The Village Without Doors

Shani Temple, Shani Shingnapur, Maharashtra, India

I’ve decided to do a one-off post for this place, …just because I fancy the title haha! There’s nothing much of interest here unless of course, if you’re a Hindu. Then Lord Shani can be extremely helpful, or if you cross him, devastating, as he’s believed to be a very potent god. See the post before.

Shingnapur used to be famous for being a village without doors. The houses only have doorframes, no doors. Nope, we didn’t go check out the houses. Thefts don’t happen as people believe that Shani punishes anyone trying to do that. That was until 2010. I guess the thieves finally became desperate enough to take a chance huh?


Another view of the temple


Mom-in-law at the entrance of the temple, Shani Shingnapur

And here're some bad news from another front. Malaysia Airlines MH370 has officially been declared crashed at sea, with no survivors, ...very sad news, God have mercy on them and bless their souls.

The ‘Unprecedented’ Mystery of the Missing Plane

How can an airplane as large as a friggin Boeing 777 go missing in this modern age?

I woke up on March 8 with a slew of birthday greetings and some unexpected news from my cousin brother in the UK about a missing Malaysia Airlines flight. That plane is still missing, after more than 2 weeks!

Fancy having such a news to finally put us on the map? ‘Unprecedented’ is now the catchphrase of the season, thanks to our dear ol chief of the DCA. And thanks to the constant string of contradicting statements from the different personalities of our great and mighty government, we’re now a target of ridicule… and a model of clueless leadership.

But I stand by our nation. There’re more than 20 countries looking for that plane, including the likes of the USA, Australia, and China… The search has now spanned 5 seas and 2 oceans, thousands of hectares of land and sea and has entered the ocean in the Antarctic region. It’s anyone’s guess, what happened to that plane. (but… it'd do no harm if our officials consult each other before they open that gap of theirs, right?..)

Now the only thing we can do is pray. There’s no point blaming the pilot, the co-pilot or anybody for that matter until something, anything is found. Who knows, they may be just as much a victim as the others… Maybe there really was a technical glitch, and I believe the crew would've done everything they could to save the plane.

This incident has become one of our favourite topics of discussion during our lunch breaks. Being the only Malaysian in an office full of Chinese (this is after all, China State Construction Engineering Corp) doesn’t help. Now we hope (against all hope) that the plane has been hijacked (instead of crashing into the sea). At least then, there’ll still be some hope.

Some of the more far-fetched theories that have crept up…

Military strike and cover up. It’s shot down by India, Malaysia, the US or heck! Even China. What would you do if you’re the military and you gave warning shots to a huge Boeing flying over your sensitive territory and it doesn’t respond? Shoot it the hell down! Who knows what targets it is looking for? Better safe than sorry! And then, SHIT! This is the friggin aircraft half the world is looking for. Better burn all the evidences and keep it top secret!

Alien abduction. Thirty years later you’ll meet Captain Zaharie coming back from the grave, looking the same as he was when he disappeared. Only now he has the powers of the Human Torch …or Dr Doom. Or maybe, you’ll meet this group of Chinese calligraphers 60 years down, and they’ve not aged one bit since they disappeared. And now they’re intent on taking over the world for their master, the Supreme Overlord of the Galaxy, starting with China.

Time travel. They’ve somehow travelled back (or ahead) in time, into a parallel dimension, or something. They’ll re-emerge sometime in the future having no clue of how they’ve ended up in 2120.

Stealth operations ala ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’. The plane’s landed on a stealth aircraft carrier cum submarine owned by a terrorist organization like err… COBRA (G.I. Joe) or SPECTRE (James Bond), but why anyone would want a Malaysia Airlines aircraft is anyone’s guess.

Marooned on an island ala ‘Lost’. At least they’re alive, but the mysterious island has knocked all technology dead, and there’s no way of contacting the outside world or to escape from an island unseen by the world.

Enough of that. These people who are lost must be wonderful people in their own special way. The profiles in the newspaper certainly show them as ordinary, loving and well-loved people. God, look after these people and their loved ones, have mercy on them, bless them and save them if they’re still alive.

On a Pilgrimage Spree

My blog’s becoming sort of like a social network messenger, with short announcements and tweets, only without the coverage and feedback. And I find that I’m drifting more and more towards short, easy to write messages, just to get it done with. And I’m strangely not bothered!?!? (maybe because I know that very few people read this now, hehe). I’m personally irritated with my slowly deteriorating standard of English. I no longer have the ideas or inspiration anymore, like before. And I bloody forget words, especially when I’m mid-sentence into a speech! I’m not confident of the meanings or spellings of certain words anymore (luckily, we have Google now). And the temptation to use short forms and emoticons are strong, but I’m resisting.

I keep thinking that one day next time, maybe when I retire from this inspiration-killing work, that my flair (and memory) will come back… But I dunno for sure?!? Maybe it’s because I’m short of time due to my commitments. Maybe it’s because I’ve stopped reading fiction for some time. Or maybe it’s just age catching up! Scary…

Anyway, it’s Shivratri in India (OK, it WAS Shivratri! Last week). I remember the long arduous trek we made up to Bhuvan Pahar (hill) in Assam ages ago on Shivratri (see blog entry ‘A Different Type of Trek’, Mar 2011), spending the night huddled together against the freezing wind and rain on the hill top, and scaling down the steep slopes of the hill to get down the next day due to the landslides that happened in the night and the unimaginable amount of people stuck (some going up, and some going down) on the hill trails. Our gang made it down that night, but there were a lot more unfortunate people who had to spend an additional night on the hill top before they could make it down.


Mom-in-law, offering prayers to Shiva, at Shingnapur’s Temple to Shani (the planet Saturn)

That was the start of a string of pilgrimages to Hindu sites we’ve taken ever since. Last January (2013), we decided to go on a pilgrimage spree, right before I was to finish my work at the Pune project. We started with the goddess of wealth, Mahalakshmi at the temple in Kolhapur. Then we made a trip to the Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh while returning from a trip to Sri Lanka. And just before we left Daund for good, we made a trip to Shirdi to the abode of the original Sai Baba. And that’s not counting the non-Hindu sites we visited along the way. Written too much, I’ll let the pictures do the talking…




Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur, Maharashtra


Tirupati Balaji Temple, Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh aka the most visited religious place on earth (that’s what claims say – 30 to 40 million people per year! Astounding!) Fancy being in a queue for 3 hours and being squeezed like sardines? This is the place to be.


In front of the famous Sai Baba Temple, Shirdi, Maharashtra – this was our second visit (first was in 2011), specially for the sake of my mom-in-law who visited us in Daund. This is the original Sai Baba, the one with the white beard and white bandanna, not the afro-haired Sai Baba known among Malaysians. The afro-haired one is supposed to be a reincarnation of this one. Shirdi is the top tourist spot around Pune for Hindus. No Hindus will give this place a miss if they have some time around Pune, after all it’s only 200 friggin km from Pune! (that’s considered near, by Indian standards). It’s slightly nearer from Daund – 160km.


Temple of Sai Baba, Shirdi, Maharashtra – the building with the golden roof behind the stalls – nope, wasn’t able to get a better pic, cameras not allowed in the temple


Shani Shingnapur – Temple to Shani (Saturn) a very potent god according to many – he can make or break you. Some Hindus even avoid praying to Shani for fear of offending him. It’s roughly halfway between Shirdi and Daund.


Mom-in-law at the Siddhivinayak Temple at Siddhatek. This is one of the 8 Ashtavinayak Temples (temples of the elephant-headed god Ganesh) around the Pune area. Legend has it that if one manages to visit all 8 in one day, all his wishes will come true. That's not difficult, ...if you have a helicopter. Nope, I didn’t tag along for this trip. We’ve been to Siddhitek before. Anu, Amrita and mom-in-law managed 3 out of the 8, the other 2 being Morgaon and Theur, both near our project road. So I guess they’ve got about 37.5 % chance of their wishes becoming true huh?

And now for the non-Hindu sites: -


Mahabodhi Tree, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka – this is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a recorded planting date – 288 BC! This tree is a direct descendant of the original Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya, India (see blog entry ‘The Capital of Buddhism’, Mar 2007) where Buddha meditated under and gained enlightenment. The tree in India eventually died (thanks to a jealous wife – go ahead, look back at my previous entry hehe), and the Indians had to get a sapling back from this tree in Sri Lanka. I don’t have a better picture of it unfortunately coz we reached this temple after sunset!


Mihintale, Sri Lanka – the place where the son of India’s Emperor Ashoka met the then King of Sri Lanka and converted him, along with his country folks, to Buddhism. That rock at the back there was supposed to be where he landed (yeah, he came by air, people could fly then)


Temple of the Sacred Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka – this temple contains a tooth of the Lord Buddha (yeah, you heard right). Don’t ask me which tooth, OK?




San Thome Basilica, Chennai, India – houses the tomb of St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, one of the few churches in the world to actually have a tomb of an apostle.

...I think some of these sites deserve a special post by themselves. When I have the time, OK?

A Time for Babies!!!

Just a quick announcement. Little sis Kim gave birth to a beautiful baby boy yesterday, in Auckland, New Zealand – Jared Ong Mueller. I’m so happy for them!!! The photos are in whatsapp. For the time being, I’m posting a photo of the couple’s wedding, which unfortunately, we didn’t manage to attend.


Kim and Daniel

Another news that just came in, Anu’s sister, Rekha, gave birth to a baby girl today! So Justin’s suddenly got two additional cousins to play with now, …although we’re all worlds apart. And Anu’s god brother’s wife gave birth to a baby boy about 3 days back. What d’ya say to that huh?

Praise God!

An Extra Romantic Day

Atrium at the Koregaon Park Plaza, Pune, India

It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, so Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! This year’s Valentine’s also happens to coincide with the 15th (last) day of Chinese New Year (or Chap Goh Meh as the Hokkiens call it). I was told that in our part of the world (Malaysia, Singapore), the Chinese actually celebrate this like some sort of Chinese valentine’s. Girls will write their numbers on a mandarin orange and cast it into a river or lake. The boys will collect the mandarin oranges, get the numbers and eat them (of course, why waste food?) I don’t know how true this is, but I’ve never personally done or seen anything like this. The only thing we did on this day when we were kids, was to have a helluva lot of fun with paper lanterns and fire crackers. We’d bug the bejesus out of our parents to buy lanterns.

These lanterns were made from steel wire and transparent coloured paper. They’d come in all shapes and sizes, horses, goldfish, dinosaurs, heck, whatever’s popular at that time. We’d stick a candle in it, light ‘em up and walk around the neighbourhood at night. They’re crude and burn down easily if not handled well. But we’re absolutely nuts over it, don’t ask me why!

Nothing planned yet for Valentine’s this time round. But, here’s a bit of glamour and luxury from our days in Pune to add to the mood for romance…


Outing at Koregaon Park Plaza, June 2012 – No, these were not taken on Valentine’s day or any special day. Just some random photos to reflect the Valentine’s and CNY mood.


Food Court, Koregaon Park Plaza




Westin Hotel, Pune – our favourite Pune hideaway on special occasions, like our anniversary, New Year’s eve…


The rooms at Westin Hotel, 7000 rupees for a double, with breakfast included – that’s about the price of only a 3-star hotel if you’re in Dubai! – Friggin expensive here – can’t afford that sort of luxury now…






More views of the Westin


Anu and Amruta, a Pune friend who worked in the Westin


Swimming pool of the Four Points Hotel, another hotel we tried out in Pune


The Amanora Town Centre Mall, Pune


Our brother-in-law, Gopal at TJ’s Brew Works, a beer brewery, Amanora Mall, Pune

The Chinese State of Malaysia

The entrance of the Khoo Kongsi, (Khoo family clanhouse), Georgetown, Penang

Not a very politically correct title maybe, but what the heck, Malaysia’s ruling party and media hyped this up so much in last year’s election, that it’s sort of ingrained into the minds of us citizens now. So here’s Penang, the only opposition, Chinese ruled state in Malaysia.




More views of the Khoo Kongsi, with its elaborate ornamented roofs, walls, windows, etc. It was said to be even more extravagant when they first built it, and it offended the gods so much, that they caused it to burn down. A toned-down version was rebuilt later on (I think that was what it said in the tourist brochure, hmmm, don't really remember as I've thrown the brochure away now).

Thought I’ll put some photos of Penang’s Chinese temples. Still in the mood of Chinese New Year actually …and reminiscing about the Pai Thni-Kong festival of my childhood years. Pai Thni-Kong was grand for us then, grander than the first day of CNY. The first day was only dressing up in new clothes, collecting angpows (red packets), and visiting relatives. I was not a very sociable kid, so the visiting the relatives part was a bore, and I didn’t really like new clothes, with its prickly tags and stiff-like-cardboard nature, so the only thing working for me then was counting how much money I get from the angpows.

Pai Thni-Kong (Prayers to the Sky God) was completely different. It’s a day of complete freedom, for us kids I mean. No bitching on going to bed early from the adults. We could gamble, heck, even drink, a little (we’re kids OK?), play firecrackers, do as we like basically. And because the altar and stuff used to be set up at my home, where granny stayed, we didn’t need to go anywhere. The relatives (plus all my cousins) came instead. And we had to put on new clothes only just before the prayers, which happened exactly at midnight, at the start of the 9th day of CNY.

I used to like the mysticism that goes with it, the pink pagodas, the joss paper which we folded to resemble Chinese gold ingots, the red strung firecrackers, the makeshift altar with its urn for joss sticks, the myriad types of weird Chinese cakes (none of which I like honestly, I just like their looks hehe). The pineapples, pomelos and sugarcane. The roast pig at the centre, or roast chicken sometimes, all decorated with red paper pattern cut-outs.

We’ve been chatting about Pai Thni-Kong these past few days (on whatsapp), yours truly and the cousins. It’s like a journey to the past, in the days when we were pseudo-Christians. We had to do a lot to prepare for it, spent days folding paper gold, sorting thru rice (to separate glutinous rice from normal rice), etc. There were no idols in our house, and we prayed only on that night, once per year. So I don’t really know who this god, Thni-Kong (Heaven God literally) is. (OK, now I know it’s actually the Jade Emperor, thanks to my cousin, niece hehe). It’s essentially a Hokkien festival. The Cantonese and Hakka in Ipoh don’t celebrate it, but for us Hokkiens, this is one big day.

I’ve never celebrated Pai Thni-Kong in Penang but it must be a grand affair there, being a primarily Hokkien state. Heck, Hokkien’s like the state language of Penang! That’s the language they speak to you when you arrive at Penang Airport, as long as you look Chinese.

OK, written too much. Now for the pictures. And for those who still celebrate this, Happy Pai Thni-Kong everyone!




The interior of Khoo Kongsi, with its ancestral altars. Also check out my old 2006 post of Khoo Kongsi




Two of the many other Chinese clanhouses in the area, no, I don't remember for what clans they are, and not being able to read Chinese doesn't help




The Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple, Ayer Itam, Penang. We arrived just before closing time, so we only wondered around the unlocked areas (mainly for fear of being accidentally locked inside the temple, scary...)


The multi-cultural pagoda of the Kek Lok Si Temple - bottom tiers Chinese, middle tiers Thai, and pinnacle Burmese


A mosque for a change, the Acheh Street Mosque near Khoo Kongsi - built by Arab merchants from Acheh in Sumatra

Welcoming the Horse Year

Dubai Skyline from the Meydan Racecourse

Happy Chinese New Year fellas!! May you and your families be blessed with everything good, may you be successful in your ventures, may all your wishes come true, may you go higher and higher, may you be as healthy as the horse and the dragon! Alright, my translation sucks, but they’re popular traditional Chinese greetings OK??

I dunno, but I just feel that CNY’s lost that spirit since granny passed away. I like the times when we were small, when we were all living close together in a big extended family in Ipoh. When we could meet all our cousins and friends during New Year, when granny, mom and our aunts made cookies, when we ate (and drank) together, when we had our annual gambling sessions… Oh, and the New Year parties when we grew up!!

I miss Pai Thni-Kong. It’s uniquely Hokkien, with its sugarcanes, pink pagodas, angkus, red paper cut-outs and firecrackers, and I loved folding that err… paper-gold for burning, all varieties of it, the origami of New Years past.

Big families are good in that way. Now, with everyone grown up and having their own families, CNY’s just not the same as it used to be. Sometimes I wish someone would create a Christian version of Pai Thni-Kong, or something like that. After all there’re no idols involved. We pray to the sky, or the God of Heaven as thanksgiving for saving Hokkien folk in a sugarcane plantation (that’s what I’ve been told by someone a long time ago, I dunno how true that is!)

Anyway, I’ll be stuck in Arab lands this coming CNY. It’s not a public holiday here, but since I’m working for a Chinese company, we’re getting a three-day weekend break this time, yippee!!

For the time being, I’m leaving some pictures of horses for the New Horse Year. The UAE loves horses (and camels) so there’re no shortage of horses here. The King of Dubai himself, is an accomplished rider, and a major figure in international thoroughbred horse racing/ breeding.

Here’re pictures of a …party we sort of crashed, unknowingly. It was some bank’s family day at the Meydan Racecourse, and we happened to be there to check out the place. It’s a new place after all, OK? Before we knew it, we were guided to the free pony rides for kids, and free pony painting event, given door gifts, and welcome drinks, etc. We quietly left after realising what it was, but not before we sampled the food and Justin had a helluva time. Hehehe.


Pony Rides at the Meydan Racecourse, Dubai


Justin trying his hand at horse decoration




Meydan Racecourse, Dubai


Anu at the top deck of the Meydan Racecourse complex


Laid out dining tables and stage for the family day


The curvy bridge at Meydan Racecourse


Some private road near the racecourse, flanked by pyramid hedges