Gallimaufry#20

Just a gallimaufry of photos ...

Golden shrimp plant

Princess flower

Thai mango salad

Recipe — https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/thai-mango-salad/

FROM THE TRAVEL ARCHIVES

Atonium, Brussels 2019

MALAYSIAN FOOD

Yong Tau Fu

Yong Tau Foo literally means stuffed tofu. Ground meat or fish paste  is stuffed into a variety of tofu products, vegetables and mushrooms and typically served in a clear broth with noodles or rice. Yong Tau Foo is a food of Chinese (Hakka) origin.

Bitter melon, shitake mushroom, chilie, eggplant, okra, snakebean are commonly used for stuffing.

Sculptures in a theme park

Mandarin oranges

During the Chinese New Year, mandarin oranges are considered as a traditional symbol of abundance and good fortune. 

Cookies and mandarin oranges are exchanged as gifts with family and friends throughout the 15 days of the Chinese Lunar Year,  kinda like gifting during Christmas.

Gallimaufry#19

Just a gallimaufry of photos ...

Bamboo orchid

Rattlesnake heliconia

Elephant ears

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

BALI 2001

According to Balinese custom, I was told by our tour guide that a frangipani worn over the left ear of a woman meant that she was available, over the right ear if she was married or taken. I later learned from a friend that it was the other way round. I think we were pranked! No wonder that old man across the room kept winking at us!!

So who is right?

Candi Bentar

Split gates or Candi Bentar are an integral feature of Balinese temple architecture. They mark the entrances to temples, drawing the boundary between the sacred grounds of the temples and the outside world.

They are also a depiction of the Balinese concept of duality — male and female, light and dark and good and evil.

4 Heavenly Kings

This dish screams royalty but really, it's just a fancy name for a stir-fry that uses 4 types of vegetables, namely eggplant, okra, stink beans and long beans.

Tea —  Éclairs

2022 is the year of the tiger

The 12 Chinese zodiac animal sculptures in a mall

I am a tiger! What are you?

Gallimaufry#18

Just a gallimaufry of photos ...

Pagoda flower

 Earleaf acacia

SKYWATCH FROM MY BALCONY

The sky looks like the sea today

Bahay Kubo

Bahay Kubo or nipa hut is an icon of Filipino culture. "Bahay" means house in Filipino and "kubo" means cube. In Malaysia, these huts are popular around beaches and resorts.

Dinner — Buta No Kakuni

Recipe — http://www.tofoodwithlove.com/2011/06/buta-no-kakuni-japanese-braised-pork.html

MALAYSIAN STREET FOOD

Claypot rice

Think Malaysian paella! Essentially, it is just rice cooked in a claypot with ingredients like Chinese sausage, chicken/pork and/or salted fish, resulting in a crispy crust at the bottom.

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

KOREA 2002

Alps Ski Resort

Note the time on the clock.

One of South Korea's first ever winter sports destinations, the Alps Ski Resort drew tens of thousands of skiers every year until it abruptly closed its doors in 2006. The resort still remains a ghost town today despite attempts to reopen it. Increased competition from more accessible rivals with newer facilities drove the resort's owner into bankruptcy.

An aerial shot of the abandoned resort  —  image source AFP/Getty Images (2018)

2002

2018

Creepy ski lift chairs hanging at the desolate resort  —  image credit  Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters 

Time stands still in this apocalyptic-like resort —  image source AFP/Getty Images (2018)

Uncanny!

Convocation

Pre-covid-19, convocations in Son#2's university were held in their halls on campus.

But for the past two years, Covid-19 robbed unfortunate graduates and parents off this momentous occasion as only virtual ceremonies were held.

Son#1, too, missed out on this grand chapter of his life. He attended his ceremony, not in a tasseled cap and gown but in pajamas and on his bed. It just felt like a regular zoom session.

Poor kids — all that hard work, blood, sweat and tears!   

Poor parents!  I feel bad for the parents, especially those of foreign students. The letdown must be supersized. I know of a single mom who worked 2 jobs to put her only child through university in the UK. She said the motivation that kept her going was a vision of her attending her son's graduation ceremony.  Every cent she scrimped and saved was put towards that dream. It would have been her very first experience on a plane and her first trip overseas.

This year, however, with restrictions relaxed, the university got creative and instead, hosted their graduation ceremony in an amphitheater in an outdoor theme park!

And yes, we had to wear the entrance ticket wristbands!

The sight of gown-clad graduates and parents in their Sunday best hopping onto awaiting trains to get to the amphitheater was priceless!

I mean, who wears a tight skirt and 4-inch heels in a theme park!

The amphitheater

A proud mommy moment

Interestingly, the masks were designed by New York based Malaysian haute couture designer Zang Toi. 

Kudos to the university for this tremendous effort. A traditional gown-and-cap ceremony is a HUGE deal. Not getting to walk with pride across the stage to the sound of thunderous applause is like not getting closure after years of hard work, a rite of passage if you will.