I admit it. This picture was taken a few years ago, but I think I still look vaguely like that. Depends on the day (and the time of day). And today, just before I uploaded this picture, an Indonesian English student told me how much she liked my nose. I heard that a lot in Indonesia. Apparently, a large nose like mine is a good …
Read the full story »CNY Lion Dance #3!! Catching Lucky Oranges at Petronas – Tallest Twin Towers in the World
The Chinese New Year holidays were winding down. It was late afternoon on Chap Goh Mei – the fifteenth and final day of the Spring Festival. A lion dance was scheduled for 5:30 at the Suria KLCC mall, and I decided to go there and combine my 3rd full lion dance with a view of the famous Petronas Twin Towers.
The tallest buildings in the world …
Hunting for LIONS in Malaysia! [The Chinese New Year Acrobatic Lion Dance]
Colorful, exciting, dramatic, funny, suspenseful. What could this be? The newest Pixar film? No, it’s the traditional Lion Dance for Chinese New Year. I really, really wanted to witness an acrobatic lion dance in Malaysia in which the performers leap from high pole to high pole. But, with my talent for missing things, I kept missing lion dances.
Other travelers and tourists told me about the …
Turtle-Warp Speed on the KL Monorail – EXPERIENCE KUALA LUMPUR FROM ABOVE!
I’ve ridden on the Kuala Lumpur LRT and the MRT at Warp Speed. Now it’s time for a ride on the KL Monorail – perhaps at Turtle Speed. Stretching 8.6 kilometers over 11 stations, the KL Monorail takes passengers through the heart of commercial, downtown Kuala Lumpur from KL Sentral through tourist-heavy Bukit Bintang and Chow Kit all the way to the terminal station of …
Revisiting my Childhood at the KL Butterfly Park (Part 2)
In Part 2, I dive back in to the heat of the Butterfly Park armed with a telephoto macros lens. My mission was to capture some close-up video of some of the dozens of species of butterfly fluttering around. In this, I was only partially successful. I blame it on the camera as it falls apart and refuses to either autofocus or even manual focus. …
Revisiting My Childhood at the KL Butterfly Park (Part 1)
I go full-on tourist once again as I visit the Butterfly Park in Kuala Lumpur. It’s kinda like the Bird Park but with 5,000-6,000 fluttery butterflies instead of a couple thousand feathery birds. I collected insects as a boy in Canada (butterflies, moths, beetles, dragonflies, ants, bees, wasps, etc), and I’ve been fascinated by them ever since. So when a Butterfly Park is located just …
Goodbye, Dog! Hello, Pig! Chinese New Year Traditions at Thean Hou Temple
Chinese New Year is the biggest and most lavish holiday event in the Chinese calendar. Families gather at home, at shopping malls, and at temples to celebrate. As a backpacker slash tourist, I chose to visit the inspiring Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur to begin my exploration of the traditions of this important festival.
The six-tiered Thean Hou Temple is dedicated to the goddess Matzu …
Shop Till You Drop at the Megamall – Window Shopping at the Gardens Mall
Shopping and shopping malls have become a big part of Chinese New Year celebrations. The malls organize sophisticated artistic and cultural displays, put on exciting lion dances, and install lavish decorations to attract customers during the biggest holiday of the year.
And it works! Malaysians flock to the malls to enjoy the festive atmosphere (and air conditioning), and I joined them for a stroll through Kuala …
Vlog: A Walk to Dhaka’s Buriganga River (Part 1)
My first vlog from Bangladesh on The Cycling Canadian YouTube channel. In this episode, I walk from my hotel through the bustling city of Dhaka to the Buriganga River. I met lots of people along the way and saw plenty of amazing sights. And the river more than lived up to my expectations with the fascinating boat traffic.