Our Sleepless Holiday

Before she left, I asked Mel whether she would do me the honour of being a guest writer on my blog. I'm v happy she agreed becoz, quite frankly, I was much too lazy to do the updates on our week-odd holiday out of London myself! =)

When I received her draft, I was tempted to edit bits here and there (ok, so I did! Only a teeny-weeny bit! The grammar! The spelling!) but I held back as much as I could so that 'flava' - that's so distinctly and wonderfully Mel - would not be lost.

So here she is, in her own words (well, most of it?), my very first guest blogger - my dearest friend Mel :)

6 Nov, Monday, baby-sitting for the SAHM

I have been invited by Saggs to be a guest blogger here.

As assigned by the ‘editor’, I'm supposed to blog about my trip to Rome, Edinburgh and around the UK.

I have been here for 20 days now and tonight is my last night in London.

Sob.. sob..sob

Currently, JH and I are babysitting Danielle. We bought a pair of tickets for Saggs and Dee to watch their first-ever musical in London, 'Wicked'. It is a small gesture on our part considering the generosity and hospitality we have enjoyed at the Chan household – free lodging, cooked meals, packed lunches, free flow of coffee and Milo... What more can a homeless tourist ask for?

About the wonderful, fantastic 20 days of holiday I've had so far? Gosh, it will be hard to describe in a short entry...

@ Stonehenge, Wiltshire

A few words come to mind – Splendid, Astounding (Danielle’s latest word), Awesome, Picture- Perfect. It is indeed amazing how big the world is and how many different cultures and beautiful places there are out there. It re-affirms the saying that one needs to travel. I now go away fuller, fulfilled, one notch up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs... but of course, poorer.

And the places I was able to visit - what with my meagre budget were – Edinburgh, Bath, Lake District, Rome and finally within the UK.

Windermere, Lake District

@ Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

About Edinburgh, Bath and Lake District - beautiful English country side!!! Breath- taking views, quaint cottages, rolling hills that make you want to put on a frock, do a little skip and holler at the top of your lungs – ‘the hills are alive at the sound of music’!

St Peter's Basilica

Rome was holy, breathtaking and ornate (as JH would mutter after every picture he took of the chapels and churches. He took 4000 over pixs, mind you!) Art on every corner of the street, on ceilings, on walls, it was literally spilling over with art pieces which makes the sights in London pale in comparison. To me, the best part of Rome was the tiramisu and gorgeous Italian men in leather jackets and Top Gun shades... And oh, it was a pity I did not get to shake the Pope’s hand, perhaps, if God was onto one of us, the Pope was probably busy on the phone.

To me, the best part of the holidays were the people I travelled with – it was the best crew ever assembled since The Lord of the Rings. The icing on the cake would have been if my husband were able to have joined me on this trip. I would highly recommend our gruelling schedule and itinerary for anyone who wishes to train for 'Amazing Race, UK edition'.

I discovered something new about the people around me through this trip. Dennis was the epitome of ‘a beast of burden’ – he would carry milk, maps, medicine, Danielle's buggy, bottles of water (both hot and cold) and Danielle on his shoulders (he could probably have prepped a bath for his daughter anytime he wished, with all that water and toddler on his back). This beast of burden was going uphill, down slopes, up flights of stairs, nothing was too heavy for this brother. He practically had a 7-Eleven on his back, and the best part, he was always close but never closed...

JH was the self-elected military ruler who sings a ‘beautiful’ symphony during his sleep. He prided on ruling over us - the sleepy, tired band of tourists. He was the alarm clock, time keeper, map reader, bus guide and restaurant guide all rolled into one. He scheduled the order of the morning visits to the toilet, dished out SOP if the group ever disbanded. I bet he even had a plan on what would happen if enemies infiltrated our base. His only weakness was ice cream – he blew all of his budget on Italian ice-cream. Syl was the clucky hen and perpetually asking ‘Where is JH?’ every 10 steps of the way, while I was the herded sheep, happy to follow the brood.

Lastly, the entertainer, the muse of all our photographs and ‘pick-me-up’ of the trip - little Danielle. Just one minute with her, listening to her crisp English accent would relieve all tiredness and soreness, keep the spirits up and remind us to view the world from the innocent eyes of a 3 year old – believing that the royal jewels are behind the glass casing, but ‘the King is not in the area’ (at Edinburgh castle), Santa Clause was entombed at Saint Peter's Basilica (actually they were the mummies of popes who’d passed on) , God has many enemies who want to fight Him, and Roman pigeons are ‘ornately’ different from English pigeons but damn, they still can’t be caught.

It is sad that the holiday has to come to an end. Tomorrow, JH and I are leaving on the evening flight back to Singapore. It has been a great holiday – such an old bunch of friends. It was a sleepless adventure (as Dennis would say) and a great time of ‘bonding’ as our lives branch out into different chapters after this trip.

As the holiday comes to an end, I wonder when this motley crew will re-group again and under what circumstances, for certainly our lives would be different. But I am heartened by the memories, the long conversations and the friendships that endure.

As I told Syl, I am predicting the happy chimes of wedding bells before we congregate in close proximity again.

I hope it will be soon...

Farewell, London


Our 1st Halloween from Saggieswee on Vimeo.