The Crocodile Behind The Man

I've had just enough time to...   see the crocodile behind the man

Taken while taking a walk back to my hotel in Kuching, Sarawak.

I saw the man

But not the crocodile behind

When I did see it

It was already too late

It had its jaw on my leg

Before it dragged me

Into its murky depth

I wonder

How is it

I saw the man

But not the monster

Behind the man

The Pretty Milk Maid of Marjeyoun

I've had just enough to...   make friend with the milk maid's cow

Taken in the Muslim section of the town of Marjeyoun, a Lebanese town bordering Israel.

A rusty door opens with a reluctant creak

Who will emerge from its shadowy depth?

A large straw hat, light blue jeans and leather boots

A milk maid with her hand on her hips

And a smile bigger than her pretty lips

But where is the cow that follows the maid?

Strange I did not see it till my face was licked.

Reflection Part III – Where Have All The Good Times Gone?

I've had just enough time to...   try to see his reflections on the water.

Taken in the same Taiping Park in Taiping, Malaysia

What does he see

When he looks into the water?

Does he see the years that went by?

Does he see regrets floating on the surface?

Does he see opportunities lost?

Does he see paths that should have been taken?

Goals that should have been achieved?

Or does he see

The reflections of his grandchildren

And is contended with that

_______

Won't you tell me

Where have all the good times gone

Where have all the good times gone

Where have all the good times gone

Once we had an easy ride 

and always felt the same

Time was on our side 

and I had everything to gain

Let it be like yesterday

Please let me have happy days

David Bowie - Where have all the good times gone

Reflection Part II – Memories of the Way We Were

I've had just enough time to...   reflect on the way we were

Taken while strolling round Taiping Park in Taiping, Malaysia.

The reflections on the water

Sweep the memories pass

Its calm surface

To a misty land

Of ghostly images

That pulls at the heartstrings

Vibrating

And exciting

Emotions

Long thought dead

_______

Memories,

Like the corners of my mind

Misty water-coloured memories

Of the way we were

Scattered pictures,

Of the smiles we left behind

Smiles we gave to one another

For the way we were

Barbra Streisand - Way We Were 

Reflection Part I – Just Me

I've had just enough time to...   reflect on just me

Taken of the reflection found one early morning in the lake in Ampang Hill

There are two sides to me

Both sides are real

But which side is true?

Or can both sides be true as well

I sat on the water’s edge

And look at my reflection

Look at my reflection

For that is the only me I can see

But I know, I feel

Another me that I cannot see

It resides in me and argues

I feel therefore it is me

But the me who thinks

Spell in clear logical steps

Why without thoughts

Me cannot even exists

So I sat at the water’s edge

Gazing into my reflection

Gently coalescing all the me

Serenely, into just me

Part III – The Lady Met the Elephant on a Rainy Day

I've had just enough time to...   see the meeting of the lady and the elephant

Taken of the meeting of the lady and the elephant on one rainy morning...

...when heaven shed its tears over the River Kwai.

One early morning

A lady crossed a bridge

Under a curtain of teary rain

Met a lonesome elephant

Looking for love at the other end

They stood facing each other in silence

While the heaven wailed and screamed

It asked for love but the lady has none to give

Not the type it needs

They stood facing each other

And three hearts were broken

On that rainy day

Part II – To Carve Out the Soul of An Elephant.

I've had just enough time to...   see how life was breathed into the elephants of wood.

Taken in a handicraft shop on the way to the River Kwai from Bangkok.

To carve an elephant

First, feel its might pulsating

Under your finger tips

Feel its gentleness

Feel its strength

Feel its tenderness

Towards its young

Feel its complexity

Feel its friendship

Feel its relationship

With its herd

Feel its rage

Feel its anxiety

Feel its freedom

In the wild

Dream what it dreams

See what it sees

Feel what it feels

Under its skin

Your hand will know when it is ready

When its spirit course through your vein

When tears well up in your eyes

As you touch the soul of the royal beast

All Because of A Nail, My Dear Watson

I've had just enough time to...   ponder on what a nail can do

Taken of the little nail that caused a lot of havoc

A nail, a tyre, a delay,

A business lost

It is all in the details, my dear Watson

For want of a nail a battle was lost

I’ve a problem, Master Sherlock

It is you who said - Don’t sweat the small stuff

Did I?

You did!

Well, that is a different story

In a different setting

Under different circumstances

We think differently

But how does one know

When to paint in big strokes

And when to notice of

The missing of a hair?

The tea is brewing, dear Watson

A cup of tea in the afternoon

That is a big picture

And to brew the perfect cup –

Practice, practice, till perfect, my dear Watson

_______

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the message was lost.

For want of a message the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Part I – I Dreamt of Elephants

I've had just enough time to...   dream of elephants.

Found this colourful elephant during one of my aimless wandering in Bangkok

I dreamt of elephants

One stood in my way

And would not budge

No matter how I pushed

And huffed and puffed

I used all my strength plus my will

But what is it to an elephant’s bulk

There are things that cannot be pushed

Like an elephant that refused to move

I walked to the elephant’s ear

Whispered into it earnestly

And saw its eyes blinked

It listened to the stories

Dredged from my belly

Pushed itself off the ground

And walked away just like that

I dreamt of elephants and learnt

The only way you can move an elephant

Is to move its heart

_______

The Elephant Song - Kamahl

Tell me said the elephant 

Tell me brothers if you can 

Why all the world is full of creatures 

Yet we grow in fear of man 

Tell me said the elephant 

tell me why this has to be 

we have to run from man and hunter 

never safe and never free 

Silence Is The Stillness Within.

I've had just enough time to...   be silent.

Taken of the monkey who asked me to be silent in a Kuching shop

Shall we communicate in silence?

Words only get in the way

Sweep them all away

And Let silence rule the day

It speaks no truth

It tells no lies

It does not explain nor elaborate

Or paints wondrous pictures for the mind

Uncluttered Unpolluted

It is the gentle ripple of a still pond

Not the roaring superhighway

Of a mind racing under closed lids 

Silence is not the absence of sound

But the stillness within

_______

Silence is golden...

but my eyes still see.

Silence is golden, golden.

But my eyes still see.

Silence Is Golden - The Tremeloes

The Ways We Fish.

I've had just enough time to...   think about the way I fish.

Taken of the fisherman under the hot tropical sun in Kuching River

There are many ways one can catch a fish

We can do it with one rod

Or we can do it with nine

That explains the way we approach Life

There are many ways we can reach a destination

We can do it fast and easy

Or take many detours along the way

That explains the way we take our journeys

Taken of the very relaxed fisherman

There are many ways we can love

We can do it intensely

Or do it lovingly forever

That explains the nature of our heart

There are many ways we can live our Life

You can tell by the way we fish, or not

The Secret of the Indian Thorn Apple (in The Patan Golden Temple).

I've had just enough time to...   learn about the Indian Thorn Apple

Taken inside the Golden Temple of Patan...

Thank you all for your interest in the thorny fruits carried by the monkeys in the images that was shot in the monastery in Nepal. Thanks to Kismet who supplied the lead and some of your suggestions, we have together solved its mystery. The thorny fruit is the fruit of the Indian Thorn Apple or “Datura Metel” (see earlier posts). But first, something about the temple itself.

The temple is situated just two hundred meters north of the famous Patan Durbar Square and was built in the 12^th Century AD. Its original location was in Bahalkot and according to legends, the Buddhist monastery was built because of a dream by the disgraced Queen Pingala of Patan as the way to win back her husband’s affection. And it worked. 

where mouse or...

King Vaskar Deva Dutta had a dream that the idol of Buddha that was moved from Bahalkot disapproved of the new location and the temple should be built in a place shown by a mouse chasing a cat. One day, he did see a golden mouse chasing a cat and ordered it to be constructed there and named it “Hiranya Varna Mahavihar” or the Golden Buddhist Monastery. I guess that is why the rats are sacred in that temple.

According to Sanskrit literature, the Indian Thorn Apple is said to be grown from the chest of the Hindu god Shiva, the god of inebriants. In Nepal, the plant is considered sacred to Shiva and thorn apple flowers and fruits are the most important offering gifts and are offered at every “puja” or offering ceremony to please the god. The Indian Thorn Apple flowers are often depicted in Hindu Tantric Arts often in connection of the incarnation of Shiva. The plant is poisonous but is used for medicinal, ritual or intoxicating purposes and is also abused for criminal purposes. If by now, you are confused about Hindu god and Buddhist temple, it is because in Nepal and large part of India as well; Hinduism and Buddhism coexist for centuries and much of the culture and beliefs have spilled over from one to the other.

The Indian Thorn Apple is not as exotic as you may believe. It belongs to the same family as that of the Angel’s Trumpets.

pigeons and human happily co-exist.