January 01, 2008
08 AM
Hi to all,
Hope everyone has had a great 2007 and that your Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year celebrations were relaxing and pleasurable!
Our 2007 was possibly less mobile than previous years, but still as enjoyable as any other. Obviously the big news for us was our start down the road to family life, less than 2 weeks away if all goes to plan. Although a little nervous, we are excited about the imminent changes to our lives, and very much looking forward to meeting our daughter out here in the real world. The nursery is ready, some "help" employed and so we are as ready as we can be for the big day.
Vanessa's condition has obviously restricted our travel a little, with most of the nearby options in the developing world and more suitable locales requiring an uncomfortable long-haul flight. However, we have still put in a reasonable effort.
Australia has been our focus this year, with Matt visiting three times and Vanessa even squeezing in two trips herself. April was a pure social event, with Vanessa's family gathering in Queensland, followed up by a quick stopover at the farm and then a day or two with friends and family in Sydney. We also decided to take our last "adults only" vacation in September with a fantastic road trip around Victoria, and Matt got a "leave pass" to attend Tom and Krishni's wedding in Sydney with a quick pre-Christmas catchup with friends and family thrown in.
With comfort being a priority we took advantage of two of the obligatory short-haul trips from Singapore - a long weekend in Bangkok and a short family holiday in Phuket, both of which were great fun. We also combined work and pleasure with a couple of breaks to Hong Kong and a side trip to Macau. To wrap up the year, Matt had a brief night out with friends in Knightsbridge on a recent work visit to London.
On the guest front, visitor numbers to Hotel Tottler were pretty healthy with another 25 people visiting over the last 18 months on top of the hectic schedule in our first year. As usual, it is always great to see friends and family here in Singapore to experience the expat lifestyle and a little of "Asia Lite".
Matt used the recent lull in guests to take golf lessons and sculling classes (note: for the Aussies, this refers to single-scull rowing and not binge drinking). A longstanding absence of any hand-eye coordination continues to remain an impediment to performance but certainly not pleasure. Running continues to be a favourite for Matt and the jungle trail around MacRitchie reservoir still provides a challenging escape from the inner city, replete with the occasional frights from cobras, giant water monitors or troupes of monkeys. Vanessa's ambitious plans for the year (golf and horse riding) have had to be curtailed - but the pool has been much appreciated over recent months.
Although we both feel like it has been a pretty quiet year we have also switched apartments (to a mirror image place in the same block...very disorienting!) and Matt has changed jobs. So far, both have proven to be very good moves.
We are both very much still enjoying life here in Singapore. The city continues to be a massive building site with old condos being pulled down to make way for glamourous new apartments (.....unfortunately reducing supply and making rents skyrocket - as well as creating an awful racket at times). However, the country is on the move and some pretty spectacular developments are underway with two Integrated Resorts (aka Casinos) being built, conversion of the river and harbour to a freshwater reservoir surrounded by a massive series of gardens, as well as erection of the world's biggest ferris wheel. As usual, a multitude of F&B zones are springing up (read Food & Beverage, local parlance for Restaurants and Bars) with a great one right underneath our condo that is very child friendly.
We have made some really good friends over the last year, and already have lots of babysitting offers which is particularly nice. We know many of the service staff around the area also so it is starting to feel very much like home for us.
Great to hear from so many people over the holiday period with cards and calls - hope to be in touch soon with an introduction to Baby Tottler!
