That is how short the time felt when Sum Che Che was here. All the excitement and anticipation of her ten days holiday here in Darwin evaporated at the blink of an eye and was replaced with sadness and tears towards the end of her holidays. Brandon was the hardest to console. If he had his way, he'd tie a leash around Sum Che Che and not have her leave....EVER!
There were days when it was mundane and just the usual routine, the kids were happy to just have their favourite Aunty there to share in their daily activities. Somedays, we just "lepak" around - which is part of the Darwin laidback lifestyle - I hope Sum Che Che didn't feel too bored in comparison to the hustle and bustle of KL city lifestyle.
Recapping through the events of her stay in Darwin, here are some of the things we did.
Apart from taking Alyssa to pre-school everyday, Sum Che Che also went to Kindergym class with Alyssa and watched her perform some gymnastic skills with her best mate, Lachlan.
We wandered down to Stokes Hill Wharf for lunch and enjoyed the afternoon breeze and took some snapshots of Darwin's Convention Centre.
She'd come with us to pick up the kids from school and they would introduce her to their friends.
She accompanied Brandon to his soccer training and match.
We took her to dinner at our popular Sunset Cafe buffet at the Skycity Hotel and Casino. Sum Che Che was pleased that the restaurant backed up onto the beach and she managed to take photos of our beautiful sunset without the crowd of Mindil Beach.
We hung out at the Smith Street Mall, in the CBD.
We hung out at home and had a typical Aussie barbie with a Fred Flinstone style Aussie rib. Check out this ripper of a rib. This piece of rib is about 5 inches thick...and only enough for Heng Dack!!
Sum Che Che and the kids got the chance to visit the wave pool as well, although the water was pretty cold. She was quite happy to sit back and watch the kids whilst taking photos of them.
Sum Che Che even had the opportunity to taste the Naked Chef's....err...I mean, Uncle Peter's...cooking. Mmmm, check out the smorgasbord of yummy tucker. You can never have enough of food when it comes to Uncle Peter's treat.
On her last day here, we squeezed in a quick trip to Mindil Beach for the Beer Can Regatta. This is a yearly affair where hoards of Darwinites throng to the beach in the hot sun to drink themselves silly! No.
Actually, they drink themselves silly in the months leading up to this day. Why? Because they needed to collect as many beer cans as possible to build a boat. The main attraction in this beachfront event is the race between hand-made boats constructed of beer or soft drink cans. And of course, a beach event will not a beach event without sand sculptures :)
Here's a few of the tinny exhibits.
A bit of a pirate fun here...arrrhhhh, me hearties. On the right below, it proves that you can do many things with beer cans, even wear them on your head. It's a Darwin thing.
And the winner is......! The hammer boat by Bunnings Warehouse. It is the Tings' favourite DIY one-stop shop and by far the best in South East Asia. I'm sure one other person in KL would agree too as this is his favourite joint to haunt. Even the Bunnings logo on the other side of the boat was a must in this masterpiece.
Best thing of all, these contraptions can actually float!
Before long it was time to head out to the airport to send Sum Che Che off. Everyone was sad that she was going home and trying hard to hold back their tears. All but Brandon who just let it all out! Boy, I can tell you his waterfall of tears is very contagious. It didn't help either that he realised that he has forgotten to give her his handmade turtle made out of sponge. He cried himself to sleep that night.
All in all, we all enjoyed having Sum Che Che here, and hope that she had a great time here too.
(ps. journal of photos all taken on Sum's camera)
2 comments:
THANKS for everything Wai Yin Che. It was really an enjoyable trip hanging around with everyone especially the kids; just to mention some of the things we did = sending them to school, picking them up, attending some of their outside school events, introducing their friends to me, showing me their fav shops (especially the stationery shop Smiggles), showing me their art skills (even Alyssa was eager to draw me a picture before I left), singing some Chinese songs and dancing for me, a trip out to Litchfield and Katherine, and even having all of them (including baby J) in "my" room chatting away were all memorable good fun! Even when Chloe and Brandon has gone to bed, Little Missy Alyssa comes knocking on my door, sat by the bed and just chatted with me for 10-15mins!! (oh, not to forget her facial surprise expression on the 1st morning I arrived!!!)
On the night before I left, all 3 of them kept asking "Why do you need to go back?" "Can't you stay longer?" Then the moment to say Goodbye arrived. I couldn't hold back tears as well at the airport especially when Brandon burst out. Giving me hugs and blowing me kisses gave me even a heavier heart to leave. But all-in-all it was DEFINATELY a trip worthwhile!! (",)
P/S: Please tell Brandon to keep the turtle sponge for me.
I was not there in Darwin, but looking at the chronological account of the events, and those fantastic pictures, I certainly share & feel the excitement and fun during Wai Sum's short stay. What is most touching is the warmth and bonds of family ties displayed by the Ting's! This is certainly a most memorable holiday for Wai Sum!
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