2 February 2010

When the long London nights start drawing in and the winter weather is pretty miserable, it’s just hard to seize the daylight moments to capture presentable shots. With the limited time frame due to the hectic schedule, I just have to grab every opportunity I have. It’s tempting to stay indoors and hibernate in the nippy winter months but I’ve traveled 10,000km to London, I refuse to keep warm in the hotel only.

Princes Square to Porchester Gardens, London

The wintry chill in London is completely different as compared to the winter I experienced in Amsterdam or Madrid. I could survive on a pair of jeans without thermal wear as long as I’m covered with 2 layers of jackets and I naively assumed it would be similar in London. I was totally wrong. It is even more miserably chilly when it rains. Not to even mention that temperate drops dramatically when the sun sets by 4:45pm during winter months.

Family outing at Queen’s Walk, along the Thames River

I’ve to wrap myself up like a dumpling, layers after layers, warm coats and woolly scarves, hats and gloves to ensure I won’t stay vulnerable to the icy winds. Oh, I definitely have to keep my hood up to prevent loss of heat from my head.

The black cab of London

I believe one of the best ways to beat the winter blues is to get outside and get the blood pumping. Londoners walk a lot and I mean, A LOT! I am serious, they walk more than anyone else in the country. With such efficient transport system of the tubes and buses in London, who needs the black cab? Unless you have 2 or more suitcases which could be quite tedious to carry them by yourself.

Queensway Road, heading towards Bayswater underground station

I actually have to be grateful for I did not have to come a week earlier. Most places in Britain were buried with inches of snow due to the cold snap of Arctic wind. In fact, my friend said I was fortunate enough to get a warmer week whereby the rain washed the snow away. If not, I will be definitely sticking my bottom lip out, trying to balance myself on the icy and slippery roads. Thank you, God!

Walking along the riverbank of Thames

Thank you God for the sunshine! For the very first time, I appreciate sunshine (as you know how hot and sunny Malaysia will be).

In front of Buckingham Palace

And darn, just as I thanked God for the beautiful weather, I had to run off after this shot due to drizzling. LOL!

So much for the wintry moments in London, stay tuned for more entries.

9 September 2009

Melbourne oh Melbourne.

I have heard of this city since I was in primary school. And here I am, placing my first ever footprints in Melbourne.

Friends are moving here one by one. The latest friend to join in the migration crowd is Kim.

It was more than a trip of work and play for me in Melbourne even though it lasted approximately 72 hours only. There’s so many eating outlets and I would love to try them all. No particular Aussie dish as the community is kinda dilluted. Not to mention the influx of Asian immigrants here. What I enjoy most would be the Italian cuisine.

It was just simply enticing and mouth-watering.

With such a short period, I definitely could not discover more. I will probably come back with my own savings. Save, save, save! I have yet to experience the Koalas and Kangaroos, Mt Bhuller, Great Ocean Road and et cetera.

Nevertheless, the added advantage of this trip was being able to catch up with friends I don’t see frequently.

This trip also allowed me to experience Planetshakers’ church which is located at Dallas Brooks Centre.

I grew up listening to both Hillsong and Planetshakers, and being able to experience how a usual Sunday service goes, was definitely enriching. Going to share a 1.5-minute video of the first song during the praise & worship with you through this youtube below:-

The last time I attended a PS Conference was back in Dec 2006 and the team did drop by at City Church KL for a visiting Sunday in April 2008. Gosh, that was so long ago. Most of all, I was more than glad to tag Kim along, and a liberating moment came when Kim re-dedicated her life to God.

Hmm, thanks to Sunny, he took me for a quick tour around La Trobe University.

Sounds familiar?

Well, that’s my university which I never had a chance to study here, but to complete the degree from this university at Nilai campus.

My heart sort of like melted when I saw the scenic landscape around the institution. The question kept popping in and out of my head “Why didn’t I have the chance to experience the education here?”. Oh, things do happen for a reason. Not by coincidence, not by human chance or luck. It’s already pre-destined by our heavenly Father. Well, maybe I will have a chance to further my studies in near future. I’ll never know what is in store for me.

Truth to be told, I just can’t get enough of the eclectic Melbourne.

How can 72 hours be enough for such a beautiful place? The chilly weather is simply revivifying for me. I have always been in awe of temperatures between 8 – 18 degrees Celcius. Oh well, the grass is always greener on the other side. Isn’t it?

As I mentioned, I have yet to touch and see real Koalas or Kangaroos.

Thus, I will be back, no doubt.

6 September 2009

It was a long day in Melbourne for me yesterday.

Convention + catching up with a childhood friend, Kim Ong, who is well-known among us in blogosphere and celebrity world.

Here we are at the South bank area, looking for a place to dine and catch up. The last time I met Kim was during her wedding in late June.

Decided to have an Italian moment with La Camera.

I ordered a Gnocchi Amatriciana, sprinkled with lots of parmesan cheese over it.

Kim settled with Antipasti Misto which serves for two. A big appetite allowed her to indulge all by herself. I salute her elastic tummy!

And wait, this is what I found before I went for my convention. I managed to capture this little shot on Flinders Street.

Yeah, it’s not about all play in this trip. Need to do some work too!!

I was giggling when I picked up this book in my hands. The book says “We Need to Talk About Kevin“.

Hmm, which Kevin? My Kevin?

14 June 2009

Short Note: Once again, I have to deeply apologize to my avid readers for my long hiatus from blogging. I am struggling to seek ample time in producing a fruitful entry for myself and you. I guess work is eating off me lately.

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I love road trips.

Recently, I visited Bukit Melawati located in Kuala Selangor, which is about an hour drive away from the heart of the capital (KL).

It will be a perfect place for those who enjoy hiking up the hill and enjoy mother nature at the same time.

I suggest you do not visit this place after 10am, as the sunshine will be at its peak. Even the trees will not be enough to give you the shade or coolness.

There is also a “Muzium Permainan Tradisional” on the hill. A museum to portray the traditional games of Malaysians such as Congkak, Sepak Takraw and etc.

It takes about 10 minutes hike to reach this point whereby you can see the Straits of Malacca in a wide horizon.

But wait…

There are a lot of….

MONKEYS when you reach this point.  They even have stalls to sell “Food for Monkeys”.

Wherever you stand, you will see monkeys everywhere.

And they will be mischievous enough to steal my mum’s ice cream! Are they plain nasty or cute? Hmmm…

Some are brown in colour, some are in grey or black.

And I proudly present you the line up of monkey statues. Oh no, they are real. It just so happened they were ironically sitting there like statues!

lLook at this picture above, the tail must be really strong to sway from branch to branch!

This monkey’s face is classic. Somehow it reminded me of a child being confused about something. xD

I would like to conclude that Bukit Melawati is now a sanctuary for the monkeys apart from being a recreational place.

Just remember, if you are visiting this place after 10am, please bring your cap, shades and umbrella.

Somehow my mum was smart enough to bring a big shawl to cover up like the picture above! LOL!