Koi Fishes

Koi is the Japanese word for carp.

Keeping Koi is a very expensive hobby. You need a good and big pond to keep them if you want your koi to grow to a huge size and healthily. The value of Koi depend on the colour of the fishes. The price can vary from a few dollars to thousands of dollars.

The kois you see here are not worth much because their colours are not very pretty but then I love them as much. Seeing them so huge and swimming about minding their own business is a joy.

But alas these Kois dont belong to me. The only koi in my home is the koi mould which I used to make "agar agar"....hahaha. You can view them in my food blog

Palm Tree

This photo was taken during my walks in botanic garden. The place was quite shady and when I looked up I saw this huge beautiful palm tree shading us. It looked like a huge umbrella.

Although we are 2 degrees north of the equator, Singapore is a garden city with many huge trees shading us.

You might like to know that we will have another huge garden in the city beside botanic garden. It will be known as Gardens by the Bay. It is still under construction (will be completed around 2010) and when completed will be very beautiful.

Gardens by the Bay will consists of three different gardens. It will grows flowers that are not able to grow in Singapore with the help of technology. In fact some of the flowers are already booming in nursery. For more photos of our future garden:Click here

Samsui Women

Today my post will be dedicated to a group of strong and independent woman. When I was very young, I used to count the number of samsui woman in Chinatown that I saw when my mom's car passed by them. The red hear gear is outstanding that caught my eyes.

The statue in front of Chinatown heritage is dedicated to a group of Samsui women in Singapore.

They are a group of mostly cantonese women from Samsui (means three water) province in China to travel to Singapore during their teens or mid twenties to work on construction sites in the early 20th century.

Some came here to work to escape poverty in China while some came here to gain independence.
Samsui women worked on construction sites alongside with the men. Their trademark being the red headgears that they wore. There was another group with blue headgears from Sun Yap another province of china but they were few compared to the Samsui women.

Most of them lived in cramped shophouses in Chinatown and most of them vow not to marry and usually tied their hair in a bun. They choose to work in hard labour rather than to be prostitutes.
The following is a newspaper cutting(from the Straits Times) few weeks back about a late Samsui Woman. You may pity her for picking up cardboards to sell but she is one independent and proud woman to accept any help from the government. There are many who are like her and share her attitude. Today there are about less than 100 of them still alive and they are in their 80s and 90s. They are being cared for by the Samsui Association in Singapore.

This is a restaurant advertisment with the Samsui Woman as its icon. The owner's grandmother is a former Samsui Woman. The signature dish for this restaurant is the Samsui Chicken.

The Samsui Women saved and ate very thrifty in order to remit monies back to their home in Samsui, China. During Chinese New Year, they would steam a chicken and dip in shredded ginger marinated in some stock and seasame oil. Today that chicken is known as Samsui Chicken.

Year of the Rat 2008

Yes, it is the year of the rat. At least at this Chinese New Year decorations, there is no Mickey Mouse here...lol.

And if you find this familar, this is the same place where the christmas decorations titled colourful whirl of christmas is. Only difference are the mouse decorations are in and the Carousel Horse decorations are out.

Kitem asked me: "I read on the net that the Rat is not such a nice character, I hope it's not true, will you tell us about the Rat character later on in your blog?"

I am not a fortune teller but I can tell you from sources I read...hahaha

The year of Rat arriving on 7th February 2008

The year of the Pig was a very unstable one. It is believed that 2008 the year of Rat is going to be an easier year for most of us in general. (Let's see if this is true.)

If those who are interested to know the character of the chinese zodiac, read on.

Source: Way OnNet Group (I got this source from a book send to us from Singapore Post)

Rat-Gentle, simple, optimistic, observant and meticulous. Inquisitive behaviour to get to the roots of matters.

Ox-A solemn, obstinate and quiet personality with ample patience and empathy. Down to earth, hardworking as well as loyalty towards friends.

Tiger-Highly motivated in work, righteous and public-spirited, coupled with exceptional organizing qualities in the company of challenges and pioneer spirit.

Rabbit-Gentle,kind,active and caring. Strong in achieving goal without being constrained.

Dragon-Impressive-looking,optimistic,direct,confident,dilligent in handling matters whilst set with a far-sighted goal.

Snake-Mysterious,careful,vigiliant and intelligent. Carry a sense of beauty depicting an artistic ability.

Horse-Traits of generousity, influential, independent, bold and unrestrained. Great versatility, often seen as a centre of attention.

Goat-Well-mannered, friendly and affable, sentimental, honest and magnanimous. Dislike putting on a front for others.

Monkey-Energetic, humourous, clever, agile,strong self-confidence and likeable.

Rooster-Full of vigor,gentle,modest and prudent with an eye for detail. Enjoy life and a fashion-conscious person.

Dog-A perfectionist with character of loyalty, honesty, hardworking, obedient, responsible and righteous.

Pig-A firm disposition, direct and friendly personality, beckoning someone of trustworthiness. Calm and steady character with good management of monetary affairs.

If you like to know your chinese zodiac, check out this website: http://www.chinesezodiac.com/calculator.php

You Make My Day Award

Clarice gave me this award and now I am passing to the following ten bloggers. (Not an easy task, those who are not in the awards it is probably I had yet to get to know your blog well.)

The award rules say: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

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