The year of the tiger and the Chinese Lunar New Year
Below is an updated version of a column that I wrote last year but forgot to reproduce here.
Let’s start with a clarification of terms. What we call the Lunar New Year is not really based on a lunar calendar (based on cycles of the moon phase) but on the Chinese lunisolar calendar which intercalates...
Source: House on a hill
Ship ahoy!
Strange or not, one of the things I obsessed with during the cruise was photographing boats and shorelines. I especially liked scenes that included both boats and a wide expanse of shoreline. It’s amazing to watch an island come into view. First, it’s a just a speck. Then, a blurry mound....
Source: House on a hill
A traveller’s diary: Legend of the Seas
When my friend Mabel called on June 28 and asked if I would like to join her and two of her girl friends, Osang and Cynthia, on a Southeast Asian cruise on November, it took me all of two seconds to decide. We’d fly to Singapore, board the ship there then cruise to Malaysia and Thailand then sail back...
Source: House on a hill
A traveller’s diary: From Port Klang to Kuala Lumpur and back
I’d love to write about my Southeast Asian adventures on a day to day basis, just like a real traveller’s diary, but I can’t. Some stories are due for publication in the paper I write for and I have to wait until they get published first before I reproduce them in my blogs. So, I’ll...
Source: House on a hill
Home decorating 101: a bowl of eggs on the coffee table
Foreword: For those who read this blog for the photo tips, all photos in this entry were taken with an aperture value of 2.2 to create the bokeh effect.
I love jade. But there’s the ultra expensive jade and the less expensive jadeite. When I saw these handpainted jade (jadeite, I’m sure)...
Source: House on a hill
A traveller’s diary: Day 1
The flight to Singapore was at 6.20 a.m. of November 19. The plan was to stay overnight in Singapore before boarding the ship at noon of the following day. I was going to meet a friend, Malou, and we’d have coffee. I was also going to meet Doc Emer and Ruth for dinner.
On the evening of November...
Source: House on a hill
Stories from Singapore
When you walk the streets of Singapore, prowl the malls or ride in the train, it isn’t unusual to overhear conversations in Filipino. There are, after all, about a hundred thousand Filipinos in Singapore. So many, in fact, that inside the Lucky Plaza along Orchard Road, one finds many shops and...
Source: House on a hill
I went sailing
I’m back. No more future posts. For now. I’ve taken down the notice on the sidebar that I’m out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. I am going through the comments in both blogs and the messages that remained unopened for more than nine days.
So, I’m...
Source: House on a hill
