FOBISSEA 2006 (BANGKOK) Mums!

Well of course we couldn't let the kids go without the support of their Mums and some Dads, now could we??

Yes, we all followed the kids up to Bangkok, some on the Wednesday and the others on the Thursday. About eight of us stayed in the Davis Hotel, in the centre of Town, and travelled out to Harrow School whenever our kids were competing. The rest of the time, we shopped, shopped and shopped! There are great markets there, where some real bargains can be picked up. It is also a developing City, with some lovely new Department Stores popping up.

One evening we went down "Ping Pong Alley".....the less said about that the better! But it was certainlly an eye opener.. I was actually taken aback by how many women actually go into these places to watch.

We went out for a couple of Thai meals, which were out of this world. The people there are very friendly and non-confrontational. And with it being a Buddhist country, it doesn't seem to share the same issues that the Muslim Countries do. Unlike here in KL, where we have a mixture of nationalities, and the Muslim culture can be quite restrictive.

I would recommend anyone to go to Bangkok, my only advice is watch the taxi drivers, they are after every penny you have!

FOBISSEA 2006 (BANGKOK) Children

Sara was fortunate enough to be picked as part of the School FOBISSEA team and attend Harrow School in Bangkok for a three day competition, which included, swimming, athletics, football and Basketball.

They flew up on Wednesday afternoon, arriving late as the plane was delayed. The first day started with Swimming, followed by Athletics in the afternoon.

Day two involved the boys in Football, and the girls in Basketball.

Day Three involded the girls in Football and the boys in Basketball.

Sara only took part in the football, but a lot of the 36 children competed in all disciplines. It was very hard work and a number of them suffered fatigue and dehydration, due to the hot weather.

There were 8 schools taking part and in the football so it was split into two pools. Alice Smiths (KLASS) won the first match, lost the second and drew the third. Which put them in second place on points, with Harrow having having more. In the Semi's they lost the first match, but one the final match on penalties! So KLASS came away with a bronze.

(pictures to follow)

Football!!

This time last year, there was no way you would have got the girls to even kick a ball, let alone be part of the School Girls Football teams.....but now.....Charlotte plays twice a week. She's the House Team Captain for the Girls Football at the school, and also plays with the Funky Footballer Under 10's Girls team in KL.

Sara is playing football for Equine Park School under 13's and plays weekly with other International Schools.

Both girls are away this week. Sara has just left to represent her school in the Fobbisia International Schools Sports competition up at Harrow School in Bangkok from Wednesday to Sunday. Charlotte is heading over to Penang for the weekend to attend a football competition there. ...A good excuse for us parents to get away for a few days, and do some shopping. I head up to Bangkok with Sara tomorrow and Graham and Hamish follow Charlotte to Penang.

Hamish

Graham often takes Hamish fishing in a nearby lake. Once or twice they have come back with fish and we had them for tea! Fish seem to be a passion for Hamish at the moment. He's got a large fishtank in his bedroom and small one down stairs in the kitchen.

In the tank downstairs, the one and remaining Guppy has had babies...19!! Don't know what we are going to do with them all.

Graham took Hamish off to the KLCC yesterday to the Fish exhibition. It was amazing with thousands of different types and breeds of fish....of course they couldn't come home without buying one! It's an Oscar and will probably grow to about a foot long....We will be setting up a Fish Shop before long....


Hamish has a birthday coming up soon, and is having a joint party with one of his class mates. Its going to be held at the KLCC Aquarium, which involves watching the sharks being fed.

Mid Term Break (October 2006) HARI RAYA

A friend suggested we go to Pangkor for a few days with a few other families. Pangkor is about a 2 hour drive north, then 40minutes on the ferry to the Island. We weren't sure of the the route, so went up in convoy with three other families. Lucky we did, as the traffic was horrendous! Its a national holiday here, so anyone and everyone travels home to see their families. Thus, it took about 3 and half hours to get there.

Once there it was just bliss. Time to unwind and relax! The Beach resort was quite small, with about 5*, has its own private beach, and two decent sized pools. The beach offered water skiing, banana boating, jet ski, and small cruises around the islands and snorkeling. Of course we did all of the above...Well,the kids did! Hamish just loved the beach and the crabs! He even had a go at snorkeling from the boat.

"Summer" 2006

It may have been summer with you guys, but the seasons out here don't really change. All we have is a rainy season and a dry season (which isn't really that dry, still pours down every now and again). The temperature tends to stay the same, he daylight hours never change, and of course its very humid. Its raining just now, so I may have to sign of for a while once the lightning starts! You certainly wouldn't go out in a down-pour....Very very wet!

Over the School Summer Holidays, we went back to the UK and Scotland. It was quite a busy two weeks and managed to cover over 1,000miles in that time, just in Scotland! We stayed with Judy and Ross, and used them as a base, from there we visited Wick in the far north to see Graham's parents, and traveled down to the Boarders in the south to see auntie Eveleyn. Visiting ponies and dogs on the way.

It was also lovely to see all our friends back home in Kintore. Everyone seemed really well and the kids had shot up, especially the babies! Met the new tenants in the house, and all seems well there.

No pictures with this one, forgot the camera!

Ipoh Sept. 06

This was our second show. It was up at Ipoh at the Perak Race Course, which is about 2hours drive north of here. We had to book into a hotel for the three days. It was right next door to the stables, so getting up in the morning for 7am starts wasn't too bad. I didn't ride at this one, as the cost of getting the horses up there was quite high, and adding a 3rd horse to the bill was a bit nail biting.

Charlotte had a great time at this show. She rode Spanky and came 1st in her dressage test out of 15! Then came 2nd in her Showjumping. Sara was riding Kangaroo, unfortunately they were eliminated in the showjumping, but came 4th in her dressage. She then went on and borrowed Charlotte's pony and came 1st in a second Dressage Test.

(Horses) Putrajaya, Aug. 06.

This was our first show, and it was a real eye-opener! Its very Malaysian, very grand, and very (cannot think of any other word for it) Posh!

The riding school took 15 horses down to the show. They were stabled, and we traveled down everyday to ride, as its only 40mins from home.

We (Jo, Sara and Charlotte) all rode. I did a dressage test and came 6th out of 21. 2nd in a showjumping class out of 16. Sara did two showjumping classes and came 2nd in one. Charlotte did two jumping classes, but unfortunately had some fences down, so was unplaced.

No I haven't forgotten the Horses!!

As the kids were pretty miserable about leaving behind their ponies behind in Aberdeen, I thought the best plan would be to get them straight back in the saddle over here...After trying various riding stables around, we plucked for Equine Park, which is conveniently situated right next door to Saras' School....The only problem is its a good 40minutes drive, sometimes longer on a "bad traffic" day. But the place is lovely. The horses and ponies are well cared for, and the girls get to use the ponies for competitions.

Melaka (April 06)

We drove about 3 hours down to Melaka for a couple of nights. Melaka is famous for its trade links with India, Africa and Europe. Serving as a gateway to Asia, with the help of the Melaka Straights.

There wasn't actually much to see there, the kids preferring to stay at the Resort and play in the pool all day. But we found a couple of good restaurants, museums and of course the Zoo....Managed to buy a lovely Drinks Bar and stools at Melaka Woodwork Shop...Might do for the odd "Coffee Morning" when we get home!