Way Up North...

Over the weekend, I went up to the island state of Penang. Here are some of the pictures I took on my Blackberry...

I saw this picture when I went to visit the Tzu Chi Foundation center there. I recalled many times that Rinpoche had likened Kechara to be a ship crossing the turbulent ocean of Samsara to rescue those caught up by its waves. Some make it up the ship while others prefer to remain in the water. The captain is of course Tsem Rinpoche and the liaisons are the oarsmen or whatever they call them. Ahoy! All crew on board! Let's set sail!

I also paid a visit to the quiet and contemplative Jingsi Books and Cafe in Penang. I liked the minimalist decor and books but majority of the literature were in Chinese and the few English books were not really up my alley. But I must say that the organic instant rice and noodles were rather enticing but a tad bit too wholesome for my toxic dump of a body. Everybody was so quiet, goody-goody and just so prim and proper which gave birth to nasty thoughts of screaming and laughing real loud or breaking into an obnoxious Hokkien song. Of course I wouldn't do those nasty things! I finally just relaxed to a multigrain cuppa and was struggling to stay awake. Don't get me wrong, it was all great. I was just sleepy.

No trip to Penang is complete without a visit to Kechara Paradise on Chulia Street. I know I am a true blue Kecharian when I felt at home here with all the quaint Tibetan Buddha statues and thangkas. Lama Tsongkhapa never felt more welcoming than ever and I felt really proud because even in this distant Penang branch of Kechara Paradise, we are as beautiful as ever. Pasty Gooi lovingly takes care of Kechara Paradise along with other activities that she does up there in Penang. Check out more pictures of this store at http://www.kechara.com/shopping/locations/kechara-paradise-penang/