The staple of every altar in the home of our Roman Catholic friends and family are Jesus, Mother Mary and St Joseph (if he was lucky to be a part of a Holy Family image or statue. The poor man is often forgotten). The most common portrayal of Mother Mary is of course that of…
Eerie Ruins by the Sea: Al-Jumail
Qatar does not have much of a rich and spectacular history as it’s neighbours in the region. This county was once home to migratory Bedouin tribes, fishermen and pearl divers who built small settlements along its coastline – trading their finds with passing land and sea traders. Unlike the surrounding regions, this area does not…
Mythical Langkawi (via Ferry)
It’s been 15 years since we last visited Langkawi Island, the mythical island believed to have been cursed for seven generations by a young woman – Mahsuri – who was falsely accused of adultery. Locals believe the curse has been lifted as the island began to prosper over the last few decades after at least…
Frosty View: Transpolar Flight Scenes
As mentioned in an earlier post (Sunrise at 38,000 feet), I’m one of those passengers who is busy fiddling with the in-flight entertainment system during red-eye flights (I try to be really quiet – promise!). If I’m at the window seat, I’m often peeking out at the changing hues of the sky, or the cities…
Heritage Trail: Assumption Church, Penang
The Church of the Assumption on Farquhar Road in Penang was built in 1786, the year Captain Francis Light and British settlers landed on Penang island. They settlers set foot on this tropical island just off Butterworth/Seberang Prai on the mainland of Peninsular Malaysian on Aug 15th – the feast of the Assumption of the…
Killing Fields: Choeung Ek
In all my travels, this is the most disturbing spot that I have visited: the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and in particular the ‘Killing Tree’. Against this tree trunk, the head and tiny bodies of babies and toddlers were smashed as their helpless parents who were awaiting execution watched. At the of the tree…
Drive through: Scotland
Driving in unknown territory with unfamiliar traffic rules can be quite daunting. Thus, we usually avoid driving in countries with left hand drive cars – simply because the last thing you want on holiday is to drive into oncoming traffic, deal with the authorities in a foreign country, or worse, get into an accident and…
Liquid Light: Liverpool Docks
My first impression of Liverpool was how industrial the Merseyside shoreline looked. But one needs to appreciate the history of Liverpool and how this city impacted global trade and migration. The Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Docks are the best place to start – if you’re visiting Liverpool for the first time. Above is one…
Thin: Tea-time treat
Tea-time is a big deal in my family home. My mum and our neighbours used to team up to bake, steam or cook up a variety of delicious sweet and savoury afternoon snacks and delicacies. Us kids used to be the guinea pigs for experimental cookouts – we didn’t complain very much until we grew…
Place in The World: Home
Cliche but true – home is where the heart is.
New Start to an Abrupt End
Fifteen years ago, my cousin Patricia and I signed up for Mandarin language classes at the YMCA Kuala Lumpur. We were gung-ho about adding Mandarin to the list of our spoken languages – English, Malay, Malayalam and Tamil. However, our enthusiasm to learn this lingo that is widely used in Malaysia came to an abrupt…
Flock in Line
One of my favourite shots in Ubud, Bali. A flock of ducks form a line as they make their way across the lines of paddy beds of this rice field. We booked ourselves into a house in the Paddy fields of Tegalalang, Ubud. We had to walk through the lines of paddy beds and irrigation…
