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Pre-Christmas 2011 in Kuala Lumpur
04 months ago
Pre-Christmas atmosphere in Kuala Lumpur
Christmas atmosphere is almost everywhere in KL’s busy shopping malls now. After the street photography in Pudu with friends, we walked to the shopping area to have our lunch and certainly to feel in the spirit of Christmas.
We made to Time Square first as Fred had an appointment with a customer. Then through Low Yat Plaza and Sungei Wang we went to the Lot 10’s food court. It’s named Hutong Lot 10 food court, is offering variety of non-halal food that took us quite some time to decide what to have. I heard that each of these eateries is specially hand-picked by the CEO of Lot 10, Tan Sri Francis Yeoh. After a yummy meal, we visited Fahrenheit 88, Starhill Gallery and finally arrived at Pavillion.
At this time of the year, most malls in KL are dressed up in beautiful Christmas decoration and create special and magical Christmas experiences for the shoppers. Christmas trees, rein deers, Santa Claus and Santarina, angels, EElves, vibrant and colorful lightings, special Christmas’s delicacy and anything to do with Christmas are seen everywhere. We had recharged our energy after lunch and started to get some shots of the lovely environment.
It had been a decade since I strolled in KL city like this. I always think KL as a busy, stressful and hectic city. This visit however gave me a different perception. It was crowded and busy as usual, yet calm, relaxing and filled with laughter and joy. Perhaps it was simply that the festival atmosphere had taken over. The crowd just having fun, spending sweet time with family or loved ones, and hang out with friends.
So we too had so much fun and glad that we made it to this trip, not to mention meeting up with Robin and Chun-Chow. Thanks to Fred and Kenn-Wai for inviting me, and we are looking forward for a next time in near future.
Here’s wishing you all the joys of the season, may your Christmas be filled with peace and love. Happy Christmas!
Pudu street photography for the first time
35 months ago
morning reading at Pudu's street
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure to meet up with Robin Wong and Chun-Chow in Kuala Lumpur together with Fred and Kenn-Wai. It was drizzling early morning when we left Kelana Jaya where we stayed at the place of Kenn-Wai’s sister. However and it turned out to be clear and sunny sky when we arrived at Pudu LRT station. The weather was really unpredictable in KL.
Even though I always took bus from Pudu bus station back to Melaka when I studied in KL, I didn’t know the place well. Robin does so he became our guide that morning. He first brought us to have a delicious Hakka noodle breakfast. As soon as we were done, so called shutter therapy session by Robin had begun.
Robin got us in the alleys, to the dry and wet markets. We were amazed by how lively the area was, and it was full of locals and foreign workers. Though we hardly see tourist over there. Most of the people there were nice even though some might not seem to be. I guess that’s the reason why Robin loved the place so much for street photography. We just discovered the other face of KL. We got to learn from Robin how he approached the crowd and captured the people so close.
Robin and Chun-Chow are experienced street photographer and familiar with the place. They knew exactly when and where to press the shutter. It was just their instinct. Fred, Kenn-Wai and I also tried to get some nice shots of the street but we rather enjoyed our walk with jokes until we reached the wet market at about 11:00 am. We couldn’t stand the strong smell of the market place under the hot sun so we threaded our way through the market quickly.
The photography session was smooth and everyone had fun. we decided to go Bukit Bintang area to take some shots of the Christmas decoration and atmosphere. While making our way to Time Square, we stopped by Pudu Plaza to have a break and share our captures with each other. Everybody gained valuable experience and intuitive knowledge in street photography from others.
May all beings by happy. Share some shots of the Pudu area:
Aquaria KLCC with parents and aunt Peggy
07 months ago
On the last day of September, I spent a wonderful time to the Aquaria KLCC with my parents and aunt Peggy. It had been ages since I last went for a trip with parents so it made this trip so much fun and memorable.
In the morning, we traveled north from Melaka reached our destination, Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon. The Aquaria KLCC is in KLCC certainly. It is a decent size, seemed very clean and well run aquarium. It costs us (for Malaysian citizen) RM35 per adult and RM25 for senior citizen.
The entrance of the aquarium is at upper level and we were first greeted by the furious piranhas. There was a touch pool just next to the piranhas’ tank where we could touch and feel the crabs, starfish and gentle bamboo shark. We also observed creatures which defend themselves by discharging electricity such as the electric eel, catfish etc. followed by the stream mammals like giant water rat and otter. Then we came to the reptiles, amphibians and insects zone which we saw little crocs, big gecko, colorful yet poisonous frogs, beautiful butterflies’ specimens, venomous spiders etc.
We then walked down the steps to the lower level of the aquarium and first saw a big tube tank ensconces an ancient tree and fishes. This was the section of the fresh water fishes including giant catfishes and huge Arapaimas which live in the nutrient-rich waters of Amazon.
Our tour continued to the 90 meter transparent underwater tunnel. While enjoying the tranquil atmosphere beneath the depths of open water, we walked along the tunnel ‘together’ with Sand Tiger Sharks, eels, giant stingrays, green turtles, and various kinds of schooling fish. We too arrived just in time for the feeding frenzy where scuba divers were in the tank feeding and interacting with the fishes. The show was simply amazing.
Before we exited the aquarium we had the chance to observe the cute little seahorses, mysterious jellyfishes, and beautiful yet sadly endangered corals. More and more coral reefs over the world have been hit by coral bleaching resulting from global warming, when corals lose their color. Soon or later, we will not be able to see beautiful underwater scenery. So it’s our duty to love and care for the environment for a better tomorrow.
Well, the Aquaria KLCC is definitely a worth going place to go in KL especially with family. Before we headed back to Melaka at night, we went to the Look Out Point or also known as Little Genting in Ampang Hill for a dinner with Ah Too and Chin-Sing. The food of the restaurant we picked was OK as in acceptable, however the night scenery of KL was just stunning!
Thanks to my parents, aunt, Ah Too and Chin-Sing for making this trip so unforgetable. I had a really good time and am looking forward for another trip in the near future.
May all beings be happy. Sharing some shots I captured of the trip:
Let’s go Cambodia – sunset by the Mekong River
08 months ago
sunset of Mekong River
I will continue and complete my Cambodia’s story, with this beautiful Mekong River cruise, by skipping the story to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields.
The second evening when we were in Phnom Penh after shopping at Russian Market, we experienced the rich life and the magnificent sunset of Mekong River. We arrived at the central riverfront area of Phnom Penh and took some photos at the Royal Palace. Then we continued to the jetty nearby and boarded our boat. It was an old fashioned double decker boat and of course we went for the upper deck for better view.
Chams
We begin to feel the cool breeze of the river and relaxing everything around us. The boat cruised along the central riverfront area and provided picturesque views of the riverfront area including Royal Palace, Wats, significant landmarks, and also Phnom Penh skyline.
Then, the river cruise experience became rural when the boat crossed to the other side of the bank. Here, we met the Cham and visited Cham tribal village.
The Cham are a minority Muslim tribe in Cambodia and they speak Malay language. Most of them are fishermen and they spent their entire life on the boats. Everything just happens on the small boats as we saw on our tour, kids jumping into the river for bath, women cooking on boats, and men out for fishing.
They are living very poor life as they hardly have access to information, good education and training like we get back home. We gave them some goods and monetary donation and continued our tour further down the river, with dramatic river scenery, fishing villages and extensive fishing activities.
Soon the sun started to fall below the horizon, it turned fiery yet romantic. The evening sun illuminated from the rear of Royal Palace and gave us striking silhouette images. Everyone on board kept taking shots before the sun disappeared behind the clouds.
Cham little girl
The cruise took exactly 1 hour and we returned to the jetty near the central riverfront area for dinner. We enjoyed the cruise and discovered the beauty of Mekong River, the true Mother River of Southeast Asia.
On the next day, we left Phnom Penh and flew back to Malaysia. We loved the place and enjoyed so much on this trip even though it was only a short trip. It’s one of the best places for travelling, finding culture, nature and mystical wonders.
Special thanks to Kenn-Wai for lending his 17-50mm Tamron lens. May all beings be happy. Sharing more shots of the mystical river and the Cham tribe. This set of photos will be the last series of photos from my old camera.
royal gate
Khmer kids
Royal Palace of Cambodia
lotus seeds (edible)
our pilot of tour
walking to the river cruise
opaque brown water of Mekong River contrasts with the green hue of river bank
central riverfront area of Phnom Penh, view from the Mekong River's cruise
Cham fishing boat on Mekong River
tribe on Mekong River, boats are their homes
naked Cham boy just love the river
Cham lady living on boat
Cham children
"candy?"
asking for
Cham
kayaking on Mekong River
sunset of Mekong River
fishermen's life
Khmer ladies
tuk-tuk
Let’s go Cambodia – Russian Market
110 months ago
the joy of Phnom Phen's Russian Market
The first morning in Phnom Penh, we went to Russian Market, the place where the Russians would hang out during the Vietnam war. The market has been known by its English name since 1980s, and is popular shopping heaven in Phnom Phen among tourists, local expatriates and Cambodians alike.
Russian Market is really big and is the place we could find all manner of hardware goods, antique furniture, traditional carvings and handicraft, hand-woven silk, music, movie and computer CDs, silverware, gems, books and maps, backpacks and bags and shoes and clothing, drinks and cooked food. You name it, you get it.
for Japan earthquake relief
Here, some basic bargaining and haggling skills will be needed as nobody pays the first price. Of course it was not difficult for us as we practice it most of the time in Malaysia.
A wide range of real and fake items sold in the market. Some authentic branded shoes and clothing, though not all, can be found at very inexpensive price, as they are manufactured in Cambodia somehow rejected due to quality control issues.
Most of our friends purchased souvenirs here, and some had their shirt, pant or dress tailor-made here at very reasonable price and thumbs up quality. They purchased the fabric there, handed to the tailors and had their clothing picked up on the following day.
The place was flooded with tourists and locals. Please be warned of the market’s heat and narrow passageways in search for shopping buys. So those who are claustrophobic might find it difficult to survive the market. The conditions add to the ambiance of an Asian market however.
I chose to take photos rather to shop. Few minutes of walk I got so sweaty even wearing a thin t-shirt. However I loved weaving my way around the market with my camera and finding lots of interesting people and things to shoot.
Few hours of walk, I did not finish even half of the market. We had to leave to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum as schedule and many were still demanding for more time extension. Therefore the guide took us there again on the following day for last minute shopping, just before we headed to Phnom Penh International Airport.
Russian Market is simply crowded, cheap and a lot of fun!
May all beings be happy. Sharing some photos I captured back there after the click: