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hugs

2010-05-10T04:52:00.003-04:00

一个人不寂寞，想念一个人才寂寞。
你说，来，抱抱。于是我把自己裹在被窝里，闭上眼，恩，抱抱。

Just Another Star Story

2010-03-28T04:52:00.005-04:00

天上的星星,诉说着我们的每一个故事。
当我们年老时，满天星空 --无限的回忆。

Penned a new song, here are the lyrics.

Just Another Star Story

Twinkle twinkle little stars
Each one's telling a story, a story of you and me
How I wonder what you are
带着我的思念, 天涯海角寻找你

My love, as I looked out of my window
The stars have been covered by my sorrow
I hope the clouds would clear
But there's something that I fear
Tomorrow, we'll hope for a better tomorrow

Twinkle twinkle little stars
Each one's telling a story, a story of you and me
How I wonder what you are
带着我的思念, 天涯海角寻找你

My love, as I looked out of my window
A star shining brightly on my shadow
It said to me up close
That's how the story goes
I will have an answer for you tomorrow

有妖气...

2010-03-22T03:32:00.005-04:00

"受華北沙塵天氣及東北季候風的影響，本港空氣質素愈趨惡劣，空氣污染指數升至破紀錄新高，多處地區升至最高的500點嚴重級別。"

随笔

2010-03-14T07:56:00.003-04:00

一个不让眼泪掉下来的好方法~~~看天花板。

Nine Years

2010-01-17T08:10:00.004-05:00

生活中的忙碌和琐碎，常常让我们没空去温习那些最美的初衷。但那不是遗忘，只是如存在邮箱里的邮件一样；偶尔翻出来，感动一如往昔。

心头上的石头

2010-01-10T21:48:00.005-05:00

一直悬在心头的这件事，好像块无形的石头，就连欢笑的时候，心里仍是重重的......

Day 7: Gimpy & the One-eye Penguin

2009-01-17T10:05:00.055-05:00

Gimpy the lamb he's the star of the day
Handicap he is but rather nimble I say
Grab him for photos he will never obey
But feed him milk & happily he'll stay

The one-eye penguin has no name
Unlike the others she's not the same
Put him in the water & out she came
I must say that's a little lame

Set on a beautiful, sheltered harbour and overlooked by craggy volcanic hills, Akaroa is a popular resort village, some 80km east of Christchurch. We were supposed to visit a Korean lavender field on our way but they were closed that day - not a pity, we realized the field was about the size of a king size bed.

On the way to Akaroa

Anyway, our main purpose was the penguin tour at Pohatu bay (also known as flea bay), which laopo had been so looking forward to, but it turned out to be 'somewhat' disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I think we both liked it a lot. In fact, we thought it would be good to stay overnight at Pohatu and do a night penguin watch. But the day penguin tour wasn't really what I expected, though it was also enjoyable.

Akaroa

Shireen, our guide, owned the farm at Pohatu bay and had been working over the last two decades protecting White-flippered Penguins from introduced predators. Another couple (+ kid) was supposed to do canoeing but had to join us, albeit reluctantly, due to bad weather and had the word pissed written all over their faces. Shireen had to coax them like little kids and even revealed that her husband died at sea, so she tend to be more careful. In the end, the weather turned out okay, so she took them out the bay anyway.

*** As an aside: This is Weta, apparently some ancient "crockroach-like" insect that likes dark places, so they placed wooden structures with dark pockets to hide, to keep track & see if they are in danger of disappearing. They are as old as the dinosaurs but are now endangered because of forest fire & predators - dogs/cats/rats/birds/sheep (which could step on them).

Amazing but true .......Over one hundred years ago there was a scientist whose name was Walter Buller. He wanted to keep some weta for his insect collection so he needed some dead ones. Sir Walter proceeded to kill some weta but it was not that easy…… weta have been around since before the dinosaurs so they must be pretty tough right? RIGHT! One of the wetas was held under water for four days and survived, another survived being dropped into near-boiling water (ouch) and one chewed its way out of Sir Walter's handkerchief!***

With Shireen out, her bubbly niece was assigned to show us as many penguins as she could. Problem is the penguins have all gone out to hunt, leaving the babies in the nest, so there weren't really much to see. She was nice enough to walk us around to see where the penguins would have been while uncovering each nest to wake the babies from their sleep. And share the kitten they found the previous night - which laopo would normally go gaga over, but that day, she simply wasn't interested...penguins, where are the penguins?

The only consolation was this one-eye blue penguin.

Trying to teach him swim

Baby penguins

The star of the day turned out to be Gimpy, a handicapped sheep. 刚开始Gimpy八成是害羞，想抓她照个相都难。但很快就混熟了。我们离开的时候，她还跛着脚追在我们车后，一直追到栅栏边。

Gimpy has beautiful eyes

Akaroa habour

违章

Dinner at Akaroa

Day 6: Hokitika Gorge & The Journey Back Inland

2009-01-17T10:05:00.043-05:00

I have to admit, I am not the safest driver, but as a highly trained one with a military driving license, I am there when it matters the most. First discovered the flat (just slightly deflated) tire the previous night. Have we travelled more than a thousand km in that state, while making those dangerous turns up and down the mountains? Guess more importantly, discovered it before any mishaps - and on behalf of everyone (my laopo and goldfish at home), I thank myself for that. Got it fixed at the auto shop while we walked across the street for breakfast.

Day 6 was rather light. Drove to nearby Hoikitika Gorge which was supposed to be redemption for not visiting the blue pool (it was pouring when we passed by blue pool on the way to Fox glacier the other day) but as usual it was cloudy, so laopo didn't get to see the blueness she expected. Plus the West Coast sandflies were at work again so we didn't stayed long. But nonetheless, this is a great attraction on its own, had it not been the other more spectacular attractions in South Island that have raised our standards.

On the way to Hoikitika Gorge
That was the end of West Coast, as we headed inland via Aurther's Pass back to Christchurch.

Day 5 - Once in lifetime experience - Helihike @ Fox Glacier

2009-01-15T03:58:00.038-05:00

This is nature at work. A week after we left, 2 Australian Indians were crushed at the terminal when tonnes of ice collapsed as they went too close for pictures. Shocking, isn't it? Were we plain lucky? We had a good guide, who carefully examines each ice structure for signs of stress as we trampled on or walked under ice caves. Most importantly, the heli-hike experience allowed us to get as close as we could to these ancient structures in a safe and organized way. As laopo puts it, these are only a few countries in the world where glaciers are easily accessible. Yet New Zealand presents many many other fantastic wonders of the world...all in one place.

Our heli-hike experience started with a cranky bus ride to the take-off site. It was a really ancient bus - kind of reminded me of my primary school schoolbus, except it goes dead much more often (and it was only a 5 min journey). And one wonders if the chopper would behave the same. But the excitement on our faces were evident (mainly her since I don't get easily excited) as soon as we got on the helicopter. Being grossly underweight, she was put at the front seat and me at the back to balance the weight, seat belts tightened and ear muffs on. The chopper hovered over the ice-covered mountains and landed at ground zero. Teams 1 and 2 were already squatting with their backs at us as our chopper almost blew them off their feet.

Fox Glacier falls 2,600m on its 13km journey from the Southern Alps down to the coast, with it having the distinction of being one of the few glaciers to end among lush rainforest only 300 metres above sea level.

Our guide, Jeff, demonstrated as we strapped metal spikes over our boots. Each armed with a pole and off we went, in single file. Jeff led the way, clearing the ice with his axe, stamping on crushed ice to make stairs-like steps for us so all we have to do is to make sure we get our feet firm on the ground, and the spikes firm into it. The trick is to, contrary to how we walk normally, get the whole feet on the ground at the same time. Cos the spikes are in the middle, we'll probably not survive a few steps if we land on our heels.
Slowly, we climbed up the icy slopes. It was a spectacular sight as one looked down - the glacier stretches, meeting the sea at the horizon, where the weather appeared clear and sunny. Jeff said the thought of partying at the beaches in summer after work was what kept them going at times. A feature of the glacier was ice caves, formed by the ice surface bulging under pressure as the turns of the valley applied brakes on the sliding glacier. These caves come and go - the structure weakens as ice melts under sun and finally collapses. Jeff selected a few deemed safe and we crawled our way through - was extremely hard for the spikes to grip the ice blocks. Glaciers are such majestic structures, we were like ants crawling through my blanket, hoping that I won't sit on them.

A Q&A session ---- Why is glacier blue?

According to wiki, blue ice occurs when all of the air bubbles that are trapped in the ice are squeezed out, and the size of the ice crystals increases, making it clear. The blue color of the ice is a result of an overtone of a OH molecular stretch in the water which absorbs light at the red end of the visible spectrum.
The hike lasted 3 hours - Jeff said we had gone much further up the glacier than the other hikers that day. We returned to the landing site and rid ourselves of the hiking gear. The chopper that was supposed to bring us back came with the next group of hikers - in raincoats. By that time, the skies have turned grey and started to rain - I wonder how they could hike in wet, slippery ice.

When we returned to the town, it was sunshine again, typical of New Zealand weather. The highlight of the day has ended and we were ready for our next destination - Hokitika. I would be tempted to end the blog this way but there were more to come.

Dinner was some yucky Indian food - yucky curry chicken & yucky curry lamb. Okay, that's not the point but I have to mention cos it was really yucky. Highlight of the night was worms - yes, worms. Glowing ones, in fact. No, we didn't eat worms because we were still hungry after having yucky Indian food. The great thing about NZ is, you find treasures everywhere, even in a small town like Hokitika.

Just a few hundred meters from our hotel, there is this short passage into a forested area where some thousands (or more?) of glow worms reside. Apparently, they are the larvae of some kind of flies* [description below for those who are interested]. No photos but it's not hard to imagine, looked like a sea of fireflies (not that I have seen fireflies but I would imagine they look similar),

* glow worms -- the common name for various different groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females which glow through bioluminescence. There are a few major families found in different parts of the worlds. Based on wiki, the one we saw is called Arachnocampa, a genus of four fungus gnat species which are, in their larval stage. What’s interesting is the purpose of the glow – it varies. Some glow do so to attract a male for mating, some glow as a warning signal to predators. But the Arachnocampa larvae on the other hand glow to attract prey like midges into sticky snare lines for the larva to feed on.

Day 4 - 人间仙境 - Milford Sound

2009-01-14T03:27:00.042-05:00

Weather in New Zealand changes dramatically, and is unpredictable; contingent plan is always necessary, and often more than one. It was a bit frustrating at the beginning because we have pretty tight travel schedule. But Lao gong soon talked me through it, as it's one of the characterists of New Zealand. Only after I took easy on the planning side, did I start discovering the different beauty of this place. 人说"浓妆淡抹总相宜", 来形容New Zealand 特贴切 --- 无论是阳光下的灿烂,云雾中的神秘,雨水里的浪漫; 都是风情各异,让人怎么也看不厌.

We are heading to Milford Sound today, also known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. 似乎去世外桃源的路都特长，特难走。由于雪山相隔，从Queenstown出发，开车单程要5个小时，为了晚上赶到Fox Glacier, 我们一早就安排坐小型飞机去Milford Sound。说到纽西兰天气的善变，Milford Sound变化无常的天气又是纽西兰之最。去Milford Sound的飞机听说有一多半的都会因为天气而被取消或改程，而我们要等到飞前的几个小时才会知道。怀着担心的心情，一夜没好睡，清晨5点多就起身查询。虽然此时屋外阳光灿烂，但听说昨天夜里山区里还下了雪, 峡湾那边的天气还是不适合飞行。折中的办法是我们飞到Te Anau,再坐1-2个小时的车去Milford Sound。

Queenstown lies at the outlet to Lake Wakatipu

去Milford的路上，一直阴雨连绵。车窗外，树间交错，山林葱郁；一团团的薄雾飘过，让这画面多了份水墨画般的灵气。世界这么大，这么美；想想城市里喧杂和烦恼，觉得真是无谓。

Thousands of Russell Lupin flowers create a carpet of color waving gently in the breeze along the Milford Road in Fiordland National Park.

如果按原计划直接飞到峡湾，就会错过这片花海。好像我们生活中无法避免的小波折，与其去难过这些不如意，不如换个角度，去欣赏路边的景色。

Our driver/guide told us a story about the well-known national symbol of New Zealand - Kiwi bird. Although named as a "bird", the kiwi is actually flightless. And probably due to the lack of predators, the kiwi didn't have highly developed protective and defensive adaptations. Kiwis are endangered due to habitat loss and imported animals. The "kiwi tragedy" started with the migration of Europeans. Prior to Europeans coming to New Zealand, the kiwi had enjoyed a secure environment for thousands of years. The Europeans first brought in sheep, but they soon got tired of eating lamb, so they introduced rabbits to the island. Due to the lack of predators, rabbit population started increasing at insane rate that upset the Europeans. And "Smart" humans soon came out a solution; they imported rabbits' predators to this land. However, when these foxes, cats arrived, instead of chasing fast-running rabbits, they discovered thousands of kiwis walking around leisurely, and decided that they are going to have “chicken” instead. (Pardon their ignorance since they had never seen kiwi bird before.) – Another tragedy caused by 人类的自作聪明。

途经一个小镇，名字已经记不得了。司机说大家都叫这个“厕所镇”，因为全镇只有2家人，公共厕所倒是有几十个（给游客用的）。也不知是真是假？！

位于Fiordland National Park中的Milford Sound 形成于上个冰河时代。200万年前，几千米厚的巨大冰川移走后留下幽深的峡谷，灌入海水形成今天的峡湾。峡湾两岸是海拔1200多米的陡峭的岩壁，山上的积雪融化，化成无数条瀑布挂在峭壁上，飞泻下来，直入大海。

轻风拂袂, 飘然欲仙

美得让人窒息的Lake Wakatipu

回到Queenstown, 又要马不停蹄地赶去Fox Glacier, 车程大概330km.
油画般的Lake Hawea
河道转了个弯，Lake Hawea又呈现出另一种宝蓝色
Lake Wanaka
Sunset at the West Coast.

Day 3 - 如诗如画的小镇 - Queenstown

2009-01-14T03:25:00.091-05:00

本来计划一早去terminal lake trail,但一起身,看到窗外云雾濛濛 ,雨下个不停;只好改为计划II -- 直接开去Queenstown. 刚开了20多分钟,美丽的Lake Pukaki渐渐出现在眼前. 由于今天风大,湖上被吹起了层层浪花,让本就一望无际的湖泊好似大海一样. 阳光下的湖面,粼光閃閃,波紋披金. 昨天还是温柔的蓝色,今天却亮得让人无法直视. 看到后视镜里的Mt. Cook 还是笼罩在云雾之中,暗自庆幸昨天好运,看到了蓝天白云下的主峰.
在Twizel, 这个温暖(it felt so good to be warm coming from Mt Cook)的小镇里吃了顿营养brunch (lamb pizza and bagel w/ smoked salmon), 我们继续向南开.

途径Lindis Pass,这个山脉里开满了种野花,后来Google才知道叫做Russell Lupin. 和昨天一样,沿途的风光是景随人移，处处是景. 大自然真是最佳的调色师-- 不同的气候，地貌，造就了各异的风景。银白色的雪峰配的是如宝石般亮眼剔透的碧蓝湖水；万里晴空下是漫山金黄色的灌木丛；雨水充足的山脉里，缭绕的云雾点缀着翠绿的森林，倍显青葱色彩。不用开车的我，（辛苦了，老公！）一次次被车窗外的美景震撼着，一路上不断重复着“好美啊，好美啊。。。”

We got a big box of super cheap & fresh cherries on the way but as a result got jammed at a junction some 20 miles from Queesntown due to a traffic accident. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we were just 3 cars behind the crashed vehicle and had to make a big detour. Thankfully, GPS came to the rescue, we finally arrived at Oaks Shore Apartments without having to waste too much time. The 1-bed room we booked was spacious. The views over the lake and mountain ranges on our balcony was stunning.

似乎开进Otago district 后一直在下雨。那种湿嗒嗒，冰凉凉的感觉真不好。“去泡个热水澡吧”老公说。听到都觉得身子暖了起来-- 那还等什么呢 -- GPS 拿来，destination: Onsen Hot Pools. 虽然在Tripadvisor上好评如潮，Onsen pool is not massively advertised. 刚开到Onsen的停车场时，还小小吃了一惊--横看竖看都找不到做SPA的地方。顺着指示牌，一直走到山坡边，才发现一条崎岖的小路，和建在山崖边的Onsen，还真有点儿“柳暗花明”的感觉。

走进全木质的SPA房间，最让人惊艳的就是眼前360度壮丽的Alpine风光。归功于它得天独厚的位置，Arthur Point 的峡谷，山下Shotover River 的激流，远方灰蓝色的山脉，全都一览无余。它的窗户的设计也很特别，落地的玻璃窗一直连到天花板。全打开后，几乎变成了个露天的SPA，真是一点儿都没浪费周围的美景。泡在热气腾腾的山泉水中，阵阵清风拂面，再叹一口香甜多汁的樱桃；顿时令人有种沉淀心灵，洗尽铅华的感动

Day 2 - 尘世美 - Mt Cook & Lake Tekapo

2009-01-14T03:24:00.059-05:00

想去的地方太多了，加上自信我们都是吃苦耐劳的人，我把行程安排得超紧凑--- 看来这次假期是注定没有懒觉睡的了。一早起身，租车，搬行李，check-out，plugging in GPS –- 正式开始我们的road trip.

刚开出城市，映入眼帘的就是人们印象里最typical的New Zealand 风景 --- 绿油油的草原，山丘，和一望无“计”（此处解为 “无法计算”）的羊群。老公说，这么多羊，看几天我就会厌了。但事实证明直到road trip的最后一天，我还是对这软绵绵，手感超好的动物爱不“释手”。（详情见"Gimpy"篇）

看到一处较宽的路间，停下车，我轻手轻脚得试图接近羊群，想拍一张羊儿优哉闲哉吃草的照片。可惜，当我离它们还有八丈远的时候，原本还在吃早饭的羊儿们，全都抬起头，怒视着我；然后，在几秒钟内，齐齐撤退到了几十米外，而且还不松懈，大有我上前一步它们便后退十米的架势。和这些羊僵持了一阵子后，我终于决定不和它们计较了。

Of course, the highlight of the day is not these cowardly sheep, but lakes, glacier lakes. Our first stop – Lake Tekapo.

The charm of glacier lake comes from its incredibly beautiful turquoise-blue color, it is so pretty that it seems to belong to a different world. The extraordinary color is due to the fact that the lakes in this area are mainly fed from glaciers. The glacier, which is basically a huge, slow-moving mass of ice, crushes mountain rock on its journey from the slopes of the Southern Alps to the rivers of the massive valleys. The crushed rock produces a fine, flour-like powder that remains suspended in the water and, when reflecting light, produces the unique blue color for which Lake Tekapo is renowned.

It's not hard to take postcard-like photos here because it's picture-perfect everywhere you go, every angle you look at. However, it's difficult to stick to the original schedule because everything here is just too beautiful to say "bye"to.
The Church of the Good Shepherd -- a tiny church that possesses the most heavenly of views.

Via the window of the church, which provides a refreshing view on the lake and mountains, perhaps also on the meaning of life.
Lake Pukaki, share the color of Lake Tekapo, is our second stop. It's bigger, brighter and quieter. With the surrounding impressive snow-capped peaks, the scenery is simply stunning! Overlooking Lake Pukaki, we see Mt Cook standing tall behind it -- and it's where we are heading to, today's final destination.

Side notes, two things we'd love to do but didn't have time:
1) Stargazing at Lake Tekapo. (recently heard that New Zealand is working on a bid to make Tekapo the world's first night sky reserve)
2) Visiting Mt. salmon farm -- the highest freshwater salmon farm in the world. Laogong was very disappointed to see the gate to the road closed after thinking about having fresh salmon sashimi for the whole day.

从Lake Pukaki 驶向Mt Cook，刚开始还是晴空万里。当我们越靠近Mt Cook，碧蓝的天空只出现在后视镜里，而眼前厚厚的如棉花糖般的云朵则越积越多。等我们到了Hermitage Mount Cook Hotel，已是乌云密布，再也看不到一丝的阳光了；气温骤降了十几度--- 山区的天气就是如此多变！

不过对此领会不多的老公提议我们先去个trail 走走。我们也算是全面武装了---衣服穿了一层又一层，能挡风的都戴上了：帽子，围巾，甚至太阳镜 --- 努力把自己打扮成个粽子，但成效不大。从山谷中吹来的风，大得让我站不稳。再加上径流冰川，那风真是冰冷得刺骨。走了好久，都没有暖和起来的迹象；只是觉得寒气钻心，越吹越头疼。唉，明明两个小时前，我还穿着短袖晒太阳呢……

没有学乖的我们，半夜又披着被子，到凉台上看星星。黑丝绒般的夜空，已和四周连成一体，不分边际。这种入夜后的黑暗本属自然，现在却是弥足珍贵。满天如钻石般的繁星，好似触手可及，让人不禁看得痴了，久久地收不回视线......

Day 1 - Arriving Christchurch

2009-01-13T21:43:00.027-05:00

After 10+ hour of flight, Lao gong slept like a baby on the flight from Auckland to Christchurch. zzzzz....zzzzzzz.....

在New Zealand的第一顿晚餐, 我们当然叫了当地出名的Lamb chop, 果然肉嫩,汁多,完全没羶味.在之后几天的行程中,先后试过lamb pizza, braised lamb shank; 都超好味,而我们也很快知道好味的原因---如此的好山好水养育出的羊,确是没得比.

It was almost 9pm after dinner, but the sky looked like if it were in the afternoon. The south island of New Zealand enjoys long-hour of sunlight in the summer time -- sunset usually occurs after 10pm.

On the way back to hotel, we passed by Christchurch Cathedral Square, where coincidentally there was a new year's eve concert - 对于一个跨年晚会说, 人数还真不算多.但再想想,在这个羊比人多的地方，这样已经称得上是“盛况”了吧. Although wanted to stay till count down, we decided to head back hotel to have a good night of sleep, and get ourselves ready for the 6-day-road trip.

The most BEAUTIFUL country

2009-01-09T03:29:00.012-05:00

Just back from New Zealand, the prettiest country we ever visited.

Our itinerary:

31 Dec '08: Arrived Auckland at North Island. Flew to Christchurch(A), which is the base for our South Island trip.

1 Jan '09: Aoraki/Mount Cook(C) via Lake Tekapo(B), Lake Pukaki

2 Jan '09: Queestown(D) via Twizel, Lindis pass,

3 Jan '09: Milford Sound(D2) via Te Anau(D1,D3). Back to Queenstown enroute to Fox Township via Lake Wanaka, Lake Hawea., Haast Pass.

4 Jan '09: Helihike @ Fox Glacier(E). Hokitika via West Coast infested with sandflies

5 Jan '09: Hokitika Gorge(F) in the morning. Christchurch via Arthur's Pass.

6 Jan '09: Akaroa Bay(H): Land of the one-eye penguin & limping sheep

7 Jan '09: Home Sweet Home

This is touching

2008-12-05T10:41:00.004-05:00

A story on Newpaper, from a man who lost his wife in the Mumbai hotel attack.

The language was so simple and undecorated, yet it made me cry.

He loves her :
"I told you it looked like I had my demands not because I wanted you, but because I needed you.
You were really my entire life
......
You were not something that was nice to have around.
You were what I needed.
You were part of me."

He treasures her:
" I didn't even want you to get wet in the rain.
......
Everything I did, I did for you. My whole life really revolved around you.
You were truly the meaning of my life. "

but, now, he lost her:
" I remember my last words to you: 'I love you very much.'
And those were your last words to me, too.
......
Right now, it's one day at a time. There's no planning, no thinking of tomorrow.
In your obituary, I said: 'My life has no meaning and no purpose.' "

降温

2008-12-05T09:15:00.003-05:00

从回到家里到现在，一直缩在小粉红被子里 --- 好像，今晚特别冷。不知是因为天气预报里说的冷空气袭港，还是你不在身边。

祈祷

2008-09-25T03:44:00.002-04:00

最近发生了很多事.
只想祝福我爱的人都顺利,健康...

Nobody Gets Left Behind!

2008-09-04T11:41:00.004-04:00

"Yes, we finally made it home, after 10 years of 颠沛流离.

Life onboard the ship in that stuffy container was abit hot and dark, but now that we are back, well worth it."

When I said Nobody Gets Left Behind,

I really mean it.

The most beautiful carvings

2008-07-12T13:09:00.006-04:00

Here comes the last one on Cambodia, and a long-overdue one.

A bit of history about Banteay Srei Temple first, just to refresh our memory. " 'Banteay Srei' (Citadel of Women) is the modern name of which was originally called "Tribhuvanamahesvara" (Great Lord of the Threefold World), an appellation of the god Siva. Consecrated in 967A.D., Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to a courtier named Yajnavaraha, who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman." (will offer $5 to whoever can pronounce all these names correctly)

Due to its relatively remote location, 25km north to the main group of Angkor temples, we made a separate trip to Banteay Srei. (no, it was not a typo, 25km in Cambodia is a long way to go)

We have long heard, during our stay in Siem Reap, that Banteay Srei is famous for its intricate, beautiful carvings, and it's definitely right. Amazing details!!!

Before we left the temple, I spotted this lovely girl sitting by the doorway. She looked so happy and contented playing with that plastic bottle, paying little attention to tourists passing by -- a reminder to us city dwellers: hapiness is to treasure what one has, often the simplest things in life.

Temple-in-Jungle

2008-07-12T11:27:00.007-04:00

Being referred as the "big-tree-temple" by the local cab driver, Ta Prohm is famous for its jungle atmophere.

According to the guide book, Ta Prohm was intentionally left partially unrestored from jungle overgrowth, to provide a unique "temple-in-jungle" scenery.

Angkor Thom & Bayon

2008-07-12T05:37:00.007-04:00

The highlight of the day is Bayon.

Constructed under King Jayavarman VII, during late 12th century, the giant stone faces of Bayon have become one of the representatives of the classic Khmer art and architecture.

Although early in the morning, Siem Reap was still brutally hot.

June is the rainy season in Siem Reap. We were very fortunate to have clear sky everyday, which definitely made the outlines of the temples more breathtaking.

Other temples/monument visited in Angkor Thom area: Terrance of the Elephants, Terrance of the Leper King, Phimeanakas.

Lao gong had a unique feeling while climbing up the sandstone pyramid of Phimeanakas. =P

Hotel de la Paix - Siem Reap

2008-07-12T05:19:00.006-04:00

Can see the Angkor / Khmer art influences everywhere.

Real flowers, with a little creative touch.

Siem Reap, Cambodia (June 2008)

2008-07-11T23:14:00.012-04:00

Angkor Wat

(Constructed in early-mid 12th century, under King Suryavarman II.)

We arrived around 1pm, which according to the travel guide, has the optimal lighting condition. Surprisingly, Angkor Wat, which is considered to be most popular temple in the area, was very quiet and peaceful.

Bas-reliefs on the lower level, & Apsara carvings on the wall of central courtyard.

午后的阳光投射在长廊上, 让那天出奇安静的Angkor-Wat多了份懒洋洋的感觉.

After having water-like coconuts, running away from monkey's attack, and the long wait for Hans' brother, we went to Phnom Bakheng for sunset. (constructed during late 9th - early 10th century, it was the first major temple in the Angkor area)

While waiting for the sunset, we figured out a tip to make one's face look more slim, which came in very handy for my lao gong for the next couple days.

Beautiful Sungei Buloh

2008-07-11T13:09:00.003-04:00

Myths
1) Singapore is a concrete jungle.
2) All crabs move sideways.
3) Humans are the smartest creatures.

Facts
1) Sungei Buloh Wetland reserve is an ecological jewel, a resting and refuelling ground for migratory birds from as far as the Himalayas.
2) Some crabs move forward and backwards and they could be found at Sungei Buloh.
3) How could we be the smartest? Year over year, birds fly across the globe and rest at the same exact spot at Sungei Buloh. We need sophisticated navigation equipment; birds have it built-in their brains.

My Nephews and Niece

2008-07-11T12:49:00.007-04:00

This is 靖宇. His favorite phrases: 1) 不要, 不要, 不要 2) 给你给我 (meaning give me) 3)去哪里 (meaning I want to go).

Yesterday, he woke up in the middle of the night saying "不要, 不要, 给你给我" and according to my mom "sleep walked" to the door and shouted "去哪里,去哪里". My mom said "都是因为叔叔出门老是不带他". Poor 靖宇 and poor me for getting the blame.

设计对白: 叔叔又一个人溜出去了。

This is Ethan and Eryn at Haw Par Villa (虎豹别墅), a very old 名胜 in Singapore. I think I had a similar picture at the exact spot when I was young!

Wait, I think I missed someone, 靖轩，the latest addition to our family. I don't have his pictures. He's 3 months now, a rather quiet but handsome boy.

Here are my little ones. In case you wonder, they are twins. They bear an uncanny resemblance to my wife. My wife doesn't like this picture very much, so I will make it small for now.

Valentine's Day Flowers

2008-03-30T16:02:00.003-04:00

Our Birthday Cakes

2008-01-26T18:39:00.000-05:00

Xianghua's Birthday Cake:

Mango Mousse

诚意：１００％
好吃度：１００％
总分：２００％

Jie's Birthday Cake:
Home Made Tiramisu

诚意： 150％

好吃度： 5０％

总分：２００％

7 Years and 1 Day ago...

2008-01-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

7 Years and 2 Days ago...

We were just friends.

7 Years and 1 Day ago...

We were still friends. But we were something more.

7 Years later...

Lives intertwined. You are part of me and I am part of you.

I have been busy these days,
But I did not forget,
how much we have been through.

Many more 7 years to go.
Happy Annivesary!

Sunshine After The Rain

2007-12-27T19:43:00.000-05:00

I never doubted you loved me.
Nor doubted I loved you.
But the moment you cried, I cried.
Because loving me made you cried.

五星级料理２之茶香鸡

2007-12-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

采用精选Earl Grey.
终于找到我擅长的料理了！

The color of Koh Samui

2007-12-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

Snowman

2007-12-09T18:10:00.000-05:00

FINALLY

2007-12-08T12:04:00.000-05:00

五星级料理之香烤咖啡鸡

2007-12-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

谁说咖啡不能入菜?
香醇扑鼻的富来迪麦咖啡配上特制蜂蜜酱汁，
完美组合带给你绝佳享受。
请忘了浑浊的面汤，这正是雪耻之作！

***********

好吃的 Coffee Wing
吃完乐似 King
仿佛冬变 Spring
下次请你吃 Real Thing

说谎的雪人

2007-12-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

She Warms My Winter Night

2007-12-04T21:17:00.000-05:00

She Warms My Winter Night

In My Bed I Hold Her Tight

Take A Guess You Might

But I'm Sure You Won't Be Right

大闸蟹

2007-12-04T10:23:00.000-05:00

没想到还能赶上大闸蟹的季节......真的不是谗你,只是分享--- "please assume positive intent" =P

昨天的战利品

2007-12-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

十年来最短的裙子

2007-12-03T21:41:00.000-05:00

机场是个离别的地方

2007-12-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

以为自己已经习惯了......其实, 只是学会了不去触碰心里那一块充满别愁的地方.

你看得出哪个熟了吗？

2007-12-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

要不然，按坏了又怪我！

偷懒的结果

2007-12-03T20:33:00.001-05:00

为了省时间，切得太大块。不入味，应该只有五分。

敬请期待下次雪耻。

五分钟出好菜之星洲炒萝卜糕

2007-12-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

诀窍是秘制排骨汁及起锅前的全蛋与葱末.

赞!

我们的心情日记

2007-12-01T17:45:00.000-05:00

没有你的日子里，写下我们的心情日记，让距离不再是距离。

思念是一种很玄的东西

2007-12-01T17:19:00.000-05:00

思念是一种很玄的东西，
茶不思饭不想，
汤都喝不完，碗也不想洗。

BACK HOME

hugs

Just Another Star Story

有妖气...

随笔

Nine Years

心头上的石头

Day 7: Gimpy & the One-eye Penguin

Day 6: Hokitika Gorge & The Journey Back Inland

Day 5 - Once in lifetime experience - Helihike @ Fox Glacier

Day 4 - 人间仙境 - Milford Sound

Day 3 - 如诗如画的小镇 - Queenstown

Day 2 - 尘世美 - Mt Cook & Lake Tekapo

Day 1 - Arriving Christchurch

The most BEAUTIFUL country

This is touching

降温

祈祷

Nobody Gets Left Behind!

The most beautiful carvings

Temple-in-Jungle

Angkor Thom & Bayon

Hotel de la Paix - Siem Reap

Siem Reap, Cambodia (June 2008)

Beautiful Sungei Buloh

My Nephews and Niece

Valentine's Day Flowers

Our Birthday Cakes

7 Years and 1 Day ago...

Sunshine After The Rain

五星级料理２之 茶香鸡

The color of Koh Samui

Snowman

FINALLY

五星级料理之香烤咖啡鸡

说谎的雪人

She Warms My Winter Night

大闸蟹

昨天的战利品

十年来最短的裙子

机场是个离别的地方

你看得出哪个熟了吗？

偷懒的结果

五分钟出好菜之星洲炒萝卜糕

我们的心情日记

思念是一种很玄的东西

五星级料理２之茶香鸡