Wynn & Jocelynn


Home Scratch Pad Photo Album Video Rack Out of Africa 4 July 2009 We just returned from South Africa where we had our best holiday yet. There was so much to do and see in that country. We were also blessed with sunny weather in supposedly the middle of winter. In fact, if we had arrived a week earlier, we would have been caught in a storm. We arrived in Cape Town on Saturday and spent our first evening wandering around the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. We met our tour guide the next morning, half expecting a van full of other tourists, but were surprised to discover that we were the only ones on the tour. It came as a bonus, since we got to be chauffeured around on a private tour and didn't have to make small talk with random strangers. Our first stop was Paarl in the Winelands, where we had a cellar tour and wine tasting. We were introduced to South African Pinotage and gladly purchased a bottle. On hindsight, it was a bad decision which we made under the influence. Hmmmmmm. Then we stopped over at Stellenbosch, a beautiful town which boasts an elite university. Wynn's external examiner for his DPhil is actually from the university. Then we had lunch in a French restaurant in Franschoek. So much for South African cuisine. In fact, we didn't get to taste much of the local food during our holiday. Our guide told us most restaurants cater foreign food because the locals would rather have local food in their own homes. Then we hit the famous Route 62, overnighting at the grand Mimosa Lodge in Montagu, where we spent the evening listening to retired pensioners share the local gossip. We started the next day with port tasting at the Boplass vineyard in Calizdrop. We bought a bottle of their new rose-coloured port and a bottle of muscadel, which is a deliciously sweet dessert wine. Yummy! Then we were off to an ostrich farm in Ousthoorn, where we ate their meat before riding them. There's a reason why lunch came first. The ostriches had to be blindfolded while we mounted and held on to their wings, which felt more muscular than feathery. Once the blindfolds were removed, those birds ran like there was no tomorrow. It was quite an experience. After leaving those big birds behind, we went further up into the mountains and explored the Cango Cave. Nothing interesting there, just lots of stalactite and stalagmite, which might be of interest to some but certainly not us. Then we called it a day at the beautiful Thorntree Country House. We left the mountains for the coast of Knysna the next day. We took a ferry to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, where we had a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean. It was breathtaking to see the waves hitting the rocks and to know that those very waves might have come all the way from Antartica. After a Cape Malay lunch (finally), we visited a monkey sanctuary, where we saw lots of ring tailed lemurs (the sort you see in Madagascar). There was one monkey called Tarzan (don't ask) who had been abused by his previous owner and likes to eat burgers and chips. He grew so fat that they had to put him in a special reserve for "retired" monkeys. We stayed overnight at the Waterfront Lodge, run by a very warm and friendly family. In fact we stayed there for two nights, the only time we could leave our luggages in the room. The next day was very eventful. We had just entered the Tsitsikamma National Park when we (actually our tour guide) spotted some whales breaching. We got out of the car and just watched and watched and watched as those amazing creatures played around in the big blue sea. We saw no less than 6 whales that morning. The park itself was less exciting, though we got to do some mountain hiking; the first time we've done it as a couple. After lunch, we stopped at Bloukrans Bridge for bungy jumping! The bridge is host to the highest commercially operated bungy jump in the world. Despite much discouragement from our guide, Wynn did the 200m jump with Joce an encouraging force on the side. Jumping off the bridge felt like suicide, but free falling felt exhilarating. It was absolutely unbelievable. Video to follow soon. Thereafter, we headed back to the Waterfront Lodge, stopping over at the upmarket Plettenberg Bay for a break. We spent the final day of the tour on the road, stopping at Hermanus for seafood lunch and more whale watching, but the whales didn't turn up this time. Back in Cape Town, we bade farewell to Delia, our guide. After staying the night, we had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we went on the Robben Island tour. It was this tour which really helped us to feel and understand the injustice of the apartheid era. We saw Nelson Mandela's prison cell, which didn't even have enough space to fit a single-size mattress. We listened to an ex-inmate tell us about the prison conditions, how the inmates had their identities reduced to numbers (Mandela's being 466/64 - prisoner 466 in the year 1964) and how the inmates were discriminated on racial grounds (blacks had different diets and clothes from coloured and indians). Sad, but true. Overall, we had a fantastic time and will probably holiday there a second time. Right now, we have 10 days to pack up and leave. Until next time. PS. The photo album has been updated with photos of our holiday and office leaving drinks. Almost There 22 June 2009 Less than a month before our time overseas comes to an end. Our time in London seems to have gone by too fast too soon, but we have no regrets. We expect life in KL to be very different, like driving around a lot more (public transport is very unreliable and places are too far apart to walk) and relearning day-to-day routines (where to buy groceries and how to pay bills). We also expect the working culture to be very different, where the norm seems to be to "stay-late-to-appear-hardworking" and "do-exactly-as-told-without-thinking". Wynn has already found a job (risk management at a local bank). Joce is still looking for one, which is probably a good thing since we need time to adjust to our new environment. For the first year (or two), we plan to rent an apartment while we build our house from, quite literally, brick and mortar on a plot of land we've been given. That's going to be quite an exciting project, but the one gripe Joce has is its location in Cheras (which is a part of KL none of her friends know how to get to), but Wynn is much happier about it since he will be within spitting distance of his father's house and close enough to walk to his mother's house. Whilst those are things we can look forward to, right now we're just seeing through our last few days here. We just spent the weekend in Edinburgh, where we attended our fourth wedding in two months. We spent the weekend before that in Oxford, where Joce paid 10 pounds to upgrade her BA to an MA. Before that, we danced the night away at the famous Koko nightclub to seal our status as true Camdenites. Then between meeting up with old Singaporean friends, who seem to be visit London at the same time, we watched a Shakespearean play at the Open Air Theatre and were psychologically illusioned by Derren Brown at the Adelphi Theatre. While we're into our final week in the office, we will each have leaving drinks, dinners, and parties to attend. Then we're off to Cape Town to discover the beautiful Garden Route, before returning to London for 10 days to say final farewells. It's going to be a bittersweet final few weeks here, but with every ending comes a new beginning, and we're looking forward to that already. Name : (both fields are required) Comment :	About Us She's puzzled by his complicated computer codes. He's amazed at her listening to boring radio talkshows. Both learning to love each other as Jesus did. Blogroll Brian Darren Jenny Kevin Kon Yew Lovebites Marcelly Shamila SMACC Churchlinks St Ebbes's, Oxford St Helen's, London St Mary's, Kuala Lumpur FileDepot DPhil Thesis CFA Level I Notes CFA Level II Notes CFA Level III Notes

Out of Africa

4 July 2009

We just returned from South Africa where we had our best holiday yet. There was so much to do and see in that country. We were also blessed with sunny weather in supposedly the middle of winter. In fact, if we had arrived a week earlier, we would have been caught in a storm. We arrived in Cape Town on Saturday and spent our first evening wandering around the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. We met our tour guide the next morning, half expecting a van full of other tourists, but were surprised to discover that we were the only ones on the tour. It came as a bonus, since we got to be chauffeured around on a private tour and didn't have to make small talk with random strangers.

Our first stop was Paarl in the Winelands, where we had a cellar tour and wine tasting. We were introduced to South African Pinotage and gladly purchased a bottle. On hindsight, it was a bad decision which we made under the influence. Hmmmmmm. Then we stopped over at Stellenbosch, a beautiful town which boasts an elite university. Wynn's external examiner for his DPhil is actually from the university. Then we had lunch in a French restaurant in Franschoek. So much for South African cuisine. In fact, we didn't get to taste much of the local food during our holiday. Our guide told us most restaurants cater foreign food because the locals would rather have local food in their own homes. Then we hit the famous Route 62, overnighting at the grand Mimosa Lodge in Montagu, where we spent the evening listening to retired pensioners share the local gossip.

We started the next day with port tasting at the Boplass vineyard in Calizdrop. We bought a bottle of their new rose-coloured port and a bottle of muscadel, which is a deliciously sweet dessert wine. Yummy! Then we were off to an ostrich farm in Ousthoorn, where we ate their meat before riding them. There's a reason why lunch came first. The ostriches had to be blindfolded while we mounted and held on to their wings, which felt more muscular than feathery. Once the blindfolds were removed, those birds ran like there was no tomorrow. It was quite an experience. After leaving those big birds behind, we went further up into the mountains and explored the Cango Cave. Nothing interesting there, just lots of stalactite and stalagmite, which might be of interest to some but certainly not us. Then we called it a day at the beautiful Thorntree Country House.

We left the mountains for the coast of Knysna the next day. We took a ferry to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, where we had a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean. It was breathtaking to see the waves hitting the rocks and to know that those very waves might have come all the way from Antartica. After a Cape Malay lunch (finally), we visited a monkey sanctuary, where we saw lots of ring tailed lemurs (the sort you see in Madagascar). There was one monkey called Tarzan (don't ask) who had been abused by his previous owner and likes to eat burgers and chips. He grew so fat that they had to put him in a special reserve for "retired" monkeys. We stayed overnight at the Waterfront Lodge, run by a very warm and friendly family. In fact we stayed there for two nights, the only time we could leave our luggages in the room.

The next day was very eventful. We had just entered the Tsitsikamma National Park when we (actually our tour guide) spotted some whales breaching. We got out of the car and just watched and watched and watched as those amazing creatures played around in the big blue sea. We saw no less than 6 whales that morning. The park itself was less exciting, though we got to do some mountain hiking; the first time we've done it as a couple. After lunch, we stopped at Bloukrans Bridge for bungy jumping! The bridge is host to the highest commercially operated bungy jump in the world. Despite much discouragement from our guide, Wynn did the 200m jump with Joce an encouraging force on the side. Jumping off the bridge felt like suicide, but free falling felt exhilarating. It was absolutely unbelievable. Video to follow soon.

Thereafter, we headed back to the Waterfront Lodge, stopping over at the upmarket Plettenberg Bay for a break. We spent the final day of the tour on the road, stopping at Hermanus for seafood lunch and more whale watching, but the whales didn't turn up this time. Back in Cape Town, we bade farewell to Delia, our guide. After staying the night, we had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we went on the Robben Island tour. It was this tour which really helped us to feel and understand the injustice of the apartheid era. We saw Nelson Mandela's prison cell, which didn't even have enough space to fit a single-size mattress. We listened to an ex-inmate tell us about the prison conditions, how the inmates had their identities reduced to numbers (Mandela's being 466/64 - prisoner 466 in the year 1964) and how the inmates were discriminated on racial grounds (blacks had different diets and clothes from coloured and indians). Sad, but true.

Overall, we had a fantastic time and will probably holiday there a second time. Right now, we have 10 days to pack up and leave. Until next time.

PS. The photo album has been updated with photos of our holiday and office leaving drinks.

Almost There

22 June 2009

Less than a month before our time overseas comes to an end. Our time in London seems to have gone by too fast too soon, but we have no regrets. We expect life in KL to be very different, like driving around a lot more (public transport is very unreliable and places are too far apart to walk) and relearning day-to-day routines (where to buy groceries and how to pay bills). We also expect the working culture to be very different, where the norm seems to be to "stay-late-to-appear-hardworking" and "do-exactly-as-told-without-thinking".

Wynn has already found a job (risk management at a local bank). Joce is still looking for one, which is probably a good thing since we need time to adjust to our new environment. For the first year (or two), we plan to rent an apartment while we build our house from, quite literally, brick and mortar on a plot of land we've been given. That's going to be quite an exciting project, but the one gripe Joce has is its location in Cheras (which is a part of KL none of her friends know how to get to), but Wynn is much happier about it since he will be within spitting distance of his father's house and close enough to walk to his mother's house.

Whilst those are things we can look forward to, right now we're just seeing through our last few days here. We just spent the weekend in Edinburgh, where we attended our fourth wedding in two months. We spent the weekend before that in Oxford, where Joce paid 10 pounds to upgrade her BA to an MA. Before that, we danced the night away at the famous Koko nightclub to seal our status as true Camdenites. Then between meeting up with old Singaporean friends, who seem to be visit London at the same time, we watched a Shakespearean play at the Open Air Theatre and were psychologically illusioned by Derren Brown at the Adelphi Theatre.

While we're into our final week in the office, we will each have leaving drinks, dinners, and parties to attend. Then we're off to Cape Town to discover the beautiful Garden Route, before returning to London for 10 days to say final farewells. It's going to be a bittersweet final few weeks here, but with every ending comes a new beginning, and we're looking forward to that already.