Flower Arranging

A simple flower arranging...and that was the very reason I was attracted to it.
Simple and yet attractive.

Bucida Revisited

My first pic of the Bucida was taken about two years ago.

Time passed and here's the present image. Had sown off the lowest layer.

Note any difference?

Sawasdee krup 3 - Ayutthaya

We travelled by car to Ayutthaya from Bang Pa-In using route 309, I think. A good road network. Ayutthaya, once Thailand capital city, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1991. I didn’t know what to expect from this ancient town but already heard of it and seen pictures in the Net. Entering the new part of town, via a bridge, we didn’t have to go far, for there was already a stupa in the middle of a roundabout. A picture of the King of Thailand adorned it with a piece of yellow cloth wrapped around. On the way, Paka pointed out the hotel, U-Thong Inn, where he put up for a few days earlier on. One thing that I noticed was the presence of lots of sign boards showing were the wats were.

Ayutthaya Historical Park wasn’t that difficult to find (oops, with the help of a map that Paka had). It’s right in the middle of the town! What we first saw were elephants and of course then came the complex where the stupas are located within an enclosed area (and yes, you need to buy tickets to enter the compound). Frankly telling it was something I haven’t seen before, the stupas, I mean.… The stupa resembles modern day wats, with pointed structure pointing to the sky. Some are higher than others. From far it looks brown-orangish in colour, something like the brick’s colour. Other stand alone stupas were also found here and there, called the satellite stupas. And there were lots of them, almost everywhere in the city. One could even be found in the compound of a hospital! Suffice to say that the ruins were well-preserved. We drove around the city but saw some tourists on bikes.

Elephant rides are also available in the park. We didn’t take any though. Only watched them from afar. Instead, we spent time buying stuff from the stalls outside the complex!

There was also a mosque not far from the park.

We had dinner at a Muslim food stall near one of the roundabouts near the park. A row of shop houses is next to it. Try find the landmark, a Kumon Learning Centre if you want to go there for halal foods. Too bad though, the waitresses couldn’t converse in Yawi (a language that resembles the Malay language). However, the menu given was in English! Oh yes, Paka ordered tom yam goong for us!

Before we left Ayutthaya, we drove past the stupas again and we saw them basking in lights, giving them a magnificent sight.

Sawasdee krup...Part 2

On arrival we were greeted with pictures of Thais doing the wai gesture. The children knew that they were already in Thailand, when signboards with Thai characters adorned the walkways. Next, the Immigration Bureau counter for foreign passport. Bihah went with Paka, followed by Yah and Wani with me. There was this sign asking us to stand on a spot whereby a camera took our pictures. Each of us was given a one-month-visa on arrival. No problem was encountered with our luggage. We went through the next Immigration check up without a hassle, thus leaving the arrival hall.

Next, we need to find a van to take the 5 of us to Khlong Nueng, Pathum Thani, a place north of Bangkok. A Great Bangkok Travel Co staff approached us and Paka agreed to their rate. (And at the same time, the staff managed to offer us their Bangkok canal tour package to be taken on any morning provided we informed them 1 day earlier.) Paka asked the driver to use the Eastern Outer Ring Road (No 9) to reach our destination. The motorway has 3 lanes all the way. A glaring difference from the highway in Malaysia that I observed is that the office area at the side of the plaza here does not occupy much land! And they use cabin too! No R&R was observed along the way.
Housing areas and paddy fields dotted here and there. There were two toll plazas before we made an exit. After about 1 hr or so, we reached Khlong Nueng. The landmark is Tamasat University. And yes, I have not seen any elevated land area so far during the travel. No hill or mountain in sight. Maybe, in other area in Thailand, huh?

Sawasdee krup...

It was an impromptu decision and hence that very night Paka made reservations for the 4 of us to fly into Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok using Air Asia.

The deal that we got was not on our side though bookings were made about 3 weeks before flight. Talking about those who got the RM88 fare and some got even cheaper!! Online booking is the norm now, with the itinerary sent to our e-mail inbox. You just need to print them, and present to the check-in counter on the day of the flight. Pakar had reserved seats for us with the Pick A Seat facility and also pre-booked our meals of fried rice and nasi briyani.

International travelling will be the first for our 3 daughters (another daughter couldn’t make it since she has lectures). As for me, it has been about 3 years since I last set foot on a foreign land. (This will be my second visit to the Kingdom of Thailand, if I’m to count in my visit to Sg Golok, many years ago!) In preparing for the visit, we found Thai phrases in the Sawatdee, Thai Airways in-flight magazine, and memorise them. Sawasdee krup/kaa (Hello), Phoot Thai mai-dai (I can’t speak Thai) and La gon (good bye). Oh yes, we had fun trying to memorise those phrases.

Flight AK 742 on June 6, 2010 was on schedule. Departing LCCT at 1340hrs and arriving Bangkok at 1445hrs (Thailand is GMT+7) after a flight of 2hrs and 5min. Alhamdulillah, the departure and arrival were smooth. Bihah seemed to enjoy the flight. She got a window seat and took the opportunity to snap pictures of the plane wing, clouds and also the land. She didn’t even sleep when her 2 elder sisters took their naps after lunch was eaten.

Petola / Angle Loofah

Here's our petola / angle loofah. Only managed to get two loofah from a plant. Need more knowledge in this.

The loofah flowers are yellow in colour and bloom only in the evening.

The petola taken from another angle.

Aby Menang 2 Pasu Pokok!!!

Explorace Kids-Hari Lanskap 2010 di Taman Tasik Chempaka

Luck was with us on the morning of 28 Feb 2010. Were were asked to join the event since the organiser lacked 1 more group. Hubby wrote our names and 2 bottles of drinking water + a piece of paper were given to us. Nabihah's task was to find 5 'stamps' from 5 checkpoints. Once completed she had to hand in the paper to the organiser. She ran alright, fell down but managed to get no. 3! All the other kids were also given plants (which I'm sure made the mum happier than those kids...;-) ). Anyway, thanks to the organiser. the event is on until 14 March, I think.

Nangka...

Tak sangka...dalam musim panas ni, pokok nangka kami mengeluarkan buah. Baru berputik. First time berbuah.

1/3/2010 : Hmmm.... 3 putik luruh minggu lepas..... Tinggallah dlm kenangan!!!

Hemigraphis alternata / Red Flame Ivy, spider plant

1. Tumbuhan menjalar, hemigraphis ni sesuai sebg tanaman tutup bumi. Tanam dlm pasu gantung pun cantik. Taken from K. Nosi/Mak Lang's place.

2. At the background, is a succulent (name? Mak Lang gak.) and another one, Spider Plant, chlorophytum comosum (Mak's house).

Euphorbia Milli (betulke spelling?)

Yellow Euphorbia milli. Have 2 plants and planted outside the perimeter fence.
1. Orange canna. Bought 3 plants but just 1 survive.

2 The cordyline fructicosa (red leaves) / jenjuang are at the back. Bought from previous home.
3. In the foreground is Excoecaria spp. with two different coloured leaves.