I’m often intrigued by Javanese antiquities. Constructed out of precisely formed stones stacked several stories high without the use of cement, these monuments are testimony to the skill of these ancient builders. Over the eons, the faith of Javanese has changed. The ruins of these shrines are the ghostly remains of an era long gone. […]
Yangon looks very different now compared to the time I visited it some 15 years ago. There were much fewer shops and cars. Everything looked grey, sooty and gloomy. Back then, most of the shops looked like they only stocked up once every 10 years. The goods were mostly old and dusty. Books and magazines […]
31 May 2019. Gunung Agung, Bali, Indonesia erupted. It’s not a real concern as the initial report of pyroclastic flows turned out to be fake news. The exclusion zone remains at 4km (12km in September 2017) and flights are not affected. For its size, Bali has many mountains, the highest of which is Gunung Agung […]
I enjoyed Bali very much on my first trip back in 1993. I’ll try to find and share the photos I took back then. The negatives are still there, but the prints are either missing or not in good condition. I was travelling solo then and I’ll never forget an elderly couple from Norway I […]
This was my second trip to Guangxi (first was in 2010 and documented in my book Knapsack Notes). Unlike the adventurous Sino-Vietnam crossover in 2010, this was not exactly an adventure trip. The video below shows some of the street scenes and street food in Nanning. On the morning after the day I arrived, I […]
I was visiting my friend at his shop in Bedok on a weekend. While waiting for him to be free, I sat outside and was practically stunned by a sweet fragrance coming from a rather nondescript line of bushes fencing the upper edge of a grassy slope that rolled down to a footpath running alongside […]
Is going to Genting without gambling like visiting Egypt without seeing the pyramids? I don’t know, but I’m quite happy visiting Genting without entering the casino. The outdoor facilities are still under renovation. Having last been to Genting Highlands in 1987, the place was barely recognisable. I remember staying at a hotel with the Cradle […]
There are both Buddhist and Taoist elements at this temple and not that many Chinese temples in Malaysia are located at such a high altitude. The main prayer hall here is definitely Taoist, but seated before the cloud forest, is the biggest image in the entire compound. And it’s a Buddha. The most prominent feature […]
Most of us are already familiar with scenes and characters from Journey To The West (Xi You Ji). You’ll find various scenes depicted at Haw Par Villa. In comparison, there isn’t much here at Chin Swee Caves Temple, just a few figurines you can take pictures with. They are made of fibreglass. It would be […]
You may call this an imitation of Haw Par Villa in Singapore, but this is one instance where the imitation turns out a lot better than the original. Check out these images of fairies and the Empress of Heaven. It gets misty quite often at this altitude – a perfect setting for fairies. When the […]