20140312 -Langkawi / MH370

(Beholding this sunrise on Day1- reminded me of Isaiah 60 Arise and shine for the light has come!)

We were in Langkawi during this week in March 2014 celebrating my last year of in the 4tees:)   3 days after MH370 went missing and is still missing after more than 14 days now as of 21/3.  Sat at the window seat on return trip trying to spot any debris...well reportedly 'sighted' off Perth now.....

Some highlights of this trip?

1. Room Upgraded!

Managed to get ourselves upgraded from a normal room to a SUITE for Day3&4 ! see photos of this huge bungalow! after the air-con was found to be faulty (complaint lor) .  It was a special blessing!

2. Baby Sharks !

Pulau Payah (about 45 min from Langkawi jetty) : Snorkling (thank God for the powered goggles..else will be blind!) and swimming past some baby sharks! Oh Yeah!

See the sharks?? These baby sharks come by only in the afternoon. They congregated at the jetty below and I was swimming about just a meter away from them! Awesome!

Well, we paid RM200 /pax and went by a smaller boat from Royal Langkawi Yacht Club...but on the return trip, this boat 'couldn't start its engine"..so we were transferred to their local ferry which was a public boat that could take more people...so in the end, instead of coming back to mainland at 4 , we were delayed by an hour!..and no refund!

3. Eagles Eat Roti!

Went to this UNESCO accredited mangrove place Kilim Geoforest Park - RM90 /pax and witnessed this awesome roti eating eagles! (In Darwin the eagles ate meat!) 

Came to know that Lang - is Eagle and Kawi - a kind of stone...That was how Langkawi its name came about - famous for the stone eagles....

and the fish also eat roti.....

and those monkeys also eat roti and even swim....all eat roti..Malaysians ?

Except those fruit bats in the caves...they weren't eating but hanging in their sleep:)

4. Restaurants that FLOAT securedly on drums !

Interesting to know that instead of kelongs, these floating restaurants are so "still and secure" notwithstanding they are built on drums tied below...

5. Many private boats berthed here instead of the yacht clubs...cheaper RM8 per day instead of the hundreds...

6. Mangroves - they bubble oxygen!

Learnt that those with sprawling ones breathe out bubbles of oxygen which is eco friendly and there were those pencil stubs ones...arh..the importance of such mangroves and all the animals birds and fish for the eco-system!..and charcoal tablets for the tummy aches are made from leaves from such mangrove trees 'according to the guide'......

Go to Tanjong Rhu End jetty for this Mangrove tour - RM90 /pax. No need to pre-book..just be there before 9:30 am...

7. Most expensive prawn ever eaten :(

Kena kotok in Kuah city town by this restaurant? or may be not? Umm..this prawn cost RM40+ each ...but it was really succulent and yummy...wonder how much will it be at Newton Hawker centre??

Best to go to Pantai Cenang - the western beach area for the food...lots of them at the beach area...the Orchid restaurant was highly recommended by the locals..and the beers and chocolates are duty free and very cheap !

Overall?

Think I really enjoy this laid back Langkawi a lot . Still not so commercialised than Phuket or Bali. Go during the off peak season after Sep-Dec...

Rent a car...5 days for RM290...stay at Bayview in Kuah or the other beach motels along Cenang Beach which might be cheaper than the resort areas in the North West coast..Can go again to nuah @ kuah again....next time..will really swim at Tanjong Rhu beach ...and watch the Langs again,..They that wait upon the Lord shall soar like langs..eagles...Nice! and snorkel at RM90 instead of RM200 with the smaller charter..or perhaps go for a fishing trip instead.

Setback? Wonder why God made mozzies :( They bite and bite....even in the rooms of a 4-5 star hotel!

Here is a Lang Lang song....Eagles Wing...nice song!

Ever been to Maldives? Think the waters over there is definitely one of the best and the fish are still more colourful....

MH370 -some sightings by residents in one of the atolls nearby on that 8/3/2014...and a new atoll at Diego Garcia came to my notice this time...what an eye opener...watch this documentary....

By the description of this little atoll from one of the exiled residents - think this is like heaven...clear waters and they suffer no lack from the natural resources of makan...how the Lord provided for them ...a sad tale...about the stealing of a nation...people group called the Chagossians...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zhGvId4fcc

20140308: About 'Expensive" Gardens in City, Supertrees and Superhighways beneath and above....NINEVAH!

The "Hanging Gardens" in CaSino City?

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is now believed to be found in the city of Ninevah- the New Babylon city (Near today Mosul in Iraq) and not as previous thought in Babylon. Ninevah -then in around 780BC was a great city but also a wicked one. And the book of Jonah which contained only 4 simple chapters described  Jonah's reluctance to preach to this sinful city of about 120,000 people. In his final sulking, God provided the broad leaf shade tree over Jonah to shield him form the scorching heat and only to have it taken away the next day by the worm to teach Jonah a lesson on anger management and mercy.

Sounds all too familiar :)

Little red dot pride itself to be a garden city envisioned to be a city in a garden.  She is more than the hanging gardens built by the King Senacherib of Assyrian 2700 years ago. 

This little red dot boast of many 'Firsts" on world map -some are good boast while many are not.  The most recent only was a report that came out a few days ago - "Singapore is now the most expensive city in the world"  Sad :(

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2573676/The-worlds-expensive-city-named-Singapore-London-takes-15th-place.html

Any surprise?

Perhaps not.

1. Our Supertrees Garden in Marina Bay Vs Hanging Gardens in Ninevah?

GARDENS BY THE BAY is Singapore's newest icon -- a $1-billion investment over a 100-hectare green park zone located in Marina Bay's "new downtown" area. It is known for its 12 Steel Giant Supertreesand 2 cooled dome conservatories: The Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome.

It is a project by Singapore's National Parks Board, which aims to boldly transform the City of Singapore into a "City in a Garden" instead of just a "Garden City". It was recently awarded the World Building of the Year in the World Architecture Festival 2012

How much could it have cost King Sennacherib of 

Assyria to built this back then??? Any wonder of this wonders?

For centuries, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were thought to have been built in the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon, because of the name.

This location led people to believe it was built by the Emperor Nebuchadnezzar who lived around 600 BC.

Since this time, archaeologists and historians have scoured the location of the ancient city but have been unable to find any physical evidence they existed - leading some to believe the gardens are a myth.

It is one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World and was called the Hanging Gardens because they were supposedly built high above the ground on split-level stone terraces.

Some texts referred to the plants in the gardens as ‘floating’ but they were believed, instead, to have hung from these different terraces, giving them the appearance of being suspended in mid-air.

A Greek historian named Diordorus Siculus described the gardens as being 400ft wide by 400ft long, with walls as high as 80ft.

Due to this height, water was said to have been transported from a lake at the bottom using a similar principle as Archimedes’ screw – a pump that scoops up water in a spiral tube and carries it to the top.

It was said to have been invented by Archimedes in the 3rd Century BC yet if a similar system was used in the gardens, this would predate it by around 350 years.

Given the size, historians have estimated the gardens would have used 8,200 gallons of water a day to water the plants.

Some historians and archaeologists believe that the gardens were destroyed by war and erosion, while others believe an earthquake destroyed them.

2. Our undersea Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) vs the Penang 2nd New bridge (PB)

MCE VS PB

• MCE opened on 29/12/2-13 vs PB on 1/3/2014
• MCE total length is 5km vs PB of 26km
• MCE undersea is 3.6km vs PB above sea 16km
• MCE is 5 lane vis PB 2 lane
• MCE cost S$4.35bn vs PB RM4.5bn (S$1.73bin est)
• MCE cost S$860mio per km vs PB S$66mio per km
• MCE sees hard concrete precast and artificial lightings vs PB sees waters/sea - natural lights from the sun, blue sky and  moon  & stars

Interesting facts.  Well, with our president and prime ministers' glorious pay for ruling  over coming projected 6.9m mortals on the 700 sq km lump of earth, the piece of paper costing over $70k as requirement before qualification to own a 1.6l car, the hundredths of thousands of dollars to multimillion homes here...the easy foreign levies of more than S$600 per blue collar unskilled foreign workers here....shouldnt' red dot own the right to achieve this most expensive city in the award in 2014?

Red dot has come a long way.  This dot is now made famous as she made it to the top of the list on the world map now. Whee!
Perhaps the dream & vision of a father like King David, built and fulfilled by the son- Solomon and made possible by the contribution of the most holy gohst!

Reflections
Where is home truly?

Like the Singapore river that flows through this garden city in this song, I am reminded that there is a pure river of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev 22:1) somewhere in time where I would see. Red dot reminds me of the wicked city of Ninevah. We can become like little Jonahs...running away (sounds like migration thoughts) and wishing to die ( sounds like suicidal thoughts) 

 YET, Yahweh is still merciful to both Jonah and Ninevah - and the 120,000 citizens who couldn't discern between their right hand and their left hand. 

So where is home truly? Well, expensive city like Singapore or the cheapest city like Mumbai, India - they will never be truly our earthly home. Where our hearts are, there is the treasure.King Solomon at the end of it all, bemoans that all is vanity. Then shall dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it Ecc 12:7

Ecc 3:11 God has made everything beautiful  in his time, also he has set the world in our hearts.  Eternity is in our hearts. That homecoming feeling that makes one wonder all the time.  Arriving at Changi Airport after being away is a great feeling.  Good feeling to know that I am back home in this garden city.  But there is a greater sense of homegoing...this world is not my home, I am just a pilgrim passing through.

Jonah must have felt exactly what King Solomon had experienced in his quest of life. Ecc 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgement, that wickedness was there and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there...God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

Alas, one alone cannot change the world or system but only what we can do bit by bit. Yes, we are in the world but we are not of the world. We are born in another heavenly citizenship with only social or employment pass on this red dot! It is not about having the red passport or attaining the permanent residence here. LOL! Thank God only temporal here on red dot...else how to afford the retirement here - in this most expensive city in the world! Oh mind!

So when at times I am feeling low or when troubles come like this song "Home truly" I will remind myself of the river of life that flows from the throne, not the Singapore River ...heh heh...so that I know I am Home in the place I truly belong:)

Conclusion:

Ecc 12:13-14" Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the WHOLE DUTY of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether is be good or whether it be evil"

20140307: Daniel 1 King Nebuchadnezzar & Hanging Gardens of "Ninevah", not Babylon?

Dan 1:1 " In the 3rd year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon into Jerusalem, and beseiged it"

More than 30 years back, I studied the Babylonian civilisation in History during the secondary school days.  At that time, I did not know the Lord Jesus and this part of history was merely 'history' of ancient civilisations of the world.

Nevertheless, one aspect of this famous wonders - Hanging Gardens of Babylon never failed to fascinate me.  And in Nov last year 2013, one Oxford academia claimed to have found the actual site of this garden.  And it was not built by King Nebudachadnezzar, but rather King Sennacherib of Assyria. And it was not in Babylon but rather in Ninevah - near the present city of Mosul in modern Iraq today .  The country that is now often in the news for the fighting and wars.

Reading the book of Daniel. Daniel was one of the young men who served King Nebucahdnezzar.  That was more than 2500 years ago!  And Daniel was the one who " purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat..." He was the one who interpretated King N's dreams.

Who is this King Nebuchadnezzar? Who is Daniel? They had dreams and they had visions.

Watch the video below on the Hanging Gardens.  It is kind of interesting to know that today -man is trying to work backwards as to how this garden was constructed. The water irrigation system that made the water flow upwards during the time 2700 years back in history!  Could it have been Archimedes' Screw was already invented way before Archimedes founded it? (Do you know what this is? watch the video to find out!)

So such was the time in around 605 BC that Daniel was in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was wise and "he sat in the gate of the king" Dan 2:49

Reflections
So much wisdom required in the architectural building of this Hanging Gardens in those days. Credit was not really due to whichever king - Sennacherib of Assyria or Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  The Chief Master builder and Architect is still God, the Creator of heaven and earth.  Dan 2:21 .."He removes kings and set up kings, he gives wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understand; He reveals the deep and secret things, he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him"

The fact that even without the modern tools and heavy machinery of today, such majestic & mysterious Hanging Gardens could have been built more than 2700 years ago is indeed awesome. This garden thought to have been destroyed by earthquake is now kind of 'located". Near today's Mosul city. Many had dug the wrong places  and related the building structure to a wrong king. Lost and now found.

HIstory recorded it. Science and archaelogical findings is now proving it.  The people mentioned in the book of Daniel were real people living during that era.  So indeed the bible which is a library of 66 books is true to the core.  And it remains as the most widely printed book even today - still in circulation in even many different translations.  Gardens may go and Grass may fade but His Word stands forever against the test of time. Falling in love with history...with geography ...and science and mathematics once again....Just like this lost and found garden - personally was lost too but now found by the Chief master builder.  History and geography subjects used to be dull with lots of hard work in memorizing the dates and the events and names and places.  But now - it is alive - not that dull anymore since I fell in love with this author of 66 books.

By Jasper Copping

7:50AM GMT 24 Nov 2013

It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World for which the location has for centuries remained elusive.

Now, though, an academic from Oxford University believes she has solved one of the world’s last great archaeological mysteries by identifying the precise spot on which the Hanging Gardens of Babylon once stood.

Dr Stephanie Dalley focused her search hundreds of miles north of the site of the ancient city of Babylon, now near Hillah, in central Iraq, to support her theory that the lush, elevated marvel was in fact built near the city of Ninevah, in the north of the country.

^{The believed site of the Hanging Garden of Babylon, in the foregound, on a mound near the ancient city of Ninevah, northern Iraq (CHANNEL FOUR)}

From piecing together clues from ancient texts, the academic has uncovered evidence that the gardens were in fact produced not by the Babylonians and their king Nebuchadnezzar, as has traditionally been assumed, but rather by their neighbours and foes, the Assyrians under their monarch, Sennacherib, around 2,700 years ago.

Sennacherib’s capital, Ninevah, is now near to Mosul, an area of Iraq still wracked by religious and ethnic violence, and although Dr Dalley travelled to the region earlier in the autumn, her team considered it too dangerous to visit the exact spot.

However, using maps, she was able to direct a local film crew, with an armed escort, to the area, next to the ruins of the king’s palace, to survey it on her behalf.

Their footage showed a heavily a vast mound of dirt and rubble, which slopes down to an area of greenery and looks out onto modern housing and open countryside beyond.

Dr Dalley said: “That’s the best place for it to be. It looks like a good place for a garden.

“More research is now required at the site, but sadly I don’t think that will be gpossible in my lifetime.

“My conviction that the gardens were in Ninevah remains unshaken.”

The footage is the culmination of more than 20 years of research by Dr Dalley, from Oxford University’s Oriental Institute, to prove the correct location of the gardens.

With no archaeological evidence ever found for them, many have dismissed the gardens as a myth.

Knowledge of them is based on a few accounts, written hundreds of years after it was said to have been built by people who never saw it.

One of these accounts claims that it was created by King Nebuchadnezzar, 600 years before the birth of Christ, at Babylon as a paradise in the desert for his wife who missed the green mountains of her home.

However, in the writings of the time - including Nebuchadnezzar’s own texts - there is not one single mention of any garden and more than a century of digging has turned up nothing.

Dr Dalley directed her own research further north after decoding an ancient “cuneiform” text - a script from the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires - that led her to believe the gardens had been attributed to the wrong location, the wrong man and wrong period.

The researcher - one of a handful of people in the world who can read cuneiform - came across a prism at the British Museum with cuneiform text which describes the life of Sennacherib; who lived 100 years before Nebuchadnezzar and reigned over an empire stretching from southern Turkey to modern day Israel, which describes a palace that he built and a garden that he built alongside calling them a “Wonder for all people”.

Further support for the theory comes from a bas-relief, removed from Nineveh and brought to the British Museum, showing his palace complex and a garden featuring trees hanging in the air on terraces and plants suspended on arches.

Because Ninevah is so far from Babylon, this evidence has previously been overlooked. However, Dr Dalley has found that the Assyrians conquered Babylon and their capital became known as “New Babylon”, possibly accounting for the confusion over the names.

Her research, which features in a Channel 4 documentary tonight, Finding Babylon’s Hanging Garden, has led her to establish that the gardens were built in a series of terraces, buit up like an amphitheatre, with a lake at the bottom.

Water was bought to the city and surrounding areas via a 60 mile long canal.

Evidence of this structure, 300ft wide and 60ft deep at some points, remains on the landscape and can be seen on now de-classified photographs taken by US spy satellites and analysed by Dr Dalley.

The greenery would have required around 300 tonnes of water a day.

An inscription found by the academic describes how this was achieved, with water from the lake was raised up onto the terraces by device using the same principles as the Archimedes’ screw - some four centuries before it was thought to have been invented.

Ninevah features in the Old Testament as the city to which Jonah was sent by God to preach against its sinfulness.

The list of wonders was originally drawn up, however, as a guide to “must—see” sights for ancient Greek travellers in the eastern Mediterranean around the third century BC.

Most were destroyed by earthquakes and only the Pyramid of Giza survives.