International fishermen gather at Vancouver September 2016.

Nick say this giant catch alone has
made the price of his ticket from 
Sydney to Vancouver  worth it!
Nick is looking good as our cover boy
for fishing trips photos.

A crazy like mindedness about fishing drew passionate fishermen and wives from Sydney and Malaysia to meet in Vancouver in end September 2016. Nick and Irene flew from Sydney, Andrew and Lydia, Jason and Debbie and Chris flew in from Malaysia. We  joined the widely acclaimed fishing Sifu  and fishing king - Ben and Mei Tham and  Pastor Daniel and Pastor See Faa for a wonderful fishing holiday from 25 September 2016 to October 8 2016. Ben and Mei hosted us at their home. Oh -  such happy and warm memories  of this lovely colorful fall holiday.

Fishermen & wives from Sydney and Malaysia convene in Vancouver.

International fishermen and wives outside Ben and Mei Tham house

We were driven to Ucluelet, on Victoria Island by Ben, Mei and Pastor Daniel. We had fine dining just before checking in to a lovely super luxurious hotel. The guys went out early to the boat to do sea fishing well equipped with Gravo from both ends. We girls took our own sweet time to have sleep in and  to enjoy leisurely walks. 

Luxury double queen beds in this hotel room with spa for
 the Ucluelet sea fishing. Chris was all smiles as he mentally 
compared kelong fishing sleeping accommodations with this.

Classic jug and tray in the room.

The spa and the fireplace in our luxurious bedrooms. 

Our luggage looked so miserly in this huge bedroom.

Vancouver to Ucluelet to Victoria on Vancouver Island  and Seattle.
We spent two nights in Ucluelet and returned back 
to Ben & Mei home. Some of us made a trip to 
Seattle except the hardcore fishermen. 

Jason and the fish caught at sea in Ucluelet

Mei took the girls  to walk the Wild Pacific Rim Trail. Wow! It was a distant dream come true for me to finally walk on the edge of the wild Pacific Ocean. We heard various  sounds of the sea - high pitched whistling, gurgling and ... We saw mushrooms, wind swept trees, living sea foam, light houses etcetera  and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and the walk on this trail.

Wind swept trees on the Wild Pacific Rim Trail

Mei Tham sitting pretty on a
chair shaped tree stump.

Girls just wanna have fun

On the last day, Mei drove us 4 hours plus to the world famous Butchart Garden and sight seeing in Victoria. Here we discovered Lydia loved the changing colors of the trees  and in particular  the yellow ones. We enjoyed ourselves so much and took the last ferry back to Vancouver. 

Butchart Garden overlooking the quarry

Irene Heah looking pretty.

Lydia loved the yellow trees.

Lydia was the model for most photographs

Guys went crabbing early as usual while we  girls took our time leisurely and had a great deal of fun, shopping, trekking at Lynn Valley and visiting the University of British Columbia. I dare say we girls saw far more of Vancouver compared to the guys thanks to Mei's savviness and graciousness.

Mei jumping up on tree stumps in Lynn Valley

Lydia posed  on this log in between 2 trees in Lyn Valley.

Girls in Deep Cove while guys went crabbing.

Mei prepared a wonderful  home cooked dinner
that night from the freshly caught  crabs, Yummy!

I couldn't resist posing with the giant pumpkins

We had a lovely BBQ complete with campfire in Pastor Daniel and Sea Faa's house on Sunday. The satay were yummylicious and the rhubarb soup very heart warming on this cold autumn evening. Pastor Daniel and Sea Faa drove us to Seattle for a day visit. We had fun at  Pike Market and enjoyed the beauty of the artistic hand blown glass works at Chihuly next to the Space Needle. The whole group graciously gave chance to me to take time out to go to Tacoma Narrows.

Chihuly Glass Musuem in Seattle

Jason and me in Chihuly Glass Art outdoors

My beloved Tacomas Narrows bridge  of the resonance experiment

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

I think the guys fished everyday except for 2-3 days. Fishing is very hard work but totally enjoyable for the guys! Each night they come home with many big fishes. Night time saw the fish processing plant  with international coolie team in action. The cutting, de-skinning, cleaning, vacuum pack and freezing was something new to us girls but Ben - the sifu seemed to have every equipment needed for everything including the vacuum seal and pump.

The guys stand in their waist high waterproof waders in the river.

The salmons that were caught are immediately gutted.
The cold river water  is a natural outdoor refrigerator
for the fishes until it is time to bring them  home. 

Production team hard at work. De-boning and de-skinning
and cut into steak size pieces before vacuum packed and freezing.

Posing with this giant ice cream cone in Deep Cove

Have you ever seen a Brussels sprouts tree?

Deliriously plucking delicious crunchy apples 

in Sea Faa's garden. I ate as many as 5 apples each day. 

They are so sweet and crunchy!

Sea Faa showing the work of her hands - 

her garden is totally organic. One main fertilizer 

is the  water from washing the fishes.

Plucking figs and eating them just off the tree.Wow!

We learnt the difference between streets and avenues. 

Streets run north-south while avenues face east west.

Odd numbers are on the left. A systematic grid 

system for addresses in Surrey, British Columbia.

Checking in at Vancouver airport. Guess 

which suitcases are packed full with frozen fishes?

Ben Tham - the fishing Sifu and Tai Koh and gracious host

It was great to be able to bring home several  suitcases filled with frozen fishes. We have had several parties in Malaysia enjoying the salmon- sashimi and various other styles. The what apps group of the 11 fishing party is always busy, with Nick and Irene starting the morning early from Sydney with posts on food and fish. The best thing is that Daniel and Sea Faa, Ben and Mei's hospitality and graciousness have started a strong friendship with fishermen and wives from 3 continents. The next fishing trip? Tickets have already been booked. Sydney in March 2017.

Going upstream against the current and being raised up by 100 meters

The title almost speaks it all but I don't know if you understand it. Last month in September 2015, I and Jason traveled with several school principals and their families and friends to China. We covered the Zhang Jie Jie ( location of Avatar 1 ) and also the Tianmen Mountain ( location of Avatar 2)

Catching our breath and taking a breather before
we continue down the rest of the 999 steps.

Datin Esther at the bottom of the 999 steps

There are 999 steps down from the cave to where we took our group photos. There are also 99 winding turns on the long and winding road downhill. Do you see the 99 turns on the road behind Jason as he descends the 999 steps?.

Jason descending the 999 steps with the 99 turns of
the long and winding road behind him.

5 Russian planes flew through the Tianmen Mountain cave.

Five  Russian planes flew through that hole in the mountain. Up there are lovely, seemingly frightening walks against rugged mountains cliffs.

Walkways hitched against rugged mountain sides.

But more awesome than these two beautiful places was the unexpected upstream cruise on The Yangtze Kiang River from Yichang to ChongQing along the world famous Three Gorges Dams.

We board our river cruise liner at Yichang and disembarked at ChongQing.

I didn't know it earlier but soon we realized we were going to go through 5 water locks which would raise our ship liner and us passengers by about 100+ meters which is like going up about 25 storeys. Try mulling on that thought.....You on your ship can be raised up by 100 meters on China 2nd longest river.

The 5  water locks that will raise our ship and us by 100+ meters.

The picture above courtesy Xinhua is taken from the bottom of the 5 water locks. It shows 2 gateways - one for ships to travel downstream and one for the ship to travel upstream. What on earth  is a water lock? Your ship together with several other ships get locked in between 2 massive gates which will close and lock your ship and the water in. Then the water level goes up on the upstream one and your ship gets raised up by about 20 meters. Unbelievable? Once you achieved the same level as the water on the next lock, your gate open and your ship cruises into the next lock.

The ship is tied to a metal frame that moves up as the water level is raised. The metal frames pulls the ship up until it reaches the water mark shown up there -. go up by about 20 meters.

I will show a video to help you understand. However nothing can capture that sense of going upstream and being raised by 100 meters. the link is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qilqHdBumgA

What was even more awesome was that the timing of the date and time when we were raised was on a very special date. We entered that first lock about 5.30 pm and was raised up 20 meters by 6.15 pm which marked the beginning of a special day. That had to be God's orchestration.

I understand in my spirit we have been raised up to 5 levels higher on a special date and time. The real implications of this in the natural I am yet to grasp and to fully comprehend. But I await  what God will orchestrate for us after this event with great expectations.

You raised me up so I can stand on mountains.
You raised me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raised me up to more than I can be.

Stay in the light.

Rosie Wee bought hyacinth and narcissus for me when we first shifted to Summerglades, Cyberjaya in February 2015. They came covered up in pretty papers that kept them in darkness.Soon after cutting open the pretty covers, the light began shining in on the shoots. The light dispersed the darkness. They blossomed in time for Chinese New Year.

Fragrant hyacinths bloom
on my kitchen top.

Pretty cheerful narcissus bloom
in my toilet..

My all time favourite bloom in Summerglades comes from our eco pond. The pretty small white flowers open in the bright sunlight and close up by 5.30 pm if the light is not intense bright. What is it about the light that makes flowers bloom?

Pretty small white flowers bloom
in the bright sunlight

The clear waters of the eco pond
reflect the flowers.

Ken Jon and Francesca enjoy the bright light and the pond. They sat straightaway on the deck and dipped their feet in the waters. Probably after flying in from the dreary winter in Cleveland, they appreciate the bright Malaysian sun while most Malaysians would shy away from the intense bright light.

Most Malaysian will not dip
their feet into a pond.

Beneath the wooden deck, ultra violet (uv)  lights are installed where it is darkest. The water is treated by the uv light  to  control   the algae growth in the pond. That makes it ecologically balanced. What is it about the light that balances up systems?

The pink lilies of Summerglades
wetlands pond bloom only in the morning

In Summerglades, the lilies open and bloom in the morning. When I walk over to the pond in the evening, the blooms all close up. I learned it brings more pleasure to walk there in the morning when the lilies bloom. What is it about the light that causes flowers to blossom?

In hospitals, doctors use uv and ir to treat sensitive wounds.The heat from the infra red (ir) dry up the wounds and helps them heal faster. The uv light kills the pathogens and speed up healing. Wounds left in damp darkness will not heal well. 

Hurting people are often in denial over their emotional pains. They have a tendency to keep their skeletons and deep secrets in the closet of darkness. There is a good  possibility that if they were to give up their denial and open up their hearts to the light, their wounds will heal quicker. Light brings  true healing.

So folks, just like flowers, we bloom best when there is bright light.

Stay in the light!