Thai Festival- Loi Krathong in Australia

This was the first time I was surrounded by so many Thais ( except when I was in Thailand) in Australia. Thais, Thai food, Thai handicraft.... all were presented in the Loi Krathong Festival that was held in Parramatta River, Parramatta recently.

According to the organizer, Loi Krathong Festival is held exactly on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month. This is where the adults often take children to float a krathong on the river to apologize to and ask for a blessing from Phra Mae Khongkha, the Goddness of the River. Thais also believe that by doing so, they can float all theri suffering, sadness, disease and other bad things in the life down the river.

Besides floating the krathong, there was also Nang Nopphamas Beauty Contest that is a symbol of the Loi Krathong tradition.

Visitors were enjoying themselves with the food, performances and the view...

Krathong.... waiting to be floated

Full wiith people , not only Thais, but all races..... Indians, Chinese, Asians, Europeans...

Fresh flowers? Look closely... Actually, they are made from cloth.

Amazing work!!!

Another Thai handicraft made from plastic flowers

All those 'flowers' are made from fruit or vegetables!!! Great work by this lady!!! Bravo


This young man was busy colouring the small statue. Great demo to show the public the culture and handicraft of Thailand


More reviews in next blog.

How much do you know about your car's tyre? Is it safe???

My dream car...

I came across a car magazine and it talks about some very important facts and tips of maintaining the tyres. Shockingly, there are more than 200 people in Britain were killed or seriously injured in year 2009 in crashes where illegal, defective or under0inflated tyres were judged to be a contributory factor in the accidents.


1. Tyres can lose 7 to 14 kpa (1-2 psi) on average per month through natural permeation of air through the tyre.
2. About 90% of vehicles have at least one under-inflated tyre.

3. An under-inflated tyre can reduce tyre life by 50%, reduce braking by 20% and increase fuel consumption by 5%.
4. Drivers should regularly check tyre pressure, at least once a month or once every couple of days when driving for long distances.

5. Remember to use the correct tyres because fitting the wrong tyres on your car would lead to loss of vehicle performance and your speedometer might shown incorrect speed.
6. Wheel alignment- make sure tread wear is even by giving your car a wheel alignment at least every 6 months or 10,000km. ( But, if you feel your steering isnt straight or your car pulls to one side, you should have the wheel alignment checked asap)

7. Pot holes, road irregularities, speed bumps and others may knock your wheels out of alignment. Poor wheel alignment can make the car pull to one side and increase the rate of tyre wear.
8. Rotate your car's tyres regularly ( perhaps every 5000 to 8000km) for better handling, performance and prolonged tyre life. Anyway, this task is best left to your local service centre.

9. Dont forget to check your spare tyre and you may need it one day.
10. Always use tyre valve caps as they assit in maintaining air pressure and keep dirt and moisture out of the valve core. ( oh~ Now only I know their importance, but I think I have lost them and I thought it is easier without them because it is easier for me to inflate my tyres )


Those are some of the facts that I got from the magazine, but for more accurate and suitable car maintainance ways, we should always consult our car service centres.

Safe tyres = safe journey
Take care ...... :P

Malaysian food in Campsie!!

Born as Malaysian, no matter what, still prefer Malaysian food. This is a rather small restaurant in Campsie, but the food is definitely GREAT and the price is reasonable.

Mouth-watering.... heaps of great food. Sambal petai.... yum yum

As usual, the food portion are large. We ordered 3 dishes. We think the best one would be the wan tan hor. really delicious.

Busy.busy. full with customers

Perhaps it was due to the power of these kitty cats? :P

Malaysian food. thumbs up!!!

Canberra: What to see? Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial is Australian's national memorial to its military forces that have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia. This is where and how the Australians show their appreciation and gratitude to those participated in the war.

Statues outside the hall

If you would like to know about WAR - world war 1 and 2, you should really come and spend some times here. It has detail information about war, how did the soldiers fight for their countries, aircrafts, cars...


Opening hours : 10 am -5pm daily ( except Christmas Day)
Admission : FREE
Location : Trelor Crescent, Campbell, ACT ( very near to the Parliament House)

Visit Canberra- What to see? Parliament House

Visiting Parliament House? Is it boring? Well. One should never give it a miss. Why? Australia spent over AUD 1.1 billion for the construction and it was the most expensive building in the Southern Hemisphere at the time of construction. Got to go and look why is it so expensive!!!


It has a giant spire with a super large Australia flag on top of the main building. It is so huge and basically, we can see it from anywhere of Canberra



Can you see it? Actually, the ground level of the building illustrate of boomerang shaped design. besides that, there are a big flat nice grass on the rooftop. Visitors are allowed to go to the rooftop to take picture and see gorgeous view from there too.

That is it. (From outside)

The Parliament House is very huge. This is the entrance.

There is a small gallery of pictures of the former Prime Minister of Australia. Obviously, she is not the PM, who is she?? Queen.


National Parliament House
Time : 9am to 5pm
Admission : Free

Malaysia Embassy. Since we were in Canberra, we should visit all the embassies, to look at their architecture.

Indonesian Embassy- Balinese style.

Black Mountain Tower ( Previously known as Telstra Tower or Telecom Tower) -is situated above the summit of Black Mountain. It is not only a telecommunication tower, but also a landmark of Canberra, Great tourist spot where tourist can witness the panoramic view of the city from the indoor & outdoor observation deck, and it also has a restaurant. ( sound familiar... KL Tower)

Visit Canberra

Perhaps a lot of people would think that the capital city of Australia is Sydney or Melbourne. I think Canberra is a very low profile, simple and humble city which is obviously overshadowed by Opera House of Sydney or The Great Ocean Road of Melbourne.

Why Canberra?? Well. These is a story behind that. In 1901, when the British colonies in Australia federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia, Melbourne and Sydney were the two largest cities in the country, but the long history of rivalry between them meant that neither of them could become the national capital. Section 125 of Constitution of Australia therefore provided that : The seat of Government of the Commonwealth shall be determined by the Parliament, and shall be within territory which shall have been granted to or acquired by Commonwealth, and shall be vested in and belong to the Commonwealth, and shall be in the State of New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney. After a long long discussion and 'argument', the Parliament decided that the new capital would be in the southern part of New South Wales, on the site which is now Canberra in year 1909.

Canberra is surrounded by mountains and river. Lots of green. Fresh air and cooler air and something even freezing air. The temperature is usually lower than Sydney.

Canberra at 360 degree from Mountain Ainslie.
yup. This is Canberra.

Floriade of Canberra- Imagination...

Floriade is back!!!

I think Canberra is really a special and unique city. Why? Because basically it is not really special or as beautiful as Sydney or Melbourne, but it is the capital city of Australia!!! There are many ways to go to Canberra, either drive or by flight. By car, it is not too far, only 3-4 hours drive with the maximum speed of 110km/hour. Speeding?? Better dont do it in Australia because traffic police are very hardworking and more than happy to fine you. They are everywhere and anytime ( This is the slogan of the anti-speeding campaign). Not only police, but also cameras that are watching you 24/7. ok. back to Canberra. The road trip was quite interesting. mountains, forest.... serenity & peaceful.


The biggest event in Canberra- Floriade with the exciting theme of Imagination : Where will yours take you? Wow. In year 2010, it is in its 23rd year and the event has grown to become Australia's premier spring festival.


The Floriade garden bed designs have been inspired by the imagination. Above is the garden bed with the title of Dancing ballerinas. But, anyway, we cant really appreciate unless we stand on a higher ground, such as on the ferris wheel.


It was really an enjoyable time. Great view and flowers for my eyes. The flowers really smell good and relaxing. Not to forget about birds chirping and the musics played by a street organ.

This is not a display board, but it is a organ which plays really great music!!!

Tulips

All kinds of tulips

Tulips & tulips again .... really made me fallen in love with tulips

Floriade is only about Flowers, but also with green- the bonsai.

No matter you are flower lovers or not, you should really must come and see this festival yourself, because it is really gorgeous and 'wow'. The weather was very nice that day with around 17 C, so it was so comfortable walking around the park, unlike in Malaysia that we would be exhausted or sweat as if showering.


Venue : Commonwealth Park, Canberra
Period : 11 September - 10 October 2010
Time : 9am -5pm ( weekdays)
9am-5.30pm (weekends & public holidays)