Pink Sparks

Nowadays - more sensitive to pink. Not ordinary pink panther - just little bit of pink.

It has been some time since I took out my gear. I always dream of having someone with me who can share the same interest, sweating as we carry the heavy DSLR out in search for creative spots. It is a learning process and relationship - not of teacher or student, just learning. There is so much to learn in photography. It is a journey of discovery - the more you interact, the more you learn. The same goes for relationship.

I like the saying "When you are with different people at a certain place, you see different things with different people around you." Backpacking solo has been what I have done when I "NOT AT HOME". It is a journey of self-discovery - a time to reflect, a time to plan for future, a time to recover and a time to talk to God. It can be lonely at times - at meal times, when you saw beautiful scenes, when you tasted yummy sashimi, when you saw the red maple leaf....

It is great to have someone special - someone who you can stand side by side with you in times of joy and in times of struggles. Someone who you can cherish and someone who you like to plant in her eyes tears of joy. Someone you care about daily. Someone who you want to talk to at any time of the day. When you found that special one, I quote "your face will be beaming with light".

Pousada Macau

A shot which was inspired by a travel brochure

"Pousada" means welcome. Macau is a place rich of heritage - traditional Portugese structures, food, people, culture. It is a place more than casinos. Worth more than a day visit.

Sukhothai Experience

Tuk-Tuk is one of the main transport tools in Sukhothai. It is unique as passengers are seated in front facing the traffic.

Sukhothai (literally means “Dawn of Happiness” ) was the first truly independent Thai Kingdom, which enjoyed a golden age under King Ramkhamhaeng, credited with creating the Thai alphabet. Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a must-see for all travellers.

Sukhothai is located on the lower edge of the northern region, 440 kilometres north of Bangkok or some 350 kilometres south of Chiang Mai. It takes 7 hours on bus ride from Bangkok to Sukhothai

Extracted from:

www.sukhothai.go.th/english/index.htm

Re-discovering Bangkok

It has been full 2 years since I last visited Bangkok with my buddy Kenneth staying at Khao San Road. I went elsewhere like Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos to explore new things, new inspirations. Took up some photography courses this year and aim to re-look at things differently, no longer using old lens. Visited Bangkok, City of Angels again during this year's Christmas - to re-discover Bangkok from a different angle, and also to visit Hua Hin - a place that I want to visit for a while liao....

Life in Hua Hin is simple and less crowded as compared to other popular beaches in Thailand. A five-hour train ride (or three-hour bus ride) brought me there. A small town, friendly people and beach boys and girls. Woke up at 5 am, standing by the sunrise at Hat Hua Hin, strolling to Fishing Port to catch activities of locals. Sand castles - seem to be "missing" from our beaches lately....guess the younger ones back here spend more time in front of squarish box than the nature.

Dogs are many in the streets especially near the fishing port. Gotta to be careful as they look fierce and unfriendly, not like snoopy. I am very wary of pack of dogs grouping at a corner...they have strong sense of territorial boundary, and I dun want to use my camera to defend myself... :P

Flower market has been one key attraction of Bangkok. Again, with my "buddy", I woke up early in the morning (not 6 o'clock), and rushed down to the market to see the local in action. Alighting at Memorial Bridge, I went around the streets, filtering scents from the bouquet of roses, lilies, and early fumes from vehicles. Probably it is still "wee hours", I cant help the urge to crawl back into my bed after spotting a fellow vendor sleeping by his booth :P.

Visiting local ferry piers is also one of my agenda this round. Many piers are well-known to travellers and the classic is Sapan Thaksin - the ticketing station. I decided to stay at other piers to catch sunset of Bangkok along Chao Phraya River. Actually, the views of other piers are quite beautiful too, seeing more of the locals, less of the tourists. It is this experience, the experience of encounter with locals that normally add the extra spices to the memories.

Amusing - I was standing by Wat Arun in the evening, trying to catch sunset from a different view point. I heard a lady (later I know she was Sarah from Croatia) running to and fro finding exit point. After my capture of shots, I realised the entrance/exit points have been LOCKED! So, end up, pairing Sarah finding the way out. We have to meander around the temple compound, asking whoever we have met the way out to the pier. (Take note: The door to pier closes around 1730hrs!!!) I felt like "role playing" computer games (Gosh, cant even remember the names of the Games I played....really), searching the way out with Sarah.



Already said it was supposed to be a Christmas trip in Bangkok...so I will add a Christmas tree to end this blog. "World Trade Centre" at BKK has been transformed since the last 2 years. Can or cant recognise? It was one of my buddies' fav spot when we visit BKK....but it was soon losing its charm to MBK and other centres until lately. Crowds are coming back, I guess, when I compared with the crowd 2 years ago when I was there.
Bangkok, it has been a common travelling place for my buddies and me. We went there many times, the first was with Thomas, Dave, Kenneth and myself, the 2nd was with Alex, Kenneth, Dave and myself, the 3rd was with Kenneth at Khao San Road....and this round it is only me....

Many buddies are married and going to get married (Patrick?), I guess I will still spend some time with my "wife" (my DSLR) before thinking, or really thinking of settling down. Travel Photography is just like a relationship, it takes efforts and much time to understand and observe, and discover the unseen beauty. You need to take care of the tools and equipment and make sure all the batteries and accessories are available in order to take the best shots. By the word "Travel", you need to move around and search....the right spot, the right picture, the right timing, the right ISO..... I like the quote from "Practical Photography" and I re-adapt "When I look at my beautiful girl, I think F8 at 1/125....."
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

十一月的阿里山 云海 日出

Nov 07 - Started my backpack to Taiwan. I have heard that going to Alishan is a must if one wants to announce that he has been to Taiwan.

I only heard of the famous Alishan Song but I have never seen pictures of the forest or even know how to get there. So, I have made it one of my key sites for this tour - have even extended to 3 days 2 nites to ensure I know the story of the famous Alishan.

阿里山, 网路都说要在祝山看日出，要看云海. I determined to catch 2-day sunrise (this means waking up at 4 am daily) in case of unpredictable weather. I was told some people travelled many times but have no chance to see the sunrise and sea of clouds.

A tour guide mentioned the difference about sunrise in Alishan - he explained that the colours of the sunrise are different during the four seasons. I have checked the website and found out that at Alishan " 一年四季日出的地點與時間都不同". Something that strikes me is the comment the guide mentioned. "Why do we want to catch the sunrise in Alishan?". While I was still trying to strain my memory cells on the "reasons" ranging from the Japanese occupation of Taiwan to the common saying of "jumping" sun during sunrise.... I wanted to capture the sunrise, capture what many people have been talking about the Alishan sunrise .......then I realise I am actually following the "crowd".

其实, 要拍好照片，　需要了解要去的地方，有了故事，　才能捕捉一般人看不到的东西．

Discovering Laos 了解寮国

I went backpacking again in Aug 07 to a new destination ~ Laos. Travelling to Laos currently is still not one of the popular places among the travel agencies here, but it is really a place worthy of a visit.

I used to have the impression of Laos as similar to rural parts of Vietnam and Thailand - bicycles, stray dogs and also Cambodia - these are the places that I have backpacked mah.

Discovering Laos, or more aptly, re-discovering Laos was really my fruits of this backpack trip. There are bikes, tuk-tuks, cars (foreign makes too) and well-groomed dogs roaming along the streets. People are pretty and friendly, greeting using "Sabai Dee" when you meet any one of them. The Laos language has some common terms in phassay thai too, but not totally same as some may perceive. Vientiane and Luang Prabang give me a very different feel. Vientiane is the capital, but really a quiet capital while Luang Prabang provides a wider range of activities including excursions to different places of interest. Peaceful, warm, relaxing - are the 3 keys words for me - and really fit to my backpacking itinerary. Food - "sticky rice" is something to try and it is like glutinous rice back here lor.

重新了解寮国. 重新认识她. 为了捕捉不一样的画面, 用SD/CF cards 说出寮国的故事, 我得research lor.

不在家的时间不长, 但对她的认识不少, 只要细心观察, 同样可以看出别人看不出的美, 记录不一样的人生经验.

攀龙胜梯田 - 十一月的梦

Went GuiLin & Yangshuo last year in Nov. A bit "retro" but was thinking of sharing today a passage that I submitted to "My Paper". It was a sort of travel diary which captured the thoughts of "travelling" - Not at Home kinda feelings.

山是龙的脊, 田是登天的梯.

十一月广西背包行程中, 我穿插了一游著名的金坑梯田的美梦. 对于从来没有亲身体验梯田的我, 最想拍下在烈日下发光的金黄色的稻田, 希望收割季节还没过, 能圆我的梦. 除此之外, 对与居住在那儿的壮族, 瑶族, 我也好不好奇.

龙胜金坑梯田有三个观景台, 一般得花两天时间攀爬, 沿途欣赏风景. 虽然收割已过, 梯田如链似带, 高低起伏, 小山似螺, 大山如塔, 还是令人难忘. 从高高的观景台望下, 梯田顶所形成的图案, 好像立体星图, 想象力强的背包者可以数数星星, 还可看到月亮. 据我们入宿红瑶族大寨的红瑶族[余阿姨]介绍，那儿叫七星伴月.

在龙胜梯田–吸收了不少新鲜空气,尝到了土生土长的稻米和蔬菜,感觉就好像吃到了刚捕到的海鲜酿成的日本寿司.听[余阿姨]数说耕田的过程与看到红瑶族姑娘们挑水种田的勤奋,令人更能体会[粒粒皆辛苦]的道理.

龙胜的开发,让不懂梯田的人了解梯田,也让生活在梯田的人,以拥有梯田为荣