Bunratty day out

The furthest we wandered from Cork with the children was probably Co Clare to visit our friends Claire and Rob who were down from Dublin. It was fantastic to meet them again after two years and meeting their children Luke and Elsa. As the pictures tell, the children got on great.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is a must stop on the tourist map. Lunch at the Creamery was a bit chaotic with five children under 5 but we managed to get everyone watered and fed. It had stopped raining (only day it rained on us in the two weeks) so we headed into the park for a walk. Unfortunately thanks to a tour group that trooped ahead of us we never managed to get into the restored castle so I can't say what's in it but the folk park was great fun. It's made up reconstructed farmhouses, cottages and shops showing what everyday life was like in rural Ireland about 100 years ago. There was a lady making pie in one house, a teacher in the schoolhouse (who scared Donncha) and real sweets in the post office! There was even a storyteller in one house and she just talked and talked about the old days and what life was like. You could spend hours listening to her if you had the time. It was fascinating and such talent to just talk and talk - must be the water around there!

We finished the day with a trip back to the Liddy farm for tea and rhubarb crumble - Claire we're still thinking about it! It was lovely to meet Claire's parents again who we haven't met since Claire and Rob's wedding in 2003. Unfortunetly the cows decided to stay away but the tractor and the explanation of where the cows get milked etc made up for that.

It was late by the time we got back at Cork with a quick stop in Mallow for McD's. Everyone was on strike so we had to get them out of the car. An excellent day out and great to catch up with the ever expanding Micallef Clan (!)

Apples and Giraffes

We spent a morning at Fota and saw the giraffes, zebras, fed the ducks etc. There were lots of monkeys but none as animated as the ones we see at Supasave but the kids were happy to run around and play on the slides. Feeding the ducks were a big hit.

A neighbour of Donncha's parents kindly invited us down to her garden to collect cooking apples. Kids were very excited to do this as was Sitty. It brought me back to the orchard at my first boarding school Bedgebury where cooking apples actually tasted good!

Recovering from jetlag

After 24 hours travelling, we finally managed to arrive into Cork's spanking new Airport only to find that there we no trolleys available - Welcome to Ireland .......

Needless to say it's been a challanging couple of days with everyone coping or not coping with jetlag - worst offender so far has been Sitty !!!!

The kids have settled in well and are now very familiar with 'Rumah Grandad' and have reacquainted themselves with old friends.... hanging out with Ruari below
Ayden is enjoying the Irish Summer ......
Walking the dog ..... both Jack and Iman take turns ....

Iman appears to take a running jump at a slide

Jack is facinated with his dad's unshaven look - much like his uncles in Brunei

Day 1 and we head to see the Voyager of the Seas pulling to Cobh Harbour - impressive sight.... Iman was not impressed however as she fully expected the ship to sound it's horn !

Where we sported and played.....

Mostly packed and almost ready to go. Listening to Cork's 96fm would make you change your mind with talk of bullying etc on the streets of Cork but I much prefer to think of Cork as below.

So, it's Brunei, Dubai, London and finally Cork on Saturday morning

Two days before we fly.....

Guess I should really start packing. I'm very good at making lists before going on trips but usually leave the packing for the actual day which get's a bit confusing now that I have to pack for 5! I was just trying to upload pictures of our trip to Singapore but nothing is working for me at the moment so maybe another day.

Murphy's Law

Well, another American city, another long discussion with an immigration officer - from what he was saying, they are randomly checking newly issues passports (mine was issued late last year) and therefore I was selected randomly for further questioning.... hummm......

Surrounded by Blackberrys

So - we have a room full of executives from various parts of the world but mostly based in the US/Canada/Mexico - they all have one thing in common - each has a Blackberry that is constantly referred to for email or just out to sheer boredom (seems to me that most like to at least touch their Blackberry once every 5 minutes)

Feelling slightly technically inadequate but don't think it's something that I will take to any time soon. Not seeing much of the place so can't make too many observations regarding the city except that it's huge - probably has the population of Brunei in one square mile......

Pulled Over in LA

A new experience for the McCarthy suitcases - claiming residence in Brunei and having a visa for Saudi in your passport was probably pushing it, so sure enough, after a quick glance at my documents, I was advised that I would be required to answer a few extra questions by the US Customs. It was all pretty smooth despite them having difficulty in getting access to Brunei on their systems. There was also a confusing question re why I was using another passport from the one I used when I worked in the US back in 1998 (now that's an impressive search that was available at the gent's finger tips). Question was easily side swipped when I pointed out that my half full passport (current) was only issued in late December 2006.

No sign of Posh by the way ..........

A Day Off In Sydney

It's been a busy day in Sydney - dropped off the McCarthy suitcase at the hotel having skipped a queue of hundreds at the customs check - blame foot and mouth in the UK I was told ! Saw Sydney harbour, Opera House etc ..... muesli overlooking the ferry terminal before heading off to surprise Warwick and Janine at their shop...... Janine was there and we had coffee covering the latest news from BSB - it was lovely to see their business expanding into the arcade and we will start a petition in Brunei to move the Nail Girls on so the business can expand even futher - Sorry to have missed Warwick.....

Elmarie treated me to a whirlwind tour of Sydney - don't talk to her when she's driving as she get's lost but at least I've now driven over the Harbour Bridge...... followed by several liquid refreshments and a seafood chowder.....

Kevin Mac is looking as healthy as ever with the same response when asked 'So, what's the news' comes a standard reply of 'Not much now.....' and that after a few years on the missing list......

All that in the first 12 hours in Sydney - a place for tourists for sure but I think the McCarthy suitcases (with kids in tow) will probably head for Brisbane for more kid friendly activities should we come back.

Oh, by the way, it's a first, but I am the last of the McCarthy siblings to visit Sydney - now that says something...........

Our Little Scholar !

Potty Training hasn't really taken off for Jack as yet, but he's certainly showing that he's above his "Topsy and Tim" books

McCarthy Suitcases make it to Riyadh

Greetings all from Riyadh where it's 44 Degrees even early in the morning. Hotel feels like a hotel in Brunei - nobody around and not busy in the restaurants. Staying in the Marriott which feels somewhat like the Green Zone with all the security. Leave tomorrow via Dubai again to Brunei

Another new city for the McCarthy Suitcases

Dubai - for 14 hours before heading down to Riyadh - only people I've met so far are either from India or the Philippines. Not going to explore, a run, lunch and then back to the airport.

Count Down Begins

As many of you will know, it's almost time for our two year trip back to Ireland. This year we bring Ayden for the first time along with Sitty who is coming along to help as three kids under five on a long haul journey is not exactly going to be fun! Aside from the usual family and friend get togethers, we do hope to get the chance to go west to Ballybunion (beach above) where I spent most summer vactions when we were young - one might say that was the extent of my travels then besides the regular trip to Tipperary to see my grandparents.

Meanwhile, I need to get to Riyadh, Sydney, potentially Mauritius and most definately Singapore before even considering traveling to Ireland. Still, everyone is now very excited but to be honest, I think Sitty takes the prize for being most excited.

Sultan's Birthday - Hanging Out

Hanging out with Zarah waiting for their grandparents to return from the Palace - Jack is starting to show signs of real growth and is putting on the pounds at last !!

Strike !!

Rumbling through the photo's taken while I was away recently, I came across this photo where it was clear that the person taking the photo had won the argument !!

Pink Playdough

Iman and I made playdough this afternoon and it was a success which was a big relief and I had one very happy Iman with her pink playdough. Mothers reading this will understand what I mean when the little ones are excited that Mummy is making playdough for them and it turns out being gooey mess. The recipe was given to me by a teacher in Iman's school in Bangkok *Thankyou Teacher May*. For those who need something to occupy the little ones on a rainy afternoon here's the recipe. I think it's foolproof, easy and will save you $.

Mix the following dry ingredients in a medium pot :
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tbs cream of tartar

Combine the following and add to dry ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tbs veg oil
2 tsp food colouring

- Cook over medium heat and stir. After about 3-5 mins it starts getting thicker and a ball will form in the centre of pot. Turn out the mixture and knead on a lightly floured surface. It should now firm up and feel like playdough. Store in airtight container or plastic bag.

Art Exhibition

JIS art was on show at the Empire last week and on display was one of Iman's paintings so we went to have a look. It was very exciting for Iman seeing her painting in a frame. And she was also excited to see her friends' work. From her kindy class there were 3 paintings chosen including hers. Jack just wanted the little label!

Zahra too had a painting exhibited - her big red fire engine though she maintains her flower painting should have been there instead.

End of Term

It was the end of term for the junior school yesterday and their celebration evening was held last night. All our kids performed beautifully. But my camera didn't. I did get a good picture of Fatin performing in the junior orchestra and one of Iman and Zahra below in the entrance of ICC.

Ayden is 8 months

Ayden is 8 months old today!

And on the subject of birthdays a very happy birthday for tomorrow to Grandad McCarthy. Lots of love from all of us xxx

Our own pirate

The topic was pirates in school last week and the class finished off the week with a pirate themed party. Luckily my niece Zar had a ready made pirate costume complete with props (though she is still unaware of her input to the event - thanks Zar!)

Paris Spotted leaving Brunei !

To Swiss Mama - Paris was spotted heading for the Swiss Hills ...... looking slightly confused re our bikini comments - maybe she hasn't been keeping up with the blog...... Brunei is a very small place.... apologies to everyone else who won't have a clue what this is about.....

Our love to MBK

Donncha is back in Bangkok this week on a conference and I am feeling a tad bit envious. I just came off the phone with him in the middle of the main dinner for the event .....sounded like he was having a terrible time.

It's coming up to three months since we've left Bangkok and first and foremost I must say that we miss the Sriram family - our friends and neighbours from the apartment below. This evening as usual Jack was the last to go to sleep and he always goes through a list of people around him and I always answer that they are asleep to encourage him to do the same. After listing cousins, Aunties & staff (of course in no particular order) he mentioned "ahul" & "oohan" followed by "auntie" which though he has plenty aunties (and who doesn't?) I guessed meant Savita as he said it immediately after the boys. So a big hellooo to the Sriram family. Savita has a girls weekend away trip coming up - hope you have a fantastic time and do plenty of shopping!

Shopping....I do miss MBK.....my tshirt lady.....children's clothes lady...... or just endless walking around tourist souvenirs (but never to buy....go somewhere else for that). A morning walk around MBK was always followed by lunch usually at the food court. Contrary to what many Bruneians think Halal food is not difficult to come by in Bangkok as the city has a sizeable Muslim population. The main MBK foodcourt has 3 Muslim stalls and another 2 not serving pork. My favorites were the seafood noodles, vegetarian stalls and of course the somtam. And a meal there was always followed by a tall glass icecream in Swensens ... all guilt free when I was pregnant..... guess that's all what I'm trying to walk off today!

The Simple Life.....

Neither Donncha or I have green fingers so we are extremely lucky to have a gardener to prop up our mangoes as they get bigger and heavier. These are just outside our kitchen door but it took someone else to tell us that they were there!

Additional picture

I quite like this picture thus posting it myself!

A Royal Occasion

We had a Royal Wedding last weekend with the Sultan's daughter getting married. We went along to one of the events .... the ceromony follows traditional Malay customs along with Royal protocol which is always interesting to watch. The clothes you wear are specific and for women, the way you wear your cloth indicates your level in the royal court......... The 'Army' accompanies the princess into the hall .......

Man on a mission - right - I've queued and collected our presents so it's time to eat ...are you coming?

Despite being lowly in the pecking order, we did manage to hang around afterwards and caught a close up of the new Royal Couple returning from their tour of Bandar - it's always amazing to get close up - in this case, all the state dignaturies were waiting to greet the couple and the Royal Family after their state procession through town.....

Our Ballet Queen

Iman is realy starting to enjoy Ballet and has even taken to coaching Jack ...... he does try bless him but as Ayden starts to move about, the boys will start to pay more attention to playing ball!

Why do you want to live in Brunei?

It's the most common question we are asked when we meet people who hear that we live in Brunei - sometimes it's hard to answer as people are looking for the obvious benefits but here are some of the real benefits of living in our tropical paradise....This is the family version of sailing at the moment - as time goes on, we hope to advance a little

An Encounter with Bobby Chin

During a recent trip to Hanoi, a group of us managed to fit in a dinner at a restaurant owned and run by a celebrity chef, Bobby Chin, who you may know from Travel and Living - Cafe Asia. Well, he's as full of life and chatter as he comes across on his program but the restaurant itself is well worth a visit - don't ask me where in Hanoi it is as we were entertaining a potential client and were driven to and from the restaurant ....... excellent place to hang out.....
'What do you mean you don't have a bottle of the nice Australian Fruit Juice' we ordered - I'll do you a deal, we'll order a different 'Fruit Juice' if you have your photo taken with the group ! Deal done but not too sure about the software deal we were trying to win!

Morning out with Mama

My Mum and I went to a beauty shop yesterday morning and brought Jack along with us. He badly needed a haircut but is never too keen on one unless held down. The girl in the shop did bribe him with a sweet but then proceeded to take her time leaving Jack with only half a haircut before he had enough. I myself had my eyebrows and facial hair threaded *ouch*. It's a decent place that my Mum and I recently came across and it was very cheap. Together with a trim for my Mum it all came to B$20 (B$2 was for Jack - 1 euro)! I did leave a generous tip but think in Europe the total would be just the tip - we do love Brunei.

Back to School

I was just starting to enjoy my lie-ins - once we even managed to stay in bed till 7:30!! We got to school just in time today which was a great achievement considering I had to make Iman's lunch and tie up her hair and in between having breakfast with Jack on my lap.

Only 5 days before Donncha get's home!!

Ballet Saturdays

Saturday mornings are always a rush for us to get Iman to ballet on time. This morning we started with our routine of Jack giving me permission to open the curtains comanding to "tutup tabir" which in fact is actually to draw the curtains followed by "tutu bear" that is milk to our children (don't even ask it's a long story). It's then a battle to get Iman into the bath and this morning she was doing the usual not wanting to go in then not wanting to come out. Her hair then had to be tied up and as our Sitty has gone back to Zamboanga City for a month's holiday (and she's only been gone 3 days!!!) I had to send her next door to Jasmine's house to get her hair tied up neatly in a bun. We were late for ballet yet again but had enough time to take the pic in the carpark - she wouldn't let me do it in the studio.

Donncha is now back in Singapore and is spending time with our friends Fred and Judy from Bangkok on their boat. They kindly bought Ayden his sailor romper which we wore yesterday. Thanks Fred and Judy and we hope to all see you again soon.

April/May photos

These are photos that I have been meaning to post for a while. You all have to bear with me...one of these days I will get up to date.

Our two superheroes!

And another not too far behind!


"Deck" & "Den"


Donncha looking very worried at the number of candles on his cake but not too worry he had a lot of volunteers to help him blow them out.

A New City - Hanoi

Greetings from Hanoi - a new city for the McCarthy suitcases ...... everything priced in USD for the ease of travellers ..........

Walk for AIDs Awareness

"Mama of 4" with one of her four who required wheels having put his foot through a glass cabinet
Iman looking great and I have all the signs of having to wake at 6am and get everyone to Bandar for a 7am 4km walk

Some images of the walk including one of the McCarthy wheelers......

* With thanks and apologies to the Bloggers of Brunei for making the photos of the event online and public

It's a sunny day!!!

After months of saying I'll get round to it I have eventually figured out how to get here.

Just for starters here's a picture of Iman and Ayden looking good in Barbie sunglasses. Ayden will be 7 months in two days and is now able to crawl on his belly.

Brunei - BADS

We joined close friends of our's last night at the latest BADS event (Brunei Amateur Dramatics) - Comedy evening - excellent entertainment not easily found in Brunei (everyone took abuse from Australians, Irish, Catholics, Men and in particular one poor husband who had to listen to his wife complain about his habit of watching her copies of Lost and then telling her what happens......)

Everyone now on the road to recovery but it's a slow process - Iman has decided that she is cured and therefore allowed herself a swim this afternoon.

Iman joins the club

Iman had to come home from school not feeling well so it's just myself and Ayden without tablets and medicine ........ 9.05 flight tomorrow morning back to Brunei ...

2 Down - 3 to Go

Brunei has been experiencing a bout of 'flu' with almost every family coming down with something - Jack was first to fall and didn't eat for 24 hours - he became quiet and just wanted hugs - as he recovered (by eating everything in sight), Maria has taken to bed suffering .......

Probably not the best time for me to head off to Singapore for a couple of nights

KB Baby !!!

Love it - for all of us divided on the KB - Bandar divide - almost like the Dublin / Cork argument but taken to a new height by a talented but obviously bored expat !