Ben's Blog

A very Coke New Year with the Semangat Truck

2012-01-01T20:00:00.000+08:00

The Semangat Truck

Yes, this truck happened to be over at Sunway Pyramid. The Coke Semangat Truck coincidentally appeared in my plans for New Year Eve. As most of you know, from my little collection, I'm a Coke fan. The Semangat truck came to Pyramid in the morning bringing lots of joy.

New Year Eve is the ultimate milestone for every person on Earth to rethink what they've done for the past 365 days. Some would brag about their 2011 achievements, some would list out their top ten events of the year, some would stay at home and don't give a damn, but for me, it's always going to be the same old tradition, to bring Fann out on a simple but delicious dinner and document her smiles with my camera.

This year, Coke's surprise for the Semangat Truck gave our New Year Eve plans a little bit more spice and flavour. It was fun despite the hot weather. Coke really made every one of us a happy soul. They really know how to bring joy to everybody. That's why I love Coke, no it's not because they are red.

Fann pressing the big button

As we walked to the entrance, we heard the Coca-cola jingle and there came the Semangat truck, just like in the youtube video. Fann & I ran towards the truck and were very excited. Fann was the first one to bump the 'Tekan' button.

Fann and her prize

We got lots and lots of Coke but Fann danced around the coke truck and guess what she got? A beautiful red Coke Tumbler! hehehe...

Surprisingly, not many people queued up for the truck. I guess it was too early in the morning. However, we met a couple of hardcore fans who were chasing the truck from one end to the other. They told us they would follow the truck to it's final destination up to KLCC. Well, I had a movie to catch that day, so I didn't bothered. Fann gave me the tumbler as a New Year gift and I'm very very happy. Thanks B!

Well, New Year Eve didn't end at the truck. After the movie, we went for dinner at our favourite restaurant - Bubba Gump Shrimp. It wasn't much, but it's more than enough to give my lovely girlfriend a good treat and show her how much she means to me.

We had the delicious Scampi and my old time favourite, the Shrimps' Heaven. DELICIOUS to it's every bite. After dinner, we headed back to my apartment to skip the traffic and to wait for the New Year fireworks. We had a private view of the city with a bottle of sparkling juice.

KL city view of the new year fireworks

Although the fireworks aren't as magnificent as the other fireworks I've seen overseas. It's still considered a great occasion and something to celebrate about.

Fann & I on the last day of 2011

It's not always about fireworks or how much money you spend. It's about how much love you give and get. You cherish every moment of your time with that special someone. You get to spend every start and ending with the person you loved most in your life. I am blessed to have a very loving family and also a wonderful and loving girlfriend, whose always there for me. You know you're lucky when everyday you wake up, you have someone to talk to and share your happiness with. That someone deserves a kiss every day. I love you, B.

Here's a video from Coke about the Sunway Pyramid Semangat Truck.

Trip to Bangkok - Shopping Day

2011-12-30T23:00:00.000+08:00

Sneakers are the most comfy for a really long shopping day

Our trip to Bangkok is coming to an end really soon. There was one more important thing to do and it's Fann's favourite; Shopping! We started our shopping trip early in the morning after breakfast. We took the free tuk-tuk from the hotel to the nearest BTS station (Saphan Khwai BTS Station).

Our two tickets to National Stadium station

Knowing that the Bangkok skytrains moves around the major city commercial areas, it's the best and cheapest way to travel to the malls. Also, it helps you skip the annoying city traffic too. Our first destination was the famous Mah Boon Krong (MBK). To get there, you need to travel to the station called National Stadium and it directly connects to the mall entrance.

Fann's first stop - MBK

This legendary mall is famous amongst locals and foreigners. It has eight floors packed with about 2,000 shops that sell everything from clothing, fashion accessories, handbags, leather products and luggage to furniture, mobile phones, cameras, films and DVDs.The shops in this mall are organised according to floors. You'll find entire floors dedicated to shoes and handbags, fashion and clothing, mobile phones and furniture. Also, like most of Bangkok's malls, you'll find a large food court there.

Saw this cool doggy lying on the floor at the BTS station

As we strolled along the mall, we saw some locals gathering around a small TV of a shop. Being very busybodies, we took a peek and noticed that they were watching the King's live telecast of His birthday celebration on TV. Only to remember that on the 5th of December was their King's birthday. It was a huge holiday for the Thai people and I'm guessing that the crowd in the malls is going to be massive.

We tried these little pork pretzels at MBK's Auntie Anne's.. Yummy!

MBK was somewhat like a beter version of Sungai Wang back in Kuala Lumpur. If you're not worried about authencity of brands, then MBK is your choice for malls. Fann bought some clothes there and I myself bought some cool things for my Coke collection.

Fann on the Christmas throne

We went to Siam Paragon mall next. This mall was closest to the BTS station called Siam. It's also just right next to the station. This mall is more of a higher class mall. Lots of rather branded shops in it. It's more of a Starhill Plaza for KL people. Here at the Paragon, we didn't get to purchase anything because most of the things there, we couldn't afford. We strolled around a little and then left the place in half an hour.

Platinum Fashion Mall

Our next stop was to the Platinum Fashion Mall. The name of the mall says it all. It's Fann's fashion heaven. I gotta warn you, this mall is filled with CLOTHES! We walked an awful distance just to get to this mall, because it's Fann's MUST GO on her shopping list.

Getting to this mall requires some stamina. The closest BTS station to Platinum is Ratchathewi Station. The walk from the station to this mall takes roughly 10-15mins by foot. So, if you're a princess who doesn't walk outside of malls, just take a cab. It's also the first time I've seen Fann so hardcorely walk this distance - just for shopping duh~

Don't let these bags fool you, they are filled with Fann's gold

Well, Platinum is one hell of a place in terms of the amount of clothes they have and the crazy crowd. It's really crazy in there. In just 15 mins, you can see in Fann's arms how many clothes she's holding. The shops there are really tiny but there's like thousands of these tiny shops in every floor. Each of these tiny shops are tons of female shoppers. I can't believe my eyes. This clearly proves how powerful women can be when it comes to grabbing clothes.

Yay, watermelon juice and mango sticky rice

We had our dinner at Platinum and after that, we just decided to leave the place because my feet were killing me and we have just enough bahts to take us back to the hotel and a good massage. On the way back, we saw the most extraordinary thing ever.

We saw people gathering outside by groups. We thought that there was a show. We tried to get pass the crowd in order to get to the station but we more and more people gathered. They were holding a lit yellow candle and some with flowers. They were all looking towards the direction of another small TV. It looked awkward until I noticed that they were chanting songs and the TV screen was showing the King. They were singing to the King, each and every one of them.

KFC employees singing outside A&W with others

It was a very touching scene and we were there to experience it. All the people, young and old gathered together with candles and sang. It was a lovely moment. We tried to walk to the station but we met another gather in another mall on the way. Everywhere we looked, they were in groups with candles and they all stood together and sang. Some left the shops opened while some still dressed in their working outfits.

Locals giving wishes to the King on a guest book at an alter

This really made me feel how much they respected and loved their King. You could feel the strong sense of unity they had. Makes you wonder for being a Malaysian, doesn't it? Well, no wonder everyone was in love with the Thais. Their sense of respect and patriotism is worth a say and worth a learning too. According to the staff at Mystic Place, this celebration was really huge. Why? It's because in Thai culture, they set the milestones by a cycle of 12 years. This year at 2011 was the King's 7th cycle, meaning the King was 84 years old. That's why it was a hugely celebrated birthday for the King.

Stall mongers with their candles

Hehehe... I know... wait til you see Fann's

I've also broken myself a record while in Bangkok. I managed to buy 20+ T-shirts in just a mere 3 hours. That is one hell of a record for a person who doesn't normally shop for clothes unless forced by Fann. After getting our well deserved massage, we headed out for supper at the street stalls near the hotel again. Just one last time for our mouth to savour those delicious street food until we're back to KL to eat those nasty black noodles.

Fann & I @ Siam Paragon

As my trip ended, we were very glad that it all went well despite the stupid Air Asia delay. We saw beautiful places that Bangkok had and we also felt the beautiful hearts that the Thai people had too. After this trip, Bangkok has been listed as one of my most favourite destination of all.

Trip to Bangkok - Mystic Place Bangkok

2011-12-23T00:43:00.001+08:00

Mystic Place Curious Rooms, Bangkok

After so many posts about our trip to Bangkok, let's take a break from the trip and let me introduce you all to the cool place that has been taking good care of Fann & I while we're in Bangkok. The hotel (or Bed & Breakfast) is called Mystic Place Curious Rooms, Bangkok. It's not something you would rate a 5 star hotel for, but it's worth a mention and a good brag. Mystic Place is one of the best places to stay. It's unique in it's own way and just for the girls, it's so freaking near the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

One of the blocks of the hotel

It's what modern people call, an artsy fartsy boutique hotel. It has 36 rooms specially designed with beautiful and exotic themes that you can choose from. It's best for couples who loves nice designs and are fed up with conventional hotel luxury. Well, because the hotel is a recycle of old apartments, each and every room is carefully designed based on the structure of the old apartment. For example, one of the rooms we stayed, had the old stairs sealed up and what's remained has been converted into a shower. It's quite crazy but I love the idea.

Bye Bye Flooding sign and a donation box for the flood victims

It was great that they had their facebook constantly updated about the flood situtation in Bangkok. The flood had struck Chatuchak Market before we went there and we were quite worried that it would affect our trip. Fortunately, the flood resided and Chatuchak was back to business. Mystic Place was very lucky as it was not affected by the flood although the water was getting near. We were happy to hear that everything was fine and nothing affected our trip at all, except for the flight delay.

Fann & one of the morning staff

And what makes them the BEST, is that they have one of the friendliest and most helpful staff I have ever met in the world. Every morning when we wake up, they would warmly greet us and serve us with very homey breakfast. When we ask them for directions and if they aren't familiar, they'd be so lovely as to help us check online and made sure we got the precise information. They'd also help us confirm our table with the cruise company we had booked earlier on. Also, if you needed a chat, they'd always be there to talk to you. They really know how to make you feel like home.

For every night you stay here, you get free breakfast the next day. It's nothing fancy but it's something good to fill your tummy and gets you ready to continue your big adventure in the mysterious city of Bangkok. BTW, I love the french toast that they made. So, don't forget to try them. Also, remember to wake up earlier as breakfast starts at 7am. Don't worry about your sleepy eyes, because the breakfast cafe is decorated in vibrant and beautiful colours that will keep you awake and feel energetic.

Our Meiji yoghurt

My beautiful girlfriend and the coloured walls

The entire hotel is filled with many colours, and it really amazes me. Especially the corridor outside our room. I'm sure this hotel has spent a reasonable amount of effort to have designers design the entire hotel from wall colours to decorations and from building restructure to finding the best staff.

Room #409 - The Power of Positive Energy Superior (Double Bed)

Fann tells everyone how she loves this room

For the rooms, they are indeed the unique selling point of all. 36 rooms with individual themes and the best part is, if you stay more than 3 days with them, you get to change to one more room for free. So, that's what we did. We just couldn't get enough of the rooms. I'm sorry I only shot one of the rooms because I was too occupied with my schedule there and never intended to write about it in my blog until I realized how special this hotel meant to me and my trip. We stayed in Rooms #211 and #409. Both these rooms were special but I prefered the #409 more because of my fond of colours. What's special about this room, is that there's this wall full of post it notes. This is where you can leave a message when you stay here.

Left a message for my friend, Claire (Hope she stays here too)

409 is a rather quite unique room of it's own. Besides having so many colours and a feature wall to play with, it has this little mystery inside too. If you wanna know what I mean, don't hesitate and try this room out. For those techno saavy kids out there, don't worry. There's free Wi-Fi within their hotel compound.

The lobby of the massage parlour

Furthermore, many of us love to come toThailand to experience one thing they are famous for, their massage service. Getting your massage is one of the must do things when you come to Bangkok. Fortunately for Mystic Place, they have their own massage parlour, just right in their compound. Their massage services includes Traditional Thai Full Body Massage, Leg Massage, Shoulder Massage and many many more. For the 5 days I stayed in Bangkok, I had gotten my massage for 3 days. The final one was just right before I left for the airport. I just couldn't get enough of it. Getting an hour massage here is only about THB200-300. The price is very reasonable and they really do a great job. If you have the time, try everything on the menu. It's rather addictive.

Food is not a worry when you stay here. There's plenty of food eveywhere you turn. Once out of the Mystic Place gate, street food is scattered everywhere in this area. There's pork chops, wantan noodles, pork satay, coffee & toast, kuey tiaw soup, and more just to name a few. It's literally just a few steps away. Also, 7-11s are just walking distance away. The Thai people tend to love having supper at late hours, just like us Malaysians. So, this means that you don't have to worry if you're getting hungry at odd hours.

The uncle that sells the best Wantan Noodles (Baa mee giao nam moo daeng)

I'm definitely gonna tell you this was my favourite. After staying in K.L for 6 years, I had never eaten a decent bowl of wantan noodles (please suggest me one that is nice). Never have I thought that I have finally found the one true BEST wantan noodle which is in Bangkok. I am truly in love with this particular wantan noodles. Call it the baa mee giao nam moo daeng or Egg Noodle Soup with Wantans. You can order either dry or soup. Fann & I loved the dried noodles and it comes with the best pork bone soup. It tastes simply heavenly. Makes me drool when I think about it.

Fann, waiting for the tuk tuk driver

Now, traveling to your destinations are pretty easy when you're staying at Mystic Place. You have three options to travel from here. 1 is the Hotel's free tuk tuk service, 2 is the old school taxi and 3 is the BTS (Bangkok Skytrain). So, as you all know, getting to your favourite Chatuchak Weekend Market is the easiest, just hop on the hotel's free tuk tuk service and they'll get you there in approximately 5 mins.

Important Tip: Don't forget to bring along your hotel card, so that you can easily find your way home by either taxi or tuk tuk, because the hotel's tuk tuk only sends you there but doesn't send you back.

The BTS can travel to most of Bangkok's commercial areas especially the shopping malls but unable to get to the Grand Palace and some temples. So, you know when to use this. Traveling back from the BTS is also very simple. Just remember your station, called Saphan Kwai Station and walk down towards the opposite direction of wherethe tuk-tuk left you and take a metered cab and you'll get to Mystic Place in just about 3 mins.

Some of the polaroids we took

Last but not least, how to get to and fro the airport. Well, for me we had booked the shuttle service that was provided by Mystic Place themselves. The fee was THB900 and they would have someone pick you up from the airport. Although considered expensive, I rather have this service when I'm there because I don't like the hassle of telling the taxi driver where my hotel was especially in a country that I'm lost in translation. Another good thing about getting the shuttle service is that, you know you are paying for the best service and their transport is very very comfortable. We got the chance to ride in their big sized taxi fitted for 6. Their driver was very friendly as well, this made us worried less about transportation and we could relax on our way to the hotel.

Our meter reads THB223 when we reached the airport

Now, getting to the airport is very easy as well. Before leaving, you can ask the hotel staff what time you should leave from the hotel. After checking out, the staff will help you to grab a taxi and you will be on your way to the airport. The cost for the taxi varies but the meter is estimated to be around THB225 if you take the highway (please note that you have to pay for the highway tol yourself, which is about THB80), so just prepare yourself with roughly about THB500.

Me & Fann's last day in Bangkok

We were very glad that we stayed at this hotel. Despite it's further distance to the city centre, we got what we paid for, which was the great service and the comfortable stay. As said, we really felt like home and nothing else beats that. I would come back to this hotel the next time I visit Bangkok. Lastly, I would like to thank all the wonderful staff at Mystic Place for taking good care of us and letting us know that this curious place is where I can call my second home.

I have recommended a few of my friends who is visiting Bangkok to Mystic Place, and I'm doing it again right here in my blog. So, check out their website by clicking here. You can also email them (info@mysticplacebkk.com) if you have any queries, they will reply you promptly and you just sit back and relax. I would rate this hotel a 4.7 out of 5.0.

Trip to Bangkok - Vimanmek and the Giant Swing

2011-12-20T22:33:00.000+08:00

Our next destination is the Dusit Park, located at the Dusit district. This is a serene area of Bangkok and the political centre of Thailand. There are a few major tourist spots in this area, including Chitralada Palace, Dusit Zoo, King Rama V Equestrian Monument, Vimanmek Mansion and more. It's connected to the Rattanakosin Island by the Ratchadamnoen road (literally 'Royal way for traveling'). So while you're in the cab heading there, you'll see a lot of Thai traditional monuments, nicely decorated lamp posts and also, you will pass by the United Nations building as well.

Our main goal for the afternoon was to see the famous Vimanmek Mansion. It's located inside the compouds of the Dusit Park. Vimanmek Mansion, famously know for being the world's largest golden teakwood mansion with its elaborate architectural style reflecting a western influence. Do remember to bring along your Grand Palace ticket, to get to visit the mansion for free. Also, do remember they have a similar strict dress code as the Grand Palace as well.

Our Grand Palace tickets, attached with Vimanmek Mansion ticket

However, we weren't allowed bring in our cameras and even our bags. Upon walking towards the Mansion, you will be lead to a building where all the lockers are. You will be instructed to leave all your belongings except your wallet in the locker until you have finished visiting the mansion. But all is not lost, you will still be able to take pictures of the beautiful exterior of the mansion.

The Vimanmek Mansion

Inside the mansion, you will see the luxury items of the King and you can imagine what the King's lifestyle was like during that era. Items like royal paintings, type writers, beautifully crafted closets, carpets, furniture, antique vases and more were there just to name a few. The mansion is extremely huge and it has about 72 rooms which we wouldn't be able to visit all of them. It was built in 1900 but the King stayed there only for five years. In 1932, Vimanmek Palace was used only as a storage place of the Bureau of the Royal Household.

After visiting the mansion, we took a stroll along the huge Dusit Park. The landscape in the park was very well kept and maintained. There were some odd decorations in the Park, like canons and even Chinese designs as well. We also passed by a few museums along the way. There were the 2 buildings that houses the photography galleries of the current Thai King, King Rama IX. Then we reached another structure. This structure was an ornate building with beautifully carved floral motifs on panels adorning the gables and eaves.

Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall

This structure is called the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall. The building is filled with elaborated designs and plush carpeting. During the Dusit days, it is where foreign dignitaries used to come to pay homage to King Rama V, but it is now filled with exhibits of Thai handicraft.

Fann personally adored this magnificant structure. The high profiled designs and detailed crafted pillars leave this place as one of the most beautiful among the Dusit Park monuments. The ceilings itself was already a great portrayal of how admirable the Thai architects were during those days.

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall

After the throne hall, we headed to another beautiful structure, called the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. This beautiful and majestic marble building was the former reception hall within Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. It now serves as a museum and is from time to time employed for certain state occasions.

The Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall was constructed in the Italian Renaissance and Neo Classic style of architecture. The exterior is decorated with marble from Carrara, Italy. This magnificant building has a large dome in the centre surrounded by six smaller domes. The most fascinating of all, the domes and walls are covered with paintings by Professor Galileo Chini and Carlo Riguli depicting the history of the Chakri Dynasty, from the first to the sixth reign. I couldn't get enough of this building. I couldn't get my hands of my camera's trigger. It stands out amongst all of the buildings in the Dusit Park.

King Rama V Equestrian Monument

As we left the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall, we walked towards a huge statue which is situated right in the centre of the road. This was called the King Rama V Equestrian Monument. It is a huge monument of King Rama V riding on a horse facing the centre of Bangkok. One fascinating thing we saw while we were there, the drivers upon nearing the statue, they would push their palms together and give blessings to the King. It was a remarkable sight and YES while they were driving.

Gates to the Chitralada Palace

Talking about the King, have you wondered where the current King resides? I'll give you a hint here. There are a few Mercedes-Benz & BMWs with sirens on their top.

The Giant Swing

After a long walk along the Dusit Park and the hot weather of Bangkok, we quickly grabbed a cab and had it take us to some place to eat. We landed ourselves at the Giant Swing. It is a religious structure located in front of Wat Suthat temple. The Giant Swing was used for a ceremony that the Thai people used to have. However, due to some several fatal accidents, it was discontinued. This structure was damanged due to lightning strikes and it was rennovated and moved to it's current location to make way for a plant.

After taking some shots of the Giant Swing, we headed to a little small adventure I had planned initally. I've prepared a map of this place. This district is called Sao Ching Cha. Oddly, this place is filled with lots of delicious food and desserts. Among all the food we can find here, I only wanted to try the two things famous here. Which is the Mango Sticky Rice and the Coconut Snowflake.

Yay! We have found Thanon Tanow!

With my food map in my hands, we navigated ourselves to the Mango Sticky Rice shop called Kao Neoo Korpanich. It was located at the Thanon Tanow Road. The family has been making sticky rice with mango at the same location since 1932 (75 years), and even today their menu consists of the same specialty. But, after so much research and high hopes, until we found out that it was closed on that day. It was because the next day was the King's birthday and we didn't get to try it. It was so sad. We moaned so loud when we reached it's closed doors.

Nevertheless, with loads of frustration, we tried to find our way to the famous Coconut Snowflake shop called Nattaporn Ice Cream. It is located at the corners of a shoplot at Thanon Phraeng Phuton. This shop has been making ice cream for almost 60 years. As we reached the shop, we were confused. The shop looked rather dark with no chairs or tables for us to sit. All we saw was that a lady mopping the floor. I walked towards the aunty and asked if it was the ice cream shop? The lady answered yes but also told me they were closed for the day. I looked at Fann and she looked back at me with her huge eyes. We felt so depressed and sad. All the way form Malaysia with research, we couldn't eat both of the things we were looking for.

WOOHOO! Ice Cream!

Suddenly, the aunty came out to us and told me that she would make each of us a bowl of ice cream. We were so happy! As the aunty made us ice cream, she told us to enjoy but had to take it away to eat. We paid her and thanked her as we took our ice cream to the nearby park and enjoyed it. It was DELICIOUS!

Shell Shuan Shim

Last but not least, this is a small tip for all tourist. If you happen to see these weird looking signs at the restaurant or eating places, you would be sure that these are quality food. It is actually the Shell Shuan Shim, Thailand's Quality Logo. Similar to the Michelin stars awarded to restaurants in France, Shell Shuan Shim is awarded if a restaurant or company produces excellent tasting products. The literal translation on the sign is "Welcome to Taste".

Happy but tiring photography day

We were so happy and felt very satisfied. After the ice cream and a short visit to the nearest 7 Eleven, we headed back to the hotel by cab. It was really a tiring but satisfying photography trip from the Grand Palace to the Dusit Park to the Giant Swing and then lastly the Ice Cream by the aunty with the big heart! :D

Trip to Bangkok - Grand Palace

2011-12-19T01:27:00.000+08:00

"A vacation in Bangkok is never complete if you've never set foot on the majestic grounds of the Grand Palace." Normally you see these kind of quotes very cheesy and cliche, but after visiting the Bangkok Grand Palace for the first time, I beg to defer. As most of you know, I've been to Bangkok 3 times but this is my first time to the Grand Palace. Once I glance out of the taxi's windows, I've already been mesmerized by it's outer walls. The architecture is so unique and divine, no wonder the Thai people adore and worship their King like a God.

Walls of the Grand Palace

Our third day in Bangkok was our photography trip. Our plans initially started by going to the famous Wat Arun Rajwararam (Temple of the Dawn). After early breakfast, we quickly caught a taxi in order to get there early to see how the temple shines during dawn. We had a little trouble telling the taxi where our destination was. We tried to get the taxi to take us there by meter, but he refused and insisted on an overpriced fare of THB150. As time was running late, I couldn't care more but to get on the taxi as soon as possible in order to not run behind schedule.

We thought the taxi understood where we wanted to go. As the taxi slowed down, I started to see so many structures that look so magnificant and majestic. I right away knew, something was amiss. The taxi has dropped us at the wrong spot, but this accident turned out to be a great mistake. We have landed ourselves at the doorsteps of the beautiful Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace is situtated right in the center of Bangkok. This place is called Ratanakosin Island. 'Ko' is the Thai word for island. This is a large and ancient area and is the site of the Grand Palace and Bangkok's City Pillar Shrine, among other places of historical significance.

Anyways, we reached the Grand Palace rather early (at 8am) and was unable to enter until 8:30am. As we waited by the entrance, slowly we saw tour buses stopping nearby and more and more people piled up at the gates. We were getting more and more excited as 8:30 comes near. Suddenly, we saw army buses unloading soldiers. We were curious what was happening. It looked like they were going to war or something as they marched towards the Palace gate.

Well, it was actually the army changing shift for their duties at the Grand Palace. (We heard this from one of the tour guides). We were really lucky to see this shift changing drill as they performed in front of us. It was worth the early wake and misunderstanding of the taxi driver. It was an eye opener for me to see such a wonderful exercise that shows how patriotic the Thai people are.

Fann & I outside the Grand Palace

Please also note that there is a very very strict dress code. No shorts, short skirts, leggings and sleeveless shirts. If by chance you are under dressed you can borrow proper attire at a building near the entrance gate. You will have to leave a credit card or passport as a deposit. But for me and Fann, we were well dressed. so no troubles for us.

As 8:30am struck, everyone is allowed to enter the gates and roam around the outer compound of the Grand Palace. From one side, you can see all the beautiful structures of the Grand Palace's compound. I was fascinated by the astonishing and impressive view. We were lucky that the weather was great on that day. It wasn't too hot and there was a little bit of wind.

Do get there as early as possible to avoid the crowds. Try to go on weekdays

Before entering into the compounds, every tourist is required to buy a ticket. The entrance fee to the Grand Palace is THB350, which also includes a free admission to Vimanmek Mansion Museum but must be used within 7 days.

Signs with english words in the compound

There are also personal audio guides available for rent THB100 in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese or Mandarin. It even comes with a special guide pin pointing special areas of interest. English signs with directions are visible so you can go on your own tour with a good history book about the Grand Palace and that's what we did.

Some monks visiting the Palace

A lady walking into one of the restricted court yards

The Grand Palace is a wonderful place to visit if you're a person who adores architecture or loves photography. Fann & I spent almost 2 hours plus in the Grand Palace, just slowly wandering around it's courtyard and slowly admiring their architectural marvels. As someone who loves photography so much, I told myself to capture as many things as I can in the Grand Palace.

The upper terrace with it's four main iconic monuments

It's pretty useless for me to introduce one by one what these structures are because you can actually read more about it on the Grand Palace's website and also when you're there, you will be offered a free tour map of the Grand Palace, with each structures introduced neatly and nicely for you without any typo errors from us foreigners. So, what I'll do here is to share some shots that I took inside the majestic wonder built by the ancient Thai King.

A Buddha statue sitting in a corner

The Grand Palace has a unique sense of architecture. If you look closely, most of it's structures has statues of elephants and mythical beings scattered around and with a generous touch of ancient Thai style architecture. Back in the old days besides India, China too had a great impact and influence on the Thai heritage, that's why you could find some buildings even have Chinese elements which represents how the lovely Thai people accepts and respects other cultures too.

The Royal Pantheon (Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn)

A miniature size model of Angkor Wat

Some beautiful stupas with mythical creatures scattered around

Phra Wiharn Yod, I loved the floral patterns that decorates this structure

One part of the massive structure of The Temple of the Emerald Buddha

There is one great structure called The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Where it houses one of Thailand's most significant and sacred relic. The Buddha statue is entirely carved out from a huge block of Jade, but the monk who discovered it mistakenly thought that it was made from emerald, hence it's name.

Hello, Emerald Buddha! :)

The Emerald Buddha is about 30 inches tall and it is so holy and revered that the only pair of hands that can touch it belongs to the King. The King performs a ritual 3 times a year corresponding with the 3 seasons by changing the Emerald Buddha's robes; one for hot season, rainy season and cool season.

Thai devotees using water lilies shower themselves with holy water to show blessings

The Palace courts is not only a place for tourist, but mainly it stands as a holy ground for the King and the Thai people to worship and pray. If you stay a little longer and take a look around, you can see that most of the visitors are Thai and they come here to only worship and not tour around.

It's very touching to see how strong the Thai people's belief is and how much they respect Buddha and their own heritage. You can also see not only old people but young and even successful people who come here and bow and pray to Buddha.

The beautiful Borom Phiman Mansion

In the Grand Palace, we also noticed that it has Western architecture. Notably the Borom Phiman Mansion. It was built in 1903, by King Rama V for the Heir Apparent, the future King Rama VI. At present the Borom Phiman Mansion serves as the Royal Guest House for visiting Heads of State and guests of Their Majesties. Unfortunately, tourists are restricted into this compound.

Sadly, we could only take a picture with the friendly guard outside the mansion

Chakri Maha Prasat Hall

Oddly, there's also structures that has a fusion of Western and Thai style elements in their architecture as well. Most notably the most majestic of all, Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall. The neatly maintained lawn and planted trees of weird shapes makes it the most beautiful of all. It is also the most recognizable building in the entire Grand Palace. The architectural style is definitely the most significant description with a blend of Thai and Italian Renaissance style.

There are also lamp posts from London that decoates the landscape.

Behind us was the beautiful gate of Phimanchaisri. What else can I say? Everything was so beautiful that I admired every single detail of the Grand Palace. It was an orgasm of majestic architecture. Too much to handle! We have walked a great and reasonable number of distance that should have covered the entire compound. But unfortunately there's more. I'll let the photos do the talking.

Dusit Maha Prasat Hall

The spectacular window designs for the structure

The museum of the Emerald Buddha

Gates to the exit

Fann jumping for joy

One of the beautiful crafted gates

One of the many paintings of Thai ancient stories

An unknown building outside the Palace :D

The walls of the Grand Palace

Lastly, we have finally ended our photography trip to the Grand Palace, and there are more that is waiting for us ahead. Our next destination is the Dusit Park, where the famous Vinmanmek Mansion is situated. But I'll cover that in another post. So, don't forget to keep on to your Grand Palace tickets, because it too includes a free admission to the Vinmanmek Mansion, which is a taxi drive away.

Trip to Bangkok - Loy Nava Cruise

2011-12-13T21:38:00.013+08:00

The Loy Nava Cruise rice barge heading our way

Often times when we travel to a city, we ask ourselves if there's anything to do at night? Well, to most of us, night life plays an important role. On the 2nd night in Bangkok, I decided to take Fann out to a really special dinner. She always told me that she would like to watch Thai dances while having a wonderful meal. So, I went around researching for the best places to have that kind of experience in Bangkok.

I came across a few, such as Studio 9 Café and Patravadi Theatre Café. These cafés are situated at the banks of the Chao Phraya River. Where you can not only enjoy traditional Thai dances while having your dinner and also a great view of the Grand Palace. However after much consideration, I booked for a river cruise dinner instead.

The beautiful teakwood barge

A trip to Thailand isn't complete without a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River, so I decided to booked the Loy Nava Cruise. It is a luxurious rice barge with five star dining, touring and gives you a chance to experience traditional Thai culture on board. It is also known as the only teakwood rice barge on the river in Bangkok. I booked the cruise online through their website http://www.loynava.com/

What's great about this cruise is that they also provide pick up service from anywhere you want in Bangkok and Yes, the price already includes the pick up service. After the dinner, they will drop you back to wherever you want (usually your hotel).

The pick up driver's sign

The cruise dinner has 2 sessions. One is at 6pm (known as the sunset cruise) and the other is at 8pm (known as the night cruise). We went for the sunset cruise, believing that it would be more romantic to see Bangkok at sunset. They picked us up at our hotel at 5pm sharp, then went on to pick up the other cruise customers. Fann and I were so excited but felt a little alienated as all of the other customers were caucasians. Made me feel a little bit out of place. :P

Thai girl performing traditional music throughout the cruise

Once everyone is on board, the waiter head will introduce what's planned for the night as the barge cruises on. He hands out a small menu-looking map that is beautifully drawn. That is actually a map of the sights you will see while on the cruise, such as The Assumption Cathedral, The Royal Palace, Santa Cruz Church, Tammasart University, and many more.

Fann happily reading what's on the menu for the night

In the mood for some photography

So, what's on the menu you ask. The cruise dinner includes 3 menus namely the Thai traditional Menu, Thai Seafood Menu & Thai Vegetarian Menu. Of course, vegetarian is out of the question for the both of us. I'll not go into details on what's on the menu as you can read it up on their page here. But I can tell you that, if you choose the Thai traditional menu, you get the chance to taste almost all of the luxury delicacies that you can find in Thailand.

Sorry for the bad food photos. (The food is tastier than it looks here, trust me)
Notice the cute elephant table cloth :)

The waiter will introduce each of the food once it's placed on the table in front of you. So you can have an idea what's going into your mouth. The food was delicious and while enjoying some traditional dances, really makes you feel like a Thai King.

The sights around were astounding. I've never seen Bangkok so beautiful at night. The soft traditional Thai music in the background, while the engine of the barge slowly cruises through the river, gives you a great tranquil feeling as you enjoy your dinner with the magnificent view of Bangkok. I managed to captured some shots of the things we saw.

The famous Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Rachini School (the first girls school to be operated by Thais)

The Grand Palace & Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Wat Rakhang Kositharam (The temple of bells)

A view of the Phra Pok Klao Bridge

Lastly a huge U turn at the Rama VIII Bridge

The romantic mood on the barge (great for couples)

The cruise lasted for about an hour and a half. Everything was planned out very nicely and the service was great. We had a wonderful experience and this cruise has gave us a great summary and introduction of Bangkok's heritage.

As the tour ended, we payed the bill by cash and everyone left with a small souvenir from the cruise. It was the beautiful map of the cruise's route. I have it right here with me, if you're interested to have a look at it, just let me know. The driver sent each of us back to the hotel and I could feel that everyone was very excited. The cruise left us with a beautiful memory and a wonderful experience on how beautiful Thai culture and hospitality is.

It was a great evening, and for those first timers to Bangkok, you can give Loy Nava a try. I find the price reasonable, having such a fantastic time on board. Check out the price on their website and just for your information, pre payment is not needed. You just have to pay on board and I would suggest all tourist to pay by cash. :)

Trip to Bangkok - Chatuchak Market

2011-12-09T21:30:00.010+08:00

Colourful earrings

Need I introduce the famous and mind boggling Chatuchak Weekend Market (JJ Creative Market) of Bangkok? When you Google for the name, you can find tons of information about it. However, if you're reading this, this is my version. It is the so called largest market in Thailand with over 8,000 stalls and ready to blow your girlfriend's mind away. It's a shopping paradise for girls and guys and the things on sale there are extensive, from clothes to food, pets to accessories, decorations to books, and more. Please note that by weekend, I mean only Saturday & Sunday. On Friday, it's wholesale day.

Shopping and exploring Chatuchak is like a treasure hunt. The place is filled with tons of things you expect and least expect. It's a great place to spend half a day shopping.

Fann and her "Chatuchak Time Face"

Before going there, you need to bear in mind of these 10 cliche but very helpful tips:

Wear light and comfortable, this includes your shoes too
Bring sunglasses or hats or an umbrella to block of the heating sun, and apply sunscreen
Carry your bags/backpacks in the front, so you can keep an eye for pickpockets
Bring extra shopping bags (save environment mah)
Bring enough cash and change, you'll be amazed by what you'll see
Please get a copy of the JJ Creative Market map at the main entrance
Please remember where the main entrance is, this will help you on getting back
Practice on your price negotiating skills, it'll come in handy at every stall
Please go there early at around 9am-9:30am to avoid the crowd and afternoon heat
Lastly, bring along the hotel card too.

The tuk-tuk driver who drives us to our destination

Getting to Chatuchak Weekend Market from Mystic Place Hotel is the easiest thing ever. All you have to do is finish your breakfast and by 9am, they will give you a free ride with their cute tuk-tuk to the market. It takes only about 3mins and it's fun. Please note that the hotel only provides ride to the market but not back to the hotel. So, I'll touch on that later.

The crowd at around 9:30am, still movable

Colourful shoes

Colourful beads and girl stuff

Vintage stuff (but these are just display items)

Chatuchak is full of surprises. You'll be amazed by the treasures you find here. If it's your first time there like me, just go with the flow and explore as much as you can. If you see something that you really really like, just go ahead and buy it. It's because you might not have the chance to see it again once you leave and once you're back on track in the maze of stalls (It's 36 acres big!).

You're as well to just forget them and wander around, as it is a very disorientating place of many narrow alleys and trying to follow a map around can prove very frustrating as well. But the map is still helpful when you need to find the entrance.

Thai crafts lady making cool looking dragons from strings

Fann showing me the pants that's gonna leave the stall with her

One of Fann's treasures!

While Fann was busy picking out clothes and shoes, I had some time to look around and to shoot some stuff in the surroundings. From a photographer's point of view, it quite a great place for some spontaneous street photography.

Kid picking out local popsicles

Hawkers pushing their stalls to their spot

Cute cashier sitting high up to grab attention

Fruit seller cutting up some yummy mango

People waiting for their food

Ang Mo choosing earrings

Do not forget that bargaining is mandatory. The things sold at Chatuchak and the prices are generally substantially cheaper than the shopping centers and street stalls on Silom and Sukhumvit. Many shops in the more centrals areas of the city also have a branch here, selling the same goods and fortunately for much lower prices.

After a long walk around the market, don't forget to give yourself a treat. Water especially is extremely important in this hot weather. The must-tries for Chatuchak Market would be the following.

Look for these stalls that sell 100% mandarin orange juice. No sugar added and it's delicious

Clubice's ice cream. Great to cool down for a while

If you still have the stomach for it, the famous coconut snowflake is a must try

Chocolate banana

Also, their local coffee is a must try for coffee lovers :)

This is our lunch: Fann's pork noodle soup and my Roast Pork Rice

Glass bottles of Coke

Lastly, after a long day at the Chatuchak Market, it's time to head back to the hotel. Get ready your hotel card and show it to the tuk-tuk driver or taxi driver. But before that, here are our experiences:

1. Do not get on a tuk-tuk if the driver approaches you himself and if you're uncomfortable with the price. (Price for tuk-tuk to get back to hotel is only about THB25)
We were approached by one driver at the main entrance and he offered to give us a ride back to the hotel for THB150. I asked for a discount, but he refused saying that there's a traffic jam and a load of crap. We then walked away, when suddenly he screams to ask for THB1oo, but wanted to bring us to some shop. Immediately, I remembered about reading how these tuk-tuk drivers cheat tourist into driving them to souvenir shops and forcing them to buy stuff. We smiled and quickly refused and vanished back into the Chatuchak crowd, knowing this guy was gonna cheat us.

2. Walk back to the spot that Mystic Place's tuk-tuk left you and walk to the opposite side of the road and wave for a taxi.
From this opposite side of the road, you can save some money on the taxi meter because this will skip the U-turn and the taxi can directly bring you back to the hotel. Bangkok's taxi meter starts at THB35 and upon reaching the hotel, the meter reads only THB40. So, if you have tons of stuff to carry and need an air-con ride, I would suggest that taxi is the best option. But please make sure that the taxi will run by meter before entering the taxi.

We were lucky we didn't ride the tuk-tuk, if we did we couldn't have made it back to the hotel on time and our schedule would have been messed up.

One last thing that is very important for all. Pick pockets roam the Chatuchak Weekend Market and is very hard to notice in the crowd.

While I was walking, a kid knocked me in the butt where my wallet was. He then quickly ran away without apologizing and then I saw him knock another lady in front of me. I quickly reached to my wallet and was relieved that it was still there. The back pockets of my shorts where my wallet was had a button and I remembered I had buttoned up the pocket. After the kid knocked me, the button went loose. He had tried to take my wallet but noticed that the pocket was buttoned. Fortunately for the button, he only managed to loosen the button and did not take my money and wallet. My advice again to all Chatuchak visitors, PLEASE be careful of your belongings when you're there.

Us at the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Thanks to the angmo who took this picture

Other than that, have a great weekend at the Chatuchak Market. :)

Trip to Bangkok - Arrival at Mystic Place Bangkok

2011-12-06T21:00:00.009+08:00

Thai Flag on the Tuk Tuk

Bangkok, or Krung Thep, meaning the City of Angels has a population of over 9 million. This was my 3rd trip there. However, all I can say is that this time was the best trip and most well worth trip ever to this city. Bangkok gave me different memories each time I was here. The 1st time, it was an old fashioned tour with uncles and aunties. The 2nd time, was a 13 hours transit to Japan. Now, the 3rd time was the most unforgetable experience.

As we all know, Thailand was hit by floods back in July 2011. Also, due to the effect of La Niña, in September, Bangkok too was starting to flood and was threatened seriously by mid-October. We began to worry that our trip would be affected. Fortunately, the water resided by the end of November and most of Bangkok's flood was almost gone. Our loved ones warned us not to go, with rumors stating germs and parasites were attacking Bangkok, but still we had to go. It was an important trip for us because without it, I would go insane without rest from work. As you can see in these aerial photos I shot, some parts of Bangkok is still affected by the flood.

Sageh & Mini popping by to say Hi

Fann & I planned out our trip very well, including what to do, where to go and what to eat, because we didn't want to waste our short 4 nights there. We had our itinerary printed out, maps prepared, travel book packed and ready to go. Unfortunately, the curse of Air Asia's delay caused many of our schedules to be postponed or even canceled. Well, Thanks Air Asia, Now Everyone Can Fly....LATE!

Lady in Red

Rainy Day to Bangkok

The bad thing about Air Asia is that, when you're at the boarding gate on time, the plane is most probably not there. In this delay case, we had to wait an additional hour due to some unknown reason. I had to inform my Bangkok hotel about my delay, as I had someone in Bangkok waiting for me to fetch me from the airport to my hotel.

Blue Skies reaching Bangkok, can't wait

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

Location: Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
Time: 4:00pm
Date: 2 December 2011
We reached Bangkok at around 4pm (Malaysian time 5pm). We grabbed our luggage and ran over to the gate where the chauffeur was waiting for us. To my amazement, he said I was rather early. He took us in his car and we went directly to the hotel. On the way there, the road was pretty jam at some parts, I was so tired from the delay and was sitting in the car admiring the colourful taxis of Bangkok.

The chauffeur with my name and my luggage.

Tip #1 : Bangkok is famous for it's traffic jams. Try to avoid travelling to Bangkok (City Center or from Airport) on Fridays during after work hours, especially after 4pm.

Bangkok Tol Gate

Mystic Place Curious Rooms Bangkok at night

Location: Mystic Place Rooms in Bangkok
Time: 6:00pm
Date: 2 December 2011

After an hour drive, we finally reached our desitnation. We stayed at this little B&B called Mystic Place Curious Rooms Bangkok. Besides being an arty boutique inn, it's extremely close to the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market. Mystic Place has about 36 different designed rooms as you can see in their website. We stayed in room 211 & 409. Each room, we stayed for 2 nights. Do also check out their facebook page for more updates (That's one of the places where I get updates about the flood in the area)

Even at this late hour, we were greeted with a very warm welcome by their superb staff and everything was well prepared for us. Their friendliness made us feel so cozy and homey. After checking into the room, we rushed outside to find something to eat.

To our amazement, just right outside the hotel, food stalls gather around like ants in an anthill. We strolled down and tried to figure out what to eat. Unfortunately, everything was written in Thai. We had no idea what and how to order. Finally, as our stomachs started to growl and stab me, we saw a seat by the roadside, sat down, swallowed our guts and used our pointing and dancing skills to tell the uncle "this this two two ok ok there there!". Fortunately, the uncle either understood or thought we were total idiots, wrapped up two bowls of delicious kuey tiaw soup. We chomped away and it only costed us THB70 for both. After the first bite, I was in love with Thai street food. Pork was everywhere! WOOHOO!

Pork Chop
Tip #2 : Street food is the best way to save money when it comes to eats. It's price starts from as low as THB20 and it has tons of choices to choose from.

After the kuey tiaw soup, we went further down and saw pork chops. Sat down and did the same dance move to the pork chop guys. We shared one pork chop and we were so freaking full. As the night started to set in, we had a few hours to spare before getting to bed. We went to Mystic Place's massage parlour and got an hour of pampering in the head, shoulder and waist. It only costed THB240! Spectacular!

Mystic Place is a wonderful place to stay because of many convenient things that surround them. I will introduce more about the small Inn slowly with tips as well. Our next day trip would be to Fann's long awaited Chatuchak Weekend Market. More to come in the next post! Goodnight!

First Camwhore in Bangkok!

My Film Gear Organised

2011-11-24T23:13:00.004+08:00

Ever wondered what film gear we use for our photos? Well, here it is and organised neatly.

Zee Avi Homecoming Tour K.L

2011-11-18T15:13:00.013+08:00

Zee's solo moment

Last night, Malaysian singer Zee Avi was performing in KL Live. Her performance was pretty enjoyable but too bad it ended too quick. I was shooting for hitz.fm, the official radio station for Zee Avi's Homecoming Tour. The performance started off with a local band called Narmi. They were pretty cool too. I was quite impressed. :)

Narmi

Zee's music was extremely unique and entertaining. Her style included a fusion of traditional dayak and international musical instruments. The mix was absolutely amazing. With her beautiful voice, the entire night just went on and on. Zee had another unique point which makes every Malaysian proud. It was her use of Manglish in some of her songs, notably "Kantoi".

Zee's guitarist playing the sapeh

Zee and her ukulele

St Anthony's School '71 Class Reunion

2011-08-17T15:47:00.012+08:00

Have you ever thought what it would be like if you have not met your classmates for 40 years and reunited again one day? Honestly, it's quite impossible for me to imagine. Well, I had the chance to experience this sort of feeling, even though I'm still in my 20s. Thanks to the uncles and aunties from the St. Anthony's School class of 1971. This wonderful reunion they had was so meaningful, that I felt proud to be part of.

Despite being an outsider, I was very touched and I could feel how close they were even if they had not met for almost 40 years. It sure was awkward, but it was so beautiful. The moment itself, made me cry.

Here is the video and photos me and Fann took while we were there. Shot in my hometown, Kuching. I present to you, the classmate of Class '71.

designBAR Website Launched

2011-04-24T12:32:00.007+08:00

Click on the image to go to the site

Dear everyone, as you can see, most of my official photography has not been updated here in this blog anymore. So, I would like to invite everyone one of you to my new website http://www.designbar.com.my

In the designBAR site, you will be able to see a showcase of my photography such as portraits, weddings, couple shoots, families and more. It's my new small business which is also my part time job. If you would like to know more on the costs for my services, do not hesitate to call me or email me.

All the details are in the website. Do check out my new website as it will be updated quite often.
Also, if you would like to join my Facebook page.
The address is http://www.facebook.com/designbarphotography.

Thanks for your support! [email me at reubenteo@designbar.com.my]

My Old School Camera

2011-04-08T22:19:00.004+08:00

Here's my Polaroid 600 Close up! Old school ain't it? Love it so much! :) Here's some other shots with Fann's Fish eye 2 Camera and Fujifilm Instax 210! All our film gang in one! Enjoy :)

I know I'm a camera fanatic. Well, if you are tired of looking at my camera, please visit some of my photography work at http://www.designbar.com.my. Thanks for the support yea?

A simple little Valentine's

2011-02-19T14:24:00.010+08:00

Valentine's Day is a day for every lover to celebrate their commitment and passion. Everywhere I go, I can see couples snuggling and you can really feel that love is in the air.

We all heard before that if you love your partner every single day, then there's no point celebrating Valentine's day. But you know what I think? I think that's partially correct, but on Valentine's Day, it makes you feel whatever you do more special. Therefore, I've decided to bring my cute valentine for a beautiful lunch and spend the whole day with her on the 15th of Feb instead. Because it was a public holiday too.

Where'd you come from?

Hehehe.. my Valentine

We headed down to this place called Jarrod & Rawlins for lunch. The food was fabulous. What's special about this restaurant? It serves American style pork. Well, it was a little pricey but it's worth it. We ordered a Calamari Salad, A J&R Pork Burger and a pork sausage that was really long. Scrumptious and delicious food they have, but a little bit hot for Malaysian weather since they closed the air con room during lunchtime.

Most of the time, people are rather stressed on how to express their love on Valentine's day. Well, my message to all the lovers who's celebrating this love love day: Just keep it simple, and that's the sweetest thing you can do for you Valentine. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

Kuching and Nature

2011-02-05T22:06:00.005+08:00

I've been staying in Kuala Lumpur for about 6 years. This has become a huge influence to my life. Imagine waking up every morning to bustling traffic noises and the only isolation you have from the world is my huge headphones. It's actually quite terrible for a Kampung boy like me from the tranquil little town of Kuching.

This Chinese New Year was a shortly spent one in Kuching, but it felt pretty good. It gave me a few days of escape from the crazy city of K.L and allowed me to relax myself without having to go to bed with traffic noises around me, seeing my family again. All these little things kind of refreshed me.

Daddy and Mommy took me on a ride yesterday to a rather ulu place, called Matang. The feeling of seeing greens and smelling nature felt awesome. Wished Fann was here with us. We saw quite a few places like, a fishing village, a park and lots of greens. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. It's been months since I last took some nice landscape photos. :) Enjoy~

The Gift

2010-11-29T00:35:00.004+08:00

My Panasonic Digital Film Fiesta short film on youtube. Here is the synopsis! Enjoy :)

A story about friendship and the misunderstandings surrounding the stereotyping and lack of understanding different culture.

Born in a little village in Malaysia, Alya (Nur Alya Maisarah), a Malay girl loves spending time with her bestest best friend, Nadia (Tan Hooi Mi). Nadia comes from a typical superstitious Chinese family. Alya wakes Nadia up every morning and goes to school together. They play and have fun all the time. As Nadia's birthday is near, Alya saves up some money to buy her a birthday gift. Nadia, upon receiving her gift was so happy until she opened it. Nadia was shocked and ran away, leaving Alya puzzled. Confused, Alya looks at the gift only to find out that she has forgotten to remove the price tag. Alya feels sorry and depressed and comes to discover that it was a misunderstanding.

designBAR Christmas GIFTaway

2010-11-16T08:50:00.002+08:00

Don't you just love Christmas so much? Well, DesignBAR does too and wants to share this holiday season with all our fans and friends.

All you have to do is:
1. Find your most creative & memorable Christmas photo
2. Send your photo to reubenteo@designbar.com.my
3. Tell us why you deserve to win this FREE photo shoot
4. Ask all your friends to LIKE and COMMENT on your photo
5. Photos with the most likes will be the winner!

We’re now giving away free photo shoots worth up to RM1000 plus a set of postcards with your photos printed on it! Share with us your most Creative and Memorable Christmas Moment and tell us why, then stand a chance to win this free photo shoot with us!

All you have to do is send in a photo of your best Christmas memory together with a short description (Also send in your full name, contact number and email address) and send it to reubenteo@designbar.com.my before 30th November 2010, 8:59pm.

We will be posting up the photos to an album on DesignBAR's facebook page and everyone can start voting from 1st - 15th December 2010.

So, don't forget to ask ALL your friends to vote for you! Best part is, they would also stand a chance to win a mystery gift too!

PRIZE:

The submission winner with the highest votes will get a free portraits photo-shoot worth RM800 + 1 set of postcards with own photos printed on.

BONUS PRIZE:

1 lucky fan who votes for the winner will win a mystery gift from DesignBAR!

Sandy & Kim's Wedding Animation

2010-10-08T14:00:00.008+08:00

Being very busy for the last month, we were almost near our death line in rushing this important project for our client, Shuen (from Perth, Australia). This little short animation was done for her who wanted to surprise her sister on her wedding day (7th Oct 2010). It was a rather last minute project, and I needed full scale man-power. I had Fann helping me on the graphics and Bowie working on the copy writing and translation to Cantonese, while I was in charge of the animation part.

The main plot of the animation are based on the real life of the couple, Sandy & Kim. We added some spices and humor with a little exaggeration to aid the animation in making it more interesting. The wedding was going to be held in Macau, that's where I feel that this animation has really gone a long way and I bet it fulfills Shuen's dream of surprising her sister. All the others, I'll leave it to the animation to talk for itself.

Thank you Fann & Bowie on helping me finish up this project. You guys are the best and last but not least, the song used in the background is by John Mayer feat. Taylor Swift - Half of my heart.

Sunshine with Diana

2010-09-25T00:36:00.003+08:00

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." by Hans Christian Anderson. This quote means so many things in life and it is like a motivation to every person's heart which gives you the extra energy to move on and keep going.
Diana, is one of the most cheerful people I know and she reflects upon this quote with ease. I name this theme "Sunshine with Diana" with the inspiration from the above quotation. This shoot is about a girl who leaves from her daily busy city life and relaxes far away from the city. Here, she is accompanied by the beautiful sunshine which makes her smile as beautiful as ever.

Here are some of the pictures from the shoot:

Diana with sunflower

Playing with bubbles

Relaxing by the lake

Simple picnic

Enjoying nature and bubbles

Diana and her flowers

Diana's beautiful long legs

Up up in the air

Diana's beautiful eyes

...And last but not least, the whole team behind this beautiful shoot. Btw, Diana's holding my daddy's TLR camera from the previous post. Haha.. Sweet dreams

Daddy's old toy, Our new toy

2010-07-24T21:04:00.005+08:00

I've been having a really stressful month, with so much things to worry and take care of. Finally, I can find a little time to sit down, only to find out that I've been feeling awfully nostalgic about something. What is it?

Well, it's photography. I haven't been running around and being active in photo shooting since the Batu Caves trip. So, I've been digging into my old files in my hard drive and I found a series of pictures I took of my daddy's TLR.

All the memories my daddy had with this camera. It's one of his first cameras. It's really old and in not a very good condition. But still the more vintage it looks, the more I love it.

A TLR stands for Twin-Lens Reflex camera. It's a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective (the lens that takes the picture), while the other is used for the waist-level viewfinder system. See how the image floats on the transparent glass. It works like magic.

What's good about TLRs? Well, one thing I know is that compared to single-lens reflex cameras (SLR) the TLRs provide a continuous image on the finder screen. The view does not black out during exposure.

Also, it does not have any shutter lag. So, that means it's great for action shots like sports or dances or even shooting Sageh Bear.

One disadvantage of the TLR is due to the viewfinder of a TLR camera require the photographer to look down toward the camera, it is inconvenient to frame a photo with a subject that requires the camera to be positioned above the photographer's chest.

Yea, so that's that. It's really something to check out. Looking at how cameras evolved. TLR doesn't even need any battery and it can take fantastic images.

It has all the sophisticated mechanism that a camera needs and also it comes with a really cool bag for storage. Cameras, photogaphy oh my love~~

The Gift: Production

2010-07-11T10:48:00.010+08:00

Finally, the production for my latest short film 'The Gift' is done. It has been a hectic month for me, in order to get preparation done for this production. Due to the lack of time and also crew members, I had to do most of the things myself and also the help of my girlfriend, Fann. As I had to finish up some office projects in the day and get some time to plan at night, it was rather difficult for me to find time in order to fine tune all things and prepare equipments and props and stuff. My only time to shoot was during the lovely weekends of 26 & 27 of June.

These two girls, named Alya and Nadia are my characters in the film. During the casting period, I went from drawing tuition schools, to swimming classes in order to find two characters that suit the movie script. Fortunately, Mr. Lim was able to help me to shortlist his hundreds of swimming students in order for me to find them easily. While God answered my prayer, I found these two perfect match. In real life, they are already friends. Just as I wanted.The shoot went quite well I would say. It wasn't until it was Nadia's turn to shoot, and that she knew that acting in a video involves repeating the same steps again and again. This made her get impatient even over the first repeated shot. Fann and Ting was a great help, they were the ones who had to take care of each of the kids and the ones who had to constantly make them laugh and be happy.
The weather was very hot. This was felt when we were shooting the playground scene. The kids' smiles were getting faker and faker. Luckily, the ice cream man was here. There, we had Ywei buy a couple of ice creams for them to cool down.
For the sad scenes, we had to brainstorm on how to make Alya feel sad and cry. Ting had a great idea. She took out her handphone and began playing this melancholic tune as I began to shoot. Alya was really getting into the sad mood. Clever isn't it?
The experience of rushing this project was a race against time. My head was so stressed, I couldn't think straight. I tried my best to keep everything on track and hope that none of the scenes were left out. Nadia gave me the hardest time. She was so reluctant to repeat her wrong shots that I had my patience all worn out. Many scenes had to be taken out due to this. She even affected Alya's performance and made her a little unhappy. But these challenges were already something I had expected earlier. So, editing for me was quite difficult. Despite many unusable shots, I tried my best to cover it up with some editing and narration. Zyen came just in time to help my poor crew members for buying us lunch and helping me take some pictures.
In terms of equipments loaned from Panasonic. The hardest thing was to adjust the colours and brightness of the outdoor scenes. Although the Panasonic AVCCAM camera was a cool full HD camera, but it lacks built in ND filters, and this led to many over exposed shots in the outdoor scenes. The shoot ended happily on Sunday afternoon and my nightmare had just begun. It took me hours and days to edit and fine tune the video. Some of the sequences and timing had to be readjusted due to some un-OK shots. My laptop and girlfriend were my bestest friends during this hard time. Without them, I could have just gave up halfway.

Finally, I have finished editing the video and am now in the midst of preparing to burn them into DVD video. Those who has helped and contributed to the production of this short film will be able to get a copy of the DVD.
Also, special thanks to PrintSOS for helping me get my offline media printed with superb quality.

Putra Jaya Shoot with Fann

2010-05-28T17:44:00.003+08:00

Yes, I know. It's Putra Jaya again. Well, this series of photographs were actually taken before Xynn's shoot. It was a Saturday, after my department meeting, Fann & I had nothing to do. We were driving around and headed to nowhere. We decided to get wild and headed to Putra Jaya. It was my 3rd time there.

Fann was all dressed up pretty and I had my camera in the car. We found a spot near the Istana Darul Ehsan and sneaked to its back yard that overlooked the Putra Jaya's famous Putra Bridge and the Putra Mosque. Everything there was named after Putra. No wonder it's called Putra Jaya. It was named after our 1st Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. The word "Jaya" means Victory in Sanskrit. It was a sunny day and I got a few nice shots. Here they are, enjoy:

It was a really hot day but fortunately Fann was pretty good at hiding the fact that the weather was hot with her naughty tongue pose. At the end of the day, we went to Puchong for steamboat. It wasn't that nice and hell it was really expensive.

But still there was a happy girl and a happy boy that day. :)

Happy Birthday Xynn 2010

2010-05-25T23:36:00.003+08:00

Happy Birthday to Xynn. Hope you enjoy your day and the presents Fann & I got for you (Not all the things in the pictures) :P HAPPY BIRTHDAY XYNN!! Stay young and beautiful forever...

Putra Jaya Shoot with Xynn

2010-05-22T15:47:00.005+08:00

It was Labour's Day and weather was great. Fann & I planned to spend our day for photoshoot. Xynn, on the other hand was also free. She agreed to be our model for the day. So, we headed down to Putra Jaya right after breakfast and to my surprise, I found out that even on a public holiday, the place was almost deserted. Which is great for a photoshoot! Yay~

We brought many props with us, from guitars to balloons, from daddy's camera to teddy bears and more. The photos turned out to be pretty nice and I enjoyed the photo shoot although it was rather tiring. Hope Xynn enjoyed the shoot too. Here are some of the good shots of the day. Enjoy :)

The day ended with 2 happy girls and a happy me. We had Dominos for lunch and thanks to Xynn, for being my beautiful model. Thanks to my viewers too.

Batu Caves with Phototribe

2010-05-15T22:10:00.011+08:00

Finally, our tribes master has given us permission to release our photos. Yes, after our private screening, now it's made public. As everyone can see, photos from the phototribe members can be seen everywhere, from blogs to facebooks. FYI, our club went on a photo trip to Batu Caves on April 22. We went on a school bus and on the way, we were warned of bird droppings and loads of staircases!

This was my very first time there. I would say the place was awesome. I've never in my life experienced such effort Malaysians put into this beautiful limestone hill. It's a temple to honor Lord Murugan, who is the God of War. Clap! Clap! So, for those who are curious on how my set of photos look like, here are some my best shots. Enjoy~

And last but not least, another side of Batu Caves, the fun part:

Lastly, me and Fann @ Batu Caves

Happy 21st Birthday Fann

2010-05-09T17:03:00.004+08:00

Another year has passed. Hope you love the gifts and surprises I gave you.

Here is the video of your special birthday, b. Happy 21st Birthday!

Taiwan Day 8 - Taipei and Back Home

2010-04-28T22:17:00.004+08:00

Location: Yang Ming Shan, Taipei
Time: 6:00am
Date: 2 January 2010

Woke up really early and grabbed our luggage while still shivering in the awfully cold weather. The sky was beautiful back on Yang Ming Shan. I couldn't resist to take some shots before leaving this beautiful landscape.

Our chalet in Yang Ming Shan

Last look at Yang Ming Shan

After some quick shots, we dragged our luggage all the way to the taxi. We had to say bye bye to Yang Ming Shan and take the long journey to the airport.

Fann and her Open

On our flight back to Hong Kong and Malaysia, we had to go back to our ordinary lives, with ordinary economy class flight, ordinary food and ordinary hot weather. But still, you could still see Fann as happy as ever. :)

Me and Fann onboard

Malaysian blue sky

Nevertheless on the flight, I looked out the window, and noticed how beautiful the Malaysian sky was. Til then, Goodbye everyone.

Hong Kong airport runway

Taiwan Day 7 - New Year and Taipei

2010-04-22T23:36:00.016+08:00

Three fireworks Boom Boom Boom

Location: Jiu Fen, Taipei
Time: 12:00am
Date: 1 January 2010

Happy New Year! I know, it's already april, but I love screaming 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' on the mountain tops of Jiu Fen. We waited up at the rooftop, and it was freezing cold. We waited and waited until BOOM! fireworks came shooting up from the city. The sight was so beautiful and the feeling was really amazing.

Big ass new year fireworks

This was the first time I experience fireworks flying up right into my face and on a freezing mountain top. My hands were already ice and I just couldn't stop snapping pictures of the beautiful fireworks that comes from all directions. It was so worth it.

Who has the nicest heart (no pun intended)?

Bowie's B, Terynn's T, Reuben's R, Fann's ..erm... F?

The 4 of us took out our newly bought fireworks to the rooftop and played with it. We wrote letters, we drew hearts, we danced around, we froze still, we burnt a bunch altogether, etc. It was fantastic, spending my new year with Fann. After a while, the motel owner came up the stairs and told us to stop burning his motel. So, we packed our stuff and went back to bed. We were still freezing by the way.

We woke up around 9:30am and the weather was still freezing cold. We had to warm our fingers with our armpits and make breakfast. While eating, we couldn't resist the beautiful view just right outside. As we gobbled our breakfast, we quickly went up the rooftop again to enjoy the view, while Fann sips her coffee from her little paper cup.

I quickly went back to our room and grabbed my camera and tripod. Well, as usual we took some idiotic group photos before we had to leave for Taipei City again.

After packing, we headed down to check out. Along the way to the taxi stand, we bought some mochi and Fann's favourite 铁蛋. As the taxi brought us downtown, he stopped along the way for us to get some shots of the beautiful scenery.

Me & Fann thinking about food

Location: Taipei City
Time: 2:00pm
Date: 1 January 2010

Taipei Sogo

As we reached Taipei, we took the subway to Sogo. Reason? To meet up Bowie's taiwanese friend. Fann & I were excited to meet her friend because it's time for lunch. We were thinking where we should eat, until we found out that her friend was a vegetarian. Hmm.. so, we walked behind Sogo area and looked around for something un-meaty.

Along the way, we came across this restaurant. What attracted our attention, was that it stated ALL YOU CAN EAT for only TWD249! Fann & I were like WOW!!! There were lots of foods to choose from. There were all sorts of cheese cakes, puddings, soup, pasta, salad, fruits, you name it!

Ang Mo Soup

The shop was filled with customers and everyone looked really happy. There were cute waitresses too. Woo~

Well, most of the main dishes were cakes to be exact. The pastas were only available from time to time. You'll hear someone announcing pasta is here then everyone would gather in a line, while a cute waitress will put some pasta on your plate as you gaze at the big tray of pasta. I can't write when there's so much food photos to upload. Aargh, you guys just enjoy the pictures la.

Salad

Pasta

Pizza

Pot of tea

Tiramisu and Layered cheese cake

After lunch, our stomachs felt like bloated balloons. I couldn't stop eating those delicious cheese cakes they have. It was amazing. We took a stroll around Taipei City to help to digest all those guilty food. Fann & I could shut our mouths as our stomach was full of cheese cakes and pastas. After Bo's friend left, we had to catch a taxi and head up to Yang Ming Shan for a nice hot spring.

City life escapade - Yang Ming Shan

We were all tired from last night's New Year celebration. We didn't had enough sleep. So, as we reached the hotel up on Yang Ming Shan, we didn't get to shoot as many photos. But still, the view was beautfiul. You could see that Taipei City is so tiny and far away, which allows me to believe that Yang Ming Shan really is a hideaway from city life.

Taiwanese i-City

We then went down their small town to grab some food, and then head back to our chalet for a nice hot spring bath. The private hot spring was great.

Bo choosing the right food for the other 3 hungry mouths

At first, it was so freakin hot, I couldn't stand it, after spending half an hour to an hour in it, the feeling was so great. I really enjoyed it so much, I couldn't leave that place. After cleaning up and stuff, we packed and headed to bed. It was our last day in Taiwan and I'm beginning to miss it already.

Taiwan Day 6 - Anping and Jiu Fen

2010-04-16T22:51:00.015+08:00

Location: Anping, Tainan
Time: 11:00am
Date: 31 December 2009

Tainan was a really quiet place. We woke up a little late that day, but still the weather was cold. Our plan was to quickly tour around the important and must-go places then leave for Taipei again. So, we took the best transport ever - walking.

Me & terrorist Fann

Surveillance asking people to 'Please Smile'

A flock of surveillance

On our way, we came across a few interesting things. The traffic lights had dozens of surveillance cameras just like birds standing on the electrical wires. I had no idea if Tainan was safe or dangerous. It was a unique sight.

There was this high school with a black Confucius statue. Outside the school, there were these nicely decorated porcelain tiles that had words on it. After browsing through some of them, we noticed that they are some messages left behind by graduated students for the school.

There were temples everywhere. Big ones, small ones, all decorated with amazing sculptures and very detailed bas reliefs. Every temple we passed by, we gave it a little visit with a prayer.

4 idiots at Anping Fort staircase

Walking to our first destination was the Anping Fort. Anping is actually the ancient name for Tainan. This fortress is called Fort Zeelandia (now Anping Fort), which was built over ten years from 1624–1634 by the Dutch. The Dutch had ruled this part of the city for about 38 years during that time. Today, it's one of the icons and hottest tourist spot in modern day Tainan.

Canon boom boom

There was also a statue of General Zheng Cheng-gong, a general of the Ming Dynasty who drove away the Dutch with 400 warships and 25,000 men. Impressive enough, his statue was built there, who we mistakenly took for Admiral Zheng He, also from the Ming Dynasty. After walking around the fortress, we got to collect our visitor's card which we could collect at every famous destinations of Tainan.

Glutinous Rice Wall

Next, we passed by this wall. Interestingly, the Dutch built the wall with red bricks mixed with sticky rice, syrup and oyster shell ash. So, don't eat too much bak zhang. Look at how hard the wall is to digest in your stomach? Also, if not mistaken, I twittered here. At this very spot. Yes there was wifi among these walls. Interesting~ Moving on, we walked to the Anping Tree House.

The Anping Tree House is a late 19th century salt warehouse that has been completely overgrown by mangrove trees. Coiling branches weave through the old brick walls and where once was a roof is now a canopy of green leaves weaving a tapestry of light and shadows. There was a chilly feeling inside the house, so we left rather quickly. But I admire how the branches coil around the house.

Coiling branches

Taipei Bus Station

After sightseeing, we rushed our asses to the station once more and now we had to go back to Taipei. There, we catched a taxi to go up to Jiu Fen, one of the coldest places I've been in Taiwan. The ride up to Jiu Fen was rather long and bumpy. We were going up hill and the roads were really narrow and steep. According to other sources, it was rather dangerous to go uphill, so don't drive too fast.

Location: Jiu Fen, Taipei
Time: 5:00pm
Date: 31 December 2009

After an hour's ride, we reached this remarkably beautiful place called Jiu Fen (九份). It is a mountain town located in Taipei. It was so beautiful that I can't take my eyes of every single detail, until this awful smell kept following me as we were looking for our motel. It was the smell of stinky toufu. A local delicacy enjoyed by most of the Taiwanese, you could almost smell this stinkiness all the way in that narrow path throughout Jiu Fen. To me, it smelt like rotten fish or bad eggs. Poo~ it was terrible, the smell I meant.

Stinky Tou Fu in the making

After we checked into the motel, it was already quite dark at 6pm. The weather was getting really cold. So, we after covering ourselves up with loads of coats and clothes, we headed down to hunt for dinner. All the shops were already preparing to close down. Why? well, it's because the next day was New Year. All the people were getting ready to celebrate and welcome the coming 2010.

Extremely huge meat balls

Some nice nice pork

Some real looking fake food, looks expensive though

Beef belly

Huge wanton mee, feels great during winter

Beef Noodles

Cold tofu, just like how mom makes it

Beautiful alley in Jiu Fen

After dinner, most of the shops were closed. We got to buy some mochi on our way back. It looked so delicious I had to grab some home. Later, we were forced back into our motel. So, what do we do? We take my tripod and put it to great use, to take idiotic pictures of ourselves.

Out at the beautiful alley

Outside the main door

After dinner, most of the shops were closed. Therefore, we were forced back into our motel. So, what do we do? We take my tripod and put it to great use, to take idiotic pictures of ourselves. After fooling around, we went back for tv as we waited for the New Year to come. Fann seems to be falling asleep... hehe...

Up on the rooftop, freezing photo of me and Fann

Taiwan Day 5 - University and Tainan

2010-04-13T22:23:00.017+08:00

Inside the campus

Location: National Chung Cheng University, Chia Yi
Time: 9:00am
Date: 30 December 2009

Time awaits no one. Early in the morning, after light breakfast at the hotel. Bo's friend came to fetch us. We were heading to Bo's ex University, The National Chung Cheng University (CCU) in Chia Yi.

That famous building everyone's talking about

For those who are familiar with the soap opera 《流星花园》, this is the school where it was shot. Frankly speaking, I did not watch it so I have no idea until they told me. I was like uhm...okay. That particular building is actually the administration building of the university. I'd say that the whole university is very very large.

A lonely bridge on campus

There were quite some nice scenery around the campus. There were lakes and bridges. Birds and trees. I remembered that the corridors of the buildings looked similar to my high school. There was a feeling of nostalgia. Most probably because my school had many influences from the Taiwanese. I was attracted to the line of bikes that were parked very tidily outside the classroom buildings. You could see a mixture of modern bikes and those old vintage uncle bikes. It was really interesting.

Line of bikes

Beautifully designed food menus

After sight seeing, it was time for lunch. What amazed me the most was the nicely decorated menus throughout. This is what I call dedicated to food. Canteen nice, menu nice, sure food also nice lah. Here's a shot of what students at the university can enjoy:

University fish rice with some university sauce

Cute calendar from the shop

After lunch, we went to their campus' stationery shop. It was so huge. I never knew I could sapu so many things from a stationery shop, in a University! They sold all sorts of stationeries, from books to calendars, 3d puzzles to stamps, pilot pens to even panda ang pows.

We took a last shot at the university then we had to leave for the train station to Tai Nan. The station looked pretty old, with those very british era kinda look. But no matter how old the station was, the gadgets and system they have, were still much more advanced than our LRT stations. pity~

The railway station in Chia Yi

The train ride to Tai Nan was a few hours long. The fields that passed by were amazing. There was this drama kinda feeling. After enjoying our snacks and camwhoring on the train, we've reached the city of Tainan.

Location: Tainan City
Time: 5:00pm
Date: 30 December 2009

Welcome to the beautiful city of Tainan. The beautiful lights that shines over that peaceful river gives Tainan's first impression as romantic. Tainan was ruled by the Dutch which was located around the Anping district. It used to be the capital of Taiwan Island up til the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, historical buildings can be seen almost anywhere around the city. Enough about history, time for food. Here's what our dinner looked like in Tainan:

Coffin Bread (棺材板), Tainan's thick cut bread dipped in egg filled with savory fillings.

ô-á-chian (蚵仔煎)

Salty Crispy Chicken (鹹酥雞), the deep fried chicken that needs no explanation

Beef Soup (牛肉汤)

Beef Fried Noodles (牛肉炒面)

Fried Beef (炒牛肉)

After a very filling dinner, we headed back to the hotel, but on the way, we stopped for some dessert. We got puddings from Elate. It was so delicious!!!!! We dapao-ed and took it back to the hotel to rape it clean.

We got ourselves three different flavours to share. We had chocolate, vanilla and mango. Pudding went missing just in a few minutes. It was delicious. Off to bed, with a very filled stomach to recharge battery for the next day's food quest.

If you're interested in finding this pudding shop, then here's the map (Anping):

Taiwan Day 4 - Book Store and Chia Yi

2010-04-12T11:04:00.014+08:00

Location: Zhong Xiao Xin Sheng, Taipei
Time: 9:00am
Date: 29 December 2009

Okay, time to return to write about my Taiwan trip (on someone's special request). Woke up after a good rest and checked out from our hotel. Me and Fann then traveled down to look for Bo and Terynn.

After booking our tickets to Jia Yi online, we checked out of the hotel. After making some arrangements to put our baggage at the hotel, we walked to the post office to send something. At the post office, I found panda stamps!

Old Old Breakfast Shop

Good Morning Mr. Rice Roll, How I missed you...

We then moved our asses to makan breakfast at a simple store. Again we had rice rolls and egg rolls. This rice rolls were awesome, because it's huge in size. Look at the pork floss packed inside that roll of rice. Yummy~

Looking cool outside the bookstore's building.

Stuck in a Christmas ball

After makan, we took a cab and headed to Eslite Book Store (誠品信義店). The place were still decoarted with christmas trees and christmas ornaments. Guess Christmas doesn't end so early back here in Taipei as well. The book store is so huge, that you can get lost inside. It's enormous area consists of a cafe as well. The books are organised very nicely and tidily, whereas I spend most of my time in the magazine section, checking out Taiwanese FHM.

Fann and her Wan Wan comic book

Recycle bag from the bookstore. Nice packaging~

Location: Taipei Station, Taipei
Time: 2:00pm
Date: 29 December 2009

I bought a nice reference book whereas Fann got her favourite comic, Wan Wan. As we were waiting at the train station to our next stop, she turns her comic pages very carefully and slowly. I think she will almost finish the book by the time the train reaches.

Our train tickets

We took the high speed railway to Jia Yi. It was quite costly, but we managed to reach Jia Yi around an hour and a half. We booked the tickets online and went to collect it at the Taipei Railway Station. However, we had to wait for the gate to open, because we were slightly too early.

Cheese Cake on the train

Our stomach was grinding loudly in the train again, the two of us were like worms crawling up and down looking for food. We found a menu on the train, we were so happy. After choosing what rice we wanted for lunch, the waitress said that lunch ended at 1pm. We were like... aaarghhh...then ended up sharing a piece of small cheese cake with each other.

Location: Train Station, Chia Yi
Time: 4:30pm
Date: 29 December 2009

Our MOS Burger. Yummy~

We reached Jia Yi's station and the sky was starting to get dark around 5pm. Having an emptied stomach while traveling is a big torture. We saw MOS Burger on our way out and decided to share one burger as it's about time for dinner.

Fann with her burger and calendar

Well, again you know Fann is always the most happy when it comes to food. Besides that, we bought this MOS Burger Calendar for her. Look how happy she was.

Night Market

Well, we later on took the bus down to the city and looked for our hotel. We were carrying our small luggages and walking all the way. My hands felt like rotten prunes and still we had a long way to go. When we reached the hotel, I can feel that my hands were the most happy. After checking in, we waited for Bo's friend. She brought us to some mall to have japanese food.

My bowl of japanese rice and soup

The food there wasn't as nice. Just like those ordinary teppanyaki stores. Nothing special. But, because I was so freaking hungry, I ended up finishing a bowl of rice, a slice of cod fish, soup, and 3 plates of terrible vegetables.

The vegetables that told me to stop eating

After dinner, we went on to dessert. I didn't really enjoyed that dessert, so I can't remember it's name. I remembered the shop looked really old and vintage. Then, we went to the night market for a walk and then back to the hotel to recharge our batteries again.

Me and Fann at the hotel in Chia Yi

Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2010

2010-04-11T23:42:00.003+08:00

Okay, Yes I know. This event has been like prehistoric times already. You don't have to remind me that. The only day I was able to go shooting was a Saturday and guess what? God really is good to me. Upon reaching, the whole Putrajaya turned cloudy and made all of my shots gray.

On the 20th of March, I went to the Fiesta with two lovely ladies, Zyen and Ting (who thought that Fann got go, but kena tipu by her sis). Also, in another car were Eugene, Jo, Wen Yee and Wai Khong. You know you're near to the balloon fiesta, not when you see balloons, but when the darn jam tells you. After 3 rounds, we finally found a parking at the nicely decorated muddy carpark.

As the dark clouds slowly comes in, the first thing I saw, was this Ben 10 balloon. NO, that's not run on hot air, it's helium and it's actually blocking my view. Should have brought a toothpick or something.

The fiesta was kind of a rip off. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it should be. I always imagine that there would be shots of hot air balloons lining up in the sky for you to take a shot, but well, by the time one hot air balloon is gone, only another starts to inflate. Time to enjoy some balloons:

Cute Lion Balloon from France

Blur Mastercard Balloon

Flying High from Belgium

Rising in the hot sun

John Lennon balloon behind a tree

Toothpick punching through a balloon

The day ended when my disappointment turned hungry. Me, Zyen and Ting went down to Taipan, USJ to have yummy Fried La La... too bad Fann wasn't there. So, after dinner, we went back to Sunway to pick up Fann.

HDR Indian Temple

2010-03-07T20:23:00.003+08:00

Colours are the most unique and interesting phenomenons in the world. I love colours very much and love it when they are all mixed together but create a harmonious effect. It looks really perfect when the right colours are mixed with the right others.

Just as the indian temple it is, I have never in my life stepped into one before. I never knew how the colours and details that was engraved on the building was so extraordinary and breathtaking. I gave the temple a HDR shot to bring out the contrast and details.

It was really amazing and I couldn't stop taking pictures of the details, until this lady came to us and said we could not wear short pants into the temple. I was like.. Oops, and left. So we took this last shot of Fann & Xin with the beautiful tower-like thing full of gods. Happy~~

Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-15T20:41:00.003+08:00

It's the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year, but still I have to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

"和谐 He Xie" Animation

2010-02-05T17:09:00.023+08:00

Finally! It's Done!!!

The "和谐 He Xie" short animation project is finally completed. It was a long 2 months where we started all from scratch to the end result. Everyone did great in their delegated role. We've put in a lot of sweat and effort to meet the deadline and also maintain the quality. In this animation, we wanted to bring our rich Malaysian culture and share it with the world. Therefore, create a new identity for everyone to cherish and appreciate. That is why the setting was set in Malaysia. If you would like to watch the animation, do visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

Storyboard Meeting

We went through many rounds of brainstorming, sketches, rejections, meetings, unexpected errors, troubleshooting, technical difficulties and more. It was really hectic especially when some weird errors keep popping out during the end of the production. Everyday was a long day for 2 whole months. Well, everything was worth it. We learnt a lot during the production and come to realize how important team work always is.

The story was written by this great man called Ven. Master Hsing Yun (星云大师). He wanted to bring harmony to all families this Chinese New Year, therefore this animation was created and one of the ways to convey his simple but Great message across. "He Xie" means Harmony in mandarin. To be peaceful, wealthy and success, one shall require harmony. The whole concept is just as simple yet so powerful.

This calligraphy "威德福海" Awe-inspiring Virtue and Ocean of Prosperity was written by Ven. Master Hsing Yun himself. He said due to the coming Lunar New Year which is also the Tiger Year, one must be as proud as tiger, with moral values that is as rich and big as the ocean. This phrase may also be seen in many shops and homes in Malaysia, and in the animation itself.

Now, not only do we have the main short animation, we also have a website, a facebook fan page, greeting cards and lots of your support, which we appreciate the most.The greeting cards are available when you donate at least RM5 to the Haiti Quake Relief Fund. Click on this link for more information on how you can help the unfortunate at Haiti. The relief fund is organised by The One Academy CARE campaign and all funds collected will be passed over to UNICEF and will then be channeled to Haiti earthquake victims.

A great Thanks from the production team of He Xie Animation.

Here is our He Xie Animation page. Do support us by joining our fan page. Thanks:

He Xie Animation on Facebook

For everyone's information, this short animation will be aired on National TV channels: RTM2, 8TV, NTV7 and Astro/AEC @ 13th Feb 2009, 8pm.

Taiwan Day 3 - Taipei Zoo and Steamboat

2010-01-22T22:33:00.015+08:00

Location: Sogo, Taipei
Time: 9:00am
Date: 28 December 2009

It's the 3rd day and it was terribly cold after the rain the previous day. Today, me and Fann had to have our own breakfast. So, while walking to the subway station, we came across Sogo. There, we saw Beard Papa cream puffs. We were so excited to see this. Unlike the ones in Japan, they had 3 types of puffs to choose from. As usual, we got it all. They were so delicious. Yummy breakfast! After that, we met Bowie and Terynn at the station as we then traveled to the zoo.

Location: Taipei Zoo, Taipei
Time: 10:20am
Date: 28 December 2009

We were greeted by a gust of chilly wind when we arrived at the zoo. It was still drizzling slightly as well. Well, the Taipei Zoo is heck of a place. The place is well maintained and is very huge. Even during winter, you can still see how colourful the place is.

Since it was a Monday, there was a bonus item here. The entrance fee to the Panda Emporium was FREE!! Yes, and only on Mondays. Ooo.. It's the best place ever. Panda Kingdom. There are two giant pandas here named Tuan Tuan & Yuan Yuan.

Fann? Is that you?

Although there were only 2 real live giant pandas here, it still felt like there were millions of them, all around!

Panda shop!!! Literally

Yuan Yuan looking for food in the barrel

Tuan Tuan day dreaming for people to look at

They even have panda related food. Shaped like a panda too. Hehe.. Okay, so it's a little late to deny that I'm a panda lover.

Two panda couples

Eew..there's a frog in the pic

Location: Sogo, Taipei
Time: 2:25pm
Date: 28 December 2009

Back to Sogo once more, we marched our way to the most anticipated place. Ye Yan (野宴), the most delicious japanese steamboat I've ever eaten in my life. It's all you can eat for a price of TWD369 (about RM37), that's the lunch price of course.

The place served pork slices, beef, chicken, scallop, mochi, cheese stick, fish, sotong, ice cream, Sha Cha sauce, and more more more.....................

You could also cook some stuff at the side with their claypot. It's total non stop steaming, grilling, drinking and eating. NON STOP... Last but not least, there was also unlimited access to COCA-COLA!!!!!!

MMmmm..ucks

After a hard day's ~~work~~ eat, we had to walk with our filled tummies back to the hotel to rest. Here's a shot of what me and Fann bought for the past 3 days.... Ta-da:

Items of victory

Taiwan Day 2 - Walk Walk Walk

2010-01-18T21:07:00.023+08:00

2 idiots jumping & 2 idiots going to jump

Location: Shandao Temple, Taipei
Time: 8:10am
Date: 27 December 2009

Woke up early on the 2nd day. The weather wasn't that cold as the day before. We had to travel down to Shandao Temple station for breakfast. While waiting for Bowie and Terynn, we took a shot of how the Taiwanese subway looked like in the cold morning.

After they came, we walked to a nearest shopping mall. At the 2nd floor we saw a crowd of people in a certain corner. We walked towards it and noticed how freakin long the line was. Everyone who was eating there looked really happy and enjoying their food. It felt like this breakfast was gonna be really something.

After a really long 15 minutes wait, it was finally our turn to order. So, here's what we had for breakfast:

Egg Rolls (蛋餅)

You Tiao & Bread (厚燒餅加油條)

Soya Milk, Rice Milk, Rice Rolls (豆漿米漿飯糰)

Location: National Palace Museum, Taipei
Time: 10:00am
Date: 27 December 2009

After breakfast we headed down to the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院). It wasn't as grand or as beautiful as the Forbidden City in Beijing. It was all painted in white with green roofs. Guess it was just another museum.

National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院)

The exhibits weren't as nice as I thought. We walked around the museum looking at some old old scriptures, some old old paintings, some old old vases, some old old sculptures, and more. It was kinda boring though. I guess we had more fun taking pictures outside the building instead.

Yong Zheng with 2 idiots

We imitated the handsome emperor Yong Zheng who looked really bored sitting at the walls of the museum. He didn't seemed happy so we befriended his lion statue instead.

Lion Statue is hansem

an Aunty, a Girl and an Ah Ma @ Bus Stop

It was already noon when we reached the subway station. So before we left, we needed something to fill our tummies again. On the way, we grabbed ourselves some chinese dumplings - Taiwanese style. Woo~

Fried Dumplings

Sweet & Sour Soup

Cooked Dumplings (with prawn)

Location: National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei
Time: 8:10am
Date: 27 December 2009

We then headed down to the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂). You know that you reach a really special station because here, it looked different from the others. It had golden plates all around and looked like granite was used for the walls and pillars and floors. It was really well decorated.

Granite pillars and tiled floors

Even the blind man with the accordian was a major hit underground. He was surrounded by artisitic posters and a naked butt.

As we walked out of the station, The memorial hall was standing there majestically awaiting us. It looked pretty nice, exactly like the one I saw on Discovery Channel. Surrounded by greens all around, and the place was astounding.

National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Panoramic shot

Fann & I at the memorial hall

Lung Girl (I wonder if Iron man was related to her?)

Location: Ximending, Taipei
Time: 2:15pm
Date: 27 December 2009

Next, we went to Ximending (西門町) for some small food and shopping. Ximending is somewhat like our Bintang Walk. Famous among the youngsters, it sells many things, from clothes to watches, shoes to condoms, food to DVDs and more.

Condom world

Theatre street

Furthermore, Ximending became a well-known theater street in Taipei in the 1930s and grew even more prosperous after the defeat of Japan. The posters here are gigantic!

Fried Quail Eggs

As we were walking, I heard Fann shouting: "I want this, b!! I want this, b!!" Well, as I turned around, it was no mistake, fried quail eggs. What more would she be so excited about than quail eggs. We stopped by and bought a stick for her. It looked pretty much like fish balls but tasted delicious! yummy~

We got ourselves quite a lotta stuff here at Ximending. We wrapped up our day at Ximending when it started to drizzle. We headed back to the hotel for a short rest and shower. Then for dinner, we had beef noodles. This was one of the best beef noodles I've ever had in my life (It really felt great to have beef again since my boycott on beef for 2 years)

Beef noodles

What's special about this beef noodles is that one of the sets came with pork leg... WHOA~~ yes...pork leg! yum.

Pork leg

Anyways, beef noodles always taste great when the soup is hot and the weather outside is cold. It felt really comfortable. Oh, and also never forget your Chinese tea as well.

Chinese tea

It was a tiring day, we all went back to rest again after dinner. Our feet felt like jelly and needed to soak our smelly feet in the hot tub. Everything that is hot in a cold place really is comfortable.

Cup Noodle

After soaking and resting, me and Fann went to 7-eleven to go and try out their cup noodles. Fann loved it so much. after makan then sleep d... Hmm..really so comfortable mei? Goodnight lo.. Zzzz..

Slurrrrp...

Taiwan Day 1 - Lucky Day

2010-01-17T19:37:00.020+08:00

Finally, I've finished editing the pictures of my Taiwan trip. Took me weeks to filter and edit. Hectic process and now finally I can post something in my blog. I'll introduce some day by day. So, please keep your pants up and I'll update everyone real soon.

Location: H.K International Airport, Hong Kong
Time: 1:00pm
Date: 26 December 2009

The long awaited trip of 2009 is finally here. I've been having dreams of myself playing and eating in Taiwan ever since we booked our tickets. It was gonna be the best Christmas ever.

On the 26th of December, we arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at 1p.m by Cathay Pacific. The food on the airline's business class was astounding. It was so spacious that you could stretch your legs without kicking the aunty in front of you. We watched tons of movies while enjoying it's yummy 3 course meal. After forcing our comfort-addicted butts off the extremely comfortable seats, we went on to transit to Taipei.

(Our first shot @ Hong Kong International Airport)

Location: Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan
Time: 4:50pm
Date: 26 December 2009

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport wasn't as impressive as KLIA, but it's still Taiwan, which is far away from Malaysia. So that's cool enough. The weather wasn't as cold. But it looked quite dark for a 5p.m. We took our bus downtown which took about an hour or so. We checked in our hotel only to find out that again we have been upgraded to a Studio room for no reason, all I can say is Lucky!

After unpacking our luggages, go toilet and watch Fann do a quick jumping concert on the bed, we headed to the nearest subway station. We needed to go to a Taiwanese pasar malam called 師大夜市 (Shi Da Ye Shi) which is located near the National Taiwan Normal University. The night was cold and my fingers were numb. We then grabbed ourselves some 關東煮 or Oden. The hot soup made our hands warm and our tummies even warmer as we walked from the station to the pasar.

On the way, we bought 2 prepaid sim cards for our phones. We had to provide our passport numbers and details in order to purchase it and get it activated. According to the salesman, Taiwanese government needed these troublesome procedures so that people will not do crime with the numbers. The sim card cost about TWD600 and had a TWD500 credit in it. Not bad.

Taiwanese pasar malam felt different. Despite it being overly crowded, it just felt much better than our Malaysian pasar malam. Probably it was the cold weather or maybe everything was in Chinese? It felt weird, but I kinda like it. Well, enough is said, food was our main objective that night, or probably the whole trip. We had to grab some famous munches along the way.

First up was a Taiwanese delicacy called 滷味 (Lu Wei). It's actually dishes made by simmering in a seasoned soy-based sauce. The stuff you could choose ranged from vegetables to animal spare parts.

This was our dish of Lu Wei. Pork Intestines, Pork Ears, Fu Zhuk, Mushrooms, and many more. Gobble Gobble.

Then we went for the Giant King-sized Fried Chicken Chop. While waiting for it, we saw this:

Malaysian food in a Taiwanese Pasar Malam! Translation of the menu written from left to right: "Fried Egg, Ikan Bilis, Fried Noodles, Fried Mee Hoon, Char Siew Fried Rice, Nasi Lemak, ABC Soup, Curry Chicken, Curry Chicken Rice".

Look at the enormous wok of curry chicken. Oh My Gawd! These were only some of the food we had that night. I was too busy eating that I forgot to take each and every thing we had that night. If I remembered, we also had Salted Crispy Chicken, Pau, Tempura, Octopus Balls, and many many more. *burrrrp!

I also noticed that Taiwan uses really old looking electric meters. Looked really unique in this advanced country. Well, we ended our first day with a happy and smiling tummy. Back to the hotel to recharge our batteries for our next day.

Happy Happy Anni!!!

2009-11-02T23:31:00.004+08:00

Having fun and being happy together. Happy Anniversary, b!
For all the times we've fooled around together, played together, take pictures together, makan together, watch movies together, stress together, hiao together, but most of all, being there for each other all the time.
Hope that you feel the same way too. :)

Michael Jackson: This Is It!

2009-10-31T21:56:00.004+08:00

This is it. Me and Fann was so excited about watching this since the day I bought the tickets. As we walked into the cinema, it did felt a little awkward at first because you're watching something that was going to happen but didn't. As the lights dimmed, and the show began, I was beginning to feel that this was worth it. It felt as though Michael was standing right there in front of you, dancing. The fact that he had passed away, makes you miss him and touched.

There, although you can see that he looked frail and weak, but as he starts to dance, you can see and feel your body moving with him. There is nothing much I can say to Michael, but that this film is not only a tribute to him, but also to his fans. He is Michael Jackson, he is the King of Pop. His crown will never be taken away by anyone.

During the movie, there were some malay kids running around and it nearly spoilt my entire mood. I'm not trying to be rude here, but some people, please take care of your darn freakin kids. I didn't mean to kick your seat and shush your freakin noisy and kurang ajar kids, but it was really rude to let your wild kids run around Signature's seats. I kicked your seat for a reason, but stop spoiling my favourite song, Man In The Mirror. F*** noisy kids.

Despite noisy kids ruining your movie, This is it!

Funny thing at Deviantart

2009-10-29T10:00:00.006+08:00

Funny thing happened a few weeks ago. As usual, I randomly picked one of the photos from my Deviantart and submitted to Everything-Nikon. I chose this particular shot that I personally loved so much:

This was shot outside the K.L Central Market during the K.L Lantern Festival. Me and Fann were waiting to cross the pedestrian crossings when it struck me suddenly just to shoot this shot while waiting. Anyhoo, as I submitted for the first time, it got rejected. I was puzzled. Then after a week, I then tried to submit it again. When suddenly, the admin of Everything-Nikon sent me a message saying:

They told me my photo had too much post production and told me to submit the original art piece! At first thought, I was like WTF? I'm already lazy enough and still have time to manipulate my photos? I felt a little insulted to be honest. Then I sent them a friendly reply, explaining that this photo wasn't manipulated at any way with photoshop and was purely shot from D80. It already is the original art piece, what do you want from me? My camera's processor?

Well, then this morning, I went to check out my Deviantart Mail. Suddenly this photo bursted out with favourites and comments. I was really amazed. After replying and syok sendiri, I finally found out that Everything-Nikon had featured this photo on their page. Ooo.. I was really really happy.

Thanks again everyone from Everything-Nikon. Really appreciate this. I'm gonna get myself more cool shots when I have the time. Thanks b for being my model too. :)

Abusive

2009-10-19T21:44:00.000+08:00

It's time to play again! Went out to help Fann with her photography assignment during Deepavali and we came out with these.

Best Roti and Lantern Festival BBQ

2009-10-08T22:12:00.007+08:00

After rushing the DV/LDV corporate video last two weeks, I had a terrible fever that lasted more than a week. I was at all time down in emotions and could hardly speak due to sorethroat. The only way to take myself off these stressful things, is to take photos again and again and again. Photography, my kind of drug.

Last Saturday was Lantern Festival and off to Pandamaran with Fann to have the legendary Roti Canai. There is no doubt, that this is the place that serves the best roti canai I have ever tasted. Their rotis are well made and very crispy. It doesn't dangle between your teeth when you bite and you can just tear it up when you take a large chomp at it.

As usual, we ordered one roti kosong each. I tried their Mee Goreng as well. The mee goreng wasn't as satisfying as I thought. It was too moist and there was a taste that felt like there was a lack of some salt. The sambal came for some help to cover up the burnt smell.

Fann ordered her favourite Roti Telur Planta. It too, was crispy and you can smell the aroma from a distance. For Fann, all these rotis aren't her main dish. This is her main dish:

A whole stretched limo filled with dahl!!!

As a dahl queen herself, she no doubt finished the dahl like a glass of milk. No problems at all. At the end, we washed everything down with a small glass of Teh Tarik kurang kurang kurang kurang manis.

Yummy~ :)

At night was when the Lantern Festival celebration began. It is the time of the year for a great B.B.Q and listening to uncle and aunty singing hokkien songs loud loud with the karaoke machine.

It took us some time to lit up the charcoal. We kind of used up all the fire starters only it began to burn decently. Darkness was approaching and our fire was up.

Packed with chicken wings, potatoes, sotong, chicken balls, ham, fish, sausages, jagung, etc. we all had a great time, slowly barbecuing and enjoying the night.

We were fortunate that it didn't rain. So we could stay outside barbecuing while the uncles and aunties were inside the house singing their lungs out. We ate mooncakes and chinese tea, and I was addicted to this particular flavour called "Precious Black" from Baker's Cottage. (sorry no picture of it, I finished it all) The night ended well, and I think I exhausted the fever virus in my body. We burnt the remaining candles for the lanterns and I shot a few shots. Last but not least, another burnt out lantern freezed in time in my camera. :) (shot by Fann)

K.L Lantern Festival

2009-09-27T11:44:00.007+08:00

Went down to K.L in the evening for a last minute meetup for photography fun. The K.L Lantern Festival was being held at the Central Market in K.L. We got off the L.R.T station at around 6pm. It was hot and Petaling Street was just walking distance.

We decided to start our night with a shot of the legendary Luo Han Guo drink at Petaling Street.
The weather was so hot but it was a real nice lighting for us. Petaling Street never looked so beautiful until it was by this hour of the day.

We head started our shots at the lion dance troupe that was lining up along the red carpet where the Prime Minister would be entering from. They were practising real hard and I could see how much effort they have put into this event to show our rakyat the meaning of 1 Malaysia!

I also noticed that Malaysian photographers are real bastards and very rude. Yes, we all know that our pictures speaks for itselves, but these photographers use their cameras to knocked you while you are shooting. Sometimes they would just steal your shots by standing in front of your lens. I have to say, Malaysia Boleh!

The cutest part of the event was the participating kids. All I could say was Awwww... The little boy holding the lion dance head is so cool that he was the center of attention. Until this little girl appeared...

Well, all was not lost, when the little boy tried to regain his attention.

They were like celebrities.

Darkness was approaching and the event is being heated up. You could see newscasters and the crowd waiting anxiously for the Prime Minister's arrival (All the aunties and uncles face tu-lan d.) Finally...

The fireworks began and we were all excited. Pointing our cameras towards it and begin snapping like we've never shot before.

The 4 of us couldn't stand it anymore, because our tummy was empty. So, we left early. We took some final shots of the traffic in K.L city then headed back to the Kelana Jaya Station. At Kelana Jaya, I still couldn't get my hands off the camera. So I took this last last shot of the night.

Back at Kelana Jaya, we drove to SS2 Murni for our dinner. Here we need not say more. When I say the names Fann, Reuben, Wee Mei & Caroline, you know how dinner will be spent.

Mee Raja & Mango Special

Roti Beckham

Claypot Loh See Fun

Goodnight! *Burp!

My New 50mm Lens

2009-09-23T00:13:00.010+08:00

Hello Everybody and Selamat Hari Raya. It's the holidays again and time for me to "hiao". Last Saturday, after watching G-Force at 1 Utama, we were walking around the camera shops, and this particular lens caught my attention. It's the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. According to Fann, it's cute!

Well, besides being cute, this short little lens is one of the best lens Nikon has. It can shoot the best quality of pictures at a very low price. It's a prime lens and easy for Nikon to produce, that's why it's not costly. What I like most about this lens besides it's very shallow depth of field, is that it's so small, you can fit it in your pocket and bring it anywhere. (and Fann doesn't need to carry heavy lens for me again when we go shooting)

This lens can work with any Nikon DSLR. However, for models D60, D3000 and D5000 which doesn't have AF built into their bodies, this lens' auto focus cannot work on them. So, users of the above cameras who use this lens can only play with it's manual focus. Fortunately, I'm using D80. Yay~

Here are some sample shots of the photos I shot using this prime lens:

Claypot Yee Mee

Thong Thong

Fann's Eyes

Me waiting

Fann Waiting Taxi

Jumping Fann

Ais Kacang

Now I'm addicted to this lens. OMG! HELP!

Ghost Festival

2009-09-11T22:34:00.008+08:00

The Chinese, in tradition, believed in spirits and the afterlife. They respected the afterlife and believed that on the 7th Lunar month (or called Ghost Month), the gates of hell are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth where they seek food and entertainment.

According to tradition, they are ghosts who are ancestors of those who have forgotten to pay tribute to them after they died, or those who had suffered deaths and was never given a proper burial/ritual of send off.

These ghosts have thin long necks. Why? Well, it's because they have not been fed by their family or a sign of punishment so that they are unable to swallow. That is why some of us call it the Hungry Ghost Festival.

On the 15th day of this month, Chinese rituals and sacrifices are performed in many places. Some 'Merry-making' shows that has singing, dancing, chinese operas, and even strip teases are held to attract and please these ghosts (or some perverted old uncles).

In Klang, me and Fann went for a stroll during the event on that night. We saw the final stage of the parading which led to a gathering around a HUGE scary looking God. As they were chanting and praying, suddenly i saw them toss the fire they were holding at the idol. One by one, it turned into flames, gigantic flame. Burning paper money as it flies around.

I quickly took hold of a position for some quick shots and i couldn't stand too near the big flame. Thanks to my micro lens, I was able to capture some moments during the burn.

Here was one poor little hell bank note, burning like a comet. According to one of my friend, who is experienced in these matters say that the image below, has some 'faces' of these ghosts. It's really scary, so if you spot any, PLEASE DON'T TELL ME. Thankiu! :)

Who is Hermie?

2009-09-01T15:23:00.014+08:00

If you remembered about 2 weeks ago, I asked "Who is Hermie?" on my twitter. Some answered, some guessed, some knew but kept quiet, some didn't even notice my twitter. Well, here is the answer. Introducing Hermie!!! (No, not the pic above)

Another panda? Another freakin panda? Hmm.. You can say that actually. This is no ordinary panda head and also NO it's not a broken porcelain panda head from Reuben's stupid collection. It sure looks a bit cacat, but it moves.

If you flip the panda head over, you'll see this. What is it? What is it?

Jeng Jeng Jeng! Here's Hermie!

Hermie is me and my girl's new office pet.

He is a hermit crab. A queer one, says Joanne. Because he hides in a freakin panda shell and that's why he ended up in my office too.

Look at his strong claws! Well, Hermie has been in the office for a couple of weeks now and he's still as shy as he first came. His most fascinating stunt, is hide. And here below you can see him crawling up into his shell again and takin a nap. Just like a lazy panda. :)

Goodnight Everyone, by Hermie!

My New Bottle

2009-08-27T14:27:00.010+08:00

I have just added another panda to my collection. This time, it's a famous one. WWF~ It's a bottle and a gift from my girlfriend. Really love it a lot. Thanks dear. Anyways, the bottle comes with another 2 smaller pandas and an environmental friendly message:

I guess this is another limited edition for their Go Green campaign. Not only it has this huge WWF logo printed on it, it's also BPA-free.

What is BPA you ask? Well, it's actually some sort of material used in plastic produce, such as bottles, containers, etc. It's full name is Bisphenol-A. What I know about BPA is that it acts as an environmental estrogen and once ingested it disrupts proper hormone functioning, alter genes and interferes with normal physical and behavioural development. It's used in primarily most plastics due to it's toughness, adhesion, formability, and chemical resistance.

So, thanks again to my girl for this thoughtful gift and to replace my missing one. mmm.. :)

Zoo Negara

2009-08-24T19:34:00.002+08:00

Zoo Negara

The Phototribe paid a visit to the Zoo Negara for another Photography Outing. Here are some shots that I've taken during the trip. For more pictures, you can visit my facebook album.

R.I.P Jon

2009-08-10T16:10:00.008+08:00

Primary 1 Green

It has been over a week now. I am ready to talk about it. I have finally come to a stage when I should accept everything that has just happened. I should be happy for his passing, thus he will not suffer another day on Earth. I should be happy as he will be with the Lord. I should be happy that he was my best friend. I should be happy that I've met him in my life and be a part of me of what I am today.

We shared memories, a lot of memories together. We grew up under the same interests, the same religion, the same games, the same ideas and more. We grew up together, studied together, played together, watched cartoons together, got awards together and most of all laughed together.

He was my bestest best friend, his name was Jonathan Lee. People knew me because of him. He was popular, he had the best results, he was every topic in the school. I was just the boy who is Jonathan Lee's friend. But just becuase of that, I still felt happy, because deep inside, we know we are best friends. I called him Jon.

Jon and I grew up together in a humble primary school in Kuching. We basically did everything together, spend most of the time together, at his house, at my house, at the club, at the ping pong & badminton court, at the restaurant, at the church, etc. There was nothing in the world that could seperate us, not until we had to go on our own ways to secondary school. I went to a Chinese Independant School, he went to a government school. The first year in secondary school when I was still active at church as a Boys' Brigade Private, we still contacted. Until one day, when I left the service, all was lost.

I sent Jon an email in 2002 but didn't get a reply. I waited and waited. There was no contact whatsoever. It was total darkness. I then grew up in secondary school without him. Then came college and on one faithful day back in 2008, I received this email while rushing my internship project. It wrote:

The email I wrote for him 6 years ago, has finally gotten a reply. It was really him. I was so happy that I found my best friend again. Immediately we started to contact each other through all means of technology, from MSN to Friendster, from Emails to Facebook. Jon was in Germany studying, I was in Kuala Lumpur. He never changed, still had the best results, still was that Jon I knew back then. We had chicken rice in Kuching's Chick King back in September 2008. Just about a year ago. After 6 years, he came to my house and we had our chicken rice lunch. Our final chicken rice lunch together.

I remembered on that day, after he sent me home, he said, "Let's do this again next year, man!" I said "Sure thing!" Then it never happened, nor will it ever.

Jon, I will never forget you and will always cherish the times we had spend together. In thy Lord's hands, may you Rest In Peace. May God bless your soul. Amen.

Sunshine

2009-08-08T22:05:00.004+08:00

Celebutante

Another extract from the photoshoot of Celebutante. This time, the model is my girlfriend herself. Sunshine was named after this series as this word describes her every sweet smile in the photos most accurately.

Disney•Pixar's UP Official Site (Malaysia)

2009-07-31T11:51:00.006+08:00

Introducing Disney•Pixar's UP Malaysian Official Site. One of our clients, Buena Vista has finally launched our latest design. I'm not sure whether how they are going to promote this website, but I can tell you that, It's launched!! Ta-da!

Hey, how come it looks so damn familiar? Well, it's because the official site's design is based on TOA's Creative Media Award Website design (click here to view), which is also designed by me and Mafex. Why do people wanna see the same design on two different sites? Actually there are some differences in terms of content and design elements. Here is the link to the site (http://www.cinema.com.my/up).

Here are a few new features we've included:

A little survey form to start the adventure.

Wallpapers of various resolutions to download.

The cutest screensavers in the world (You've gotta download the doggy's one)

And also UP games for more fun and interactivity

Other features include movie stills, synopsis and new trailers for your entertainment. It's worth a look out and please do leave some comments for me. I'd really appreciate all the support. One of my proud projects and another portfolio added. *cling cling!

Michael Bay Explosions

2009-07-29T12:08:00.005+08:00

Enough with the Transformers 2 sucks. Enough with the Transformers 2 don't watch it. Enough with the Transformers 2 is a terrible movie. That idiotic and lunatic Reuben is up again with his stupid comments about the GREAT movie transformers. Greatest movie of all, Great great with lots of explosions!!... from Michael Bay... Best director ever... Watch the whole Michael Bay movie in just the trailer. Go Go...Michael Bay tells the best stories... with Explosions! BOOM! Transformers good movie la... many people say good la (even more says suck)... Here's to all Michael Bay fans:

I'm beginning to hate myself after writing this post. Haha..
No offence, but Michael Bay is a good director

Celebutante Photo Magazine

2009-07-23T02:39:00.008+08:00

Celebutante