Travelling solo.. and photographs

I've pretty much decided that Europeans, in general with a handful of exceptions, are more concerned with photographing the subject person rather than the backdrop / scenery.
In a non-intentional experiment involving me stopping random strangers to help take my photo in front of a particular statue, monument, building etc of interest, they (whether man or woman, no gender bias here) tend to focus on me as the subject at the expense of the sight. I have several megabytes of photos to prove this. There you have me, full length from the top of my woolen cap down to the toes of my boots, but the focal point of interest is reduced to a partial background of no particular memorable significance.
Wassup with that?
So I've resorted to self-snaps which are often hit or miss but the good thing about digital cameras, we can erase the mistake and re-take as many times as needed. The only problem is in the biting cold, patience is a virtue. So cue camera timers and my ever indispensible "octopus". Such nifty inventions they are (,")

My dad...

My dad is my hero. He brought me up the way all typical, olden-day Chinese dads do: keeping a stiff upper-lip and is hands-free in my up-bringing (he leaves it to mum). He never praised me in front of anybody and down-played praises by well.. anybody. It's not that he isn't proud of me, he is, it's just the conservative Chinese way. However, lately, he's been taking over the role of mum, i.e. nagging, scolding and when all else fails, resorts to emotional blackmail and 'cold wars'.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining that my dad is conniving or sly, he's just reaching out to me in the only way he knows how. You see, growing up with a dad conditioned me to be close to mum while maintaining a cordial and respectful distance (physically and emotionally) from dad. Mum says something, I listen. Dad says something, I ask mum if I should listen :) So I get it that he feels insecure and therefore the theaterics.

Take this New Year weekend for instance. I called dad up on Friday to discus holiday plans. He said, quite nonchalantly, "You're not coming back (to my hometown) for New Year?". Now when dad says that, he means, "I want you to come back". So I mulled over it, taking into consideration the mass influx of people who will be travelling back to the Klang Valley from their galivanting a.k.a. "cuti-cuti Malaysia", I called him again to hint at not going back in lieu of the anticipated traffic jams to which he replied: There is no jam if you take the old (trunk) road. So there... Dad has decided.

So drawing from all my years of growing up with dad, I called up mum (naturally, this being the 21st century, it means calling mum's mobile phone as opposed to just asking dad to pass the line) to ask her opinion. To cut a long story short, mum said, "Don't bother coming back" and so here I am, holed up in my city home, blogging :) Dad won't be happy but mum has spoken.

Telaga, Sabah

Just got back from a remarkable working holiday. Well, if truth be told, it was more holiday than work. Stayed in a logyard near this really tiny village called Telaga, situated about an hour's drive away from Kota Marudu where for the most part of the journey was offroad 4WD driving.

Don't get me started on the scenery. It's as if I have landed in jungle swamp paradise. The view of the water from my bedroom is only best described by graphic representation, afterall a picture paints a thousand words. Check out the pix (,")

Had seafood everyday and spent most the day loafing around the quarters on the logyard, trekking along jungle trails enclosed on both sides by lush green acacia treas or climbing up the chipmill conveyor (definitely beats vegetating in front of the idiot box).

The sultry nights will find me, leg tucked under, sitting on the verandah/pier studiously tapping away on my mobile phone at the one of two locations in the logyard that has mobile network signal, vulnerable to the attack of little jetplane fighters (damn mossies!) if not for the saving grace of mosquito coils.

I'm looking forward to my next trip there this June. There, serenity envelopes me with each passing day...Can you spell B.L.I.S.S? ~Jas (",) 24.04.2005~

A Day Of Flower Power!

Aah.. sweet memories! How I miss the crisp fresh air and the riot of colours at Keukenhoff. A visit to Lisse (the tulip region of The Netherlands) is not complete without paying a tribute to the tulips at this beautiful outdoor park. The park is only open for the Spring season from March to May and it features the exquisite blooms that is synonymous with this country in every imaginable shape, size and colour. On display are also other types of flowers but understandably the tulips are given centre-stage and pride of place.

The tulips are planted in clusters under trees, in interesting patterns. Almost all of them will sport an ID tag to identify the species and also the name of the grower and the district from which it originates. This serves as an exhibit if you may of the grower's latest offering to the gardening community. So I'd like to think of Keukenhoff as not just a garden but also a trade fair.

Walking around, my uncle spotted several patches of tulips from his district, Voorhout. Coming from a family of tulip farmers, he was naturally excited and insisted that they got the grower's name wrong. Yep! That's my Uncle Piet. He loves attention and as if stomping all over the grass near 'his' tulip patches is not enough (there's a sign saying "Stay Off The Grass") he even tried to attract the attention of the park attendants to correct their 'mistake'. *rolling eyes*

Featured around the park are sculptures and works of art by famous artists although, in my eyes, they are merely 'accessories' to the natural splendour before my eyes. This is truly God's best works on display. If ever you mention the 'Garden of Eden', this is how I would imagine it to be like.

After a full day of oggling and getting my neck twisted around in a knot, it was time to leave. Not that I wanted to, but my camera ran out of juice and memory to store all the images I captured. I bid farewell to my Garden of Eden, and returned home with a heavy heart. I made a vow that day. I vowed to come back with my family one day to share with them the splendour that is God's doing. ~Jas (;") 11.04.2004~