Rock, Flower, Creatures

Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, is expected to start in 2 days’ time. And Songkran, Thailand’s New Year (which incidentally coincides with many new years in South Asia and South East Asia) will also happen at the same time. This year, the festivals will, I think, be like last year, low key, with social distancing and masks. COVID-19 unfortunately, is still around and thriving, sigh!

I’m going back to flower parks for my post (that’s what I posted two posts back – Dubai’s Miracle Garden). Here’s a park I called the Confused Park of Thailand. You’ll see why in a moment…


The Confused Park of Thailand

The official name of the park is, wait for it… the Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm. Nice long, descriptive name, what else do you want? So it’s a park of million-year-old stones (from who knows where? It’s either in Thai or not labelled. Besides, how do they even know that it's a million years old?) It has nice, manicured plants (it's a park, OK?) And of course, crocodiles, because it's a friggin Crocodile Farm, so sez its name. And no, that’s not all, there’re also giraffes (yeah, in friggin Thailand), giant catfish, and you name it. So it should be more appropriately named as the Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm, and Zoo, and Lake Gardens. See for yourself, here goes.


Oh, there IS A LABEL! It sez ‘Ancient wood changed into stone by nature’


No label on this humongous stone though


More stones for your enjoyment


Anu & Hazel, Million Years Stone Park, Pattaya, Thailand


Potted Plant Arch!


Jurassic World… Nah, just a waterfall pool


Yours truly, at Million Years Stone Park


CROCODILES!!! It’s a crocodile farm, didn’t I tell you? It comes complete with a crocodile stunt show where a performer sticks his head into the opened jaws of a crocodile and pulls it out seconds before the crocodile snaps it shut. I’d have probably done the same if I were that crocodile. Who’d want to taste the oily head of a man? Yecch…


And of all creatures. …Giraffes!?! How did they get here from Africa???


Giant catfish


The kids with their granddad feeding the carps (and here’s a link to another photo of the kids and granddad at Million Years Stone Park)


A shrine at the Million Years Stone Park & Crocodile Farm, Pattaya, Thailand

OK, see you. For those who’re fasting, Ramadan Kareem. For those who’re celebrating their new years, Happy New Year! Stay healthy, stay safe. May you have a blessed time wherever you are.

A Time for Reflection

It’s Easter. (It’s also the tomb sweeping festival of the Chinese i.e. Qingming, a day to pay respect to one’s ancestors who’ve passed away). I think I’ll put photos of a church. Wishing all who celebrate, a Happy and Blessed Easter. May you reflect on the blessings and grace you’ve received from God and continue to choose to do good to others so that we may have a better world. God bless you all.



Here’s the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi (commonly known as Sameba), Georgia. Technically though, this church does not celebrate Easter till about a month later as it’s an Orthodox church which follows the older Julian calendar. But I don’t think anyone will mind some photos of churches on a time like this… (or will there?!?)

The Sameba Church was built quite recently, and completed only in the current 21st century (2004 was the year of its consecration, …sez Wikipedia). It is now the mother church of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

There is one famous Georgian though, whom I think would not be very happy with this new church – Josef Stalin, the Soviet dictator of the World War 2 era. When he was running the Soviet Union, he oversaw the destruction of many churches, mosques and temples in his communist government’s anti-religious drive. Luckily, he isn’t buried in Georgia. Or he’d be turning in his grave.






Sameba (Holy Trinity Cathedral), Tbilisi, Aug 2018


Everywhere is a playground for the kids… JUSTIIINN, JAAYDENNN! COME!


Entrance gateway of the Sameba






Interiors of the Sameba – with towering columns and the dome high above


Offerings to baby Jesus and Mother Mary


Who’s this? I dunno, it’s all Greek to me (or in this case, Georgian)...


Here’s another Georgian orthodox church for good measure, the Metekhi Church, also in Tbilisi, Georgia

Have a blessed weekend.

It’s a Miracle!

An aircraft of flowers… in a flower bed, surrounded by more flowers. Miracle Garden, Dubai

It’s spring. Actually it’s the start of the end of spring. For me, the UAE only has 2 seasons, spring (where the weather's nice and everything grows) and …glorious summer heatwave (where everything dries up and die... it's a desert by the way). The spring equinox just came and went. It’s getting hotter by the day and it’s just a matter of time before it gets too hot and dry to go out into the countryside. That’s why we’ve been out and about every weekend for the last few weeks to take advantage of the nicer weather while it lasts. Last week, we visited a flower farm. Yeah, a Flower Farm, in the desert! (In a village in the hills of Fujairah actually). And there were hordes of people, …in COVID times. (I didn’t know so many people knew about this place! …The power of TikTok nowadays! That’s how the missus found out). I’d love to put some photos of the farm, but they’re still safely stored in the missus’ phone (most of them anyway), and it’ll probably stay that way for a few more months to come. So, …here’re some flowers from two years back, Dec 2018 to be precise, when we visited the Miracle Garden of Dubai. How these people maintain these flowers in a desert is indeed a miracle.

Photos coming up…




Miracle Garden, Dubai, UAE


Towering cats, of the herbal kind…


Mickey Mouse ain’t afraid of no cats!


Floral Teddy and the Swans


Elephant parade


A floral peacock clock


This plane ain’t going anywhere…




Arches of flowers…


Floral hair


Time for a group photo, cheese! That’s it for the day. Another quick photo post to save the day.

Where Have All the Playgrounds Gone?

Magic Planet, Mirdif City Centre, 2019

Work has been surprisingly hectic in the past few weeks. No time to rest (yeah, no kidding!). Not bad when there’re still no new Projects, and when the world is still stuck in COVID-mode.

I’m putting in another shortcut express photo blog! Of photos I’ve collected ages ago. But I’ve thrown in a bonus this time, some photos we took at the end of 2020! Here goes, my kiddies’ park post, let the show begin!

This is Oli-Oli, the one and only children’s play park we visited during COVID times…




Toshi’s Net – a humongous web of a net created by Japanese textile artist, Toshiko Macadam, at OliOli Dubai. Justin remembered this net. He had been telling us just how great this net was. Both Justin and Jayden had been to OliOli in their school trips before. Jayden went first. It was, I think, his first ever school trip, when he was in FS1 (first year of kindergarten) in Newlands School. Justin visited when he was much bigger, in Year 4 maybe… with Royal Dubai School…


Museum of the Moon, OliOli Dec 2020


Future Park, of everything digital…


Cars and Ramps, where you can build and test your ‘Lego’ car creations on sky high ramps


The Water Gallery, OliOli – Never imagined washing cars as fun?!? Never liked it, and still don’t. But what do I know, the little ones loved it!

Here’re some other amusement centres / children’s play areas we visited thru the years, which I’ve not posted before. The kids are big fans (obviously), and we’d spent hours just trying to dissuade them, divert their attention, trick them, bribe them, whatever, from visiting… (you think their papa’s money grows on trees?) How many of these amusement centres survived the pandemic? Who knows? We’ve not been back to check them out yet…


Sega Republic, Dubai Mall, 2016 (yup, these are vintage…)


Splash ‘n’ Party, a kids’ water park based in a villa plot in Jumeirah, Dubai, 2016


A water park (and aquarium) we never visited, the Lost Chambers, Atlantis. “No you can’t go in, can’t you see that the doors are closed…” 2017 (it’s mighty expensive, what d’ya think?)


Cheeky Monkey, Etihad Mall, celebrating one of Justin’s classmate’s birthday (Antranik, middle in orange), 2017. Looking back, it’s been a long time since we were last invited to a birthday party…


Jayden on a bouncy castle in the old part of town, Al Fahidi Souq, Bur Dubai, 2019


Fabyland, DragonMart 2, 2019


Another Magic Planet, this one’s in Burjuman, 2019


Fun Block, MotorCity 2019, with the kids’ Jikor (aunt), Hazel in attendance. We used to go to the one in Arabian Centre, before we shifted to MotorCity… The problem with these kids’ play areas, is that they need us adults to be there, all the time, with them?!? What good does that do? Can we jump on the friggin castle?!?

That’s all for now. Gotta get back to work, before it friggin spills over…. Sigh!