New Zealand Day 3

Both kids slept very well at Art Deco Apartment. They slept until 8 plus am. 

Today is also the day where we collect our rental car to drive to various places at South Island. We rent our car from Orange Car Rental. 

There was a shock delivered to us before the trip. Initially I requested for one baby seat and one booster seat. Then one week before the trip, the company emailed me to say due to change in company policy they will not be providing any baby/booster seat. This caught us in disarray, and we explored options such as finding shops in NZ that sell/rent baby/booster seat, looking for other rental car companies, bringing our own baby/booster seat to NZ. 

So finally, I negotiate with the company that I bring my own booster seat, and the company provide the baby seat. Thank goodness the company agreed on that. So we put Yuanze's booster seat in our check-in luggage to bring to NZ. And of course, our luggage went missing, so throughout this whole NZ trip, Yuanze has no booster seat at all in the car. 

Right now my impression of NZ is really... nothing to say. 

Ok back to the trip. 

Orange car rental picton is about 3 min walk away from Art Deco Apartment. So I walked there to collect the car first. 

Ta daaaa that's the car. 

It is a Nissan Sylphy. Car plate number only 3 digits, cannot buy 4D. I asked for Bluetooth function but I cannot connect to the Bluetooth at all. I checked the mileage and it has clocked 140,000+ km. I am guessing this car is more than 8 years. 

There was no one manning the office, so they just leave the car there, the car is unlocked, and the keys are under the sun visor at the driver's seat. OMG they really trust the people in NZ for their integrity. 

We still did not receive any update on our luggage so we decided to play safe and buy new clothes and a new luggage. We drove to KMart Bleinheim that is about 30 minutes drive from Picton. 

Looking very comfortable in the car. The hat that Yuanze is wearing was bought from a shop in Picton. 

KMart Bleinheim. Other than selling clothes and footwear, it sells groceries (drinks and tidbits) and toys as well. 

Our new luggage. We needed this because throughout the whole trip, we did not get back our luggage at all. 

The drive in NZ is really nice and scenic. Can see blue skies, lots of greenery, mountains, animals such as cows and sheep. 

But hor, you must keep to the speed limit because you may get caught by traffic police for speeding, and that was what happened to me, on the first day of driving. I exceeded the speed limit by 11 km/h (the speed limit is 100 km/h), and got fined NZD$80. The police officer is a nice guy though, and educated me nicely on the traffic rules in NZ. 

I posted on insta story about me getting caught for speeding, and my friends/student replied me saying they experienced the same thing. My student kenna ambushed, and her dad who was the driver kenna fined NZD$170. My friend also kenna caught speeding on their first day of driving, and kenna fined NZD$200. Another friend caught speeding in Australia and kenna fined AUD$400. Ok I feel much better now. 

Today we are going to Pear Orchard Lodge, that is located at Nelson. 

Pear Orchard Lodge is really an awesome place where as the name suggests, it has a pear orchard that harvests their own pears, it also rears sheep, cows and chickens. Basically it is a very nice place where you can disconnect from the city and enjoy the greenery and scenery. 

We bought food from a nearby supermarket for dinner. Yuanze really enjoys alfresco dining. Imagine air con temperature with the warm sunshine. Total bliss. 

That's it for Day 3. 

New Zealand Day 2

We slept very well at Josh and Joanne's house, most probably because we didn't sleep well on the plane. Yuanze and Yuanyi slept until 8 plus am. 

The first thing I did in the morning is to check the lost baggage online website and what I saw is: "Item not located, tracing continues, please check again later."

Next, I borrowed Josh's phone to call the Air NZ hotline, but I was put on hold for quite a while and I gave up, because I read reviews that there were people who tried calling and put on hold until 5 hours. Seems like there is no way we will get our baggage today, so we adjusted our mentality, stay positive and enjoy our trip. 

This morning Josh and Joanne took leave to bring us around Wellington city area. 

Took this pic because I went to Doubletree at JB to eat their hotel buffet breakfast that cost only 60 ringgit (20 sgd). There is no way Doubletree NZ hotel buffet breakfast will cost the same price.  

Was planning to stay here before Josh and Joanne told us that we can stay over at their place. 

At Wellington city, we did the touristy thing which is to take the Wellington cable car, that looks like a red colour tram and pretty much resembles the peak tram at hong kong. 

On board the peak tram

We took the cable car to the top of the Wellington Botanic Garden. At the botanic garden you can admire the scenery of Wellington, there is a cable car museum and a playground. When there is playground, the kids will be very happy. 

And that's it for our North Island trip. Josh and Joanne sent us to Bluebridge ferry terminal where we are taking the Bluebridge ferry to South Island. We bade farewell to Josh, Joanne and James. They have been such nice hosts and helped us alot. We will definitely host them warmly when they come to Singapore to visit. 

The cost of our ferry:

Why I wanted to have the family cabin is because the timing of the ferry is from 130 pm to 530 pm, and it coincides with the kids' naptime. Also because of darling's motion sickness, it will be better for her to lie on the bed and rest. 

Joanne passed us this luggage to use. Thank you so much Joanne.  

This is the family cabin, with 2 x double bunk beds. Yuanze very excitedly climb up to the upper deck bed and lay out his toys nicely. 

Darling and Yuanyi fell asleep, and Yuanze was still wide awake, so I brought him to walk around the ferry. 

Now Yuanze's turn to fall asleep and Yuani woke up, so I brought Yuanyi to walk around the ferry. 

Yuanyi: When are we reaching Picton... 

Yes we are reaching Picton! 

The beautiful mountains that we can see enroute to Picton. 

We reached Picton, and took the Bluebridge shuttle bus to our Airbnb: Art Deco Apartment

We love this porch, where we can eat our food and see the beautiful view of the ships. 

Picton is a touristy place with expensive restaurants, so we decided to buy maggi mee, corn, sausages and pre-packed pumpkin soup from a supermarket to cook a simple dinner, since the Airbnb has a well equipped kitchen that has the basic necessities. 

That's it for Day 2. 

New Zealand Day 1

Our flight to Wellington is as such: 

SQ: 840 pm (28 Nov) depart Singapore, 740 am (29 Nov) arrive Sydney.

Air New Zealand: 925 am (29 Nov) depart Sydney, 240 pm (29 Nov) arrive Wellington.  

It was a red eye flight from Singapore to Sydney. Darling has motion sickness, so she took the motion sickness medicine and KO on the flight, and she was seated on her own, with the aisle in between me and her, while I ownself settle the 2 kids. 

It was really quite shag to let the 2 kids sleep properly on the plane as they keep moving here and there to find the optimal sleeping position. Thank god we survived, and both of them had at least 4 to 5 hours of sleep on the plane. 

The transit time is quite short, only 1 hour 45 minutes. 

This NZ lady offered to bring us to the Air NZ lounge as her guests. She was sitting behind the 3 of us, and said that Yuanze and Yuanyi were very well behaved on the plane and she was very impressed with them. 

We accepted her offer and had a quick breakfast in the Air NZ lounge. 

That's the lady. Thank you so much for your warmth and kindess~

We reached Wellington, and that's when we found out, to our horror, our check-in luggage did not arrive in Wellington! 

So can you imagine, our medicine, 10 days' of essentials and clothes for 2 adults and 2 kids, gone just like that. 

We had to make a report at the baggage counter, and the staff said that Air NZ will keep in touch with us if the baggage has been found, and there is also a online website that tracks the location of our baggage. 

I was really shocked and angry. In all my years of travelling, this is my first time encountering this. Luckily I placed a new set of clothes for all 4 of us in my hand-carry bag. 

After filing the lost baggage report, we cleared the NZ customs swiftly with almost nothing to declare because of our missing check-in baggage. NZ is a very strict country when it comes to bringing food items in. 

We took the taxi to Josh and Joanne's house, the ride took about 30 minutes and we were super shocked that the taxi fare cost NZD$89. Josh told us that taxi is very expensive in NZ and the locals normally take uber. 

Josh and Joanne prepared this bedroom for me and darling. 

The kids were thrilled when they saw the bathtub. 

Bonding time between the kids. 

James, the kid in the middle, Josh and Joanne's son. The strawberries that they are holding are from the garden, harvested by Joanne. 

Josh and Joanne are really very good hosts, making us feel right at home, prepared dinner and breakfast for us. They knew of our lost baggage situation and brought us to a supermarket and a clothes shop known as KMart that sells very affordable clothing and footwear for adults and kids. We decided to live day by day because we really do not know when our luggage will arrive, so we bought clothes that can last us for 2 days. Josh and Joanne also passed us some of their clothes as well as Jams' clothes. We are really thankful to the both of them. It is a blessing that our first night in NZ was with them. 

That's it for Day 1.  

New Zealand Trip 2022

We travelled to New Zealand from 29 Nov to 8 Dec. 

Planning of the trip started in April. 

For Singaporeans, travel to New Zealand do not need a visa, but need to apply for a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA). 

Here are the things to apply for NZeTA: 

• Allow 72 hours for your NZeTA request to be processed. Many requests will be processed more quickly.
• An NZeTA request costs NZD $17 on our free app, or NZD $23 if completed online.
• You pay an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) at the same time as your NZeTA. This costs NZD $35.
• Once you have requested an NZeTA you can check its status.

For driving in New Zealand, you do not need to apply for international driving license, just need to show the car rental company your Singapore driving license, and bring your Singapore driving license to New Zealand, in case you kenna stop over by traffic police, which happened to me. 

New Zealand consists of 2 islands, North Island and South Island. South Island is the more popular one for tourists with more scenic places. 

For this trip, we are flying to Wellington (at North Island), because we are meeting up with our hall friends, Josh and Joanne, who are residing in Wellington, and they are so kind to let us stay at their house for our first night in New Zealand. 

Before our departure, I keep praying, that all 4 of us are well and do not fall sick and do not kenna covid. Thank goodness we are all ok and here we go! 

We were quite unlucky to kenna a super heavy rain + thunderstorm, and thank god that we still managed to get a grab to send us to the airport. 

We are taking SQ to Sydney, and taking Air New Zealand from Sydney to Wellington. I was not able to choose the seats on the Air New Zealand flight before the trip, hence I wanted to go to Jewel earlier to use the self check-in kiosk to choose the seats. 

Unfortunately I was not able to check in, and we were directed to Terminal 3. And I realized, if we are stopping over, we cannot self check in, we have to go to the counter to check in.

Yuanze and Yuanyi looking at our check-in luggage exiting the conveyor belt.

At the transit area:

On board the flight: 

And I must say, our national air carrier is really not bad, because they give child-suitable headphones. Air New Zealand does not. 

Ok that's it for Day 0!

Endemic

The first time covid came to our lives was in 2020, somewhere in march. It was a pandemic, with the circuit breaker being enforced. 

Right now, in 2022, covid is still with us. Instead of pandemic, is now an endemic, where we see covid as a normal sickness such as flu. And we went through many many many changes in all the health protocols and SMMs. Until we are all covid-weary. 

At this point in time, it is the norm to be tested positive. 

I will now share the timeline of the Tan and Koh family who were tested positive. 

30 Jan - Kieran tested positive in the morning. Dillon tested positive in the evening. 

31 Jan - Huanyang's helper tested positive

1 Feb - Huanyang tested positive in the morning. Yuanze tested positive in the evening. 

4 Feb - Darling's mum tested positive. Kok Ling tested positive. 

8 Feb - My mum tested positive. 

16 Feb - My dad and xiaoyu tested positive. 

5 Mar - Darling's dad tested positive, Darling's sister's husband tested positive. 

7 Mar - Darling's sister tested positive

9 Mar - Darling tested positive

10 Mar - I tested positive

11 Mar - Enxuan tested positive

Now waiting for Yuanyi and darling's meimei turn.

Teacher's Day 2021

Sharing some words of affirmation written by my students. 

Thank you for the affirmation. Your words mean alot to me, letting me know that I have done pretty ok in my career, amidst all the challenges of teaching. 

"My beloved Mr Tan, you are the rice to my chicken rice. You are the curry to my prata. You are the patty to my burger. Thank you for being the most patient and fun teacher and hope that we will make more memories together in the future. Happy Teacher's Day."

By a boy in one of my sec 3 pe class, who is a manchester city fan. We can talk about everything under the sun, from football, to racism, to school politics. 

"Mr Tan, first of all happy staff appreciation day. Thank you for teaching us PE and being a very supportive form teacher and cca teacher. I am happy to have a knowledgeable cca teacher. Thank you for helping me out with every other things throughout this past 3 years. Nothing much to say to you but just want to let you know that I appreciate every small and big things you done for me."

By my form class student, who is also my wushu captain 

"Mr Tan YY, thank you for always being so entertaining! You are so kind and patient with us. Although I do so bad for chemistry, I still enjoy the lesson alot beacuse of you. And thank you for not giving up on me, helping me to improve. You are the best teacher!"

By my student in my chemistry class of 2 years, she is also my chemistry rep

"Dear Mr Tan, happy teacher's day! Thank you for always making chemistry lessons engaging and fun. You never fail to crack us up with your jokes and I will miss it alot after I graduate. I just want to let you know that you are an amazing chemistry teacher, not only you are patient with us but also very encouraging. Whenever I look at your words of encouragement on my test paper, it make me feel so blessed that I have met a teacher like you, someone who is so generous with your words and never fail to motivate me in wanting me to do better. 

I really enjoy chemistry lesson, mostly because you make chemistry lesson really relaxed and funny. I felt really comfortable around you and really like you as my teacher!

Once again, thank you for putting so much effort in teaching us! Have a great day ahead!"

By my chemistry student as well. Very hardworking girl and self-directed. Really a pleasure to teach. 

Happy Teacher's Day to all my educator friends. Teaching is really a job not for the faint hearted. Please remember to look after your own mental well-being, and if you experience any burn out, please seek help. It is ok not to be ok. 

CNY 2021

It has been so long since I last updated my blog. Even the layout and template has changed. 

I thought I should document what I did and what I wore for this year's CNY, so that 12 years later I can use my blog as a time machine. 

This year there was no CNY concert in the hall due to the COVID19 situation, so my wushu team did a pre-recorded performance. I did a cameo, and become Ip Man, paying tribute to one of the greatest kung fu master, and also paying tribute to Donnie Yen, one of the greatest martial arts artiste in the world. 

This year, the Multi Ministry Task Force set the rule that each household can only host up to 8 people at only one time in a day. So we are not going to my 7th uncle's place for reunion dinner. 

CNY2021 OOTD for the whole family is adidas theme. My favourite sportswear brand. 

I hope yuanze and yuanyi wont cringe when they see this 12 years later. Hahahahaha. 

2nd day of CNY we brought yuanze and yuanyi to woodlands waterfront. It is their first time there and they had a good time cycling and running around. yuanze dared to climb up this very tall obstacle that was meant for kids 13 years old and above. so so so proud of him. 

The 3rd day of CNY coincides with valentine's day. We brought the kids to nurseries along Thomson Road to look at flowers. Xiaoyu and Yvan went too because it is their last day meeting the kids, before both of them fly off to London. Xiaoyu got a scholarship from National Arts Council to further her theatre studies there, whereas Yvan is working. 

they look so handsome and so good in this OOTD dont you think? their OOTD was chosen by darling. :)

and also on this special day, that is valentine's day, i want to give a word of appreciation to my darling, thank you for loving me and accepting me for who i am, and thank you for giving birth to yuanze and yuanyi, to me you are my whole world. i love you~