Celebrating half our lives together - a Valentine's Day 2014 tribute to the lady in my life

My beautiful bride

It was during a chat with a friend earlier this week that I was abruptly reminded that this is my 16th year together with Li Li. Considering I am turning 33 and that we got together at the barely legal age of 17, we have already spent almost half our lives together *gasp*!

Our very first neoprint together

Such a long long time has passed. As I try to recall our journey, I realise that only the good parts remained, and all the unhappy events have become so unimportant that they have already faded into obscurity.

Having spent all of my secondary school days in a boy's school, I really did not know what to expect stepping into the JC environment with girls sitting in class. I remembered making sure my braces (which had cuffed my teeth up for more than 6 years) were removed in time to look more presentable, only to be immediately plagued with acne problems (which had never bothered me before). So much for trying to look cool in front of girls.

Before I knew it, this cute girl in class with vibrant short hair and chubby cheeks started calling me "妹妹" (mind you, there will be no other person in this world who will look at me and even remotely hatch the idea of calling me anything associated with the female species). It was certainly not love at first sight, but over the course of J1, through countless carrom and Ghim Moh market eating sessions, our mutual affection became too difficult to ignore and we eventually got together on Valentine's Day 1999.

Li Li has always been a bright young lady. I always tell my friends in pride that she is up there among the most intelligent people I have ever known (trust me, I know many in my generation) and I am glad to have successfully invited her to permanently reside in my house. Over the years, she has matured so well that now she has become a beautiful mature woman and the best wife and mum in the world.

Our ROM in 2009

I have never been the perfect guy for her. Ever since I started working, I had to spend half my time flying all over the world fighting different corporate battles for my ex-company. Despite the little time spent together, Li Li never had a word of complaint and quietly supported me throughout the 4 years.

We got married in 2010, after more than a decade of courtship

Our Honeymoon in Greece 2011

Then came the opportunity to permanently leave Singapore for Bangkok, which must have been even more difficult for her to take. She is a high-flyer, and held a stable job in an excellent company. After I settled down in Bangkok and gave her assurances that the new company had decent potential of doing well in the long term, she made the decision to give up everything she had in Singapore just for me. I will forever be grateful to her for showing me her ultimate support.

Guess who's inside Li Li's tummy?

Li Li has now become my pillar of strength in Thailand and the loving mummy of our precious little Noah. Spending life in Thailand (kid in tow) with few friends and no relatives must be tough for her, and there have been many difficult moments, but she has not only prevailed, but thrived.

The Stranger in Bangkok's happy family

With this very unique opportunity initiated by Andy, I would like to dedicate this special post to Li Li, my best friend, my sister, my girlfriend, my fiancee, my wife and the loving mummy of my child(ren), for your endless love and support to this family.

Happy Valentine's Day, monthliversary and anniversary.

I am thankful everyday for having you in my life, and I hope in time you will find that your sacrifices for us have been absolutely worth it. Love you lots.


This post is part of a Valentine’s Day series, brought to you by Daddy Matters.

Special thanks for all the websites and portals giving this initiative so much love.

Home is where the family is

Having breakfast at a nearby duck rice stall

Whenever people ask me where I come from, I struggle to give an immediate answer. I was born in Singapore and lived there for nearly 29 years, yet aside of a couple of cousins and in-laws I do not have any close relatives there anymore.

I am a Malaysian citizen but I have not lived in my hometown Sarawak for an extended period of more than 6 months before. I am very settled in Bangkok, but I am still considered just a working foreigner who needs to renew his visa and work permit annually.

At the beautiful lobby of Cape Dara resort at Pattaya

So where's home?

I start to realise home is defined more by people than the physical place. When I think about Singapore, my heart wells with excitement at the prospect of meeting my in-laws and friends again. I have never found myself missing the smoother roads, litter-free streets or the air-conditioned public buses before. Similarly, the anticipation of going back to Sarawak is also nothing more than the longing to spend some real time with my brother and parents. Afterall, a plate of kolomee is just a plate of blanched noodles tossed in lard and MSG, but it feels that much more fragrant and unforgettable when you have over the coffeeshop table with your closest ones.

Another shot taken at the lobby of Cape Dara

Despite all its inefficiencies and political uncertainty, Thailand is certainly the place I can call home now. I go to work everyday striving to achieve new breakthroughs so that I can make the lives of my team of local staff better, and I cannot wait to go home everyday to give Li Li and Noah a long loving kiss.

Pic with the parrots at Art in Paradise, Pattaya

This year, and for the second time ever, my family decided to move home to Bangkok, making it our destination for Chinese New Year, and what a smashing time we had.

A unique CNY reunion dinner at Le Beaulieu, touted as the best French Table in Bangkok

We went to Pattaya, made a fool of ourselves in a Art Gallery, ate at some of the best restaurants in Bangkok, strolled by the Chao Phraya River at Asiatique, went to Ancient City in Samut Prakan and even celebrated Noah's 2nd birthday together.

Dinner at Asiatique

Picture at the Sanphet Prasat Palace @ Ancient City Samut Prakan

Happy New Year from the Yiis, may the Year of the Horse bring endless joy for you.

With them by my side, be it the streets of Singapore, coffeeshops in Kuching, roadside stalls in Bangkok, I will not hesitate to call any location my home.

Because home is where the family is.

The Chao Phraya River Cruise finally, at the end of my 5th calendar year in Bangkok

Boarding the Grand Pearl before 3 hours cruising on the majestic Chao Phraya River

While the political tension has continued to heat up, temperatures in Bangkok have hit new lows. I am writing now wearing a jacket at home, shivering at 18degC, though it's slightly 'warmer' than yesterday's 15.6degC, which was Bangkok's coldest day in 3 decades.

December 2013 marked the end of my 5th calendar year in Bangkok (yes, I moved here in August 2009), and what a month it was. I spent a brilliant few days with a good friend from Singapore (played EscapeHunt, visited Ayuthaya and the sunflowers in Lop Buri) before welcoming back my family, then subsequently went to Jim Thompson Farm and camping at Farm Chokchai in the 'extreme cold'. I even managed to find time to finally do a couple of 'must-dos' for tourists - viewing Bangkok from 84 storeys at Baiyoke Sky Hotel and cruising the Chao Phraya River.

Congratulations Nat and Mew!

Perhaps, one of the most meaningful things I did among the many unforgettable events was to attend Nat and Mew's beautiful wedding. As I told Nat many times, I had been waiting for this moment for YEARS, to the point I wasn't even sure whether it was going to happen, but all of a sudden, it did, and I am extremely pleased for both of them.

What a beautiful couple

Having a picture with the groom before boarding the ferry

How can we miss out on a family portrait

It was also because of them that Li Li and I had the opportunity to embark on our first ever cruise along the Chao Phraya River. I would like to thank the couple again, because there were limited seats on the ferry, and to be one of the guests invited on board to celebrate with them was an absolute privilege.

Many friends of mine have already done the cruise as tourists, and though none of them said it was very good, none of them complained about it as well. The service and food were decent, a mix of live band and Thai traditional dance performances kept everyone occupied, but if the weather is bearable, I do recommend choosing an outdoor Alfresco dining seat as the star of the experience is most definitely the view, as the ferry cruises for 3 hours, giving you brilliant views of both sides of the Chao Phraya.

Wat Arun looks better at night than it does in the day

Did you even know that there's such a beautiful bridge in Bangkok? This is the Rama VIII Bridge.

If you don't wish to join the squeeze at Asiatique, looking from afar's pretty cool too

Ok, now my verdict.

Like my other friends, I feel though there's nothing to shout about, there's absolutely nothing to complain about too. If you are in Bangkok and just can't find a place to spend your evening, the Chao Phraya River Cruise might just be the solution to all your headaches. Who knows, like me, you might end up writing good things about it after the experience.

Not a very good 1st of January 2014 for Daddy Eddie indeed.....

Brushing teeth has to be Noah's least favourite daily activity, and I have used many ways to make sure he behaved during each session. For the last week or so, I 'threatened' to leave him alone in the room, but two nights ago, it stopped working. So, I started to switch off the lights before leaving the room to make it more 'scary' for him, which did the trick.

Last night, Noah decided to play punk and asked me to leave the room even before I flashed the toothbrush at him. I was a little taken aback by his rudeness, so decided to switch off the lights and walk out immediately, closing the door behind me.

Alas, when I turned back to open the door to confront him, the door was locked! Noah was stuck, keys in the room, lights off, laying on a new mattress that measured at least 70cm off the floor. My wife, understandably, became very worried, and Noah soon started wailing. I was never a handyman myself, so it was fortunate that we stayed in a condominium with technicians standing by 24hours. I frantically rushed out to call for assistance, and within 10-15 minutes, with the help of a kind neighbour and the resident technician, the lock was broken. Thankfully Noah was still sobbing on the bed, unscathed.

Looking back at the whole incident, I can only count my blessings that the only tangible result of it is a couple of days with a lock-less door. Honestly, it could have been worse, I mean, really really bad. I cannot imagine what would have happened if Noah fell off the bed, tripped in the dark while making his way to the door, or suffered prolonged trauma if I did not find skilled help in time (or worse still, a combination of all of the above).

This has served as a shocking reminder of the level of ineptitude I have as a husband and father. 2013 was an exceptionally challenging year for the family, with Noah going through a difficult growing phase and both Li Li and myself forced to adjust our lifestyles to accommodate him.

It did not help that the Thailand economy and politics went through a disastrous patch and I was given the added responsibility of setting up a 2nd company during this non-ideal period. Whenever I thought I was really doing my best to balance everything and make them my absolute priority regardless, things happen to bring me back down to earth. What happened last night was no doubt my rudest awakening.

Over the last 3 years, be it through my utter ignorance, severe lack of tact when I say things, or sheer carelessness, I have never failed to continually cause immense pressure to my wife or trauma to my son, no matter how hard I had been trying make everything else as perfect as possible.

I am never going to un-Eddie myself, but my wife and son are here solely because of me, shouldn't I buck up and consciously do a better job to make their sacrifice worthwhile?

So here's my 1 and only resolution for 2014, that is to minimize my shortcomings and maximize my potential to become the perfect husband and Daddy (if I had any in the first place).

The hard work starts now, I hope it's not too late.

The Thailand Winter Getaway Series Part 3: Sunflowers @ Lop Buri

Happy New Year everyone! It's my 1st post in 2014!

With winter slowly but surely coming to an end, I shall draw a temporary conclusion to my series with the my first getaway during the cool season: visiting sunflower fields in Lop Buri, which I did with my Singaporean friends Yaohui and Wendy (who are also proudly gracing my latest banner) before Li Li and Noah came back from Singapore.

The lame trio

It was not so long ago that I deliberately flew to the Netherlands to visit Keukenhof (and made some life-long vows there), the world-famous tulip garden which only opens a couple of months a year, and passed by endless yellow patches of canola while in the UK. Little did I know that I could have enjoyed similar splendor in nearby Thailand as well. One of the locations to witness this is in the province of Lop Buri, 3 hours drive up north from Bangkok, which is famous for its monkeys, Pa Sak Dam and most of all, sunflowers.

A bright yellow sunflower will never fail to brighten anyone's day

A sunflower field magnifies the happiness a million times 

Don't go too late because the sunflowers start to droop a little in the afternoon

There isn't much English information online with regards to the exact locations of the sunflower patches. Most instructions tell us to drive in the general direction of Lop Buri and watch out for signs, which are not necessarily useful because many signs will be in Thai. I did not drive, so unfortunately I cannot give you much information too, but I can tell you that you might want to go towards the direction of the city centre of Lop Buri. There you will pass by un-commercialised sunflower farms in front of bare mountains called Khao Jiin Lae.

The location of the sunflower fields we visited, if this means anything to anyone

If you headed the way we did, towards Pa Sak Dam (pretty decent local family hangout place but really nothing to shout about), you will only see a few smaller commercialised patches providing parking, toilets, photo-spots and sunflower-related merchandise in return for a small entrance fee. The size of the fields are pretty underwhelming though, but heck, since we went all the way there, we decided to make the most of our time and enjoy ourselves anyway. Besides, a sunflower patch, big or small, will light up anyone's day.

Yaohui and myself sharing a laugh in front of the short mini sunflowers

动感超人！呵呵呵呵呵呵！

On our way back, we decided to make a quick stop at Ayuthaya since we were passing by. Ayuthaya is an ex-capital of Siam and had witnessed a lot of internal and regional warfare. Much of Thailand's history can be seen and felt here through the beauty and tranquility in its many temples and ruins.

Food-wise, Ayuthaya is most famous for its fresh river shrimp, as most of the best shrimp farms are located here. They are succulent, grilled-to-perfection, cheaper and easily found in many local restaurants.

Not been a fan of river shrimp, but those in Ayuthaya are really quite delicious

Overall, I must admit that if we had taken the correct route to Khao Jiin Lae, I might have felt that the sunflowers were much more spectacular and that Lop Buri is a must-go destination. Unfortunately, the route I went meant that there are many other places which might give you a similar view (see here, on the way to Jim Thompson Farm), though they are all relatively long drives from Bangkok.

If you couple your daytrip with a visit to the historical province of Ayuthaya, like us, then I would definitely say that it is a trip worth going, particularly during the cool winter, as the sunflowers only bloom for a month annually, and it's usually blistering hot or terribly rainy in Ayuthaya during other parts of the year.

Our only proper picture together, taken in Ayuthaya

I am very pleased with the new little series I have started, as it helps me preserve precious memories as well as give good recommendations to all my readers like you while you are making your travel decisions in Thailand. This is by no means the end of the series, as I will most definitely visit many more places when the next winter arrives.

Meanwhile, have a happy new year, and may 2014 be a year of joy and immense family bliss for all of you.

The Thailand Winter Getaway Series Part 2: Camp @ Farm Chokchai ฟาร์มโชคชัย

My first tent in 20 years.

I was 13 when I slept for my first and only time in a tent. It was in Sentosa (Singapore) during a mid-year school camp. I remember clearly how I fought with some of my classmates over the concept of our Talentime performance (which managed to win the big prize), and also how my first and only sleep in a tent was a muddy flooded one as torrential rain poured over our campsite and we had to move into a huge hall in the middle of the night. It was really a case of 'been there done that' for me.

Camp @ Farm Chokchai!

It took me 20 more years before embarking on my 2nd and definitely not my last camping expedition. Part of me wanted to do something unique with Li Li and Noah, the rest of me gave full trust to what Farm Chokchai is capable of, bearing in mind the excellence of their agro-tour and how much we loved their fresh milk ice-cream, surely they will not charge campers 3500THB per tent per night and give us a disappointing experience right? So here's to share some highlights of our stay as well as give a few pointers to make your stay a better one:

1. A 'real' camping experience

One thing Chokchai did perfectly was to give their campers a 'real' camping experience. We slept in tents pitched close to each other, surrounded by greenery, with no TV and a need to use a communal toilet. Why I emphasised 'real' in inverted commas is because there is enough in the tent to free campers from all worries bar the bitter cold (12degrees Celsius) which the in-tent air-conditioning cannot do anything about.

Bath robe, insect repellant, torch, umbrellas, towels, toiletries, laundry bag, ice box with drinks, even air-conditioning

A bed! Not the most comfortable bed, but still, a bed in the tent!

Writing table, lamp, mirror, tissue. No TV, which is brilliant

Noah playing high-5 with mummy, not caring that he was trapped outside in the cold

Time to wake up!

View of the campsite in the day

How long since we had a couple pic like this?

2. Answering nature's call nature's way

No one will leave Camp@ Farm Chokchai without mentioning their toilets.

I have finally found the toilet.

What the?! Where's the toilet bowl and how can I do my business when the toilet isn't complete?

Ok, it's complete, it's meant for us to answer the call of nature in the nature.

The view while you're sitting on your throne.

Doesn't get much better during your shower as well

Even though we trusted the level of privacy in this open concept, we ultimately did not take our showers, because in temperatures as low as 12 degrees Celsius, it would be freezing cold to bathe under such circumstances.

3. Burgers over steaks, and lay your hands off their pasta

There's breakfast included in the package, but if you are looking for something to eat at other times of the day, I have some advice. Many would be drawn to the famous Chokchai steakhouse, but having eaten there before, I can conclude that their steaks are generally not worth the price. Their pork chops are pretty good value, and please lay your hands off their grossly overcooked pastas.

Instead, there is something that Chokchai does pretty well, their burgers (only available in the day).

Totally loving it

At 150THB for their original steakburger (pork/beef) with full option (cheese, caramelized onion and bacon), this makes the best meal in the entire Farm Chokchai facility, particularly if you wash it down with their excellent dairy drinks.

4. Plan your stay to be before or after Farm Chokchai's agro-tour

I am not going to spend too much time here as I have written a pretty detailed piece on this a few years ago and nothing much has changed since. But it simply means that the award-winning family-friendly tour is still worth going, especially if you have kids with you. This camping experience will work perfectly with the farm tour, besides, what's the point of camping here if you do not know anything about the farm itself?

Noah did not feed the deer himself, but he got very very close to them

5. Immerse your children in the fun!

Noah really enjoyed himself during the trip

Our 2-day-1-night trip to the 2 farms was a huge success, largely thanks to the magnificent weather and the angelic behaviour of Noah, who honestly had the power to totally destroy the trip if he wanted to. I have heard of parents who prefer to leave their little babies and toddlers at home until they are older and are able to remember their vacations. I beg to differ. We have been bringing Noah out since he was 4 months' old and he has enjoyed himself every single time. Of course, there is always an element of risk that a little baby might spoil the mood of a leisure trip (on top of the added amount of packing required), but his exposure to the fresh sights and sounds is better than any lesson we can give him at home.

Dancing with his hat in the tent

So, while the cold winter will still be here for a few days yet, where shall we go next?