Memory Lane

When we went up to Penang, one of my goals was to go to my grandfather's house in Balik Pulau and take some pictures. Driving to Balik Pulau wasn't so difficult, it was finding the place that proved to be a challenge! We did eventually find the house. There was no roads leading up to the house. In fact the track was so overgrown that we parked the car in the house before my grandfather's house. The house still look almost the same. It's not in the original state as a few years ago, the whole of the ground floor was

renovated. The kitchen is now completely different then from what I remembered it when I was younger. I can still remember my grandmother, cooking on a wood stove with the big kuali (wok) on stone slabs. This kitchen had no gas stove. The stove was made out of stone slab with holes in between. I remember my grandmother fanning the wood and feeding newspapers to the stove in order to start a fire. Those were the days. There were no showers in the house either nor were there modern toilets. The 'showers' consisted of a square stone filled with water that came from the mountain (this changed years later and piped water was supplied to the bathroom). How we bathed was with a bucket. I always had quick baths then as the water was pretty cold! There was no central heating. In fact there was no heating at all! So it was one to wet the body, soap and two more splashes to wash off the soap. Then it was out of the bathroom! The toilets was a squatting toilet with no flushes. My grandfather would clear the toilet every so often when the bucket was filled up. I never saw him do this dirty job nor did he ever complain. You see he was one person who said very little to me but I always remember him as a small man but strong. How did I go to the toilet? 5 second rule....in and out and holding my breath!

The hallway upstairs where we used to sleep

See that partition, behind it used to be a potty

Every night the whole family would gather and say the rosary. My mother's family consisted of 8 including her in the family so, it was a rather large gathering at the family area and altar. There was always a certain time we would say the prayers. After that, sometimes the younger ones will be sent off to let the adults talk, I remember my cousin and I running upstairs to peep down at the dining area to listen in to the conversation. The upstairs were all wood so it was easy to peer down. It was also this area that we used to lay mattresses on the wooden floors to sleep. There was a huge hall upstairs and there were three rooms partitioned by wooden boards. The rooms were either my uncles and one was my grandparents.

Grandparent's room

The upstairs had no toilets so if anyone who woke up in the middle of the night and had to go, there was a potty just behind the partition of the wall. We couldn't go downstairs to the toilet as granny had locked the grill downstairs. It was for security reasons that the kitchen was locked up. The main door had a huge wooden  plank that goes across the door at the end of the night. A plank is not the right description, it needed 2 people to lift the wood to put it across the door. Besides, it was so dark downstairs, I was too frightened to go down!  You see, when the lights go off, it was pitch black! There were no street lights outside, so there were no lights to filter into the house. I couldn't turn on the lights for fear of waking up the cousins, uncles, grandfather, etc. So there was only a torch light to find our way in order to use the potty. It was a potty made out of metal too.
Chinese New year was one of the noisiest year in the house. Everyone of the relatives would go back and the red packets would be given to the children.Then the real fun would begin. The gambling. Ahh the noise of winning, losing and the memory of my uncle always winning the games and collecting the most money!

that was so long ago. It's been years since I've been back or the family gathering in the house. Since my grandfather past on and years later my grandmother, I stopped going back to Balik Pulau. Slowly, the gatherings stopped, the house has become quiet and only my third uncle stays there taking care of the estate. He calls himself the lone ranger. It is rather melancholic where once this house held so many laughters to being a quiet and lonely house. Now it holds the memories of my childhood where I was laughed and played. The trip to the house was a trip of nostalgia. Where I went with my mother and my siblings to celebrate Christmas and Chinese New Year. The last trip with my mother was for my Grandfather's funeral. I remember seeing him lying in the coffin. I was 12 years old. They said that the roses on his tomb stone lasted a week in the hot sun. I didn't wilt nor die immediately. I miss those times, I miss my grandfather even though I was never close to him. Perhaps I miss the gatherings the most. I could go on and on but it will take too long to write. 

One of the rooms

Penang

Last weekend, we took a drive up to Penang for a few days. There was my husband, my sister in law, my brother in law, their 9 months old baby and myself. I brought my camera so that I can take some photos while in Penang. The first night we stayed in Flamingo By the Beach in Tanjung Bungah. Anyone who does read my blog, heed this warning, do not go and stay there. We found their service a unhelpful, they messed up the booking and their breakfast buffet...inedible! So the next day, we checked out and checked into Golden Sands Resorts in Batu Feringhi in Penang. It was so much nicer. Here's a view from the room.

It proved to be a excellent decision to move. The surroundings were so much nicer, there were a lot more things that we could do. The pools were definitely a hundred times better. There was even a slide for the kids and a baby /toddler pool for the younger ones. The beach was just a walk away where you can just go in for a dip or just walk along the beach. The only thing is, the beach does not belong to the resort. It is a public beach and there are vendors that are trying to sell you on parasailing, jet skiing and other water sports. These operators are not insured and if you do decide to take up on their offer, be advised that if you get injured, you will not be insured for it.

This is a picture of our room with a king size bed. There was a flat screen tv in the room with satelite tv. Free wifi internet access and a safe in the room. The bathroom was equipped with two sinks (his and hers), a long bath with shower attached to it. It was a pretty nice hotel. The only thing that spoilt out stay was our next door neighbour who was smoking on the balcony which meant we couldn't sit outside our balcony nor could we open our balcony door as the smoke would fly into the room! This was a non-smoking floor and room which meant no smoking anywhere! We called reception to complain but it kept happening. The neighbour resorted to smoking in the room which resulted in our room smelling of smoke because the smoke filtered through the air conditioning vents!! We had to sleep in a room smelling of smoke through no fault of our own. Two complains were made, still nothing happened! We were told that the guests have been informed. While I understand that they were in a difficult position, they should have just moved them to another smoking room instead of having guests like us suffer through the smell! It spoiled our enjoyment in terms of the stay in the rooms.

However, even though our rooms could not be fully enjoyed, we fully enjoyed the facilities they had there. There was a 9 hole golf course, an adventure land for the slightly older children, a spa which was located at Rasa Sayang Hotel which was just a short walk away, the swimming pools and the beach. They do have various water sports that is organized by the hotel.

We just spend most of our time by the pool. My sister in law's new 9 month old baby girl had her first dip in the pool. This picture is a very relax baby after a few mins in the pool. She loved playing with the water.

She was so fascinate by the water and was playing and laughing while in the water.

Our last day, she experienced the beach and the sand. Look at her face as she inspects the sand. Such innocence and such curiousity. We had lots of fun! Then it was time to drive back to KL...sigh next time we shall stay in Penang Golden Sands Resort longer.

English Cocker Spaniel

A few days ago, I had an opportunity to photograph a friend's English Cocker Spaniel. It proved to be very interesting shoot indeed. I had my backdrop set up, props in place..now only one thing remains, to place the dog on in front of the white backdrop. It proved to be quite a challenge as all he wanted to do was to play and run around the garden but as you can see, he did finally decide to pose (with a little help from the owner) against a white backdrop. 

He just didn't  care and all he wanted to do was to play with the ball. So, I gave up on the backdrop and started taking photos around the garden. That made it a little easier to take the shots although not too easy. 

Eventually, after running after the ball, he decided to strike a pose. Lucky me.

Getting him to smell the flower involves two people. One to photograph, one to entice. And he needed lots of enticement! 

A great shot of him, resting after a long day. It was a very hot day for all of us.

He was such a great dog, nothing could distract him from squirrels from the garden. Not even a stuff toy on his back!

It was a good day. Yes it was hot, and it was especially hot for the Spaniel. He kept running back into the house and having lots of water. However, he kept returning to the garden, looking for squirrels. The shoot proved to be successful and thank you my friend for allowing me to take photos of your little one. 

These are only some of the shots I took on that day. There was a total of 111 shots. I can't possibly put in 111 shots in my blog. So I hope you enjoy looking at the shots as I enjoyed taking them. As a final photo, here he's smelling the flower. :) Finally. Till my next photo shoot, have a good day everyone!

2nd World Belly Dance Day

It was the 8th October 2011, it's the 2nd Tribal Belly Dance day organized by Aiza and Zoe. It was the day that all bellydancers were looking forward to. After weeks of practise, they get to show off their movements and choreography. The beginning, the MC introduced Zoe and Aiza on stage and a small welcome speech was made by Zoe as Aiza had lost her voice due to perhaps too much stress. Followed by a demonstration by Aiza on tribal bellydance and a narration of it.

Then a fun began for all performers. There were, definitely tribal bellydance, flamenco fusion bellydance by Sherlyn Koh, bollywood fusion bellydance by Sirroco Dance, the cane dance and the combination of sword and veil dance.

Here students from belly dance schools took the opportunity to perform their dances. After weeks of practise, hours in the dance studio floor, this was the chance to show off their belly shaking moves and of course their costumes. Colours that ranged from white, black, red, green filled the room and allowed the audience to feast on the colours and moves of the dancers.

There the cane dance performed by Sirroco Secrets Dance school. They showed their skills on handling the cane while dancing. It takes skill to swing those canes.

The Bollywood Fusion bellydance was an interesting mixture of bollywood dance and bellydance. The costumes were colourful, the dance vibrant and the crowd loved it!

There were children that dance and thrill the audience! Ah such a refreshing change.

Eager to show off her skills in undulation or stomach rolls.

Then there was flamenco fusion..where a mixture of flamenco dance and bellydance performed by Sherlyn Koh, the director of Sirroco Secrets Dance. The fluidity of the dance, the music, was just breathtaking to watch.

She is barely 10..I think she's only around 9 years old and such skills for a 9 year old.

Everyone had fun that day. The audience enjoyed it, the dancers enjoyed performing and I think a little relief that the day was finally over. Now they can take a rest until the next rehersals for the next performance!

Be kind

Being kind to yourself does not mean doing things for others. Nor does it mean you become a 'yes' person. In this cruel world, there are many who will take advantage of your kind heart. You know the saying, give them an inch they want a yard! Or something like that. I have a big heart. I am giving and often find myself in situations that I find upsetting. I am kind and generous to others but there comes a point when I need to take a step back and reflect. If I do all this, what becomes of me? If I follow what others want, I will eventually loose myself. The conclusion I came to was, I wasn't being kind to me.

Be kind to yourself,
Be gentle with yourself,
Praise yourself and give a gentle pat to yourself,
Love yourself,
Those that are not meant to stay in your life will disappear,
Do not regret for those who do not stay
The ones that remain are the ones you should treasure,
The lessons you learn whether good or bad, are blessings
Accept them, welcome them,
And you'll be surprise what comes into your life.

Spanish National Day @La Bodega, Bangsar KL

Aiza the fire breather!

It was wednesday 6 pm and I was invited by Aiza to take photographs for the day. Zoe's and Aiza's act "Playing with fire". Now that peak my interest. So, off I went to La bodega in Telawi Bangsar to see what this fire breathing event was. I found out it was the Spanish National Day. There was one or two games booth set up outside of La Bodega. The dining tables and chairs were put outside on the side lane so that patrons can sit and order, a selection of drinks and I think there was a buffet. 

I sought out Aiza and Zoe who was  preparing above La Bodega @ Ozmosis. It was an interesting night and a challenge to take photos on the day. The photos I took on the day was without flash. I increased my ISO to the highest because with no flash, I had no choice. 

My sister

It will be almost a year next month since my sister's passing. I wonder which is worse, to lose someone suddenly or to watch someone fighting for their life and losing the battle. I have been through both in my lifetime. My mother who passed away suddenly when I was in the UK 11 years ago and my sister who fought for her life last year. What I miss the most about my mother was how I will miss the time we spent together, regrets for not being with her more often..but since then, I don't view my mother in sadness anymore or self-pity, I think about my mother and I'm thankful for all the wonderful years I had with her. I'm glad she went so quickly without any pain.

This blog is about my sister. Lately I've been thinking a lot about her. Maybe it is because her one year anniversary is coming up. When she found out her cancer had come back, she fought. We had all hope that she would overcome this disease again but alas, it wasn't to be. For 2 years she struggle. It had come back in her lungs, then spread to her brain and spine. So at first she was losing balance walking, so she bought a walker for balance, then it came to a point that she couldn't walk anymore. She had to be wheelchair bound. It was at this point, her weight started to drop. By the time she became bed bound because she couldn't move her legs anymore (the cancer had hit her spinal cord), she was nothing more then skin and bones. All this while watching her waste away, feeling so helpless as nothing could be done. My once talkative sister, who was always opinionated struggled to even talk. As her health deteriorated, she became weaker until one day she started coughing up blood, not any blood, blood clots. Her kidneys was failing and her body was shutting down. She couldn't move in bed so she had to be turned to her sides every so often. She developed bed sores, the holes were so big you could put your fist in it and even see her bone. Every time spent with her was a blessing but I knew the day would come when I had to say goodbye. She knew that too. But I still hoped somehow that a miracle would happen and that she'll get up from bed and say 'I'm cured!'.

To lose some that way, to watch her waste away, my only sister leaves a mark. It makes me appreciate what I have, who I am. So whenever I hear someone say they are fat, it leaves me a little frustrated and upset because I remember how much my sister struggle to gain her weight back but her cancer kept winning. It is worse to watch someone die slowly because the memories stay on. However on saying that, the lesson learned is a precious one.

Live Life To the Fullest. Appreciate what you have, be happy with who you are physically and if you're not, do something about it. After all, we do not know what tomorrow will bring or if there is a tomorrow.

My sister and I on her 40th birthday

On her 42nd and last birthday

Experimenting with props

Yesterday in my moment of enthusiasm, I went to ikea and bought a whole bunch of things. Things I could use for a photograph session with pets. The most important was to acquire some throws of various colours to create a backdrop. Today I went to buy a backdrop stand, however, the shop was out of stock so I had to think of a different way in which to create my backdrop. It somewhat was a success although taking photographs of the dogs, and they were my pets proved to be a little bit challenging but rewarding. Here are some of the shots I took.

QISMAT

Belly Dancing for El Malik

BAGHDAD!

Yesterday I went to the Temple of Fine Arts to support my friend's new play called Qismat! It was an amazing play and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning til the end. The variety of expressions portrayed in the actors and actresses faces, the multifaceted roles they had to take on, and being able to turn on and off as needed. Truly these are very gifted and talented kids and young adults. The lighting proved to be very difficult in terms of taking photographs but it wasn't impossible. These were the few shots taken from that night.