My name is Vodka and I am a great dog!

I always wonder how the feeling of having a dog is. Coincidentally, my aunt is in the pet business and she had reserved me a Dalmatian puppy recently. Yeah, Dalmatian, the naughty and energetic synonym, exactly what you have seen in 101 Dalmatian movie. It was actually 2 months ++ ago when I took Vodka from my aunt. Why only I blog now? Well, good question, I was so scared that Vodka could not survive under my clumsy care. Haha… Apparently, now he is cute and lively, I can proudly present his pictures. Cheeky…

I was actually choosing from two puppies. It was an easy job because Vodka looked so much smarter than his brother. His mother is gorgeous but his dad is a bit albino. That is why Vodka has less spots. Fortunately, he inherited his mother’s good look and his eyes are full of emotions.

The first week was a nightmare. As a small puppy, he cried when I left for work, not to mention my first experience of cleaning the mess! I was almost at my limit of giving up. Once, I almost choked him to suffocation when he destroyed my carpet and slippers. After a week, things get better, a whole lot better. He seemed to learn quite fast. Now, he understands to sit quietly when I prepare food, shake my hand when I present my hand… Only now, I appreciate how intelligent a dog can be. They can literally guess your emotion! When Vodka broke something, say food tray, he would plead with his cute piteous eyes so that I would not punish him. Smart…

It is not all bed of roses though. The expenses to raise a dog are shocking! The injection cost, food, toys, treats, shampoo, nail cutter, vitamins etc. etc. It is in a monthly basis! Vodka is a destructive dog for sure. His toys could only last for few days intact. Also, Dalmatian has a HELL lot of energy! I think I shed some weight off myself just jogging with Vodka. And he is never tired of playing the throw-and-retrieve game.

That’s it. Let me show his pictures. He is now 7-month old. Healthy and fit, weight heavy and heavier. Hope he grows as stunning as his mother.

Front-view of Vodka. His dots only showed little by little as he grows.

Side-view of Vodka. When I said "Vodka, turn away", he actually obeyed. Haha..

Innocent look of Vodka. This look means he wants some treat.

Travel Yogyakarta @ 26 - 29 June 2010

Prelude
I had forsaken backpacking for quite a long time. Yogyakarta would be a great idea to rekindle the long lost feeling. My backpacking mate did all the itinerary preparation and I had absolutely no remorse because I was one decade older than him… haha. Hardship should left for youngster. AirAsia really surprised me this time. Not only I managed to book its free return flight for only RM35 nett, the flight actually flew on time!
First, let me introduce Yogyakarta (or Jogjakarta). Located in Java Island, the region is located at the foot of the active Merapi volcano. Famous Buddhist temple of Borobudur and Hindu temple of Prambanan are the attractions that draw the tourists all over the world. Both are in the list of UNESCO world heritage. What a perfect backpacking spot – cultural, majestic, historical and yet affordable.

My favourite Borobudur sunrise shot from Yogyakarta.

Kraton and Malioboro Street

After settled down, we hired a local tuk-tuk to tour around Yogyakarta city. Well, that was quite a life-threatening experience. Inside the cramped tuk-tuk, we witnessed all sorts of vehicles criss-crossed before our eyes and yet the brake system was far beyond functional! Arrived in Kraton in one piece, we bought the ticket and started to explore the so-called Sultan Palace. The compound was decently spatial but the grandiose was nothing compared to the palaces in Europe or China. We had the chance to witness the wayang kulit performance, not too much of a fan though.
Maliobora Street is famous for shopping. You could find all sorts of souvenirs, sandal, T-shirts, decorations, wood carve etc. If you were T-shirt fans, you might like their creative slogan and catchy phrase. Day and night, the street was so packed that you had to fight your way through.

Wayang Kulit performance in Kraton.

Prambanan Temple (Hindu)

Built in the 10th century, this is the largest compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. There are three temples at the complex of sanctuaries. The biggest temple is called Candi Shiva and the others are called Candi Brahma and Candi Vishnu. If you happen to visit Angkor Wat in Siam Reap before, this complex may look awfully tiny to you. Other than that, the temples were worth a hike.

Sunset at Prambanan Temple.

Dieng Plateau and Mt Merabu

Dieng was very much like Cameron Highlands – high ground, fresh air, winding road and so on. It was a pleasant getaway from hustle and bustle. We visited the volcano area. Yup, you could still see the smoldering smoke and hot spring oozing from the ground. The presence of sulphuric environment was constantly intimidating, as if to remind you stepping in the dangerous zone. Another two-hour of winding journey, we arrived at the world-renown Borobudur during sunset.

Cultural occasion in Dieng Plateau.

Candi at Dieng Plateau.

Borobudur Temple (Buddhist)

We visited Borobudur twice, dusk and dawn. The sunset experience was appalling because the crowd took the toll. I was actually speechless to see the locals picnicking at the top of Borobudur – polluted, smelly and noisy. Sunrise experience was completely different, it was AMAZING! Thanks to Manahora Hotel, we were given privilege to climb Borobudur at 4.30 am before public could access. Of course, you need to pay extra but it worth every cent, or I should say rupiah. I witnessed the most breathtaking sunrise. It was such a surreal scene - the feathery clouds, the picturesque greeneries, the calm Buddha and stupas, the purple sky hue, the crawling sun in between the two volcanoes, the reflective light…. It was magical. Since then, clicking noise from my Canon SLR never stopped. I was breathing in fulfillment because I knew I would bag in many good shots.

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A series of breathtaking sunrise shots.

Food and Javanese Coffee

Not to be conclusive, but I think the food in Bali are far better than Yogyakarta. Though, it was still worth to try their local delicacies – Amanda Brownies and Javanese coffee. Out of impulsiveness, I tried the most expensive coffee in the world – Coffee Luwak! This coffee was internationally recognized as the most high-quality and expensive coffee. The local Luwak (a type of nocturnal Indonesian mammal which resemble cat) will pick the best coffee seeds to consume at night-time. The enzyme inside its stomach will help neutralize the acidity and fermentize the coffee seeds. After the Luwak desecrate, the wastes (its poo with neutralized coffee seeds!) were reprocessed to make the top-notch coffee. The first seep was confusing. Hmm… It was neither smooth nor bitter. Somehow, the taste was nice in a way that you could hardly expect. Will I try it again? Well, with that price, I probably would pass.

The famous Kopi Luwak.

Closure

Some other side story. It was World Cup season and ironically, the locals wish their old Dutch friends to win the game. If you happen to forget, Holland conquered Indonesia and left quite a legacy there. It was also the night when England lost to Germany. Lampard’s agonizing face was rewinded over and over in the TV, haha… I was impressed that the normal TV channels in Indonesia aired World Cup matches. Shame on ASTRO and Malaysian TV channels.

How should I rate Yogyakarta? In some way, I like peaceful Borobudur sunrise as much as I hate its congested sunset. Not so much of a cultural shock as I had travelled to Indonesia before. Borobudur is still worth a journey as its sunrise will really astonish you.

Travel Rome @ 7 November 2009

I know I have been slacking in blogging recently. The reason being is that I travel less frequent recently. Hmm.. Is that a good thing or bad thing, I wonder. Cut it short, I had a full transit day in Rome on the way back to Malaysia from Venezuela. Let say, South America never stop amazed me. Though, I did not have chance to wander around Venezuela and therefore, no photos. But I had plenty of time to revisit Rome. My last visit to Rome was about 10 years ago, right after my graduation. Damn, scary to even think about how fast the time passes!

In my memory, Rome was sunny hot, dry and crowded. This time, Rome was breezy, still sunny but much relaxing! Of course, statues and buildings everywhere were still screaming to my Canon camera to flash. After reading and watching Angels and Demons, I said to myself - Silly me, why not follow Dan Brown’s foot step, save my time to think about the itinerary. I then visited St Peter Square & Basilica, Vatican Museum for the masterpiece Sistine Chapel and Colosseum.

I did not remember if I saw Swiss Guard in my previous visit but I spotted them this time. They were guarding the St. Peter Basilica. They wore those silly, circus-like, orange-blue-stripe baggy uniform, exactly what we saw in Angel and Demon. St. Peter Basilica was still as impressive as it was.

I was probably too young to appreciate Sistine Chapel 10 years ago but this time, the masterpiece just struck me speechless. The guide book explained that the essence of the design was to create a ‘seamless’ and ‘endless-feeling’ ceiling. Michelangelo was such as a damn good interior designer. The Last Judgment was insanely animated after so many millenniums. Well, as usual, I eavesdropped around to listen the stories from those tour guides. Apparently, Michelangelo was so furious when a high-rank priest condemned his work as being too obscene. He then purposely painted, in the fresco, that the bad-mouth priest slumped in lowest hell, with his genital bitten by an evil python. Hah… Michelangelo definitely had some sense of black humour.

Strolling to Colosseum to take the perfect night shot. I was standing there for almost an hour to capture a perfect nightscene. What a regret to left my tripod at home!

The revisit could not be better. Hope to revisit miss-out Trevi Fountain and Pantheon someday and I guess that should be easy because - All roads lead to Rome!

Diving Manado 27 Sep 2009

The PRELUDE

You will not believe that I booked this diving holiday one year ago. Since then, I had done the most thorough research on the critters I expected to see. The dive sites not only meet the high-rank reputation, but exceed my imagination. Simply blow away my sane mind. Lembeh Straits underneath is a place for aliens, you will agree after looking at the shots I snapped underwater. Yup, I finally indulged in the hell of underwater photography which will slowly gnaw away my precious money and time. My toy is Canon G10, equipped with underwater casing, Sea & Sea YS-110 alpha Strobe and wet macro lens. Taking pictures underwater is a big WOW in difficulty and technicality. I was like an apprentice all over again. Imagine the multitask, checking everything at once - air consumption, depth, no deco time, buoyancy, any nasty triggerfish around (another story later), any leakage of camera casing, current, torch, coral … Alright, I stop the babbling and here comes my diving experience in Bunaken and Lembeh Straits.

I did 2 diving days at Bunaken (5 dives) and 3 diving days at Lembeh Straits (12 dives). I know I am crazy. I took the unlimited diving package in Lembeh, where I could dive until my knee buckled and my neck strained.

The DIVES

Talk about Bunaken first. Mostly wall dives with some current. Really not much to mention as the wall dives were very similar. Having to dive Sipadan before, wall dives at other dive sites seem to lose their colour. I also did some house reef dives where I spotted my first Ambon Scorpionfish and Harlequin Shrimp. Also, during one safety stop, I spotted a gigantic jellyfish, as big as my head!Impressive!

Lembeh Straits had tons of story to talk about. The dive sites were pretty much the same – murky, dark sand bottom, rubble and rubbish. The critters were, though, abundant and lively. Definitely worth to revisit. The trademark of Lembeh are frogfish, scorpionfish, octopus and other macros. Since the dive sites were featureless, I might as well write this section referring to the critters I spotted.

*****

Paddle Flap Scorpionfish, Ambon Scorpionfish and Weedy Scorpionfish
Scorpionfish were stunning creature. They had the meanest look and poisonous spikes but when they flapped their wing, the beauty hidden would certainly drop your jaw. I spotted three different species. Both had their unique characteristic but the arrogant Ambon Scorpionfish’s expression won this round.

*****

Spider Crab, Mud Crab, Urchin Crab, Porcelain Crab
Alien resemblance creatures. You could easily overlook this critters as they were so good in disguise. Meeting with Urchin Crab was so much fun. It carried the thorny urchin on its back while moving, so that the predators dared not attack them. Porcelain Crab were common neighbor with clown fish. They were very photogenic, with the beautiful soft coral as background.

*****

Pygmy Seahorse, Denise Pygmy Seahorse, Pygmy Seadragon
Pygmy Seahorse was simply adorable. It was tiny but full of facial expression. It lived on the sea fan for the rest of their life. During dawn, they mated passionately and spent the rest of the day clinging on the sea fan. Pygmy Seadragon was the new species discovered in Lembeh. It was so much insignificant unless you knew their habitat.

*****

Painted Frogfish, Hairy Frogfish, Sargassum Frogfish
These creatures had amazing characteristics! They could be as big as football size or as small as thumb size. Ambushing skill was phenomenal. Their mouth could stretch twice the normal size. They were abundant in Lembeh Straits. Well, I spotted 3 Sargassum Frogfish swam until the shore of the resort. This species was a bit special as they liked to float on the surface for food searching.

*****

Mandarin Fish
I did a dawn dive at the house reef. Wow, this was madness. In the rumble, practically, more than 50 mandarin fish came out for mating. They were everywhere! Once they were happy with their sighting, they rubbed each other and disposed the eggs and sperms simultaneously. It was extremely hard to photograph although there were virtually hundreds of them swimming around me.

*****

Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Coconut Octopus, Mimic Octopus
There was one dives that I spotted at least 5 flamboyant cuttlefish! Their gland were strikingly beautiful. When they were stressed, they showed amazing warning colour. Also, I spotted one of them sticking out their tongue to catch the prey, a blink of your eyes and the fishy was gone. The other highlight was the Coconut Octopus. It fled from a shell when my dive master found it. I followed it step-by-step, it was “walking” rather than jetting in the water, super adorable! Occasionally, it peeped at me and other photographers while searching for the hidden place. Mimic Octopus, sigh… I had 5 seconds spotting before it escaped to its hole.

*****

Zebra Lionfish, Shortfin Lionfish, Spinny Devilfish, Painted Stingfish
Again, the sea floor were full of these creatures. I love lionfish. They were always the love of photographer. They liked to stretch their impressive wing, making it looked like underwater butterfly. Painted Stingfish, you got to have some luck to spot them as they only appeared at night. Spinny Devilfish was as cool and nasty as scorpionfish.

*****

Harlequin Shrimp, Crinoid Shrimp, Bubble Coral Shrimp, Cleaner Shrimp, Squat Lobster
Shrimp was my favourite subject. They were candies of eyes. Crinoid shrimp had the best disguise while Harlequin Shrimp had the lavish colour and pattern. Squat lobster was strikingly pink while bubble coral shrimp and cleaner shrimp could be transparent!

*****

Electric Clamp, Banggai Cardinalfish, Banded Seasnake
These were special creature. Electric clamp emitted electric ray to scare off the predator. Banggai Cardinalfish were endemic to this region. Spotting both of them were so much delightful but not the Banded Seasnake. Banded Seasnake is the world most poisonous animal and definitely not a joke I could afford.

*****

Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Robust Ghost Pipefish, Ring Pipefish, Stick Pipefish
Ghost Pipefish were beauty to behold. They normally existed in pair, hovering above the crinoids or feather stars. The female was larger, with pelvic pouch for eggs. Their slender body always appeared to be frozen and easy to be photographed.

*****

Nudibranch
Last but not least, how could one overlook nudibranch, the gem of underwater. Lembeh Straits had the diverse species of nudibranch. The most attractive one was skirt nudibranch, whereby it earned their name by flapping their rim gracefully.

*****

The RESORT
I booked the unlimited dive package with Diver Lodge Lembeh (www.diverslodgelembeh.com). This was the best diving resort I had been. The diving boat was comfortable, spacious and modern. As it was family run, the service was warming, considerate and well-rounded. Staff were polite, helpful and friendly. I did not have the chance to carry my dive equipment since they fetched me from Bunaken. Food and drink was also unlimited. Dinner was nicely set up and the Dutch owner family dined with the divers every night. Apparently, Rob the owner was contributing himself for the good sake of Lembeh Straits. There are many plans in the future to make Lembeh Straits a better and cleaner diving location. Good faith for Lembeh Straits.

The MEMORY
Lembeh Straits is truly a macro heaven where photographer can not afford to miss. It stole my heart and it is now left 20 ft underneath the murky ocean. I would have to retrieve it someday, sometime….

The END

Travel Hanoi @ 29 April 2009

Pampered with luxurious tours, I had long forgotten the feeling of backpacking. To revive its spirit, I travelled with 4 other friends in semi-backpacking style to Hanoi and Sapa, Vietnam. Vietnam is always an icon of postwar, hardship and suburban. Though mentally prepared, we were still awe struck by the scent, the view, the culture and the people of Vietnam. We definitely had mixed feeling with Vietnam. We were both impressed and, at the same time, surprised. Due to the compacted schedule, we had yet to have chance visiting Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and French Quarter. The following were something that impressed us, at least myself, very much:

The landmark Ho Kiam Lake located right in the middle of Hanoi.

Old Quarter 36 Streets, Hanoi
After an eye-opening journey from airport to our hotel (the driving attitude), we started exploring the famous Old Quarter of Hanoi city. Ho Kiam Lake was the landmark for every location. Ho Kiam Lake was translated as Sword-Returning Lake, depicting the legend of sword returning to a gigantic tortoise after a victorious war between Vietnam and China. Rather disappointed with the Ho Kiam Lake view, we ventured into Old Quarter 36 streets. To impress you, each street was selling the same goods in grandeur – shoes, silks, silver, incense, tomb carving, cloths, spices, souvenirs etc. You name it they have it. My first impression was, well, being a Vietnamese woman was difficult. Most of them did the hardwork and ‘run’ the family. Salute….

Lucky snapshot of a beautiful couple in front of St Joseph Church.

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Water Puppet Show
The status was rather similar to our Wayang Kulit but their puppets were more animated and colourful, performing on a water stage. It appeared to be quite interesting for awhile and the show was later paled by the recurrent lyric which sleepened most of us. There were different folklores portraying the daily lives of Vietnamese, legends and mythologies (dragon, phoenix, unicorns etc.). My votes went to fire-spitting dragon dance and marriage story. Nonetheless, it was still something we had never watched before.

St Joseph Church is the best place to capture daily local life.

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Vietnamese Vs French Cuisine
It was unbelievable that the best French restaurant – The Green Tangerine, was actually located in Hanoi. The excitement started right after we stepped into the restaurant. The setting was beyond elegant and we could not help to jaw-drop with the food selection, of course the price as well. I was rather shocked when my food arrived. I made a mistake of ordering a plate of raw beef and surprises came one after the other. The raw beef was unexpectedly delicious and I could hardly felt the rawness, no doubt a world-class cuisine. Cha Ca La Vong was another famous local restaurant. They had only one menu, which was fried fish and rice noodles. It was rather embarrassing if you visited Hanoi and not trying the local specialties. We tried some tasty Vietnamese breakfast – rice noodles, sticky rice, Vietnamese coffee etc., sitting along the street side just like locals. Thumb up!

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Spring roll in Hanoi style, dining in Green Tangerine, the best French restaurant.

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Vietnamese Coffee
Out of nowhere, we bumped into a coffee stall accidentally that was highly recommended by forumers. The boss not only spoke fluent Cantonese, but also generous enough to treat us his coffee. The price was reasonable and the quality of coffee was top notch! To enjoy Vietnamese coffee fully, you need to prepare it in Vietnamese way – to filter the coffee with special filter and to add in dense and viscous milk. Exquisite taste it was! Having drinking coffee from Brazil and Italy, Vietnamese coffee definitely deserves the same level of excellence.

Lantern shop nearby St Joseph Church.

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Traffic, Vietnamese National Day and Labour Day
Jackpot for the most peaking holiday in Vietnam, it was a nightmare for us. During our excursion to Tam Coc, we experienced the worst jam of all. We trapped inside the traffic for almost 4 hours. Unmovable and bored, it was the best moment to observe the locals because even the motorists were trapped on the road. If you think there are too many motorists in Malaysia, well, think again. We saw a sea of motorists packing with their family and heading back home for their national holiday. You got to amaze on their driving skills too. Honking and foul language exchange were not uncommon.

Trishaw along Old Quarter 36 Street.

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Tam Coc
After gruesome 6 hours on the road in total, we finally arrived Tam Coc. This place was often called as land Halong Bay due to its landscape. Boating on the winding river through grottos, I had a wonderful time. The scenery was pleasant and greeny, very typical rural view of Vietnam.

Flower Hmong lady absorbed in processing their colourful embroidery. Man smoking local pipes.

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Cat Cat Village, Sapa
It took us 8-hour night train and 2-hour bus to reach Sapa, the most northern part of Vietnam. The train journey was disastrous and excruciating but, well, that was the beauty of backpacking – to experience the unexpected and unimaginable. The reason of visiting Sapa was to catch a glimpse and to visit the residency of minority groups in Vietnam. There were many tribes but mainly from Hmong, i.e. Black, Green, Red, White, Flower Hmong etc. It was a rainy day and we had to trek through the mountain to reach Cat Cat Village. Cat Cat meant for waterfall in Hmong language and this village was occupied mainly by Black Hmong. The word ‘Black’ was symbolized from the indigo colour of their dress. It was indeed an eye-opening experience for us. Their costume, embroidery, residency, terrace rice field, food, herbal drink etc. kept amazing us. Buffalos were walking freely and abundantly across the waterfall and rice field – peaceful and scenic views that every photographers craves for.

Scenic Cat Cat Village.

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Bac Ha Market
Sunday morning, Flower Hmong tribal people will gather in Bac Ha to buy their daily necessities, to socialize, to exchange goods, to gossip, to wander around etc. The moment we stepped down the bus, our eyes were filled with colours. Flower Hmong’s costume was amongst the most colourful costume I had ever seen. They were unique, striking and unimaginably bright – each sending signals to my camera to snap them. Frantically, we snapped and snapped while squeezing into the market. It was such a frenzy of snapshot, everywhere we saw photography enthusiasts like us taking pictures, squatting or telephotoing. There was an animal market too, where they sold ducks, horse, buffalos, pigs, dogs, birds etc. Laughter, bargaining, gossiping, children bearing…."Wow!”. that was exactly the word crossed in my mind at that moment, definitely worth a long journey to be here. We also spotted a scene that mind-blowed everyone – a 60++ year old women bore a pig, probably heavier than me, on her back. Full respect!

Colourful Bac Ha Sunday Market, where many Hmong people socialize.

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Halong Bay
It was quite a let down to us. We were getting very bored with the monotonous view. The food was rather uncreative and pale. The stalagmites were even not as impressive as those in Ipoh. Perhaps, we should apply World Heritage ownership for Gua Tempurung. In fact, we decided to play Mahjong on the boat. Yup, you heard it right, we brought our Mahjong tiles along to Halong Bay! Wish you were there...

The famous Halong Bay and the caves.