AN INTERLUDE - From my phone

I got bored blogging about my US trip, and thankfully, my phone provided an interlude.

Rummaging through the drawers of my desk yielded memorabilia that reminded me of good times and also the lean ones. I didn't realise going through photos in my antiquated camera-phone would have a similar outcome. The camera is an old timer like myself, no bells and whistles, images mostly appear somewhat faded, but on the odd occasion, it whimsically decides to be its sharp former self; although it is just a point and shoot, the stories it tells compare favorably with those from the best SLR's.



Taken just around Chinese New Year, Feb 2008: I love markets and find fruit stalls specially captivating. Dig those 'specially sweet' pomelos in the foreground, about three dollars sixty US each, betcha with the current 'financial tsunami', it will be a lot less! Hmm...enduring lean times with sweet fruits...


See the light brown tuberlike roots in front - its ginger; ah, what wonders can be wrought with this plant! Attributed special restorative powers, ginger is believed to be good for expelling 'wind' from the body, that's why shortly after giving birth, women were fed rice fried with a lot of ginger. The Chiu Chows of Southern China have an exotic dish called 'Chicken with ginger and wine' - the nearest thing to 'ginger heaven'.


Buying fruits here is great because one is allowed to pick and choose, whereas in Europe, one has to acccept the fruit vendor's choices; this doesn't sit well with the Hong Kong housewives who think they can do better.


The round slabs of brown and white in the foreground are Nien Goh (Cantonese for New Year Pudding - also synonymous with each year higher, or better, than the preceding one), they are made from sticky (glutinous)rice flavored respectively with brown sugar and coconut milk; hmm...there are lots of other goodies on display too.


Why was this pic included here? To show the shopper on the right doing her own picking? No, any chance to show the color of oranges and tangerines is never passed.


One evening, mid Apl 2008, found ourselves in Central, by the harbour, just off the old Queen's Pier. As it was one of those rare clear evenings, I whipped the 'ole phone' out n clicked - it decided to oblige with a couple of decent shots.


HSBC and Chartered Bank looked really swell together, is this a portent of things to come?



End Apl, 2008: strolled along Hollywood Road with its lovely antique shops - this huge Buddha with his clasped hands and enigmatic smile spoke to my heart and my camera-phone.


Mid Sept 2008: My brother-in-law, and his artist wife, welcomed us into their home for Mid Autumn Festival treats. How many types of fruits can you make out? Strawberries, persimmons, star fruits, pears, pomelos, plums, and oranges; naturally not to be missed were the moon cake. See the two miniature rattan 'baskets' (known as "pigs cage") stuffed with cookies in the upper right just behind the vial of toothpicks? The cookies were from leftover mooncake dough.


This is the East side of Hong Kong Island. After decades, I can still be fascinated by small shops with merchandise overflowing onto the streets. No tourists here, no garish jewellery shops or over-the-top boutiques - just all manner of basic stuff one can think of. A short walk across the road are a couple of excellent noodle shops, hmm...'Ching-Tong-Ngau-Nam-Meen' (beef brisket with noodles in clear broth)and the purists would swear by their 'Yu-Darn-Fun' (fish balls with flat noodles); don't think of going there during regular meal times unless you are prepared to line up for at least half an hour.


There's this restaurant in Shenzhen which served up pumpkin banquets! The main ingredient of all the dishes was - whatelse?. Once a reservation is made, it is recorded on a wrapper which hugged the 'precious one' snugly.


This is the best Dau-See-Gai(chicken in black bean sauce). If I had to order just one dish instead sharing all communally, this would be it. The dish came out glistening from the kitchen. The shallots which looked like giant pearls were so crunchy you'd think it was raw. But there was no uncooked fiery sting. The black beans were only slightly salty as their flavor had been surrendered to sublimate the union of the chicken slices with the shallots. Notice the slick glistening finish? This gravy is known to connoisseurs as Bor Lay Heen (literally sauce looking like glass). Not every chef can boast of having the expertise to finish a dish like this. There wasn't a lot of gravy but what little one can scrape together, was totally complementary with the hot rice. This dish exemplifies Cantonese 'Siu Choy' (literally 'small dish') at its best.

28Jun2008 Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

After yesterday’s visit, which ended up with our witnessing the fantastic ‘bat flight’, we finally went underground to understand why Carlsbad Caverns National Park has been designated an UN Heritage Site.


Underground chambers are usually formed by the action of carbonic acid (interaction of water with carbon dioxide from decaying plant material) on limestone. Carlsbad Caverns owned its existence to vast deposits of oil and natural gas. Hydrogen sulphide, typically associated with such fossil fuels, mixed with oxygen and water to become sulphuric acid. This is many times more corrosive than carbonic acid. About twelve million years ago, when tectonic forces brought hydrogen sulphide-rich water in contact with limestone, hugh chambers resulted. The evidence of such action was the presence of copious quantities gypsum (calcium sulphate). Much later, say half a million years ago, the formation of speleothems (cave formations like stalagtites and stalagmites) began. Bearing in mind that the area above ground at that time was a tropical rain forest instead of a desert, a lot of water trickled down through the limestone. The variety and beauty of the natural embellishments in Carlsbad Caverns can in part be attributed to the combination of the different minerals and physical forces at work. Whilst Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world, Carlbad Caverns can claim to be amongst the most ornate.

The King's Palace guided tour is a 1.5-hour trek which took us to the deepest portion of the cavern with paved trails, 830 feet (251m) under the desert. Many speleothems were pointed out to us and how they came to be was patiently explained. Since being in an underground cavern was no longer a novelty, we were well prepared for the 'blackout experience' which the Rangers had in store. But trying to keep up with our guide and taking a few pictures at the same time was a chore.

One had to descend in elevators to The Big Room for the start of the self-guided tour. The walk around the perimeter of the biggest room of Carlsbad Caverns (8.2 acres, 33184 sqm with an up to 250-ft, 75-m high ceiling ) took two hours. Maps which noted many features like the Bottomless Pit, the Giant Dome, Rock of Ages and the Painted Grotto were provided. We enjoyed proceeding at our own pace, stopping where we wished, although many Rangers stationed enroute were ready to assist.

To really experience going underground, one had to do the Natural Entrance Route which traced the old explorers' footsteps, through a huge descendig corridor, aptly named the Main Corridor, to a central holding area 750ft (227m) down. There one would find eating areas, restrooms, and elevators up to ground level. This was also where many tours started out. The Natural Entrance Route continued on past points of interest like the Bat Cave, Devil's Spring, Green Lake Overlook and the Boneyard. One can't help but look in awe and dread at the Iceberg Rock, a 200,000-ton (203266 metric tons) boulder that fell from the cave ceiling millenias ago. If heavy rain was imminent, visitors would not be allowed to enter the caverns by way of the ‘Natural Entrance’as it was possible to be washed down in a flash flood.

I might point out that imagination is a prerequisite for going underground - especially when going past points of interest. Those good at conjuring up objects from clouds should find the tours most enjoyable.
Those who love using their cameras better be prepared to be disappointed. To get photos of the same quality seen in the NPS publications is almost impossible - nobody will light up a gigantic cavern just to give you that one good shot! So there ain't any good photos to show and I found it hard to convey a sense of proportion and scale.

In line with the blog on our visit to Mammoth Cave on 5thJune, the protection and preservation of a National Treasure is also the mission of the Rangers in the Chihuahuan Desert and the Carlsbad Caverns. With millions of delicate speleothems to guard against the throngs of visitors, it is a tough job. It would be so easy to destroy what nature has spent eons to build. Thankfully, most Rangers tackle their task with genuine enthusiasm which reflected their love of nature.

(Do go to our blog on Mammoth Cave as comments made also apply to Carlsbad Caverns)

Distance traveled 54.1 miles.






Starting down the slope of the Natural Entrance, my favorite photographer on the right.


Now she's on the left starting down the next tier.


It was a long way down; see how tiny the people are near the entrance? Hope this will give the reader a sense of scale.


A shot of the upper facade of the Natural Entrance.


This was half way down, looking up and backwards towards the entrance at ground level.


Just one section of a column. A column is formed by the meeting of a stalagtite and stalagmite


This column was at least 60 ft 18m high.


Close up to the show the milky white calcium compound solution still wet and creamy looking. The cave is alive and changes are taking place incessantly, the rate of change is in part due to the drip rate of the water entering (or leaving) the innumerable chambers of the cave.


This looked like a flow of molten stuff that had been frozen in time, but the forward action is still continuing, albeit at a slow pace.


A close up of the wet surface caused by water laden with calcite flowing down.


This was described as the kiss (or the Sword of Damocles to some); one day, who knows how long into the future, the slender and graceful stalagtite will be joined to its sturdy counterpart - the stalagmite - waiting below.


Thousands of stalagtites await union with stalagmites.


Is that a part of a woman's body? Wonders of nature will never cease, nor will man's imagination. The guard rails along our path, on the left, will I hope convey an idea of the size of this natural wonder.


These developed on a section of a sloping cave wall.


This imposing structure must have been over 70 ft 21m in height. There was no stalagtite on the ceiling for it to form a column with.


The tattered white veil-like structures in the upper left were termed draperies, which resulted from calcite-laden water flowing down an incline.


View of draperies from a different angle.


On the way back after visiting Carlsbad Caverns.


This huge boulder was delicately balanced for now. However, erosion proceeds inexorably and one day...


Typical semi-arid desert plants in their habitat.


This one plant had to attract all the attention, inspite of competition from the prickly cacti and others. The Sotol (pronouced So - toll) boasts a stalk that can grow several inches a day when water is sufficient. The roasted heart of this plant and the greenish-white flowers were eaten by the native Americans. The high suger content sap could be fermented into an alcoholic drink, the roots boiled into a soap, and the leaves used for weaving.


Shallow caves where remains of the Indians were found. The original human inhabitants of these seemingly inhospital lands adapted very well here.


It was dark where we were, but the plains were still bright, a rainbow peeped out from behind a ridge - a symphony of the setting sun and the evening showers.


When we finally emerged from our mountain road on to the plains, we were welcomed with a double glory - they stayed with us for the many miles we had to drive.