Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

Today Australian and New Zealand communities all over the world join together  for ANZAC Day. In 2015 we joined the ANZAC DAY dawn service at Kranji War Cemetery. Two years later to the day we find ourselves back in Singapore. Today is a work day and not a holiday here so I am reposting as I join in saying 'Lest we forget' Our service was held at the Kranji War Memorial Cemetery, Singapore,  hosted by the Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners. We weren't alone, we left our hotel at 5.30am,  and arrive in a steady convoy of taxis,  it's way too early for the trains! We walk in silence. The 4,500 gravestones at Kranji,  emerge from the shadows in silent observation of events. Once there, it is a well organised, dignified affair. Public to the left and right, official guests and dignitaries, straight up the middle. The Anzac Day dawn service is the same the world over; a military order, school children and scouts, na...

I have to tell you all about my little adventure in Taipei recently, naked at the Hot Springs! I can't believe that I have never been to Taiwan, I certainly urge you all to go if you ever get the chance. For me, I loved the combination of influences of two countries I enjoy.  Street views from Downtown Taipei The Chinese left some interesting historical influences and stunning architecture, which combined with a Japanese legacy and efficiency in transportation, makes Taipei an easy place to visit, with so much to see. Nowadays, Taiwan has emerged as a thoroughly modern city, I loved my time there. It felt exotic and safe until I had to get my kit off. It was a spur of the moment decisions to join my husband on his Taiwanese business trip, prompted by the delay in the arrival of our furniture into Bangkok, and ‘no room at the inn’ where we had been staying. Given that I’m commitment and fancy-free in Thailand; there’s no job, no kids, no dog and absolutely nothing in ...

Hello, hello have you got time for a cuppa, as I want to share something rather gorgeous with you today? I have been participating in the 10th Tea Cup and Mug Exchange organised by Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose .  I'm a newbie and just love the way that Stephanie is so thoughtful and kind in organising this and clever in her connections for participants to make new friends around the globe. You can either choose to exchange a tea cup or a mug or as many do, both. This year there were over 200 participants. You send one package to one person (and you don't need to be a Blogger) and receive from another, and in that way, you make two lovely connections.  At this time in my life having recently left family and friends for our new Thai life, this seemed a wonderful idea and I couldn't wait to be involved. I was a little uncertain whether anyone would want to send a parcel to Thailand but they did, thank you, Andrea, in Canada!  You can imagine the...

We had no idea what to expect heading into our first Songkran celebration living in Thailand, but we knew it was all about water and that we needed to be like all good scouts, be prepared.  A trip to the local supermarket, yes the Brits amongst you will laugh, the not very Thai sounding supermarket, Tesco Lotus Bangkok finds us suitable weaponry. These mother of all water guns come with their own protective glasses and waterproof bags for phones. Some indication of the ferocity of what is ahead, when Thais "play water" Songkran is the celebration for the Thai New Year, often called the water festival. It has its roots in the religious celebration of cleansing Buddha and is a three-day holiday. At its heart, is a time for families, for cleaning the home, and new beginnings.  We're very happy to have a special family time ourselves as all three of our adult children will join us from the UK and Australia. We are keen to see how the three days of Songkran, the ...

They're off today at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.  It's horse racing Bangkok style. We decided to walk there from our new apartment,  an easy twenty-minute walk, well it would be if it wasn't so hot.  Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that...  We've regretted this decision by the time we walked down the first Soi.  Luckily, it's Sunday and the roads in our neighbourhood , primarily a central business and embassy district, are very much quieter than normal.  Just us and a few hundred thousand wires and no traffic jam - Yay!  The racetrack runs around the edge of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.  It's the only racecourse I've been to that has golfers playing in the middle.  Mr  Wren mutters something about how he wouldn't have the confidence  to hit a ball with both a full grandstand and the line-up of valuable thoroughbreds galloping round the outside! Once inside the Club, we're not con...

There was only one answer to the message that our Bangkok moving-in date was delayed, due to trouble in Singapore and of course, it's too rude to print here. Don't you just love it when everyone blames everyone else? Even better, when another country is at fault!  I did have a wry smile though as when I was asked by Mr Wren whether I had a preference to live in either Bangkok and Singapore, I said Singapore, but  "the Company said No!"  They said, it was too expensive to move us there. So when our furniture ended up in Singapore, I felt like saying a big fat "see!" But I decided to take the more grown-up approach, and say 'let's go to the beach instead". So here we are, we've driven just over two hours out of Bangkok to Hua Hin. We left at 7 am to beat the endless traffic jams, but it was still a slow at times, bumper to bumper drive. At the moment we're in the hot and dry season and so it feels like every Bangkokian...