Kids in the City - 9 Mar 2013

Come March, there's so much happenings in the city and we do not even need to go far.  
A small exhibition on Japanese handmade wooden doll, called "Kokeshi" at the Petaling Jaya Museum until 25 April 2013. We went to a cultural workshop organised by the Japanese Foundation KL along with the exhibition. There're origami sessions but we didn't manage to join, a demo on how to wear yukata and another demo on how to play with the traditional Japanese toys. We thought that 'toys' would better relate to kids in learning about other culture.
Everything about the Japanese is so exquisite and artistic, whether it's the papers for origami, toys or yukata (ie a simplified version of the more exotic kimono). You could not miss the Japanese way of 'folding', which you could see it in origami as well as in folding clothes. The art of 'folding' also influences their architecture and rituals of every day life. 

If you do not know about Kokeshi, they are the traditional folk toys. This exhibition shows not only the traditional ones but also the creative Kokeshi, as a result of new developments emerging from that tradition.

Even toys could not hold him back from the playground.

Family Fun Day at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, KLCC. 
It's something that the kids really look forward to. From only RM102 per person, we could enjoy 6 orchestra concerts for the year. Here's the troop at the MPO's Musical Magic concert. After the concert, there was an autograph session with the conductor and magician. These informal weekend concerts are accompanied by live performance specially designed to captivate children of all ages and offer a better understanding of the orchestra. 

Check out the KLCC's Galeri Petronas when you're in KLCC. We're happy to bump into 'The Art of Architecture' exhibition by Foster & Partners, which is the firm behind many iconic structures around the world. The exhibition is full of little models and who does not like a model! It's like Lego to kids. And you have almost 50 of Foster's best works under one roof. I've never heard of them before, but I do recognise some of the skyscrapers like the HSBC buildings, the Beijing International Airport, the Millennium Bridge in London and the Millau Viaduct in France, the new German parliament Reichstag, airports, museums, stadiums, universities, etc as well as our local ones - IB Tower, Mont Kiara, Troika, Petronas university, etc.

showcase
New landmark in KL - IB Tower

 Foster put more thoughts on the sustainability concept in its integrated designs, with clever use of natural systems of lighting and ventilation and design of public spaces. Unfortunately no photography is allowed in the gallery, which speaks volumes about its works (you can see some great pictures here). You can visit the exhibition from now until 12 May at Galeri Petronas, KLCC. Entrance is free. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spilling the Beans in Ipoh - 6 Apr 2012

Image
Ipoh's familiar specialty - Nga Choy Kai or the Taugeh (Bean Sprouts) Chicken. What else to accompany the poached chicken than the fresh, fat and crunchy Ipoh famous bean sprouts!! The bean sprouts are served blanched, with a dash of sesame oil, white pepper and soy sauce. Ipoh is a well-known food haven in Malaysia, and most will agree that Ipoh's bean sprout is the best in Malaysia. The premium-grade bean sprouts come from the Buntong New Village, which is also my husband's hometown. Growing bean sprout requires only water and more importantly, watering techniques. Madam Toon told us that there were at least 8 operators in Buntong. They were all family-owned businesses, and the three Toon brothers have been growing bean sprouts for more than 70 years.  Bean sprouts are grown from black mung beans imported from Myanmar. The beans need to be watered every 4 hours throughout the day for 5 days, no shortcut, otherwise they will be not be fat and juicy. At
Read more

Al-Attas Garden in Janda Baik - 4 August 2012

Image
Besides being a well-known contentious writer, little do we know that Syed Hussein Alattas is also a self-taught gardener and an architect. He had built Taman Hana in Janda Baik from scratch and named after his wife.  Taman Hana sits on a 8-acre plot of land in the quiet village of Janda Baik. It boasts a collection of 1,000 species of plants including fruit trees, more than 700 big flower pots and five buildings that include the home of the Alattas family.  The good news is that it is open to visitors every day.  As we made our way past the entrance, this place appeared unkempt. It was well beyond its heyday (in 2008) but still showing off its faded beauty. Some parts were badly neglected, which was so unfortunate, because it originally was to be a quiet kampung retreat. A mix of traditional Malay, Peranakan, Indonesian and colonial British architecture and a Minangkabau styled roof. Syed Hussein had actually started building the structures in 1982 and he spent a lot of time
Read more

Sungai Besar Fishing Town - 12 Jan 2014

Image
I have no clue where is Sg Besar before the trip.  I thot it couldn't be that far cos it's still in Selangor. Together with my boys, I went with my friends to their hometown.  It's a small, quiet fishing town, home to mostly TeoChew fishermen.  The drive  on a Sunday morning  was  very relaxing and a good getaway after a crazy week.  Very scenic driving on the west coast and we passed by many small villages, paddy fields, interesting roadside stands and some cottage industries. There're familiar names like the Kuala Selangor town, Sekinchan, Tg Karang, and some homestays eg Kampung Haji Dorani in Sabak Bernam. I was worried by then cos we've not even reached Sg Besar, and it's already 150km! After another 15 minutes, and we're there! It took us about 2 hours in total. Fishing boat coming back with bountiful catch! Spending time at the jetty to watch fishing boats back in late morning.     Locals looking for bargains and fresh produce
Read more