A Door for Every Occasion

Eid Mubarak everyone! Selamat Hari Raya! Alas, Ramadan has to end sometime. Ramadan happens to be my favourite month, haha. Less pressure (except for this Ramadan), shorter working hours, less traffic jams, less crowd, except at night after Iftar…

Here’s a short picture post, before I go off for the long weekend!

Here’s our adventure in the heart of Tunis in Jan 2020! The city of Tunis is nice and planned on one side, and a crazy maze on the other side, and that’s the fun part – venture in if you dare!


Here’s the planned and organized eastern side of Tunis city centre, the Place de l'Indépendance. The church there is the Cathedral of St Vincent de Paul


Papa and kids, Place de l’Indépendance, Tunis


Habib Bourguiba Clocktower


This is the dining room of our hotel, the Tunisia Palace. Our hotel is on the planned side, just before the start of the crazy side


Ready for the maze? That arch, called the Bab El Bhar, with the Tunisian Flag, is the gateway to the old city. Here we go!


Mommy at Victory Square, just beyond the Bab El Bhar


That’s the old city. It’s a maze of alleys, shops, houses, mosques, you name it!


What’s with the colour coded doors? Do they mean anything? Is this the doorway to a Ravenclaw club?


What about this? Hufflepuff? Most of the doors are blue, second most I think is yellow… Somebody enlighten me, willya?


Hey, here’s a mosque, time for some rest – the Zaytuna Mosque, Tunis, Tunisia


Minaret of another mosque… I think it’s the Sidi Youssef Dey Mosque


And when you’re tired, you can stop at one of the hundreds of cafes, restaurants – Here’s us waiting to tuck into our couscous with fish meal


Another Hufflepuff facility, with matching window and car…


Say bye boys! Tunis, Tunisia, Jan 2020 - This was our last overseas trip before COVID-19 hit.

Have a blessed and joyful Eid, Hari Raya and holidays!

Inside a Mythical Elephant

The world inside an elephant!

I’m back! From a short and hectic 2-week break. First trip overseas since the beginning of 2020!!! Went home to my in-laws in India for the first time after 5 years. (Our last India home visit was in Mar 2017).

But that home trip story would have to wait. (What? It’s a long story, OK? And all the photos are still in the phones. Plus, so many unexpected things happened. We planned like for a hundred things to be done, and we ended up with ummm… OK, more than half done! Not that bad after all). Anyway, while I pick up the bits from where I left off from work, and recover from the holiday blues, here’s a short picture post to commemorate the many festivals and new years that are happening this week! Happy Vaisakhi! Happy Easter! Ramadan Mubarak! Happy New Year to the Tamils, Keralites (Vishu), Thais (Songkran), Bengalis, Nepalis, Assamese (Bihu), Sri Lankans, Burmese (Thingyan), Laotians, Cambodians! Etc, etc, etc.

Since it’s Songkran, here’s something from Thailand! Ever gone inside a mythical creature? Here we go, venturing into the body of a mythical three-headed elephant!


Whoa, what’s that? A towering elephant monster?


The Erawan Museum, Thailand

This is the last of Khun (Mr) Lek Viriyaphan’s creation featured in this blog. (Yep, we happened to visit all three!) Khun Lek was an eccentric Thai millionaire businessman and arts patron who created fantastic landmarks such as Ancient Siam (aka Ancient City) and the Sanctuary of Truth, in addition to the Erawan Museum.


Anu, Erawan Museum, Thailand


Guess who this is? Yes, it’s chubby Jayden when he was 3 years old! This visit was in Dec 2017. What about Justin? Check out this post for Justin’s pics at that time.


And that’s Dad and Hazel!




The intricately ornate shrines inside the Erawan Museum’s main elephant structure




Peaceful grounds of the Erawan Museum


Finally, the shrine in the belly of the mythical elephant

On this day of celebrations and festivities, God, grant us humans the wisdom to make peace, instead of war. Let cooler heads prevail, oh God. Amen.