Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Xmas 2008

Oh dear, I am very behind on my blogging. Just the way it worked out this time I suppose.

So I guess this is the Xmas blog, so to speak. Yes, Christmas is celebrated in Malaysia and Singapore. The last time I was in Singapore the decorations were all over Orchard Road. See pics of the lovely Raffles hotel with their Xmas decorations.

My Xmas will be spent working as we don't have the day as a holiday this year due to the fact that someone didn't notice it is a national holiday in Malaysia. I guess "googling" national holidays in Malaysia never came up as an option.

It is the northeast monsoon season in Malaysia which affects the east coast although I have noticed it rains more, it is also generally cooler. Some days the big rain comes at night and the mornings can be glorious and almost cool with bright blue skies.

This morning walking to work I was amazed at how fresh it felt. Of course then you turn the corner and get the blast of exhaust in your face from a huge bus and a few minutes later you have to step over a manhole and sewer stink takes your breath away. Ah...life in an emerging nation in a big city. I've been listening to all the Xmas songs on my iPod it is a bit surreal being reminded about snow and cold when I am sweating.

It has been an interesting few weeks and I have been on the go with trips to Penang and Singpaore twice. Penang was very interesting and has the largest Chinatown outside of China. A good part of the island is rows and rows of shophouses selling everything you can imagine. I stayed in the E&O the Eastern and Oriental Hotel which is where Rudyard Kipling and lots of other famous writers used to stay. Penang is known as the Pearl of the Orient. The hotel is filld will all these old pictures and the history is quite impressive. I have a lovely suite room overlooking the Straits of Melaka. The food in Penang has a bit of different flare with some Chinese influence. The laksa is very yummy and very different than the Laksa in KL. It is flavoured with quite a bit of tamarind and much less coconut milk and so is tangy and not nearly as rich. Delicious!

I have finally found a lovely yoga studio in KL! I has really been great. I had no idea how much I missed regularly attending classes with a good teacher. The studio is an old house in the embassy area of KL. During class we are entertained by lots of different birds, geckos, and sometimes other creatures. The garden outside of the floor to ceiling windows is full of the most beautiful heliconia flowers you have ever seen. Sometimes I use the flower to focus on during standing poses.

I have attended a couple workshops as well as a breathing workshop. The Butekyo breathing method is quite a fascinating approach to breath and has many applications outside of its most famous application in the treatment of asthma. Like any "method or practice", I enjoy learning about it and then taking away what is useful to me.

So I'll be working today on some stuff for Singapore and then meeting my yoga teacher at the studio for some meditation and yoga. It is very flattering that my yoga teacher wants to learn from me so I am teaching her some Anusara priniciples and she will help me with my meditation. I need all the help I can get.

I'm off to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on the island of Borneo for the New Year. It will be 2009 in SE Asia well ahead of many other parts of world.

Happy Holidays!

Peace,

El

http://picasaweb.google.com/hellokittyinlondon/XmasInSing08#

A few pics of Singapore and all the Xmas decor. I was staying on a very high floor of the Swisshotel overlooking Marina bay.

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