapples near my hotel. Couldn't finish so threw into the fridge for another day.

Packed some small gyoza-like thingies for supper too

Very sweet pineapples!

Bubble tea of the day: 50 Lan green tea macchiato


Wednesday, 17 Jan
Slack day

OOTD

I woke at 9.30 am :)))

It was such a warm and sunny day! :)))

Breakfast at Twin Brothers Coffee

The cinnamon roll was to die for! I happened to sit near the glass looking into the kitchen and was mesmerised by the chef making the rolls... I wanted to save my tummy for other food but now I regret not getting another roll!

I was staring at the making of the second roll before I realised it

Walked to the Main Station area and found a nice place for foot massage. It was so good! My toes were especially aching from the boots.

Chatted about childcare and foreign domestic help in SG with the therapist.

I thought I was ready for some proper food and set off for 春水堂 but I was distracted by...

Singapore Barber??

Feel very old-school

And that lane led me to a queue. 

See queue? Must queue!

Soft beef but too much noodles!

Ended up I had only brown sugar mochi balls and tueguanyin milk tea at 春水堂 which is the brand that supposedly first came up with the ubiquitous bubble tea. Actually I think the bubble tea is more ubiquitous in SG...!

It was a huge cup of tea...

I learnt only later that you could ask the staff to pack the leftover tea. I finished it up - with much difficulty! The mochi balls were good - the staff told me dip the balls, already coated with red bean powder, in the cream and then the sesame powder.

As I was drinking, I thought tieguanyin reminded me of Chinese temples. Maybe it's strong like the "Chinese tea" for praying?

I had time but not sure what to do so I roamed about the main station. In the end, I 败家 again - bought a pair of slippers :p

Went back to chat with the boys and watch drama.

Saw this on my way out

Finally visited this temple which I passed by many times to and from the Ximen station!

I find this very pretty :)

Happy to visit a temple on my way to visit 松山慈祐宫 Songshan Ciyou Temple. I climbed to the top and stayed there for a while. It was so peaceful. I was looking at a statue on the left of the main altar and found that it was 北斗星君 which is a commonly featured in dramas. Just then, I smelled something nice. Then I saw the source - lilies! There were so many in vases and I didn't notice them earlier!

I sat down on a bench at the side to write down some thoughts. The carvings in this temple - and also others - are so beautiful. I saw a lot of devotees praying in temples. And in this temple, I saw people climb up floor by floor to pray to the deities on each floor. I wonder if they notice the building itself... Much thought had gone into the work done wot worship the gods.

Before I left, I went to smell the lilies again. It was a gentle waft, 时有时无，amid all the incense. I hope I can remember the peace I felt there whenever I think of or smell lilies..

On my way down - yes, 丰收就是快乐

饶河夜市 is just right next to the temple. I had forgotten what it was like - a very long street of food in the middle flanked by other shops on both sides! So much more organised than Shilin and so much easier to navigate. If I go to Taipei again, I'll just focus my effort here.

Standard - must eat this 福州世祖胡椒餅 Fuzhou Shizu Black Pepper Buns

The buns are cutely stuck to the sides of the round oven. 

I really like this!!

Looks good but I didn't buy

Took a short walk to the rainbow bridge nearby

From the bridge - it's like a park connector with people doing night jogs

Full of locks - took a picture for Sito :)))

Finally found glutinous rice when I continued to stroll the night market!

I love glutinous rice stuff - the rice, peng kueh, nyonya kuehs, tangyuan, mochi, muah chee etc. So yummy!

Chanced upon a busker on my way back to the hotel

Also packed fried boneless ribs, chicken thigh roll and 释迦 fruit for supper. Later, I learnt that 释迦 and our local 红毛榴梿 aka soursop are very similar!

The ribs were less nice coz cold

Very sweet!

Heard that this day, Yu broke a bowl at dinner. Poor hub had to clean up :(

Bubble tea of the day: 春水堂 tieguanyin milk tea, Milksha 大王红茶拿铁加仙草


Thursday, 18 Jan

Hotspring day

OOTD

I thought I would head for Yangmingshan since I didn't go the last few times. But I was lazy. Yet I didn't want to go to Beitou again. Then I found Wulai. Better, I found a hotspring hotel with a shuttle. It was a 9.30 am shuttle from Xindian so I had to be mindful of my time.

In the end, I didn't sleep well after 2.30 am, kept waking every 10-30 min! Wasn't sure if I was anxious about missing my alarm or the toilet light - which I left on coz I was anxious about my alarm?!!

When I woke at 6.15 am, I decided to just get up to see the boys. But I missed Kai already :(

My room - dressing table on the left and day couch on the right, partially shown

Soaking in the tub with a view :)

Saw some big white birds perched on some rocks next to the river beneath. Eagles flew by in the sky every so often. Yellow butterflies and even big wasps - ok, less cute - flew by the window. Some birds must be in the trees coz I saw leaves rustling often.

The water wasn't very hot. I had to keep the hot tap on the whole time. Wonder if the public bath would be hotter... But I was lazy to have to keep things in locker etc so I chose private. They gave me a reminder call after 50 min. Luckily I was already showering and ready to go, as the staff who showed me to the room said I had until 11.30am, which was wrong as I started way earlier.

I had a sip of tea at the lounge area before setting off for the town. It was a short walk to the bridge but not suitable for kids as the walking path was a narrow strip with cars zooming past. I saw that some hotel guests drove and some look like they frequented the place.

Narrow pathway for walking - see red line on ground

Very hot! Took off jacket but kept cardigan on so I didn't chao tah

At 烏來吊橋 Wulai suspension bridge - max 20 pax at any one time

But no one was around to enforce the 20 pax.. Lucky it was a quiet weekday... Btw, couldn't take it anymore - must tie hair!

Across the bridge is the 烏來福德宮 Wulai Fude Temple. Found a structure with both dragons and phoenixes.

Had to cross the bridge back to continue my way to town. 乌来老街 Wulai Old Street has plenty of food and stray dogs and cats. 

Later, when I was enjoying my grilled mochi, the stallholder told me that these were abandoned by city folks so the Wulai people fed them. No wonder some of these dogs look pedigree! So sad...

Chose the last stall of the street for my wild boar sausage. It was not crowded like the other one. A random customer told me I made the right chose but she couldn't tell me why "for privacy reason". Um, ok whatever you say. Even the stallholder later told me she seldom saw such 热情的台湾人 in a sarcastic manner :p

Crossed 览胜大桥 to get to the log cart which brought me to the waterfall.

Very small waterfall??

There were some sakura trees along the street but I was told that there were no flowers yet coz it was a rather warm winter... Now that I think about it, don't the flowers bloom only towards spring?? Confused...

Decided not to take the cable car to reach the actual waterfall area - I was perfectly happy to view it from across... Instead, I roamed the street facing the waterfall and even bought some little owls for the kids. The Tayal aboriginals in the area consider them as lucky birds, similar to how owls mean no hardship 不苦労 in Japan. The shopkeeper charged me cheaper if I got four so I got one for our room too :p

Also chose a cafe to have coffee. The local pepper is called 马告 so I had coffee with this flavour. Kind of interesting. It was nice to sit there next to the waterfall and a young papaya tree, very peaceful. Until a group of local seniors came in - very loud, sighs...

I walked down instead of taking the log cart - only 1.5km. It was a nice walk now that the sun had gone down a bit. 

The log cart came up and went into the tunnel to turn out at the far end of this picture

From here, the log cart enters the station to go back to town

Bonus - I saw half naked men along the river near the town! Haha!! There were a few women too but it was mostly older men in the hotspring by the river.

Back at the old street, I decided I should have grilled mochi 小米麻薯 and I chose condensed milk flavour. The mochi was fragrant from the grilling but otherwise quite tasteless so the sweet condensed milk helped. A black stray dog with matted hair brushed by my dress while I was waiting for my food :(

Grilling mochi

Also bought some old-school snacks - local mamee, and whistle candy and fruity bubble gum we used to eat in childhood.

There was still time before my shuttle back to Taipei but I was tired so I rested at the hotel lobby. The staff came by to get those waiting for the shuttle. Paid NT50 per trip. Worth it. Better than to navigate public transport for such a distance.

Since I was at Xindian, I checked out the nearby 碧潭 which also has a suspension bridge that's even bigger than the Wulai one. Chanced upon someone training three hug colourful parrots - their windspan was huge! Lovely to see them soar across the lake.

I didn't stay long. Headed to 艋舺龙山寺 instead.

Love these upturned eaves against the sky at dusk

Somehow found myself in 艋舺夜市 which was quite nice - got a fried egg spring onion cake to eat on the way back. But I somehow walked through 华西街夜市 back to the temple! Ok, better check google maps a bit more...

Eventually, I found a dessert place near the hotel and had 烧仙草 there. But it wasn't as nice as what I had in the past :(

Went to Carrefour next - bought instant bowl noodles woohoo! That's the souvenir I got for Sito, haha!

We have had half of these so far :p

I felt like I didn't eat enough so I went to the social area of the hotel to grab instant noodles and a pack of snacks! Happy :)

Have I mentioned the social area? Post too long haha! Well, it's very nice and stocked full of food!

A whole pillar surrounded by snacks and instant noodles!

A reading corner near the snacks

Relax area on the other side of the lift

There is even a kids area with a tent and game console! But I only saw an adult play the game console when I was there haha!

Anyway, I tried to pack a bit but gosh, why more difficult than for Legoland??!

Bubble tea of the day: Teawater 茶水格格 cheese foam - but not very cheesy leh...


Friday, 19 Jan
Concert!

OOTD

One of the breakfasts this week was supposed to be a nice sandwich shop we had back in 2018. But it was temporarily closed?! So Sito found another place for me and it was near the hotel.

Had the 甘妹弄堂 NT175 set with egg pancakes and peanut butter in the bun - very nice bun! But I needed coffee. So I hopped into Starbucks on the way back. 

Then it was drama time!!

Wrote a note for the hotel lobby wall before going out

Took a bus again :) This time to two temples next to each other. I didn't expect that I would pray to Confucious twice - first in a shrine in a big temple, then in his own temple.

The big temple was 大龍峒保安宮 Bao-An Temple. Found a statue of Confucious inside so I prayed hard there for the kids!

I also went to 台北孔庙 which is very near Bao-An Temple. I thought I would just go pray and leave but nope, I spent some time at the exhibits there - fave was learning about the evolution of Chinese words.

There was no altar at the main altar, just a plaque with the words 大成至圣先师孔子神位 on it. There were instructions on the floor on how to pray - my name, where I live, what I want.

Bought charms for the kids too - I think it's the best NT570 ever spent haha! But it took me a few days after returning home to finally open them and put the small packets of salt and lavender into the charms and then into their schoolbags. All the best for your studies, my boys!

Did I mention it was a very hot day?? I needed to get out of the sun. 

Took a bus to tea at 永心凤茶奶茶专门所微风南山店 Yonshin Milk Tea Mansion and was glad to find it was in a mall! I had to wait a bit for a seat. So popular but not as nice as previous places. I found it too noisy. But the crepe cake was way better than my first cake at Fong Da! The plum tea was just nice for the weather though it was a tad too sweet. Packed a Swiss roll to eat back at the hotel :p

But I didn't go straight back. I walked through the underground Eslite at the main station for a while and also the pop-up weekend pasar malam at Ximending. Stuff were mostly catered for girls - earrings, bags etc and I have no need for them.

Queued for a doughnut on the way back - crispy

Chatted with Sito - kids ignored me mostly but Yu must come act cute :p - and watched some drama before I prettified myself for the play. It would be outdoors so I'm not sure if it might get cold. I brought heat pads along.

Those were Sito's fingers :p

They're enjoying themselves!

Left for the bus stop after hearing that Yu pooped in the shower..! Apparently, he shouted at Kai and some watery poop leaked out!!!

Ok, let me continue...

Did up my hair in case strong winds got in the way

I really enjoyed the play! Actually, it was more like a concert. Before it started, I went to the house behind to take pictures. This area is known as 空军三重一村 Sanchong Air Force Military Kindred Village No.1 and the living conditions were preserved/reconstructed.

Grabbed from online sales page

The backdrop was the village head's daughter getting married. So there really was a wedding dinner! And I really felt like a wedding guest who knew only the couple, haha!

These beads reminded me of those at Gramps' place years back!

The food was from the 1960s era, including one 芙蓉蛋 - this was the third type of furong eggs I'd had! I asked the local lady sitting next to me and she said this dish was no longer common in Taiwanese cuisine.

The menu

One of my faves, the other one was the glutinous rice :p

"Couple" went from table to table to toast the "guests"

Took a picture with the cast

It was part of the thank-you send-off at the end of any good old Chinese wedding. I took a picture and they gave me a candy. The cast for that day:

• 村长岑永康
• 太太罗美玲
• 女儿那祈
• 女婿杜伟诚
• 婚礼司仪老李吕绍齐
• 婚礼帮手段彦希

There was another celeb present but as part of the audience - Mayday's Masa! No pictures la, don't disturb people...

Took a bus back to Ximending and got myself a charcoal BBQ chicken and bubble tea. Unfortunately, it was chicken breast so it wasn't so yummy inside - I didn't finish :(

Had a late night foot massage during my supper. It wasn't as good as the first one though...

With this my last night, I decided to stay up more. Watched drama!! And I also had the Swiss roll for a very late supper. How late? Like 1.30 am late...!

Bubble tea of the day: 永心凤茶 plum tea, 清心福全 - forgot flavour!


Saturday, 20 Jan
Going home :)

OOTD

I woke at 8 plus but thought it was 7 plus coz the Google TV screensaver was somehow an hour behind. Lucky there was still time before I had to leave for the airport!

Went to a nearby breakfast spot to eat with the locals. Forgot to ask if I could do a siew dai :p So my coffee was way too sweet for me...

Beer at the lounge!

Not hungry so had only a coffee and beer when I found it. Beer is always good, burp :p Motivated, I bought some beer at Changi duty free :)

It was a pretty uneventful flight home - no broken shoes coz at Taoyuan, they didn't ask me to remove my boots...

Oh wait, flight very eventful - I had a lunch date with Tom, haha!

In the meantime, kids were having Saizeriya for dinner...

Came out at T2 to find Swee Choon! I bought two mee sua kueh to eat with Sito at night :)

And then I was finally home!


Aftermath

So nice to finally see my babies! But they weren't terribly warm coz watching TV? Haha!

I asked them what they missed. Expected answer - 陪陪 time.

Mama: But Papa also 陪陪 you, right?
Yu: We watched Papa play three games and he sat with us for only one minute!
Yang: We only watched Papa play games. I miss your hair and tummy!

Yes, my tummy.

Mama: Papa also has a tummy...
Yang: Not as jiggly as yours...

Wow, thanks ah...

Kai sent me away T.T

What did I achieve with this trip?

1) I finished a drama "Only for Love" during my trip, yeah! Speed x2! But I must admit, I watched the last episode on the taxi home and later in bed :p

2) Spent money on myself!

Total damage = $1395.42 comprising:

• Flight: $83.60
• Taxis to and fro Changi: $48.02 + $44
• Hotel: $438.43 or NT9,947
• Play: $132.19 or NT3,000
• Hot spring (Klook): $51.05
• Vietnamese shampoo (Klook): $63.75
• Boots: $87.78 or NT1,980
• Cash: $606.60 for NT14,000, got back $160 for NT4,000 unused

3) Enough bubble tea to last two months! But Sito said we haven't had much since moving to HV so treat these as make-up...!

4) Not wash hair at hotel at all! I was afraid the dryer wasn't good and I would end up cold in the room. Sounds gross but I washed on Sunday night at home, Tuesday at Viet shampoo (Dyson hairdryer), Thursday at hot spring (hot day), and Saturday back home. Ok la, right? 

5) Self care :) Viet shampoo, foot massages, wa nice... Also spent time with myself. I haven't lost touch yet, can still do many things or nothing when alone.

Would I do it again? Maybe not until the kids are old enough. Want to spend more time with them, see their cuteness as much as possible before they become... not cute.. :(

Would Sito be tempted to do the same? Or, would I let Sito do it?? Eh, he did before in March 2017 leh, went to KL to eat eat eat haha! Kids were way younger but we had a helper then. Now the kids are older and I have plenty of experience taking care of them on my own even with COVID and without a helper. So yes, laogong, if you want a break, let me know! (With a smile, and not a menacing one :))