You know what I did last Raya...?

It was a cold drizzly morning. Asalnya aku bercadang nak beraya bersama unggas dan mergastua di zoo yang terletak ‘berhampiran’ (well, a 30 minutes walk away IS considerably near) dengan hotel tempat aku menginap.

But because the zoo only opens at 9.30am, I decided to not waste any precious time and go ‘beraya’ with the plants at the Botanical Garden (which opens at 9.00am). Tak banyak dapat berjalan-jalan pun. Meeting habis pukul 3.30 petang tapi diorang sini tutup paling lewat pukul 6.00 petang! Akhirnya aku langsung tak berpeluang menjenguk Adelaide Zoo.

Since pictures speaks louder than words, here are pics of some of the sights in Adelaide taken using my trusty old Olympus Mu Zoom on a very cheap tripod I purchased in Langkawi (the cheapness confirmed by the fact that one of the leg screw managed to escape from its place on my tripod leg and is now making its home among the grasses of Elder Park).

Adelaide Botanical Garden. First day in Adelaide. It was actually raining while I was waiting for the free tour of the garden to begin but this tree was so shady I hardly got wet! .

Adelaide Botanical Garden. On the right is our volunteer tour guide. "Young man," she said to me, "you are going to be very, very wet!". Now if she had been 40 years younger, I would have considered it as a 'come on'. Hahaha!

Adelaide Botanical Garden. The Victoria Lily. A large sized lily pad is able to hold the weight of a small child.

Elder Park by Torrens River. Second day in Adelaide. I cut through some parks to get to Rundle Street and managed to capture this scene on film.

Melbourne Street. Some 'mat salleh's backyard. These flowers grew out of a compost heap that was in a wheelbarrow.

Adelaide Botanical Garden. Final sunny day in Adelaide.

Adelaide Botanical Garden. Pic didn't turn out as expected but I still think it's really good! :)

Adelaide Botanical Garden. Shadow play. Kisah seorang anak yang duka nestapa kerana tak dapat beraya di Malaysia... Uhuk! Uhuk!

Adelaide Botanical Garden. Final day in Adelaide. I took another pic of the tree from which I sheltered from the rain that very first morning. It looks much better under the sun.

Fromme Road just before Albert Bridge. Tak dapat pegi ke zoo, bergambar luar zoo pun jadi le...

Melbourne Street. This tree grew as it liked just outside this office building.

The All Seasons Adelaide Meridien Hotel. View of sunrise from the hotel building.

"It's in the cards..."

Usually it’s the tarot reader who knowledgably coins the above phrase while talking about your future.

However, my blog today will not be talking about the future much less tarot cards. Instead I’ll be talking about my lack of enthusiasm for sending out Raya cards this year.

Prior to this entry, I had just written, signed and enveloped only 8 Raya cards in the most cincai manner imaginable! In previous years I would have had already posted about 15 Raya cards by the first week of Ramadhan to avoid the Raya card pile up at the post office.

I guess I’ve gotten tired of the effort of keeping in touch with friends who are still dear to me while they apparently have moved on with their lives, which used to include me but now no longer.

It’s a sad fact of life, but I should just cut my losses and simply cherish those who have stuck around for the duration. I wonder, how much longer would these friendships last…