World Environment Day

Today on June 04 2010, in conjunction with the World Environment Day (WED), the world celebrates the diversity of life on Earth with the theme :

Many Species. One Planet. One Future.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in his WED message, warned that thousands of species, from frogs to gorillas, from huge plants to tiny insects are in jeopardy. Species are going extinct at the fastest rate ever recorded, and he stressed the need to raise public awareness to halt this "mass extinction."

"I appeal to everyone - from Kigali to Canberra, from Kuala Lumpur to Quito - to help us sound the alarm."

Hornbill

Wow, a surprise to me that he mentioned Kuala Lumpur! It is either because Malaysia has the second richest biodiversity in the world, or it may be because many of us lack awareness in biodiversity preservation! Third possibility might be that at that instant, the name KL just stroke his mind!

Xiang and I were lucky to 'participate' in this event as we just happened to be at Ikano in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Here, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park organized an Aviary exhibition to celebrate this WED.

It was a surprise and an exciting event for us. We had the opportunity to spot so many types of birds, in a very unusual but convenient setting, haha...., at Ikano, with the added comfort offered by a cozy and air-conditioned shopping complex. There was quite a long queue of people waiting to take up-close-and-personal photos with the birds. Each shot of photo costs RM 10/-.

Xiang was excited at the close encounter with the colorful parrots. They have such fascinating combination of colors. The red one amused everybody very much when it repeatedly shouted:

"Apa khabar, apa khabar ?" (How are you?). When Xiang threw back the same question, it answered "Baik, baik, baik" (Good!). Everybody, especially the kids, was laughing with joy with its prompt and parrotic reply.

I definitely found it worth the money. How often do we get a chance to to come that close to the owl and the parrots at one go. Xiang noticed that the owls seemed not in the mood to participate in this photo shooting! Of course, they are nocturnal and only stay awake at night, which means that they sleep during the DAY. Moreover, the big crowd of a shopping complex on an eventful Saturday is obviously to much for its social ability!

Interestingly, with each pose, the owl needed to be patted or repositioned, probably to wake it up from its dreams! Not far away from here, one owl was in its natural biological clock time, sleeping on a tree twig.

With owl Titi perched next to my ear, I felt a bit uncomfortable. I would prefer it to be sleepy. Can you imagine if it were awake, it might have pecked off my ear, my nose or even my eyeball!

In this shopping aviary, on exhibition too were the magnificent peacocks, the wild rooster, and many other types of birds. When comes to names of birds, I must admit my inadequacy. Bear in mind that this is a make-shift aviary within a shopping complex, so do not expect to see many species (flamingo, horn-bill, ostrich, etc)

The KL Bird Park, within the Lake Garden

If you are keen to explore further, then I suggest you visit the KL Bird Park, which is just 10 minutes drive from the city center. Sprawling approximately over 21 acres of verdant valley terrain, it houses more than 170 000 of fauna and flora species, 3 000 birds of 200 species.

I am quite sure many Malaysians, including those who are just some miles away from the KL Lake Garden, are not aware of existence of this world famous bird park.

Here is a map to show the way:

You may also hop on to the Rapid KL Bus No. B115 or take a cab, it is absolutely very easy if you are in Kuala Lumpur.

Former US President, Bill Clinton, tops the honorable guest list of this Park.

The KL Bird Park resembles the world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary. This tropical forest with lush foliage houses more than 3 000 birds: scarlet ibis, yellow billed stork, magnificent peacock, purple heron, and adorable lovebirds, to name but a few. As you enter, you can witness at close proximity the bird community in an almost natural sanctuary.

yelloow billed stork,

The romantic mandarin ducks live in pair, never get separated, like Romeo and Juliet

white parrot with yellow tinge

The KL Bird Park offers some very attractive packages, catering for all categories of visitors:

Bird shows daily at 12.30pm and 3.30pm

Field trips as School package

Company seminar

Birthday party

Company family day with guided tour

Contacts: Tel: 03 - 2272 1010 visit its website. http://www.klbirdpark.com/

I Found My Mum's Hair Cream

The hair is the richest ornament of women
- by Martin Luther.
To me, this is only true when your hair is colored, not decolorized or grey, at least for a Chinese lady!

Some people are very lucky, blessed with a head of black or brown hair(for Asians) even till the age of 70, belief it or not. In this case, need to exclude the blonds. Aren't blonds lucky, the strands of greying hairs can turn out to become pretty strands of silvery highlights!

My friend, Anthony C proudly claims that his dad has a head of natural black hair, without having to resort to dyeing. Oh my god, I just wish that I am that lucky! However, I should not complain too much if I were to make a comparison with those who have premature greying due to many reasons: genetic, vitamin deficiency, stress, anxiety, tension, excessive intake of tea, coffee, spices or deep-fries.

Put A Dead Stop To Gray (Grey) Hair Now

Premature Greying (Gray) Hair Remedy

Many of us begin to spot grey hairs at early 40's. On a head of black hair, these few strands of grey, though insignificant in numbers, may appear to be so significant to reveal the secret that you are not young anymore.

For some people, greying occurs beneath the top layer of hair, and as such, is not so obvious. As for me, alas, this happens at the center parting, right at the top of my head!

Aiyo, I don't think there is a natural way to hide my grey hair/my age! For many years, I have been dyeing my hair dark brown every month. Things would have been alright after each dyeing, as I used to look into the mirror and enjoyed a new look that was younger by probably10 years. But every time, there was this increasing fear of the cumulative carcinogenic effect of chemical dyes. Just wandered when they are going to bring miseries and regrets into your life!


Suddenly one day, I remembered how my mum managed to delay this greying. She was one of those lucky ladies who only started to see grey hairs in her 60's. As a vain woman, she was upset, of course!
One day, I saw she rubbing some cream onto two spots of gray hair, one on each side of her face, near to the ears. She was told by one of her friends that it would darken her hair once again. I was very skeptical about what that bottle of cream could do (no idea how the bottle looked like now)?

After about 10 days, (probably after I had forgotten about the whole incidence), my mum showed me the results of her effort: Wow, my mum's hair had turned brown! It was really wonderful! You got to see to believe. It's brown, not grey anymore!

How nice if I could remember the name of the cream, or least, the look of the bottle. Frustratingly I could not! As a last resort, I went to the pharmacy, seeking the shop attendant's help.

" Excuse me, is there a cream that helps to prevent the greying of hair?"
Without me having to further elaborate, she showed me a product:


Restoria Discreet Hair Colouring Cream.

So I bought a bottle for Rm 25, bearing a luxurious hope that it was the same cream my mum used, and still in the market, not turn obsolete.

I followed the instructions carefully and started applying the cream. Suddenly I could smell that familiar unpleasant and 'sulphury' smell. That's it. Can't be wrong. Of course, what I most wanted to know is:
Is Restoria Discreet safe?

So I visited the Q&A of Restoria at the following website:
http://www.restoria.com.au/discreet-natural-looking-color/hair-cream-faq.html
And here goes the answer:

Yes - perfectly safe when it is used as directed. Restoria Discreet meets all the requirements of the Australian NH & MRC and the USA Food and Drug Administration. It has also been tested by several independent laboratories and pharmacological authorities


Faithfully thus, I followed the instructions closely and applied 3 times a day. After about 10 days, the same wonder that worked on my mum happened again to my hair. It's starting to brown again! By two and a half months, I am 75% satisfied with the restored brown hair. It would of course be impossible to turn to original dark brown(or black). But I am more than satisfied with the results. It has been almost 3 months since I last dyed my hair. I intend to continue using it till I find a better or safer product later. For the moment, I am more than satisfied.

I have to clarify that I have no vested interests in this products. I only want to share my mum's 'secret' (and mine) with all my friends and readers. Good things and happiness are meant to be shared. Ain't I generous?!

Chinese New Year Celebration de la Taiji

It was almost 6 months past after Chow's sudden passing. Daughter Xiang and I are slowly struggling to pull ourselves out of the vacuum Chow left behind. It is not an easy task, but we manage it, with the help of each other. Equally important, are the supports from good old friends, colleagues and my new found friends of Taiji enthusiasts.

I have a friend whose husband passed away about 6 months earlier than Chow. She told me that life is meaningless. I shuddered and realized the important part friends play in life.


(Left: Elsie, Jocelynn, Carmen, Jenny, Anne, Lilian, Elaine, Veronne, Gene, Eric, Johnny and Susan)

I am lucky to come to know few friends in Taiji. Though the time we got to know each other is not that long, but somehow or rather, i could feel the growing concern among ourselves. We seem to be sharing quite some common interest, like Taiji, views and some philosophy of life.

So, i had a small gathering with these new founds friends of warm hearts, all are Taiji enthusiasts, my si jer and si heng. They give me a much needed hand to go through a new phase of life without Chow. To share out the work, we agreed to have a pot-luck party.


Warming up slowly, blessed with a cool and breezy night, as compared to the sizzling warm night the day before. Should consider ourselves very lucky.


Let's toast and welcome the Year of the Tiger with zest. Bye the way, everybody liked the garden party setting.


Everybody was in a happy and jovial mood.


A very serene garden setting for gathering, all were feeling very relaxed.


My plants were playing their part too, adding a touch of green and a feel of nature to the party.



Too much of food left. Not that the food was not good, but that everyone was very generous. All were excellent cooks. Moreover, Isabel & Tan, and Sng also took the trouble to bring over some food, though they were unable to attend. Earlier, Xiang was worried that there might not be enough food for all, so she was relieved to see the amount of left over!

Elsie was late, as she had to send her daughter to KLIA. Veronne was bad enough to pester her to send off the daughter as early as possible. Shy to say that it was in my mind too, but i was smart enough not to say it aloud, haha...! Finally, poor Elsie turned up passed 10 pm, hopping from hubby's car into her car, and came darting to meet us. Well, she had to rush as we only would start to 'lo sang' with her together. Good things in life are meant to be shared.


Veronne and Eric were seen busy helping me to prepare the Yee Sang, while Lilian looked on, waiting to be served like a queen!



Anne and Jenny looking for 'hou swee kween' for Jocelynn. Xiang and Kevin were with us to average down the age!


Everybody 'lo sang', tossing chopsticks as high as possible, chanted out as many wishes as possible. Somebody commented that we were wishing for the impossible. Well, never venture never gain! It is better to wish for more so that you get more wishes answered by the number, within the same percentage. The Yee Sang was delicious, if not too sweet, as i added fresh fruits like apple and pear too, besides the normal ingredients.

For Yee Sang preparation, refer to: Fa Cai Yee Sang for Chinese New Year Celebration



Finally came the celebration for Jenny's 1-day belated birthday. Gene, our cake expert, had a rich chocolate cake ready for her. Lucky Jenny, how i wish that all of you celebrate my birthday too!



Eric was in elated mood, turning romantic and finally received a loving kiss from the wife.



I told Jenny to have the first piece of cake, as a birthday girl.

Our initial plan was to have some dancing and card playing, but we had so much to chat about, or maybe we were too lazy to change from our comfortable position, that we did not have time for those. Jenny was in her flare skirt, all geared to release her 'chi' in dancing, but alas...!

It was a very enjoyable night. Before the party came to an end, everyone insisted helping me to clear the food, wash the plates, put back the chairs and tables and 'tar pow' the excess food. My fridge was too full to take in any extra then.
We planned to have more gathering in times to come.

The Copenhagen COP15 - Change Climate Change

The Crucial Conference on Climate Change

4.5 billion years ago, the planet was created
540 million years ago, life first stirred the oceans,
The rainforests have been growing for 130 million years,
Our coral reef for 18 million years
200 000 years ago, human emerged and settled on the Earth,
It took only one century, to put our planet in danger!
Now is the time to act.
Raise your voice to change climate change!



The rainforests have been growing for 130 million years,



Our coral reefs for 18 million years

Monday Dec 07 2009 is the Day, the Copenhagen conference COP15 on climate change.


Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

Every country will put forth their team of best negotiators to commit its affordable share of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, without jeopardizing its development and economy.
Just a brief explanation for the novice in climate change terms and developments.

The Intergovernmental Panel ( IPCC ) on Climate Change 2007 Assessment clearly demonstrated that climate change is already occurring, and that warming greater than 2^oC presents a severe danger to environment, forest, glaciers, ecosystem, biodiversity and ultimately human destruction!. Without governmental commitments and immediate action, mankind may loose the ability or methodology to contain warming to below 2^oC.


Climate change has occurred, manifested in more frequent occurrences of
extremes of climate, like


severe drought,


forest fire


excessive and torrential rainfall, coastal flooding,


glacial melting,

If we act quickly, we can contain the risks from warming and adapt in ways that are consistent with goals for sustainable growth and development. The technologies required to shift from current high carbon path to a low carbon, climate resilient path are available and the costs are manageable at this moment.

Negotiations to seal a climate change treaty at the upcoming meeting COP 15 in Copenhagen have been dogged by numerous issues. The most challenging of them being: disagreements over targets for cuts in carbon emissions; and a fund from rich nations to help developing countries tackle climate change as stipulated in the Kyoto protocol.

IPCC reports states that current state of climate is primarily the outcome of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by the developed nations during their industrialization and uncontrolled deforestation.

China, India and other developing nations have urged developed nations to honor their international duty to cut emissions by 40% - 45% in view of their historic greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for today’s global warming. They too have been putting up stiff opposition to binding emission targets imposed on them by developed countries, as they said that could harm economic growth and poverty alleviation.

Brazil's president Lula observed, "A country that started its industrialization process 150 years ago has more responsibility than one starting yesterday; the United States has more responsibility than China, and Europe more than South America or Africa."

They also called for the payment of the historical debt owed to developing countries due to their overuse of the carbon space in the atmosphere, transfer finance and technology resources and promote sustainable development in developing countries.

China has reiterated the principle of " common but differentiated responsibilities". In simple words, every country needs to reduce emissions, but the developed nations must reduce more because they pollute more.

The European Union meanwhile has only agreed to reduced emissions by half the target requested by developing countries, and maybe more, if the 20% is also agreed upon by other developed countries. It is not likely that the US will agree to that. US only want to commit a 4% reduction of the 1990 level.

They pressure China, to come out with substantial reduction targets, saying that without China's substantial commitment, any reduction effort would be futile. Though China is not an Annex I country thus not bound by the Kyoto Protocol to meet reductions target.

China is in a very special category by itself, as it had by 2007, overtaken US as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

With the major emerging economies ( China, India and Brazil ) taking a common stand on one side of the Copenhagen negotiation sea-saw, and the developed nations the other side; each party stiffly adhering to their justifications and numbers on binding targets, the war to combat climate change would have appeared bleak, not until the visit of US President Obama to Beijing in November 2009, that might start to cast some light at the end of the tunnel.

US and China together emit 42% of the global greenhouse gas, commitment and cooperation between the two is essential for reaching a new treaty in Copenhagen. Both countries have recently agreed in principle to boost investment and cooperation in energy efficient green technology to fight climate change.

US President Barack Obama

US President Barack Obama on returning to US, announced that he would attend the Copenhagen conference, with an offer to cut US emissions by 3% below 2005 levels by 2012, 17% by 2020 though still fall short of the blueprints drew up in Bali in 2007.

China, almost immediately after US announcements, on November 26, 2009, says it is taking a voluntary action based on its own national conditions to airm for energy efficiency, to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by up to 45% by 2020.

India, the world's 4th largest carbon emitter, initially refused to set any binding target, too, follows suit to announce that it would reduce emission intensity by 20% -25% of its 2005 level by 2020.

Climate change is a global crisis, all parties, developed and developing, need to talk to address this crisis at earliest possible time frame. Beyond the 2^oC rise target, the extent and magnitude of impacts are likely to be dangerous and irreversible.

Mt. Emei - Chinese Kungfu and Buddhism Heritage

This visit was to Mt. Emei.

Mt. Emei is one of the four famous Buddhist Mountain in China with an altitude of 3066m. This was where Samantabhadra Bodhisattva practiced his meditation, for which his statue in the Wannian Temple on the mountain has become the most famous.

We had morning call at 6 am, traveled in a cozy environmentally friendly coach for 2 hours to reach the foot of Mt Emei. Mt. Emei lies in the SW Sichuan, 130 km from Chengdu.


To go to the summit of Mt. Emei, we took a cable car from here.
It was unforgettable, as the journey was windy, scary with the bravado stunts of the reckless driver! Moreover, with increasing altitude, air became thinner which began to take its toll on us who were poor traveler with poor balancing ability! Finally, a 10 minute cable car ride (packed with passengers) took us to the top (not the summit yet) of Mt. Emei.

Few managed to reach the top. Shy to say that none from our group belongs to this high achievers.

The word Emei always conjures up a picturesque and misty landscape, with a Chinese kungfu master displaying his skillful martial art, on a steep cliff, overlooking a a sea of cloud, pierced through with sun's rays.
This is exactly what Mt. Emei is:


Notice the sun's ray, the temple at the tip overlooking the cliff, the walk track - characteristic of the Emei
It is well-known for its picturesque landscape, spectacular scenery of sunrise, sunset, cloud sea, Buddha's halo, rich Buddhist sites and Chinese martial art. The martial art of Mt Emei is one of the three main Chinese genres and is famous internationally too. Mt. Emei was made a UNESCO World Heritage in 1996.


Omg, I still need to toll up hundreds of steps to reach the summit. Look could be deceiving - I was still very far from the highest point in the background, with the most famous 7.3-meter tall bronze statue of Bodhisattva Puxian or Samantabhadra on elephant.

Many of us turned out to be losers, giving up climbing long before the destination. Air was thin, weather was cold, with dizzy coach ride....what else? But this guy put all of us to shame:


This man served as means of transport for goods and commodities, from the cable car station to the shops near the summit. And he did that 20 times a day, everyday, for livelihood. Live is tough and he is tough. Here we are, a group of highly pampered tourists, many had to stop 1/10 of his way to destination. We are lembek!


We finally reached the peak of Mt. Emei, at the Jingdin or Golden Summit. Right behind us is the famous 7.3-meter tall bronze statue of Bodhisattva Puxian or Samantabhadra on elephant, built in Wannian Temple, classified as a Class 1 protected cultural relics of China.

One of the first Buddhist temples in China was built in Mount Emei in 1 AD. Today there are about 30 temples, among which the Baoguo Temple, the Wanian Temple, the Qingyin Pavilion, the Crouching Tiger Temple, the Huayan Temple are amongst the most famous. These temples abound with Buddhist statues made of materials like clay, wood, jade, bronze and iron. They are vividly sculptured, many of which are national treasures.

Continued from yesterday when we took a cable car to the mountain top; today, we started from the lowest level of the foothill of Mt. Emei.


Caddy took us to the foothill from our Hotel, 5 minutes of comfortable, breezy ride in early dawn.


The first temple we reached at the lowest level of Mt. Emei, was the CrouchingTiger Temple.


On the way to the Huayan Yemple. Xiang helping the village lady to sell the local kiwi from the jungle. Smaller (of course, without fertilizer), sweeter, and healthier organic kiwi.

In case you don't know, Kiwi fruits was native to China, called Mihou Tao (Macaque peach). It was introduced to New Zealand, due to its gooseberry flavour, was named the Chinese gooseberry, and finally got its name as Kiwifruit in 1959.


The Huanyan Temple at the second level of the Mt. Emei foothill. It houses the oldest relics in the temple, the 7 m copper pagoda, built in the Ming Dynasty, with exquite and vivid sculptures of Buddha, bodhisattvas, figurines, lions and elephants.



With the back facing me was tour guide Choo Liang. I should say that he was a very good tour guide, his story-telling talents made our journey very interesting and informative.

He was a great story teller. Take for example, while we were on our way to the jade outlet, he started telling us stories about jade, quoting a few incidences when broken a jade helped to buffer off some misfortune; how to distinguish a real jade from a fake one, the different classes of jade, the latest developments about jade...etc. In the same way, we listen attentively to his stories of silk, of 'bian nian' or change face, the Leshan Buddha, the 2000 year old irrigation structure of Dujiangyan, the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, his interesting and touching life as a patriotic soldier in the Chinese Liberation Army, a nationalistic Chinese of Mongolian origin.
As a compliment, a tour under his guide would be one that is worth the bucks, interesting, informative, unforgettable and enjoyable, and full of suspense!

Last place before we depart Mt. Emei was the Baoguo Temple: magnificent, ancient in culture and antique in look, like all other temples here in Emei.

Baoguo Temple, name by the emperor of Qing Dynasty, at the foot of Mt.Emei, housing the precious Buddhist statue.


This 'Ding' at the Baoguo Temple has the name of (Chow) Kok Kee as you can see, ha !



After visits of the three temples, we gathered around the waterfall to take a few final shots.