272 Steps to Batu Caves Posted by Purple Ink , Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 1:50 AM, in Purple Tags: 272 steps, Batu Caves, Hindu Shrine, Hinduism, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, memory lane, Mohandas Gandhi, Papparazzi Friday, religion, spelunking, truth

Remembering Malaysia:


Another humongous Buddha? I thought it was actually, but no! That gigantic gold-plated statue guarding the Batu Caves is Lord Murugan, a Hindu deity. He is known as Hindu's god of war. This cave, located at the outskirts of Malaysia, is a very popular Hindu shrine outside India. Most tourists include this in their itinerary.So we made sure that we never missed it!

Batu Caves is a series of caves made of limestone crafted by nature. Inside were Hindu shrines, paintings and statutes. What made it more intriguing is that you need to climb 272 steps before you can view such wonder of nature.

Before we went to Genting Highlands, we dropped by Batu Caves on a very hot April morning. We traveled by train about eight miles north of Kuala Lumpur. We were eight in the group and only four of us dared to climb up the 272 steps to see what's inside one of the Batu Caves.

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A Stitch Encounter Posted by Purple Ink , Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 7:10 AM, in Purple Tags: Disneyland, honeymoon destination, Hong Kong, memory lane, Papparazzi Friday, Stitch Encounter, Stitch Live

Remembering Hong Kong:

Two days after my wedding we boarded on a plane bound to Hong Kong as our honeymoon destination. Back in the days when love was still a fairytale, we visited Hong Kong Disneyland and there we promised each other that we'll start a new beginning together.

One of the most significant part of my Disneyland Experience was the Stitch Encounter. An interactive show where you can talk to Stitch. Such technology is an example of digital puppetry that consists of real-time animation and conversation with the audience. The story of this mischievous alien is that he stole a space craft from his mortal enemy, Captain Gantu and cruised at the outer space (without Lilo knowing it) to meet new friends and have fun with them. This is where the interaction begins.

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Wat Pho: The Reclining Buddha Posted by Purple Ink , Monday, January 7, 2013 at 10:13 PM, in Purple Tags: buddha, Buddhism, Karma, memory lane, Papparazzi Friday, Reclining Buddha, Thailand, Wat Pho

Remembering Thailand:

The oldest and largest wat in Thailand is found at the Wat Pho Complex where the Reclining Buddha was sheltered.

Phra Buddhasaiyas, the Reclining Buddha, was created with gold plating at approximately 46 meters long and 15 meters high.

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A Thai Folklore: The Selfish Old Man Posted by Purple Ink , at 4:52 AM, in Purple Tags: literary, memory lane, Papparazzi Friday, Poetic Monday, Ratchaburi, Selfishness, Siam Cultural Park, Thai Folklore, Thailand, Wax Museum

Remembering Thailand:

A perfect Sunday morning when my friends and I decided to go to Thailand's floating market as part of our Bangkok experience. Our tour guide/driver offered to take us at the "Wek Museum".

"Wek Museum?!?" We looked at each other thinking what he was talking about.

He brought us at Siam Cultural Park's Wax Museum in Ratchaburi Province. Its an hour long drive from the city capital - Bangkok.

The museum showcased life-sized models of well-known figures in Thailand and Asia. Most of them have prominent connection with the history of Thailand.  Part of the museum also portrays a Thai Folklore: a story of the greedy old man.

So the story started with "Once upon a time..."

 

There was this old man who lives in the jungle. He was poor and lonely. No food to eat, no family to love, no friends to hang out with. (I joined him one Sunday afternoon and tried to have a chitchat with him. Unfortunately, we cannot understand each other because of language barriers...)

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