travel / landscapes

Bali – Day Two: recce

I still can’t figure out why I couldn’t sleep last night. After completing my “cloning” activities, I went on to have supper at the hotel restaurant at about 2am. I knew I was in trouble when I went to bed at 4am. 830Am was the time I told the Polos, the driver to wait for me at the lobby. I woke at at 910am. Eh, not too bad.

We planned our itinerary over breakfast and very soon, we were out of the hotel and heading for potential spots for the Pre-Wedding shoot next week. The hour long rides seem to be over quickly as we were engrossed in our conversations, exchanging information about our countries.

This is the season for creamation in Bali. From what I understand, it is a ceremony to cremate the departed. Some temples were filled with people as they took part in the ceremony. Bodies or remains (dug from graves) are placed in decorated “coffins” and cremated in temples. The ashes are then scattered to both the sea and the mountains.

Here are some images from my trip tday.

The notorious primates of Uluwatu. Always hunting for loose accesories from tourists.

Famous temple on the cliff at Uluwatu.

Water painting: Swirls formed by crashing waves at Tanah Lot.

People leaving the temple after the cremation ceremony.

The icons that are supposed to carry the bodies or remains for the cremation ceremony.

One of the most viewed sunsets in Bali at Tanah Lot.

The Oasis Boutique Beach Resort where I am putting up. I was looking at this view while writing this post:D Did you see the devil wielding his axe in the clouds?

So much for a long day, at least the recce was done and plans are drafted. Looking forward for the dives tomorrow. I know it will be good:)

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posted by wansheng on September 5th 2009 in bali, images, personal, travel / landscapes, voices

Bali – day one: making of the clones

It’s been a day of many last minutes. Last minute hotel booking, packing, buying stuff to bring for the trip, drive to the airport, last minute check-in (forgot which terminal… and made a wrong guess), etc. Somehow, I managed to squeeze in some calmness despite all that seemingly rushed errands. I’ve been feeling a little calmer than usual lately. Everything around me seems slow. I think, it’s a sign of ageing (I prefer to think of it as some kind of enlightenment).

As I boarded the plane, I was greeted by some very eye pleasing stewardesses:D This has got to be the best set of cabin crew I’ve seen for a long time. A very distracting flight indeed. If not for my small eyes, they’d have caught me staring. Haha! For once, I forgot to order a special meal… the food taste crappy.

After clearing the immigration, two porters saw me looking for my luggages at the carousel and carried them for me without me asking. Out of the airport, they asked for tips. I gave them 2 sg dollars for that really short distance, but he asked for more. Honestly, I didn’t like that. I don’t remember having these porters around the last time round.

On my ride to the hotel, I saw the prettiest night clouds. The moon was so bright and it lit up the edges of the clouds. Like a subtle silver lining, against a bluish grey backdrop. So capitvated by it, I stuck my head out of the window to get a better view. I hope, I’ll be in for a treat for my senses in the next few days.

I checked into The Oasis Boutique Beach Resort at Benoa. It’s on the eastern tip of Nusa Dua. It looks really pretty, especially the pool. The room is basic and clean. The beach looks pretty, with an uncluttered view of the horizon. Here’s what I did at the beach… cloning little fat-barrels:P

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posted by wansheng on September 4th 2009 in bali, images, personal, portraits, travel / landscapes, voices

hongkong 2009

Hongkong, as I see it. A small collection of the images I took during the trip.

click image to go to slideshow

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posted by wansheng on August 4th 2009 in images, slideshows, travel / landscapes, voices

lines and curves

Man made. Everything is planned. Nothing is random, unlike the clouds.

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posted by wansheng on July 31st 2009 in images, travel / landscapes, voices

trainsporting

I wish I had chosen a better poster:P Oh oh… and thank god there’s no STOMPERS around to catch me in my sloppy attire:D

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posted by wansheng on July 30th 2009 in images, portraits, travel / landscapes, voices

Same difference

almost.

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posted by wansheng on July 30th 2009 in abstracts, images, travel / landscapes

Back from Hongkong

Just landed in Singapore a few hours ago. It’s like back to earth again. Hongkong, like most will say, is all about eating and shopping. I’m not the shopping type, so I took a few extra kilograms back. I took a pretty long trip this time round just to relax. Ok, I’ll stop here for the night. Need some good rest before the shoot tomorrow. Here’s a picture of Hongkong from The Peak, probably the most shot scene in Hongkong.

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posted by wansheng on July 28th 2009 in images, travel / landscapes, voices

sunshine after the typhoon

My friends said I brought the typhoon to Hongkong. Some said I must be really lucky, came here to witness a no.9 (level) typhoon. And I must agree that I am really lucky to have the front row seats to experience mother nature’s fury. Here’s the view right beside my bed. I call it the 300 inch LCD TV with dolby surround sound system (i can hear the whistling wind and pounding raindrops). The cityscape in Hongkong is pretty amazing. Because of the low cloud base, the city lights gets reflected off the clouds making the city even brighter even after the sun goes down. At about 8pm everyday, I’ll get to watch the fireworks display off Disneyland, which is somewhere near the mouth of the harbour in the picture.

I’m enjoying myself so far. Met some really nice people and had some really good food here. I checked out Causeway Bay on Sunday and it was packed with people. The part that surprises me most is the number of philipinos and indonesians ladies there. It’s like Lucky Plaza in Singapore, just on a larger scale. Apparently, there’s a huge community of foreign maids in Hongkong. That’s something that I didn’t know. Their off days are on Sundays, so they often hang out at Central or Causeway Bay. I can’t help but wonder, how would it be like if they film Young and Dangerous at Causeway Bay on a Sunday. Sir, you want buy parang?

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posted by wansheng on July 21st 2009 in images, travel / landscapes, voices