20 February 2014

Hi everyone.

Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, where Vera and I are visiting Caroline and Andrew before heading back to Qingdao on 21 February, for the start of the second semester of the 2013-14 academic year.

Hawaiian holiday

It was been a busy few weeks.  We left Qingdao on Friday 10  January 2014 and flew to Honolulu (via Seoul).  Jen & family were already there and Andrew & Caroline arrived the same morning as us.  We stayed in a lovely house right on Waimanalo Beach for a week.

What a contrast to Qingdao, where it was cold and polluted.  The weather in Hawaii was perfect, around mid-20s every day with little humidity.  The sand on the beach was golden and the clear water was various shades of turquoise; big blue sky and sunny days.  Exploring Oahu was fun.

Andrew & Caroline had to return to KL and the rest of us moved into busy Waikiki. The boys loved surfing the small waves off Waikiki beach.

Jen & family returned to Brisbane.  Vera & I stayed on to do the Island Cruise from 25 January to 1 February.  We were on the NCL Pride of America with 2,200 guests and 900 staff.  Impressive operation. We especially enjoyed the range of entertainment offered every night.  Would we do another cruise?  Maybe, although we were a bit overwhelmed by the commercialism of it all.

After 24 enjoyable days we said goodbye to the Aloha State - Hawaii is a special place.

It was good to catch up with Donna and Steve Craven, whom we hadn't seen since our time in Singapore 17 years ago where Steve was head of the Commercial Section in the US Embassy.  Incidentally, for those interested in international trade issues and policies Steve has an informative and entertaining blog "Business beyond the reef" - see www.kekepana.com/blog - check it out!

Kuala Lumpur

We are now in Kuala Lumpur until 21 February when we return to Qingdao.  Had a few days in Penang last week, and will visit Melaka before we leave.

Yesterday Andrew persuaded me that it was time to join the 21st century and start a blog - a more appropriate way to record our 'comings & goings' in the digital age.  So here goes.  

As a first step I tried to include the 2013 monthly "Letters from China" on this site - the text copied across, but not the photos (anyone know how to do that?).  It looks as if I have to go back to the original photos to upload them.  Will try to do that when we are back in Qingdao next week and I have access to my own computer, but it would be a big job and in any case you would have seen the photos in the original"Letters".

My intention is to continue to compile monthly "Letters" and include them as posts on the blog.  I might even do interim posts as well - let's see how it goes.

Thank you to those of you who provided feedback on our "Letters".  Please continue to do so, on the blog or by email.  It is always interesting to hear your views and comments.

Best wishes,  alex & vera olah (currently in KL)

Wonderful Waimanalo Beach, 30 metres from our back door!

The boys got right into boogie-boarding.  Here is Nate in action.

Delicious lunch at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck near Leia.

The spa was a family affair!

Celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss with a Cheesecake Factory special dessert!

With Steve and Donna, friends from Singapore days.

Cruise buddies Deborah and Roddie from Nova Scotia. They were great company.

Our impressive cruise ship, the Pride of America.

Welcome gathering on the cruise ship.

By a wonderful coincidence, we met up with old friends Geoff & Keith in Kona (Big Island). They reside in Sydney, but we rarely get to see them there.  The last time we met was 4 years ago when we all happened to be in New York City.   Where will we meet next time?

A roof-top bar in Kuala Lumpur with Andrew & Caroline and their friends Josie and Terry.  Petronas Towers in the background.

With Guy Burton in KL.  He is teaching at Nottingham University's KL campus.

...

So, that's it for my first-ever post on my new blog.  It covers our time in Hawaii in January 2014 and a bit on our time in Malaysia in February 2014.  Tomorrow we will head back to Qingdao for the start of the new semester.

Best wishes to you all, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

20 February 2014.