Got back from Bangkok late last night and all I could do was to download a tonne of pictures off the memory cards. Here is a preview of things that I have done during the rather interesting trip to Thailand from the few snapshots that I hastily processed late last night.
the ubiquitous tuk-tuk
We had our fair share of tuk-tuk experience across town. These little 3 wheelers are everywhere around the city. With total disregard of traffic pattern and sense of speed limitation, it was a ball of fun and excitement. One driver even did a wheely when we were on board! (perhaps due to the weight of Terence & Dree?)
the holy temples
We also visited a lot of temples around the city center as well as the outskirts. The particular picture above was captured when I purposely cleared my throat louder than usual, hee-hee.
the diver on Chao Phraya
At the various piers along Chao Phraya River, you can see kids whose job title are “divers”. Their job is to re-catch creatures (cat fish, frogs, turtles, etc) that were let go into the river by pilgrims to be re-sell at the various stalls along the pier. The kids did not let work gets in the way of having fun.
thai boxing!
Of course, I did a bit of practice on my Muay Thai on a proper rink at Pantip Mall (the King’s Cup competition was on)!
the red light district
What’s a trip to Bangkok without going to the red light district. I have a very good story on some 3 stupid fellas getting conned by a bar owner and a pimp. Stay tuned!
McWorms with a side of insects and the optional fried froggy
Last but not least, how can we forget about food? Weird and wonderful creatures that went into our mouth. I’ve had tomyam, pad Thai, pad see yew, pork dishes, and of course, the fried insects!
Full posts on the trip will be coming to your nearest computer monitor shortly.
Today is the 9th day of Chinese New Year, traditionally the day Hokkien people worships Jade Emperor of Heaven “Tian Kung” (天公). I did hear quite a bit of fireworks as midnight struck even though the government has imposed a complete ban on such celebration.
The pictures I am posting here are of “Tian Hou Temple”, a place that might not be related at all to today’s occasion. But anyhow…
Pagoda with 8 sided roof
We went to the temple for some photography a week before Chinese New Year hoping to get some shots of the beautifully lit decorative lanterns, but luck was not on our side as it seems that conservation of electricity was the priority of the night. I only managed about a dozen different shots before the temple closed at around 10:30pm.
3-tiered roof with guardian dragons
You can read more about this place at Thean Hou Temple wiki entry.
pillar
You can find a few more pictures in my flickr set.
I want to wish everyone a prosperous rat’s year. Since you can already find a picture of rat/mickey/minnie/mighty on every other blog, I thought I’d just post some pictures I shot at Penang’s Kwan Yin Temple last weekend.
pigeons at the sacred temple
This Kwan Yin temple is the oldest temple in Penang island. Located at Pitt Street (now renamed Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling), it was constructed at the early 1800s by Chinese migrants.
the roof line
The building follows ancient Chinese architecture with carvings at every corner and beautiful dragon statues on the roof line. These creatures the guardians of the temple.
There are hundreds of wild pigeons around the temple everyday, casting a holy and surreal atmosphere. The birds are fed by devotees.
the dragons
Every year during Kwan Yin’s birthday, there are thousands of devotees flooding the temple to worship this Goddess of Compassion and the other deities in the temple. Thick smokes from josticks and the quite murmurs of prayers can be heard, it’s a sight to be seen, but I suggest you bring your goggles.
josticks
If you find yourself in Penang, do give this temple a visit. The wonderful architecture not to be missed, furthermore, there’s a stall selling awesome loh mee just next to the temple (I will post about that soon).
the lion guard
More information can be found at Tourism Penang’s website.
more photos at my kwan yin temple flickr set.
