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…
Sunrise at 38,000 ft
I love red-eye flights. Once service is over and the lights are out, there is this sense of peace and solitude. The cabin is dark and you’re flying above a world that’s falling asleep, their dwellings marked by twinkling lights of the land mass beneath the clouds. But what I look forward to most is…
Dome in the Rough
The buttercream yellow facade of Psar Thmey stands out amidst the chaos of Phnom Penh
The Fading Façade Of A Quaint, Reverent Place
No this is not a haunted house, but a chapel that served at least three generations of Catholics in the town of Kuala Krai in Kelantan, East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. This year we spent Good Friday at this old dilapidated chapel along Jalan Geale located along the Kelantan River near…
Food Trail: Kelantan
Kelantan, previously a territory of the Siamese empire is probably one of the most underrated food destination in Malaysia and is usually given a miss by most tourists – including Malaysian travellers. It’s close proximity to Thailand in the north gives the local cuisine a different taste and aromatic twist compared to other parts of…
