Archive for November, 2009

By the Administrator

From left the City’s Opera Theater, you can see the City Government’s effort in decorating the City with lights and bringing life to it at night

A hily City, meandering with mountains and rivers

The City is a mixture of old and new, east and west, Ying and Yang

Guests from far and near were entertained with amusement

As the living standard improved, local folks also go to the park for singing and dancing

And I was asked to sing a song as a tourist from Malaysia, backed-up by their local orchestra. Surprisingly, I received great applause from the crowd

Prog DSAI pada 27hb dan 28hb Hari Raya Qurban

27 hb  nov raya 1

1)  Jam 5.00 ptg kenuri di Bagan Serai

2) Jam 7.00 mlm tazkirah di Masjid Jamek Tuan Abdullah Tanah Liat

3) Jam 9.00 malam kenuri qurban di surau Permatang Rawa

4) jam 10.00 mlm kenuri qurban di Permatang Pauh( rumah Pak Ghause)

28 hb nov raya 2

1) Jam 9 pg agihan daging qurban di Pengkalan Tambang (sarapan pagi rumah Pak Umar)

2) Jam 10.00 pg kenduri qurbqn di Kubang Ulu

3) Jam 11.00 pg misjid Taman Guar Perahu

4) 12.00 tgh agihan daging qurban di Taman Guar Perahu

5) 01.00 tgh keu\nuri di Markas PAS Kpg Paya Berapit

6) 02.00 ptg kenuri di surau Permatang Ara

7) 03.00 ptg kenuri di Sungai Sintuk

04.00 ptg kenuri di surau Taman Ara

tk tolong hebahkan  SELAMAT HARI RAYA QURBAN

By the Administrator

The mountain itself is of  great treasure to mankind. It could well serve as a dialogue of human civilisation too.

Here are some more pictures :

On the far right is the ‘Wheel of Reborn’ – the normal ’six paths’ if no liberation

A rare visit by many

Most of the disciples of the sleeping Buddha were in Han dress, except one visibly of Indian descent, so much was the extent of so-called ‘Hanisation’ of Buddhism. On the other hand, the translation of Buddhist script into sculptures was more a mental construction, as there was no photo-technology at that time, and that could be the reason too

Well, very lively, and very philosophical too..

By the Administrator

Big Foot – a hilly town not far away from Chung Ching City, is a renowned World Heritage Site as granted by UNESCO. Statues and images of basically Buddhist legends, at the time of making imported from India, unescapably influenced by local Taoist and Confucians teachings, such as fidelity and loyalty, apart from the cultivation of ‘Boddhi Heart’ which is essentially Buddhist in nature.

Below are some pictures of the stone carving culture on the mountain and man-made cave which was undertaken by the artists about 800 years ago which engaged about 70 of them over more than 20 years’ mental and  physical labour.

One reason that these statues and art works were not destroyed during the cultural revolution was that they were in a very remote region and not easily accessible by normal transport at that time

The Saints from the West. Mind you, they are huge, each statue is bigger than a human body

The cave and statues were all carved out from a big stone of the mountain, they were not ‘planted’ there as such

There are still from the same cave – the Cave Of Full Enlightenment made in the year 1200

A true exhibition of not just culture but humanism

By the Administrator

At noon, the ship parked at a bay for the passengers to go on shore to visit the White Emperor’s City ‘Pai Ti Chern’. In the legend of the War of Three Nations, Soon Shu claimed that he saw a white dragon emerging from a well and crowned himself as the White Emperor or ‘Pai Ti’.

Pai Ti City is also a historic place where about 800 years ago, Emporor Liu Peh, on his death bed, entrusted Chu Kerk Liang or Khong Ming, his Premier, to bring up his son Ah Tou to succeed in his throne. At that time he got two younger sons by his bed side, and the closest General in sight was Chou Tze Loong.  Ah Tou was on duty to take charge of  Zhen Tu then. It was proven to be a smooth political succession under the faithful and fidel strategist Chu Kerk Liang.

Many great poets also wrote classic poems about Pai Ti Chern since the Thang and Sung Dynasties. 

Below are some interesting pictures:

On the right was the calligraphy of Chou En Lai inscribed on the stone where he, unlike the other two leaders,  honestly quoted the author of the poem as Lee Pai, but not treated it as his own.

The place used to be a peninsula but now has become an island over time

The history of Liu Peh entrusted Cho Kerk Liang in respect of his family’s and nation’s affairs, where the latter faithfully executed his duty, earned the respect of the people who had later on erected these statutes in commemoration of the man.

The ‘Kuan Sing Thing’ was the station where Chu Kerk Liang used to observe the sky and mastered his astronomy

By the Administrator

After passing through ‘Si Men Xia” the First  Gorge on the first and second days, the ship entered into ‘Uh Xia’, the Second Gorge, as early as 6.30am the next morning.

‘Uh Xia’ is known to commemorate a beautiful lady called ‘Uh Nue’, who stood as a statue high on the tip of a cliff, as you will see in some pictures later. It is the shortest gorge but is also supposed to be the most beautiful Gorge of the three.

What a scenic place!

How relaxing it is!

Can you see the a beautiful lady called ‘Uh Nue’ on the cliff now? Of course, not yet

Nature is great!

A gate-way to heaven?

May peace be upon mankind!

As pure as water, as hard as rock…

Very mystifying indeed!

Every moment is a different moment!

Every cliff has a life of its own

Here comes ‘Uh Nue’ – the legendry beautiful lass standing high on the cliff !

There is a poem on ‘Uh Zia” saying :  ’After seeing the ocean, it is difficult to look at water again ; after seeing ‘Uh Xia’, clouds eslwhere are clouds no more !’   Bye, ‘Uh Xia’, bye ‘Uh Nue’…

By the Administrator

Recently, my wife and I toured in China by having a cruise along the Yangtze River. This River marks the earliest civilisation in China, as opposed to the earlier belief that it started with the Yellow River or Huang Her, thanks to the latest archaeological discovery.

It was, indeed, a romantic cruz with the unbelievable gorgeous natural scenes all passing by our ship, as we stood by the platform or our room’s balcony. Here, we started to explore the renowned 3 Gorges.

Yangtze River now also housed the biggest water- powered  dam in the world. Our ship have to pass five staggered phases through a mechanical elevator to be able to move upward and forward. That alone took slightly more than 3 hours.

We took an upstream route from Yi Chang of Wu Han City  to Chung Ching City. Altogether we spent 4 nights on the ship, though we did stop at a few spots, including going on a smaller boat to go off-spring and to tour around the little 3 gorges (which are different from the 3 great Gorges), as we travelled according to schdule.

It will be a regret in life, as the saying goes,  if one misses the visit to the so-called ‘Heaven on Earth’ – the 3 Gorges of Yangtze River.

Below are some pictures taken on the trip :

“Truely a heritage building of about 800 years old,” claimed the energetic tourist guide

The lotus pond and the Chinese callegaphy are associated with the traditional Chinese culture

The poetic and charming Yellow Flamingo Tower

A young craftsman at work

In the long journey of our lives, it may be useful to sit down at times to think of its purpose, perhaps over a cup of tea?

This was our first impression of the First Gorge. With that, we were curiously looking forward to  a more exciting expedition for  the 2nd and 3rd Gorges

It is worth waking-up at 6.30a.m. afterall

Yes, the ever lively and active Yangtze River, we were just too eager to see more of it !

By the Adminstrator

The Bukit Gelugor Residents Welfare Association and the Penang Island Municipal Council jointly organised a’ Bukit Gelugor Area’s Unity Night’ on 1st November at taman Tun Sardon Public Hall.

 About 200 people of all races and representatives of local NGO’s, the village committees, and schools participated in the programme which was officiated by Mansor Othman, the First Deputy Chief Miister of Penang. Senator Mustafa Kamal and Council Secretary Patahaya bte Ismail also graced the function.

Hampers and ‘ang pau’ were handed over to 30 poor families of  all races. A lucky draw and karaoke session was also held to the joy of the crowd.