Friday, November 22, 2013
Back in Europe - next stop: Fontainebleau!
We will spend the next months in beautiful Fontainebleau, in the south of Paris. Max will continue his studies and I will dedicate myself to the french language ;-) c'est magnifique!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
South Vietnam, May 2013
The second period out of five at INSEAD is already over and we spent the break in the south of Vietnam.
After two days exploring bustling Ho Chi Minh with an exciting Vespa food-tour, the shocking war museum, the amusing Reunification Palace, many beautiful temples and other hidden gems of the city, we escaped to lovely Mui Ne, a tiny beach town with a wonderful hotel, atmospheric beach clubs, many Russian tourist, tasty food, terrific sand dunes and amazing landscapes.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sipadan Island, Borneo 23-27 February 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Thaipusam Festival, Singapore 2013
Thaipusam is a highly symbolic Hindu festival celebrated by Singapore’s Tamil community. It is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. Celebrated in honour of Lord Subrahmanya (also known as Lord Murugan), who represents virtue, youth and power to Hindus and is the destroyer of evil, it is held during the full moon in the 10th Tamil month, called Thai, which falls in mid-January each year.
In Singapore, the Thaipusam ceremony starts in the early hours of the morning where devotees fulfill their vows with a 4.5 km walk from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple along Serangoon Road to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tank Road. The first batches of devotees usually carry milk pots and wooden Kavadis. A Kavadi consists of two semicircular pieces of wood or steel which are attached to a cross structure that can be balanced on the shoulders of a devotee. It is often decorated with flowers, palm leaves and peacock feathers. The milk they have been carrying is then offered to Lord Subrahmanya at the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple. Some devotees also pierce their tongues with skewers and carry a garlanded wooden arch across their shoulders. Devotees carrying spiked Kavadis, which require elaborate preparations, leave the temple in the later part of the morning and continue till night. The festival is not just an exclusively Indian affair; several Chinese devotees and people of other races also come to fulfill their vows on this day.
The festival is a visual spectacle and it often brings traffic in the city centre to a standstill, with a colourful procession full of chanting and dizzying rhythms of Indian drums. In preparation for carrying a Kavadi, a devotee has to prepare himself spiritually. For a period of about a month, the devotee must live a life of abstinence whilst maintaining a strict vegetarian diet. It is believed that only when the mind is free of material wants and the body free from physical pleasures that a devotee can undertake the sacred task without feeling any pain. The devotees are normally accompanied by friends and family members who cheer and offer support, usually in the form of prayers and chants. Witness the sacred ritual of Thaipusam when in Singapore, a true act of faith.
http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/whats-on/festivals-and-events/thaipusam.html
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
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