you know how some people have an english name and another one in their own language?

dandenong festival of light was kinda like that. i mean, it was officially called that but then the name on the pagoda read chinese lantern carnival. which is more apt, i think, considering how everything there looked like they were stamped with some form of chinese influence one way or another.

except for the food trucks. the mexicans beat the chinese to it, selling nachos and burritos instead of dim sims. i expected chinese food to be sold there to go with the concept but, no. the organizers probably never thought of that. next time i hope they would. make it more legit.

the main feature of the festival were these miniature temples lit up with LED lights that changed colors every now and then. upon closer inspection, i found that they were actually made up of all these blue and white chinese ceramic mugs and plates and spoons and whatever dining utensils they could find. you can just imagine the amount of labor it took to create it without running the risk of breaking them. more so with its transportation. jeff reckons they probably assembled it on the spot.

all i know is that the dragon looked sick!

there were heaps of installations on display there. so much so that simply standing in between them actually gives you enough warmth against the chilliness of the evening. or maybe i was just underdressed then. 3 layers of clothing and it still wasn’t enough for melbourne. (you, bitch.)

anyhow, here’s some of the rest of the brightly lit, multi-colored lanterns. i wish my nieces were there with me that night. they’d enjoy it, for sure. especially those with a bit of an australian flair, like the penguins and roos and koalas and stuff.

jeff, on the other hand, blissfully found himself in la la land. that poofter. posing with the butterflies and the pandas against a backdrop of flowers and rainbow. gay pride galore!

*7 weeks pregnant