World Heritage Part 1: Shirakawago

World Heritage - Gassho-zukuri Houses in Shirakawago, Japan.

Hello everyone, finally I'm back. It's been 6 months since I've last posted here. I apologize for my missing in action. I've been very busy during the previous 6 months, preparing for my wedding as well as working on my new house renovation, furnishing and moving in just last December. So, finally everything is done and now i can get back to working on my blog again. The good news is, I've been taking pictures this 6 months, from Seoul in South Korea to Adelaide in Australia. I just need time to process those pictures and share them with you in this blog later.

Before I forget, Happy New Year everyone!! It's 2012 now. This year's new year weekend had been an exciting one for me, as I have finally traveled to one of the World Heritage sites in Japan - Shirakawago. It was more than 8 hours of travelling time from where I am, Kimitsu  town, which is located at the south of Tokyo. I actually wanted to visit this place at the end of year 2009, but cancelled the plan due to long travelling hours and expensive travelling cost. This is the second World Heritage sites in Japan that I have visited, after Nikko which I have visited twice in year 2009 and 2010.

Shirakawago viewed from Shiroyama Viewpoint

The Shirakawago and neighboring Gokayama regions line the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains that span from Gifu to Toyama Prefectures of Japan. They were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the year 1995, famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old.

Back from USA

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-400P

Time flies. Three weeks of training in New York, USA is over and now I am back to Malaysia. The travelling to the other side of the globe (12 hours time difference) was a challenging one. Total time in the plane was more than 20 hours and if I include layover time at the airports, it was more than 24 hours. My flights were from Albany Airport (ALB) to Detroit International Airport (DTW) to Amsterdam International Airport (AMS) and finally to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL). The picture above was the Malaysian Airlines plane that I took from Amsterdam International Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is a Boeing 747-400P and it is a double-deck aircraft. Despite being a frequent flyer, this was my first time boarding such a huge aircraft. The 12 hours 30 minutes flight was a comfortable one.

Tulips in Albany

Tulips in Albany, New York

It's Spring in New York!!

Yes, I am now in Albany, New York, attending a 3 weeks company training. A lot have happened in the past few weeks. I was so occupied that I couldn't work on the blog at all. Two days of pre-wedding photography session, more than 24 hours of travelling from Malaysia to New York (on the same day of my marriage registration) and almost a week of jet-lagging. The good news is, I am now a married man. And I am dedicating all the tulips in this article to my dear wife, who hopefully will be reading this article from home. She loves tulips!!

Just for you, my dear wife

Another Evening in Singapore

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore [HDR]

If you have been following my tweets or is a fan of my facebook page, you probably knew that I went to Singapore again last Tuesday for an assignment in one of the petrochemical plant in Jurong Island, Singapore. And this time, I flew straight from my hometown, from Ipoh to Singapore. Do you know that Firefly of Malaysia Airlines fly between Ipoh and Singapore twice a day? Although it was a bumpy flight (turbo-propeller plane), it saved me plenty of time without having to travel to KLIA by taxi for a flight from the nation's international airport (minimum 3 hours ground travel from Ipoh to KLIA).

So I reached Singapore a lot earlier than I previously did, about 3.5 hours from home to the hotel room and guess what, I went on a photography outing that very evening, before I started working on the next day. This is odd as most of my previous photography outings were after the completion of my assignment.

Sakura in Kisarazu

Sakura in Kisarazu

Did I tell you that I was assigned to an installation project in Japan for more than 2 years? Now you see why I have so many pictures of Japan. I stayed long enough that the company actually moved me from the hotel to a house in a city called Kisarazu, or 木更津 in Japanese, about 20 minutes drive away from the site. Kisarazu is about 1 hour drive distance from Tokyo, and is the other end of Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line. The Aqua-Line is a highway that connects Kawasaki and Kisarazu, across the Tokyo Bay ocean, with part of it under the sea in a tunnel and the other part above sea.

My house in Kisarazu was a perfect one, where there is a canal at the back of the house, with Sakura trees lining up along the canal. I was there in last year's Sakura season. It was awesome. In this article, I will share with you sceneries with Sakura that you won't find commonly on the internet, not like the ones you see in Tokyo or Kyoto.

Night in Singapore

Singapore's Night Scenery

Two weeks ago, I was in Singapore, on a short assignment (another emergency call). I was working late until 3 a.m. in the first night and did not have the chance to shoot some beautiful night sceneries in Singapore. On the second night, which was my last night in that trip, I had dinner with some colleagues until around 9.30pm and only managed to reach hotel at around 10pm. Upon reaching my hotel, I got a Singapore map from the hotel's concierge, went to the room, put down my bag and grabbed my camera and tripod. And of course, I changed out my uncomfortable safety boots too because I know I will do a lot of walking after that. My mission, Singapore's Night Sceneries.

Without hesitating, I got myself to the nearest MRT station and got off at Raffles Place station, which is within walking distance to Merlion Park, to enjoy the spectacular night scenery as you see above.

Tulips in Japan

Tulips in Sakura, Japan

To avoid confusion, I have omitted the name of the location where pictures of these wonderful tulips were taken in the title of this article. The title would have been Sakura's Tulips. Yes, you hear me right, Sakura. It is the name of a city in Chiba prefecture, in Japanese it is written as 佐倉市.

A lot of travelers who transit in Narita Airport for more than half a day are eager to know how to spend their time while in Japan. Some would hope to visit Tokyo but it would be an hour away from the airport by train and the city is too big to be explored in half a day. What if I tell you that there is a place where you can enjoy beautiful Tulips and it is located just three train stations away from JR Narita Airport Terminal 2 station?

KLIA

KLIA - Entrance to Departure Gates

Here I am, again in KLIA, this time departing to Singapore on a short assignment. Left home as early as 3am and is now waiting to board the flight.

One thing about working as a field engineer, is that you get calls like this, emergency, need you at site A.S.A.P, travel now, thingy. Although I am fully prepared for this time's urgent call, the feeling to leave the family out of a sudden does not feel right. I hate to look into my mum's eyes and say goodbye, I'll be back very soon, please take care, although I knew that everything is gonna be alright once I step out of the door.

Well, I'm out of the door now, and I feel fine and confident again. Hopefully this short assignment goes well and I can snap some shots of Singapore to share with you guys. Saw this interesting symmetrical sight at the entrance in the airport to departure gates, just before passing the immigration counters, and thought it would make a good HDR. I have to say Malaysia's KLIA is pretty beautiful compared to many other airports in the world. What do you think? I would love to hear your comments.