Happy New Year !!

It's time again to ring in a new year and may this new year bring peace and goodwill among mankind.  May we learn to live in harmony with Mother Nature and whatever new year resolutions we have made, let us be empowered to carry them through.

2014 A Turbulent Year for Malaysia

It is only a couple of days before 2014 takes its bow and gives way to 2015.

It has been a turbulent year with more bad news than good.  Malaysia’s national airline lost two aircraft with all their crew and passengers.

One disappeared under mysterious circumstances and no trace of it has been found although search efforts are still continuing.  The other was blown out of the sky by a missile while passing through war-torn airspace.  To date body parts found have been repatriated while the broken pieces of the aircraft have been retrieved for reconstruction in an attempt to establish what actually happened and to understand the tragedy.

 The monsoon months towards the end of the year have brought deadly floods that have inundated towns in many states in Malaysia. The floods this year are the worst and there is still more rain to come. Thousands of evacuees are still sheltering in relief centers while aid is being sent to them.  It doesn’t look as if the waters are going to recede any time soon.

 Kidnappings of tourists and locals from seaside resorts and local fish farms by terrorists from a neighboring country have dealt a severe blow to the tourist trade with hotel cancellations and a drastic fall in businesses that rely heavily on tourist arrivals. 

As if all these are not bad enough, news of another air tragedy hit the headlines today.  Air Asia, a home grown budget airline which has expanded to many countries in the region, lost an aircraft en route from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.  Air Asia Indonesia fears that the 162 people including children and an infant on board, could have gone down due to bad weather and the search and rescue efforts are underway.  Everyone is praying that there will be survivors and our thoughts are with the families of the passengers and crew.

2014 has been a year of trial and tribulation for Malaysians and we hope for a better year with the coming of 2015.

Kolam and Deepavali

Kolam is an integral part of the celebration of Deepavali.

It is beautiful art drawn in intricate designs using rice dyed in various colors and rice flour.

Kolam come in different sizes.  Those in the shopping malls are very big and elaborate while those drawn outside the main door of Hindu homes are smaller.

Oil lamps are placed on the kolam and the lights from these lamps have spiritual meaning. They are a reminder of one’s inner light and Deepavali is also known as the Festival of Light. Light is a metaphor for consciousness and knowledge.

Here's wishing all my Hindu friends a Happy Deepavali.

Of Tulips At Tesselaar and the Canberra Floriade, Ozieland

A short holiday Down Under was very invigorating. The two main highlights were the Tulip Festival at Tesselaar   just outside Melbourne and the Floriade in Canberra.

 The Tesselaar Tulip Festival showcased different varieties and colors of Tulips grown in rows.

 They are quite different from the traditional Tulips that I saw in Holland during my college days.  Pretty hybrids and amazing colors took my breath away and I could not help but take pictures of these lovely blooms to drool over them when back home in the sunny tropics where such blooms cannot be cultivated.

Apart from the lovely flowers, there were booths that sold refreshments and light lunches.  Handicraft and local produce were also on sale.

The Floriade in Canberra was different.  There were Tulips on show too but these were arranged in thematic patterns and Tulips of different colors brought out the designs.  They were spread over a large area and at night the whole place was lit up.

At night there was a special program called Night Fest where a a special area was dedicated to artificial flowers of various designs.  They were gigantic and white during the day but at night, when the music played and songs belted out, the artificial flowers changed colors rapidly as if they were dancing to the strains of the song and music.

People were caught up in this amazing display of sound, light and movement in this floral display and could be seen snapping pictures and videos to record the excitement of the moment.

This was a holiday I will not forget.

Orchids at The Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the Bay have two air-conditioned domes.  One is the Flower Dome and the other is the Cloud Forest.  Visitors buy tickets which enable them to visit the two domes.

The Flower Dome this time round displayed many, many species of orchids of different sizes and colors.

The beauty of these orchids bedazzles one’s eyes and almost all visitors had cameras in hand, busy snapping away.

Apart from the orchids, there were also other kinds of flowers.

 There were also lots of different types of cacti and plants that can survive in arid landscapes. It was a most interesting afternoon in the Flower Dome.