The Sands of Time Wait for No Man

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Science Lesson

It's time for me to dig my ears again.... Overheard during one of my local teacher's lessons.....

"You must look at the cuff of the miniskirt....."

Huh? Is this some kind of buaya lesson?

It was a science lesson and apparently you must look at the curve of the meniscus!

Friday, May 12, 2006

Inle Lake (29 April - 1 May)

This scenic place is Inle Lake. It’s totally different from where I'm now at. The weather here is cool and the air is ultra fresh! You see lots of water, mountains, clear blue skies, relaxed villagers, fishermen, different ethnic groups, etc….. This holiday was an excellent getaway and a refreshing change for Vivian and I as we were on a pagoda overdose from our previous few trips.

Enjoy the photos!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Thanaka Miracle

I’ve tried the thanaka for myself and what can I say, it’s really amazing! The feeling is a little like putting mud on the face. Gross feeling aside, after one application, the skin already feels tauter and looks fairer. It has a cooling effect on the skin too. I’m not sure if the effects are purely psychological! I’m hoping it will minimise my pores after a few more application….. You realise how much money I can be saving on facials if thanaka REALLY works! For obvious reasons, each time after I apply the thanaka, Vivian always calls me ‘黄脸婆’. So anyone back home wants to try this miracle concoction? I think when I leave this place (pretty soon… heh!) I’ll be bringing thanaka home by the cartons! I think I can now do quite a good job of applying the thanaka on my face…. Quite evenly spread out…. I look like a local now!

Minynegone (Bagan)


Don’t ask me what I was trying to do with my hands on my head, but the photo turned out to be quite cute. This was taken at Minynegone. I believe it is one of the lesser known pagodas around in Bagan and it’s one of the few that can still be ascended. We had a wonderful view of Bagan laid out in front of us when we climbed to the top of the pagoda. Since this was not a popular tourist spot (only Vivian and I were there), it felt as if the whole pagoda belonged to us!

Dhammayazika (Bagan)

This is a ‘kim kim’ pagoda known as Dhammayazika. What’s spectacular about this is that it’s so ‘kim’. And instead of the usual four corners that a pagoda has, this one has five, and not to mention a beautiful bougainvillea garden.

Dhammayangyi (Bagan)

Dhammayangyi is built by a cruel king. He killed his father and took the chance while his older brother, who was next in line to be king and who happened to be out of town at that time, to usurp the throne. When he built this pagoda, he made sure that no nail, cement or plaster was used in between the bricks. Anyone caught using any of those materials would have their fingers chopped off. To build this huge pagoda in this way is really quite a remarkable feat but it’s really brutal…. This two side-by-side buddhas are found inside the pagoda. I think it is a very uncommon sight to have two buddhas seated together. In fact I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this!

Ananda (Bagan)

Ananda is a must-go when one visits Bagan. This is the biggest pagoda around here and is quite distinct. Most of the pagodas are the red-brick type, but this is white and has a golden top. The interior is also quite unique. The Buddha statue is placed in the middle of the pagoda and there are three different corridors around it. About 800 years ago, the innermost corridor was for royalties, the second corridor was for the monks, nuns and other religious people and the outermost corridor was for commoners. But these days, one can choose to walk in any of the corridors. To get a taste of what royalty feels like, we took the innermost corridor! And naturally took many photos along the way…..

Alopyi (Bagan)

I’m now at Alopyi holding a bunch of 9 different flowers. This pagoda is famous for the number 9. All types of offerings will come in the number 9, for example, 9 types of fruits, 9 types of flowers, etc. Only odd numbers are used as even numbers are considered to be unlucky. Good thing my favourite number is an odd number!

Bagan (14 April - 16 April)

During the recent term break, Vivian and I decided to do some travelling and so off we went on a 3 day, 2 night holiday in Bagan. We took a 8-hour train ride there and I managed to catch the sunrise from the carriage… Simply gorgeous! The train ride was nothing luxurious. Think cardboard thin cushion and non-reclining seat and a sauna-like carriage. At least the seat was rather spacious and there was no bad smell looming around.
When we were in Bagan, it was still the Thingyan (Water Festival). So we had plenty of splashes from the fun-loving Burmese. There was not a day when we were dry. It’s really quite a disgusting feeling to be wearing wet jeans and t-shirt the whole day. But at least our wet attire kept us cool in the heated plains of Bagan where temperatures can go as high as above 40°C. It’s almost like a desert there and we saw cacti growing almost everywhere. Bagan is amazing! I cannot stop raving about the place. What Ang Khor Wat is to Cambodia is what Bagan is to Myanmar. I took plenty of photos (over 400 shots I believe) during the short trip there! But I tell you, the photos really don’t do the place justice! You really got to see for yourself the magnificent sight of thousands of pagodas popping out from all over this small land area! What’s that Chinese saying “百闻不如一见”。How true! Bagan is also an excellent place for sun-chasers like me. The atmosphere and feeling to be able to witness the sun setting amidst the old pagodas and ruins is simply great! To tell the truth, even though the pagodas in Bagan was a splendid sight, after a while, it all started to look the same! In total, we visited about 15 pagodas during the 2 days. At one point of time, we were so saturated that we wanted to tell our guide not to bring us to any more pagodas! We were starting not to be able to tell one apart from the other! So it was a good thing when we took a side trip up to Mount Popa. Another amazing place! Must go! Mount Popa has a cluster of monasteries and pagodas perched right on top of it and has a certain air of mystery about it. From far, it was like looking at a colourful fairy tale castle! We hired a horse-cart while in Bagan. Thanks to my long legs, I was able to get onto the cart effortlessly. It was not very expensive and it turned out to be good value for money as our horse-cart driver, Min Min, could speak good English and was able to act as tour guide cum photographer for us! We wouldn’t have known the history of the pagodas if we had gone around on our own. His horse, Jasmine, was quite strong, outrunning the other horse-carts most of the time. But I would rather like to think of it as we, the passengers weighing a feather to her! Hah! To round up the trip, we took a ferry back to Mandalay along the Ayeyawarddy river. I've got to complain about the unfair treatment to foreigners again! We paid US$16 while a local only needed to pay about US$3!!! Unfair!!! That aside, the 12-hour ride was enjoyable. I saw many small villages by the river bank and I think to myself how hard life must be for these people. The land is dry and barren, the sun is scorching hot and the only source of food seems to be from the river. I wonder if there are really many fishes in there. But I think on the whole, the people lead quite a carefree life….. children splashing around by the river, women doing their laundry, men fishing from their boats …..

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Her & Him II

“If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time”

I know none of the above.

I chanced across his blog…… Was I supposed to read what was written there? Am I reading too much into it? Was he ever going to say anything? But…… What would I have liked him to say?

I don’t know.