Taken in January of 2013
This Buddha is located at Wat Khao Rang on Rang Hill, overlooking Phuket Town. His right hand mudra conveys that the spice is just right–but you may want to verify that with a Buddhist.
Taken on February 19, 2014 in Bangalore.
This was taken under the Bala Gangadhara Swamy Flyover–near the K.R. Market. It’s typical Bangalore.
Taken in January of 2014 at Patong.
Anthropomorphize much? Have you ever noticed how dogs and cats have hair all over their bodies? Furthermore, have you noticed that they shed during warmer seasons and grow hair more thickly in the cooler seasons. So what on earth makes people feel the need to torment their pets with clothing? OK, I might be able to understand if you live in a cabin in the Alps and you’ve got a shivery pup, but this photo was taken on the beach in Thailand.
Dogs of the world unite in the cause of canine nudism.
Taken February 18, 2014 in Bangalore
This is a section of Brigade Road in Bangalore–one of the city’s retail districts.
Fun fact: in India–for reasons I don’t know–franchisors don’t exercise control over or coordinate the locations of their stores. For this reason, one may have two Reebok stores in a given block and five within walking distance. It’s actually not unlike Waffle House is (or, perhaps, used to be) in the Atlanta metro area where one might have Waffle Houses catty-corner from each other. Usually, a company or franchisor wants to control the density of stores so that they don’t cannibalize each other out of business and leave their more disciplined competitors to snatch up market share.
If I had to guess why this seems to work here, I would say it has to do with high density of wealth and low labor cost for retailers. There are–in absolute terms–a lot of people in the city with disposable income but they are concentrated in certain areas so it doesn’t make as much sense to spread out your stores. Plus, with low labor costs, the price of keeping a store up is relatively low. Of course, it may have nothing to do with either of those issues, but rather be rooted in India’s bizarre regulatory environment.
Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
The other night, I ate banana flower for the first time–that I know of / remember–in two separate dishes. My wife and I were eating at the Oh! Calcutta on St. Mark’s Road in Bangalore, and we sampled banana flower croquettes as part of an assorted starter platter, and then I tasted some of my wife’s entrée, which was “dry cooked banana flower with coconut slivers.” The former was tasty, but so spicy that my undiscerning palate was incapable of learning anything about the flavor of this flower. The latter, much milder, dish tasted like a tasty take on mashed potatoes (again, to my unrefined palate.)
The picture above was taken in Malaysia, but banana flowers are present everywhere bananas grow (throughout much of tropics.)
Deceptively, the flower looks like it could be a deadly weapon–with its pointy, conical bloom.
Taken in January of 2014
Taken in December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
This tower, built in a Modernist Islamic style, is one of the most famous landmarks of Kuala Lumpur. It’s also one of the earliest high-rise towers in the city (circa 1984, to give on an idea how rapid KL’s growth has been.) Below, one can see some graffiti along the river walk.
Taken February 12, 2014 in Bangalore.
Less gold (and tuk-tuks) in this shot.
Taken on January 26, 2014 at Lal Bagh Gardens
Taken at the 2014 Republic Day Flower Show in Bangalore.
Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur
The smell of roasting chestnuts seems a little out-of-place in a Malaysian Chinatown, but there’s no rule saying you must see your breath to savor this Christmas treat. Plus, you can eat them in the comfort of shorts and a tank top.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 