What’s up fellow Steemians! In this post and the sequel I’m sharing my 10 snapshots of benches from different continents, inspired by the smartphone photo contest by @juliank themed ‘benches’, and @vandadream’s new challenge ‘My Smartphone Photography’. Check them out and join the fun! =)

大家好！受到手机摄影活动“长凳”主题的启发，我来分享10张世界各地拍的创意十足的凳子。（怎么听起来怪怪的🤨，好像没有一点儿高大上的感觉……请注意⚠️ 这里拼的是想法，不是奢华。）

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1 - Creative upcycle from pallets, a trunk and (half) a window! Pretty cool right?

• at a hostel on the Chiloe island, Chile 🇨🇱

用木头货盘和树干改造成的凳子，还有中间的旧窗户用来作茶几，创意又环保♻️，是不是很酷？照片拍于智利的奇洛埃岛上一家旅舍：

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2 - We made all our office furnitures by ourselves! Well, mostly by my male co-workers, I only bought the green plants and put them there ;). Thumbs up to these awesome handy engineers turned carpenters! 👍 I love that minimal bench, do you? Later we put cushions on it of course…:)

• in our office in Santiago de Chile 🇨🇱

智利首都各国的男同事们自己打造的办公室木制家具，这群工程师摇身一变都成了木匠，木工活还做得这么好！👍 我很喜欢那简单大方的凳子，你觉得呢？

注：我木工手艺实在不行，但绿植都是我买的，求赞……😁

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3 - Again in Santiago de Chile: 🇨🇱
I just feel the whole Latin America is a paradise of street art!

还是在智利首都圣地亚哥。我真心觉得整个拉美都是街头艺术的沃土（还有葡萄牙等南欧国家），随处可见色彩浓烈、想象瑰丽的涂鸦。

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4 - Now we come to Chile’s neighbor, Argentina 🇦🇷. These figures are from the well-known comic - Mafalda. The little girl Mafalda is so popular that it’s almost a national symbol like the beloved Evita! You can find her image in most book shops and souvenir shops in the capital city.

• in Buenos Aires (Oh how I loved this city! More detailed posts in future…)

阿根廷首都布宜诺斯艾利斯的街头，这些人偶是阿国出产的漫画《娃娃看天下》里的角色，风靡拉美和欧洲。主人公小女孩玛法达几乎成了和国母艾薇塔比肩的知名人物，在首都大大小小的书店、音像店、纪念品店里都能看到她的形象。

阿根廷是个文艺感爆棚的国家，布宜诺斯艾利斯也是我的心头大爱❤️，以后会陆续详细介绍。😄 （这又是欠下血债的节奏么……）

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5 - Another bench in Buenos Aires. 🇦🇷

So why did I take a picture of it? Good question. Because it looked like a sofa bench when I passed by, what a relief for a tired traveler right? But when I sat on it, it turned out to be a cold piece of stone!

另一张阿根廷首都街头的凳子。这有什么特别的吗？我从它身边走过时，窃以为是张沙发凳，暴走一天的我不禁大喜，等坐上去才发现竟然是块冰冷的大石头！这设计是不是很有想象力？逼真到坑爹……😅

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That’s it for today, please tell me what you think 🤔 , so I know if there’s any audience interested in the left benches… See you soon! :D

又到半夜，好困💤 快来留言告诉我你的想法呗，以便我决定有没必要继续码字贴图，要不花这时间没人看多凄惨呐…… (￣▽￣)”

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Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts, and follow me for more! =)

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MUSICAL MONDAY - Photo Games Week 9 照片游戏1 ~来给我的照片配上音乐 赢取SBD

A Photo Journey: Exploring Aryapala Meditation Temple 蒙古禅修图片之旅

Zombie Walk & Fantastic Lille & My Halloween Look 视觉的狂欢

Batik Stories (1) - My First Batik Work in Indonesia 蜡染系列（一）我的蜡染处女作

Street Art & Sultan Mosque in Singapore 新加坡苏丹回教堂和附近的涂鸦艺术

A Mongolian Poppy, Opium, and Terelj National Park 蒙古的野罂粟&鸦片&特勒吉国家公园

Let’s Cook Braised Pork with Tofu and Shiitake 一起做香菇豆腐红烧肉

The Busker and His Soulmate 街头知音

Train Cemetery in the Atacama Desert (1) 大漠中的火车墓场（一）

Some “Framed” Photos from My Travels 自带边框的旅途剪影

Satay Fried Rice Recipe 简单美味的沙爹炒饭

Some SMILE Portraits in My Travels 旅途中的微笑

Stories of Shadows (2@Europe + 2@South America) 光影交错的瞬间

About Chinese New Year + My Greeting Cards 我做的春节贺卡~祝大家狗年大吉

Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 格雷冰川初探（二）

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Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

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!steemitworldmap -41.823641 lat -73.899107 long Chiloe, Chile d3scr

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This page is synchronized from the post: ‘#68 10 Creative Benches Around the World(1) MySmartphonePhotography 🗺 世界各地的创意长凳来10条(一)’

Hey fellow Steemians, today I’d like to share with you some fun photos of costume and makeup. The first 6 are my entries for @claudiaz’s Photo Fun Contest - Funky Hair and Painted Faces. This is such an awesome theme! I love painting faces and designing hairstyles and costumes, what about you? :D Come join the fun with me!

大家好！今天我来分享三组比较夸张的化妆服装造型，前两组分别拍于法国东部城市斯特拉斯堡的“僵尸游行”现场，和北部城市里尔的“奇妙嘉年华”活动，最后一组的两张是我上次万圣节的留影。后两组有我出镜的由朋友拍摄，我自己做的化妆造型。准备好了吗？和我一起来一场视觉的狂欢吧！=)

1. Zombie Walk | Strasbourg, France

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I love all these people’s painted faces and costumes, and their expressions are pretty amazing right? =)

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2. Fantastic Lille | Lille, France

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• All the photos above were shot by me, with my old friend Canon Kiss X3. The following 3 pictures with me in them were taken by others. I know, I need some photographer friends to travel with me! ;p

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Me & my friends at the event:

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3. My Halloween Look | San Juan, Puerto Rico

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So that’s it for today’s painted faces, hope you like them! Have you been to a carnival or similar event? Do you like painting faces, trying funky hairstyle or creating costumes? Tell me what you think in the comments! :)

好了，今天的分享就到这里，希望你们喜欢！你参加过类似的嘉年华活动吗？不知道你们是不是也跟我一样喜欢设计服装造型？欢迎留言分享，谢谢关注！ =）

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Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts, and follow me for more! =)

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MUSICAL MONDAY - Photo Games Week 9 照片游戏1 ~来给我的照片配上音乐 赢取SBD

A Photo Journey: Exploring Aryapala Meditation Temple 蒙古禅修图片之旅

Batik Stories (1) - My First Batik Work in Indonesia 蜡染系列（一）我的蜡染处女作

Street Art & Sultan Mosque in Singapore 新加坡苏丹回教堂和附近的涂鸦艺术

A Mongolian Poppy, Opium, and Terelj National Park 蒙古的野罂粟&鸦片&特勒吉国家公园

Let’s Cook Braised Pork with Tofu and Shiitake 一起做香菇豆腐红烧肉

The Busker and His Soulmate 街头知音

Train Cemetery in the Atacama Desert (1) 大漠中的火车墓场（一）

Some “Framed” Photos from My Travels 自带边框的旅途剪影

The Star Bridge - Stari Most in Bosnia 波黑的明星老桥

Satay Fried Rice Recipe 简单美味的沙爹炒饭

Some SMILE Portraits in My Travels 旅途中的微笑

Zodiac Animals Workshop in Australia 澳洲孩子的生肖灯手工作坊

Stories of Shadows (2@Europe + 2@South America) 光影交错的瞬间

About Chinese New Year + My Greeting Cards 我做的春节贺卡~祝大家狗年大吉

Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 格雷冰川初探（二）

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Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

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!steemitworldmap 48.570133 lat 7.759021 long Strasbourg, France d3scr

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So What Is Batik?

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The term batik originates from the Javanese/Malay words “amba” and “titik” meaning to draw and to dot. Wax is used to block dye from penetrating the fabric, leaving unwaxed areas to the original colour to make design patterns. You can repeat the process of wax resisting and dyeing, to create elaborate multicoltred designs.

In my travels, I’ve seen batik fabric frequently in Southeast Asia and South Asia, as well as in some ethnic minority villages in Guizhou province in southwest China. And in my cross-culture training work I once learned that, batik textiles have also existed for centuries in many parts of Africa, for example, the people in Yoruba tribe in Nigeria use cassava for resist dyeing while the people of Senegal use rice paste.

The batik cloths are in the form of sarongs, scarves, dresses, shirts, bags, mats, coasters, tablecloths, curtains, bed sheets and are used to frame pictures or are framed as an artwork to decorate the wall. And you can be creative to apply it to more items, for instance, I’m thinking of making some jewelry out of it, such as necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings.

In this Batik Series, I’d like to talk about my encounters and experiences with batik in different countries. First, I will share with you my batik making in Indonesia, though the result turned out to be quite different than I imagined ;p.

My Batik Making in Bali

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Last year I joined a batik making workshop in Bali, Indonesia, and learnt some interesting lessons about batik, this intricate technique on fabric.

去年在印尼的巴厘岛参加了蜡染的手工作坊，粗浅地感受了其中一种蜡染的制作工艺，所以这篇文章打算带大家探索一下蜡染的奥妙。

那么什么是蜡染呢？实际上完整的叫法应该是“用蜡防止染色”，就是通过在布料上用热蜡勾勒出点和线，或者用刷子大面积刷上蜡，以隔断染料来保留布料原色，等蜡被除去之后，和被染色的部分一起呈现出各种花纹。只要不断重复上蜡染色的过程，就可以染出越来越精美复杂的图案。

据史书记载，靛蓝的还原技术在春秋战国时期已开始使用，而且一直沿用至今。秦汉、六朝时期蜡染工艺逐渐流行起来，到隋唐时期达到高峰。自宋代开始衰退，而同一时期在印度洋上的爪哇、苏门答腊等岛却十分盛行。这些地区的蜡染经过长期发展，如今已经成为世界范围内知名的最为系统全面的工艺。

印度尼西亚的蜡染工艺在2009年10月2日被联合国教科文组织纳入人类非物质文化遗产，印尼人也由此将10月2日定为全国巴迪克（batik）日。蜡染服装巴迪克在印尼被尊为“国服”， 印尼人在各传统，正式的场合普遍穿着巴迪克。在东南亚和南亚旅行的时候, 特别是在印尼和马来的一些村落里，经常看到人们穿着蜡染布料的衬衫和裹裙。

这次我在印尼参加的蜡染手工作坊，是由巴厘岛小有名气的一位民间蜡染艺人在自家院子里主持教授的，这位师傅从小对绘画很感兴趣，由于家境不宽裕，早早开始靠卖画卖蜡染布料为生。他家院子里挂满他的绘画和蜡染作品，画面上栩栩如生的动植物，宗教祭祀细节，乡间的农耕场景， 无不洋溢着浓郁的民族风情。

师傅告诉我最初的蜡染是在棉，麻布料上绘制图案，后来渐渐出现蚕丝、人造丝、聚酯纤维等面料。印尼蜡染的传统花色多为深浅搭配的大地色系，随着长期的技术发展和文化融合，颜色、样式、图案都逐渐多样化。传统的蜡染工艺精美繁复，但是耗时费力，价格不菲。所以近年来出现大批机制蜡染布，价格相对实惠，但自然没有手工制品那么高的艺术价值。

蜡染绘画的创作离不开蜡：蜡质的配置，蜡温的调控，还有施蜡的手法等因素，都会对画作产生影响。蜡的品类繁多，熔点也各不相同。师傅说在印尼，他们通常选用蜂蜡和石蜡作为防染的主体材料，蜂蜡和石蜡以不同比例，调制成软硬程度各异的蜡质。有些地区会添加松香、米浆、树脂、油脂等来调整材料。

1 - Heating wax
2 - Practicing drawing with batik pen/canting on paper
3 - Drawing a Mandala pattern with wax on the cotton canvas
4 - Finished wax Mandala

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师傅一边解释一边嘱咐他儿子加热容器里的蜡，同时指导我先用铅笔勾画轮廓。因为是第一次学习蜡染，师傅提议我画个比较简单的曼陀罗（Mandala）图案，这在梵语里意思是神圣的圆轮或中心。曼陀罗图案常见于东方的印度教和藏传佛教的建筑和装饰中，在西方和拉美的书店里、地摊上也常出售各种曼陀罗图案的涂色本供人练习绘画。瑞士心理学家荣格曾研究引用曼陀罗所呈现的宇宙奥秘和个人内心潜能的联系，将其运用在心理学领域，介绍给西方人。

我们把棉布固定在木框上，然后用铅笔在棉布上打底，我从小喜欢涂涂画画有点基础，很快就在师傅的指导下勾画出曼陀罗的图案，可是接下来的上蜡就没那么容易啦。热蜡容易冷却凝固，而铜制的画刀便于保温，所以要用铜蜡刀来作画。技术熟练的艺人像这位老师傅大都是不用打底，直接用蜡刀在布面上作画。

为了避免我这个新手用蜡无情地摧毁画面，师傅递给我一本白纸，教导我先老老实实在白纸上练习使用铜蜡刀。这确实是项技术活，先用蜡刀从容器里舀装已烧热熔化的液体蜡，勾画时要尽量和纸面保持平行，停止时让笔头朝上以免液体蜡过多地流向纸面，初学者容易犯的错误就是像使用一般铅笔水笔一样，停笔时笔头朝下，这样液体蜡就会涌向纸面，导致过度蜡汁积聚在同一处，影响线条的流畅度。所以呢，当你看到一张画布上的线条被星星点点的蜡中断，肯定是出自新手，比如我😄。

估计是为了保持我创作的热情，师傅还不断鼓励我说画得不错，只出现少量积蜡点，在第一次尝试的学徒里算很不错的了。然后每当我暗自得意之时，就立马出现更多蜡点甚至蜡团，看来真是时刻都要集中注意力在刀尖啊。事实证明经验丰富的师傅太有先见之明了，看着面前纸上断断续续的黄蜡，好庆幸我没有直接用铜蜡刀在棉布上作画。经过几张白纸上的蜡刀描绘练习，我开始移师布面了。

5 & 6 - Coloring with natural dyes made from plants
7 - Brushing paraffin onto the surface after applying hydrochloric acid, paraffin, cracking and red dye
8 - Dyeing the fabric in black after cracking
(I was so excited and did too much cracking ;), and I won’t use red and black dyes if I have a second chance in future, as I feel these dark cracks overshadowed the Mandala.)

首先要不断去舀热蜡，用蜡勾勒完线条便开始涂色。这里用的染料都是天然植物制成。值得注意的是，这里涂上的颜色并不是布料最终的颜色，因为刷上盐酸和蜡后还会变色。这些真理其实是我后来才领悟到的，到最后看到成品的颜色才后悔莫及…… 因为师傅带着浓重口音的有限英语实在很难交流，而我当然也不会当地话，所以只能被动接受指示。

我上完颜色后，给正反面刷几遍盐酸来固色，刷时看到圆圈内的白色变成湖蓝色，我顿觉不妙，怎么颜色变成这样了，始料未及啊。师傅看我动作放缓，就自己去用大刷子蘸水狂刷了一通。 然后指导我刷石蜡，用手掰出裂纹。接着刷红色染料，继续重复刷石蜡，做裂纹，最后刷一遍黑色染料。有点后悔听从师傅用红黑染料的指示，而且因为我第一次操作蜡染，太过兴奋，掰出过度裂纹，导致最后弄出颜色和纹理十分可怕的成品，跟我想象中的清新淡雅的花布完全不同。

师傅的儿子帮忙拆下木框后，我们把刷过蜡和红黑染料的饱经摧残的画布浸入温水以熔化蜡 ，反复漂洗几遍，使残留的黄蜡脱净，最后将湿布晒干，就大功告成啦。

下图12这块布料就是颜色可怖裂纹过度的成品，还请大家不要嫌弃，凑合着看看吧。:D 如果不是亲手做出来的，我真恨不得扔掉啊，太碍眼了。好笑的是，师傅还一个劲儿地夸赞这颜色组合很好，哈哈，好吧，难道这还是印尼审美中的精品？可爱的读者们，你们觉得呢？

09 - Removing canvas from frame
10 - Melting wax of the fabric in warm water
11 - Take the fabric out after all the wax is gone
12 - Dry it in the sun ☀️

The end product turned out to be pretty deep in color, and too much cracking had been done. This is different than the neat result I imagined earlier when painting. A lesson learnt… ;) w(ﾟДﾟ)w

So what do you think of my first batik work? Have you ever tried making something but it turned out to be different than you thought? Tell me your experience in the comments! :D See you next time!

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Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts, and follow me for more! =)

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Life Goes On 风雨兼程

Street Art & Sultan Mosque in Singapore 新加坡苏丹回教堂和附近的涂鸦艺术

A Mongolian Poppy, Opium, and Terelj National Park 蒙古的野罂粟&鸦片&特勒吉国家公园

Let’s Cook Braised Pork with Tofu and Shiitake 一起做香菇豆腐红烧肉

The Meaning of Roses 粉玫瑰和白玫瑰

The Busker and His Soulmate 街头知音

Train Cemetery in the Atacama Desert (1) 大漠中的火车墓场（一）

Some “Framed” Photos from My Travels 自带边框的旅途剪影

The Star Bridge - Stari Most in Bosnia 波黑的明星老桥

Satay Fried Rice Recipe 简单美味的沙爹炒饭

Some SMILE Portraits in My Travels 旅途中的微笑

Zodiac Animals Workshop in Australia 澳洲孩子的生肖灯手工作坊

Stories of Shadows (2@Europe + 2@South America) 光影交错的瞬间

About Chinese New Year + My Greeting Cards 我做的春节贺卡~祝大家狗年大吉

Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 格雷冰川初探（二）

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Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

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!steemitworldmap -8.509944 lat 115.264935 long Ubud, Bali d3scr

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Horse Carriage Caught in a Downpour 暴雨中的马车

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Settings	ISO1600 55mm f/5 1/160
Camera	Canon Kiss X3
Lens	Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Location	Brussels, Belgium

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Since I travel a lot, I am constantly in different places, and I enjoy exploring new things around me and taking pictures of the fresh discoveries. But I tend to overlook the beauty where I live longer. A good example is I didn’t take many photos of Brussels when I was working there. Since I just got used to those charming streets and green parks walking by them every day.

Luckily my mother came to visit me in Belgium one summer, so I showed her some parts of this beautiful city and carried my old camera with me. When we were walking on a street in the city center, the rain started pouring all of a sudden. We moved to under a roof, and just at this moment, a horse carriage ran rapidly into my sight opposite the street, so I immediately took action and captured this intriguing encounter. After seeing this shot, my mother told me it looks a bit like a movie scene. What do you think? Please tell me in the comments below!

My post is inspired by @daveks’ B&W photo contest themed Precipitation, and the Monomad Tuesday Street by @brumest. Check them out and join the fun! I still have thousands of photos and stories that I can’t wait to share. Life is just too short! Stay tuned and until next time! =)

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四处奔波是我生活的常态，有朋友说我不是在路上，就是在计划上路。我很喜欢不断探索新环境，发现新事物，在这个过程中我一般会拍不少照片。但是如果我在某处长住，却常常忽略周边的美，因为习以为常。比如在比利时首都布鲁塞尔工作时就是这样，每天匆匆走过那些古老的街巷、绿意盎然的公园，往往忘记拍照。

还好那年夏天我妈来比利时看我，我就带上我古老的破相机，给她当起导游，一起逛逛这座城市。正在市中心一条街上走着，突然间，大雨倾盆，雨点疯狂地敲击起来。我们赶紧躲到旁边的屋檐下，就在此刻，一驾马车快速驶过街对面，向前飞奔，手握相机的我自然不能放过这美妙的一幕，于是赶紧定格下这一瞬间。我妈看到照片后说很像电影场景，=) 你觉得呢？

我还有太多照片和故事想跟大家分享，恨不得一天能有48小时，一周能有14天，哈哈。欢迎可爱的你留言评论，谢谢关注！:D

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Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts, and follow me for more! =)

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Street Art & Sultan Mosque in Singapore 新加坡苏丹回教堂和附近的涂鸦艺术

A Mongolian Poppy, Opium, and Terelj National Park 蒙古的野罂粟&鸦片&特勒吉国家公园

Let’s Cook Braised Pork with Tofu and Shiitake 一起做香菇豆腐红烧肉

The Meaning of Roses 粉玫瑰和白玫瑰

The Busker and His Soulmate 街头知音

Train Cemetery in the Atacama Desert (1) 大漠中的火车墓场（一）

Some “Framed” Photos from My Travels 自带边框的旅途剪影

The Star Bridge - Stari Most in Bosnia 波黑的明星老桥

Satay Fried Rice Recipe 简单美味的沙爹炒饭

Some SMILE Portraits in My Travels 旅途中的微笑

Zodiac Animals Workshop in Australia 澳洲孩子的生肖灯手工作坊

Stories of Shadows (2@Europe + 2@South America) 光影交错的瞬间

About Chinese New Year + My Greeting Cards 我做的春节贺卡~祝大家狗年大吉

Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 格雷冰川初探（二）

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Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

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!steemitworldmap 50.849498 lat 4.352976 long Brussels, Belgium d3scr

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中文请下拉 👇

What’s up fellow Steemians! In this post I’m sharing some snapshots from my phone, inspired by the smartphone photo contest by @juliank themed ‘windows’, and @vandadream’s new challenge ‘My Smartphone Photography’. Check them out and join the fun! =)

My photos here were all taken near/at Sultan Mosque 🕌 in Singapore. This mosque is one of the most important ones in this country, and it’s located at the Kampong Glam precinct which is a focal area of Singapore’s Muslim Community.

The first two pictures below are mural art about making Teh Tarik, tea and coffee. Teh Tarik is a common milk tea drink in Malaysia and Singapore, as well as some other Southeast Asian countries. Teh(tea) Tarik(pull) refers to the pouring process of “pulling” the beverage during preparation, as what you can see from the mural. It is made from black tea and milk(either condensed or evaporated). Tasty Teh Tarik is one of my favorite beverages, I even have instant packages at hand right now. 😋

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大家好！我这次分享的手机随拍都是在新加坡的苏丹回教堂和附近的街巷里。苏丹回教堂🕌️是新加坡最重要的清真寺之一，所在的甘榜格南区也是新加坡回教徒活跃的地方。

前两张照片里的壁画描绘了拉茶、中式茶和咖啡的制作。拉茶可以说是马来西亚的国饮，在新加坡和其他一些东南亚国家也很常见。第一张照片就反映了“拉”茶的过程，一般由红茶和炼乳或淡奶混合做成。我也爱喝拉茶，香浓顺滑，超有满足感，个人感觉马来拉茶比英式的浓郁，又不像印度奶茶那么辛辣，口感恰到好处，和港式奶茶在我心中的奶茶单上并列榜首。现在我身边就有速溶包，虽然没有现拉的那么正宗好喝，好歹也可以解解馋。

你去过新加坡的苏丹回教堂吗？喜欢喝拉茶不？欢迎留言评论，谢谢关注！=)

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So have you been to Singapore and this Sultan Mosque? Do you like Teh Tarik? Tell me what you think in the comments! Until next time. :D

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Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts, and follow me for more! =)

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A Mongolian Poppy, Opium, and Terelj National Park 蒙古的野罂粟 鸦片 特勒吉国家公园

Let’s Cook Braised Pork with Tofu and Shiitake 一起做香菇豆腐红烧肉

The Meaning of Roses 粉玫瑰和白玫瑰

The Busker and His Soulmate 街头知音

Train Cemetery in the Atacama Desert (1) 大漠中的火车墓场（一）

Some “Framed” Photos from My Travels 自带边框的旅途剪影

The Star Bridge - Stari Most in Bosnia 波黑的明星老桥

Satay Fried Rice Recipe 简单美味的沙爹炒饭

Some SMILE Portraits in My Travels 旅途中的微笑

Zodiac Animals Workshop in Australia 澳洲孩子的生肖灯手工作坊

Stories of Shadows (2@Europe + 2@South America) 光影交错的瞬间

About Chinese New Year + My Greeting Cards 我做的春节贺卡~祝大家狗年大吉

Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 格雷冰川初探（二）

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Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

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!steemitworldmap 1.302263 lat 103.858798 long Sultan Mosque, Singapore d3scr

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I shot this yellow poppy flower in Gorkhi-Terelj National Park(see my second photo below) in Mongolia. I took a couple of trains from Moscow all the way to Ulaanbaatar and explored the surrounds. The park is about 2 hours’ drive from the capital city Ulaanbaatar. I hiked in this beautiful huge park and spent one night in a typical Mongolian ger camp in the valley, by the clear Tuul River. When I hiked(half-climbed) to a hilltop in the valley, I found this pretty little yellow poppy standing in the wild. The view in the second picture is also from this hilltop.

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The Poppy Flowers

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The first poppy flowers I’ve seen in my life were red ones, like the well-known symbol of Remembrance that people often worn on November 11th each year. When I lived in Belgium, I visited Ypres in west Flanders - where the red poppies were blossoming as in the devastated battlefields in the First World War. The red color of the poppies is like the soldiers’ blood soaking the ground. In 1915, a Canadian doctor and commander, John McCrae lost his friend in the battle in Ypres, and he was inspired by the red poppies in the fields to write the poem - ‘In Flanders Fields’.

There is also the Himalayan blue poppy. These rare blue poppies are native to the high Himalayan Mountains, and are difficult to grow.

The Opium & China

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So you must have heard of opium? Among the many varieties of poppies, the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) , as you can see from its name, has the highest concentration of narcotics, and is illegal to grow in many countries. Opium has been used for medical purpose, and poppy seeds are regarded as a great food source.

The cultivation of opium poppy are believed to be spread along the Silk Road, from the Mediterranean all the way to China in the 15th century. The opium played a special role in Chinese history, as it was the catalyst for the 2 Opium Wars in the mid-19th century. Britain smuggled Indian opium to China through the East India Company for the Chinese produced tea. This did not only lead to the warfare, but also resulted in the Chinese’s heavy addiction to opium, which lasted till 20th century and spreaded to overseas.

In fact, my grandma’s father died from overdose of opium. He was so addicted to smoking that he had to sell everything valuable at home to keep buying opium. Eventually, the rich landlord lost all his assets, as well as his life. I heard this sad story from my grandma, and I believe it’s only one of the many tragedies happened in Chinese families during that period.

The immigrants from China also brought opium smoking to America through gold rush and railroad work. As a result, opium dens became a common sight in the Chinatowns from San Francisco to the east coast of US.

Terelj National Park

If you ever come to this amazing park in Mongolia, you can hike to the glacial lake, Khagiin Khar Lake and the natural hot springs, visit a Buddhist monastery on a hilltop, ride horses on the steppe, watch the wildlife such as Eastern Buzzard(I saw plenty hovering over my head), brown bears(I didn’t get to see any)… If you like rock climbing, try out the many rock formations, like Turtle Rock and the Praying Lama Rock. I also learned cooking lamb from the host family, and watched locals wrestling. I will do a photo journal of this trip in another post, since this post is mainly about the poppy flower, inspired by Yellow Flower Day - The Contests of Petals by @petals.

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罂粟花

我只知道这朵美丽动人的小黄花是某种罂粟花，具体是哪种并不清楚，一搜索又是一脸懵，类似前几天的玫瑰、月季和蔷薇。根据果壳网的说法，常见的罂粟科植物有“罂粟，虞美人，冰岛罂粟（野罂粟），鬼罂粟和黑环罂粟”。产鸦片的只有罂粟一种。这里有果壳网具体的图文比较 。我辨别了半天，暂且诊断这朵黄花为野罂粟吧。可能是相较欧洲的物种，亚洲的普遍偏精致？不止人类，连这来自蒙古草原的野罂粟也比样图里的冰岛罂粟娇小了一圈。

我最常见到的罂粟科的花要属虞美人了，那深深浅浅亭亭玉立的红色花朵常丛生于路边或庭园中。

说起虞美人，我国秦汉时期有霸王别姬的民间传说，清朝曾有位诗人以虞美人虞姬的口吻作诗，想象她自刎后的鲜血让江边的花儿更红：

君王意气尽江东，
贱妾何堪入汉宫；
碧血化为江边草,
花开更比杜鹃红。

而在一站时期欧洲大陆的弗兰德斯战场，鲜红的虞美人盛放在战后满目疮痍的焦土之上，仿佛是被战士的鲜血所染红。

我曾去比利时西弗兰德斯省临近法国的伊普尔小镇参观弗兰德斯战场纪念馆。第一次世界大战期间，这个位于法比交界的重要战略地区成为同盟国和协约国争夺的焦点。伊普尔曾爆发五次战役，伤亡人数100多万。这里也是全球第一次被使用化学武器的地方。

1915年春，第二次伊普尔战役期间，加拿大军医麦克雷在佛兰德斯前线痛失战友，看着战场上在微风中摇曳的鲜红虞美人，麦克雷创作出著名的诗作《在弗兰德斯战场上》，影响深远。

诗歌的开头和结尾都提到了战场上的虞美人：

在弗兰德斯战场上，
在一排排墓地的十字架旁，
罂粟花儿随风飘荡，
这是战友们长眠的地方；
……
我们将无法安息，
纵使虞美人盛开在弗兰德斯的战场上。

上面是我刚翻译的，原文节选如下：

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place;
…
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

之后每年的11月11日一战停战纪念日，很多人会在胸前佩戴“弗兰德斯虞美人”的鲜花或者胸针来缅怀战争中逝去的同胞。

鸦片在中国

说到罂粟，不能不提鸦片。鸦片罂粟是所有罂粟科花中尼古丁含量最高的。除了药用，罂粟籽还被认为是营养美味的食材。

鸦片罂粟的种植在15世纪时从地中海沿着丝绸之路一直传到中国。19世纪中期英国大量引入中国的印度鸦片引发了战争，导致的毒瘾泛滥一直持续到了20世纪，鸦片也随着海外淘金热和铁路修筑由华工带出了中国。从旧金山到纽约，唐人街的鸦片窟曾一度如雨后春笋般遍地开花。

我常听外婆说起这段不堪回首的往事：当年她妈妈肚子里怀着她的时候，她从未谋面的爸爸就吸食鸦片成瘾，不断变卖家产去买鸦片，从阔绰的大户人家直吸到倾家荡产，还断送了性命。可能这也是当年鸦片带给千千万万中国家庭的惨剧的一个缩影吧。

特勒吉国家公园

这朵野罂粟拍于距离蒙古首都东北边约2小时车程的特勒吉国家公园。我当时从莫斯科出发，一路搭了几列火车，走走停停，渐渐穿越广袤的西伯利亚，来到乌兰巴托，在蒙古国停留了一段时间。这个大国家公园是离首都最近的自然保护区。

在这片风光秀美的土地上，有苍翠的山谷、葱郁的森林、清澈的小溪、暖心的温泉、深不见底的冰山湖、可以攀岩的奇特岩石构造、几百种鸟类（一直有亚洲秃鹰在我头顶盘旋）、灰熊（没见着踪影）、位于山顶的佛教寺庙。更关键的，还有那最具特色的白色蒙古包，和策马奔腾的蒙古汉子，只是可惜没看到帅的，还是自己在那草甸上山谷间策马奔腾比较有意思。当然也少不了在蒙古包里宿营，跟当地人聊天，看当地人摔跤，一日三餐换着花样做羊肉吃羊肉，吃到以后看见羊肉就发怵。

这里有趣的故事太多，只是这篇的主题是“黄花”，所以下次我再放送一波照片和介绍。欢迎各位关注留言，感谢阅读！

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Thank you for reading. Check out my recent posts, and follow me for more! =)

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Let’s Cook Braised Pork with Tofu and Shiitake 一起做香菇豆腐红烧肉

The Meaning of Roses 粉玫瑰和白玫瑰

The Busker and His Soulmate 街头知音

Train Cemetery in the Atacama Desert (1) 大漠中的火车墓场（一）

Some “Framed” Photos from My Travels 自带边框的旅途剪影

The Star Bridge - Stari Most in Bosnia 波黑的明星老桥

Satay Fried Rice Recipe 简单美味的沙爹炒饭

Some SMILE Portraits in My Travels 旅途中的微笑

Zodiac Animals Workshop in Australia 澳洲孩子的生肖灯手工作坊

Stories of Shadows (2@Europe + 2@South America) 光影交错的瞬间

About Chinese New Year + My Greeting Cards 我做的春节贺卡~祝大家狗年大吉

Follow Me to Grey Glacier (2) 格雷冰川初探（二）

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Here are some screenshots from my Instagram. Follow @ItchyfeetDonica for more shots around the globe !

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!steemitworldmap 48.154226 lat 107.685640 long Terelj National Park, Mongolia d3scr

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