The Chinese Navratri

Anu praying to the Nine Emperor Gods, Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia… The nice thing about Hindus, is that they’d pray to any god, ...serene or scary-looking. To them, gods are gods. The more, the merrier. Om Namah Shivay…

Here goes. It’s Durga Puja this weekend, Anu’s (and eastern India’s) biggest festival. All over eastern and north-eastern India, there’ll be ‘pandals’ (make-shift pavilions) erected, with the goddess Durga as the centre-piece, stepping on, or killing a buffalo-demon. Elsewhere in India (northern India, mainly), it’s celebrated as Dussehra, which culminates in the burning of a huge effigy of Ravana (the main villain in the Ramayana story). They’re basically all celebrating the triumph of good over evil. The nine days leading to these big celebrations is Navratri (meaning “nine nights”, duh), which have rituals, prayers, and such, related to each day, depending on which tradition you’re following.

But interestingly, Navratri isn’t venerated only by the Hindus. The Taoists in South East Asia, have their own celebrations, which coincide with Navratri. It’s the Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods. It’s a mystical Taoist festival celebrated mainly by the overseas Chinese in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, featuring road processions, trances, cheek-piercing, tongue piercing, fire-walking, and all sorts of self-mutilation, no joke. Now you know why it’s not popular in China. (D’ya think those communists there will be OK with all that gory, supernatural stuff? They just don’t know how to have fun, haha!) By the way, this was my favourite festival when I was a kid growing up in Ipoh! My mom would take me and my younger brother to town, to the upper story of a shop house (near where mom works), next to a busy junction where the procession would pass through. We’d see men with long spears pierced through their cheeks, rocking god chariots carried by crazed men (who were apparently in a trance) guided by a spirit guide carrying a reed hand fan, and stuff like that. Cool, huh?

Temples that host the Nine Emperor Gods Festivals in Malaysia and Singapore are usually named “Tow Boo Keong.” And for some reason not known to me, there’re TWO of ‘em in Butterworth town itself, not far from one another. (If you do know why there’s 2, lemme know, OK?) Anyway, here’re the photos. Of both of ‘em! Happy Festival! Happy Durga Puja! Happy Dussehra! Happy Dashain!


Tow Boo Keong Temple, Butterworth, Malaysia, on a quiet day. It was July 2022. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival usually takes place in October, on the first nine days of the ninth month of the Chinese calendar…


Mommy and kids, at the Tow Boo Keong Temple. Wow, there sure are a lot of lanterns. Can we have one or two, to take home??


Tow Boo Keong in Chinese pinyin is Dòu Mǔ Gōng, the palace of Doumu, the mother of the nine emperor gods. Yeah, they have a mother, like you and me! What about that scary dragon (middle, bottom), with the golden card (with our surname embossed on it?) Don’t ask me man, I have no idea! Can you spot Doumu? Through the doorway immediately above the scary dragon?


The idol of Doumu, up close. Doumu is the mother of the Big Dipper constellation of stars. And so, the nine emperor gods are actually the stars that make up the Big Dipper, seven visible stars and two invisible one (or so, sez Google)


A pagoda in the Tow Boo Keong temple


One last photo, before we move on to the second Nine Emperor Gods Temple nearby


The Nine Emperor Gods Temple, Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia


The sign in Chinese on the temple reads Dòu Mǔ Gōng 斗母宫 (in small) and a large Yù Zhǐ 玉旨 (Jade Edict) in large


No, you don’t wanna mess with me!


The Nine Star Lords of Chinese Mythology. Move over, Guardians of the Galaxy… We are nine, with a scary dragon as companion, a horde of deities and an all-powerful mother! Beat that!


The dragon pillar and the pond of carps! (Don’t ask me what they symbolize). But the kids love feeding the koi, as kids do. (Maybe, that’s what it’s for… some income from the fish food… but again, I don’t think so, because how much money would they make from some measly fish food?) (Do they eat the carps? I don’t think so either. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a vegetarian festival, no meat for nine days for devotees. See, I told you, it’s like the Hindu Navratri!)




Night time at the Temple of the Nine Emperor Gods, Butterworth, Malaysia, July 2022


Mommy and kids paying one last respect to the Goddess Doumu before we go…

See ya! Happy celebrations everyone! Be happy, stay safe, stay kind, stay hopeful. God bless!

In the Old Prospecting Days

A cowboy town in New Zealand?? Yup, this is Cromwell. More precisely, this is its Heritage Precinct, in Otago, South Island, NZ.

The family’s reunion in New Zealand is fast approaching. Dad, Hazel, and finally, Jason and family are gonna visit Kim in Auckland in the middle of this month, and then, they’re gonna head out on a hectic, all-out NZ excursion, covering the North as well as the South Islands. Jason’s hired a campervan. No, make that a Motorhome! It’s the larger, nicer version, of a campervan, with built-in toilet, shower, kitchen, and what have you, not like the little Jucy campervan we rented in 2018.

Alas. We’re not gonna be there. So, here’s to remembering our own New Zealand trip, a continuation of my posts of our South Island trip in 2018. This is gonna be my last NZ post.. Wait, make that the second-last (I realized I’ve still got a lot of photos left to post, heehee). Till we visit again. Here goes!


Cromwell’s a gold prospecting town in the old Otago Gold Rush days… Now it’s known more for its fruits, than gold. Heck, it even has a monument for its fruits! (Nope, didn’t take a photo. What’s so interesting about giant peaches on poles?) It’s known as the “Fruit Bowl of the South” now! Hell, yeah! Sez the lady whose house we stayed in, in Cromwell, on our last night of our South Island trip. Don’t believe me?! Go Google Cromwell, NZ, and you’ll see!


That’s the house we stayed in! No 42, Barry Avenue, Cromwell. On our last night in the South Island. I hadn’t planned this actually; it was a last-minute thing. The original plan was to sleep in the campervan, in a camping ground, somewhere. Anywhere! And then Anu suggested, that since this was our last night, could we have something better? B’coz, we still had to pack up, and stuff like that before we fly off? And she's right! It didn’t help that the only available camping ground near us, had only one berth left, and it was cramped to the brim with people, like the trailer parks that you see in movies! And so, we started our search, but there weren’t many hotels around, and each and everyone that we contacted was full. (It was peak Christmas season!) And then, one of the hotels informed that they knew someone who could let out their rooms for a night, and we got the number of this lady, I still remember her name, Jacinda, just like the name of the then New Zealand Prime Minister! (I’ve never come across a Jacinda in my life before, and two popped out in NZ. It must be a really common Kiwi name!)


And this is the ‘trailer park’ that we nearly stayed in. The Cromwell Holiday Park. I think we paid, and decided otherwise when we saw where we had to park, and they refunded the money. Good on them. I tried checking it out on Google Maps, and it’s completely gone now! I think it’s being redeveloped into a housing area, or something… Bye-bye! (It was at the plot surrounded by Alpha St on its east, and Midlothian Ave on its north…)


Back at the Precinct District. It lies beside the Kawarau River. Cromwell lies at the mouth of the Kawarau River, where it meets the Clutha River


That’s the Kawarau River… which incidentally, is also the river (one of the rivers anyway) used to film the River Anduin in the Lord of the Rings movie… you know the river flanked by the 2 huge statues of kings with their hands extended… the “Pillars of Kings” or “the Gate of Argonath”? That’s on this river, but further upstream. This photo is at the river's mouth…


It sure is windy, huh? Cromwell, Otago, New Zealand


Huh? What’s this? The house of the Illuminati? It’s a Masonic Lodge! Cromwell


Here’s another quaint gold prospecting town, Arrowtown! Near Queenstown, Otago




Anu loves this town, with its white cottages, flowers, trees… This is her idea of a nice town to stay in!


And that’s the Arrowtown church! Let’s see, it’s the St Patrick’s Catholic Church!

That’s all for now, folks! One more NZ post to go after this. See ya!

The People Who Graced Our Lives 2023

Hello people. This is my annual post of the people who graced our lives in the past year. These friends, acquaintances and family (but there weren’t any who visited us in Dubai last year, although you could say that Anny (see photo below) is family, as she’s Anu’s eldest sister’s husband’s sister’s daughter) make our lives so much richer and memorable. Thanks for your time, and for bearing with us. Here’s a toast to all of you. Salud!


A reunion, after 17 long years! Anu and Anny in Dubai – (Orchid Vue Hotel). The both of them arrived in Haulawng, Mizoram, in the beginning of 2006, to work in the project that I was in. At the end of 2006, Anu and I left Mizoram, and we’ve never been back since. Here’s a picture of the girls in 2006.


They’ve gone a long way since. While we’ve mostly been in Dubai, Anny, her husband and son live in Tanzania. Here’s Anny and her son, Kiann, visiting us, in Jul 2023


Anny and husband, Dipak, at our home. They were in Dubai for the handover of their Dubai apartment, which they purchased for investment. Business-savvy people, huh?! They’ve invited us to visit Tanzania! That will be an awesome adventure! But Africa’s not really Anu’s cup of tea, and it’s expensive! And kinda scary (coz we dunno much about it). Let’s see, hehe


Meet the Agarwals – Bhavna, Umesh and Dyuti, Diwali, 2023. Our normal circle of friends now mainly revolves around our neighbours… Many of the friends whom we’ve been closed to before, have moved away. That’s how it’s like in Dubai, unfortunately


Another neighbour, Abha, KP Singh, and their 2 daughters, at their apartment, Diwali 2023. Here we were, with a visiting couple and their son


Our immediate neighbour, and Anu’s adopted godbrother, Milind Pandhare and his wife Rajeshri, at our home, Diwali, 2023. Diwali’s the time for photos, as most people (I’m talking about Indians, of course) would be dressed up nicely. That explains why most of the photos here are of the Diwali times!


The Pandhare’s kids, Mihir (left) and Aru (right) with Jayden. This is another way we’ve made friends in Dubai in the past. The kids’ friends, and if we meet up for playdates, their parents…


Jayden’s friend from Ukraine, Daniel (I think it’s actually Danylo), but we just called him Daniel. He was a good, well-behaved boy. He was here in our apartment building, staying with his aunt’s family, but only for a few months. Less than half a year, I think. He was learning English at that time, and sometimes we had to communicate with sign language. He’s moved on to Germany, to join his parents there! All the best Daniel!


Jayden’s started to be more social… Bravo! When his elder brother was in Dubai, Jayden didn’t seem to have any friends. Here’s he at school, with Sofian (with glasses), and Jad. Sofian is the son of the school’s principal, by the way.


Jayden, with classmate Yusuf, holding their Junior Duke certificates. Junior Duke is an award scheme that promotes the development of life skills, like cooking, swimming, patching a punctured tyre, managing time, etc… (which basically means, …a whole lot of extra work, for the parents. Sigh…) It was inspired by the Duke of Edinburgh Award


Jayden with his best friend at that time, Hardit (I don’t know whether they’re still best friends, because his friends change all the time…), at Xstrike, an indoor laser tag park, in Al Quoz, Dubai. This was Sofian’s (see photo above) birthday party, the first birthday party I remembered that Jayden attended… (Whereas, Justin had been going to birthday parties since he was in kindergarten…) Thanks Sofian! And Mr Nav Iqbal and missus, for inviting Jayden. (They’re British of Pakistani descent).


Two of his friends/ classmates at our home for Jayden’s birthday last year, Hardit and Omnia. Another friend, Callum would later join this party.


And here’re big brother’s friends, Yiro (left) and Sean Linz (right). Although Justin doesn’t stay here, he seems to be keeping his friendship pretty well. They’d hang out whenever Justin’s back for the holidays – Jun 2023


Moaaz (or is it Moaadh?) (centre) and Yiro (left) at our home when Justin was here again in Dec 2023. Moaadh made the trip all the way from Abu Dhabi where he and his family stay now!


And now for some colleagues, as always. Hmmm… doesn’t seem to have any photos of colleagues last year… Wait, here’s one. Yours truly, with a colleague, Andrew Battershill (left), Project Manager of our company’s NEOM Tunnel Project, and an acquaintance we met, Marcus Pathan, from the Association of Project Management, at the IPMA Global Awards Gala, in Seville, Spain – Sep 2023. The IPMA (International Project Management Association) Global Awards are an annual function organized by the IPMA that celebrates and gives out awards for achievements in Project Management. Our company participated in the awards in 2023, and 2 of our company’s projects were finalists in the category of Large & Mega-Sized Projects. As luck would have it, the awards were held in Spain, and most of my colleagues (who’re Chinese, Egyptians, Indians, etc), including my bosses, needed a Schengen Visa, while yours truly, being a Malaysian, could just fly, haha! (And Schengen Visas, for some inexplicable reason, takes months to apply, here in the UAE!!! Europe should really get its act in order!) And so, there I am, with a British employee of our company, to represent the Company in 2 Projects which we had no involvement in at all! And We WON! Gold & Silver! - Hacienda Azahares, Seville, Spain

That’s it for now. See you!

5 Years of Oia

Good morning, Motor City! (This is the park just next to our apartment, Oia Residence, which is the building on the right in this photo)

Just a blink of the eye, and it’s 5 years since we moved to our current apartment in Motor City. (We moved in in Aug 2019 from International City, along with changing the kids’ schools).

Here’s a picture showcase of our last few years in Oia Residence, Motor City. Enjoy!


Oia Residence, with a view of one of its 2 swimming pools, and the park/ field (aka Windsor Park) beside it. This photo was taken from one of the many vacant units in 2020, when occupancy was low. Now, the whole building’s chock-a-block full! No chance of getting into any empty units now, ahem…


Stretching our legs in Windsor Park (the semi-circle shaped field beside Oia Residence). The row of houses in front is called Windsor Crescent. Guess whose legs these are? (Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out…)


Temporary resident, niece Sweety. Sweety squatted with us while looking for a job, Jan 2020. “How’s this for an interview, huh?” She moved out soon after she got a job, working for a hotel in Deira. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, COVID-19 came soon after, and she lost her job, as the hospitality industry in Dubai took a huge hit. She returned to India when travel restrictions were eased


Motor City in pandemic times. We were lucky, we moved to Motor City before the COVID-19 pandemic. Motor City Uptown (which Oia Residences was connected to), has a big expanse of greenery, trees, parks, etc, for us to walk around. Imagine, if we had been stuck in International City! We’d be marooned in our apartment, with COVID cases rising through the roof there. Notice Jayden with long hair? That was his pandemic-look… Jun 2020


Durga Puja 2020! Oct 2020. The kids have gone back to school, but with all the social distancing measures in place. See how the money tree (left) has grown, compared to the photo with Sweety above


Buddha in a flower pot. All the paraphernalia in the house, decorations, plants, furniture, fixtures, what-have-you, are the hard work of the missus. She has an eye (and hand, and leg) for these things!!! Thank you, Anu for being an expert home-maker. You make this place just incredible!


Anu’s balcony garden… Nov 2021. If it was only me, I think this place would be an empty space filled with a year’s (or two) heap of sand…


New Year’s Day 2022. At the corridor outside our apartment, Oia Residence, Motor City


Doves in our garden. Anu’s not only a giver of life to plants, it’s birds (and bugs) too. I’ve lost count of how many generations of doves, and sunbirds, that had been born in our garden. There were bulbuls too, but on both occasions, crows raided their nests and took their chicks! Pity. Shoooo, bloody crows! Mynas and sparrows are also common visitors, and there have been parrots, a hoopoe and an Indian roller (who’d knock the bejesus out of any bird that dares go near its nest, mainly mynas. I heard that they scare crows off like that also. I’d vouch for an Indian roller anytime, over a pesky crow). The roller’s nest wasn’t inside our balcony, but was in a hole just below the roof of the apartment building. It was the parrots’ hole, which the roller chased away, and took over. By the way, the parrots have reclaimed it now.


Some table décor – Diwali 2022. See, Anu’s a wizard at these things. Nobody taught or told her to do it, she just loves doing it by herself. This is the Diwali just before Justin leaves for Singapore


Here's a little outdoor fun! The playground at Motor City Uptown. The good thing about Motor City Uptown is that many of the kids who stay here, also go to the same neighbourhood school, GEMS Metropole School, which is just opposite our apartment. And so, many of their classmates and friends are within walking distance from each other, through some nice parks, no need at all of getting out to the busy roads around! Here’s Jayden with his classmate (and crush of that season), Varvara, from Ukraine. Jayden has considerably fewer close friends than Justin. But after his elder brother went abroad, he has no choice but to get out and mingle. There you go, Jayden! What’s with the shades, Varvara? It’s night time!?!


Autumn, Motor City Uptown. As if there’s an autumn season in Dubai, haha. It’s Feb 2023, ummmm… Izit winter? Spring? But leaves are falling, what the heck! In the UAE, there are 3 seasons, according to me, ‘Cool’ (Winter …Nov to Mar), ‘Hot’ (the transition months, Oct, and Apr) and ‘Very Hot’ (May to Sep)


More decorations! Happy Diwali, 2023!!!


And finally, Anu’s balcony garden in Mar 2024, don’t even know what the occasion was, but those roses were for International Women’s Day, and my birthday, ahem! Thanks, honey. You’re the best!

And the answer to the question in Photo No.3 above is: …Anu and Kunal, our nephew. Kunal and her mom, Manju, were stranded in Dubai during the pandemic, and stayed with us till the travel restrictions were relaxed.