My Travels in Photos: Dubai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur
I’ve done quite a bit of traveling over the past two-and-a-half weeks. I flew into Dubai and Singapore to attend conferences and exhibitions for work, and then took a bit of extra time in order to take the train up to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All three places were quite a bit too hot and humid for me, but were quite interesting to explore.
It was a fantastic experience, one I could probably write many words on, but I’m still a bit jet-lagged and sleepy, so I’m going to keep things simple and just share some photos from the journey (more along with videos are on my instagram).
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Dubai, UAE
Hanging out by the Burj Khalifa — currently the world’s tallest building. (I know a bit about it because at my day job, we reported about the use of extruded aluminum frames in its 1.2 million sq ft of curtain wall).Near the historical district, where I found this happy looking building.
I went on a desert safari (Platinum Heritage, which I recommend) and got to ride a camel over the sand dunes. The safari included a falconry demonstration and a Bedouin style dinner at a campsite.Camel shadows.
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Singapore
The Merlion is kind of like a mascot for Singapore. Tons of tourists around, taking photos and selfies and hanging out by the water.Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Little India, Singapore.Street art in Singapore.Inside the cloud forrest at Gardens by the Bay, showing the misting of the live plants. Lit up at night made this the structure and walkways look like something out of a scifi movie.
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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Inside the KL Bird Park, where there are thousands of species of birds from around Asia and other parts of the world are on display. A large number of the birds wander freely around the aviary, and it’s not unusual to share the pathways or a park bench with some of the birds.The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia features a phenomenal collection of beautiful manuscripts, ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, textiles, architectural models, and other art from Islamic culture around the world.View from inside the National Mosque at Kuala Lumpur. Outside a huge tropical storm was unleashing buckets of water along with thunder and lightening.One of my favorite moments of the trip was a visit to Batu Caves, just outside Kuala Lumpur. There are 270 steps to climb in order to reach the main Hindu temple inside the cavern.The Batu Caves are full of monkeys — such as this mom with her baby. The monkeys tend to be aggressive because tourists insist on feeding them, to the point that sometimes they will steal cell phones, purses, and other valuables when looking for food.Alongside the temple is the Dark Cave, which is a conservation site for a number of animals that live inside, including bats, cave crickets, centipedes, birds, and the world’s rarest spider (a trapdoor spider). They allow guided tours inside the cave, but that may change in the future because of the way flashlights affect the wildlife within.The Kuala Lumpur skyline at night, showing the Petrona Twin Towers in the distance.View from of the other tower from the observation deck of the Petronas Towers. The city is huge, expanding out from the city center almost as far as the eye can see.
