It's the KING

2009-05-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

I had the chance of meeting up with some important people recently and they shared with me some important motto in life...

Mr Ricky Si, CEO of Microsoft's brother, Technosoft had this to say regarding drinking water.

Lim, a gifted computer genius and musician had reason to be slightly grumpy.

Alvin, seemed to be enjoying every minute of KL life....

And the bull of all bulls, the oil industry engineer, John, waited impatiently at the watch service centre.

2009-04-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

Two post cards for joining the competition for Wawasan Open University with theme "My World, My Classroom" from me to you guys. Both pictures taken in Venice, Italy recently.

"Wherever I am, my classroom is just a fingertip away!"

"Free thinking, new ideas - the world is my classroom"

A New Blog dedicated to GOD of my photography

2008-11-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've started a blog dedicated to God, and archived some of my photogaphy works of the past few months. Hope you like them :)

http://breadnphotography.blogspot.com/

Canon Photomarathon Malaysia 2008, 1 Nov

2008-11-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

The Secret Is God

I took the 1am bus from Penang on Saturday (1 Nov) to KL to join the Photomarathon Malaysia organised by Canon. The bus was cold and the blazing Indian songs throughout the whole night almost kept me awake the whole journey.

I arrived at 6am, took a milo at mamak store, and headed for Time Square at 7am for the registration. Participants from all over Msia were already queueing up outside the foyer of Time Sq and the lines snaked hundred metres. All in all, thousands participated.

At 8am, we were given the first of the 3 themes for that day, “Metropolitan Indulgence”. Over the course of the competition, we were to complete 3 themes. We’ve to picked up the remaining two themes at The Pavillion and KLCC at 10am and 12pm respectively.

Participants waiting for the first theme.

Immediately after the announcement, everyone dispersed in a hurry on foot or via other means around the city to hunt for their pictures.

The competition was divided into 2 categories, ie Digital Compact and Digital SLR. I joined the later with my Canon 40d bought in April before the Egypt trip.

I was fortunate to have David, my varsity room mate to drive me for a short distance and we ended up at Jln Alor for my “Indulgence” hunt, in metropolitan sense.

A adhoc photo taken of David depicting 'indulgence' in handphone, which I didn't submit as 1 entry per theme allowed.

Same with this pic.

Before long, we ended up having beef noodle instead, and as God puts me there, I also took some more pictures of road side coffee scenes.

David waiting for his noodle.

Likewise, I forego this picture for theme A showing a vietnamese lady indulging in her mee.

Later, around 10am David left me at Pavillion to pick up my 2nd theme and left for work. The theme “Mess in Rules” was baffling to many and I have trouble figuring up the meaning that the judges wanted. If the judges are older, it would help to be conservative. If they are like those Singapore judges, then new radical ideas would help.

The four pictures above omitted for theme B, "Mess in Rules"

These last 2 pictures I could have submitted instead of the bottom one if I knew earlier the judges were older :)

This one I sat and cut out the letters at the side walk and paste in onto my niece's umbrealla for theme B, "Mess In Rules", which was submitted :(

By this time, contestants in compulsory canon outfits can be seen almost every corner of KL city armed with bazookas aiming at buildings, trees, people, back lanes, cigarette butts and anything that can fit into the themes in their minds.

One more picture taken but not submitted for theme A (I deliberately blur the action a bit).

I headed aimlessly with the flow as I’m not so geographically adapt with KL. KLCC was however not that hard to spot with its prominent stature. The theme “Goes Green” was picked up. And surely, people headed out to the fountain area behind KLCC as the greens there were obvious.

I however decided on the laughable. I went up to 4th floor and bought myself 2 florescent green poster colors, went in the gents, took out my shirt, and started to paint half of my face and torso with the paint. I set the paint boundary vertically down the mid of my face towards my naval so that I can stand to the side and looked totally painted.

People thronged in and out with some gasping “Incredible Hulk in the toilet!” while other asked if I was from the “circus”. I also ducked in the toilet once just to avoid 2 contestants who happened to walk in for a quick pee.

After the paint job, I politely asked a worker after he did his business to snap away as I posted. I have a can of green tea and a green umbrella courtesy of my niece to make the whole theme greener. The photos were out of composition, and I have to politely ask another foreign immigrant to help me snap a couple more.

I would not say the picture is any better, but I was satisfied as I dare to be different, I thought. The cleaning afterwards was not an easy task as I have to literally bath myself over the sink. Spots of green were all over my pants, cameras, pouch, hair and back. The cleaning guy was staring at me all this while from one side hoping he would not get himself into trouble by letting me defaced the sparkling KLCC toilet.

Me doing the unthinkable, laughable act! Submitted for theme C, "Goes Green".

Picture not submitted for theme C.

The time to submit the pictures were set at 3-6pm at Time Square. I was out of KLCC around 2.30pm. As I took a breather at a garden, I suddenly realized something. I have been taking my picture in RAW format and I remembered reading rules regarding taking only pictures in JPEG.

My heart sank to the bottom, and I slumped onto a bench and cried out to God in my heart. How could I make such stupid mistakes and after all the sweat and hard work? I couldn’t possibly trace back my way and take the pictures as the lightings and settings would not be the same anymore. I called and told Meowlih in Penang about the bad news.

I only wish then that at least God turned back the clock. I could not let this happen. At least I would feel good about myself if I get to submit my work and know that I lose because I’ve tried my best. It would a waste of all the efforts if I didn’t know if I could win anything by not able to submit my work at all.

As my body trembles with panic and disgust, I called the Canon personnel. To my disbelief and relief, he said we can convert the files over the help counter!!! As the Photomarathon was held all over Asia, rules that I’ve read only applied to certain regions which is not so technically adapt as others.

By then, I was so drained and tired and totally lose my appetite to take more pictures. My heart ached with pressure and I briskly walked back toward Time Square and only when after my files were completely converted and submitted, the monkeys were off my back.

Participants queueing up to submit their works at the different workstations.

I took the lunch pack and only drank the mineral water before I just laid on the makeshift stage area in total exhaustion. Canon music continued to blare and contestants came back in numbers and queued at the downloading stations to have their pictures submitted.

Programs by guest speaker help to ease the participants to relax and enjoy the waiting for the results of judging. Things however drag much longer as expected as the numbers of participants were overwhelming and judging took longer than it should.

As the crowds got impatient, we were presented on the big screen on the stage with some of the submitted shots. As the slide show progressed, one picture however drew the laughs and gasps of many as it depicted a “green” being holding a green can and a green umbrella. I just ducked myself to prevent being recognized.

Me, waiting for the results with the rests like refugees waiting to be deported. The big screen can be seen on the stage.

The results finally came out around 9pm, after an hour delay.

There were prices one each for the best of theme, and 3 prices for the best of show (selected among all the themes).

In the digital compact division, the winners of the themes were announced and later best of show. The grand price winner was a young chap who took a picture of leaves arranged to spell “goes green”. He got a new Canon 1000d and won a trip to New Zealand for a clinic organized by Canon.

When it was time for the Digital SLR category, everyone was holding his breathe.

“First up, theme A, and the winning shot, participant 00037… “, and I could not believe my eye when I saw my picture on the screen. The picture was taken while I was having beef noodle with David, of a middle age man sipping a glass of coffee with nice old wall as backdrop. I jumped up and waded through the crowd who sat on the floor in front of the stage.

As I stepped on the stage, the Canon lady asked and was obviously relieved when I told her I was a Canon user. As this competition was opened to all types of cameras users, pride of brand was definitely playing in the lady’s mind. So I guessed I did her proud in a sense.

I didn’t know what my feelings were then but I thought I was definitely in mixed emotion. I was asked to wait at the side of the stage for a group photo later on. The results for the theme B and C were announced. I was a bit disappointed when I knew my green project failed to win the theme C.

All the winner of the themes won themselves a Canon A1000IS which costs round RM690.

The results continue to the 3 best of shows. The 2nd runner up got a Canon 1000d SLR (RM1999) and the 1st runner up a 450d (RM2599). Then it was time to announce the grand price. Tension mounted. I stared at the screen in anticipation hoping that there maybe a slight chance my green project can get a hit from the judges, since the winner of the digital compact category submitted equally absurd arrangement of leaves that spelled words.

For a short moment when the grand price picture was shown, I was disappointed for no Hulk was in the picture. But an uncle sipping a coffee drink did! My head shook in disbelief and other participants around me started shaking my hands in congratulations.

"The uncle", sent by God, that helped to win the best of theme A, and the Grand Price.

I stepped onto the stage, heart pounding, my eyes stare blankly at the lady who handed me the Canon 40d (17-85mm lens) similar with the one I have, and a big cardboard grand price sign with New Zealand trip printed over the front. My mind was blank as disappointed crowds started to leave and some canon staff snapped our group photo.

David joined me after his work and managed to catch the result and share the limelight.

Well, there you go, that was 2 days ago.

I thank GOD for all these. I have prayed for His wisdom and timing long before the event. All glory be for Him as I am just His tool. As I wish to open up a small leather retail outlet by the end of the year, I have always prayed for capital from God and this price can be a good start to accumulate capital.

I am still on cloud nine, not too excited externally, but joyful internally, in a peaceful manner as I dedicated the win purely to God. I am just fortunate to have the honor to be in for the ride.

Hope you guys are happy for me too, as no one else can but true friends like you all.

Thanks for listening…

EGYPT TRIP - Part 1

2008-07-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

We had heard unpleasant trip experiences by some friends about their Egypt trips before arriving at the place ourselves. We found the truth to be in contrary to what we've heard and we had a wonderful experience.

Pyramids of myriad sizes and shapes are scattered all over Egypt. This pic was taken from the bus.

Wanting to touch the tip... This pyramid has most of its outer layer destroyed leaving only the cap intact.

This is one of the oldest pyramid around, with its layered structure. Still enormous in size if you can discern the furthest person (seen almost like a dot in this pic) near the foot of the pyramid.

We had a party in a restricted zone only opened for official visits like ours. There are activities outside the tent where we had our dinner like this fire torch guy.

The light and sound show surrounding the pyramids at night.

The makeshift tent where the party was held.

A spinning dance whereby dancers literally spins non-stop throughout the dance session made our stomach turned, but captivated nonetheless.

A police on a camel half dozing off guarding outside the tent in almost total darkness. I have to prolong exposure time to capture this.

Mayhem and free-for-all ('beers etc') towards the end of party.

Giving the sphinx a lick... Don't be fooled by the size of it as we were viewing from a vantage point from a distance.

Qaitbay Citadel (1477AD) in Alexandria.

Nearby the Citadel, we faced the raging Mediterranean Sea.

One fish meal that we ate prepared by this pleasant chef.

But bread forms the backbone of Egyptian cuisine. Look at the different tasty pastes which we were able to dip our food in... yummy. The taste are acquired and I'm among the minority that grew to like them.

Phuket

2007-07-03T07:26:00.001-07:00

Phuket, a tiring but fruitful 10 hours bus ride from Penang.

Boat ride to Coral Island, south of Phuket.

Nice view from the beach.

Almost crystal clear water, and plenty of corals and marine lifes ideal for snorkeling.

Back on Phuket Island, a visit to the elephant farm. Picture of elephant trekking which we didn't join.

And souvenir elephants which we didn't purchase, but enriched mentally (... as Dave, my bud would put it :).

A visit to Chalong Temple, 8km from town.

Another part of Chalong Temple.

Devotees pasting gold leaves on idols.

Roof to behold.

Stepping onto the Patong Beach walkway.

Night life is bustling. Crowds of tourists mixed with gays and prostitutes everywhere. Musics blaring from both sides of street from open door bars.

One nice restaurant, very cooling environment where we have dinner.

Hokkaido

2007-05-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hokkaido, an unforgetable experience of hot springs, food, volcanic landscapes and nice sceneries.

i. Lake Toya

When we checked into Sun Palace Hotel (famous for its hot spring), we didn't anticipate the beautiful scenery we were about to witness. The generous window size was a pleasant surprise and the view... just breathtaking!

Looking out of the window.. Lake Toya, in the afternoon.

I managed to photostitch left to right panning of the lake, it's majestic.

And behold, the reflection at dusk. Daylight breaks as early as 4-5am. Try to discern the snow capped volcano visible at a distance.

ii. Mount Hakodate

This place is rated as having one of the 3 most beautiful night scenes in the world. The other being Hong Kong and Napoli.

One hour before the night falls, in anticipation.

The sun set.

Night falls.

A 180 degrees pan. (East is the Pacific Ocean, West is the Sea Of Japan). The whole scenery pans almost 3/4(270 degrees) of a circle at the mountain top.

2007-05-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Penang Island, my home!

I have forgotten how beautiful Penang Island is until a recent visit by my bud all the way from Canada, DAVE and his really nice other half, BETH. In fact, I've taken Penang Island's beauty for granted after calling it my home for 17 years.

My right half of the brain was awakened again, mesmerized, nourished and in awe.

Dave and Beth, smiling under searing heat, in front of a golden Burmese Temple.

Part of the Burmese Temple architecture.

Overlooking the Penang hill, quite spectacular view.

A part of a colorful temple on Penand Hill...

Myself and Beth with Air Itam ('Black Water') Dam behind us.

Dave trying his luck tossing coins into bowls on top of a spinning fortune wheel.

Outside the Thai Temple.

An alley leading to the famous Khoo Kongsi captured while waiting for Dave and Beth.

Waiting...

...for this! Enjoying a nice, "cheap" seafood meal (according to the couple it costs arms and legs to have the same over in Canada). Backdrop is the famous Gurney Drive.

BONUS

Views of famous Penang Bridge from a vantage point on Penang Hill during the day and night compared. (I went back to the Penang Hill with my family a few days after Dave and Beth left and found the night view is equally spectacular.)

Beautiful Malaysia - Pulau Redang

2006-06-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

A continuation of the Beautiful Malaysia series. This was a group trip in the month of July, 2005.

On arrival...

Tired but upbeat.

Bubbling fun...

Father having other fun of catching the bubble in the unfaithful Canon A60 (out of commission with error E18).

Snorkeling in deep waters, altogether 3 sessions in 2 days. I missed out one due to bad sinus. Witnessed some colorful marine fishes.

Pool fun.

Relax at night.

Background is where we can snorkel to look for small sharks. Not bad.

Clear waters.

Beach front where we stayed.

In front of hotel's reception.

Beautiful Malaysia - Cameron Highland

2006-06-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

Our church retreat last year (2005) was held on Cameron Highland. The trip was a revelation to me of Malaysia's hidden beauty. Nice place to relax.

Church members.

Tea farm.

Bangalow that we have our gathering, barbecue, etc.

'Charcoal'ed food.

Lunch fellowship.

Mugged.

Flower farm.

Natural outdoor with sun flowers.

Smiling with the cactus.

Panaromic view from a vantage point.

Nice view of the tea farms.

Fish pond somewhere on Cameron ...

Bon voyage, satisfied.

Photography by the river

2006-06-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on my way from Pontian to Kluang on the old federal road. All the scenes were taken in near vicinity of one another, looking from two sides of a 10m road bridge, and a little bit beyond..

Bamboo drying.

An old house.

Jenna

2006-06-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Presents "The Morphing", dedicated to Jenna, my hyperactive, musculine, boisterous daughter.

On 31st August 2004, the national day, was born my precious jewel, Jenna...

Moments after leaving her mother's womb...

1 month old...

6 months old...

9 months old and walking... a sign of a MONKEY year girl, just like her dad.

1 year old ...

1 1/2 year old ...

2 years old.

3 years old (as of 31 Aug 2007).

and ... almost 4 years old (as of May 2008).

Spain trip (Pt.2)

2006-06-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

It bugged me all this time since a sequel is inevitable. Part 1 of the 'Spain Trip' has only touch the tip of an iceberg. To get the monkey off my back, here are more of the Spain trip. Here goes...

A bull on the loose!! This is actually an abandoned billboard. The highways in spain are strewn with these billboards after the company which owned it closed down.

Bull ring in Valencia...

Bull ring in Madrid and the matador in jacket :) PROOF?? Next pic.

My collection of armours and weapons :))

A detailed miniature of an ancient warrior seen in a souvenir shop.

Egyptian Temple in Madrid, a gift from Egypt to Spain.

Breathtaking view of Toledo, a medieval city which is situated 70km from Madrid. Notice the prominent cathedral.

Science Centre in Valencia. (The blog doesn't allow the full panaromic jpg).

Couldn't leave out the nice flower arrangement by mother nature.

Just too many cathedrals and architectural structures to be posted...

Olympic port at Barcelona, this is where we have our dinner. And talking about food....

FOOD for THOUGHTS..

Paella, a spanish cuisine, is basically fried rice. This is once cook for women by men. On this trip, we have 2 lunches of seafood paellas. Soury taste with seafood sweetness, it's very feeling since a very large serving this is.

Horchata or orxata, a beverage made of ground almonds, rice, barley or tigernuts. Supposedly TONGKAT ALI of Spain, tasted rather like bitter soya bean. The last frame shows a close view of the TIGER NUTs. This has the famed Tongkat Ali (for men's fertility) attribute.

Spot the friend with the worst characters (Puzzle)

2006-06-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is a puzzle. You have to identify among these pictures ONE of my best buddies (Mr X) who has not one but all of these BAD characteristics: a LONER (TV addict), a GAMBLER, a DRUNKARD, a GLUTTON, and a pretty MEAN LOOKING PERSON...

Of course, I am not the candidate (sitting far right). The four muskateers gather yearly in the small hometown of Bintulu for the Chinese New Year celebration (from left, John bolj.blogspot.com/ , Ricky (no blog), Lim limcs.blogspot.com/ , and yours truly, the KING.) Mr X shows us his sly smile.

New Year has always been a time for the families of friends to gather to enjoy good times together. Mr X is shown here as a loner, glued to the TV set.

Activities like Mahjong or card games are played once a year during this festive period. Mr X, the gambler, hid his face from the camera shot to avoid unwanted publicity.

In this part of the world, beers cost dearly due to heavy taxation. This is one of the few occassions when we can indulge in this expensive drinks partly thankful to the beer smuggling activities (thus beer costs half as much). Mr X, a drunkard, is shown here with a beer belly and his beloved sitting on the table.

And food! We all love food, and this the period to really gulp down the delicacies prepared by separate families at their separate parties. Mr X, the glutton, could not resist.

Occassionally, we'll have recreations like darts as part of the 15 days long celebration. Sigh, if you cannot get Mr X by now, he is the mean looking one....

Foot note:

This is a puzzle. Character shown does not necessary possess characters described. It is solely up to the judgement of onlookers.

Johore Bahru, the Once Glorious (Pt.1)

2006-06-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

The wild west of Malaysia, the cowboy town, Johore Bahru. Opportunities were once aplenty but now snatchers, thieves, robbers abound. I still travel here monthly to look for the elusive gold. In the meantime, its purely maintaining livelihood.

Clint EastWong... dreaming of fortune.

Views enroute JB on the infamous NS Highway on my old faithful...

A view of the mountain range, taken while driving at at 110km/h...

One wild grass scene that captivated me, located behind the store that I used to keep my stocks.

My old faithful reverse parked at the room I rent upstair. Notice the driveway's gradient and the immediate wall after the acceleration upward.

Shops and kiosks of my customers... I helped in giving ideas to the interior design of the shop in the first picture and did the colourful makeover of the kiosk in the next picture.

Some colorful sun caps which I carry in my inventory displayed in one night market.

Jaya Jusco's silhouette during sunset.

My old faithful parked on double yellow lines at midnight on one of the busiest street of JB during my visit to one of my customer's temporary makeshift store during the festive season.

What is a cowboy city without fire and bullet? Not of my old faithful of course. I caught this while travelling back from Kota Tinggi after my late night visit to my customer. I was really nervous when I have to drive pass it though.

Now Everyone Can Fly

2006-05-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

The world is smaller now, as reminded by Lim in his email to me recently. Airasia, the economy airline, has contributed partly to this and has brought everyone in this part of the world closer than ever. Could anyone fathom airfares as low as McDonald’s sundaes or a glass of Kopi-O a decade ago? I couldn’t.

Airasia has put marks into our lives we can’t erase. It has become part of our lifestyle.

Now virtually everyone can fly. My buddies (2nd row from right to left - John and Si) and I are benefactors of the cheap tickets.

Though the airfares were dirt cheap, AirAsia did not cut major corners. In a recent trip, my son Javon was definitely please with the leather seat as evident in this pic.

However he was not as please when told there was not going to be any free in-flight meal.

Of course, us parents were prepared most of the time. The tidbit was courtesy of his parents’ wallet.

Still, for my son it was a pleasurable and memorable flight to look back on….

..until he found out the hard way that there was no docked walkway as part of AirAsia’s cut cost strategy.

Recently, AirAsia has become a sponsor for Manchester United Football Club.

Points to ponder: As sponsorship means higher cost, can it be that AirAsia may one day resort to cut cost by having UNMANNED flights?

Spain Trip (Pt.1)

2006-05-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

It did not rain in Spain as the saying goes. So the pictures taken are on the sunny side up, delicious yet not filling. Not to be outdone by buddy Lim, here are some Nikon pics to share. Of course they are no match for the D50, but I hope they are still appetizing enough.

Meowlih, posting in front of the holy yet eerie Temple de la Sagrada Familia. This the work of Antoni Gaudi. As the picture was taken from a very long distant, it look small. In actual fact, its HUGE, 170m tall!!!

And this Gaudi guy is an architect who assimilated curves of the nature into his work, and this is supposed to be his home.

As usual, we must visit the 'remnant' of the once glorious Barcelona Olympic Stadium.

One of many squares to be found in Barcelona.

And no photographic minded person would let those delicious road signs go unpixelised - I didn't, neither did Lim ( http://limcs.blogspot.com/).

And no monkey minded person like me would let go the chance to toy with a roadside exhibitionist. The day was as windless as it was rainless. The guy was motionless and the thrown back hair, jacket and umbrella were setup to look windy. I have to conform.