Category Archives: Photos

Bali Photos, Part III

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A hibiscus flower outside of Ubud.

 

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A close-up shot of a rice plantation – Ubud is famous for its rice paddies.

 

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These boys were willing to have their photos taken – for a price. I saw several creations like this unfinished version. I’m not sure what their purpose is – perhaps a funeral pyre?

 

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Cane cages. Occasionally I saw roosters held in cages like these – my flatmate (who had spent a month in Bali previously) said they were going to be used for cockfighting.

 

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The Ayung River, Sayan/Ubud in the foreground and stepped rice paddies in the background.

Bali Photos, Part II

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These ladies are taking offerings to one of the many local temples. The weekend I was in Bali was significant for the local Hindus (as most Balinese are). i think it was because of the full moon.

 

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Screen printed rice bags on the wall of Ubud’s Bali Buddha, the hangout of choice for foreign, new age hippies. I ate vegan version of a local dish which, surprisingly, was quite tasty.

 

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I had to get a photo of this t-shirt worn by one of the ladies at the jeans store in Ubud 🙂  Below the clock reads “I need more”.

 

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A attended a great Legong Dance performance presented by Bina Remaja Troupe at Ubud’s palace on the Saturday night. The intensity in this dancer’s eyes is visible.

 

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Another wonderfully costumed dancer from the same performance.

Bali Photos, Part 1

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Bali Bombing Memorial, Kuta. I didn’’t spend much time in the ghetto of Kuta.

 

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Mother and baby Macaque, Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Padantegal, Ubud

 

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Offerings like these were everywhere

 

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The Ubud Markets

 

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Also at Ubud Markets. The Balinese are very superstitious people – after I bought some things from her, this lady waved money around her stall for luck.

 

While walking away from a different stall that stall keeper was pleading for me to buy something ‘for luck’ as I was the first customer of the day. Given the tone of her voice I suspect she was being genuine.

 

More Bali photos to come…

Hi From Chikmagalur, Karnataka, India

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UPDATE (2009/12/27): Photos added


With Natraj, Sunalia and Dragos in a Bangalore Bar

I have just had an amazing 24 hours staying with Dragos and Natraj at Natraj’s cousin’s mystical, mountainous, monsoonal and completely fantastic coffee and pepper plantation. 30 minutes drive along a rough and windy road from the nearest town, the quiet and cleanliness of this place was a great contrast to Bangalore’s madness.


Ripe Chikmagalur coffee beans from Natraj’s cousin’s coffee plantation


Looking across the valley from the coffee plantation in the mountains outside Chikmagalur, Karnataka State. Rice paddies are visible at the valley base.

Along with coffee and pepper, rice, ginger, betel nut, guava, banana and chico grow in this tropical and lush paradise. Natraj assures me his plantation 3 hours drive away is even better. I would so love to spend a week there relaxing, swimming in the pool, tasting the local produce and hiking through the forests and mountains, trying to catch a glimpse of the glorious peacock.


Some locals near a hut producing jaggery (out of shot) in the Karnataka countryside. The man in the check shirt is eating sugarcane and sugarcane fibres cover the ground.

Everything about India so far has been very special and memorable. Yesterday we attended the engagement of another of Natraj’s cousins. The relationship was arranged and the fiancée and fiancé had only met each other twice prior to this day. The ladies wore beautiful saris and the Hindu priest performed traditional rituals.


Bangalore engagement: Natraj’s cousin seated and wearing a garland with the presiding Hindu priest to his left surrounded by offerings to the deities.


Bangalore engagement: The elaborately presented fiancée with henna tattoos on her arms, a garland, gold jewellery and many bracelets

During the exhaustive drive between Bangalore and Chikmagalur we visited Gomateshwara, an ancient statue created by the Jains and India’s largest monolith.


Gomateshwara, on top of a hill in the town of Shravanabelagola

Tonight we’re travelling to Bangalore on an overnight bus before flying north to Delhi tomorrow morning.

I have taken many photos and will upload the best ones although this may not occur until after I return home to Perth.

Satay Celup: A Malacca Favourite

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Continuing on with posts from my trip to Malaysia in October…

Li Ching and Carina brought me to a well-known satay celup restaurant for our main evening meal in Malacca (Melaka). I’ve forgotten the restaurant’s name but it was the original restaurant on the street. We had to wait for a table to eat at, in contrast to the almost identical satay celup place (opened by a former employee of the original’s) which was almost empty.

The satay celup tables are specially-designed with a pot set-in in the centre containing boiling satay sauce, heated by gas from table-specific bottles.

The attendant brings around various satay sticks for the guests to choose what they want and cook them in the satay in their own time.


Various satay celup sticks including quail eggs, rice balls, fish sticks and fish balls


The very top left of the satay celup tray contains pigs ears. The small plate has cucumber slices and the satay pot is in the bottom right.

The pigs ear was crunchy. Carina and Li Ching did not want to tell me what it was before I ate it as they were scared I would refuse to eat it if I knew beforehand. I did find out and was not put off 🙂


Prawns, fish and clams. Century egg with ginger is on the small blue plate. The egg tasted interesting.


Cooking the satay celup sticks in the simmering sauce


The restaurant menu

The staff calculated our meal cost by adding up the number of sticks left on our table. Each stick cost half a Malaysian ringgit (about 16 Aussie cents).

As I like to try everything, I tried every single different type of satay stick. Needless to write, by the end of the delicious meal I could eat very little more.




Malaysia: Food

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As mentioned earlier, I ate masses of wonderful food in Malaysia. I ate Chinese the most but also sampled Indian, Malay and Nonya (Peranakan) cuisines. Later I will write a specific posting on the Satay Celup I ate in Malacca.


From left to right: porridge (Kim, what kind?), various dumplings (in silver trays), chickens feet with mushroom, and dipping sauces

The first meal I ate after arriving on the overnight flight from Istanbul was dim sum somewhere near Bandar Tasik Selatan, the 3rd stop on the KLIA Transit train between the airport and KL. Kim took me to an outdoor restaurant full of people eating their Sunday dim sum breakfasts.

Dim sum involved different waiters coming around with trays offering their portion-sized dishes. We were free to select whatever we wanted of the huge variety on offer. Each dish was on a distinct plate and at the end of the meal our bill was calculated by the number and kind of plates left on our table.


After visiting the Batu Caves, Kim and I ate at an adjacent vegetarian Indian restaurant. Curries and chutney were scooped out of the containers onto specially divided plates and eaten with the fried flat bread.


Clams, BBQ pork and dumplings

The hawker centre signs in the background list such delicacies as Pork Organ Soup and Claypot Frog Porridge

From left to right: paw paw, guava, pineapple and another fruit. The small bowl contains a dipping mixture made up of sugar, salt and dried plum powder.

The above 3 photos come from the Chinese hawker centre Kim took me to on my first night in Malaysia.


Satay, omlette and clams

Two nights later I met up with Yinli and Pek Yen at another Chinese hawker centre for some good food and beer and great conversations. Afterwards I took a taxi back to Flic’s place in Brickfields. The taxi rate was very cheap even allowing for the 100% after midnight loading (when it should have only been %50) 🙂


Clams, squid and snails in Malacca

Prior to the satay celup meal, Li Ching, Carina and I ate ‘entree’ at a critically acclaimed but difficult to find and (on the surface) somewhat seedy backstreet restaurant. The hole behind the plate in the centre of the photos is an integrated rubbish bin.



A delicious spicy laksa and barley water breakfast at Donald and Lily’s nonya restaurant, Malacca.

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Malaysia: Friends

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Before this trip I only knew one friend currently living in Malaysia: Flic. However, mainly with the help of expat Malaysian Fiona, I met several new friends.


Eating dim sum with Kim. Kim looked after me brilliantly on my first day in Malaysia including a trip to the Batu Caves.


With Flic (3rd from left), Aaron (2nd from left), Flic’s Canadian flatmate and her Malaysian colleagues at the Ramadhan markets in KL. Flic kindly hosted me in KL.


I enjoyed a truly memorable evening with Pek Yen and Yinli at Chinese Hawker centre in KL.


Carina and Li Ching generously took time off from work to meet me in Malacca (Melaka) and show me all around that historic city including the best food places 🙂


Drinking cocktails with Aaron, Flic and Sharmini (who I had met before in Adelaide) at Pacific Regency’s 34th floor Luna Bar.

Thank you all for helping make a fantastic trip!

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Malaysia

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The South-East Asian nation of Malaysia was my home from the morning of 7 October to the evening of 12 October.

My brief 6 days there were fabulous and sometime I’d like to go back for a longer period to explore more places and eat more foods. I will eventually upload many photos in differently-themed posts.


Malaysia takes religion very seriously and the government works hard not to offend their resident religions. One example of this is the above censored Malaysian Airlines magazine article. The censored words are “and meet God“. Ethnic Malays are automatically Muslims and it is extremely difficult to renounce their religion should they want to. Chinese and Indians have greater religious choice.


2007 is the 50th anniversary of “Merdeka” or independence for Malaysia turned 50 this year. There were indications of this anniversary everywhere. The above celebratory banner contains portraits of the country’s 5 prime ministers: Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn, Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.


Aidilfitri, the end of Ramadan (Malay–Ramadhan; Turkish–Ramazan) holiday was about to take place and there were decorations in many areas. This display was at the entrance to KL Tower (also known as Menara Kuala Lumpur).


The Malaysian postal system is called “Pos Malaysia”. POS can also refer to English-language acronyms Point Of Sale or Piece Of ….


This warning sign is attached to a fence on the walk from from Flic’s place to KL Sentral. Public signs are usually only in Malay and English although this is also in Chinese and (I’m guessing) 2 Indian languages as it is near the Indian Brickfields area.

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