The Valley of Dead Goats

Oh, what the heck. I might as well post these photos. Of the time we camped in Wadi Bih. (Since I’ve saved these photos up for posting… for a long time now…)


Wadi Bih, or what I called the Valley of Dead Goats… (What? I saw 3 goat carcasses on that day itself, OK?! If you look closely, you’d spot one too, in the photo above)

I thought we’d do a camping trip before the end of the year, with Justin, before he heads back to Singapore. But circumstances changed, and there were more important things to do… so we ended up not going camping. He’s heading back to Singapore tonight, to restart school. We wish him all the best. And that he will understand the importance of hard work, self-discipline and effort in achieving success, and that he’ll put his whole heart into his studies in his O-Level year. Take care my son, we love you. Give it your best!

These photos are of the last time Justin camped outdoors with us in the UAE… In Dec 2023. Here goes.


There! We’ve made camp! Definitely not a good thing to do, reaching a camping spot at night… But it’s something that happens (especially with us, …a lot. And most of the time, it’s bcoz of yours truly, ahem, but how would I know that there’d be a friggin traffic jam in Jebel Jais!! Wadi Bih is at the foot of Jebel Jais, by the way). If only we spotted the dead goat carcass nearby earlier, we might not have camped here. (Do you see it? It’s there if you look closely). But we reached after sunset and didn’t see it until way after we’ve settled in, and were looking for places to relieve ourselves. I just pulled it (by one of its dead legs) far away from us… (Yeah, there you go, goat. Be gone, rot in peace!)


Making fire. Mommy’s the expert and our guru. So, Justin, can you start one yourself now?


Good morning! Let’s climb some hills, while it’s early! (Our camp was by that lone tree, in the middle of the photo)


Heading out to the hills, Wadi Bih, Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE, Dec 2023


Exploring the hills…


The hills are alive, ...with the sounds of Jayden (he's the noisy one)


C’mon let’s get back to camp and have some breakfast!


Some morning yoga for mommy


Breakfast’s ready!


Tidying up. See the hard work we put in at night… Making that clearing, where our tent was, and propping up that tree… It’s full of thorns mind you, and rocks…


Happy New Year everyone! May 2026 be the greatest year ever for you! And may every year after that be even better!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Yes, we can only dream, coz alas, we didn’t get to see snow this season! Here’s a photo from our last white winter – in Kazakhstan last year!


The Ascension Church in Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! May God bless you and your loved ones with love, joy, peace, success and good health wherever you are!

Just got back to Dubai from a short family trip to India, to be with the mother and sister-in-law. Was planning to let them see some snow, but as luck would have it, the parts of India we visited (Himachal Pradesh) was all nice and sunny… Perfect. For a cosy holiday! But not much for snow. Don’t get me wrong, we saw snow, high up in the mountains, inaccessible, except if we climb, or hire a jeep to go up the mountains. We did play with some ice though, which is what old snow becomes when you leave it for ummm… a week? A month?!?

Nope, I haven’t downloaded anything from our recent trip. So, here’s something from when our winter was truly white! The missus and the kids are snow-freaks. They absolutely love snow, for some reason!


Anyone for a snowball fight? Near our hotel, the Edelveis Hotel, on Gornaya Street, the road that leads to Medeu and Shymbulak, Almaty’s ice skating and skiing centres




By the Esentai River in the woods near the Edelveis Hotel


Gornaya Street at night – That’s Samal Hotel, the plush hotel beside our ummm, budget one, hah! But it ain’t bad at all, the Edelveis!




Back to town, this is the First President Park, dedicated to the first president of an independent Kazakh Republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev


Another snowball fight? Ya, go ahead!




Back to Panfilov Park – its full name is the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park – dedicated to 28 guardsmen from Alma-Ata (the Soviet name for Almaty) who died in WW2 during the Battle of Moscow


The Museum of Musical Instruments, Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan




Ascension Cathedral, Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Dec 2024. This church is purportedly a wooden church built without nails!... (It doesn't look like it, but that's what Wikipedia said!)


That’s it for the post. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance! (Just in case I don’t find time to post before the New Year)

A Purple-Themed Garden and Some Tea

Lavender Garden, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, Aug 2024

November is the month that the missus and I got together. I’ve been scratching my head on what to post, it's gotta be something to do with love, from the photos which I already have…

I guess it’ll be this – Cameron Highlands. Again? Yes. Anu loves the hills and the flowers, the trees and the birds. She’s a nature-lover. So, here’s to you, honey, I love you. Like always, and it’ll never stop…


We ended up back in Cameron Highlands, after 2 years of our last visit. Our intended destination was this place in the photo, Cameron-Santorini, but alas, it wasn’t opened. I learnt later, that the authorities closed it down because the owners failed to obtain the relevant approvals from the authorities. They actually friggin demolished it!!! 3 days after this photo was taken, talk about chance! The developers said they would rebuild it after obtaining the necessary approvals. Let’s see…


Never mind, there’re other gardens around… (as the Hokkiens say, if there’s no fish, shrimps will do! Bo hu, he a ho - 无鱼，虾也好) And so, here’s the Lavender Garden… A lavender farm in Cameron Highlands


Whoa? A purple castle??


And a purple booth, with purple teddies!


Looking good, honey!


Flowers galore, just the thing for the missus!


What’s it with the strawberry motif? I thought it’s a lavender farm? They actually do have strawberries… Can’t make money from lavender alone, I guess. Lavender Garden, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, Aug 2024


Even the temples here have flowers! The Guan-di Temple, Tringkap, Cameron Highlands


This was where we put up a night, compliments of sis, Hazel’s, Berjaya Club membership – the Berjaya Vacation Club at the Copthorne Hotel. This was the same place we stayed in, in 2007, on Anu’s first ever visit to Cameron!


Cameron Highlands… (Kea Farm) from the Copthorne Hotel premises. Look at the amount of plastic sheet coverings! I guess it’s for protecting the plants from the incessant Malaysian tropical rain…


Finally, a tea stop, at the Cameron Valley Tea House


How’s this for a breakfast in the hills! Pasta, mushroom soup, scones and strawberry jam, with tea!


A stream in the tea estate


I LOVE U. This is our 19th year, and I’ll never want this to end! Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, Aug 2024. (Hey there, lady, can you please move!?!!? Sigh… never mind, you’re going into our photo, don’t say I didn’t warn you… WTF)

The Lesser Pavilions

Urghhh… What the hell. Haven’t found time to think, or sort out photos for a new post, due to work. Just finished 2 big assignments (and there’re 2 more to go before the end of this month). For a mini celebration, I thought I'd finish off the stash of Expo photos that I’ve gathered up earlier… Give some recognition to the smaller pavilions in the Expo, you know?

Here goes. An express photo post coming up! A tribute to the smaller pavilions of the Expo! (Until I find some time to come up with something fresh…)


Opera 360… Don’t exactly know what this is for. It’s a small unmanned pavilion in the Expo’s Al Forsan Park. I guess it has something to do with the Dubai Opera?!??


Of all the small pavilions, Vietnam’s (for me), was the most interesting… It had water puppet shows and traditional music performances! Bravo Vietnam! – Vietnam Pavilion (looks like China, but it ain’t. Noticed all the Latin script in place of Chinese characters?), Opportunity District, Expo2020, Dubai


This is from Vietnam’s neighbour, Cambodia. What a strange lion…, Sustainability District, Expo2020


Some costume fun at ASEAN’s newest member, Timor Leste, Opportunity District


And the Caribbean features lots of elaborate headdresses!!! It’s Carnival time – Trinidad & Tobago Pavilion, Mobility District


Here’s something from Africa… A Lesotho Hat or Mokorotlo, Lesotho’s national symbol! Sustainability Dist.


Continuing in Africa, why not have some traditional music fun… DR Congo Pavilion, Opportunity Dist.


Back to the Caribbean, chilling out at the birthplace of Reggae, Jamaica, Opportunity Dist.


A football try-out at the Uruguay Pavilion (what else…) Mobility Dist.


All green... and sustainable. Well, it ain’t in the Sustainability District for nothing, OK? Suriname Pavilion


Huh? Batman’s at the Expo?? Yup, even Gotham City has a pavilion! It’s a publicity stunt for The Batman movie that was released at that time!


This photo isn’t of a small pavilion. Putting in a photo of the only time we went with a friend… We brought Justin’s Egyptian classmate and friend, Moaaz with us to the Expo on our first ever visit. Here’re them having a game of chess at the Spanish Pavilion


A mysterious glowing lion. The expo has lots of strange creatures like this lion in the photo… There were also glowing falcons (or is it a phoenix?), birdmen, etc…


That’s it for now. One final expo picture of us at the UAE Pavilion. We’ll be back (in an Expo)… in 2030, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia! I hope…

I think this would be the last of my Dubai Expo posts… (I’m only 4 years late, ahem…)


Here's a bonus map of the Dubai Expo, just for memory's sake!