Month: May 2015

Linoleum And Boats

It is very colourful and the old shop houses on the main street seem so full of character. The initial drive through made me think the town is susceptible to floods.

For a small town, it has quite a few shops selling linoleum floor mats (tikar getah) and boats. I remember seeing the same while covering the Great Johor Floods of 2007.

I was partly right. Took a walk around town, spoke to the locals and discovered an interesting fact unbeknown to many outsiders.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f5.6, 1/250 sec.

The Ghost Train

Near Behrang, I saw what looks like the shell of a KTM Class 82 Komuter train cannibalised at its final resting place.

In its short lifetime, similar trains saw repeated overhauling, refurbishment, conversion and lack of spare parts. The relatively young South Africa-manufactured train has a stormy past.

The arrival of KTM Class 92 in 2012 resulted in the retirement of the entire Class 82 fleet to the train’s graveyard.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f10, 1/250 sec.

Hindu Temple Statue Supervising A Chinese Tile Installer

“No, no, no. Don’t leave your tape measure lying about here. Someone may slip on it”, the statue seems to be cautioning the workman.

I was watching the tile layer (or tile setter) for a while, too. Being the occasional DIY enthusiast, I was fascinated by how he so effortlessly cut odd pieces to fit.

The process of cementing and tapping each marble tile is not as easy as it looks. He must apply the correct pressure and tap at the right places to make it stick perfectly and evenly. It is an art.

The Hindu temple in Behrang Ulu is undergoing renovation and an upgrade.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4.5, 1/250 sec.

Sleepy Cat In A Sleepy Town

At the entrance of the town (or village) of Behrang Ulu is a striking green-painted shack. It turned out be a fascinating, old school Malay coffee shop.

A banana fritters hawker nearby told me the kedai kopi is opened only in the morning. I think that cat n the chair likes it that way.

Behrang Ulu is quite unique in that it is not only a multi-racial new village but it also has a town sign written in Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Must come again to have coffee and a chat with the locals.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/250 sec.

Goodbye Tanjung Malim

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and narrative as much as I enjoyed discovering them. The wheels roll on; another town, another adventure on Federal Route 1.

Photographed on the flyover built to circumvent the (previous) railway crossing and new electrified track. As I descend from the flyover into a junction, I will turn left to go north again.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f5, 1/100 sec.