Chinese New Year 2012 Mid Valley

Chinese New Year was on Jan 23 2012. Year of the water dragon.

See album at The Gardens and KLCC.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

The Great Serpent "Nag" at Songkhla

This monument to Nag was built in 2006 which is why I haven't seen it on previous visits to Songkhla in Southern Thailand. On my January 2012 trip to Songkhla I was lucky that my friend told me about it, or else I might have missed it as it is divided into 3 parts that are separated by about 3.2 km (as the crow flies).

The info here is taken from the display at the head. It was a bit hard to read some of the words as people have worn them away by touching them.

The Great Serpent "Nag" is the deity of the divine creation of water as well as fertility to all living things. The people of Southern Thailand believe that Nag sprays divine water so as to make people feel fresh and happy, as well as purify the blemishes which occur within our minds and bodies. As a result Nag is one of the most higly respected deities of Southern Thailand. Thus the local people frequently pay respect to Nag and ask him to forever bring happiness and good fortune to their life.

In 2006 Mr Utitt Chuchouy, Songkhla Mayor decided to create a monument to Nag which could forever bring good fortune, wealth, fertility and prosperity to the people of Songkhla City. He asked Mr Montri Sungmusikanon, a Thaksin University instructor, to design a sculpture to the deity which would be divided into 3 sections. The first section is the serpent's head which symbolises the intelligence and wisdom of the people of the city. The second section is the serpent's navel which symbolizes the city's riches. The last is the tail which symbolizes the charisma and strength of the community of the people. To adorn the
scenery of Samila Beach, the serpent's head was erected at Laem Son Orn, Suan Song Tale, the navel at Lan Chom Doaw, Sabua Laem Samila, and the tail in the area of Samila Beach, Chalathat Road. The sculpture's opening ceremony was officially set for 2007.


The head which is a water spout is situated on the northern headland facing the port. The navel is sited on the front near the road up to Tang Kuan Hill and the tail is further south.

The head -

offerings at head
Info on the sculpture, with my friend and I reflected!

At the head

The navel

The tail

Location of all 3 parts on Google Earth

See blog on Songkhla procession

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Cicak eating a moth

Last evening one of the many geckos in my lounge was struggling to eat a moth that was almost as big as itself.

The photos are not very sharp as I was trying not to disturb the cicak as it struggled with its meal.

See also cicaks mating.

See cicaks mating.

Memorial for murder of Sg Siput planters, Perak

The Malayan Emergency started on June 16, 1948, when three British planters were brutally murdered by communists in Sungai Siput, Perak.

The planters J.M. Allison and L.D. Christian were killed at Phin Soon Estate and A.E. Walker was killed in Elphil Estate.

The Malayan Communist Party guerillas shot Walker in cold blood at his office desk. About 1.6km away, manager Allison and his assistant Christian of the Phin Soon Estate were tied and killed by 12 terrorists about 30 minutes later.

They were buried at the Cemetery at Batu Gajah, called God's Little Acre.

More than 60 years later, a monument has been constructed in the Phin Soon Estate - now called Ladang Sungai Siput - in memory of three British planters killed there.

The monument was put up in 2011 by Malaysian Palm Oil Association (Perak branch) to commemorate the planters, members of security forces, staff and their family members and civilians killed during the Malayan Emergency.

At the entrance to the estate is a notice board, in very bad condition, with information about the historical site.

It says :

1948-1960 HISTORICAL SITE DURING EMERGENCY
On 16 June 1948 at 8 A.M. after the murder of Elphil Estates manager at Sungai Siput (north) Perak, Sungai Siput Estate manager Mr John Allen (sic) and his assistant Mr Ian Christian. 21 [years] were tied and killed by 12 terrorists.

Unfortunately there is nothing to see, as the site is all fenced off. The memorial plaque is inside the compound so I had to take the photo with a zoom lens through the fence.

See more on the MPOA site.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

cicaks mating

I have lots of cicaks or house geckos sharing my apartment. They seem to be quite territorial. One large one is totally unconcerned by my presence, others are very shy and hide behind pictures whenever I move.

The other night I heard a lot of cicak noise and went to look as I assumed that one was eating another - which I have seen before. However when I looked more closely I realised they were mating.

Over the course of a few hours they mated 3 times and in between they went back to their respective territories. I managed to get some photos although was reluctant to use the flash or to get too close.

I wonder where the eggs will be laid.

Having a rest

Next day I was amused to see a very small (young) cicak near one of the adults - I hope the baby didn't become a meal for the big one!

See also cicak eating a moth.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Jalan Sultan mural, KL China Town

There was a lot in the press in Oct 2011 about the mural on the wall of a row of old shophouses on Jalan Sultan in China Town in Kuala Lumpur.

The Star 15 Oct "The badly weathered wall exposed following the demolition of six pre-war shophouses in Jalan Sultan 15 years ago will be the canvas of 60 artists at work today.

The original wall
The wall used to be peppered with peeling paint, broken bricks and even shrubs growing out of the gaps, so was primed up for the mural that will spread a loud message — Preserve Our Heritage.

It is deemed the most ideal location for the cause as the wall has been a sombre reminder of the loss of the six invaluable shophouses — including the iconic Chik Sin Thong funeral parlour and Hong Tou Guesthouse.
The artists, among them award-winning veterans and energetic young talents, will be painting the mural together from 9am on a voluntary basis to express their views and emotions about heritage preservation."

Dulux sponsored the paint as well as the cleaning and priming of the wall that took about three days due to the rainy weather.

The event is the highlight of The Star’s Preserve Our Heritage campaign that was started when 30 century-old buildings in Jalan Sultan were acquired to make way for the MRT project.

On the 18th Oct I went to have a look. The idea is great but it is a pity the paintings are so small - each artist is given only a space of 25" x 25".

Even a couple of large stones have been painted -

This 'graffiti' is on a nearby building -

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission