Life Is Like That

Antarctica to many of us is a place which is within sight but beyond reach. Because of this, Antarctica attains its beautiful and mysterious status in our heart. Don’t you agree?

Where about? Antarctica is earth’s southernmost continent. It is surrounded by the southern Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in the world, with a total area of 14.4 million kilometer squares. About 98% of Antarctica is covered with ice. Until today, the continent is still uninhabited except for some researchers.

What is so beautiful? Perhaps the most amazing view in Antarctica is the ice sheet. The Antarctica ice sheet is the largest single mass of ice on earth. Ross Sea has long been the primary destination for cruise ships leaving Australia and New Zealand. At Ross Sea, one can get Antarctica’s most impressive sights around the volcanic Ross Island and the huge Transantarctic Mountain Chain. Ross Island houses 4 volcanoes with Erebus as the earth’s southernmost active volcano. You can climb Mount Erebus in the summer, of course when it is not erupting! Besides, you should also not miss out on Ross Ice Shelf, the biggest ice shelf in Antarctica which is about the size of France. In case if you do not know, the land areas around Ross Sea are home to numerous penguins and seals!

Pictures in the slideshow above are taken from Antarctica Online Photo Gallery

Technorati Tags: Antarctica, Ross Sea, Ross Island, Transantarctic Mountain Chain, Mount Erebus, Ross Ice Shelf

November 17th, 2008 | Category: Beautiful Monday | Comments (2)

Still remember I said before I hardly had time to take a stroll on Patong Beach when I was in Phuket? All my days in Phuket were spent visiting surrounding islands. One of those islands is the impressive Phi Phi Islands.

Located 48 kilometers southeast of Phuket, Phi Phi Islands is a small archipelago in Krabi Province. Made up of 6 small and large islands, Phi Phi Islands is considered to be one of the most naturally beautiful islands in the world. The islands are encircled by water so clear that you can see almost to the seabed from the surface.

Phi Phi Islands in Thai language is Koh Phi Phi (pronounced as ‘ko pee pee’), with ‘koh’ literally means ‘island’. Do you know that the name Phi Phi is actually derived from Malay words? The original name of the islands were ‘Pulao Pi ah Pi’, in which ‘pulao’ is the Malay word for island and ‘pi’ refers to the mangrove wood found there.

Koh Phi Phi consists of 2 bigger islands and 4 smaller islands, which were incorporated into the national park in 1983. They are:

1. Koh Phi Phi Don. The largest island of the Phi Phi archipelago and is the only populated island of six.

2. Koh Phi Phi Leh. This is the second largest island and gained the fame of being the filming location for Leonardo DiCaprio ‘The Beach’.

3. Koh Phai. A small island lies north of Koh Phi Phi Don, also known as Bamboo Island.

4. Koh Yung. A small island in the north of Koh Phi Phi Don, located not far away from Koh Phai. This small island is also known as Mosquito Island. The island gets its name from the black clouds of mosquitoes at sunset.

5. Koh Bida Nok and Bida Nai. These are 2 small adjacent islands located in the south of Koh Phi Phi Leh, is a popular diving spot.

Phi Phi Islands

Now that you should consider yourself knowing Phi Phi Islands quite substantially. Do come back in the next few days to follow my highs and lows there.

Technorati Tags: Patong Beach, Phuket, Phi Phi Islands, Krabi, Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Leh, Koh Phai, Koh Yung, Koh Bida Nok, Koh Bida Nai

November 16th, 2008 | Category: Phuket Escapade | Leave a comment

saturday photo scavenger hunt

I had visited Thousand Buddha Cliff at the Jiajiang County in the city of Leshan back in September last year. Thousand Buddha Cliff is an ancient Shu monument. It is such named because it houses over thousands of stone Buddha carvings on the cliff. To my disappointment, most of the Buddha heads were dug out and sold to overseas over the years as it is the most valuable part of a whole Buddha sculpture. Shame on those thieves! Why can’t the Chinese government do something to protect this important relic? This is shown in the picture below.

The heads are missing!

Have you done PhotoHunt this week? By the way, this is only one of many places I covered in my Sichuan Escapade.

Technorati Tags: Thousand Buddha Cliff, Jiajiang County, Leshan, Sichuan Escapade

November 15th, 2008 | Category: Photohunt | Comments (13)

How you settle your lunch on working days? Do you normally eat out or take packed lunch from nearby restaurants? As for me, I go back home for lunch. It takes me less than 10 minutes driving to get home. I guess that is the advantage of living in a small town.

In the past months or so, we have read that both Penang government and University of Science Malaysia have moved to ban the use of polystyrene for packing food. I personally applaud the move. But come to think of it, when will all the other states follow in to ban the use of polystyrene containers. Or Malaysians just do not know how to take care of their environment!

Polystyrene food container

Let’s look at the background study on why there is a move to ban the use of polystyrene for packing food. Styrene is primarily used in the production of polystyrene. Styrene is a toxic element to human body. According to United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), long term exposure to styrene results in changes in color vision, tiredness, feeling drunk, slow reaction time, concentration problems and balance problems.

No, my concern is not your health. My primary concern is environmental issues arising from the use of polystyrene for packing food:

1. Discarded polystyrene does not biodegrade, thus creating landfill pollution.

This thing does not biodegrade!

2. Expanded polystyrene foam littered into the water systems can be harmful if ingested by marine life.

3. Polystyrene container if thrown into the drain can cause clogs. Clogged drainage system is the main cause for lightning flood.

4. Polystyrene is classified as highly inflammable item. If accidentally ignited, it can cause huge fires and losses.

Thus, it becomes everyone responsibility to reduce the use of polystyrene food containers. Here are a few measures worth taking into consideration:

1. Reduce the frequency of eating outside. In the wake of economic recession now, this measure can also help in cutting down your spending.

2. If your home is far away from office, prepare and pack your lunch the night before or early in the morning.

Stainless steel food container

This person really knows how to enjoy himself!

3. If eating out is inevitable, eat at the restaurants or stalls itself. Do not take out. This can prevent the use of expanded polystyrene foam food container.

4. For some of you who still prefer take out, you can prepare your own container. It can be a normal plastic container.

A microwave suitable tupperware is even better!

This is only my 2-cent thought on how we, human can become more ‘friendly’ to our Mother Nature. Reducing or banning the use of polystyrene containers is not a difficult act. Come on, lead by example and show to our younger generation that we actually care!

Technorati Tags: polystyrene, styrene

November 12th, 2008 | Category: Earth Song | Comments (13)

Everyone who plans a trip to Yunnan (云南) would not want to miss out on the Old Town of Lijiang (丽江古城). This old town is possibly the best preserved old town in China.

Where about? The Old Town of Lijiang was first built around 800 years ago in the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋). The town sits at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山), and is home to the Naxi people (纳西族) for century. Naxi people are descendant of the Qiang people. I had written about Qiang people (羌族) before and had visited the world’s oldest Qiang village last August. The Old Town of Lijiang has an area of approximately 14 kilometer squares and lies in the altitude of 2410 meters above the sea level. There are approximately 4200 households in the town.

What is so beautiful? The Old Town of Lijiang was inscripted as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The old town is surrounded by green hills. Waters flowing down from the nearby Yulong Snow Mountain go through every corner of the town, forming an orderly system of waterways. There are also numerous small bridges stand upon the canals. No wonder some has lauded the Old Town of Lijiang as “Oriental Venice”. The cobblestone street and old Chinese house along it also add to the picturesque view of this ancient town. The Old Town of Lijiang also famous for not having a city wall. It is said that because the ancient hereditary rulers of the town has a surname of “mu” (木). If they built city walls around the town, then “mu” becomes “kun” (困). That is why the town does not have a city wall.

Pictures in the above slideshow are taken from terragalleria.com

Technorati Tags: Yunnan, Old Town of Lijiang, Yulong Snow Mountain, Naxi people, Qiang people, Oriental Venice

November 10th, 2008 | Category: Beautiful Monday | Comments (3)

saturday photo scavenger hunt

I was clueless on what to put up for this week PhotoHunt until I took a stroll in my backyard garden. I saw some huge bees gathering nectar or pollen at flowers on my mango trees. These are the 2 pictures I quickly took.

Pollination is an important process in the sexual reproduction of the flowering plants. Without bees and other pollination insects, plants cannot survive well and this will bring destructive consequences to nature. On the other hand, bees feed on nectar and pollen as an energy source, for protein and other nutrients. Can you feel the sense of togetherness between bees and plants?

Who benefits the most from this symbiosis relationship between bees and plants? The answer is us human. I remember I read once that approximately one third of human food supply depends on bees’ pollination. So, sing your praise to the bees on your dining table tonight, shall we?

Technorati Tags: PhotoHunt, pollination insects, bees

November 8th, 2008 | Category: Photohunt | Comments (15)

Thailand’s heartthrob Ananda Everingham is best known for his lead role in the 2004 Thai horror movie, Shutter. Have you watched Shutter before? My blogging friend, foongpc had actually short listed this movie as one of his all time top 5 horror movies.

Ananda Everingham

This is Karen Mok, a Hong Kong based actress and singer. She is best known for its starring role in Stephen Chow’s The God of Cookery and Shaolin Soccer.

Karen Mok

One is a handsome much sought after film actor in Thailand. Another one is a sexy actress with luscious hair and signature long legs. So, what you expect to see if we put Everingham and Mok together in a movie? Lots of romantic and making out scenes? Not quite! In fact, 2 of them have starred in the recently released Thai horror movie, The Coffin.

Movie poster (taken from the official website of the movie)

Movie poster (taken from the official website of the movie)

I went to watch The Coffin last night. This is my first horror movies in as many years. If I am not mistaken, is it Shutter the last horror movie I watched? Anyway, The Coffin is based on a true Thai ritual. Referred to as “Non Leong Sadorcro”, which literally means “lie in coffin, free of back luck”, this ritual has been around in Thailand for decades. It is believed that by lying in a coffin with death rites performed on the participants, they will feel as if they are reborn after the ritual, with all the bad lucks put behind them. The movie centers on a series of bizarre and horrifying incidents after Chris (starring Everingham) and Sue (starring Mok) spent the night in their coffins. To be able to experience what they ‘see’ and ‘hear’, go buy a ticket and choose your favorite seat in the nearby cinema!

Moral of the movie: Never disturb the wheel of karma, nor trying to reverse it. Everything has a reasoning. What you get is what you seed. So, live your life to the fullest every single day!

Question of the day: Will you spend 1 night in a coffin, in order to get rid of your bad luck?

Technorati Tags: Ananda Everingham, Shutter, Karen Mok, Stephen Chow, The Coffin

November 6th, 2008 | Category: Fun | Comments (4)

I know, I know… some readers have already questioned why I like Cameron Highlands so much. But I do not mind. I am already looking forward for my next visit there if I happen to stop by Kuala Lumpur. Here comes my third post about Cameron Highlands and it is going to be the last one too.

After Sungai Palas BOH Tea Plantation and Rose Garden/Cactus Valley, we went on to see butterfly. I was told there are 2 butterfly farms in Cameron Highlands, i.e. the Butterfly Farm and the Butterfly Garden, both located around the Kea Farm area. We went to the Butterfly Farm. Inside the farm, there are various species of butterflies and other insects on display.

The main attraction inside the Butterfly Farm is of course butterflies. Of all the species there, the Raja Brooke Butterfly is the most striking. This butterfly was named by the naturalist Alfred Wallace in 1855, after Sir James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak. The Rajah Brooke Butterfly is from Borneo rainforests and is the national butterfly of Malaysia. This butterfly is notable for 7 teeth shaped green marking on each side of its black wing. It is now considered as an endangered species by Malaysian government.

Take a closer look at the Rajah Brooke Butterfly.

Raja Brooke Butterfly

So many of them!

Do you know that adult butterflies feed on flower nectars and fruit juices?

Besides butterflies, there are other live insects on display inside the Butterfly Farm.

Can you spot a tree bug?

A giant weevil is sucking sugarcane juice

Have you seen such a big beetle before?

And hundreds of scorpions! Trust me, I never seen so many scorpions before in my life! Damn, my friend had put a few on my body without my consent!

Send shivers down my spine!

Technorati Tags: Cameron Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Sungai Palas BOH Tea Plantation, Rose Garden, Cactus Valley, Butterfly Farm, Kea Farm, Raja Brooke Butterfly, James Brooke

November 5th, 2008 | Category: Travel | Comments (4)

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in this world. This island country consists of North Island, South Island and numerous smaller islands in the Pacific Ocean. One of the many beautiful places in New Zealand is Queenstown.

Where about? Queenstown is a town located in the Otago region in the New Zealand’s South Island. Queenstown is built around Lake Wakatipu, an inland lake that shape resembling a lightning bolt. Queenstown was such named because many exclaimed the town was fit for Queen Victoria!

What is so beautiful? Queenstown is also nicknamed “Small Switzerland”, due to its beauty. Lake Wakatipu is a deep blue highland lake. The lake reflects spectacular views of nearby mountains on its surface. Coupled with some majestic snow capped peaks at the background, no wonder Queenstown was lauded as a living place fit for the Queen! The town is also famous for its adventure tourism. It is the originating place for bungee jumping. Other sports such as skiing, jet boating, mountain biking, hiking and fly fishing also popular there. And do you know that Queenstown and surrounding areas are filming location for the world famous the Lord of the Rings trilogy?

Pictures in the above slideshow are taken from the Official Site of Queenstown Tourism

Technorati Tags: New Zealand, North Island, South Island, Pacific Ocean, Queenstown, Otago, Lake Wakatipu

November 3rd, 2008 | Category: Beautiful Monday | Comments (6)