Saturday, February 23, 2019

Fat Cat Shrubbery

In Dubai, I took Barry to the Miracle Garden. He thought it would be regular flowers. He did not expect the eleven Arabian dwarves.
I, however, was better prepared for face planters and floral A380s.
The cats were the best (people shown for scale).
Cute, but a little bit evil.
Does this shrubbery make me look fat?
In Dubai, we found some things that we commonly see across Asia.
But the camel hats were new.
We found where old Blackberries and Nokias went to die (you have likely owned more than one of these models.)
We saw a local superhero, Force Man.
And a struggling fashion victim hoodie.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Ethiopian Pine Nuts on a Boat

In Dubai, we visited our friend Maia, who has been known to grow from a lemon tree.
She moved to Dubai because she loves Canadian coffee.
And education?
Maia also really likes pine nuts, and only buys them from the stores specializing in them.
Nearby, you can by bag-loads of saffron.
And golden vesicles.
Oh, and tree bark.
We had some envy about the spices.
And struggled to pick the right lamb carcass. (Pakistani? Australian?)
But the best food was Ethiopian.
The boats near the nut stores made a nice contrast to modern Dubai.
Fridge transport. We hoped these boats don't travel far.
Here's what the labourers do for fun.

Friday, February 8, 2019

Desert Moonwalk

Dubai has some fancy buildings.
This one is very tall. I told Barry he wouldn't be able to get it all in one photo, and here is the result:
We went up it, both in real life and virtually, as shown. VR gives barry lotsa chins.
But what's more interesting is the desert.
What, did you say desert?
We learnt 2 things. First, camels are farmed for their milk, meat, and racing abilities, largely by Afghani labourers.
Second, we're bad at desert photography.
Above, I fail to be artsy with sand. Below, Barry does something to look like camel rock, but it looks more like he needs a loo.
I think it looks a bit like his Moonwalk, coincidentally.
Below, a Bedouin village, where they "get to live for free from the government", which I put in quotations as I'm concerned that's only 1 side of the story.
As you can see, we're slightly more photogenic if we give the camera to others.

Baobas, Impostors, and Mist!

My aunt and uncle came to Singapore for a 1 day whirlwind tour.
Can you tell that we're related?
We went to the gardens by the Bay. It's best to go during "misting times" so that you can get pictures such as this:
Also, you get good photographic backdrops.
My aunt wanted to see the Rafflesia, the world's largest flower. While it's not available in Singapore, they had it in lego version, so that totally counts.
The below picture is an add for my phone, which sometimes gets into photography to the point you can see the aphid on this flower.
Did you say aphids?
Here is Rosemary with her favourite baobab tree. 
Here, she's overwhelmed by the beauty of the Masdevallia impostor.
This real Masdevallia was a bit jealous, and also homesick for Peru.
Similarly, here's Raymond, with his favourite Scotch.
I've run out of things to say about flowers, so here are a few more to brighten your weekend.