Cingapura tagged posts

In Asia, Singapore-Malasia 2008 On  10/08/2008  No comments

Kuala Lumpur is an interesting city. Full of gardens (and malls), the city shows a concern for patrimony; public buildings and its surrounding areas are well cared for. Even by spending  a few days there, I could see its beauty and greatness.

One of the things I was more interested in the city was the Petronas Towers. And yes, they are amazing, impossible not to stare at. Wherever I was in the city, my eyes would go looking for the towers. I had seen them on films and pictures before, but I never thought of them as a mosque. Maybe it’s because I saw them through my “western point of view”. The minute I got to the city and saw the towers, I realized the image of a mosque (It surprised me not having seen that before).

Malls

As in Singapore, I was impressed of how many malls there are in Kuala Lumpur. In every corner there’s one, in all sizes, shapes and prizes. I saw the most luxurious malls of my life there, with every exclusive shop and brand...

In Asia, Singapore-Malasia 2008, Diving & Snorkeling On  07/08/2008  No comments

I had read about these beautiful islands northeast of Malaysia and got crazy to scuba diving there. I loved it! It remained me of Gili Trawangan islands in Indonesia, the place where I did my Open Water Dive, ten years ago.

Dives

I did two dives on the island: one at Tokong Laut (Temple of the Sea) and another at Sugar Wreck (a shipwreck). The diversity of sea life was impressive. I saw different types of fishes, turtles, bamboo sharks, squids, schools of sardines… Wonderful, and beyond that, very cheap compared to Brazilian prizes. A dive trip was around RM80 (+/- U$25). I hadn’t dived for a year, so I needed it.

malasia08_325

malasia08_338

malasia08_342

malasia08_358

malasia08_373

malasia08_380

malasia08_401

malasia08_406

malasia08_m

malasia08_417

malasia08_425

malasia08_427

malasia08_450

malasia08_483

malasia08_485

malasia08_487

malasia08_488

malasia08_491

malasia08_508

malasia08_519

malasia08_534

Kuala Besut

Kuala Besut is the city of departure for boast to Perhentian islands...

In Asia, Singapore-Malasia 2008 On  31/07/2008  No comments

We were very tired when we arrived to Singapore. We got there at 6am but could only get to our hotel room at noon. We had to walk around the city in order to kill time and, after a 40-hour trip, wandering around town falling asleep on our feet wasn’t a very good option.

I went by myself to Singapore, but I wrote “we arrived” because I met Rachel Zuanon at South Africa’s airport and we became fast friends. At the same airport, she introduced me to Yara Guasque. So, “we” means Rachel, Yara and me.

The reason for this journey (as for Scandinavia in 2004) was an Electronic Arts Congress, ISEA 2008 and I took that as an excuse to visit the region. After all, it’s not every day you have the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world.

At first, the city seemed strange to me. That wasn’t the Asia that I knew! It didn’t look one bit like Indonesia, Philippines or Thailand. Architecture is hard, rigid, almost like a representation of its government...