Borobudur

Borobudur.

I was about to write a feature on Borobudur in Indonesia. The 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple ruins with stupas and statues in Magelang, Central Java, is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, and also considered one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. With the historical landmark so near, I can see from my social media timeline, many Malaysians visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site, probably as a bucket list destination.

By a happy coincidence, I gained a recent Instagram follower named @sarasvati_borobudur_hotel. I contacted them and found out the account is run by the management of the hotel. A nice person by the name of Emir responded and a helpful Bambang sent me pics to feature. Touted as a boutique hotel with colonial design, Saraswati Borobudur Hotel offers free wi-fi, an outdoor pool and a restaurant. It also provides bicycle rental and Javanese arts classes. More importantly, it is a short walk or bicycle ride from Candi Borobudur. (see map at MyCen Hotels). I asked Emir if Saraswati is spelled with a V or W. He said they were registered as Saraswati but are in the process of changing to Sarasvati.

Check for low room rates and availability of the Saraswati Borobudur by Agoda or by Booking.com

See the special page on Saraswati Borobudur Hotel for more pics, and to book at http://www.mycen.my/borobudur/

See also: Pop! Hotel Kut Beach Bali.

#borobudur #indonesia #worldheritagesite #travel #hotels

Going Home For Raya

I started on this journey on Federal Route 1 on March 29. I have since covered Rawang, Serendah, Ulu Yam, Rasa, Kuala Kubu, Kerling, Kalumpang, Hulu Bernam, Tanjung Malim, Behrang, Slim River and many tiny places in between.

To tell the story, I visited quaint little towns, rustic villages and wandered through dusty roads and jungle trails. Camped in tents, stayed at dodgy ‘rumah tumpangan’ (lodging houses) but also at comfy hotels, chalets and motels. Met friendly and warm people from all walks of life.

In between, I have also traveled back to my home base in KL several times to replenish and to attend to paying work. Where possible, I try to continue again the next day. Quite tiring but it kept the sense of adventure and exploration fresh in my mind.

I’m going to take a short break to visit the Ramadan bazaars in KL that I love, break fast with friends and make way for the many cars in the upcoming exodus. Will continue with the road trip where I left off after the Hari Raya holidays.

Another reason I need the break is that I must make my new website catch up with the daily pics. Before I can finish adding some of the missing older ones, I ended up acquiring even more new pics and stories to manage.

Nevertheless, the website gives it the much needed interface of systematic sorting, categorization and tagging of subjects befitting an epic travelogue. And unlike Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, topics are easily searchable and there are related links in every article or post.

Look out for more unique images and stories of awesome people, nature, animals, food and places on the route after the break. We’ve only just begun.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/320 sec.

Sungai Bil Waterfalls

The calming sight and soothing sounds of the river belie the ferocious battles that was fought beside it during the Second World War. The road outside was littered with casualties from the British Indian Army attempting to thwart the invasion.

It was on this road that invading Japanese tanks rumbled through in its drive to capture Singapore in the south. This was the old road going north or south until the tolled-Slim River highway was constructed in the 1960s.

74 years later, the actions of the brave men are mostly forgotten or ignored. The river that bore witness remains as stoic as the giant, mossy boulders.

The stoical stance lessens the pain of indignation, I guess. Its banks are now littered with styrofoam boxes from disregardful picnickers.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 50, f22, 1/2 sec.

Wesak Day – Bokeh Paradise

At the Buddhist Maha Vihara Termple in Brickfields is a tent where hundreds of oil lamps are kept lit. It is a photographer’s paradise.

Some newbie photographers think ‘bokeh’ is as simple as an out-of-focus background. It is more than that. It is how the lens render the out-of-focus point(s) of light in relation to the part that is in focus. There is an aesthetic and subjective quality that depend on the lens, aperture and distance.

Here, I manually set the focus of the Sony FE 70-200mm G OSS lens onto the middle row of glass lamps. The blue blobs are daylight from outside and the orange is a monk in saffron robe.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 160, f4, 1/250 sec.

Wesak Day – Eternal Flame

Silhouette of a volunteer topping up the oil lamps. Love how the camera handled the colour balance of warm colors from the flames and cooler bluish daylight seeping through.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/125 sec.