新年快乐 (Xinnian Kuai Le) 🐭

A Happy Chinese New Year to the WordPress community, readers, friends and family! Special wishes for those born in the year of the rat.

An Abundant Ponggal to All

I didn’t realise it was ponggal (harvest festival) today till I noticed the boiling earthen pots under sticks of sugar cane, propped up in front of my neighbours homes this morning. All dressed up in colourful clothes, the families were gathered around the pot waiting for it to overflow so that they can shout ‘Ponggal!’…

‘Pop’ Goes the Bagel

We normally wouldn’t take the trouble to drive all the way out of town on a weekend, especially while we are still in a stupor from severe lack of sleep and running around town like headless chickens over Christmas and New Year. But a hospital visit in the area prompted us to stop by this…

New Year Glow

It’s barely a month since we ushered in the New Year and rolled up the Christmas lights and wreaths. In place of the twinkling Christmas lights are now the warm glow of red and yellow Chinese lanterns, strung up to usher in the Chinese Lunar New Year next Saturday. The simple joys of living in…

Christmas in the Tropics

We have this thing called the Christmas weather where we live. Every late November till late January the North-Eastern monsoon hits the coast of Peninsular Malaysia and it pretty much means wet weather for that whole period, with sunny days in between. It is generally much cooler, but not much fun if you’re rushing about…