Sunday, August 26, 2012

Detailed look at a Jewish cemetery in Ukrainian Transcarpathia

Photo courtesy of riowang.blogspot.com



Bottom of same gravestone. Epitaph reads: "Here is hidden the virtuous and praised woman, whose hand was open to the poor [Prov 31:20 in free rendering], Lady Scheindel, daughter of Moshe of the blessed memory. Deceased on Hoshana Rabbah [the last day of Sukkot] in 5605 [1845]. May her soul be bound in the bondage of the living." Photo and translation courtesy of riowang.blogspot.com 




By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The elegant and informative riowang blog runs a very nice post -- with lots of photos -- about the Jewish cemetery in Tekovo/Tekehaza  in Ukrainian Transcarpathia.

I have already linked to the very detailed and richly illustrated riowang posts about the Jewish cemetery and synagogue in Lesko, Poland - and since the author gave me permission to use his photos, I am re-posting some photos of Tekovo/Tekehaza here.

The post  comments in particular on the large number and variety of gravestones marked by candlesticks.

Riowang noted that in Tekovo/Tekehaza
it is worth noting a special gravestone motif, which almost has its own school in the cemetery of Tekeháza: the large and diverse number of geometric candelabra. The presence of candelabra – as we have already seen in the cemetery of Lesko – is not unique in itself. We meet with them almost only on women’s graves, praising the Friday night candle-lighting and, beyond that, the light and warmth of the family home as well as the virtuous woman maintaining it. What is interesting in Tekeháza, however, is the large number and many variations of stylized, geometric candelabra.
The many photographs on the post show candlesticks that are geometric and braided at the same time, as well as some that look like plants:
Once speaking about the candelabra, it’s worth to point out a special local form of this motif. About these gravestone decorations it is difficult to decide whether they are three-branch candelabra or stylized three-leaved plants.

For the stone pictured above, it notes:

On the top, two doves with their heads turned back surround a richly decorated seven-branch candelaber of an intertwined stem. The dove is a symbol of piety, while the candelaber of Friday evening and of the family home. At the bottom of the gravestone a snake is waving. The snake is a relatively rare motif on Jewish graves. In the Jewish cemetery of Warsaw we find an example of the snake biting its own tail, a symbol of eternity, while in the likewise Polish Jewish cemetery of Żabno, the snake attacking the lion on one of the stones represents the death. It is likely that the snake in Tekeháza is somehow related to this latter one. 

This post also appears on my En Route blog for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Muar Assam Fish (林记蔴坡巴东亚叁鱼) at Restaurant KK, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru.

Restuarant KK (林记蔴坡巴东亚叁鱼) (N1.53038 E103.79861) is located along Jalan Rosmerah 3/1 of Taman Johor Jaya, the street is easy to find if you know the T-junction in front of Public Bank at Rosmerah area. The restaurant is similar to the normal Chinese restaurant without any grand deco or renovation...


We visited the restaurant for our dinner and our orders...
*  The Muar Assam Fish
*  Steam clams
*  Dragon tougue (type of fish)
*  Fried eggs (it has a unique Chinese name - )
*  Vegetables

Muar Assam Fish

Steam clams

Dragon tougue (fish)

Fried eggs (炸蛋)

Vegetables

The Assam Fish was Delicious! Taste similar with my favorite restaurant at Muar - Merlin Restaurant which is spicy and sour enough! The clams were fresh and others dishes taste above average! The owner of the restaurant was friendly and he serve us one of the new dish for free! Which I forgot to photograph...

The total Damage : RM119.00 for 4 adults and 4 children included drinks. Reasonable price!

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from 10am-10pm. Close on Thursday two weeks once. It's crowded during weekday lunch and dinner time...Do drop by if you are Muar Assam Fish lover! :)

Restaurant KK
47, Jalan Rosmerah 3/1,
Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru
Tel : +6-016-7833191 / +6-07-3532819

Location map of Restaurant KK (Muar Assam Fish) at Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru.


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sneak Preview of LEGOLAND Malaysia at Iskandar Johor. (Part 2)

Continue from the previous post of LEGOLAND® Malaysia...

After the last ride in the park, we were invited to the Market Restaurant for the Ramadan Buffet Dinner...along the path, we passed by the Miniland. Yes! This is what I'm looking for!

"Miniland, is known as the heart of all LEGOLAND® worldwide. There are five LEGOLAND Parks in the world with locations in the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark and Germany. In this particular area of the Park, clusters are recreated using thousands of LEGO® bricks. The newest LEGOLAND Miniland pays special tribute to Asia. There are 17 areas including one dedicated to Singapore."

Let me show you some photos of the miniature LEGO sturcture in Miniland...
First, the PTP Port of Johor.

The Administration Office of PTP

There is a Cruise parking behind the building...

The Cruise parked at PTP (above), can you recognize the cruise?

The close up detail of the Cruise

One of the street at Kuala Lumpur, can you figure the name of the street?

The close up of the photo shop along the street at Kuala Lumpur

The Twin Tower of Malaysia

Follow by the miniatures of Singapore...

The Riverside Point of Singapore

Does it looks like Clark Quay of Singapore?

Can you recognize these buildings?

The Singapore Flyer (in Miniland of LEGOLAND)

The Taj Mahal of India

The Forbidden City of China (not complete yet...)

The motorize Dargon in the Forbidden City

The area has so many buildings and it was totally not enoug time for me to snap all! The best time to take photograph at the Miniland is before 12 noon, my advise. I will definitely come back to the Miniland, and soak myself in the park for at least 3 hours! I like it Very Much! :)

"Once fully operational the Park will also feature a wide variety of food and beverage outlets. Three restaurants, three food-stands, and 10 food-carts serving freshly prepared food will be available to visitors.
 Aside from the above, visitors can also look forward other outlets such as Pizza Mania and The Cafe. All three restaurants have an average seating capacity of 150 – 500 people. The average adult meal costs from RM10.50 to RM23 and the kid’s set meal deal which includes a main, a side and a drink is just RM15."

The General Manager (Mr Siegfried Boerst) and the F & B Director (Mr Zain Azrai Azhar Simin) were waiting for us at the entrance of Market Restaurant...they were really Friendly!

The GM and the F&B Director welcome us to the Market Restaurant

The Lego model at the restaurant...

Well, the restaurant is big enough to cater for the huge crowd during the park open, the photos below...

The internal decoration of Market Restaurant

There are some Lego models on top of us...do you notice it? :)

Queue up for the foods....and we were served by the friendly staffs in the restaurant...

Everyone queue up to get their foods...

The 'Friendly' staffs of Market Restaurant of LEGOLAND MALAYSIA

The foods were Awesome! I got myself a piece of Pizza, nice chicken and the fried Udon noodle for the 1st round...:)
Satisfied!

Delicious foods from the restaurant

We were having a Great time while havng our dinner, I had a good chat with the Management staffs of Legoland.
Once everyone finish the dinner, the Q & A session started...Mr Siegfried Boerst and Mr Zain Azrai Azhar Simin answer every questions from the Press relaxly....

Mr Siegfried Boerst

Mr Zain Azrai Azhar Simin

We had a group photo of the staffs of the restaurant...

The group photo of the staffs of Market Restaurant

Did you know?

"The Park estimates it will use over 500kg of rice, 6000 chickens, 10,000 burger patties and 52,000kg of ice in one month."

The combined restaurant seating of over 1400 peoples and all LEGOLAND Malaysia F&B outlets are HALAL certified.

The restaurant session end about 1-2 hours later, we walked towards the exit of the Theme park with our heavy loaded stomach...:)
Along the way, I still cannot stop myself to snap the night scene of the park...

The contractors are busy for the finishing work of the park, included this little cute LEGO model too...! :)

The middle of the park is the lake area which we didn't have chance to explore this time...I'll definitely take more photos of it on my next visit!

By that time, once we turn and look back of the park...what attracted me was the LEGOLAND giant signage on the hill...

The LEGOLAND giant signage on the hill

The LEGO Train

The tram above is going to tour you in the LEGOLAND...must be interesting! Even the park is built perfectly for family and children, I do think that's one of the good spot for photography enthusiast like me!

At last, we reach the exit of the park, the colourful lighting at the ticket counter was nice and attractive!

Colourful lighting of the ticket counter at night...

This will be the Theme Park I'm going to visit frequently! I bought the Annual pass on the next day morning, do you? :)
LEGOLAND, see you on 15th September 2012!


Related post :
The Miniland (photos) in LEGOLAND Malaysia, Johor.
Sneak Preview of Legoland Malaysia at Iskandar Johor. (Part 1)
Enjoy the Rides in LEGOLAND® Malaysia (Pt.1)
Enjoy the Rides and Fun in LEGOLAND Malaysia. (Pt. 2) 
Asia's First LEGOLAND open to public! 

LEGOLAND® Malaysia

Location map of Legoland Malaysia at Nusajaya, Johor.


Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sneak Preview of Legoland Malaysia at Iskandar Johor. (Part 1)

Legoland Malaysia (N1.42483 E103.62676) is located at Iskandar Malaysia, it's approximately 15 minutes drive from Johor Bahru town and also 15 minutes Tuas Second Link Malaysia. I was invited to join the Media group to the park for the test ride and also a Buka Puasa Dinner in the restaurant.

About LEGOLAND Malaysia :-
"LEGOLAND® Malaysia is the sixth LEGOLAND to be built in the world and the very first in Asia.
Targeted at families with children between the ages of two to twelve years old, LEGOLAND Parks are based on the universally popular LEGO construction toy product. They offer families the opportunity to bond, learn and push the boundaries of their imaginations through LEGO experiences. At LEGOLAND, families can practice their imagination and creativity, have fun while learning, and
understand the importance of caring and quality. Families will be immersed in a unique mix of kidpowered rides, building challenges, spectacular LEGO models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows that pull the audience into the action. LEGOLAND Malaysia will feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions when it opens. Other LEGOLAND theme parks across the world are situated in Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and USA with California and Florida locations. There are LEGOLAND Hotels in Denmark and the UK; with a hotel scheduled to open in California in 2013."


The event started on 5.30pm and all of us gathered at the Administration office before the tour...

The Administration Office of Legoland

Short briefing from the management staffs of Legoland

The Media Group of the day

At first, we were brought by the LEGOLAND transports to the Main Entrance of the Theme Park...

Main Entrance of LEGOLAND Malaysia

Everyone started to take photos and short speech provided by the Director and the Management staffs...

"Work is on schedule and the Park will be fully operational when the gates open in just over a month. Over the next few weeks, the 76-acres site will be landscaped and rides are already being tested and handed over progressively to the operations team. Frontline employees have also started training. Currently, the Park has hired more than 560 staff and the team is expected to reach its target of 1,000 people by the opening of the Water Park in 2013."

"Park completion is near with final theming in progress. This includes landscaping around the 76-acres, testing and handover of rides and attractions progressively. Employee training is also in full force and to date the Park has hired 560 staff members. When completed, the overall talent force is xpected to reach 1,000 people in number including the Water Park in 2013."

The tickets counters are ready in operation

And the Phase three just next to the main entrance is still in construction, target to complete on year 2014.

"Once fully operational the Park will also feature a wide variety of food and beverage outlets. Three restaurants, three food-stands, and 10 food-carts serving freshly prepared food will be available to visitors.
Aside from the above, visitors can also look forward other outlets such as Pizza Mania and The Cafe. All three restaurants have an average seating capacity of 150¨C 500 people. The average adult meal costs from RM10.50 to RM23 and the kid¡¯s set meal deal which includes a main, a side and a drink is just RM15."

"To date up to 50,000 Annual Passes has been pre-sold and the early figures are encouraging. "People in Singapore, Malaysia and around the region have shown good support to us and we cannot wait to showcase our Park to them soon," added Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND Malaysia)

These early figures show promise that reaching the Park’s attendance and financial goals will be achieved in the first year of operation. Annual passes are available for purchase on the official LEGOLAND website and day tickets as well as annual passes can be purchased at Iskandar Malaysia Information Centre (IMIC), Danga Bay, every Saturday and Sunday from 2.00pm until 6.00pm during the Ramadhan season."

The Media Tour started...

Everyone was excited to explore the park, included me...

Along the way, we saw many many LEGO models...I will show you some of it...

Shopping centre and some souvenirs centre

Below are some LEGO models once we stepped into the park...

Cute little models at the main entrance...

At the tickets counter...



The unique diver in the pool...

There were 4 main rides that we going to try it on the day...AQUAZONE Wave Racers, Dargon's Apprentice, TECHNIC Twister & Kids Power Tower.
We reached the TECHNIC Twister for the first ride :-
Spin the wheel to control how crazy your ride will be.
Minimum age: 6 years (4 years if accompanied by an adult)

TECHNIC Twister

Everyone was excited with the Twist!

Next to the Twister, the Exciting ride - Project X which was not yet ready for the day...I think this will be FUN!

The Project X ride of LEGOLAND Malaysia

The AQUAZONE Wave Racers was the second thrill...
A thrilling wave surf where those watching trigger the water bombs.
Minimum age: 8 years (6 years if accompanied by an adult)

Entracne to the Wave Racers

ARE YOU READY?

Let's start the Spin!

Yeeee-Haaaaa!

I was attracted by the LEGO Yellow Submarine within the Wave Racers area...it was really nice model and I spend about 30 minutes to enjoy every parts on the model...

The Yellow Submarine at Wave Racers area


The passengers in the submarine

The Captain

Another model which caught my eyes was the Red Octopus...

The Red Octopus

Then we walk to the next spot - LEGO Kingdom

The big Einstein face by LEGO, too bad the building behind was not ready yet...


The LEGO Kingdom

And there were some interesting model around the area...

Let me take a rest...

Welcome to LEGO Kingdom

The Dargon's Apprentice was the 3rd ride, I bet this was the Most Exciting ride that we tried!

Dragon's Apprentice :-
All the thrills of a rollercoaster for the park’s younger guests.
Minimum age: 6 years (4 years if accompanied by an adult)

Ready? Get set, GO!!

Ooooohhh!!


Oh man! Excited!

The entrance of LEGO Kingdom

I will enter the Kindom on my next visit...Imagination park was the forth area we visited...

The last ride : Kids Power Tower
Prove your strength to gain a beautiful view over the park.
Minimum age: 8 years (4 years if accompanied by an adult)

Entrance of the Imagination park

Kids Power Tower

The excitement game...

Muizuddin Marzuki (Muiz) on action

The Special Guest of the day : Muiz. He is six years old was invited to the Park preview after his father wrote a letter to management about his son being a huge fan of LEGO®.

The cute rabbit model at the tower...

Everyone was so happy and excited with all the test ride, I told myself...I will definitely back to the park!

I wish I can go up to the Observation tower one day...

Continue in Part 2 post for the Miniland of LEGOLAND and the Ramadan buffet dinner that served by LEGOLAND...

The LEGOLAND Malaysia will be open on 15th September 2012 and the ticket prices are RM140 (adult) and RM110 (Children below 12 years old). You can visit the official website for more information about the Annual pass.

Related post :
The Miniland (photos) in LEGOLAND Malaysia, Johor.
Sneak Preview of Legoland Malaysia at Iskandar Johor. (Part 2)
Enjoy the Rides in LEGOLAND® Malaysia (Pt.1)
Enjoy the Rides and Fun in LEGOLAND Malaysia. (Pt. 2)
Asia's First LEGOLAND open to public! 

LEGOLAND® Malaysia

Location map of Legoland Malaysia at Nusajaya, Johor.