Scar And Chancey

Between two extremes is what we felt when we got the news.

While we were excited to experience something new and interesting, yet we felt something familiar and sad just at the start of our vacation in Indonesia. We got another shock upon coming back. We lost two of our hamsters when we were so far away from them.

This post is in honor of our beloved hammies, gentle Scar and lovely Chancey.


Scar, Aged 3, Died 7 June '08

A day after we touched down in Jakarta, I received my second text message from my Niece who was taking care of our pets and plants. The first was a cheerful "Bon Voyage" greetings on the day of our departure, while the second was a sad one...

"Cik Bian, Scar mati..." was the message on my iPhone in Malay which translates to "Uncle, Scar died."

I informed both Wifey and Sonny who was not as shocked like me because we knew Scar was already very old.

"Hang in there boy... we'll be away for a week, but Kak Ahah will take care of you while we're gone." Were my last words to Scar when I gave him a piece of cheese just before we left our home for the airport.

Scar got his name when he was bitten by another hamster when they were kept together in a big cage. As a result, he got a scar on his forehead, thus the name.

Yet, unlike his rugged name, Scar was a gentle soul. Seldom to fight back or be territorial, he kept hiding away from his aggressor. He instead liked being taken out of his cage and played with Sonny.

As he grew older, he developed a few lumpy growths on his underbelly. An inquiry with the Vet had the most probable cause to be genes due to inbreed, more than anything. Scar was considered too old to have any operation to remove them. He might be too weak to recover from it, so the lumps were left alone.

Scar lived with the lumps for almost a year. They grew larger but did not hamper on his movements or his big appetite.

Scar did not make it till we were back home again. He died on 7th June 2008.


Chancey, Aged 2.5, Died 9 June '08

As we traveled farther and farther into Central Java, the text messages and calls turned into "Blocked" or "Unknown" numbers amongst the successful welcome messages as the telcos signals switched from one to the other.

When we finally reached home, the first thing Sonny did was to check on HamsterVille.

"Ayah! Chancey's missing!" Sonny hollered from the service balcony.

Wifey and Sonny started to look into corners around the kitchen and living room for signs of Chancey.

The fact that the food bowl was already cleaned in the cage did leave a good feeling in me. I sent a text message to my Niece at 3:00AM hoping to get a reply when she woke-up for work.

"I've msg to u lots of times.. think u didnt receive. I've said sorry to Chancey for u guys. If u want her pic i'll send it my MMS." Was a reply I got at 7:00AM.

Wifey wept when I told her. Sonny asked "how come?"

My exact reactions as well. I was totally surprised that Chancey died as she was still quite young and one of the healthiest among all hammies.

"I think Chancey missed us..." Wifey tried to find reason, "we always play with her everyday."

Sonny nodded. I agreed with her.

Chancey was the most tamed and responsive to us. She would come to the front of the cage whenever she sensed or smelt us near HamsterVille. She would also do the same just by calling her name from afar.

She loved to eat and receive strokes on her back by keeping still and closing her eyes.

Chancey had an infected lump on her belly when she was still young and was surgically removed by the vet. She was isolated while Sonny kept her surgery wound clean by washing it with disinfectant and applying honey everyday for several weeks until it closed-up nicely. That was a year ago.

When I received the pictured message, Chancey died laying on her side. Her coat was still beautiful and she looked healthy. She still had lots of food on both cheek pouches and some food still stashed in one corner of her cage. Her water bottle was half full too.

She must have died suddenly.

She could not wait for us to come back. She died two days after Scar.

Our only regret was that we were not there to see them both one last time, though we know that they are in a much better place now. Most probably the same neighbors too.

Scar and Chancey... we love you always.

Happy 13th Birthday!

The best thing that has happened
To both your Mom & Me
Is You

We wish you the best & cool teen year!

Glad We're Home

At Borobudur with a Buddha in an exposed Stupa

Phew!

We are back home again!

The vacation was fast-ending as it was fast coming when we first yearned for an escape.

Yes, we had fun. Seen lots in a foreign land and experienced plenty... the beautiful culture, the magnificent landscapes and the sad human realities there too. An eye-opener especially for our Sonny.

Central Java, Indonesia has a rich past dating from ancient times. From ancient ruins showing testaments to their past Hindu and Buddhist civilizations, to the old buildings of once occupied country by the Dutch, the English and the Japanese before their centuries-long fights for freedom gained their independence in 1945.

Going from places to places together with the rest of the tour group - our family of 5 people and 3 middle-aged couples from Singapore, the trip was made fun and alive especially from a hilarious and very animated guy, not our tour-guide but our own local man named Pak Shukri from Ang Mo Kio.

The Java Overland Tour Group

11 of us were the closest to a family we got with Pak Rizal as our tour guide and time keeper, we spent during our 6-day Java Overland Tour as we journeyed together across the vast land.

Starting from the capital city Jakarta in the west, stretching all the way to end of tour coverage as far as Jogjakarta, about the centre of Central Java island.

A nice experience overall for me simply because I have the most favorite people to share it with... my family and parents.

The only drawback is my weak stomach. The second last day proved that I am not that tough after I eat a packed of steamed ground nuts Mom bought from a street peddler who came to our coach.

Mom eat a few, so did Sonny, but I eat most of it and finished it all, so I got the worst reaction... only me!

This time around, Wifey got to tell me "I told you so" when I fell ill coming back to Jakarta from Bandung. My stomach was in so much pain as I felt it twisted and turned upside-down inside of me from food poisoning.

She kept reminding me not to buy food or drinks from the street peddlers. I did not, but my Mom did. I am not blaming, I just tend to forget the hygiene level there as our stomachs are accustomed to living in Singapore.

The vast padi fields dominating most of country's landscape

That was the most longest and painful, grueling 3-hour coach ride of my life!

The medication we brought for the trip took a long time to take affect but did a good job nonetheless reducing my trips to the toilet... everywhere we could stop at one along our journey.

Disposable underwear came in handy too, I tell you! Fortunately the toilets at all pit stops were surprising clean. Phew!

Well, I have to stop here as nature calls again, the third time today.

I promise the next few posts will be pleasant ones... the ones we immersed ourselves with enjoyment entirely.

To-the-loo... for now!

Packed And Ready

There! We are finally packed for our vacation starting tomorrow.

Wifey was exceptionally chatty while we were packing... a little bit too excited at times. I have been focusing on the photography department, checking and packing the camera and video cam and all its accessories.

Sonny was focusing on the gaming department. Loading-up on all the games, songs with is laptop, PSP, PDA and accessories into his knapsack.

Wifey has a medium-sized luggage all to herself, while the larger one is shared by both Sonny and me. We also packed some snacks and sachets Milo, 3-In-1 coffee and tea for our late night chats there.

I am beginning to feel the excitement, but at the same time cannot help but feel sad to leave our pets behind. We will have to say good bye to our fish, plants and especially our hamsters. Actually, I am quite sad that we will not be seeing them for the whole week.

Fortunately they are not home-alone. My Niece has graciously agreed once again, to come by our home at least every other day after her class to help water the plants, top up the automated fish food-feeder when its running low and feed our hammies.

The last time she did the same was when we left for Bangkok, Thailand in December last year.

Our Qatar Airways flight which will depart from Singapore from Changi Airport Terminal 3 at 2:00PM for a 1 hour and 45 minutes flight reaching Jakarta, Indonesia, with a time zone an hour earlier.


We will travel across Central Java going to interesting natural wonders - caves and volcanic mountains, hot springs and historic places. We will also visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the ancient Borobudur temple.

Going from one tourist destination to another everyday, most of our time will be spent in the coach, just like our trip to Perth Australia with my parents too. So Mom and Dad are quite accustomed to what the trip entails.

Hotels will therefore be different everyday in every province.

All together we will be visiting 5 provices throughout the 7-day tour.

Hopefully it will not be taxing to both Mom and Dad. Definitely, some places will be almost inaccessible to my wheelchair-bound Mom, but the tour guide assured us not to worry.

We will just pray that this is true. I would hate it if Mom were to miss out on any once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We pray for a safe journey there and back. Hoping that we can enjoy ourselves thoroughly together and bring lots of fond memories and experiences back... souvenirs, pictures and all!

See you in a week's time! Have a super-great week everyone!