Early Arrival of Summer?

During the last week we've had some fabulous weather. The days have been sunny and warm and today's forecast is for a maximum of 21 C. As I type this, there's not a cloud in the sky, just the clearing haze of early morning mist. Moreover, the forecast for the next few days is much of the same ... days that in Britain would be regarded as high summer. And Honey, our cat is curled up in the nearby window soaking up the warmth. I guess that such temperatures will now not fall much from current levels for most of the next eight months!  That takes us up to the end of next April when at last things will cool down for winter.

AS

Coffs Harbour Coastline

The coastline close to Coffs Harbour is wonderful and this visit has given us a chance to reacquaint ourselves with its beauty. Perhaps the following pictures will persuade my British readers to take a trip down-under. By the way, the climate here is like the Caribbean. It's still officially winter, but the temperature here today reached 23 C! And the sun was brilliantly bright and clear - another set of reasons to visit us.

Just have a look at these pictures! First, we have a view of the headlands which frame the harbour.

Now a picture of me. OK it's not pretty, but the weather, as I said, was warm.

Coffs Creek is the local stream flowing down from the mountains in the background.

Again, the mountainous background and Park Beach.

North and South Solitary Islands on the horizons, together with the rocky indented coastline.

And another sandy beach.

And rocky headland.

Come down and join us!

AS

Coffs Harbour Wildlife

Dot and I are visiting Coffs Harbour on the coast 200 km east of Armidale because she had to have minor surgery today on a leg vein. We noticed on our arrival that the owner of our motel (the Aquajet) was feeding some of the local bird-life. I took these shots of rainbow lorikeets feeding on the owner's food. Aren't they gorgeous!

Then we saw a rather large local lizard near the swimming pool! Nice isn't it?

AS

Japanese Banquet and Geisha Ceremony

It's now 10 days or so since I left Japan after a fascinating visit. Having just received some photos of the Japanese banquet we had as delegates to the Kyoto conference, I can now show you that meal and the entertainment we had. Let's start with the food which was exquisite. Every dish was small, but aesthetically produced in terms of mix of colours, textures, and presentation. And, of course, the foods were deeply alien to many westerners - sushi, sashimi, noodles, ramen, bento, teriyaki, ... .

For me, they were partially an adventure, although I spent 8 days in Japan two years ago and frequently inhabit Australia's sushi bars. After the meal we were entertained by a Geisha who danced to music and performed presumably ritual movements. These next few slides show something of the performance which was watched silently, but with great absorption, by the audience. This was, I suspect, deeply foreign to the largely non-Japanese audience.

Note my head intruding into some of the above photos. The 'stage' was very small and movement cramped. And here is a formal photo posed with a fellow delegate to the conference who shared similar interests.

And in this last photo, the Geisha knelt next to me. That's my arm you see.

I strongly recommend this cultural experience.

AS

Sunset over the Straits of Malacca

On my last evening at Pontian, TKY and I drove down the beach-front to see if we could witness one of the gorgeous sunsets he talked about. Well, conditions weren't perfect with the cloud about, but the sun still put on a pleasant show as it slowly sank over the calm Straits of Malacca. There's no surfing here: no waves and sheets of mud at low tide. But the sun-light made the normally drab mud-flats shimmer beautifully. Have a look at this sequence of views over the distant sea. Strangely, the scene appeared to lighten as the sun sank.

AS

The Southern-most Point in Asia

Our trip today took in the Southern-most point on the Asian mainland (ignoring the islands making up Indonesia). The trip provided a mass of sights, sounds and smells recorded in the many photos below. To start with, this location is just off the equator and is home to masses of exotic fruits. TKY has both bananas and sugar cane growing nearby, And down the road we saw three more: rambutans, papayas, and durien in the order. The last named are the butt of many jokes in this part of the world. The flesh is OK to eat, but their smell is terrible!

Then it was off to a resort for lunch - yet another local delicacy I won't go into. The resort jutted out into the Straits of Malacca, which were unbelievably calm for those of us used to raging surf.

Our party, apart from me, consisted of TKY's wife and daughter walking on ahead here.

As we ate, we could see the cranes of the port of Johor Bahru, which is trying to rival Singapore in the shipping stakes.

Anchored off-shore were about 50 large vessels awaiting their turn to load cargo.

And I tried to chat up these fellows, but they wouldn't monkey around with me.

This is self-explanatory - the entrance to a lovely national park.

Here's the stroll through the mangrove swamps, inundated by the high tide twice a day and home to masses of crabs and other wildlife.

And here's a quote from Julius Caesar. Note the masses of ships parked off-shore.

The island in the background is neither Singapore nor Malaysian territory, but rather it belongs to Indonesia. It's a good job all three countries get along well.

Our final destination!

However, these pictures are only part of the story. We saw some amazing sights en route. A woman dressed in full Islamic gear was seen riding her motor scooter. On the back seat was her son (possibly Max's age) and her son held a baby (maybe a few months old ) in his hands. Then we had to steer through a phalanx of crazy motorists and motor-cyclists who seemed hell-bent on committing suicide, not to mention unsteady pedestrians! Speed limits seem optional and a favourite trick of drivers is to turn left without any signals from a right-hand lane. Cars regularly over-take other drivers on the inside, and motor-bikes daringly snake between columns of cars. So driving is a lottery and, Dot please note, by Malaysian standards I'm a very conservative and cautious driver!

AS

Blue Windows

On my way back from Japan, I've taken a detour via (a) Singapore and (b) Pontian in Malaysia, whence this message is typed. The purpose of the detour is to commune with a former doctoral student of mine, Tan Kok Yang (TKY) who is on the verge of retirement and has just published, last April, his childhood autobiography through National University of Singapore Press. It received a rave review in the Straits Times and indeed was featured again today in that same newspaper.

But I have another reason to visit here. I reviewed the manuscript for TKY and was then asked by the NUS Press to write the Foreword. Moreover, I'd like to write our family history of when I and my two brothers were growing up, and I've just received three more copies of the book "From the Blue Windows" to expedite that. If Phillip and Brian didn't know of this plan, they do now! And, finally, I wanted to see the public housing estate where TKY grew up, Queenstown - named after UK's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth just after her ascension to the throne. His family of 10 lived in a 2-bedroom apartment!

Well, Queenstown is being re-developed and many of the locations mentioned have vanished. I came to see what was left before that, too, expired. Well the second junior school TKY attended is still going, along with the wet (i.e. fish and meat) market. But a lot of the local shops and service premises have been erased along with TKY's house and first school.

I attach a few photos of what's left:

The wet market (above)

The site of TKY's first school

Encroaching HDB high density apartments (HDB is similar to the NSW Housing Commission)

The site of TKY's school which he accessed through a chain fence from his nearby home

And TKY's second, and much more successful for him, second primary school. I've been staying with TKY's wife, Lee Boon, and daughter here in Pontian - a seaside resort, and even took her ageing mother out to a meal last night. By the way, TKY runs an acoustical engineering business in Singapore. One final comment. We have just experienced Singapore's birthday as a nation and Malaysia's "new year". Both seem to explain the load bangs I've heard as people let off crackers.

AS

Last Post (for Kyoto) and a Stunning Finale

Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan for a very long time - over 1000 years, but that ended with (a) the Meiji restoration in 1867 triggered by Admiral Perry sailing his US warship into Tokyo Bay in 1864 and (b) the transfer of the capital to Edo (now Tokyo) in 1869.

So Kyoto was left with a very big imperial palace redolent with history, and it is now a major tourist attraction. Indeed, we were at the palace's office at 8.45 am to ensure that we obtained tickets for the 2 pm English language tour of the site. Michael and I remembered to take our passports, for reservations were reputed to be impossible without them. This brought to mind that delegates to our recent conference had been screened by airport-style metal detectors when trying to attend the opening ceremony conducted by Crown Prince Naruhito a few days earlier. It now seems to me that anything 'royal' requires careful scrutiny.

Although the 2 pm tour was in 'English', that term included just about anyone who was not Japanese. Our party could have just left the UN General Assembly in New York given the massive number of different languages being spoken. Anyway we all trooped off following our guide holding the usual flag aloft and zig-zagged through a maze of impressive buildings that are now more of a museum than a home:

Some buildings were adorned in gold leaf.

In others we saw lovely screens or wall paintings.

Details around doors and windows were often fascinating.

The site was awash with large courtyards.

And ornamental gates.

And here is the important ceremonial building where all Japanese emperors other than current one were enthroned, even after the removal of the capital to what is now Tokyo.

There were yet more lovely gardens.

And lovely woodwork to the imperial residence.

AS