Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The site of the Reunification Palace (or Reunification Hall) has a very long history, starting from the mid 19th century.  It has always been the administrative centre for the region until the end of the Vietnam war in 1975.

This site has marked the end of the Vietnam war when the North Vietnam Army’s tank crashed through the gates.  Until today, they have two tanks in the large front lawn of the grounds facing inwards.

It is an unusual sight as you would expect that any guns would be facing away from the palace.  However it signifies that, with the tanks crashing into the ground and its turret facing inwards, the war ended.

You will probably be able to find many pictures of the Reunification Palace online, displaying the South Vietnam’s President’s office, some replica of the official Mercedes, the east and west dining room setup, the underground chambers and so on.  The building is well maintained and serves as one of the main tourist site.

What I find interesting is actually not the rooms or replicas but the overall fittings.  The building itself is a basic boxy shape but the large number of windows, coupled with “sun shades” are interesting.  A view along the corridor:-

And a closer view of the window architecture.

That’s all for now, more on Saigon … oppss .. Ho Chi Minh City, later.

Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

A visit to Bali will generally entail multiple visits to the many temples on the island.  Each with its own unique story or situation.  Pura Tanah Lot is one of them, situated on the west coast of the island with a dramatic ocean front and with limited access governed by the ocean tide.

Being one of the most visited and probably interesting sites of Bali, the path to the temple is surrounded by shops selling souvenirs, handicrafts and snacks.  There are some interesting items that are quite unique and may be worth sometime to browse through.

It is quite a walk to the temple itself.

Entrance to Pura Tanah Lot

Although we arrived around mid-day with the sun blazing down directly, it didn’t feel that warm due to the sea breeze.  One thing to note that because we were rush for time, we went at mid-day, otherwise for photographers, the best time would be at dusk.

Of course, the most common picture must be taken.  On a search for Tanah Lot online, you will most probably be greeted with this picture, the seemingly “floating” part of the temple.

When I arrived, it was high tide and hence we were not able to walk across to the temple.  Below is an image which may give you an idea of the distance to walk on low tide.

The picture immediately above was taken from the other end of the crescent shaped grounds.  The temple is also known in the past (or is it also in the present) with the abundance of poisonous snakes!  The picture below is a “seemingly” harmless snake that is on it’s way to have itself wrap around tourists for photo taking sessions … which of course, yours truly stayed very VERY far away from.

I would like to suggest that if you ever do go there, bring a bottle of cold water and spend sometime walking around.  Other than the gargoyles (which are everywhere in Bali), there are some very detailed architectural crafts.

Is it time for an EVIL camera?

I find that travelling with a DSLR on short trips has its pros and cons.  Of course, the good thing about it is that it captures a much wider dynamic range for sceneries (well, I am using scenery as a simple word for both street photography and landscape photography), is generally better for low light photography where using a harsh flash may just not be a good thing and the ability for manual controls to sometimes be a little creative.  However, it is also a bane at times as you will need to lug it around with you.

So, the thought of not loosing those advantages whilst travelling seem to lead us to the EVIL cameras.  They are not exactly EVIL, but stands for Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens cameras.  These are the Olympus PEN, Panasonic GF-1/GF-2, Sony NEX and Samsung’s NX-10 cameras.  In fact, some of them even boast the same or even more superior sensors than entry level DSLRs.  However, you do loose some useful buttons for quick setup changes on the cameras with them.

Anyway, now for those who are like me … HERE is a new reason!  Although it is not my preferred travelling destination, but this may happen in various places around the world.  Recently, I was stopped from taking a picture about 50 metres away from the US Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City and I think if I wasn’t using a DSLR, no one would have noticed it anyway!

Or maybe a good compact camera such as the Panasonic LUMIX LX-5 or a Canon S95 would be more convenient?

Taman Ayun Temple, Bali, Indonesia

The royal temple of the Mengwi Empire, known as Taman Ayun (Ahyun) Temple, is located at the Mengwi Village, a few kilometres north of Denpasar.  Generally, tourist will visit this place as it is along the route towards Tanah Lot Temple (more on this later).  It is a beautiful and very well maintained temple that is surrounded by water in a very well “manicured” garden.

The whole garden is surrounded by a moat and you have to cross a very short bridge to get into the outer compound of the temple premises.

You will see prayer offerings all over the temples (in fact all over the whole Bali island!) and even in their cars.

One thing to note, if you are having your menstrual cycle, you should skip visiting Bali temples as all of them will have a similar signage.

The main “gate” into the temple.

An alternative view of the gate.

The actual temple is also surrounded by another smaller moat, which has very calming lotus plants floating in it and with the soft sound of water flowing.

There was a prayer being done for a young boy and I managed to capture him coming down from a prayer platform.  He is such a cute little fella.

It’s not only a beautifully maintained temple, it is also a very calming place even though we were in a rush as we have agreed with our driver on being there for 20 minutes only.  I think it is a place where if you have the time, take a very slow stroll and enjoy the environment.  If thirsty, there are lots of road side stalls selling snacks and drink across the main entrance and … you can bargain with them even for a bottle of mineral water!

Kuta Beach @ Bali, Indonesia

This posting has been long overdue and my apologies to those who wondered why my trip to Bali did not have any news on the famous Kuta Beach.  Well, here it is, although limited.  Kuta Beach as most of us know is kinda synonymous with Bali island.  Most pictures and images in our head of Bali island is of Kuta Beach and I dare say that Kuta Beach is probably more well known than Denpasar!

You can probably read about it from various sources, so I will just give my few cents worth of comments.  The first thing that struck me was that Kuta Beach is very near the main airport and is just a few minutes away.  Hence transportation arranged by the Hotel just seemed very expensive.  If you don’t have much luggage, you can probably literally walk from the airport to Kuta Beach (the southern end).

As I was staying on the southern tip of Kuta Beach, there were less people on the beach and the hotel seem to have an unofficial (or is it official) private beach.  The image of holidaying in the sun was there, especially if you wake up early enough in the morning to go to the beach.

Will update more on other parts of Kuta in another post.  Nearer Hard Rock Hotel and McDonalds, the beach is livelier where you will get locals as well as tourist mingling about with a beer in hand.  Evening soccer by the beach is common, in addition to surfing.

One of my favourite sunset shots on the main stretch of Kuta Beach.  (Note: It is crowded, I just happen to be lucky enough to get a shot where there were only very few people).

And of course the beach buggy …

More on Bali island in the next few weeks … (I hope).

Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia

Uluwatu, one of the favourite tourist destination in Bali is slightly more than an hours drive from the Kuta area.  Usually a destination after the Dreamland Beach.  It is officially known as Pura Luhur Uluwatu or translated to mean approximately “Temple at the rock of divine origin at land’s end” (or something of that nature, my apologies if my translation is wrong).  There is a small entrance fee to this place which guards the island from evil spirit coming in from the South Western seafront.

The pura at the northern end which I did not get to but viewing it alongside a sunset makes a spectacular view. A pre-sunset shot (excuse the reflection of my cheapo filter).  Love the great waves below the cliff.

As we get closer to sunset.

A quiet serene sunset viewing from the southern end of the temple premises.

Before entering the temple premises (not the temple itself as that’s out of bounds unless you are entering to pray), you are asked to put on a bandana like clothe to be tied across your waist.  You will also be warned about the cheeky monkeys who will try to snatch your glasses (it seems that they will return it in exchange for some food) and you will be asked to be careful with your camera as well.

I was late, so I saved Rp70,000 on the “must see” Kecak dance that is done with the sunset in the back-ground.  So, I walked around and the perimeter of the inner pura (temple) is guarded with many gargoyles.

It’s located just south of Dreamland Beach, guarding the island on the Southwestern ocean front.

View Larger Map

Dreamland Beach, Pecatu, Bali, Indonesia

Dreamland Beach, one of the best surfing beaches in Bali, Indonesia is located on the Bukit Peninsula, just slightly south of the famous Jimbaran area.  Jimbaran is probably where most tourist will be brought to for seafood dinner.  The Dreamland Beach is now kinda located within the Pecatu Indah Resort, a development that was initiated by Tommy Suharto, the son of the ex-Indonesian president.

The development is quite ambitious with condominiums, resort homes and a golf course planned.  It recently hosted the Indonesian Womens Open Golf Championship.  Being the largest white sand beach in the Bukit Peninsula, the place has been kinda cordoned off and there is an entrance fee now to get to the beach.  They have even renamed it the “New Kuta Beach”.  Anyway, the development have been going on for 3 or so years and it will be difficult to gauge how well it is going.  A view of the currently “empty” shop lots on the way towards the beach.

The beach itself is lovely where there are quite a number of surfer dudes around …

 

But it is quite quiet there, even on a weekend in the late afternoon.  I was even able to take a picture without people on the beach (although there were quite a few just outside the frame of the picture).

More pictures can be found at my picasaweb album.

It is located on the west of the Bukit Peninsula, south of Kuta.

View Larger Map

GWK Cultural Park, Bali, Indonesia

At the time of posting, the GWK Cultural Park is still being developed and upon completion, it will be spread across 240 hectares (I think this is 2.4M square meters).  It is a privately owned cultural park where private weddings, functions and events can be organized and with a noble complementary intention of ensuring that young Balinese are educated about preserving their cultural heritage.  It is located on the south of Bali island, close to Uluwatu Temple and Dreamland beach.

For those who are curious, GWK stands for Garuda (the mythical bird), Wisnu (the Hindu god) and Kencana.

The whole area is very large and would probably take a couple of hours to walk around and another few hours to attend the many musical performances and dances.  Examples of which includes the Barong dance. Kecak dance, the Rindik music, and of course the traditional Bali greeting through the gamelan music.  You can attend these at the 800 seater amphitheatre.  Entrance fee is Rp50,000 for foreigners and if you are in a rush (like I was), it is definitely not worth while.  However, if you have the time to at least attend some of the cultural shows, it is a bargain as compared to other places where it will cost you more.  Check the daily event schedule before you go.

More pictures can be found at my picasaweb album.

More information can be found at their website.

It is located on the south side of Bali, south of the University (Jimbaran College):-

Songs of the Sea @ Sentosa, Singapore

On my recent trip to Singapore, we decided to not only visit Resorts World Sentosa but also to stay in Sentosa and enjoy some of the activities there.  It has been a very long time since we were there, in fact, so long ago that I don’t even remember when!

Get ready to fall under the spell of a new nightly extravaganza set in the sea. Songs of the Sea brings you a mesmerizing show with a live cast and dramatic effects pyrotechnics, water jets, brilliant lasers, special computer imaging, captivating music and stunning flame bursts. It's a one-of-a-kind entertainment that's not to be missed. Songs of the Sea is an outdoor, rain or shine event.

Tickets to the show cost around SGD10, but there have different types of combo tickets available as well.  The main character is Oscar, a fish.

One thing I don’t understand is that the Princess that they choose, sure doesn’t have the princess regal look at all.  Anyway, didn’t take any pictures of the princess, but there are some others.

Another friendly fish from the cast …

And some fireworks (that at one stage, I thought I burnt my camera’s sensor!).

If you ever visit and intend to take some shots, please bring along a fast lens, use manual focus and try to go early to get a seat in the middle of the stage!  About a 35mm lens (on a full-frame camera may be just enough).  I didn’t have the right stuff with me and didn’t go early (as I really didn’t know what to expect from the show).  Oh, and don’t forget the tripod :P