Friday's Newsflash - Big Ben Renamed Elizabeth Tower

It's official! Big Ben will be renamed to Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queen's diamond jubilee, according to the announcement made by the House of Commons Commission. There has been campaign made by lawmakers to change the name of the London's famous landmark in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years of reign in the country. Her Majesty is the second monarch to rule the country for such a long period of time, the first being Queen Victoria. There had been a grand ceremony at the beginning of the month with concerts and festivals gracing the country and the renaming of the tower being the icing on the cake, a fitting tribute.

Big Ben = Elizabeth Tower

The iconic parliament clock tower's official name is not Big Ben but the rather unimaginative Clock Tower. The name 'Big Ben' was a mystery in term of its origins. There are two theories as to why the clock tower came to be known as so, the first and widely accepted being in honour of Benjamin Hall, the engineer whose name was inscribed on the bell, and the second, named after Ben Caunt, a champion heavyweight boxer in the 1850s.

Even with the name change, the affectionate name of Big Ben will continue to stick around.

Borobudur - Sunrise at the top of Borobudur

OK, back to my Semarang trip after a week being dormant...

The magnificent Borobudur

The thing that causes tourists to flock to the town of Magelang has to be Borobudur and Borobudur along for there is nothing much to do comes night. To be fair, we pretty much relied on our feet to carry us around and when the sun set, so too the lives surrounding the UNESCO Heritage Site. Days and nights cannot be anymore contrasting.

Our dinner

Well, much better for us to rest in our comfortable room early in anticipation of tomorrow’s sunrise tour. We woke up at about 4am and by 4.30am, armed with torchlights, we departed the hotel to ascend to the top of the monument.

Poor quality photo but that's the only shot I took...

I thought it might be a big crowd going up but in truth, it was quite a small gathering, which was much better for us to secure a clear spot for the sunrise. We had quite some times to spare before the sun makes its appearance, so I took this opportunity to tour around for a while, pulling off shutterbug stunt, without leaving my spot unattended.

As the sun rises...

The mountains at the background

Alas, the promised sunrise was nothing but an empty word for the clouds and mist obscured the view. The sun finished its performance without much of a hoo hah. However, even without the nature show, we still have a fine time absorbing the rich history of the complex before the arrival of the crowd.

A serene Buddha

In the old day, pilgrims would begin their pilgrimages in Candi Mendut and reach the half point of Candi Pawon before ascending Borobudur. They would be making circles on each of the terraces, slowly making their ways upward to the top of the stupa. They would be absorbing the teachings of Buddha through the reliefs on the walls.

Me at the top of Borobudur (self-portrait is a must, after all)

Well, for us, it was the opposite way. We began our journeys from the top, slowly making our descent to the ground, taking in the engravings which tell the stories of Buddha. Some of the reliefs are in good conditions while some require attentions from the management. Subtle morality tales, all of them are.

Reliefs

We spent a good few hours admiring the beautifully constructed complex, taking photos of every relief came across our visions. When I'm satisfied with the turnout, we went back to the hotel for our free buffet breakfast. A quick resting in our room before bidding goodbyes to the spiritual haven. More photos after the jump...

Friday's Newsflash - George Town Festival is On!

Did you guys know that the George Town Festival 2012 is back? Beginning from 15th June until 15th July 2012, it is a "month long celebration of art, music, theatre, dance opera and film to commemorate George Town's inscription on the UNESCO Heritage listing" which began in 2009, a year after the much-awaited inclusion in 7th July 2008. With the inscription and the festival, George Town has since turned into a vibrant and arty city, attracting crowds from all around the world. 

After a fantastic run last year including the launching of the Marking George Town 2011 (the heritage sculptures I mentioned last week's first Friday's news), theatre show No. 7 (the life story of Cheong Fatt Tze's seventh wife starring Tan Kheng Hua of Phua Chu Kang fame), photography exhibitions and so on, this year, the organiser outdo themselves with a selection of performances and shows of both local and international productions. 


Among the highlight of this year's festival are as followed:

• Silat - Our Heritage of the World (15th - 16th June 2012), a performance which showcases the graceful martial art practised 2000 years ago at the dawn of Malay civilization. 
• Blinded Mind (4th July 2012), a contemporary dance performance by Finnish company.
• The Manganiyar Seduction (6th - 8th July 2012), a unique confluence of traditional Rajasthani music and striking contemporary theatre.
• The Philippine Madrigal Singers (1st - 2nd July 2012), choir shows by one of the most awarded groups in the world.

There are more events being held during this one month and you should go check it out yourself. Even if none of the events interest you, you should take this opportunity to visit the beautiful island of Penang and explore the historic city of George Town.

For more information, go visit the official website here. Did anyone went to the Silat show or any other events? If so, mind sharing your views here?

Friday's Newsflash - Penang's Heritage Sculptures Completion Ahead of Time

From today onwards, I'll start a weekly entry every Fridays on tourism news I read about throughout the whole week and share it here in my blog. I always believe in the notion, good things are meant to be shared, and when it comes to tourism sector, I'll definitely do my part in promoting more people to go travelling, be it local tourism or overseas tourism.

The spotlight for today falls on the news I read last night on The Star about the caricatures graffiti scattering around George Town, Penang, to commemorate the UNESCO heritage listing. I first found out about this heritage project back when I was still doing my first degree in USM and I saw a few of these witty sculptures that had been erected along the streets of Penang.

Where's My Husband? along Love Lane

This "Marking George town" project has a few phases and apparently, it has been going along ahead of its Tscheduled completion date in the first half of 2013. Instead, all the caricatures will be installed at its respective streets by the end of this year. There will be a total of 51 sculptures and to date, 25 had already been set in place. Most of these caricatures depict the daily lifestyles of Penangnites in the past as well as the present. You will be given glimpses of the island's history through these funny, often sarcastic, graffiti.

Here's Kedai Tuak at Market Lane

Personally, I'm amazed of this initiative the State Government had taken to mark the beautiful heritage of Penang. This hipster approach to instil appreciative nature towards heritage as well as contemporary art is innovative idea. We need more awareness towards preserving our heritages and with this project, a new breath of air will be given to George Town. Besides the delicious foods at the island, tourists can now understand more about the peoples of Penang with these sculptures. Therefore, heck of a good job!

After I left George Town, I only saw two or three of these unique arts and I had been constantly searching for more news and information on it. Well, I guess I will be dropping by Penang soon (at least by end of the year) to hunt these street arts down. You can read more about this project here at the Sculpture At Work (that's the company)'s official website or click here for The Star's news I mentioned above.

Borobudur - Candi Mendut and Candi Pawon

There is no doubt that the most famous Buddhist temples in Indonesia has to be the Borobudur complex. However, besides the grand monument, there are other smaller and interesting candi within close proximity to the UNESCO heritage site. Two of the nearest temples to Borobudur are Candi Mendut and Candi Pawon.

Welcome to Candi Pawon

Back in the old days, Buddhist pilgrims would begin their pilgrimages at Candi Mendut and walk to the halfway point of Candi Pawon before reaching the final stage of Borobudur where they would then ascend the complex to seek enlightenment. Who says devotion to God is an easy matter? More story and pictures after the jump...

My 7 Super Shots

I was tagged by Diana here about this 7 Super Shots game initiated by Hostel Bookers. I'm not sure if there's a prize at the end of it (or whether it has already ended) but who cares! I just want to share the photos I had taken in my travels. I have yet to explore outside of Asia yet (I initiated the globetrotter program of my life mid last year) but still have a lot of fond memories exploring the continent (especially Southeast Asia which I can only afford at the moment).

So, here's my take on photos best described as followed:

Uno
Takes my breath away...

Hong Kong

On top of The Peak, overlooking the night views of Hong Kong, I realized this is it. After years of watching TVB series growing up, I finally had the opportunity of witnessing the marvellous creation that is Hong Kong. Skyscrapers graced the scenery and by the time it was 8pm, the spectacular light show took place. Simply stunning.

Dos
Makes me laugh or smile

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cambodia was our graduation trip and being a graduation trip, there cannot be no jumping shots of us crazy kids. Thanks to the kind tourist who took this photo for us, we now have this leaping moment to look at, remembering all the wonderful moments and smiling at each one of them.

Tres
Makes me dream

Marina Sand Theatre, Singapore

It was my first musical by an international production and it was none other than the "best musical in the decade" Wicked. The scale of the production was massive and the performances of the actors in the musical were simply astounding. I found myself lip-syncing along (I was told by my friends that if I burst into songs, I will be smacked in the face) most of the songs especially the epic moment when "Defying Gravity" was belted out by Elphaba. Now that I had experienced my first musical, next stop, Broadway in New York!

Cuatro
Makes me think

A school outside Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

We often took our education system for granted. There is no doubt how flawed the system is but at least we are getting the education we deserved, equipping us with knowledge and strong command of languages. I was told that English is not part of the syllabus for the primary school and there are university graduates who cannot speak a proper sentence in English. It makes me think how privilege we are, being able to call ourselves multilingual.

Cinco
Makes my mouth water

Tom yam in Hat Yai, Thailand

I always have a carving for all things spicy. If you tell me there's some delicious spicy delights, you can count me in. Hence, there's no way tom yam koong would not make my mouth watering and of all the tom yams I had (to be fair, not that much in Thailand), the most memorable one has to be this particular tom yam in a restaurant in Hat Yai. It was my first overseas trip and after I did some digging, I found this restaurant and there is no going back now. It was the perfect mix of sweet, sour and spicy, only made available in Thailand.

Seis
Tells a story

Atop Penang Hill, Penang, Malaysia

This trip up Penang Hill was taken during the last few weeks of my university years. Three years had gone by with a blink of an eye and we found ourselves having to bide each other goodbyes soon. Before going back to our separate home towns, we decided to explore Penang for the last time. Penang will always hold a dear spot in my heart as it was where the three adventurous years took place. I made many lasting friends whose friendships I hold dearly.

Siete
I am most proud of (my National Geographic shot)

Borobudur, Indonesia

Equipped with a better camera (though ain't any better in capturing many beautiful moments passed by), this picture was one of my favourites on my recent trip to the UNESCO heritage site. While sunrise eclipsed us (misty and cloudy day it was), we still had a great time being enlightened in this Buddhist monument. This shot of the Buddha statue overlooking the mountains at the background was something I took by accident.

~

Now, I'm supposed to tag others to join in the fun but I'm skipping that part. If you think you would like to give it a go, just do it. I get to relive my memories of these wonderful trips I had over the past year and a half and am anticipating more to come. Where are you, July???