Ko Samui

We took a short trip to Ko Samui in late November. It was my first visit there and I was expecting that it would be not too different from Phuket, Krabi our Hua Hin. It turned out to be quite different. I think it is one of the nicer resorts I have been to in Thailand. Definitely worth a re-visit.

We flew SilkAir and I must say it beats all budget carriers (rightly so) and even full service airlines hands down. Although it was a short flight, the inflight entertainment is impressive. I had my iPad and was able to stream movies directly to my device. The picture and audio quality was great too. Frankly, it is better than what full service airlines with entertainment systems offer. I guess nothing beats a retina display :p Some passengers were watching the movies through their smart phones.

Audio and Video streamed to my iPad

When we arrived, we were greeted by a quaint and rustic airport. I love the thatched roofs and the resort feel about it. There were no aerobridges and we were transported to the arrival hall in a tram car, it reminded me of Disneyland.

Are we in Disneyland? Love the tram cars

We stayed at the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort. It is a very nice resort located by the beach and at the same time, literally across the road from "action". I understand that Chaweng offers the best beaches in Ko Samui. The sand is fine and the gradient is very gradual. The resort had two decent sized swimming pools. The reception counter was charming and the rooms were very nice.

Beautiful swimming pools - 2 of them :)

Reception counter looks like a throne

Our abode for 3 nights

Feeding frenzy at koi pond

The hotel sits right smack in the middle of the action in Ko Samui. There are shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, a boxing ring, cabaret shows (including Tiffany Shows), massage places, pharmacies, etc. Incidentally, medication is much cheaper in Thailand compared to Singapore.

Shop and eat till you drop

One lobster, please.

There are many stray dogs in Ko Samui. I met a few of my "best friends" at the beach and also at a fresh market. Some were overly friendly.

He came over and posed for me :)

Playful fella

We visited a fresh market and the sights were awesome. I could have stayed there all day taking photographs.

This scene reminds me of a time gone by

Soaking in the atmosphere

They pass the packages of vegetables like they are playing volleyball

Pak Cik grating coconuts

Thai desserts, anyone?

The seafood was great and inexpensive. Typically, you pick your fresh seafood and they cook it according to your preference. The presentation is great.

Check out the presentation

Pick your indulgence

Oh, we also had our required portion of vegetables

Barbeque by the beach

The beach was very nice. Managed to take a couple of interesting photographs.

Roasted corn

Boats are home for the day

Lonely out there

A storm's brewing

He is reading a book !

The trip would not be complete without photographs of the sunrise. These were some of the better shots.

Our first sunrise at Ko Samui

The boats complete the sunrise 

Saw this coconut and made it a part of the scene :)

Sunrise - Day 2

Love that red sun

As with all good things, they come to an end and soon, it was time to return home. I arrived in Ko Samui expecting it to be like Phuket but was pleasantly surprised. It was much better. It is interesting to note that there were quite a number of service staff who come from Myanmar and Philippines. I did not expect this as I felt that the Thais are extremely service oriented. Looks like they too have their fair share of foreign workers :)

This is one destination I wouldn't mind going back to. I hope it does not get too commercialised over time.

'Tis The Season To Be Jolly !

As the Christmas season draws near, Orchard Road is alight with the usual festivities and light show. The last time I photograph the lights at Orchard Road was ....err....I do not remember.

This year, I decided to take a closer look and armed with my trusty camera, I headed to Orchard Road to check out the lightings. I decided to check out the area around Scoots Road and Orchard Road since this is the heart of Orchard Road.

I started exploring the area in front of Wheelock Place and Shaw House. I was greeted by giant hanging ornaments.

Holy hanging stars and balls, Batman!

As I crossed over to Scotts Road, I saw the rooftop of Takashimaya stand out among the street decoration. The street lamp added that warm glow to the photo.

More ornaments.....check out the rooftop of Takashimaya

I headed across towards Ion Orchard and saw this "gateway". It looked rather majestic, as if it were beckoning a welcome to the heart of Orchard Road.

The gateway to shopping paradise

As I emerged from the underpass to the street level, I was greeted by this sign. It looked awesome ! Great job, ORBA (Orchard Road Business Association) !

Is that awesome or what?

Walking along Orchard Road, I caught more than a glimpse of the "blue" Orchard Road. Looks cool!

Why can't Orchard Road stay this colourful all year round?

Tangs is a home-grown department store founded by Mr Tang Choon Keng (CK Tang). I was told that his first store at Orchard Road used to close on Sundays so that his employees could attend church. I love the message they are sharing this Christmas - "Love each other as I have loved you."

Inspired by the gospel of John

As I sauntered along Orchard Road, I bumped into some colourful characters.

What a colourful bunch

Is that today's papers?

They seem right at home amid the festivities

I headed back towards Paterson Road and chanced upon this couple seated in front of the lighted signage. There was something magical about the spirit of Christmas. It is a time of giving and being thankful for the blessings in our lives.

Christmas Magic

As I was heading off, I took a photo of the Christmas tree at Ion Orchard topped with a red star. There seems to be another star to the left off the tree. It reminded me of the Star of Bethlehem and how this all started.

Star of Bethlehem?

Merry Christmas, everyone. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas !

A New Toy

After a period of resistance, I succumbed to a new toy. A wonderful work of art which blends old world manual focus with new world digital photography. Those in the know will know the camera I am referring to. It is too expensive for me to afford brand new. To further defray the cost, I traded in my old camera and an old lens for this pre-owned (aka second-hand) camera. Buying stuff second hand is always a risk. That's why I only buy it from this one camera store at Peninsula Shopping Centre. I bought my previous camera (also second hand) from him too.

Armed with my new toy, I headed out into the night to take some photos. It was a dark and stormy night and as the rain fell, I found a shelter across the road from this temple along Telok Ayer Street.

The reflection from the wet floor, which gave this temple a special glow

Close-up shot of the dragons on the roof

When the rain subsided, I headed to the Marina Bay area and got a shot of Marina Bay Sands. I also dug up an old photo I took some months earlier with the camera I traded in. Frankly, it is difficult to compare which is better because I did some processing to the images.

Taken with "New Toy"

Taken with the camera I traded in (aka old camera)

Regardless, I am very pleased with my purchase. In case you are wondering what the big deal is, the new toy has a full frame sensor while the old camera had a crop factor of 1.5. Again, for those in the know, you know what I bought. Hahaha.

Sunset

Sunrise at Punggol

I love sunrises and sunsets. Maybe it is the anticipation of not knowing what to expect. For a photographer hoping to capture a sunrise or sunset, there is about a 5 minute window between darkness and the sun rising or when the sun sets beyond the horizon. 

You never really know what to expect. Some days, you are greeted with a wonderful hue which splashes the sky with hues of orange and red. It almost feels like the sky is speaking to you through a painting in the sky. On other days, the sun rises or sets uneventfully like someone turned on or turned off the lights.

Last weekend, I took my trusty range finder camera to Upper Peirce Reservoir to capture the sunset. It seemed like an uneventful sunset which was going to go out with a whimper. The photograph below says it all.

Not a bad reflection

As I was about to lament my wasted effort, the sky seemed to have heard my thoughts and injected a tinge of red hue which tickled my fancy.

That's better !

Before long, the red hue turned into a spotlight and casted an orange tint on a patch of adjacent clouds.

As red as Rudolf's nose?

This drama lasted barely a couple of minutes and before long, it was "lights out".

As I was taking the photographs, I took a couple of shots with my iPhone and the results amazed me. See it for yourself. 

Taken with my iPhone 5

My trusty range finder camera

The photograph taken with my iPhone 5 is crispier and appears to have more depth. There is a reason for this. I had the HDR (High Dynamic Range) option turned on. HDR is particularly helpful when  the photograph has a broad range of lighting exposures. From what I understand, the camera captures several images at different aperture settings. It selects portions of the photograph which is correctly exposed and combines the results into one photograph. This gives the photograph great depth. To see samples of HDR photos, just type "HDR Photo" in google and check out the awesome images. If overdone, the photos look "overcooked" but if done well, the photos look almost 3D. I am not a big fan of HDR as I am a purist. I don't even like filters. Admittedly, I do tweak my photographs slightly with a photo editing software, akin to "light make-up".

 

OCBC Cycle 2014

A medal for the effort

I have participated in a few OCBC Cycle events and must say that it is a novel way to provide a new experience for novice cyclists like me.
This year was especially special because I had a new wheel-set and wanted to see how good it was. In summary it was awesome! The wheel-set, I mean. In case you want to have a closer look, here you go :)

Awesome !

The OCBC Cycle event was typical of cycling events. We arrived at the F1 Pit Building at about 5:40 am and made our way to the start point. There was a sea of people.

"People Mountain, People Sea"

I met this guy who built his own bicycle! He was very proud of it, and rightly so. He kept us entertained while we were waiting for the event to flag off.

Handbuilt bike

For a novice cyclist who has a fear of high speeds, it was a challenging and fun ride. My top speed was about 45 km/h.....and I got really scared. This is my personal land speed record. My son, who also participated in the event touched 60km/h. I heard through the grapevine that some hardcore cyclists approached 80km/h ! You could get a ticket for going at that speed in some parts of this little red dot.
There were also some interesting sights along the way. On the final stretch, the ride took us up Benjamin Sheares Bridge (it was more fun riding downhill).

Pardon the railing in the foreground

Struggling up the bridge :)

On a more sombre note, it was unfortunate that there was one fatality. I am sure the organisers will take measures to make the next event a safer one for all. I am of course assuming that there will be another event in 2015. Godspeed.