A NIGHT OUT AT THE SINGAPORE FLYER

Last week I visited the Singapore flyer with my sister's family visiting from Australia.
We went there in the evening and by the time we beat the traffic and long line to enter the carpark it was already night.
We parked the car and took a long walk before we reached the building housing the Flyer. As we made our way thru' the building to finally join the queue to board the flyer we often wandered when the journey to the boarding will end.. The attendants were all very polite and well trained in handling the crowd. The half hour ride on the flyer was ok but I found it to be a bore and I do not think I will made another trip.
The Spore skyline was nice but I think spending $30/ per person is too much and the walk to and after the ride was too long and uninteresting.
Parking is a problem and the poor restaurants and other businesses were quiet and I don't blame the shoppers for not going there because it is such a hassle to just get to the place.

GOOD LUCK THE SINGAPORE FLYER!!!!!!!!!!

CHANNEL 8 PROGRAM ON KUCHING FOOD----26/09/09 @9 TO 10PM.

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT NOODLES ARE THESE???? KOLO MEE OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!!1
Tonight I was so thrilled to watch a half hour program on Kuching ,the capital city of Sarawak, the place where I was born.
An interesting program where the food of Kuching was introduced. Bak Kut Teh, Kolo mee, Lay chay, kueh chap, kack Lapis and others but they left out the most famous, Kuching LAKSA.
An entertaining time ,full of laughs and interesting dialogue.
Places like carpenter streets,the cat museum,padungan road,gambier streets,etc was also shown.
MAYBE YOU CAN CATCH THE REPEAT. DON'T KNOW WHEN!!

A LESSON FROM MY CAT

This is SIMON my cat who live in my clinic and love to laze around and enjoy life to the fullest.
He is full of patience and is wonderful to human and dogs but not to his own kind.
His presence attracted a lot of admirer who will drop in to carry him and touch him.
Happy and contented he really and rarely show his displeasure except to just run away when conditions are not right for him.
His wisdom is great and I wish I can be the same when I am faced with difficult situation.
THANK YOU SIMON FOR SOMETIMES YOU ARE WISER THAN ME.

IF YOU HAVE A PASSION DO IT NOW! DO NOT WAIT FOR TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.

I came across this story in the straits time and was touched by the thought which I used to entertain.

A very successful businessman had a passion for books, all kinds of books but he was too busy to read any because of his hectic life.
To compromise he told himself not to worry for he will buy as many books as he can when he travel and stored them in his library. Soon his house was full of books and one day he decided to retire. So on the first day of his retirement he was so happy and proceeded to the library and tried to read his books,
Sad to say he realized his vision was poor and he had a lot of difficulties reading them.
REGRET HE DID!!!!!!! BUT HE CANNOT TURN THE CLOCK BACK.
IF YOU HAVE A PASSION DO IT!!! DO NOT WAIT FOR LATER FOR TIME AND OUR BODY AGED. THEY DO NOT WAIT FOR US!!!!

DEPARTURES----- A MOVING TALE OF HUMAN DIGINITY

I was very curious to know why a Japanese movie won the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Award 2009, so I got hold of a DVD and proceeded to watch the movie.
To my amazement, I was so moved and touched by the slow but meaningful tale of Japanese passion for their work and their deep understanding of life and death.
I watched the entire length of the movie and was reduced to tears many a times. It made me realised that nothing is too meaningless if we all bothered to search deep and do our task with pride and understanding of the purpose and consequences. The action from this work if perfected would bring new meaning to the observer and convinced them the need and meaning of our work.
The movie followed a simple story line and each development was well timed and brought new meaning to the passage of life on earth and the movie.
I finished the movie and came out feeling proud of my work both in my career and spiritual work.
A MUST SEE IF YOU HAVE NOT CATCH THE MOVIE!!!!!!!!

THE JASMINE FLOWER---LIKE LIFE ON EARTH!

This beautiful flower blossomed in my garden not too long ago and now it is gone. A short time to admire the beauty and smell the fragrance of the flower only. It took many months to reach the flowering stage and yet the flowers did not last long. As it withered it form seeds and the green seeds lasted longer. The flower can also be used for tea and is often presented to the BUDDHA during prayers.

The purity and whiteness of the flowers attracted many insects and even me, human. The bud grew into a pure white sphere before it blossom into the amazing flower.
This photo consisted of 5 buds and only the middle blossom at this moment.

The transformation of the bud to flower from the Jasmine plant is very much a reflection of our journey on this earth.
It took us many years to grow up, to be of use and once we think we are there, it is time to go but the seeds of our life remain to carry on this existence on earth.

Our journey may be short but we can made the most of it by being of use to our fellow beings.
The meaning of life is there if we will accept it and we can not do much except hold on to the heart of GRATITUDE and be HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MEMORIES OF THE BUAH KOLONG TREE

The tree on the left is common in Kuching and my old house used to have at least a few growing around it. I still remembered the old Kolong Tree, growing on the left side of the house, near the old long kang. It was at least 3 storeys tall and used to bear fruit,some as big as a cricket ball. Amazingly, crunchy, sweet and sour and it goes well ,eaten with a mixture of soya sauce, chilli and sugar. It can also be pickled and were often sold at entrances of cinemas and wayang.

I often climbed the tree as high as I could, to reach the young shoots and fruits too. I had a fair share of falls and encounters with catepillars,bees,birds and others stinging insects. When in season I remembered spending hours plucking the fruits with my family members,putting them in basket and packing them in plastic bags to deliver them to friends and relatives FOC. The KAMPONG SPIRIT is really great and giving and receiving little gifts is a norm in those days.

My last visit to Kuching this year the old Kolong Tree is not as prosperous and is barely 10 feet tall as the trunk had rotted away and there was much less activity.
The main killer is the filling up of the drain by construction work around the house by my neighbours which deprived the tree off nutrients and water. It is still alive but GOD knows for how long.
When I see Buah Kolong any where in this world, it will definately triggered memories of this amazing chapter of my journey on earth. I must be thankful to the tree for giving me many things and provided me with among all, the chance to exercise and grow, plus exposure to the wisdom of nature.
I MUST SAY A BIG THANK YOU to this amazing tree.

GOOD COLLECTION OF OLDIES ----- CHINESE SONGS.

CHINESE OLDIES FROM THE 60's and 70's..

• I was so happy to find this collection of old songs from the era where I grew up, in the old kampong days in KUCHING, SARAWAK.
• I must admit that I do not know much about the singers but listening to the songs really brings back memories of the good old days in my home town. Mandarin was not promoted at all and we the Chinese youth of the 60s and 70s were taught only in English and Malay. The Chinese radio program was for only a few hours in the morning and evening and was mostly devoted to malay government propaganda. The most popular event on radio was the chinese songs (half hour program) and the DJ will also play chinese pop songs as requested by listeners. The TV progam were all in malay and english with only chinese news broadcast avaliable. The other source of chinese was the cinema which was filled with Kung Fu and love stories. So singers like Wang Chin Niang, Ee Tian,Yu Ya,Liu Chia Chang, Yio Su Rong and Liew Wen Chen were extremely popular. Film stars like Bruce Lee, Ti Lung, Loh Lieh,Chen Chen,Ling Ching Sia and Tien Nui were equally hot. Being poor I remembered having to brave the sun ,wind and rain to cycle with my friends to the cinemas to catch these shows. Often we had to go very early to buy the cheapest seats priced at 50 cents.It is right in front of the screen and we often ended up with a stiff neck but we loved it. Kuching had many nice food too. KOLO MEE, ICE KACHANG and LAKSA which is special to the Kuchingnese. They were cheap and wonderful and you have to be the best to survive. BRING BACK OUR CHILDHOOD WHEN YOU PLAY THIS OLDIES !!! NEVER MIND WHETHER YOU UNDERSTAND OR NOT BECAUSE MEMORIES ARE WRITTEN IN OUR MIND. GOOD OLD KUCHING!!!!!!