 Outside the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Shanghai. | The sign on the counter stated that the Ramada Hotel’s pool had been privately hired out for two hours that morning. It’s not uncommon for pre-organised events to book one of many facilities on offer at any given hotel. As for as those guests walking past the leisure centre’s reception area were concerned, it was some kind of pool party taking place.
Yes, it was a celebration and yes, it was taking place in and around a small pool. But most would never have suspected that it was related to someone’s personal faith and that the people gathering there had been invited to be witnesses for such a poignant moment.
| | Our friend Vivienne was taking the plunge and outwardly declaring her commitment to God as a follower of Christ. This act of water baptism was to be her life changing day.
A few close friends from both her Church and social circles, including Lezil and I, all congregated by the indoor sun loungers. At the far end, two of the hotel’s life guards curiously watched on as to what exactly we had all booked the place out for. With Vivienne making her entrance from the ladies changing rooms, emotions were running high. |  Lezil and I out to support Vivienne's big day. |  The whole group praying for Vivienne. | The step of water baptism is a defining statement in a Christian person’s faith, where it boldly shows the letting go of an old life and receiving the expectant embrace of a new one.
The whole experience was led by New Zealander Mike, or as he candidly said in his opening statement before praying “…they don’t call me ‘Crazy Mike’ for nothing…” referring to his larger-than-life belief in God. He led us in prayer with everyone positioning themselves around Vivienne extending their hands towards her as a sign of unity. Words of encouragement floated in from all angles. | | A believer or not, there was no denying the sense of power in that pool area as Vivienne’s tears freely fell where she stood right in the epicentre of a tightly-packed group of God-fearing people. The two life guards on the side were transfixed by what was happening.
Prayers soon led into a time of singing with Touby, a friend from Church, taking out his guitar and prompting a few modern day Church songs. The acoustics within the gym lent itself nicely to our melodies, almost amplifying our sound to double the number of voices singing along. |  Singing some songs in unison. |  Mike and Karsten baptise Vivienne. | The focus switched back to Mike who gave a brief summary on the significance of this key step that Vivienne was taking.
Then Mike led Vivienne into the 28C water-heated pool with another supporter, Karsten, acting as an assistant. Quietly, Vivienne glanced at all her onlookers in a movie-magic momentary pause, peering over that that spiritual wall readying herself to finally climb down to the long-awaited other side. “…in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost…,” said Mike as he and Karsten gently manoeuvred Vivienne back-first underwater. | | Two seconds later and she sprung out of the pool’s watery surface like a volcanic geyser spewing hot steam into the air.
Instantly everyone applauded and cheered her on. Her emotions were uncontrollable by now. “If you only knew what it has taken to get here today. Over six years…,” she said, her words broken in between by soft sobs. It was undeniable how proud everyone was of her. Still dripping she stepped out of the pool and hugged the nearest person to her. We all waited our turn to personally congratulate her. What a day for us all. |  Vivienne goes into the water! |  I decide to go in for a dip. | For Lezil and I, this was our first time to experience a water baptism in Shanghai outside the conventional walls of a Church.
I realised that I was the only one decked out in swimming gear. Despite the warmth of the indoor pool area, everyone was still dressed against the cold elements. I thought, seeing as though I had my trunks on, why not go for a dip. While people lingered on conversing I managed to churn out a few laps. | | The last I was in a pool was a spectacular open-air one in Perth, Beatty Park Leisure Centre. Not quite the same surroundings but still nice to do a bit of exercise.
Quickly showering off, I met the remaining waiting group in the hotel’s gym reception. We ended up going for an unplanned lunch at one of my favourite Chinese eateries – Yeli Xiali. The restaurant chain specialises in food from China’s northwest region Xinjiang which is predominantly Muslim. Needless to say, the seasoning and cooking styles draw heavily from Middle Eastern culture – super delicious. We order a banquet selection of dishes and desserts and the total per person came to a bargain RMB 60 each. |  Some of the group go out for lunch at Yeli Xiali - an excellent Xinjiang restaurant. | What a beautiful day, sharing in our friend Vivienne’s special occasion. It was truly an honour for us to take part.  All gathered at the poolside of Vivienne's baptism.  Vivienne (centre right) in deep prayer.  Everyone applauds Vivienne's big step!  Just out of the water, (left to right) Karsten, Vivienne, Mike.  All proudly supporting our close friend Vivienne.  Yeah! She did it!!
As the climate in Shanghai is still deciding on whether to bring us spring or stay a little longer in winter, we decided to gamble by rolling up our sleeves and getting some dirt under our finger nails. I told Lezil that I have this idealistic dream of having a vegetable patch and some farm animals for a more sustainable lifestyle.
Negotiating the best price for our veg-growing goodies!
| The livestock is still a long way off (Winnie our cat doesn’t count!) and the communal garden we share with three other floors in our old lane house is in a sorry state. Therefore starting simply is always the best. A few stops due east from our home on line 10 was Laoximen metro station and from there it was a 10 minute walk to the pet and flower market. I had cooked up a plan to grow our own veggies using the fairly large window ledges we have outside both our sitting room and bedroom windows.
| | It was frantic business that Saturday afternoon as I haggled for the best deals on two troughs, some quality fertilised soil, a spade and the all-essential seeds for growing the vegetables themselves. The pet outlets outnumbered the plant ones with every imaginable animal sound ringing in our ears. For a rock-bottom final price of RMB 100 (£10) I had all the items we needed to start our journey on harvesting a healthy batch of tomatoes, spring onions and chillies. We use these practically every day in our cooking, so it made sense to then try and produce our own supply.
Just before leaving we picked up an already growing herb plant, rosemary, to add to our mint plant we had purchased the week before. Both are now innovatively hanging from our outdoor clothes rail.
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Wrapping up the deal as our items are packed for us.
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Ready to start planting our veg garden.
| Back at home, we used our lane’s driveway to start preparing the troughs with soil and watering them sufficiently ready for seed planting. Our downstairs neighbour came out to watch us tenderly prepare everything as he amused himself over the two foreigners working their green fingers with enthusiasm. He was asking us where we planned to grow the veggies to which I told him our harebrained idea of window ledge planting. He seemed pretty impressed with our home project. | | It seemed like our prolonged presence out front was attracting not only our neighbours but our fruit lady’s cat. She runs her stall right next door to our apartment and we had spotted her cat playing with Winnie a few times before. Unofficially christening her ‘Amarula’, after the famed South African cream liqueur, she was a right little inquisitive feline. She didn’t hesitate on jumping up on our laps. Then she took a liking to our watering can, feverishly lapping up the water before startling herself by tipping it over. We had brought some fish treats for cats courtesy of Lezil’s mum in Australia which, strangely enough, Amarula wasn’t sure to make of.
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Amarula the cat drinking from our watering can!
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Seeds for spring onions.
| She was more interested in sniffing the titbit than actually eating it. Under Amarula’s playful gaze we completed the final stages of our mini veg garden by planting the seeds. The packet instructions were all in Chinese characters which made it tough going. So a quick spin on the internet and we had some good tips on how best to nurture our plants-to-be. A quick pat down of the soil and a final light-watering and we took our two heavy troughs back into our apartment to their new window ledge homes.
Thankfully both our rooms are south-facing and receive sun practically all day long which is perfect to kick start the seedlings growth. This was our very first attempt at home-grown produce. Already the following morning I longing looked over the tops of the troughs naively hoping to see some green shoots coming through. I can’t wait to see the first signs of a sprouting plant and trust me, there will be periodic blog updates on how our little babies are doing.
| | Scrubbing ourselves clean back to city dwellers standards Lezil and I went to a screening of a new documentary. This was a collaboratively produced project by The British Council, a Shanghai-based entertainment company Split Works and a locally-based film company Daedelum Films. The 55 minutes fly-on-the-wall movie entitled “From Wrexham to Wuhan” followed the experiences of four British bands performing at various cities across China.
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A good turnout for the screening.
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As part of the Jue Arts Festival, the documentary "From Wrexham To Wuhan" is screened.
| For all-but-one of the performers, it was their first experience being in the Far East and the differences in the music scene, culture and modes of travel all gave the viewers a chance to see how each person adapted.
It was an excellent way to promote cross-culture creativity and the snappy edits of both the performances and the more behind-the-scenes footage gave you a good enough insight into how the bands were actually received in China. That night at the venue, a good turnout of both Chinese and expats supported what was touted as a ‘world premiere’.
| | After a few hellos and goodbyes with some familiar faces after the screening, we made our way to The Room. A fairly new clubbing venue, our Chinese Swedish friend Sunni was celebrating his birthday with another mate of his, Daniel. Both the birthday boys had booked out the entire place for their private get-together. Each table had its regular flow of soft drinks, vodka and champagne. And the crowd that night was very mixed from Americans and Scandinavians to the Chinese Diaspora including: USA, Malaysia, Singapore and, of course, mainland China.
The music was decidedly more underground with a lot of electro, break beats and the fast-becoming-annoying-tune ‘Harlem Shake’ being played three times that night.
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At 'The Room' celebrating Sunni's (left) birthday.
| By midnight I was decidedly on the edge of ‘too happy’ and decided it was time to get home. (Their vodka and orange mix worked slowly but potently.) Once my head hit the pillow, I was out for the count.
The ladies deciding on what to eat at the Penta Hotel's brunch.
| Sunday started with our weekly visit to our nearby vegetable market. Stocking up on all our green goodies for the week we went to the Penta Hotel Shanghai for their popular Sunday brunch. So popular is their brunch that when we arrived at the opening time of 11am, the whole restaurant was already booked out. The reason behind the high demand is their tantalising price of just RMB 128 (£12) per person which basically gives you a main dish and an eat-as-much-as-you-want buffet.
| | We rendevouzed with our friends Alex and Kwandi and managed to get the hotel staff to sit us in the entrance’s lounge area complete with a real-life looking fake log fire. The dining experience did not disappoint. We sat there for over two hours while we had a much overdue catch up from our Chinese New Year holidays. I went for a three cheese omelette which was cooked just right while the ladies opted for scrambled eggs on salmon and toast with tomatoes. This was accompanied with an endless flow of tea, coffee and super delicious pastries and cheese from the buffet.
I felt a like a bit of a glutton just thinking about our next appointment which was afternoon tea with our Shanghai mama, Miranda.
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Ready to eat! (left to right) Kwandi, Alex, Lezil and I.
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Eating our second (!!) lunch of the day at Sunflour with (left to right) Miranda, Phoebe, Lezil and I.
| Departing the Penta Hotel we taxied it down to the SunFlour, one of our favourite bakeries-cum-restaurants in our area. This time, Lezil and I decided to share a dish as we were still busy digesting our banquet from earlier. We were also joined by Phoebe, an apprentice of Miranda’s who has been learning cooking skills and English under her careful watch.
Phoebe recently bagged a job at Sun Flour itself now working on the cake section in the kitchen and from what she was telling us, she’s thoroughly enjoying her new position. Again we spent a couple of hours packing in stories from our time in Australia and Miranda’s time in Canada.
| How we managed to fit in two back to back lunches – was a mystery to me. (I’d like you to know that we skipped dinner that night from being so full!) Food aside, these precious people we call friends make up our family here in Shanghai. You share, you encourage, you debate, you sometimes disagree but all the time there’s that sense of ‘having each other’s back’. It’s what keeps you grounded on a journey with plenty of ups and downs, especially in a city like Shanghai.
Buying a rosemary herb plant to add to our existing mint herb plant.
Back at home, placing the soil in the troughs.
Lezil mixes the soil.
Amarula the cat drops by to look in on us.
Attempting to give a fish treat to Amarula.
The soil is ready for planting!
Carefully putting the seeds in the soil.
Ta Da! All done and now the waiting game begins!
Soaking up the sun on our windowsill.
With birthday boy and friend, Redic.
| The way we got back into the Shanghai lifestyle was literally hitting the ground running. It was astonishing to be out of the loop for a month, to only then come back realising the intense pace this city moves at.
No sooner had I taken out my Australian Vodafone mobile sim card and replaced it with my China Mobile one, the texts came flooding in. Already the next seven days had various invites to a number of events and activities, not to mention the start of work. We had to be cautious, of course, otherwise we risked burning out quicker than our fading tans.
| | One soiree we could not miss was our good friend Redic’s birthday celebration. He was turning the big 4-0 but his appearance could quite fool you into thinking he was actually ten years younger. Or, as he put in, “I’m 27 with some extra change…”.
Choosing Mimosa, a local wine bar near his home, an intimate crowd of people were all enjoying the RMB 100 free flow of wine and tapas as we stepped into the cozy venue. Behind the counter was the owner and, who it turns out, was someone I had met a few months earlier at the launch of Studio Ebony – Shanghai’s first black hair salon. I immediately recognised Sylvie’s side-shaved-head as we greeted each other French-style with a kiss on both cheeks. Having a successful background in fashion, including studying at the London School of Fashion, she is now living out her dream of opening her own F&B outlet. |
With Sylvie, owner of Mimosa.
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Redic thanks everyone for coming out to celebrate his 40th birthday.
| Judging by the décor, drinks list and food menu – she’s onto a winner here. And despite its overtly European feel, she mentioned that her Chinese clients actually outnumber the foreign ones. A DJ friend of Redic’s was playing a varied mixed of house music (in all its different guises) with a smothering of old skool Soul, R&B and even some dancehall. Dimming the lights and turning down the music, a cake with candles appeared prompting a lively rendition of “Happy Birthday” after which Redic gave a short but animated speech in his own unique style.
Being in a room full of creative people, everyone started badgering Redic to sing a song. It was like he was prepared for the request. Asaph, both his songwriting buddy and guitarist, uncover his acoustic guitar while Redic snuggled up with another musical friend of his, Dana. Both of them first arrived in Shanghai during the 2010 World Expo and have since made their mark on the local and national music scene in China.
| | They proceeded to do a brilliant rendition of “Just As Long As You Are There” off Redic’s soon-to-be-released album and one of my favourite cuts from his project. Catching up with a number of people that evening was great. It got us back into the swing of living in Shanghai once again.
Another aspect of being in such an expat city like Shanghai is the ever-revolving door. And by that I mean, there’s a constant coming and going of people. Already this year we have bid farewell to two good friends, David and Pascale, who are now on missions down in New Zealand. |
With US singer Dana.
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Waiting for Carlos and Oly to arrive. (left to right) Alejandra, Carlos, Fernando, me and Lezil.
| Now it was time to send off Carlos and Oly – a couple from Mexico who we met through the Church we attend in Shanghai. Their five year stint in China was coming to an end and they were returning back to their native Mexico.
The whole evening was brilliantly organised starting with the whole surprise aspect. A group of around 25 friends (including Lezil and I) clandestinely met at the couple’s compound where in the middle of the grounds was a club house. Whilst Carlos and Oly were being driven off somewhere, the finishing touches were added to the Hollywood-theme decorations in the room. Clapperboards adorned each round table and cinema-style boxes of popcorn were placed by each seat.
| | In the far corner a buffet was being set up by Gabriela Fernandez – a successful Mexican food entrepreneur in Shanghai – and the smells from her cuisine were extremely tantalising, so much so that many of us went into overdriven eating away at the popcorn snacks. Shouts of “Ya llegan…!” (they are arriving!) were our starting orders to all hide behind a couple of big screens. The moment the main door to the club house room opened, we all jumped out in one big chorus of “sorpresa!” (surprise!).
Carlos was first through the doors as we all stood in a semi-circle applauding enthusiastically. It was like some kind of presidential reception as he went around thanking and hugging each person there. Meanwhile, the lovely Oly was still standing by the entrance completely overcome with emotion. Eventually after a few minutes with her close friend Ceci, who incidentally was one of the main organisers, she walked in with a tissue in hand to be given some flowers and again meeting and greeting everyone.
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Everyone hiding behind the big screens.
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With the leaving couple - Carlos and Oly.
| Mexican banda music starting playing and we didn’t need any encouraging to go and line up for the buffet once we were told the food was ready. It was a delicious selection of many Mexican favourites – tacos, arroz, flautas, ensalada, salsa picante and more. There was plenty for people to have two or three helpings (there goes our calorie count for the day!). As we neared the end of our munching, the entertainment provided was of three traditional dances from the Veracruz region of Mexico with my favourite being the candle dance.
| | Throughout the entire choreography, the two ladies held one candle in each hand and balanced one perfectly on their head. There was such poise and grace as they effortlessly drifted across the floor. Although I’m not Mexican, it was still a proud moment to witness a fellow Latin American culture’s vibrancy and creativeness.
Then followed a mock ‘Academy Awards’ ceremony with all our gifts we had brought acting as a prize for each category. And of course, Carlos and Oly won each prize!
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A traditional candle dance from Veracruz, Mexico.
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'Gagnam Style' makes an appearance among the Salsa and Mexican music.
| The night became more interactive as we played a mass-version of movie charades. The slight twist in the game being that whoever in the team guessed the movie title correctly, won an actual DVD. Lezil and I came away with copies of ‘Lincoln’ and ‘Argo’ which had recently won Best Picture at the real Academy Awards.
As is expected when any sizeable group of Latinos get together, the dancing shoes coming out. Salsa music, Mexican banda music and even Korea’s ‘Gagnam Style’ had us working off our Mexican dinner in no time. | I’ve said this before, but having a close-knit community of people from South America in Shanghai is a real blessing. And it also provides Lezil with yet more exposure to the culture in preparation for when we eventually make the trip down to Ecuador to see my folks and extended familia. Carlos and Oly – you will be missed!
Novel clapperboards on each table.
Welcoming an emotional Oly to her surprise leaving party.
Lezil (4th from the left) with the ladies.
Me (3rd from the left) with the men.
The utterly delicious selection of Mexican dishes.
My first of two helpings!
The evening program begins with entertainment and games.
Wowing the party that night - a candle dance from Veracruz, Mexico.
With our friend Yuri - one of the dancers.
Carlos and Oly cutting their commemorative homemade cake.
Saying my goodbyes to Carlos.
A clear indication that you are still not over holiday mode is when you keep using the phrase “this time last week…”. It felt so unsettling – almost unreal – when we touched down at Pudong International Airport. At 6am Shanghai was just waking up and a thick fog hung over the city. Fifteen hours before and we were saying goodbye to a cloudless Perth and Lezil’s family.
As we opened the door to our apartment everything inside was unchanged, exactly how we left it a month ago. That was that, our incredible holiday experience over. There was clothes washing to do, a supermarket run, pay the outstanding water and electricity bills and get my mind zoned in for my first day back at work on Monday. Thank goodness it was only a Saturday and I had those two days to settle down a bit.
In the meantime, Lezil and I started to look back over the last four weeks allowing the memories and photos to imprint themselves permanently into our minds. I soon realised there were a number of images I didn’t put up. So instead of my usually meaty blog, I will allow the photos and captions to tell some of the additional stories from our unforgettable time down under. And I’m pretty sure we will be casting our thoughts back quite a bit over the coming weeks. To the Hendricks family (Lezil’s side) – thank you! To some of the additional friends met along the way: Brook, Joe, Jeff, Lenor, Cheryl, Wayne, Luke – thank you! And all the other random once-only people we came across – thank you! To Western Australia (our home for the month) – you truly are blessed with some of the best beaches and lifestyle culture anywhere on earth. We will be back!
(And, what was I doing this time last week? Well, it was so hot that I was in the back garden catching some sun when the sprinklers suddenly came on. What a refreshing feeling sitting in the midst of all those falling droplets!)
(For the photos below, click on them to enlarge.) Busselton Jetty
The longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere at 1.8km located in Georgraphe Bay, Western Australia.
The lighthouse at the start of the jetty.
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Getting ready for the long walk to the end.
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View of the shoreline from the start of the jetty.
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The jetty's full length which bends to the right in the far distance.
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And so, the walk commences!
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Lezil takes her time, enjoying the awesome views and weather.
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Poems and sayings can be found all along the jetty.
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There was a train you could catch but we opted to go on foot instead.
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Dad and daughter.
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Finally reaching the end, with Brook (Lezil's brother Jesse's girlfriend).
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Back by the beach in Busselton. Great water for swimming - so clear and lots of fishes!
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Tucking into a yummy portion of fish & chips!
| Leighton Beach, Perth
Just north of Fremantle in Perth, runs a line of beaches literally one going into the other. This particular one we went to was Leighton Beach. Clean, great for swimming and popular with dog owners.
Soaking in the sun and sea on our last week in Perth.
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Look at Lezil the beach babe! LOL.
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Nothing like going for a run along the sea!
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Lezil feeling so laid back as the waters gently lap the shore.
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A couple of doggies go for a paddle.
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Lezil at home by the beach.
| Beatty Park Leisure Centre, Perth
In an area called Vincent north of central Perth, you can find an excellent swimming complex - Beatty Park. First opened in 1962, there are two outdoor pools and two indoor pools, a gym and a spectactor's seating area. Just $5.70 gets you in. Well maintained and brilliant to be able to swim outdoors.
The impressive outdoor 50m pool.
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Getting a few laps in!
| Kings Park, Perth
Just over 4 square kilometres in size, Kings Park is one of the largest city parks in the world. With a number of walkways, spectacular views of the city, botanical gardens and grass which you can picnic on, it was inspiring place to spend a morning at.
Lezil and I at one of the view points with Perth central in the background.
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An outdoor concert venue at Kings Park.
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More awe-inspiring views of the city and Swan River.
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A map detailing points of interest around the Swan River.
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Walking over one of the elevated bridges.
| | Final Night BBQ, Perth
Our very last night in Perth and we decided to do an evening BBQ with some family friends over to join us. It was a full on South African affair and the night ended with a intensely contested game of charades! Fun times.
These free BBQs can be found all around the neighbourhood. Just one push of the 'on' button and you are ready to cook!
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I do the honours of putting on the first sausages (beef of course, I don't eat pork!).
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Family friend Jeff and I at the grill.
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Darkness quickly falls and the cooking continues - Dad H and Lezil.
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Waiting for the food, Jesse and his girlfriend Brook.
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Family friend Cheryl (Right) with Mom H.
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(left to right) Jeff, his wife Lenor, myself and Lezil.
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South Africans (with an Australian/Ecuadorian/British thrown in) all ready to feast on the BBQ food!
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The street lights haven't come on yet, so we use a couple of tablets for light!
| | And The Final Goodbye...
The holiday started as it ended - with the family and with unbroken sunshine, both of which was making it very hard to tear ourselves away from Perth.
Arriving at Perth International Airport to check in for our return flight.
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Waiting to check in (left to right) Mom H, Lezil and me!
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Final pose - (left to right) Dad H, me, Mom H and Lezil.
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The family together for our last lunch before we go through to boarding.
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Our Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200 getting ready for the 4hrs 45min flight to Singapore.
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Can't believe it's all over! :(
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Several hours later, we arrive the next day in cold and overcast Shanghai.
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