Pre December Solstice Purple Sweet Potato Harvest

How fast time flies, for tomorrow is already Winter Solstice (or Summer Solstice for those Down Under). To clear up a few containers on the balcony, I decided to pull out the purple sweet potato that I planted in August. Actually, at the 2 month mark, I had already seen a tuber form in one of the two containers, but didn't bother to harvest it in November when it reached the 3 month mark post-planting. As time goes by, the containers that they were in were getting more and more distorted, and even the soil had begun to rise.

Purple Sweet Potato flowers hanging off the balcony.

Despite the time-frame and the visual clues, I was reluctant to harvest it, for it kept on providing the balcony with lovely clusters of purple flowers that dangle off the balcony. After visiting Diana at KBB, and receiving some precious seeds to plant, I got on to reorganising the plants on the balcony (hmm, sounds like a never ending process) and today, I finally got to harvesting the sweet potato. This is also to throw out the old compost that they are growing in that had a few pest issues.

They are pretty good bloomers, with at least 5-6 blooms every other day!

The first container that was quite severely distorted and also had soil that was lifted up from beneath yielded 4 tubers. Mind you, the containers are only 29.5cm long x 12cm high x 11.3cm at the widest (top part). The middle section of the container is no wider than 8cm, and I had only 6 inches of soil as I filled the pot with charcoal pieces to make sure that the soil had ample drainage.

The blue lines mark the original soil surface which is now tilted to one side. The lighter blue area shows the level of the soil that was lifter up off the container, and the bulge on the side of the container can be seen. Mesti ada ubi di dalam.

Four oddly shaped purple sweet potatoes. The container had an inch of charcoal chips lining the bottom, thus limiting the space that is available for them to grow.

The second container also showed some distorted, but with less of a soil uplifting. This container only gave two normal tubers, one thin tuber that is probably from a pencil root and a lot of red coloured pencil roots. The thing is, this is the container that receives more fertiliser as any excess liquid fertiliser gets dumped into this container.

The second container yielded a whole bag of pencil and fibrous roots, plus two normal tubers and a swollen pencil root that is oddly bent like a U.

That is all folks...all the purple sweet potato that I got from the balcony. Not too bad for small containers and little care other than water, sunlight and minimal fertiliser.

The conclusion from this sweet potato patch are:

• too much fertiliser = a lot of pencil and fibrous roots
• more sun = more tubers
• no need to line the bottom of the containers with charcoal/rocks for drainage
• small containers = funny shaped tubers like really flat on one side.

Now to find something to cook the weirdly-shaped purple sweet potato with.

Rhinoceros Hornbills of Ampang Forest Reserve

There is a place around KL where you can see Rhinoceros Hornbills flying free, and no, I am NOT talking about the KL Bird Park. This place is the little known Ampang Forest Reserve or better known locally as Taman Rimba Ampang. Located about 10km from KLCC, the Ampang Forest Reserve is popular with locals who go for a dip in the shallow river that runs along the road that leads to a water treatment plant.

Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) at Ampang Forest Reserve. The dark eyes (reddish in colour) tells me it is a boy. His partner flew to another portion of the canopy that was obscured from my view. The upturned, yellow-red casque, black neck and face and a horizontal black stripe in the mid-section of the tail is diagnostic of this species. This bird was going after the two orange-red fruits dangling above.

Rhinoceros Hornbills (Buceros rhinoceros) is one of the largest Asiatic hornbills, with a body approximately the size of a swan and have the usual pied body color i.e. black and white. They are found from the south of Thailand down through to the Malay Peninsula, in Sumatra and also in Borneo. Many would have heard their calls before, but fail to realise that it was a hornbill for they sound more like the noise a mammal would make.

Hence, when you visit this forest reserve, do keep an ear out for the calls of the hornbills. You can, for most of the time, hear their calls from the forest to the left of the river (after the river passes under the road, the same side as a small surau).

The beautiful stream/shallow river at the forest reserve. I heard the hornbills calling, but as I was doing long exposures, I wouldn't have enough time to reposition and shoot the hornbills.

At the end of the road is a water treatment plant, that has been operational since the British colonial rule. This water treatment plant draws water from the catchment area in the surrounding hills. The trees around the entrance of this water treatment plant are good spots to catch a glimpse of the Rhinoceros hornbill.

They can be clearly seen when they drop by the tree tops by the road to feed on the climbing figs that grow there, which appear to be Ficus punctata, another root climbing fig of the subgenus Synoecia (like Ficus pumila and Ficus villosa), with golf-ball sized fruits. So do familiarise yourself with their calls and 'barks' that can help you pinpoint their location.

Peekaboo, I see you. The male Rhinoceros Hornbill browsing for figs. He is very good at picking the fruits and sort of flipping it down its beak.

The black, horizontal band on the tail of the Rhinoceros Hornbill. The orange ball to the right of the bird is the fruit of a climbing fig, most likely Ficus punctata syn. Ficus aurantiaca. Ficus aurantiaca is an illegitimate name for this fig.

The Ampang Forest Reserve is however, doomed to suffer future degradation. Middle of 2013, the KL Outer Ring Road (KLORR) project was approved after the EIA was passed (it was rejected twice), and the highway will cut and fragment the forest reserve. Worst still, the Ampang exit for the KLORR highway will run by the side of the river, the area where I could hear the hornbills calling from! Sadly, we seemed to have a strange concept of solving problems and an even stranger government where water shortage is an issue and yet catchment area forests are allowed to be encroached upon. Then come up with strange water transfer projects that disturbs the environment further.

The guardian of the forest reserve. Long-tailed macaques were feeding on wild figs (Ficus hispida) growing along the side of the road.

A Tree Nymph butterfly (not to sure which one - the wingspan is pretty large and hind wings rather pointed as seen in the picture). It was taking short flights around a small patch of undergrowth. They are pretty interesting to watch, especially when flying/gliding down the a clearing. The Malay name for the tree nymph butterflies is surat, meaning letter.

There has been attempts to highlight the issue of the forest reserve and to stop the highway, which was supposed to be part of the Taman Warisan Negeri Selangor. Hopefully something good comes out of it. If that fails, do go and have a look at Ampang Forest Reserve and the magnificent Rhinoceros Hornbills before its too late. They might not hang around so close to the city once the highway construction starts. 

To get to the forest reserve, drive along Jalan Ampang towards the hills and keep on driving (keep going past Ampang Point and past Ampang Waterfront) until you reach the end of the road. There is an arch with the name of the forest reserve and a public parking spot on your right. You can park here or drive further in where there are smaller car parks. My advice is to park outside and walk in. This will help cut down the noise and air pollution.

My list of plants and animals seen in Ampang Forest Reserve that I will continuously update:

Figs

Ficus hispida

Ficus fistulosa

Ficus villosa

Ficus punctata

Ficus sp. (strangler fig, broad-leafed)

Ficus sp. (tree with slender trunk)

Ficus sp. (white fruits)

Orchids

Bulbophyllum sp.

Thecostele/Thecopus sp.

A few Aeridinae orchids

Birds

Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros)

Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis)

Butterflies

Tree Nymph (?Idea sp.)

Grass Yellow - most likely Common Grass Yellow (Eurema sp.)

Mammals

Spectacled Leaf Monkey/Dusky Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus)

Long-talied Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Ficus pumila - Wonder Creeper or Creeping Horror

Since everyone is crazy about planting edible figs in Malaysia at this moment and as a continuation of my Long Figgy Tale, I would like to highlight the large diversity of figs, especially native ones that are around us or are easy to cultivate. Since figs are divided into six subgenera, I would cover at least one from each of the following 4 subgenera:

1. Synoecia
2. Sycamorus
3. Urostigma
4. Ficus

To start of the list, I will begin with the subgenus Synoecia, with a common fig that is probably very much overlooked and is also edible and has medicinal value: Ficus pumila


Ficus pumila

Synonyms: F. repens, F. hanceana, F. scandens, F. stipulata, F. longipedicellata

English name: Creeping fig, Climbing fig

Malay name: Ara jalar

Chinese name: 薜荔 (bi li), 石壁莲 (shi bi lian)

Subgenus: Synoecia

Section: Rhizocladus

Subsection: Plagiostigma

Ficus pumila is a fig plant under the subgenus Synoecia. Members of this subgenus are usually root climbers and have two distinct leaf types. Typical of this subgenus, Ficus pumila is dioecious and have functional female (only long style ovary for seed production) and hermaphrodite male with short-style ovary for wasp production. The synconia are light green with white spots and ripen to a dark purplish colour (those that drop green are most likely unfertilised synconia).

The mature stems of Ficus pumila. You can see the juvenile leaves that covers a brick wall on the lower portion of the picture.

The general appearance of this fig is a woody climber, with vines closely appressed to the substrate. They produce two different kind of leaves, a small and thinner one when they are juvenile and larger, more leathery leaves on the mature branches. Unlike the juvenile climbing stems, the mature branches do not climb but instead hang out from the supporting substrate. The Latin name pumila, meaning small, refers to the small juvenile leaves.

Here's another picture of Ficus pumila var. pumila climbing up a wall. This wall gets very hot in the afternoon, but it doesn't deter this tenacious fig from climbing up. The figs have just put out mature stems that have bigger leaves and juts out from the wall. They are so vigorous and tenacious that I am tempted to say that if your grandmother sat by the wall on the garden long enough, she would probably be smothered to death by Ficus pumila!

The synconia of Ficus pumila var. pumila. Note the white spots on the ostiole end of the synconia. This is taken at 1-Utama's Secret Garden.

On the climbing stems, roots that can arise from every node and they secrete a gum-like substance when they come in contact with suitable substrate to ensure that the plant gets a good firm grip on the supporting substrate. Hence it will destroy paintwork and wood surfaces wherever they are allowed to climb on. The overall appearance of the plant covering a wall is that of an ivy-covered wall. If the climbing/creeping branches reaches a tree, it will quickly smother the stem and then put out mature branches that bears fruit.

A climbing, juvenile shoot of Ficus pumila. After taking this shot, I gently teased the shoot off the wall...

The shoot from above after being pulled off the wall. Blue arrows shows the clasping roots at the internodes that had pieces of paint stuck to it. The yellow arrows indicate a node with clasping root primordia that had not begun secreting the gummy substance that adheres to the paint on the wall. These clasping roots that enable this fig to climb and stick to seemingly impossible surfaces are the reason why they are grouped into Section Rhizocladus.

Besides the horticultural variants like the variegated, oak-leafed (var. quercifolia) and curly-leafed that are just leaf variations of the common var. pumila, there is also another, more economically important variety, the var. awkeotsang.

The typical F. pumila var. pumila is distributed in Southern China and down to Malaysia and widely used worldwide for landscaping whilst the F. pumila var. awkeotsang is found in Taiwan, Fujian and South-eastern Zhejiang regions. In Taiwan, they are found at higher elevations whilst the var. pumila commonly grows on the lowlands. Recent studies also points to genetic difference in the wasps that pollinate F. pumila var. pumila and var. awkeotsang, hinting to a coevolutionary differentiation with this variety.

The leaves, and also the fruit of F. pumila is considered medicinal and edible, but not in the sense as a table fruit. The fruits are used to make a type of jelly that is very popular in the East. Whilst both variety (var. pumila and var. awkeotsang) can be used to make the jelly, it is the var. awkeotsang that gave rise to the name and fame of this jelly. The varietal name awkeotsang is the Hokkien romanization of Ai Yu Bing ( 爱玉冰 - ai guek seng, literally love jade ice) in which Ai Yu is supposedly the name of the daughter of the man who first started this dish in Taiwan.

The 'seeds' (actually drupes) of var. awkeotsang looks like little dots of dust, and is sometimes called wen zi tou (文字头 - top of the chinese character wen, NOT 蚊子头 - mosquito head, lol). Hence another name for this jelly is wen tou xue (文头雪 - wen character top snow) since it is quite commonly eaten with shaved ice.

So how does this jelly come about? A little biochemistry is involved in this jelly making process, which is sometimes called washing Ai Yu seed (in water). Pectin from the drupes (so called seeds) of F. pumila var. awkeotsang has quite high methyl side chains and will dissolve in water. High methyl pectin will only gel if the pH is low as low pH prevents the repulsion of the pectin chains. Thus this pectin remains in the sol (liquid) state when leached from the fruits/seeds. The seeds also have an enzyme, pectin methylesterase, which can break the ester bond between the methyl group and the pectin's carboxylate group: 

Pectin-COO-CH₃ + PME = CH₃OH + Pectin-COOH

(yes, methanol is released in the process. The amount is minuscule and would also have evaporated by the time the jelly is ready)

PME - pectin methylesterase

CH₃OH - methanol

The demethylated pectin, in the presence of a divalent ion e.g. Ca²⁺ begins to interact with another chain, causing it to gel. That gives you the jelly that is Ai Yu jelly, wobbly and all. Some add slices of banana and lime juice, which not only provides flavour, but also increases the pectin content and lowers the pH, ensuring a nicely set gel. 

Side view of an immature synconia of Ficus pumila. It looks like a flattened pear-shaped fruit. The fruit will ripen to a purplish green colour that makes the fruit look like it was badly bruised.

To use F. pumila var. pumila, the ripe fruits need to be squeezed for the juices in it and then boiled to trigger the gelation process whereas in var. awkeotsang you only need to 'wash' the stuff from the 'seeds' in tepid water. Hence Ai Yu Jelly is usually made from var. awkeotsang  Because the presence of divalent cations are required for the gelling process, the mixture will not gel if you attempt to do this in ultrapure, mineral-free water.

In conclusion, whether one is growing Ficus pumila as as a decorative plant or for medicinal use, one should be aware that this fig can be a wonder creeper for covering up walls and ugly partitions or turn into a creeping horror for you that swallows up your wall or house in a swathe of green and refuses to die unless you pick off every little bits and pieces of its stem.

They will grow wherever there is light. moisture and nutrients. Here they are taking on a drain embankment by a golf course.

Ficus pumila can climb things that you think are impossible to climb. Here they have taken on and climbed up a metal post for the chain-link fence by a golf course. From the mature stems that flay out in all directions at the top of this metal post, the fig must be pretty pleased with its perch and the view from the top.

Note: For those that do not have a wall or a surface suitable for F. pumila var pumila or does not want to face off with the creeping horror, the variegated version (F. pumila Variegata) can be considered as a hanging pot plant since they are more 'well-behaved' and looks good in a pot. F. pumila Variegata are sold in many nurseries over here (and even in Tesco). Most people would not even think it is a fig tree as the leaves looks very much like a small variegated mint. On closer inspection, one can see and feel the root bumps at the nodes that will spring into action if allowed to come in contact with a suitable surface.

References

http://www.eattheweeds.com/climbing-fig-creeping-fig/

http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2811930

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=233500650

Note: Rønsted et al. (2006) indicate that placement of Ficus pumila in Rhizocladus is erroneous and inconsistent with molecular studies conducted.

A Long Figgy Tale

My fig cuttings are doing well so far. B got six cuttings 12 to 14 inches long which were two year wood cuttings (stem that were from previous two growth seasons) from a friend in Adelaide, taken off a tree that produces Brown Turkey-like fruits. The cuttings were then soaked in water, which resulted in them quickly putting out root primodia and also the breba crop that was promptly removed to prevent exhausting the cuttings.

Four of my fig cuttings. The plastic container allows me to observe the root growth.

Fig cutting putting out breba crop (blue arrows) before the leaves emerge when they were first soaked in water.

Four were potted up whilst two more were ‘neglected’ and left in the water. The first four went on to produce leaves and more breba fruit that needs to be removed. The two neglected cuttings were finally planted two weeks ago and has been doing very well. In fact it produces more growth points than the first four cuttings.

The leaves are bigger than my palm.

Roots from the fig cuttings.

After pulling most of the breba off, I finally decided to leave one on just to see if it will develop and to determine the breba fruit shape since the cuttings have a lot of roots and I have been feeding it frequently.

A breba fig that I didn't cull. Notice that it comes from the older, woody section of the stem.

Blue arrow: a breba fig that I decided to let it be. Green arrow: bumps that can develop into current season figs (I am hoping it does not do so).

Since fig has become a hot item over here, below is a short explanation of fig types and pollination requirements.

Four of my fig cuttings. Now to give them a proper home.

A fig is not a proper fruit, but the ‘fruit’ that we eat is a synconium, which is an enlarged, fleshy, hollow peduncle that bears closely massed, tiny flowers on its inner wall.

Ficus carica (the common, edible fig) are gynodioecious, meaning that there are male trees with functional female flowers and female trees that only produce female flowers. The male trees are the caprifigs, and they have short-style female flowers that are fully functioning. The fruit (or rather the synconia) are usually not fleshy and rather dry, thus are only eaten by goats, hence the name caprifigs. The female trees, on the other hand, produces synconia that can develop into a sweet, juicy fruit that is highly sought. Hence caprifigs (MF plants) are considered inedible and female (F) plants are called edible figs.

Male or caprifigs produces three crops of synconia in a year in Mediterranean/temperate climate whilst the female (or edible) fig produces two crops of synconia. The first one is called breba, and is produced on the previous year’s growth (old wood) in Spring. The main crop comes later and arises from the new wood of the current year’s growth.

Now, putting sex and crop cycles aside, fig trees are also classified into another set of characteristics, based on the need (or the lack of) for actual pollination to occur to allow the synconia to mature. Thus we have the caducous (or Smyrna), persistent or San Pedro type figs.

The caducous type requires pollination to allow the synconia to develop and mature. There are caducous caprifigs and caducous edible figs. The Smyrna (and Calimyrna) figs are female caducous figs that require pollination/caprification to allow the synconia to develop into mature ‘fruit’ that we eat. Caprified edible figs have better taste partly due to the presence of mature fruit and seed inside the synconia.

Persistent type figs on the other hand, do not require pollination for the maturation of the synconia. The synconia will parthenocarpically mature despite having no pollinated flowers inside. There are also persistent caprifigs (male+female) but they are much rarer in nature.

A third type has characteristics of both the above. They are usually called San Pedro type. The first crop (breba) is persistent whilst the main crop is caducous. Thus the main crop synconia requires caprification for it to mature.

In a country where the specific symbiotic wasp (Blastophaga psenes) are not native, the planting of caducous/Smyrna type figs are avoided as it will result in the dropping of the synconia due to the lack of pollination that is required for the maturation of the synconia. Instead, persistent type and San Pedro type should be grown as it will offer large fruit crop production. A lot of Turkish sounding fig cultivars are the caducous type such as Sari Lop/Lob Injir, Bardajic and Gök Lop.

Another trend that is going around in this region is the large numbers of nurserymen selling seed-sown figs. Well, there are a few things that one needs to know about figs, especially when growing/buying seedlings (and not cuttings):

1) SEX (as in gender, not the act of…)

2) Persistent characteristic (parthenocarpic development of synconia)

SEX

Figs (as said earlier) have either 

a) female flowers with long style (eg. the edible fig is female only, whether caducous or persistant) or 

b) flowers of both sexes (caprifigs, having short-style pistillate and also staminate flowers)

Persistent characteristics

Whether it is a caprifig (male + female) or edible (female only), they either require 

i) pollination to allow for the synconia to mature (caducous/non-persistent) or 

ii) they can mature without pollination (persistent)

Persistent synconia is governed by the allele P/p. The dominant allele P (for persistence) is lethal for the ovum, and hence can only be carried by the pollen/sperm. 

So when you plant a fig seed, the following scenario comes to play

In terms of gender:

a x b [edible female fig x caprifig] = 1a : 1b [1F:1MF]

b x b [caprifig x caprifig] = 1a : 3b [1F:3MF]

So you have a 50:50 chance that the seedlings of edible figs are caprifig-type that is not considered palatable.

2) Persistent (making figs without caprification) and caducous types (figs that require caprification or pollination from a caprifig)

a) caducous fig (female) x caducous caprifig (male+female) = all caducous (not persistent). Caducous caprifigs are the common caprifig and are home to the fig wasp. These are the caprifig types used to pollinate caducous female figs, aka Smyrna types such as the Sari Lop aka Turkish dried figs.

b) caducous fig (female) x persistent caprifig (male+female) = half caducous and half persistent   (persistent caprifigs are rare in nature but have been found and are used for breeding programs).

c) Persistent fig (female) x caducous caprifig (male+female) = all caducous

d) Persistent fig x persistent caprifig = half caducous and half persistent

So only if the pollen comes from a persistent caprifig, will you have a 50:50 chance of the offspring being persistent and not require pollination. Taken with the fact that persistent caprifigs are rare and mostly found in breeding stations, hence seedlings from commercially caprified (pollinated) figs will most likely be made with caducous caprifig, thus the seedling will all be caducous, which is bad news for fruit production in a place where the wasp are not native.

Having said that, Ficus carica can also form viable seeds when pollinated by pollen from other members of the family such as Ficus pumila (the creeping fig), Ficus pseudo-carica and Ficus palmata. Hence ‘accidental pollination’ by ‘stray’ wasps that are not native to them with compatible Ficus sp. pollen that allows development of seeds will result in fruitful caprification of the synconia. Also, research has shown that pollen from other members of Moraceae, e.g. pollen from mulberry will also trigger the development of the synconia when artificially introduced, albeit no development of viable seeds. 

Consequently, the adventurous gardener here may still get a small percentage of fruit set from caducous figs despite the absence of the Blastophaga psenes wasps. One other advantage of seed grown figs is that they will be free from mosaic virus infection.

So one should not be paying high prices for seed-sown fig plants, and also do not place high hopes that the tree would be fruitful or even produce good tasting fruits since the odds are ½ female x ½ non-caducous (at best scenario where persistent caprifigs were used) x a small, small number that gives good fruit characteristics = very very very very small odds of getting a good plant. By all means do so if you have the space and time to keep them (or you are very lucky), but don’t pay high prices for the seedlings. You might as well sow your own seeds from dried figs (they are caducous female x caprifig) and hope that the farm uses persistent caprifig instead of caducous caprifig.

References

A long listing of older fig varieties (Condit’s paper)

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/391-296.pdf‎

Discussion on the sex and persistency of figs were extracted and summarised from this forum thread: http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4544940

Nine Emperor Gods Festival @ Ampang - Bridge Crossing on Day 8

The bridge crossing ceremony at Ampang's Nine Emperor Gods Festival was held on the 8th day of the festival. This ceremony is a symbolic act of crossing over obstacles and difficulties represented by crossing the bridge. Buckets of water are placed underneath the wooden platform bridge to represent water or Yin element, and seven oil lamps are placed underneath the bridge as well to represent the Big Dipper stars.

A shot of the bridge being prepared for the ceremony. This is one of the test shots from a time-lapse project that I am involved with Cheryl Hoffmann, who blogs about Nine Emperor Gods Festival.

Looking serious and solemn during the ceremony.

As this year's ceremony falls on a Saturday night, the turn-out was great and many people patiently lined up to cross the bridge. On the bridge, members of the temple manned donation buckets, the token for being allowed to cross the bridge and also an act of casting away whatever that is a burden for the person crossing the bridge.

Buckets for donation as one crosses the bridge.

We managed to cross the bridge halfway through the ceremony, and I must praise the temple staff and volunteers for keeping the crowd in an orderly fashion and facilitating the aged in crossing the bridge. There were some that didn't manage to cross the bridge, as the ceremony was already too long, and had to be stopped. Well, there is always next year.

The only time when the tortoise is faster than the hare - due to the large crowd, the tortoise bun sellers were doing brisk business, with this seller rushing to bring more buns in.

Tomorrow (the 9th day - 13 Oct) there will be a fire walking ceremony. Those who wish to see this event are reminded to come early, as the space available for viewing are limited.

Day 7 of Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival

One word to describe the situation at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods' temple grounds - PEOPLE! The crowd was unbelievable as night falls, probably people taking advantage of the weekend night. The temple was jam-packed with people and we ended up on the opera house.

The star and the light bulb. Both have seen some years in them, one yellowed and dim, the other wrinkled and worn out.

Waiting for my turn - an opera actor (or is it an actress) waiting for the cue to come on stage.

What's up there?? - a little girl distracted by a phone photographer whilst watching the Amoy opera at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival.

There were loads of photographers there as well as people watching the opera, both young and old. Even though I could only grasp a bit of what is going on, and wasn't impressed with the show nor the story-line, the audience looked enraptured by the performers.

A Family Affair - Day 6 of Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Despite the dark clouds that loomed over KL, and the heavy downpour that ensued in the evening, the festivities at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival still burns high. There were many prayer sessions, and there's the passing of offerings round and round during the evening as it was a Feeding the Heavenly Generals Day. If you want to see photos of Feeding of the Heavenly Generals during the day at Ampang, do visit Sam's blog here.

Dark rain clouds rolling into Ampang on the 6th day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.

The prayers saw the gathering of family members, spanning four generations coming together to pray for their family's success and well-being. It was beautiful sight, as the old and young stand for 10 or so minutes together, all with the same goal instead of checking their iPhone or playing games on their pads.

A family portrait - praying together. 

Round and round the offerings go around the temple. This is a must see event, for the coordination is unbelievable.

Right, we have the ugly sisters. Now where is Cinderella?? - the opera actors/actresses come up to participate in the ceremony.

The general crowd started coming in later at night, probably due to the traffic at KL that was a crawl, and due to work requirements. Below is a very short time-lapse clip of the round and round ceremony where offerings were passed around the altars.

Remember that Saturday evening the temple will have a Bridge Crossing Ceremony, so do come and have a look if you are interested.

Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival Day 1 - 3

Day 1

The number of visitors started slow, with the car park rather empty at 5.40pm. However, as night falls, the number slowly builds up, with visitors coming and going till the early hours of the second day (Oct 6). We went for a look around and due to the lower number of visitors, it was a pleasant walk around the stalls.

The parking lot at around 5.40pm. There were still many vacant lots.

Burning money, joss money that is. This is the bottom part of the joss paper burner.

Help, help, my hair is on fire - dragon joss-sticks slowly being consumed by fire. The smoke creates a smoky curtain around the area.

There were not that many people on the first day, so browsing the stalls was more comfortable.

Day 2

Day 2 sees the invitation of the Finance Minister a.k.a. Tian Fu Yuan Shuai. Surprisingly, the energy of today was really upbeat and festive, and the number of lion dance troupes and even the crowd turnout was amazing. As busy as the performers and temple staff were that day, photographers too were busy clicking away.

Day 3

With the only major event being the Feeding of the Heavenly Army, the midday of Day 3 sees more of devotees wishing to participate in the ceremony. Past 7pm, the crowds started to come in in to enjoy the festive mood of the place.