Last day of Autumn: 31st of May 2009
Summer: December 2008-January 2009
One late afternoon, we had a visitor from the garden, all green, with big yellow eyes and two menacing looking claws! It started looking calm but got increasingly annoyed with the shiny metallic one-eyed monster (camera)! It's body started swaying from side to side, claws raised, ready to pounce, all posied for an attack! But before it can do anything drastic, we've already had our fun! Wahahaha.....you are more then welcome to stay in our flower pot Edward Mantis, but be good!
Summer: February 2009
Autumn: April 2009
We've had 2 rounds of aphid attacks on our "precioussssss...". Grandma painstakingly plucked those little suckers off the plants one by one and buried them!!! Within 2 days they have re-surfaced and infected the plants again! Hahaha....so Grandma resorted to getting rid of them once and for all by crushing them with her formidable green thumbs!!! It worked! Now the baby chillies have grown into big chillies! Though, due to the lack of sunlight, they are still taking a loooooong time to turn red.
When your plant is bending over at the stem and looking a real sorry sight, what do you do? Grandma to the rescue! With her innovation and creativity, she scoured around the backyard and found the perfect solution......"The Formidable Twig"!!! A quick touch or two, and our suffering chilli plant is propped up, looking good and sturdy! As always, Grandma's solutions are always envionmentally friendly and effective. ;)
The daisies in the garden...well whichever ones you think are the daisies! Say "cheese" Mum & Grandma!
Not forgetting the good old lemon tree too!! We've given lots away and preserved some as well, and lots more went into making refreshing lemon teas during the hot summer months!
Winter: May 2009
A close-up of our herb jungle!
Our little orange tree needs a good pruning. The fruits are small but sweet....well, sometimes.
Here's Mr. Pots dozing off under the orange tree! Wakey wakey Mr. Pots, you are supposed to be looking after the garden! :p
Remember our butternut squash babies? They have now grown big and fat! Unfortunately, only 2 have managed to survive. Frank says we have to wait for the whole plant to die off before we can harvest the squash....twiddling thumbs....for now.
Got it? Yup, it's Onde Onde! Round and green glutinous riceballs infused with fragrant coconut milk and pandan, each with a melting piece of deliciously sweet Gula Melaka within, and coated all over with toasted dessicated coconut! Yum! Who needs love-shaped chocolates to melt a girl's heart when you have Onde Onde? Haha...love my Frankie-O-Doodle!
Here's one of the Italian deli owners slicing up salami. The waiters are all dressed in white lab coats which makes the dining experience a little bit of getting used to, since we have always associated lab coats with chemicals and certainly not fine dining!
And here's to another great year! Cheers! Love the tiling too...
Hot, humid, crazy.....that's how I will describe Hanoi! Maybe we were there at the wrong time of the year for the weather, but crazy it certainly is...at least the traffic is! Everywhere we go, there are scooters! Scooters from every direction! There are road rules but no one obeys them anyway, so as foreigners in Ha Noi, we have to abandon our structured rule-abiding life-style, or risk getting run over by a scooter....and I nearly did!
Left: Crazy traffic in Ha Noi!
Despite the chaos, it's a fascinating place, and every corner we turned, we were reminded of the long histories Vietnam has with wars, which are most evident in the unique architechture, food and culture. We started by exploring the Old Quaters, the most touristy spot in Hanoi, packed with...you guessed it, tourists!!! The Old Quarter is an interesting place to explore. It has a long history spanning 2,000 years old, it's colourful and vibrant, and is frequented mostly by tourists for the arts and crafts and anything touristy. Every street peddles their unique merchandise which range from trendy imitation goods to traditional silk lanterns and colourful wooden clogs. Its also where you can experience the tight living conditions of the vietnamese in traditional "tube houses", so named because of their 3m x 60m dimensions. Much of the colonial architechtural buildings are a reminder of the French colonization during the late 19th century.
Left: Colourful straw mask displays in one of the shops of the Old Quarter.
The Turtle Pagoda in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as the Lake of the Restored Sword. One of the most popular lakes, its regarded as the heart and soul of Ha Noi city. It is also said to be a good omen if you happen to witness the "rua", a rare Asian soft-shelled giant turtle, which still inhabits the lake.
A very hot and bothered looking Frank on the bridge leading across Hoan Kiem Lake to Ngoc Soc temple.
We also visited the Temple of Literature, the first university in Hanoi. It was founded in 1070 as a Confucian temple.
Worshipping Confucianism is a common practise, especially for scholars.
Right: Phoenix riding on a Turtle - a common symbol of peace in temples around Ha Noi; the Phoenix represents the Sky and the Turtle the Earth. As explained by our passionate tour guide: in times of disasters e.g. a flood, the Turtle will save the Phoenix by letting it ride on the back, and if there is drought, the Phoenix will save it by flying the Turtle into the sky. They are considered as protectors of the Kingdom.
Left: Turtles again! They are a symbol of longevity and wisdom.
Left: Colourful water puppets on display
Right: A typical water puppet show where pupetteers worked the puppets behind a screen in a pool of water.
Above from left: Getting a closer look at the Ha Long monuments in a dinghy ride around the coves and isles and taking a walk in one of the many magnificent limestone caves around the bay.
Above left: Visit to a fish farm, they even have a school in the midst of Ha Long Bay!
Above right: Captive black kingfish at the floating fish farm ready for market.
Left: "Fruit sellers of the sea"! They swarmed around the anchored junk boat with lightning speed....amazing! Too bad the fruits don't look as impressive due to the long hours they've been baking in the sun. Tough job.
Sadly, our little romantic boat trip at Ha Long Bay was cut short by the arrival of the typhoon, which has already hit Taiwan. With all boating activities banned, we left the serenity of the bay and reluctantly head back to crazy Ha Noi.
Above: Our comfy room on the junk boat, thank goodness for the air conditioning and it comes with ensuite too! Frank is busy oacking up due to an emergency typhoon warning, predicted to hit Ha Long Bay in another few hours and all boating activities were cancelled. The typhoons only happen an average of 3 times a year Ha Long Bay.....as usual in the wrong place at the wrong time....we feel so "blessed"!! At least there is the beautiful calm before the storm at Ha Long Bay, our last chance to soak in its beauty before we head back to land.
On the way back, we came across this concocction of a super tonic wine!!! Mmm...looks very appealing indeed!
Back in Ha Noi city, we are swamped again by...touters! Despite our big hand signs saying "NO", we were still pressed into posing for photos with them.....then off came their masks and they demanded US$10 for the photo!!! Hold on tight to your wallets too because they actually reached into Frank's wallet and helped themselves to the cash! We have mixed feelings on this incident, we both felt disgusted with their behaviours but sorry for their hard life which had driven them to this desperation.
For our last leg of the trip, we visited the ancient pottery village Bat Trang, which of course is another tourist trap, but enjoyed oursleves nevertheless by the hand-made cups and pots with delicate and intricate designs. Then along came Mr. Water Buffalo, much to our delight! Here's a picture of him ambling along slowly with nether a care in the world! Till our next exciting trip.....xin chào!
