Langkawi – The Idyllic Island

Michael Lai:

Winter has set in and I found myself missing the warm sunny days at Langkawi beach. Please enjoy!

Originally posted on retireediary:

We keep coming back to this island not just for the sun, sand and the sea but for the atmosphere and charms we have always enjoyed.  Langkawi is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border.

We hired a car and drove round this Jewel of Kedah. No matter where we went, we found pristine beach with white sand, tropical trees, limestone islands on the horizon and blue sky. While on this beach outside the Four Seasons Hotel, we felt the scorching heat of the sun, the white sands were dazzling reflective when we were out there but the white pavilion looked interesting and inviting.

This island seems to have something for everybody. If you like water sports then it is an ideal place to go. Each…

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Langkawi – Tanjung Rhu Beach, Malaysia

Michael Lai:

I have decided to reblog this early post of mine as it attracted a lot less attention it deserves. Hope you enjoy it :-)

Originally posted on retireediary:

This 1.5 km long Tanjung Rhu beach in Langkawi is perhaps one of the most beautiful beaches in Malaysia and, indeed, may be one of the best in the world. It is fringed by silvery sands, lush forests, pristine waters and overlooking some dreamy islands.

Situated at the northernmost tip of the island, part of it is a  private beach, offering an ideal spot for a secluded getaway. Some tourists travelled to Langkawi are not aware of such a beach as part of the beach is now guarded. The guards for a contemplated Dubai island type development turn outside people away from  visiting this lovely beach; denying them to the public.

Understand from the locals that “Tanjung” means cape and “Rhu” means casuarina. Apart from coconut trees, the beach is dotted with casuarina trees.  The beach is therefore sometimes also called Casuarina Beach. Those willowy trees whisper the call of a tropical breeze that speaks tenderly to those out on the beach.

It is…

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The Rainbow of Flowers in Biei and Furano, Japan

Michael Lai:

I have never reblogged my own post, but this post is one of the best I like and I would like to share it again!

Originally posted on retireediary:

Both Biei and Furano are located in Hokkaido, Japan. For the love of flowers, we flew thousands of kilometers to  Sapporo in Hokkaido and, from there, we rented a car equipped with GPS and set out to pursue our flowers and trees.   We drove hundreds of kilometers to Biei and Furano. One thing we particularly looked forward to was viewing of the lavender fields.

Biei (美瑛町) is famous for its views of wide fields and hills. The bright colours of its fields attract thousands of visitors in the summer. Furano (富良野市), a city in the southern reaches of Kamikawa Subprecture, is well-known as a tourism destination famous for its lavender fields.

Our visit to Biei and Furano was bascially an unstructured tour, we just drove to where we would like to go, depending on where our hearts led us. We first stopped by the lavender fields.

Driving further afield, what caught our eyes  were rows and rows of carefully planted flowers in multi-colors arranged  like a beautiful rainbow.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette (A Fish Out of Water)

This is the sort of photo which I don’t take.

However, this is the sort of photo I would like to post.

This is, again, another photo from my friend CP Chan.

The photo was taken again at the fishing rafts in Hong Kong; with the fishing net, mountains and sea as backdrop.

It shows, a dead fish abandoned within the net.

Clearly, my friend is more diverse in his subject of photography and has sharp eyes and inquisitive mind.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette (Guangzhou, China)

Here is an interesting image showing Silhouettes in different shades.

The image shows how busy Guangzhou can be, with lots of activities on the bridges crossing the Pearl River in Guangzhou Chinese.

People and cyclists hastily crossing the bridges.

Nearest to us is the steel truss bridge with the truss members in silhouette.

Further away is the Jiefang Bridge (Liberation Bridge), with its bow string shape – arches in each river crossing span with cables suspending from the arches to support the bridge deck.

Of course, you can also see the Pearl River and some buildings in the background.

Again, thanks to my friend CP Chan who provided this interesting image.

Please enjoy!

 

 

Footbridge at Ritsurin Garden, Japan

I have taken five or six photos of this Japanese footbridge at the Ritsurin garden in Shinkoku, Japan.

Except for one of the photos, all photos have some visitors on the footbridge; this is not something I want.

I waited for a long while to get my only photo without any people on it; that photo was published recently under the post “Monet’s Japanese Footbridge?”.

Originally, this photo has one man standing at the top of the arch bridge, he also has one hand holding an umbrella against the bridge deck.

With a computer software, using the “Clone and Heal” function, I have successfully removed the man from the image!

For readers with  sharp eyes, you may be able to see a dark blue umbrella freely standing on its own near to the top of the footbridge.

Is this magical!

For comparison, the original photo is attached.

 

 

Monet’s Japanese Footbridge?

I can tell you that this is not Monet’s Japanese footbridge , maybe not one that inspired Monet.

However, this was the first thing came to mind, when I saw this footbridge in the Ritsurin Gardens in ShikokThis footbridge, although offers a curve profile like the one in Monet’s painting, has quite a few intermittent column supports, whereas the Monet’s footbridge has a column free arch superstructure.

Unfortunately, there were also no water lilies near to the footbridge. However, there were a few big koi swimming around, which added to the atmosphere.

I llike arch bridges, especially arch footbridges. In fact, one main drive of this trip was to see this bridge and the Kintai (ribbon like) footbridge.

For comparison, I am also posting a sepia version of this footbridge.

It is my dream that one day, I will visit Giverny where Monet designed and built his Japanese footbridge. For a moment, I will live in the impressionist world of water, lilies, footbridge and to see this fusion of East and west in person!