CHEERY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL 2016: IWATSUKI PARK (岩槻城址公園) SAITAMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN.

This year, we missed the cheery blossom festival in Japan as we dropped our travel plan last minute. Our friend, Miura san in Japan did us a big favour by sending some beautiful pictures taken at Iwatsuki Park. 

It's usually hard to get a parking space during the festival unless you are an early bird.

 

It's early morning, the the park was still very quiet.

 

Close-up of the beautiful "Sukura".

 

The crowd moving in soon after sunrise.

Look like a Brown-eared Bulbul (Hiyodori) enjoying breakfast.

 

This "Shidare" cherry never fail to bloom every year.

Hopefully, we will be there in 2017 not only to enjoy the Cherry blossom festival but to enjoy the Japanese cuisine and meeting many old friends.

RAIN - FINALLY SHOWERED SABAH

Sabah finally experienced some rain in the past 2 days after two months of dry spell due to the El Nino phenomenon.
                                   

The fires in the interior districts of Sabah after burning for weeks have finally been put out as the inter-monsoon rains showered down. According to the Sabah Meteorological Department, most areas in Sabah have rainfalls with the setting in of the inter-monsoon over this week. More rains are expected in the next few days.

No more fire!

 Today, it's  clear sky without haze.

Rain clouds building up in the afternoon. Hopefully, the inter-monsoon rains will help to ease the heat wave from now on.

 

HEATWAVE CONTINUES TO HIT SABAH

The heatwave continues to hit Sabah. The Kinabalu city has been covered by haze. From the city waterfront, the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park were hardly visible.

The haze could pose some health risks for tourists and locals on the islands. 

A file picture of the Tunku Abul Rahman Marine Park with clear sky and a 100% visibility.

The risk of driving in the thick haze.

83 schools were closed early this week because of the haze situation. The Air Pollutant Index (API) was above 200 in some districts.

Almost 3,000 hectares of forest reserve and 10,000 hectares of alienated land have been destroyed in the interior districts of Sabah according to the Sabah Forest department. The Fire and Rescue is still facing a hard time fighting the fire due to lack of water resources.

According to the Meteorological Department, the El Nino phenomenon would last till June. We can only hope and pray that the rain will come soon.