Brahminy Kites

Son#2 went on an eagle-feeding excursion in Langkawi.

Sharing these photos of the majestic brahminy kites.

The island of Langkawi, Malaysia, is named after the brahminy kite.

According to folklore, the name Langkawi was coined from the words lang and kawi. Lang is short for helang (eagle in Malay) and kawi is the name of a local reddish brown manganese stone, the colour of the kite's primary plumage. 

The Iban natives of Upper Rajang, Sarawak, Malaysia, believe the brahminy kite to be the manifestation of Singalang Burung. Also known as the God of War. Singalang Burung takes the form of a brahmini kite whenever he comes down to earth. 

Dataran Helang aka Eagle Square — Langkawi's iconic landmark

The 40ft tall statue of a brahmini kite poised for flight

Gallimaufry#16

Just a gallimaufry of photos ...

Yes, sunflowers in December!

 Christmas trees in a mall

From a distance, I thought these were fallen leaves ...

Turned out, they were starfruits!

Tea —  Paris-Brest 

Man on a roof

Haha, I wonder if his service is ON THE HOUSE!

Crab fest on son#2's birthday

FROM THE SHOEBOX — PHOTOS THAT RARELY SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY

Phuket 1991

James Bond Island

The island  was chosen as one of the locations for the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun as the hideout for Bond's antagonist, Francisco Scaramanga.

Ah, Roger Moore —  my all-time favourite James Bond actor.

Who is yours?

Gallimaufry#15

Just a gallimaufry of photos ...

Blue plumbago

White angelonia

Lunch — carbonara mac dog

Skywatch from my balcony

Not sure if these are edible

ONE FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Chapel Bridge, Lucerne 2019

Roadside coconut juice stall

There's nothing quite as refreshing as sipping fresh coconut juice straight out of the fruit on a hot day!

For Health Nuts

Spotted in a local mall ...

Gallimaufry#14

Just a gallimaufry of photos ...

Rangoon Creeper

Skywatch from my balcony

Kedondong

Noodles for dinner

Duranta Geisha Girl

The name has a nice ring to it, agree?

FROM THE SHOEBOX — PHOTOS THAT RARELY SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY

Sydney 1992

Chinese herbal tea shop

In ancient China, traditional doctors used to always carry medicines in calabashes aka bottle gourds when treating their patients. Over time, the bottle gourd became a symbol of doctors and healing. And since Chinese herbal teas are consumed for their curative effects, calabashes have become symbols of Chinese herbal tea shops. In the 1940s, each herbal tea shop had two to three golden calabash-shaped vats with taps to store the herbal tea.

Green calabash growing on its vine

image source - wikipedia

Alley Cat

 Spotted this beautiful kitty while I was walking in an alley behind a coffee shop.

PERSIAN PUSSY FROM OVER THE SEA

DEMURE AND LAZY AND SMUG AND FAT

NONE OF YOUR RIBBONS AND BELLS FOR ME

OURS IS THE ZEST OF THE ALLEY CAT

- Don Marquis -

Gallimaufry#13

Just a gallimaufry of photos ....

Round bottle brush

 

Skywatch from my balcony

Gobi Pakora — Cauliflower fritters

Recipe here — http://chefinyou.com/2012/02/cauliflower-bhajji-pakora

I was walking with my friend, Mei, when we stumbled upon this curious papaya tree with a gaping hole in its trunk. Mei explained that it was probably a male papaya tree that had been staked to change it into female so that it would bear fruits.  A transsexual tree?!!  I thought Mei was pulling my leg but when I googled, I learned that driving a nail/stake into the base of the trunk of a male papaya tree does indeed give it trauma and tricks it into thinking that it would die. So the tree changes its sex to procreate before it meets its demise!

Mexican creeper

ONE FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Louvre Museum 2019

It is said that the Louvre Museum is haunted and spooky tales of 2 ghosts keep cropping up — an Egyptian mummy called Belphegor  and a butcher!

The butcher, Jean l’Ecorcheur , was an assassin who acted at the behest of Catherine de Medici . He was strangled on the order of the French Queen because he knew too many unsavoury secrets about the royal family.

Tourists have reportedly seen him at the museum and the adjacent Tuileries Garden. Since he is dressed in red, he is also known as the ‘Red Man of the Tuileries.’

MALAYSIAN STREET FOOD

Apam Balik

Apam Balik in Malay translates as turnover pancake. 

Flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk, and water are used to make the batter. To prevent the batter from sticking to the pan, it is cooked in a generous amount of margarine. Traditionally, coarsely ground peanuts, sugar granules and sweetcorn kernels straight out of the can are sprinkled as filling before the pancake is folded over, hence the name. Modern innovations such as grated coconut, banana, chocolate sprinkles, nutella, marshmallow, ham and cheddar cheese are also available.