Tien Jin: Artist Alley

Ch'eng Te: Lotus Blossom at the Summer Palace

Ch'eng Te: Summer Palace

The Emperor's Summer Palace is in Ch'eng Te, about 200 km north of Beijing and 110 km south of Mongolia.

To see a photo of me on the dragon boat, click here.

Beijing: Temple of Heaven

Beijing: Panda Bear

This was one of 5 pandas at the Beijing Zoo. We were lucky because all five decided to come out to see us all.

Beijing: The Forbidden City 2

Beijing: Olympic Stadium

Excuse the bad photo -- this was taken as the crazy/brilliant Chinese driver was traveling 70 mph down the highway on an especially hazy day. Traffic in Beijing is quite an experience.

Beijing: The Forbidden City

Beijing: The Great Wall of China

Notice the blurry mountains? Air pollution is a huge problem here in Beijing so the sky is always hazy.

Singapore: Hawker Stores at Orchard Road

The famous hawker stores of Singapore where you can get any kind of food imagineable at super affordable prices.

Singapore: Vivo City

Sorry for the blurry photo. It was taken from inside the monorail through thick plastic windows. Vivo City is a series of multi-purpose buildings set on the edge of the southern shores of Singapore.

I just love the modernist architecture.

Singapore: Chinese Opera

Chinese opera at an outdoor stage in Holland Village, Singapore

Singapore: The Esplanade Roof

This is the roof of The Esplanade in Singapore, an architectural wonder that is absolutely gorgeous.

Singapore: City Vista

Am in Singapore this week.

Malaysia: Chinese Gazebo

Malaysia: Fort Margherita

This is Fort Margherita, which has been turned into a Police Museum. Sarawak was a former British colony and was briefly ruled by the White Rajahs.

Am heading to Singapore next week.

Malaysia: Spice Market on India Street

Malaysia: Fruit & Veggie Market by the Sarawak River

I finally found a wifi-cafe (Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) in Kuching, Sarawak thanks to information from Carol of Oh! For the Love of Food.

Malaysia: Sampans on the Sarawak River

Malaysia: Window Shutters at Old Town Kuching

Kuching is the state capital of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Malaysia: State Mosque of Sarawak (Borneo Island)

Am getting limited access to internet in Sarawak, Malaysia so I cannot respond to everyone's comments or stop by your sites to say HI. But I would like to thank everyone for stopping by.

Am going to break the New York City photo rule. Will post some holiday photos every few days.

Ming Going on Vacation

I will not be posting regularly (daily) for the next month or so because I'm traveling to Malaysia, Singapore and Beijing for vacation with my family.

I hope to post some photos of my trip whenever/wherever I find internet connection while I'm on the road.

Thanks for visiting New York City Daily Photo.

Public Fire Alarm System

This is a public fire alarm pole from the bygone era. There is one on almost every block in my neighborhood but I don't think they work anymore. Most new apartment buildings have either sprinkler systems and/or indoor fire alarms.

For a closer look at the instruction about how to activate the alarm pole, click here.

Lunch Is Served!

This is one of my favorite lunches -- a tri-color salad mix made with bitter radicchio, sweet endive and peppery arugula, topped with some tangy goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The meal was served with warm rosemary focaccia bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil or EVOO.

Does that sound healthy or what? To be honest, I have atrocious eating habits. I eat a lot of hamburgers (medium rare) topped with bacon (salty & crispy) and served on a nicely toasted bun. And I like REAL hamburgers, not the nasty stuff they serve at fast food restaurants.

So do you have a favorite salad? Do you have a culinary vice?

Neighborhood Dogwalker 2

Last March, I posted a photo of my neighborhood dogwalker. I saw him again this week and took a new updated photo of the scene. Notice in the March photo (see below), there was a little dog following behind him without a leash? This little dog was still there (see above) and he was not on a leash either. He took his time walking behind the pack and had to be reminded a few times to keep up with the group. It was the cutest thing I saw all week and it made my day. Maybe I should quit my job and be a dog walker too.

If you love dogs, visit Pension Milou by Jilly of Menton Daily Photo who has the most amazing job, in my opinion. She cares for dogs professionally and she loves them.

When you were a kid, who did you want to grow up to be?

I'm re-posting the photo from March 2007 below because I think it deserves another look.

iPhone Madness

Apple, Inc. unveiled its much ballyhooed iPhone on Friday, June 29 at 6:00 PM in New York City and across the country. People began forming a line at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue between 58th and 59th Street as early as Tuesday night -- three days before the product went on sale. However, the more interesting news about this event was that only a few of the people waiting in line were actually going to keep the iPhones for themselves. Some of them were there as a favor for their (otherwise working and wealthier) friends while the others were hoping to scalp the iPhones for a profit. One very entrepreneural young man was interviewed on TV and said his iPhone was available for sale at $1,000 once he got it. The phone normally retails at $499 (4 Gig) and $599 (8 Gig).

Keropokman from Singapore Daily Photo suggested I go to the Apple Store to photograph the event so I did, on Friday afternoon at about 4:00 PM. When I got there, numerous press agencies and policemen have already descended on the plaza and there were barricades set up to improve traffic flow and crowd control. In the photo, you can see the glass cube where the Apple Store is located and the people who have been waiting since Tuesday. Some brought sleeping bags while others had folding lawn chairs. It was an interesting sight indeed.

For more photos of the iPhone launch event, click here.

So have you ever done something like this before? If not, what would make you stand in line for more than a couple of hours so you can get the tickets or entry to an event?

Theme Photo: The Color Red

This is a photo of a french restaurant in Chelsea called La Belle Vie on 8th Avenue between 19th and 20th Street.

July 1st is Theme Photo Day and this month, the theme is The Color Red. One hundred (100) bloggers are participating in the theme photo today: Shanghai, China - Mumbai, India - New York City (NY), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Hamburg, Germany - Stayton (OR), USA - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Hyde, UK - Oslo, Norway - Brookville (OH), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Joplin (MO), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Selma (AL), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Seattle (WA), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Evry, France - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Grenoble, France - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Hilo (HI), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - La Antigua, Guatemala - Brisbane (QLD), Australia - Singapore, Singapore - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hong Kong, China - Sequim (WA), USA - Paderborn, Germany - Saarbrücken, Germany - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Tenerife, Spain - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Sydney, Australia - Naples (FL), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Mainz, Germany - Toruń, Poland - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - North Bay (ON), Canada - Jakarta, Indonesia - Montréal (QC), Canada - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Baziège, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - New York (NY), USA - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Sharon (CT), USA - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Villigen, Switzerland - Chicago (IL), USA - Torquay, UK - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Paris, France - Seoul, Korea - Manila, Philippines - Milano, Italy - Austin (TX), USA - Chennai, India - Madrid, Spain - Seoul, South Korea - Wailea (HI), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Ajaccio, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Budapest, Hungary - Moscow, Russia - Auckland, New Zealand - Torino, Italy