Bathing Optional

Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia June 2007

Continents

Continents

Previous Button

Singapore City, one of Asias most impressive cities. Not only is it orderly, impeccably clean and efficient, it has also managed to preserve its historic legacy even while growing into a modern metropolis.
Some parts of Singapore City continue to look convincingly colonial.
Its hard to find anywhere in Singapore where old and new dont mix. Here, modern skyscrapers rise over the colorful blocks of old Chinatown.
A Chinese temple tower adds to the skyline of Singapore.
Malay, South East Asian, and Indian Muslims add to the cultural mix that is Singapore.
We began Singapore with a visit to its largest temple, the Hong Meng Temple, a place we had missed on our last visit.
Temple tower.
Tiny monks in the temple garden.
The main hall inside the Hall of 10,000 Buddhas.
Ashe doing her 108 bows to the giant Buddha inside the temples main hall.
Pond turtles.
Lady in the gardens hiding out behind one of many wonderful, man-made waterfalls.
Ashe at the entrance to the highlight of the Botanical Gardens: the National Orchid Garden. Its the most incredible flower garden weve ever seen!
White orchids!
Speckled orchids!
Orange orchids!
Red orchids with waterfall.
Hothouse orchids.
Garden statue.
The Mist House, our favorite!
Botanical garden arches.
More orchids! Fantastic!
As you can tell, these gardens were very tough for us to leave...
Back to civilization. We walked along Singapores heart of shopping, Orchard Road, and ended up on a small lane with historic terrace homes that are now trendy pubs and restaurants.
Fortunately, not all the old terrace homes have been converted into businesses.
More historic homes turned pubs.
Why not begin where we finished? The next morning we were right back on that historic lane and, at 6:30 a.m., beginning day two in Singapore.
Terrace homes.
Love on the streets of Singapore.
Passing through Fort Canning Hill we could see sunrise yellow on the modern buildings that are downtown Singapore.
Singapore doesnt deserve its reputation as a boring place. Theyre certainly trying to change that image!
Morning reflection at Clarke Quay.
Singapores large Chinatown contains the citys most impressive collection of perfectly preserved historic buildings.
Colorful shutters in Chinatown.
Chinatown facade.
Chinatown buildings.
Singapores oldest Hindu temple right in the heart of Chinatown?
Chinese lanterns.
Classic Chinese colors.
More of Chinatown.
Approaching the brand new Buddhas Tooth Temple in Chinatown.
A great looking temple it is.
Temple door knocker.
Looking up.
Temple detail. Very Japanese.
The subtle, yet impressive, main altar and image inside the Buddhas Tooth Temple.
Wall nook Buddhas.
Graffiti? In Singapore? Impossible! We were astounded to come across this little piece of street art in a Chinatown back alley.
Shuttered windows in upper Chinatown.
More of Chinatown.
Good looking building.
Chinatowns oldest temple.
Temple roof and modern skyscraper.
Shutters and whitewash.
What was old has mostly been replaced by sleek, new glass towers in downtown Singapore.
Raffles Plaza, the heart of Singapores commercial district.
Old buildings along the Singapore River.
Bridge.
Old and new.
The Merlion, symbol of Singapore.
Singapores futuristic Esplanade Theater.
Spiky domes.
Old boats ply the Singapore River.
The colonial quarters old Supreme Court building.
Times have changed.
Another old colonial building.
The old Parliament House.
St.Andrews Church rounds off the prominent buildings in the colonial district.
Quick, call the police! A madman in the streets of Singapore. A sight that is quite normal most places weve been is craziness in Singapore.
Little India, a bustling and colorful market district.
A great, south Indian temple stands over Little India.
Yum!
South of Little India, we arrive in the Muslim quarter.
Arab Street, the heart of the Muslim quarter.
The crescent moon of the Sultan Mosque rises over the rooftops of the Muslim quarter, Kampung Glam.
Sultan Mosque over Kampung Glam homes.
The main lane leading up to the beautiful mosque.
Highly decorated buildings in Kampung Glam.
Aladdins Trading Co., only in Kampung Glam.
A beautiful, modern building in the art deco style.
A building that looks like a sheet of paper -- what a design!
Whats this? Some resort? Nope, its our friend Kathys wonderful condo complex, our home for two days in Singapore!
Singapores incredible Asian Civilizations Museum is filled with amazing Asian art.
Beautiful Burmese Buddha.
Another Buddha figure.
Ashe with David, an old friend whom we spent a wonderful half day with.
David showed us the other side of Singapore, literally. We went to the far north of Singapore Island where we found forest, farms, and a floating fishing village.
Sunset over Kranji Reservoir.
Sunset over the reservoir.
Downtown Singapore in the evening as seen from Mt.Faber.
Eastern Malaysias largest mosque in Kuantan.
Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil, the Small Island. There were no volleyball nets and umbrellas last time Maciej was here, 6 years ago.
The motto of most Pacific islands.
Another lizard, walking away.
More great coast.
Beach house.
Us at sunset.
Sunset rocks.
Dusk palms.
A more secluded beach on the other side of the island.
Ashe was glad that we were able to find that stretch of deserted beaches.
Sunrise.
Surise sailboats.
We took a small boat out the next morning for some snorkeling and great scenery.
Maciej on Sea Turtle Beach on the Perhentian Big Island.
Beach scene.
Temple Buddha in Cameron Highlands temple near Brinchang town.
Cameron Highlands homes.
Temple dragon and phoenix.
The huge, golden stupa that made the Hong Meng Temple very easy for us to find.
Singapore has certainly earned its clean and hygienic reputation.
Stop two on day one in Singapore: the amazing Botanical Gardens. Weve never visited gardens like them!
Blossoms hang over one of several ponds inside the Botanical Gardens.
The Cameron Highlands, colonial Britains largest hill station getaway in Malaysias central mountains.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysias capital and showcase of how far this country has come in the past two decades. The amazing Petronas Towers are a world-class landmark.
Downtown KL is a great mix of sultan-ish old, and both modern and Islamic influenced new.
The reason weve come to KL: a visit with old friends Jamison and Wai Leng.
If all the ladies with head scarves dont give it away...
... the fact that there is a National Mosque, a public structure, will certainly reveal that fact that despite its progressive status, Malaysia is still not a secular state.
Kuala Lumpur train station.
Kuala Lumpur, like all of Malaysia, is a mix of cultures -- Malay, Chinese, Indian, indigenous, and others. Early morning, and the HIndu temple in KLs Chinatown is busy with the morning puja.
Garlands for sale in front of the temple.
Nearby, a morning prayer at a Chinese temple too as incense coils burn, some for days.
One of the beautiful old Islamic buildings that surround KLs oldest square, Merdeka Square.
One of KLs most impressive buildings.
Clock tower.
Some British clubs also sit on one side of Merdeka Square.
Flowers and windows.
An abandoned facade stands near KLs towering City Hall.
The Petronas Towers.
KLs old British church.
Colorful dresses for sale in Little India.
Masjid Jamek, KLs historic, central mosque.
A colorful block in downtown KL.
Some style in old KL.
Lanterns at Thien Hau Temple, KLs largest Chinese temple.
Nothing beats cold drinks at one of KLs hundreds and hundreds of streetside restaurants. Wai Leng drinks from a coconut, Jamison some lime tea, and our Milo ice sits chilling.
That evening we hit the booze bottles. In this case, they are filled with boiled water. (yes, we are sticking to our Buddhist precepts)
Lady at the mosque.
Our beach hut over Long Beach.
We didnt spend as much time on this beach chair as we probably should have.
The beauty of the Perhentian Islands are the white sand beaches and clear waters.
Rocky, palm-fringed shores along the coast.
Life on the beach. Two days was enough for us.
Ashe in the water.
Giant lizard.
Beautiful coast.
Baby sea turtle! Huge mothers lay eggs in the sand on this beach and not long after these little guys are making their way for the sea.
Ashe enjoying the warm, clear waters one more time.
The result of 11.5 months of travel.
Malaysian lady.
Highlands waterfall.
Rainforest fern.
We did a lot of walks along Highlands trails. It was great to walk in the jungle but not be sweating -- the weather in the hills is quite cool.
Forest trail.
Malaysias ubiquitous food stall canteens are filled with all kinds of food! We love those canteens!
Day 2 in KL. Jamison is off to work and we are out for the day with Wai Leng. We decide to visit the beautifully wooded Lake Gardens district with its wonderful museums.
Indigenous burial totem poles stand on the grounds of the Malaysian National Museum.
Like many museums weve seen over the past months, the Malaysian National Museum is one model building and room after another -- perfect. Here, we are inside a tradtional Malay home.
A symbol of Malaysia, its unique kite.
One room in the Museum contains a great collection of shadow puppets from around the continent.
Shadow puppets.
Following the National Museum, we visited the fantastic Islamic Arts Museum.
Islam meets China. One of the more impressive exhibits in the Islamic Arts Museum displayed art from the early days of Islam in China -- a unique and beautiful blend of two very different styles.
Another wing of the Musuem had an incredible set of architectural models of the worlds great mosques.
A beautiful Islamic lantern hangs inside a replica room.
Islamic history wasnt all art and religion.
Malaysias National Monument stands on a hill in the Lake Gardens.
Part of Kuala Lumpurs diverse skyline.
Islamic style in a landmark KL skyscraper.
West meets East in KLs old center.
Old buildings in old KL.
Morning collection.
More of old KL.
Day 3 in KL. We visit the Hindu Batu Caves outside the city.
Indian deity stands partly up the 272 steps leading up into the caves.
Inside the giant limestone cave.
Batu Caves.
The main Hindu shrine inside the heart of the Batu Caves, site of one of Malaysias largest annual festivals with more than 1 million devotees attending.
Ashe with Wai Leng at the Caves.
Maciej is in dire need of a haircut and we were on the lookout for a potential style.
Hindu deities at the Caves.
A mother monkey runs around with her baby at the cave entrance.
Probably the last monkey we will see in the wild for many, many months.
Following up a visit to the Hindu cave temple with a lunch at a very South Indian restaurant nearby. Who would have thought that wed eat our first Indian meal off a banana leaf in Malaysia following 3 months in India!
Enough is enough, says Ashe. Maciej, its time for a haircut.
Much better. What a difference a haircut makes.
South East Asias largest mosque: the modern mosque in Shah Alam, one of Kuala Lumpurs wealthy suburbs.
Out for some great veg dining with Ashes brother Sterling and his wife Nicole during our 5 hour stopover in Hong Kong.

View all picture thumbnails...

24

Move your mouse over a pin on the map and you will see some information here!