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Kolam II

The 2nd part of Kolam design. Similar to what is shown on wikipedia

Kolam

Opps..sorry this is a bit blurred

Some pictures of Kolam as I have previously mentioned. Kolam as defined in wikipedia, is a decorative design drawn in a variety of sandpainting using rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home.

It is sort of painted prayer -- a line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. You can see this in the wikipedia. I will post another design similar to this tomorrow. It is just made up of white lines.

I like the vibrant colors. I think they are done with specific procedures, otherwise it will be difficult to get each tiny rice powder in line. In case some are stubborn :p

Blue Bleu

We have many brands of bottled mineral water. Prices start from RM 1 . A very convenient source of water but not environemental friendly.
Counting down to the next DP Theme Day : The color Blue :)

LRT Rail

The track of LRT. Currently the coverage of the network does not extend to Subang Jaya and Damansara area. Government has announced plans of extension. I hope the LRT system will become as extensive as that of Singapore. This will help to reduce traffic jam and pollution.

Deepavali Decor

After Hari Raya, Deepavali is coming soon. Another colorful festive. The shopping malls have put up attractive decors again. One of the must-haves will be 'Kolam' (hope this is the correct spelling) - colorful pictures made up from different colors of rice. Will try to feature it in the next few posts.

Does your city have any celebrations for Deepavali?

Chestnuts

Chestnut Stall

The pot they used to 'fry' chestnuts

This is taken at Petaling Street in KL. The chestnuts are imported from China. They fry it in a big pot with err..i think sand and sugar. The metal revolver you see at the centre of the pot will turn to mix the chestnut and sugar and sand. You eat the piping hot chestnuts after peeling off the crust. Chestnuts are sweet. They are used in chinese cooking and most commonly found in rice dumplings.

Dot

Taken in the toilet of a cafe. The white walls are decorated with blue and green crystal like beads. Coupled with the plant, this made the usual white toilet space quite... delightful :)

Girl At Window

Taken on the LRT. What big round eyes she has. The building on the far right is tallest building in PJ State area. I think the city council is situated there. The LRT was moving towards Taman Jaya station. I used to take LRT to this station everyday to work. My ex-office is in the white building seen in the middle.

When it's lighted at night, the building looks like a giant tombstone, since it has gigantic chinese writings on it as well. Looks kinda eerie sometimes.

Do you have such buildings in your city?

Faraway Land

This reminds me of Disneyland. Minus the dome.

Street Artist

Extended version of Wall Graphics

Close Up

This was taken from a LRT station in KL. The wall graffiti / graphics are drawn at a river bank. Didn't realise the colors were that vibrant until I saw it recently, thought the work was quite cool. I think street artists are very talented people. Are there any interesting street art in your city?

Miss Prawn

This lady is shelling prawns for the famous Prawn Mee (Prawn Noodles). From the amount of prawns, she must have a whole load of patience to match it.
I think Prawn Mee originated from Penang. The broth is somewhat dark but delicious as it is boiled with prawns for hours. Bean sprouts are added as well. We eat it together with sambal or chili paste.

I think I have been showing quite a few pictures of food. Mental note to self : Explore out of Food.

Squid Squid

Grilled squids sold at Ramadan Bazaar. These are bigger than the ones we normally eat. Grilled squids and fish are yet another favourite here. The leaves you see in the pan are actually banana leaves. It adds to the fragance.

I am off for Hari Raya holidays for the next few days. Hari Raya is starting on saturday. Tomorrw will see lotsa traffic on the highways. See you soon.

Serunding

Hari Raya or the New Year for Muslims is just round the corner. Before that there is 1 month of fasting - the Ramadan month. During this month, there are hundreds of Ramadan Bazaars nationwide, selling all kinds of Malay cuisines. I am always excited to see all the different types of yummy goodies at the bazaar.

Besides Ayam Percik (Sprinkle Chicken - in my earlier post) serunding is another favourite. I think it is the Malay version of chicken floss. There's beef floss too. Serunding is eaten with ketupat-the triangular items in the basket beside the pot of seruing. Ketupat is rice cooked in wrapped leaves. Pardon my vague description :) I am better at savouring the food.

On Queue

Who is always in a queue in PJ? Not commuters or consumers but cars. Whether it's waiting for the traffic light to turn green or waiting for the traffic jam to clear or for the driver in front to stop looking at the accident scene and move on..I always thought driving a sportscar here is such a waste. You will always be stuck in a queue, little chance of releasing the true prowess of the engine.

Lighted Birdcages

This is a cute way to 'house' lights. Taken at a cafe. The lighted birdcages were rather eye-catching.

'Sprinkle' Chicken

This is ayam percik. (I found the translation online - percik = sprinkle. Hmm..not sure how correct it is.) You are bound to see this in any pasar ramadan. Pasar ramadan or the Ramadan Bazaar is one of my favourite places of food. The variety simply excites me. The kuih-muih, lontong, nasi dagang, nasi kerabu, ikan panggang, murtabak..yum yum... :)

V.S.O.P

Very Strong Old People club.. Interesting name. I hope I will be qualified for membership when I retire. I have seen many senior citizens in Europe, cycling, hiking, doing all the adventurous sports like any young people. Now I know there are strong contenders in PJ as well :)

Hot! Hot! Hot!

This was taken at a coffeeshop at Taman Paramount. In Malaysian terms, coffeeshop is not just a shop that sells coffee, but more of a many-food-under-one-roof outlet. This lady is frying Tau-fu and another ingredients for Yong-Tau-Foo. One of the popular food over here. Basically it's a dish where fish paste is err...*thinking of a better word* inserted into other ingredients like Tau-Fu, lady's finger, chili, bitter gourd etc. You eat it with sweet sauce or chili sauce.

'Cliff' Hanger

This is a condominium under construction. I had cold feet seeing the guy balancing himself between the 2 planks. There are many construction projects going on in PJ - mostly for condominiums. Foreign workers make up almost 100% of the workforce for these projects.

October Theme Day - Cemetery / Tombstones

This is my first theme day :) This is an Indian cemetery, quite different from the Chinese and Muslim cemetery in terms of the structure of the tombstones. Compared to tombstones of other religions which are simpler, the structures of these tombstone are more elaborate. I find the 'umbrella' structure quite unique, I don't know the meaning of it though. (And I didn't have the guts to go near to inspect :P)

Check out other cities participating on this theme. Click on the any of the cities below : St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Anderson (SC), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Grenoble, France - Zurich, Switzerland - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada