Ho Chi Minh Nov 10-12 '06 - D1

We visited the chu chi tunnels .. some 20+ Km from the airport.

Ho Chi Minh and the flag of Vietnam - red background and a single Star

VCs dummies

The making of rice paper.

Your selection of ammunitions.

You can see my reflection as I held my lens close to the display cabinet. One of bullet was pink-tipped

A blown out M41 Tank


Bombs shells A4 size hole - entrance to the tunnel.

An ugly Micky mouse ?
Just found out this plant is called Ochna Kirii
and was commonly referred as Micky Mouse plant! I have seen similar plants in
Haw par Villa in Singapore

Look at the top left photograph ( near the ceiling).
This is one of the famous foto depicting a girl with clothes burnt off from a napalm bomb, she survived and moved to Canada. I remembered this one when i was still a lad.
It had etched in my mind since.
Look at a clear image here
Was told by the tour guide the 'young boy' running in the foto had just passed away.
Looked at the terrified look in their faces.....very sad indeed.

This was my first attempt using the just acquired canon 17-40mm f/4 L lens on the 20D. It was much heavier than the kit-lens. [ S3 was my spare camera just in case.] Most of the street scenes were shot on a moving bus on the 20 plus Km trip to chuchi tunnels. We passed by lush green padi fields, lotus ponds, road side stalls selling all kinds of wares, tree-lined parks.

TTW 09...

The long narrow and oval shaped fronds on a low bougainvillea hedge caught my attention.
At first i thought this must be two different species. Only when i unravelled one strand i found they came shared the same 'strand'.

Fertile fronds ( with spores at outer edge of leaf)
of Dragon's Scale Fern ( Pyrosia piloselloides) yet another
way of sporangia arrangement.

Sungei Buloh wetland reserve

Tuesday 10/24 - Hari Raya Public Holiday
Kranji MRT Stn -> Bus #925 direct -> SB wetland R

Seven candles

Mudskipper

Rows of tiny flowers of phyllanthus pulcher (EUPHORBIACEAE)

Close-up view of x1 unopen flower

Found this 'jelly-like' berries ..

'Bird's dropping' that moves - a clever camouflage

A tiny web - diameter of 15mm+
close-up shot revealed the intricate 'zig-zag' web pattern.

At first I only spotted the white 'patch' then
flipped the leaf over, I saw the owner - a spider. It later
returned to the 'nest' to check ( babies inside?)

High tide... another foot more it will swap the walkway..

Crabs ...etc scrambled for high ground as the tides came rolling in.
This one was spotted on high-ground of Sea Holly's branches

Underside of a nipah palm frond
with 'scale' some sort stuck to the mid rib

Tide is coming in, the bunch of nipah fruits hung above the tide-line
The white atap chee used in desert is right inside!Red calyx ( above/below) of Black Mangrove ( Bruguiera gymnorrhiza)

Young upright leaves of Bird Nest fern - like a pair of skis

Spores on the underside of a the bird nest fern

A chance happening...
he lalang grass grew right through the dead leaf and
get lifted it up in the process
or
a leaf with a central hole fell
through the blade