tasmania (the journey)

travel mates: allan, alvin, lj & raymond
date of travel: 18th august 2010 to 22nd august 2010
duration:5 days 4 nights
route: hobart -> bay of fires -> oatlands -> hobart
accommodation:

• narrara backpackers, 4/5 we arrived late at the hostel due to a delayed flight and were greeted at the doorstep by the friendly owner, mo. lots of smile from him even though it was already 8pm and he was still waiting for us before heading for his dinner. hostel is clean and comes with thick and comfy mattress with great hot shower in cold winter night. he charged student price for all of us despite only allan and alvin are still studying. highly recommended and do visit mo's site at www.narrarabackpackers.com
• dolphin lookout cottage, 4/5 the cottage occupies a very good spot which provides clear view of binalong bay. the only complaint is the lack of dryer and good heater. it was raining almost everyday when we were there and we have difficulty drying our clothes and at the same time, the heater is unable to warm up the place properly. the flooring felt a bit dusty when we first stepped into the house but nevertheless it was a good 2-nights stay in the cottage
  
• armytage house, 5/5 this is probably the most beautiful and cosy place i ever stayed in. nice little 1800's barn with its' interior extensively renovated to a luxurious self-contained accommodation, and managed by a lovely couple, gil & june, what else can you ask for? stayed at armytage house during the last night for our tasmania trip and it was the perfect ending for our tasmania's chapter. visit my blog entry dedicated to armytage house for more photos (http://blackandwhite-themoments.blogspot.com/2010/08/armytage-house-bagdad-australia-moments.html) or visit their website at www.armytagehouse.com.au

~ hobart ~

first impression when we arrived in hobart city, it is filled with beautiful buildings and lovely people. we drove to salamanca place for a great dinner at ball and chain grill and we loved the place so much that we came back the next morning for a picnic breakfast. mount wellington is a short drive (45mins?) from the cbd and the city view from the mountain is simply astonishing. it was winter when we were there and there were lots of snow lining the roadside towards the peak. supposed to head back to mount wellington for a sunset shot on the last day of our trip but did not manage to make it and am still regretting over it. had our last dinner in tasmania at hobart waterfront before flying off to melbourne, nothing fantastic about the fried seafood and chips but the waterfront sure looked lovely.

~ wineglass bay lookout ~

it was a 45mins walk to the lookout point, the view is alright but would prefer to have a more elevated view so that i can capture more of the bay. upon viewing the photo i took from the lookout point, a friend told me that i can actually trek higher for a nicer view which i did not know is possible when i was there. there were many wallabies at the carpark and you could get really close to it for a good photography opportunity. did not visit the beaches as the lookout is only a short stop over for our journey towards bay of fires. freycinet marine farm was closed during winter time, a big disappointment for us who were hoping to try the fresh and succulent tasmanian oysters.

~ bay of fires ~

the bay is just gorgeous! the sand is unbelievably fine and water is amazingly clear. we wish we could swim in it but the temperature in winter just killed that thought. this place is so blessed with not only white sandy beach and crystal clear water, but also colourful stones that add substance to this serene bay. we saw lots of seaweed near the beach and were thinking that it is probably a sign of a healthy sea. take your time to explore every single beach from one end to the other, starting from binalong bay towards the gardens and rest assure there won't be any disappointment. angasi restaurant, the award winning restaurant is also located at binalong bay. drive along main road and you should be able to spot the restaurant easily. as for the quality of the food, it's 3/5 from my perspective and the reason for it not getting 4/5 is simply due to the lack of "surprises". a lot of asian element was added to the food and such fusion probably did not suprise me as an asian.

~ ralph fall ~

we drove pass winding mountainous road and muddy field to reach ralph fall and the direction to the fall wasn't sign posted properly. we struggled quite a bit to get there and it took us much longer time than expected. the view wasn't rewarding enough to justify the hassle so i would recommend to skip this, probably try other falls in the area.

~ launceston ~
after dropping alvin at launceston airport, we did a quick tour around the city but since it is already pretty dark, we didn't get a good view of the place. my impression is that launceston is more modernized and city is not as attractive as hobart.

~ oatlands ~
we took the coastal road to binalong bay and decided to come back via midland highway for a different view of tasmania. did a quick stop at oatlands before heading to arthur. oatlands did live up to its reputation, a beautiful historical village with lots of colonial sandstone buildings. the street is so quiet that we didn't get to see anyone on the street when we were there. we did not stay in oatlands, instead we moved on to bagdad and stayed for a night at the fantastic armytage house.

~ port arthur ~
port arthur is rated as one of the "must-see" for visitor to tasmania for its importance in tasmanian history. we decided to give up the sunset photoshooting session at mount wellington, also a visit to barilla bay's oyster farm, and made our way to port arthur but were slightly disappointed by that decision. port arthur has undergone an extensive "makeover" and we felt more like visiting a park than the eerie prison that it is supposed to be. i would prefer if it is in original state as the prison itself should be able to tell more stories than the guide. one man's meat is another's poison, it's just not my cup of tea.

ho chi minh city, vietnam (the journey)

travelmates:

• raymond, lj

date of travel:

• 29th oct 2008 - 1st nov 2008

duration:

• 4 days 3 nights

route:

• district 1 (you can't imagine how much things we get to see in just district 1)

accommodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal opinion):

• saigon mini hotel, 4* friendly owner, room is spotlessly clean, mini bar is cheap! due to the building design, similar class of room might have different view. i bet we got the worst one since we only have a 1 panel window, which is fixed and cannot be opened. we managed to peep into the other superior room, it has 4-6 panels at two sides of the room, and the layout is much better than ours. deluxe room is definitely a must-go-for, priced at USD40 nett (breakfast inc) but was told you need to book months ahead for the only 2 deluxe rooms. it is a little bit out of the way in district 1, close to district 5 and it is a either you love it or hate it matter. we loved it for the experience, walking through rows of local shops and markets, which gave us an insight of the culture at the same time, managed to grab some really nice local food. we hate it for, having to cross so many crazy traffic in order to get to our destination. we will definitely stay here again for our next ho chi minh trip

~ district 1 ~

• all the major attractions, hotels and commercial malls are located in district 1, ben thanh market, independence palace, opera theatre, sheraton, sofitel, diamond plaza etc are among those that you can expect in district 1.

• district 1 can be briefly segregated into 3 zones (ben thanh market as the imaginative center), west where you will find all the backpackers hostel/hotel, cheap food and souvenior, east where you will get to the upmarket hotels, malls and fine dining restaurants, and north where where you have some mid-range hotels with nothing really interesting in my opinion.

• if you can only make it to one place giving a one day visit, drop-by the area west of ben thanh market and wonder in the alley where you can find lots of backpackers hostels/hotels mushrooming and there will definitely be something that will interest you.

• notre dame cathedral and post office is worth paying 2 bucks of cab fare to get there and admire the architecture. war remnants museum tells a one sided story, but interesting in it's very own way. i wouldn't advise anyone to waste their time touring independence palace. ben thanh market's seller is too pushy or rather "pully" and it is very difficult to move around. try going for the night market outside ben thanh market, which offer goods at a cheaper price, easier to bargain, more roomy and not as pushy.
  

• our great finds are:

1. noodle soup stall (operate at night only) at the junction of cong quynh and pham ngu lao for its' fantastic noodle soup
2. milwaukee grill & bar for its' great ambience, affordable price tag, friendly waiters/waitresses, good location for people watching and the owner whom is a malaysian
   
3. nhat uyen for its' great price for bags/wallets
4. man dat for the fantastic cheongsam and vietnamese top that they made for my wife at great price

bali, indonesia again (the journey)

it is always great to be back to bali again with its' friendly people, delicious food, beautiful villa and mesmerizing sunset.

it wasn't a smooth sailing journey for me due to extremely hot weather. i was down with fever since the first day and it got worse on the 3rd day .

spent one morning and one evening at echo beach and the yield was terrific. the black sand provided the perfect reflection in the presence of water, just like one big piece of mirror. black sandy beach often provides much more photography opportunities since it is not just plain "white", like in the case of white sandy beach but comes in with more texture and reflection.

my tianya filter is still serving me well but i find the red/magenta tint too overwhelming, especially when two filters were being stacked for a 4 stops gnd. perhaps it is time to look at other more pricey alternative.

siem reap, cambodia (the journey)

travelmates:

• raymond, lj, albert, yumie

date of travel:

• may 2008

duration:

• 4 days 3 nights

route:

• siem reap -> angkor wat -> angkor grand circuit -> koh ker -> beng melea

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal opinion):

• viroth's hotel, 4.5* great experience from this boutique hotel. friendly owner and staff, especially sokha and say who have been very attentive and accomodative to our request. the hotel is tastefully designed and ambience is perfect. it is located a short 10mins walk to a nearby supermarket, and city center. there are only 7 rooms in the hotel and most of the time, we have the whole place to our own, swimming, drinking and chit chatting beside the salt water swimming pool. the breakfast was fantastic, simple and yet tasty and you can choose any combination that you want on the night before, and it will be served the following morning at their roof top restaurant. the actual viroth's restaurant is located about 10mins walk away and we had our best meal there, but that doesn't come cheap. i would recommend the hotel to have a shower located beside the pool, so that the guest can clean up a bit before spending the rest of the time on the sun deck. second recommendation is to work on the very pathetic hot water pressure in the room and lastly, something got to be done with the mosquitoes around swimming pool area.

~ angkor, koh ker, beng melea ~

• sunrise at angkor wat is a "must-see" in siem reap. the morning ray emerging behind the temple, couples with reflection from the lake is superb. was told that the best time for sunrise shot is end of april when the sun will rise in the middle of the temple. the good thing about visiting during the dry season is you don't have to "fight" for a place to watch the sunrise, but still it was quite crowded. the temperature throughout the rest of the day was very much unbearable, so it is best to visit in earning morning and late afternoon, take my advice, skip the mid day! otherwise, visit siem reap during november to february period for a cooler weather.
• out of all temples in angkor grand circuit, koh ker and beng melea, the one that impressed me the most are angkor wat for the sunrise, ta phrom for the view of vegetation and the pyramidal temple at koh ker for the unique architecture (sadly, the staircase to the top of temple was closed due to some accident involving tourist). the rest of the temples were not too appealing to me, but if you are interested in the history and religious stuff, it might be a totally different story for you. angkor wat is reachable by 15mins drive from siem reap city, whereas koh ker and beng melea is located about 3 hours drive away.

~ siem reap city ~

• perhaps the closest place to home is the pub street where you have lots of good restaurant with nice ambience. we tried red piano, a restaurant which is highly recommended by lonely planet but it was a total disappointment. head to khmer kitchen as a cheaper option or a more upmarket one, viroth's restaurant for tasty meals and great service. our favourite dish being stir fried beef with basil leaves and we had that numerous time during our stay in siem reap.
• we had a great massage session at body tune. it did live up to it's reputation from various positive reviews. usd14 for a 60mins thai massage might sound expensive comparing to other shops at around USD6-8 but the ambience and "balinese" setup worth every cent you pay for.
• siem reap night market is a very sleazy place, avoid it unless you have a lot of time to spare. old market is pretty interesting but we ended up purchasing all the stuff from one of the chinese shop just opposite the market, which gave a better price without the need to bargain.
• cambodia is a poor country, please help the childrens as much as you can. the least you can do is to donate the loose change at the airport donation box for children hospital. our tour guide mentioned that children hospital provides free medical service to the children and i think we should do our bit to make this world a better place.
• don't be too calculative while doing a purchase, 1 or 2 dollars are not a huge sum for us but it meant a lot for those earning averagely 30 dollars per month. don't give money to the innocent kids, we don't want to turn them into future beggars.

sigma 10-20mm test shots (the journey)

trying out sigma 10-20mm that i bought from hk last week. overall, the contrast is good with minimum flare problem when shooting with sun in the frame. i vaguely recall that the first version that i owned (have since sold it off due to corner softness problem) has a mf/af switch but this second piece that i owned doesn't have any. it makes setting the hyperfocal distance slightly tedious since there is no mf switch on my camera body either. i will have to auto-focus, with my shutter release half pressed, then re-focus to hyperfocal distance.

taipei, taiwan (the journey)

travelmates:

• raymond, lj

date of travel:

• march 2008

duration:

• 5 days 4 nights

route:

• taipei city -> wulai -> danshui

accommodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal opinion):

• friends spring hotel, 1* the counter lady called me 10mins passed the checkout time, telling me that "mister, you haven't return the key to us" and i found it to be quite rude talking to your customer this way. they did not even bother to smile at us when we checked in/out and the worst thing being finding a used condom on the floor, and yes, it is on the floor and not under the bed etc. nothing much around the vicinity, except for good accessibility to the metro station, just 5 mins walk from the hotel. quite surprised at their service level since this hotel was recommended in lonely planet.
• hoya spa and hot spring, 4* it is better than those smaller hotels around it, it was decorated with a boutique feeling in it with a cosy corner on the top floor (open air). all rooms have hot spring bath, which overlook into the river and mountain range. we were being allocated a better room, with wide windows offering superb view since the one we booked is not available due to some mis-communication. the staff were very friendly and helpful, especially the lady for the morning shift, who offered us her own umbrella when ours were being stolen. we have gotten a special promotional package, with breakfast, high-tea, dinner and a bottle of red wine included. the breakfast was great, served at their tiny cafe, and my favourite being their tasty salad.
• forte orange business hotel, 4* superb location with camera street, "audio" street, computer shops, eateries, book shops, train station (both normal and high speed rail), metro interchange, bus interchange all located within 5 mins walk. most of the shuttle buses from airport will terminate at the taipei main train station which makes the trip to hotel affordable and easy. the interior is nicely decorated, clean and equipped with the necessary facilities (lcd, water boiler, safe etc.) and it is relatively safe with key card access to both room and lift. highly recommended.

~ taipei city ~

• getting to taipei city is easy, just take one of the shuttle bus from the airport. there is a ticketing counter and don't forget to tell the driver where to drop you when you are boarding the bus. they won't announce at each of the stop so if you did not signal nor telling them where to stop, you will travel all the way to the last station
• staying at taipei main train station is the best part throughout my trip, since it offers the best accessbility to all the places that i wanted to go with the metro interchange and bus interchange located nearby
• ximending is like the other "walking street" that i have been to in shanghai, nanjing etc. most shops at located at 1st floor of the 2-4 storeys buildings and higher floor are some eateries or restaurants. nothing caught my attention since price tag is high and you can find something similar at wufengpu, but much cheaper. located at ximen mrt station
• longshan temple is a very interesting historical landmark for taipei, being the oldest and biggest temple in the vicinity. plenty of good photographic opportunity and you can drop by for a blessing, if you need any. easily reachable at longshan temple mrt station
• wufengpu is the best place for serious retail therapy. goods are mostly sold at distributor price but try to avoid monday and saturday when bulk buyer are flocking the area for huge purchase. there will be alot of scooters/trolleys moving around the area and the seller has no time to entertain small, casual customers. wufengpu is reachable by mrt, alighting at houshanpi station
• shilin night market is best visited on weekdays. been there on a saturday and you will find that there is basically no space for you to even stand in the alleys. the queue for the food stalls were also too long for us to pursue. went again on a tuesday and things got much better, with plenty of space for you to stroll around, and it is much easier to find seats at eateries. do not alight at the wrong mrt station, it is located at jiantan and not shilin station.
• yangmingshan, did not manage to make it there due to the poor weather, will conquer mount cixing in my next trip

~ wulai ~

• wulai is an outskirt town located 50mins drive from taipei city. it is famous for it's hot spring and mountain range with some nice waterfalls and some other geographical attractions. we did not have sufficient time/relevant transport to explore the whole area, so only visited the waterfall and hotspring on foot. the weather was good and cooling, and mountain range is always foggy with clouds floating around it, making it a very good retreat from taipei city
• you can get there by taking the bus from either xindian mrt (45mins) or taipei main train station (90mins). check out the map at mrt station, the bus stop is clearly indicated there. one way trip costs NT70

~ danshui ~

• danshui is supposingly a very romantic place for couple to visit but since it was drizzling while we visited the place, we went back straight after purchasing some local products so there is nothing much to comment about this place.

aida's engagement (the journey)

today marks the start of a new journey for my dear friend, miss aida. i would like congratulate her on her engagement day and wish her more blissful days ahead. this is the first time i attended a malay engagement ceremony, it is a very good and fresh experience for me, learning their culture and interacting with the lovely family. photo shooting started during the preparation stage yesterday and today, i had the longest time on the camera of around 5 hours, which gave me a bad muscle ache after the events ended. i realized how much i love to shoot such a blissful event, from which i am able to share the happiness and joy, and it is even greater when they love the photos i shot.

i relied almost 100% on my 18-200mm for today's shooting. it has served me well but i realized that a wide angle lens with big aperture is a must for shooting at such a tight space. i had problem on isolation due to the relatively small aperture from 18-200mm but on the other hand, i managed to capture some really great moments without the need to change lens. this is the trade-off that you need to consider, unless you have another camera body for backup.

changi broadwalk (the journey)

finally i managed to locate changi broadwalk during my 2nd trip to changi village. you can access the broadwalk via two entrance points, at changi beach club and changi sailing club. the easiest way to reach the broadwalk is by taking bus 29 from tampines interchange and alight at the bus stop nearest to changi beach club. the broadwalk is connected to changi point walk so if you want a longer stroll, start from changi point ferry terminal and walk all the way.

did not manage to spend much time on the broadwalk itself due to my afternoon nap and the day was getting dark by the time i reached. definitely i will make a 3rd trip to broadwalk for another photo-shooting session.

more gloomy days ahead, wondering when will i see a nice setting sun.

changi airport terminal 3, singapore (the journey)

changi airport terminal 3's open house has started on 12 november 2007 and will end on 9 december 2007. you can either do a self-guided tour at $1 or follow a guided tour at $3. The money will be donated to Singapore Cancer Society so it is really worth while if you have some free time to spend. construction works are still going on at most of the places so i would suggest to go at a later stage, perhaps first week of december when more works are done.

i spent 2 hours at public area for photo-shooting and since i am not particularly interested in architectural stuff, i did not make an effort to go for the restricted area tour. architectural shot is really not my cup of tea, did quite badly in perspective control. if you are interested to photograph the public area, i would suggest to go around 6.30pm or later when there is not many soul around.

visit this site if you want to know more about the new terminal.

kuching, malaysia (the journey)

i was born in the lovely cat city (kuching) of hornbill land (sarawak). small peaceful town where i grew up until i decided to part with it to pursue my career few years back. nobody wish to leave their birth place for the stinky dollars but life is just too tough for some of us. in the search of meritocracy, you aren't left with much choice but to head towards a different direction.

my recent trip back to my hometown has prompted me for some soul searching ater i realized that i have not been spending much quality time taking photos of the place where i call "home". the trip to kuching was again a short one but i managed to sneak out for an hour or two to take a couple of shots of my hometown. my photos did not do justice to my lovely hometown but i am confident that each time i re-visit my hometown, i will come out with a better shot.

chiang mai & chiang dao (the journey)

travel mates:

• alex, joyce, stewart, ling, gary, lj & raymond

date of travel:

• 20th october 2007 to 24th october 2007

duration:

• 5 days 4 nights

route:

• chiang mai city -> chiang dao (tribal village) -> chiang dao (chiang dao nest) -> chiang mai city

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• raming lodge, 3.5* good location (near to night bazaar), nicely decorated and clean room and superb breakfast. should have gotten a 4* instead but was disappointed on the way they miss-handled my check-out. managed to get a good room rate through wotif.com, thumbs up to the agency, will be happy to book through them again.
• lisu village's hut, 5* nothing beats this tribal hut with basic facility, but perfect hosts and stunning view. imagine watching sun rise when you are having your morning cup of tea, what else can you ask for? for me, this is perfect!
• chiang dao nest, 4.5* friendly host and staff, clean room and very comfortable bed. hut is small and lovely with lots of greeneries around.
• baan nam ping, 4* owner is a very kind lady, who took the hassle of driving us to the town since it is a 30mins ride which could cost us a bomb if we decided to take 2 taxis. she is also very helpful in arranging budget transportation for our group of 6 persons. the breakfast that they served is of very high quality, can't forget the tasty ham and yummy mango juice. location is ideal for those seeking peacefulness (it is along river ping) but a bit far for those who want some night activities.

~ upon arrival ~

• take the licensed taxi to city, it costs 120baht per head

~ chiang mai city ~

• this is the ideal place should you need some serious retail therapy. shopping is great at chiang mai gate night market (only at weekend) but try to avoid night bazaar if possible. price quoted at night bazaar is exorbitantly high, which could still cost you a bomb even if you bargained hard. there are a few stalls at night bazaar that offers item/service at a decent price, but you just have to search harder for it. chiang mai gate market on the other hand is frequented by locals. the price quoted at this market is always affordable and you could bargain for another 10-20% the most. the other drawing factor is food stalls that offers a large variety of chiang mai food or snack. we have lots of fun tasting each and every of it, including the fried insect. to shuttle around night bazaar and chiang mai gate night market, fare is 15baht per person using the red songthaew. chiang mai is filled with lots of massage establishments and one of the recommended one is "just relax", which is located at the same building as mcdonald, along night bazaar. joyce was satisfied with the foot massage but gary wanted a more aggresive type, so he rated it as average.

~ chiang dao ~

• chiang dao is 1.5hrs from chiang mai city and we were heading there for a 2 days trekking. we started around 11am on the first day at chiang dao nest, took a 45mins ride to reach our starting point, a village. from there, we went for a caving trip then back to the same village again for lunch, before stretching out further to the waterfall and finally reaching lisu village at 7pm, the place where we stayed overnight. the village faces a very nice valley and mountain view and the valley was misty during night and early morning.
• second day started with the spectacular sunrise, followed by a sumptuous breakfast, and gift distribution for the childrens. we headed to a small village for a simple blessing ceremony by the shearman at 9am. after that it was a 2hours trek to another cave, which is big enough for you to walk without the need to bend your knees. we then had our lunch before visiting another tribal village, "karen village". most of the childrens were not around when we were there because they were helping out in the plantation. we managed to distribute some stationeries to the children and also requested a teacher to share the rest of it with those that we have missed out. after visiting the village, we had the toughest climb of the whole journey, a continuous up/down hill until we reached our pick-up point at 6pm. who was the happiest person when we reached the end point? ling, of cos.
• the trek is somewhat demanding to my opinion. you can do without the caving and waterfall. but a visit to the villages is a must. children at the village are innocent and they are often too shy to accept a gift from you. comparing to other places where the kids are basically begging you for money. it is the best testimony of what civilization is capable of bringing upon the community, "poison to the innocent mind". my advice when visiting this rural villages is to bring their need to them but not to "poison" them by offering them money.
• chiang dao tuesday day market is where locals pick-up their usual supplies, including the small resorts where we stayed. nothing fantastic but worth a short trip to see the life of the locals.

portraiture (the journey)

yesterday evening was a boring one, till my brother suggested to take portraiture shots of him. sounded like a good idea for a past time, i picked my my camera and started shooting at a few angles while he posed on the sofa. portraiture has been my worst field so it took like a good 30mins for me to find an angle, which at least, looks ok to me. then i wanted to try something that bring up the theme, contradiction, a sleeping man with the "men's health", perhaps?

first photo was taken using a reading light as the only modeling light, no flash was fired because i wanted the lighting to be uni-directional. there is much more to desire for a better backdrop and attire but it was just a casual shot for a trial on portraiture so i am not too bothered about it.

second photo was taken with flash at -3fev and warm white light located on the ceiling, from the right side of my brother. it looks pretty alright to me, except the blue spots on the cheek and blown highlights due to oily face, maybe it's time to get sb800 with colour gel to balance the flash and the ambient colour temperature.

what to improve in the next portraiture shoot, some light make-up to remove the oily reflection, better attire, planned backdrop and a reflector will be very helpful. SB800 can wait, since my cash reserve is running low.

the whole photography session, took about 1 hour to complete. damn, i'm weak in portraiture.

food photography (the journey)

me and my wife prepared a candlelight dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary early in the month. i managed to snap a few photos of the food before it went down to our stomach and it was my first food photography experience. no flash was used and very nice lighting was provided by my warm white track light which runs on energy saving bulbs. colour was corrected slightly to remove the strong yellow cast but i decided to keep it a bit yellowish for a more "inviting" appearance.

my younger brother is a chef and he has requested me to photograph the dishes that he managed to come out with. another good reason to get him cooking some really nice western food for me to shoot, and to eat.

perth, australia (the journey)

travel mates:

• raymond, lj, derrick & family, chua & family, rick, stephanie, shawn, brenda, garry, quece

date of travel:

• may 2007

duration:

• 5 days 4 nights

route:

• perth -> fremantle -> bunburry -> busselton -> dunsborough -> margaret river

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• criterion hotel, 3* good location but interior of the hotel is a bit run-down and limited variety for breakfast
• yallingup forest resort, 3* nice and clean bedrooms/washroom but difficult to locate and nothing particularly interesting in the vicinity

~ perth city ~

• perth is yet another small, self-content and peaceful city. it has a lot of nice and unique buildings and offers some great shopping experience. managed to find surf wear at a bargain price in the city and also some really cheap apparels in harbour city, a plaza where most of the factory outlets are located. there is also a casino in perth if you wish to contribute to Australia's economy. there are free maps or travel guides to be picked up around the city and you can even request for a free booklet to be sent to you by mail from the publisher. details can be easily obtained from www.

~ fremantle ~

• fremantle is a habour town, famous for it's beautiful sunset, seaside restaurant and the fremantle market. there are a lot of restaurants for you to have a nice seafood meal, while watching sun setting in a nice harbour backdrop. a cozy place for those who need a peaceful gateaway. fremantle market is not too appealing for me, it's alright but the things are quite pricey and it lacks of a unique character of it's own.

~ busselton ~

• busselton jetty, a must go for everyone that travels to this picturesque town. the jetty is 2km in length, which basically takes maybe an hour to walk till the end, and to come back to the shore. there is a tram rail on the jetty, but not too sure if it is still in operation. sunset in the area is gorgeous.

~ margaret river ~

• margaret river, if it is not wine and cheese, what else can it be? after the cheesy wine session, if you only have time for one place, head to bunker bay. crystal clear water, white sandy beach, beautiful lighthouse on the cliff, i think that's all it takes to convince you to make the trip. we had a swim in a icy cold water (it was autumn), and it was really fun.

pulau babi besar, malaysia (the journey)

travel mates:

• raymond, hoon, alex, joyce, gary, ling

date of travel:

• October 2006

duration:

• 3 days 2 nights

route:

• mersing -> pulau babi besar

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• nirwana beach resort, 3* clean cottage with western toilet & hot water, buffet meals were average and variety is limited

~ mersing ~

• mersing is reachable from many parts of malaysia (kl, jb, etc) and even from singapore. it is the gateway to many offshore islands and the most famous one being, pulau tioman.

~ pulau babi besar ~

• there are a few resorts (3?) located at different parts of the island. it is a lazy island and everything in sight looks so peaceful and calm. there is no late night partying, no huge scale resort operation and definitely no jet ski running all over the place. beach is nice and clean with crystal clear water but there were a lot of jelly fish when we were there. we were being told that the tide/monsoon has actually brought in those jelly fish. apart from that, days appeared to be gloomy due to haze from the neighboring country, indonesia. it was such a turn-off. i would want to visit the same place again but i will avoid the jelly fish crowd during october and also remember to check the weather forecast for the possible haze attack! one more general precaution, bring lots of insect repellent, the place is infested by lots and lots of sand flies and also mosquitoes.

chinatown lantern festival (the journey)

normally i prefer subject which is natural and am not so keen in architectural stuff. however, since my wife has strongly suggested that i should take the camera for a spin at chinatown, finally we went down during yesterday's chinatown lantern festival's launching event. it was a lazy saturday evening so i have decided not to bring my tripod but keep my iso at a constant 800. time to verify various reviewers' comment on how good is d40's high iso image.

i was quite disappointed with the event's "scale", a lot of spectactors, for a small parade with only a few huge electrical lanterns and lion/dragon dance. by the time i managed to find a good spot, the parade has just went passed me. damn, i missed my hometown! small place, yeah, but the parade is one of the most attractive i have been to.

i tweaked my system -0.7ev after reading-up ken's articles but later realized that all the photos were slightly underexposed and i have to use photoshop to bring up the brightness slightly. the discrepancy is most probably because ken plays his d40 like a pns camera in matrix metering mode but i am a spotter. i prefer to spot-meter a mid gray, tune my camera into manual exposure mode and start shooting. i shouldn't be tweaking any exposure compensation before hand, a lesson learned.

darwin, australia (the journey)

travel mates:

• raymond, hoon, alex, joyce

date of travel:

• May 2006

duration:

• 7 days 6 nights

route:

• darwin city -> litchfield national park -> katherine gorge -> kakadu national park

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• apollo campervan, 2* for failing to address our concern on the windscreen chip-off
• yha darwin, 3* value for money and good location

~ darwin city ~

• a peaceful small town with quite a number of shops run by asian. met a singaporean who owns a restaurant there, had a short conversation but left us with a "huge impression", right yeah? alex. we did not manage to spend much time in the city, was there only for the last night before we departs for singapore early the next morning. the mindil beach night market was wonderful and it is only opened on thursday and saturday for april to october only. you will be able to witness the spectacular copper-sunset at the beach while listening to some aboriginal music or shopping for some nice handicraft. i did not manage to capture the sunset since the tripod wasn't with me and till now, i still regret for not bringing it along to the market. by the way, i had the freshest seafood meal at the market and also tasted kangaroo "satay" for the first time. I am against any violence towards living creature so don't worry, the kangaroo meat actually came from car accident's casualties. we wouldn't want to pay someone to kill those lovely animal, peace!

~ litchfield national park~

• litchfield is famous for the nice waterfalls. there are plenty of it but make sure you don't go during or just after the wet season. what happen is wet season brings crocodiles into the upstream and it is not safe to swim. however, we managed to overcome the disappointment through one whole night of star gazing at the camp ground. we walked to the top of wangi fall the next morning and the view was lovely. it was a short 30mins walk.

~ katherine gorge ~

• there are a total of 5 gorges at katherine gorge, or was it 6? anyway, for 2 hours walk (one way) we only managed to make it to the 2nd gorge. if you want to go further, you will have to hike overnight. there is boat or helicopter tour if you wish to splurge on it, but as we are on a tight budget, our poor legs just have to do all the work. well, the end point is the same but the sense of satisfaction is enormous. there are some nice swim hole and waterfall around and since it is cascaded before flowing down to the gorge/river, it means there is unlikely to be a crocodile and yes! you can swim there.

~ kakadu national park ~

• kakadu national park is listed as one of the world heritage site and it is really huge. there are many interesting sites to be visited there, e.g. wetlands, waterfall, rivers, rock art site but we only made it to ubirr and the small jabiru town since time was running short and furthermore, most of the roads were not accessible due to flood. ubirr is a rock art site and the path leading from the parking area to the actual site itself is an interesting walk. jabiru is just like any other small towns in northern territory, with the exception of a huge "crocodile" hotel, holiday inn jabiru.

clark, philippines (the journey)

travel mates:

• ray couple, alex couple, gary couple and rex couple

date of travel:

• april 2006

duration:

• 4 days 3 nights

route:

• clark -> subic bay -> metro manila

accomodation (min 1*, max 5* based on my personal review):

• oasis (clark), 3* for an average hotel, nothing fancy but clean
• army bunk (subic bay), 3* for a new experience and good price
• dusit hotel nikko (metro manila), 3* for the poor attitude of the pool attendant, would get a better rating if they get rid of those guys

~ clark ~

• everyone knows clark for it's red light district, however, it has much more to offer particularly, duty free shopping, various tours to mount pinatubo and lots and lots of korean restaurants. you will be amazed by the number of korean restaurants available and we were being told that the korean population is quite high at clark and they are involved in agricultural activities, e.g. water melon plantation and export. re-enactment of crucifixion was something memorable when we were there during the good friday. do a search on the internet, that's clark's specialty!

~ mount pinatubo ~

• mount pinatubo is an active volcano and the last erruption in year 1991, couple with heavy rains, caused thick lahar to flow towards the nearby towns, burrying a very huge area surrounding the volcano. till today, the impact of1991's erruption can still be felt when you travel to these towns. houses, left only the roof with the rest burried deep underground is the common sight or you might even walk into a church and realized the main entrance was actually a window on the 2nd floor before the erruption. to reach mount pinatubo, the nearest airport is at clark and you have to take a pre-dawn 4WD ride to the foot of the mountain follows, by 2 hour's climb to the crater.

~ subic bay ~

• subic bay is where the previous US naval base is located. there are a lot of restaurants by the bay and we managed to spend a night at the army bunk, previously owned by US naval. nothing too spectacular but it was a nice experience. subic bay is also the place where alex and gary met their new friend, muimui, check out the photos.

~ metro manila ~

• first culture shock when we were there, metal detector is everywhere in the city. you will be expecting guards to search through your bags for gun and also walkthough a metal detector when you are entering the building. there is no big deal actually since it appears to be a norm for everyone. didn't travel far from our hotel in makati as advised by my secondary schoolmate who is residing there. there is a gloomy atmosphere in the city and nothing particularly memorable for me, except the nice and cheap juices everywhere.