Did You Hear About...?

Guizhou, China, 2006
[better viewed enlarged; click image]

Linking with Ruby Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday.

Yellow, White and Red Flowers Nearby

Here are three flowers species I managed to capture on-the-run over the hectic period of our move to our new home.

This Kampanilya or Yellow Bell (Allamanda cathartica Linn) adorned the gate of our old house. 

These Kalachuchi flowers, aka Temple Flower or Frangipani (Plumeria acuminata), grow on a magnificent tree in front of our new neighbor's house. 

And finally a macro of a flower in a Flame Tree (Delonix regia) outside the court we played tennis last week. To see an entire tree in bloom, see my earlier post here. 

 Manila, 2011

Check out the stunning flowers at Today's Flower and fabulous macros at Macro Monday. I'm also linking with the blogging communities at Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday.

Night Fishing Banca

Filipino fishermen use lights on their often brightly colored bancas (hand-made outrigger canoes) to attract the fish at night.

 Quezon, 2010

I'm linking with Blue Monday and Ruby Tuesday.

Just a Color Story

I almost blew it by titling this post Primary Colors. But just in the nick of time I caught myself... 

Manila, 2010

This funky scene joins the joys of color at

Mellow Yellow Monday

Blue Monday

Ruby Tuesday

Yellow and Red Fruits

When in season, farmers of Romania come into the cities to sell their fresh fruits. I especially relish fresh plump red (or white) cherries; so when at the start of my walk yesterday I saw this vendor selling them out of the back of her old yellow Dacia car, I took a mental note to get some on my way back home. Unfortunately, a couple of hours later I did not run into any more vendors.

 Bucharest, 2011

I got a kick out of how she was parked in the middle of the road, so I am also posting this longer view.

Plenty of yellows and reds here to link with Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday.

Up, Up and Awaaaay!

Right click on this and open in a new tab to hear what's on my brain.

Split, 2009

Okay, so I'm not really going up in a balloon, but I am boarding a plane in a few days to go work on a project in Europe. I expect that my blogging over the next months is going to be much more sporadic than it has been. Just a heads up for anyone who may miss me. I know I'll miss you.

And this is linked to My World Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday.

Love Is in the Air

I'm a few hours late to greet you for Valentine's Day, but love works for me 24/7 365 days a year. You too?

To get you in the mood for this theme, right click and open in a new tab to listen to this sweet tune.

Kathmandu, 2010

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and a richness to life that nothing else can bring. - Oscar Wilde

As sweet and musical
As bright Apollo's lute, strung with his hair;
And when Love speaks, the voice of all the gods
Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony. - W. Shakespeare

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.- Friedrich Nietzsche

Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart. - Marcus Aurelius

Linking with Ruby Tuesday and MyWorld Tuesday.

[MyWorld] Bringing in the Catch

In my [personal] world it is a rare occasion that I get up early; I am a confirmed night owl and subjected to a fair amount of [deserved] teasing about it from my friends.

But when I do get up at the crack of dawn, if it's not to catch an early plane, it's typically for something exciting. On our trip to Mindoro some months ago, I was roused from bed to go see the fishermen come in with their catches of the day. I'm so very glad I did.  Here is some of what I saw (all images can be enlarged).

Mindoro, 2010

I am linking to My World Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday.

Little Princess in Red

She's all dressed up to visit the mosque, this little princess in red.

Delhi, 2010

Okay, maybe her dress is closer to orange, but let's not quibble this season to be jolly, okay? I still think she's a gem and I'm linking with Mary's Ruby Tuesday.

[MyWorld] Brotherly Love

Kathmandu, 2010

In my world, a sibling's love is universal. 

Linking with MyWorld Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday.

[MyWorld] Portrait of a Redhead

She is a groundskeeper at Humayun's tomb in Delhi. I wondered what her world was to her, working on the grounds of this over 400-year-old site, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, seeing visitors from all over the world every single day. 

 Delhi, 2010

This was a small side entrance, and she seemed to be as fascinated by me as I was by her. She did not mind my taking pictures of her. 

A long view of the architectural splendor.

This is linked with MyWorld Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday.

[MyWorld] Ladies in Red

It was mid-afternoon, right after a leisurely lunch, when we came out of an upscale mall close to downtown Shenzhen and I saw these pretty young women dressed up... as what? flamenco dancers?... also leaving the building. 

 

 Shenzhen, 2010

And that is truly my world in China, always full of surprises; often delightful, sometimes painful, and other times just plain mind boggling. 

I post this for MyWorld Tuesday as well as for Ruby Tuesday. Join us there for the fun!

[MyWorld] The BBQ Vendor

With one hand flaming the coal and another swooshing away the flies, this street vendor busily tends to her humble BBQ meat stand across from the wet market. 

 Manila, 2010

She uses barbecue sauce and a Pinoy vinegar concoction to spice the meat on a stick. So what's your pleasure? Chicken innards, blood, pork fat?

This is my world and at MyWorld Tuesday you may get surprised with other fascinating worlds around the globe. You may also want to check out who else is seeing RED today at Ruby Tuesday.

Red Chinese Excalibur

For decades after the great red revolution of 1949, weddings in China were no grand affair. In fact, for many decades the state selected your spouse-to-be.

But when the doors opened to the world and Deng Xiaoping proclaimed to his people that "to be rich is glorious," that soon all changed. Today's weddings in China are as complicated and ostentatious as any in the West, no matter what the socio-economic class of the couple and their families.

Today I just want to share with you this red gem... a Chinese version of the neoclassic Excalibur dolled up to drive some new couple into their new-found marital bliss.

Guangdong, 2007

Posted for Mary's Ruby Tuesday where you'll find more links to people seeing RED.

Abondoned

Delhi, 2010

I'm posting this photo for no better reason than that I like it and it's red. That's for Mary's Ruby Tuesday.

No need to ooh and aah if it's not your thing. I'd much rather hear your authentic reaction. Indifferent? That's fine too. Truly. It won't break my heart the way this building broke when it was abondoned. Abandoned even.

Sadhu in Kathmandu

A sadhu is a Hindu man (and the very occasional woman) who has chosen to forgo the physical pleasures of life in order to further their spiritual discipline to obtain "moksha" (liberation).  This ascetic - or holy man - I met in Durbar Square in Kathmandu willingly posed for my camera.

Kathmandu, 2010

His ochre-colored outfit symbolizes his renunciation. Yet I thought there was enough red here to qualify for Mary's Ruby Tuesday... don't you agree?

[MyWorld] Don't Pick Me!

For Cantonese the only seafood worth eating is fresh... very fresh.

In Hong Kong, people have a hefty appetite for seafood - consuming an average of nearly 50 kg (110 lbs) a year - and are willing to pay a premium for it. Thousands of tons of live seafood, most of it caught in the wild, are flown in from around the world. It's a half-billion dollar a year trade... for this one city.

The crabs, lobster, clams, scallops, oysters and other seafood is distributed to countless tanks in wet markets and restaurants throughout the Special Administrative Region. These are snapshots of a wet market I recently visited where customers choose their own live dinner for a nearby restaurant to cook and serve.

 Hong Kong, 2010

I "caught" these red fish in a tank. The perfectly prepared meal we had was to die for. But don't tell these fish that!

This is for Klaus and team's My World Tuesday - you'll find plenty of scenes from around the globe there! And there are more great takes on the theme RED at Mary's Ruby Tuesday.

Street Vendor in Red

Kathmandu, 2010

Yesterday was Labor Day in the USA. My heart goes out to all the workers of the world who struggle for a living wage. 

For more takes on the theme of RED, visit Mary's Ruby Tuesday.

Red Bananas

While staying in the charming bed and breakfast in Puerto Princesa a couple of months ago I mentioned in an earlier post, I noticed a fruit basket on the table containing something I had never seen before: red bananas! Twenty years in the Philippines and this was truly the first time I laid my eyes on red bananas. I really shrieked with delight.

The genial B&B hostess made it her personal mission to get me to the market to photograph this fruit before leaving the island. 

Palawan, 2010

I have since then learned that these are locally called Morado bananas, from the Spanish "purple" and they are a distinctly different variety from other yellow and green bananas. What you see here are Morado chico (small size). I had the good fortune last week of seeing a Morado grande (the largest banana ever!), but the bad fortune of not having my camera on me.

The small red banana is shorter, plumper, creamier and sweeter than the usual Cavendish banana most people are familiar with. Here is the fruit basket I first saw the red bananas in. Do you know these other tropical fruits in this basket?

Today's post plays along with Ruby Tuesday, hosted by Mary. As usual, the link takes you to links of other people playing with RED today.

Riding a Red Horse

This handsome young man on a red "horse" was dancing to Indian music at a New Delhi trade show I attended in February. His task was to bring to visitors' attention the additional exhibitors housed in tents beside the main venue. He sure got my attention!

New Delhi, 2010

I thought he'd make a splendid offering to Mary's Ruby Tuesday. Don't you? Click the link for more links to REDs.