bloggering away.....

Leaving Bloggering Away

2010-09-08T02:56:00.007+09:00

Bloggering Away has served as my blog for many years and it is now time to say goodbye. I wanted to revamp the blog but realised that some of my posts won't be able to fit into my new format unless I do some tweaking. So, I decided instead to make a new blog to start afresh, so to speak. You will notice that the images I use with the posts are all gone but no worries! I will re-post some of the old posts here with the images in the new blog.

So goodbye blog! You have allowed me to immortalize many wonderful moments and I will endeavor to do the same in the new one.

A big thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The link to the new blog is up! Here it is : Images

KL Butterfly Park Part 1

2010-03-17T23:34:00.003+09:00

I took Angela to the KL Butterfly Park when she was here. I have not been there before and thought it might be a fun outing, besides just eating (although that is the ultimate activity to do here), seeing buildings and so on in KL.

It wasn't too expensive - RM 15 per adult plus RM1 fee for cameras. The park was not big but of a decent size. Besides the park, there is a small but surprisingly interesting museum dedicated to butterflies and insects which you would enter after you exit the park.

Although there were people there, none of them were local, except for me of course. They were tourists from all over the world, probably visiting the Lake Gardens and decided to drop in for a visit.

Nearby the KL Butterfly Park (there is another in Penang) is the KL Bird Park which is supposedly good but the entry fee (around RM42) was a bit too high for our liking at that time. I might go visit the bird park one day though, just for fun.

I am not going to attempt to try and identify the butterfly species since I don't know anything about them. The only species I could identify is the magnificent Raja Brooke's birdwing which I will write about in the next post.

There were quite a lot of butterflies and dragonflies/damselflies fluttering about the park but since they are such shy creatures, it was difficult to take pictures of them. I tried and my hands and fingers ached afterward. As you can see from the pictures, I had only managed to decently capture a few species while the rest of my pictures were blurry and were consigned to the trash bin.

Most of the butterflies were in good conditions and some were a bit tattered at the edges, but that was to be expected. Most of them were flying high above or feeding on the nectar of flowers and only a few were resting on the leaves. Those were the ones I managed to capture on camera and unfortunately, I could not get a variety of butterflies. I was also on a time limit, so that made waiting patiently for a decent shot difficult.

More pictures in the next post.....

Thean Hou Temple

2010-03-05T02:10:00.002+09:00

When my friend Angela visited me in KL for her holidays, my sister and her husband brought us to Thean Hou Temple - a rather famous Chinese temple in KL. It belongs to the Hainan Association of the Selangor & Federal Territory.

I have not been to this place before or even heard of it but it is famous and had appeared in a lot of tv shows featuring singers and actors, especially for the Chinese New Year celebrations. I must thank Angela for giving me the excuse to visit places I otherwise would not have gone to.

This temple is dedicated to the Goddess Tian Hou, which means The Heavenly Mother. It costs seven million ringgit to build this temple. Wow.

It was certainly an impressive sight. When we visited, it was during the Chinese New Year celebration, so the temple was decorated with strings of red lanterns across the courtyard. The sun was high in the sky, casting shadows unto the floor - a perfect setup for pictures.

There was a fortune corner, or rather, fortune bridge in the grounds of the temple, so we decided to go get blessed by the monks.

I would love to come back to this temple at night to see the lanterns. It must be quite a sight. Since this is such a popular temple, even among tourists, there are a lot of photographs of the temple online, in all situations. Just google it.

It was a hot, sunny day that day but although the light was a bit harsh at times, it highlighted the colours of the temple perfectly. The red lanterns glowed in the sun and the colourful traditional designs stood out for all to see.

It is a good place to bring guests although you might need a taxi or have your own means of transportation.

Hmmm...the pictures appear rather blur in this post. It must be because I resized it earlier and resized it again for this post. For better versions, please see my Flickr.

The "Ah Kong" and the grandson

2010-03-02T23:06:00.001+09:00

The grandfather and his grandson, watching the fireworks.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-13T21:56:00.002+09:00

Finally! I am home to celebrate the Chinese New Year this year, after having missed out on five occasions! Being home is good - delicious new year food (although the chopping of the veggies left my hand numb now!), the sales, and of course, family!

Of course one has to endure the heat and the humidity and those pesky little mosquitoes!

I was in KL for a couple of days and prior to the Chinese New Year celebrations, they had daily lion dance performances in KLCC for the benefit of the tourists. Although I must say Malaysia has better lion dance performances than this! After all, weren't we the champions?

I have to say I definitely miss celebrating Chinese New Year with the family. Now, I don't have to dream about the new year dishes but can actually eat them! What bliss!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Wat Arun

2009-10-13T11:38:00.001+09:00

Thanks to my personal Bangkok tour guide, Mai, I got to enjoy the wonders of the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. Wat Arun has a beautiful meaning - Temple of the Dawn - and is named as such because the early morning light will reflect off the surface of the temple with a pearly iridescence (Source: Wikipedia).

The structure was decorated bits of porcelain and apparently seashells. The designs were delicate and intricate and one can only imagine how they painstakingly created them on each and every surface.

It was absolutely hot and humid when I was there. My entire back was soaking wet by sweat and aching from carrying my heavy backpack but that did not stop me from admiring this beautiful temple. It may not be as grand as the temple in the Grand Palace compound, but one only needs to look at it to appreciate the wonder of it.

The steps to the top were perilously steep, and I only climbed to the first story - was too tired to climb to the top, although the view of the river was suppose to the beautiful.

Even so, the view from the first story was good enough for me. It was cool, looking down from the steps and seeing people trying to make their way up.

Look at the view...all the way up....

Reflections

2009-09-28T21:27:00.002+09:00

Why is it that whenever we gaze upon a lotus pond, we tend to feel calmer and more at peace with the world? I wanted to start this post with some philosophical musings about lotuses and inner peace but my brain is not co-operating with me on this issue.

I had some pretty good ideas about what to write a few nights ago before I went to sleep but I was too lazy to write them down. Needless to say, I forgot what I wanted to say. Note to self, write them down the next time!

Well, rather than to write something for the sake of writing something, I will just leave you to ponder about the question with these pictures. After all, a picture says a thousand words.

Tanjung Sepat

2009-09-19T19:52:00.003+09:00

On our way back from Bagan Lalang, we stopped by this small fishing town called Tanjung Sepat in Kuala Langat. This town is famous for seafood, which is not surprising since it is, after all, a fishing town.

I passed by loads of processed fish, prawns and squids. I was tempted to buy some but refrained from doing so because I had no more room in my luggage. Plus, I didn't fancy having my clothes smell of dried sotong.

There was a rather long jetty on which I walked and took all these photos. The wide open sea. The bright blue sky. The dramatic clouds. The setting sun. Lovely.

We only stayed awhile. Most of us were hungry and we were heading over to Port Klang for our seafood dinner. Sadly enough, I wasn't able to fully appreciate the scrumptious dinner because I was not feeling well. Too much sun.

The continuation of Bagan Lalang

2009-09-07T15:18:00.003+09:00

I have a little problem. I am running out of things to say about Bagan Lalang. Maybe I should have combined the two posts. Oh Well. Just ignore the text and focus on the pictures.

When at loss for words, talk about the weather. Right. As you can see, the sky was incredibly blue that day. We were lucky because during the days before, it was pouring and the haze was getting worse.

Weather? Check. Food? Although it was a nice place to have a picnic, it was way too hot and windy to eat anything there. And we were going to have a scrumptious seafood dinner in Port Klang later in the evening.

Weather? Check. Food? Check. Weird younger sister? My sister, attempting to do a flying kick.

My mum and sister trying to fly the kite. The two boys were bored of playing with it. They preferred to build sandcastles...... and then destroy them.

It was a good day out. Next time, we need a family holiday!

Bagan Lalang Part 1

2009-09-04T04:19:00.002+09:00

A family day out at Bagan Lalang in Sepang on a very sunny Sunday afternoon. Despite the rather muddy looking sea, it was picturesque with the wide open beach and the stunning blue sky. It is a popular picnic spot for families.

When we went, it was just the start of the fasting month for the Muslims, so although it was a Sunday, there weren't that many people on the beach. The two boys had so much fun running around, catching the small crabs and building (or rather trying to build) sandcastles while the three sisters were busy with our cameras.

The place was perfect for my wide angle lens with its never-ending stretch of sandy beach. The blue sky and interesting cloud formations were just right for any black and white or colour pictures. I hadn't taken many pictures with my wide angle lens lately so I was rather happy to have the chance to use it again.

Distortions are a problem when using the wide angle lens but sometimes I like the distortions because it brings an interesting new aspect into the picture.

I realised I took too many black and white pictures and had to remind myself to switch to colour. I also didn't use any polarizing filters for the lens which was a problem as the light was rather strong, creating harsh contrasts in the pictures (although I like the effect in some pictures).

More pictures coming up in Part 2 but I am running out of things to say about Bagan Lalang....

Kamogawa ducks

2009-08-09T18:43:00.002+09:00

We were taking shelter underneath the bridge during a torrential downpour, one of the heaviest I have ever seen in Kyoto, when several ducks decided to climb up the river banks to get away from the fast-rising muddy water. I thought that the patterns on their feathers will stand out better in black and white so I shot several pictures of them.

Gion Matsuri for the last time

2009-07-27T16:34:00.004+09:00

I will begin this post with an apology for not updating this blog in ages. Pesky little details took over my life for a while, plus the fact that I did not have much to update about in the recent months. Having not been anywhere for the past two years or done anything remotely out of the ordinary, I find that I have little to post about. But having neglected it for weeks, I decided it is time to breath new life into this dying blog and renew my efforts.

So first up is a post about my last Gion Matsuri. Sadly enough, despite wanting to go and enjoy the festival during the peak days, I could only manage to find time to enjoy the night festival (Yoiyoiyoiyama or Yoiyoiyama or Yoiyama) on Tuesday with my friends. But I had fun nonetheless and we reminisce about festival in the past years and how we celebrated them.

It was a shock to realise that I have seen this festival for 6 times in the years I have been here. And equally shocking was the fact that this is my last Gion Matsuri and soon, all this, will be a distant memory. Although the crowd, the heat and humidity can be so stifling at times (not to mention the rain!), I know that I will miss this colourful festival and sad that I will only have my pictures to remind me in years to come.

Gion Matsuri has been a constant thing in my life for the past five years here and next year I would wake up in July, knowing that I would not be hearing the distinctive music playing on the streets of Shijo/Sanjo, that I will not be seeing girls walking around in colourful yukatas, and that I will not be seeing the beautifully lit lanterns adorning the floats. But hopefully I would be waking up to something different, exploring a new festival or falling in love with an old one again and enjoying myself tremendously.

One thing I really do regret though was not being able to capture all the floats in a straight procession along the streets!

Oh well, hopefully I would be able to make a trip back here someday and enjoy all the things I would miss.....

For more pictures, please visit my Flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/celialee/sets/608419/

Flower power

2009-04-21T12:41:00.002+09:00

I went for a walk along the Tetsugaku no michi near my house, enjoying the full bloom of the sakura trees. It was indeed beautiful, which was why it was packed with people.

Then I took a stroll along this little known lane near my house and it was perfect. Devoid of people, it looked like something out of a fairytale book.

Here are some more pictures of that day:

It is spring again

2009-04-10T19:33:00.002+09:00

Beautiful sunshine, cherry blossom petals fluttering in the wind and riots of colours everywhere. It could only mean one thing. Spring is here!

I went around snapping pictures, trying to avoid the crowd. I find that the best places are always the small, isolated ones, devoid of people. One can actually sit down and enjoy the pretty blossoms without the distraction.

Having been here for 5 years, I have hundreds of sakura pictures and I am trying to find new ways to capture the beauty. Well, here are a couple of shots I want to share:

Belated Autumn pictures

2009-03-02T15:57:00.003+09:00

I have been way lazy with my blog. Have not touched it in a month and I have tons of pictures (mostly of people since I have not had the time nor money to go anywhere!) that I have yet to upload. So browsing through my old photos, I have found some autumn pictures which I have not posted here. So here goes:

Carefree world

2009-01-19T14:24:00.002+09:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Fiji that I forgot to post online. Love this series. We were in Natadola Beach, enjoying the sunny evening, frolicking on the beach. The days before were filled with thunderstorms and strong winds and the beach all but disappeared under the weight of the ocean waters. Then, the madness stopped and the sun shone and the beach regained its dignity.

I missed those days. Now, that I am stuck here in the cold winter of Kyoto, I miss it even more.

I yearn to get out and explore new worlds. And when I am done with this, I will be raring to go!

Bring in the new, remember the old

2008-12-24T15:25:00.002+09:00

It is that time of the year again. Christmas is just around the corner, ready to burst into a song and dance tomorrow although in Japan, the whole repertoire would have to be a little bit more subdued. (Not a holiday). And the New Year is just itching to snatch the limelight away with a bigger bang!

This year, sadly, I am not at home to celebrate with my family but fortunately enough, I have friends here that I could surround myself with on this happy occasion. The atmosphere here is rather different. I am so used to the whole Christmas carols/songs/huge decorations, basically the general festiveness that permeates the Malaysian air. Here, everything is more refined. Of course, the gloomy fate of the world's economy isn't helping either.

Usually, this is the time for reflections and for new resolutions but I gave that up a long time ago because I know that it would be a futile effort. So, I am basically just giving thanks this season and (fervently) hoping that the new year will bring me and everyone else nothing BUT the very best!

So to everyone: CHEERS and BE MERRY!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I so wish it would snow on New Year's day!

Loving the prime

2008-11-17T14:43:00.002+09:00

Original photo, cropped slightly at the sides

The above photo, cropped to show more detail. Look at the droplets of water!

It has been a month since I last posted on my blog. Summer had long packed its bags and left and now a new resident had taken its place. It is the beautiful season of fall. My campus is awash with yellow hues as the ginko trees are shedding their leaves and the sight is simply beautiful. But this post isn't about autumn; it will soon come. This post is about my recent acquisition, the newest addition to my growing Canon family.

The clarity, detail and sharpness of the lens is simply breathtaking, even on my old Kiss N. Since this is my first telephoto lens, I had to get use to the weight of the lens and the focusing. It is perfect in the daytime but indoors and in dim light situations, a tripod would be useful or if you have steady hands. I would have to practice quite a bit, but this is the kind of work that I am looking forward to.

Photo was cropped (Original size is similar to the first photo)

Every time I cycle past the Kamo river and see the birds flying overhead or the ducks nesting and swimming down the river, I feel a slight pang of sadness of not being able to capture those moments. But now, I am able to. And as you can see, some of the photos have been cropped to show the amazing details and sharpness of the lens. The original sizes of those cropped photos are similar to the first photo.

Fish swallowed whole

The Whale Shark

2008-10-17T16:30:00.002+09:00

It never fails to amaze me - the beauty of Kaiyukan. I can only imagine what it would be like diving into the depths of the ocean, a mere spectator to the myriad of sea creatures that inhabit that corner of the earth. But since I have this fear of the unknown, I do not think I will be diving anytime soon and I have to rely on this man-made ocean to satisfy my curiosity.

Without a doubt, the Pacific tank is the most popular exhibit, home to the whale sharks and my personal favourite, the manta ray. It is huge and you end up circling the tank round and round as you make your way through the aquarium. Although I have been here at least 3 times and have taken so many pictures, I always find that there is something new to catch or a different angle I have not yet explore. So here are some more pictures of the Pacific exhibit:

Images

2008-10-03T15:33:00.002+09:00

All the pictures were taken in Fiji.

Will and Mayumi's birthday!

2008-09-17T12:40:00.002+09:00

Fun times during Will and Mayumi's birthday! It was a beautiful day despite the early afternoon showers. Everybody had a wonderful time - awesome food and great company!

The birthday couple! Cheers! Thanks for inviting us once again! Here are the pictures from that day:

The college brochure picture

The Virgin Suicide promotional picture (which would have worked better if Chen wasn't smiling too much)

The Halloween promotional picture

Enjoying the sun

Russia's next Top Model

Kamogawa in his eyes

Waiting.....

Thanks again Will and Mayumi for the fabulous time!

Jellyfishes

2008-09-08T16:58:00.002+09:00

I love jellyfishes. The way they move in the water is best described as poetry in motion. Here are a couple of pictures I took while I was at the Kaiyukan.

Returning to Kaiyukan

2008-08-20T19:49:00.002+09:00

I returned to Kaiyukan in Osaka last week and we went on a weekday, hoping to avoid the weekend crowd. Thought we were clever but as it turned out, we completely forgot that it was the summer holidays! Scores of families decided to take advantage of that fact and visited the aquarium on that very same day!

I was shocked to see so many people queuing outside the doors, snaking around a couple of barriers. But thank goodness this being Japan, the line moved quickly and after about 30 minutes or so, we got into the building.

I don't mind family outings - in fact I love them! But what I can't stand are those who allow their kids to run around and pushing everybody just to get to the fishes. What is worse are those who pushes everyone else so that they can get their kids or grandkids to the front line. Worst offenders were the grandmas!

But I did enjoy my outing there! Love the place - the calming blue light and the fishes swimming round and round and round. I know how it feels being outside looking in, but I wonder how does it feel like being inside, day after day, swimming around with human faces gazing at you and thousands of light flashing at you from the cameras?

As it was rather dark inside the aquarium, I had taken all the pictures at the highest ISO setting possible, resulting in grainy pictures unfortunately. Movements, and the aquarium glass made it difficult to get clear pictures (er, or rather, I do not know HOW to get clear pictures from these circumstances) and I had to post process a few pictures.

One of my favourite exhibits is the Pacific Ocean with now TWO whale sharks swimming along with a host of other species including rays. The gigantic manta ray that once swam together with the whale shark is now cut off from the other fishes by nettings. I wonder why? But I love it - I love the way it glides so beautifully. So graceful like the dancers of the sea.

And I love the look of this fish! More pictures of the Kaiyukan here at my flickr site. I will post more pictures of the jellyfishes in the next post!

Horizon Perfekt Part 3

2008-08-16T04:12:00.002+09:00

More pictures of Gion Matsuri from the Horizon Perfekt. I have another roll of film to process but am reluctant to fork out the money just yet. This time, all of the photos were taken during daylight, so I would really love to see the result. Perhaps soon....

Horizon Perfekt Part 2

2008-08-05T18:57:00.002+09:00

More horizon pictures. Enjoy!

Horizon Perfekt? Perfect!

2008-08-01T19:18:00.002+09:00

Yeah! I finally got back my Horizon Perfekt pictures and they turned out to be better than I expected! My first roll and I am quite happy with them. Of course I should practice more but seeing how expensive it was to print the 22 pictures, I think I should practice sparingly. They were all taken during the Yoiyama night of the Gion Festival held here recently in Kyoto in mid July. It is the biggest festival in Kyoto and tons of people descend to this historical town to indulge themselves in some Gion Matsuri fun. I did not take many pictures this time around though - surprise, surprise.

It was always fun whipping out the camera and getting ready to take the pictures with the Horizon because everyone always stares at me and I can hear them going - what is that thing? Truly - the camera is big and it looks nothing like an ordinary camera!

Here are the first four pictures! These were scanned and then level and contrast adjusted because the scanned pictures came out kind of dark. More to come.....

Fun with water!

2008-07-28T13:50:00.002+09:00

The boys having so much fun in the water! Taken last December when I was back home.

Ethan loves the water and so does Dylan. I remembered when I was a child, I used to love swimming with my dad who taught us how to.

Haha....I have no idea what he was doing. Praying?

See that expression of pure joy!

Love this of Ethan!

Wisteria Lane

2008-07-22T17:15:00.002+09:00

Springtime in Kyoto is delightful and not only because of the sakuras. While the sakuras hog the limelight in the beginning of April and then fade away as the rain and wind take over, the purple wisteria blooms quietly towards the end of April.

As you can see, it is already rather sunny and hot but thankfully, not humid. This was at the Kyoto water treatment center, miles away from the city center. Specially for the wisteria viewing in April, the center provided public buses to and fro from Kyoto Station to the treatment plant. Amazing isn't it?

Because of its location and the lack of publicity, there were not that many people visiting the place, which is ideal for flower viewing because really, who would want to see people's heads instead of the charming flowers? Which is the case everytime the sakuras bloom.

Thanks to my labmate, we found out about this place and decided to go during the weekend. The place was beautiful, truly, with rows of hanging purple flowers above and people relaxing, enjoying the day out with their families.

Now, if someone asks me where would be one of the best places to get married in spring, I would say this place. Although the surrounding view is not as romantic as say the sea, the mountains etc, the place where the wisteria grows is lovely. I can just imagine a wedding there.

Fire dancers

2008-07-13T21:40:00.002+09:00

Just a couple of pictures of the fire dancers at Kamogawa-Sanjo. The pictures have been adjusted using Photoshop - levels, contrasts etc. So if you look closely, you can tell. Had to adjust the photos because they turned out too dark.

Can you give us a royal wave?

2008-07-03T15:32:00.002+09:00

It was just wishful thinking. No one was there at Buckingham Palace that day - no Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles nor his royal pin-up sons. I even missed the Changing of the Guards ceremony because I went there too late.

Even though it was nearly nightfall, there were still plenty of tourists up and about enjoying the quiet evening. I must say that I was a little bit disappointed. I thought that the palace would be huge - but it turned out to be quite ordinary. In my imagination, I thought it would stretch out for miles! What is inside is probably breathtaking but what is on the outside, well, I have definitely seen more impressive facades.

The Victoria Memorial stands right in front of the royal palace and features the large, imposing statue of Queen Victoria and statues of the angels of Truth, Justice, Charity, Courage, Motherhood and at the pinnacle, the golden statue of Victory. Quite impressive.

Night fell and slowly, people departed. I too made my way back slowly to Trafalgar Square to board the Underground to meet my friend for dinner. Despite my initial disappointment about the size of the palace, I was quite content because this time, I managed to take pictures of the palace! Ah...the beauty of digital over film.

Fly away pigeons!

2008-06-29T23:02:00.002+09:00

Standing outside the National Gallery, you will never be able to miss the pigeons. There were plenty of photo opportunities if you stand there long enough and I took advantage of it since I had time to kill. Took a series of black and white shots of the people, mostly kids, feeding the pigeons and posing for the cameras. It was a beautiful sunny day too, in London.

Night view of London

2008-06-15T14:54:00.002+09:00

Night view of London was breathtaking. Here are a series of pictures taken from the Waterloo bridge. From the bridge, you can see the Golden Jubilee and Hungerford bridges and Westminster from afar. It was a nice pleasant walk back to the station to take the train back.

The British Museum

2008-06-04T16:13:00.002+09:00

On my first trip to London, I had only an hour to tour the British Museum before closing time. This time around however, I had decided, no matter what, that I would finish touring the British Museum!

It did help of course that the museum is free of charge (YAY!) so I wasn't concerned about re-visiting the place more than once. Pounds - damn if it isn't expensive! I was quite please to note that nearly all the museums and galleries in London have free admissions, except if there is a special exhibition.

Egypt

The British museum is fantastic. Can't say enough about it. Plenty of things to see and to explore. One of my favourites and of course for most of the crowd, is the Egyptian exhibition. Having not been to Egypt yet, this is the closest I can get to it.

Africa

The fun part about visiting the museum alone is that I did not have to worry about lagging behind or finishing too early. I took my time and it was time well spent. It did help of course that my friend's workplace was nearby, so I did not have to worry about time.

If I ever do go back to London again, this is the one place that I would definitely be visiting again.

A new terror in town!

2008-05-21T14:32:00.002+09:00

No, no....not a monster or anything but the terror came in the form of my friend who visited me early this month. And I do mean "terror" in an affectionate way.

Watching my friend trying to become "kawaii" is hilarious seeing that she is anything but kawaii in the Japanese sense of the word.

Our days and nights were filled with walking around (well, she did most of the sight seeing with another friend since I had to go to the lab), shopping and her favourite pastime - drinking! Den-en is the magic fountain of booze for alcohol lovers with their nomihodai course and recently, as we found out, they even have 50% discount off their menu on certain days! Do I hear the thundering running footsteps heading towards Den-en now?

The girl sings Leon Lai songs non-stop, complete with actions and facial expressions, that it is a torture to go to karaoke with her! Joking Lusty! She sang the songs with so much "feel" that it is hilarious! I actually do have a couple of videos of her singing with so much passion! Hmmm, I think this calls for blackmail. Let me see - What do I want?

Well, Kyoto is so much more quieter now that she has gone back home. No more late night singing on the streets, risking the wrath of sleepy residents. No more boisterous Chinese karaoke sessions. No more accosting hapless friends to ask them if they think she is beautiful in French. No more Den-en.

Life is certainly less noisy now but I find that I miss the noise! Come back soon Lusty!

(All the photos were taken with the Contax G2 using the Ilford B&W film)

Fancy becoming a Maiko-san for a day?

2008-05-08T14:51:00.002+09:00

Have you ever spotted a Maiko-san or a Geisha (or Geiko as they are called in Kyoto) on the streets of Gion or even Tetsugaku no michi? Well, before you get all excited and started thinking that you have hit a jackpot with the Kyoto treasures, make sure that they are the real deal!

One rule of thumb is that if they are willing to pose for you, chances are, they are just tourists having a fun time dressing up as Maiko-san or Geisha. The true Geisha or Maiko-san are always in a hurry, walking from one tea house to another and nearly always avoiding contact with pesky photographers (guilty!). Your best bet is to wait for them at the "hanamachi" areas.

The only time you would ever get them to pose is when they are with their customers. Otherwise, you would have to hound them like a dog to get a decent picture of them. I have never been up close to a celebrity before but the way the tourists (and occasionally me) surround them with their cameras, which is at the same crazy and funny, gave me an insight as to what it must be like to be near one. No wonder they hate us! I wouldn't want me to take my pictures either if I was a Maiko-san.

But back to the original story of this post, my friend had decided that she wanted to become a Maiko-san for a day. She tried unsuccessfully to persuade me and a couple of others to join her. I backed out because for one, I had no money to spare and two, it I always find it more fun to take their pictures! I had been with my friends before when they had done this two years back and I had written a post on it.

First of all, one has to make a reservation and we did not know that we had to make one three days in advance! So I called them up and concocted a lie, saying that she was just in Kyoto for a day and desperately wanted to do the whole Maiko thing! And we were successful!

The studio is located near Kiyomizudera. There are a couple of plans to choose from, and the prices differ accordingly. You can have professional photographers trailing you around, as you walk about scenic areas, or you could have only 10 minutes outside for "personal photography", which was of course, the cheapest plan at 6900¥.

Unfortunately for the both of us, we could not take pictures inside the building, during the make-up process. It would have been so cool but oh well. Actually, I sneaked in a few shots here and there, before I got caught!

After the make-up process, my friend proceeded to choose her kimono and was dressed up by the staffs. The wig that she had to put on was damn heavy and she had neck pains from just wearing it on her head for a mere 20 minutes or so! Imagine those girls who paid to walk around the area for like an hour! I wonder if you could just sit down somewhere and take the wig off for a bit and then put it back on and continue the journey. It would be unsightly of course, but hey, your neck hurts!

So after dressing up, the girls are ushered into the photo studio for their portrait shots. After that, they are released into the streets full of tourists who are bound to ask them to pose with them. My friend had only ten minutes outside. So we did the best we could. Of course, half the time I was too busy laughing my head off so I had to delete a couple of shots because I could not hold the camera steadily enough for a good portrait shot! My friend is damn funny!

We had so much fun! We did all the poses - the demure ones, the pretty ones, the absolutely-I-am-not-a-Maiko ones. Too bad I can't post some of them here! She will kill me! Haha!

We walked around the area a bit and found a restaurant with a beautiful noren and gate to pose in front of. Spent most of our time there and then walked back to the studio. After just 10 minutes, my friend was complaining of neck pain. I don't envy her!

All in all, it was a good day! We had many shots that we liked and many shots that were hilarious! I am glad that my friend had fun! So if you guys would like to try this one out, then I am glad to be of service! I would not however be persuaded to join to become one as I really do not like having neck pains :).

My new (well, old actually) Contax G2

2008-05-02T13:38:00.002+09:00

I have to thank Paul for introducing me to the Contax G2 film camera. It looks good (yes, I am THAT easy) and it has incredible lenses. I had to buy it second hand though because they stopped manufacturing it some time back but thank goodness for the camera shops here in Japan.

So I started off with the B&W film. I have this thing, this obsession with B&W photos which I can't explain. I find myself taking more and more pictures in B&W. To me, when the picture is devoid of colour, it forces you to look at the subject at hand, to pay more attention to it rather than to be distracted by the colours. Of course, there are many times when colour is needed to better enhance the photos i.e. spring.

Unlike my Canon SLR, I cannot simply experiment with the settings just yet so I decided to be a coward (money is the key factor in this decision) and just put the settings on Auto. Ssshhh....!

I took pictures of my friend's graduation with the Contax in B&W and I must say, I really liked how the pictures turned out. They commemorated the occasion in a nostalgic way. Of course, I gave the pictures to my friend, who promptly forgot to take them back home with him! Hmmph! CHAN!!!!

Printing the photos was exciting because I had no idea how they will turn out. The excitement, the anticipation of seeing the photographs! Of course, then the pain of parting with the money for the processing......which, although painful, was satisfying.

So, here are some of the pictures that I took. I have a roll of coloured film in it now and will send it for processing as soon as I am done taking pictures with it!

Yeah, these guys with the bare asses were doing something at the Doshisha University campus, in conjunction with the graduation day. I just had to take their picture!

And I think they were brothers, playing outside the shop while the parents were inside. The little one was adorable and the elder one was just plain good looking!

More black and white shots of spring

2008-04-26T14:52:00.002+09:00

Having had too many flower pictures in colour, I decided to shoot in B&W this spring. Partly inspired by Ansel Adams. Partly, to keep myself from getting bored of taking the same 'ol pictures.

So, after my attempt with the sakura blossoms, I turned my attention to the other flowers when I went to the botanical gardens but I couldn't resist the vibrant coloured tulips on display so I had to take some colour shots.

The lighter coloured blossoms, white in particular, looked gorgeous against the dark background, especially with the back light. I had to wait, arms cramped, at that same position, until the clouds parted and the sun shone again to catch the particular shot I wanted. Yeah, yeah I know....I should get a tripod. But I am too malas to lug it around :p

But the darker hued tulips surprised me, producing an effect I did not quite expect because I thought the flowers would be lost in the background. It took me a while to get the right settings but I am happy with the results.

I love this one in particular. I posted a shot of these flowers in colour but I think I love the B&W more. How about you? Enjoy the rest of the photos.....

Something to cheer you up!

2008-04-21T14:53:00.002+09:00

Spring flowers - bold, bright and beautiful. They lift my spirits up whenever I see them. A sign of new life perhaps; a sign that a new phase had begun and therefore, hope.

After a bleak, cold winter, what is more soothing to the soul than a blast of colours everywhere?

Even the lack of sunlight in this rainy season fails to subdue the vibrancy of spring.

So enjoy the flowers! Hope they bring forth a smile to last the day :)

Spring....

2008-04-18T02:40:00.000+09:00

I really like this picture somehow. It makes me happy just looking at it. Maybe I am just a bit off today...haha!

Sakura, sakura

2008-04-11T15:48:00.001+09:00

A study in black and white

2008-04-07T02:53:00.002+09:00

I forgot the name of the flower and I am too lazy to check the internet for it. Hehe. But I remembered that it was called "yuki hana" or something like that because of its resemblance to snow when the tiny, delicate flowers are in full bloom.

The flowers bloom at the same time with the cherry blossoms, so it is quite lovely seeing the combination of the two flowers. Since the flowers are white in colour, I decided to do black and white portraits of them - inspired partly by Ansel Adams.

The white will stand out against the dark background but I had to fiddle quite a bit to get the settings just right. I spent so much time standing in front of the flowers, taking pictures at the same spot that people just stared at me but I am used to it.

So enjoy the pictures of the "yuki hana". They are really quite beautiful.

Are you not like me?

2008-04-04T20:18:00.002+09:00

Check out his poses. Aren't they human like?

Natadola Beach

2008-04-01T17:43:00.003+09:00

Natadola beach is the one of the most beautiful beaches, according to many sources, in Viti Levu, Fiji. The vast expense of the sandy white beach and the clear turquoise blue water is simply breathtaking. I went there on four separate occasions. The first time, just right after the hurricane; the second time, at dawn; the third time, in the evening and the last time, in the afternoon. I had been there before, three years back and was simply awed by its beauty. When I first set eyes on the beach again after three years, I was shocked to see that the sandy white beach had disappeared, eaten up by the rising sea level caused by the hurricane that just passed and the waves were strong. Since I am a hopeless swimmer, I decided to just watch the waves rolling in. The sea and its vast wilderness although fascinating, terrifies me sometimes, more so on days like these.

Then, when I went back there again later, after a few days, the sea level had fallen, and the beach returned to its former glory. Dawn was simply beautiful, with the soft morning light, falling gently on the waves and with no one around, it was just serene. As we sat there, enjoying the soft breeze, a man came by, riding on his horse with his dogs chasing each other. Just perfect.

I had a happy time just walking along the beach, collecting corals and small shells and stumbled upon this gorgeous little lagoon with its deep emerald blue waters which was hidden from view from the main beach, just like a private lagoon. I was just stunned.

Although it is famous, it is still relatively uncrowded, but that will change once the beach resort opens.

Le Bouchon

2008-03-25T23:39:00.002+09:00

To celebrate my friend's birthday (well, actually, it was a belated birthday celebration) we went to try out this french restaurant that we had heard so much about. Every time I cycled past it, I keep telling myself that I will try it one day and I finally did. I have to admit that I am a bit biased about French food in Japan. One that it is expensive and secondly, that the serving portion is small (this being Japan after all).

However, I was happy to be proven wrong. The quantity and quality as well as the presentation were excellent and the price was just nice for the dinner set. We were served with delicious baguette, accompanied with olives and black olives paste which was amazing. For my entrée, I had escargots with mushrooms and for the main dish, I had duck topped with an orange based sauce. Interesting combination. Then for dessert, I had "fruits of the season" tart which, in this season, was strawberries. I were stuffed - an amazing feeling! And I love the fruit tart! Delicious!

Sayonara

2008-03-21T14:56:00.006+09:00

March is ending. And when it does, my life will be a little bit sadder. I will miss the company of my good friends who had been with me for nearly four years here, as we have been through many ups and downs together. Four years! Four years that had gone by like a speck of dust in the wind! But not just an insignificant speck of dust. Quite the contrary. I think my life is richer because of it, because of the people that I have met that became my friends.

It seems that my circle of friends here is diminishing! Sad but true. Although I would love to keep them here for myself, I have no choice but to stand back and watch them leave (I don't think I have the strength or power to forcibly keep them here! Haha!). And even though my heart is heavy, I wish them nothing but all the luck, happiness and love in the world as they begin a new chapter in life.

To all of you guys (and you all know who you are!) - Kampai!!

Your friend always,
Ai Ling

P/S Remember to keep in contact or else......!!!

P/S/S Thanks also to Mai, Eddie and Ernesto for taking some of the photographs shown here - written under "notes".

Bubbly fun

2008-03-17T01:49:00.002+09:00

My nephews, Ethan and Dylan, having loads of fun with the bubble gun! In fact, I had loads of fun with the bubble gun! Ah.....to be a child again....

Out in the sea

2008-03-12T16:09:00.005+09:00

All these pictures were taken in Bourewa. I could not get closer as the horses sensed that I was approaching and was on full alert. I had only my macro lens with me at that time and did the best I could with it. I love the last picture but unfortunately the settings were awful - it came out too dark.

Dim sum galore!

2008-03-07T23:45:00.002+09:00

I caught up with my friends for a lunch time feast of dim sum "tabehodai" aka eat-all-you-can dim sum buffet. However, in Japan, buffets are usually limited to only 90 minutes - not enough for me! I am so used to the buffet style back home where you can eat, chit-chat for a while, then eat again, then chat, then eat.....you get the drift.

I had been to this place only once prior to this lunch date. Besides the offering of dim sums, the restaurant also serves other Chinese dishes such as fried noodles, rice, etc as well as dessert. I think they also serve wine but I am not sure if it is included in the buffet price or you will have to pay separately. But er, wine and dim sum?

Lunch time is cheaper of course, around 1590 yen per person for 90 minutes. Dinner buffet is slightly more expensive but you get the same food, as far as I can tell. Although it was just lunch time and it was during a weekday, there was still a crowd in the restaurant.

This dim sum place is not the best I have eaten of course. Just go to any dim sum stall/restaurant back home and they can beat this place flat in terms of taste, quantity, value and surprisingly service. I have no idea what the waitresses had for breakfast but it sure as hell wasn't good cause they were all unsmiling and unfriendly, which was a surprise considering that service and presentation is everything in Japan. They looked like they rather spit on the dim sums than to serve us.

However, since I have no cash to go to an upscale "true" Chinese restaurant, I will have to make do with this one and just shut my mouth and eat.

Lomo fun part 2

2008-02-29T21:36:00.004+09:00

Lomo fun is back again! This time I was using the black and white film - Ilford 400. Processing the B&W film was more expensive than the colour films but it was worth it. This time, I was much more pleased with the end results. I had finally understood how the range focus works. I had a few blur pictures though, but that was because I tried to shoot in low light conditions without a tripod.

Obviously the Lomo LC-A+ was built for colour. The colour pictures were much more vibrant but the B&W fared not badly either. I have not tried taking pictures with the LC-A+ in daylight conditions yet.

Fishing in Bourewa, Fiji

2008-02-26T00:18:00.002+09:00

I miss lunchtime at Bourewa. Besides gazing out into the ocean while eating, I had the occasional pleasure of watching the Fijian villagers fish at the nearby shallow reefs with their horses. What a sight! To see the horse streak across the shallow waters to the turquoise blue reefs.

I will post those photos in the next post, but first up are the photos of the fishermen. When the time came for me to take my lunch break, I immediately grabbed my camera and waded out towards the fishermen.

They were very welcoming and encouraged me to get closer to them so that I could take better pictures (I had only my wide angle zoom lens). The boys even posed for me and I love the first picture.

After posing for me, they went on their way and I snapped a few more pictures before heading back to shore to eat my lunch.

I see groups of them, all men, heading to the reefs to fish nearly everyday. Sometimes they come by horseback, and other times by foot. The horses were a sight, especially when they run across the waters. Coming from a place where the only time you can see a horse is either at the zoo or at a racing track, seeing horses this free is an amazing feeling.

The reefs nearer to the shore were almost all dead. The Bourewa beach is a beautiful sight but during low tide, it is not ideal for swimming. Further offshore, you can see a strip of beautiful turquoise blue with the waves lapping at the fringes. Gazing at it everyday while there is a memory that I will always keep with me. And one of the things that I missed most.

Sometimes you can see many groups of men, all the out at the reefs, fishing. From where we sit at the beach, they looked so tiny, that sometimes I had a hard time distinguishing whether they were fishermen or just boulders.

I wanted to wade out into the reefs but it proved too far. Now......if I had the horse......

Fiji - The Kids

2008-02-19T23:24:00.004+09:00

One memory that I will always carry with me of Fiji is of my time with the kids in the Fijian village that hosted me for two weeks while I was there on an archaeological dig. They welcomed me with open arms; all of the villagers did, but the kids were especially cheerful.

And they were such a joy to photograph! All of the kids were very willing to pose for me. In fact, some of them have their "trademark poses" ready for me everytime I press the shutter button, as you will soon notice in the following photographs.

And after every shot, the kids would scramble to view the picture on my camera and took delight in seeing their faces and of their friends on my screen. I am just going to post the photos below:

The Lomo LC-A+ experience

2008-02-12T18:07:00.000+09:00

I went out and got my Lomo LC-A+ recently and immediately started shooting using the Fuji Film (ISO100) that came with the camera pack. The Lomo LC-A+ is known for its vibrant saturation of colours, the sometimes-funny focusing and the vignetting at the corners.

Among the lomo/holga/"toy cameras" that are so hype today, the LC-A+ is not the cheapest, but I have read good reviews about this camera, so I thought I would give it a try since I have been wanting to experiment taking pictures with them.

As you can see in some of my photos here, I still have a lot to learn about using the zone focus spec in this camera. But still, it was a fun experience, just shooting and trying to find as much colours as possible (I wanted to see the colour saturation).

Out of the 36 possible pictures, only a few turned out sharp and in focus. The rest were blurred, some awfully but for some, the blurriness seemed to enhance the pictures even more. I let you be the judge of that:

So, I will keep on trying till I understand how this little camera works (it looked deceptively bigger on the computer screen) and I will post the results as I shoot.

Mum and sis

2008-02-08T17:31:00.000+09:00

I really love this picture. At first I thought this picture was doomed because I took it without adjusting the settings on my camera so the picture came out really dark. But since it is a digital file, I could manipulate it and saved the picture!

Arghhh......It is CNY and I am not home :(

A Lovely Wedding

2008-02-01T16:07:00.000+09:00

A dearest friend of mine got married recently and I was lucky enough to be there with some of my closest friends to celebrate the occasion with her. It seems like yesterday we were in high school together and now, she is entering the next phase in her life.

It was a very colourful affair. Colours were just everywhere, which was wonderful. The celebration took two full days in Taiping, just before Christmas. It was my first time attending a Punjabi wedding, so I was excited. Plus Woan Chiun and Joyce (and her family), managed to make the trip back, so that tripled the fun.

The first day was the oil ceremony which took place in the bride's home. The groom and his family came only on the next day for the wedding ceremony in the temple.

There were a lot of bhangra moves that night! Her house was transformed into a mini disco complete with flashing lights! All that was missing was the mirror ball...

I have not seen the groom prior to the wedding. The cons of being far away from your friends. So I had to go and introduce myself as I was busy taking his pictures!

Sharon was so lovely that day. Beautiful and radiant, as a bride should be :) And of course, Prithipal was just as handsome.

I was really happy to be there. I missed my other friends' weddings and I was determined not to miss this one as well. To Sharon and Prithipal - Thanks so much for sharing your special day with us. Wishing you both lots of love from the bottom of my heart! Hugs.....

Crazy times!

2008-01-12T01:34:00.000+09:00

Yup! Crazy, crazy moments in the Lee family! My younger sister went remote-crazy! Hahaha!

And here were are, trying for a dignified pose:

And just the Lee sisters:

And my sister and her family:

Sento Palace for the second time

2007-12-04T22:35:00.000+09:00

After my amazing experience with Sento Palace last year, I decided I must go again this autumn. Plan was to make it a fun trip with my other friends as well but the rule was no more than 4 people (friends) in one tour group, so there goes that plan. Turned out that only four of us went at the end, on the same day but at different times, so we could have gone as a group!

When I went last year, it was raining the night before and so it was misty, wet and cold. But the atmosphere suited the gardens very well indeed and gave it that "autumn" feel, with all the wet leaves on the ground and the mist surrounding the brilliant red trees. This time, we were again blessed with good weather of the sunny kind and so I saw Sento gardens in a different light.

As mentioned in the earlier post, I loved the tour guard! He was pleasant, kind and extremely nice to all of us, even to the extent of moving away whenever anyone of us tried to take pictures of the scenery (he was always the last person, so if we tried to take pictures of the scenery behind us, he will inevitably be in it, so he moved away).

We went rather early so most of the maple leaves were still on the trees while the striking yellow leaves of the gingko trees carpeted the mossy grounds. It was beautiful.

The same tree I loved most last year (above) was still as red as ever. It amazes me how red the leaves turned out to be. The colour is just so brilliant, with or without sunlight.

Enjoy the pictures below:

Shugakuin Imperial Villa in Autumn....again

2007-12-02T00:37:00.000+09:00

Yes, I admit, I am a bit boring. I go back to the same places each time for autumn. Well, at least I know what to expect and I know I won't be disappointed. Besides, most importantly, Shugakuin Imperial Villa is free to visit. I just had to get my lazy butt onto the bike and cycle to the Imperial Palace office to make an appointment.

I have to say that I have yet to be disappointed with this place. I had been here three times in autumn and all three times were beautiful. Went rather early this time, for the 9.00a.m. tour (yes, I know, I actually woke up early!), hoping to catch the nice morning light for photography. But apparently the sun decided to be super cheerful that day and blasted intense sunshine the whole time.

Hmmm....I don't like the guard that took care of the rear end of the tour group. He was rather rude (well, I was rather slow but still! The Sento Palace guard was super nice and he was doing the exact same job as him!). Since the date we booked was rather early, most of the maple leaves are still on the trees and some were just in the process of turning. I think I had seen Shugakuin Villa in all three stages of autumn now. It pays to visit there every year!

Anyways, I tried to take different pictures - different angles, different subjects, etc. With my new lenses, I had managed to take some "different" pictures, mostly wide angles.

I have more pictures in my Flickr album, so please feel free to take a look.

Next up: Sento Palace in Autumn.

Starnberger See

2007-11-28T15:55:00.000+09:00

My last post on Munich! It was my last day there and I was going to catch the plane in the evening to go back to London for another week. Lufthansa is fantastic I have to say and I love the e-ticketing service. Fast and so damn convenient, instead of waiting in a long line to reach the check in counter.

Since it was our last day together, Joyce and Heiko decided to bring us to Starnberger See, this wonderful, huge lake from which you can actually see the Alps. We took a train there and many were heading to the lake as well, just like us. The weather again was gorgeous! Sun was just shining away and the air was cool. Bliss!

The lake was amazing! The only lake I had seen so far in the past three years I had been in Kyoto was the Biwa Lake which is so damn huge, that it look like the sea at some parts.

Yup! I saw the Alps! It was far and tiny from where I stood and I had to squint my eyes before I saw it but saw it I did! We had fun, having a nice picnic lunch on the greens and just chatting and enjoying our last moments together. Oh boy, I do miss it. But we will see each other again in December! I can't wait!!

Munich at night

2007-11-18T13:18:00.000+09:00

Walking along the Munich streets at night was a sight. I was blessed with great weather, not too cold and there was no rain apart from the first night. Everyone was out enjoying the atmosphere, tourists and locals alike.

The shops there close quite early, so I had no hopes of shopping. Besides, I had limited euros with me, so shopping was just a dream, hehe. Looking at the window displays was enough to satisfy me and they had some pretty good ones!

Outdoor cafes were aplenty and everybody was out drinking beer, chatting with friends, eating, creating a lively atmosphere. And in some places, there was nobody around, and it felt calm and serene. Imagine you are alone walking, surrounded by silence, the lovely architecture and the soft orange glow of the street lamps and the display windows.

There were also a lot of street musicians displaying their talents on the streets. Some were really, really good and I just stood there listening to them. They have their own CDs for sale if you are so inclined to buy it and tokens of appreciations are always welcomed.

I will just post the photos here for you guys to see. Enjoy!

Frauenkirche, Michaelskirche and Ludwigskirche

2007-11-10T22:06:00.000+09:00

Frauenkirche or Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady is one of the famous landmarks in Munich. Apparently it is the largest church in Munich, according to Wikipedia. You can't miss this church; you can see the twin towers from anywhere.

It was from one of these towers that I took the bird-eye view pictures of Munich city. Pay the price, climb up the narrow winding staircase to the lift, go all the way up and you are there!

The church is famous for its stained glass windows. It was beautiful, when the light was streaming through the coloured glass. Seems fairytale like. There were also art pieces from famous artists that adorned the interior walls.

Every window had a different story to tell. I had to come back twice because again, I happened to be at the church when the mass was about to start and they cordoned off the altar area to the tourists.

Michaelskirche was another church that I went to. Unfortunately when I arrived there, or rather more accurately, stumbled upon the church, it was late evening. The sun was already setting and the interior of the church was a little bit too dark for me to take decent photographs without the use of a tripod. But the effect of the candlelight and the soft orange glow from the lamps gave the church a kind of sacred feel that left me in awe.

Ludwigskirche was another gorgeous church that I had visited. The interior was just so pretty, with the rich colours of dark mossy green, dark violet blue and gold designs. It was understated in beauty, when compared to the Theatinerkirche or even Frauenkirche, but nevertheless, it was just simply beautiful.

Dearest childhood friends...

2007-10-25T15:16:00.000+09:00

Another ordinary day, another ordinary routine of checking my mails when suddenly I spied upon a mail, amidst all the spams that had clogged my mailbox recently, from a very dear friend of mine. And what good news it held! Congratulations Ong! I wish I could be there in person to tell you this and give you my warmest hug! But since I am stuck here and without any superpowers to magically transport me back home, I could only do this. But I do it with the utmost sincerity and with all my heart. Hugs and kisses.

My childhood friends, all grown up and are no longer the girls I remember them as. Sure they are still the same persons that I had known them as but life experiences and time had changed them subtly and not so subtly. We had grown apart through distance, with everybody in different places now but we had kept in touch through the years, quite remarkably, if I may say so given that I had known some of these girls since I was a baby!

I planned the London-Munich trip, in part to see the places and also for another, more important reason, which was to see my friends again. I had gone home for Christmas for the past two years now and I had met up with the rest back home. I had not seen these three girls in years and was missing out on quite a bit of their lives. Emails and Facebook (!) can only do so much and nothing can quite replace the joy of seeing them in person. I remembered when Radhi and Raghu came to visit Kyoto last year and how much I had been looking forward to seeing her!

When you are apart for so long, you tend to be apprehensive when the reunion happens. The biggest fear is that, when you had finished catching up on each other's lives, will there be prolonged moments of silence when each is trying to rack her brains to figure out something to say to the other? Will the flow of the conversation be interrupted by those uncomfortable moments? Will you find yourself trying to escape those awkward times?

But all those thoughts just went flying away when I first saw each of them at the train stations. The first hug after so many years felt so good. I did not realised how much I had missed them, their company and their friendship, until I had seen them again. We had so much fun, reminiscing about the good ol' days, erupting in roaring laughters that scared poor Marvin into tears. Ah guys, it was truly a great time! My only wish was that the rest of us could have been there too.

Hopefully, I will be going home for this Christmas. And meeting up with all of you guys again back home for Sha's wedding! Till then, take care! Lots of hugs, kisses and love.

Theatinerkirche

2007-10-13T20:38:00.000+09:00

A part of Italy in Munich. This was one of the times when I was glad to have my wide angle lens with me. I bought it just for moments like this and was rewarded many times over.

Never having been to Italy, this was my first introduction to Italian high-baroque style and I was suitably impressed. The interior was rich with stucco ornaments, which stood out more because of the stark whiteness of the walls.

The atmosphere was respectfully silent; we were in a church after all and the priest and fellow worshipers were getting ready to celebrate mass. The tourists, including myself, were trying their best to enjoy the view without disturbing the congregation.

I left the church when the priest began the mass to meet my friends who were waiting outside for me. The facade of the church was under construction and was covered by this amusing huge advertisement sponsored by Nike for Bayern Munich with the caption "Bavaria has a King again". I am not a huge fan of football but I am assuming that the player who was dressed as a king must have been really good (Franck Ribéry). But it was really strange to see a church and a big commercial company hand in hand.

So while I was waiting for the mass the end, I went strolling in Hofgarten which was nearby. The weather was excellent, the sky was bright blue and everybody was walking about happily, enjoying the warmth of a sunny day.

At the center of the garden was a pavilion for the goddess Diana where street musicians will perform. I love the light and shadows that were cast upon its floor by the afternoon sunlight.

The Residenz was also connected to this garden.

After walking for a bit, I decided to head back to the church to take a closer look at the altar and the surrounding area. Impressive, isn't it? High above was the dome lit by the afternoon sun.

Prayers, hopes and wishes flickering away in this little corner of the church. It was beautiful and somehow calming. After having looked my fill, I left the striking yellow church and continued on my journey down Ludwigstrasse.

Odeonsplatz

2007-10-09T13:33:00.000+09:00

This is where you will find the Field Marshall's Hall (Feldherrnhalle), the Theatiner Church (Theatinerkirche) and the Hofgarten.

In the first two pictures, the two Bayern lions guards the entrance the to Field Marshall's Hall. I love the lions, they were very impressive.

This is the full view of the Feldherrnhalle. On the right, the yellow building, is the Theatinerkirche.

The square leads to the Ludwigstrasse, a nice street for strolling. Walked past the famous Ludwig-Maximilian University and the beautiful Ludwigskirche (St. Ludwig’s Church). The interior of the church was really beautiful, in rich deep green, blue and gold hues. Plenty of cafes and high end boutiques line the street.

I will post about the Theatinerkirche and the Hofgarten in the next few post. Have been lagging lately in posting. Sorry!

Viktualienmarkt

2007-09-28T18:07:00.000+09:00

One of the places I went was Viktualienmarkt, located near Marienplatz. Well, come to think of it, most of the places I visited in Munich were all located nearby each other. Made sightseeing a lot easier :)

If you are really hungry but you don't have the euros, then don't go here! It is just too tempting to resist! All the cheese, meat, fruits, vegetables, sausages - they made me salivate.

The weather was just gorgeous. Blue skies with beautiful clouds with the sun shining and yet the heat was comfortable. You just want to sit outside with your friends to chat and enjoy a good meal. Another plus side was that although the place was busy, it was not too crowded.

Another picture of the many outdoor cafes or restaurants situated in this area. I would like to be able to do that in Kyoto or in Malaysia but the humidity and heat in these two places will just kill you. You end up getting drenched in sweat and your face is all red and oily. Ugh.

And another cafe.....

The Maypole in the middle of the square. The Maypole in the centre carries figurettes displaying the trades and crafts of this part of Munich. It was quite high up, couldn't really see what was at the top.

Life was pretty slow around here. Slow and easy. The traffic in this area was mild, probably because it is a tourist area. Cyclists were everywhere and dogs were brought along for the trip; they reminded me of Kyoto.

Lastly, one of the many colorful sightseeing buses in Munich.

Residenz Palace - the outside view

2007-09-24T18:28:00.000+09:00

I am taking a break now from the addictive Grow games. Damn....I still can't solve it! So, moving on to more "easier" things, this is the Residenz Palace - or rather the corner of a part of the Residenz, the Königsbau.

This is the full view of the Königsbau building, which is situated in the Max-Joseph Platz. You can see the monument of King Max 1. Joseph on the right. Unfortunately, I had no time to explore the Residenz palace. From what I had seen, it is impressive and the interior is no doubt even more interesting.

And this is the Main Post Office. Impressive isn't it? I had thought it was another part of the Residenz Palace. While we were there, we saw the policemen citing bicyclists for cycling too fast in the area.

The sky was absolutely awesome that day, blue with streaks of clouds. Loved it. You can see the National Theater, right behind the monument.

Inside one of the courtyards of the Residenz. I don't have much to say about the Residenz actually, since I did not go in. All I know is that the place is huge. Next time maybe......

Now you can see all three buildings: part of the Residenz on the left, the National Theater in the middle, and the Main Post Office on the right.

I had been there during night and day and I have to say, each view has its charms.

Hofbräuhaus and a Bavarian lunch

2007-09-18T14:25:00.000+09:00

The famous Hofbräuhaus. For any beer lovers, this is one of the places to go although it has a more touristy feeling than anything else these days. I don't drink beer, so I slipped inside just to take a picture. I was more interested in the HRC just right opposite this beer house.

After walking around for bit, we decided to stop for lunch. I wanted a Bavarian lunch so we stepped into this place, the name of which I had forgotten....I know I have a photo of the napkin somewhere....

Starters. I love the potato dish.

Main course. Meat, meat and lots of meat! It was not bad actually but I can't imagine myself eating it everyday though.

Ah.....this was what I liked best! Dessert!

Marienplatz

2007-09-13T14:10:00.000+09:00

Marienplatz

One of my first sights of Munich, apart from the airport of course. I was so happy when I reached Munich because there was sun! When I landed in London, it was gloomy and hazy and then it rained of all things! Rain and cold - where is the summer? So Munich was a breath of fresh air.

I love it when I rode the escalator from the station to the top and saw the Neues Rathaus in front me. What a sight. I don't care if people said that the place is too touristy or has too many people. I personally liked it very much. And people walking everywhere, resting and eating underneath the colourful shades. The plaza is named after the Mariensäule or St. Mary's column which you can see in the middle of this picture. This column was erected to commemorate the end of the Swedish occupation.

At each corner of the St Mary's column, there is a statue of a putto, created by Ferdinand Murmann which symbolizes the city's overcoming of war, pestilence, hunger and heresy.

And the famous Carillon is under repair unfortunately for me. Sort of marred the view a bit. I didn't stick around to see if the Glockenspiel or Carillon did their famous dance at the set hours.

I think I had been here like four times in the past 4 days that I was there! I had not much time to really see Munich; I was there mainly to see my friend and I had such a great time. Thanks so much Joyce! And of course Heiko, Marvin and Uncle. Big hug :)

Next up: I don't know yet....

Munich Part 1

2007-09-06T03:30:00.000+09:00

I have not been updating my blog for the past month! This is the longest I had been away from my blog. My humblest apologies to anyone who had been following my posts. So now I am back! First post for this month will be about Munich, a trip I undertook recently to see my childhood friend who is currently residing there with her family.

My first batch of pictures are all of Munich's city views taken from Frauenkirche's (Church of our Lady) tower. It has a fantastic view of the city - of course, for a price of 3 euros I think. In the first picture you can see the Residenz Palace, Odeonsplatz and Theatinerkirche. The second picture shows the famous Marienplatz.

This is the close up of Marienplatz where you can see the Old Town Hall. However, since I am facing the wrong way, the famous New Town Hall could not be seen in this picture. You can also see the famous St Peter's Church.

And here it is in B&W. I seem to prefer it in B&W......

And this is the close up of Theatinerkirche (Theatiner church) - the building in yellow with the big dome situated in Odeonsplatz and the patches of green far off is the Hofgardens I think.

Another view of Munich city, this time of the shopping places I think.....

Next up : Individual posts about each places

Gion Matsuri -Yoiyama

2007-08-03T23:47:00.000+09:00

I know you guys must be bored with my Gion Matsuri post since I had been posting about it since my first year here! But this year, I was armed with my new wide angle lens, so I have photos of different perspectives to share with you - only if you are interested of course!

Decided to try black and white for a while since I do have so many of the Yoiyama pictures in colour. Turned out rather okay even though I know that some people preferred them to be in colour.

With my new lenses, I could capture more details previously missing in my photographs of Yoiyama, like this one.

For those new to Gion Matsuri, this post is about Yoiyama, the night festival held for three days prior to the main float parade of the Gion Festival. For three nights - 14th to the 16th of July, the streets of Shijo and Karasuma are closed to traffic and are designated only for pedestrians to enjoy the floats and the stalls, stationed at specific places.

Stalls sold food, drinks, toys and so on for the thousands of tourists that flock to see the floats. The floats were all lighted up with lanterns and musicians on top of the floats play traditional Gion bayashi music.

Each Hoko float has its own stalls selling chimaki (wrapped rice cakes which are hung above entrances to ward against pestilence), amulets or good luck charms and float souveniours.

Some of the old houses and merchants in the district also put their heirlooms on display such as folding screens and scrolls for the public to admire. It is amazing to see their treasures, especially the old kimonos with such intricate patterns.

As usual, I went for all three nights. We were drenched the first night because of the heavy downpour but the next two nights were just nice. The crowd was unbelievable but the weather was just perfect - not too hot or humid, because of the rain.

Next post will be about the main parade. That was my first time taking pictures of the main parade with my Canon.

All information here was taken from the Gion Matsuri Yoiyama Council pamphlets.

What is art? How is Potter?

2007-07-21T01:13:00.000+09:00

I love art. I really do. But sometimes, some of them leave me baffled. I am standing there, scratching my head, and trying vainly to figure out what it is that I am suppose to see. What it is that is suppose to be speaking to me. And although I try my darnest, I still could not figure out the meaning behind the piece. I am starting to seriously wonder if I am missing out on something.

Anyway, moving on to a topic more suited for my intellectual level - I had finally seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Read that book ages ago and I nearly forgot everything but thanks to my friend (you know who you are if you are reading this), I could remember bits and pieces. The movie was just okay, there were a lot of things missing but I guess it is hard to condense a book that size into a movie that lasted around 2 hours 30 minutes. Although Harry's character is well developed - the movie is about Harry after all - the others were left in the shade. Ron and Hermione were sidelined and the camaraderie between the three in the earlier movies is missing. I love Luna Lovegood though; they had chosen the perfect person to play her. And forget about that kiss - it was over in a blink of an eye.

I am waiting to read Book 7! It is arriving tomorrow.

*UPDATED*

*Spoiler alert*

*Spoiler alert*

Hmmm.....Book 7 is much better than Book 6, but definitely not her best in the series. That book is still Book 3 for me. This is not to say that JK Rowling is not a good writer; her first three books were very good but ever since the fourth book, she just went downhill and Book 7 is no exception. Some people might say that being an armchair reader and critising the book is easy compared to actually writing it. I whole heartedly agree. BUT...this is not her first book, and she had actually showed that she could write well. And she herself had a hand in fanning the obsession of her book series and dropping hints etc to ensure that the readers would stay loyal. I stayed loyal; I bought all the books. I am a fan. Is it wrong for me to expect her to write well after all that? What happened to the author of the first three books?

I would have to say that there are some major flaws in book 7 and some parts of the plot were just way too convenient for me. Some questions were never really answered and left hanging. And I expected more people to die in the book considering it was an epic battle between good and evil, Dumbledore's army against the Death Eaters. Rather mind boggling that most of the wand-wielding "high-schoolers" could survived against hardened evil do-ers of Voldermort's army. And whatever happened to outside help? Where were the French wizards/witches? Or the Bulgarians? Sitting at home, sipping tea when the "terror" of the wizarding world is running rampant, killing people? The answer as to why Harry did not die was way to convenient for me and relied too much on co-incidences and luck. And what's up with the whole secrecy about the mission Harry and pals got to do? I frankly don't see the point of it being all hushed up; it is not as if Harry was the only one that can destroy the horcruxes since both Ron and Hermione and at the end, Neville had a go at them themselves, and earlier, in book 6, Dumbledore himself destroyed the ring. I think that more lives would have been saved if they had opened up in the first place or that the mission would have finished sooner instead of them camping around.

And I would also like to comment about the whole uproar about the New York Times publishing the review of the book early (two days early). Firstly, I read the review and it did not give away major spoilers. In fact, when you publish a book, as a courtesy to the would be buyer, you should write a brief description or outline of the book. So what the New York Times did was just precisely that, a brief outline of the book (hey, we were all flying blind here since everyone was so tight-lip about the plot). And (this is a major point here), it is a review - published in the book review section with the headlines stating that it is the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book review. What on earth did they expect the review to contain if not the "review" of the book? If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read it. Simple as that. Why blame the NYT when you yourself, made the choice to read the review ahead of time? Blame yourself. Please, it is only a book for god's sake. Books, magazines, movies are all reviewed ahead of time - why should this book be any different? And which children actually read NYT?

When a writer is good, she engages the reader with her prose, her style and her creativity. Regardless of whether or not the plot was given away or that the ending was spoilt, a good author would still manage to satisfy the reader with her way with words. That is the whole point of reading. All this uproar about spoilers makes this book just about who died and who didn't when it should be much more than that.

The Harry Potter series had come to an end. It was a bumpy ride, but we finally reach the end of the tunnel. I just hope that she does not succumb to pressure and write Book 8.

Mimuro Toji - The hydrangea series

2007-07-13T21:55:00.000+09:00

Mimuro Toji is actually more famous for its hydrangea garden rather than the lotus plants. But since both flowers bloom at the same period, we decided to kill two birds with a stone and arrive at the temple earlier to catch the lotus flowers blooming.

There were approximately 10 000 (or was it 20 000?) hydrangea plants in the garden. We were actually a bit too late to see the "peak" of the garden's beauty but most of the flowers were still in bloom, though some were obviously dying and other shrubs, bare.

It was lovely walking along the small pathways, surrounded by the beautiful blue, white, pink flowers interspersed with the ramrod straight pine trees and seeing the hills beyond. It was very picturesque, made more so by the lack of people in the gardens.

As mentioned in my last post, we went there on a weekday - yes, yes, we had been naughty and skipped lab! So we were happily all by ourselves there, save for a few more tourists, but not enough to cause a headache and those inevitable photography-opportunity jams (yes, yes, I freely admit, I am guilty of it too which is why I prefer to go when there is less people or better still, no one!).

By the end of the pathway, I was freaking thirsty! Forgot to bring water with me and rushed to the vending machine to get myself one of my favourite thirst quencher - Lipton's Lemon Tea - cold. Ahhhh.......bliss! That or coke with ice or icy cold beer (of course, I am not a beer fan and after a sip or two, I would not drink it anymore - so I usually sip it from my friends' cups!)

Next up is Gion festival again! I hope that this time, during the main parade, it will not rain! I hope to get some good pictures with my Canon since my only copies were from my trusty Olympus! It does not bode well that the past few days had been raining....

Also, I have a photoblog - What Do I See? - where I post my pictures nearly daily and in larger sizes. So for those of you who want to see the pictures in larger sizes, please head over there. I just started it, so there are some pictures that are new, and some pictures that you had seen before. Enjoy!

Mimuro Toji - The Lotus Series

2007-07-01T23:25:00.000+09:00

My friends and I decided to go to Mimuro Toji in Uji which is famous for its hydrangeas and lotus. Tis the season for hydrangea flowers now. Everywhere you look, you will be greeted with the purple, pink or white flowers. But in this post, I will focus first on the lotus plant.

We decided to go early, in order to catch the blooming lotus flowers. Yes, tis is also the season for the lovely lotus flowers, however, they bloom in the morning so we have to be there early.

We took the free shuttle bus from the main Kyoto University campus to the Uji campus. Along the way, I bumped into a friend of mine (you know who you are!) and along the way back, we bumped into another friend of ours! From there, we took the Keihan train to Uji station and took a bus to Mimuro Toji.

The lotus plant is one of my favourite plants because it is lovely to see as well as lovely to eat! Haha! I love the flowers - somehow they exude "serene-ness". I guess that has something to do with its association with Buddhism and Hinduism as well as the way they grow - floating on the calm pond, with the sudden brightness of pink, purple or white flowers against the dark pond.

However, the lotus plants found in Mimuro Toji are not grown in a pond. They are grown in individual pots and some of the leaves and flowers are taller than us. It was a hot and humid day, even though the sun was hidden in the haze. After I had finished photographing the flowers, my face was bright red and all my friends went "Are you alright?". Thank goodness we went there on a weekday so we avoided the weekend crowd.

As I mentioned earlier, I love the plant because I love to eat parts of it. I love lotus roots. Love, love, love lotus root. Here in Japan, they usually prepare it as a side dish as a part of their traditional lunch or dinner set. I like it that way but I really love lotus root soup. Ah....in winter, it was heaven! Alas, the price of the lotus root here is expensive so I can only cook it occasionally. I also love eating the lotus seed raw or when it is used as a paste for mooncakes.

Although the flowers are the main draw, I love the leaves as well and they come in many shapes, either round, or more heart shaped. And I love the look of the lotus seeds/pods, probably because they remind me of how delicious they taste! Haha!

I had always missed the lotus flowering season for the past three years I had been here and this is my first time actually viewing them. Back home, in our lake gardens, we used to have this pond filled with lotus plants but on my last trip back, the plants were dying. Now I regret not taking pictures of them before.

For more pictures, please visit my Flickr album - the link is on the right.

For bigger viewing pleasure of the pictures, please visit my Photoblog site ( What do I see? ) - the link is on the right.

A Bar

2007-06-19T22:36:00.000+09:00

A Bar is this cool, funky place located somewhere along Sanjo-Shijo Kiyamachi street. To this day, I am still not sure if I know how to get there by myself! Haha!

The interior is entirely decorated by wood, posters, colourful throw rugs as well as scribbles from customers on the tables, photos, name cards and anything anyone can stick on the walls. The decor gives the place a more comfy, welcoming feel.

There are long tables with long chairs, forcing you to share with other customers, so you are forced to make friends. If you want a quiet place, forget A bar. You must be prepared to have your conversations listened to, interrupted or having to repeat yourself over and over again over the noise. However, most of the people there are very friendly (well, after a few drinks, everyone is friendly) and at times, especially if you are a gaijin, you will get free drinks from other customers as well!

Don't be fooled by the pictures; the place is not usually this empty! In fact, it is, more often than not, filled to the brim with Japanese and foreign customers as well as rowdy. We went there quite early, way before midnight and therefore we were the only ones in the room, except for two other customers. It was quite a change, an atmosphere of peace and quiet compared to its usually boisterous self.

Kojiro - Sashimi don

2007-06-12T17:36:00.000+09:00

Does it not look delicious? I am sitting here salivating just looking at the picture! It looks good and tastes good. And it is not expensive either.

We went to this sushi/sashimi shop (Kojiro), a little shop run by this chef and his wife (I think). We were the only people there for lunch but they were busy preparing bentos (prepacked lunches). He did not mind me taking pictures of him, in fact, at some parts, he was posing for me! Thank you!

This is view of the restaurant. A small but quaint place run by a friendly couple. Awesome food. I must go back there again!

Look into my eyes

2007-05-30T21:24:00.000+09:00

This was taken back home, while I was back on a holiday. It is amazing to know that there are so many different types of dragonflies/damselflies. Awesome - the colours, the patterns!

Ethan was very curious about these insects, especially since I was going around photographing them in our garden. We had the clothes line which we strung across the garden and the dragonflies love to hang about there. So I had a couple of shots of them motionless on the line but I liked this particular series cause it was on our fence and I had a good angle to take it's picture.

The light was failing; it was evening and I was using my macro lenses. So I tried firing the flash and the results were these two pictures. The first two pictures were taken without flash.

I like this last one a lot.....and I love the first one.

The Garden of Fine Art

2007-05-23T23:26:00.000+09:00

We were visiting the nearby Kyoto Botanical Gardens when we stumbled upon this gem of a building designed by Tadao Ando. Entrance was only 100¥. (In this picture, you can the the reproduction of Monet's Water Lilies: Morning on the floor and at the far end is Michelangelo's Last Judgment)

According to the brochure, this is apparently the world's first outdoor art garden. Famous art masterpieces were re-created using porcelain panel painting for this facility. A porcelain painting is a photoengraving from the positive film taken of the original painting (source: brochure).

In this picture you can see the reproduction of three masterpieces, from left: Van Goh's Road with Cypress and Star, Renoir's On the Terrace and Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon.

While we were there, these three ladies were playing classical Japanese songs. It went so well with the atmosphere. In the background is Michelangelo's Last Judgment.

A reproduction of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. For those of you who have read The Da Vinci's code, maybe you should head here to search for the hidden clues!

My friend Ernesto looking up at the Last Jugdment, a work that took Michelangelo six years to finish. The original is located at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. This panel painting measures 1430cm x 1309cm which is about the original size. Looking at this reproduction had filled me with so much awe - I wonder what my feelings would be like if I were to see the original. It depicts the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse.

Another close up view of the panel painting.

I didn't notice this at first, Ernesto did - so thanks Ernesto! I made them (Eddie and Ernesto) pose for me!

This picture was taken by Eddie Puay

And yes! That is me posing somewhat - not as good in posing as those two above though! I thought since there was a common theme (the same background), I might as well post a picture of me here. So to all those who had complained before that I had never posted a picture of myself in my blog, well, here it is!

How to kiss

2007-05-18T17:12:00.000+09:00

Leaning in......

Kiss!!

Photographer : Me

Cast:
My nephew
My sister

Location : Home

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T15:54:00.000+09:00

To the two awesome mums that I know and love : my dearest mum and sister.

Happy Mother's Day. I miss you both!

Black and white times again

2007-05-08T17:06:00.000+09:00

I have at least one more post about the Kyoto Botanical Gardens but I am assuming that you guys do not want to be assailed with more pictures of plants. So I will hold it off till some other time to post it.

I will continue with my current obsession of black and white photography. Although colour photography is gorgeous and even essential in some situations, B&W mode can give a picture a different feel to it. Take for example, the first picture above. I don't think that it would stand out if it were in colour but since it was taken in B&W mode, the shadows and light appear more distinct, making the trees more striking and the presence of gloom.

The varying shades of grey, black and white allow more details to appear more visually striking, which sometimes can be lost in colour. Just look up Ansel Adams and his brilliant B&W photography of landscapes. Just.Simply.Awesome.

And I love B&W portraits of people. One of my favourite photographers in this medium is Henri Cartier-Bresson. In a portrait, the person is the main objective, the rest can either enhance or distract the viewer. So when your eye sensors are not assailed by colours, you will pay more attention to the person(s) in the picture and not so much to her/his attire, accessories and so on. However, there are many portraits of people in colour that are iconic - Annie Leibovitz is the master in this field. I love the one she took of John Lennon, naked, with his wife, Yoko Ono, for the Rolling Stone magazine (and I liked it even before I knew the story behind it).

Despite the advancement in colour photography over the years, B&W photography is still being embraced and loved. I don't think that it will ever fade away.

Lines and curves

2007-05-01T21:32:00.000+09:00

Warning : More plant pictures. Scroll down at your own risk!

This post is simply about lines and curves. All the simple, clean lines and beautiful curves that you see in nature.

Sometimes we are so awed by the complexities of things around us that we forget that it is the simple things in life that is the most beautiful.

We are often too busy chasing after that rare exotic flower (in this instance) that we do not realise that beauty is staring at us straight in the face.

If only we just take the time to look, to discover what is around us before moving on to the next step. To discover what we have missed.

To just sit down, relax and have simple, good ol' fun.

After all, we only have one life.

Is that a flower...or something else?

2007-04-27T15:05:00.000+09:00

I have to admit that I am sometimes naively arrogant about being a "tropical" girl. I assume that since I lived in a tropical country nearly all my life, then there is nothing really fascinating to see in the greenhouses of the botanical park. I mean, they would probably have the "usual" exotic plants I would have already come upon some point in my lifetime.

So I had skipped the place the past two times I had been there, the additional cost (just a mere 200¥ extra but I wasn't feeling very generous then) was also another factor. But the last time I had been there, this spring, I decided to see what the greenhouses had to offer. What else is better for macro photography?

The first sight were the begonias that I had posted about recently. All those dazzling colours - it was a shock at first because I expected, er, green! See how naive I am? By the way, I thought that the flowers above (the name I have completely forgotten) looked like dolphins breaching.

The first time I saw a picture of this inflorescence (Strongylodon macrobotrys or jade vine or emerald vine), it was on a poster. I thought that whoever that was in charge of printing this poster must have chosen a bad colour printer because it looked like one of those washed out poster, all the wrong colours and there was no way that those flowers could be that emerald green. Hah, was I so wrong! I nearly missed it cause it was hidden. It wasn't until I was walking back to take another picture of another plant that I finally saw it.

I think that this flower reminds me of a certain part of a woman's anatomy. If you can't figure it out, then please, just bring out those science textbooks. It is a Pearcea hypocyrtiflora and it is really this red.

And this definitely reminds me of a certain part of the man's anatomy, complete with studded protection. And there is more, but I think I will just leave it to your imagination.

I may be hungry but these flowers looked like they had a sprinkling of powdered sugar on them, like sugared "elongated" berries.

For the extra 200¥, it really was worth the price and more. There was of course the king of the fruits in the display case (ah, when can I eat durian again!), some bananas growing and papayas as well. Funnily enough, there were no coconut trees (or at least I didn't see any), but then they are too tall and probably can't fit into the green house.

There are more flowers there of course and I took hundreds of pictures but I won't bore you with them. If you want to see more, then please visit my flickr album site!

I know that I won't be so arrogant next time!

Blinding colours

2007-04-23T18:55:00.000+09:00

The world of tulips has always fascinated me, mainly because I live in a tropical country where green is the dominant colour. To see rows and rows of bright, colourful tulips evoked in me a sense of awe, awe at mother nature for being able to produce such spectacular array of colours.

Of course, man has a tendency to interfere in things. The quest for the 'Black Tulip' is tantamount to the quest for the Holy Grail - something that exists in man's dreams but never realised - dare I put a 'yet' at the end? It also inspired Alexandre Dumas to write a novel based on the same dream. We have fiery red ones, startling pinks, bright yellows, deep purples but yet no black or blue tulips - and not for the lack of trying. 'Queen of the Night', a name that brings to mind blood thirsty vampires, is a deep purple cultivar that appears black in some lighting conditions comes close enough to be our 'Black Tulip'.

Before, sights like this for me only exists on photographs or images. Now, I get to gawk at it firsthand. Although the tulips grown here at the botanical gardens are on a much smaller scale, nevertheless, it still managed to impress visitors like me.

Tulips are known as colourful, beautiful flowers, associated with romance and love yet these very flowers sparked a speculative frenzy in 17th century Holland over tulip bulbs. During that period, tulips were considered a status symbol, a sign of luxury. And at that same time, some of the tulip plants had contracted a virus which caused coloured streaks across the petals, making them even more highly prized than before. The value of the tulip bulbs went higher and higher as greed reared its ugly head. Inevitably, the tulip market crashed, causing widespread panic and financial loss. (Disclaimer - I am not sure how true this is though)

Tulips are simple yet bold. Their colours stand out strong, making a statement. You can hardly miss them, whether they are planted in a garden somewhere or arranged in a vase to brighten up a room.

And as I was admiring the flowers, I saw a little boy happily playing with the flowers while his indulgent grandmother looked on. A new mother and her baby, posing amidst the vibrant flowers for a family photo.

A young couple walking hand in hand, admiring the flowers and admiring each other. An artist trying to capture the moment. A photographer, waiting for the right moment.

I walked away, feeling happy.

The begonia corner

2007-04-22T16:36:00.000+09:00

I had been going around taking pictures of flowers and plants, mostly at my new favourite haunt, the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. So, since it would be impossible for me to post them all in just on post, I am going to post them according to species, or if there is a common theme, then I will group them together. I will post more frequently in order to finish them all! If you, for some reason, find plants a bit boring, then I will have to ask you to wait for a few weeks for my blog to resume to normal posting session.

In this post, it will be about begonias. They flowered early in spring, in the greenhouse. The Kyoto Botanical Gardens had arranged this little special corner (seen in the first picture) for people to gape at the colourful begonias and to take their pictures with them, if they wanted to. I passed up on that chance and instead, took the opportunity to 'steal' a picture of the two women who were posing.

Apparently there are over 1000 species. Some of the flowers are huge and some were small, but all were colourful - yes, even the white flowers are 'colourful' to me. Somehow, some of them, especially the larger flowers, looked fake to me, like those ornamental plastic plants you often see in shops, restaurants, hotels etc. Now, I do not know if the hanging flowers are begonias, I assumed they are since they were placed in the area designated for begonia species. First time in my life seeing so many huge flowers of different colours - it was a bit overwhelming at first!

P/S: Post had been edited.

More to come.......tulips

Sakura light up at Hirano Jinja

2007-04-18T15:24:00.000+09:00

Kagaya-san asked me if I wanted to join them for a sakura light-up outing in Hirano Jinja about two weeks ago. Since I had seen Hirano Jinja in the day time and was awed by the sakura trees, I thought I should also visit this shrine at night.

The tall, numerous sakura trees tower over the people and stalls, covering the sky. If you look up, you can only see the blossoms. Carefully positioned lights gave the trees a pinkish-orange-ish glow.

Dozens of stalls were set up during this light-up festival, mostly selling food but some were also selling toys and games for children. Plenty of tables and seatings were available for the groups of people who decided to hanami under the night sakuras. The air smelled of grilled smoke. This is an activity enjoyed by everyone - families, teenagers and even businessmen and women in suits.

There was even a performance by a flutist and a harpist on the shrine's main stage. I remembered when I went there last year, in the afternoon, they had a small orchestra playing on the stage as well.

The place is beautiful at night. As with most of the shrines here, they have beautiful lanterns adorning the gates, walkways and so on. I love the deep yellow glow of the lanterns.

This was the entrance to the garden which was lighted up by lanterns designed by children.

Here is a sample of a lantern and another was in the first photograph. They were positioned throughout the garden.

Hmm...maybe I should try a night hanami next year....

Shidare zakura at Heian Jingu Garden

2007-04-14T23:28:00.000+09:00

Heian Jingu gardens are famous for their shidare zakuras, or as I call them, weeping sakuras. Plenty of beautiful pink sakura blossoms ala weeping willows style.

Thanks to my friends' advices, we went there a week later than we planned and we chose the perfect time to see them. According to the man who was in charge of the tickets, it was the sakuras' "pinkest" time. Ah...lucky us!

And indeed, the man was not kidding. The shidare zakuras were indeed in their peak and pink! The sight that greeted us was awesome. Lots of trees held up by carefully constructed frames.

All you could see was pink for a while until the path gave way to a pond, which would be beautiful in summer when the lilies bloom.

We went on a weekday so we managed to avoid the main crowd that descend to Kyoto during the weekends. The garden was huge; I did not expect it to be that big mainly because you could not see how big the gardens are from the outside.

I have to say again that the eye is still the best camera. I did not manage to capture the full beauty with my camera - it is a skill I have to learn.

I love the place and it is worth every yen. If you could not go to Heian Jingu, Kyoto Botanical Gardens is another place where you can see gorgeous shidare zakuras of different species.

For more pictures of Heian Jingu Gardens, please visit my flickr album.

Springtime

2007-04-12T16:39:00.000+09:00

Kyoto Gosho Park

Well, we are back to our normal mode of non macro pictures of the cherry blossoms. I was on my way back to the lab from meeting a friend when I realised that I had not seen the Imperial Palace park during springtime before. The day was sunny and with nary a cloud in the sky and I had brought my camera along, so I decided to do a detour.

Kyoto Gosho Park

Many cherry trees were blooming, their branches laden with the delicate blossoms. The park is huge and many people were strolling about complete with their prized pet dogs, enjoying the warmth and the pretty trees. And despite the number of people, the place seemed quiet, serene, as if only through silence can you truly appreciate the beauty before you. Though I do like tranquility, I can't live without noise either. I need it, to know that someone else is out there, that I am not truly alone.

Kamo River

Some days before, WY and myself had taken a stroll along the Kamogawa river towards the Botanical Gardens. It was a breezy, sunny and sometimes cloudy day. Though a bit cold because of the wind, the walk was very pleasant and many were out with the same purpose as well.

Because the haze had gone on to murk another unfortunate place, the view before us was magnificent. The layers of mountains that surrounded Kyoto were there in full view against the blue cloudy skies.

As I walked along the path, I was envious of the houses situated along the river. Imagine opening your door to have a view of the river with the beautiful cherry trees greeting you. Or having a fully flowered branch arched delicately into your little patch of garden.

The cherry blossom trees are the stars of the show not only because of their beauty but also of the fact that they are notoriously short-lived (death always somehow seems to magnify things). However, spring would not be complete without the host of other co-stars - the "snow flowers", the dancing daffodils, the gorgeous blue muscaris, the daisies and petunias and the star-shaped white flowers. And the best thing is? They will still be here, long after the sakuras have faded away.

Sakuras in black and white

2007-04-07T02:17:00.000+09:00

As I had mentioned before, I realised that I have nothing new to show for the sakura season. I have been to the same places for the past two years and had taken the same pictures from the same angles without realising it until I got home and compared the pictures.

So, as I was walking along the path, I realised I should shoot some black and white pictures instead of the sakura flowers, just to see how it will turn out. I don't have many macro pictures of the cherry blossoms; most of my pictures are of sceneries.

Since the day was hazy, it made shooting in colour a little bit difficult (or rather, I wasn't skilled enough to make the best of it). But through the haze, the sun rays still managed to edge their way through, giving the flowers a lovely soft glow. Perfect.

The light wasn't too bright because of the haze and the fact that it was still early in the morning, so I got pretty good effect for the black and white pictures. Although, I still have to adjust the brightness and contrast a bit to get the best effect.

I just love the translucent petals of the sakura. They are so soft and delicate. The way the light shines through them. Gorgeous. And they dance prettily in the sun when the wind blows with their petals falling like blessings from heaven.

I have to say that it took me quite a while to get the best conditions for the pictures. The wind was crazy that day, so I had to stand there waiting for the wind to die down. Because I was adjusting the shutter speed, ISO etc, I stood there at the same spot shooting for quite some time. Got quite a few looks from people who were obviously wondering what on earth was I shooting at for quite so long. Thank goodness it was still early and there weren't many people around, so I was not in the way or people were not in my way.

But it all turned out for the best. I very happy with the pictures. They turned out the way I wanted them too. Usually I have little success with B&W pictures.

So, if you ever get tired of shooting in colour, why don't you try the black and white mode instead?

You can see more pictures of the sakura blossoms in black and white in my flickr set : Sakuras in black and white

I will post more sakura scenery pictures in the later post. Finally went for a light up today and I will post those pictures up too. Also, I have an interesting batch of pictures from the tropical section of the botanical gardens. Till then, have fun during the weekend!

Sakuras - The New Look

2007-04-03T22:01:00.000+09:00

As I went walking along the famous path near my house, surrounded by the cherry blossoms, I realised that I had taken so many pictures of the same scenery that I have nothing new to show! Plus it was so hazy on that day that I decided to forgo scenery pictures and to focus instead on macro. The sunlight managed to penetrate through the haze, giving me some nice lighting for black and white photography. I know that most of you are hoping to see some scenery pictures - I will be going to the Heian Jingu garden this thursday - so please keep you fingers cross for good weather then!

The Sakuras have landed

2007-04-01T01:34:00.000+09:00

Yup. Alert the tourists! The sakura trees are emerging to life!

The cherry blossoms are not to be trifled with, especially in Japan. They are like a national treasure - or are they already? Make a wrong prediction about the blooming time and you will wind up apologizing to thousands. It is a huge business here, this whole sakura-spring time. Festivals are planned around the sakura season, businesses flourish and tourists arrive by the thousands, both local and foreign, to view these delicate flowers. The fact that their life span is so short and that spring showers are common, many people would want to maximize their view time in good weather. And good weather is rather rare during this season. Inevitably there will be rain, and because of it, thousands of sakura petals will fall to the ground. However, I think it is a rather pretty subsitute for snow in Kyoto, well, until the decaying process takes over.

(Note: Yeah, the picture has nothing to do with the cherry blossoms. Saw this vine-flower plant growing on this green coloured wall and I thought it would make a pretty picture)

So till next week when the trees will be in full bloom everywhere, please enjoy the mangrove swamp pictures first. Meanwhile, I am going to plan where I would want to go this season for a new view. Beside my favourite spots, Heian Jingu's garden would be one - I have avoided this place for the past three years since I would have to pay for entrance fee (my logic was that it was a waste of money since I could appreciate the beauty for free practically everywhere else) but I have decided that I should go this time around. Another would be Arashiyama once again. I went there two years back and I want to go again, if I could get my lazy butt there. Maybe Ohara or Kyoto's countryside.

Grand plans. I might wind up just doing the same old spots again this time around!

Matang Mangrove Swamp

2007-03-29T22:37:00.000+09:00

When I was back home, my family and I decided to visit the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve one day. With the exception of my mum, the whole family set off for Matang, armed with our cameras. My younger sister had just bought a new camera, the Nikon D70s and she wanted to try it. I of course had my trusty Canon and my elder sister had her Canon Powershot as well.

The mangrove forest reserve is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) in Malaysia. It was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve since 1906. It is located in Perak and stretches 51.5km, covering more than 40 000 hectares.

The mangrove swamp is still use as a sustainable source for mangrove woods like Bakau minyak and Bakau kurap. It is home to many flora and fauna though on our short trek there, I only saw one bird but plenty of flora which I, unfortunately, could not identify.

The swamp is also used by migatory birds, as many as up to 80 000 birds according to the Malaysian Nature Society. The swamp itself houses up to 75 different species of birds.

It is a beautiful place, quiet, with all the trees surrounding you, all the greenery in different shades. Gorgeous. And to see the roots growing in such intricate patterns. While we were there, there were several families on the same mission as we were and a few joggers utilizing the wooden walkway.

That's my sister, aiming her Nikon at something. Ethan enjoyed being out there - he enjoys going 'kai-kai', however, he was a prime target for all the mosquitoes and insects, poor thing.

Kiyomizudera in black and white

2007-03-22T21:35:00.000+09:00

Kiyomizudera temple is one of the more famous temples in Kyoto. Just mention the name and eyes will light up in recognition. Everybody just flocks to this place - it is amazing to see the amount of people on the narrow streets leading up to the temple.

The crowd is worse during the favourite seasons of spring and autumn which is why I avoid this place during those times. Being squashed in the crowd in the temple is one thing, but being squashed like a pancake in the bus leading there is something I do not want to experience again anytime soon.

The view is no doubt gorgeous; the fascination with this place is justified. The temple buildings are beautiful and old. The temple grounds are huge and there is the famous verandah where you can view the valley below and the pagoda on a small hill (not pictured in this post but in my older posts about Kiyomizudera). The valley is colourful during autumn, with the beautiful red, yellow and green foliage and during the sakura season, there are many sakura trees that the tourists can appreciate and admire.

I took these pictures when I went out with my friends late last year. Having taken coloured pictures of the place, I decided to take advantage of the full sun to try out my B&W mode. And I am happy with the pictures. They turned out better than I expected.

I still have a problem with noise though when I take B&W pictures. I am still to lazy to flip through the manual to figure out why!

I think I prefer the pictures in B&W than in colour of this place. The temple is old and full of history - I think the B&W mode suits it better.

I took my friends as far as the entrance, after that they were on their own. I have been in there too many time already! So all these pictures are just from the free grounds. I love this dragon spring-fountain.

Argh....the piping spoilt the picture!

Definitive 200

2007-03-13T16:59:00.000+09:00

Oh yeah - somebody had came up with the ultimate album list! The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had came up with this list of 200 influential and popular music albums that everyone should have. Those highlighted in red are those that I have - which is not many. And also pay attention to the fact that these albums are in ranking order and that they were compiled by NARM retailers.

1. BEATLES – SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
2. PINK FLOYD – DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
3. MICHAEL JACKSON – THRILLER
4. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN IV
5. U2 – JOSHUA TREE
6. ROLLING STONES – EXILE ON MAIN STREET
7. CAROLE KING – TAPESTRY
8. BOB DYLAN – HIGHWAY ‘61 REVISITED
9. BEACH BOYS – PET SOUNDS
10. NIRVANA – NEVERMIND
11. PEARL JAM – TEN
12. BEATLES – ABBEY ROAD
13. SANTANA – SUPERNATURAL
14. METALLICA – METALLICA
15. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN TO RUN
16. PRINCE – PURPLE RAIN
17. AC/DC – BACK IN BLACK
18. ROLLING STONES – LET IT BLEED
19. DOORS – DOORS
20. GRATEFUL DEAD – AMERICAN BEAUTY
21. SHANIA TWAIN – COME ON OVER
22. WHO – WHO’S NEXT
23. STEVIE WONDER – SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
24. FLEETWOOD MAC – RUMOURS
25. PINK FLOYD – WALL
26. ALANIS MORISSETTE – JAGGED LITTLE PILL
27. NORAH JONES – COME AWAY WITH ME
28. EMINEM – MARSHALL MATHERS LP
29. OUTKAST – SPEAKERBOXX-LOVE BELOW
30. DR. DRE – CHRONIC
31. BEASTIE BOYS – LICENSED TO ILL
32. GUNS ‘N ROSES –APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
33. DIXIE CHICKS – WIDE OPEN SPACES
34. MILES DAVIS – KIND OF BLUE
35. EAGLES – HOTEL CALIFORNIA
36. DEF LEPPARD – HYSTERIA
37. SOUNDTRACK – GREASE
38. MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON
39. BEATLES – WHITE ALBUM
40. SOUNDTRACK – SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
41. JIMI HENDRIX – ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
42. BEATLES – REVOLVER
43. BOSTON – BOSTON
44. BON JOVI – SLIPPERY WHEN WET
45. U2 – ACHTUNG BABY
46. WHITNEY HOUSTON – WHITNEY HOUSTON
47. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN II
48. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND – CRASH
49. ROLLING STONES – STICKY FINGERS
50. GREEN DAY – DOOKIE
51. LED ZEPPELIN – HOUSES OF THE HOLY
52. JONI MITCHELL – BLUE
53. ELVIS PRESLEY – ELVIS AT SUN
54. AEROSMITH – TOYS IN THE ATTIC
55. LAURYN HILL – MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
56. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN IN THE U.S.A.
57. 50 CENT – GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’
58. AC/DC – HIGHWAY TO HELL
59. NOTORIOUS B.I.G. – LIFE AFTER DEATH
60. VAN HALEN – VAN HALEN
61. GREEN DAY – AMERICAN IDIOT
62. BLACK SABBATH – PARANOID
63. EMINEM – EMINEM SHOW
64. JEWEL – PIECES OF YOU
65. COLDPLAY – RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD
66. MEATLOAF – BAT OUT OF HELL
67. USHER – CONFESSIONS
68. KID ROCK – DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE
69. GEORGE HARRISON – ALL THINGS MUST PASS
70. BILLY JOEL – STRANGER
71. EAGLES – HELL FREEZES OVER
72. VAN MORRISON – MOONDANCE
73. REM – AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
74. PHIL COLLINS – NO JACKET REQUIRED
75. METALLICA – MASTER OF PUPPETS
76. FAITH HILL – BREATHE
77. JOHNNY CASH – AT FOLSOM PRISON
78. JOHN COLTRANE – LOVE SUPREME
79. PINK FLOYD – WISH YOU WERE HERE
80. MICHAEL JACKSON – OFF THE WALL
81. MARVIN GAYE – LET’S GET IT ON
82. BOB SEGER – NIGHT MOVES
83. PAUL SIMON – GRACELAND
84. LINKIN PARK – HYBRID THEORY
85. PRINCE – 1999
86. DEF LEPPARD – PYROMANIA
87. JANET JACKSON – CONTROL
88. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK
89. DIRE STRAITS – BROTHERS IN ARMS
90. TUPAC – ALL EYEZ ON ME
91. MATCHBOX TWENTY – YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU
92. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – CALIFORNICATION
93. LED ZEPPELIN – PHYSICAL GRAFFITI
94. NELLY – COUNTRY GRAMMAR
95. CREED – HUMAN CLAY
96. CLASH – LONDON CALLING
97. CELINE DION – FALLING INTO YOU
98. NEIL YOUNG – HARVEST
99. SOUNDTRACK – DIRTY DANCING
100. DIXIE CHICKS – HOME
101. TOM PETTY – FULL MOON FEVER
102. VAN HALEN – 1984
103. SOUNDTRACK – TITANIC
104. CROSBY STILLS & NASH – DÉJÀ VU
105. TLC – CRAZYSEXYCOOL
106. BECK – ODELAY
107. KENNY G – BREATHLESS
108. NWA. – STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
109. SEX PISTOLS – NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS
110. BEATLES – RUBBER SOUL
111. RADIOHEAD – O.K. COMPUTER
112. SIMON & GARFUNKEL – BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER
113. DIXIE CHICKS – FLY
114. METALLICA – AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
115. MICHAEL JACKSON – DANGEROUS
116. MARIAH CAREY – DAYDREAM
117. SOUNDTRACK – TOP GUN
118. ELTON JOHN – GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
119. POLICE – SYNCHRONICITY
120. NO DOUBT – TRAGIC KINGDOM
121. ROLLING STONES – BEGGAR’S BANQUET
122. R KELLY – R
123. TOOL – LATERALUS
124. OASIS – WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY
125. BOB MARLEY – EXODUS
126. JOURNEY – ESCAPE
127. CHRISTINA AGUILERA – CHRISTINA AGUILERA
128. JAY-Z – BLUEPRINT
129. ALICIA KEYS – DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS
130. SOUNDTRACK – O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?
131. CARS – CARS
132. ENYA – DAY WITHOUT RAIN
133. NATALIE COLE – UNFORGETTABLE WITH LOVE NATALIE COLE
134. SOUNDTRACK – FOOTLOOSE
135. LIONEL RICHIE – CAN’T SLOW DOWN
136. SARAH MCLACHLAN – SURFACING
137. BONNIE RAITT – NICK OF TIME
138. METALLICA – RIDE THE LIGHTNING
139. SHERYL CROW – TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB
140. FRANK SINATRA – IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS
141. EARTH WIND FIRE – GRATITUDE
142. ZZ TOP – ELIMINATOR
143. WILLIE NELSON – RED HEADED STRANGER
144. JOHN LENNON – IMAGINE
145. TONI BRAXTON – TONI BRAXTON
146. ETTA JAMES – AT LAST
147. ELVIS PRESLEY – ELVIS PRESLEY
148. CAT STEVENS – TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN
149. SMASHING PUMPKINS – MELLON COLLIE & THE INFINITE SADNESS
150. DAVE BRUBECK – TIME OUT
151. JANET JACKSON – JANET
152. QUEEN – A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
153. OZZY OSBOURNE – BLIZZARD OF OZZ
154. WILL SMITH – BIG WILLIE STYLE
155. PRINCE – SIGN OF THE TIMES
156. PUBLIC ENEMY – IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK
157. BOB DYLAN – BLOOD ON THE TRACKS
158. GEORGE MICHAEL – FAITH
159. BOYZ II MEN – COOLEYHIGHHARMONY
160. DESTINY’S CHILD – WRITING’S ON THE WALL
161. JAY-Z – BLACK ALBUM
162. AVRIL LAVIGNE – LET GO
163. FUGEES – SCORE
164. MADONNA – LIKE A VIRGIN
165. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN
166. STEVIE RAY VAUGHN – TEXAS FLOOD
167. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS – CORE
168. ORIGINAL CAST – PHANTOM OF THE OPERA HIGHLIGHTS
169. JETHRO TULL – AQUALUNG
170. TUPAC – ME AGAINST THE WORLD
171. DAVID BOWIE – RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST
172. SHAKIRA – LAUNDRY SERVICE
173. SOUNDTRACK – FORREST GUMP
174. AL GREEN – CALL ME
175. CURTIS MAYFIELD – SUPERFLY
176. LIVE – THROWING COPPER
177. GEORGE BENSON – BREEZIN’
178. WHITE STRIPES – WHITE BLOOD CELLS
179. LYNYRD SKYNYRD – PRONOUNCED LEH-NERD SKIN-ERD
180. SADE – DIAMOND LIFE
181. FLEETWOOD MAC – FLEETWOOD MAC
182. PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS – BAND ON THE RUN
183. BEYONCE – DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE
184. ANITA BAKER – RAPTURE
185. NAS – IIIMATIC
186. BARBRA STREISAND – A STAR IS BORN
187. EARTH WIND FIRE – THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD
188. ANITA BAKER – RHYTHM OF LOVE
189. JAY-Z – IN MY LIFETIME VOL 1
190. LL COOL J – MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT
191. STEELY DAN – AJA
192. WILLIE NELSON – STARDUST
193. ARETHA FRANKLIN – SPARKLE
194. ANDREA BOCELLI – ANDREA
195. BOB DYLAN – BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
196. LUTHER VANDROSS – NEVER TOO MUCH
197. U2 – ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND
198. RUSH – 2112
199. OUTKAST – AQUEMINI
200. GRAND FUNK RAILROAD – WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND

I have to say that I don't agree with some of the selections and ranking order; some of them left me scratching my head - Avril? Shania? Forrest Gump's soundtrack? Will Smith - Big Willie Style???? Faith Hill? as classic-must-have-albums? Shania and Santana ranking so high up in the ladder? The fact that Avril and Kenny G were even in the list in the first place makes me think that they have made a serious blunder with the title "Definitive 200". Definitive it is not. Another gripe that I have is that there were more emphasis on American artists - Metallica having 4 albums in the list and Dixie Chicks 3? I love them and all that but 4 albums? Now, on second thoughts, I rather think that I quite like not having that many albums on this list!

(Note: My parents have the Grease soundtrack and I have listened to it countless of times; I have the Led Zeppelins, Pink Floyds and Doors but I rarely listen to them - don't kill me)

How many do you have?

For more info, please visit Definitive 200

Caffeine addiction

2007-03-09T14:00:00.000+09:00

Hands up all coffee lovers! I readily and unashamedly admit that I am a coffee lover. I need my cuppa every day or else I feel as if something is missing in my life. I can drink up to three cups a day - but that is hardly a record considering that many others practically live on that stuff!

I have my parents to thank for that! My dad especially needs his caffeine fix everyday without fail - one cup in the morning, one in the afternoon and one at night. So we kids followed in our dad's footsteps. Coffee drinking is a family affair - one that I remember with much affection. We would be watching tv or reading book or doing something or another at night (after dinner) when dad will inevitably ask - Anyone wants coffee? Ah......I miss those days. Bonding over coffee.

Coffee culture is fast spreading, thanks to Starbucks and the likes. I know that some of my friends have this self-policy against the green and white coffee chain, but I really don't bother. I have this thing for their white chocolate mocha (hot of course) because it is so creamy...ahhh...But it is also a place for people to gather or for people watching. I know I have much fun watching and eavesdropping on other people's conversation (hey, I can't help it if people talk too loud okay?). I know that back home it is a place to be seen because the chains are always located in some upscale place. The prices are high and to afford it you gotta be reasonably well off (or willing to sacrifice some $$) especially when you can get much cheaper (and nicer) coffee in the kopitiams. I remembered when I went to Coffee Bean in this "high-end" place to get some coffee dressed in just a simple top and jeans and I was on the receiving end of some condescending stares. Why? Because I made the faux pas of NOT dressing up - to get coffee!

Damn....all this coffee talk is making me drool! Ah....kopi ais satu!

(Note: Pictures were taken during birthday and graduation celebrations)

Happy Chap Goh Meh

2007-03-05T14:13:00.000+09:00

Yes, I know that I am a bit too late in wishing everyone a Happy Chap Goh Meh. Oh well, lost track of time a bit yesterday. And I also just realised that I had not posted about the Chinese New Year - Year of the Fire Pig. Well, there was nothing to write really about the CNY celebrations here because.....er...nothing happened here. There were no fireworks, no Chinese lanterns and not even a mention of the day itself (there is no Chinatown here). A stark contrast to the Christmas celebration whereby the stores will begin to put up Santa in various poses three months before the actual event. And Christmas isn't even a holiday here!

Anyway, to make up for the lack of festivities here, my friends and I decided to treat ourselves to a nice Chinese dinner in a Chinese restaurant located at Kyoto Station. It is a nice place and the food was not bad. I love the pau there, I miss good ol' pau! I half expected the restaurant to be full seeing that it was the first day of CNY but it was rather empty. After that, we had a little Starbucks and went home. I contemplated throwing oranges into the Kamogawa river for tradition's sake - Chap Goh Meh was such a lovely day here yesterday; the sun was bright and shining and for once, I did not need to wear my heavy winter coat! But I decided against it because for one, oranges are expensive here and therefore should be eaten and not floating along the river and two, I will probably get caught for littering! And the full moon was gorgeous. So here we are at the end of the Chinese New Year celebration and at the brink of a lunar new year. What will it bring?

Strawberries with a twist!

2007-02-26T20:35:00.000+09:00

I bought a pack of strawberries which looked yummy - all red, juicy and big. The joke was on me though because only a few of them were sweet and the rest were just sad. Should have bought sweetened milk with the strawberries to make it better.

So anyway, before I ate them all, I took some pictures of them with my Spiderman figurines and Catwoman.

Yes, it is bad to play with your food but hey, it was fun!

The strawberries looked good right? Don't be fooled!

Then I ran out of figurines that could go with the strawberries so I had to stopped. Of course it took me awhile to take all these pictures because of the lighting but I had fun.

Dylan

2007-02-20T17:28:00.000+09:00

With Dad

With Mum

I thought of writing something to go with these photos but I decided to let the photos do the talking.

Celebrating love

2007-02-14T13:29:00.000+09:00

Today is Valentine's Day. According to Japanese tradition, I should have already made/bought loads of chocolates and by now, had given them away to people I like (not necessarily to guys apparently - just to people you like). In return, there is White Day which is the day the guys are suppose to return the favour by giving white chocolates to the girls, although according to Wiki, the men had misinterpreted the phrase White Day to mean giving lingerie? Ah....devious minds!

Oh well, since it is a "special" day today, I would like to share one of my favourite poems with you:

Jenny kissed me when we met
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your lists, put that in:

Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,
Say that health and wealth have missed me,
Say I'm growing old, but add
Jenny kissed me

-Leigh Hunt-

A simple, charming poem.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Glorious food

2007-02-05T17:06:00.000+09:00

Nothing like a beautifully laid out dessert course to whet the appetite! This was taken last year during my annual conference trip. It was our conference dinner - lots of socializing, getting contacts, drinking.....well for the others. For me, I was, for most of the time, standing apart, being the outsider in a world where so many had known each other for ages.

So to entertain myself, I ate and I ate and I ate. Heck, after all, I paid for the food, so I might as well get my money's worth. And the food was good. A nice spread of Japanese and western food. Lots of sushi and sashimi.

Having eaten our fill of the food, we waited with baited breath for the desserts to make an appearance. And what an appearance. They looked so good! We made a beeline straight to the table, ahead of the rest who were still busy talking and loaded up our plates! :)

Mating Butterflies

2007-01-31T00:33:00.000+09:00

Remember the story I told in the earlier post about my sister, her son and I running around in the field in front of our house armed with our cameras? Well this is one of the photos I took while I was there - a pair of mating butterflies up close.

And this is the first photo I took of the pair before Ethan came charging towards them but luckily his grandfather stopped him before he could accidently chase them away!

A funky restaurant in Kochi

2007-01-23T22:53:00.000+09:00

I was in Kochi last November for a conference and we stopped by this funky cafe in town. Well, actually the interior wasn't all that funky but they had this huge chandelier decorated with (fake) antlers and wings!

Now you can see the interior of the restaurant and the antler-wing chandelier properly. I was so amused and I have to say, am a bit impressed with whoever who had thought of this idea. I wondered what had inspired him to do this?

The dessert which I ordered was matcha (green tea) ice-cream with whipped cream and mochi balls (made out of glutinous rice flour).

Another dessert ordered by my friends. Enjoy!