In this lifetime...

So, Are They Normal?

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:35:00 +0000

Chubby kid's eye disorder is genetic in nature. Therefore, we were quite worried with the news that I was pregnant back then. The obvious worry was what were the chances that Baby G would get the same eye disorder. How chubby kid had cone-rod dystrophy was still uncertain. No one in our family in the last two generations had this eye disorder. The geneticist whom we saw previously had explained her condition to us. There were two possibilities: (1) Both my husband and I carried a recessive gene which became dominant in chubby kid. (2) Chubby kid had a gene mutation. Whichever it was, the genetics team could not tell and could not perform any tests currently. Therefore, if it was possibility (1), then there is a 25% chance that any child/children we have in the future would have chubby kid's eye disorder. If it was possibility (2), then the % of future child/children that we have getting chubby kid's eye disorder would be very much less. So, we could just pray and hope for the best for Baby G.

After Baby G was born, we arranged for her to be checked at the Alder Hey eye clinic, where chubby kid had her check up. This appointment was arranged for when Baby G was at two months old and at this point, the eye test did not show any abnormalities. They of course cannot rule anything out until they perform an electroretinography, which is scheduled for when Baby G is older.

From the first day Baby G was born, I looked out for symptoms of chubby kid's eye disorder in Baby G every single day. The most obvious symptom would be nystagmus, which would be quite easy to pick out if it were present. So, day after day, I looked into Baby G's eyes. Day after day, I prayed that they would be normal. And day after day, it became more and more obvious that Baby G did not have chubby kid's eye disorder. She hits all the developmental milestones which chubby kid did not. She does not squint. Her eyes can follow the objects that we hold in front of her. She looks directly at our faces and eyes. She interacts socially with us. She smiles. Chubby kid did none of these at her age.

It is certainly a big relief. Thank you God for Baby G and for all the other blessings granted upon us.

Baby G vs Thesis

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Six weeks after Baby G was born, I had to go back to university. There was still lots to be done there. I had to work out an everyday routine so that I could slot in time for my PhD work. So, while my mum was still around, I went to the university in the morning, came back at noon for breastfeeding/expressing milk and lunch, and then back to university for more work. This was a mile's walk each way (hoping to lose some weight but rather unsuccessful). That was the routine day after day, as I hoped to get as much as possible done before my mum went home.

After my mum went home, it was then all up to me to care for Baby G. At three months old, she was more active and slept less during the day. I tried squeezing in an hour or two (if I was lucky, I get three) hours during the day to work on my thesis. Then, I would continue working for another two to three hours at night whenever I did not feel too tired. I sent her to the day nursery for two days a week, hoping to get more work done but I still had to stop by the nursery to either breastfeed or bottle feed her once or twice a day.

As Baby G got older, it got harder to find one or two hours during the day to get some thesis writing done. I only sent her to the day nursery one day a week now as I found it easier to feed her at home, rather than going to the nursery twice a day just to feed her. Most of the time at home, she did not want to lie down and wished to be cuddled. Even leaving her partially upright in a rocking chair was not agreeable to her. At times, I had to hold her in one hand and type on the laptop with the other but I had to stop when she started to attempt typing too, wanting to get some words into my thesis chapter. So, there were days where I could not get anything at all done, except cuddling and entertaining Baby G all day long. Of course then I had to write my thesis at night when she went to sleep. It was quite tiring sometimes, as she still needed breastfeeding at 3am while I worked on my thesis till midnight. So, at one point, I was not getting enough sleep and rest. I was pretty burnt out. But I was not going to give in to fatigue and exhaustion so easily. I was determine to pull through and I was confident I could do it.

Juggling between Baby G and thesis writing was quite a challenging but joyful experience. It was challenging in terms of trying to keep stress under control while working on my thesis with a deadline that was getting nearer everyday, but joyful having Baby G next to me every minute of the day. It was pure joy to watch her grow everyday and to be by her side experiencing every little things she did. I would not have wanted it any other way. :-)

Home Visits

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:50:00 +0000

The community midwife came to our home to visit Baby G and me on the seventh day. She checked my C-section wound, checked and weighed Baby G and gave various advice on baby safety and breastfeeding. A week or two after that, her assistant came again to do a heel prick for Baby G to get her blood sample for routine tests. The health visitor also came to register Baby G, check her, and give lots of advice on various baby problems which we might encounter. She came again a month after, just to follow up and check that Baby G is developing fine. In addition to all these, the breastfeeding support worker gave me a call, to check how I was faring with my breastfeeding, again giving advice on how to get the best breastfeeding experience. She also suggested that I could attend the breastfeeding clinic for more support and advice, which I did and found it to be immensely useful.

We would never get all these home visits and support calls in Kuching. I think not even if we pay for it, needless to say getting it for free.

Confinement? What Confinement?

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:02:00 +0000

When I had chubby kid, being my first pregnancy, I tried to adhere to all "advice" (read old folks' beliefs and superstitions) on pregnancy and confinement, even though a lot of them were illogical. Come to think of it, it was ridiculous that I succumbed to such illogical practices. I am not the kind of person who normally follow conservative practices, particularly if they do not make any sense. I will only follow practices which scientifically made sense to me.

So, it was good that during this pregnancy, I was not back in Kuching under the watchful eyes of the elders. During the "confinement" period however, my mum was here to help for three months. I, of course, chose to be oblivious to all cultural beliefs no matter how much my mum nagged. I ate what I wanted to eat and I did what I wanted to do. I felt happy that I did not need to be enclosed in this cultural bubble because people here did not practise all that. It was like attaining a sense of freedom from being tied down to following ridiculous and illogical rules. I had delicious food. I had clean hair. I went to attend chubby kid's Christmas play. I went out shopping. Oh well, what can I say? I basically led a normal life.

Chubby Kid Meets Baby G

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:23:00 +0000

It was not quite what we expected. When we were discharged from the hospital, it was already quite late and chubby kid was fast asleep when we reached home. We did not want to wake her up, so chubby kid could not meet her baby sister face-to-face yet. We all slept in the same bedroom and so, in the middle of the night, Baby G, as usual, started to cry out loud for her milk. Chubby kid woke up suddenly, not knowing what was happening and was terribly frightened by the unexpected foreign loud wailing. She began to cry too out of fright. I felt really bad that she was frightened in this manner, not knowing that her baby sister had come back and not having seen her baby sister yet.

So, it was a disastrous first encounter. I had not quite anticipated that it would be this way. After this, chubby kid was very afraid of her baby sister. She would not dare to go near her and would keep her distance, particularly so when Baby G started to cry. Looking back at this, I understood that it must had been a scary experience for chubby kid. After all, she could not really see very well and I imagined, for a severely impaired person to see a small crying baby and not understanding what the situation meant, must had frightened the wits out of her. I compared that to my own fear of dogs, and I truly understood how she must had felt.

Chubby kid's fear of Baby G continued for another three weeks. In the three weeks, we tried many ways to alleviate her fears. We would carry Baby G close to her but she would quickly move away. When Baby G was in the room, she would not go in. She would just keep her distance the best she could. Sometimes, Baby G would be asleep in my arms, but because chubby kid could not see that from a distance away, she would happily come to me, only to realize that I had Baby G with me and she would quickly move away in fear. We tried and tried various ways, until finally, my mum managed to persuade her to come closer. She came closer but eyed Baby G warily. After much persuasion from my mum, chubby kid finally gave Baby G a kiss and then quickly moved away again. Then, there was another kiss, and another. And the barrier was broken, finally. Chubby kid ever so gently stroked Baby G's head and gave her another kiss. Before long, she was kissing her all over the face and head, holding her hands and stroking her cheeks. And the best part was the big smile on her chubby face.

It was such a joy to watch.

A Cherished Experience

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:46:00 +0000

My experience giving birth in Liverpool Women's Hospital was a really good one. It gave me a whole new perspective to childbirth and it was one of the most rewarding experience I had ever had in my life. The midwives were really great. They took very good care of myself and Baby G and I was truly touched. I see them on their feet almost the whole day, walking in and out of the ward, tending to every patient and checking on all the babies. I later found out that they worked a 12.5 hours shift. Well, I salute them for that and for doing such a good job as well. The healthcare assistants were brilliant too. I will remember for life how good the support from all of them was.

Food in the hospital was another matter. It was not very bad but it was not something I fancied either. They gave us some choices as to what to have for every meal. There were beef burger, cheese sandwiches, scouse and other types of sandwiches. There were also yoghurt, ice cream, crackers with cheese and juice. So yeah, it was alright.

Some mothers in the ward delivered through natural birth and therefore, recovered very quickly and were walking around looking very strong and healthy while I was lying still in bed afraid to move too much. A lot of them were already breastfeeding their babies. Some breastfeeding support worker came over to talk to me about breastfeeding but I did not attempt to breastfeed Baby G until the third day, as I was in pain and had my phobia of moving too much lest my wound would split open.

We were discharged at night on the third day. There were a lot of procedures and paper work before we could be discharged. The midwife first had to give Baby G a thorough physical check and to go through our family medical history. When all was done, she said that we could go, and so proceeded to remove Baby G's security tag. I did not know that it was a security tag, thinking that it was merely an identification tag. The moment the midwife cut off the security tag, the alarm in the whole ward sounded. She must had forgotten to de-activate it and quickly ran away to de-activate it I presumed. Another midwife quickly ran in after she left, calling out and checking if every baby was accounted for. Well, having witnessed first hand how secure everything was for the babies in the ward, I for one, was truly impressed. You could not even kidnap your own baby out of the ward if you wanted to.

So, after that mini drama, we put Baby G in her new car seat, strapped her up, wrapped her up warm and went down to the carpark. It was a cold, rainy, dark and wintry night. I felt relieved that we were finally going home and could not wait for chubby kid to meet her baby sister.

Just Me and Her

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:53:00 +0000

Baby G was born at 1550 GMT and my husband had to leave at 1830 GMT to tend to chubby kid at home. So, we were left with each other, I on my bed feeling quite exhausted and she in her cot next to my bed within arm's reach. The midwives came around periodically to check on us and before long, lights were off and we were left in the quiet and calm ward. Well, not for long though. I remembered there was this lady a few beds away, taking calls on her mobile and literally quarelling with someone. The whole ward probably heard her crystal clear but no one dared to "shut her up". It was nearly midnight mind you.

The painkillers given during the C-section started to wear off and pain started to radiate around my tummy. I could not move much, always imagining that my wound would split open with any sort of movement. I timed the interval between Baby G's feed and called for the midwife on duty to help bottle feed her. Although exhausted, I was half conscious and could not really fall asleep, worrying that Baby G might need her milk. I kept glancing at her; she looked so peaceful and contented. Well, that was before she started to shriek out in hunger. There was another issue; my last meal was more than 30 hours ago and I was starving. In my sub-conscious mode, I was wondering what time breakfast was. Thankfully, breakfast came at 0700 GMT, 36 hours after my last meal. I devoured the cornflakes with fresh milk and asked for an extra croissant and chocolate drink after that.

Visiting hours was at 1100 GMT, so I was looking forward to my husband coming, so that I could have a rest without worrying about Baby G. All this while, she had just been lying still in her cot asleep and then crying and waking periodically for her milk. I felt really happy. There was this joy in my heart that I had not felt since chubby kid was born.

My Unexpected Bundle of Joy

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:01:00 +0000

In March 2011, when the nurse at the clinic told me I was pregnant, I was surprised (or shocked, depending on how you look at it). I remembered quite well that particular moment, where a very happy, smiling nurse announced to me that it was "positive" and a very blurred me asking if she was sure. I also remembered, I went in for a check because I was mildly nauseous at certain time each day. And of course, it all went horribly for the first 20 weeks or so. I felt nauseous every single day. All I did was eat, drink, sleep and vomit in no particular order. Having lost 4 kg in the first 4 weeks of intense vomitting, I finally gained all of it back in mid-pregnancy at 21 weeks. I was relieved that finally, in week 22, my appetite came back out of the blue and the nauseous feeling just went away. So, of course, I ate and ate to my heart's content.

All was well for awhile, until three weeks before my due date, when all of the sudden, I developed eczema. Oh my, oh my! My arms and over-stretched tummy started to itch like mad and one week before my due date, my face too started to itch. At that time, I could not have been more impatient for our baby to come, as the GP (and the internet, when I googled) said that this eczema was pregnancy-induced and would only go away after birth. My tummy was huge (by my standards, OK!) and I felt so stretched that it was uncomfortable to get any sleep. Talking about sleep, in the last two months before I gave birth, I hardly slept. I probably slept an average of 2 hours a day. So, the lack-of-sleep and over-stretched me tried to do lots of walking (even uphill) for the hope of inducing labour. Of course that did not happen. There was still no sign of labour on my due date. Having booked a C-section on my due date, my husband and I were asked to go in to the Liverpool's Women Hospital early that morning at 7:30am. Having fasted since 10pm the night before and terribly excited at the prospect that I will finally get to meet our baby, I was therefore disappointed that I had to wait until 3pm before I was called to the operation theatre. I was starving of course, as no food or water was allowed. A sympathetic midwife gave me an ice cube to quench my thirst and I felt grateful for the relief it brought to my throat.

When I was finally called to be prepped for the operation theatre, I started to get anxious. I did not like needles and was trying very hard to be brave. The staff at the operation theatre were all really good and kind, trying to put me at ease. So, this was it, I thought. My husband came in after I was prepped and then, they cut me open. In less than a minute, a loud wailing filled the operation theatre. It was 1550 GMT. A head full of hair was shown to me. I smiled. They took her away to weigh. She weighed in at 7lb 7oz; quite a good size they said. They passed her to my husband who cradled her while one of the staff took some photos. All these happened while they stitched me up. Then, we went to the post-op room for monitoring. I was feeling dizzy from the low blood pressure but kept taking a peek at our lovely baby. When my pressure finally stabilized, they put our baby on my chest, where I cradled her joyously while they wheeled me back to the ward.

This was a totally different experience from what I had when I had chubby kid. So, what shall I call her in this blog? I think I will go with Baby G.

Change of Registration

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Chubby kid's registration has been changed from sight impaired (partially sighted) to severely sight impaired (blind).

Her earlier diagnosis of cone dystrophy has also been changed to cone rod dystrophy after the most recent electroretinography test. I guess we will spend our whole lifetime worrying about chubby kid.

Expect the Unexpected

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:51:00 +0000

Life does not always go the way you plan it. Take for example; in the midst of the busiest time of my PhD research, little did I expect that I would get the “double line” at the clinic, followed by a tiny heart beat on the ultrasound scan.

And so, what do you know? Nine months later, I find myself becoming a mother again. What a wonderful blessing from God! (Though I cringe at the progress of my PhD research and thesis)

Summer Holiday 2011

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:17:00 +0000

Time passed by so quickly that in a blink of an eye, summer was over. I could not even remember when it did begin for that matter. Everything was just a blur of activity. Life had been hectic and exhausting for the past six months. Therefore, there was no overseas holidays planned for this summer, only local ones in the UK.

Once again, we head to London, this time to pick up my mum who came for a holiday. So, of course, we visited the usual tourist attractions in London. I didn't take a lot of photos though. Maneuvering through the crowd was already such a big effort most of the time.

Here is chubby kid, spelling out London Bridge.

We had some lobster noodles in Bayswater as we craved for seafood all the time.

We also tried Gourmet Burger Kitchen's burgers. It was the first time I ate a burger using fork and knife.

Again, because of time constraint, we had to give Greenwich a miss. We had always wanted to go back there after our first time stepping on the GMT line. Perhaps next time.

Chubby kid gave me such a fright one morning when I woke up and saw a large spot of blood on the pillow. Apparently, she had a nose bleed while sleeping.

Back in the North West, we visited the Lake District. It was my first time there. The view was breathtaking but the crowd of visitors was overwhelming. We had a 30-minute boat ride in Lakeside, at the southern tip of Windermere Lake.

Then, we headed to Bowness, which is situated in the middle eastern shore of the Windermere Lake.

We also visited North Wales. This time, we drove a little bit further to Anglesey and enjoyed the wonderful coastal view at Holyhead and Cemaes Bay.

It was the first time I stepped on a pebble beach.

Absolutely fantastic view.

Then, we headed to Bangor to spend the night and visited the pier the next morning.

On our way back to Liverpool, we stopped by Conwy and walked around its town and the Conwy Castle boundary. I have always liked exploring small towns.

Here's chubby kid with Papa, on top of the small slope, getting ready to run downhill.

Found a perfect parking space for a bicycle in Conwy town.

Then we headed for Llandudno. We could not visit the pier because the crowd and cars packed up the whole place. It was utterly impossible to find a parking space. Instead, we drove once again up the scary and steep hilly road to the top of the cliff overlooking the sea and enjoyed a 15-minute break inhaling fresh sea air and basking in the sunshine.

We spend the remainder of Mum's holiday walking around Liverpool, but mostly, it was just us enjoying her cooking, after three years suffering under our limited cooking skills. Then it was time to send Mum back to the airport. After saying our goodbyes, we then headed for one last short break to Cambridge before summer holiday was officially over. The architecture of the historical buildings there was interesting, particularly the colleges. Of course, the famous King's College was quite a sight to behold.

Some other sights around the historical city site.

We had wanted to go punting but chubby kid did not want to, and so, we could not. We just watched longingly from the river bank while chubby kid adamantly insisted that the boat would tip and all of us would fall into the water and get wet. This is what reading too many story books does to your imagination.

We also spent some time sitting by the river bank at a park, watching boats, ducks and swans.

And so, there goes my summer holiday. All over. It's back to work now.

Losing the Race Against Time

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:40:00 +0000

Lack of sleep, lack of energy, frantically catching up with the tight schedule.

Sleepless in Liverpool

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Seriously troubled by insomnia every night.

The Eternal Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:21:00 +0000

This is how I live my life for the past four years.

First, come the feeling of total devastation upon receiving the news confirming that your child suffers from some disorder. It does not help that the more you read (especially from the internet), the more you sink into the black hole. In the loneliness of the dark night, you will lie awake, thinking. Then, the feeling of desperation sets in; the desperation to do something useful to hopefully make things better. Obviously, lots of money is spent in this desperate stage. There is also the countless times in and out of different hospitals and clinics. Days turned into weeks, and then into months, and before you know it, a year have passed by. You wonder how you manage to get through life in your desperate months. Then, slowly, very slowly, the feeling of desperation evaporates because you are no longer as desperate. You have done all that there is to be done and together with that, spent half your life's savings. Life goes on as usual, with that little nagging worry in the back of your mind and deep in your heart. On good days, there will be lots of other matters cluttering your mind and heart, and if you do not dig deep enough into that clutter, you will not reach the core of your worry. On bad days, when there is nothing to clutter your mind and heart, then there it is, the core of your worry, in the spotlight, wide-open in view. But as time passed, the feeling of acceptance slowly comes. Acceptance of the fact that it is meant to be and nothing you do can ever change it.

For awhile, I thought I had arrived at this acceptance stage; that I would have inner peace with my mind and my heart and accept the fact that I had done all that I could for chubby kid. For awhile, I felt at peace. But, I was wrong. How totally wrong I was! It came without warning. I hardly expected the content of the medical report to read what it says. After all, this was not discussed in our previous appointment.

And then the cycle begins once again, back to the feeling of total devastation, waiting for the feeling of desperation to set in and wondering when acceptance will come again in this never ending cycle of emotional roller-coaster.

And I suppose this is how I am going to be living my life in the future.

CNY Celebrations in Liverpool Chinatown

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Some photos from the festivities today.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:20:00 +0000

Happy CNY to all my family and friends!

Frosty Anniversary of My Birth

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:38:00 +0000

Walking around in temperature of -2C with trees and grass all white with frost is actually quite a sight to behold, if not for the fact that my fingers and nose were numb with acute chill. It was not as bad as the other day when it was -5C but then again, today I am a year older, so that makes me a year more vulnerable to extreme weather. But of course, I thank God and count my blessings that at least Liverpool is not -20C like some place else in the UK.

Somehow, as years passed, and after chubby kid was born, my own birthday was not as significant anymore. I felt more excited about chubby kid's birthday than my own. Heck, I had even forgotten that it was going to be my birthday the other day because my mind was full of chubby kid's birthday.

Oh well, it is just another day and life goes on. Thanks to my loving husband for the gift, the one thing that I had wanted for quite some time. I thought that I would not be surprised but I pleasantly was. Now, I just need to patiently wait for my micro SIM card before I can use it.

Third Language

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:27:00 +0000

When I was doing my undergraduate studies, we all had to take a compulsory third language course. At that time, I took Mandarin and studied diligently to get my strokes right. (But of course, I have forgotten all of it now.)

Now, in the midst of my PhD studies, I am going to take another "third language". It has nothing to do with my course but it is all for the sake of chubby kid. She has started pre-Braille lessons and I should properly equip myself with the same knowledge of Braille.

Otherwise, how am I going to check her homework in the future.

Where's the Light?

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:08:00 +0000

Today, I am officially starting my third year of research. I am supposed to be moving towards the end of the tunnel. But, where's the light? Why am I not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?

Oh, it must be night time. I'll just wait for the sunrise.

:-)

Le Fantome de l'Opera

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:33:00 +0000

I can't wait.

:-)

Bronchoscopy

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Early in the morning, on Friday the 13th last month, we drove through our usual route to the hospital. Chubby kid was due to have her bronchoscopy done on that day. In preparation, her last meal was the night before and her last drink of water was only about 20ml at 7am. We were promptly in the day care unit of the hospital before 8am.

After the usual pre-op procedure, we accompanied chubby kid to the operation theatre. I held her hand and we walked in together. She had absolutely no idea what would happen but I was very proud of her for being brave. I had never seen the inside of an OT before, apart from a few seconds of blurry recollection during my emergency caesarian. I had certainly never seen anyone being put under general anesthesia before, apart from myself that is. Chubby kid was knocked out one second after being injected through IV. That was fast. I had to leave her after that.

Some 40 minutes later, we were brought back to the outer room of the OT to bring chubby kid back to the day care ward. She was still unconscious and continued to sleep for another hour.

Upon waking up, she was not yet allowed any drink for another further 30 minutes. Hunger seemed to be showing in her although she was quite taken in by playing with the toy kitchen in the ward. When she finally was allowed a drink, we gave her a bottle of milk and then some custard and rice pudding. She was then discharged after a short discussion with the doctor, who said they did not find anything alarming. Thank God she was her normal self with no side effects showing after that. My worry though, is that she has to continue taking her weekly antibiotics till October. Can that be good? :-(

Montreux, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:15:00 +0000

Montreux is yet another town located by the shores of Lake Geneva. A direct train journey from Lausanne to Montreux takes approximately 20 minutes and a return train ticket costs CHF20.40 per adult. Once we arrived at the train station, we headed straight towards the direction of the lakefront. The view that met us was superbly magnificent.

We could even see the snow-capped Alps some distance away.

A pretty flower arch with the lake and Alps in the background.

There are lots of hotels, flats, apartments all along the lakeside.

Breathtaking view of the mountains.

Amazing view of the lake. The water was so crystal clear that I was very tempted to jump in for a dip.

This is where the water from the mountain flow into the lake.

Our aim of visiting Montreux was to visit the Chateau de Chillon.

It was quite a distance from where we got to the lakefront. We could actually take a train there but we chose instead to walk by the lakefront and marvel at the view of the lake, of people swimming, sunbathing and having picnics. I looked on with envy, regretting that I did not bring my swimming suit along. There were lots of people even along the walkway.

It took us slightly more than an hour to walk there, so I estimated it to be about a four kilometres walk. An hour's walk was actually nothing much for us except that we were under extreme hot and bright sun, with an estimated temperature of about 33C at least. Mind you, just 30 hours before that kind of hot and bright sun hit us, we were under cool and cloudy weather of 18C in Liverpool.

As we walked along, the Chateau de Chillon appeared nearer and nearer.

And finally, we got there.

And then, we walked four kilometres back again under the same hot and bright sun. Hmmph... talk about determination of seeing one old chateau. Altogether, we must have walked more than 15 kilometres that day. I remembered myself falling asleep some seconds after my head touched the pillow that night.

Lausanne, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:32:00 +0000

Lausanne is a city also situated by the Lake Geneva. It is the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and so, is known as the Capitale Olympique. A direct journey by train from Geneva to Lausanne takes approximately 35 minutes and a return train ticket costs CHF41.20 per adult. This is the Lausanne train station.

The first place we aimed to visit upon reaching Lausanne and after having McDonald's breakfast was the Lausanne Cathedral. Without a map, we just took the steep uphill route based on our hunch and my recollection of Lausanne on Google Maps that the lake is one side of the train station and the city centre is on the other side.

More uphill. Do not be deceived by the photo. It is pretty steep.

Our hunch was very fortunately correct. On our way to the Lausanne Cathedral, we passed by a market in the city centre. I think I read somewhere on the internet that every Saturday, the roads surrounding this area will be closed for the market to operate.

Here is chubby kid, busy surveying the fruits.

More vegetables.

A whole load of different shapes of tomatoes.

A huge Swiss flag.

See how insanely packed the streets are.

Yet another shop selling Rolex. They seem to be everywhere.

I think the sewer cover looks nice :-) (No, I am not out of my mind.)

This is the Lausanne Cathedral.

The view of roof tops of the city centre from the cathedral.

It is a very nice city to visit. We regretted that we could not spend more time exploring every nook and cranny of the city. We hurried off to the train station to catch the train to Montreux, at that time, not knowing how very delightful the Montreux lakefront was.

More of Geneva

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:57:00 +0000

For two years in a row, I have not been able to go to the Kuching Food Festival. Therefore, it was a happy coincidence that there was a food and fun fair in Geneva very much similar to the one in Kuching. There were international food stalls with all kinds of food.

There is also a concert stage with performers and a huge crowd watching.

One very interesting stall was the one selling cocktails. They had very intriguing huge glasses in which they stored the cocktails in.

And then there was the games section, where kids and adults went on rides and gambled away their cash for a stuffed toy.

And not forgetting the G-string candy ;-)

The food and fun fair was held in a section along the picturesque lakefront. They even had a huge statue of Michael Jackson there.

In the older part of town, we visited the Cathedrale St Pierre.

Drinking water is abundant throughout the city. Everywhere you go, you see a pipe spurting out drinking water. This is one of them which we filled our bottle with.

Nearby is the Parc des Bastions, a park within the University grounds, showcasing a giant chest set and the Reformation Wall. This is one of the University's building.

Play a game of chess if you are up to it.

The Reformation Wall, featuring statues of prominent figures in the Protestant Reformation.

Another place of attraction is obviously the United Nations office at the Palais des Nations.

There is this huge chair with a broken leg right opposite the United Nations office entrance. I must say it is quite a piece of art to look at.

Behind the huge chair, a series of mini fountains squirt out water every few seconds. Chubby kid just had to cry when the wind blew tiny water droplets onto her face. What a spoilt brat!

We also visited Carouge, a town referred to as the Greenwich Village of Geneva, modelled after the city of Nice in France. Hence, you can see that the architecture of its building is rather different from those in Geneva.

We also stopped at the Plaine de Plainpalais to visit the flea market. It is very much similar to a small section of Kuching's Sunday market.

While on our way back to Geneva city centre, we spotted this very old car. Hard to find nowadays.

Here are some miscellaneous shots in and around Geneva.

:-)

Geneva, Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (chuasteph) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:58:00 +0000

We came back from a wonderful, sunshiney holiday in the French-speaking part of Switzerland two weeks ago. It was just a short holiday. We stayed in Geneva and had a day trip to Lausanne and Montreux. Geneva, Lausanne and Montreux are situated by a huge lake called Lake Geneva or in French, Lac Leman.

Our hotel was in the city centre, just by the edge of all the buzzing activities. The room was typically small but clean and comfortable.

We arrived in the evening but because it was summer, we had a few hours of daylight left to explore around. The main attraction in Geneva is of course Lake Geneva itself. From the lakefront, we get a marvellous, breathtaking view. My camera cannot do the view justice though.

Here are some shots from another day during broad daylight. The fountain called Jet d'Eau, jetting water high up into the sky is such a view to behold.

Swans swimming in the lake.

Yachts parked at the mini jetty.

More yachts.

More shots of the Jet d'Eau.

Water droplets from the Jet d'Eau casting a rainbow on the lake surface.

Needless to say, it was crowded to the max and while we were there, a food and fun fair was operating all along the lakefront.

Switzerland is quite famous for its watch industry and thus, everywhere we go, we will see shops selling branded watches that we can never afford in our lifetime.

Almost every significant building will have a clock on it. Even flowers can be arranged into a clock. Here is the famous flower clock by the lakefront.

OK, it is bedtime now. I am too exhausted to continue. More photos of Geneva in my next post.