Pikachu

No it's not the yellow pocket monster with lightning bolts, but a grey-white cat with stunning yellow eyes. By the way, she's Princess Kiki's tomboyish sister.

Window Sill

A window sill with curved clay bricks used as a decorative element.

Reflection

Hole In the Wall

This photo was taken at a small abandoned house that was left to fall apart. Whether the construction of this small house was actually completed or not is unknown. It has clearly been left on its own for quite some time as the nearby jungle had already closed in on the structure. It was only a matter of time before nature took back the land.

Broken Ladder

Part of a broken ladder found at a rundown building near Puchong, Malaysia.

Blue Payphones

I found this scene rather interesting. I liked the way the bright blue payphones stood out against the other 'earthy' colours.

Tree Moon

Peace

This statue is between 10-15 feet high and stands outside the Dong Zen Monastery. With an expression of calmness and peace, it stands guard facing the entrance of the monastery.

The Bell

A large bell hangs outside the Dong Zen monastery shrine. It has chinese characters inscribed all around it. When I visited the Dong Zen monastery, the bell was sounded by a monk as a sign that it closing time and visitors had to leave.

Princess Kiki (2)

Princess Kiki, the all-white fluffy cat sitting outside my backyard scoping out the surroundings.

Cute

Rusty recently gave birth to three kittens and she brought them over to our house to show us. This photo shows one of them. (It seems that our house has become a post-natal ward for cats).

Sugar Cane

A stack of sugar canes arranged neatly to be used for making sugar cane juice. This photo was captured in Sentul, Selangor, Malaysia.

The Arhat

The Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen monastery is a Buddhist monastery located in Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia. It takes about 40-50 minutes to get there from Petaling Jaya (if travelling by car). The monastery is closed to the general public except during Chinese New Year when the temple grounds is decorated with lanterns and lights and people are invited to visit the monastery.

The photo above is a statue of an Arhat carved out of stone.

Thaipusam

Thaipusam is an annual Hindu festival which draws a very large gathering in multi-racial Malaysia. Several hundred devotees spear their cheeks with long, shiny steel rods and pierce their chests and backs with small, hook-like needles in penance.

Tourists watch in awe as metal pierces the skin with hardly any bleeding and, apparently, no pain as the devotee stands in a trance after weeks of rigorous abstinence.

Over the years, curious British, American and Australian medical experts have come to observe and speculate. Some think the white ash smeared on the body, the juice squeezed from the yellow lime fruit or the milk poured on the pierced areas may help to numb the skin. But most admit they have no answer.

The devotees say it is faith.

"The belief in Lord Murugan is what prevents the pain and the bleeding," says Krishna Vadyar, a priest at the temple which conducts the annual rituals.

There are plenty stories about what Thaipusam is about. Among the most popular is that it commemorates the day Lord Siva's consort, the powerful goddess Parvathi, gives her son, Murugan, the vel (lance) to vanquish three demons and their large army which were plaguing the world.

Thaipusam falls on a full moon day in the auspicious 10th Tamil month of Thai when the constellation of Pusam, the star of well-being, rises over the eastern horizon.

In Kuala Lumpur, the festival is celebrated on a mammoth scale at the Batu Caves temple on the outskirts of the city. It began in 1892, started by early Tamils who migrated to colonial Malaya.

Blur

I was busy translating some text from English to Malay when I flipped to the centre of the dictionary and saw the word "Internet". For some unknown reason, I decided to take a photo of it from an angle. The photo turned out exactly as I had intended, with everything blurred out except the word. Absolutely zero Photoshop involvement (except for creating this JPEG image of course).

Skylights

Photo taken at the car park of Alamanda, Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Time Capsule

This is an abstract view of the "Mercu Tanda" or Putrajaya Landmark. It is located in Putra Perdana Park (which happens to be the highest point in Precinct 1 of Putrajaya, Malaysia). The Putrajaya Landmark symbolises the beginnings of Putrajaya with its time capsule structure. Its design is a combination of a high-technology theme and the use of contemporary and traditional motifs. Plaza Mercu or Landmark Plaza, is landscaped with trees and water fountains; The Perdana Mall are pedestrian walkways linking the Landmark and Entrance Plaza to Cascade Plaza, Fragrant Garden, gazebos and pergolas.

Putra Perdana Park was opened to the public in July 2001. It is located at the highest point in Precinct 1, and spreads over 70 hectres. This unique vantage point makes it one of the best place to enjoy a panoramic view of Putrajaya. It is surrounded by Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah and acts as an intermediator between the natural domains to the North and the Government and Commercial domains to the South and East.

In the Shadow of Trees

National Millenium Monument

This is the Malaysia's National Millenium Monument and is located in Putrajaya, the new Federal Territory of Malaysia. The obelisk-like, amber-coloured monument in Precinct 2 was built as a timeline, marking Malaysia's historical milestones from the formation of the Malacca sultanate, through independence, and to the present day.

Work on the tourist attraction began in July 2002 and was to have been completed a year later. But, the monument was closed soon after its launch on Aug 30, 2003 due to "structural defects and drainage problems". It was reopened in late October 2005.

The 68-metre tall, amber-coloured historical monument in Precinct 2 is uniquely shaped like an obelisk with etchings on the transparent panels along the walkway denoting important periods and milestones in the nation's history. The futuristic-looking structure also resembles a rocket poised for launch.

The overall design of the monument is based on an abstract of the national flower, the hibiscus, while the colour and texture reflect the betel leaf case. Aluminium cladding protects the entire monument. Incribed on the sides of the obelisk are the Rukun Negara (the principles which guide and govern the country).

At night, the monument serves as a beacon with strong light projected at 360 degrees and sweeping lights visible from various locations in Putrajaya. The lights also guide the cruise boats.

Although news reports mentioned cruise boats stopping at the monument, the one cruise boat I saw didn't stop. I saw the same boat cruising back to the dock on its return trip, and it didn't even slow down.

Curves & Lines

Abstract. Curves and Lines.

Alamanda Putrajaya

A park bench in Alamanda Shopping Centre in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The shopping centre itself isn't very big, but almost all the lots are occupied by a variety of businesses ranging from children's wear to camera and electronics stores. Alamanda's primary anchor tenants are Carrefour and Parkson.

Clouds of the Setting Sun

The setting sun casts an orange glow over clouds.

Colourful Textiles

Nilai Square is located in Bandar Nilai and is home to a large number of businesses specialising in textiles. Each of these stores house numerous rows of textiles of varying colours and patterns. Many of these stores have ready-made curtains on show, giving potential buyers ideas for decorating their homes. Prices are very reasonable as well. My wife was so tempted to buy some, but sadly we couldn't remember the measurements we needed.

Fallen

This photo was taken at Air Terjun Sungai Gabai (Gabai River Waterfall). It's a tree that had fallen and was beginning to rot. It was a chance for me to revert to my preferred style of photography and take an artistic shot with a shallow depth of field.

Pink Propellers

Photo taken at Taman Putra Perdana in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

World's Tallest Statue of Lord Murugan

Malaysia's tallest statue of Hindu deity Lord Murugan was unveiled on Sunday, 29th January 2006.

Facts about the statue:

• Height: 42.7 metres.


• Location: Sri Subramaniar Temple at the foot of Batu Caves, Malaysia.


• Cost: 2.5 million Malaysian Ringgit (approximately 9.5 million 670,000 U.S. Dollars).


• Construction: 1,550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars, and 300 litres of gold paint brought in from neighbouring Thailand.


• Duration/Manpower: Fifteen Indian sculptors worked on the project for three years.

It is currently being submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world.



The golden statue of Lord Murugan is positioned next to the 272 steps leading up to the largest cavern in Batu Caves.

Jeram Gading

Jeram Gading (Gading Rapids) is located 23 kilometres outside of Kuala Klawang. It is believed that elephant tusks were found here a long time ago, which led to its name.

There are many large rocks and boulders in the area. It is believed that Jeram Gading used to be a resting area of many ancient Malayan diginitaries who travelled between Jelebu and Pahang.

Mini Loco

Mini locomotive. It's less than 10 feet long and was probably used to park empty carriages or used for railroad track maintenance.

New Kid On The Block

Mama-Cat gave birth to five cute kittens on Boxing Day 2005. And here's one of the scaredy-cats seeing my wife and I for the first time since they were born.