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!!!