Bye Bye…

Update Feb 2016: I’ve found my passion again and got back into blogging my adventures in Singapore and beyond at www.surprisinghorizons.com

It’s easier to leave than to be left behind….

This is the last post on Bonkers In Honkers, it’s been a blast…. Hong Kong will always have a place in my heart (right next to my right ventricle I suspect).

I would love if you could follow our further adventuring in Singapore and other countries over on our new blog, A Strange Horizon (no more place specific blog titles!)

There will always be a link back to here from our new blog as it’s fantastic looking back at our time in Hong Kong.

So please, follow us as we make the move. See you on another strange horizon at some point….

We are here..

.in Singapore that is. Unfortunately my brain is in no mood to think up a new title for our blog so we are still Bonkers in Honkers for now. Looking for a non-place specific title if any of you come up with anything.

Soooo Singapore….

We’re stuck wired up to the internet in the YWCA Fort Canning Lodge where the ants come free with the room and the breakfast is made by people who don’t taste their own food. But today, we move to our new apartment! Woohoo! I have no pictures or videos until we get internetted up in our new pad. I will say this, though, the balcony is bigger than our Hong Kong apartment and we are very very happy about that.

Singapore is expensive. More expensive than Ireland. There is nothing cheap here. NOTHING!! It’s outrageous. I’ve lived in Ireland, Germany, Hong Kong and there was always something in each country you could rely on being cheap. I have found nothing here to be cheap. NOTHING!! I will get more into this phenomenon when we are settled in to our new place and my wallet comes out of its shock related coma.

We’ve made our ubiquitous IKEA run which is basically a maze of household goods designed by a maniac. It’s a horrendous experience. Also have our TV ordered from Harvey Norman (got a good deal on a display model 40″ Sony HD).

Anyway, I don’t feel comfortable writing this in our hotel room as ants tickle my fingers (I’m constantly and paranoidly scratching here). I look forward to settling down and writing up more posts about our new experiences here in Stingapore..I mean Singapore.

Views from the 60th Floor

We were invited to spend an evening on the roof of a 60 floor apartment building out in Tung Chung on Sunday. The views were awesome and the company, drinks and snacks added to the occasion. I will miss opportunities like this.

Bonkers in Singers

It’s with heavy hearts I announce we are leaving Hong Kong on June 18th for Singapore. We accepted positions in an international school there a few months ago. Three years have passed by in a flash.

I started this blog to record our new and exciting experiences in a strange and wonderful city and I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t keep up with the regular postings. As I have stated before life just moves on and sights and sounds that I may have goggled at before became common place. Still awesome but I just found the posting of it to this blog to be a bit cumbersome and I would often forget.
Even being one of the Hong Kong blogs featured on CNNGo.com couldn’t keep me going. Silly me.

I am hoping that the new experiences in Singapore will reignite my passion for blogging. I will probably get a new domain and set up forwarding information from here so you all don’t miss a thing! I will look forward to looking back at my time in Hong Kong through my posts here, just wish there wasn’t so many gaps of time in between posts…

Hong Kong is an amazing city. Visit it. If you have the chance to work here, do so. You won’t regret it.

Camping with 80 or so Grade 4s on Lantau Island was actually good fun!

The views from hiking around Hong Kong Island can be breath-taking.

The mixture of old and new is always a common theme in Hong Kong

Yes, this is actually on Hong Kong island, one of the pre-conceptions I had of HK was that it was all concrete but even on the island there is greenery!

Foooood! Another of my regrets is that I didn’t get too experimental with eating here. There are so many different cuisines to try.

It’s so hard going through the hundreds of photos of stuff we have done over the last three years. The experiences have been many. Who knows we may, one day, end back here. You just never know..

Stay tuned while I come up with a witty website name (which isn’t so place specific) for our continuing adventures. Suggestions welcome!

Croatian Afternoon in Discovery Bay

Our friend and colleague, Tania, invited us to spend the afternoon with her in Discovery Bay. C has been there before but this was my first time. I guess you can now tell C is not writing this post; I am a guest write for Bonkersinhonkers, the wife of the creator, Shazza.

As soon as we stepped off the boat (with my normal nausea) I found myself walking on a cobble stone plaza. It took me back to my days in the Dorf! We hopped on Bus #7 and took a short ride to Jovial Court, where our hostess was waiting.

First things first, we join in a traditional toast of Slivovitz (Croatian Plum Brandy)!

We were also greeted by our new friend, Ruby!

After I recovered from the Slivovitz, Tania invited us to the table, which included a bottle of Malvazija, a special Croatian wine. The feast included a Croatian salad (vegetarian), a cheese pie (vegetarian), homemade salsa (vegetarian), and a bacon topped lasagna. The vegetarian was not at a loss for choice!

After we ate, Ruby was ready for a walk! She has her favorite spots for munching on mint flavored leaves!

There are a few things I had heard about Discovery Bay over the past three years which I found to be true. There are a lot of dogs and children and the people who live here use golf carts as their means of transportation, no cars!

There were also a few surprises on this quaint little island. Everywhere you turn, a new cat is ready to greet you! There are also little secret corners of garbage/litter that defy the beautiful reputation DB has.

After a long afternoon of eating, drinking, being spoiled by our hostess, and playing with Ruby, it was time to take the ferry home! Hopefully Ruby will sleep well tonight!