Qing Ming and Tomb Sweeping

 

Traditionally the Qing Ming  falls on the first week of April and Chinese will go back to attend this Tomb Sweeping Day every year.

The Chinese elderly parents will want the qing ming or  tomb sweeping Day to continue..to give an opportunity for the younger generations to meet and learn to respect the ancestors of this traditional culture.

Three months ago, the permission to remodify the tombs of my ancestors  was granted after consultation with a medium. An auspicious day was chosen and all family members are required to attend the ceremony.  

It was for a good  reason that  when  family members  come back to  pay their respects during the qing ming festival, the tombs being restored would prove that the dead are not forgotten by their filial descendants.

Under the medium’s guidance  the ceremony started with the digging of the graves to collect the ancestors bones with much care every tiny piece of bones and the skull of the dead were unearthed and placed into an urn arranged according to position and reburied into the same graves.

Another date was set for all members of the family to attend to witness the new tombs with the medium performing a ceremonial ritual..

Now the qing ming festival is near and all our family members have decided to return to our home near Ipoh on this coming Sunday and we will gather again. Our deceased grandmother’s soul would be pleased to have the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren gathered at the new tombs -rebuild after almost 50 years.

Related article: Qing Ming festival is a time to get together

The red and yellow Canna Lily

Canna or Canna lily are one of the most popular garden plants beside orchid and hibiscus. These tropical flowers can be seen during my old days where I was bought up in the village near Ipoh. Many residents like to grow these plants because of it’s beauty and color.

Although Canna or Canna Lily are of the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world as long as they can enjoy about 6 hours average sunlight during the summer.

The photos were taken at the  Tanah Rata’s park, Cameron Highland recently.The species Canna or Canna Lily has two color, red and yellow. I am not sure if there are any more color of these beautiful species.

 Sometimes, they are also grown as potted plants. Photo taken with Canon 70-200mm F2.8 zoom lense.

 

A story of BOH Tea at Sungei Palas Garden

If you want to enjoy the cool weather and fresh air – 5000ft above sea level highland for a holiday, I would recommend  the Cameron Highlands. Relax and enjoy the beauty of nature and also don’t forget to go to the BOH plantations.

BOH Plantations owns four tea gardens with a total planted area of 1,200 hectares: Boh, Fairlie and Sungei Palas in Cameron Highlands, and Bukit Cheeding in the lowlands.

I always like to go to the Boh Tea garden at Ringlet whenever I am on holiday in Cameron Highlands. This time I choose to visit this Sungei Palas Garden.

After touring Cactus Point and Rose Garden in Brinchang it was almost afternoon, we took the road which is nearby Brinchang and proceeded to the BOH SUNGEI PALAS GARDEN.

The road is very narrow so we can’t stop along the way for photography. I don’t have many photos on this plantation and also I missed some photo opportunity when the workers were working, plucking tea leaves in the morning.

We reached and parked our cars near to a primary school and walked along a small path toward the tea centre. A tea sommelier led us to a small room for a video presentation on the tea plantation and explained the intricacies of tea tasting. 

In 1929, a man named J.A Russell obtained a tract of freehold land and transformed it into the first highland tea garden in Malaysia. He named it Boh. So begins the history of BOH Plantations.

Generally the process of tea is 1. Plucking 2. Withering 3. Rolling 4. Fermentation 5. Drying 6. Tea tasting 7. Storage .

Later we ordered a cup of Boh tea in the Tea centre and enjoying our cuppa while overlooking the valley.

Related article : Are we still getting cool and fresh air in Cameron Highlands?