Fairy Cave, Bau


The Monsoon = rainy season is not an ideal time to go caving but this is an interesting limestone cave that Adrian photographed during our recent trip home. Fairy Cave is situated north of Bau in Sarawak. It was the center of the 19th Century gold rush and site of a bloody rebellion between Chinese and British rulers back in the days.

Fairy Cave has very unusual stalagmites and stalactites formations, thanks to the humid weather condition. Most caves in Malaysia date back to the Stone Age but some caves in my hometown are believed to be over 60 millions years old!

Why is it called Fairy Cave? Well, nobody could tell me why but my internet research revealed that the deity like stalagmites and stalactites attracted many Chinese Buddhist and Taoist devotees to the cave. This could be the reason for its name.

Get ready for photos galore!

Limestone formations in Fairy Cave

Stalactites

Looking out from inside the Cave

Platform and walkways

Going deeper into the limestone crevasses

Where stalagmites and stalactites meet

The little lighted hole at the bottom is the entrance. Hello!!! Echo!!!

Rock or cave climbing anyone?

He's actually quite high up come to think of it. Argh! Scary.

Bruno & Lizzie - two years later

Figo's empty sleeping quarters in my home was a sad reminder of how we lost him earlier last year. My Mom & Dad misses him very much. The ever loyal "son" who would follow his every step around the house and garden. But, life goes on and soon enough, Bruno established himself as the dominant male Dachshund in my parents' household :)

Like clock-work, Bruno and his sister, Lizzie would wake my parents up early in the morning and go to bed at 9 p.m. sharp. And, no, they do not need a clock to tell time. Wonderful isn't it? Of course, there is the occasional rat catching session that might allow them to be out for an extra hour or so.

Bruno's unmistakable style - paw up!

Lizzie's demure style

They love fresh, young coconut flesh from my garden

Bruno going at it

Lizzie's turn

Better than a coconut scrapper?

My Birthday Celebration


When we landed in Kuching, it was also my birthday :)

My Mom had ordered some special dishes from The Heritage - our favorite restaurant opened by the former chef and staff of Tsui Hua Lau. THL was the most popular place to go for a wedding, new moon and birthday celebration. These days, with Grandma confined to the home and Grandpa's weak eye-sight, it was difficult for us to have a meal outside. Kuching isn't a disable friendly city. Something which I hope will change in time to come.

Anyway, take a look at our little feast at home.

I was so tired and jet-lagged after the long journey yet this was no time to sleep over good food.

No birthday is complete without a cake. That's me and my grandparents.
Grandma never smiles for the camera but trust me. She's happy ;)

Home for the Holidays

Adrian and I spent the last 2 weeks of December and New Year's in Kuching. What a treat to be able to go home and see our families, friends and relatives. Even for a short while, it was a trip worth taking. The long flight was not what we looked forward to - 7 hours from Newark to Stockholm, 11 hours from Stockholm to Kuala Lumpur and thereafter, another 1 hr 40 mins to our hometown in Kuching. Argh!!!

View from my window as we were about to descend Arlanda International Airport in Stockholm

Hanging around in the Satellite Terminal at KLIA, Sepang after our flight to Kuching was cancelled :(

After lingering for 1.5 hours, it's time to board the Aerotrain and catch our domestic flight

When we finally arrived at Kuching International Airport, three of our bags went missing! Thankfully, they arrived unopened 3 hours after we landed. Phew!

Black Friday & The Phantom of the Opera

Instead of camping outside Best Buy for 18 hours or getting trampled to death at the doors of Wal-Mart and the likes, we spent the day after Thanksgiving far away from obsessed shoppers and the madness of Black Friday.

Here we were in the comfort of Bubba Gump, once again, just before our afternoon matinee of Phantom of the Opera. After all these years, I finally made it to the most widely acclaimed musical on earth. Phantom is now the longest running show on Broadway. It celebrates its 20th year this year and what a treat! We found very good seats (Front Center Mezzanine) in spite of the last minute purchase. I won't vouch the same for Equus though. Lines for Equus snaked outside Broadway & 8th. Avenue. Yes, throngs of people lining up to see Daniel Radcliffe baring all on stage. Would have also been interesting but Phantom is still won me over.

The Theater District

Majestic Theater

Broadhurst Theater

Shubert Theater

Rebecca Judd (Madame Giry) & I after the show

Some of the casts were selling CDs and other merchandise to raise funds for charitable causes. Unfortunately, the Phantom, Christine and Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny didn't come out to meet the fans.

I did my part for charity and bought a piece of Phantom memorabilia.

The 20th. Anniversary Poster

What's good and bad? Being such an old theater - 80 years, the seating in the Majestic is extremely crammed and the slope of the stair case is quite extreme. However, the superb performance from the casts and amazing theatrical effects made up for it. Was it worth every $$$? YES!!! After all these years, I am still entranced by the music and story.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 - The Empire State Building in happy, fall colors

Another year, another Thanksgiving. This year, I gave my apron the day off. While my apron hung quietly at home, we headed over to Pointin Still at Main Street, Hackensack for an Irish Thanksgiving dinner.

Also, we thought we might as well do something different and lay off turkey-lurkey until we go home for X'mas this year. So, who made our Thanksgiving meal instead? Chicken Little and Porky ;)

Chicken Kilarney - the Jalapeno, whiskey cream sauce was perfect

Broiled Virginia Ham with glaced fruits - very delicious! Highly recommended.

The down side: I think these 2 dishes are only available on Thanksgiving Day :(

For dessert, we shared a slice of Bailey's Irish Cream Cake :) To our surprise, the sweetness was just right!

Overall, Pointin Still was an excellent choice for our Thanksgiving Dinner.