Magic Masala

a great merry christmas to all!! (a few days late) perhaps?? how's your plan for the new year countdown?? :)

we'll be heading on to the pretty lake city of udaipur tonight (our final "new" destination before we start on our return leg) and enid (travelmate) and i are definitely going to have beer (indian national beer kingfisher??), my favourite indian dessert gulab jamun (brown sweet glutinous ball soaked in sugar... yummy.. :)), ice cream (if we can find any), maybe tandoori chicken (luxury dish), my fav palak paneer for dinner, hopefully at a nice restaurant overlooking the lake to celebrate the near completion of our great Indian adventure!

stuff we managed to do since the last time i blogged:

- visited the sacred rat temple (managed to get enid to go in though she practically freaked out at the entrance... she even started counting the number of rats to see if there were too many and panicked when she lost count.. strange girl..)

- camel safari to the desert (we saw three camels in the distance.. suspected there were either terrorists or the three wise men.. sat with an excitable Indian family and watched the stars while enjoying beer and curry and gulab jamuns.)

- saw sand dunes ala Sahara desert.. nice.. :)... took back 1 litre of sand.. durrh... hahaha..

- visited two very beautiful cities (Jaisalmer and Jodhpur) with their cobbled streets, quaint shops, and pesky children.

- shopped shopped shopped

that's all for now..

Desert Land Story

It turns out that Indians in India are every bit as kiasu as Singaporeans.. or maybe even more so..

we took this full-day tour of the pink city of Jaipur today, which covered all of these ten touristy attractions (something which i usually hate to do...) somehow, package travel to me feels a lot like i'm being herded around like cattle.. grr.. give me independent travel anytime!.. . anyway, have to admit it saved us a mighty lot of time and gave us a certain amount of immunity against touts, cheats and indian ah bengs for a day.. haha... anyway, managed to see the amazing Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) in the old city of Jaipur - it's this flat pink building with more than 900 windows! pretty cool..

anyway, we realised that the day tour was filled 90% by these rich Indians from other parts of India, with their suits, expensive looking punjabi dresses, dangling jewellery, well-clad children and all.. however, their behaviour was pretty obnoxious.. we spent pretty much the whole day being pushed and shoved around by them in every place we went to. Indians appear to have no sense of personal space. In a positive way, it means that they are not shy in approaching us to talk. They were usually chatty and friendly and extremely curious. But negatively speaking, even now, there's this guy standing behind me.. grr... it seems that there's constantly someone looking over our shoulders.. this is probably how they can survive in a country with a billion people.. gulp...

after this big city, we'll head to a smaller city tomorrow, Jhunjhunu, to look at wall drawings from long ago and hopefully spend Christmas in the desert in the town of Bikaner afterwards.. maybe we may even see the 3 wise men??? hahaha.. the town of Bikaner has a temple of sacred rats which i'm still trying to persuade my travelmate to go with me to... Seems like they'll even run over our feet when we are inside.. heh heh.. so fun!! :p what a story to tell the grandchildren..

ok, enough updates for now.. till i find another cybercafe in the land of masala! take care and keep healthy!!

oh ya, btw, this is.. err.. Day 27 of my 45 day Great India Adventure.. be back on the 9th Jan (yep, a day after my birthday.. :p), just in case my friends need to know that.. tata!

India Odyssey

i'm convinced India is only for the very brave... or the very insane..

for one, Delhi is one incredibly crowded place.. there's people EVERYWHERE!! and cattle, auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, fruit sellers, masala tea stalls and people trying to sell us saris and shawls.. the constant cacophony rings in our minds even when we go to bed at night... the number of touts who are trying to rip us off in a million and one truly imaginative ways makes it really hard for any traveller trying to travel independently to believe in anyone here at all..

but anyway, we've seen Taj Mahal! Yippee! And i tell you, it has to be seen to be believed - solid marble .. it's really beautiful.. besides, it's an oasis in the desert of touts, postcard salesmen and argggh!! never mind.. got to shut them off ... we've started telling anyone hassling us that we are from Sundaland (so we can stop them saying we are from Japan) and a few of them actually reply "oh Sundaland! Yes, we have many tourists from Sundaland!" ???? these people are unbelievable!!

after surviving Delhi and Agra with our souls and minds intact, my travel mate and I are finally venturing into Rajasthan, the land of colour, architecture and deserts. Today, we visited the UN Heritage Wildlife Reserve Keoladeo Ghana National Park near this dusty town called Bharatpur and saw the most amazing population of storks, egrets, kingfishers and numerous other bird species. A day away from people.. what a relief..

check out the fiesty entries on my travel mate's blog - i'm not missing Singapore as much as she is though.. heh heh.. may spend New Year's Eve in the Thar Desert... see first..

okee, will update again when i can.. take care all!!

Hello from Sikkim



i've seen the world's third highest peak Kangchendzonga after trekking 5 days through some of the lushest temperate rainforests i've ever seen.

i've been through temperatures ranging from 10 degrees to -10 degrees celsius, camping out in tents surrounded by dogs, yaks and horses.

the snowy Himalayas from Sikkim are stunning. the children of Sikkim look Tibetan and are extremely adorable and trusting. the village is peaceful and we've so far attended one funeral and one wedding. from the scenary here, i'm beginning to believe that this could indeed be the Shangri-la that the world has long been searching for. Photos will never do this place justice...

we're done with our project helping the folks at the Conservation Committee with compiling information and taking photographs and will begin to help them to build their website in a while to come to show the world what this place offers..

my knees and thighs are still aching from all the climbing.

i'm overdosing on puri, masala tea and dhal.

wish to say more but the internet connection is way too slow...

all else, i'm fine and will begin the second leg of my trip through Rajasthan in 2 days time. can't wait! :)

missing all and will write again soon as i can. love you all!

Learning to see

Lastingly successful art triggers audience responses that are ready to happen in the culture as a whole. Regardless of how perfectly a photographer's work renders a subject, it is bound to fail unless it strikes that chord that elicits a common emotional and visual response.

It is this very assumption - that seeing is a singular truth - that gets us into trouble. We learn lots of ways to adjust our cameras without giving much attention to how to adjust the way we see.

by Galen Rowell

The success story of adventurer - photographer Galen Rowell and his wife Barbara is doubtlessly one of the most inspiring stories I have ever heard.. Their unexpected deaths two years ago counts surely as a tremendous loss to the world of photography and adventure travel. The perfect marriage of travel and photography they have achieved in their lifetime proves that some dreams are indeed worth pursuing.. even if the risks are real and constant... i'm now more certain than ever that a life worth something at the end of it is not determined by how long we live, but by how we have lived...

Here's the National Geographic report on their death, as well as an eulogy from a fellow photographer..

what a great perspective to ponder upon, both on photography and life, just before my trip to the beautiful country of India! :)

"i had to eat it all up before i could take pictures"

next month's issue of Grain will feature another one of my photographic efforts, this time with a cheezels pinhole camera, which i worked on today since it was bright and sunny (for a change)...



this is a view of the very cluttered storeroom in my house, converted into a temporary darkroom to load my camera and to develop and dry my negatives.. see the various trays on the lower shelf for the developer, the fixer and the water..



and here are some of my humble results from just now, hung up to dry.. me, me and more of me..



using my home storeroom as a darkroom was an extremely precarious endeavour... halfway through loading my pinhole cam, my dad suddenly opened the door because the karang guni man came by and he wanted to sell away part of the stack of newspapers stored there. gulp! almost exposed my whole box of paper film! And the noxious fumes from the photochemicals had nowhere to go and almost suffocated me.... headache ah... And lastly, going up and down my block of flats with a stopwatch, a cheezels container, a polartec fleece jacket to provide extra protection to the camera and a Random House English Dictionary to stabilise the flimsy contraption got me more than my fair share of curious stares from my kaypoh neighbours..

check out next month's issue of Grain for more details of my pinhole adventure...

trip preparations

Preparing for the trip over these past two days has been fun but really exhausting...

We started from 9am yesterday with an hour-long Basic Hindi lesson to equip the group to interact better with the locals once we arrive (actually, Nepalese is probably more relevant but of course no one in the group knows that, so we settled for Hindi instead). As a somewhat regular traveler, I’ve always found the following to be the most essential phrases/words to master before every trip (the one next to it is the Hindi equivalent)

Hello – namaste
Thank you – thanwaad
How much? – kitna hua?
Too Expensive! – bahut mehengaa hai
Cheaper please! – kaam karo!
Where is …? – kahan hai? (I think this is for places)
Where? – kab? (I think this is for things)
What? – kya?
Yes – haa
No - nahii
Food – khaana
The bill please – paaise kitne hue/bil dena (informal)
I – mein
You – aap
What is your name? – tumhara naam kya hai?
May I take a photograph? – kya mein ek photo le sakta hoon?
I don’t understand – mujhe samjh mein nahin aaaya
Please stop – kripa ruko
Please hurry – kripa jaldi karo
How far is? – kitne door hai?
Does this bus go to..? – kya yeh bus jaati hai…?

That was followed by an informative talk by a somewhat well known professional photojournalist John Gerard Cosgrove who shared on the tips and tricks to taking great photographs..



“To snap great shots, says JOHN COSGROVE, stop and take a moment to observe - and change the camera modes to suit the situation.”

He spoke about shooting images that “tell an experience” and looking at what’s happening in as many ways as possible. He also suggested taking more pictures, changing the white balance in the camera, changing to a vertical shooting mode occasionally, and looking through the camera to view the world (as a means of searching for something to focus on in an image).

Great tips indeed! As my little contribution to the world of photography, I’ve also personally put up, only very recently, my own version of a Basic Photography Course (Photography 101) on the web – take a look! It’s free! :)

This was followed by a short crash course on First Aid, the dangers of trekking at high altitude (Acute Mountain Sickness & Hypothermia) and necessary health precautions we have to take. Due to the lack of meat in Sikkim, it seems like we are looking at a 3-week diet made up of mainly potatoes, rice, eggs and whatever local veges they have.. gulp.. not that I am too much of a meat-eater myself, but umm.. this COULD be a challenge.. :p someone is even thinking of bringing up 2kg of bak kwa (bbq meat). Maybe I should bring up some strips of beef jerky just in case..

Rushed out after that to catch up with a friend I haven’t seen for more than a year since she gave birth to a cute little boy. she complaint aloud that life had come to a standstill since she got married and gave birth. She and her hubby have stopped going out and even their conversations revolve around little more than daily worries and issues nowadays rather than about each other. Marriage sounds rather dreadful. But I shan’t comment further..

At 6, i grabbed a shuttle bus to travel back to NIE for the opening of a solo art exhibition by (definitely up-and-coming) artist Namiko Chan. On exhibition were 50 portraits in oil of people she knows personally, including a couple of nudes, two self-portraits, some done in realistic style and others impressionistic. The varierty of styles was impressive - take a look here at some of her works. An exhibition exclusively on portraits (let alone an artist who concentrates on portraits) is rare indeed.. i know NTU's a little far away (who goes to Boon Lay anyway??) but i think the trip's worth it, anway....

Ended the evening going to a charity bash at Chinablack to raise funds for our four Youth Expedition Projects to Sikkim and Vietnam. Haven't clubbed for the longest time and was surprised that some popular 80s stuff from "my time" are still popular today (I find that somewhat eeky, for some reason) as well as the crappiness of some of the new popular songs (i.e. the ones that make the audience scream in senseless hysteria when they come on).. umm.. i'm getting old..

oh dear, i've only described yesterday.. i'll describe today tomorrow.. zzzz.. need sleep..

more shopping

bought another nifty travel thing to compact my warm clothings so they don't take up too much space in my haversack.. $15+



Pack-Mate Packing System

- Saves Space
- Reusable
- Waterproof - Odourproof

i think it's so cool.... :)

visitor poll

i added a visitor poll there on my right column ----->

:)

tell me where you're from, ok?? :)

thrills spills chills

reverse bungee jumping comes to singapore...

i was asked by a friend last night if i will try it out.. it's a bit steep (price-wise) but looks like fun so i'm game for it as long as i can find some company.. haha.. anyone game for this? maybe next year.. dunno...

i tried something similar known as the SkyCoaster while i was work/travelling in the US some 7 years back .. the skycoaster is "bungee, skydiving, and hang-gliding all in one ... a 150 foot high hanggliding-skydiving simulator that reaches speeds up to 70 mph before catching you less than 6 feet from the ground .... uses ultra-strong steel cables and professional hanggliding harnesses. You pull your own ripcord whenever you are ready!"... it looks a bit like this... the scary part is you have to pull the ripcord to let yourself fall.. one could technically be stuck up there for hours!



the feeling of free-falling is pretty scary.. (i do have a slight fear of heights).. had my experience captured on video tape but i think it doesn't play anymore..so sad.. nonetheless, i think it isn't as scary as being stuck on some rubber band and being tossed around.. eeks.. will see.. sounds a bit frivolous though...

packing them like sardines

my untidy little pile on the floor has grown into an unacceptable, monstrously huge and plainly ugly heap.. my mom's sure to yell at me in a while.. but what to do what to do.. so many things to pack for the trip and it's next Wed! laying them out now, i wonder if they will all fit into my backpack...

went out and bought this today... excellent for nite time reading, for writing my journal, and emergency trips to the toilet..

Petzl Lamps - TIKKA / ZIPKA - TIKKA PLUS

and this (cos my hands get real cold)..

Outdoor Designs Fuji Gloves

and a super cheap but excellent quality (fake?? umm.. looks real leh..) this from the funky flea market along Rochor Rd

30x25 dcf Tasco Binoculars

as well as a heat pack (only one, for a "Life and Death" emergency.. touchwood! :O) and a foam mat for $3.50 from the army market on Beach Rd (this place is amazing..)..

i have no money left after this, apart from what i have set aside to pay for my 20 rolls of Provia 100 slide film... so i've resorted to begging, borrowing and err.. ya, begging and borrowing (haha.. no, i am not stealing. nope! *see my halo*haha) the rest of the stuff.. so far, through the charity of others, i have secured the following:

a 65l backpack, Leki walking stick (heh heh, my monopod too!), a set of trekking long johns (super important!! wicks the sweat away too!), some more warm fleece tops, fleece pants, a windbreaker (with some strange corporate logo on it), some rolls of Sensia slide film, a journal (nice present!!), glove liners, woollen socks, woollen head gear.....

and i still have my barang barang from the previous trips.. phew.. sleeping bag (not sure if it is warm enough), toiletry bag, camera bag (umm.. too many bags??), money belt, locks and chain, compass, trekking boots, sandals etc..... saves me a bundle buying new stuff.. just need to get extra toiletries, some stationery and maybe spare batteries and i should be ok... :) .. now i'm really getting into the mood for the trip.. heh heh... i love getting ready for trips.. do give me some suggestions if you think i may have left something important out..

hey, look at these "Made-in-China"- looking sleeping bags!! hahaha.. they really look like the patchwork quilts your grandma made for you when you were a kid! hahaha.. pretty cool actually..

wah... so late already.. better go and sleep...

josh groban



bought it. now playing on comp.

wow... it's REALLY good... haha.. what did i expect? :)

13 Month Bonus ?

> Why is there a 13 month bonus when its really isn't a bonus? The mystery
> is finally revealed!
> When the British were in Singapore, they were being paid weekly & they
> argued that Singaporeans were actually being cheated into believing that
> the 13th month pay is a bonus.
> Singaporeans are being paid monthly which is equivalent to 4 weeks pay coz
> there are 4 weeks in a month.
> As the British were paid weekly, it worked out to the same.
> You see, there are 7 days in a week. 4 weeks in a month. 12 months in a
> year. Then 12 months should work out to 48 weeks only. But 1 year worked
> out to 52 weeks!!! Hence the 13th month is your own pay (not bonus??!!).
> So, the British argued that there is in fact no bonus at all??? It is a
> very simple calculation that stunned many!!!!
> BON! US ??? What bonus??? ... ;o!!!

(via email)

Durio zibethinus



this just came home. yummy...

i'm still amazed at how ugly durian seeds actually look up close, especially now that we see them more often than not packed in ugly styrofoam boxes rather than still in their neat little rows in thorny green shells.

quoting from a book written by a friend:

"Thai International Airlines made a research among their passengers to find out how different nationalities describe and view the taste. The French, the Italians and the Spaniards love it, some even saying that it tastes like cream and brandy. Others describe it as an exotic sweet cheese with liquor. However, many tourists were revolted by the smell. Nonetheless, all who have eaten it agree on the aphrodisiac effect...."

umm... could this be the basis behind the Indonesian saying that goes:

"When the durian comes down, the sarongs come up." ?

hahhahaha..

and from this site: Comment on Durian: Host for mealybugs.

.. durrh... oh well, nothing beats a good night out with friends just eating durians and sipping coconut juice.. yummy...

"Heartlands" PHOTO EXHIBITION

i swung by to Yew Tee CC yesterday evening to see this interesting Heartlands Black and White Photo Exhibition by five local photographers. The styles and areas of focus were varied and some of the works were really quite impressive. You can see samples of their works here.

was already quiet by the time i went down last night and i could take my time to look at the exhibits slowly without jostling with the crowd.. but i just realised they have two interesting talks this coming Saturday on Travel Photography (by Lee Gim Lay - on Tibet - 1.30 - 2.30pm) and Traditional Black and White Developing and Printing (by Desmond Kwan - 3 -5pm) - see details here

looks like i may go down again after all.. wah.. so far... :( ... who lives in Yew Tee anyway??

Details
Venue: Yew Tee Community Club, 4th storey
Period of exhibition: 15 November - 23 November 2003
Time: Weekdays 11 am to 9.30 pm, Weekends 10 am to 9.30 pm
Admission: Free!

Great Singapore Duck Race 2003

i searched long and hard amongst the sea of duckie faces...



at last i saw my little warrior! all by himself, trudging along.. umm.. he looks a little tired..



more pics from the Race Day...

Life, work and its myriad responsibilities



The public forum I attended yesterday – “The Chek Jawa story, its lessons and applications story” was indeed humbling. On the panel were the following folks:

Dr Chua Ee Kiam, is a photographer and author of many natural history books on Singapore including Chek Jawa - Discovering Singapore's Biodiversity. He has spoken tirelessly to individuals, groups and grassroots organisations about connecting to Chek Jawa as a Singaporean and subsequently as a Chek Jawa guide and an instructor in guide training workshops. http://www.simplygreen.com.sg - you can find his coffee-table photography books in Kinokuniya and Borders.

Mr Joseph Lai brought Chek Jawa to the attention of many for the first time. He galvanised volunteers and found expert help to execute a study of biodiversity at Chek Jawa, submitting a well-researched document as feedback to the government. He is now committed on a solo bike trip around Singapore until 2012 - the year until when Chek Jawa is reprieved from reclamation. http://www.eart-h.com/ - very philosophical guy.

Mr N. Sivasothi (Research Officer, NUS Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research) conducted a series of research collection trips and submitted the results to government. He then coordinated a series of public education field trips to Chek Jawa, which resulted in a public feedback document to the government. The Museum relied heavily on volunteer help and the internet. http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/ - calls himself the "scruffy guy" and "murderer".

Dr Geh Min (President of Nature Society (Singapore) worked behind the scenes by dropping a word in every ear she came across, often senior figures that she had access to. As Singapore’s oldest NGO, NSS has adopted a more consultative approach where it constantly seeks to represent and balance the diversity of independent attitudes in its advocacy of nature conservation. http://www.nss.org.sg/ - she impressed me with her ability to see both sides of the "conservation story".

They spoke fast, hard and with great commitment, yet belittled their personal individual contributions to the tremendous work they had done. From them, we gained insight into the challenges that face nature conservationists in Singapore, particularly from a government which consists of a mix of hard-headed pragmatists but also “closet environmentalists”. One message that stood out tremendously for me was Joseph Lai’s almost Zen-like philosophy about the importance of the ‘Individual’ in the saving of nature. To him, saving nature was not merely a “responsibility”, but also an “expression” of our deep regard for ‘Nature’ as an abstract notion.

Another great thing was, I also got to meet Ria Tan (http://www.wildsingapore.com), whose amazing close-up photographs of sea stars and soft corals first inspired me to go down to Chek Jawa to take a look myself. This photographer was nuts enough to troop down to these muddy swampy areas at 2 to 3 am many nights all by herself to photograph what she felt was the last of Singapore’s wildlife, to share with others so that “when these places disappear, there will be others to cry with her”. See her other journal on Sungei Buloh here. she's an incredibly inspiring individual.

When we are able to transcend our mundane daily existence and view our life and work with “new eyes”, to see how we fit into the whole “scheme of things” beyond just working for our next pay check, that’s when we will truly find our purpose and meaning in life and develop the morality to live life in the right way. Some thoughts after chatting with a friend online last night and after listening to BBC just now on the responsibility of the media to highlight social concerns and issues.

The events of this weekend are proving to be tremendously rewarding.

Grain



the inaugural issue - now out in the stores.

busy weekend ahead

this weekend is beginning to look like it could be potentially (gulp!) stressful... (taboo word!)

amongst the various social, personal and work obligations on my calender includes:

1. Going down to the Singapore River on Sunday @ 3.30pm to cheer OrenDuckieX (my newly-named brave little duckie) on in the Annual Singapore Duck Race. I've promised DuckieX my moral support .. hope he (yes, it's a male) helps me to win my Hyundai 1.3 .. heh heh... remember ID: 093551.. go Duckie go!



2. Swing by for the launch of the "Heartlands" PHOTO EXHIBITION at Yew Tee Community Club, 4th storey at 4 pm on Sat (Period of exhibition: 15 November - 23 November 2003 Time: Weekdays 11 am to 9.30 pm, Weekends 10 am to 9.30 pm) where a fren is going to speak. This exhibition is about Singapore, photographed using different techniques by five local photographers.. Should be really cool to meet fellow local photographers and hopefully to pick up a couple of photo tips! :)

3. Going down to the Singapore International Foundation office at Park Mall on Sat afternoon (oh no, clashes with previous event!) to attend a forum on Chek Jawa as part of our Youth Expedition Project preparation.. can imagine how amazing it will be to meet the folks who fought for the preservation of Chek Jawa.. Those who dared to believe their actions would make a difference (unlike 99% of Singaporeans I know who would have said "Aiyah, once the Govt has decided on something, there is NOTHING you can do about it..").. To me, these folks possess the spirit which would make Singapore a great place to be in..

4. Makan Fest on Sat night to learn Hindi (beyond “Namaste!” i.e. hello) and to bond with the whole team going to Sikkim. Actually feeling rather excited as trip looms ahead.. wow, less than two weeks to go.. Confirmed date of departure: 26 Nov. currently feeling: totally unprepared! *turns to look at camera gear and backpacking stuff sitting in untidy little piles on the floor and shakes head*

5. Photography workshop with veteran local photographer Mr John Arifin on Sunday?? Not confirmed yet but heard the courses he has conducted so far are really good!! See first lah.. trouble confirming this one..

i think something's bound to have to give way.. grr.. and i was still hoping to go down to the Natas Travel Fair @ Suntec.. haha.. too much stuff too little time..

Other Updates

Grain Magazine (Singapore's newest and coolest asia photo magazine) is online and will (i think) be out in the newsstands and bookstores from next week!

Watch out for my contribution on Patagonia in the first issue!! :)

go support!! it's a great magazine and definitely great value at only S$6!!

the amazing bumblebee

wow, this is a pretty amazing bit of trivia (via WT):

The mass of a bumblebee's body exceeds the lift which can be created by their wing surface. There is no explanation for the physics of how they fly. The bumblebee flies anyway. Perhaps the bumblebee has no language for the word "NO"

doesn't this tell us a lot about self-belief?? wow!

btw, i just found out Josh Groban has a new album > Closer < that is even more amazing than his first (which was already very good) and you can actually listen to it on his website!!