Bukit Tinggi, Sumatra

Bukit Tinggi, Sumatra is one of the larger cities in Wesr Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of over 91,000 people and an area of 25.24 km². It is situated in the Minangkabau highlands, 90 km by road from the West Sumatran capital city of Padang. It is located near the volcanoes Mount Singgalang (inactive) and Mount Merapi (still active). At 930 m above sea level, the city has a cool climate with temperatures between 16.1°-24.9°C.

Dr Mala, Saqief, Linda and Halmi, at the horse rides

Good place to shop for solat stuff

Steps down the hill, well maintained and paved

Shops and houses along the pavement walkway

Minangkabau architecture dominates

An abundance of small and medium size hotels

Even the banks have sharp edged roof

The Minangkabau architecture is the only achitecture

Horse ride at the market area is an attraction

West Sumatra's busy little tourist town

Peaceful, strictly religious and calm town

Horse on carts waiting for customers

Gold Coast, Australia

Gold Coast, Australia is a city and local government area in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. It is the second most populous city in the state and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is also the most populous non-capital city in the country. Gold Coast City is renowned for its sunny subtropical climate, popular surfing beaches, expansive waterway and canal systems, a skyline dominated by high-rise apartment buildings, a peaceful rain forest hinterland in the west of the city, active nightlife and its wide variety of tourist attractions.

The hotel where we stayed

Downtown by the shops

The corner room with a view

Could see many corners of many areas

The trip friends we were with

From the room on the 23rd floor

Condos and hotel rooms everywhere

King size bed for us, twin beds for the boys

Flush with greens, next to the famous beach

Well planned, neat, clean and well maintained tourist town

Everyone wants to go to the Gold Coast

Even on a cloudy day, the city looks enchanting

Grand Palace, Bangkok

Grand Palace, Bangkok have been for over 150 years, was not only the home of the King, but also the entire administrative seat of government. Within the crenelated walls were the country's war ministry, state departments, and even the mint. The palace complex, like the rest of is laid out following the general outline of Ayutthaya palaces. The Outer Court, near where you enter the complex today, housed the government departments in which the king was directly involved, such as civil administration, including the army, and the treasury.

The main tourist entrance to the Grand Palace

Dr Mama & Yameen waiting for coconut water

In the Palace compound

Self potraits

The fence edge - grass area out of bounds

They are all covered with gold flakes

Early morning when tourists have not arrived

One photo at the Grand Palace entrance

Dr Mama and Yameen at the entrance

Overlooking the main buildings

At the edge of the compound fence areaOn the way out of the palace

Tankuban Parahu, Bandung

Tangkuban Perahu, or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect, is an active volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs up close, and buy eggs cooked on its hot surface. This strato volcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983.

At the signpost - Dr Mama, Yameen, Ang & Amel

Overlooking the crater
Dr Mama, Yameen, Ang and Me

Ang & Yameen smiling away amidst the sulphur smell

At the edge of the volcano

At the dangerous edge of the volcano

Inside the retaining wooden fence

Smiling away - next to the crater

Well maintained with lots of roaming traders

Many stalls selling many things

Stalls along the path to the bottom

A better view of the crater from the bottom of the path

3 wise kids at the 3 mountain peaks

Brisbane, Australia

Brisbane, is Australia’s third-largest city, but for the longest time Brisbane was seen as something of a poor cousin to Sydney and Melbourne: a sleepy country town hiding behind a big city façade. In recent years, however, Brisbane has stirred from its slumber and is casually emerging as one of the most desirable places to live in Australia. Locals have always known that Brissie offers the perfect lifestyle. Despite the transformation into a sleek, cosmopolitan city complete with world-class art galleries, a booming live music scene and a fabulous café culture, Brisbane still retains the laid-back, easy attitude of a small community.Dr Mama, Amel & AngGriffith University, QuenslandThe 3 stooges in the parkAng & Amel against Brisbane City RiversideDr Mala at the park, by the riversideThe city skyline, from the riversideThe walkway by the riverThe wharf, the jetty and the cityThe Nepalese model house - at the parkQuite, clean and an enchanting cityEverything is modernThe model houses, by the river side park