In The Morning When The Moon Is At Its Rest

I've had just enough time to...   walk the mist in the morning

 Taken one early morning when the world is still shrouded in mist in Hanoi

In the morning

When the bird is still in its nest

And the world still at rest

Peaceful under a blanket of mist

Soothed by a mother’s kiss

I walk a path half imagined

Taking it all on the chin

The sun is not yet up

To serve reality in a cup

To sear through the mist

And smack me with its fiery fist

The sun did me no service

There can be no promise

With gaze as sharp as steel

Leaving no room to steal

An idea from the God

That he left for the poor sod

Who survive the bloody scrum

To retrieve from the squalid slum

I need the blurry landscape

I need the world of indistinct shapes

I need to silence the lambs

The silence to silence the violence

And this is best done in the early morning mist

In the morning when the moon is at it's rest, 

You will find me at the time I love the best

Watching rainbows play on sunlight; 

Pools of water iced from cold night, In the morning.

Tis the morning of my life.

Bee Gees - In The Morning

Birds Talk No One Hears

I've had just enough time to...   hear birds talking

Taken while walking in the street of Rangon, Myanmar

The lines of communications belong to the birds

That chirp, cheep, chitter and twitter

Short and sweet, incessant and insane

A thousand voice, one great din

Who is listening?

 Who is listening!?

Not me, are you?

We tweet to speak,

Not to hear

But who is listening

If everyone speaks?

You don’t get it, do you?

It is birds talk

In birds talk

Everyone talks

No one hears

If birds talk everyone talks

No one hears

Hungering For China & Hairy Crabs

I’ve had just enough time to…   savor the unique taste of hairy crabs

Is this a male or female hairy crab? Read further...

I’ll be going off to China at the end of the week. And right in the middle of the hairy crab season though I’m not going to Shanghai this time where the best hairy crabs are reputedly from or more specifically these two lakes – Lake Tai and Lake Yangcheng. The first time I had hairy crabs was on the way from Shanghai to Kunshan last year in one of the lakes where hundreds of small stalls and larger restaurants lined the shore of the lake selling just one product – hairy crabs! 

 Served and ready to be eaten...

These crabs are not cheap and a single crab can set you back $20 depending on the size. The female crab is best eaten September to October and the male crab is best eaten October to November due to the quality of the roe. And the roe is what these crabs are so highly prized. They are always steamed. I don’t know how to begin describing the unique taste of the succulent orangey yellow roe. It had been described as a delicate lingering creamy flavor. The meat is dipped in sweet black vinegar sauce with shredded ginger. 

A family harvesting hairy crabs

The hairy crabs are so-called because of its furry dark hairs on its claws that looks like mittens. Thus, they are also called mitten crabs. You can distinguish the female by the oval-shaped belly. The males have more hairs on their claws and a triangular designed on their belly. So can you guess if that picture is that of a male or female. Maybe I will get to eat hairy crabs again on this coming trip to Beijing. But if not, I will settle for Peking Duck!

________

A Hairy Crab Vending Machine?...

Oktoberfest 2012 - Who Goes Out In The Rain?

I've had just enough time to...   go walking in the rain

Those who have company

Is not afraid of getting wet in the rain

The wheel also turns in stormy weather

Just the feeling is not the same, maybe better

The New Ghost will come a-visiting

As the Old Ghosts make way

I drink my sorrow in the rain

So no one see my tears mixed with the pain

When Life is short

Wet or dry, every day is a good day

Little girl crying in the rain

Why are you living me behind?

Little boy reply

No, not in stormy weather

A warm reassuring hand

Everything will be alright

Not minding the rain

___________

Walking down the street,
Kicking cans,
Looking at the billboards,
The also-rans,
Summing up the people,
Checking out the race,
Doing what I'm doing,
Feeling out of place,

Walking, walking,
In the rain.

Walking in the rain - Grace Jones

Oktoberfest 2012 - And The Rain Keeps Faliing.

I've had just enough time to...   go out in the rain.

Cupid points the arrow in the wrong direction

Now he can’t stop the rain from falling

That doesn’t stop the crowd from coming

Life goes on in stormy weather

But if it is too heavy, let seek shelter 

For under the same roof, all men are brothers

The rains on all heads drop

Alike on Gods and mortals

Why don’t you come in where it is warm and nice?

Sometimes it is safer in the rain

Will you go for a spin in the rain?

While others hurdles under the umbrellas

Or take a ride up to the clouds

Taking it up another layer

Will you live Life to the fullest?

Whether the day is sunny or it’s stormy weather?

________________

Whole world on my shoulders

Feeling older than I ought to be

Breathing in the cool air

Wet hair, I don't care 'cause I feel free

Walking In The Rain by Dan Koch

The Girl In The Middle Of The Road

I've has just enough time to...   see that girl in the middle of the road

Taken of the girl in the middle of the road on the way to Anyang, China

On a hot summer’s day

In the middle of the road

Large vehicles churning dusts

And belching smokes

There she stood

Last night was tough

Sleep still in her eyes

She let out a mighty yawn

Sucking in hot air and dust

Eyes starting to smart

Why does she do what she does?

Is it by choice she stays in the middle of the road

Surrounded by rushing vehicles and dirty smokes?

_______

Hey, don't write yourself off yet

It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on

Just do your best, do everything you can

And don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say

It just takes some time 

Little girl you're in the middle of the ride 

Everything, everything will be just fine 

Everything, everything will be alright, alright

Jimmy East World – Little Girl In The Middle Of The Ride

Moon Cakes & the Legend of the Mid-Autumn Festivals

I've had just enough time to...   enjoy my moon cake and look at the moon

Taken in the Shanghai Bakery Exhibition

There are several distinctly different types of moon cakes but the most recognized is the Guang style with its thin smooth pastry-like skin and rich lotus bean paste. A yolk or two of the duck egg is usually added. This cake is only served once a year and available during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Thus, it becomes a very popular tradition to give a box of moon cakes to relatives and business clients during this period. It is a multi-billion dollars business in China and many bakeries made their entire year’s profit during this single month.

The humble moon cake has been associated with the overthrow of the Mongol of the Yuan Dynasty. To spread the words of a unified revolt, a secret message was put into the moon cakes that were distributed to the oppressed Han people. It said “Drive out the Mongols on the 15^th of 8^th lunar month!”. On that day, the populace answered the call and overthrow the Mongols and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368.

Another famous legend associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival is the story of the Ten Suns and the Lady of the Moon. You can listen to one version of the story in the You-Tube below. For me, the Mid-Autumn festival will always be about carrying lanterns and walking through the dark street together with friends when we were boys. We were too poor to buy the colourful paper lanterns so we made our own with milk cans that has cut-out patterns, stringed together with wires attached to a bamboo stick. We burned a candle inside the can and viola!, we have our tin can lantern. They are crude but indestructible! We will then create a ruckus by banging upon anything creating an unbearable din to drive away the dog that was trying to consume the moon. Sadly, this boisterous tradition is no longer practised by today’s kids. Not many even know about it. I think I will reach for my cup of Chinese tea and the slice of moon cake now…

The Legend of the Lady in the Moon - Chang Er

I Saw A Blue Dinosaur One Day

I've had just enough time to...   hear what a blue dinosaur has to say

Taken of the blue dinosaur I met in Gunung Lang in Ipoh

I saw a blue dinosaur one day

And it told me change is overrated

Constancy is the key to survival

With a stomp that shook the earth

It said plant your feet firmly

If you don’t fly, you don’t crash

Before I could put my words in

They were blown away by its smelly breath

Who are you humans

With your short miserable lives

To tell us who lived million of years

That we are dinosaurs that lived and died!

I made a big bow and quickly retreat

For my key of survival

Is not to argue with someone

That much bigger

The Python That Swallowed An Elephant (蛇吞象)

I've had just enough time to...   see a snake trying to swallow an elephant

Taken of the fisherman being swallowed by the crocodile in Kuching River

The python swallowed a cat

I know why it swallowed a cat

It was not well fed

The python swallowed a goat

No surprise it swallowed a goat

It is now filled up to the throat

But the python should not have swallowed the elephant

No, it should not have swallowed the elephant

But it was greedier than its judgement

Now the elephant has a snake skin boot on one leg

And looking for another three hungry snakes

_______

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

Monkeys Becomes Man, Men to be Blamed

I've had just enough time to...  see monkey becomes man

Taken of the mischievous monkey in The Monkey Forest, Bali

Monkeys see, Monkeys do

Monkeys learn

Monkeys eat

Monkeys drink

Monkeys rummage

Monkeys beg

Monkeys snarl

Monkeys steal

Monkeys run

Monkeys bully

Monkeys snatch

Monkeys scramble

Monkeys mob

Monkey becomes man

Men to be blamed

The Beginning of A New Day.

I've had just enough time to...  see a new day begins

Taken one early morning from my hotel in Jakarta

The same morning sun shines equally

On the gleaming tower of steel

The thatched roof in the slum

And the homeless in the street

And they all wake, look up and say

“What a glorious morning!”

Then they look down and think

“There is money to be made”

“There is work to be done”

“There is Life to be lived”

And the old man with his best years behind him thinks

“Will I find happiness today?”

And the young children going to school

Wave to their parents and rush in

And the morning sun climbs higher into the sky.

Bathing Ritual in The Temple of Sacred Water (Thirtha Empul)

I've had just enough time to...   be cleansed by holy water

 

Taken of the bathing pool in the Temple of Sacred Water

Water, the elixir of Life

Cleanse me

Purify me

Refresh me

I am born again

Without my sins

Without my worries

Without my pains

I am renewed

By sacred water,

The elixir of Life

Devotees in prayer during purifying ceremony

This temple is regarded as one of the six most important temples in Bali. It got its name “Thirtha Empul” meaning “Bubbling Spring” from a legend. When the evil King Mayadenawa poisoned Lord Indra’s troop by creating a pool of poisoned water, Lord Indra saved them by stabbing his flag pole into the ground creating a bubbling spring of sacred water which has curative power. A temple was built at this site in 926 AD. For more than a thousand years, Balinese have come to this sacred site to heal and purify themselves.

A Family In Prayer

I've had just enough time to...   see a family in prayer

Taken of a family in prayer in the Thirtha Empul Temple compound in Bali

A family in prayer

Is the closest as a unit

Unified by belief

Bound by faith

Harmonised by love

__________

Staying together; Praying together

Any storm we can weather

Trusting in God's Word

We need each other

Fathers and mothers

Sisters and brothers

In harmony and love

Family Prayer Song

The strategy of Risks & Rewards – Live Near A Volcano

I've had just enough time to...   look at life around an active volcano

The volcanic soils are the richest – we all know that

The volcanic eruptions are deadliest – we all know that

So would you live near a volcano?

Where lands are cheap and rich?

 When will a volcano erupt – we don’t know that

When will we lose it all – we don’t know that

So would you risk everything?

For good living of duration you have no idea of?

 Would you?

The picture above is of Mount Batur which is an active volcano in north-eastern Bali. Mount Batur is actually inside a caldera (volcanic feature formed by a collapse of land following a volcanic eruption) measuring 7.5 kilometer wide 20,000+ years ago. You can see from the picture that it is still active with the blackened area the path of recent lava flows amid the vibrant green vegetation of the area. There are still many villages living around the rim of the caldera and also in the foothills where they take their chances that a big eruption will not occur during their live time.

The collapsed caldera was filled by water and formed the serene Lake Batur and there are several fishing villagers at its edge. On the right hand side is Mount Abang that is usually cloud covered. You can go to Kintamani where there are many restaurants built on the rim of the caldera and where you can have a good view of Mount Batur and the lake while having a leisurely lunch. 

Part 2 – The Man From Syria

I've had just enough time to...   meet the man from Syria.

The strong arms of the bakery proprietress that invited me in

In the last post, I mentioned stopping by a bakery on my long walk on my last day in Beirut. The proprietress noticed me lingering outside and warmly waved me in to take pictures in her bakery. We cannot understand a single word the other was saying but signs and smiles can go a long way.

The friendly workers of the bakery staring at me, the stranger :)

The bakery is producing a Lebanese flat bread called Manakeesh. A fermented dough that was divided, rounded and then flattened to a large round shape. A herb mixture (usually thyme and other herbs) called Zaatar are then spread on top with olive oil, and with or without cheese. Minced meat can also be used as toppings. It is an inexpensive and very delicious bread especially piping hot from the oven.

The delicious Manakeesh bread that I took a bite of and those not folded on the table.

 I was encouraged to shoot whatever I wanted. Then they offered me a choice of cold Pepsi or thick, concentrated, black Lebanese coffee strong enough to wake up the dead. I took the coffee and understand why it is served in “demitasse” or small cup. I think it felt like I received a direct injection of caffeine. But it went along very nicely with the hot Manakeesh folded in half. The aromatic cheese and thyme added an interesting and flavorful taste profile to the hot bread.

What would you choose? Cold Pepsi or Hot Lebanese Coffee?

I sat inside the small kitchen of the bakery looking at the baker doing his stuff. Whenever he finished a batch, he would come over and sat opposite me and we tried conversing. But it was useless. We tried all the languages under our disposal. I can speak three and I’m quite sure he spoke more than one but none fit so we looked at each other and smiled and tried to communicate with our hearts. Making eye contacts with a stranger of your same sex can be a little awkward but we form a rapport or at least a bond by just sharing the same space and time. I wanted to ask him about the tattoo of the snake on his arm and I really wished I could understand his reply. The only intelligible word I could make out was “Syria” when he pointed to himself.  I gave him an apple from the hotel and a banknote from my country to remember me by. 

The man from Syria!

The proprietress would not accept any payment from me and I too gave her a Malaysian banknote as a souvenir. I have so many words of thanks that I wanted to express but my words could not convey the meanings to them. So I hoped that my expressions, my smiles and my limbs were able to do what my words could not. It is unlikely I will ever go back to Beirut. It is unlikely I will ever meet them again. But I will never forget their kindness to a stranger and made it a day for him to remember.

The snake tattoo on his arm. Wish I know its significance to him.