Taken in October of 2012 in Ayutthaya.
Ripples on the pond and vines strangling the tree. I don’t know why–or precisely where in Ayutthaya–I took this picture, but I’m going to go unconventional and make it today’s Daily Photo.
Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
The other night, I ate banana flower for the first time–that I know of / remember–in two separate dishes. My wife and I were eating at the Oh! Calcutta on St. Mark’s Road in Bangalore, and we sampled banana flower croquettes as part of an assorted starter platter, and then I tasted some of my wife’s entrée, which was “dry cooked banana flower with coconut slivers.” The former was tasty, but so spicy that my undiscerning palate was incapable of learning anything about the flavor of this flower. The latter, much milder, dish tasted like a tasty take on mashed potatoes (again, to my unrefined palate.)
The picture above was taken in Malaysia, but banana flowers are present everywhere bananas grow (throughout much of tropics.)
Deceptively, the flower looks like it could be a deadly weapon–with its pointy, conical bloom.
Taken on January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens
Taken at the 2014 Republic Day Flower Show in Bangalore.
Taken in January of 2014 on Rang Hill, Phuket.
Taken in January of 2014 on Patong Beach.
This little bird was going all Daniel-san, reading itself to lay a boot to the head.
Taken January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens.
There were many beautiful coxcombs at the 2014 Republic Day Flower Show, but this one looked eerily like a brain.
Taken January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens in Bangalore.
The Crystal Palace at Lal Bagh gardens, which is normally roped off and empty, has been packed brimming with flowers for the annual Republic Day Flower Show that ends today.
It would be slightly more enjoyable if security wasn’t threatening to wallop one with a stick if one loiters for a second. You can see it as many times as you can fit in a day, but you must keep moving along. It’s a one way flow, so if you don’t have the desire to go through twice (once on either side) I’d recommend going on the south side (farthest from the main entrance.) For some reason the crowd was about half on that side (probably because no one anticipated the layout would make you do two half loops instead of one full loop.) Why they did it, I have no idea, but the flowers were pretty.
I.
Wind kicks at her hem.
The skirt flaps and snaps.
White cotton surrendering
to stiff seaside gusts.
A palm shoots to thigh
to bar the immodest scene
of goose-bumped flesh.
II.
A fishing boat chugs through the sound.
Puttering on sputtering engines
–then silence and drift.
A surefooted seamen stands and slings
a net that splays open like pizza dough.
It lands gently on shimmering seas,
and sinks into green-blue waters in slow motion.
Trying to snare an unsuspecting catch.
III.
Snorkelers ride the swells
like drifting corpses.
Legs unkicking
Arms unstroking
Mesmerized by a new world below
Awe expires from tubes,
rising and evaporating in sun-warmed air
IV.
Sailboats rock like metronomes–
masts counting out a rhythm,
a planetary pulse
V.
Trudging ashore,
retreating seas pull sand underfoot
He leans into the trudge,
his body-weight barely defeating the sea’s suction.
VI.
Red and white lanterns drift aloft.
Slanting up into night skies over the bay.
Light flickers and dances
before flashing into cinder
that will fall silently into churning waves.
VII.
Water gurgles in rocky sumps at the sea’s edge.
The tiny caverns floods like a heart chamber,
scurrying metallic green crabs flee out onto the rocks.
No two tides are identical–nature surprises even veterans.
Taken on Christmas Day on Phuket, Thailand.
This photo turned out a bit otherworldly. It’s a crab on a barnacle-covered rock who is about to be swamped by a boulder-churned slab of white water.
Taken Christmas Eve of 2013 on Phuket.
A rare piece of pristine Phuket, Thailand.
