Batu Caves is a popular tourist attraction in Selangor, Malaysia reachable by train for 57 minutes. It is one of the most famous Hindu shrines outside India and the focal point of the Thaipusam festival in Malaysia. Batu Caves took its name from the Batu River (Sungai Batu) flowing past the hill and its is the tenth (Pattu in Tamil) limestone hill from Ampang.
Leap Year Snow
I don’t know but I am no longer enjoying the snow. Maybe it’s because the winter here in Hokkaido is quite long (nearly half the year). Or maybe because the rest of Japan is already enjoying the cherry blossoms. I can really feel why the word “Winter” in the “Game of Thrones” is so negative for the House of Starks (lol).
Birdwatching In Tokachi Part 2
To continue my story about our birdwatching in Tokachi yesterday, our next goal was to see sea eagles. We went to Toyokoro, Taiki and finally to Hiroo but to no avail, it was hard to catch a glimpse of this bird of prey.
Birdwatching In Tokachi Part 1
We started our birdwatching at the Satsunai Garden Onsen. Near the entrance of the onsen is the Satsunai River where many ducks are just chilling out in the cold water. The sight of the birds with the foggy water just made it magical.
Hamanaka: Town Of Monkey Punch
Hamanaka is a town located in Akkeshi District, Kushiro Subprefecture. The town is famous as it is the birthplace of Kazuhiko Kato, more famous with his pen name Monkey Punch. And if you love manga or anime, you know that he is best known for his series Lupin III. The Lupin III manga first appeared in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967.
Memoirs Of A Digital Farmer
It was the year 2009, I just arrived in Japan for my doctoral education. At the same time, Zynga developed FarmVille as a game on Facebook. Living in a cold countryside, I was so bored whenever I am back in my dormitory. I even finished the whole “Death Note” anime series in less than a week. Then I discovered FarmVille. I started playing until it became part of my daily routine. I was so hooked with FarmVille that I can still hear their background music playing inside my head until now.
Ha Long Bay
Ha Long, which literally means “dragon descends into the sea”, is a bay consisting of about 2000 karsts and islets. These are mostly limestones and emerged in the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Ha Long Bay was designated as a World Heritage site in 1994 and was chosen as one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.
Requiem To The Philosophy Tree
The Philosophy tree (Tetsugaki-no-Ki) is a poplar tree located in an open, wide farmland in Biei town, Hokkaido. Facing the Panorama road, the tree’s slanted stance resembles a person tilting its head to one side thinking about something.
The Whooper Swans Of Hokkaido
The whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) is a large Northern Hemisphere swan in the Eurasian region. They come here in Hokkaido as one of their wintering sites which include southern Europe and eastern Asia. Whopper swans breed in subarctic Eurasia.
The Japanese Cranes Of Kushiro
The Kushiro-shitsugen Marsh serves as the nesting ground of the Japanese cranes. Since 1952, the habitat of these cranes has been assigned as a special natural monument in Japan.
Psychedelic Shisa At Yonekoyaki Craft Center
Yonekoyaki Craft Center is a shop that produces and cells ceramic Shisa. However, the shisa at the Yonekoyaki Craft Center is quite different. Their intense colors made these Shisa so psychedelic looking. Beside the store is a big yard with many of these psychedelic shisa. The place looks like a distorted Disneyland and is an amazing view being highlighted by its foresty backdrop.
Flashnote: Sounkyo Hyobaku Festival
The Hyobaku Festival is an annual winter event which begun in 1976 and held from the late January to the end of March. It is held at the Sounkyo Onsen, Kamikawa Town covering a large area of about 10,000 square meter of the riverbanks of the Ishikari River.
Amoj In Wanderland 