Sophie and her hunk

Sophie and Kau Foo Chai (Cantonese for young uncle, or mother's younger brother), Tik Chu and her Yi Pak (Cantonese for older uncle, or father's elder brother).

The Chinese have proper titles for every type of relative you can think of...

And it is a fact that even a two-year old comprehends...

On the way home in a taxi with Sophie, I took out some money to pay the taxi driver.

Sophie saw the $10 bill and asked, "Who gives you lots and lots of money, Mamma?".

I answered, "My office".

She went on, "Who gives Baba lots and lots of money, Mamma?".

I answered, "Baba's hospital".

She chuckled loudly and corrected me, "No! YOU give Baba lots and lots of money, Mamma!".

An Outing to the Choo

A family picture with the FlinstonesSophie pouting with her Baba when I said no to one of those pushcars that you can rent from the zoo to get around its 28 hectares. Zebra crossing in the background

Hanging out with the sealions

Her first getai

Getai ("song stage" in Mandarin) is a phenomenon unique to Singapore. YL tells me that they take place occasionally in Malaysia, but I have not seen one in the Singaporean style at all.


It is a free open-air night concert held in the common areas of the HDB blocks (Housing Development Board aka Singapore government housing). Performers typically sing in Hokkien or Mandarin, and are not unusually made up of middle-aged aunties and uncles showcasing their dance moves in the latest gaudiest, sparkliest, and stretchiest costumes. They are usually held during the Chinese Ghost Festival month (7th month of the lunar year) and during certain Chinese folk festivals as entertainment for the gods, deities and mortals alike.


We checked one out yesterday night near our flat, and were not disappointed by the gaudy glamour :) If you are interested in this fascinating lifestyle, I highly recommend watching Royston Tan's musical-comedy-drama 881.

Kung Fu Panda

We decided to test Sophie's attention span and risked a movie - Kung Fu Panda - with her a few weekends ago. It's confirmed that it is only 10 minutes long, just enough to last through the commercials.

The rest of the 80 minutes consisted of YL and I alternating between coaxing her to keep still, threatening her to be quiet, taking her out for toilet breaks, taking her to the back of the cinema to let her burn off her excess energy, and explaining to her why she can't go home yet.

Mel, you are lucky with Tik Chu!

Quips II

Feeling a little under the weather today, I complained during dinner to YL that I felt fat. It's just one of those days, you know. After dinner, we stopped by a shoe shop to buy a pair of shoes for Sophie. He didn't help matters when he grumbled and fussed that I took too long to decide on a pair. I positively fumed for the rest of the evening.

Upon arriving home, he wisely left me to huff and puff, and to bury myself in the papers while he carted Sophie off to her shower. I overheard him instructing her to tell Mamma "the shoes are sooo beautiful" later.

A few minutes later, the two appeared in front of me with sheepish grins and chimed together, "Wow, Mamma...you are so thin!". I wasn't amused.

YL then grabbed the new pair of shoes and shoved it in front of Sophie's face to remind her of her next line. She looked at them, a lightbulb lit up in her head, she looked up, flashed a smile and said, "Wow...the shoes are so thin, Mamma!"

Scenes in Singapore

Feeding Baba
A walk along the tiny stretch of beach that is Sentosa

Strolling through the National Museum of Singapore

A dip in the wading pool in Vivocity (it's a shopping mall)

A dip in another sort of pool at the National Museum of Singapore