Pangkor And Friends From Ipoh
Posted On Thursday, December 31, 1992 at at 3:56 AM by AlvinMy Dad managed to convince us to go and spend New Year with him in Malaysia and we gladly obliged as he is such a fun guy to have around. However, the mad rush to have our air tickets arranged during this crazy and busy period as well as the frustration Mandy went through at the Bangkok Airport (now that's another truly amazing story, but we don't have time for that here right now, my dear.) was not exactly fun.
I flew out first to KL and spent an un-eventful evening with mainly my book - The Prince Of Tides and waited for my Dad and sister, Paulette, to arrive at KL before we headed off to Ipoh. I would return 2 days later to pick Mandy up. Mandy was absolutely shattered with jet-lag when I picked her up at KLIA. Our flights to Ipoh, un-beknown to us then were double-booked (even triple, I think), but we by sheer luck, were at the front of the queue and made it to Ipoh fine. Mandy quickly excused herself and promptly went to bed for a long-needed nap ! We stayed with my Dad's long-time friend (from Australia days) Jimmy and Susan where they kindly provided all the foods and beers for us ! Thanks guys ! We went to Pangkor Island with them for 4 days leading up to the New Year.
We spent New Year's Eve at "Scotch" - a friendly local bar in Ipoh and had a great time. We had to catch the flights out the day after, from this glorious balmy sunshine and warmth and headed back to a single-digit temperature Rome. Never mind !
I flew out first to KL and spent an un-eventful evening with mainly my book - The Prince Of Tides and waited for my Dad and sister, Paulette, to arrive at KL before we headed off to Ipoh. I would return 2 days later to pick Mandy up. Mandy was absolutely shattered with jet-lag when I picked her up at KLIA. Our flights to Ipoh, un-beknown to us then were double-booked (even triple, I think), but we by sheer luck, were at the front of the queue and made it to Ipoh fine. Mandy quickly excused herself and promptly went to bed for a long-needed nap ! We stayed with my Dad's long-time friend (from Australia days) Jimmy and Susan where they kindly provided all the foods and beers for us ! Thanks guys ! We went to Pangkor Island with them for 4 days leading up to the New Year.
We spent New Year's Eve at "Scotch" - a friendly local bar in Ipoh and had a great time. We had to catch the flights out the day after, from this glorious balmy sunshine and warmth and headed back to a single-digit temperature Rome. Never mind !
Mandy Also Found An Italian Job
Posted On Sunday, December 27, 1992 at at 8:42 PM by AlvinMandy found herself a job in Rome ! It all started with me bringing home The Sun Catalyst - a brick of a catalogue detailing all the vendors which use Sun equipments. Mandy basically went through The Catalyst page by page and rang those vendors; some asking her what she knew, some asking her who she knew and finally she hit upon a vendor interested in her skills. In fact, this new field of work in GIS started a new career direction for Mandy - a double plus. Here's her colleague Sheila with Mandy in the office.
The Roma-Firenze-Venezia Triangle
Posted On Sunday, September 27, 1992 at at 7:19 PM by AlvinMandy's parents came for a visit and we took the opportunity to visit the famous Roma-Firenze-Venezia Triangle. Little needs to be said of the beauty of the Firenze architecture, the sheer historical impact of the Roman amphitheatre, the religious significance of the Vatican City and the canal-bound city of Venezia !
Football Tournament In Loughborough
Posted On Friday, September 25, 1992 at at 1:56 AM by AlvinA 5-a-side indoor football tournment was being organised every year in the U.K., so we flew back to Loughborough for a few days and of course we spent most of the time shooting pool and drinking ale, did you need to ask ? Surprisingly we finished runners-up this year after a long day of competition and we owed it all to the warm up we received in the many pubs we visited. A great weekend !
Driving from Cambridge To Rome Thru' France !
Posted On Wednesday, May 27, 1992 at at 7:30 PM by AlvinSince all roads lead to Rome, we drove on two occasions, our Peugeot 205 and Renault 5 from Cambridge to Rome. The trip entailed an easy drive from Cambridge to Dover, parked the car on a ferry across the British Channel to Calais, strap the car on an overnight train to Marseille (with us in a sleeper cabin) and then a 10 hours drive to Roma with brief stops in Nice and Firenze; then Da Dan, we have finally transplanted our lives in Italy ! We learned to ski and enjoyed the Roman beach life greatly !
Bye Bye Kitty ! Have a Good Life !
Posted On Friday, January 10, 1992 at at 7:43 PM by AlvinIt was a very hard decision to make to find a new home for the two kitties as we tried a new life and life style in Italy. The process was luckily made smooth and less painful by Claire, Mandy's friend, who knew of a girl (an Opera singer) and would gladly take in the two homeless teenager cats ! It was heart breaking to drive the two tabbies to their new owner's house and they instinctively knew it would be a goodbye from us the moment they entered their new turf. We have such great stories with Spikes and Punks since they were a few months old and we felt the new owner was a kind person and would not beat them up like Al used to. Have a good life my feline friends !
