I flew down to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines. It was nice to see a recent article of mine in their inflight magazine, ‘Going Places’. Thanks to editor, Vivian Chong, it is certainly one of the best inflight reads around at the moment.  My feature was on the market town of Pakse in southern Laos. Here’s a scan of the opening page of the five page spread.  If you want to know more about Pakse and are not flying with Malaysia Airlines in January, you can pick up my book, ‘Enchanting Laos’ online or at all good bookshops or have a look at pictures in the Portfolio.

With its ethnic mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese, Kuala Lumpur is a microcosm of all things Asian. Affectionately known as KL, it is one of the most colourful and cosmopolitan cities in the region and a fabulous destination for a rewarding short break. What’s more, KL is just a two hour flight from Bangkok.

Although I did manage to spend a day wandering around photographing a few streets scenes, the main purpose  of my visit was to capture strong images of the Petronas Twin Towers, something I have neglected to do on previous trips. It is 15 years since the spectacular building was completed. Rising 450 metres above the streets KL, the 88 floors of glass and gleaming stainless steel proudly declare Malaysia’s entry into the developed world.

Dominating the city, the Petronas Twin Towers is KL’s most popular attraction but visitors can only gain access to the skybridge that links the two towers at the 41^st and 42^nd floors. Tickets are limited to 1,700 visitors each day and queues start early, so it can be more trouble than it’s worth. In truth the towers are best viewed from a distance and at night.

To enjoy this truly spectacular sight head to SkyBar on the 33^rd floor of the Traders Hotel at around 6.30 p.m., just before the spectacular building lights up. This breezy pool bar overlooks the towers and is a fabulous place to take in the view while enjoying a signature lemongrass martini cocktail or a glass of wine with tasty finger food. To be sure of a the best view, you can book cabana-style seating by calling +603 2332-9888.

If you are heading for KL, I highly recommend the Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, a contemporary city centre hotel popular with business and leisure travellers. Traders offer 571 stylishly rooms and suites in the heart of the city, just opposite the Petronas Twin Towers. It is also has two excellent restaurants, and the fabulous SkyBar where guests and visitors can enjoy intoxicating views of the towers.

All but the last image were taken at dusk using a long exposure which has given them a somewhat surreal edge. Very little post-processing was done. You can see more images in the Portfolio section.

The second is of Fabian Gisler of the hugely entertaining Swiss trio, Rusconi. You can see more pictures from the festival in the Music folder of my Portfolio.

]]> http://www.mickshippen.com/2011/12/penang-jazz-revisited/feed/ 0 http://www.mickshippen.com/2011/12/walls-windows-and-doors-in-penang/ http://www.mickshippen.com/2011/12/walls-windows-and-doors-in-penang/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:16:01 +0000 admin http://www.mickshippen.com/?p=1493

Asian nations are notorious for their disregard of architectural heritage. From Beijing to Bangkok, KL to Singapore, beautiful old buildings have never stood in the way of progress.

Until recently Penang was destined to make the same mistakes but commonsense prevailed and the island’s past is now proving to be its biggest tourist attraction.

Described by UNESCO as “a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia,” George Town was awarded the coveted World Heritage status in 2008. It was a moment when lovers of colonial-era architecture breathed a sigh of relief, optimistic for a future that would see a halt to the further deterioration or destruction of the island’s famous godowns, shophouses and mansions.

Although by no means the saviour of every old building, the new status put George Town and Penang firmly in the spotlight and was a huge boost for tourism. In Penang, the future is now history.

I’ve visited Penang on many occasions, exploring its many fine buildings. On a recent visit, however, I wandered the streets taking pictures of a few run down gems that ooze character. One of the best ways to discover George Town’s history is on foot. Most hotels and restaurants offer visitors a free map of the ‘Heritage Trail’, a leisurely stroll into the past that takes you down some of the town’s most historic streets with cafes and art galleries to enjoy.

One of the highlights for me at the recent Penang Island Jazz Festival in Malaysia was the Austrian trumpeter and vocalist, Michaela Rabitsch, and her partner, composer and guitarist, Robert Pawlik.

The jazz repertoire is pretty standard but Michaela’s approach and Robert’s distinctive playing give it a touch of funk and fusion.

You can find out more about them and their quartet at the website.

Serious music fans could be forgiven for thinking that the scene in Southeast Asia has little to offer. In the case of Thailand where I make my home, they’d be right. It is truly appalling and shows few signs of improving. Thankfully, and rather surprisingly given its somewhat conservative nature, Malaysia is just a short flight away.

Lars Tormod Jenset from the Espen Eriksen Trio

Over the last decade Malaysia has carefully cultivated a strong music scene which encompasses some exceptional artists from around the world. A prime example of how far the country’s tastes have come is the fabulous Penang Island Jazz Festival. Now in its eight year, the festival continues to grow from strength to strength and now has a well deserved reputation for showcasing great jazz talent from around the globe.

Michaela Rabitsch from Austria

I have just returned from two nights of outstanding music enjoyed in the beachfront gardens of the Bayview Beach Resort in Batu Ferringhi, just 40 minutes from Penang’s historic Georgetown. A cosmopolitan crowd at the extremely well organized event enjoyed a line-up that included the excellent Espen Eriksen Trio from Norway, the delightful Michaela Rabitsch & Robert Pawlik Trio from Austria, another extremely talented young trio, Rusconi from Switzerland, the tremendous Indonesian trumpet-led Rio Sidik Quartet, the mainstream crowd-pleaser from the UK, Shakatak, and more. There was only one person missing to make it a perfect weekend…and she knows who she is.

Norwegian vocalist, Eva Bejerga Haugen

I was surprised at musical maturity of the crowd. From late teens to those of a rare vintage, the audience sat of the grass, gave each band their full attention and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. This is unheard of in Thailand where a jazz festival is simply background music while you eat, chat with friends and photograph yourself…again.

Ito Kudhi, bass player with the Rio Sidik Quartet

Key to the success of the independent Penang Island Jazz Festival is the fact that the organizers, Capricorn Connection, and all the volunteer crew love jazz. I take my hat off to the main man, Paul Augustin, and to Brian Kwan for all their assistance and support.

In addition to the evening performances the festival almost hosts jazz workshops and performances at venues in Georgetown. There was also a jazz forum discussion, an exhibition of jazz photography by Slovenian photographer, Zigo Koritnik, old jazz posters on display, and of course, an lively after hours jazz jam in the hotel bar until the early hours. What more could a jazz fan ask for? Needless to say I am already looking forward to the 9^th Penang Island Jazz Festival!

Rio Sidik in full swing on Sunday night at the Penang Island Jazz Festival

The good news is that Penang is also going to host the Penang World Music Festival from 30th March to 1st April 2012. With this new event to add to a list that already includes the Borneo Jazz Festival in May and the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak in July, Malaysia is skillfully using live music to raise its profile on the world stage and is way ahead of neighbouring countries.

Shakatak’s George Anderson slapping out funky bass riffs

Over the next few days I’ll be posting more shots of the performers as well as some from the lovely George Town.

Last but not least, a big thank you to Tourism Malaysia.

 The 190 images in each book are accompanied by an introductory text with an overview of the history, geography, culture, festivals, food and so on. The second section is of images with extended captions. Here in Asia the books are available in Asia Books throughout Thailand and Monument Books in Laos, Cambodia and Mynamar. In Europe and the USA they are available at all good bookshops and online at Amazon. They are the perfect Christmas gift!

I am currently working on Enchanting Myanmar, a project that I am particularly excited about as it is the most fascinating country in Southeast Asia.

I have been visiting Myanmar for the past 15 years, regardless of the political climate, traveling extensively in both urban and remote areas. I always objected to being lectured to by politicians as where I should not travel, always opting for personal experience and direct engagement with locals over taking the advice of sanctamonious wankers like Blair. If, as an individual, you were to make judgments as to where you should or should not travel based on government action, the USA and the UK would have been high on the list of places to avoid for decades.

During my recent visit to Myanmar I noticed a large increase in the number of tourists, particularly from Europe, and a tour operator I talked to said that next year they expected a leap in arrivals. Of course, this is all dependent on the continued thaw in relations with Europe and America. But I say visit regardless. The people are as warm and welcoming as you could ever wish to meet…and yes, they want you there.

From the ploughing, broadcasting of seed, the replanting of nursery seedlings, to harvest and threshing, all the work is done without the use of machines. It was also been stated that rice production generates a direct or indirect income for many as 75 percent of the population. Prior to World War II, Myanmar was the world’s largest rice producer and even today after years of economic and political isolation it is still in the top ten.

During my recent visit, it was harvest time. While traveling across country I stopped off at a few fields to photograph the harvest and the winnowing of rice. The whole process is backbreaking work done under the glare of a hot sun.

I have nothing but admiration for the farmers grafting for little more than a subsistence lifestyle.

In most villages there are only two or three women remaining with the distinctive tattoos as the tradition is said have died out. I hope to be able to get permission to explore deeper into the Chin State at a later date and see if this is true or not.

The women are very welcoming as they don’t receive too many visitors yet. However, Myanmar’s tourist industry is on the verge of a boom and I suspect these lovely women will soon tire of the intrusion.

The ladies told me that they were about 12 years old when the tattoo ritual took place and the process lasted for three days. Reasons given for the practice vary but the most common explanation is that it was done to make the young girls less attractive to other tribes and prevent them being kidnapped. All agree, however, that the process was extremely painful to endure with even the eyelids being tattoo with the needle and dye extracted from a plant.

There are occasions when I must admit to being a reluctant photographer and upon meeting the Chin women, I experienced one of those moments.  Despite being told that they had no objection to me photographing them, I think I would have preferred just to sit and talk rather than shove my lens in their face. Nevertheless I had a job to do. I was also made to promise that I will try and get a picture to one of the ladies which I intend to do.