Monkey Monkey

Missing Malaysia these days… I wonder if it’s cos I’m still cold from winter and I’m longing for those languid 35 degree days in the jungle…

Big Buddha

Isn’t it ironic? Is it? Maybe no. Maybe not at all. Is Orwell even read any more or is he fading into the dimming past? He seems more relevant today than ever before in my lifetime. Though he became so politically incorrect, excoriated by both the left and the right, I enjoyed almost everything he

Traditional business

This is just a small segment of an incredibly detailed porcelain sculpture embedded in the wall outside a Chinese clan business society in Kuala Lumpur. The attention to detail and the intensity of the colours are superb. And it says something about their culture that this has been here for decades at least without being

Buddhist Mystery

It’s late, I’m tired… so something simple. With a tricky question… From a temple in Penang… I walked around this thing a few times. There was no one to ask. What is it? What does it do? Why?

Dream job

This was taken at a Buddhist Temple in Penang. Utterly delightful – the daydreaming Buddha and the young disciple spending his days bathing him. Very mind-clearing, calming. Something so pleasingly simple about it. Simple seems so very pleasing at the moment. Not that my life is all that complicated, but it occurs to me that

Corny Planet Nelson

Was it only yesterday I said I liked outer space and liked putting things there in Photoshop – but they often looked dumb? OK – this is a reach, but I like this one! Apparently Nelson’s is huge in Malaysia and has been expanding world-wide, now with over 800 franchises in Australasia, Europe, Africa and

The Scarlet Ibis

As soon as I saw this scarlet ibis I was reminded of the story by one-hit wonder James Hurst. 7th grade English class. Miss Davis. I remembered it as longer, more involved, but it couldn’t be more than 1000 words. I read it on line tonight as I was working on this. Apparently they are

Fish Spa!

Step right up! You can’t try this at home – unless your home is in Thailand or Malaysia, though I hear the trend is spreading – I found this one in a mall in Kuala Lumpur – but there might be one the mall just down the road from you soon. Yes, I tried it,

Doll’s Shoes

Considered the most beautiful vine in the world (by the people who make such declarations), Thunbergia Mysorensis grows freely in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. I mistook it for an orchid because of the shape of the flowers and its overt come-hither qualities. Forget whether or not we are descended from apes – whoever came

Vindula Erota

Photography has given me a much greater appreciation of this world. Of course this butterfly would be beautiful, regardless of whether or not the observer was photographing her. But having photographed her, I was driven to discovering her name – and what a splendid name. It sounds like a spicy colourful curry one would find