WHEN MERLION EATS THE DURIAN

A photo before we headed for the Esplanade

Whose pose is the best, folks?

Athirah with Mummy Ina

The leader of the pack - Me and Hubby

Like in a refugee camp -homeless & aimless

A nice family shot

The New Age Rockers ready to blast away with their music

Sawadeekap - Ros and son, Danish

The Billabong Duet - Zach & Amalina

Haikal and camera-shy Thirah

A Jimi Hendrix fan and Mr Ad-Lib Yusuf from Dubai

The youngest & eldest of the Rahim-Sabiah Clan

Mazy & Fizee, another pair of the Rahim-Sabiah Clan

Love will keep us together!

No mountains or oceans will keep us apart

Definitely not a vegetarian but a barbarian on the loose

We love all our sis-in-law and the outlaws too!

Your heart and mine beat as one

Under one roof - The Happy Family

Why the tongue, Danish?

I ought to shoot Haikal for closing his eyes

The man with the four faces but one love

Rare and extinct beauties in Singapore


NO MONKEY BUSINESS WITH THE MERLION

The blog below is written by my niece, AMALINA BTE ABU BAKAR, 15 yrs old from Sydney

“The Big Durian”. That would be the name as to which would otherwise be known as the ‘Esplanade’, to a family of Australians. So began, yet another dys-fun-ctional family outing to the Esplanade, to hear some live music lingering around the skyscrapers defining the Singaporean landscape.
It was a late start to the night; but I suppose in Singapore; nothing defines when the ‘night time’ starts … or ends.

We all gathered in the car park, as usual, and had a few seconds worth of entertainment with the camera, once again, as usual, before hopping into the van to get to Marina Square.
Surviving the bumpy ride, we hopped out of the van surrounded by endless yellow pillars labelled with numbers. The plan was to pinpoint the parking space number we were in, but we figured looking for the only work van in the car park was much, much easier.

Stepping into Marina Square shopping centre, we all stood still searching for Aunty Fiza and Haikal, as frantic shoppers brushed past us showing us no mercy - we were not going to stand in the way of their bargains. Eventually finding the hosts for the night, we took a pit stop on the rooftop, and spent time yet again, entertaining ourselves with the camera, before heading down towards the Esplanade itself.

We began our walk towards the Merlion, veered off many times by hawkers trying to sell us tropical flavoured drinks- which by the way were actually very tasty. The children’s group of the family then staged a five minute argument, as to whether a set of corn decorations were real or fake, followed by other acts of nostalgia involving combining soccer and pebbles, mostly initiated by Danish. Before we could come up with another game to play, we had already reached the Merlion, or what was referred to as ‘The Big Lion Vomiting Water’. Trying to save our shirts from being sprayed on, we relaxed, walked around and threatened the smallest member that if she didn’t behave, she would end up in the sea with the Merlion.

Having enough of the scene, it was a long walk back towards the Esplanade, but we managed to lug our tired selves around for long enough, reaching at the amphitheatre just in time. The band on show was ‘Monkey Business’, showcasing their three singers out of a five piece band with an 80’s themed gig. Naturally, this called for a karaoke session, and for those who didn’t sing, at least tapped their feet. The gig lasted half an hour.

Even with our ears still ringing and our hearts pumping to the beat of the last song played, the best word known to mankind was mentioned – “dinner”, and inside the shopping centre we went. Despite being extremely tired, like a swarm of bees, we attacked the food court and chomped away on local cuisine and talked to pass the time.

Finally it was time to return home, and the majority of the family piled into Uncle Yusuf’s van, fighting off sweat whilst munching on snacks. Passing ‘Seletar Causeway’ after Seletar Country Club, Uncle Yusuf thought it would be fun to drive hectically and recklessly. Catching us unaware as we sprawled ourselves out lying on the van’s floor, we swerved around the unoccupied roads, and the three of us rolled around the van. Though his style of driving was incredibly unorthodox, it was a lot of fun and the laughter was a work out, helping us crash back at Yishun and sleep peacefully.