Bali, a tropical island in paradise where you find just about everything. And I do mean everything - sun, sea, fun, shopping, all kinds of entertainment, historical and sacred places, plenty of activities for nature-lovers such as mountain climbing, jungle trekking, white-water rafting, photography, etc and a favourite rejuvenating activity for most people - the spas. Therefore, 5 days in Bali is just hardly enough to do everything. However, we did manage to cramp a lot of stuff in 5 days. We managed to cover most of the tourist spots like Kintamani, Besakih, Ubud, the infamous Tanahlot, Uluwatu and Jimbaran where we had good seafood by the beach. We also managed to catch a cultural show, spend half a day at a spa, went clubbing, shopping and did body art. Here are some snapshots:

Tawau-Semporna-Mabul Island (29 Sept - 2 Oct 2006)

October 2006 was supposed to be the month we go Beijing. Unfortunately, as much as we wanted to go, we had to postpone it to next year due to personal reasons - lack of money, lack of leave, just changed job, etc.

Our flight to Tawau was on early Friday morning. Dragging ourselves out of bed in the wee hours of morning is never an easy task especially when we have been having 4 hours of sleep in the last few days. We reached LCCT exactly one hour before departure and managed to check-in on time, had a light breakfast and boarded the 2 hour 45 minute-flight. Tawau airport was only 30 minutes away from the Tawau town. The six of us checked into Dynasty-Monaco Hotel for one night.

After lunch, we departed to visit the Madai caves (1.5 hours away from Tawau), famous for bird's nests. For those of you who are not completely sure what bird's nest is, allow be to elaborate. Bird's nest is an authentic delicacy taken from a swiftlet's nest, it is not made out of twigs and straw, mind you. The nest is made of the bird's hardened gummy saliva, apparently wonderfully yummy to those with an acquired taste for it. It is expensive. We were offered RM5,000 for 1 kg of uncleaned bird's nest and I was told that it was cheap. Anyway, the caves left me with a mark of experience for I have to admit, being some sort of a city-girl, I have never been into any caves, except Batu Caves :-) Indeed it also gave us some interesting shots of photography.

We proceeded to a waterfall in Kunak but it closed by the time we got there. Disappointed, we headed back to Tawau and feasted on a sumptuous array of seafood - crabs, fish, crayfish, tiger prawns, jellyfish. I would say definitely much better than a whole kg of bird's nests. Bernard, you should have been there to take photos of all the food. Later, Kwan brought us to a yacht club, where we sat by the deck, drinking and admiring Kwan and Cheah's collection of photographs. Life is good....


After breakfast the next day, we took a 1 hour and 45 minute-ride by van to Semporna. Our speed boat was already waiting for us when we reached and it took us 30 minutes to get there. It was love at first sight the moment we docked Mabul Island. Whatever I described now would hardly do justice to this place. I have never seen such clear sea water, one can just see right through to the corals and fishes beneath. It's almost heaven! The only thing missing in the next few days were blue skies and fluffy white clouds. The haze came as an uninvited guest.

We took our time walking around the Mabul Sipadan Water Village and explored a nearby Bajau village. When it became too hot and we got a little sunburned, we headed back to the chalet to enjoy the view there. We had lunch followed by siesta before heading out again to catch some evening shots.
It wasn't a easy task trying to find a good spot for sunset and when we did find one, it was the haze that did the damage again. Barbecue dinner was considerably good but it was the ambience that was fantastic. Plus we were also graced upon by the Raja Muda of Perlis and his super VIPs who stayed there the same night. The island was well guarded by the police, military and marine, safety wasn't an issue.

A thunderstorm came at 2:00 am. It was a little scary as our chalet faced the open sea. We felt the chalet shook each time lightning struck and thunder rumbled along with strong winds and heavy downpour. Quite an experience, I would say. We woke up slightly before 5:00 am to try our luck on sunrise, hoping the rain would clear the haze and bring back blue skies. Tough luck, the weather was worse than the day before. After breakfast, we took a walk to the resort next door, the Mabul Water Bungalow resort which was just as beautiful, with a spa of its own. We gave up our cameras and went for a dip by the beach. And then it was time to pack up and leave.

We arrived at Semporna and checked into the Seafest Hotel. That afternoon, we chartered a speed boat for a little sea adventure. We were like on a quest to look for the Sea Bajau people. Of course our boatman was very familiar with the surrounding islands and he knew where to take us. To get to Maiga island, we had to pass through certain areas of the sea which was just 3 feet deep. Really interesting, because we could see the deep blue sea in front and at the back of us and here we are, with just 3 feet of water, rocks, corals and lots of starfish. One could of course get down and walk just to experience what it's like to walk in the middle of the ocean but no one wanted to get themselves wet.

The Sea Bajau people were originally from southern Philippines who moved to these islands because of a separatist movement. The island was like a lost paradise, lined with endless rows of tall coconut trees, sand and clear emerald water. There were 2 settlements on the island, one closer to land and the other further out into the shallow waters of the sea. Their huts were made of wood and built on stilts as high as 5 feet. Harvesting seaweed seemed to be their source of income.

Time did not permit us to visit another island so we had to return to Semporna. The next day, we decided to cancel our boat trip to explore other islands. The weather was turning on us and the haze had worsened. We went to the jetty instead and took shots of fishermen turning in their catch for the day. We had an early lunch and departed for Tawau in a hired van. Our flight was only at night, so we had a whole afternoon to kill. We walked around the Tawau town and found a place to eat, drink and hand around. The place served many varieties of "Pan" mee and I had a plate of fried "pan" mee (this is not found in KL) which was really tasty. Kwan and Cheah took us for a hearty dinner and we had the pleasure of meeting with Louis Pang, who joined us for dinner. Kwan and Cheah also drove us to the airport after dinner.

To Kwan and Cheah, thank you so very much for taking the time to bring us around and helping us with all the arrangements for this trip. Overall, we were a little disappointed with the weather but the whole experience made up for it. We will return some day for better photographs.

It's really been ages since I have last posted anything on this blog. From then till now, I've already been to Seoul (Korea) and back, plus a few photography outings and an adventure-cum-photography thingy called Photorace which ended with a model shoot at MTC. This coincided with the launch for Visit Malaysia Year 2007. I was never interested in model shoot for lack of equipment ;-) and skill.


But this model shoot was different, held outdoors in the garden, fantastic and creative costumes and make-up and of course getting my hands on a VR lens make a whole lot of difference. Right equipment increases the level of skill definitely. And of course, outdoor lighting makes a whole lot of difference, wonderful for a beginner like me.


There were a few other photography outings I went for this year, one was Pulau Ketam and the other was my 2nd visit to the bird park in lake gardens. Well, one of my submissions got picked during the photography meeting...here it is...

Wesak Day, 12 May 2006

We were quite excited about Wesak Day's photo outing because Meow decided to join us for her first photo outing and ITAF tagged along with her compact camera. We got up rather early and had a good roti canai breakfast at an indian restaurant just across the Thai Buddhist Chetawan temple in Taman Jaya. This is the best roti canai ever....served on banana leaf, so delicious even without sambal, I am definitely going back there again!

The weather was superb for photography. The crowd grew as our shadows grew shorter. I could hear continuous sound of bells ringing (devotees ringing each of the 36 bells as they walk along the circle as this believed to bring luck). There were many rituals going on, though I did not fully understand its purpose till I read about some articles in the newspapers the next day. Apart from bell ringing, the crowd were lighting lotus candles and oil glasses, making offerings to a long line of golden statues with donation bowls, pasting golden leaves onto a statue, lighting joss sticks and praying. If you moved to the back of the temple, there was a long queue waiting to bath a Buddha statue. It was all very interesting. I've never been to a temple on Wesak, did not know there were some many interesting things to watch and photograph.

When the sun became too hot and we were tired out, we decided to get some water and food before leaving. Green curry noodles tasted really authentic, though we couldn't understand why it wasn't vegetarian. Well, I'll be back next year and hopefully with a better camera ;-)

Fashion Shoot at KLCC

Last Sunday, I decided to go with my hubby to KLCC to try my hand at fashion shows. It was my most frustrating photo shoot...ever... We covered 3 fashion shows from 1:00 - 4:30 pm, except for the I. Kartini show, the rest of the apparel were just boring, not at all close to the fashion shows we watch on TV. I tried RAW mode again but it was a disappointing turn out...noise, hazing, fuzzing, whatever you call it. Well, I guess one needs DSLR to do fashion shows, not some prosumer number. But I can't part with my G5 yet, I still feel I'm not good enough with the basics and don't fully understand the concept and techniques yet. Patience!

Putrajaya on a raining Sunday morning

Hi, I'm back. The reason I have not blogged on this site for ages is because I haven't been on any photography outing. Why does it always rain whenever we are free to go get some shots? We wanted to go for sunrise in Putrajaya but it was raining cats and dogs, so we slept till the rain stopped. Of course the weather wasn't fantastic, overcast or whatever you photographers call it. Gloomy, sunless, wet morning....and only a handful of the club members turned up. I guess the rest are enjoying the cold, lazy morning sleeping.

Well, I shot in RAW mode for the first time. I haven't adjusted the photos yet, hopefully they could be of use. Keeping fingers and toes crossed. If this is good, I will use RAW mode more often then.

By the way, I was not at all satisfied with the shoot that day because of the weather. Will definitely go back there for sunset shots. Till then, over n out.

Hurray! As of last Saturday, 11th Feb 2006, I am now an official member of the PSPJ (clap, please!). It has taken me two years to sign the paper. The meeting turned out rather interesting and very vocal. There was a photo presentation by one of the members on his previous trips to Harbin and some other places in China which neither could I spell nor repeat (yes, neber go school mah...). Then, it was followed by very vocal discussions about the AGM coming up next month, I shall not get into the details, leave that to the secretary *wink*

I am proud to be a member of a photography club. Never in my early years would I have thought I would put serious interest into photography. I felt it was way out of my league and an expensive hobby and requires a huge chunk of your time. Come to think of it, I do spend less time on any other things now like I've hardly touched my books or even the TV and our DVDs, and less baking. Hmmm....obsessed? No, at least not yet...

My first meeting as a new member was a rather heated one (I was told that this was unusual). Some members wanted to see changes such as being provided with photograpy classes or courses, the suggestions were good but one ended saying wrong things to stress his point. I for one, who hardly stands up to speak publicly (a phobia I have not fully overcome), stood up to point that that member's opinion was askewed.

I believe if you want to achieve something bad enough, you need to have the first thing - determination. If one is determined to learn photography, theory and lessons would probably contribute 10% and one also should go through reading books, magazines, websites and view any professional photographs one could get hold of. I am near nothing compared to all the photographers in the club but these are the things I observed my hubby doing. The most important thing one needs is to practise what one has learnt, learn from mistakes as I believe the learning process is valuable. Then why would that phrase "Practice makes perfect" be so famous? And never be too shy or proud to ask, but of course one must know what to ask or do a little research first, if not, it would just be chicken-and-duck talking.

After spending years in the training field, I am a strong believer in the learning process - You can learn anything you set your heart to, and learn with an open mind. Even the Bible said - God helps those who help themselves. Well, don't expect to achieve something by getting everyone to help but you don't lift a finger. It's what you put in, your effort and contributions that will help you.

And I am so proud of that "one person" for achieving this from scratch...lou-kung la, who else!

Yeah, I can make it for the photography outing in 2 weeks - Butterfly Park. The first time I went for photography there was Jan '05. And this happy bird-brain cropped and adjusted all her photos and didn't keep her originals, so they were too small for any "good" use...sigh...this will NOT happen again!

Over n out.