At the Edge of Arabia

The Easternmost Point of the Arabian Peninsula (that far ledge on the right), Ras al Jinz, Oman

For a comparison with Perhentian, here’s a completely different beach, devoid of trees and inhabitants. Only sea gulls, and green sea turtles inhabit this deserted coast at the eastern most point of Oman, at Ras al Jinz.

It’s a surreal experience, coming here to watch the turtles lay eggs. There are 2 turtle watching sessions daily, once at dawn, and another in the evening, coz the turtles will usually come only when it’s dark. The Turtle Reserve limits the number of visitors so you'll usually have to book in advance (we did it by email when we planned our trip a month or so before the trip). And when we were actually there, we had to wake up in time to reach the Reserve by friggin 4.30am! Depending on where you stay, this may mean waking up an hour earlier, or more. We stayed in Ras al Hadd (about 20 minutes drive away) so it ain’t that bad.

If you’re a turtle fan (not the TMNT variety), come watch! It’ll be worth it. We saw a mommy turtle burying its eggs after laying, and crawling back into the sea, saw a baby turtle clambering quickly towards the sea (hope it survives). But all this was in the dark before day break, so don’t have any good photos of it! (Anyone caught taking photos with flashes will have their cameras confiscated! One Indian tourist tried and guess what?)

After day break, you are free to roam about the deserted beach for as long as you like, which is what makes it so magical. Terengganu should learn a thing or two from Oman. The last I heard is that there’re no more turtles in Terengganu! What a shame, we Malaysians just friggin ate / harassed them to extinction!


The haunting beauty of isolation – just sound of waves crashing and sea gulls


Sunrise over Arabia, first sun you’ll see over the Arabian Peninsula


Anu at Ras al Jinz beach - completely deserted except for us and another family, the rest of the tour group wasn’t that adventurous. Reminds me of scenes in some horror movie. Those tracks on the beach are made by turtles.


Justin, surprisingly alert and enjoying every bit of it, despite having to wake up at 4am!


Posing with a dead turtle, RIP turtle


Justin having a field day, climbing in and out of turtle dug holes on the beach. (Not every hole has eggs, turtles dig many holes but lay eggs only in one to confuse predators like foxes). The sand is powdery soft, so clambering over the holes actually need some effort.


Trekking across moon land, the empty path from the beach to the Reserve Centre


Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve, Oman


Replica of a Bedouin Tent, at the Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve


Dhows (Arabic boats) by the roadside, by the cove at Ras al Hadd


The beach at Ras al Hadd, Oman – treeless for as far as the eye can see


Ras al Hadd Fort, Oman

The Best Holiday Ever

In Anu’s view that is.


Pulau Perhentian!


Crystal clear waters of Pulau Perhentian. There, you can snorkel from the beach itself

I’m in the midst of a holiday blues, …or more like a holiday deprivation blues. Not been to a new destination since last year, and will not be going for some time to come, due to the coming addition to our family. Summer in Dubai can be a real bore, everything’s hazy, sandy and burning hot, not that there’re lots of things to see in winter (since we’ve been almost everywhere already), but at least we can go outdoors for a nice walk in the park…

Leaving here some pictures of a holiday taken last year. Anu’s dubbed this the best holiday ever due to the bliss of having absolutely nothing planned but to sit around, swim and play on the sand. (I admit I tend to like to cramp quite a lot into holidays, see as much as possible in the shortest time ahem… which I don’t think sits very well with Anu, hee). This time we had 2 full days of absolutely nothing, but chilling out on the beach! Very glad that Anu’s happy, …her happiness, is my happiness! :) Kenalah pandai bodek sedikit kan?


Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu, Malaysia – we spent the first night in Coral View Resort, and the second, in a smaller, slightly cheaper, but nicer chalet (as it was much closer to the sea, and all chalets come with its own little outdoor porch, see below), the …Reef (I think), just next door to Coral View.


The Reef chalets (if I’m not mistaken), Pulau Perhentian Besar, where we stayed for our second night in Perhentian, with Justin trying to give a helping hand to the cleaners.


Beach, in front of the Coral View Resort


Anu the Redeemer, Pulau Perhentian Besar, Malaysia


Anu and Justin busy building sand castles. On the left, Mordor, on the right, the Mines of Moria


Justin as a tomato. A little bit of sun and sand won’t hurt, right?






The beach front and jetty at the Perhentian Island Resort, Perhentian Besar




Pulau Perhentian Kecil (i.e. Small Perhentian) – We skipped over to the smaller island for a short visit on the way back to the mainland. Perhentian Kecil was supposed to be the more hip island for party-goers and backpackers, while Perhentian Besar (Big Perhentian) was more for families. I’ve been to Kecil before, mid to late 90’s but I somehow have no recollection at all about my last time here… Was it the parties? Did something which was not supposed to happen happen? Or was it just not memorable enough for the limited memory of my brain?? …I still remember the swell times I and my friends had in Tioman (another island in Malaysia) which we visited much earlier, ...strange huh?


A mosque on the mainland, in Jerteh, Terengganu – yeah, we roamed around Kuala Besut (the boat jetty to Perhentian) and the surrounding area for a while. Tried booking a hotel in Perhentian using the internet hotel booking sites before we reached the jetty in Kuala Besut, and it showed all rooms full (this turned out to be a load of crap, as I think in Perhentian, the hotel operators and tour agents don’t put up everything on the internet for bookings), so we booked a room near the jetty at Kuala Besut instead. Approached a tour operator in Kuala Besut when we got there, and voila! there ARE rooms available on Perhentian. But since we’ve already booked a night in Kuala Besut, we decided to stay and go around the mainland a bit.

The Holy Month of Tragedies

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Ramadan Kareem friends!

Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, carries a whole new meaning here in the Middle East, ...unlike Malaysia, where nothing much changes for us Non-Muslims. Yes, the Muslims fast, and the pasar malam (night markets) do bustling business during buka puasa times (breaking of fast), but that’s about it, life goes on as usual in Malaysia. Here, in the UAE, the mood, the crowds, the traffic, shop timings, office timings, everything changes. The malls which are normally packed, are half empty, especially before Iftar (breaking of fast). All the restaurants and cafes are closed, except for some fast-food joints which cater only for takeaways. While Non-Muslims aren’t compelled to fast, eating or drinking in public is banned for all (except kids). Most shops will extend their opening times till 1 or 2am, past midnight (they normally already open till midnight here, great huh?). Office timings end at 2pm for most, although many Non-Muslims I suspect, work normal hours, especially if it’s a Non-Muslim company, like ours. Because of the shift in timings, traffic patterns shift, meaning that it takes us Non-Muslims a fraction of what it normally takes for us to get home after work. The streets and supermarkets are dead quiet at Iftar and the whole place is filled with Iftar offers, and Ramadan Kareem greetings.

This Ramadan is no different. It started well enough with the FIFA World Cup in full swing, and everyone in football fever, Ramadan or not. But it's turning horrifically into a very tragic period, with the incessant bombing of Gaza, the shocking shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine, and the ongoing wars in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Nigeria and the indiscriminate bombing and targeting of civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya... The problem with these incidents is that there are so many innocent civilians killed, so many children among them, caught in a senseless rivalry between warlords and religious zealots who are bent on getting their agendas fulfilled, irrespective of the number of lives lost.

I pray for peace, God. Do so many innocent people have to die?

For my Muslim friends, I wish them a blessed Eid al Fitr / Id ul Fitr / Aidil Fitri. Eid Mubarak! Selamat Hari Raya! May you and your loved ones have peace and joy in your lives. Leaving some photographs of a beautiful mosque here for peace of mind.


A view of the mosque interior - the largest carpet in the world






More views of the mosque interior - this is one of the nicest mosques I've visited ...ever - so clean, beautiful and serene






Chandeliers in the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque


Dad, at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi


Anu and Justin at the Mosque


Kim and Anu, with abaya – these are obtainable at the entrance for free. Yup, it’s compulsory for ladies to cover up to enter the mosque.


Dark Acolytes of the Ivory Temple – just kidding, Kim & Anu at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque


Ablution centre, one of the many in the mosque


One of the few day time pictures of the mosque in my possession, courtesy of Anu. She’s the only one among us who’s visited the mosque before during the day, way back in 2009


Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi at dusk

...Heart Wrenching News

The last thing I’d expect to hear was another air disaster involving MAS.

So many innocent lives lost. Whole families killed for nothing. This is murder, and the people involved, whoever they are, should be brought to justice. I hope Malaysians, of all races, religion, and political inclination put aside their differences for once, and come together for a prayer to the families of the ones affected. May God be with you, MH17. RIP.

The Apostle Who Chose India

Interior of the San Thome Basilica, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Here’s a church for a change.

Would you believe it, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ actually chose India of all places to spread the gospel? I dunno whether he really ‘chose’ India or was ‘assigned’ India among his fellow apostles, but that’s where he ended up in. That’s what matters, right?

O yeah, St Thomas sailed to India sometime after Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension to heaven, and landed in the now Indian state of Kerala. He established 7½ churches in India before passing away in what is now an area inside the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. There are different accounts of how he died. Some said that he was accidentally shot, with a spear, some said that he was intentionally killed, and some said that he died naturally. This was in the first century, so I doubt there’s much of a CSI: Chennai, or a decent detective then. Heck, maybe there wasn’t even paper to write the report in? When was paper invented by the way?

Now, St Thomas is regularly regarded as the patron saint of India. Part of his body (relics) remains in India (at this church), and is now a pilgrimage site for many. See my earlier post, On a Pilgrimage Spree.






More views of the San Thome Basilica, Chennai

Further South, across the Sea

Punchi Katharagama Temple, near Chilaw, Sri Lanka

More Dravidian Hindu Temples! This one is on the west coast of Sri Lanka, somewhere between Negombo and Puttalam. We saw it by the road on our way to Anuradhapura from Colombo, and just stopped to take photos. Have no idea, what it is nor where it’s located, …until Google Map came along. That’s the beauty of Google Map, just trace your way along the route you travelled and Ta-Da! There it is, with name and all!




More views of the temple

I’m posting things from our past travels as there’s practically nothing to post about now, here in Dubai. Dubai is an open-air sauna at the moment, so going anywhere outdoors is only for people who wanna know how it feels like to be roasted alive. Anu is heavily pregnant and I have more work than I wished for, so it is travel blog mode for the time being, till things get a little relaxed here.

Slightly South

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Here’s another quick picture post. My ideas are really lame nowadays, and I’m not making any excuses for it. Thought that since I’m already on South Indian temples, I’d throw these in as well. Hope at least the pictures will entertain! hee :]

These are pictures of a temple located a little south of the Tirumala temple, across the state border, in Tamil Nadu state, in its capital city, Chennai (aka Madras). This temple is best remembered for the place we almost lost Justin! Dad and mom being avid shutterbugs, immediately set to work with our cameras and phones upon entering the temple compound, while Justin being an avid explorer, had other ideas in mind.

Minutes later, we were frantically calling out for Justin, and started looking for him. There were lots of people around (hey, this is India after all, there’re lots of people everywhere OK?), so it ain’t easy. Luckily, we saw a priest happily letting him out of a temple, not too long after that. He must have snuck in with the crowd while we were busy.

He’s the only one among us, who went into the temple. We left after that as it was sort of a halfway stop for us, en route to Chennai’s Koyambedu Bus Terminal to catch a bus to Tirupati.


Entrance gate (gopuram) of the temple. Gopuram are a standard feature of South Indian Dravidian temple architecture


Close-up view of the gopura


Justin, catching a rest from his adventures in a hall at the temple




More views of the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai


A street scene in Chennai – Peters Road, Royapettah, where we stayed (Saravana Boutique Inn)

Tamil Nadu is like a separate country to India, language-wise. Here, you’re better off getting things done speaking in English, than Hindi. And Chennai is comparatively much cheaper than Sri Lanka, where we were at, just before Chennai. Dunno why the Indian authorities make it so hard for tourists to get a visa. For Sri Lanka, it’s just a few clicks of the mouse, pay online with the trusty credit card and it’s done, completed in a few minutes, in the comfort of your home. No wonder Sri Lanka is teeming with tourists!

The World’s Most Visited Temple

That’s what some people claim anyway – 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims DAILY! About 30 to 40 million visitors a year!


Gateway at the Tirupati Balaji Temple, Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh

OK, here’s something I said I’ll post about earlier on (see On a Pilgrimage Spree). Finished writing this ages ago. Just waiting for a busy time like this to use it, hehehe. Plus, this month marks the split of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (where this temple is located) into 2 states, a new state called Telangana (the areas around the city of Hyderabad, Andhra’s state capital), and Andhra Pradesh (name unchanged, for the remainder parts of Andhra). This temple lies in Andhra Pradesh proper. My previous posts on Hyderabad now should technically be labelled Telangana, but who cares?!


Pilgrims at a shop selling images of Lord Balaji (or Venkateswara, etc, he has many names), Tirumala

In terms of numbers of pilgrims, this place gives Mecca and other religious pilgrimage places a run for the money. The crowds here are incredible. Just imagine, an entire town (Tirumala) set up on the hill where the temple is, just to cater to the pilgrims! There’re pilgrim centres, apartments, lodges, public showers and changing rooms, loads of shops and restaurants (all vegetarian unfortunately), countless storage rooms for shoes, phone and camera (you can’t bring these into the temple), information booths, … heck almost everything, except for anything considered non-veg. And oh yeah, shoe shops (…hey, we walked all over Tirumala barefoot looking for one, OK? We sorta misplaced our shoes, that’s for being smart and choosing not to queue up for storing some old slippers which we thought that nobody would want!)


Balaji Temple at night, the 'cages' there at the bottom, are full of pilgrims, even at night

I doubt any of my non-Hindu friends would wanna visit, but if you do, here’re some tips: -

1) Do some research before you visit, especially on the timing of the visit

It’s a mess there. There’re people all over the place day and night. There’re like a dozen or more types of queues into the temple, with different timings. It’s signposted in a few languages, …but not in simple English. There’re normal queues, VIP queues, special queues for foreigners (which we couldn’t find even after making two trips up the hill and asking I dunno how many people, and judging from the looks of the few foreigners we saw, we weren’t the only ones), queues for the different types of prayers, wedding reception queues, etc. The queue can take as long as 7 hours! Our queue (we finally chose the VIP queue) took us about 3 hours.

2) Be prepared, before you join the queues

If you like tight places, this is your type of place. Come prepared however, have your fill of food and drinks, and empty your bowels and bladder before you jump in, as depending on the date, time and type of queue, it may take up to 7 friggin hours! The nearer you come to the inner sanctum where the idol of Lord Balaji is, the tighter it gets. When you reach, you get a second to have a look at the idol, from about 20m away, and out you go. This is one place that doesn’t discriminate between male and female, old and young, everybody gets squeezed, pushed and shoved. Luckily for the squeeze, or how else could I carry a sleeping 3 year old Justin for 2 long hours?? Crowds have buoyancy you know?

3) Take a bus from Tirupati to Tirumala, not a car

This is the first thing the hotel in Tirupati will try to sell you. Book a car to go up to the temple. (The temple is located in Tirumala, on top of a hill. Accommodation is usually in Tirupati, the main city below the hill). But don’t jump for it. There are buses running 24 hours between Tirupati and Tirumala. A trip up the hill by bus takes about an hour (if I remember correctly), and costs err… if I’m not mistaken something like 30 rupees per person per way (that’s like RM3 per person return). A car will cost you a bloody hundred ringgit! And you’d only take it to the top of the hill, leave it there and go on an extended 3 hour pilgrimage while the driver sleeps away!

4) Always use the Shoe Storage Rooms, and bring some extra slippers

Unless you want to end up like the three of us, Papa, Mommy and Justin. But no big deal, we just had to walk across the entire friggin Tirumala barefoot, and hop onto the Tirupati bus barefoot, and walk from the Tirupati main bus station to our hotel across streets, and muck, barefoot.

5) Pick a hotel near the bus station, if staying in Tirupati

Same explanation above. Note that most hotels here have a 24 hour checkout facility, which is real useful for this place. You check in at 4, you check out at 4!

6) Be prepared to be a vegetarian

For the time that you’re in Tirumala anyway, coz there’re absolutely no non-veg restaurants around – zilch. Nope, not even eggs. Get them in Tirupati if you want some meat.

7) Don’t come here for a haircut

Unless you wanna be bald. Just kidding! I’m sure there’re a lot of decent hairdressers around. It’s just that the temple is so full of bald-headed people, male and female alike (they come here to shave off their heads as a vow, …I think, for a wish fulfilled).

8) Never wear shorts (for the men)

Shorts is a no-no to enter the temple, even if it covers the knees. Sarongs or dhotis (the split variety of sarongs) on the other hand, are acceptable, never mind that it just takes a simple tug from anyone and your entire nether regions are exposed to the world. We had to make two separate trips up and down the hill to Tirumala partly because of this.

9) It helps if you speak Tamil or Telugu

It’s the lingua franca of the place – try English (and to a lesser extent, Hindi) and you’ll get a blank stare? Like what’s this foreigner doing here?!?

10) Take an auto-rickshaw if you can’t find a cab (to the airport I mean)

Auto-rickshaws (India’s version of the tuk-tuk) are a fraction of the cost of a hotel-linked car, and they’re more easily available than a hailed or call taxi, if you’re in a hurry. Ours got the job done for us not to miss our flight back to Pune!


Pilgrim Town Tirumala


Tirupati Balaji Temple (or more officially, the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple), Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, India