Langkawi...

Day 1:
Arrive at airport
Get rental car
Check in to hotel
Underwater World
Searching for summer palace (tak jumpa)
Lunch at The Loaf
Oriental Village
Cable car
Perdana Gallery
Back to hotel
Searching for dinner place at datai, got lost
Dinner at Thailand Restaurant
End of Day 1

Day 2:
Island hopping
Back to hotel
Skip lunch
Atma batik gallery
Pisang handicraft
Afternoon tea at The Loaf
Book Village but it's so run down..
Dinner at Tulsi Garden
End of Day 2

Day 3:
Breakfast at hotel
Eagle Square
Legend Park but it was closed for renovation
Langkawi Parade but it sucks
Langkawi Fair shopping mall.. It sucks too
Lunch tapau from coffee shop
Back to hotel
Spa and massage
Kuah night market
Dinner at Fish Farm where you can eat what you catch
End of Day 3

Day 4:
Transfer to airport
Return rental car
Coffee at Starbucks

Change Your Lifestyle / Ubah Gaya Hidup Anda

Toll rates in Malaysia are scheduled for increase, and will take effect on 1st March. PLUS Highway tolls have been increased by 5%, which means that my KUL-PEN-KUL trips just got more expensive.

Subang-->Jelapang
Old Rate: RM26.50
New Rate: RM27.80

Jelapang-->Juru
Old Rate: RM16.80
New Rate: RM17.60

Penang Bridge
Current Rate: RM7.00

Total Cost
Old Rate: (RM26.50 * 2) + (RM16.80 * 2) + RM7.00 = RM93.60
New Rate: (RM27.80 * 2) + (RM17.60 * 2) + RM7.00 = RM97.80
Total increase: RM4.20

RM4.20 can buy 2 packets of Char Koay Kark from Penang. Crap...

Holiday...

I can't wait for my holiday :)

It'll be in a place of tranquility...

Where I can just sit around and do nothing and pamper myself...

It's raining...

Terrible weather here...

Yet another trip to Makati...

I'm bracing for it...

Last few hours to spend in the airport...

Yes. Time flies. Am having a split headache right now. Not sure why. Maybe it's all that pineapple juice. Maybe it's the crappy 2 cup noodles I had for "lunch". Maybe it's the lack of sleep yesterday.

Whatever it is, traveling in this country is not so easy.

Blogging from Manila...

Am on a quick business trip here for the entire week. Might not have time to do any updates (not that I've been updating frequently anyway :P)

First impressions: quite third world, but the hotel prices are super expensive...

Going to the land of smiles again...

Flying to Bangkok again next week... for a short trip...

Why is Melaka so hot?

According to Sue Lynn, Melaka is so hot because of all the beaches.

Blardy beaches...

Echoes of Buddhism 4

This weekend, I'll be traveling down to Melaka with my i.gemz buddies for the "Echoes of Buddhism 4" concert. Of course, this is not the first time that i.gemz is performing in EOB. We did concerts in Melaka and Penang previously. It will be a good time for us to actually go on stage again and strut our stuff.

Naturally, being a weekend trip, we will be visiting Jonker's Street, shopping for trinkets, and sampling the local cuisine.

It will be a good getaway from the craziness of the workplace and a refreshing "reunion" for the gang :)

Blogging from the airport

It's called Finavia here, though I'm not sure is it a proper name or just the direct translation from "airport".

Nothing much to shop here. Things are darn expensive. I think I prefer the airport over at Schipol Amsterdam.

Just 1.5 hours to go before I board my flight. Then it's a harrowing 55 minutes to make my connection back to KL. Hopefully won't have to rush.

Guess what? I'm using the wireless internet account from the hotel, even though I've already checked out! It seems the account is valid for 7 days, so it could be that they have not cancelled it yet, or maybe it's just valid for the entire 7 days duration. Lucky for me there is an access point here :)

Feeling quite hungry now. I didn't open any of the Maggi mee which I brought here. I thought I'd need it for sustenance, but I guess the food here is quite filling. The food from the office canteen is surprisingly good! And the price is subsidized for employees, so it helps to cushion the blow a bit. But now, in the airport, everywhere I turn the price tags scream Euro, and I don't think I'll be eating anything until I board the plane.

It's another 16 hours before I reach Malaysia. Can't wait to be back home!

The view

Here's the view from my hotel room at 8.40pm. Ignore the reflection from the floor lamp in my room.

As you can imagine, sunrise is at 4am, and sundown is at 9pm. So effectively the Finns get 17 hours of daylight, which is great if only the shops open till late. Unfortunately, many shops are already closed by 6pm, so there seems to be no chance to do any souvenir shopping. Not even any time to buy Coke for jyon...

Can't wait to get out of this cold place!

Sun down

It's 9.24pm currently as I type this. The sun has just gone down, but the sky is still a deep blue. The weather is freakishly cold at 5 degrees celcius. Luckily, it didn't pour today. However, gentle winds still push the cold front into my face, and I'm forced to use my ear muffs and leather gloves and wind breaker.

Brrrrrrr...

Live from Helsinki...

After a tiring journey crossing 12 hours from KL to Amsterdam, transiting for 5 hours, then another 2 hours from Amsterdam to Helsinki, finally I'm settled in to my hotel here. The weather is ... Finnish.

I'm going to sleep after a heavy dinner of Kebab and fries (EUR 6.90). FYI it's 7pm local time, which means it's midnight back in Malaysia. YAWNNN!!!

Anyway, for those of you who are somewhat interested to visit Scandinavia, here's a tip: don't! It's expensive, cold, and lacks tourism interest. Better to visit central Europe instead :)

Experience as wedding photographer...

Thank you to Sie Sing for inviting myself and elsf to Kuching to help photograph her sister's "wedding". Why "wedding" is in inverted commas? Well, it was not really a full wedding ceremony. There was a simplified tea ceremony in the morning, followed by a simplified celebration dinner in the evening.

I borrowed jyon's 400D for the weekend (thanks jyon!) and attached the 50mm f1.8 lens there for portraits and low light natural pics. On my own 350D, I attached the 18-55 kit lens and the 430EX with home made diffuser for portable lighting capabilities and general shooting. My Panasonic rechargeables can be thrown away already. The recycling time is just too slow and the batteries seem to run out of juice too soon.

Well, shooting an event all by yourself is really difficult. With everything happening so fast and sequentially with no repeats, it is difficult to capture everything properly. Some of my pics turned out blur (motion blur) and out of focus (mostly with the 50mm). Fortunately, the group photos, family photos and couple photos turned out OK. I will be passing the DVD of photos to Sie Sing tonight.

Grappling with 2 cameras is not easy. I slung my 350D around my neck, and the 400D was over my right shoulder. With this configuration, I kept pressing the buttons on the 400D against the side of my body, so the white balance and auto focus kept on changing! Fortunately, it did not really affect the shooting process.

During the morning, things were less hectic as there were less people to contend with. And everything happened in a systematic fashion; relatives took their turns to drink tea and present ang pow. But no thanks to my slow-recharging Panasonic batteries, the flash did not recharge on time for some of the shots. Moreover, the 400D was screwing around with the exposure, either locking it too high or too low (I must have ter-pressed some buttons!). But after reviewing the shots, I thought I did manage to capture everybody.

But in the evening, I did not really go around the place (9 tables of the restaurant floor) to snap photos of the guests. My attention was focused mainly on the main table and the stage. I wanted to snap more of the couple and the parents as the photos will be for them and not for the guests. Well, thanks to Canon's orange colour cast, most photos without flash turned out orangey, while those with flash were well balanced. Overall, I think I scored 30% in this shoot, which is not bad for a first-timer I guess.

I hope to have more experience shooting events like this, but clearly having just one photographer is not sufficient to cover every aspect! Even if armed with 2 cameras, I'm just limited to one angle at any particular time. Having an extra photographer covering another angle will be more convenient and less stressful!

Tonle Sap - as wide as an ocean...

f/5.6 :: 1/200s :: ISO200 :: 120mm

This picture was taken by jyon as our boat was riding out towards the center of the lake. We encountered choppy waves and slowly turned around for fear of capsizing. It was then that we saw these boats gracing the waters as if they felt nothing. Tonle Sap lake is truly such a large lake that from this angle, it looks more like an open ocean!

Entrance to Angkor Wat

f/8.0 :: 1/320s :: ISO100 :: 31mm

This was taken inside the compound of the entrance area, just before ascending the staircase to enter Angkor Wat. These stones have withstood a thousand years of nature's beatings, and yet they still stand tall and proud.

Angkor Wat - entrance

f/8 :: 1/250s :: ISO-Auto :: 6mm

This picture of Angkor Wat was taken by elsf as we walked past one of the 4 gates and entered the compound for the first time. It was a sunny morning, the radiance of the morning light bathed the temple with its glorious rays. It was truly a magnificent sight.

Stone Wall in Angkor Wat compound

f/8.0 :: 1/200s :: ISO100 :: 40mm

As I mentioned, I made a trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia recently, and the main attraction was visiting the Angkor Wat ruins. This shot was taken after we descended from the steep staircase from the top of the main tower.

Angkor Wat is truly a magnificent place. If making a trip for photography, I really suggest getting at least the 3-day pass. Otherwise, if you're rushed like me, you won't be able to capture as many memorable shots as would be possible.

Take your time to admire the surroundings, the stone carvings, the sheer immenseness of this super structure built 1000 years ago. You will be amazed.

Trip - Cambodia - Siem Reap - Angkor Wat

I just came back from a 4 days holiday in Siem Reap, main purpose was to visit Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples, and also visit an orphanage and a shelter home for street kids. I treated this trip more as a photography trip, and came back with tons of pictures. Not only from my camera but also from elsf's and also jyon's cameras. Will post the pictures soon. But for now, let me just say that Angkor Wat is truly magnificent, and I am indeed thankful to live in a peaceful and "prosperous" country.