Houses of Worship in Kuala Lumpur

Posted on February 11, 2014 by janstu

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.

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.

: Tamil Methodist Church

: Kaliamman Alayam Temple

: Buddhist Maha Vihara

: Zion Lutheran Cathedral

: Vivekananda Ashram

: Sri Kandaswamy Kovil

: Sze Ya Temple

: Guan Di Temple

: Mahamariamman Temple

: Gurdwara Sahib Polis

: Chan See Shu Yuen clan hous

: Wei Zhen Gong Guan Yin temple

: Wesley Methodist Church

: Masjid Al-Bukhary

: St Anthony Church

: St Andrew’s Church

: St John’s Cathedral

: Tatt Khalsa Diwn Gurdwara

: Masjid India

: St Mary’s Cathedral

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.

Singapore

Posted on December 28, 2013 by janstu

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..:-)

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

: The hotel lobby

: Check in counter. Art work by Stella

: More art work

: Still more

: Cloudy but no rain

: Singapore Gin Sling

: Frozen Marguerita

: Near the Casino

: Many shops

: Singaporean gondolas

: Breakfast in the food court

: The infinity pool

: With the harbour in the background

: Nice weather

: The Esplanade

: The ArtScience Museum

: Skypark platform

: Always interested in architecture

: Gardens by the Bay

: The Supertrees Grove

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.

: ArtScience Museum by night

: The Gardens by the BAy

: Supertrees Grove

: Singapore Skyline

: Bugis Square

: Christmas trees

: Many of them

: Raffles Hotel

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.

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.

: Hotel view from the park

: This is man-made!

: Looks so natural

: Flowers

: Birds

: Serene

: Supertrees with canopy walk

: Slowly covering the tree

: On the canopy walk

: View of the hotel

: Park with skyline

: Dragonfly

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

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!

Journal 17-10-2013

Posted on October 18, 2013 by janstu

The last three weeks, after Aric went back to Malaysia, I have been busy with many social and cultural activities. I started with visits to my GP, my cardiologist, my diabetician, my ophthalmologist and my dentist….:-) Everything is under control.

My dentist used a new torture contraption, which made me look like a breedbekkikker (wide-mouthed frog, rana ore lato, can only be found in the Netherlands, lol).

I visited two more musea and went to two concerts. In the Concertgebouw I listened to Maria Pires, playing Beethoven. She got an ovational applause which she rightly deserved. With a friend I went to the Gauguin, Bonnard & Denis exhibition in the Amsterdam Hermitage museum. A bit disappointing, although the museum itself is worth a visit. Another concert was given in the impressive Neo-Gothic Dominicus church in Amsterdam. My friend Yolanda sings in a choir, they performed works by Bach and Mozart. Beautiful music, especially the Bach cantata Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir . With another friend I went to an exhibition of Hundertwasser in the Cobra museum in Amstelveen.

: Maria Pires playing Beethoven

: The Amsterdam Hermitage museum

: Bach and Mozart in the Dominicus Church

: Hundertwasser in the Cobra Museum

The Hundertwasser exhibition was a pleasant surprise. I knew him only as an architect (here is is picture I took of the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, 6 years ago), but first he became famous as a painter, in the 1950’s. Here are some of his paintings. Both from these paintings and his buildings it is clear that he did not like straight lines, he called them devil’s tools..:-)

When I am back in the Netherlands, it has become a tradition to have dinner with Yolanda in a ‘fine dining’ restaurant. This time we went to restaurant Vandemarkt and had a delicious dinner there. The presentation of the food makes it almost a work of art.The reason that in the picture the main course looks messy, is that I could not control myself, I started eating before I thought about taking a picture…:-)

Another tradition during my stay in the Netherlands is a reunion with my siblings. This time it took place at my sisters place. My brother Ruud could not be there because he just had had a hip replacement operation, but in these days, with webcams and skype, he still was able to join virtually…:-)

: Meeting in the garden

: I have only one sister!

: Modern way of taking pictures

: The dinner table

: Ruud is also present

: Ruud and Jur watching from Cyberspace

: Good luck with your new hip!

: Dinnertime

Just before coming back to Malaysia I went to Groningen to meet Ruud and his loved ones. He was already able to walk in the garden with his crutches and could point out to Jur where the walnuts were hanging. I stayed overnight and met his two sons, my favourite nephews.

I also met many friends, former students, ex-colleagues etc. Often for a drink and food, so not surprisingly I gained weight again, will have to work hard to slim down. The weather remained nice and warm with often spectacular sunsets.

It was only during the last few days of my stay in the Netherlands that the weather became autumn-like, with some heavy rain and lower temperatures. But altogether I have been very fortunate, the weather gods must love me. On my way to Schiphol airport I finally could take a picture of the trees near my apartment in autumn colors.

I will end this post with a picture of my new watch. It is a Pebble watch, synchronised with my iPhone. It gives a warning when a SMS or email has arrived and you can choose between many different displays of the time.

Europe trip 2013 Barcelona & Amsterdam

Posted on October 3, 2013 by janstu

After our two-week trip through Europe we needed some time to relax and do our laundry. Only a few days because we had one more destination on our program: Barcelona in Spain. The town of Gaudi, the country of paella and sangria!

It was a short visit of three nights only. Instead of looking for a hotel we found a nice apartment, a loft on the fourth floor of an old building, near to the Ramblas and in the middle of the Red Light district…:-) The dimensions must have been something like 30 x 5 meter!

: 76 steps up!

: Living room

: Kitchen area

: Bedroom

Of course we spent most of our time in Barcelona visiting and admiring the wonderful works of art created by Gaudi.. A pity that we were not the only ones! I have created a separate album about Barcelona on my Stuif’s Adventures site. Here only four pictures of the places we visited

: Casa Mila

: Casa Batllo

: Sagrada Familia

: Park Güell

We had lots of tapas and sangria. Not always top quality. One night we had really a wonderful meal in a local tapas bar suggested to us by the hostess of our apartment. Spanish style, We started our dinner at about 10 pm..:-). Delicious food. The name of the restaurant is Cañete and you should not miss it when you visit Barcelona!

: Scallops

: Mussels

: Squids

: Veal & Sweatbread

: Dessert

Back in Amsterdam, we had a few days left before Aric went back to Malaysia. The weather was still ok, so we looked for some more of the KLM houses. And we visited the Rijksmuseum, opened last year after an extensive renovation. With a spectacular result, I will post a separate blog later about it. We had a look at the Night Watch by Rembrandt, one of the most famous paintings in the world. Also here we were not the only ones…:-)

Here are a few more pictures of these last few days in Amsterdam

: Begijnhof

: Can it be more Amsterdam?

: Crowd in the Rijksmuseum

: Traditional Dutch pancake

Europe trip 2013 part 4

Posted on September 28, 2013 by janstu

My idea was to travel back from Switzerland to Amsterdam via France. Last year I had visited a few Loire castles with my brother Pim, and I wanted to show their beauty to Aric, so I booked two nights in Blois. However, planning in more detail, I found that the distance between Grindelwald and Blois was almost 700 km, a bit too long for a comfortable drive. Therefore I looked for a suitable stopover halfway. Beaune! To be honest, the name did not ring a bell. Now I know better.

Wine lover friends will scold me, because Beaune is the Wine Capital of the Burgundy region. The most important wine auction of France is held here yearly, but we were too early for that. Besides, Burgundy wines are too expensive for me.

It is a medieval town with a famous tourist attraction: the Hospices de Beaune, a hospital for the poor, founded in 1443 (!)

Well worth a visit, here are some pictures.

: Seen from the courtyard

: The main hall of the hospital

: Ward for the poor

: More luxury for the rich..:-)

The hospices also possess a very famous medieval work of art, The Last Judgment (1445-1450) by Rogier van der Weyden. Impressive.

After a nice dinner and a good night sleep we continued the next day to Blois, situated on the banks of the Loire river. The weather had changed, it drizzled when we arrived. We did a short walk in the town

: The river Loire

: Blois is a nice old town

: The cathedral

: Interior

After our walk we had a delicious dinner

Haute Cuisine in les Banquettes Rouges, Blois

The next day it was raining cats and dogs! Still we decided to visit the two castles. And we were not the only ones. It was the National Heritage weekend, there were special activities everywhere and the admission was at a reduced rate or even free. Resulting in crowds of people. First we visited Chenonceau, my favourite.

Because of the rain we skipped the beautiful gardens and spent more time inside the castle. In its present state it dates back to the 16th century. The castle was acquired by king François I and later given by his son, Henry II to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. She commissioned the building of the famous arched bridge across the river Cher.

: The famous ballroom across the river

: Bedroom of Diane de Poitiers

: The salamander, icon of Francois I

: Another bedroom

Next destination was Chambord, the largest of the Loire castles. If Chenonceau is androgynous, Chambord is alpha-male…:-).Built by the same king François I and possibly designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

The rain had become heavy now, we were soaked already, so we spent only a short time on the roof with its many chimneys. Pity for all the people who took part in the activities. The castle was never inhabited continuously, the kings of France just moved in a for a couple of weeks. Lous XIV, the Roi-Soleil had a ceremonial bedchamber here, where VIPs could watch how he woke up and was dressed..:-)

: Felt sorry for these people

: The famous double spiral staircase, attributed to da Vinci

: The roof with its many chimneys

: Louis XIV’s ceremonial bedroom

Wet and cold we came back to our hotel, bought some food in the supermarket and had a simple meal in our room. This was the only day during our trip that we had bad weather, so we consider ourselves lucky…:-)

The next morning there was sun and blue sky again! But we had to be back in Amsterdam that evening, so we could only make a hurried visit of the castle of Blois. The Chateau de Blois is located in the center of the town, from our hotel room we could see the backside of the François I wing. Here is the entrance from the square:

There is a lot to see in the castle, the famous octagonal staircase in the courtyard, the François I wing, the Salle des États Généraux and much more. But we had not much time. Here are some pictures

: Entrance with statue of Louis XII

: Courtyard with octogonal staircase

: Detail

: the Salle des États Généraux

: Te present king of France is Chinese

: One of the 100 bedrooms

: Another one

: Beautiful ceiling

Are you interested in philosophy? Then you may think about the caption with Aric above: “The present king of France is Chinese” True or false?

We arrived in Amsterdam just in time to return our car. About 3500 km in two weeks time.

Europe Trip 2013 part 2

Posted on September 23, 2013 by janstu

From Salzburg it is not far to the romantic small town of Hallstatt, situated on the shore of a lake.We stayed there three nights, to explore the region. Besides enjoying the atmosphere of the place, we visited a few popular tourist attractions.

On our first day we took the cable car to the Ice Cave and the Five Fingers. The Ice Cave fills up completely with snow and ice during winter, even in summer this ice remains there.

We also visited the nearby Mammoth Cave (not that interesting) and then took a second cable car higher up. Fabulous views of the Hoher Dachstein massif (2995 m). Nice flowers. And a mountain hut, with food and beer, reminding me of my younger days as a mountaineer..:-)

After our lunch we walked to the famous Five Fingers. A metal construction, resembling a hand with a beautiful view of Hallstatt deep down. Not suitable for people with fear of heights…:-) A popular place for paragliders

The next day we visited the salt mine. Hallstatt has a glorious past because of this mine. In the past miners mined the rock salt and to take it out they used slides. These slides are now a tourist attraction. Big fun!

An “attraction” of a very different kind can be found in one of the churches. Because of its location, Hallstatt had only a limited space for a cemetery. Therefore after not so many years old graves were emptied to make space for new burials. The skulls of the deceased were treated with respect, painted with names etc, and kept in a chapel. Very impressive.

After Hallstatt we continued our trip in the direction of Switzerland, passing on our way the Krimml waterfalls. Impressive falls, the highest in Austria and, according to the website, the 5th-highest in the world. That however is cheating, as the falls consist of three separate tiers!

We had planned to spend one night in Innsbruck, but instead decided to stay in the small, medieval town of Hall in Tirol, not far from Innsbruck. An unexpected, pleasant surprise.

Europe trip 2013 part 1

Posted on September 17, 2013 by janstu

I will split this post in a few parts, because it covers a two-week trip through Europe, visiting Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein (!), Switzerland and France. I took more than 1000 pictures. Don’t worry, I will publish here only a few..:-)

We started with a long (750 km) drive from Amsterdam to Regensburg in Bavaria. This is a very old town and a Unesco World Heritage site.

It is located on the Danube river, has many beautiful buildings and is famous food-wise for its sausages. Less touristic than its neigbours Nürnberg and Salzburg, it was a nice surprise for us.

: The 12th-century Stone Bridge

: The Wurstkuchl, 900 year old, famous for its Bratwurst

: Regensburg is prone to flooding, even recently

: The Iron Bridge

: Famous for its hundreds of love locks

: Shop window with traditional Bavarian dress

: The town hall at night

: Next morning, one of the city gates

: Nice houses

: Ten Lutheran New Pfarr church

: Characteristic shop signage

: The St Emmeran church

: Baroque interior

: War memorial for the first world war

: The Regensburg Cathedral

: Interior

The next day we crossed the border with Austria on our way to a tiny hamlet with a funny name: Fucking. There is nothing to see, there is not even a shop, but every year thousands of tourists come here to have their picture taken with the signboard for the village. And so did we …:-)

Salzburg was our next destination, the town where Mozart was born. We stayed in Hotel Mozart, had dinner in Cafe Mozart, visited the house where he lived and went to a concert where his music was played. The Salzburger Festspiele had just finished, but there were still many tourists. A beautiful town with the castle Hohensalzburg high above the town.

We stayed two nights in Salzburg, the weather was splendid. We really enjoyed the Hohensalzburg castle, spent almost a full day there. The Hellbrun Palace, just outside the town, was fun, with its trick fountains. Unbelievable that an archbishop was responsible for it. Here is a collection of Salzburg pictures.

: Bridge over Salzach river

: Again with love locks

: Mirabell Palace

: Mirabell gardens

: Nice shop signs

: Mozart Kugel. He loved sweets

: Art all over the town

: Traditional transport

: The Cathedral

: Interior

: Castle Hohensalzburg

: With the Austrian flag

: View from the castle

: Another work of art

: Castle images

: Lunch in the castle

: Details of the interior

: Castle chapel

: Interior

: Concert in Mirabell Palace

: Hellbrun Palace

: Famous for the trick fountains

: With this as result

: Fun for adults too

: Goodbye Salzburg!!

From Salzburg we continued our trip to Hallstatt, that will be part two of this report. Here already two galleries about the whole trip. First some pictures of the places where we stayed overnight. We like Guesthouses, Pensions, Bed en Breakfast places better than the big hotels.

: Apartment Goldener Kranich, Regensburg

: Hotel Mozart, Salzburg

: Gasthof Pension Grüner Anger, Hallstatt

: Gasthaus Badl, Hall in Tirol

: Privatpension Büchel, Liechtenstein

: Gasthaus Guggenhubel, Grindelwald

: Hotel Beaune, Beaune

: Hotel de France, Blois

And of course we had lots of food…:-) The German and Austrian cuisine are not very refined, but they serve in general huge portions. With lots of beer.In France we had a few times really fine dining.

: Regensburg Bratwurst

: Regensburg Dunkel Bier

: Dinner with white sausage, Regensburg

: Hell Bier, Salzburg

: Dinner in Cafe Mozart, Salzburg

: Breakfast at Fingerlos Cafe, Salzburg

: Pork Ribs in Alter Fuchs, Salzburg

: Lunch in the Lodge, Hallstatt

: Dinner with Cordon Blue, Hallstatt

: Too much food, Hallstatt

: Lunch at Krimml waterfalls

: Mammoth Wiener Schnitzel, Krimml

: Lunch at Jungfraujoch

: Dinner in le Fleuri, Beaune

: Aperitif in les Banquettes Rouges, Blois

: Haute Cuisine in les Banquettes Rouges, Blois

Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Schagen (28-30)-8

Posted on August 31, 2013 by janstu

The next two weeks we will be traveling across Europe. Preparing for the trip today, so not much time for blogging..:-) Just a short resume of the last few days, detailed posts will follow later.

After enjoying the beach, it was time for Amsterdam again. First we had a look at the iconic film museum, located at the opposite side of the IJ. Then we continued our mission, looking for the originals of the Delft Blue miniature houses.

We took pictures of thirteen houses this time and had apple pie in cafe Winkel, reputedly the best apple pie you can buy in Amsterdam. We walked a lot again, would have been easier if we had used a horse-drawn chart..:-)

The next morning we had to wait first for the courier service to deliver the International Driving License that Aric had forgotten to take with him. After that we took the train to Alkmaar, where a big fun fair was taking place.

We found a few more houses, before we continued our trip to Schagen, where my sister is living. Beautiful weather, lots of brambles in the garden, delicious.

We had a barbecue in the garden. The next morning we walked in the countryside, we saw many cows, sheep and horses.

After a light lunch we visited one of the many windmills. Although they are not needed anymore to pump the water out of the polders, they are still in mint condition, and very impressive. The main event for this day was to make a boat trip in one of the polders. Holland is really water-land, so many small canals and waterways.

We ended the day with a dinner, prepared by my sister, in the smallest house of the village Schermerhorn. In bygone days ten(!) people were living in this house. Now it is a nice museum

In the next days I will try to write short updates about what we are doing.

Amsterdam 26-8

Posted on August 29, 2013 by janstu

I had to wake up early and go to Schiphol because Aric was expected to land around 7 am. One of the advantages of my present Amsterdam home is that it took me only about half an hour to reach the airport :-). Aric’s flight landed at 6:30 am and we were back home at 8 am (including immigration, waiting for luggage and customs !)

It was another day with splendid weather, so after resting a few hours we went into town. With a mission..:-) We collect so-called KLM-houses. These are Delft Blue miniature houses, filled with a bit of Dutch jenever. They are given as a present to KLM passengers traveling business class, but you can also buy them. These houses (there are now 93) are copied from original gable houses along the canals of old Amsterdam and other Dutch towns. We wanted to take pictures of the originals. Here is an example. Miniature no 38 is a copy from Herengracht 607.

We started our walk near the Amstel river. With this kind of weather Amsterdam is incredibly beautiful. In the left picture you see a tourist admiring a view of the famous “Narrow Bridge” (right picture)

Here is the Narrow Bridge, only accessible these days for pedestrians and cyclists. You can find bicycles in all shapes and forms in Amsterdam, like this multi-bicycle.

We walked a lot, enjoying the atmosphere. Only too many tourists. Sometimes the smell of marijuana was so strong that you could almost get high without buying it yourself…:-). It is all Amsterdam. Where you can find a “magic mushroom” shop leaning to the church where the coronation of the new king took place, a few months ago.

: Dam square with the War monument

: A magic mushroom shop

: One of the many canal cafes.

: Water traffic everywhere

Our mission was to take pictures of the KLM-houses. Aric took eight, we walked a lot. I took pictures of many other houses, many 17th century (Holland’s Golden Age), but also newer ones. Here is a collection.

After a long day we had dinner at home. With a beautiful sunset. Here is the view from my living-room. What a start of our holidays!

Back in Amsterdam

Posted on August 25, 2013 by janstu

This morning I came back in Amsterdam after a pleasant, uneventful, twelve hour flight from Malaysia. Here is how I look like, after a night without much sleep. Not too bad, right? Picture taken in my living room.

Here is a view from my living room, in the distance you can see the buildings of the Free University, my Alma Mater.

After shopping at nearby “Albert Hein” supermarket, I had my first Dutch breakfast in nine(!) months.Delicious raw herring, Dutch strawberries, cumin cheese, buttermilk.etc.

The weather was very pleasant, so in the afternoon I decided to take my bike and go to town, to get a feeling of what I still consider to be my ‘real’ hometown.

It was an enjoyable trip, here is a collection of pictures, with some comments

: Dutch strawberries. A class apartt. Not comparable to Cameronian ones.

: Autumn flowers. No tulips, hyacinths or daffodils in this season.

: The town does a good job by decorating bridges everywhere with these flowers. gloxinias?

: The Amsterdam School of Architecture. Architect Staal (1923)

: Modern Architecture: Municipal Museum. Nicknamed the Bathtub

: Rijksmuseum, recently reopened after a long closure for renovation.

: The renovation has been received very positively. Will have a look there myself during this visit

: The famous bicycle underpass open again! A victory for the cyclists.

: Leidse Plein, full of tourists

: Prinsengracht, 17th century facades

: Everyone with a boat will be on the water on a day like thisw

: Would not mind living here

: The flower market

: Sunflowers

: National War monument

: Royal Palace, Dam Square

: Central Station

: Holland is not Russia, thank God

: Nice facade

: Water traffic

: The Vondelpark

: Green lung in the city

: My former home, the upper floors

: New developments

: Art exhibition in my neighbourhood

: Another one

: This is supposed to resemble Mandela

: A beautiful tree lane near my present home.

: Modern architecture near my present home

: My present home

Back home, it was time to prepare a Dutch dinner.The potatoes are Opperdoes. For Malaysian readers of this blog: they are wat Raja Musang is for Durians…:-)

A nice start of my Dutch visit.

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