Walking with Daddy

I've always been Daddy's girl.  Since his passing in May 2022, I've tried many ways to keep his memory alive for myself.  One of my favourite pilgrimages is to go for a walk in Georgetown, Penang. Drawing on his stories, I love re-tracing the steps he would have taken from home to school.

The walk starts at Beach Road Fire Station, where my dad lived with his family.  My grandfather was the chief mechanic and driver of the longest fire engine in Penang in the 1950's.  He was a dedicated fireman who died in his uniform, from a heart attack at the prime age of 50.

Kapitan Kling mosque street is lined with money changers and nasi kandar stalls.  This is where my dad used to stop for his daily breakfast. Ten cents for a plate of nasi kandar and fish curry.  If the mamak was feeling generous, he would throw in a piece of beef for free.  Which my dad technically was not allowed to eat, coming from a Buddhist family.  But he whacked it anyway!

The Goddess of Mercy temple is where my grandmother offered prayers on festival days.  Built in 1728, this 300-year old temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in Penang.  The centuries-old tree in the courtyard of the temple would have rustled its leaves as my dad ran past it every day on the way to and from school.

The back of Assumption Church hosted many of my dad's infamous fights, including one which almost got him expelled from school.  The losing opponent reported my dad to his brother who was a teacher.  When called to the Principal's office, my dad produced a signed contract with two signatures stating that both boys had agreed to a friendly match to test their boxing skills.  Case closed.  

St Xavier's Institution is the seat of my dad's happiest childhood memories and achievements.  The street urchin found his calling in the athletic fields as a 110-yard hurdle champion training under Jimmy Boyle, one of Malaysia's most beloved composers, who also happened to be dad's athletics teacher.  He also spent many happy days as a Boy Scout, which provided an excellent foundation for his career as a soldier in the Malaysian Army. He was a proud Xavieran till his dying day.

English summer

Afternoon tea at the Corinthian with Claire, Tom and Steph

Travelled to London this summer to work in person with my People team.  While we love the flexibility that comes with remote work, team bonding is taken up several notches when we get to meet in real life and make memories together.  We had a fabulous time setting out our strategy, discussing priorities and mapping out our plans for the rest of the year.  In between sightseeing, afternoon teas, West End musicals and world cuisines at our doorstep.  It was such a dream come true for me to work in Central London!

Showing Claire around some of my favourite sites during my student days in England

Managed to also take a week off and travel to the Midlands to visit friends.  Went back to University of Birmingham for the first time since I left in 1996,  and found Priorsfield.  It was the business school during my MBA days but now serves as the Institute for Language Studies. 

Thanks to hospitality of my friend Cristina Sambrook, I got to enjoy the charms of English country living in Worcestershire. A week of pub lunches, tea on the lawn, dinners by pretty canals and long walks with the dog was so therapeutic.  Exactly the type of summer break I needed to unwind from a particularly challenging spell at at work. Falling in love with her dog Otto was an unexpected bonus 💖

Otto - the first dog I've ever loved

Taiwan Trails

What happens when a group of six school friends from Class of 1987 travel to Taiwan together?  If you're expecting mature elegance and sophistication, you'd be dead wrong!  Read on if you're open to a dose of laughter, silliness and map-cap adventures.

Day 1 in Ximending, the hippest, happening shopping district which was our landing base in Taipei. You can tell we were all very happy to be there!  

While the capital city held all the bright lights and excitement, Taiwan really began to shine for me when we ventured out to the countryside.  The mountain vistas, nature parks and waterfalls were exactly what I needed to let go of work stresses and start relaxing with my friends.  

I wasn't quite ready for the all the walking and trekking that was planned but very glad I went along with the itinerary.  The fresh air and exercise was exhilarating and once I got started, it was quite hard to stop.  Even for photos.

But here's one for the books.  Proof that I really did enjoy the hike to the waterfalls and back!

No trip to Taiwan would be complete without food.  And we certainly had plenty of it!  From night market street snacks; to Instagrammable staples in heart of tourist traps; to a surprising seafood feast in a quiet fishing village.  

We enjoyed the good stuff and laughed away the not-so-good.  There's a deep enduring joy that comes from sharing the highs and lows. Not just of food and travel, but life experiences too.  A true reflection of our friendship over the years.  

There's a quirky charm in many parts of Taiwan. Jimmy Park in Yilan City stands out in particular. Home of a famous illustrator, the colourful whimsical art installations provided us with a full morning of entertainment.  

Some of us are very good at sharing burdens...

...while others are less inclined. Sigh; once a diva, always a diva!

A big thank you to:

• Pat & Jean for planning the itinerary and all the heavy lifting with the logistics
• Pek Yee for being our human we-fie stick and photo editor throughout the trip
• Lu Meng, my long-suffering room mate who has to put up with my idiosyncracies
• Siok Chu, for your endearing nature. You're so funny without even trying:)
  
  

I am thankful to have grown up with all of you and even more grateful that we can age disgracefully together.  

I thank my God for every remembrance of you.
Philippians 1:3

Magical Mumbai

What a great party town Mumbai is!  My first night comprised champagne, bratwurst, potato salad, men in leiderhosen, dancing to 80's hits, making awesome new friends, a spell at "Please Don't Tell" club before ending at 2am with a dose of sweet paan.  Wow, these people really know how to have a good time!

Left:  Aunty & "Ah Boy" Harvey;
 Right: at Britannia with Harvey, Michael & Mr Kohinoor

The main reason I'd come to Mumbai was to visit my dear "Ah Boy" Harvey Koh.  We first met at Calvary Church in 1994 when we were cast to play the two main characters in a Christmas production. The finale saw us serenading each other with a song entitled "O, What a Love", Bollywood style.  How apt that we should be reunited in Mumbai - the home of Bollywood!  Harvey and Michael live in Bandra, the Beverly Hills equivalent, where the major movie stars have their homes.  In fact, Shah Rukh Khan's house was a mere 300m away from our apartment!

The next day, the boys took me to Britannia & Co, an authentic Parsi restaurant in the heart of old Mumbai. While the sali boti (mutton stew topped with potato chips), chicken berry pulao (chicken rice with fruit & nuts) and chicken dhansak (lentil stew with chicken) were all extremely good, the real attraction is a charming 93-year old gentleman.  Mr Kohinoor is the owner, and while he took almost 15 minutes to take our order, I was completely enamoured by his stories, jokes and devotion to Queen Elizabeth II.  She's even written him a letter to thank him for his loyalty! You won't have to ask to see the letter, Mr Kohinoor proudly parades it around the restaurant every hour.

At the Gateway of India & Taj Palace Hotel 

I also treated myself to a stay at the Taj Palace Hotel - the grande dame of hotels in India.  It was right next to the Gateway of India, a unique landmark built to commemorate to visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.  The place was heaving with local and foreign tourists and security was tight.  Still, the monument and its eclectic mix of European, Mughal and Hindu designs is worth seeing.

Hanging out in LA

As much as I love spending time with my sister Julie in northern California, waking up to freezing temperatures in winter is really not my cup of tea.  And so we planned a trip to visit friends in the sunnier climate of southern California.  Los Angeles was our first stop.

 

(L-R) Kathleen, Joanna, Julie and Swee Kit

 

Kathleen's place is always my first port-of-call in sunny Los Angeles.  We first met in Calvary Church KL back in 1996 before she married and moved to LA.  Her beaming smiles and warm hospitality makes it much easier to bear the horrible traffic on LA freeways.   This time she arranged for us to have dinner at a classic American diner - Norm's in Whittier - before whisking us to a play about a nun in Las Vegas!

 

We also caught up with Swee Kit, one of Julie's school friends who recently moved to LA to start postgraduate studies at Biola University. 

 

The next day, we spent a whole day hanging out with Kathleen and her family.  Of course, the girls decided to first treat themselves to morning dim sum, foot massage and coffee & cakes before heading home to see Kathleen's boys.

 

Kathleen's darlings:  Samuel (dark blue t-shirt) and Joseph (sky blue t-shirt)

 

These two little boys have a very special place in my heart. It was so good to see how much they've grown and developed.  They showed off their acrobatic agility and prowess by doing a balanced stand on their dad's legs while Joe played dodge ball with a very uncoordinated Aunty Jo Jo. 

 

We took some photos with the boys in the backyard.  Here's me posing with Sam - whom I think has the dashing good looks of a Korean drama star.  Don't you agree?

 

The highlight of my day came after dinner when Joe started cuddling up to me when I sang him lullabies.  So sweet!  Is there any wonder that my heart melts every time I visit these little ones?

 





Canterbury Tales

There is nothing I love more than making new friends and visiting new places.  Thanks to Natasha Pritchard, I got to do both!  Natasha has only recently moved to Kent and kindly offered to drive me to Canterbury on her day off where we had a great time.  Thanks so much, Tash!

Canterbury Cathedral from afar - because I refused to pay the entrance fee of ten pounds!

Canterbury is one of the oldest towns in England with a rich history dating back to Roman times.  The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury.  A pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket is the backdrop for Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales - which was the bane of my existence during A Levels. It's charming medieval character still attracts millions of tourists annually.

Natasha & I with our Kentish cream teas

There were two major highlights from my visit to Canterbury.  The first was tea and scones at Tiny Tim's Tearoom.  It's located in one of the oldest buildings in Canterbury with a setting that is quintessentially English. Miss Marple would have approved. The scones were some of the largest I'd ever seen, complete with butter, jam and clotted cream.  Absolutely delicious - especially the apple & raspberry ones.  There's also a ghost room at the top of the stairs open to visitors for free, an offer which Natasha and I politely (and firmly) declined.

The second major highlight was my introduction to Primark - the home of cheap and cheerful clothing. I walked away with a large bagful of clothes for only twenty pounds. Sorry, there aren't any pictures because no self-respecting female shopper is going to bother fiddling with a camera when there are 2-pound shirts and 3-pound tights on sale!

Dreams do come true

I woke up one morning in May after dreaming that I had spent my birthday sailing down the Thames, enjoying views of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  Not having been back in England since 2000, I decided to make that dream a reality.  I messaged two of my best mates from MBA days, Tariq Shahab (from London)and Martin Riemen(from Berlin), and invited the boys for a birthday bash in London.  They both said "Yes"!

(L-R) Martin, Joanna & Tariq reunited in London - Sept 2014

So on the 26th of September 2014, my friends and I stood on the Westminster Bridge and snapped this photo.  More than anything, we cherished the time spent catching up on each other's lives in the past 17 years since leaving Birmingham University.  Tariq has a successful international sales career in pharmaceuticals while Martin has seen much action in the fast-paced world of investment banking.  They are both also proud fathers, and I'm grateful they set aside time for our mini reunion - and to celebrate my birthday too!  Surely, it's a sign of true friendship when all the years just melt away and we can chat as if we'd only left uni yesterday.  Although the boys did drag up some horror stories of my misadventures from the distant past that I'd completely forgotten...grrrr....

Day and night views from our penthouse apartment

Tariq did a great job finding us a penthouse apartment in central London with a panoramic view of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral and the Shard.  Needless to say, we spent a lot of time on the balcony!

Tariq and Joanna celebrating her birthday with lemon and strawberry tarts from Paul

My 2014 birthday celebration was indeed a dream come true!

A tourist in Penang

The best thing about taking a career break is that you can really relax and enjoy your travels, even to familiar destinations that you've been countless times. That's what happened to me in Penang - where my parents have lived for almost 20 years.

Catching up with Selina Rogers at China House in Georgetown

It was such a treat to meet up with Selina Rogers, a BBGS classmate who now resides in Penang. We haven't seen each other since the mid '80s and when she offered to show me a side of Penang that I rarely get to experience, I jumped at the chance.  It was a welcome change to enjoy a dinner in the salubrious surroundings of China House, instead of the usual hawker stalls. Thanks so much for your hospitality, Selina!

We started at Armenian Street, which has become an iconic tourist destination thanks to the wall murals by Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuanian artist who has captured the cheeky charm of local Penangites so well. "Little Children on a Bicycle" is a delightful art installation to be enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. 

There are so many interesting facades to the shops and clan houses in Georgetown, and I really should slow down to enjoy all that's on offer in my own backyard more often.

Christmas with the Changs

So blessed to spend Christmas this year with the Changs - my family in Singapore.  This year, we headed to the Royal China at Raffles Hotel for dim sum.

My godsons, Justin (in checks) and Jared (in blue shirt) are incredibly patient with their lunatic Aunty Jojo.  We have so many fun and crazy conversations and I have really enjoyed seeing these boys grow into fine young men. Yes, I have been reminded time and time again not to hug in public but do I care?

Lu Meng and I first met in classroom 30 years ago and have been good friends ever since. God has been very good the both of us and we are eternally grateful for His wonderful grace.

The Chang family, including daddy Jimmy Chang, are my de facto family in Singapore.  We've had so many Sunday dinners together that we often miss each other if too many weeks go by without our regular catch up.  Especially when I'm travelling.

Double Birthday Celebrations

We've been blessed with double birthday celebrations this year.  Both my parents turned 70 - hearty, healthy and happy - and we thank God for His amazing goodness.  They celebrated these milestones with family and close friends by hosting two Chinese banquet dinners in Penang.

 Daddy and his "not-so little girl" at his birthday dinner in January 2013

Mummy celebrating her 70th birthday with the entire Yeoh clan and church friends in December 2013

Flowery Delights

Mum and Dad made their annual pilgrimage to Singapore to visit me in early May and I finally had an excuse to visit Gardens by the Bay.  Took a day off on 11 May to celebrate an early Mother's Day with mum (and dad).  We girls were in raptures over the flowers, while dad was awestruck by the amazing architectural feat.

Kudos to Singapore for really making this a world-class attraction - for both locals and tourists alike.  For those of us who fight a constant battle with the sweltering heat of tropics, being able to spend a few hours in a temperate climate with gardens filled with daffodils, lilies, tulips, camellias and roses galore is almost heaven on earth.

Well Done Singapore!!

Happy Mother's Day to my Mummy

Family portrait in the English Garden

Floral delights flown in from Holland for a special spring exhibition

Amazing architecture and hanging gardens in the Cloud Dome