Sigiriya - Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Rock - an amazing ancient rock fortress that sits on a rock structure that juts out 200m above the surrounding jungles. To get to the top of the rock, it took us slightly more than half an hour to walk up 1200 steps to reach the peak. Not that bad.

As you enter the fortress compound, there is a museum which is worth visiting. You will see some pictures of early excavation and restoration works.

According to Sri Lankan history, Sigiriya Rock was selected by King Kasyapa as his new capital where he built a palace on top of this rock. After the King Kasyapa's death, the place was abandoned and was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

This is where our journey of 1200 steps begins. Steps and steps.....

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

More steps !!

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

Finally we reached the lion's gate where the 2 lion paws remain.... another flight of steps to go.

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

The second part of the walk was a bit scary for me. I had to keep my camera in my backpack so that I have both hands to hang on tightly to the metal railing.

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

After getting out of this spiral staircase, we got to see some remnants of frescoes which covered most part of the rock in ancient times. No photos were allowed here.

 The view at the peak is amazing. No wonder King Kasyapa chose this site for his palace.

Sigiriya Lion Rock -Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

Sigiriya Lion Rock - Sri Lanka

We spent quite an amount of time exploring the ruins at the peak of the Lion Rock and enjoying the view. All in we spent 4 hours visiting Sigiriya Rock, including 1 hour visiting the museum.

Anuradhapura - Sri Lanka

I have always thought that Sri Lanka was a Hindu country until my recent trip. I discovered that between 50-60% of its population are Buddhist. And Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist history with many historical monuments built during the ancient civilisation and still considered sacred by many Buddhists today.

The first site we visited was the sacred world heritage city Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura was once the ancient capital of Sri Lanka . Famous for its well preserved ruins of ancient Sri Lanka, it is a Unesco World Heritage site.

Our first stop to Anuradhapura was to see Mirisawatiya Dagoba or stupa. The stupa or dagoba as it is commonly known in Sri Lanka is bell-shaped unlike those found in other Buddhist countries such as Mynmar, Thailand or Tibet.

Mirisawatiya Dagoba - Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Next was to Isurumuni temple.

Reclining Buddha in Isurumuni - Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

The caretaker of Isurumuni cave temple, a 17 year old monk, explained that if the toes of the reclining Buddha are not placed at the same height, the statue depicts Buddha's death.

Isurumnuni

A short walk up the Isurumuni cave temple lead us to this beautiful view.

View on top of Isurumuni cave temple

We managed to catch the sunset after visiting the cave temple.

Sunset near Isurumuni cave temple

We visited Ruwanwelisaya the day after the flower offering festival.

Ruwanwelisaya, Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

A black -faced monkey eating the flowers offered for prayer.

Ruwanelisaya - Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Ruwanwelisaya, Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 BC and is said to be a branch from the Bodhi tree in Gaya under which Buddha attained ennlightenment. Here you can see that extra care is being taken to support the branches of the tree so that they don't fall on the roof of the prayer hall next to it.

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

The next 2 dagoba that we visited, Jetavanaramaya and Abhayagiri are huge and made with baked red bricks. Jetavanaramaya was once the tallest structure in the ancient world. Look at how small we are compared to this huge dagoba!

Jetavanarayama, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Abhayagiri was once a major monastery which housed 5000 monks. Restoration of Abhayagiri commenced in 1997 and it took 15 years and 2,833,431 pieces of red bricks to restore Abhayagiri to its current look.

Abhayagiri, Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

The stone canoe of 19m in length was made with a single piece of stone  and has the capacity to fill over 5,000 alm bowls. A sun-dial, kitchen , storeroom and undergound conduits supplying water to the main building are also visible.

Main refectory - Abhayagiri, Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

19 meter stone canoe - Abhayagiri Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Ratnaprasada (7-10 century AD) was once a "'skyscraper where the monks of Abhayagiri congregated and confessed and rectified their mistakes (Some thing like confessions by the Catholics).

Ratnaprasada - Anuradhapura Sri Lanka 

Guardstone - Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Moonstone - Anuradhapura

The ancient city of Anuradhapura is really huge and would probably take an entire day to visit all the sites. There is an entrance fee of USD25 for tourist. Expensive fees but worth the visit.

Sasaran - Mirror Lake in Malaysia

Travelling to Bolivia to see Salar de Uyuni has been on my wish list for some time now. Due to the distance and the cost, I have not been able to make this dream come true.

However recently, I got to know of this unnamed island near Sasaran which also gives the mirror effect just like the salt lake in Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

The journey to Sasaran takes about an hour if you are driving from Kuala Lumpur / Petaling Jaya. From Jeram jetty, it is another 30 min boat ride to reach this unnamed island in the middle of the Straits of Malacca. This mysterious island is only visible during low tide. Hence you can only visit this place a few days before and after the 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar.

On a wet rainy morning, there was cloud and no blue sky. Nonetheless, the view was still amazing.

The boys look like they are going on a duel. On the count of 3.... shoot!

We found plenty of shell creatures on the island among other is this huge mantis.

After visiting the mysterious island, our boat took us to Pulau Angsa for a short break while waiting for the tide to rise.

Our guide told us that these cement structures were the foundations of a holiday home for the Sultan (not sure which Sultan though). Construction was abandoned after a huge fire burned down the place.

The cement structure on Pulau Angsa is now home to barnacles and oyster.

Fresh yummy oysters from the sea.

The remains of the wooden structure (on the right) is now being used as a make shift toilet for visitors to the mirror lake. The rock formation with different lines and colours formed over the years makes a good backdrop for photography.

I could help playing with the bokeh effect of my Nikon 50mm portrait lense.

On the way back from the jetty, we saw this strange fruit. Looks like persimmons... hmm didn't know that persimmons can grow in Malaysia.

Will go back to Sasaran again on a hot sunny day to see the reflection of the clear blue sky.

Revisiting Bhutan

Revisiting Bhutan again in a less than 1 year since my last trip has to be the craziest thing that I have ever done since I started travelling. Ever since I returned from my first visit, I felt that I left my heart in Bhutan. Life has not been the same with my heart in a far far away land. So finally I am back in Bhutan again after only a gap of 11 months.

The “magical” feeling I felt in my first visit was missing as I step out of our Bhutan Airlines flight this time. But the fresh air and the green mountains is still a welcoming sight. The blue sky which I saw in October last year was also missing.

Paro international airport, Bhutan

I was in Bhutan during their Blessed Rainy Day festival.  There were plenty of clouds in the sky and we were caught in a bit of rain. Nevertheless, with the rain came the beautiful rain.

Rainbow at Wangdicholing Resort, Bumthang

In this trip, we went as far as Bumthang in Central Bhutan. The journey to Bumthang was long and challenging. Road widening works was in progress and the rain brought down a lot of soil and rocks from the mountains. We spent 2 full days travelling to and fro from Bumthang. In Bumthang, we visited a few monastery including the famous Kurjey Lakhang where Padmasambhava was said to have subdued a local demon and left his body imprint on a rock.

Kurjey Lakhang, Bumthang Bhutan

Due to the long journey, we only had a short picture stop in Phobjikha Valley.

Gangtey Monastery, Phobjikha Bhutan

We had several opportunities to meet the locals young and old alike throughout this trip. The older ones were curious looking at our cameras and my selfie stick and couldn’t resist taking pictures with us too.

Getting to know the friendly Bhutanese people

Bhutan is really a country with plenty of wild flowers. While we didn’t get to see any rhododendron, I can imagine how beautiful the hills will be when they are covered with rhododendrons of various colours in spring.

Wild flower blooming all over in Bhutan 

Amongst all the dzongs that I’ve visited in Bhutan, my favourite is still the Punakha Dzong. One day I would love to come back again to see the beautiful jacaranda blooming.

Punakha Dzong, Punakha Bhutan

It was also in Punakha that I met my previous guide Sonam Phuntsho again. It was such a coincidence that we were staying in the same hotel. Frankly, that hotel wasn’t our first choice of lodging but having our path cross there is what the Bhutanese call “fate”.

We went up to Tiger Nest on our last day in Bhutan. As we were approaching Tiger Nest, I finally found my Bhutan “magic” again.  The sight of Tiger Nest perched on the edge of the cliff is still so mesmerizing and magical to me! I spent some time admiring Tiger Nest while listening to some Bhutanese songs. It was indeed a wonderful and magical feeling!

Takshang Monastery or Tiger Nest, Paro Bhutan

I got to see a different side of Bhutan in this 2^nd trip. Instead of being purely a tourist, I had many opportunities to interact with the local people (with the help of my guide, of course!). We went for walks and bought fresh fruit such as apples and persimmons from the local roadside vendors. We even plucked apples from a local farm J.  As September is the month of festivals in Bhutan, we also had the opportunity to attend the Wangdue Tshechu. The friendly locals were out with their colourful kira and gho and it was indeed a beautiful sight watching and taking pictures with them.

Wangdue Tshechu, Wangdue Bhutan

I came back to Bhutan to bring my heart home and I am glad that my heart is home with me now. But I feel closer to Bhutan now than before.  I made friends with some Bhutanese in this trip and they are helping me understand Bhutan more. I also have a few Dzongkha songs to keep me entertained courtesy of our driver Choedra.

To my Bhutanese friends, we will meet again some day. Maybe in 2018 after the road widening works has been completed. Till we meet again.

Falling in Love with Bhutan

Before arriving in Bhutan, all I wanted to see in this mystical country was Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang Monastery, one of Bhutan’s most sacred sites. I was so mesmerised by the way this monastery is precariously perched on the edge of a cliff.

However, my perception of Bhutan changed completely the moment I step out of the plane at Paro international airport.  There was an unexplainable sense of peace and serenity in my heart. The sight of crystal clear water in Paro river and the greenery on the mountains as we were landing were simply breathtaking.

Paro International Airport, Bhutan

Paro, Bhutan

Paro International Airport, Bhutan

Paro Bhutan

We had a funfilled time visiting Paro, Haa Valley, Thimphu, Wangdue Phodrang and Punakha.  Our visit to Tiger’s Nest/Taksang Monastery was on the last day of tour, saving the best for last I guess J

Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan

The journey up to Takshang Monastery was an arduous one. I am glad that our local tour guide insisted that we take the horse up for the first part of the journey. “It’s faster” he said. I couldn’t have made it up if I had hiked up on my own as the air was thin and hence I was easily out of breath!. 

Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang Monastery - horses resting

Steps leading to Tiger's Nest or Taktsang Monastery

Colourful prayer flags leading to Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang Monastery

Upon reaching the top, the view was simply awesome! I was so thrilled to reach the top.

Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang Monastery

Visiting Bhutan has changed my perspective and outlook on some things in life. The world that I live in runs at a much faster pace and is full of many unnecessary things like work stress, traffic jam and politics! I believe every country has its share of problems. But as a tourist, Bhutan seems such a magical country.  So magical that I was already thinking of ways to come back again even before our tour ended.  Though the pace of life in Bhutan may be a lot slower than what I am used to, I couldn’t help falling in love with the country and its people’s simple lives.

Bhutan - local villagers taking a break

Our local tour guide who speaks very good English made us feel very welcomed and was very willing to answer the many questions that this bunch of inquisitive city folks brought up in trying to understand the Bhutanese way of life. 

Through him and our driver, I witnessed a high level of humility hardly seen in many of the countries that I have visited thus far. Both of them will go all the way out to meet our many requests to the extend of helping out in the kitchen to get our food ready. And when food is brought to our table, it is always served with a bow. Is this the norm for Bhutanese or is this special for tourist only? I wouldn't know. But I will find out more when I come again.

    

Bhutan, I miss you and I will be back.