Happy Chinese New Year - A Visit To Thean Hou Temple.

Things were a little different for me this year. I moved to a new house. All my children have finished their schooling. I made many new friends and lost some old ones. Some in rather painful manners. Whichever ways I felt about it, I had to move on. I visited friends in their house this year. Something I had not done for many years. I went for the movies. After Stephen Chow's latest - CJ7 which to me was more of a disappointment especially as I loved "Kung Fu Hustle", we decided to make the trip to KL to visit Thean Hou Temple.



It seemed many people also have the same idea. The place was jam packed and it was difficult to find a parking space. After a few rounds on bad earth road, managed to squeeze into one corner and quickly went to snap a few shots.



In the playground in front of the temple, lighted lanterns of animals and plants were all over it and the children were having a great time.

This is the rat year and the rat took center stage with a huge several storey high standing in front of the temple welcoming patrons and the New Year. There were also lanterns of all the other animals of the Animal Years.



This year the whole places were decorated with lanterns and they were a pretty sight. There were too many people to take good pictures. No place to stand and frame good angles. No place to place my camera for night shots. Wished there were not so many people. Wished I had my tripod with me. Wished I had more time. Wished I had more space to frame my shots. Wished for a lot of things. Ha ha. But we make do with what we have. So these are the best I could do under the circumstances.

There were many people blocking my views and I did not want to remove my shoe to go into the temple. I didn't even know whether we are allowed to take picture inside. So I stood far away with a multitude of people between me and The Empress of Heaven. I stood there patiently and waited till a slight gush of wind lifted the tail of the lantern to allow me to take this short of the serene image of Her Royal Highness. May not be a great shot but it will be a good memory.

Lanterns were everywhere and the people under it are bathed in a reddish light.

I climbed to the highest level and managed to squeeze a tiny space and religiously guard it to take the night shots of the KL towers and the Petronas Twin Towers towering over the KL city skyline.

My phone rang. The friends I was with wanted to go home. Some of them had stayed until early morning to play Mah Jong and were tired out. Wished I had more time. But often we just have to grab what we were given and glad that we at least had that chance. Even if it was not enough. When was ever good time enough? Think I ought to remember that for the rest of the year.