Be wiser, healthier and wealthier in the Year of Tiger

Have been very busy last few days, and will continue to be in the next few days, but I do enjoy very much, though missing the time to read and comment in your blog. I'll be back soon.

The new year celebration started off with the reunion dinner with my family members at my brother's house in the new year eve; yes, this was the same day just before Valentine's day as well. Of course, there are many wishes to be made in the new year, and these messages have to be sent to all the Gods. The process were long and I managed to sleep only at four 0'clock in the next morning.

Then, I went from Bukit Mertajam to Perai, Mak Mandin and Kulim, wishing all my relatives Happy New Year in the first day: to the elder, be healthier and wealthier; to the little one, be good and wiser. And red packets with some moneys inside were given and received, and this process has helped to reinforce all the wishes.

Today is the second day. I managed to find a little time to wish you all the same: healthier, wealthier and wiser before I travel to Kangar, a small town in the north part of the peninsular, and it is the hometown of my wife.

I do not have time for Cerok Tokun, and sorry to say that I have forgotten to pass my new year gifts, the red packets, to the wagtail tail. Somehow when you meet him during his journey back to his hometown, there are my best wishes to you all, my good friend that I have not met before.

I'll be back to read your blog soon.

Happy New year.

Lotus

The lotus flower in the garden has bloomed fully at dawn and the petals starts to fold back again at night. It always, by then, symbolizes spiritual enlightenment in Asian cultures.

Goddess of Mercy or Kuan Yin in Chinese which means One Who Sees and Hears the Cry from the Human World is the most popular of the deity on Chinese altars, trusted and loved by all Chinese people. Image of Kuan Yin is often shown holding a rosary and a white lotus in the other.

The flower grows from the wet soil in the pot and emerges several centimeters from the water. It opens for just three days. The best companions in the pot are the peaceful little peacock fish which at the same time help to get rid of mosquito larvae.

The famous statement in Chinese literature "lotus emerges from the mud, yet it is unstained" has exerted an influence on the Chinese down to the present. But it is hard to relate any politician to this statement of purity.

The lotus leaves demonstrate another kind of beauty by its shape. They float on the water, hold and roll the morning dews and rain drops.

This lotus plant is always my favourite.

Sea Shore

I have abundant of wonders in my neighbourhood. I have mountain, seaside, paddy fields, rivers etc within my easy reach. It may not be too luxurious for me to pick my like of the day for the visit and since I was urged to visit the seaside a few days back after reading some posts, I finally made it this evening.

This seaside is at fifteen minutes driving distance from my work place. It was 6:15pm, the glaring sunlight had not been filtered by any leaves or branches on the shore line. After some warm up on the normal look of beating wave, I pointed my camera to the direction of the evening sun hoping to create a different perspective with some extra exposure.

The waves were not as fierce as what I have seen before which can be as high as two meters, and were not as dangerous as those during the invasion of tsunami many years back.

To see a man in action with his fishing net is an excitement to me. I think the beauty was kind of dynamic at the moment it was wide spreading open.

The man tried his luck at different directions, I followed and captured in all those directions. He failed to get any after all these tries, but I managed to have a few good pictures after him.

There came this Malay man for his turn of luck with his fishing rod, at the same spot, after the Indian man had left.

I might have not captured the action to the best, the man was actually swinging his fishing rod as to get his bait far away from shore.

Both men used different tools but with same objective in mind, the end result was not the most important, it was the process that count.

Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum

My agenda of the day was actually to hike Mount Jerai. Unfortunately massive landslide that blocked the trekking trail for a couple of months then diverted me to Lembah Bujang (Bujang Valley) for the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum.

Anyway, it should not be a bad idea to re-visit history occasionally.

Mount Jerai can be seen at the far side behind the museum. The lush tropical rainforest greenery in the background of the museum was really a good replacement after the earlier setback.

Research showed that because of its favourable location along the trade route, Bujang Valley became an important and prosperous kingdom attracting traders from China and India.

The treasure trove showed Bujang Valley had a thriving Hindu and Buddhist civilisation from third to 14th century AD.

There are ruins, including temples (Chandi), that may date more than 1,500 years old in Bujang Valley.

Ganesha is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. Statue of Ganesha is no doubt to be found during the excavation in 1938 and 1939.

A sitting Budda Statue

Having gone through a brief history lesson, then come a big surprise to me. I got to know some stories of Cerok Tokun, my weekend lover, 40km away from her home. I do not know whether she was too shy to tell me on the spot or her caretaker did not bother at all.

Cerok Tokun inscription chiseled in Sanskrit meaning 'while Young' dated to the 4th century AD.

A sailor named Buddha-Gupta was wished a safe voyage in the inscription dated in 5th century AD were discovered in 1845. Every now and then, when the trees start talking, I shall know and appreciate that they will be telling me stories back to few hundred years ago.

By the way, for someone who are interested to track my footsteps at Bujang Valley, then once you exit Sungai Petani at the southern toll, follow the signs and you will be led on a 20km drive to Bujang Valley, Merbok where the museum is located.

I shall come back in the next post showing you some pictures on waterfalls at Bujang Valley.

Only tradition on these few days

I had not and I am not going to have any trekking activities these few busy days. We had new year eve dinner with my parents at my brother's place yesterday. This, actually a re-union dinner, is a grand dinner for us, during which everybody comes back from where they are.

This is what we call Family.

I shall bring my kids to visit our relatives from house to house on today, the first day of the new year. This is part of our new year culture. Red packets with some money inside will be given to the kids symbolise older by one year, grow wiser, more discipline and healthier for the coming year.

Me and my wife insist to go through all these together with the kids. This is the only way to pass on our tradition to the next and next generation. Culture and tradition shall not be challenged against scientific arguments. They are belonged to the inner part that guide us along our journey so as we will still know who we are while facing waves of modernization.

I will travel 140km to north for Kangar, the capital city of Perlis State on the second day. Kangar is my wife's hometown where her parents are staying right now.

My trekking will be resumed then. More interesting stories will be shared later, I promised.

Wishing Everybody a Happy and Prosperous Year of Ox

Tomorrow is the New Year Eve. I have been thinking of how to greet my fellow blog mates for quite a number of days.

Everybody is busy at cleaning up the whole house, hopefully to clear away all unwanted items and to welcome the new luck. By then, decoration will be put up.

My plants are also adorned with red and golden ornaments. How can I leave them alone on this festival? And I decided to greet everybody through the silent whisper of these little plants.






May the New Year bring happiness and Success to everybody.

Harmony

I was disturbed emotionally this early morning, though I knew once I reached factory and started working, the feeling must have gone.

I happened to know that a new friend who I did not know, and might not going to know, visited my website. He was from Gaza, Palestinian Territory. (Thanks to Statcounter for this free service).

He might have stayed for seconds, he might have browsed through a few of my posts, at the end, this visit did create ripples in my heart.

I always mumble in the web, some of you have overheard and responded to me. I always mumble about the things I saw and the emotion that I felt on the place of my living. It is for sure will be felt very much differently at another corner of the world.

What I want to tell is that I am writing something which may somehow be a nonsense to someone who are suffering now; on the other hand, it may serve as a funny stuff that make him smile or laugh out loud. I rather prefer to believe in the later, and I always hope so.

The picture that I attached today displayed a harmonious place different trees live at. Be it Mr. Tree A, Mr. Tree B or Mr. Tree C, they have different names, they grow in different shapes and different colours, there is minority as well as majority in population, but they live harmoniously, and continuously to be century after century, under the same blue sky, in the only world we have.

I hope we can learn from the colony of trees.

And I want to share something I received today which was written by Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio.

1. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
2. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
3. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

And lastly, I wish you a very good night....