Gong Xi Fa Cai !
Happy Chinese New Year !
It's The Year Of The Ox
and
That's My Year !! ..
God Bless All !

Sunset.. a collection

Here's a collection of my photos taken during sunset in China, Malaysia and Vietnam.. Hope you will enjoy watching them, accompanied by a popular song from singer Steve Zhou Chuan Xiong from Taiwan title Huan Hun (Sunset).

Greetings and Thanks Buddies !

Well Chinese New Year is approaching, and We have so much need to catch up especially on work. Traditionally, all work for the year will be done and settled before the big day ! In hokkien term, we call it 'siu kang' or stop for the day's work. Well tomorrow is the last day for us before the celebration. And we'll stopped for 4 days, and resume again on Thursday. Some Chinese company will be closed until the 9Th day of Chinese New Year. That is a long holiday, but we always belief that after the whole year of hard work, we deserve a long break as well.. and get reunited with relatives and friends... I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends, relatives and blog buddies all over the globe Gong Xi Fa Cai !

By the way, Richies of An Arkies Musings has given me the Noblesse Oblige award. Thank you Richies for the honor.

Also, check out why I am going back to Hangzhou by clicking here.

Learning Mandarin With Askbenny.cn

I have exactly one month to go before I pick up my backpack and head for Hangzhou ! Well it's not easy for a non-mandarin speaking person like me to go to a country where it's national language is Mandarin ! For all of you to know, I have never attended any Chinese school, and I rarely speak Mandarin during my normal days unless I am forced too. Even my kids and friends would laugh at me seeing the way I struggle to say something in Mandarin. So if I do need to speak Mandarin overhere, it's a 'rojak' mandarin, meaning it's a mixture of English, hokkien and Malay.
Ok, I have just bought 2 books recently, Mandarin Made Easy and Easy Peasy Chinese costing me about RM60.00 from Popular Book Store, and now I found the best website to learn Mandarin at no extra cost i.e. Askbenny.cn . This is a great website where they teach (Mr Benny himself) you basic Mandarin step by step for non-speaking Mandarin people like me. And you can even watch and interact with Benny at his YouTube site at askbenny.
Anyway, I just hope to pick up as much words as possible before I head for the real challenge.. exploring China with my Mandarin !! haha.. Wish me luck !


For The Most Popular Mandarin Teacher in the world, just go to askbenny.cn ! or askbenny you tube from Shanghai ! Happy Learning !

Year Of The Ox

It's My Zodiac ! Year of the OX for 2009 !!
This is what it says about the year of the OX. I think it's interesting, so true, and so me !!!
People Born in the Year of the OX:
Characteristics: People Born in the Year of the OX are stable, strong, dutiful, reliable, tenacious, practical, industrious, determined, honest, loyal, sincere, persevering and down to earth and tolerant. They can sometimes be lonely but they form firm bonds with home and family. The OX people cherish their private lives and are not usually very adventurous. They can be loners. They know the way to succeed is by a slow, steady, sustained effort. OX people are great traditionalists, they like the familiar.

The Chinese calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles and thus the new year falls on a different day of the Western solar calendar each year.
Year Ahead: The OX year is a conservative year, one of traditions and values. This is not a year to be outrageous. A slow but steady year.
This OX year will bring stability and growth where patience and diligence pays off.
This is a year of Harvest - when we reap what we have sown. Take care of business this year, do not let things slide.

Source: Family Earthy

To read more about Ox, click here. I find it very interesting too !

Kelantan Winter Too ????

Its so cold in KB lately !!!! especially during the morning and night. I wake up early now a days around 5 am to grab for a blanket and most of the time I am on sweater or jacket during the early morning and night time. Can't stand the chill weather. At first I thought I am the only person feeling the cold, but now it's confirm others feel the same too. Yesterday I have checked ! Our temperature over here is 22 degree Celsius. So, it's like in Cameron Highland or Genting Highland now during normal days. Time has changed, economy has changed, and the weather has changed. Must be the global warming factor. So, it's the fact Kota Baharu is now having winter too !!!
By the way, my photos are up again at Sri Kebakat !

Locating My Ancestors..

I finally found out that my father's father (grand father) originated from:
Nan Ann, in
Quanzhou district,
Fujian Province in China.

Overview of Fujian
Lying in the southeastern coast of China and bordering Zhejiang Province, Jiangxi Province and Guangdong Province, Fujian is facing Taiwan across the Straits and one of the closest mainland provinces to Southeast Asia and Oceania, as well as an important window and base of China for global exchanges. Boasting a long history, Fujian was called the Region of Minyue during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Prefecture of Min-Zhong during Qing Dynasty. In the middle of Tang Dynasty, the post of Fujian Military Commissioner was established, and the province was hereafter called Fujian. The brief name of Fujian, "Min", is derived from Min River, the greatest river within the province. Covering a land area of 121,400 square kilometers and a sea area of 136,000 square kilometers, Fujian governs Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Putian, Longyan, Sanming, Nanping and Ningde (nine municipal cities), as well as 85 subordinated counties, cities and districts (including Jinmen County). By the end of 2005, the total population of Fujian reached 35,350,000 (exclusive of Jinmen and Mazu). As one of the earliest provinces opening to the outside world, Fujian has launched 12 national development zones and special economic zones, bringing about an all-round opening-up configuration. The people of Fujian are famed for their diligence, courage, industry and hospitality. This mountainous province is also renowned for the tradition of starting career in overseas countries, which makes it a famous hometown of overseas Chinese

Overview of Quanzhou

Quanzhou is a well-known hometown for overseas Chinese and a majority of the Han population in Taiwanese. The total population in the municipality is over 6.7 million. About 9 million of Han nationality in Taiwan are originally from Quanzhou. In recent years, the number of visitors from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao has been increasing. They come back for pilgrimage to their visit ancestors’ graves, visit their families and friends, make investments and conduct business and sightseeing. This has greatly promoted the social and economic development in Quanzhou.
Quanzhou is one of first 24 important national historic and cultural cities announced by the State Council. From Tang Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty, “Citong Port” in Quanzhou was one of the major ports for foreign trade. It was the departure point of “marine silk route” and enjoyed the grand reputation of “largest oriental port”. The city has numerous famous scenic spots, cultural and historic relics. Among 399 protected cultural relics in the city, 12 are of state level and 37 are of province level.

Nan Ann
I am still sourcing for articles or pictures about Nan Ann. Anybody care to contribute, please contact me. I am planing for a trip there one of these days, with God's willing.

Source: Kelantan Hokkien Association and Fujian Official Website

Land Before Time..

Shanghai / Zhouzhuang / Suzhou / Wuxi / Nanjing / Hangzhou

Back To China !

Just came back from China not even a month yet, and now I am planing another China trip again next month. Yes, I just booked the tickets on Airasia.com yesterday. I know people must be saying I am crazy, but life is such. Sometimes in life we have do crazy things. I will be going as an independent tourist, meaning no hired tour guides nor fixed schedule. Just relax and do what I feel like doing, so I have more time for photography. This time I will be going with my twin sons on backpack ! Think, I have to get some books on learning basic Mandarin language today from Popular Book Store. Learning mandarin in one month..