Category: Travel

Taken on vacation trips

Hay

Hay
The recent images by pfong on Western Australia brought back memories of my 2003 trip there…

Farmscapes of hay fields are common for many living in big countries with temperate weather, but are impossible sights in hot and humid Singapore. I have always dreamt of taking pictures of these hay fields especially after seeing the works of others on the Net. This dream was finally answered during my visit to Western Australia in November 2003. Actually, I didn’t really go out in search for such a scene, but just happened to chance upon it while driving through the rural suburbs with my dad. We just had to stop the car and take some pictures! This was taken by the road-side next to an Australian farm.

Leeuwin

Leeuwin
This post is inspired by the wonderful series on lighthouses by my former guestblogger, James Jordan at Points Of Light.

The lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin, Augusta, Western Australia, is situated on the most south-westerly tip of Australia where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. This famous landmark is over 100 years old and remains an important working lightstation. I had the opportunity to visit during my trip to Western Australia in November 2003.

Phra Phai of Wat Arun

Phra Phai of Wat Arun
The pictures I take sometimes stir up retrospective curiousity about the subjects I have taken. Luckily, I usually manage to dig up enough information on the Internet to satisfy the curious streak in me 😛

This was taken in Bangkok during my trip there last month… When I took the picture, it was nothing more than a study of contrast, lighting and architecture to me. Searching on the Internet though, I am made aware that the picture I have taken is that of a Wind God, or Phra Phai residing in one of the four Prangs (Khmer-style tower) that surrounds the central 79-meter high pagoda (Phra Prang) of Wat Arun. Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn, is a 17th-century Siamese temple named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna. The Phra Prang is decorated with a mosaic of multi-colored Chinese porcelain and is symbollic of Mount Meru, the home of the gods in Buddhist mythology. The temple served as a royal temple and palace during the reign of King Taksin (1733-1782 AD). It is currently one of the most well-known landmarks of Bangkok visited frequently by tourists.