It's All About The Experience
Posts tagged place
Day2 (PP-SR)
Jun 25th
I woke up flustered thinking that we were late and our friends waiting downstairs because it was already quite bright when my eyelids opened. Lo and behold, it was only around 7am. In Cambodia, sun rises at 6am. We casually washed and dressed for our second-day of visit in the capital of the kingdom. When we get downstairs, our friends hadn’t arrived. That’s when we checked email as Internet was available for guests use.
In the evening we plan to go to Siem Reap, the place where the majestic Angkor Wat sits. So we went first to the bus station to get our tickets for bus that departs at 2.00pm (RM20 each). As usual the streets were filled with life and crowded. There were stalls nearby selling breads and we bought some for breakfast. They were quite delicious (cost about RM2.50 each). They tasted like French bread, crunchy and a bit hard but the filling of pork floss and slight spread of mayonnaise made all the difference. I ate while riding pillion on the bike on the way to the Royal Palace (entrance RM25 each). The Royal Palace is recommended to visit if you were in Phnom Penh. The architectures were amazing and golden. Chieat, another friend, joined us today. Pictures are allowed in most places, only restricted in areas where there are a lot of precious gems and sacred. That place is quite huge, complete with pagodas, spacious gardens, replicas, statues and relics. To make it more interesting, get the locals to explain things around. The entrance charge for the locals are very much lesser, if not mistaken it was only 5000 Riel (RM 1). I guess it’s a very good way to promote foreign tourism. A lot of things to see and take picture, very nice there.. go see it!
The weather was hot, but not so humid as compared to Malaysia, so we don’t sweat as much too. One can observe that the city lacks of trees. Friends told us that’s what contributed to the hot weather. The previous government did not care much about this and resulted in many mature precious trees being cut down for various purposes including furniture making and firewood. The road was busy and honking was a normal thing and not perceived as rude, rather much like a warning or indication of “I’m coming, watch out!”. Next destination was the national museum. The architecture wonder was also seen in the building especially the roof. The only picture we were allowed to take was the outside and the entrance with the statue that looked like hippogriff. Inside, pictures were prohibited. A friendly reminder for travellers who do not have much to spare or in other words, stingy – whenever a staff offer you a string of jasmine flowers, refrain from taking it no matter how fragrant or good fortune it may bring because once taken she will point to a bowl just 3meters away where you’ll need to put some money and also place the flower into a container. See.. you pay but you’ll be asked to return the good-luck sweet-smelling jasmine. The museum housed many artefacts, statues of Buddha and Lord Krishna akin. They were taken from the Angkor ruins where they had fallen or destroyed in war. Unfortunately most of them were either without their limbs or head or both because they were dismembered (since the whole statue weighs like an elephant) and sold, for they are also valuable. Museum has lesser things to see as compared to the Royal Palace, and sadly pictures weren’t allowed. It only took about half an hour to walk around. If you hadn’t much time you can skip this part, especially if you’re visiting the Angkor Wat because almost everything is brought from the ancient civilization.
On the way out, there were some university architectural students sitting by the side and sketching the building. We had the opportunity to talked to them a while and took a picture for remembrance. Sweet! For lunch, Chieat brought us to a shop where he usually patronizes. Each person is given a dish and was allowed to eat as much rice as we want. There were seven of us, so there were seven dishes and we shared all of them and all were delicious. In general, Cambodian food looks simple, but they are tasty and reasonably priced. Cambodian plants a lot of rice. On the plane entering into this country, one can see millions of acres of paddy field, practically covering the whole earth. Chieat said his first year in UTP was a nightmare as the food was all too spicy (not to mention oily). Cambodian food is hardly cooked together with chilli. If you want spicy, you can always add the chilli sauce provided on the table. We ate to our hearts content and at the end, banana-sago dessert was served. The meal cost about RM6 per person. Absolutely satisfying.
After meal, we still had some time before departing to Siem Reap. Therefore, we were showed the university where Chieat, Raingsei and Putty studied before entering UTP. It wasn’t as sophisticated and grand like our own universities back home but there were plenty of trees and ponds where students sat on the grass and study, catch a forty wink and chatted. Students were required to wear certain uniform unlike the casual wear in UTP. The lecture rooms weren’t air conditioned and use black boards and chalks. Perhaps there were, but looking at the surrounding, their classrooms looked just like secondary (and primary) school classrooms in Malaysia. However, one can see the content, happy faces of proud universities students. Studying in university cost around $400 per year. That’s considered cheap for us but not for them. Some worked part time to support their education. That’s how resilient and strong they are and these are the reasons I admire the Cambodian and for their hopes in the future despite their country fell into the worst tragedy of human history, only decades ago. If you had time, go visit the genocide museum. I’m glad the new generation does not need to go through the cruelty. This country is slowly rebuilding and I wish them well.
Friends went to pick our luggage and send us off at the bus station. The Cambodians are very on time. So BE WARNED Malaysians. Our bus departed at exactly 2pm and this was not an isolated case; very much applicable to all things. So DO NOT practise the Malaysian culture there. We thank them for all they’ve done for us and bade farewell.
The travel to Siem Reap has improved a lot compared to last time. Only two years ago the road was properly built and it used to take 3 days to go from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap because of land mines. Buses used to follow behind specially designed truck to sniff out land mines. Now it only takes 6 hours, though still a back-aching journey. But it was a cheaper way to travel than to fly. Along the way there were more paddy fields, alternating with small shops, houses, temples and every way of ‘kampung’ lifestyle we had back home.
We arrived long after the sun had set. This time the guesthouse that we booked arranged a tuk tuk to fetch us from the bus station. The room is even more impressive than the one we had back in Phnom Penh, for the same price ($15) because we had a bed each, and the room was quite spacious, clean and the air conditioning was working better too. You have to buy drinking water most of the time as guesthouses do not provide free refill.
We bathed and rested a while before taking a tuk tuk to the night market. To go around Siem Reap area, tuk tuk cost $1 per trip. We had a simple meal but nice nevertheless. You can’t go wrong when it comes to food in Cambodia. Any food stall, no mater how simple it may seem, is able to churn out delicious food. We spent a total of RM23 for dinner. Then we walked across to the night market. The place was clean, well lit and moderately decorated. It was very nice to shop there. This place is frequent by foreigners/tourists so the prices are jacked up for bargaining. The general rule of thumb is to slash the price by 50%. Sometimes you can go up to 75% depending on the items. There are many interesting things to buy such as robes, handbags and various accessories. For instance, handbags are quite special, embroided and sewn silk, so buy if you are at Siem Reap night market. Opening price can go up to $15 but the lowest you could get is $3. Kelvin bargained a lot but did not buy from one particular girl so he got chided “u no good customer”. It was pretty hilarious. You’ll hear a lot of “i gip u good prai”; “only for u sir”; “u handsome, I gip u chip chip, sir”. They are generally good sellers, well behaved and don’t scold you like those in Petaling Street. Even if you were chided like Kelvin, you’ll still get a good laugh. I bought one silk robe on that night for $17 though it could get lower, like $10? It was my first buy there so my bargaining skills were not up to mark yet. Anyway, we left that place slightly past 12am and some stalls were already closing. Kelvin managed to get silk scarf (more like cloths to the rest of us) from a pretty girl named Dali (if I remember correctly). She looked way cuter in reality. Jesse said “ta mei aa” and half way into bargaining, she spoke in mandarin and we was like “ja tau”. From then on we spoke more in Hokkien instead. So we bought from her and the opposite grumpy aunty “beh song” when we left. She overtook us and said we bought it expensive and said she could have given us lower price. Sigh.. poor aunty, she was obviously jealous that we took picture with Dali and not her.
We left the market in jovial mood, still joking about what happened in the night market. Acting macho men, we decided to forgo tuk tuk and walk back to our guesthouse. We weren’t very sure but somehow we managed to string together the places and shops that we saw along the way in and out earlier and manage to get close but still no where to be seen. We always asked people around how to go about King Angkor guesthouse and ended up just wrong. Some point here, some point there and Kelvin almost got bitten by a big-fat-sausage shaped dog. In the end, we were exhausted and decided to call for a tuk tuk. A young driver came up to our ‘rescue’ only to get lost again. He himself doesn’t know the way to the said guesthouse, and after much unplanned midnight sightseeing, he arrived at King Angkor guesthouse of Siem Reap. Our relieve was short-lived as it clearly wasn’t the one we entered earlier. We can tell just by the look of the porch and it was obviously not situated at the main road but the driver insisted it was. Finally after much English-Cambodian and English+Cambodian and sign language debate we finally got it right that our guesthouse was actually named Home Sweet Home!!! One of the King Angkor’s personnel who was earlier in slumber got pissed and scolded us in English, Khmer style. At the end of the day the driver demanded $2. So much for acting macho and wanting to save that $1, we ended up paying an extra $1. Lesson learned and luck was on our side that we remembered the correct name of our guesthouse or outherwise we would have spent the night on the streets. We went upstairs after arranging our trip to Angkor Wat the next day with the house keeper. Exhausted but rested superbly well that night! Home Sweet Home!
Day1 (KL-PP)
Jun 25th
Why make a vacation to our neighbouring countries, Cambodia and Vietnam, two of which quite unlikely the popular spots for holiday, some say? The assertion however does not go without its merit, for these two nations are lesser developed as compared to Malaysia, lest its health precaution against A(H1N1) is lacking and other alleged reasons including dirty environment, language barrier, and poverty-induced crimes. Picture of people begging and hazy atmosphere were perceived in mind of what may come prior to stepping into the strange lands. Alas, after 10 days, I felt that I could have happily settled in Cambodia and Vietnam as both are equally attractive and beautiful, in their culture and especially their citizens.
The travel idea was seeded some time in April and it slowly came to materialization in May – plane ticket booked, and plan sketched with the help of gracious university friends. The lads of the same ol’ badminton gang were the components of the trip – buddies and all guys that made this holiday less of a hassle, more of an adventure, quadruple of the fun and uncountable memories to ideally mark the end of our studies.
The precursor to our vacation abroad started at the Yeoh’s residence. Xiao Qi invited us to go over to her place for a small gathering, but many could not make it, so only Jack, Jesse, Kelvin and myself went for an overnight stay. There, we were showered with great hospitality by Xiao Qi and her family to great meals and sightseeing. Much of the story has already been narrated by Jesse – click here
Let me now indulge in telling the adventures to the foreign places. On the Friday the 12th June morning, both Kelvin and I had our own things to settle – he had to get vaccinations and I, job interview. Both of which ended around the same time at around 11am. That left us ample time to get to LCCT and catch our flight at 3.15pm. Jesse patiently waited for us (again) in KLCC listening to mp3 and munching bread in boredom. Poor fella, being a nice guy that he was, he did not even once complain on both occasions, earlier was at the KFC near puduraya, where he waited 5 hours for me and Jack! We packed economic rice for lunch, bought bus ticket RM8/person and headed to LCCT to rendezvous with Chunaki (Shean Chuan). Everything was smooth sailing and we were flown to Phnom Penh in no time. The health screening and declaration weren’t too serious at the checkpoint. I wonder would they really detain a person based on the colour gradient on the thermal screen. I find the health declaration form were pretty pointless as no one would admit themselves sick or having fever. On the hindsight, checking everyone in detail wouldn’t be practical as it would take too much time. This situation was pretty much the same everywhere. So much for controlling the pandemic. But I digress.
The 4.30pm sun was shining fiercely through the air that smelt and felt just like the air back home. A tuk tuk is supposed to come and fetch us to our guesthouse but it wasn’t in sight. We looked for our call card but none with our names in it and many tuk tuk drivers eagerly calling us to theirs and asking us which hotel to go to. This went on for almost half an hour. Thankfully, a persistent tuk tuk driver, Mr. Pearl offered his phone to call Pen, one of our friends there. He spoke to Mr. Pearl and said the guesthouse forgot to arrange transport, so Mr. Pearl will take us to King Angkor Guesthouse. And there began our journey through the crowded evening streets of Phnom Penh.
Helmets are not necessary in Cambodia during the evening, only during the day time where the police are at work. Even then, only the rider is required to wear the helmet and the enforcement is not strict enough and there were just too many motorcycles on the road, far exceeding the numbers in Malaysia. There were just as many women riders as male, and most of the motors carried more than 2 people, 3 is pretty common and sometimes you can see 5 hamburger-ed together. However, the traffic there are slower-moving, at most at about 60km/h, mainly owing to the traffic congestion. So despite the seemingly dangerous stunt of overloading, ‘mat rempit’ stint was not seen on the streets, or maybe we just didn’t see one.
High rise buildings were a rare sight. The side of the streets were lined with shops that looked very much like our single or double storey shophouses, some in poorer conditions than the others. Phnom Penh is the capital, thus some roads were quite wide and the buildings were more modern. Mr. Pearl manoeuvred his machine skilfully among the zooming vehicles from all directions. The wagon behind sat the four of us, looking into the streets and made comments about this and that. Roughly 20 minutes later, we arrived at the guesthouse, welcomed by Putty and Raingsei. One room of King Angkor Guesthouse costs $15 per night with free pick up (they paid Mr. Pearl $7). Simple math accounts to only $8 for accommodation, shared by the four of us. It was a good deal because the room was in fact quite nice. We bought a sim card costing $4 for use in Cambodia.
After shower, we were ready to go eat soup – that’s what they call their steam boat. Quite funny to say “eat soup”. Pen, Putty, Raingsei and one more guy whose name I forgot (so so sorry, but let me call you CoolJack) came to ferry us around in their bike. We first went to a shop and well….to go eat soup. It looked something like steam boat, only the soup taste differently but flavourful. They ate a lot of green leaves and herbs that some cannot be found in Malaysia, claimed our friends. There were beef, eggs, some internals, and noodles to be put into the boiling soup. And there was pig brain!!! Eeewwww..uncooked I thought they looked like mushroom until they told me. I wish they hadn’t. Now I had to try pig’s brain knowing IT IS pig’s brain! It tasted like tofu only with a hint of weird aftertaste. I didn’t quite enjoy it although known as a delicacy there. Everything rest, I enjoyed thoroughly, so did Kelvin and Chunaki. Jesse stopped eating earliest among the four of us as he finds the soup tasted weird but he had his fair share. This dinner of 9 (or rather 8 as Pen’s younger sister joined us halfway (FIY, she’s pretty) cost 75,000 Riel or RM 75. (RM1 = 1000 Riel; $1 = 4160 Riel).
Pen left for home with cute sister after dinner, and that left Kelvin and I sharing a motor with Mr. CoolJack. At night, we rode without helmets, so was everybody else. Their gas stations were always full of motorbikes, and the gas cost twice as much as ours. We rode around the town, weaving through the streets, enjoying night scenes while friends explained to us various local things. We passed a durian stall and we just ought to try Cambodian version of the king of fruit. We had two (cost RM 24), each different type but fleshy – one with harder texture but quite delicious nonetheless; one creamier which tasted nicer for me. We took away the rest and proceeded to the night market. The night market was set on a designated area and was clean with crudely tiled floor and yellow lighting all around. The center stage was showing some pop singing in Cambodian language. So we understood none but sounded funny to us. Chunaki and Jesse bought some souvenirs that they thought was a good bargain only to find out later they could have had better offer. Anyway, it was a good experience to see Cambodian side of ‘pasar malam’. They had mats on the floor for people who bought food at their stall to sit and eat. And most of their foods come with variety of sauce. Cambodian food is generally quite tasty unlike those in Malaysia which is mostly oily but ’sedap’ also. Perhaps the diet of less oil and more vegetables made them quite healthy in the sense that most people we see are not fat. You can hardly see fat people and people smoking in Cambodia. Cool eh?
The motor gang proceeded to the riverside view. In the middle of the bustling city there were several well maintained parks and esplanade where people of all ages can chill out, take a walk, play badminton, juggling feathered balls, and for young couples to date. They wanted us to observe ‘two heads become one’ in those parks but I couldn’t see one. Maybe they are just too good at it. Break-ins were quite common and that’s why their house fence were quite high and some life-wired. So do not simply go around and touch people’s gate at night. The youths were all quite well behaved as I did not see them disturbing girls – whether they are on bike or walking. In Malaysia we still see guys by the road side, whistling in uncivilized manner when gals pass by. Something to learn, don’t we? We went on for quite a while before stopping for dessert. At that time we were very full and quite tired but still gave it a try, and we were glad we did. It was super delicious – plenty of chewy jelly, and assortments to go with durian flavoured shaved ice and condensed milk (cost = RM1.20 per cup).
Finally, we call it a day at about midnight and cancelled the initial plan to get up at 5am to see the folks exercise and dance at the stadium and parks. We washed and slept comfortably. Cambodia (and Vietnam) uses 2-pins plug point, so remember to bring an adapter for Malaysian electronic devices. Luckily I did brought one, thanks to Mum.
Camping by the Beach
May 11th
A simple thought is all that was needed to manifest it to a great camping trip. The preparation wasn’t much but what came out of it was fantastic food and nice bonding among close friends – something we rarely had the opportunity to do and probably would be the last one this time.
We departed on Monday afternoon rather late, near 3pm but nevertheless, we left with high spirit, looking forward toward a nice camping. We talked and laughed all the way to Lumut in Chung Ginn’s van. The weather was just perfect, and 6 of us is just the right manpower to carry all our stuff to the beach.
Jim, Teik, Kelvin, Shean Chuan, Chung Ginn and Jesse had loads to carry, but the heavy stuff were none my responsibility. Whuahaha. The ferry (RM 10 for two ways) arrived at 5.10pm and shipped us to the island.
Once there, we took a taxi (RM 15) to Teluk Nipah, our camp site. It was a public beach so we’re allowed to do pretty much anything we want. We owned it!
When we stepped our feet at the beach, the sun was already setting. So much for watching the sun set. A monkey must have felt our disappointment, hence decided to entertain us by peeing at our stuff we set on the ground. Luckily not all our stuff were rained by urine, only Chung Ginn’s sack that he use to put the tent materials. Huhu~~
The troublemaker, and his looming friends made us realised we were not alone after all. There were cats, dogs, and hornbills, and god knows what else on the island. So before it gets any darker, we quickly set up the tent, and the BBQ pit.
At first we wanted to set it at the front of the beach for nicer view but due to strong winds we changed location – behind a beach stand to guard against the wind. In the midst of setting up the tent in the strong wind, we totally overlooked the dump located only about 10 metres away. Thinking that dump looked harmless compared to our primate friends, we let our tent be as where it was.
Alas, just as we thought the slight rain would get heavier and ruin our BBQ camping, it miraculously stopped and the sun came out to greet us. It was a golden moment as we basked under the sunset and enjoyed its glory for a while before getting back to BBQuing our food while there was light.
Our chicken wings BBQed to perfection. But some were not so fortunate and fell onto the sand. Sad case, but we still had plenty of food for the night.
At one point, right after we had done with BBQ, we saw a living carcass lying on the beach. He must have been washed ashore from the nearby island. Poor stranger but luckily he still had his shorts on, or otherwise, his wee wee would have been gobbled up by the fishes.
Since he was alive, we invited him to join us for dinner, which he happily did so. We started a little fire by the side to give us some illumination at night, but it was still a little tad too dark. We had to rely on torchlight to help us see what we were eating.
The food was the best of all BBQ I’ve eaten so far. The chicken and char siu pork was superb. Salad and potato salad were also very nice and fresh. Even the tuna+telur cair turned out to be quite tasty. We also had bread, and hotdog with char siu and honey sauce. We even managed to keep the drinks cool in the ice box that we brought along. Wonderful! We were full for dinner and kept some for supper.
Later that night, a couple of caucasian came over and asked Kelvin whether we had weed. He was confused as to what weed was. Luckily they didn’t ask for grass, or otherwise Kelvin would have offered them our lemon grass. Haha… And no, we didn’t have any weed, and they left.
With our belly full, we proceeded down the beach and chilled out. We lied down, and dug our feet into the cold sand, and listened to waves breaking, and moon and stars staring us down. It was pretty romantic if you have to ask. What was better was the stories that we shared.
For supper we had the leftover food and the best of all – banana rolled with ham (suppose to be bacon but we bought wrongly =P) and BBQ with generous squeeze of honey! Whoaa..delicious like crap man.
That night, the stench from the rubbish dump was getting a little too uncomfortable for us. How wrong were we to think that it was harmless. So we moved our tent to the original place chosen – that is nearer to the beach. We all slept through the night, safely, although uncomfortably. Well at least for me, because I’m not used to sleeping on sandy ground (who is anyway?)
I woke up early the next day to be greeted by Jesse. He said he can’t sleep anymore and took a walk around the beach. I joined him and took some photos until the rest woke up. We all walked the beach a little more and then packed.
Dinosaur running on the beach
I think the most difficult part of camping was finding clean water, for drinking and washing. We were fortunate that the cafe by the beach nearby was willing to let us fill our empty bottles with water without charge. We used that for washing but no enough for bathing. We didn’t bathe the night before. But we didn’t smell either, or perhaps we were all smelly but didn’t realise. So the next mission was to find a place to bathe.
After packing, we walked further down to find a washroom, but couldn’t find one (yes we pee on the trees and the sand and the sea all these while). We had to find amongst the resorts nearby. After much searching, there’s one, also generously let us use the shower for free!
The shower is of course located outside, open air for all macho macho guys to bathe. Since I’m no He-Man, I rather stand behind the camera with Dinosaur.
Here we are. Dedicated to Wong Ning just to make you jealous… hmmm~~~
Refreshed, and cleaned, we took taxi back to the jeti and boarded a ferry to Lumut. We were a bit exhausted (just a bit) but glad that we had successfully camped and enjoyed ourselves.
The whole trip including food and transportation cost us just near RM 50 per person. For a happy trip like this, I consider it as priceless!
Thanks Ginn, Jim, Kelvin, Jesse and Shean Chuan for everything. Also thank my mum and sister who have helped in food preparation.
Of Dog, Bday & Booze
Mar 27th
It has been such a long time since I truly blog about something. That’s why I’m doing something about it. Not that it’s anything special but nevertheless it’s great to blog again once a while about things that you enjoy so much – that is chillin’ with fantastic friends – and while the Internet connection is still bearable.
At about 12.30pm last Tuesday after lunch in Tronoh, Kelvin, Jesse and I drove down to Ipoh for a casual getaway-from-UTP trip. First destination was a sports shop in town to get Jesse a new racquet because his old one has broken due to a clash with his faithful partner, Kelvin (sound so gay but nvm). We ended spending almost one hour there choosing racquet, getting string done myself and for them both to buy grips, and also help ourselves to some cookies and tea that the shop uncle so generously offer.
After that we went to pick up Aaron at his house. There we met our new friend, Labbie, Aaron’s cute little pet dog. She’s only 2 months old. Absolutely lovely.
Next we rounded up nearby for a nice cendol. Nothing taste better than a bowl of sweetened shaved-ice in the middle of a hot day. Feeling satisfied, we headed next for a movie called “The International” that cost us 6 bucks discounted from our worn out matrix card. After the movie, we became unsatisfied back. You know why? Because there’s not much action in it and more to conspiracy and boring politics. But Naomi Watts was looking very pretty. Can’t say the same for Clive Owen but that’s always his look to look like our matrix cards anyway.
During the movie, an sms came from Kana/Melissa asking where shall we celebrate Jesse’s birthday. Opps. I didn’t know. Kelvin (his faithful partner) didn’t know. Aaron, probably knew but didn’t mention. That was my and Kelvin’s surprise that surpass any point of the movie. Sorry Jesse for not knowing it was your birthday. All was not too late anyhow. After the movie, we met up with Kana, Melissa, Raymond, William, Edrea (wrg spelling i think) and her sister, Erica to dine in 1919 restaurant. The food there was superb and worth every cent we paid.
Still salivate like Labbie when look at the pictures.
Not long after the dinner, 4 of us headed back to Aaron’s house for another round of activity, while Kana and the gang went to buy cake and Bacardi Lemon. Their purpose was to get Jesse drunk but somehow, Aaron and I were the most affected by alcohol. That was really unnecessary, Kana. In between drinks we played murderer, big fish-small fish, switch-name game, bang-bang game, and best of all truth-or-dare.
The gang
Kelvin apologised to Jesse for breaking his racquet by kissing him.. on the lips
I have to say it is really hard to kiss another guy if you’re not gay. Not even when you’re partially intoxicated. Not even when you try to imagine that he has the quality of Jessica Alba.
It will never work. Yuck. Next, I was dared to kiss Aaron’s smelly toe. When I was nearly there to gently nick it, he yanked it into my mouth. Double yuck.
From Melissa to Kana with love. Slurped from chin to forehead.
Shamefully to admit, I puked. Wasted all the nice food that I’ve eaten earlier on. Probably not even half the nutrients were absorbed when they were forcefully jerked out of my stomach. Sad case.
But it was all in good times. It was a wonderful celebration and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSE. I wish we could both take this dog away with us… eeee so cute!
Au Naturel
Jan 14th
Still absorbing one step at a time into my new hobby, it was only good that I took it to experiment with JitChak when I had the opportunity late last year. The subsequent 2 pictures were taken with large aperture. The natural lighting was good enough that I need not fiddle much with other settings.
The below is my favourite. I would like to name it “Jackie’s kuku plant” homage to the generous Jackie and his parents for their hospitality while I was in KL.
more random pix…
Batang
Eyes on Batang
Sometimes negative setting could produce unique pictures. These two pictures below were taken on bright late evening though they appear to be taken at night.
This is a plant not a flock of tiny birds.
Sepia mode for a little “old school” aka nostalgic feel
Name it as “concrete jungle” to justify the title of this post
So much for experimenting for now. Looking forward to taking more beatiful pictures (I hope).
