I made a point of visiting the international hot air balloon fiesta in Putrajaya after missing out on the first ever such fiesta last year. The second hot air balloon fiesta was held from 18-21 Mar this year. Visitors were entertained by balloon fun fly, tethered balloon rides and other events throughout the days. Hot air balloons were transformed into gigantic lanterns after dark during the "Night Glow" event on 20 Mar. The whole day of festivities was then concluded with a short but spectacular fireworks display.


"Night Glow" at the 2nd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (20/03/2010)



Related link:

• Official website: Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2010
  
• The Star: Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon rides draw the crowd
  
• Flickr: Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

Tags: Event, Malaysia, Video

Motorbikes rule the streets in Vietnam and this is especially true in big cities such as Hanoi and Saigon. Busy streets are filled with relentless flow of honking motorbikes and cars. Street crossing can be daunting at places where zebra crossings and traffic lights are scarce. It is almost impossible to wait till a halt in traffic before crossing. The common advice is to start crossing when there is a reasonable gap in the traffic and walk predictably across the streets so that the vehicles can avoid you. It works!


Traffic in the Old Quarter of Hanoi (11/2009)



CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES OF HANOI

Related link:

• Wikitravel: Crossing the Road in Vietnam

Tags: Vietnam, Video

Horas! Welcome to the Batak heartland that centres on Samosir Island and covers the surrounding areas of Lake Toba. Sites of cultural and historical significance to the Batak people can be found on the island at places such as Tomok, Ambarita and Simanindo (see Lake Toba Album). Batak houses, with distinctive saddle-shaped, twin-peaked roofs, are eye-catching and unmissable. They can be found all over Samasir Island in all shapes and sizes, from elaborately decorated traditional houses preserved in museums to practical zinc-roofed village houses or resort cottages by the shoreline.

The following excerpt from Sumatra-Indonesia.com gives some ideas on the Batak architecture and symbolism built into the design:
"The roofs of the house are designed so the back of the roof in higher than the front. The father of the house always sleeps at the front of the house and the children in the back. The higher roof in the back signifies that the father wants his children to reach higher in life than himself. The steps leading up to the small entrance are always atleast 4, 5 or 6 to signify how many children the family wants to have. The small entrance into a Batak house are designed so you have to bow down to enter the house paying respect to the people inside the house."




Batak culture is also known to be rich in customs and rituals. This 53-sec video clip, taken at the Museum Huta Bolon Simanindo, aims to give a sample of traditional Batak dance. The performance (Mon-Sat 10.30-11.10, 11.45-12.30; Sun 11.45-12.30) is not to be missed by culturally inclined visitors to Samosir, Lake Toba.




CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES

Related links:

• Kiat's Eye View: The Route to Samosir
  
• Kiat's Eye View: Samosir Island and Lake Toba
  
• Wikipedia: Batak (Indonesia)
  
• The New York Times: In the Land of Batak
  
• Blogspot/ Frienster: Museum Huta Bolon, Simanindo

Tags: Indonesia, Video

This is another blog entry related to the Chinese New Year, with snapshots and video clip on the visit of the lions to UNMC (University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus). This has been an annual event and well-received by the campus community of diverse backgrounds.







Video clip (QuickTime Player)

Video clip (YouTube)
CLICK HERE

Tags: LunarNewYear, Video, Malaysia