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Monday, February 13, 2012

Nan Tien Temple, 南天寺

During Chinese New Year, my mother wanted to visit the biggest temple in NSW. The Nan Tien Temple, it was a beautiful day, bit sunny but a nice breeze was blowing through. Nan Tien is one of the branch temples of Fo Guang Shan, founded in 1967 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, which has over 120 branches worldwide. The temple is one of the largest Buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere.

Fo Guang Shan Buddhism is rooted in the Mahayana tradition which emphasises that Buddhahood is within everyone's potential reach. Fo Guang Shan followers strive to bring Buddhism into daily life and describe their philosophy as "Humanistic Buddhism."

It was funded by and constructed under the auspices of the Mahayana Buddhist sect known as Fo Guang Shan, and completed in 1995. The sect itself was founded in Taiwan in 1967 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and has 120 branches throughout the world. The site of the Australian branch's temple was reputedly chosen by Hsing Yun due to its proximity to Mount Kembla, which is said to have an auspicious resemblance to a recumbent lion. It overlooks both Mount Keira and Mount Kembla. The land was donated by the Australian government.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Pewter

Pewter is a soft metal alloy, it used to contain between 85% to 99% tin, and the remainder of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Pewter is a fairly heavy metal that is traditionally used for pots, plates utensils and so forth. Today it's more of a decorative material and are specialised by companies like Royal Selangor. Decorative pewters are aesthetically beautiful for it shines with subtle grays and high contrasts. As you'd have guessed we no longer make pewter with any lead components due to it's toxic qualities. Picking up one of these decorative objects will surprise you with it's physical burden on your hands.

JAME’ ‘ASR HASSANIL BOLKIAH MOSQUE

Named after Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzadin Waddaulah the 29th Sultan of Brunei, talk about long names. It was built in 1988, five years later it was open during his majesty's 48th birthday. Rather than Italian influence, this one was Turkish fusion. With insatiable curiosity, I blended in amongst a group of tourist from Hong Kong down in the gown dressing area. I took up a gown and walked upstairs away from the crowd, with the stairs behind me, I found myself standing before a great wooden door easily two stories tall. The door seemed to grow taller as I approached, a slight push with the tip of my fingers loosened the door from it's position, it was unlocked, I invited myself in and was immediately stunned.The vastness of the main prayer room just took my breath away, soft thick green carpeting beneathe my feet, looking up and around the room made me lose my orientation and I almost slipped. The prayer room was immense almost the size of a soccer field and around three to four stories tall. Suddenly I noticed glaring eyes on my back, I turned around and found two cleaners looking suspiciously my way, knowing better I quickly walked back out the room, returned my black gown and exited the mosque.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Located in Bandar Seri Begawan. It represents one of the most lavish of buildings within Asia. Named after the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin the 28th Sultan of Brunei. Completed in 1958 with designs by the Italian architect Cavaliere Rudolfo Nolli.

Composed mainly of marble it sits nearby an artifical lagoon on the banks of the Brunei River at Kampong Ayer, otherwise known as village in the water. The main dome as shown here is covered in pure gold.It really is quite a sight to behold in person, one can hardly believe the extent the monarch has gone through in building these mosques. A must see.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Brunch

A kopi C kosong in Malaysia AKA coffee (kopi) with milk (C) and no sugar (kosong). Just like the western counterpart, it's widely consumed on a daily basis and is one of the most basic drinks.

Fishball noodle, simple food, hot and to the point.
A cup of coffee and a bowl of noodles for brunch, great lazy way to start the day in Miri, all costing a merely 4 Malaysian ringgit, that comes at under $3 Australian. Now theres something to ponder about, for $3 you'd have a hard time even getting a simple salad let alone a meal and a drink, the next logical question one would ask then is, do Australians make at least 6 times more money than most Asians? Sadly no, then where does all the money go? That my friend is the million dollar question.