Weekend in Malacca, Malaysia

What did we do on our recent 4-day weekend?  We took a train to Malacca (in Malaysia) to see the colonial town built by the Portuguese in 1511.  The walkable area is full of shops, museums, churches, and restaurants.  It was a restful three-day, two-night excursion.  If you plan to go by train, we strongly recommend you book Premier Class and wear warm clothing for the extra-cold, air conditioned coach!

Replica of a Portuguese ship, the Flora de la Mar, which is also a maritime museum.

View of our hotel, Casa del Rio, ship/museum and river from the 335-meter high observation tower. 

We saw a variety of lavishly decorated trishaws, all playing VERY loud music as they traveled throughout the town.

For my "Animals in Ruins" series, here is a gigantic, black kitten and two curious tourists in front of St. Paul's church, built in 1521.

Inside the church, I found a breezy spot to cool down next to some eerie headstones from the 1600s.

From St. Paul's Hill, you can enjoy a cool breeze after climbing a multitude of steps. 

Jonker Street is where you can find unique shops, steamed corn on the cob, local restaurants, and foot spas.  (We experienced them all!)

Botanical Gardens

We spent the day at the Singapore Botanical Gardens and saw more varieties of orchids than we ever knew existed!

Musée d'Orsay...In Singapore?

Two years ago we visited Paris on the way back to America from Morocco.  I wanted to see two museums, the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay.  We spent Saturday at the Louvre and planned to visit Orsay on Monday. After taking a bus all over the city, we arrived at the Orsay and walked up to the ticket office to buy our tickets only to find that it was closed on Mondays.

 Luckily, some of the masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay came to the National Museum of Singapore in February for a show called, "Dreams & Reality"!

Paul Cezanne's "The Card Players" was featured on the show's billboard.

Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night Over the Rhone" was a featured piece and looked freshly painted.

Check out this 1950s-era film projector.

 The National Museum of Singapore also has interesting exhibits on Singaporean film, food, fashion, and families.

The museum dates back to 1887 and features a beautiful rotunda.

At the top of the rotunda are interesting stained glass windows.

Maybe this watercolor I recently painted while in Tioman will be on display in the National Museum of Singapore someday!

Tioman Island, Malaysia

It's hard to believe, but our school is on vacation again.  This time to celebrate Chinese New Year.  Since our last holiday was only two weeks prior, we completely forgot to plan for this week off from work.  Some friends from the school recommended a trip to a nearby Malaysian island called Tioman.  So, I went online that night, booked a flight, and reserved a hotel room.  We were lucky that there were seats and rooms available on such short notice.  So off we went!

We boarded a small, propeller plane operated by Berjaya Air.

Our bungalow is nestled between the tropical jungle...

...and the warm South China sea.

Birds like these sang to us every morning and liked to hop around the shoreline.

I was inspired to paint the remarkable scenery.

This long tail macaque is almost cute enough to take home...

...but he also has a wild side!

 There's always time for a good grooming.

Lots of tropical foliage and "candy corn" plants.

 This slithering, green snake reminded us of the island's original residents.

Our hotel, Berjaya Tioman Resort, offered great views of the sea, nearby islands, and the misty jungle.

The sun sets on our last day.

We were sad to end our relaxing week on Tioman Island.  
Now it's back to work...
until our next vacation in March!

Exploring Cambodia

After closing out 2011 in Vietnam, we drove on toward Cambodia where we would ring in 2012.

Tim crosses the border from Vietnam to Cambodia.

The Royal Palace is impressive with its golden roofs and manicured gardens.

I look through the decorative gates of the Royal Palace.

Stupas contain the cremation ashes of royalty.

The Cambodian National Museum has beautiful garden pools and hundreds of stone artifacts.

A cat rests in the nook of a Buddhist shrine in Phnom Penh.

This eerie memorial is filled with skulls of victims from the Killing Fields.

Hay!  It's just another work day for local farmers in Siem Reap.

In Cambodia there are many tasty treats to eat...

...but while in Spider Village, one has to try a tarantula!

At Bayon Temple, we are framed by some of the 13th century reliefs.

On each of the 54 Bayon towers, four faces represent the king blessing the four corners of the kingdom. 

I take a moment to sketch the ancient faces.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a huge moat and has an impressive relief sculpture of the Ramayana which is 12 feet high and over a mile long.

Banteay Srei was constructed in the late 10th century and is reddish-brown.  The sculptures of the Hindu god, Shiva, are extremely detailed.

Local kids play among the ruins.

Lilies of the Nile seem to bloom everywhere in Cambodia.

Pre Rup was the temple where cremations took place.
Like all temples, the steps are uneven and steep!

The preschooler is not impressed by my well-timed leap at Pre Rup.

Ta Prohm was built in the mid-12th century,
and now the massive trees have become part of the temple.

Ta Prohm is also known as the "Tomb Raider" temple
because it was featured in the movie starring Angelina Jolie.
(See this clip, beginning at 4:19 for more details.)