Qing Ming

Weekend traffic down south of the North-South Expressway was heavy and presumably most Chinese traveled back to their hometown for the Qing Ming prayers.

Melaka town was a little jammed up but still manageable unlike the jam we will encounter on holidays. However, the roads around the cemeteries are jam packed with people offering prayers to their ancestors during this annual Qing Ming which is similar to All Souls Day.


We had decided to make our homage early and luck was on our side as it was a cool breezy Sunday morning much to the delight of the hundreds whom are at the burial grounds. It is not a coincidence that we do know many of the people there as the cemetery was more like a clan burial ground.

Ain't we glad that the cemetery were maintained well by the caretakers and worth every cent paid.

As we went around cleaning the cemetery and preparing for the prayers, we kept the happy mood around joking around where kids and nephews couldn't help talking over and over again about the jokes in the film "Kak Limah Balik Ke Rumah".

We finished with late dad's graveyard and moved on to grandparents before briefly praying at few other grave of relatives.

I felt duty bound to explain to my kids, nephews and nieces as to why their great grandfather had chosen his "strategic" burial plot within the cemetery grounds. The story goes that my grandfather had surveyed the location situated on the hill top before choosing the plot which he likes most i.e. facing the morning sun which he favors most and has an excellent view of Pulau Besar.

True to late grandfather's choice, the view around the burial grounds is simply breathtaking and I had never fail to enjoy the scenery around the grounds.

Just truly hope that it would stay the same way for many generations to come.

The Merc paper car offering being stacked up before the burning. Those cars at the rear of the picture are real cars and not for burning ;-).
Note : the car number on the Merc had been erased to keep away 4D punters..lol

The paper Merc with the driver goes up in flames.

What is left of the paper Merc and "arrives" in the next world. Well, at least if dad can;t drive, there is a driver that comes with the car for him to move around.

One of the tree at the burial ground with clear skies.

Another tree found atop the hill and certainly not the work of art.

The view from the top of the hill overlooking Pulau Besar (a little hazy) and covered by trees.