JBR(3)(a) – HKT Day 1: Phuket Town

Immediately after dumping our stuff at the hotel, we drove to Phuket town for a walkabout based on the heritage trial drawn up in the Phuket Town Treasure Map.

Muang Phuket is the capital of Phuket and has a rich Sino-Chinese heritage thanks to the influx of Chinese immigrants during its tin mining hey days. The visible impact of these migrants are the town’s architecture and its Peranakan community.

The map taught us that the design of the Sino-Chinese shop fronts are meant to resemble a dragon’s face. The door is the mouth/nose, the side windows are the eyes, and the alcoves above the windows are the eyebrows.

Crazy craftsmanship on display.

One of the best lanes we walked along was Soi Romanee.

Buildings in this lane have been especially spruced up by the local council as part of the town’s ongoing efforts to attract more tourists.

Most have been converted into chic eateries and watering holes.

Our final stop was Rang Hill where we admired panoramic views of Phuket town and the coast.

Self-drive holiday going well so far.

Gawai Weekend 1 – Hong San Si Temple

Another long weekend meant another chance to go shoot some pictures!

The aunty caretaker that I spoke to was pleasantly surprised that a young person like me would take interest in the temple, especially when she found out that I was local and not a Buddhist. Well, I think heritage buildings are intriguing and have bags’ load more character than those glass pillars you see shooting up in our city nowadays. It’s just shameful that the Government thinks old buildings = yucky and have no qualms tearing them down to make way for ‘development’. A state which focuses on tourism to bring in big bucks should surely realise that kwailos don’t come here to look at your glass mushrooms?

Anyway, back to Hong San Si Temple. From what little information I could gather online, it is a temple for the Hokkien clan and the main deity is Kong Teck Choon Ong, a boy genius. The present day structure was built in 2003 but a temple has always stood on that site since 1848. There is a story about how the temple came to be built there, which I read on one of the signs in the temple compound. Apparently, one fine day Rajah Brooke saw a little boy with a water spout. But just as the Rajah approached to take a closer look at him, he vanished. The Hokkiens believed that the boy was the manifestation of Kong Teck Choon Ong, and so a temple was built at the spot of his appearance. And that’s about all my goldfish memory could remember.

Hong San Si Temple

What to do during your lunch break

Go shooting around Kuching Waterfront.:-P I’ve to admit that it was thanks to Ms Lee that we ended up going at all. She wouldn’t hear of all my excuses about the heat, the sun….. . And that’s how I ended up these shots:

Waterfront 2

Photography 101 – Kuching Airport

Solo photo shoot, since I happened to be there at the right time.

Kuching International Airport