I will no longer update this blog. I have moved to a new home.
Visit my new blog: http://jongoloids.com
Also visit my photoblog: http://jongoloids.multiply.com
I got this from Paulo Coelho’s latest post in Warrior of the Light Online. So amusing yet inspiring.
Heaven and Hell
A man, his horse and his dog were traveling down a road. When they were passing by a gigantic tree, a bolt of lightning struck and they all fell dead on the spot.
But the man did not realize that he had already left this world, so he went on walking with his two animals; sometimes the dead take time to understand their new condition…
The journey was very long, uphill, the sun was strong and they were covered in sweat and very thirsty. They were desperately in need of water. At a bend in the road they spotted a magnificent gateway, all in marble, which led to a square paved with blocks of gold and with a fountain in the center that spouted forth crystalline water.
The traveler went up to the man guarding the gate.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning,” answered the man.
“What is this beautiful place?”
“This is heaven.”
“How good to have reached heaven, we’re ever so thirsty.”
“You can come in and drink all you want.”
And the guard pointed to the fountain.
“My horse and my dog are thirsty too.”
“So sorry, but animals aren’t allowed in here.”
The man was very disappointed because his thirst was great, but he could not drink alone; he thanked the man and went on his way. After traveling a lot, they arrived exhausted at a farm whose entrance was marked with an old doorway that opened onto a tree-lined dirt road.
A man was lying down in the shadow of one of the trees, his head covered with a hat, perhaps asleep.
“Good morning,” said the traveler.
The man nodded his head.
“We are very thirsty - me, my horse and my dog.”
“There is a spring over in those stones,” said the man, pointing to the spot. “Drink as much as you like.”
The man, the horse and the dog went to the spring and quenched their thirst. Then the traveler went back to thank the man.
“By the way, what’s this place called?”
“Heaven.”
“Heaven? But the guard at the marble gate back there said that was heaven!”
“That’s not heaven, that’s hell.”
The traveler was puzzled.
“You’ve got to stop this! All this false information must cause enormous confusion!”
The man smiled:
“Not at all. As a matter of fact they do us a great favor. Because over there stay all those who are even capable of abandoning their best friends…”
I’m back from a 1-week adventure in Malaysia and Singapore. It was the same time last year when I went to Singapore for a training and explore the city with the same set of casts (JunJun, DheyDhey and me) in a very limited time.
It was my first time in Kuala Lumpur. Though I have visited Singapore thrice in the past, it was my first time to take the KL-Singapore-KL route via the AeroLine double decker bus. It was also my first time to try the Singapore Night Safari.
In KL, I had the chance to traverse the Genting Theme Park, climb the Menara (KL) Tower, and be thrilled with the grandeur of the Petronas Twin Towers.
When travelling, I never keep an open mind and don’t eat as the locals do. But this time, I took some culinary challenges to the extreme. I simply tried the “goreng” and “laksa” as well as some sumptuous chinese dishes. There’s also the famous flame-grilled peri-peri chicken at Nandos which we have tried twice.
Check the pix in my multiply site: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Genting.
I am not a true-blue philatelist but I have my fair share in postage stamp collecting. This hobby started during my stint in Riyadh when a Sri Lankan colleague asked me for the stamps attached in the mails I received from my country. I was amazed to see his collections of postage stamps from different countries. Since then, I have earnestly kept all stamps I chance upon. I have also bought some sets from bookstores and collector shops.
It’s been said that postage stamps can be regarded as a reflection of a country’s history. I do agree. Browsing my set of postage stamps is like reading a history book. It gives a feeling of going back in time.
See my stamps in multiply.
“There are three sides to every story: Side A, Side B, and the Truth.”
