Then Sze Koon temple - CNY2016 night view

The Chinese New Year begins on 8 February and  ends January 17, 2017. Start the Monkey Year with these foods to bring you bundles of joy, happiness and luck and most importantly, good health!

Chinese New Year 2016 Monkey Stuff toys. 

Centipede Hill  or Then Sze Khoon Temple/蜈蚣山天师宫 is just within walking distance from my place.  It's a shame to be so close to the place and not drop by for the temple.

During this period the temple stays open late at night (until 10pm or, some days, midnight).

After the Chinese New Year , it will resume normal operating hours from 7am t o 7pm daily.

Colorful giant ornate joss sticks with dragon symbol may take one and a half to two days to burn completely. 

A view looking down the Then Sze Koon temple car park.

Looking at the temple from below.  

For one, it looks near but devotees and visitors have to climb 264 steps to reach the temple.

Mum pay her respect to the Na Tuk Gong (拿督公) or Datuk Kong, all refer to the same deity who are local guardian spirits worshiped in Malaysia, Singapore and parts of Indonesia. Before the arrival of Islam, Malay culture practiced the worship of Datuk Keramat or Datuk Kong.

 Its  the first full moon of the Chinese New Year 2016 which  appear bright n round.  What better way to enjoy the Chap Goh Meh!

Blue moon, 

you saw me standing alone 

without a dream in my heart

without a love on my own.

Oops, wrong song. Possible the best and most appropriate Chinese song ever about the moon is 'The Moon Represents My Heart'. Rock star Bon Jovi last year released a music video singing that Chinese classic love song. 'Chap Goh Mei' itself means the 15th night of Chinese New Year in Hokkien which also marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration. 

This could happen at any time and we can see the colorful LED decor lighting effects brighten up the place on the dark nights.

Shazam!  It's a different world. Lighting and camera angles can all make a big difference.

When dusk fell the lights came on and we were treated to an astounding visual display of Pagoda Tower.

Worshipers making offerings of incense, flowers and candles to Then Sze deity.

Newspaper clipping article about a golden color centipede found. Centipedes occur in several colors and patterns but most common are brown and reddish orange

 A picture frame, framed and hung on the wall showing the Golden Centipede.

How did it became to known also as Wu Gong Hill? In 1998, a reporter from a Chinese daily came to pray to the Then Sze deity and spotted a white centipede. He struck first price after buying numbers from a gambling outlet. He was so pleased that he wrote stories about this. Since then whenever people see a centipede they will associate good luck with it.

Spiral incense cones hanging from the ceiling of temple. Mom pray and ask God for guidance - please look after all my family, keep them healthy and well in body and mind and to be safe all the time.

Kwan Yin's statue stands within a small Koi pond with a rock backdrop. 

Me and My Mom! Like Mother Like Son

There was a steady stream of visitors into the temple after dark.

Swarms of  visitors  came down here like a cloud of locusts and  wandering round.

Tang Sanzang/Xuanzang. He is sent on a mission to Tianzhu (an ancient Chinese name for India) to fetch a set of Buddhist scriptures back to China for the purpose of spreading Buddhism in his native land. 

His Buddhist name "Sha Wujing", given by Bodhisattva Guanyin, means "sand aware of purity"

Is it real or only in my head?  We have to accept the fact that he's just a fictional but somehow my head tells me Monkey King is a legend but my heart tells me he's real.

Somebody get  that damn spotlight off me.

Please stop referring to me as Monkey King. I want to know as Sun Wu Kong the Great Sage Equal of Heaven or the Handsome Monkey.

The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin) helps Xuanzang find three powerful supernatural beings to be his bodyguard - Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - to aid and protect him on his journey. 

The three in the  background become Xuanzang's disciples and will receive enlightenment and redemption for their past sins once the pilgrimage is complete.

At night, the view of Seremban from Hilltop

 Hey! I'm practicing Tai Chi. 

Now, class, please stand up. Let me teach a very simple movement of Tai Chi. 

First, you separate your legs to make a 60 degree angle. 

Second, imagine there is a big watermelon in front of you, and you are holding it.

Then, use one hand to hold it, and another hand to cut the watermelon into half.

Give half to your left, and half to your right.

The Tai chi symbol is also known as the yin yang symbol.

What is Tai Chi? The Chinese say:"Where there is Tai Chi, there is peace and harmony between the positive and the negative." This is also one important spirits of Chinese philosophy: Martial art is not designed for fighting to win, but for maintaining harmony both physically and mentally within our bodies, as well as for developing a healthy and peaceful mind.

Mom, you look like a tree literally speaking. 

Mothers are so much like trees. Both are in a perennial state of giving. Trees give life-sustaining things such as oxygen, fruit and shelter; while providing beauty and harmony. 

Selfie Stick goes for a spin around the temple.  I felt like a child grab by the arms and spin them around.

 It's back to normal tomorrow as the The Lantern Festival, on 22 February 2016, celebrates the end of the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival.

Well, I've got this particular one dough sculpture while visiting Genting Highland from way back 12 years ago. Dough sculpture artisan from Shanghai, China can knead rice flour dough into a figurine resembling you or various other interesting personalities in 20 minutes.

Dough sculpture, also called dough flower, is a popular folk art of molding figurines from glutinous rice flour in China.

Dough figurines of Monkey King welcome the New Year 2004. It has taken its toll for sure, the  phoenix-feather cap and  dropping a section of its leg.

The next Year of the Monkey will be in 2028. Will I still be around in 12 years time?
God only knows.