Phenomenal

This was taken yesterday afternoon when the sun was glaring hot hot ...so CQ thought if she could take a click of the sun. CQ was twisting here and there ...it's quite difficult to get a good angle when the sun is staring at you maahh!!

Hmmm maybe some pro photo-bloggies must have thought that CQ has brutalised the art of photography ...sure in their brains were asking what's that blue-green patches??

Huh?? CQ don't even know why > > > must be a 'sun halo' look-alike ...lols.

Anyway, here is something phenomenal that CQ wants to share - emailed by a friend.

"A phenomena of multiple suns has appeared in Russian skies. It's not something unique. It has happened before and it looks really nice. This is an example of weather phenomena called 'icebow' - in some cases it's 'sun halo' which appears on high altitudes (artcic/subarctic) on both hemispheres."

"An icebow is phenomenon similar to a rainbow except that it is formed bythe refraction of sunlight through cloud suspended ice crystals as opposedto raindrops or other liquid water suspended in the air."


"Generally the appearance is as an arc sections as opposed to a full circle. Brighter sections usually occur above, below and lateral to the center (where the sun is visible). These bright areas are referred to as 'sun dogs', 'parhelia' (plural), or mock suns because of their bright appearance and possible confusion with the actual location of the sun."

"Those icebows that are caused by very small ice crystals are one colour because diffraction blurs the colours together. A 22 degree icebow has red on the inside and blue on the outside."

Well, there were many occurrence of such phenomenal incidents that had been seen around the world - like on the Alaskan highway and in Sweden.

moon-zieee

almost full moon ..

Cloud story

It's sunny Thursday morning (sometimes I can lose track of the days lols) and I can see many formations of clouds in the sky.

Maybe the clouds are communicating among themselves ...or telling us - human beings on earth some day-story ...lols

Anyway, as usual I am always practising my click click click now and then ...here's a cloud (body) language :D

This is like a kind of transmitter thing ... calling E.T.

these clouds may be saying...lets shower - means raining lah lols

boring clouds hehehe

showing frustrations :S

lovey dovey :)

How do I do cloud-reading, well ...imagination I guess - always becomes creative yet scarily funny (kelakar seram ahh) if I think so hard :)

On global map

To be away from home, families and friends for several months, so as to promote her beloved Brunei to the world, is indeed an admirable and honourable act or feat one may say.

At the same time, this petite and charismatic Bruneian woman - Mdm Norhayati together with her husband, Harun have been experiencing enormous numbers of adventures, challenges or even obstacles. I believe it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience...if only I am allowed to join them :)

Click here to read more on their adventures.

This is a map of the African continent . Imagine the beautiful sceneries - like the deserts' sand dunes, aosises, mirages or tribal nomads and many more (not sure about the not-so-nice ones) that you will get to see!

Good luck to the energetic and courageous couple.

~photo & map taken from http://www.overthehorizon.net/ ~

Is it possible?

A wild imagination still lingers on my mind ..I was wondering if there is ever a possibility of building a railroad or train tracks in Brunei.

Brunei has an expanse of 5,800 square kilometres and a coastline of about 130kms. It has an undulating landscape marked by low hills and wide valleys. A narrow coastal plain is intersected by several rivers descending from a mountainous hinterland ...hmmm

The train tracks can be built either along the coastline, facing the South China Sea or cutting through parts of the rain forests jungle. The beautiful and breathtaking views that one can imagine when travelling on a train crossing through Brunei land ~ especially to Temburong...wow! Maybe with train stations at every of the four districts...and it can even be extended into Miri ~ just like the Singapore-Johore Bahru link.

The Alaskan railroad tracks with scenic views

I hope this 'dream' can be realised and materialised eventually ...some day in the future :) Maybe the train project can be privatised to private companies (yeah was wondering which conglomerate or tycoons will be interested hehee) ...with affordable train fares and special passes for students and senior citizens.

Of course the trains must be modern and highly equipped with necessary facilities ...wooow seems like i am so keen hahaha ...well you can never know, it could attract more tourists into Brunei too ...to experience a train ride within the country.

It's beautiful

Since my migration to Brunei nearly sixteen years ago, this monarch-reign country, as seen personally through my eyes, has gone through many changes in her infra-structures...though there are still improvements needed in some areas.

New buildings especially shophouses are mushrooming; roads are given 'face-lift' or being improved and new ones are built to accomodate the ever growing traffic in some of the busiest areas around the capital.

But its nature really awed me very much...Brunei still boasts a massive area of virgin forests. Her forests are still largely intact and about 70% of its land is covered by tropical rain forests.

I think Brunei is one of the few countries in South East Asia that does not export timber...

When driving back to KB, I enjoy seeing the long stretch of thick forests along the Seria-Belait highway. The luscious greens are so refreshing and breathtakingly beautiful; with sights of different shapes, sizes or any oddity of the trees. Sometimes I can feel that this is the only stretch of area that is not affected by global warming or any environmental pollutions. I understood that Brunei has some 6,000 species of plants, 455 birds, 157 mammals, and 73 reptiles. Wow! that is awesome for a small country...

There were times when I can see some people stopped or parked their cars along the highway to pick or pluck 'pucuk2' ...hmmm I think must be pakis baahhh...

Anyway, I hope Brunei will protect and preserve its forests...even after her primary natural resources - oil - will run out in... many many many years to come...

Meet Beelzebufo

the biggest, baddest, meanest frog

Scientists have unearthed fossils of a bulky and huge amphibian - a frog, in Northwestern Madagascar. Measuring 16 inches long and weighs 10 lbs, it is called Beelzebufo or Devil Toad.

This discovery was said to raise questions in regards to ancient geography. Beelzebufo had a wide mouth (well, not the Hollywood-lips type) and powerful jaws...Must be noisy and messy when having its meals...

this is a sleepy frog...look at its eyes - a beauty
- they are not ugly animals though

Could this be the Madagascar Scientists Team
that discovered Beelzebufo??

Amazing...

Now who would ever thought of wanting to construct a building on a cliff or a mountain??? But a Monastery was built at the foot of Mt. Hengshan, 5 kilometers (3 miles) South of Hunyuan County and 65 kilometers (40 miles) from downtown Datong City. It may not listed among the wonders of the world, but it sure does to the achitectural world. Hanging on the west cliff of Jinxia Gorge more than 50 meters above the ground, it was given the name the Hanging Monastery. The Hanging Monastery, built in 491, has survived more than 1400 years. The extant monastery was largely rebuilt and maintained during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

How could a building like this withstand the winds and storms of so many years? Geographically its amazing. The Hanging Monastery is an architectural wonder. A unique mechanical theory was applied to building the framework. Crossbeams were half-inserted into the rock to act as the foundation, while the rock at the back became its support. When seen from below, the Hanging Monastery appears to be a tumble-down castle in the air. Inside, the Hanging Monastery boasts the same scene as other temples. Construction experts from countries including Britain, Germany, and Italy came to see the monastery. In their words, Hanging Monastery, which mixes mechanics, aesthetics, and Buddhism, is rare. They were speechless. The Hanging Monastery symbolizes and embodies a great cultural achievement of the Chinese people.

The second attraction of the Hanging Monastery is that it includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Inside the monastery, sculptures of Sakyamuni, Confucius and Laotzu appeared together, which is an unusual scene. There are 40 halls and cabinets containing about about 80 sculptures that were made of copper, iron, terracotta, and stone. The features are vividly carved. Why build a monastery like this? First reason is its location; that building on a cliff, will shield the Monastery from the floods. In addition, the mountain peak protects it from rain and snow and the mountain surrounding it also diminishes damage from long-time sunshine. The second reason is that the builders followed a principle in Taoism: no noise, including those from rooster crowing and barking dog, so from the upper ground, any kinds of noises drop away.

Would you like to visit? Becareful not to look down...you may get dizzy. If you fall, i am afraid there's no Superman or that Spidey guy to safe you...lols