World Gamelan Festival 2010

I was at the World Gamelan Festival in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, last night.  Gamelan is a traditonal music and dance in Indonesia and Malaysia. Fabulous performance by groups from Malaysia, Indonesia and even Japan. A very entertaining show.

Praying alone

I was travelling in a bus across the Syrian desert. Miles and miles of dry empty space. Than a lone figure standing motionless caught my attention. I took a few shots as we went past the man. There was only about three seconds time gap from time I spot the man and the bus speeding by. Checking the image later, I realised that the man was praying. In Islam, praying is mandatory five times a day. Somehow looking at this image of a man standing motionless alone in a vast dry desert feel surreal.

Rare and exotic fungus

This rare and exotic tropical fungus is commonly called long net stinkhorn, crinoline stinkhorn or veiled lady. It is normally found after an ovenight rain. The scientific name is Phallus indusiatus. The photo is currently licensed for an advertisement on TV in Japan.

Alien mothership

Once in a while you may see rare cloud formation when you look up to the sky. Normally it don't last more than 5 minutes. I saw this "alien mothership" cloud in 1999 and was lucky to have my camera ready to record it. That was the last time I saw that type of cloud formation.

Sulking orangutan

I find it very fascinating on how similar is the emotional expression of orangutan to human being. They can appear to be happy, angry or sad. I caught this one biting its finger - sulking.

Walking speed limit.

In Fremantle, Western Australia, walking too fast may get you in trouble. There is a speed limit of 20 km/h for walking! Just kidding. It is actually a sign at a pedestrian crossing for cars to slow down.

The plane, the plane!

When was the last time you saw a man half buried in sand, watch a plane landing?
I did once. The airport at Kuala Terengganu is right on the beach front. Normally you will see people jogging or swimming while a plane fly past for a landing. As you may ask, why half buried in sand? In this part of the world, it is a common believe that burying in salty sand is a therapy for stroke victim. There are stories about stroke victims who are be able to walk again after a few sessions.

Due to recent airport expansion out to the sea, the beach is no longer there. It will take a while before I can see a man half buried in sand watching a plane landing.

The image was published in a book.