Category Archives: Architecture

Trip up North

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Last week  we decided to make a trip up North, to celebrate Aric’s birthday. A 4D3N trip, staying overnight in Kuala Sepetang, Gunung Jerai and Georgetown.

Kuala Sepetang, or Port Weld as it was originally called, has recently become a popular tourist destination. We arrived at lunchtime on a Saturday and were amazed by the large number of tourist buses. There are now two “boutique” hotels and we had booked a room in the Happy 8 Retreat , located above a fish processing factory and a seafood restaurant.

Port Weld

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The reviews for this hotel are rather mixed, the decoration of the rooms and the use of recycled materials is appreciated, but the walls between the rooms are paper thin and there are some complaints about the service. We were lucky, not many other guests, so we could sleep well. We had a room with a view of the river, you can spend hours there, watching the busy traffic.

Here is a video, taken from our balcony

We were just in time for the famous curry mee of Kuala Sepetang. After our siesta we walked in the village. The new bridge makes the other side easily accessible, fortunately not yet very developed.

For our dinner we went to the Tepi Sungai restaurant, also located above a fish processing factory. We had mantis prawns, lala shells, spikey snails, vegetable and tea for RM 61

The sunset view was priceless and free of charge…:-)

One reason to visit Kuala Sepetang was that I would like to have a look at Kuala Sangga, a small fishing village at the mouth of the Sepetang river. We saw  many tourist boats coming in and out and expected that at least a few of them would go to this village. Mistake. Most tourists come for the fireflies and the eagle feeding, not many are interested in the (tiny) village.

After an interesting “fusion” breakfast we continued our trip to Gunung Jerai. As an alternative for Kuala Sangga, we decided to visit the Hindu temple complex of Bukit Batu Pahat, on the slopes of the mountain. But first of course lunch…:-)

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I had read about these temples, but never visited them. The Bujang Valley where these temples are located is considered the richest archaeological area in Malaysia! But many Malaysians have never heard about it. Why? Could they be neglected because this part of Malaysian history predates Islam and the Malacca Sultanate?

Expecting the complex to be a bit rundown, I was pleasantly surprised to find it in mint condition. The museum with information about the excavations and some artefacts is interesting. The Bukit Batu Pahat temple is in situ, the others have been relocated. And there is even a small waterfall, more a cascade.

Only a few visitors, not surprising as the site is badly signposted. Merbok is the nearest larger village. The complex is really worth a visit. And free of charge!

We had booked accommodation in the Regency Jerai Hill Resort, near the top of the mountain. A winding road leads you to the resort at an altitude of almost 1000 m above sea level. From the resort and from our balcony we had a fascinating view of the rice fields and the coastline of Kedah.

Here is a video, taken at the resort. We are just below the clouds

We had booked a puasa promotion, RM 230 for the room including 2x dinner and breakfast. During puasa (Ramadan) Muslims will eat only after sunset, and we thought it would be polite to follow that rule. Muslims will also not eat after sunrise, but for our breakfast we did not follow the rule…:-)  English breakfast!

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Also here we had something on our program. There are quite a few waterfalls on the slopes of Gunung Jerai and one of them is located not far below the resort. Just before entering the resort, you will see a path with cemented steps going down. In about half an hour you reach the Alur Naga fall. A vertical fall in a romantic surrounding. On the way back I noticed a swarm of bees/wasps, my enemies. I managed to pass  without disturbing them. There were also leeches, I don’t mind to give them a free lunch..:-)

Here is a video of the fall

Our last destination was Georgetown. My friend Joe Yap had suggested a heritage hotel in Armenian street, Straights Heritage. They have only two “suites” and we had booked the Phoenix suite, on the second floor. It was like a dream, the most beautiful place where I have ever stayed.

It would have been nice to stay in our “mansion” the rest of the day and relax, but we also wanted to taste Penang durians! We met one of Aric’s friends and went to a stall in Bayan Lepas, where we tasted a Red Prawn durian. Yummy. After dinner in the New Lane hawker center, we went back to our suite and enjoyed the luxury.

Our program for the last day consisted of two parts. Joe had told us about a Christian cemetery where one of the graves had a sculpture of a dog, resting on the tombstone.The Western Road Cemetery was easy to find, but it was much bigger than I expected. Fortunately the caretaker could point out the grave to us. Legend has it that the dog visited the grave of is master after the latter had passed on, and continued to stay at the grave.

Nearby the cemetery is one of our favourite Laksa restaurants, the Taman Emas Coffee shop, where we had an early lunch. Last stop was at the Penang War museum, another suggestion of Joe. It is located at Bukit Batu Maung, where in the 1930’s the British built a fortress to protect the island against the Japanese army. It was a huge complex with cannon firing bays, barracks, tunnels etc. Manned by British, Malay and Sikh soldiers, each group in their own barrack, with their own cook etc, of course…:-) The fortress fell because the Japanese attacked from the land side and not from the seaside…. Like not much later Singapore.

After the Japanese had taken over, it became their army base. And after years of neglect it is now a museum. Steep entrance fee, RM 20 for locals, RM 35 for foreigners. Overpriced. You can also play war games (paintball) or follow ghost tours…:-(. Nevertheless still interesting, you can crawl through tunnels, climb escape ladders etc.

Not far from Batu Maung you can enter the second Penang bridge back to the mainland. The bridge is 24 km long with many curves. Interesting

Second bridge

It was a very satisfying trip, full of variety

Alkmaar

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During my last visit to the Netherlands I have visited quite a few historical cities. Utrecht, Dordrecht, Maastricht, Middelburg and Alkmaar. In 2009 Aric and I  had visited the famous cheese market in Alkmaar, no time to explore the town. Recently my brother Arie has moved to Alkmaar and Ineke and he had invited me to visit them. We had an interesting walk in the historical center of the town. Alkmaar has a rich history. During the Dutch war of independence , the siege of Alkmaar in 1573 was a turning point: “Victory begins at Alkmaar”

The House with the Cannon Ball is one of the few wooden houses in the town. During the Siege the Spanish army fired a cannon ball, which destroyed part of the house. The Fish Market dates back to the 16th century, the present fish tables were built in 1755.

In many historical towns in the Netherlands you can still find so-called Hofjes , courtyards with almshouses. Financed and built by rich merchants for (generally) poor people. With rules and regulations. The Wildemanshofje has 24 houses and is only for ladies (even now) . The Hofje van Splinter (1648) is a hidden gem, with only 8 (now 7) houses. The Hof van Sonoy is bigger and is now a restaurant.

I did not know that Alkmaar has many Jugendstil (Art Deco) houses. Next time I must find more, as it is one my favourite architectural styles.

We continued our walk, admired the spectacular town hall and had a look at a few churches. We walked along the ramparts, where the Windmill of Piet is the only one remaining, in the past there were ten. There is so much to see. But we were thirsty and needed a beer…:-)

Arie and Ineke have a very nice house, on walking distance from the center. We had an enjoyable evening with very nice food.

Family gathering

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When I am back in the Netherlands, we always try to organise a family gathering. This time on 18 April, one day after my 71st birthday. First we met in the family house at the Conradstraat, where we grew up and where my youngest brother and his family are now living.

Conradstraat

Conradstraat

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take a walk through our hometown and see how much had changed..:-). Here are the six Stuivers, as we call ourselves. A stuiver was the popular name for a 5 cent coin, before the Euro was introduced.

The Stuivers

With the perfect weather, our native village (now a town) looked very attractive with quite a few historical buildings still standing and well-conserved. For Dutch readers of this blog, our Reformed Church is the Gereformeerde Kerk, the other one is the Hervormde Kerk. In English they are both “Reformed” and it would take many pages to explain the difference..:-)

Of course also a lot of renovation has been going on. The modern town hall (2003) has an eye-catching architecture. Next to the railway station a bike storage facility has been constructed in the form of a green apple :-).There is modern sculpture and some of the new residences look quite special

We had booked for our dinner in Casa Havana, a buffet restaurant inside  Avifauna This bird park was opened in 1950(!) as the first dedicated bird park in the world. We have been here regularly in our youth, but for me if was the first time in many decades to revisit the park. Before our dinner we had a stroll through the park. Of course birds in cages, like the hornbills and the flamingoes, but many also roaming free. Very nice, we should have come earlier, as the dinner was waiting for us…:-)

The buffet restaurant turned out to be a popular, crowded and quite noisy venue. A table had been reserved for us and we had a very friendly waitress. Starting wih a welcome cocktail, free flow of wine and beer, a large variety of food, even port with the cheese! Value for money.

“Shall I take a picture of your group”, the motherly waitress asked me. Here is the result

The family

The problem with buffet restaurants is that my stomach is not big enough..:-( Here is what I managed to consume (hm, actually there was such a variety of starters that I had two plates).

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After the dinner we walked back to our cars. Spring is a few weeks late this year, so many trees still were barren. It gave the pollard willows (knotwilgen) an almost magical appearance

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Before going home, we had a farewell drink in the family house. A very nice and satisfactory reunion!

In the Conradstraat

Journal 12-7-2014

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From 29 May until 9 July I have been back in the Netherlands. During that period I have been so busy  that I had no time to update this blog. Here is a journal about what I have been doing. More detailed reports will follow. I arrived on Ascension day and had not much time to overcome my jet lag because two days later Yolanda, Paul’s sister, celebrated her 65th birthday with an afternoon party. Here she is showing her youngest grandchild. It was an animated party, where I met several old friends. The picture to the right shows our former music group, numerous times we have come together to play (classical) music and enjoy  the fellowship (and the food!).

Yolanda My friends

The next few days Paul and I have been done some long-distance walking, an activity we also started decades ago. We had planned to walk three days, a part of the Pelgrimspad  in the southern part of the Netherlands. But the first day I developed a few painful blisters, so we had to cut short our trip. Beautiful countryside, here is a detailed report: The Dutch Pilgrims Path

Pilgrims Path When I am back in Amsterdam, one of the first things I do is to call Inez, my long time friend and soul mate.  We had a nice dinner together in a Turkish restaurant. She is also a proud grandmother now…:-). By the way, don’t laugh at me that I am always complaining that I gain weight when back in Holland (this time it was only 2 kg) Turkish food Inez Turkish food

 

 

Aric arrived a few days later, just in time for the family gathering. My siblings and I always try to have a reunion during my visits, and this time we decided to do it in a grander way, because we had much to celebrate. My brother-in-law and I turned 70 this year, my brother Ruud 65 and my brother Pim 60, nephew Jasper 40, nephew Stefan 35, twin nephews Xander and Aswin 15. And there were several relationship celebrations. So we rented a number of bungalows in a recreation park and spent there the Whitsun weekend. Here is part of the crowd Family meetingAnd here a few more pictures

We had decided to make a trip to Norway during this visit. I had seen pictures of the Preikestolen, near Stavanger in Southern Norway and had become fascinated by this rock, rising 600 meter above the water of the Lysefjord. So we booked a flight to Stavanger and climbed this Pulpit Rock! Here we are. I can tell you that It is quite scary to get close to the edge…:-)

Preikestolen Preikestolen

As it was our first visit of Norway, we also visited a few other places, Bergen and Oslo. Traveling from Bergen to Oslo by bus, boat and train is quite spectacular, beautiful fjords, numerous waterfalls and still a lot of snow in the higher regions. Stavanger and Bergen are picturesque towns with their brightly-coloured wooden houses. In Oslo we visited the famous Vigeland park, an ice-bar and the local nude beach. Our overall impression of Norway is positive, we like to come back. But the country is really very expensive. I took about one thousand picture, here a few. Click here for a detailed report.

After we came back in Amsterdam, we took two days absolute rest, because the trip was interesting but also tiring. The last day of Aric’s visit we decided to go cultural and visit two musea. Not sure if you can call the Erotic museum and the Marijuana museum cultural, but it was fun…:-) After lunch with a pancake, we went to the beach. At 7pm it was still warm and sunny.

Although the water was still very cold (~ 16 C) I even took a bath. It happens not often that you have the beach completely for yourself…:-)! Beach Time flies, so the last two weeks of my stay were quite hectic. One day I met Nellie, my friend of 50 years, in Zwolle.  It was a real cultural visit, the Nijenhuis castle (part of the Fundatie museum) had two interesting exhibitions. We also visited the bookshop Waanders in de Broeren, I was very impressed by the way this old church had been given a new destination.

The next  weekend I did another long (20 km) walk, with two of my former students and the partner of one of them. After heavy rain at the start, the weather became sunny. From the train station of Amersfoort we took a bus to Woudenberg and then walked back to the station. I have documented the walk in an EveryTrail report

Heiligenbergerbeek wandeling

Another tradition during my stay in the Netherlands is that I visit my (only) sister and my brother in law. They live in a nice bungalow near Schagen and this time they took me around the countryside. We visited a plant nursery, specialised in unusual/exotic flowers and got a private guided tour by the friendly owner. Also a windmill, where the miller explained finally what had puzzled me for a long time: why do rotate windmills always counterclockwise! He is living in the mill and was so kind to give us permission to have a look inside. We also went to the seaside. In that particular region there are no dunes, so the hinterland has to be protected by a dyke. And the next morning we visited my brother Arie and his wife Ineke, who proudly showed us their new house in nearby Alkmaar.

Here are a few more pictures of my activities. From left to right, visiting my former vice-principal and good friend Dick, dinner with Yolanda, lunch with Edmund and Johan and dinner with my ex-student Raoul and his Thai husband Aunn.

On the last evening for my departure I had dinner with Pim and Inez in a restaurant in the northern part of Amsterdam. A pleasant surprise, we had to cross over the river by ferry to an industrial area, the restaurant was located in a former machine factory. Delicious food and very friendly service. The name of the restaurant is Hotel de Goudfazant

Then it was time to go back. The last days it had started raining, maybe the country was crying to see me leave…:-) But I was looking forward to Malaysian food and to celebrate Aric’s birthday…:-)

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Taiping May 2014

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The main reason to visit Taiping was this time the excursion organised by the Taiping Heritage Society. See the separate post THS excursion. But there was more. I also wanted to visit the recently opened “Old House Museum“, located at Market Square. And an old house it certainly is, built ~ 1880 by a Chinese merchant Lim Ji You, after the big fire that destroyed much of Taiping.

Old House Museum Side view

It is a nice example of Peranakan architecture. Left a frontal view, right a side view. Notice the three storeys of the back house , unusual in those days. Inside the museum you will find a large collection of antiques. The museum is a private one, I really hope they will succeed! Here a collection of pictures

The two nights I stayed in Taiping this time, I had dinner with my friends. It is never a problem to find a suitable place for food, be it a food court, a small stall or a more posh restaurant.

Dinner Dinner Dinner

Of course a visit of Taping is not complete without a visit of the Lake Gardens, the most beautiful gardens in Malaysia. The Lake Gardens Here a few more Taiping pictures. One of the old bridge near the Indian temple and the Coronation pool. I am still trying to find out who built this bridge and for what purpose. One picture of a rain tree. And finally a picture of one of the eyesores of Taiping. The remains of the Casuarina inn, on the location of the former British residence. Shameful that this historical place has gone down the drain.

The old bridge Rain tree Ruin of the Casuarina Inn

Mural art is becoming a trend in Malaysia these days, after the Lithuanian artist Zacharevitch created the first nice “paintings” in Penang. Here are two examples I found in Taiping. Not that special, copies of Lao Fu Zi cartoons

Street art Street art Street art

More interesting is what is happening in Gopeng, south of Ipoh. In the past a famous tin-mining town, now a sleepy hollow, but with a lot of historical interest. Along the Jalan Pasir and Jalan Tasik, unknown(?) artists have recently created a number of mural paintings and also street art in the style of Zacharevitch. Definitely worth a visit!

Taiwan trip videos

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During our recent trip to Taiwan, I have take quite a few video clips, which are now available on YouTube. Here they are presented with some additional comments and links..

The first clip was taken in the Longshan temple in Taipei. This temple was originally built in 1738 by Chinese settlers from Fujian, It was destroyed many times by earthquakes and fires, but every time rebuilt. The last time was after the Americans had bombed the temple in 1945, claiming that the Japanese had hidden weapons inside the temple. It is an iconic example of classical Taiwanese architecture.

Also a temple, but in a completely different style and much more recent: the Shell Temple in Dangshui. In the hills, north of Taipei, remote, we hired a taxi to get there. Completely built from sea corals and shells. Amazing.

During our trip we had lots of nice and often unknown food. One of them was this dish with I think  is called Milk Mochi. It has a Japanese origin and was very refreshing. Aric shows here how to eat it.

One of the tourist attractions of Taipei is the Maokong Gondola. It connects the Taipei Zoo with the Maokong hill. Opened in 2007 it was closed in 2008 after structural damage of the supporting pylons was discovered. Reopened in 2010. Some of the cabins have glass bottoms.

Maokong is a tea growing region, so one of the attractions is to drink tea in one of the many tea houses that can be found near the gondola station. It was misty, so the famous night view of Taipei was disappointing. But we had tea and here Aric is showing how to do a tea ceremony (more or less…haha)

In Xin Beitou I took two videos of the geothermal activity there. The first one on our way back from our  hot spring bath experience in the remote location. Note how there is a small stream with cold water just next to the boiling water and the steam. Transported with numerous pipes to the baths.

In Xin Beitou itself, walking distance from the center, there is a “Thermal Valley”, a small lake of hot water, greenish colour, with a lot of steam coming from the water.

Our next destination was Jiaoxi, on the north-east coast of Taiwan. Here Aric had discovered during his research a nice waterfall, the Wufengqi falls. Walkable from the town.This is the lower tier

The upper tier is quite impressive, a tall vertical fall. We were not the only visitors, although it was  a steep climb. This is a popular tourist attraction.

One of the must-visit places for food in Jiaoxi is the Wengyao Roast Chicken restaurant . Their specialty is chicken, slowly smoked over tropical longan wood.

WengYao restaurant

First here a video about how they prepare the chicken.

What a job! The chicken is cooked in its own fat, with some herbs. You can only order a whole chicken. They bring it to your table with two pair of gloves and you have to dissect it yourself. Here I am doing that, it became a kind of slapstick video. Watch it full screen and have a good laugh.

By the way, I have never in my life eaten a more juicy and delicious chicken!

From Jiufen, the last village where we stayed, we made a few trips in the north-eastern hills of Taiwan. One of the places Aric liked to visit was the grave of Teresa Teng, a Taiwanese Chinese pop singer, passed away at a young age in 1995 and still very popular in Malaysia and other Asian countries. Elaborate grave, with her songs being played. Interesting.

On our last day we explored the Pingxi line, a single-track railway line, built in 1921 to transport coal. Now a major tourist attraction. On a day ticket you can stop at each station, walk around and then proceed to another one. From the Shifen station you can walk to what is considered the most scenic waterfall of Taiwan, the Shifen fall. Kind of Niagara falls in miniature.

The Shifen station itself is an interesting one, with the railway tracks running in the middle of the village main street! When no train is arriving these railway tracks are a center of activity with people preparing huge Chinese lanterns, writing messages on them and then let them go up in the sky.

Chinese lanterns

Taiwan trip

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For quite some time Taiwan has been on our list of countries to visit and this year we finally booked an Air Asia flight to Taipei for a 12-day trip. To be honest, our primary reason was… the Taiwanese food! Aric likes to watch Taiwanese TV programs about food and had collected a large number of dishes to try out. But of course there was also culture and nature..:-)

As usual Aric had done  a thorough research for the trip. He suggested that we should not  try to cover the whole country (size a bit less than the Netherlands), but limit ourselves to the northern part, Taipei and surroundings. Here is the map of our traveling in Taiwan. The GPS tracks are often broken, in the town because we used the (underground MRT) a lot and in the mountains because of the many tunnels. Click on the map to enlarge.

Map

Actually we could have stayed in one hotel in Taipei center and  make day trips from there out. Instead we decided to move around to various nice boutiquehotels. We started in Ximending, the entertainment and shopping district of Taipei. After three days we took the MRT(!) to Tamsui, a suburb of Taipei where we stayed two nights in a nice “room with a view”. Back to Xin Beitou, one night, for the hot springs. After that by bus to the East coast, Jaoxi, two nights in a beautiful apartment with our own private hot spring!. The last three nights up in the hills, in Jiufen, another apartment with a view.

Room with private hotspring!

Our apartment in Jaoxi, in Japense style, with a private hot spring bath!

When you visit Taiwan, of course you have to visit the Taoist/Buddhist temples. Taipei has a number of famous ones, but you find them in every town and village. They are well maintained and beautiful, but also basically the same…:-). So after a number of temples your reach your saturation level.  Here only  a limited number of pictures. Below is the entrance decoration of the Qingshui Temple in Taipei

Temple facade

The (modern) architecture of Taipei is rather monotonous and a bit boring. Of course there is the “outstanding” landmark of the 101 tower, until a few years ago the tallest building in the world. Personally I think the Petronas towers are much more impressive. Of course we had to go up in the ultra-fast elevator (600 m/minute!) to the observatory on the 91st floor.

101 tower

The 101 tower as seen from the nearby Elephant mountain

More impressive is the Memorial for Chang Kai-shek, the former president of the Republic of China. It was opened in 1980, on the fifth anniversary of his death. During our visit there was an amusing panda event in the huge square in front of the memorial hall, attracting a big crowd of spectators. Many school children, it was nice to see how disciplined they behaved. Same with the people waiting for the MRT in an orderly queue. Our general impression of Taiwanese people is very positive, they are friendly and eager to help.

Chang Kai Shek memorial

We had a busy program, especially the first few days. We visited Sanxi (Old Taipei) where the “Old Street” was built during the Japanese occupation (1895-1945). The Red House is another example of Japanese architecture. Of course we went to the Shilin night market with its underground foodcourt. The MRT transport system makes traveling easy, but you also still have to walk quite a lot!

After three days in Ximen we took the MRT to Tamsui, a sea-side town, but still part of what is called New Taipei City. Different atmosphere, university town, a bit artistic. We visited the Santo Domingo fort, dating back to Dutch colonial times, and the nearby British Consular Residence. And we took the ferry to the harbour to see tne famous sunset, but it was cloudy. You can not have everything…:-)

Tamsui

We had chosen this time of the year for our Taiwan visit, because we were hoping to see the cherry blossom. The season lasts only a few weeks and is not really predictable. We were a bit late, but still we could see some. And there were other flowers as well, as it was the beginning of spring.

Cherry Blossom

From Tamsui we made a trip to a remote, little known jewel: the Shell Temple (Fufuding temple), completely constructed from sea shells and corals. Quite unbelievable. We had to hire a taxi to go there, but it was worth the effort.

Dingshan Shell Temple

Here are a few pictures of the interior. There is even a kind of cave behind the shrime, where you can crawl through. Good that there were no other tourists…:-)

One of the famous tourist attractions in Taiwan are the hot spring baths. The public bath culture was introduced during the Japanese occupation. Originally they were free of charge, with a separate pool for men and women, and you are bathing naked. These traditional ones are getting less in numbers, being renovated and modernised, mixed, you have to pay and you need swimwear.

A famous hot spring region is Xin Beitou, where we went next. There is a lot of geothermal activity around there and Aric had discovered a remote traditional public bath. We were quite shy to enter, because we were warned that you have to follow the rules, or you will be scolded…:-). But it was a nice experience and I was scolded only once. Mainly older men, who prepare their tea, and chit-chat a lot. We tried another one in Xin Beitou, also a traditional one. And we went to the original Japanese one, now a museum.

Geothermal activity

After Xin Beitou we took a bus to the West Coast, to Jaoxi, another hot spring center. Here Aric had booked a room with a private hot spring bath! In the town on several places there are popular public foot baths. We even had lunch in a restaurant while soaking our feet in the hot water! Also here we found a traditional bath and I even managed, a bit sneakily, to take a picture inside the bath hall…:-) Of course we also used our own private bath. It is easy to get addicted!

Public foot bath

Our last stop was in Jiufen, a small town in the hills. Popular tourist attraction but most visitors came on a day trip, so in the evening it became quiet. It was good that we had brought our jackets, because it was a lot colder here. From here we made two day trips. For the first one we hired again a taxi. First we went to…. a museum!

Ju Ming is a Taiwanese sculptor with an international reputation. He has created his own museum in the hills north of Taipei. I had never heard about him, and the museum was really an eye-opener for me. We spent quite a long time, walking around as many of his works are in the open air

Ju Ming museum

After the museum and lunch we visited the Yehliu Geopark, another surprise. Erosion has over the millions of years created an amazing collection of strange rock shapes. The most famous of them is the Queen’s Head. In earlier days you could just touch this rock formation, but now you can only view it from some distance, because unscrupulous visitors scraped some of the soft rock to take home, causing the neck of the queen to become thinner and thinner.

Yehliu geopark

The last day we took the train into the hills. In the past this was a coal mining region, now it has become a popular tourist destination.When there is no train coming, the tracks are used for walking. Couples leave bamboo cylinders behind with love(?) messages, a variation on the love locks you find in for example Paris. Another popular activity is to paint a message on a Chinese lantern and let it fly away as a hot air balloon.

Bamboo cylinders

The most famous tourist attraction along this train route is the Shifen waterfall, considered to be the most scenic waterfall of Taiwan. A real beauty. From Jiaoxi we had already visited two other waterfalls. Here are the pictures.Shifen fall

It was a wonderful trip, and we are already looking forward to visit Taiwan again.

But wait, I almost forgot to mention the food…:-) And I started this blog, mentioning the Taiwanese food. Well, we have done our best and tried as many different Taiwanese specialties as we could find…:-). It was a pleasure every day. Lots of pork, lots of delicious oysters. Menus are in Chinese, so I had to trust Aric. Here is a collage of what we had,  I don’t know the names.

Taiwan food

I also shot a number of video’s, but I will put them in a separate blog, as this one is already longer than usual.

Abandoned

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Once upon a time there was a plan for a new International Airport between Rawang and Tanjung Malim. Adventurous and greedy developers started already to build a new town at Bukit Beruntung. But the plans changed, the new airport was built far away, near Sepang, and the development bubble burst.

This is what remains, an abandoned township.

Abandoned

Abandoned

Abandoned

Abandoned

Abandoned

When you go to Fraser’s Hill or Chiling waterfall, and want to avoid the traffic jam in Rawang, a good alternative is to take the highway exit at Bukit Beruntung, from where you can reach Rasa on the trunk road nr 1. I have done that numerous times and was always intrigued by the many desolate and neglected residential areas along the route. Recently my Dutch friend Paul and I decided to explore these abandoned and often never completed neighborhoods. It was a fascinating trip

Overgrown

Overgrown

Overgrown

Overgrown

Overgrown

Overgrown

Some streets looked just unfinished, like the first pictures shown. Other parts were already overgrown with bushes and weeds. People were using it as rubbish dumps. When nothing happens, the jungle will take back these parts of town in a few decades.

The unfinished residential complex in the picture below has a kind of strange atmosphere. Notice that there are a few apartments with sunshades. So there must have been people who have dared to move in here!

Strange atmosphere

And some people must still be living here. A dog was barking behind the gate. The fencing looks recent. Not surprisingly this part of Bukit Beruntung has a bad reputation regarding crime. I would be very reluctant to go here at night.

People living here

What I like about these desolate places, is that you can often take quite nice, scenic pictures. We had perfect weather during our recce, misty weather with some rain would have been even better…:-). Here is a collection.

Here is a GE map of the region, with red markers at the location of abandoned projects.

Map

After Rasa there is  a green marker. That is another abandoned project, but not related to Bukit Beruntung. A number of low-cost bungalows, unfinished and almost completely overgrown now.

Houses of Worship in Kuala Lumpur

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On the first day of the CNY of the Horse, my friend Joe Yap and I decided to spend the day in Kuala Lumpur, visiting as many Temples, Churches, Mosques, Kovils, Viharas and Gurdwaras as we were able to find…:-)

We had a wonderful day and managed to have a look at 21 (!) Places of Worship. For a detailed report about our trip, click here. In this post I will only show pictures of the places we have visited. If I had to choose a favourite, it would be the Holy Rosary Church, built in French Gothic Revival style and completed in 1904. A real beauty, although it is a shame that next to it now high-rise condominium complexes are being built. Holy Rosary Church

Here is a gallery of the other locations we have visited, in chronological order. Some of the well-known ones are missing, the Thean Hou Temple because  it was too crowded with people, and several mosques because it was Friday.

We had prepared a map with the various locations and I also recorded the GPS-track of our route. Sometimes a bit complicated with one-way streets etc..:-)  And the town was much more busy than we had expected on a CNY day.

Map

GE route

Singapore

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Recently I got a phone call from my friend Paul. “I have booked a trip to Singapore, with an overnight stay in the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Leaving tomorrow. Just got news from my friend that he is unable to join because of a problem in his family. Can you replace him”?

I was free that weekend, so of course I did not say no…:-). Two years ago I had visited this iconic hotel and enjoyed it very much, see my report.

The next morning our bus trip to Singapore took about 6 hours. There is now a MRT station near the hotel! That afternoon we spent a lot of time in the infinity pool..:-)

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Here are more pictures of the hotel, the shopping complex  around it and the views from the Skypark on the 57th floor. The weather looked a bit threatening, but we had no rain

After our dinner (in the food court, the Marina Bay Sands restaurants are too expensive.. haha), we walked a lot in the the town and around the marina. Here are some night views.

The next day we visited the Gardens by the Bay This park of more than 100 hectares, on reclaimed land, was not yet open to the public during my earlier visit. The park itself is freely accessible, but for some of the attractions you have to pay. From the park you have nice views of the hotel and the Singapore skyline.

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You can easily spend many hours here. Access to the two domes is expensive, we did not go in, later we heard that it is worthwhile. But we visited the “canopy walk” Here is a collection of pictures.

The next day,before we took the bus back to KL, we visited the Haw Par Villa. This theme park, containing over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicts scenes from Chinese mythology, folklore, legends, history, and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. Created in 1937 by the makers of Tiger Balm, its main attraction are the Ten Courts of Hell

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Access to the park is free and easy, there is a new MRT station around the corner. Not so many people know about its existence. The park is a photographers delight. Here is a selection of my pictures.

And here is what you can expect as punishment for what you did wrong in your life. Don’t worry too much. Before you are reborn in your next life, you will be served a cup of tea of Forgetfulness, so you will not remember anything in your next life!

This Haw Par Villa is definitely worth a visit!