text:
Growing up at a time when, and in space where my cultural experiences had little to do with the state prescribed definition of my ethnicity, has given me a wonderful set of childhood memories. There was much that I took joy from in a household were the languages used and the food we enjoyed was anything but what one might have expected. Some of my fondest memories were of the interactions with my grandmother. Having come across from the Dutch East Indies before the war and being conversant only in Bahasa Indonesia, she had a penchant for watching reruns of P Ramlee movies on black and white television, doing her shopping at Kampong Jawa (Arab Street) and catching screenings of Kelantanese wayang kulit or shadow puppet performances that aired on Radio Television Malaysia 2 (RTM2 — or Channel 10 as its was then better known as).
Wayang kulit, which has its origins in pre-Islamic Java, is something I still enjoy watching, although what we see now of it in Malaysia and in Singapore seems quite different from the performances that I caught seated next to my grandmother all those years back. That would have been in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the ancient art form — used for generations as a vehicle for the handing down of oral traditions — was still expressed in a manner that was little changed, and featured characters and stories rooted in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. A rise in religious consciousness, particularly in Kelantan where the art form had a particularly large following where a ban was imposed in the wayang kulit performances in the 1990s, saw to a gradual changed to a more modern form that we tend to see today with non-religious and contemporary characters and stories being introduced.
While the tradition has been greatly modified here, it is still very much alive in its spiritual home in Central Java — assisted perhaps by its inscription as one of several forms of Indonesian wayang theatre on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List since 2008. It is not only possible to watch performances there, but also see how the puppets are made from water buffalo hide. The process of making a puppet from a piece of cured hide is a painstaking one and involves carefully cutting the hide to shape, hand-punching patterns and painting each character over a period of up to two months.
The following are some photographs taken at a workshop in Yogyakarta during a visit in 2013, a visit that included a bonus in the form of an impromptu performance put up by a dalang or master puppeteer:
Tags: Dying Traditions, Growing up, Indonesia, Photography, Shadow Puppets, Singapore, Traditions, Wayang Kulit
Categories : Faces of Asia, Growing Up, Indonesia, Performing Arts, Photography, Photography Series, Travel, Yogyakarta
Kuala Lumpur's lorong-lorong
Not always the tidiest of places, the small lanes and back streets of old Kuala Lumpur (KL) are more often than not, places to be avoided. There are however a number for which exceptions can now be made – such as the attractive mural decorated back lanes of Bukit Bintang and more recently, the area known as Kwai Chai Hong off Lorong Panggung and Jalan Petaling in old KL. The latter saw a charming makeover and is now a well-visited instagram-worthy tourist draw.
Kwai Chai Hong
Necessary for sanitation and for fire-fighting in the overcrowded urban centres of Malaya and Singapore, the requirement for back lanes was written into town improvement and planning regulations and by-laws in the early 20th century. They thus became a feature of the shophouse dominated landscapes of Malaya's and Singapore's urban centres. Besides spaces in which drainage, access for removal of refuse and night soil, and for fire-fighting, the back lanes became social spaces as well as ones in which trades – legal or otherwise – could be conducted.
A mural in a back lane in the Bukit Bintang area.
Unveiled in early 2019, the Kwai Chai Hong project involves six shophouses on Jalan Petaling and another four along Lorong Panggung and offers quite a delightful take on the back lane as a social space through a series of murals. The monicker Kwai Chai Hong translates into "little ghost lane" or "ghost child lane" is perhaps a reference to the activities that went on whether it may have involved (naughty) children or perhaps gangsters – or even both.
Lorong Panggung.
More on Kwai Chai Hong can be found at:
Kwai Chai Hong: Neglected lane in KL's Chinatown restored (The Malay Mail, 12 April 2019)
Transforming Lorong Panggung (New Straits Times, 12 June 2019)
Kwai Chai Hong 鬼子巷 (official website)
The bridge to the past, with a view to the future (in the form of the yet to be completed tallest KL building, Merdeka PNB 118 (Menara Warisan Merdeka).
A sign painter at Kwai Chai Hong.
A recent addition to the area.
Madras Lane – which hosts a old world back lane market.
A typical small lane in KL.
A back lane in KL.
Some can be quite pretty.
Some can contain surprises.
Some can also be colourful.
Back street buys.
Tags: Back Alleys, Back Lanes, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Old Kuala Lumpur, Old Places, Photography, Travel
Categories : Back Lanes, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Photography, Photography Series, Travel
The abandoned beauty of Canfranc
For more photographs, please visit:
https://jeromekg.wixsite.com/flymetothemoon/post/the-abandoned-beauty-of-canfranc
Set against a backdrop of snow-capped Pyrenean peaks and in a quiet village in Spanish foothills of the range that forms much of the Franco-Spanish border, the majestic and long-disused Canfranc International Railway Station looks well out of place. Often described as Europe's most opulent station, it is as much its Beaux-arts styled appearance as is the scale in which it was built that has earned it this reputation.
The beautiful and somewhat mysterious Canfranc International Railway Station seen against the backdrop of the Pyrenees.
Built from 1921 to 1925, it was as much a symbol of Franco-Spanish cooperation at is opening in 1928 as it was to have been the terminal building of an elevated railway line that triumphed over the challenging Pyrenean terrain that separated the two countries. This required, among other efforts, the digging of a tunnel – the Somport tunnel that took six years to complete. It was in use until March 1970 when a train accident, which damaged the Estanguet bridge beyond repair, closed the Pau-Canfranc line for good.
The station has been abandoned since an accident in March 1970 closed the line.
Much intrigue and mystery has surrounded the station since its closure. Over the years, details have emerged of the station having been a transit point for Nazi loot, including some 86 tons of gold stolen from Jews to obtain much needed tungsten in the Iberian peninsula. Tungsten was need to as an alloying element in steel used in tank armour. Details have also emerged of how a French Customs Officer based at the station, Albert Le Lay, posed as a double agent and in doing so, facilitated the escape of hundreds of refugees – many of them Jews into Spain from 1940 to 1942. Dubbed the "Spanish Schindler", Le Lay, was part of a spy network based at the station that also helped in the transmission of messages and equipment for the French Resistance.
A view through one of the station's 365 windows.
The station, which measures 241 metres in length, is 12.5 metres wide and has a total of 150 doors – 75 one each side. It also has 365 windows – one as they say – for each day of the year. Operated jointly by France and Spain, it contained a restaurant, a hotel, post and telegraph offices and the offices of the railway operators and immigration and customs officials for both countries.
Tags: Aragon, Architecture, Beaux-Arts, Canfranc, Cranfranc International Railway Station, Huesca, Photography, Pyrenees, Railway, Railway Stations, Spain, Spain Travel, Spanish Schindler, Travel, WWII, WWII Historical Sites
Categories : Aragon, General, Photography, Railway, Spain, Trains, Travel
Retracing footsteps
I enjoy visiting Kuala Lumpur for a variety of reasons. The Malaysian capital, known by its acronym KL to most, provides me with a sense of having returned home home in a way that home – some 200 miles away in Singapore – is no longer able to do.
An old market in KL.
It would seem strange, if not for the history Malaysia and Singapore shares and perhaps, for the frequent visits I have made to KL since I was a child. In the bits of the past, found in the modern of the bustling metropolis, I especially find joy in. The disorder of their shophouses, the clutter along the five-foot-ways, the colours and smells of old street markets and old coffee shops, are that reminder of the Singapore that I grew to love as a child that I would never otherwise be able to ever see again.
Lunch time at Lai Foong.
An old coffee shop that I remember from my childhood visits to the city, the Kedai Kopi Lai Foong, is one such reminder. An institution in a city in which there is no shortage of such old gems, the 1950s coffee shop seems little changed from the 1970s and is quite reminiscent of the busy urban centre coffee shops of Singapore's lost past.
Mirror, mirror on the mosaic wall. Mirrors were commonly given as opening gifts at coffee shops in Malaysia. Mosiac or kitchen tiles were commonly used on the walls of coffee shops both in Singapore and Malaysia as they could be easily cleaned and did not require frequent repainting.
Positioned at the corner of Jalan Tun H. S. Lee and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, it sits just across Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock from Petaling Street (or Chinatown). That and its proximity to Central Market – now the touristy Pasar Seni, has meant that the coffee shop has long attracted more than its fair share of the local crowd as well as a steady stream of out-of-town visitors. With Tripadvisor now inflating the number of would be visitors, any attempt to seat oneself in the confusion of tables and chairs in the shop's confines, presents quite a challenge. Any intent to savour some of the coffee shop's famous fare must now be accompanied by the patience of a saint, some guile, and most of all, a fair bit of luck; all of which I must have had when visited the coffee shop for a bowl of its much-talked about beef noodles back in June.
A scene reminiscent of the coffee shops of old Singapore, with its stalls lining the outer edge of the shop.
A posting I made on Facebook of the bowl of beef noodles invited a comment from a locally based acquaintance, in which a recommendation was made to have the wanton mee at Kedai Makanan Toong Kwoon Chye, another old kopitiam. With its location along Jalan Bukit Bintang also presenting me with an opportunity to reacquaint myself with an area of KL that I had lost touch with, there was enough of a motivation for me to hop on the MRT to Bukit Bintang, just a few days later.
Kedai Makanan Toong Kwoon Chye.
Despite the familiarity I had with the area, I had no impression at all of Toong Kwoon Chye prior to my June visit. I found it quite easily, tucked away in a quiet corner of the street. It might have been the time of the day but even if it was of a similar vintage to Lai Foong, Toong Kwoon Chye couldn't have been more different. There was absolutely none of Lai Foong's rush and time, seemed to slow to a standstill, the moment that I stepped into the coffee shop.
Furnished in what may be described as the classical kopitiam style, with marble topped tables and wooden chairs – sans the spittoons of course – Toong Kwoon Chye's old coffee shop feel was made complete by its counter, even if it was somewhat more modern in looks than one might have expected. Just like any old coffee shop of the good old days, a row of clear-glass jars with red covers stood at one end, half filled with biscuits and other snacks for sale. With so much of a sleepy old out-of-town kopitiam vibe about it, it seemed fitting for me to while the morning away sipping on a cup of coffee and take the time to savour the plate of shredded chicken noodles that I had ordered.
The ebb and flow at Toong Kwoon Chye.
The lazy breakfast put me in the mood for an unhurried stroll, which first took me inside Sungai Wang Plaza. It was one of two interconnected malls from the 1970s I never failed to visit whenever I find myself in the area. The other, which I liked better, was Bukit Bintang Plaza. That has since made way for redevelopment. With little to distract me in Sungai Wang, I decided to continue my stroll outdoors instead and soon found myself retracing footsteps I must have last made some four decades past.
The changing face of Jalan Bukit Bintang – now missing BB Plaza.
The familiarity I had with Bukit Bintang had come out of numerous family holiday stopovers in KL. Holidays abroad in my childhood, with the exception of a visit to Thailand in 1978, invariably meant road trips across the Causeway. KL, a six-hour drive before the North-South Highway made drives a breeze, served as a break-journey point on the road up to more northerly destinations such as Cameron Highlands and Fraser's Hill (at which the Singapore Government maintained holiday facilities for civil servants). The combination of affordable accommodation, shopping and food in Bukit Bintang, made it a good location to put up in.
Tong Shin Terrace.
One of the things we must have done with sufficient regularity, for me to have remembered them in such vivid detail, were the walks to Chinatown. That took us down Jalan Alor or Tong Shin Terrace, and then west along Jalan Pudu. Both Jalan Alor and Tong Shin Terrace seemed to have retained much of their character, although I am told that Jalan Alor's well patronised nighttime eateries now cater to quite a different crowd.
I found myself taking a little detour into the area's back lanes, perhaps in the hope of finding a nasi lemak stall that we had stumbled upon during a June 1979 sojourn in KL. That visit to KL was one to remember for several reasons. It provided me with my first experience as a football spectator outside of Singapore. The match that I caught was also one of huge importance to the Singaporean football fan of the 1970s, the Malaysia Cup final.
The back lanes around Tengkat Tong Shin.
The final, played at KL's Stadium Merdeka, saw Singapore take on a Selangor team that featured Malaysian footballing legends such as Mokhtar Dahari, R. Arumugam and Santokh Singh. The final that year was significant for the debut of the talented Fandi Ahmad, who was also playing in the competition for the first time. Fandi, then 17, would go on to illuminate the competition in which Malaysian state teams and Singapore featured.
STadium Merdeka today, surrounded by a development that is seeing the rise of Malaysia's tallest building, a 118-storey tower that will also be the third tallest in the world.
As the match coincided with a trip we were making, we were able to obtain tickets at the stadium when they went on sale. That made it all the more memorable, as it meant that we were seated in a section occupied by the crowd of boisterous home supporters in a match in which controversial 66th minute Selangor goal proved to be a turning point. Mokhtar would add a second to complete a two goal victory for Selangor but all that is another story. What would also make that trip one to be remembered was the joy of discovering nasi lemak at its simplest, served at a makeshift stall.
A courtyard hotel.
There no nasi lemak to be found this time, not at least the manner in which that was served. However, the back lanes yielded several new discoveries. Spruced up and a lot less familiar, they now feature brightly painted wall murals, modern eateries and a very nice looking courtyard hotel.
A back lane eatery.
Back out from the back lanes, it all became familiar once more down Tong Shin Terrace. An old block of flats, which I had always assumed to have been a low-cost housing development, came into view. I therefore was quite surprised to learn with Google's help that the development, the Blue Boy Mansion, was thought of as a landmark development when it was erected back in 1962.
The Blue Boy Mansion.
Inside the Blue Boy Mansion.
West from from Blue Boy Mansion along Jalan Pudu, just past Tung Shin Hospital was another familiar sight. Now in disguise as the modern looking Pudu Sentral, it was unmistakably Puduraya, for a long while KL's main bus station. The station now sees just a fraction of the bus services that used to operate out of it. I realised how time has flown by in attempting to recall when I last took a bus out of the station. That was a trip to made in the mid-1990s to Kuala Kubu Bharu to catch another bus up to Fraser's Hill.
Hitting Pudu Sentral meant that I was closing in on Chinatown. As there was still time to spare, I decided to make my way to Lai Foong in the hope of satisfying an urge I was having for its char kway teow, only to find the stall closed. The disappointment of that, coupled with the rising heat and humid of the mid-June Klang Valley afternoon, made the lure of modern KL – in the form of an air-conditioned mall – hard to resist. I soon found myself in one to cool off and then have a late lunch, before I headed back to Petaling Jaya where I was putting up.
Char Kway Teow at Lai Foong.
Tags: Childhood Memories, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia Cup, Malaysia Travel, Old Kuala Lumpur, Old Places, Reminders of the Past, Reminders of Yesterday
Categories : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Travel
The mysterious peaks we sing of in "Di Tanjong Katong"
The tune "Di Tanjong Katong", a National song, is one we are most familiar with in Singapore. The lyrics of the song contain this rather peculiar verse:
Pulau Pandan jauh ke tengah,
Gunung Daik bercabang tiga;
Hancur badan dikandung tanah,
Budi yang baik dikenang jua.
While the lines of the verse, which seem to have little to do with Tanjong Katong and with Singapore, are borrowed from an age-old Malay pantun or poem, they seem to want to invoke an unexplained longing for the places that are named.
Di Tanjong Katong.
Singapore's obsession with its recent past has allowed an amnesia for the time when Singapore's place was in the Malay world to set in; a time when singing of three peaks of Daik (the line "Gunung Daik bercabang tiga" translates into "Mount Daik has three peaks") might not have sounded odd at all. The distinctive summit of Daik is a most and recognisable of features on Pulau Lingga, an island that is thought of by some as the Malay world's motherland1. Lingga is spoken of as a heartland of the Malay culture and language and it is on Lingga, where Malay is spoken in one of its purest forms.
Gunung Daik bercabang tiga.
Pulau Lingga took its place in the old Johor empire of the 16th to 19th centuries as an outpost the sultans could find a retreat in being located at the southern reaches of the widely spread sultanate. Positioned along an ancient maritime trade route to Palembang and Jambi, principal centres in the days of Srivijaya, and there are suggestions that it may have already come to prominence well before it served as a Johor outpost. Paul Michel Munoz, in his 2006 book "Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and Malay Peninsula", opines that the island kingdom identified by Marco Polo as "Malaiur" in accounts of his return voyage to Europe could quite possibly have been Lingga – based on estimates provided of distances travelled [Malaiur is a name that was also associated with a Malay kingdom centred around Jambi in Sumatra, which was at one time also part of the Srivijaya empire].
Lingga Dreaming
Pulau Lingga also took its place as the seat of Johor's royal court on two occasions; in 1618, when the capital was moved there as the Acehnese threatened – only for the capital to be sacked by the Portuguese in 1625. Old Johor's last sultan, also moved to Lingga in 1787, in an attempt to isolate his court from the Bugis (the increasing influence exerted by the Bugis meant that they were effectively running the sultanate from its capital in the Riau). The turning point for Lingga came with the Johor Sultanate's breakup, a point at which the Dutch and the British were extending their influence. Singapore, in which old Johor could trace its roots to once again prospered when the British East India Company set up its trading post while Lingga was left to the remnants of a sultanate that had lost its clout.
Lingga (Lingen) in relation to Singapore (Pulo Panjang) in an 18th century Hydrographic Chart seen in the National Archives of Singapore's online site. (http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/maps_building_plans/record-details/755f2349-a18d-11e6-9af5-0050568939ad).
The advances of the modern world has not made it much easier to get to Lingga and the group of islands around it that takes its name. The islands, now also part of the Lingga Regency within the Riau Islands province, are served by ferry services from Batam or Bintan. Even with the fast ferry, it involves a four-hour journey. This I had the chance to find out for myself when I made the same journey to attend the four-day Festival Gunung Daik, at the kind invitation of the Lingga Regency. With invitations extended to groups outside of Indonesia for the first time, the festival, which was held from 19 to 22 November, attracted an invasion of several hundreds.
On the road to Dabo on Pulau Singkep.
Dabo, on the more populated island of Pulau Singkep, was best equipped to absorb this influx. A 45-minute road journey from Singkep's northern maritime gateway at Jago, Dabo wears the look of an town which has left its best days behind. It was indeed the case. The town grew out of the riches the extraction of Singkep's sizeable deposits of tin had provided, until some two decades ago when the last of the mines closed. The extraction of a deposit, found in the darkened interiors of the narrow and windowless structures that now dot Dabo's urban landscape, seems to be a new but less lucrative gold. The dark spaces mimic the caves in which swiftlets nest and the nests, which the birds make with deposits of their saliva and nesting material, are much valued by the Chinese for their purported medicinal properties.
A disused mining pool that scars Pulau Singkep's landscape.
The sleepy town's main draw, at least for the Singaporeans I was with, was an old coffeeshop named Bintang Timur. Time seems to have stood completely still in this Chinese owned coffee shop and the Eastern Star is very much reminiscent of the kopitiams of the Singapore of decades past. If not for the lack of time, it would quite easy for me to waste a morning away over a cup or two of the kopitiam's strong aromatic brew, made just as it was in the coffeeshops of old Singapore.
Time stands still at the Kedai Kopi Bintang Timur.
The town has culinary offerings that may also delight the Singaporean. Fried kway teow, seemingly prepared exclusively by Chinese men with well weathered faces from roadside pushcarts, is a local favourite. So is laske (or laksa), prepared and served in a manner that will explain the many ways a dish of laksa is served across the region.In Dabo, its base is a noodle made from coils of sago starch. The dish is served fried or as we are used to in Singapore, with a delicious spicy gravy poured over.
A char kway teow seller in Dabo.
In the evenings, a more substantial meal can be obtained from the town's ikan bakar or grilled fish stalls, which are probably the town's real treat. In addition to having fresh catch from the sea grilled over a fire, there also is the opportunity to savour it served in the more sweet than sour version of asam pedas gravy popular in these parts.
A popular ikan bakar stall.
The guidebooks point to Dabo's religious buildings as its tourist sights. The town's mosque is impressive, as is a large Chinese temple. The temple, the Klenteng Cetiya Dharma Ratna, and a large building in the vicinity in which the local Chinese association is housed, suggests that there is a substantial immigrant Chinese community in Dabo. Some in the community apparently have ties with Singapore. As with much of the Nanyang, the community's forefathers arrived as part of the diaspora of southern Chinese to the region in the 19th century. In Dabo's case the tin mines provided work. Today the Chinese run many of the local businesses. Beside being involved in the birds' nest trade, there also are a number of food and beverage outlets and sundry shops owned by the Chinese. Chinese vendors can also be found in the town's pair of markets. The markets, one for the sale of fish and the other for vegetables are both worth a look at.
Klenteng Cetiya Dharma Ratna.
A vegetable seller at Dabo's Vegetable Market.
Chinese labourers working at the Singkep Tin Company eating a meal (photo: Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures via Wikipedia Commons). Many Chinese came over to Singkep to work in the tin mines.
The townsfolk's favourite spots lie further afield. These include a waterfall, several beaches, a hot spring bath, and an oddity of an attraction in the form of an awkwardly positioned cannon. The artillery piece, the meriam tegak, is found at the edge of a beach southeast of Dabo. Buried with only its upwardly aligned muzzle exposed, the locals offer several explanations for the odd alignment. One thing that the differing accounts agree on is that the contributing factor for the cannon's position is the wrath of a woman!
Meriam Tegak.
The cannon is close to Dabo's favourite beach, Pantai Batu Berdaun. A popular spot for swimming and a picnic, the beach is named after a rock on which a tree is perched – the "leafy rock" or "batu berdaun". A house with a curious collection of animals in its compound near the rock was however the centre of attention. It turned out that the house was some kind of animal shelter. The animals, all of which were abandoned, had been taken in and cared for by the house's kind owner.
Pantai Batu Berdaun.
An animal shelter near Pantai Batu Berdaun.
The waterfall and the hot spring bath will take a little more effort in getting to. The 3km long unmetalled road to the spring bath provides more than a bumpy ride. The path it takes is interesting as it is line with the large waterlogged scars that the extraction of tin has left on the landscape. The baths, which are especially popular with the local folk, seemed much less appealing in the tropical heat as compared to the cool waters found in the pools at the waterfall at Batu Ampar.
Batu Ampar Waterfalls.
The hot spring baths.
The less populated Pulau Lingga with its three projections does have a lot more mystery about it. Lingga, which lies on the Equator just north of Singkep, actually derives its name from the tallest and largest of the three high points. The projection, also named Daik, was thought in the old days to resemble a linggam – Sanskrit for phallus.
A view towards Lingga and its three pronged peak of Mount Daik from Jago on Pulau Singkep.
Penarik near Daik.
Among Lingga's main attractions is the Resun Falls – the largest waterfall in the Province of the Riau Islands. There are also several sites that will provide some understanding of Lingga's colourful past. One, the Museum Linggam Cahaya, has an interesting collection of artefacts. Some show the external links the island had, and a sense of the position it held. Pottery on display, recovered from the depths, include pieces that are thought to date to Song dynasty China. The museum's most noticeable and popular exhibit is however from a more modern event and is a skeleton of a curious and yet to be identified creature from the deep, named locally as a "Gajah Mina" or Sea Elephant. The bones are from one that was found on the shores of Lingga and one of two similar carcasses that washed up in the Riau Islands in the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Museum Linggam Cahaya.
The island's historical sites provide links to the Lingga of the last days of the Johor Empire and to the Lingga of the post Johor days when it was the seat of the Riau-Lingga sultanate. One is the ruins of Istana Damnah, a 19th century palace built in Daik during the reign of Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam II (1857-1883), which lies close to the museum. An adjacent site contains a 2002 interpretation of the palace and its main hall, the Balairung Seri. Left abandoned after the Dutch took positive control of Lingga in 1911 and with Riau-Lingga's last sultan, Abdul Rahman II, having fled to Singapore, the original wooden palace was left to fall into ruin.
Ruins of Istana Damnah.
Another view of the site of Istana Damnah.
The replica Istana Damnah as seen from the replica Balairung Seri.
The site of the Lubuk Papan baths is also nearby. A bathing spot used by those in the palace, the baths were located at a bend in the Tanda River. Today, concrete sides and gazebos placed around it have altered the charm the baths would have had. A natural stretch does exist upstream and this may provide some sense of the attraction as a bathing spot that the entire bend may have had.
Finding peace upstream from the Lubuk Papan baths.
A former fort at Benteng Bukit Cening, and the graves of several of Lingga's rulers, pre and post break-up are some of Daik's other royal sites. Old Johor's last sultan, Mahmud Shah III, is buried at Daik's Masjid Jami' Sultan Lingga. The remains of his son, the half-brother of Hussein of Singapore and Johor and the Riau-Lingga's sultanate's first ruler, Abdul Rahman I, can be found on Bukit Cengkeh.
The concretised Lubuk Papan baths at Daik.
Getting there:
There are fast ferry services (daily I believe) from either Tanjung Punggur on Batam or Tanjung Pinang on Bintan to Jago in the north of Pulau Singkep and it typically involves a 4 hour journey. Jago in the north of Singkep is a 45 minute drive to its main town, Dabo. There also are ferry services between Jago and Tanjung Buton on Pulau Lingga. Getting around seems quite challenging and recommendations range from hiring ojeks (motorcycle taxis) or renting motorcycles. It would be best to inquire locally.
For travel products such as ferry tickets, hotels booking and, local tours and transfers in the Riau (primarily Batam and Bintan), do visit Wow Getaways. More information on the Riau Islands can be found at https://discover.wowgetaways.com/.
Jago, one of the maritime entry points into Pulau Singkep.
1 One who feels strongly about this is Ahmad Dahlan, Batam's mayor from 2006 to 2016 and a student of Malay history. In his 2014 book "Sejarah Melayu", he speaks of the move Sultan Mahmud Shah III's court to Daik in 1787, even if it was in an effort to isolate himself, as a return to the the mother's lap.
Lingga and Singkep in photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/47093227@N03/albums/72157690104466625
Tags: Dabo, Daik, Festival Gunung Daik, Gunung Daik, Indonesia, Johor, Johor Empire, Johor-Riau-Lingga Sultanate, Kepri, Kepulauan Riau, Lingga, Pulau Lingga, Pulau Singkep, Riau, Riau Archipelago, Riau-Lingga, Sejarah Melayu, The Malay World, Travel
Categories : Indonesia, Lingga
Laksa's origins will surprise you
I've always enjoyed a bowl of laksa. The dish, which has an amazing range of equally delectable localised variations, brings great comfort and joy to many in Malaysia, parts of Indonesia and Singapore. There is perhaps no other dish that can so strongly be identified with a locality. In its very basic form, laksa is a vermicelli like noodle in a broth. While it can be said that it is in the countless variations of this broth, tempered by the influences of over a century, that has provided the various forms of the dish with its local flavour; its origins as a dish, how it morphed into what we see of it today, and even its rather strange sounding name, is a source of great puzzlement.
Singapore Laksa
One suggestion of how laksa got its name that has gained popularity is that it was derived from a similar sounding Sanskrit word for a hundred thousand. This, it is said, is an allusion perhaps to the multitude of ingredients that go into making the various forms of its broth the celebration of flavours that they are. I am however inclined to take the side of the suggestion that the wonderful encyclopedia of the world's culinary delights, the Oxford Companion to Food, offers. That has the word laksa being Persian in origin. Lakhsha meaning "slippery" in old Persian, was apparently also used to describe noodles, which the book also credits the Persians with the invention of.
Sarawak Laksa
That latter suggestion will no doubt spark endless debate. There seems however to be evidence to support the assertion such as in the many noodle type dishes that are found spread across the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe – all with names that all sound very much like lakhsha. Examples of this are the Russian lapsha, the Uyghur laghman, the Jewish lokshen, the Afghan lakhchak, the Lithunian Lakštiniai, and the Ukrainian lokshina. The Italian sheet pasta dish, Lasagne, also sounds uncannily similar to old Persian for noodles.
Lokshen (photo: Danny Nicholson on Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0).
As with the variants of the Near East, Lakhsha seems to have become a similiar sounding laksa in this part of the world. Early Malay-English dictionaries, such as one published by R. J. Wilkinson in 1901, have laksa both as the word for ten thousand, as well as for a "vermicelli" – ascribing the latter's origins to the same Persian word. The use of the word as such is seen in several of the news articles of the day. One report, in the Malayan Saturday Post of 29 December 1928, shows how "Chinese Laksa" was then made, through a series of four photographs. As a word to describe a type of noodles, laksa is in fact very much still in use in places such as the Riau Archipelago. There, "lakse" or "laksa", is taken as a noodle of a similar appearance to the laksa we find here made from the staple of the islands, sago.
R. J. Wilkinson's "A Malay-English Dictionary" describes the word "laksa" both as a word for ten-thousand as well as for a kind of vermicelli.
There also are early descriptions of how that laksa may have been prepared in the press. One, found in a 1912 report on hawker fare in The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, describes what seems to be quite a different dish from the one we are now familiar with:
A familiar dish with the Chinese coolie and Straits school-boy is "laksa". The vendor of this compound, vermicelli, "rats' ears" (mush-rooms), and other things in a kind of soup, shouts out every now and then "Laksa a wun!" and many who taste it declare that it is A1.
Lakse or laksa, describes these noodles made from sago in Pulau Singkep in the Lingga group of islands in the Riau Archipelago.
One of the many ways in which laksa is served on Pulau Singkep is with a fish broth and sambal.
A poem, penned in 1931 by a prominent personality Mr. Seow Poh Leng – a Municipal Commissioner and a champion of hawkers' rights – provides an idea of how the dish had by the 1930s, started to evolve. An attempt to draw attention to the difficulties street hawkers faced, the verse also describes how a dough of ground rice became "lumps of tiny snow-white coils" when boiled and which was then "served with tasty gravy and a pinch of fragrant spice". Published in the Malayan Saturday Post of 16 May 1931, the piece was the writer's response to the death of a laksa vendor. The vendor had taken his own life after several run ins with the Municipal authorities that deprived him of his livelihood.
Laska Siam, served at another popular Penang laksa stall, this one at Balik Pulau.
By the 1950s, laksa as a dish, seemed to have already taken on several distinct styles. A 1951 article in The Singapore Free Press, "Let's talk about food", mentions two types of "Siamese" laksa: one sweet and one hot and sour, along with a "Nonya" laksa. The two variants of "Siamese" laksa are again mentioned in a 1953 Singapore Free Press article on food in Penang. The sour type "Siamese" laksa identified is perhaps the predecessor to the Penang or asam (or assam) laksa dish of today as another 1951 report, this time in The Straits Times on Penang, seems to confirm. The article draws attention to one of Penang's attractions, Ayer Itam (now spelled Air Itam), to which the young and old would walk six miles or brave a ride on a crowded bus to. Ayer Itam, is identified as "the village with the famous Kek Lok Si", and (a seemingly already popular) "Siamese" laksa (Air Itam is a location many in Penang flock to today for asam laksa).
A bowl of Penang or Asam Laksa.
Another version of Asam Laksa from Madras Lane in Kuala Lumpur.
What we can perhaps surmise from all of this information is that despite its shared name, laksa in its many variations are really different dishes. Built on an otherwise tasteless base of rice or sago vermicelli or a noodle substitute, how its various forms of laksa have been flavoured to excite the palate, says much about the invention and the creativity of the region's pioneering food vendors.
Variation on a theme, Laksa Goreng (Fried Laksa), Peranakan style.
Lakse Goreng topped with crushed ikan bilis from Pulau Singkep.
A Hawker's Lament
by Seow Poh Leng
(Malayan Saturday Post, 16 May 1931, Page 18)
We came from far Cathay, the land of old renown,
A livelihood to seek in this far-famed town.
My parents they are old but still must toil each day
My father selling bean-curds, my mother selling "kway".
We left our home and kin to this far distant shore;
And promised to return to see them all once more,
To share with them and theirs what little we have made
By dint of patient toil, by means of honest trade.
By four o'clock each morning when you are all abed
The 'laksa' I'm preparing that people may be fed
I grind some rice to powder and knead it to a dough
Then press it through a sieve to a boiling pot below.
This stringy mass of flour which hardens as it boils
Is made up into lumps of tiny snow-white coils;
Then served with tasty gravy and a pinch of fragrant spice
My 'laksa' finds more favour than the ordinary rice.
In woven bamboo basket made up in several tiers
Are placed my tooth-some wares and the necessary gears.
In a gourd-shaped earthen vessel the 'laksa' simmers low,
All day aboiling gently on charcoal burning slow.
From street to street I wander, my pace a steady trot,
And bear my loaded basket as well as the steaming pot.
The noon day trade I seek and may with luck—oh rare !
Avoid the stern police who ask a certain share.
These guardians of the law with lynx eyes watch for me,
And more than do their duty unless I pay a " fee."
They see that I comply with what the by-laws state;
That is, whatever happens, I must itinerate.
Sometimes from sheer fatigue I pause some breath to take,
To dry my streaming sweat, to ease the limbs that ache;
And then the "Mata-mata" finds me resting there,
And forthwith to the Court I must with him repair.
And once – alas the thought! – in prison cell I lay.
The fine imposed on me was more than I could pay.
What use is there for me this arduous life to lead?
My humble cries for mercy receive but scanty heed.
By ceaseless toil I tried an honest life to lead.
If I the "tips" forget, the traffic I impede.
And for such bogus crime there is no other way –
Before the Court I'm brought and straightway made to pay.
I've plied my trade from childhood, the profits have been small,
Yet I would quit right gladly for any work at all,
Seek work at any distance – if only work there be
Without the constant harass and the unofficial fee.
A rickshaw puller – aye the "totee's" job I'll do.
I'll go to Malacca, I'll go to Trengganu.
Alack! my quest is vain, my faintest hope is gone;
My limbs they are weary, my heart with sorrow torn.
Good-bye the M.H.O., my last farewell to thee!
Good-bye to all M.C.'s, good-bye the I.G.P.!
You wish me back to China, you want me off the street;
Posterity shall know I die your wish to meet!
Not satisfied with fines the Magistrates impose
The dreary prison cell must add to hawkers' woes.
My goods and property you wish to confiscate?
But here you will not win—the law will come too late!
Good-bye my parents dear, good-bye my kith and kin!
Think not the step I take a very grievous sin.
Right well I am aware of honour due to you;
And thank you from my heart for lessons wise and true.
To comfort your old age my level best I've tried.
My efforts seem in vain, the cruel fates decide.
I cannot stoop to crime and slur the family name,
So drink this portion dark, preferring death to shame.
A Malay laksa vendor in Penang, c. 1930s (http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline | Mrs J A Bennett Collection/National Archives of Singapore).
Uyghur Laghman
Gary Stevens on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
A variation on a theme. Lokshen kugel, an Ashkenazi Jewish pudding or casserole, commonly made from egg noodles.
Wally Gobetz on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Tags: Assam Laksa, Food, Hawker Fare, Indonesia, Laksa, Lakse, Malaysia, Origins of Laksa, Singapore, Street Food
Categories : Food, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
Days of despair, rays of hope
Seeing out the storm, the evening after, 12 September 2001, Ostend.
Tags: 9-11, Belgium, Ostend, Photography, Sunset
Categories : Belgium, Photography, Photography Series, Sunsets, There are places I remember ..., Travel
The many faces of Munich (and beyond)
Munich has just got to be one of the coolest places on earth. Its compact size and cycle friendly infrastructure, makes it an ideal place to explore on foot or on the back of a bicycle. You will never go thirsty with its abundance of breweries and beer halls and gardens, and even if it is fairly flat, there are a host of lofty places and activities to take in the views from which you will realise that some of Germany's highest peaks and ski slopes, are not really so far away.
Munich and its environs is also a place for romance. It is two hours away from the fairy tale Neuschawnstein Castle. In the city itself there is a huge testament to love in the Nymphenburg Palace – and its gorgeous grounds. The summer palace of the House of Wittelsbach, it was built as a gift of love to celebrate the birth of a long awaited heir.
I had the privilege to have a taste of what Munich and its surrounding had to offer, spending a full four days there this summer – thanks to the Munich Tourism. It wasn't quite really enough to immerse oneself in the wonders but what it the four full days did leave was a realisation that the Bavarian city, whose wealth was built on it being at the crossroads of a busy medieval trading route, delights you in more ways than its famed food, beer halls, football and fast cars.
Flavours of Munich
Marienplatz and the New Town Hall, seen through the arch of the Old Town Hall.
The Nymphenburg – a gift that Bavarian Elector Ferdinand Maria had built for his wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy for the delivery of a long awaited heir.
View of the Frauenkirche from the viewing deck of New Town Hall.
Beer tasting at the Donisl – one of the city's many food and beer places.
There's even surfing in the city – at the man-made Eisbach in the English Garden.
The colours of Viktualienmarkt.
A beer garden at the Viktualienmarkt – a place where you can bring your own food.
A packed Allianz Arena – home of Bayern Munich – during the recent Audi Cup.
The Allianz Arena – where tours are also conducted – is best viewed at night.
And if you are at the Allianz Arena during match day – don't forget to get your hands on that instagram worthy pretzel.
The religious side of Munich – the inside of the rebuilt Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady).
A city of monuments – the Wittelsbach Fountain.
Get up close and personal with the innovative lightweight tent roof on the Olympic Stadium through the tent roof climb.
BMW Museum at BMW World.
Kirche St. Coloman, Schwangau.
Simply breathtaking – the view of the Neuschwanstein Castle from Queen Mary's Bridge (Marienbrucke).
View of Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein.
The gondola to Zugspitze – Germany's highest mountain.
Top of Germany – Zugspitze – with a crane now constructing a gondola station.
Painted façade at Oberammergau.
Gateway to Austria – at Zugspitze.
The road to Altspitze.
Badersee Lake and the Zugspitze Massif.
More to follow …
Tags: Germany, Munich, Munich Tourism, Munich Travelogue, Photography, Romantic Jewels, Travel
Categories : Munich, Munich Travelogue, Photography, Travel
A white pre-Christmas
Scenes taken in snowy Sapporo – during a prelude to a storm that would bring the city and the Hokkaido prefecture its heaviest December snowfall in half a century.
Tags: Hokkaido, Japan, Japan Travel, Photography, Sapporo, Snow, Snowfall, Streetscapes, Travel
Categories : Japan, Photography, Travel
10 reasons (out of possibly thousands more) to want to win that trip to Spain
Spain with its rich history, diverse cultural and culinary influences and its much varied geography, is a country that offers a wealth of experiences to the traveller. There are many reasons to want to visit it, much more than the ten that follow and you now have a chance to find that out for free with TripZilla. The travel magazine and portal is looking at giving a 12 D/11 N trip sponsored by the Spain Tourism Board and Turkish Airlines away in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines through its SPAIN IN THE EYES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA giveaway.
The contest is open only to residents of each of the countries mentioned who are between 23 and 55 years old. To take part, a minimum of three smart phone taken photographs (taken in their respective countries of residence) that participants feel best represents Spain, need to be submitted. Participants will have until 24 September 2016 to do this, after which one winner will be selected from each of the three countries. The trip to Spain being given away will include round-trip tickets, hotel accommodation and guided tours.
Just four simple steps are needed for the chance to win this valuable trip, which are:
Sign-up @ https://www.tripzilla.com/spain-tourism-board-giveaway
Take a minimum of 3 snapshots of places, items or colours in your country that you think best represents Spain
Upload your photos onto the TripZilla Facebook page event with the hashtags #visitspain #winatriptospain #spainintheeyesofsoutheastasia
Add a caption to describe why you think that place/item/colours in your photos best represents Spain
More information on the giveaway can be found at TripZilla.com and also TripZilla's Facebook page event.
10 (out of possibly thousands more!) reasons to want to win that trip
The stunning sight of Toledo rising above the River Tagus
Toledo, as viewed from Cerro del Emperador.
The vista from the Cerro del Emperador after dark is just as stunning …
… as it also is just before the sunrise.
Quaint villages right out of a book of fairy tales
Twilight descends on O'Cebreiro, a hilltop village along the French route of the Camino de Santiago. The village church is where the Holy Grail is housed.
A traditional thatched roof stone hut known as a palloza at O'Cebreiro.
The village of La Riera in the Asturias.
The opportunity to spend a night in a historic building
Parador Hostal Dos Reis Catolicos in Santiago de Compostela, built as a hospital in 1499.
Inside the Parador Hostal dos Reis Católicos.
Parador Hostal de San Marcos in León, built in the 16th century as a military building.
A wealth of UNESCO World Heritage Sites that span a period of more than 2000 years
The amazingly well preserved 2000 year old Roman aqueduct in Segovia.
A UNESCO World Heritage site from more recent times – the Vizcaya "hanging bridge".
Its gorgeous seaside towns
San Sebastian in the Basque Country.
Castro Urdiales, a grogeous seaport in Cantabria close to Bilbao.
Some of the oldest university towns in Europe
The University of Salamanca, which dates back to 1134, is the oldest in Spain and the third oldest in Europe.
Salamanca.
The original university at the town of Alcalá de Henares goes back to 1293.
Alcalá de Henares. The town is also known for its famous son, Miguel de Cervantes, Spain's most celebrated literary figure.
To learn about its rich and fascinating history, particularly that of the Rerconquest
A cave in Covadonga in the Asturias, which featured in the launch of the Reconquest, a significant event in Spain's history that remains very much embedded in the Spanish psyche.
The walled medieval town of Ávila, whose walls date back to the 11th century and are said to be the best conserved of the age. The walls were constructed following the reconquest and repopulation of the area.
A set of still used pilgrimage routes that date back to the 9th Century
Pilgrims on the long road to Santiago de Compostela. A well used route is the Camino Frances, which involves a 780 km walking journey from the south of France.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the relics of St. James (Santiago), one of the 12 apostles, is kept.
The city of Santiago de Compostela.
Its impressive Gothic cathedrals
Toledo Cathedral.
Burgos Cathedral.
Stained glass inside León Cathedral.
The walled city of Segovia is topped by its impressive cathedral.
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
The Gueggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
Tags: Photography, Photography Contest, Spain, Spain in the Eyes of Southeast Asia, Spain Tourism Board, Spain Travel, Travel, Travel Contest, TripZilla
Categories : Photography, Spain, Travel
Hanging on – the amazing hanging bridge near Bilbao
I love bridges, especially ones on which supporting truss or cable stays structures add to their overall aesthetics.
One rather interesting looking bridge the sight of which I was particularly taken with, is the Puente Vizcaya (Bizkaia in Basque) or the Vizcaya Bridge. I managed a visit to it during a sojourn in the north of Spain in 2013. Straddling the Río Ibaizábal, close to where it spills into the Bay of Biscay, the bridge with its horizontal span elevated some 45 metres above the ground and supported by four lattice ironwork towers, is quite an amazing sight to behold.
The suspended gondola of the Vizcaya Bridge with Portugalete seen in the background.
The bridge, a so-called transporter bridge, is not what one might think of as bridge in the conventional sense. Rather than a roadway or walkway across which vehicular of pedestrian traffic is carried, a transporter bridge carries its load on a gondola that is suspended by wire-ropes from a moving trolley running across its horizontal span and is more akin to a ferry.
The Vizcaya Bridge.
The bridge in its early days (Gizmodo Australia).
A close-up of the gondola.
Developed as a solution to allow the crossing of navigable waterways in areas where space and geography restrict the deployment of the long ramps that would be necessary to carry vehicular traffic to the deck of bridges elevated high enough to clear shipping, the do have limitations in the volume and rate at which traffic can be moved across the gap and as a result have not seen widespread use. Less than thirty were built worldwide, mostly around the turn of the twentieth century.
The gondola is suspended using wire-ropes from a trolley running across its span.
The idea for the transporter bridge has been attributed to Charles Smith, an Englishman from Hartlepool. While his invention was made public in 1873, it wasn't until two decades later in 1893 that the first such bridge, which was the Vizcaya, was completed. Designed by Basque architect Alberto de Palacio, a disciple of Gustave Eiffel (of the Eiffel tower fame), it sparked off a small wave of construction of several other transporter bridges.
A view of the trolley from the top of the bridge.
Known also as "puente colgante" or "hanging bridge", the Vizcaya Bridge as a structure, takes us back to the heyday of the industrial and maritime age in Bilbao and a time when the area's deposits of iron-ore fed the hungry blast furnaces of Europe. This, as well as several other factors that include its dramatic presence and aesthetics, the technical creativity it expresses, and its role in influencing the development of similar structures, has seen its inscription on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Inscribed in 2006, the Vizcaya Bridge now holds the distinction of being the only World Heritage site in the Basque Country.
A view of the moth of the Ibaizába estuary from the bridge.
The bridge is well worth a visit if you do find yourself in and around Bilbao, a city best known in these parts for its football team and the rather iconic Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Besides the unique experience that crossing on its gondola offers, the bridge also features a walkway across its horizontal span, which provides not just a view of its trolley and operating mechanism but also a fantastic view of the towns of Getxo and Portugalete as well as the landscape around the mouth of the Ibaizábal estuary. More information on the bridge, access to its walkway and its UNESCO World Heritage listing can be found at the following links:
Puente Bizkaia website
Puente Bizkaia website (tours)
UNSECO World Heritage Centre
The Radical Hanging Bridge That Time Forgot (Gizmodo Australia)
Portugalete fron the bridge.
The gondola, seen from the walkway.
The walkway.
Getxo as seen from the bridge's walkway.
The Ibaizába Rive, a passage for shipping destined for the old docks of Bilbao.
The Vizcaya Bridge seen through the buildings of Portugalete.
Tags: Basque Country, Bilbao, Bridges, Getxo, Photography, Portugalete, Puente Bizkaia, Puente Vizcaya, Spain, Spain Travel, Transporter Bridge, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vizcaya Bridge
Categories : Architecture, Basque Country, Bilbao, Bridges, Spain, Travel
A visit to a charcoal factory
The business of charcoal making, which in the region makes use of wood from the abundant mangrove forests, has long ceased in Singapore. The last factory, on the evidence of a 1972 Straits Times article, was possibly on Pulau Tekong and it only is in some of our neighbouring countries that the production of what some may consider to be black gold can be found.
The charcoal factory at Kuala Sepetang.
One production centre that I had the opportunity to visit is the factory at Kuala Sepetang, located along the northern Perak coastline, just 15 kilometres from the charming old mining town of Taiping. The factory, operated by a Mr. Chuah Chow Aun, has a reputation for the best charcoal in Asia and does a thriving trade in meeting the demand from the large Japanese market.
Charcoal kilns, the contruction knowhow of which interestingly, was brought in by the Japanese during the war. The logs with barks stripped from them, are ready for the kilns.
The factory is well worth a visit just for the setting it finds itself in. Its long zinc roofed wooden sheds against which stacks of bakau wood logs are arranged, against the backdrop of the beautiful Matang mangrove forest on the banks of the Sungai Kapal Changkol, makes the scene it presents one that somehow looks like one that could well belong in a good old Western movie.
Another view of the factory. Logs are stripped of their barks in the area where they are unloaded from boats that bring them in from the nearby mangrove forest.
The sheds are where the main process of turning the wood is carried out. In them one finds rows of smoking kilns, in which the wood is heated and not, as is popularly believed, burnt, with the aim of removing water – which makes up the bulk of its weight when harvested, from the logs. It is a long, tedious and rather labour intensive process that is employed, which starts with the unloading of logs harvested primarily from 30 year old bakau minyak (Rhizophora apiculata) trees for which a sapling is planted for every tree that is harvested. The logs, which measure up to 5 inches in diameter, are prepared for the kilns by stripping their barks before they are stacked against the kilns before being moved in.
Logs of various diameters.
I was rather surprised to hear that it was in fact the Japanese that brought in the charcoal making techniques that are employed at Kuala Sepetang during the occupation. This process, involves the heating of the kilns – in which logs are positioned vertically on blocks of clay to keep them off the ground before the opening is reduced sufficiently in size to serve as a firing box, for a period of about 10 days. At this stage the temperature within the kilns is raised about 85° C. After this comes a second stage of heating for which the opening is reduced further, for another 12 days during which temperatures are raised to about 220° C. The kiln is left to cool for another week or so before the cured wood can be taken out.
A kiln opening, through which logs are moved into the kiln.
An example of how logs are vertically arranged and the clay blocks on which they are made to stand on.
The first stage during with a larger opening is maintained at the firing box.
Experience plays an important part in the process and is monitored only through observation of the vapour that billows out of an opening in the kiln. From 1500 logs or about 40 to 50 tonnes of wood that is placed in the kilns before the start of firing, only 10 tonnes of is left as charcoal – the rest of the weight having been expelled as vapour. The vapour however does not go to waste and is in its condensed form, sold as mangrove wood vinegar, which is said to repel mosquitoes and cure common skin problems.
The opening is reduced during the second stage.
A kiln in use.
The factory, Khay Hor Holdings Sdn. Bhd. or more commonly referred to as the Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory, is open for visits. Arrangements can be made for guided tours by contacting Mr. Chuah at +60 12 5739563. More information is available at the Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory Facebook Page and at this link: The Charcoal Factory.
Vapour coming out of a kiln – the vapour, which is used to monitor the process , is collected and sold in its condense form as mangrove wood vinegar.
The entrance to the factory.
Tags: Bakau, Bakau Minyak, Bakau Wood, Charcoal, Charcoal Kilns, Charcoal Making, Charcoal Production, Chuah Chow Aun, Khay Hor Holdings Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Sepetang, Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory, Malaysia, Malaysia Travel, Mangroves, Matang Mangrove Forest, Perak, Photography, Places, Port Weld, Rhizophora apiculata, Taiping, Travel
Categories : Malaysia, Off the beaten track, Perak, Travel
Seeking the familiar in the unfamiliar
I love a wander around the streets of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. KL, as the city is fondly referred to, not unlike Singapore, has seen an incredible transformation over the last three decades. But unlike Singapore, which has discarded much of what that made it what it was, KL has retained pockets of of the old world; a world that gives me that sense of familiarity that is missing from the streets of the city I spent most of my life in.
One area I am particularly fond of taking a stroll through is in the part of KL around Petaling Street. Much about it has changed – and is still changing, in its back lanes and kaki-kaki-lima (five-foot-ways) I am able to find enough familiar to me from my excursions to it of two and a half decades past. Still around are the busy places of worship and the old but now shrinking back lane wet market and familiar food-stalls at Madras Lane. The old shophouses along Jalan Sultan are also still there, although some of the trades found in them – such as an old denture workshop, seemed in the two years since I last visited the street, to have closed for good.
A peek into the late 19th century Kuan Ti temple at Jalan Tun H S Lee.
A five-foot-way along Jalan Tun H S Lee.
The front of an old pet bird shop along Jalan Sultan.
Kneading dough at a back lane pau stall.
A back lane kopitiam (coffee shop) at a back lane flea market, Pasar Karat.
The back lane wet market at Madras Lane.
The well-known Four-Eyed (bespectacled) One – Sze Ngan Chye roast duck cart along Petaling Street.
Slaughtered birds at a live chicken stall at the wet market.
KL favourites in a back lane – the Madras Lane Yong Tau Foo and Laska stalls.
Tags: Back Alleys, Back Lane, Five-Foot-Way, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Tun H S Lee, Kaki Lima, Kuala Lumpur, Kuan Ti Temple, Madras Lane, Malaysia Travel, Old Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Street, Photography, Travel, Wet Market
Categories : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Photography, Travel
Darkness and light, Lower Manhattan
Lower Mahattan, seen in the magical light of the bright spring sunshine in April this year:
The East Coast Memorial at Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty.
The rotunda of the Alexander Hamilton US Customs House at Bowling Green.
A staircase inside the Alexander Hamilton US Customs House.
Buildings at Bowling Green.
Inside the Alexander Hamilton US Customs House.
Trinity Church as viewed from Wall Street.
Detail on an entrance door to Trinity Church.
Darkness and light, death and life, Trinity Church Cemetery.
View from the yard of St. Paul's Chapel.
City Hall Park.
New York City Hall.
The Brooklyn Bridge.
Thomas Paine Park and the New York County Supreme Court.
Where the light shines – the Police Building and the view down Grand Street.
Lafayette Street near its intersection with Kenmare Street.
Lafayette Street.
Washington Square.
Union Square.
Tags: Architecture, Black and White, Light and Shadow, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, Photography, Streetscapes, Travel, USA
Categories : Architecture, New York City, Photography, There are places I remember ..., Travel, USA
The beautiful terminal in Hoboken
I never tire of railway stations, especially the grand stations of old in which one can quite easily be transported back to an age when rail travel might have seemed to be all about the romance of it.
Hoboken Terminal.
And its gorgeous interior.
A grand old station I found myself passing through quite recently was in Hoboken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson from the Big Apple. Being on the waterfront, it was built in 1907 to also connect with trolley buses and ferry services to Lower Manhattan. This was later extended to the subway. As an early intermodal transport hub completed before the first road tunnels were dug under the Hudson, the terminal served an important role in the movement of man and material across the river to a New York in the midst of transformation. In its heyday, the terminal boasted a YMCA residence,completed in 1922 and hosted a mail sorting facility.
Hoboken Terminal at the time of its opening (source: Wikipedia – public domain).
The ferry slips at the terminal.
The station is one that oozes with the charm of the old world, seen especially in its Beaux-Arts inspired architecture. It is a style found in several iconic stations of the era, one of which was Paris' beautiful former Gare d'Orsay, now the Musée d'Orsay. Outwardly, the terminal's copper clad appearance takes us back to the age of its construction. The copper, added for fire resistance – a requirement that was especially necessary seeing that the previous terminal had been consumed by a huge fire just two years prior to its construction, was quite readily available. There was as an excess of the metal procured for the erection of the area's most famous landmark, the Statue of Liberty, which would otherwise have had to be sold for scrap.
The copper clad exterior.
The most eye-catching and charming part of the terminal is its Waiting Room. The spacious room has a ceiling that rises to a height of 55 feet (about 17 metres) and is crowned by the most impressive of skylights. The daylight that filters through the skylight, constructed of Tiffany stained glass, casts a warm and welcoming glow on the limestone and bronze finishes of the luxuriously decorated room; as do its bronze chandeliers in the hours of darkness.
The Waiting Room and the Tiffany glass skylight.
Another look at the Waiting Room and its magnificent skylight.
Looking around, one can understand why Hoboken Terminal has been described as the most impressive and striking of the five terminals that were found along the New Jersey Hudson waterfront. It now is the last of the five still is in use. Another survivor, the Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal at Jersey City, from which operations had been terminated in 1967, stands today only as a conserved building within Liberty State Park. The Jersey City terminal and Hoboken Terminal, have both been designated as historic sites and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The former Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal at the Liberty State Park waterfront.
Hoboken Terminal's architect, Kenneth Murchison, was a graduate of Columbia and the Paris based École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and a notable practitioner of the Beaux-Arts style. Hoboken was one of several railway station projects Murchison was involved with. His work includes another station for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (for which Hoboken was built) at Scranton in 1908, which has since been transformed into a hotel.
A look at the train platforms and the shed, an innovation at the time. The sheds were provided with open channels above the tracks to allow steam and exhaust gases to vent.
Following the opening of the Holland Tunnel at the end of the 1920s, the Lincoln Tunnel at the end of the 1930s, and the introduction of three new subway services across the Hudson in the 1930s, demand for railway and ferry services began to fall off. The gradual decline was to lead to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad merging with the Erie Railroad in 1960 to form a loss making Erie Lackawanna (EL) Railroad, which in 1970 scrapped inter-city services. By this time ferry services had already stopped in 1967. Conrail was to take over the running of EL's commuter train services in 1976, before that passed into the hands of the State-owned New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) in 1983.
Passengers waiting at commuter train platform at the terminal.
The declining fortunes of the railway and ferry took its toll on the terminal and its upkeep. A early victim of this was the original iconic tower, which had to be dismantled in the 1950s due to concerns about its structural integrity. The station lost much of its gloss by the time ferry services had stopped and it wasn't until 1995 that an effort was made, by NJ Transit, to restore the station to its original glory.
A ticket dispenser at the train platform.
A ticket counter inside the Waiting Room.
The first phase of the effort, which lasted until 2003, involved repairs and replacement work on the terminal's structure, roofs and canopies, as well as a refurbishment of the majestic Waiting Room. A second phase was initiated in 2005. This gave the terminal back its iconic tower, a reconstruction, in 2007. Some of the efforts were unfortunately undone when the terminal and its Waiting Room (as well as much of Hoboken) was battered by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which required further restoration work.
The reconstructed tower.
Wooden benches in the waiting room required mould remediation work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
The second phase also saw five of the six unused ferry slips refurbished in 2011. Ferry services have since been reintroduced. Boarding of ferries is now carried out at the level of the rail tracks and not on the second level, which had originally been equipped with a large and beautiful concourse. The second level is now used by NJ Transit and is closed to the public.
The ferry terminal.
The ferry berth.
A stairway to a lost heaven – the closed second level of the terminal.
A revival of fortunes came with the restoration. The terminal today is a major hub with a better designed integration of transport services. Services now also include the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit (LRT) system that was introduced in 2001. With its new tower in place, the station has also regained its prominence along the lower Hudson and is today a work of architecture, even if not for the charm of the old world it exudes, that is a joy to behold.
The LRT terminal.
More information on the beautiful station, its history and architecture can be found at the following links:
Hoboken Terminal Turns 100 (NJ Transit, February 2007)
Reviving the Glory of Hoboken Terminal (New York Times, December 21, 2005)
Hoboken, Ferry and Train Station (http://www.maggieblanck.com/, updated June 2013)
Hoboken Terminal – Rambusch Lighting
Entry in National Register of Historic Places
Slideshow: NJ Transit's Hoboken Terminal, Six Months After Sandy (WNYC, April 29, 2013)
Tags: Architecture, Beaux-Arts, Design, Grand Stations, Hoboken, Hoboken Terminal, Hudson River, Intermodal Transport Hubs, New Jersey, Photography, Places, Places of Interest, Railway Stations, Romance of the Railway, Travel, United States
Categories : Architecture, New Jersey, Photography, Travel, USA
The old university town of Alcalá de Henares
I love old university towns and I got to have a look at one of Spain's oldest, Alcalá de Henares, quite recently. The university established there had its origins in 1293 as Estudio de Escuelas Generales de Alcalá and became the University of Compultense (Universitas Complutensis) in 1499 through the vision of a important church figure at the time as Spain was entering into its Golden Age, a move that was to transform the former college to one of Spain's most important seats of learning and also lead to the expansion of Alcalá into a planned university town. Although the university has since been moved to Madrid, the city of Alcalá de Henares' still retains much of the flavour of the old university town and has seen a revival of the old university as the University of Alcalá in more recent times.
A courtyard inside the historic Colegio de San Ildefonso of the University of University of Alcalá.
I arrived in Alcalá de Henares in the quiet of a Saturday morning and the first glimpse I had of the city was of its quiet, neat and ordered streets lined with brick and sandstone buildings coloured gold by the light of the morning sun. Alcalá, some 30 kilometres from Madrid, seemed distant enough to be isolated from the hustle and bustle of Spain's capital city; the dignified air of calm unsurprising perhaps of a city that was reinvented as a seat of learning.
There is much more than meets the eye in Alcalá de Henares.
A street in Alcalá de Henares.
What does surprise in Alcalá is that perhaps there is much more of it than its early weekend demeanour does suggest, the city's glitter is one that glows not just due to to golden light of the morning, but the that of the city's fascinatingly storied past. The city's rich history, which has been recognised by the listing of its historic and university precincts have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998, goes back well beyond the university or even the Moorish origins of its name, Alcalá – derived from the Arabic Al-Qal'at or fortress. This I was to very quickly realise two hours into my stay in the city.
The quiet streets of the university precinct on a Saturday morning.
My visit to Alcalá de Henares was the first stop in what was to turn out to be an amazing journey that also included visits to four other UNESCO World Heritage cities close to Madrid. The trip was made possible by the Spanish World Heritage Cities Group (Ciudades Patrimonio de la Humanidad de España), the Spanish Tourism Board and Thai Airways. Alcalá de Henares, located close to Madrid's Barajas airport, made it a very convenient first stop.
City Hall as seen from Plaza de Cervantes.
Another view of the university precinct.
One of the things that becomes very quickly apparent about Alcalá, is its association with Spain's most celebrated literary figure, Miguel de Cervantes; Cervantes' work, Don Quixote, an icon of a masterpiece that is considered to be one of the most important works in Spanish literature. Alcalá is where the famous writer came into the world during the days of the Spanish Golden Age and Alcalá's heyday in 1547, and in Alcalá, we find all things Cervantes, including in and around the city's main square that is very predictably named after him.
The statue of Cervantes in the centre of Plaza de Cervantes.
The main square, Plaza de Cervantes, is where the medieval town of Alcalá and the post-medieval university town meet. The formerly walled medieval town in which there was a Arab, Jewish and Chirstian quarter, lies to the east of the square. To the west is the university town and its ordered streets. In the centre of the square, the centre perhaps of Cervantes' Alcalá, is where the writer is immortalised in a statue that stands high over the square, holding a quill in his hand.
The northern half of Plaza de Cervantes.
Plaza de Cervantes by night.
It was to the square that I headed out to almost as soon as I put my bags down at the hotel, resisting the urge to climb into the very inviting king sized bed in the beautifully furnished room of the hotel. This despite the lack of sleep having stepped off only hours before from the 12 hour intercontinental flight.
The rooms of the parador as seen from the very peaceful roof top garden.
The room in the parador.
The hotel, Alcalá de Henares' is surprisingly modern as a Parador. Surprising because the limited experiences I have had of staying in a paradors, were of ones in which the tone of the decor of the rooms seemed to match the history of the buildings they would be found in. Paradors, luxury hotels run by the Spanish government, are usually found in historic buildings such as former palaces, castles and monasteries.
The parador in Alcalá.
The cloisters of the former Convento Santo Tomas.
The old and the new parts of the parador.
In the case of the parador in Alcalá, while it is rather interestingly set up in a 17th Century former Dominican monastery, the Convento de Santo Tomás that has also seen use as a military barracks in the 19th century and a prison in more recent times, its transformation into a parador has given it an ultra modern feel. The parador's beautifully furnished rooms and spa, does make it all that more difficult to want to leave its premises.
Another view of the cloisters – through a second level window.
The roof top garden by night.
At Plaza de Cervantes, the gaze of a Cervantes is towards the the plaza's north. Following his gaze and turning west is one of the main cobbled streets of the medieval Jewish quarter, the Calle Mayor, along which the house in which Cervantes was born is found. Furnished with furniture from the era, the two-storey house with an inner courtyard typical of old Castille, is now a museum that is a must visit, especially for all interested in Cervantes' life and work.
Calle Mayor in the medieval quarter.
Another look at Calle Mayor.
The birthplace of Cervantes.
My travel companions in the courtyard of the birthplace of Cervantes.
An exhibit depicting a scene from a puppet play at the birthplace of Cervantes.
Furnishings for a sanitary room from the period.
The dining room.
It was just past Cervantes' birthplace on the Calle Mayor that a link to pre-Moorish past was to leap out at me to the beat of of a march. Making its way down the street was a religious procession. While being one very typical in the sense of the Iberian traditions as well as one commemorating a post medieval event, the 1568 return of the relics of city's patron saints, "los Santos Niños", Saints Justus and Pastor, the procession also tells of Alcalá's links to Roman times. The saints, both children, had been martyred for their faith in the year 304 AD, at a time when a Roman settlement, Complutum, was established there.
The statues of los Santos Niños being led through the streets of the medieval quarter.
Figures seen during the procession.
Don Quixote meets the procession along Calle Mayor.
Plaza de Cervantes being at the divide of the old and new Alcalá, is always a good place to start with orientating oneself with Alcalá, especially when one gets to do so high above it with an ascent of 109 steps to the top of the tower of Santa María (Torre de Santa María). Located at the square's southern edge, the 15th century tower that was the bell tower of the Church of Santa María la Mayor, is one of the few parts of the church that escaped destruction during Spanish Civil War. The view it provides, besides that of a close-up of the storks that seem to be nesting and roosting on top of just about every red rooftop and the spire in the city, is unparalleled and provides a sense of how the city had evolved.
Torre de Santa Maria.
Nesting storks perched on a spire.
A stork in flight.
A view south from the tower.
The view north across Plaza de Cervantes. The medieval quarter is to the left of the square and the university precinct to the right.
Lying in the shadows of the tower, are some of what has survived of the ruined church. One of the attractions the ruins contain is a reproduction of its destroyed baptismal font with pieces of the original font embedded into it. The original font was the one that featured in Cervantes' baptism in October 1547 and its recreation can now found in the surviving El Oidor chapel. The chapel along with the Antezana chapel are where an Interpretation Centre for the Universes of Cervantes (Los Universos de Cervantes) is now housed. What is also interesting is that the archway that leads to the El Oidor chapel is beautifully decorated with a 16th century grille and beautifully executed Mudéjar plasterwork.
Inside the El Oidor chapel.
The 16th century grille and the arch decorated with Mudéjar plasterwork at the entrance to the El Oidor chapel.
A piece of the original font that is embedded into the reproduction.
Besides the ruins, there are also several other interesting historical structures around the square. One I was able to visit is in the south-eastern corner close to the tower, a two-storey Castilian courtyard building from the 16th century that served as a guesthouse or hostel for university students. The house's structure has been well preserved along with the courtyard and its laundry well. Used by the municipality in more recent times, two rooms on the upper floor of the building have now been reoccupied by the university.
The courtyard of the hostel.
The laundry well.
A structure of significance lies on the western side of the square. This, the Corral de Comedias, constructed as an open air or courtyard theatre or corral de comedias in 1601, is the oldest in the country to have survived and also one of the oldest theatres still in use in Europe.
Inside the Corral de Comedias.
The stage and the space below the stage, which includes a well.
Modelled after Spain's first purpose built theatre, the Corral de la Cruz, Alcalá's corral was originally laid out as all early purpose built theatres in Spain were, replicating the layout and arrangement found in the makeshift theatres that preceded them. The makeshift theatres utilised courtyards of inns and houses and had a stage placed at one end and as with the makeshift arrangements, the purpose-built ones that were a natural progression also featured balconies and boxes on the upper levels of the three free sides, where the audience, segregated according to social status and gender, could watch the performance from.
Stage machinery.
The Corral de Comedias before restoration (source: http://www.corraldealcala.com)
Over time, the Corral de Comedias underwent several transfromations, including the addition of the horseshoe shaped theatrical seating facing the stage in 1831. From 1945 to 1971, the theatre saw use as a cinema, after which it was abandoned. It wasn't until the 1980s that a massive effort was made to restore it, which was completed only in 2003 when the grand dame's dignity was restored through its use as a theatre.
The restoration has uncovered some of the original foundations.
As well as provided an idea of the width of the original theatre boxes.
One of the surprising things I learnt about Alcalá, was that it was here that the seeds of the Spanish sponsored adventure led by Christopher Columbus into the new world was planted. The city, serving as the location of the first meeting of the Venetian with Queen Isabella and where the expedition was planned, the events taking place in and around the very majestic Archbishop's palace tucked away in an area of the city northwest of the main square.
A statue of Isabella by the Archbishop's Palace.
The palace is especially interesting in that it was built as a residence for the Archbishop of Toledo, the highest ranking member of the clergy in the Catholic church in Spain and through much of Castille's and Spain's history, one of the country's most influential positions, in 1209. Its architecture bears the influences of its long history and within its walls resided not just powerful church men, bit also served as the residence of kings and queens, including Ferdinand and Isabella and in which their daughter Catherine of Aragon, the future first wife of Henry VIII and the Queen of England, was born in 1485. It the annulment of marriage to Catherine that Henry' sought that was to lead to the split of the English Church from Papal authority in the 1530s.
The Archbishop's Palace, built in 1209 as the residence of the Archbishop of Toledo.
The Church, or rather an important member of its leadership, was to have a significant influence on the revival of the city's fortunes, which fell into decline following the expulsion of the Jews in 1496. Cardinal Cisneros, Queen Isabella's one time confessor and a powerful member of the clergy, established a university in 1499 that was to become one of Spain's most important seats of learning. The buildings of the university, which would be centered around the magnificent edifice of the Colegio de San Ildefonso put up by Cisneros east of the medieval town, to which I will devote more detail to in a separate post, has to be one of the highlights of a visit to Alcalá.
The Colegio de San Ildefonso built by Cardinal Cisneros.
A visit to Alcalá, as in the rest of Spain, would of course, not be complete without indulging in its gastronomic offerings. There is a mix of old and new, traditional and fusion that can be found along the city's streets. The parador for one, offers two restaurants, in which a full meal can be savoured for a reasonable outlay and is great value for money. One is in the more traditional setting of the Restaurante Hostería del Estudiante across the street from the main lobby of the parador at the former Colegio Menor de San Jerónimo. The other in a more contemporary setting of the Restaurante de Santo Tomás set in the cloisters of the former Convento de Santo Tomás.
The traditional setting of the Restaurante Hostería del Estudiante.
There is also the chance to savour the more modern interpretations of traditional dishes in more contemporary settings in Alcalá, with restaurants such Plademunt in the quiet streets of the new part of the city and Ambigú in the historic quarter, just by the Teatro Salón Cervantes. Both restaurants are helmed by young culinary talents. On offer at Plademunt are the extraordinary tapas creations of Ivan Plademunt that feature some very traditional and hearty working class comfort foods from the region such as migas and atascaburras as well as pinchos of pintxos from the Basque country.
Plademunt.
Migas, a traditional dish made from a base of breadcrumbs.
Ivan Plademunt demonstrating how Atascaburras is made.
Pinchos.
The Teatro Salón Cervantes on Calle Cervantes.
Ambigú's offerings include many favourites including grilled octopus, sardines and a dessert to die for, torrija. The utterly sinful dessert, traditionally served during Lent and the Holy Week, is made from a base of bread soaked in milk and is similar to the English bread and butter pudding, only better!
Offerings at Ambigú include the utterly sinful torrija.
It was a pity lunch at Ambigú can on the back of a visit to Esencias Del Gourmet on Calle Mayor just around Cervantes's birthplace . The proprietor of Esencias Del Gourmet holds a fun yet enlightening food and wine appreciation experience, which was to provide me not only with a much better appreciation of wine and how fine foods can complement wine and bring out its flavours, but also a full stomach that left me with little room for much more.
Esencias Del Gourmet on Calle Mayor.
Wine appreciation experience at Esencias del Gourmet.
Unseen Alcalá – the former women's prison behind the parador.
The entrance to the former women's prison after dark.
Tags: Alcalá de Henares, Ambigú, Archbishop of Toledo, Archbishop's Palace, Birthplace of Cervantes, Cardinal Cisneros, Catherine of Aragon, Christopher Columbus, Ciudades Patrimonio de la Humanidad de España, Colegio de San Ildefonso, Colegio Menor de San Jerónimo, Convento de Santo Tomás, Corral de Comedias, Don Quixote, El Oidor, Esencias Del Gourmet, Ferdinand and Isabella, Interpretation Centre for the Universes of Cervantes, Los Santos Niños, Madrid, Miguel de Cervantes, Parador, Photography, Plademunt, Plaza de Cervantes, Restaurante de Santo Tomás, Restaurante Hostería del Estudiante, Saints Justus and Pastor, Spain, Spain Travel, Spanish Tourism Board, Spanish Tourism Board Singapore, Spanish World Heritage Cities Group, Thai Airways, Torre de Santa María, Torrija, Travel, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Universitas Complutensis, University of Alcalá, University of Compultense, University Town, Visit Spain
Categories : Madrid, Photography, Spain, There are places I remember ..., Travel, UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Strange spaces: the mound of ears
I first caught sight of the Mimizuka (耳塚) in the fading light of dusk. What can best be described as a mound of earth topped with a gorinto – a five-tiered pagoda often used as gravestones; the Mimizuka looked mysterious and curiously out of place against the backdrop of the line of low lying roofs silhouetted against the twilight sky. Surrounded by what largely is a quiet residential neighbourhood in the Higashiyama district of of Kyoto, the mound, I was to discover, stands as a relic of a brutal past.
Translated from Japanese as "Mound of Ears", it is where the remains of tens of thousands of humans are buried. Originally named as the "Mound of Noses" or Hanazuka (鼻塚), the remains it contains are in fact noses – those that were severed from at least 38,000 Koreans killed during the Japanese military expeditions into the peninsula initiated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the 1500s. Preserved in brine and shipped to Japan as trophies, the noses were buried at the location in 1597 during the time of the second invasion of Korea.
It is in an area that is very much associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi that one finds the rather macabre monument, just down the very generously proportioned Shomen-dori (正面通) that runs west from the Toyokuni Jinja (豊国神社), a shrine dedicated to the cruel but much revered daimyo.
The area is also where the grand Hoko-ji (方広寺) temple housing the great Buddha of Kyoto was put up by Toyotomi Hideyoshi – intended to rival the Daibutsu, or giant Buddha, of Nara, in scale. Much of the temple, construction of which began in 1586, and its Buddha was destroyed in an earthquake in 1596 and only its bell has survived to this day.
More information can on the little known Mimizuka can be found in a New York Times article written for the 400th anniversary of the mound, Japan, Korea and 1597: A Year That Lives in Infamy as well as in a Wikipedia entry. More on the Hoko-ji, the Toyokuni Jinja and the area can also be found at this site.
Tags: 耳塚, 豊国神社, 鼻塚, Hanazuka, Higashiyama, Hoko-ji, Japan, Japan Travel, Kyoto, Mimitsuka, Mimizuka, Photography, Sacred Spaces, Shomen-dori, Toyokuni Jinja, Toyokuni Shrine, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Travel, War Memorial, 方広寺, 正面通
Categories : Japan, Travel
A life-changing slice of toast
It is going to be hard to look at the humble kaya loti (kaya toast in local speak) in the same way again. Long a breakfast item for the man-on-the-street, it now finds itself elevated into one of two life-changing Singapore experiences for the visitor – thanks to Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2015 in which Singapore tops the list of ten countries to visit next year.
To celebrate the Singapore's elevation to the top of the pile, which in part is due to the fact that Singapore celebrates its 50th anniversary of full independence next year, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) / Lonely Planet decided to bring out the best in kaya – the sweet paste sometimes referred to as "coconut egg jam" made from coconut milk, pandan, sugar and eggs, that can be irresistible on a buttered slice of toast, at a hands-on event at 2am Dessert Bar on Tuesday.
An more creative variation on the kaya toast – a kaya toast cocktail.
There is nothing not to love about kaya toast, which in many ways, is representative of what Singapore is as a country – the fusion of many influences and one that continues to evolve. Kaya and kaya toast, besides in the many more traditional variations in which one can find it served today, also provides the inspiration for evolving food and beverage creations – two of which came to light at yesterdays event.
Variations on what started out as a humble breakfast dish.
The first, is the creation of the much celebrated pastry chef, Janice Wong, the creative energy behind 2am. Reputed to have herself blindfolded so as not to allow what she creates be influenced by what she sees, Janice gave an introduction to "Shades of Green" – a dessert in which flavours many who have grown up in Singapore would quite easily identify with are reinterpreted. The dessert, which I got an opportunity to try assembling, discharging a spray of coco-mousse into two unfortunate participants in the process; features a custard of pandan flavoured palm sugar (gula melaka) is combined with gula melaka ice cream, coco-mousse, pistachio sponge and pistachio crumble, and is topped with a kuih bang kit meringue.
Janice Wong of 2am Dessert Bar.
Shades of Green.
Shades of Green was quickly followed by more shades of green in the form of a kaya-making demo, after which came what to me was the highlight – putting together a kaya-toast cocktail conceived by cocktail bar Bitters and Love. A combination of rum, lemon juice, sugar, honey, peach liqueur, egg white and a dash of kaya, it does put an interesting twist on the lori kaya.
The ingredients of traditional kaya.
Putting a new twist both on Singapore and kaya loti, is Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2015. Of Singapore, Lonely Planet has this to say: "As one of the world's most multi-cultural cities, Singapore is always celebrating something. But Asia's smallest state has an extra reason to put on her party hat in 2015 for it's golden jubilee". There is indeed much to celebrate in the cultural crossroads that is Singapore. While the city-state's rapid modernisation, in which it has discarded too much of its fascinating past, has shifted emphasis on the development of mega-attractions and the staging of gala-events; there is that curious mix of age-old traditions and architecture with the ultra-modern that does makes Singapore, where the Lonely Planet says answering the door in one's underwear is a no-no, a country one just has to visit.
Lonely Planet's Sales and Marketing Director Chris Zeiher at 2am.
Along with Singapore, the countries in the top ten for 2015 are Namibia, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Ireland, Republic of Congo, Serbia, The Philippines, St Lucia and Morocco. Lonely Planet draws recommendations for Best in Travel from hundreds of ideas submitted by Lonely Planet's staff, authors, and extended family of travellers, bloggers and tweeters. The suggestions are refined by a panel of in-house travel experts based on topicality, excitement, value and that special X-factor. More information on Best of Travel can be found at Lonely Planet's website.
Tags: 2am Dessert Bar, Biscuit Shops, Janice Wong, Kaya Toast, Kaya Toast Cocktail, Lonely Planet, Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2015, Shades of Green, Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board, Top 10 Countries to Visit, Travel
Categories : Events, Singapore, Travel
Magical Landscapes: Spain, north of the plain
A view from the backseat of a car of the landscape in the plains of the far north of Castile and León. The photograph was taken on a road trip around the north of Spain in late October 2011. The region is where some of the well-trodden pilgrim pathways of El Camino de Santiago – the UNESCO World Heritage listed ancient pilgrimage routes of the Way of St. James, passes through, taking pilgrims on journey that is blessed with some truly magical landscapes as well as places en route that are a joy to discover.
The pilgrimage, which dates back to 9th century A.D. sees pilgrims walking hundreds of kilometres (some routes do involve distances of as much as a thousand kilometres) along several routes leading to the sacred destination of Santiago de Compostela in the far northwest of Spain, the shortest of which is just over a hundred kilometres to venerate St. James (Santiago in Spanish) the Great – one of the twelve apostles. It is in a crypt in the city's cathedral, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, that what is believed to be the relics of the saint, is housed.
Tags: Castile and León, Landscapes, Magical Places, Northern Spain, Photography, Spain, Spain Travel, Travel
Categories : Castile and León, Magical Landscapes, Photography Series, Quiet Moments, Road Journeys, Spain, Travel
My Shanghai Story: marketplace Shanghai
I would probably be the last person to admit this, but hitting the places to shop at was one of several things that I did thoroughly enjoy about my recent visit to Shanghai.
Shanghai's does offer a wealth of opportunities for retail therapy …
Shanghai does have some wonderful places to satisfy that urge to spend that Yuan in. And like me, if parting with the wad of currency notes isn't as therapeutic as it might be for one of my blogger friends who was on the trip who did seek to fill that excess volume she did ensure she had in her choice of luggage; there are several destinations in the busy city's retail scene that are worth a look at just for the opportunity they present to discover the Shanghai that lies behind the glossy veneer that the now ultramodern metropolis seems to want to wear.
… that goes beyond the glossy veneer of the modern metropolis that it does seem to want to wear (photograph is of the brightly lit and trendy Nanjing Road).
The bold excitement that the bright lights of Nanjing Road offers is a good place as any to start with for the would be shopper. While the experience provided by many of the shops along the famous street is perhaps replicated in many other Chinese cities, a stroll down Nanjing Road does provide the feel of what the Chinese idiom 人山人海 (literally mountains of people, sea of people) seems to well describe.
The modern experience of Nanjing Road and the sea of people.
There is also that huge and rather interesting food hall on Nanjing Road to wander into, the Shanghai First Foodmall (photographs). With its four floors of nothing but food ranging from snacks, traditional dried foods, and some quite exotic looking foodstuff, it certainly is worth a peek into.
Dried pieces of pork include rather bizarre looking pig heads at the Shanghai First Foodmall.
The bazaars, such as the one by Yu Garden (photographs), are for me also worth wandering through, not so much for the shopping experience, but more for the life provided by the crowds of out-of-town folk who descend on it, as it is for the colour and sometimes bizarre sights that they do tend to provide.
Decorative items at a street bazaar.
Two places that did thoroughly fascinate me, within a stone's throw of each other and in the heart of the city not far from Yu Garden, were the Dongtai Road Antiques Market and the Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Market. It is in the rough-and-tumble of places such as these that I often find myself in on the road, seeking to discover a feel for a place beyond its main tourist sights, although admittedly, the two, especially the antiques market, does seem to wear a somewhat touristy face.
An antique reflected off an antique mirror in the sea of antiques at Dongtai Road Antiques Market.
Dongtai Road Antiques Market (photographs), which sadly would not be around the next time I visit Shanghai – it will, I am told, be a victim of urbanisation and will make way for the next phase of the Xintiandi (新天地) development in July this year, is probably where you might find more junk and souvenirs rather than antiques. A walk by the market's two streets centered on the crossroads of Dongtai and Liuhekou Road and lined with makeshift stalls with shops in the back, takes one past piles of old and mostly unserviceable goods such as tattered pieces of luggage, cameras, music instruments, sporting goods, implements in all shapes and sizes, dolls with western features, Mao and Soviet era memorabilia, along with replicas of terracotta warriors, tee-shirts, and other souvenir items.
Time is ticking on Dongtai Road Antiques Market – it will soon be a victim of urbanisation.
It is across Xizhang South Road, which runs perpendicular to Liuhekou Road, that one is greeted not so much by the melody of birds, but by a cacophony of crickets. The huge fighting crickets, kept in baskets of woven rattan or plastic mesh, and also in clear containers of plastic, is one of several fascinating offerings of the Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Market (photographs).
Baskets containing fighting crickets at the Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Market.
The market, possibly one of the last such markets in the city, also offers a range of other items as its mouthful of a name does suggest and strolling through its narrow passageways that takes one well away from the Shanghai that never seems to slow down.
Birds on sale.
My Shanghai Adventure was made possible by Spring Airlines, China's first Low Cost Carrier. Flights from Singapore to Shanghai were launched on 25 April 2014 . More information can be found on Spring Airline's website. Do also look out for Spring's special deals which are regularly posted on their website and also on their Facebook Page.
Previous My Shanghai Story posts:
Shanghai's many shades of green
Contrasting escapes from the tempests in teapots and more
Dongtai Road Antiques Market
Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Market
Nanjing Road and the Shanghai First Foodmall
Bazaars near Yu Yuan
Tags: #shanghaiadventure, #shanghaistory, #springairlines, #springjustify, Bazaars, China, Dongtai Road Antiques Market, Flower Bird Fish and Insect Market, Markets, My Shanghai Story, Nanjing Road, Photography, Retail Therapy, Shanghai, Shanghai Adventure, Shanghai First Foodmall, Shopping, Spring Airlines, Travel
Categories : China, My Shanghai Story, Shanghai, Travel