Mt. Kinabalu preparation

As a part of my preparation towards Mt.Kinabalu expedition on next month, yesterday I climbed 70 storeys up and down our HDB flat on stairways. With backpack weighing nearly 15kgs on back, I took elevator straight down to 1st storey from our 20th floor. Began climbing up from there till I reached 18th storey and then climbed down back to 10th storey and then up again to 25th and then down to 20th and then up till 30th and down and up and so on till my count reached 70.

Previously, I've climbed till 30 storeys several times. But this is the first time I touched the mark 70. Hurray!!

Online album updated

Updated online photo album with more pics on Bali & Borobudur.
Here is the link http://peru.fotopic.net/

Bali - Day 5

Even on the last day, I had to (rather got an opportunity :) to ) explore around Bali all alone. I hired a cab for a day and visited Bedugul Lake, Ulun Danu temple and Taman Ayun temple. The rain began very soon and it poured heavily all the way adding more to my thrills. I took most of the pics in & around the lake with one hand while the other was holding an Umbrella that was rented for Rp 2,000. The whole day's experience remains unforgettable.

Garuda temple, Prambanan

The temple of Garuda, the mount of Lord Vishnu, is currently in a very bad state. It's currently being renovated by Indonesian government along with the aides from Japan.

Prambanan - Day 4

After viewing the beautiful sunrise at wonderful Borobudur in the early morning, we headed towards Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia which is also a World Heritage site. The remnants of this huge temple complex are 3 main temples dedicated for Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu and 2 small temples for their vehicles. The original temple complex housed 224 temples when it was built around 856 A.D. during the era of Rakai Pikatan (famous king from Sanjaya dynasty in Java). The other temples are destroyed at varous times by various sources. I shall come up with more details later.

On the way, we also visited a small Buddha temple, Mendut. Here are some pics.









last day's stuffs to continue...

Borobudur - Day 3

On day 3, we travelled to Borobudur via Jogjakarta by Lions Air on a 2 days package trip from Bali. Borobudur houses world's largest Buddhist temple and is listed as World Heritage Site. Here are some treats.









day 4 will continue soon...

Earthquake in China

Much before the disaster in Myanmar is forgotten, one of the biggest earthquakes, in the last few decades, hit China yesterday (11 May 2008). The quake that occurred in Sichuan province in South China measured 7.9 magnitude on Richter scale and took the lives of more than 12,000 people. The number might increase further, according to local civil ministry there. This is the biggest quake disaster in China after 1976 earthquake which claimed more than 200,000 lives.

The two different major disasters like cyclone & earthquake in two different Asian countries of Myanmar & China have occurred in a span of just two weeks. I may be silly but I could not avoid thinking this that will there be any other similar disaster soon ?? I have no words to explain my mind. So let's forget it for now.

Let us pray for peace of the souls of those who died and for the quick recovery of those who survived the quake.

God bless them!!

Bali - Day 2

Day 2, I had to travel alone as Daniel was not doing well in the morning. Began with Sanur beach and ended up in Ulu Watu hill temple just before the sunset. Both the places are fabulous. You'll believe when you see them here.








day 3 will continue....

Bali - Day 1

I would be uploading the pictures to my online photo album soon. However since it takes long time to review the hundreds of photos and pick the best ones, I'm thinking to post here some good ones in 3 - 4 parts.

Day 1 was spent by visiting Besakih Temple (the largest temple complex in Bali), Tegalang (famous for rice paddies), Kintamani (view point for the volcanic Mt. Batur and surrounding lake) and Tanah Lot (beach temple).


















day 2 will be continued....

Cyclone Nargis

One of the deadliest natural disasters and the second biggest in Asia since Tsunami of Sumatra in 2004 (the first being Earthquake in Pakistan in 2005 which killed more than 70,000).

Nargis cyclone hit Myanmar in the first week of May resulting in the worst damages to the country & its people. As per the official reports, more than 22,000 are dead while more than 40,000 are missing. However some reports from U.S. agency in Myanmar estimate the toll to cross 100,000. Helps have already started flowing in from United Nations and various countries including U.S., India, Thailand among others.

May I wish the affected people of Myanmar for a quick recovery and peaceful life ahead.

God bless them!!

Bali

Beautiful Bali!!

More pics to flow in soooooooooon.

all set to go towards...

So finally the day has come.

I'll be leaving for Bali, Indonesia in few hours along with my friend Danny. It's a 6 days trip to cover leisure and monumental sites. No clear plans as yet. It's a sort of DIY trip.

I'm not sure if I'll get access to net to post my experiences.

Wish me good luck for a safe, memorable & enjoyable trip.

Cheers!