To conclude the Vietnam series....

Vietnamese Flag Meaning:
The red base represents blood spilt during the country's fight for independence. The star represents Vietnam's unity and the points on the star represent the union of the workers, peasants, soldiers, intellectuals and young people working together in building socialism.

Vietnamese Flag History:
The Vietnamese flag was adopted on November 30, 1955, after gaining independence from French rule in 1954. The basic design of the Vietnamese flag originates from the 1940s and was used by liberation forces fighting for independence against Japan. When the Vietnamese flag was adopted in 1955, it was only used by the communist-led North Vietnam. The southern half of the nation was called the Republic of South Vietnam. The south collapsed in 1976 and the country was unified under the name the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Source : worldflags101.com

TWENTY-EIGHT-IN-ONE!!

Imagine squeezing 28 people + 1 potted plant in one minivan.... how is it possible???

ONLY IN VIETNAM!





Notice the driver (The one up front in pink) has got one squeezed on his left and another on his right.

What Malaysians do not know.... (as usual)

Malaysians are a sorry bunch. As long as their everyday lives are not being disrupted, they are more than willing to be led by their noses to wherever, and believe whatever is being fed to them, including Elvis being alive.

Check these two articles out :

Malaysiakini.com 1
Malaysiakini.com 2

The first article is titled "Government should profit from Low Fuel Prices" and highlights how our dear Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad commenting that :

1) The government can make a profit if local fuel prices remain at RM2 per litre and
global crude oil prices hover at around US$55 per barrel.

2) "We gave it (money) away in the form of subsidies when prices were high, so it's only fair that the government makes some money now when prices are low."

3) Petrol stations will not be able to profit from the current low prices as they get a fixed margin of 12 sen per litre.

4) The government had stopped paying petrol subsidies since Nov 1 when global crude oil prices dipped below US$65 per barrel.

5) "At the price today, which is at RM2 (per litre), there is no subsidy and we do not have to pay.


So not only am I paying exorbitant Taxes for my car, road tax, income tax... etc etc etc. Now I'm paying an extra "hidden" cash back to the Government in the form of gas prices!!

Now that Crude Oil prices has dropped below USD 50/barrel... my government is litterally SWIMMING in everyday profits reaped from poor Malaysians who continue to pump petrol at RM2/litre, oblivious to the facts above, and blissfully happy that the gas prices just dropped to RM2/litre only last week!!

There's nothing left to say except a big huge facepalm.


P/S - I do think that Elvis is ALIVE! =D

My favourite shot of the Vietnam/Thailand Trip

Many excellent shots this trip from the Grand Palace @ Thailand, Halong Bay @ Vietnam and even nice portraits... but the shot that stands out most for me after looking through all would be this :

The One that wasn't fast enough...

Original Article : Honk & Go!



I wonder who and what law protects motorists/cyclists who are knocked down in Vietnam.

The fatalities must be very high considering the break neck speeds at which the cars/trucks charge down the roads.

Vietnamese Portraits

Here's my attempt at Portrait Photography after shooting a great number of people in Vietnam :













And finally, a revisit of the above photo, but this time in Black & White :

My Official Statement on World of Warcraft : Wrath of the Lich King

"Nothing will get me to go back again"

"Everytime I think of WoW I remember the endless arena matches, partner shopping just to find that perfect person that would make your team own, stressing each week when you don't get enough games in, trying to get enough time in for raids..."

"I've come to conclude that a casual wow player doesn't exist and that one only misleads oneself by saying that"

Halong Bay Caves

And here's a set for the Halong Bay Caves that we got to visit :

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is an interesting place. We took a one-day trip there and back to Hanoi. It's interesting to see so many beautiful rock formations coming out from the sea... but the only bummer was that we went mid-day, under a hot hazy sky, which kinda sucked photography wise.

I played all day with my 50mm f1.8 lens and a fisheye. Here's what I got (As usualy, larger versions are in flickr.. you definitely have to view large for the Panoramas) :

Moody Shots

Here's something that I picked up along the trip. Trying some Black and Whites now to portray the mood of the shot so hopefully I succeeded some.

The first shot is titled "Heading Home Before the Storm", and the second "That Elusive Sale" meant to portray the signs of current times.







That being said I'm really confused on my lens requirements now. Travelling around on the D90 + 50mm has been loads of fun (not to mention supremely light). I can plant the camera anywhere, swing it round and round and it doesn't kill me at the end of the day. The 50mm really offers an interesting perspective on things. For wider angle shots, there's always stitch. ;p

Hmmmmmmm...........

Vietnamese Food

I like Vietnamese food... it looks plain but it's got great taste and flavour.







If I wasn't so tired from running around (not to mention from PPing photos till early in the morning) I'd eat a royal feast of Vietnamese food everyday.

Portrait PP

Had been wanting to try out portrait PP for a very long time now... finally got a chance when Zio sent me a guide some weeks ago which I only started reading a while back.

Here's the result :




Still much more to learn but overall I'm pleased with the shot before and after.

60mm f2.8 Testing

Had an opportunity to test out a 60mm f2.8 on Sunday...

Thailand Grand Palace

Went to the Grand Palace on Saturday and had some shots there... shot using 50mm f1.8 and Fisheye 10.5mm f2.8











More photos in my flickr.

NYARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

Before I start... let's get some history :

1) I wanna buy a new lens - Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8
2) Price in Malaysia is RM 5,200 (RRP RM 5,988)
3) Price I was hoping to buy in Thailand : THB 45,000 based on my believe that the lenses are cheaper in Thailand.
4) Assume RM 1 = THB 10.

I went to Panthip Plaza today and shopped around for lens... got quoted THB 57k (RM 5,700)... PASS!

I went to the second shop... got quoted THB 40k++... My eyes went as big as ping pong balls... a dozen thoughts went through my mind including : Is this a second hand lens? Did someone drop the lens on the floor and cracked some internal? Is this a brand new lens price? Did he get it wrong? Am I dreaming???

I said to the guy...

"Are you sure of the price?"
"Yes"
"Is this for a brand new lens? Are you really sure???"

He started to doubt, looked at the pricings again... looked up sheepishly and said... sorry... that was for the Canon 24-70. The Nikon one is actually THB 57k.

@#*($&%&%(!@!@)$*%^@#@@#(&!#

Okay... next shop!

"How much is the 24-70mm?"
"40k+"
"Okay... how much is the total if I buy it with the 80-400mm?"
"Lemme check... oh hang on a minute... I got it wrong... that was for the Canon... Nikon is actually THB57k."

@#)*$(@*$!#@!(#*!@#(*@!$(*!%)*!%)*!@$)(@!#!@#(

I SERIOUSLY HONESTLY NEED TO LEARN THE WORD "I'LL TAKE IT!!!!!!!" AND THROW MY CREDIT CARD AT THE GUY, GRAB THE LENS AND RUN!

It happened on the SAME DAY not ONCE but TWICE!!! And I still didn't take advantage of the situation!!!!

NYARRRRRGHGHGHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I'm gonna go ram my thick stubborn suspicious head against the wall now.

Yawn!!!

Stuck in the hotel room and not really in the mood to go out and play so... shooting random objects that I can find :

6 Months....

Man... what a bummer... made a major boo boo today.

My passport was slightly under 6 months remaining before its expiry. Little did I know that they enforced the 6 month ruling so strictly. They wouldn't let me on the damn plane!

I actually missed my 1:40 pm flight.

I rushed to Putrajaya Immigration Dept only to find that they do not to new passports there. I went like... wtf... such a huge and modern building in the middle of Malaysia's political capital and one can't even renew/make a new passport there? Totally gay.

In the end, I had to rush back to the Immigration Dept close to home, had my mom and wife assist me in booking my later flight and grabbing my important documentations required for a new passport... and with the great help of the Port Klang Immigration Dept peeps... managed to get a passport done in less than an hour.

I made my flight.

Had to purchase a brand new ticket for it though.

I wasted a whole afternoon of being able to go lens shopping.

Gah!

Malaysian Law = Fail

I got into an accident on Thursday.

What happened was my car came out of a busy junction with a yellow box slowly turning to the right... other cars had already stopped for me to go. Then there was this damn motorcycle driving on the middle of the double lined road speeding and just crashed into my car.

There was no way that I could spot him given the fact that he was breaking the law by speeding on a busy road close to the junction, and riding in the middle of the damn road on the double lines!

And no that idiot didn't die. He hurt his leg. His bike was fine. My car was not.

At that damn speed, I'm glad the car was sufficiently reinforced at the sides to cushion the impact. Else I might be with a broken arm, an injured leg and possibly some side injuries.

Both my car's right side doors don't open well now. In fact, the driver's side door doesn't open at all. It's jammed shut. Just to access the driver's seat I've gotta crawl from the left passenger side now.

To be honest my first thoughts after the accident was...

1) What the *@#&$
2) How the @#*$* am I gonna claim his @#(*&@#*! insurance to repair my car

Call me heartless but idiots who break the laws and cause accidents don't deserve any sympathy.






Now the first step to claiming his insurance is to make a police report... and that I did... and you know what, that's when once again, I found that Malaysian Law = Fail.

According to Mr. Policeman, REGARDLESS of circumstances, the guy who comes out of the junction is WRONG! The only thing they can charge the motorcyclist is for cutting on the double lines. The party at fault of the accident is ME!

W...T....F.....

That's just damn gay in every aspect of thought... you CAN'T predict the actions of those who break the law, and where the normal laws of the road don't apply to them! What's to stop them from driving on the opposite site of the road, not stopping at a red light, driving while drunk... etc?? And IF their actions of breaking the law cause an accident, shouldn't they be the guilty party???

So in the future if my front bumper is in need of repair... all I need to do is look out for peeps coming out of junctions... drive straight into them and claim their insurance to repair my car!! Afterall... ANYONE who comes out of the junction is WRONG!

Sheesh......

This country's very laws and judiciary systems are so flawed it isn't even funny.