Sarang Burung update 1

Photo taken 20.04.17

Late post. The discovery occurred on 20. 04.16 #bulbul #birdnest

I was doing my daily morning ritual - watering the plants in our mini garden - when I discovered something wonderful. I was intrigued by an unusual bunch of branches and leaves on our japanese bamboo plant so I peered closer. That was when I discovered that a bird had constructed its nest there! 

I live in Punggol and yes there are many birds chirping around our neighbourhood everyday but never in my wildest dream have I thought that one of them would build its home in our garden. 

Who is the owner of the nest? I decided to do a little bit of spying act. Soon enough, my patient was rewarded. There was a couple of birds flying in to and out of the nest. Well, actually one of them did that, and I presumed it was the female, mama bird. The male, papa bird, was flying around a palm tree nearby our home. Apparently both of them were busy building the nest for their youngs! Interesting.

Look at the nest, it is small but pretty neat! It is made of dried leaves and some branches. I have got to google to find out more about the owner. 

I will try to update the development here in this blog. Stay tune. 

****

 

Ada burung membuat sarang di tanaman bambu di kebun mini kita!  

 Waktu itu saya sedang menyiram tanaman, tugas rutin tiap hari. Tak sengaja, saya melihat ada tumpukan daun yang tidak biasanya di tanaman bambu kami. Ketika saya dekati...lho saya baru menyadari, ah inikan sarang burung! Benar saja, ketika saya mengintip dari jauh, ada seekor burung datang dan pergi ke sarang buatannya! Ternyata, pasangannya ada di pohon palem dekat rumah! Wah, kelihatannya mereka bekerjasama membuat rumah untuk anak-anak mereka! Lucu ya? Ini sarang hanya di koridor rumah saja lho. Tidak terlalu tersembunyi. Wah...

Lihatlah...sarangnya keren banget kan? Rapi dan cantik! Arsiteknya dan pembangunnya keren! Haha

Foto-foto hasil bidikan bang Rida.

I was doing my daily ritual, watering the plants in our mini garden when I discovered something wonderful. I was intrigued by an unusual bunch of branches and leaves on our bamboo plant so I peered closer. That was when I discovered that a bird had constructed its nest there!  

Lunching with friends

These are photos taken from a recent lunch gathering with my friends. Along with me, there were my sister, Elby and Mani. We missed Nita and Ufi this time, one was busy in school, learning to be a beautician, the latter was busy babysitting the toddler of our beautician to be haha. Oh well, i hope they will turn up on our next gathering ;)

I was wondering why Mani insisted to proceed with the luncheon on that particular day, or i should say date, even though she knows two of the six ladies in our group weren't able to make it. It turned out that it was the first  anniversary of Mani's dad passing. May his soul rest in peace.

That was why she needed us on that day. I am glad that we laughed a lot in that aftenoon, and hopefully our presence lifted up her spirit, somehow. 

Anyway, we went to Ananda Bhavan vegetarian restaurant at Tekka Market. The food was awesome! We had mini briyanni meal, a full briyanni meal, a garlic butter naan meal and mini poori meal.To be honest...I was very full by three quarter of the meal time...but there was still food on the table! I exceeded my lentils quota on that day...i ended up having very 'windy' tummy for the rest of the day...if you know what i mean :P

So much food went into my tummy!
I felt like a gluttony (facepalm).
Promised myself to go easy with dinner
But the guilt linger
Haha
No regret, after all
This...was for a good cause :P

Post lunch, we ventured Tekka Market. If you havent been to this market yet, then you should go now! You have been missing all good fresh vegetables...of all kinds. The market is located right in the heart of Little India. It is a very comprehensive market, where most people go if they want to find: tapioca leaves, petai (Parkia speciosa), jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum), leunca (Solanum nigrum), all are Indonesian favourites! You can even buy brotowali (Tinospora crispa) which is known for its medicinal benefit, as well as its bitter taste haha! Oh btw...the second floor of this tekka market is dedicated for the apa and ama selling sarees, punjab dress, and all of its accessories! The experience of going to Tekka Market will last forever, the sight, the smell, they will definitely stick to your memory!

Elby wanted to get kemangi leaves. Kemangi is Indonesian version of basil leaves. This very aromatic leaves are usually added to various dishes, such as pepes ikan (steamed fish in banana leaves), or eaten raw as salad with very spicy sambal. Yum. She bought one bunch of the leaves and gave half of that to me, thank you Elby. So...I ended up buying banana leaves, for no apparent reason haha.

We then make a route to a shop selling Indian sweet desserts such as jalebi and barfi for my mum. Last stop of the day was a provision shop selling all kind of things from pooja flowers to shampoo. We were there because Mani wanted to buy a special shampoo which is actually somekind of haena. She claimed that the shampoo dye her hair black nicely. And since it is made of all natural ingredients, it is safe to use. Of course I bought one box of this shampoo for my hubby. He desperately needs it, been trying all sort of ways to make himself look 'younger' (read: no grey hair) haha. Sounds very vain eh? I don't know...well, to me he looks better with silvery hair though but lets make the man happy, okay? Hope this treatment works.

 

Okay...I will be coming back to little India, with a different friend, in two days time. Will bring her to this vegetarian restaurant. I hope she likes the food, keep my fingers crossed.

Counting my blessing...

Too much of rain...there will be flood but we cant live without it, i mean the rain, either.

Thank you Allah for blessing us with your creation. Now that the rain brings down the temperature, I can work without the fan blasting its hot air towards me!

Alhamdulillah...



Mom is happy too :) The plants do not complain either :)

- Dyah on mobileblogging

Eat and Prosper

What an apt name for a restaurant! :) What do you think they serve here?

Scroll down for answer :)







- Dyah on mobile blogging

Selamat Hari Raya Haji

Seperti biasa kami sholat Eid di Mesjid Sultan, salah satu mesjid tertua dan tercantik di Singapura.
Berdekatan dengan bekas Istana Kampong Glam yang sekarang menjadi Pusat Kebudayaan Melayu / Malay Heritage Centre, mesjid ini selalu menjadi pilihan tempat sholat yang populer di antara masyarakat muslim di Singapura.

Tapi tahukah anda bahwa tahun ini masyarakat muslim di Singapura hampir tidak bisa melaksanakan proses kurban? Sebabnya karena pemerintah Australia menerapkan peraturan baru bagi para importir sapi dan domba dari negara mereka. Peraturan ini mengharuskan diterapkannya audit baru dalam hal penanganan proses pengiriman sapi dan domba kurban ini ke Singapura. Jadi menurut berita di koran, MUIS Singapura (lewat mesjid-mesjidnya yang melakukan pemesanan hewan kurban) baru lolos audit bulan lalu. Fiuuuh....deg-degan dong ya menunggu kabar ini?

Interior Mesjid Sultan (foto hasil jepretan suami)

Bagi teman-teman yang akan jalan-jalan ke Singapura, jangan lupa mampir ke Mesjid Sultan, kalian tidak akan kecewa. Mesjid ini cantik dan bersejarah. Di mesjid ini juga ada pemandu yang dengan senang hati akan menjelaskan kepada kita serba serbi Mesjid Sultan dan agama Islam. Kalau perlu, bisa menghubungi mereka dulu untuk meminta mereka menyediakan waktu untuk menjelaskan (semacam presentasi) tentang sejarah mesjid ini. Saya pernah mengatur acara serupa untuk murid-murid bahasa Indonesia saya, dan menarik sekali sesinya.  :-)

Untuk info lebih lanjut tentang mesjid Sultan, silakan klik ini. 

The Gardens in the City

Don't get dizzy seeing this! :-D

Cloud Forest



Singapore's latest and the most amazing attraction to date is The Gardens by The Bay. It is a huge complex (101 hectares) consisting of two temperature-controlled domes, giant trees, a lake and several themed gardens. Click this to check the map.

The garden was officially opened on 29 June 2012, and has been attracting many many many people, both tourists and locals to check out the place. 

I spent an afternoon at this magnificent garden with family, and it was not enough. I think i have to go there again...to explore the place in details but in the meantime, here are moments that i could immortalize from the trip :-) I only managed to go inside the two domes, flower dome and cloud forest. 

The flower dome replicate cool-dry climate of the Mediterranean regions such as South Africa, California, Spain and Italy. Cacti and beautiful flowers fill this dome. Flower lovers...you will be in awe!!!

The cloud forest showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000-metres sea level.
The moment you enter the dome, you will be welcomed by a tall indoor waterfall!!! Slightly wet attire during the tour was no problem at all for me hehe. 




They all look tiny!!!




Dont leave this complex too early, do stay till sunset for there will be light performance at the Super Trees! The trees will be lighted beautifully....and the view was simply amazing!



The Charges:

For Local Resident:
Adult $12 for one conservatory or $20 for two conservatories.
Senior Citizen (>60 years old) $8 (one conservatory) or $15 (two conservatories)
Child (3-12 years old) $8 or $12

Standard Rate:

Adult and senior citizen $28 for two conservatories
Child $15

OCBC Skyway (the skybridge linking two super trees) $5

Annual Pass
Family Pass (2 adults + 3 children) $180
Individual Adult Pass $68
Senior Citizen Pass $60

How to get there? Just click this to get the info  :-)

Hang Dry!

It is another sunny day in Singapore!

We do have bamboo poles sticking out of our kitchen window to hang our laundry dry. But if the amount of laundry exceeds the poles capability, we just gotta find a way to hang them dry, don't we?

To use the corridor parapet as a place to hang dry the laundry is quite a common sight especially in older estate, like this. This picture was taken in Everton estate, Outram Park. The tall building at the back is the Pinnacle at Duxton Hill, a 50 storey apartement done by Housing and Development Board (HDB) Singapore. 

Oh gee...(slightly) off the grid

Oh gee...(slightly) off the grid , a photo by Aqila and his gang on Flickr.

Another photo from recent hang out around the Esplanade to Fullerton.

This photo was taken at the Anderson Bridge. Did not realise that this bridge is quite a popular destination among tourists.

More stories about the bridge coming up after this post.

Tau Suan

"Tau Suan - Mung Bean soup dessert. Yummy 😊 

Loose hinges

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"Loose hinges. "

Playing with perspective :-) 

This is a picture of Pan Pacific Hotel in Marina Square.

It is interesting to understand the limitation of a cameraphone (mine is an iPhone4) and get something creative out of it :-)

Lucky Number

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"Lucky number. Its Friday everyone! "
(taken at 222 Queen Street)

Was walking along Queen Street towards the direction of Bras Basah MRT station when I came across to this shophouse. Pretty isn't it? 

Deaf Society Flashmob

Documenting this flashmob held in Orchard on 20 May 2012. I have never seen a flashmob before haha!

Its goal was to raise awareness of the use of sign language.

Here are the pictures...it wouldve been better if i get myself more familiar with the dance move, so i could snap at right moments. Oh well...maybe nextime :-)





















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As i cycle

A new photo series containing pictures that i take as i cycle.

This was taken around neighbourhood. Snapped this morning during our morning ride.


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Xin Nian Kuai Le

This year is a Water Dragon year. My version of the holiday...in this series.






Last day before CNY, parents were busy fetchin their kids frm school.



Secondary school students paid a visit to their almamater school (primary) to wish their former teachers a happy new year.


Cute girl all dressed up to welcome the new year


Ohohoooo...luck is in my hand! Caught this orange thrown by the 'Lion' that was dancing in this mall. Huat ah!



Pomelo...the sign of abundance


Hmmm....sweet stuff only during NY!












Cupcakes with dragon design to be enjoyed on a reunion lunch at a friends place.


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Kheng Chiu Building - Door latice

Hi there,
Dyah Sari just shared an Instagram photo with you:

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"Detail of a door with lattice "C""
(taken at 47 Beach Road Kheng Chiu Building)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

I just love old buildings. This picture was a door detail of Kheng Chiu Hwee Building along Beach Road. It is one of many association / clan buildings across Singapore. But this one is a building of its own, three or five storey high, big and is still in a very good condition.

Look at the detail, it is pretty isnt it? 

Budget 2011

(foto: The Straits Times)
Anggaran belanja negara Singapura baru diumumkan Jumat kemarin (18 Februari 2011) oleh Menteri Keuangan Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Walau isinya pasti penting, banyak masyarakat (termasuk saya) tidak mengerti dan tidak bisa mendapat intisarinya.

The Straits Times membuat ringkasan ttg Anggaran itu dalam bentuk presentasi 3 menit yang unik dan mudah dicerna, dengan para tokoh dari LEGO!

Silakan klik link ini untuk melihat klipnya ya!

Riverside Park Sengkang

Minggu lalu berenang di Sengkang Sport Complex dan jalan-jalan di Riverside Park yang gres baru jadi.

Water catchment di daerah Timur Laut, daerah Punggol Sengkang (warna biru tua)

 Di sepanjang Sungai Serangoon/ Sengkang, di belakang Sports Complex dibangun promenade pendek. Ada deck untuk duduk-duduk seperti ini.

Dibangun juga floating wetland, untuk membantu proses pembersihan air sungai secara alami.

Taman baru jadi, tapi burung2 kuntul ini (di foto mereka sedang asyik nangkring di dahan pohon) sudah bikin sarang dan merasa kerasan. 

Ada manggis raksasa :-)

jalan di jembatan yang menghubungkan wetland dengan park.

hadooh...kalau capek bisa memeluk jeruk raksasa ;-)

belajar mengenal alam sekitar. Ada beberapa papan informasi tentang tanaman yang ditanam di sana.

Di jembatan tidak boleh bersepeda ya!

MEnuju floating wetland

tamannya berundak-undak, bakalan menantang untuk para joggers :-)

sesaat diingatkan bahwa kita masih di dekat kota. Di langit ada layang-layang, terlihat gak?

Ya...boleh istirahat di sini kalau memang capek.

Jogging path

Kita di mana yaaa? Ooowww...di sini.

Jadi...ada tempat jalan santai dan berpiknik lain sekarang kan? Horeeee!