Mysteries of the Orient: Hong Kong construction (even big buildings) uses bamboo scaffolding. The left end of that "bridge" doesn't reach the other side of the street.
Trees in Kowloon Park
View from our hotel (Salisbury YMCA): Star Ferry terminal and Victoria Harbor
Harbor view
High-rises everywhere. These were surrounding a Taoist temple.
Wong Tai Sin Temple
Temple action. Buying worship supplies.
Incense for gods and ancestors
Offerings include oranges and a whole chicken.
Temple detail
On to Singapore, where a shortage of rooms drove us to this (air-conditioned!) closet in a 4-story walk-up.
View from back of walkup hotel in Little India, Singapore
Colonial architecture
Cannonball tree
Orchid Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens
One of Singapore's bigger mosques
Fabric in the Arab district
Raffles Hotel, where the colonials unwound
Shophouses, Chinatown
Brand new Buddhist temple
Hindu temple -- in Chinatown
In the middle of Chinatown, every other store is a bridal shop.
Kate gets reflexology massage -- hmmm (you missed the part where he does my feet)
Arriving at the jetty for the riverboat trip to Taman Negara National Park
Gringos waiting for the boat to Taman Negara ("Taman Negara" means "National Park" in Malay)
Heading up river to the park
River traffic
Dogs--an unusual sight in Malaysia where they are considered unclean
Casting nets
Monitor lizard in roof at resort
Canopy from below
Up to the forest-canopy walk
Lianas (Tarzan vines)
Wild pig rooting up close
Back end of wild pig
Our guide in abandoned Orang Asli encampment
Orang asli camp
Bamboo
Something sharp and no doubt poisonous
Wild ginger leaf
Mutiara Resort cabins, Taman Negara
Heading out to swim in new sarong
Up another river
Gringos go swimming
Sabri, our guide
Outdoor dining hall
The locals
Down river took an hour less than up.
Train station restaurant
Train station cook
Steve from Courtney, BC
Germans birding from the train platform
Northbound on the Jungle Train
Train shot: Campaigning in the jungle.
Train shot: The Batu Caves are around here somewhere.
Kota Bharu ("KB", the home of PAS, the Malay Muslim party)
Electioneering for UMNO, the ruling Malay party (who got shocked in the election held the day after this phote)
Hand-painted batiks and Sponge Bob
PAS (Islamic) party banners (they won in KB)
Guidebook overload
Yet another colonial house that belonged to some important person
You do a double take the first time you see it, but you get used to it.
In the shop of the batik artist
Craft center, KB
KB market -- with durian
Leaving on the Firefly
In Penang: another hotel view -- lots of shop houses
Streets of Penang
Chinese clan association house
Well, you never buy just one, do you?
Afternoon squall
Batik factory. One method: hand painting
Wood blocks for applying wax (block batik)
Applying a block
Handy story where you can purchase
Batik painting
The beach -- at last!
Bridal couple takes a dip in the South China Sea for the wedding album.
Yup, sure looks like sand.
Afternoon rain, right on time.
Sunrise at Kek Lok Si Temple (Chinese Buddhist) -- "largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia"
Climbing to the temple, a moat of turtles
Avalokitesvara, AKA Kuan Yin
Temple guarded by Chinese astrology characters
Monkey
Snake
Disney
The Greatly Compassionate Kuan Yin Bodisattva's sagely Statue.
Kuan Yin gets a little work done.
The monastery
Bench ends available for purchase (if you can figure out how to cart them down the mountain)
Koi
Heading up Penang Hill via funicular railway
You are now 250 meters above sea level
You are now 400 meters above sea level. Change trains, please.
550 meters, and climbing
650 meters. You could have taken the stairs.
700 meters
Ah, view of Penang from 821 meters higher, and 10 degrees cooler. No wonder the Brits built a hill station here.
Have your photo taken with a very large snake.
Family outing to the top of the hill
After the rain
Air-con control
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, now a B&B (take the tour at http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/)
Street cats
Love Lane
Sign painter had a special deal on quotation marks
Our favorite Indian restaurant
No dogs or durians in the elvator
The Eastern & Oriental Hotel, another great colonial vestige. Don't miss the buffet lunch.
A satisfied diner
Farewell to Penang
We haven't mentioned these before but we felt we needed to document them
Back in Hong Kong, view from dim sum restaurant
Hong Kong Cultural Center
