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Category: Shutter
CATurday
If you don’t believe cats have souls, you haven’t looked into their eyes long enough.
Gia Rai Tomb
Gia Rai is one among the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam.
Funeral rites for the Gia Rai people are complex and expensive. Water buffalo and cows are usually offered as sacrifice. They follow a custom that all the people of the same matriarchy family must be buried in the same tomb when they die. Below is a replica of a Gia Rai tomb displayed in the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi.
Thirty dead people can be buried in this tomb. It is also said that the tomb house is for the dead in the afterlife. There are totally 27 carvings surrounding the tomb and the most prominent are carvings of sexually-explicit figures of men and women and children seated in the corners of the tomb house.
The pictures below are some funerary statues displayed inside the museum.
Viewpoint
This is the spot where Moses is believed to have seen the Promised Land thousands of years ago. I was lucky that the weather was great when I visited that I was also able to enjoy a view of the Dead Sea and few other places such as Bethlehem and Jericho.
Street Art – Penang, Malaysia
Apart from food, the street art in George Town in Penang, Malaysia was one of the highlights of my visit back in 2014. Armed with a map for my street art hunt and suggestions from other travelers I’ve met there, I was determined to track down as much as I could. However, on this entry, I’m just sharing my favorites among the many and these are the works of the brilliant Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic.
Today
The view from the office around 9 AM.
The Temple of Hercules
This is the Roman temple located in the Amman Citadel. It is more popularly known as the Temple of Hercules. It’s said to have been built in the same period when the Roman Theater was built between 162-166 AD.
Photo of the Day
A view worthy of the 2-hour hike!
Petra, Jordan
Water Puppet Theater
An outdoor Water Puppet Theater in the Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Ede House
The Ede (or Rade people) is one among the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam.
Below is a photo of a typical Ede House.
This Ede Long House was originally built in 1967 and was reconstructed in the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in 2000. The house reflects many aspects of Ede culture. I learned that Ede families are matriarchal. The head of the family is a woman, children bear their mother’s surname, daughters inherit family assets, the groom moves to his bride’s house after marriage, etc. A new compartment is added every time a girl in the house gets married. It is said that the longer the house, the more prosperous the family is.
An Ede House is divided in two parts: the Gah and the Ok. The Gah, basically the living room, as shown in the photo above, is used for gatherings. Jars and gongs are kept and displayed in this part of the house for the rich Ede families. The Gah occupies around 1/3 to 2/3 of the house and the rest is the Ok, mainly the area for sleeping.
The most interesting part of the house for me are the staircases. For rich families, there are two staircases in front of the house, one for males which are just plain and another for females, where a crescent and female breasts are carved.
Photo of the Day
Enjoying a view of The Treasury from the top of an opposing cliff. It looks rather tiny from up there. 🙂 But awesome nevertheless.
The Treasury, Petra
After a little more than a kilometer walk in The Siq, you will be fascinated by The Treasury — the most iconic sight in Petra. Despite its name, it is believed to be a royal tomb. I find it hard to believe that this carved structure is more than 2000 years old because the design and details are still very well-preserved.
Bench
Perfect spot to rest after a long day exploring Petra.
Photo of the Day
St. Joseph Cathedral, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Photo of the Day
This photo is one of the many homes lining the walls of the canyons in Little Petra. I liked how casually the Bedouin man sits on his spot. I later had a photo of myself there, too. 😊
Photo of the Day
So true!
Saw this in front of Prime & Toast in Al Bida’a. Small but nice place.
Kuan Yin
Happy Thursday!
One of the most amazing things I’ve seen during my trip to Cambodia were the giant trees in the temples. The two photos below are taken from Ta Prohm. There were a lot of giant trees in and out of the temple but I’ll leave you with this one for now. I hope to post more of these huge trees in another entry so watch out for that. 🙂
Happy Thursday, homo sapiens!
Meowday
The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer.
Putra Mosque & Perdana Putra
This is the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia. One of the best mosques I’ve seen there when I visited back in 2014.
Adjacent to the Putra Mosque is the Perdana Putra — the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office.
6:40 A.M. – Kuwait
Rose
“But he who dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.”
– Anne Bronte
Bayon Temple
The Bayon Temple was one of my favorites when I visited the Angkor temples in Cambodia.
It felt surreal exploring this temple while these 200-something faces stare at you, which makes the experience a lot more interesting. 
Halong Bay
Wall Art
“Every now and then one paints a picture that seems to have opened a door and serves as a stepping stone to other things.” – Pablo Picasso
Empty Bench
There’s something about empty benches…
Closed Doors
Some doors are meant to be closed, and when you try to reopen them, you remember why they were closed in the first place.
Afternoon Walk
Date Palm
Kuwait
Empty Bench
Every empty bench has a story…
Pathway
Listening to the audio guide about the sad stories of some Khmer Rouge survivors in this pathway among the trees surrounding the lake was the most heart-breaking part of my visit in the Killing Fields.
It surely takes time to understand it all.
More banana, please!
Stone Face
A couple of giant stone faces in Bayon Temple.
Stone Pathway
The entrance pathway in the main temple of Angkor Wat.
Killing Tree
A Chankiri Tree or Killing Tree was a tree in the Cambodian Killing Fields against which children and infants were smashed because their parents were accused of crimes against the Khmer Rouge.
Hanoi Opera House
One of the beautiful buildings you’ll see in Hanoi.
Bench
This bench is just outside Sabaidee Thai Restaurant in Salmiya. I’ve always liked it and it seems so nice to just sit there with someone and talk a while.
St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Hanoi
It wasn’t just once that I got lost in Hanoi when I was there last May. And every time I got lost, I found something interesting. One of those is the St. Joseph’s Cathedral. 
This is the oldest church in Hanoi and one of the first structures built by the French colonial government. It looks a bit unattractive outside but it’s definitely wow when you go inside. I lost more than a thousand photos of my trip including photos of the church’s interior, sorry about that, but if you happen to visit Hanoi, don’t skip the St. Joseph’s Cathedral. It’s definitely stunning inside!
Red and Green
The Huc Bridge giving a nice contrast to the greens of Hoan Kiem Lake.
HappymessHappiness 