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wee-peng Archives - Page 4 of 5 - juesatta (CJ Photography)

May 03

Pattaya: the Alcazar Cabaret Show

By My journey, Photography
The dancers of the Alcazar Carabet Show in Pattaya

The dancers of the Alcazar Carabet Show in Pattaya

During our trip to Thailand, We went and stayed a night in Pattaya before we traveled back to Bangkok the next day. The one and the only night in Pattaya, we chose to spend the night with the popular show in Pattaya – Alcazar Carabet Show. It is a must see if you visit Pattaya. I’ll explain later after the jump.

The Alcazar Carabet Show was amazing and got us totally immersed in it. It successfully blends the art of acting, stage design, costumes and the sequence of the show so well to be impressed by every one of all ages. We were entertained with the music, lip-sings, dances and various shows played by many perfectly beautiful female.

The traditional (Vietnamese, Indian, Malay, etc.) and modern dances (e.g. Poker Face by Lady Gaga) performed on the stage, fused also into a unique show which brings eastern and western cultures together, thus brought to us a very colorful and entertaining show.

The Siamese traditional dance performed on the show in Pattaya

The Siamese traditional dance performed on the show in Pattaya

I heard that originally, the show was at a small theater of 350 seats with 40 employees on almost 20 years ago, founded and operated by the Phettrakul family who never gave up and continued to improve and upgrade its facilities until the show became world famous.

Today’s Alcazar Cabaret Show features a grand beautiful theater with a capacity of 1,200 seats & 440 employees, fully equipped with high tech surround sound system and modern computer technology. The Alcazar Cabaret Show is now well-know throughout most of the international.

These are some shots I took during the show:

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Apr 24

Bangkok: Erawan Shrine through the Red Shirts

By My journey, Photography
Too young too furious - Bangkok dangerous

Too young too furious - Bangkok dangerous

The second day in Bangkok, we visited the Four Faced Buddha shrine a.k.a. Erawan Shrine nestled right in the heart of Bangkok city. However, Ratchaprasong intersection where opposite Erawan Shrine was flooded with the Red Shirts. The streets were closed and occupied with the Red Shirts and their vehicles, camps and stalls. The tour guide had to stop the car at somewhere far and walked us to the shrine. None of us was wearing in red or yellow to show that we did not support either side.

Erawan Shrine is hindu and was built in 1956, it features the Four Faced Buddha named Brahama. The shrine was built to eliminate the bad karma of the Erawan Hotel (In 1987 the old Erawan Hotel was torn down and the 5 star Grand Hyatt was built, the shrine remained however). The hotel laid the foundation on the wrong date and encountered a massive number of challenges and missteps during construction, including injuries to workers and boats with raw materials for the construction being lost at sea. Upon completion of the shrine, the missteps and bad luck ceased.

The guide didn’t want us to stay at the area for long to ensure our safety from the Red Shirts. In fact, she stood with the opposite side. According to the tour guide, her work was greatly affected as the Red Shirts’ protest battering the tourism industry in Bangkok. After paying homage to Brahama and made wishes, we left the shrine.

I still don’t understand the reason I didn’t snap any photo of the shrine. However, on our way in and out the shrine, I managed to take some shots of the Red Shirts:

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Apr 23

Bangkok: Arrival, Songkran Festival, Suan Lum night market

By My journey, Photography
The monk was departing to Bangkok with AirAsia

The monk was departing to Bangkok with AirAsia

Last week, Wee-Peng, Meng-Hong, Boon-Huat, Wei-Seong and I went to Bangkok, Thailand. We were worry about the red shirts but felt excited at the same time.

After two hours of flight we arrived in Bangkok and checked in our hotel, Baiyoke Boutique. On our way to the hotel, we saw people were cheering and splashing water on others. In addition, we saw some red shirts too but they were harmless to us.

Of course, the first thing we did was joining the crowd for Songkran festival (Thai New Year) at Khao San Road, where previously the violence between the red shirts and Thai army took place which killed tens just a week before we went.

We took a tuk-tuk (a popular Thai public transportation) to Khao San Road. I didn’t take my camera with as it might get splashed in the water-fight. There were groups of people stationed at the roadside waiting to splash water on pedestrians and cars which passed by.

The tuk-tuk’s young driver knew we wanted to have fun too. So he slowed down the vehicle wherever the people were stationed and got us splashed. Tuk-tuk cars are all doorless, thus we all got wet and it was really chilling when the tuk-tuk was moving fast. Some people even filled their pail or water gun with icy cold water and splashed on us. 

It surprised us when we arrived at Khao San Road. It was so crowded with local people and also tourists with water guns or bowls of powder and water mixture. The powder mixture used for smearing others is a sign of protection and promises to ward off evil. Many people with bowls of this mixture at Khao San Road applied it to various parts of the face, neck and torso of others. Most people there were either wet or smeared with the powder mixture, or both. So were we!

It was a waste that I could not snap any photos there; however I did on the Songkran Festival in Pattaya later.

That night, we went to Suan Lum bazaar, a night market to have dinner and shopping before we went back to rest. We were attracted to some beautiful lamps at the market which I called it puzzle lamp. They were puzzled up by PVC pieces into various beautiful shapes.

These are some photos I took:

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Apr 09

芙蓉沉香的蜈蚣山天师宫

By My journey, Photography
12尺全身赤红的“百足灵物”巨型蜈蚣像

12尺全身赤红的“百足灵物”巨型蜈蚣像

去年到好友Kelly在芙蓉的婚礼晚宴时，她介绍过我蜈蚣山的天师宫，这个芙蓉其中出名的旅游景点。蜈蚣山是在森美兰州的芙蓉的沉香，天师宫则是倚蜈蚣山而建，已经有140多年的历史了的庙，但依然风光明媚。从芙蓉镇到那里只需要5-10分钟。当时我赶着去晚宴，所以没法到蜈蚣山。

上个星期，Ah-Too邀请我一同从马六甲到芙蓉去接Wee-Peng回马六甲。Dylan与我和Ah-Too便三人同行。因为早到芙蓉的关系，我建议他们到蜈蚣山去看看。到了芙蓉，已经天不作美了，下起细细小雨。

经过了芙蓉镇，我们便依来自芙蓉的朋友Wendy的指示，到达了蜈蚣山山脚下，然后要的走一段小路是斜岭，汽车驾驶上去，便到了天师宫。那里风景真的很优美，能俯视整个芙蓉，把芙蓉景色尽收眼帘。尤其在这个下着细雨的天里，蜈蚣山的风景更是犹如世外桃源。

说到蜈蚣山的特色，莫过于它的长达12尺全身赤红的“百足灵物”巨型蜈蚣像。除此之外，还有招财蟾蜍、观音娘娘、齐天大圣、青云台及八仙园游等景点。传说山上常有蜈蚣出没，那里流传着有人因为见过白蜈蚣而鸿运当头，因此每年吸引无数来自远方的香客或游客到来碰运气，但求一睹白蜈蚣的异彩。

我在网上找到了这个蜈蚣山的传奇：

很久很久以前，一个为求发达的孩子，离乡背井寻找财路。终于有一天，这个孩子衣锦还乡，但却变成一个不孝之徒，他把含辛茹苦将其养育成人的母亲弃之不顾。最后，孩子受到应有的惩罚，他被化为一艘永不启航的「石船」，被安置在芙蓉沉香………。

长长的斜坡，伸延到丛林处，高高的山头，有艘石船；半山腰际有只大蜈蚣，长年累月的藏身蜈蚣树，它与石船相伴相随，没有人知道蜈蚣和石船的关系，也有人怀疑蜈蚣是被爱儿抛弃的母亲所变，但是蜈蚣圣山（又名百足山）之名不尽而走。

再来是天师宫的传奇：

天师宫设在高山「石船」中央，冥冥之中早已有安排。话说百多年前，蜈蚣山原是一片荒芜，毒蛇猛兽横行，当地居民深受其害，经常遭侵袭而蒙受死伤威胁。

为了保佑出入平安，当地居民便在山林中安置张天师神位，日夜供奉和膜拜。因为相传张天师是古代一名道士，专门扑妖抓鬼，法力无边，于是这个有欠安宁的山林，自然请到天师前来坐镇。

不过，在经过一段日子后，山脚下居民请来乩童向天师请安问事，却反遭天师要将其神位改迁山顶上。

当时的山顶更是一片荒芜，除了怪石嶙峋和老树野草外，空无一物。但是这些对张天师意旨感到为难的居民，在前往山顶为寻求神位时，却意外发现毫无人迹的山上的空旷地上早已插有一扎香，似乎在冥冥中已对天师的神位有所安排。

由于时间紧迫及天气的关系，我们只逗留了大约半小时。上了香后，我们也无法观赏一一的景点，更不用说能拍很多的照片了。

天师宫

天师宫

凉亭里的太极与弥勒菩萨像

凉亭里的太极与弥勒菩萨像

非常感激Ah-Too与Dylan的同行陪伴。也要谢谢Kelly介绍这个地方与Wendy的指路，我们三人才有机会到蜈蚣山。除此之外，也谢谢Wee-Peng请我们吃美味的芙蓉烧包。由于我们都认识一些来自芙蓉的朋友，我相信我们还有机会到芙蓉去参观，更能到这个蜈蚣山，去补上这次无法欣赏到的景点的遗憾。

Mar 24

A trip to Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children Centre Melaka

By Involvement, Photography
A trip to Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children Centre Melaka

A trip to the Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children Centre Melaka

Before the Chinese New Year of this year, Patrick and Wendy invited me to the Handicapped & Mentally Disabled Children Centre Melaka and to make donation. However, we thought the centre would receive excessive donation during the Chinese New Year period, so we decided to make a trip after Chinese New Year.

Last weekend was the day. When Patrick, Wendy and Wee-Peng came back from outstations, we decided to go to the centre and donate something. We bought sacks of rice, biscuits, chocolate powder, tooth-paste and tooth-brush, soaps, cooking oil, etc. at Tong Hup grocery store and departed to the centre in Bukit Baru, Melaka.

According to the supervisor of the centre, Thomas, there are 65 mentally disabled children and 15 caregivers at the centre currently. The centre is a demi-detached house. Can you imagine 60-80 people living in a house of that size? As we observed, the wall of the centre requires repainting, the furniture like cupboards and tables have to be replaced, and more daily supply needed to nurture the children. Most of all, our visits and company are as important and meaningful to the children.

I remember when I went to the centre last year; I met a single mother of two. She was pampering her 1-2 year old toddler in a baby bed. The toddler was sleeping and I knew that he/she was mentally disabled. The mother and I had a small chat of her condition. She was living and working far from the town and she was unable to take care of the toddler, her 3-4 year old elder son, and work at the same time. So she was sending her elder son to her parents’ home everyday, and younger son to the centre far away to get a better care. The only free time she could visit her younger son was weekend. When she told me that, I realised how hard it would be to be a single mother and also a mother of a mentally disabled child.

We are very fortunate indeed. By saying that, each of us also has the strength to make a difference and change the life of the less fortunate ones. It is very grateful if you can visit the centre, with lots of love and care to the children.

If you require any information about the centre and making donation, kindly contact the centre:
Handicapped & Mentally Disabled Children Centre Melaka
C-5315, Jalan Penghulu Abbas,
Bukit Baru, 75150 Melaka.
Tel: 06-232 2530
Fax: 06-232 2529

Thanks to Patrick and Wendy for their kindness and also invited Wee-Peng and I to the centre. We didn’t stay there for long as we believe we will be there again. It was really meaningful to share something we have — happiness, with the children. Below are some shots I took:

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Mar 22

Event shooting – blood donation campaign 21st March 2010

By Involvement, Photography
Blood donation campaign at Mahkota Parade, 21st March 2010

Blood donation campaign at Mahkota Parade, 21st March 2010

Recently my friend, Wee-Peng was asking me about blood donation. Since the last time he donated years ago, he wanted to make another donation.

I read newspaper about the blood donation campaign which would be held at Mahkota Parade yesterday and I told Wee-Peng about it days ago. He immediately agreed to participate.

"It isn't pain at all"
“It isn’t pain at all”

Both of us went to the blood donation campaign yesterday. The response of the campaign was good. When we reached the venue, there were public from different backgrounds were queueing up for blood donation registration. We were delighted to be part of such a meaningful event.

The atmosphere was so peaceful. It was much more laughter than pain for us. Since local anaesthetic was used, the only pain we experienced was very minor. In fact, it was only 2 seconds when the needle injected to the artery. After that, we just sat and relaxed, waiting for the pint of blood to be filled up.

The minor pain we experienced was nothing compared to the trauma victims due to accidents and burns, heart surgery, organ transplants, women with complications during childbirth, newborns and premature babies, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia who need our blood for a cure.

Blood donation is an act of kindness and makes us realise that this simple act could save lives. Every pint of blood donated can save up to 3 lives. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Special thanks to the organisers, volunteers and donors who made this wonderful event  going. I would like to thank Wee-Peng for giving me an opportunity to participate in this event together. May everyone be happy.

While Wee-Peng was donating, I snapped some photos to share the event with you:

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