We had the pleasure of exploring Akaroa, just outside of Christchurch, with our friends, Faye and Ian. We visited some of their favorite bars, enjoyed Blue Cod Fish and Chips, art galleries and another delightful place, The Giant’s House (above), an art gallery and garden filled with whimsical mosaic sculptures created by artist Josie Martin, […]
Thailand 2 – Templed Out
There are more than 41,000 Buddhist temples in Thailand, of which more than 33,000 are actively in use. The term “wat” is a Thai word for enclosure, and now refers to any Buddhist or Brahminical temple. 95% of the 70 million people in Thailand are Buddhists. In 2019, we were “templed out” on our last […]
Asian Eye Candy
As we looked back over the past few months, we were struck by how many great photos we had of street art in Malaysia and Singapore. We decided they deserved a blog post of their own. Street art in Penang became famous in 2012 when Ernest Zacharevicm, a Lithuanian artist, painted six murals as part […]
Singapore
After completing our travels to Indonesia and Malaysia, we spent a few days in Singapore. We’ve been intrigued by Singapore’s opportunities for night photography of their modern skyline. We were fortunate that we met John Fong in Malacca when photographing the sunset at the Floating Mosque. He offered to share his secret photo spots in […]
Malaysia 5 – Penang 2 – More on George Town
Many consider Penang Island as one of the top culinary destinations in the world. Its cuisine is considered a regional food paradise. It is famed for foods from the many cultures on the island, including Hokkien, Hakka, and Teochew-speaking Chinese communities, Indian Tamils, Malays, and the British. Our host at the historic Hotel Ren I […]
Malaysia 4 – Penang 1 – George Town
Our last stop in Malaysia was Penang Island, and George Town. Most people in the West just refer to this as Penang, Malaysia. Above is the Chaiya Mangalaram Thai Buddhist Temple, which is home to the third largest reclining Buddha in the world, measuring 108 feet long, as seen above. The many influences of Europe […]
Malaysia 3 – Malacca
The photographic highlight of Malacca (aka Malaka) is the “Floating Mosque,” which first opened in 2006. It sits out over the Straits of Malacca on stilts. It is an interesting structure during the day (see below), but it really comes to life at night. The image above was one we captured at sundown, as the […]
Malaysia 2 – Enroute to Malaka
We decided to visit Malaka (the Malaysian spelling, though most English web sites refer to it as Malacca) after reading some interesting articles. It was a bit of a last minute decision, and we decided to hire a driver to take us there. We decided to use MyDayTrip to find a driver and car. We […]
Malaysia 1 – Kuala Lumpur
When we first thought of going to Kuala Lumpur, we expected to get some nice skyline photographs. After searching for suitable sites though, we concluded that there is no good location to shoot the skyline from. When studying alternatives, we kept coming up with the Twin Towers as being the true iconic view in the […]
Indonesia 28 – Toraja 7 – Grandpa’s Last Party
This is the last big party before the spirit of the deceased ascends to heaven in the village of Kandeapi, in Toraja, South Sulawesi. Once the burial is complete, the sprit is finally released. It was a festive occasion, with the friends and family carrying the deceased in the procession from the festival site to […]