Penang Street Art

I've been extremely busy with my house renovation and decoration lately so I apologize for not being able to keep my blog updated and visit you. Despite my hectic schedule, I managed to take some time off and checked out some of the street murals in the city on this occasion.


This art piece, depicting a real bicycle and two children painted to look as if they are riding on it, is part of the Mirrors George Town street art project designed by international artist Ernest Zacharevic for the George Town Festival 2012.



It has since become a hit with tourists and locals who enjoy posing for pictures with the mural.



As we made our way off Armenian Street into Ah Quee Street, we discovered another cool art piece depicting a boy on a bike.


At a different corner, here's one featuring a boy standing on tiptoes on a chair at Canon Street.



It's really cool to see some people interacting with the artwork and expressing their own creativity.



From the many different murals across the streets to the large-scale depiction of a trishaw rider at Upper Penang road, these new attractions are definitely drawing the crowds.

I find such artwork amazing and inspiring and I think they are a great way to represent the spirit of community and artistic impression in George Town.

Wordless Wednesday

WW - Old Customs House of Venice

Formerly an old customs house, the 17th century Punta della Dogana was redesigned by Japanese architect Tadao Ando to display works owned by French art collector Francois Pinault.



It became accessible to the public in 2009 when the building was reopened as a contemporary art museum.



Sitting atop the building are two Atlases holding up a bronze globe and weather vane representing goddess Fortuna.

Wordless Wednesday

RT/WW - Sensational Santorini

Santorini Island is one of my best vacation moments in Europe and it's probably one of the most beautiful islands I have ever been to. The island was formed out of the lava from the volcanic eruption which occurred thousands of years ago. It's a 45 minute flight from Athens and it's a great destination, especially for honeymooners and couples. Before this, I had no idea what Santorini would be like except the white -washed houses and blue domes perched in sheer cliff sides where I always see on the net.

We visited Oia (pronounced 'eee ya') which was the most photographed village in Santorini. The moment we arrived there, we were greeted by the stunning landscape and the air was extremely refreshing and cool. Life is pretty quiet that we can even hear the gentle breeze blowing around us. Nevertheless, I absolutely love the colourful architecture, the attention to detail and the unique natural beauty. The environment is completely different from anything that we see in other parts of Europe. The locals are friendly, but not all of them speak English and the Greek signs abound everywhere. It's a small island though which makes it easy to get around.

The only thing to be concerned about is that you need to walk up and down the winding, narrow stairs to get anywhere but it was rewarding though as you get to view spectacular sunset and breathtaking scenery. For older couples, I’d recommend not going if you have difficulty navigating the stairs. It’s not a place to take the kids too, as there’s not much entertainment unless you have a kid who truly loves history.

Here are some of my favourite shots for your viewing pleasure. And if you’ve ever seen photos like these, chances you are looking at pictures taken at Santorini.

First Commenter - Mei Teng

WW - Monkey Menace

The sight of monkeys roaming around the residential area had become a common scene in my neighbourhood. They have been emerging from a nearby mangrove forest invading homes, stealing food, snatching clothes from the clothesline and even attacking people. There was one time the creature almost attacked my three year-old daughter and tried to steal food from her. Thankfully I was fast enough to grab my daughter from being viciously attacked by the monkey. I definitely can't leave my doors or windows open, otherwise the primates will ransack the whole place.

The monkeys can be seen pouncing on my neighbour's car and they were even strong enough to pull out the side mirror of the vehicle. I tried to chase them away but the aggressive monkeys refused to leave, ignoring me, so quickly, in order not to be observed I took some shots of them. One of them was glaring, shrieking at me and in minutes they were gone! Luckily it didn’t advance further.

The monkeys enjoyed walking, sitting high on the telephone cables, enjoying a feast of the stolen food, creating havoc. They like flowers too. I've no idea what they do with the flowers.

Last year, the Wildlife Department had employed measures like setting up traps to capture the monkeys and relocating elsewhere. The numbers have decreased and we did not face any problems since then. Unfortunately, we noticed that the monkeys were making an appearance in recent weeks again. I hope the authorities can come up with more effective solutions to tackle the monkey menace here as they are becoming a menace to society.

First Commenter - tigerfish

Wordless Wednesday - Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an

One of the masterpieces that will leave me fascinated during my China travel has got to be the Terracotta Warriors. What struck me most was how huge the archaeological museum was complete with bronze chariots, clay horses, soldiers, generals, weapons and how under explored most of the excavation sites were. That said, what we saw in the museum was only a fraction of the army; there were tons of figures remain buried. In case you don't know, the terracotta warriors are now acknowledged as 8th wonder of the world.

Xian is a 'must see' place, especially if you love Chinese history. I can't help but admire the warriors for their intricate designs and sheer size, they were absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't capture as many outdoor pictures as I would have liked to as the weather wasn't permitting.

Anyway, these amazing relics are divided into 3 pits. Sorry the pictures are quite blurry. The lighting was low and flash photography was strictly forbidden.

It is a belief that these replicas are actual warriors who were buried with their emperor so that they could guard him in his after life.

Each warrior has a different and unique appearance and facial expressions of which no two are exactly the same.

The major excavation pit (Pit 1)

The warriors were originally painted with bright colors, but the colors faded after some time upon contact with the air and light. So the archaeologists have decided not to unearth any more until they find new measures to preserve the color. (Pit 1)

Pit 2: Every piece carefully put together. Many of the statues were destroyed shortly after the emperor's death and have since been restored.

Pit 3: Many of the figures have been restored but are missing heads.

Made a visit to the souvenir shop, where replicas of the soldiers carved from the same material can be purchased. It was truly impossible to get close with the 'actual' warriors, so I captured a bunch of these statues in the souvenir shop. Now that is what I call 'the ultimate satisfaction'.

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Wordless Wednesday - Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

The famous Little Mermaid of Copenhagen inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale is one of Denmark's biggest tourist attractions. Almost everyone who comes to Copenhagen visits the icon. The statue of The Little Mermaid (Den lille havfrue in Danish) which is relatively small in size, sits gracefully on a rock in the Copenhagen harbour at Langelinie. Unfortunately, this charming statue has been vandalized on several occasions but has each time been restored.

Incase if you are travelling to Copenhagen in 2010, please do take note : The Little Mermaid statue will leave the Danish shores for the duration of the Shanghai World Expo 2010 (from May to October).


Many tourists will climb over the rocks to pose beside her for a photograph.

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First Commenter - Sandy Carlson

Wordless Wednesday - Forbidden City

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with the Forbidden City and having to experience the historical significance of Imperial China was simply amazing. The Forbidden City a.k.a Imperial Palace, was the best preserved imperial palace during the last two dynasties (Ming and Qing). It is called the Forbidden City because only the Chinese royalty was allowed to enter the palace. These days, the city is no longer forbidding, but inviting. There are tons of beautiful buildings with fabulous roof architectures decorated with colored paintings of the dragon and phoenix embracing the royal power.

Here are some snippets of my trip.


T­he historic and sprawling complex is mostly p­ain­t­ed in­ just­ t­w­o colors, yellow­ an­d red, w­hich can­ b­e seen­ t­hroug­hout­ t­he cit­y. Red represents happiness, good fortune and wealth whereas yellow is the color of the Imperial.

A pair of Bronze lions, plated with gold. As you can see from the pictures, the­ m­al­e­ l­i­on­ wi­th hi­s ri­ght paw r­e­sti­n­g on­ a bal­l­(a symbol of power)an­d the­ fe­m­al­e­ wi­th he­r­ l­e­ft paw fon­dl­i­n­g a c­ub(the cycle of life).


Golden imperial roofs which symbolized royalty.

In Chinese mythology the dragon is composed of 9 different animals to ward off evil spirits. It also reflects the social status of the building.

Huge stone carving, Hall of Preserved Harmony

The largest stone carving in the Imperial Palace, known as the Dragon walk, is behind the Hall of Preserved Harmony, in the centre of the stairway. It is a huge piece of marble showing 9 dragons toying with pearls, weighing more than 200 tonnes.

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First Commenter-Lina

Wordless Wednesday - Manneken Pis, Brussels

The Manneken Pis, the "little boy of Brussels" is one of the city's most precious icons. As you can see from the above picture, this bronze sculpture of a little boy is gleefully doing what a boy's got to do. On certain occasions, the statue is dressed in different costumes from all over the world, accompanied by brass band music. Unfortunately, there were no such events when I visited the sculpture.

There are several legends explaining the history of the statue. I heard two different theories during my visit. The first legend literally explained that a little boy named Julien from Brussels saved the city from enemy explosive attacks by urinating on the burning fuses, pretty much in the same manner he portrays to this day. Another legend told a story where the little boy was the son of a wealthy merchantman who got lost and was found urinating in a small garden at the time. The Belgian nobelman had then showed his gratitude by giving this sculpture as a gift to the locals. What ever the real legend behind this statue, it’s worth checking it out when visiting Brussels.

Enough said, little Julien.... BIG piss !

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First Commenter