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Bangkok: Chatuchak weekend market

By My journey, Photography
Chatuchak weekend market - a boy was doing double "teh tarik"

Chatuchak weekend market - a boy was doing double "teh tarik"

Taking a break from all the temples, we decided to do some shopping to the Chatuchak weekend market, the largest market in Thailand. The market is sprawling 35 acres and comprised of more than 15,000 shops stalls. It’s perhaps one of the largest weekend markets in the world too. Though it is not available everyday, Chatuchak weekend market opens on Saturday and Sunday, and it’s believed to attract over 20,000 of visitors each day. Fortunately we had a weekend in Bangkok when we could visit the market.

A less fortunate child and his mother at the Chatuchak weekend market

AA less fortunate child and his mother at the Chatuchak weekend market

Chatuchak weekend market is a shopping paradise! There is a huge range of products including household items, books, trendy clothing, Thai handicrafts, religious artifacts, collectibles, foods, and live animals. We were surprise to see how huge the market is and the varieties of merchandise sold there, nearly everything under the sun. Like a sea of infinite possibilities, we navigated through Chatuchak’s army of stalls and tried not to get ourselves disoriented. Sarcastically, almost all of what we had bought and had seen in our shopping for first few days in Bangkok and Pattaya could be found from the market and at good bargain too.

We would prefer to have cheap street food than classy and expensive restaurant’s meal. Hence Chatuchak weekend market would be our best choice to have our lunch. The foods offered are very variety and cheap. Thais are strong-flavor lovers which results their foods or drinks being usually sweeter, and more spicy, sour, and salty than other cuisine, yet delicious. So we started our feeding frenzy there. Within 2 hours, we had a bit of everything including fried chicken, spicy stir fried pork, meat and fish balls, satay, mango sticky rice, pineapple, coconut juice, teh tarik, iced blended coffee, durian ice-cream, snacks and much more.

Chatuchak weekend market is one must never missed in Bangkok. It was totally worth our time to discover that its wealth of culture provides for good opportunities to make wonderful finds. The market too attracts a colorful crowd of hawkers, tourists, beggars, street artists which provided me with interesting sights for photo taking:

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Touching Him in his distressing disguise – by Mother Teresa

By Compassion, Wisdom
Mother Teresa (image from http://trebord.wordpress.com/)

Mother Teresa (image from http://trebord.wordpress.com/)

“We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with Him at this very moment. But being happy with him now means:

Loving as He loves,
Helping as He helps,
Giving as He gives,
Serving as He serves,
Rescuing as He rescues,
Being with Him twenty-four hours,
Touching Him in his distressing disguise.”

– Mother Teresa

Looking through the window with Cinda and Wee-Peng

By Beautiful Melaka, Photography

Before the event-shooting for the blood donation in Bukit Beruang last Sunday, Cinda invited Wee-Peng and I for a photography outing at the Jonker Street of Melaka in the morning. She needed a photo of “window” topic for the KL photonian‘s presentation thus asked for our company.

We started early in the morning to avoid the hot weather. Walking along Tokong Street, we were looking for inspiration which could bring back the nostalgic old days, especially with the windows of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple and Xiang Lin Temple. At the same, we were also looking for gaps, holes, cracks, and frames which she could use as a form substitution for windows. After the temples at Tokong Street, we moved to Jonker Street and continued our search of the heritage buildings.

It would be my first photography outing with Cinda. Thanks to Cinda as I really enjoyed the shooting session and also my morning walk in the heritage town of Melaka with Cinda and Wee-Peng’s company. May everyone be happy. 🙂

Sharing some photos I took that morning:

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[新闻] 好心人送客货车回收资源‧无掌人撑起一头家

By Compassion
杨玉权在整理环保品时,只能用双手来夹,需要比双手正常的人多费一分心力。(图:星洲日报)

杨玉权在整理环保品时,只能用双手来夹,需要比双手正常的人多费一分心力。(图:星洲日报)

“无掌人”夫妇
丈夫杨玉权:出世时双手没有完整的手指和掌心,只是一团肉。
妻子刘佩妮:出世时脑缺氧,造成后天四肢不灵活,说话口齿不清。

(独家报导:刘素君‧怡保)“无掌人”杨玉权没有完整的双手,但有一股坚强的信念,依赖回收环保品打拚赚钱养家,编写出真实版的励志故事。

过去,他所赚到的钱只供自己使用;自从成家后,他就挑起养妻活儿的责任,撑起一头家。

好心人送了一辆客货车给他,他勤劳驾驶这辆客货车去回收环保品,载到好心屋主以低价出租给他当环保品回收站的屋子。

他也当起老板,聘请了数名残障人帮忙他把环保品分类;另有两名义工前来协助他扛抬重物。

有时候,他的“无掌”双手因回收的环保物太骯脏引起皮肤病,变得红肿和有被腐蚀的跡象,但他还是不畏惧,要尽力赚钱做一个好丈夫和好爸爸。

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Bangkok: Wats, the temples

By My journey, Photography

Gate to the Grand Palace

Being the capital city of a Buddhist country means that Bangkok is full of some of South East Asia’s finest temples. Therefore our visit to Bangkok would not be complete without seeing some of these famous temples (Wats in Thai). On the second day and fourth day in Bangkok, we visited a couples of temples:

  • Wat Traimit (Temple of Golden Buddha)
  • the unknown temple (we got blessing from a Luang Pu monk)
  • Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace (The Emerald Buddha)
  • Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)
  • Wat Pho (Temple of Reclining Buddha)

Boon-Huat, Wei-Seong and Wee-Peng at the steep stair of Wat Arun's central prang

These temples we visited are the spiritual part of the capital’s heart and soul and each of the temples is unique like no other as the architecture and decoration are awe-inspiring. It would be good to share the story of each temple together with the photos I took after the jump:

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不退烧的地球,还能撑多久?

By Compassion
药方:节约减碳,避免让地球温度上升2度。(图:星洲日报)

药方:节约减碳,避免让地球温度上升2度。(图:星洲日报)

你能不能想像一个人如果高烧不退会变成怎么样?

这个人尚且吉人天相,脑袋大概也被烧坏了。

如果是你,一定不会想要有一天沦落到这般田地吧?但你又知不知道,其实你的所作所为已经间接让另一个生命体遭受到如此不堪的待遇──而他,就是地球。

全球暖化,已经从一个流行语汇到一个腻死人不偿命的数千万笔google热门新闻搜寻资料;但大部份的马来西亚人还是觉得事不关已,不管外面刮风下雨,室內的冷气还是开到连北极熊都会感冒的程度。政府宣传广告不断在告戒人民勿焚烧垃圾,甚至还鼓励民眾举报,结果大家还是目空一切、守望相助,你只要远离城市,烧芭烧垃圾这种事就好像嘉年华一样永远没有停过;那些觉得电费便宜到以为自己活在非洲部落的人,当然不会把没有用的插头从插座移除,更不用说利用公司的资源时,离开位子两三个小时也不会把电脑关掉的人……你即使不是这样的人,你举起手指指向前方,大概也会指到一囉哩这样的人。

这样的人当然不会只有一个,他们联合起来每天餵地球吃香喝辣焗桑那。高烧不退的地球会发生甚么事呢?他流出的大量汗水,让2006年底的柔佛州发生百年一次的大水灾,让东海岸每年年底都面对水患问题,让一国之都常常一雨成灾;他口乾舌燥,让柔佛州居鑾市区的民眾在农历新年期间体验到前所未有的无水开饭、洗澡窘境,让山林大火时有所闻,让大马引以为傲的棕油出现收成短缺,出口锐减。

雪州水供公司公佈的一项报告指出,说明雪隆和布城因为近日来炎热天气,每人每天平均的用水量达 223公升,比早前的216公升增加了7公升,比起许多国家包括新加坡每人每天157公升的用水量高出许多。地球在还没有渴死之前,还要哀求他吐几口水来解渴,这就是我们对待地球的方式。

地球每年在升温,我们每年却只关灯一次,像办一场追悼会一样点满蜡烛,慢慢欣赏他的凋零。

专家已经作出以下的计算出来,就算全球关灯一年,暖化仍会持续一段时间;如果人类仍死不回改,事情就会变成:

温度上升1度:野生动物濒危,生態机制失去控制(部份濒临灭绝)
温度上升2度:三成动物、植物灭绝,乾旱、饥荒、珊瑚白化,人类面临生存危机
温度上升3度:30%海岸湿地淹没,上亿人无水可用
温度上升4度:非洲低地三角洲每年洪水患
温度上升5度:超过40%动植物灭绝。
温度上升6度:人类和大多数物种灭绝

日积月累,地球现今的处境儼然就是一个已经发高烧的人,我们还把他拖到中午的烈日底下晒日光浴、吃火锅;如果地球有一天真的掛了,我们今天的所作所为,应该可以称作“凌迟”。

星洲日报/副刊‧作者:卓衍豪‧2010.03.28
[source: http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/158927?tid=14]