Written by Amber
Monday, 19 November 2007
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Tiger Cave Temple, Krabi, Thailand
When I was 10 years old I would run all the way home from school so that I wouldn't miss the first words in the opening credits of my favourite TV show. I can still remember exactly how they sounded - "In the time before Monkey, primal chaos reigned..."
Monkey was a Japanese production, hilariously dubbed by some wry chaps at the BBC, a version of the Chinese story Journey to the West. The tale of the priest the Chinese call Xuan Zang and the Japanese call Tripitaka, who travelled all the way across China into India to retrieve the sutras for his people, is a very famous one. Tripitaka, convincingly played in Monkey by a female Japanese cosmetics model, was my very first hero.
It's not that I imbibed much of the very fine, practical Buddhist wisdom that the show, though comedic, had to offer. I did, however, develop an enduring affection for Buddhist monks.
When my primary school organised their first fancy dress day I announced breathlessly to my mother that I had to go as Tripitaka. My mother considered this for approximately 1.5 seconds before gathering together a house-fly costume, a creation that involved wearing a black leotard and a mask made of kitchen sieves, something she'd come up with for my little sister years earlier. I spent many an hour wistfully gazing at Tripitaka's slipper-booted feet, leggings and little pointy braided hat.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 |
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Written by Doug
Saturday, 17 November 2007
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Koh Phi Phi Stone
The Phi Phi islands are the most beautiful I've ever seen, but it's a beauty that's only skin deep.
These jewels of the Andaman Sea are like peaks of drowned mountains and although bathed by warm azure waters and clothed in the emerald shades of tropical foliage, the hearts of these islands are as hard and ungiving as if they were the peaks of mountains that rise above the snow line.
Looking at these photographs, you might think I'm crazy, but it's true.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 |
Written by Amber
Thursday, 08 November 2007
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Confessions of an Otaku
I'm an addict and I know it.
This blog is about travel and following dreams, right?
Well, I fall right into dreamland every time I travel to the Hong Kong Video store in the Komtar shopping mall here in Penang.
I waft contemptuously past all the "burned while you wait, latest and greatest, still at the cinemas" movie shops that crowd the second floor. Entering Nirvana, I gaze rapturously upon the sumptuous artwork of the original box sets shelved within, bathing my consciousness in the sacred price tags.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 |
Written by Doug
Tuesday, 06 November 2007
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White Houses
A new theme began for us in the Cameron Highlands. That of the White House.
The one in the picture at left is Hillview Inn in Tanah Rata - it's a wonderful place to stay. The home's Indian owners were kind and hospitable and had filled the place with furniture that made me feel as if I was eight years old and staying at my grandparents house. Which was a bit odd. Especially since the lady of the house continually put me in mind of my Aunty Betty! It was a wonderful place and at twenty-five Oz dollars a night for a room with two balconies, high ceilings and a bathroom with hot water it was bargain. Sheer luxury after the hut at Taman Negara...
Next stop: Ipoh. Our guide book (which has proved not that accurate for Malaysia) told us that decent budget accommodation was scarce in Ipoh and suggested a few mid-range hotels instead. We opted for The Station Hotel, mainly because it was within back-packing distance of the bus station. The owners of the place have renamed it the Majestic Station Hotel and it sure knocked our eyes out when we turned the corner. Check it out...
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Last Updated on Monday, 20 September 2010 |
Written by Amber
Sunday, 28 October 2007
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Down the Gurgler
I've done a little complaining about bugs in recent posts but in retrospect, leeches and mosquitoes really aren't the most worrisome bugs around. By the time we'd dragged ourselves away from the lovely Cameron Highlands to Ipoh I'd come down with a cold, a real nasty phlegmy one that had me hacking and sniffling and miserable for a week.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 |
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