Guy with the Nikon

Lady in red

2007-12-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

'Twas a beautiful Friday morning. Busy day at the Tamu in Kianggeh. I was there with my Nikon practicing my photo-taking. Trying to shoot something interesting. Then this beauty came up. Yessir!! Certainly interesting. Certainly stand out from the other customers. Lady in Red!! Nice. Seemed akward. Like she doesnt belong there. Maybe accompanying her dear older sister or friend.

The Tamu is an interesting place. Survived after all these years. Even in the days of the mega supermarkets, and the corner indian shops, people still go to the tamu for that extra something that you can only get there. Nice. I once said here that people dont go visit the tamu much nowadays. I was wrong. People still do. Interesting people. Old people. Young people. Weird people. Funny people. People like this beauty in red. I like.

The unique thing about the tamu... is that its a place for Bruneians and locals to sell their produce. Their own hard work. Grown from their own little farms or backyard fields. For that alone its worth maintaining. A place for locals to sell their produce. Their marketplace.

fire

2007-12-07T01:12:00.000-08:00

Had a picnic the other week. Built a nice fire and had a barbecue. This is the fire. Looks really hot. Kids built the fire...eh with adult supervision la. I took a pic of the fire..turns out nice. Never seen fire like that. I take fire for granted. I know its red. And maybe blue. And i know its hot!

Then we had a barbecue. We went fishing, using a pukat or whatever that is called. Caught lots of prawns instead. Menyalai eh!!!

Best lah. Sedap. I wanted to say that the kids loved it, but i have to say we adlts loved it more. haha. The family loves doing this...picnics over the weekends. Tungku mostly. Its beautiful there. But nowadays we have to check the tide times. Eversince they did the earthworks in Tungku, the road is mostly inaccessible by car and 4wd. Only big trucks can pass through. Eh susah eh. We have to drive along the actual beach nowadays. Not possible if you dont have 4wd. The sand can be so soft.

hot

2007-12-05T01:35:00.000-08:00

Its so nice and hot on Sunday. I see lots of people out fishing. I wish i know how to fish. No patience. I'd get bored after five minutes.

Hensem kawan tani diatas ani eh. Pandai jaga diri bah. Sudahpun pakai topi, pakai payong lagi tuh. Bleh tahan eh. Mesti takut hitam ni kawan tani ani. Jaga diri. Heh.

The weather is kinda all over the place nowadays. The last few days its been raining. Just when you thought the weathers going to be nice, it pours. Happens all the time after you wash your car. Or hang your clothes to dry.

Well done to Anakbrunei for winning the Bloggies. I voted for you man!! My vote won it for you!! hahaha. As if!

cuties

2007-12-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Took this pic at one of the beaches on last Sunday. Lots of people having their picnic. Its nice. These group of kids were having their picture taken. So cute. Waiting patiently for the photographer to take their picture. I curi-curi lah with my 400mm lens way from the back. Couldnt resist. They were so nice and still. Yang kat hujung tu hensem ler..

Baju the mother tu tepaksa di 'censor' sikit. Tenaik bah.

I normally dont take pictures of people i dont know. Macam intruding bah. A bit like paparazzi...gambar curi. Mesti ada permission baru buleh show. Mana lah tau...kang salah tayang..gambar sulit!! Susah jua. Cuba tengok gambar bawah ni...

The couple in the foreground would be in trouble if they are not married lah. So if they bukan laki bini, they be in trouble and i am a troublemaker. Jadi paparazzi lah tu. Ha. Kalo mau jadi famous, jadi lah ku tu.

So kena lah be kepul sikit. Supaya tiada yang teraniaya.

little things

2007-11-29T23:51:00.000-08:00

These signify welcome or good luck or something. Hang these in your house and say welcome to visitors. Or they give these to you when you arrive, sort of like a garland around your neck. My photo s in black n whote but these thingies are quite colourful.

Its quite interesting during these little visits. You learn so much. Whereever you are in asia, especially East Asia, we more or less share the same things. Food (with slight variations), clothinng, traditions etc.

I found we all use 'tekiding' or slight variations of them for carrying rice. Its all so interesting.

Im trying to organise a trip to Vietnam soon. Take a slow train ride from the North to the south.

traditional dance

2007-11-28T01:03:00.000-08:00

Traditional dance in Guangzhou. or Guangxi or something like that. Looks familiar huh? I think most countries have this as their traditional dance. I remember seeing that when i visited the Philippines and also in Thailand. I kinda remembered Indonesia having something like this. SO what does that mean..?

I guess maybe once upon a time a long long time ago, we all came from the same race or group. Then somehow or other we all got scattered all over Asia and a group of us found ourselves here on this island on Borneo. We certainly came from somewhere. We surely didnt grow fom here. So our cultures all intertwine. Our traditional costumes, especially our 'orang aslis' look familiar to each other. etc etc etc.

See the costumes? A bit like the ones they have in Thailand, laos, Myanmar, Vietnam etc etc.

cityscape

2007-11-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

Still pics from my trip to China.

This is what i imagined it would be like.

This is what greeted me when i arrived!!

China is fast turning into a very modern nation. Very modern!! Skyscrapers popping up everywhere. Everywhere. Its amazing there. Within a few short years, the country is transformed into an ultramodern country. With many many modern cities filled with towering skyscrapers. I imagined within a decade, you wont see much of the old china within the city walls.

I went to a city to te south-western part of China. Far away from the West. Far away from Beijing. And alas, far away from the Great Wall.

old woman

2007-11-25T22:44:00.000-08:00

This old woman sells oranges. This is in China, at one of the tourist sites there. She hangs around waiting for tourists and sells them oranges. She sells them cheap. So cheap. And tourists with lots of spare change dont mind giving her some. She looks so old and many pity her.

We tend to not see this much in Brunei. But increasingly we are getting older folks venturing out as small scale hawkers and sellers. Extra income. Good on them for making the effort.

Tea

2007-11-20T01:13:00.000-08:00

Tea. Chinese tea. Quite nice once you get used to it. This one time we were served green tea. Chinese green tea. A staple in china. Tastes funny but good. Different from the Japanese green tea. That taste really fishy. haha. Really..have you tried japanese green tea? Ugh!

I'm a coffee drinker. Would choose coffee over tea. Well, except when its teh tarik ("kurang manis please"). But when you're in China, and they serve Tea everywhere, you dont have much of a choice. They do serve coffee but it tastes blah!! So stick to their tea. Its quite nice once you get used to it. You have to get used to it because they serve it everywhere!! They dont drink water...just tea.

And on plastic cups. Hot tea on plastic cups. Is that ok?

flowers

2007-11-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

I like taking pics of flowers. So bright and colourful. So i give u..more flower pics!!!

These are some new flowers in me mums garden. Was hoping to get a good pic of a bee or something just to make the pic interesting. But waiting for loooong minutes and still nadaiii. Mabe bees are not attracted to orchids. No pollen maybe. I dont know. I dont like gardening.

I have lots of friends who garden nowadays. Keeping flowers at home and tinkering with them and little pots during the weekends. I have friends who jump over the border to Limbang just to buy flower pots there...they have many kinds and its cheaper. I guess its much cheaper there. Doesnt much help our local sellers but customers are king! People dont have much money nowadays so everything depends on price. And since Limbang is just a half hour away...

Speaking of Limbang....... mmmmmmm

Junk

2007-11-16T05:14:00.000-08:00

The things people keep in their back yard!!! I know in Brunei people tend to keep their things even tho cannot use anymore. Donno for what lah. Maybe in the hope it will be useful again someday? At home me mum keeps still her old refrigerator and washing machine. Now its all rusted up and is home to insects.

This house keeps their old cars!! Not in the picture is an old Mercedes saloon that probably had a major accident by the look of it. Why still keep? WHy not junk it? Maybe can earn some money from it. Honestly..some people.

Why do we still keep things we dont need? Worse, we keep things that dont work anymore. Why? Funny lah some people...

wine girl

2007-11-14T01:35:00.000-08:00

This girl stands at the entrance of a temple. Thats wine in those little cups. For good luck. The idea is you drink from the cups before you enter the temple grounds. And you give 'alms' or some money as a gift for the temple. The wine is homemade..made withn the temple grounds itself. Supposedly its sweet. I wouldnt know lah.

Took this pic from my last trip overseas. I've been lugging my heavy Nikon with me everywhere i go nowadays. Pictures for remembrance. Its a great hobby!!!

The photographer

2007-11-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

This guy was busy taking photographs the other day. He looks so ... uh...cool? I dont know. What do you think? I thought he looked funny.. a bit of a showoff with his probably new Canon SLR. Oh and he was taking photos of a group of us.. including some hot looking women in our group. Probably that set him off in this pose. hahaha.

Its funny sometimes when we see photographers doing their stuff. We focus on angles and getting a good picture. Sometimes that means we having to crouch, lie down, sit, squat, stand on chairs and whatever it takes to take that killer shot. When we are so immersed in our shots, we are invisible. We dont realise and we are not aware of the people around us. Nor do we care that we might look akward and funny. Sometimes we look downright silly. Thats us most ofthe time.

But then again, most times you see people who take camera shots 'decently', meaning they stand upright and proper. These people are showoffs..hahaha. I like to think so. The shots dont matter as long as they dont look silly taking the shots. In the end, they get decent enough shots that could have been better had they crouched lower or stood on a ledge or something.

Something to think about.

Corn

2007-11-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

Drove down to KB the other day. Along the way, somewhere near the junction to Labi saw street vendors selling corn. Lots and lots of lovely corn. From Labi they said. So we stopped and bought some. And took pics. hahaha. Biasa ler..sign of a crazy photog is when they start taking pics of just about anything they see.. And if you see my pics, i am a crazy photog.

Its amazing that we grow corn in Brunei but the growers can only manage to sell them at roadside stalls. And its not expensive. Do we have anyone who process corn into say, canned something or whatever? Is there a big producer of canned corn or something in Brunei??

Anyway, the trip to Belait was okay lah. Took an hour to reach KB. Would have been faster if the highway is complete all the way from BSB to KB. Just a 10 mile or so stretch thats still the original 'kampung road'.

nuts and bolts

2007-11-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Nuts!!! I wonder why they're called nuts? Inda jua macam kacang usulnya.

I saw this very neat pile of old nuts and bolts (and everything else) piled up neat the office. Someone must be doing renovations.

hmmm

2007-10-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

A blue whatever-that-is. I saw this and wondered what the heck it is? And why is it blue? Water pipe?

The Yellow Model

2007-10-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

A yellow flower. Dont know whats its called but it called me to take its pic. "Take me. Take me". So i did. It posed and swayed like a model and i cant help but take such a beautiful pic of it.

I love taking pics of flowers. Me momma has green fingers.

My take..

2007-10-23T02:01:00.000-07:00

Hari Raya is over for me. Its back to work. Dull boring work. I enjoyed Raya so much that i often forgot to take pictures. Aiya!! Raya should have lots of Raya pictures la.

This is another take on the SOAS mosque in the capital. I pass by the mosque every day and i have to tell you that it is really a beautiful Mosque. Inside the mosque is so grand. But tak berani lah to bring my big ole Nikon inside. Kang kana teriaki oleh Pak Haji yang kaja disana atu. Hahaha. One day...

orange

2007-10-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

Shopping after a week of Raya. The supermarket is starting to pick up again after being quiet for a while. Its not so bad here. We more or less get what we want, though those who have been to the hypermarkets overseas would be disappointed by the choices we have in our local ones.

Love those orange crates. So bright. I wonder what they had in them before. Bread?

Gameboy raya

2007-10-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

I like this pic. A certain friend of mine came over for Raya (u can probably recognise him from the pic). I like his son..everyone was busy eating or raya-ing, but he is oblivious to all that. He continues playing his gameboy.

Selamat Hari Raya

2007-10-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Aidilfitri. Hari Bahgia. Hari yang mulia...

LIke the song says, Aidilfitri is a time of joy and happiness. Three things come to mind when you talk Aidilfitri... Food, family and green packets!!!! Kalo tambah lagi, then bleh masuk Badil, baju baru, kanak-kanak and soto!!!!!

Selamat Hari Raya pada semua. Semoga bahagia.

butterfly

2007-10-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

I saw this little butterfly along the hedge near home. Fluttering about looking for ..er...what is it that butterflies look for?? I have no idea. But it looked busy..hovering and fluttering. The other day i saw a lizard (one of those scary ones) hiding at the same place, near that same bright flower. Hunting maybe?

To all visitors to this blog..yes thats you.. only a handful of you.. thank you for visiting and i wish you a very merry Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

the old bridge

2007-10-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

This is the old bridge built alongside the Edinburgh Bridge in the capital. You almost couldnt see it from the new bridge but its there. Its old and its crumbling but its still there. I wonder why its not just demolished. Its kindsa dangerous leaving it like that.

The cemetery was just next door. Lots of people going to the cemetery these last few days of Ramadhan.

pigeons

2007-10-02T01:51:00.001-07:00

Have anyone realised that there are a lot of pigeons in Brunei?? Kalau di kumpul tu, macam di Trafalgar Square. Maybe more because i read somewhere that Trafalgar Square is losing its pigeons. Maybe they're in Brunei?!!? That'd be cool... them pigeons flying all the way from the UK and landing in Brunei. And then becoming Brunei permanent residents because its so cool here. hahahaha.

These pigeons were captured in Muara..serasa. Hundreds of them but i caught just these two. Well, caught pakai camera lah. Bukan di tangkap..atu ngaleh tu.

btw..can we eat pigeons? what do they taste like..chicken?

skyline

2007-09-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

You know what stands out in the Brunei skyline?? Those flats in OngSumPing!!! Lovely buildings but i dont understand why it doesnt house people. WHy use them as office buildings? They are not designed for office use!!!

I cloned the little boat to get it more in the picture.. hahaha.

kopi

2007-09-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

This woman served us coffee the other day. (Well before puasa lah!!) She was quick, moving here and there efficiently pouring coffee and serving us and others. I used a slow shutter speed and got this.

I love coffee. Dont u just love coffee? Whoever first thought of mixing crushed coffee beans and hot water should be given a medal. Several medals. All the medals in the world!!! I LOVE COFFEE!!!!

speed boats

2007-09-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

I love to see those little speed boats plying up and down. They look fast. I'm not a Kg Ayer person so i dont really know much but my experience as a landlubber on those speed boats have been exhilirating so far. So much fun!! But then i hae been using the boats as recreation and an experience and not as a mode of transport. Imagine having to go up and down them things several times a day. Fine on a hot sunny day but on a rainy stormy day???? Inda siok kali ah!!

Went to the tambing area last weekend..hoping to see some activity. Quiet lah puasa month ani...

food

2007-09-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

Puasa time. Tamu time. Food time. Why do we think so much about food during Ramadhan?

I love these ikan bakar. Get the right sambal and sauce, and ...ish... inda nampak telinga bohhh. See what i mean? always thinking about food. by 3 pm eeryday, sudah think pasal sungkai. Pasal gerai ramadhan. Pasal dim sum di Dynasty atu

Museum

2007-09-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Museum Brunei. Went there last Sunday. Its open everyday except Mondays.

Havent been there for a while and i must say that the place is good. Interesting exhibits. Good for visitors and kids. However, my friend with me has been there earlier this year and she said that it hasnt changed. Everythns the same.

One thing i dont like about the place is that its showin its age. Everything is falling apart. And the lights dont work. The museum staff had to use the overhead flourescent lights, which sorta kills the atmosphere. Its much worse at the Malay Technology Museum. That place need some serious makeover man!!!! Serious makeover. The exhibits are the same ones as when i was a kid, which was a very very long time ago, but its still interesting. What needs the makeover is the building itself and its facilities. Lights! Nada. And it smells musty and damp. Really Museum people, do some work! Malu lah membawa visitirs there.

Ooohh..i saw this model of a 16th (??) century mosque in Brunei Town at the Museum. Its looks so grand. Much better than our designs nowadays.

bananas

2007-09-19T00:51:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes????

"Research has proved that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose - combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. And....bananas can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions making it a must to add to your daily diet." (taken off the internet...somewhere)

I wonder if its the same for our teeny-tiny bananas?

Took this photo in Supasave. hahaha. I love bananas. Nice and filling. Do you know that Supasave put out New bananas every wednesday? True. Maybe their supply comes every wednesdays. So if you feel like a banana, the bigger sized ones laa, head over to SUpasave. (And no i do not have a share in Supasave.). If you prefer the smaller asian-sized bananas, eh di pasar pun banyak. And di gerai siring jalan ah..

Oh..and another benefit to bananas, hide one in your trousers and women might just smile at you that much brighter.

Ramadhan

2007-09-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the year....

Selamat menyambut puasa Ramadhan..

Gerai Ramadhan

2007-09-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

Ramadhan. Time for fasting. Time for savouring the breaking of the fast. I have never thought about food as much as i have this past week. What to eat during sungkai?? Soto vs Burger? What about nasi lemak? mmmm...that rojak looks so nice. What about kuih? Nyaman jua makan bingka susu atu. hey i want a burger!!!! Oooo....tungking! (Yucks!!) Anything and everything. Macam macam ada!!!

Those Gerai Ramadhans are doing good business so far. Traffic jams heading to the Stadium Gerai site as well as the Pasar Gerai site. And over there, wow. I love the crowd. Food in their eyes!!!! Meleleh aing liur ganya inda. hahaha.

We live in a beautiful place. I pity those who dont appreciate what we have.

Bahtera

2007-09-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

I went walkies in Bandar the other day. Not much crowd over the weekend in Bandar. Maybe its the Puasa month. people staying at home becos everyones hungry. haha. I went to that statue of HM's 60th anniversary at the Tambing...and stood there wondering. Is that going to be something that people would associate with Brunei? Singapore has its Merlion, Malaysia has its Tugu and Brunei has...that?? And its significance is only last year. This year, it means nothing. Why cant someone think of something better to display. What about a potrait of HM in stone? That would be something worth taking pictures with.

The other 'statue' we have thats soooo much better is the Bahtera smack in the middle of the lagoon. That is beautiful!!! And it looks so good taken from any angle.

Water Village

2007-09-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I love this scene. So peaceful. So calm. Romantic kampong air scene. Taken in Batu Marang.

Its really a beautiful place. A nice community. Anyone who hasnt been there should go at least once. Go in the late afternoon, when its nice and calm. You'll see children playing, men fishing, old men sitting around talking, old women sitting at doorways gossiping, and everything you expect a typical water village scene to be.

At least when i was there..

grass..?

2007-09-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, just to break the monotony, this is a pic of grass. ..or some kind of flower that grows in the grass patch in the back garden.
Dont ask me..i dont know what it is. Its just something we trample on. Not something we admire for its beauty. But its red. So it stands out.

Puasa is coming soon. So my fellow photogs are already ready to shoot the tamu scene. Me..well maybe and maybe not. Work is keeping me soooo occupied.

fish bait

2007-09-09T03:21:00.000-07:00

Lots of black n white shots huh? I like BW shots. Lend an old style feel to the pics. Besides, the colours didnt come out right in the original pic. I played with this shot with PS to make it look more hard and gritty..

This was taken at the tambing a few weeks ago. At dusk. Sun was setting. Colour turned out bland. Anyway, if you go to the tambing, u'll see many of these fishermen fishing, quite a few using their 'rambat' or those little fishing nets. Do u know what they are fishing for? Fish bait, or more precisely little prawns that they use for (real) fishing at sea. Heheheh. We used to use worms when we were small, but i guess nowadays fish are more clever...they eat better. So the more serious fishermen would first come to the tambing and 'net' their bait. Or kalau malas, just come over and buy these bait from these men. Clever.

the old ferry crossing

2007-09-08T01:20:00.000-07:00

have been away from my camera for a bit. Been busy. missed my camera. My partner pun also sudah nda tau kemana. But i will pick up again soon. Maybe bulan puasa ani.

This pic was taken a couple of months back on an outing with a few friends. Took a set of pictures and forgot about them. This was taken at the old ferry crossing point in KB. Used to be bustling and busy but not anymore. No more ferries but this little boat still plies the trade..carrying passengers across the river. Kereta tidak muat lah. The Kampong across pun still alive and its people still need to cross the river.

The singer

2007-08-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

A pic from my archive. n my fooling around with photoshop.

Xtreme Challenge Tower

2007-08-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was in Jerudong yesterday for the Xtreme Adventure Challenge at JP Playground. Awesome man! The place rocks!! Everyone was all excited, adrenaline packed and so pumped up. And at the end, we were sooo exhausted but oh so satisfying. See this tower...dont look so high from the pic, but its three storeys high and the view from up there...its high!!! believe me! Scary when you're getting up there but the way down...the feeling is fantastic!!

Saw anakbrunei there doing his pics. I didnt bring my Nikon but i have my tiny 2MP cameraphone. Pictures are not as dramatic but its ok.

If you're interested in the Adventure Race, see their website at bruneiadventurerace.wordpress.com.

pillars

2007-08-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Have anyoen notice thae we in Brunei love pillars? I see lots of houses with huge pillars purely for cosmetic reasons...colonial influence lah. Maklum, kitani dulu kan tanah orang putih. But do you know that those pillars are expensive? Beribu kali ah sebiji. Rumah bukan jua mansion sangat. Lain lah kalau rumah tu macam White House.

Anyway, i saw these beautiful pillars on a hotel recently. beautiful...

Flying home

2007-08-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken from the plane!!! On my HOME to beautiful Brunei. Huh, tiring jua di KL atu...hectic lah. Maklum, ada program. The plane ride home was smooth. Its a new plane! And i was sitting in front! Nice. I have a window seat so my cam was pointed outwards!

Ganya kedapatan tia naik Airasia atu. hehehehe

tower

2007-08-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is a view from my room in KL. I like the tower.. its working round the clock, all hours of the day.

This was taken close to midnight. You can see them still working.

shoes

2007-08-20T00:58:00.000-07:00

More shoes!!

Boots

2007-08-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

Do anybody really still wear these???

Msian grand sale lah

2007-08-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Two more shots of my trip to KL.

The first..Malaysian grand sale! Theres shopping shopping shopping to be had. Its great. Almost as great as the SIngapore grand sale. Hey i said almost! Almost, but not quite. I wasnt there for shopping so i didnt get much.

This second shot is taken at this shopping arcade that has the Sphinx as the theme. Like in Egypt. Huh! That sphinx-thingy is everywhere. Heres one.,...

That guy seemed oblivious to it though. Cubatah ia bangun and gigit backside nya atu! Mun inda tekazut!!!

Outdoors KL

2007-08-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

Pictures of KL again. The first is of an amazing cafe cum ice-cream parlor with the most incredible ambience. Really its amazing. The night was cool and the lighting was so surreal. But of course, being KL, it was full of Arab tourists, the women either in the full arab dress with the face-covering-veil thingy, or they were in revealing dresses and mini skirts. Amazing! These women are gorgeous!

And the other pic, is the other great thing about KL. Durians!!!!!

We went to this market where they have tons and tons of durians. Wow. Makan tepi jalan lah babe!! Mesti try punya.

look closely...you can almost touch and taste them...

KL stopover

2007-08-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

I popped over to KL over the weekend. Just a real quickie visit.

Two things stuck with me when i think of KL nowadays...the traffic and Arab tourists! hahaha, Traffic was so bad there when i visited. Lots of cars and motorcycles. So many! Was in bukit Bintang and in the evenings, u cant help but notice traffic everywhere. Cars and cycles are parked along every small road. Sampai naik kerb babe!! And the tourists? Well, its like living in an arab country like Dubai.. Arabs everywhere except the service people, who are asians. hahaha. Its summer hols there i guess...

home..

2007-08-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

Me home. Sad place nowadays...

I love it there. Nice and comfy. But its become such a lonely place..

Lada

2007-08-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Aahhhh..its been a while. A whole weekend without blogs and photos. Thats all i can stand. I miss my camera!!!!!

No new photos, but this was one i took last week. Me dads farm again...he grows chillies..chili padi lah. Banyaaakkkk sekali. Puas makan lada rindu ni.

Me granny

2007-08-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Shes close to ninety years old. But shes still strong. Not as sharp as she used to be. A little forgetful. A little restless, as her body has slowed down somewhat. Used to be a dynamo. Now a bit slower. But still lively and smiley. STill strong.

My grandmother. May she live long and happy.

isnt that cute??

2007-07-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

I took this pic last December. In Thailand. I saw something similar to this today here in Brunei, but i didnt take my camera. Hah!

Isn't that dangerous? I mean really, what if a car knocked against them or something, ilang lawa tu eh. Awu, inda lagi. Sana sini lagi durang buat camani. I saw in Miri recently 4 people on one tiny motorbike...The father, the mother, a little girl no more than 5 years old, and a little tiny baby. Sakit hati ku meliatnya. What if... I dont want to even think about it!!!

Playground

2007-07-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of a lonely tree atop the Water Log ride at Jerudong Park Playground. Come September, the water log ride, the last of the big rides at the playground will be no more. It will be dismantled and shipped off to its new owners somewhere. Lucky them, unlucky us.

Was at the playground today. Sad to see that one half of the playground is no more. Sold. Whats left is ...well...nothing yet. Lots of plans but we'll see if it jadi.

The Go Kart track is open to the public starting today tho!!!! $2 per ride. SHould be fun. Be prepared for some smelly helmets tho. hahaha

Thorns

2007-07-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Its the weekend!!!!!!! Time to sleep and do nothing. Time to not think about work. Time to see whats happening at the movies. Time for coffeebean!!!!

Eh temeng eh. Tapi pasang gambar bunga. haha. I saw this beautiful setup somewhere and i thought wow..kalau di tolak kawan ku si ***** tu kesana atu, nyaman tu eh. hahaha. Sure sakit punya. Tewas ia belabih.

I wonder whats happening this weekend?

waterfront

2007-07-26T04:15:00.000-07:00

Back to the ole Black n White.

This was taken in KK..along the waterfront. I was talking to a friend yesterday about KK..about us making a trip there again one of these days. KK is busy and bustling now. They have a clean waterfront which they made into a centre of attraction. We need to do something about ours. Theres got to be a better plan than to just leave it as a parking lot!

fishing net

2007-07-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

At Tungku beach on Sunday, we went fishing. Come on, what else is there to do but fish, play ball on the sand and cook. Us macho-type guys (perasan jua lah) have to go fishing lah. Caught quite a lot of little fishies and a few crabs. Not a good day for fishing apparently because of the weather. Maybe fish hate rain. Macam kambing jua. Takut basah...(inda masuk akal)

I tried out two effects using my CS3 in these two photographs. I'm not quite sure which i prefer as its a matter of preference. Mata sorang-sorang lah. Kalau mata bular, sorry lah. Inda main tu. But i'm still looking for that one look that i really want to master. So i'll keep trying.

At the beach...again

2007-07-24T02:01:00.000-07:00

Went to the beach again on Sunday. brought my Nikon along and took lotsa pics. Just after sundown, the rains came. By the time the heavy rains came, we were safe on the highway.

I'm trying out my CS3, to get a particular effect that i like. I saw a few photogs are trying them and i thought why not. Lots of work. Lots of layers. I'm happy with it, but i'm still learning. Give it a bit more time.

my mower

2007-07-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

My trusty mower. Super turbo powered transformer-capable mowing machine. hahaha. Able to cut grass in a single minute. Faster than a speeding Suzuki Ignis. Able to save me lots and lots of money from not having to pay those uber-hardworking indian natonals with their portable grass-cutting machines.

And..the best part is, its green! I mean the paint on the baby is green laa...

Tamu 2

2007-07-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

I was wrong. The tamu is still buzzing. But not like it was before, years ago. It looks better nowadays tho.

SO i took some pics...from afar. Still not comfortable taking a bigass camera and pointing it at peoples faces...curi curi saja. People turn their faces when they see a camera pointed at them, or they curse. EIther way, u dont get good pictures.

I'm trying to get this picture effect that i like so much. I still havent quite got it right. But will keep trying.

terraces

2007-07-21T04:22:00.000-07:00

I love the look of this place

Tamu Kianggeh

2007-07-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many people actually bother to go to the Tamu in Kianggeh anymore?

I remember when i was little the Tamu was buzzing on Friday mornings. Just buzzing and full of activity. Nowadays with all night supermarkets and lots of corner shops selling everything from vgetables to the kitchen sink, the activity at the tamu isnt so hectic. Its still busy but less so. Pity.

Mr cobbler

2007-07-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

I had to put this picture up. I took it in Miri. Yeah,...i'm a regular.

This guy is an honest-to-goodness old fashioned cobbler. er...he fixes shoes. He sits there on the sidewalk, six days a week, waiting for customers to drop off shoes for him to fix. And he does. Fixes them beautifully. I sat nearby watching him, and his customers keep coming by. Some sat next to him as he does a quick fix on their shoes, on the spot. Others drop plastic bags full of shoes for him to fix.

In Brunei, i can think of only two places that do this..fix shoes. One in Berakas (rah ji Diamond..hehe..nda tau ada lagi ka) n the other rah kadai si Luis (nya orang jua tu lah). I have tried neither. But i have loads of shoes that need fixing. maybe one of these days...

The mosque

2007-07-18T01:21:00.000-07:00

I love taking pictures in black in white. Somehow creates a mood that is so calm and beautiful.

I went to the SOAS mosque a couple of Fridays ago for Friday prayers. I noticed that more than half of the congregation don't wear the Baju Melayu anymore. Such a pity. Back in the old days, we used to take the time to dress up for friday prayers, with our sinjang and our baju melayu. Friday prayers is special. But then i guess nowadays its more practical to wear your normal clothes to the mosque. Convenient and practical. Straight from work. As long as its clean.

I did however see one person wear an old Liverpool jersey with the beer logo on it...hmmmm

Happy time

2007-07-17T04:42:00.000-07:00

His Majesty's birthday. Celebration time. Town centre decked out in those colourful banners, all bright and cheery. I like the mood. Evenings are fun and busy, with the bazaar areas full of people. Nice.

Satu saja...how come after the celebrations are over, the banners and those advertising on the roads stay??

Camping

2007-07-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

Went camping at Tungku beach. Nice and peaceful there. Lawa ani bah.

Not many people know of the beautiful beaches at Tungku. Yang tau pun probably cant reach the best parts because they are so out of the way. Mesti pakai 4WD lerrr. The best part is...nada orang. You practically have the whole beach to yourself. Nice.

fishing hut

2007-07-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

I went to Serasa a couple of weeks ago. Took this photo. Looks pretty good.

Although it gives the place some character, i wonder why this fishing hut was allowed to be built in such a public place. Its really an eyesore. And the fish by the end of the day gives the place a distinct smell. hahaha. And i think the huts have grown now...

I like it though. Give it some effects and the picture turned out good.

night tamu 2

2007-07-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

Another pic of the night pasar. I love it there.

Havent been to the one in Bandar yet.

night market

2007-07-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

I love the night tamu in Gadong. So lively and so interesting and so much food! And the variety!!! Why you can have all kinds of permutations of the nasi katok over there.

It really is an interesting place. And interesting food. I love to go there for the special burgers, with egg wrapped over the beef and lots of lovely fresh vegetables! McDonalds can't hold a candle to that special beef burger! And of course theres the nasi campur, and keropok Lekor, and nasi ayams and so on and so on and so on.

have a visit. have a nasi katok.

Coffee bean

2007-07-12T01:46:00.000-07:00

I love coffee. I think i hang out too much at the coffeebean.

And I like our coffeeculture here. Sure we dont have starbucks or many of the big name hangouts you see overseas, but what we have is pretty cool. I like to see our people just hangin out at the spots, singles and in groups, with their laptops or just with friends.

Fingerprints

2007-07-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Took my little ones and their cousins to the playground..left them for a bit in the car, and when i came back, this happened!

WHy do little kids find it amusing to leave their fingerprints everywhere? They find it even more interesting to throw keropok udang bits and the packets onto the floor. Ooohh, and of course those beautiful red from the tomato sauce onto the car upholstery. Yep thats definitely the winner.

A friend's daughter once dropped her milk onto the floor of the daddy's car and forgot to tell daddy. Until two days later when daddy started smelling something sour from the back seat. Hahahaha. Cost him $600 to get it cleaned and nice-smelling. Apparently the milk spilled and pooled under the carpet. Ugh.

The swan and the tortoise

2007-07-09T02:31:00.000-07:00

Took this picture while visiting a garden in Singapore some time ago. Looks cute. My kids love animals. But can you tell which one is the statue?

Yeah, the tortoise can't be a rock, otherwise it'd sink and sink and sink deeper than the Titanic. But that goose / swan thingie is. Can't tell huh? You wear glasses? Oh only for putting over your head? What good does that do? Makes you look good? Oh ok. So thats what those glasses over peoples head are for. I thought only bald people do that because they dont have hair.

Dark flower

2007-07-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is how i feel today...totally dark. And evil. I feel i just wana hurt someone..

That was earlier today. A quick shower and after that i felt better. Isnt life great?

Goths?

2007-07-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

Our version of modern day goths?? Not sure where fashion is heading nowadays. Gothic and dark seems to be common nowadays, i guess similar to Heay metal and punks was familiar back in the old days..

SOmething haunting and attractive about them though.

Musketeers

2007-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Musketeers...

cute ler..

Trolley

2007-07-04T04:45:00.000-07:00

Taken in Serasa over the weekend. Siuk sana atu eh. Liar mata meliat... as a photographer and as a man. hahaha

My challenge is to photograph something ordinary that we dont normally give a second look to, and try make it interesting. Did i succeed?

Bandar

2007-07-03T03:40:00.000-07:00

A pic i took from the window of a buddy's office. The view wasnt clear because it was hot and kinda hazy. But the place yang stand out when you take a pic of BSB is...... inda saspen tu beb. semua orang tau jawapannya masjid SOAS tu.

I dont remember when was the last time i actually just jalan-jalan in BSB. Really. Eh macam bukan orang Brunei. Sana sini pakai mentuka. Omputeh ganya yang jalan-jalan ani, sama pilipin and indon. Warga dari negri semacam atu pun sudah makai BMW ni ku liat. EH i need to walk around BSB man. Dangki ku meliat orang siuk bejalan atu..

Thorns

2007-07-02T03:48:00.000-07:00

I'm playing with my pshop CS today. Experimenting and playing with colours. A lot of good pictures are as a result of manipulation in photoshop nowadays. I would say 60 / 40 with 60% camera and 40% manipulation. Would anybody agree? Digital camera images are kinda dull without manipulation.

This is a picture of this weird and wonderful flower in me mums garden. The flower part has been chopped off, or fell off or something. Its gone. But the stem still grows. Its covered wholly in these long sharp thorns. The flower must be sweet to need so much protection..

Hide and seek

2007-07-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Went with the old man to his garden plot the other day. Up the hill to get a better view. Saw the place where they hid the wheelbarrow. cute eh.

Banyak pencuri bah. You put something in the open and esok esok ada tia sianu bin si anu menyurung wheelbarrow atu pakainya shopping di Millimewah. Peace.

Sunset

2007-06-30T01:44:00.000-07:00

So many blogger friends put up pics of sunsets so i thought i'd put my 2 cents worth.

Nowadays, a good shot seems to be one which is all gloom and full of 'dark ambience'. What happened to cheery photos?

morning dew

2007-06-29T05:28:00.000-07:00

I woke up at an ungodly hour today. Well, 5am is too early for me..especially after a very late night lastnight. But a beautiful crisp morning greeted me, so it was good in the end.

I am glad we still have fresh clean air in this country.

Crowd

2007-06-28T00:18:00.000-07:00

Trying to capture the busy-ness of the crowd. busy busy busy. Wish Brunei is this busy. The only time tani ani sibuk camani is when ada cheap sale atau berabut kan membali tiket bula. Atu behimpit tia. Mun inda...dui...

Eh, au, jua kalo kan meliat konsert Dangdut. hehehe.

This other picture was taken at the same place, Orchard Road Singapore, during the Carnival earlier this year. Love the way they light up the place.

Ganya luan tinggi Yao Ming atu..ikut jua tia begambar...kacau.

Statue on the beach

2007-06-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Like a little skinny statue on the beach. Somebody had a sense of humour...see the little teddy kana gantung sana atu.

U find all kinds of funny things on the beach. selalunya sampah lah. Ani pun sekajap lagi jadi sampah lah...

One dollar shop

2007-06-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

Took my Nikon to the One dollar shop the other day. well, smuggled actually. The sales girl didnt know whether to stop me or not.

I like these shops. So many useless little things you dont need, for sale. I came out with a bundle of stuff that only little kids would want. Great.

river

2007-06-25T03:27:00.000-07:00

Its amazing you know when u have nothing to talk about but u just present a picture to show something weird but amazing. I have none of the above, but just a picture of a ships' moorings submerged in a river. Its old. Not used anymore, but its still there.

Little melon

2007-06-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

From me dad's garden. Hes getting to be a regular lil farmer. Who coulda thought.

He has this little plot of land out in the wilderness somewhere and he grows these little melons and bananas and all kinds of things. But u gotta have the time lah...

old pier

2007-06-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

Some old tires made to good use...

13

2007-06-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

The number 13. Some people consider it an unlucky number.

I went to a building in Singapore a few years back and theres no 13th floor and no 4th floor. Just skipped the numbers. Funny.

Kayu

2007-06-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm glad Brunei is joining the Green Heart of Borneo initiative. Good for us. Ganya aku ani suka rumah kayu. So how? Wood is just so natural that to live in a rumah kayu just feels right. Especially in the tropics. Its cooling lah.

Saw these the other day. Di aMiriKa. Di Jalanraya. I wonder if they are taken dari hutan asli, atau hutan tanam..???

The Sun

2007-06-21T01:15:00.000-07:00

Yesssss the sun is back!!!!! We can start running again and off to the golf course without getting all muddy and wet. Eh rindu ku eh matahari atu eh. My kreta also missed getting a wash. Its all dirty after two weeks being all dirty and unwashed.

I was going thru my pictures and i saw these. Taken on a very hot day! Kasian eh those boys and girls. Glad nobody pengsan. If dulu-dulu, OK lah keep children in the hot sun, but kids nowadays, with aircon everywhere, sikit sun pun sudah susah hey. We need to toughen up our kids. Give us National Service!! Just make sure it applies for those under 25 please.

btw how come the teacher can wear a hat huh??

emotions

2007-06-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

I saw three different sets of emotions the other day shown in quite different ways..

Lets see, we have a proud dad...
and a sad little girl...
and..anger? what happened to these chairs??

Pantai pic

2007-06-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Nothing today. I just wanna be there!!!!!

a smoke

2007-06-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Stuck in a long traffic jam the other day , so like all good little photogs, took out me Nikon and started snapping. Actually i saw this car in front of us with the passenger's hand sticking out holding a ciggie. Don't u just hate that??

I used to smoke but stop sudah. Indada menguntungkan tu besigup atu. Sadar ku udah. Its not so much that it kills you, but more the way it kills you. Lung cancer is painful babe. I have seen a friend dying of lung cancer and i got scared, the way he tried to breathe, damn, it scares me.

If u smoke, try to stop.

why do men have nipples?

2007-06-17T01:12:00.000-07:00

The description on the cover says "Hundreds of questions you'd only ask a doctor after your third martini". The book is full of answers to silly questions like 'does eating chocolate cause acne?', and 'is sperm nutricious? or fattening?' (hahaha), or 'can u drink your own urine?' (yuck!), or 'can u catch diseases from a toilet seat?', and of course the age old question 'do men need sex more often than women?'.

The scientifically proven answers to the questions above are 1. NO, acne is connected more to changing hormones than to food choices, 2. The average ejaculate contain about two to three hundred million sperm. Total calories: about five. So despite its important load, sperm is not particularly nutricious nor fattening, (hmmm...) 3. The Chinese Association of Urine Theraphy (seriously!) says urine is sterile, antiseptic and nontoxic. For serious Yoga practitioners, drinking one's urine is called amorali (er..Danura..?). Its 95% water anyway, with the rest being 2.5%Urea and 2.5%salt and other minerals. But the point is, why the heck would you want to drink your own urine??? 4. Yes you can, BUT its not that common. (phew!). However...WORK may be worse than the toilet seat. A study in Arizona found that the typical office desk harbors around 400 times more disease-causing bacteria than the average toilet seat!! (Obviously, they havent seen our public toilets in Brunei! Huh!). 5. Do we really need to answer this question??? As if we dont know the answer already!!! hahahaha.

btw. Why do men have nipples? Its because boys and girls start the same at the embryo stage. Its only after six weeks that girls nipples were put to use. Men are left with nipples that do nothing. oh, and men can get breast cancer!

Orchids

2007-06-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

Today i proudly presents me momma's orchids. Well done mum. They're beautiful. I couldnt grow them as well or as delicately as you. Green fingers lady, thats u.

I didnt realise growing orchids can be so tough. I see me mum grow them flowers for so long now and now i understand why. They're booootiful. Kalau kan kawin beguna tu..

Birthday

2007-06-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

Happee Birthday babyyyy. Like they say, a year older, a year wiser. So please act like your age sayang. 13 is old you know! And no, 13 year olds do not date!!!

Band and a bandit

2007-06-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

I love schoolbands. Nice uniforms, free instruments to play, standing in the hot sun, unappreciated. Huh. But that did not deter this boy. Full of concentration lerrr.. Must be hard playing that instrument thingy. I dont even know whats it called. In fact, i think i couldnt even hear the sound he makes from all the bing bang poot poot of the drums and trumpets. Took this pic masa St Andrews school sports meet a few weeks ago.

And... then i saw this teacher wearing a hankie ala some lost bandit from some low-budget cowboy movie. Takut panas babe..hehehe

Wear a hat lady!!! The suns not gona kill you!

Bandar

2007-06-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Gue jalan2 di bandar on Sunday. Wah...sooo many Indonesians and filipinos wah. Especially around the bus station. Ooossshhh, if i didnt know better, i would think i was in the Hayam Wuruk (or is it ayam buruk?) section of Jakarta! Ya lah, after the procession, everybody turun ke bandar lah. No dangdut today tho. Would've been nice to see them enjoying themselves with some dangdut. (i like dangdut. Especially the dance. hehehe).

Even around the Yayasan area, so many huh. I like it. So interesting jadinya the area. Kalau bawa kamera, sakit leher katik sana katik sini.

Brunei ani multicultural jua. I love living here. Siapa inda suka, agatah pigi Landan atu!

Love those pants

2007-06-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

Dont you just luurrvvveee those pants.

She has got to be one brave woman to be wearing those..

a farm

2007-06-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

I love this pic. Saw the worker walking among the plot, just ze hat bobbing up and down and up and down. I was curious about the strings but reasoned it out as something for the sayur to twine along. huh! What do i know. I ain't no farmer. The most I've done recently was cut grass. That's cut, not grow!

Once a long time ago, one of my Malay teachers was angry at us noisy students that he told each of us off. Pakai ruler ma! Whack! (It was acceptable punishment back then). He also said if we make noise again, he will make us jump off the tallest pokok taugeh!!! heeeee... hey what do i know then?! I thought taugeh grew on trees . hahaha.

This was taken somewhere in Brunei. Not sure where. I think i was lost then.

brown veggies?

2007-06-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

I love vegetables. Good for you. but there must be something wrong with these. Aren't they supposed to be green?

This pic i took while travelling. Suddenly saw this little farm, a bit run down and took them. Maybe the owners changed their mind about farming. Maybe too many ambuks. Maybe the weather not good. Dono lah. Farming ani is not easy. Needs lots of dedication.

The tambing..

2007-06-11T02:42:00.000-07:00

The waterfront, at dusk. All quiet and calm, only a few yards from the hustle and bustle and colorful lights of the city centre.