6 degrees apart

we had a very long stretch of holiday over here recently, what with the malay hari raya and the indian deepavali within a few days of each other. it goes without saying that we took this opportunity to explore a little further than our usual haunt, hong kong.

this time round we braved the 12hour trip to the netherlands. the weather there was beautiful, save for a little raining here and there, cool but not yet freezing. at least that's what i thought when we landed. i was ready to give that opinion the boot during the last few days of the trip, especially after we were all drenched from head to toe from a heavy rain during one of our outdoor excursions.


the netherlands is an absolutely beautiful place, loaded with history and art. the way i see it; the country with a soul. we learn all about the dams, how they were built, why and how it has progressed over the years. we listened to the stories of anne frank, the girl whose diaries were made popular to highlight the horror that was on the jews by the nazis. we visited museums (okay, we only visited ONE museum before the very idea bored us to death) to enlighten our dull minds about the beauty of fine art. no, we weren't any closer to understand why van gogh's paintings are so exceptional.


walking along the canals was inspiring, to say the least. the ambience, the beauty and the history of its architecture. i think i have left my heart behind. we tried their famous raw herring, complete with raw onions but i must say, it didn't leave a very nice taste in my mouth. their pancake was huge, larger than the size of a head but it was indeed very scrumptious.


it was a very enjoyable trip.

wish you had been there? nevermind, at least you have taken this holiday together with us, by sharing these photos.


 

we were part of the 15,000 crowd, bopping and rocking the night away, dancing to the songs that the 'forever-25' man was belting out.

to be frank, i'm not a dedicated fan of his. heck, i don't even know how to sing any of his songs. however, like many other 30+-year-olds, i grew up on a healthy dose of his melodies, playing in the background whilst we go about with our studies.

we went for lacking of something better to fill the nights. the enthusiasm didn't hit me like it did for michael jackson and andy lau's concert. i wasn't exactly climbing over chairs to get a better look at his 50+ wrinkled face. however, i must say, this is the best concert i have been to so far.

when you think of him, perhaps most people will think of his ever-expanding waistline, droopy-with-age face and descriptions such as over-the-hill and ex-superstar. when he starts singing though, all you can think about is how perfect his tunes are and how strong his voice comes across, a far cry from the recent up and coming singers. his music carries you away with him, leaving behind time and age. in a little while, you forget that he is 54 as he brings you into his world.

the real concert began when he was called back by thunderous shouts of 'encore' from spectators that persistently refuse to leave, even after the stage light was shut down. he re-appeared to share with us his love for music. everybody was invited to the front of the stage, people from all grades of tickets, where they began dancing and rocking to his songs. we could feel his passion for the music and he could feel our energy. the moment that the concert was officially over was the moment that the fun started. he could be there to give us a few more songs or he could leave. so could we. we knew that and he knew that. however, all of us wanted to catch hold of the magic for a moment longer. a moment where we forgot everything else in the world, except the fun, the energy...and the music.

even the elusive moon sneaked a peek from his heavenly perch.

did you light any lantern?

it was a quiet night, perhaps befitting the ocassion.

we had a marvellous feast, with an entire table laden with scrumptious food. it was a matter of which dishes takes priority over others before our stomach were satiated.


we hunted for the bright and luminous moon that night but it did a david-copperfield type of disappearing trick, behind the thick haze. what is a moon-lantern festival without the moon?

just another excuse to stuff delicious food down our throat. :-D

hope you had a wonderful time too.

what do you think of when you see the full moon?

we think of you and the good times we had.

last weekend, our community organised a pre-lantern festival procession for the neighbourhood kids. for the adults, it was just something to keep the little ones busy and out of our hair. the children, on the other hand, were very excited at the prospect of roaming the streets with their candle-lit lanterns.

all in the name of fun..




i miss those days when i got together with all the cousins and walked around like idiots without a purpose, holding on to our paper lanterns. when that got boring, we just burnt all the candles and melted them to a huge ball of wax. :-) hmmm....i think i may just conspire with the kids to do that this year.

alternatively, we could just sit around and do nothing but eat mooncakes, and let another moon lantern festival pass just like that? god forbid!

are you so busy with your life that you have forgotten to live it?

when was the last time you noticed a rainbow in the sky?

do you ever wonder how your friends are doing?

once in a while, despite the very hectic lifestyle that we all lead, the thoughts of our friends come to mind. we miss the good old days where you were close and the wonderful times that have all become a beautiful memory. when we have time to sit down and rest for a little while, thoughts of you immediately fill our minds.

we wonder if you miss us too.

so, with this blog that we have set up, we thought that it will be a good avenue for you to keep in touch with us, and vice versa. for all of us to know a little bit about each other's life and the small things that touch us.

we invite all our friends to be members of this blog and to post about things in their life; things that made them smile, things that made them cry; things that inspire them, we want to hear it all.

if you have the time, and will like to be a part of this blog, please drop me a line and i will send you the invitation.