Tag: heritage

Philadelphia, 2006

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My trip to Philly was only a short one, a couple of days over a long summer weekend in 2006, but it was memorable for a variety of reasons: the unique urban cuisine that’s become representative of American culture, the integrated presence of history into the city landscape, and the charm of a modern city that still feels like a neighborhood. I loved how walkable the city was (compared to Chicago where I was living at the time), how easy it was to see all the sites in one day without having to sit through 45 minutes of constant traffic! I didn’t get to visit all the places I wanted to but I was okay with that, because I liked it so much I know I’m going to go back one day.

Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia. Our bus tour took us around the complex, but we didn’t go inside. This one’s on my list for the next trip to Philadelphia. What I love about this photo is that it captures how much history is part of our everyday landscape.
Riding around on the top of a bus through downtown Philadelphia was great. Looking up at the skyscrapers we got to see the city in its modern moment.
The Philadelphia skyline from a disadvantaged angle.
The composition of this photo appeals to me: its got elements of the city’s artistic character, its functional side, its architectural beauty. For me, everything comes together in this photo, compositionally.
I loved the bridges. There were so many it seemed like, and with the summer sun glinting off the water they looked magnificent.
Most people – including myself usually – don’t like the chunky oblongness of skyscrapers from the 70s and 80s. But I think they work well here; they look almost like building blocks, a child’s toys in a great modern game of Urban City Development. The square windows within square frames, within squat, square buildings. They’re modern but they hint that there’s a post-modern future waiting to bust out of the meta-aesthetic holding them together.
Alfreth’s Alley is listed as the oldest residential (and still residential) street in America. Of course, definitions are flexible; what is a “street”? Must it be paved? Anyway, it was lovely to take a walk down this lane and know that there are still folks living in these houses, caring for them as part of American Living History.
These are heritage houses so they can’t be messed with architecturally or structurally, except I suppose for safety.
I love bus tours! I think they are one of the best and easiest ways to get a first look at a city. I use it as a way to jot down places I want to explore in more depth on my own later.
Around the time I went to Philadelphia there was a lot of hubbub over immigration reform and this notion of “speaking English” in America (and no other language). The owner of one of the famous Philly Cheesesteak places, Geno’s Steaks, had issued these stickers and said his store would turn away anyone who didn’t order in English. Check out the news article on this: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2057207 I don’t support Right-Wing immigration policies, having been an immigrant myself, but I wanted to hear their point of view and I wanted a famous cheesesteak sandwich so I went over there and snapped this photo.
Breakfast meats are a thing of mine. I love SPAM (Yes, the Spam Museum is on my bucket list) so I had to try scrapple when it was described to me at a local diner. It was delicious but I know it probably wasn’t good for me. It was a combination of sausage and processed meat, with a crusty fried exterior. What can I say in my defense? I was on vacation!

Malaysia 2010, 2011, 2013

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I have so many hundreds of photos of Malaysia and all things Malaysian: people, food, places, sites, random pictures of stray cats. Here I’ve picked some of my favorites from the past three trips there. They’re from all over Malaysia, some from Penang, some from Melaka, one from Pahang when I was in Kuantan. And of course, Kuala Lumpur.

I visited these places in multiple capacities, as a tourist, as a local, as an anthropologist, as a student, as a photographer. Most of the photos are “found”, none of them were posed or premeditated.

Most of these photos were taken using a really cheap-O point and shoot, or my iPhone 4.

Here’s a Chinese “folk religion” temple on the island of Penang, where some people are praying to the deity “housed” here. The temple has an open court yard to allow the incense to waft up and out into the sky.
Bukit Bintang is the center for shopping, nightlife and modern fun in Kuala Lumpur. All the best and worst hotels/motels/B&Bs are here. In the background is the KLCC tower, once the world’s tallest building.
Walking around late one night in Melaka I came across a pig butchering operation. Malaysia is a plural society, so while there are muslims who refrain from porcine products, there are also Chinese and Indians (and many others) who do not live under the same religious or legal restrictions.
While in Pahang I got to visit a keropok lekor factory. Keropok Lekor is a fried fish snack, which I find super, super tasty. It was a small operation, maybe 10 people in all, in a non-airconditioned, sheet metal roofed and walled building. It smelled a bit fishy, as you can imagine, but it was fascinating.
This was one of the heritage styled hotels in Melaka. They’ve kept up the nyonya/Straits Chinese architectural style, here illuminated wonderfully by the modern neon lights. Modern meets traditional is always a favorite theme of mine in Malaysia.
Up on the hill in Melaka, there’s an old Portuguese/Dutch church ruin and through its many windows and doorways you can get a panoramic view of modern, downtown Melaka. Here you can see one of the sprawling shopping centers in the not-so-far-off distance. Modern meets Traditional.
I got my first tattoo in Borneo in 2010, and the following year when I went back I got a 2nd one. Both were done traditionally, using a hammer. Perhaps it was placement, but both of these hurt far less than the machined one I got later. They also healed super quickly, taking about a week to scab.
Here’s a Hindu deity sculpture on the exterior wall of a Hindu kuil in Penang, in the Little India section of Georgetown.
Here’s a Hindu deity sculpture on the exterior wall of a Hindu kuil in Penang, in the Little India section of Georgetown.
Here’s a Hindu deity sculpture on the exterior wall of a Hindu kuil in Penang, in the Little India section of Georgetown.
Around Historic Georgetown in Penang, tourists get around by taking rickshaws, powered by bicycle by these men. When I spoke to them they said they were having a hard time finding young people to start doing this work. At the same time, they were glad that young people had other, better opportunities, as rickshaw driving is very physically strenuous. These guys are taking a break on the sidewalk, playing checkers with bottle caps and one man is having his take-away mixed rice lunch. Hawker stalls here wrap up lunch for you in plastic and brown paper, then rubber-band it.