Nine Years Old Today

Dear folks,

I have an announcement to make. Today is my BARKDAY! I am officially NINE years old! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Over the past 9 years, the Missus has always taken photos of me posing with my birthday cakes. As you know, I am a very good boy and I have always obliged her during her crazy and demanding photo-shoots.

But this year was different and I don’t know why (maybe it comes with age?). I have had enough of waiting and posing next to my cake. So, while she was busy sorting out the camera settings, I seized the opportunity to dive into my cake there and then.

Here’s Yours Truly gobbling up the cakes. Unfortunately, this left the Missus no time to capture her stage-managed shots. Instead, she had to grab her camera hastily and just hit the shutter button continuously.

Mmmmm...Cake!

In the past, the Missus would bake my Barkday cakes for me. But this year, as most of her baking stuff is still in storage, she had to go out and buy these mini-cakes from a dog bakery in Bangkok. They came in different flavours – pumpkin, chicken liver, salmon, beef…gee I cannot remember what else but I know they all tasted YUMMY!

Oh my dog! They tasted so good! Excuse my manners while I enjoy my cake!

The Missus finally managed to rescue a few morsels for a photo-shot before I could finish them off!

She then made me take a short ‘break’ from my ‘scoffing’ so that she could take a few more photos.

When she was done, I finished-off the rest within seconds. I hope I won’t get tummy upset! Yikes!

All that remained were the candle and the plastic wrapper!

PS: I was actually burping in this photo and the Missus managed to capture it!

With all my love,
Homer

Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little ‘Porkie Pies'*

*Porkie Pies: Pork pie or Porkie pie, often shortened to porkie, is the British slang term for lie.

OK folks. I know I’m supposed to tell you more about my journey from Singapore to ‘Pie Land’. But before I do so, I wanted to let out a little rant.

This is based on my own observations. I have noticed that my humans, if given the right opportunity, like to lie to me or provide the wrong information, just to mislead Yours Truly.

For instance, during our stint in Italy, we would often travel and explore various exotic cities. On one particular trip, which I’ll never forget, my humans mentioned to me that we were going to a place called ‘Pizza’. Of course, I was elated! Imagine a city full of pizzas for me to sink my canines into! Pizza al Prosciutto, Pizza Neopolitan, Pizza Margherita, Pizza Marinara…oh my dog, PIZZA! How wonderful is that?

However, much to my disappointment, when we arrived at our destination, there was NO PIZZA IN SIGHT! Instead, all that I could see of interest, was this huge ‘Leaning Tower’. Then it dawned on me. We were in PISA, not Pizza! I was so upset to be duped!

Here I am in Pisa.

To add insult to injury, my humans took me there again (this time with Grandma), using the same false story!

Here I am in Pisa, AGAIN!

Another incident happened only recently. We had to leave Singapore to relocate elsewhere. When the Missus told me the destination, I was pretty sure that she mentioned 'Pie Land'. ‘PIE LAND!’ Sounds amazing, right? A place full of pies is indeed a dog’s paradise! Unfortunately, when I landed at Bangkok International airport, there was NOT A SINGLE PIE IN SIGHT! WHAT????????? It turned out that we were in THAILAND, not Pie Land!

This is me in my crate in Thailand's, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

But the shenanigans didn’t stop there. Our final destination, where we were going to spend the next year or so, was supposed to be a place called ‘Papaya’. Oooh…I love papaya! Sounds fantastic, right? It’s so yummy and juicy and you ought to give it a try! For my fellow canine friends who aren’t familiar with papaya, do check out this link. So, I began to fantasise about a city lined up with loads of papayas of different sizes.

You guessed it, there’s no such place as ‘Papaya’. It turns out that we’ll actually be living in a place called PATTAYA. Arghhhhhhh…

Here I am, at my new home in Pattaya. (More about this later).

Pah! I’ll never trust my humans, and their made-up ‘food-places’ again!

The Land of Pies

Woof everyone!

By the time you read this post, I will have relocated to my new country. First of all, thanks for your wonderful comments and I apologise for taking such a while to update my post and to check out your blogs. I’ve been extremely busy trying to settle down in my new den.

I’m sure most of you have been wondering where I was moving to. So, drum rolls please…

I’m moving to ‘PIE LAND’!

I couldn’t believe my ears! A Land full of PIES! Pork Pies, Chicken Pies, Sausage Pies, Bacon Pies, Scotch Pies, Mushroom Pies, Apple Pies, Steak and Kidney Pies… YUMMY! Now, isn’t that amazing? It’s a dream come true for Yours Truly?

[The Missus: “Homer, it’s not ‘Pie Land’, it’s ‘Thailand’]

Thailand? WHAT?!?! (mumbled: “you tricked me…”)

Anyway, it's "Bye LAH", Singapore...

...and "Sawadee Krap" Thailand!

I’ll tell you more about my move to my new home in Pie Land Thailand in my next few posts.

My Hotel in Singapore – A Hidden Gem

Greetings from Homer!

As I mentioned in my earlier posts, my humans and I are leaving Singapore to seek pastures new. One of the perks of relocating to different countries is that I often get to stay in a swanky hotel before we leave. This relocation was no exception. A few days before our departure, we checked into one of Singapore’s “ooh, la-di-da” (i.e. very ‘posh’) hotels.

It was not easy for the Missus to find a hotel in Singapore which accepts dogs; especially ‘big’ ones like me. She spent a lot of time trawling the Internet and making phone calls, but usually met with rejection. On the odd occasion that she found a hotel which actually took in dogs; the policy was that they could not weigh more than 8Kg (16lbs). “Bah – I’ll never slim down from 35Kg to a paltry 8Kg”.

Anyway, after much frustration, the Missus finally managed to find a hotel which was willing to accommodate Yours Truly – the 'Conrad Centennial Singapore'.

Here I am, posing nicely just outside my new 'temporary' home.

Very soon, I began to make new friends...

...and as soon as I entered the hotel, I made even more.

In fact, I was soon swamped by booti-ful ladies wanting to pet me.

Everybody wanted a photo opportunity!

Phew! As soon as I could escape from all of the attention, I made my way to the Front Desk to check-in.

Then I went to check out my room…

Ta-da! I was so surprised and happy to see that the hotel had provided a bowl for my kibbles and a brand new chewing rope for me to play with.

They even gave me a new cuddly 'Conrad Bear' to add to my collection of soft toys.

And look! My own special door sign!

Time to get settled-in and see whether the room met my high expectations.

The bed seemed comfy enough - "Pass".

And the shower was more than big enough - "Pass".

Wow! The view was astounding! "Pass".

I thought I’d better go down and explore the surroundings…

...but once I got to the lobby, I couldn't resist posing on the Hollywood-style glamorous staircase.

And sitting next to the grand piano.

Right, enough of this posing. Time for me and Dad to take a walk around the neighbourhood.

The hotel was right next to Suntec City and the ‘Fountain of Wealth’.

In fact, there were fountains everywhere!

We were also close to the Marina Bay Sands. Haven't I been here before?

As well as the new Gardens by the Bay.

All in all, my hotel and its surroundings were booti-ful.

I was a very happy boy.

I would like to say thanks to the staff of the Conrad Centennial Singapore who made me feel very welcome during my stay. The hotel is indeed a hidden gem in Singapore!

More on my move in my next blog…

Let the Packing Begin

Woof everyone,

As I mentioned in my last blog, it looks like we are on the move. For the last couple of days, my life has been hectic. There was lots of packing that needed to be done.

Of course, a delicate creature like me would NEVER be seen humping boxes around. Instead, I simply supervised the operations…

Here I am, all happy and eager to supervise the proceedings.

...but it didn't take long for me to get grumpy! I hope they don't pack my crate because I need to travel in it!

Pretty soon, there was too much for me to look after...

...hmph! I'm going to take a nap. I'll let the humans deal with the hassle.

I’ll keep you posted on my move as things developed.

Bye for now.

Love,

Homer

Oh No, Not Again…

Woof folks!

While I was taking a leisurely stroll and admiring the landscapes of Singapore, it dawned on me that I have been residing here for 3 years. This is the longest period of time that I’ve spent in any country.

Despite the heat and humidity, life in Singapore has been good for Yours Truly. Although I did battle the dreadful ‘C’, I managed to recover from it thanks to the help of the great veterinary care that I received here.

Just when I thought I was happily settled down in Singapore, looking for a(nother) girlfriend, something unexpected happened. Boxes, bubble wrap, cellotape, papers and what-not were delivered to my doorstep. Blimey! This could mean only one thing…

...I AM RELOCATING AGAIN!!!

"Do you know that this is going to be my seventh move?"

My humans had already packed my stuff for me. You can tell from my expression that I wasn't happy - I wasn't prepared to leave Singapore yet!

Hmmmph...I wasn't going to take this lying down. I decided that I was just going to "unpack" my toys. First, I had to rescue my favourite toy, 'Puppy'.

Me sneaking off with Puppy.

"Don't worry Puppy. You are safe here with me. I won't abandon you."

"Who shall I rescue next?"

"I know! My next favourite toy! My Ikea ball! (After all, this is like my comfort blanket!)"

Now this could go on forever as I have lots of toys to unpack. In the meantime, can you guess where we might be relocating to?

Love,
Homer