Giving Back to St Joe (continued)

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On 1st July 2010, some of the guys had breakfast at Kwong Hup Cafe on Jalan Keretapi, Kuching.

A cheque of RM 1,500 was presented by Datuk JJ to Bob Chew, for the St Joe donation.

THANK YOU, Datuk JJ for your generosity!

Datuk JJ presents cheque to Bob, while Norbert, Mark and Sinos look on

Sorry guys, for general security reasons I think it's better not to show the other close-up picture of the cheque that you sent to me.

Thanks all for giving back to your alma mater.
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Eat, Drink and Be Merry @ Cat Town

A couple of nights ago, nine guys met for dinner at Topspot @ Permata Carpark. in Kuching. I believe they ordered from ABC Seafood. What's that I hear you say? What was the occasion? Huh? Do fifty-year olds need an occasion to eat, drink and be merry? Looking at these pictures, obviously not .... although I do believe the guest-of-honour for the evening might be our good buddy Sinos Bartholomew, back on vacation from sunny Siem Reap.

Not even finished eating, and Bob's eyes are straying already ...

Nobert in deep focus on the food, while Georgie boy and Robert salivate ?

Better than amok fish, Tuan Sinos?

Crabalicious competition to Eng Seng in Singapore ????

Burp .. just look at the blissful grins ...

Hope you're having a good vacation, Tuan Sinos !

Motorbike Mavericks (continued)

Last week we spoke about the motorcycle enthusiasts among our classmates back in the 70s.

We've since learnt that such passions never really go away. In fact, the toys just get bigger, sexier and more powerful.

Here's our friend Sinos with his red Honda Hornet 900cc machine. I'm sure he has enjoyed great road adventures speeding around Cambodia ...

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Looking real fierce, my friend !

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I will add on to this posting when some of our other friends share their motorbike pictures. Stay tuned ...

Reunion at Siem Reap (Day 4)

Many of our friends left Siem Reap in the early morning of 2nd Sept, but some of us (JY, JK + families, CLF) had evening flights, so could squeeze in a few more sightseeing visits around town. We decided on Artisans d'Angkor, the Old Market (a repeat visit) and then the Royal gardens. NL joined us for the Artisans visit, before leaving to catch his flight back.

Using a trio of tuk tuks, we started off ...

First we visited the Artisan d'Angkor workshop where poor, young people, usually from rural areas, are given the opportunity to develop skills in traditionals arts, like silk painting, wood carving, sculpture, etc.

Next it was back to the Old Market (see photos from previous day), before we headed to the Royal Gardens ...

Here we are at the special lounge at SR airport, waiting for our flight back. Wah, isn't Tuan Sinos looking real handsome !

All good things must come to an end eventually. And so it was with our Siem Reap trip. It will certainly be one holiday most of us won't easily forget.

Reunion at Siem Reap (Day 1)

The day finally arrived. Some of the guys (a few with spouses and children) began coming into Siem Reap from Sat 29th August, while my family & I took the Silkair flight from Singapore at 1030 this morning, together with James Kuo & family, and Chen Liang Fang. We landed just before noon.

What a welcome! Our friend Sinos was there on the airport tarmac, greeting us the moment we stepped off the plane. And when we had passed Immigration and Customs, there was a banner greeting us with the most familiar logo of St Joe.

Here are some shots taken at the airport when the different groups arrived...

A mini-bus brought us to the Borei Angkor hotel, just 20 minutes away.

After checking into the hotel and meeting the rest of the guys, we went for a nice Cambodia local lunch.

Here are some of the photos taken at our lunch at Bantaey Srey Restaurant.

After lunch, it was off for a tour of the Lake Tonlé Sap (the Great Lake), the largest freshwater lake in south-east Asia. The Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: 1) its flow changes direction twice a year, and 2) the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonlé Sap backs up to form an enormous lake. So for most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep and 2,700 sq km in size. During the monsoon season however, the Tonlé Sap river, which connects the lake with the Mekong river, reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests. This floodplain provides a perfect breeding ground for fish.

The Lake Tonle Sap outing was an interesting and also quite a moving experience. We saw how the people lived in floating villages on the banks of the lake.

The level of poverty was heart-breaking. As our boat made its way on the lake, smaller "sampans" with one or two people (often young children) would come up alongside our boat, and the kids would jump over or paddle over in a small basin boat & start selling souvenirs to us. Naturally, many of our group put a few dollars in their palms, often even without taking their ware.

We also saw "sunken" forests, ie. trees which were submerged in the high water level of the lake.
In the evening we went for dinner plus traditional Apsara show. "Apsaras" are the legendary Angkor angels. The dancng ladies were beautiful and graceful, and the performance was very colourful.

After the show, we went back to the hotel and went to the music lounge on the top floor of the hotel. There we found the St Joe banner strung up above the bar.

What an incredibly packed first day ! It felt that we had done so many things already.
Our host did a fantastic organizing job. A million thanks to Tuan Sinos !
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Siem Reap, Here We Come !

It's almost here ...

On the morning of Sunday 30th August, a number of Old Boys from St Joe Form 5, 1976, some with families, will be arriving in Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia.

Confirmed for the three day visit are

• James Kuo, wife & 3 daughters (flying in from Singapore)


• Harry Goh & wife (from KL)


• Nick Lau (Hanoi)


• Chen Liang Fang (Singapore)


• Robert Chin & wife (Kuching)
  
• Jensen Ng Khoon Teck & wife (Kuching)


• Norbert Liew (Kuching)
  
• James Yong, wife & daughter (Singapore)

So start packing your clothes and cameras and old photos (if you have any to share). This promises to be a most memorable trip.

Thanks to Bartholomew Sinos and others for helping make this happen.

Men in Uniform

Is it true that girls go for men in uniform? Well, a long time ago some of our friends certainly believed so and went all out trying that strategy. Here are some of the pictures. If you happen to have more, just send them to me & I'll add them on.
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The first picture is of our friend John Lee, the Police Cadet. This was during one of the Sports Days, when the uniformed boys were "on duty". Sorry the photo isn't very clear. I've done whatever photo editing I can to sharpen it, but it looks like they used some primitive pinhole camera from Ah Chui's Physics lab ...
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The next photo shows four smart looking Police Cadets - not sure who's the one leftmost, but I can see Sinos Bartholomew, Harry Goh and John. I also can't recognise the two other boys who are trying to muscle their way into the picture.

What's the point of being a Police Cadet without playing with guns? In the next picture, we have Wilson Chao and John Lee on a Police Cadet exercise trip to Sematan. According to John (who supplied these Cadet pictures) they all had a go with shooting targets (mostly coconuts) using 1.22 rifles.
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(Spot Philip Hii & Koon Teck in photo above)

We mustn't forget the other important uniformed group, the Red Cross or Red Crescent (I can't remember exactly which year the name change came about). Anyway, the next picture shows Cyril "Si Tiaw Mo" (seated, middle) and Leo Sia (seated 2nd from right, who also contributed this picture), among many others whom I'll leave you to identify.

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So the big question remains - do girls really go for men in uniform? Three decades on, I hope some of the ladies looking at this posting will tell them the truth on whether this strategy worked or not ... :-)
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News from Cambodia

I was delighted to receive a note from a fellow Fifth Former, Bartholomew Sinos, who is now working in the aviation industry and based in Cambodia. He wrote (copying a few other of our fellow formmates) ...


Dear James & the all the Old Boys of SJS,

Many thanks for your pleasant surprise e-mail.

Yes, I think I can still vividly remember you James but since it has been a long time, then again we can't remember very well. I think you were in the science class, right?

Anyway, it is good to be able to keep with one another in touch again, thank to IT.

I saw John Lee's article for the coming CNY in England. Well done, John. Yes, we had one class of 76 reunion in 2006 in Kuching. Thanks to Ben, Mark, Ah Loot & the other ex-classmates for this happy event. We are looking forward to have one soon, Ben?

I am in Siem Reap, Cambodia since 1994. Perhaps, we could have a some sort or reunion in the fabulous Angkor Wat, soon? Give it a thought and I will handle it here. Mark, Ben or Edward could help to connect with our ex-classmates round the world.

To all my Chinese ex-classmates, school mates & friends, here is a "Gong Xi Fa Cai" to you & family, wherever you maybe. OK, James you may include my e-mail on the website but please use my personal e-mail address: sinos0505@yahoo.com

Thanks once again, do keep in touch, God bless you & family and take care.

Regards,

Sinos Bartholomew

Commercial Manager - Commercial Department
Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports (SCA)


I don't know what you guys feel but a reunion at the Angkor Wat sounds fabulous to me :-) We can think about it and discuss on the website.