Car Thief

On Saturday, the 7th of March 2009, my daughter, Siu Wei, and I went for a hike along the Hilltop Walk situated at the top of Telok Blangah Hill in Singapore. As we passed a car park, we heard a strange tapping sound and, on investigation, we found out that the sound was due to a white-headed woodpecker trying to break into a car.
I cannot understand why it would want to steal a set of wheels when it could have simply flown to its destination. I mean what if it got stopped by the police? In Singapore, driving without a licence is a serious offence.

Do you know the name of this flower?

Just like there is the Christmas tree, there is also a tree to celebrate the Chinese New Year – the plum tree. This is because the Chinese New Year actually celebrates the advent of spring. The plum tree cannot be found in hot and humid Malaysia so we have to do the next best thing; we create one. Every year we would strip a small tree of all its leaves and then decorate it with plastic pink and white plum blossoms.

As the Chinese New year is just around the corner, I was chopping down a branchy "catapult" tree at the edge of a forest the other day when I spotted this flower.

I had not noticed it at first because it resembles the purple flower of the "catapult" tree, although slightly bigger, until I saw the two green hairy elongated globes behind it. This is the first time that I have come across this flower and I was intrigued. Upon further examination, I found a darkened and split mature globule with tiny seeds further down the branch and realized that the hairy globules are actually the fruits. I have now planted the seeds and hopefully, they will germinate. Now, maybe someone can tell me its name.

a tear falls

Photo from Photobucket

a tear falls
frozen in midair
by your coldness

Beijing Sojourn

We visited Beijing (formerly known as Peking) in China in April 2006. It was spring and the beautiful blossoms of the plum, peach and magnolia were in full bloom. The first places that we visited were the Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. They were large and it took us a few hours to cover these two places. Next we took a rickshaw ride through Beijing’s Hutong which is a neighbourhood of narrow streets surrounding the Forbidden City. The Hutong gave us a glimpse of how ordinary people live. That night, and for a few nights more, we feasted on Peking Duck. To me, Beijing’s Peking Duck is the best that I have ever tasted!
And then, it was to the Great Wall! We went to the Badaling Section of The Wall which is said to be the easiest to climb. While up The Wall and looking down at the barren rolling hills below on the outside, I suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. I felt as if I was back among my comrades defending The Wall against the Mongolian hordes and I joyfully shouted out to them, “I have returned!” (in Chinese, of course). My wife and daughter were startled but not surprised; they know that I can be strange at times. However, the other sightseers seem to keep their distance after that.

Bali - Kecak and Fire Dance

The photos are of the “Kecak and Fire Dance” that we watched at a place called Uluwatu in Bali in November 2008. It was performed in the evening at an open-air theatre above a sheer cliff high above and overlooking the Indian Ocean and close to the famed Uluwatu Temple.
Accompanied by a choir of chanting and singing men dressed in sarongs, the dance around a fire tells the story of how Rama defeated the evil Rhawana to rescue his love, Sita. It was an enchanting evening as night quickly fell and the moon and the stars came out to watch the dance too!
This holiday is my favourite because it was the very first time that my family (the kids and us) went on an overseas trip together.

Huddled in the cold

Pic by kellied263

huddled in the cold
beyond the glare of neon lights
a forlorn Christmas

A stroll hand in hand

a stroll hand in hand
in cold desolate autumn
your soulmate and you