Crossing the Wallace Line - From Bali to Lombok

My boarding pass

We did not spend a whole week in Bali during the year-end escapade. In between our Bali adventures, Ine arranged for a 3D/2N vacation in Lombok (it was a "vacation" as I had no specific "mission" in Lombok). The flight from Bali to Lombok is short - around 25 minutes - and takes the traveller across the Lombok Strait, some 35km of sea separating the two islands.

It would be a mundane journey for most people. Not for me; I knew its biogeographical significance. As I proudly declared to Ine, "We're crossing the Wallace Line!"

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Selamat Tahun Baru Imlek!

Happy Lunar New Year to you readers! Gong xi fa cai, ang poh gun gun lai (恭喜发财，红包滚滚来). For those who finished attacking the reunion dinner few hours ago, I hope you had a wonderful time. I'm typing this before I go to sleep. In a few hours time, I will be leaving for another location for my usual "historical and heritage" research.

In lieu of firecrackers, new year couplets, dong dong chiang lions - in other words the usual stuffs - here is something you might not have seen before. This is the barongsai, the Balinese dancing lion. I took the picture in Bali. Incidentally the Chinese dancing lion familiar to us in Singapore is also called barongsai in Indonesia (I think sai is lion or 狮 in Hokkien, ba could come from Bali). But don't be mistaken, the Balinese lion does not take part in Lunar New Year celebrations!

*Selamat Tahun Baru Imlek: Happy Lunar New Year in Bahasa Indonesia.

Mini Explosions on New Year's Eve aka How I Countdown to 2011

It has become a tradition to blog about my countdown activities on New Year's Eve and this year is no exception. For two years since Ah Tiong joined us in 2008, we braved the crowd for a good spot to catch the fireworks at midnight (here and here). I decided that 2010 would be different. After all it was a memorable year for me and deserved a special celebration. So on Christmas Day, I promptly whizzed off to the World's Best Island (Asia) for a week of fun - think the sun, the sea, my usual adventures - and to welcome 2011.

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Our Minister Mentor sang this song .... in his bath!

Source: Clipart Guide

Do you sing in your bath? Not many people will readily admit they do, down to the song name. Thus I was pleasantly surprised to read the confession by our Minister Mentor in his memoirs. He was candid about the episode and I thought it was even a little hilarious after I listened to the song online. Do you know the title of that song?

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Our Singapore Flag with its Communal and Communist Origins

We are so used to seeing our Singapore flag – a familiar sight at our morning assembly and during national day celebrations – that we probably never stop and think about its origins. I must have been very young, probably during an eraser game or while admiring my box of flag erasers, that I became acutely aware of the similarity between our flag and Indonesia’s. The crescent moon with its religious connotation dawned on me only later when I realized the “star and crescent” as a popular symbol for Islam. I used to speculate on its origins until this evening, when I had the chance to read from one person his authoritative version of the origin.

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