Fraser's Hill 280106

Dusk at Silverpark apartments, Fraser's Hill. Chinese New Year's eve, and at 4,300 ft above sea level, it's a chilly 17C.

Early the next morning, this moth makes my car window its home.

A female purple-throated sunbird. Well, the throat is really purple if you see a male one, believe me! Seems the guys make themselves pretty for the gals in sunbird society.

So here's a pretty boy. A male black-throated sunbird at his favourite spot - a bottlebrush plant. A regular visitor here, suckling nectar from the red bottlebrush flowers.

A small lizard basking in the sun, which is good for such a a cold-blooded bloke.

 

A fat thick millipede on the ground. Moves very slowly and meticulously too. It is near a footpath, and fearing somebody or something might squish it, I flick the harmless critter into the safety of the nearby bushes.

A pair of long-tailed sibia fly over for a drink at the bar ...

... while a third lands a metre away for a face-to-face.

In a distance, a lone scarlet minivet takes a breather ...

... and in the forest below, a fire-tufted barbet conceals itself rather well.

The Hemmant Trail beckons ...

Btw, there's an earlier Fraser's Hill tale I wrote. Click HERE.

START ~ Back in England 061105

Arriving at Manchester Airport the night before, we picked up this zippy Ford Focus. We plan to spend the day in Liverpool before returning to Manchester to catch our evening flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

Anfield 061105

First stop for the day - Anfield. We have a Liverpool fan in the family (last week we did Old Trafford for the other guy), so I guess this Anfield visit is mandatory.

Old Trafford has Matt Busby, Anfield is not outdone with an expressive Bill Shankly!

The stadium has been here since 1884, and is now surrounded by residential homes in a working class area. The whole place looks pretty cramped and I wonder how it handles the weekend football crowds.

The Kop.

The Club Store 061105

I see red everywhere, but not as spectacular as Old Trafford's store.

Reds' Shopping 061105

Two satisfied visitors, but I would not trust the girl. Last week at Old Trafford she was a Red Devil!

Note the red bird on the Paisley Gateway gate.

A bunch of real fans and pseudo-fans.

The Mersey River 061105

Ahhh...the famous River Mersey. Wirral District is across the river with its towns of Birkenhead and Wallasey. I'm on the Liverpool side, next to Albert Dock. Can you imagine ships carrying precious rubber and tin arriving here from Malaya during the British Empire days?

Birkenhead used to be a famous seaport and ship-building place, but alas, no more.

The Mersey ferry service connecting both sides of the river has been running since the 12th century. Now it does cruises for visitors too.

Maybe we should hop onto this boat and return to Dublin.

The Monument 061105

On the bank of the river, we see this poignant monument ...

... and stacks of Malay and Chinese names.