Lady in red

'Twas a beautiful Friday morning. Busy day at the Tamu in Kianggeh. I was there with my Nikon practicing my photo-taking. Trying to shoot something interesting. Then this beauty came up. Yessir!! Certainly interesting. Certainly stand out from the other customers. Lady in Red!! Nice. Seemed akward. Like she doesnt belong there. Maybe accompanying her dear older sister or friend.



The Tamu is an interesting place. Survived after all these years. Even in the days of the mega supermarkets, and the corner indian shops, people still go to the tamu for that extra something that you can only get there. Nice. I once said here that people dont go visit the tamu much nowadays. I was wrong. People still do. Interesting people. Old people. Young people. Weird people. Funny people. People like this beauty in red. I like.

The unique thing about the tamu... is that its a place for Bruneians and locals to sell their produce. Their own hard work. Grown from their own little farms or backyard fields. For that alone its worth maintaining. A place for locals to sell their produce. Their marketplace.

fire

Had a picnic the other week. Built a nice fire and had a barbecue. This is the fire. Looks really hot. Kids built the fire...eh with adult supervision la. I took a pic of the fire..turns out nice. Never seen fire like that. I take fire for granted. I know its red. And maybe blue. And i know its hot!



Then we had a barbecue. We went fishing, using a pukat or whatever that is called. Caught lots of prawns instead. Menyalai eh!!!



Best lah. Sedap. I wanted to say that the kids loved it, but i have to say we adlts loved it more. haha. The family loves doing this...picnics over the weekends. Tungku mostly. Its beautiful there. But nowadays we have to check the tide times. Eversince they did the earthworks in Tungku, the road is mostly inaccessible by car and 4wd. Only big trucks can pass through. Eh susah eh. We have to drive along the actual beach nowadays. Not possible if you dont have 4wd. The sand can be so soft.

hot

Its so nice and hot on Sunday. I see lots of people out fishing. I wish i know how to fish. No patience. I'd get bored after five minutes.



Hensem kawan tani diatas ani eh. Pandai jaga diri bah. Sudahpun pakai topi, pakai payong lagi tuh. Bleh tahan eh. Mesti takut hitam ni kawan tani ani. Jaga diri. Heh.

The weather is kinda all over the place nowadays. The last few days its been raining. Just when you thought the weathers going to be nice, it pours. Happens all the time after you wash your car. Or hang your clothes to dry.

Well done to Anakbrunei for winning the Bloggies. I voted for you man!! My vote won it for you!! hahaha. As if!

cuties

Took this pic at one of the beaches on last Sunday. Lots of people having their picnic. Its nice. These group of kids were having their picture taken. So cute. Waiting patiently for the photographer to take their picture. I curi-curi lah with my 400mm lens way from the back. Couldnt resist. They were so nice and still. Yang kat hujung tu hensem ler..


Baju the mother tu tepaksa di 'censor' sikit. Tenaik bah.

I normally dont take pictures of people i dont know. Macam intruding bah. A bit like paparazzi...gambar curi. Mesti ada permission baru buleh show. Mana lah tau...kang salah tayang..gambar sulit!! Susah jua. Cuba tengok gambar bawah ni...


The couple in the foreground would be in trouble if they are not married lah. So if they bukan laki bini, they be in trouble and i am a troublemaker. Jadi paparazzi lah tu. Ha. Kalo mau jadi famous, jadi lah ku tu.

So kena lah be kepul sikit. Supaya tiada yang teraniaya.

little things

These signify welcome or good luck or something. Hang these in your house and say welcome to visitors. Or they give these to you when you arrive, sort of like a garland around your neck. My photo s in black n whote but these thingies are quite colourful.



Its quite interesting during these little visits. You learn so much. Whereever you are in asia, especially East Asia, we more or less share the same things. Food (with slight variations), clothinng, traditions etc.


I found we all use 'tekiding' or slight variations of them for carrying rice. Its all so interesting.

Im trying to organise a trip to Vietnam soon. Take a slow train ride from the North to the south.

traditional dance

Traditional dance in Guangzhou. or Guangxi or something like that. Looks familiar huh? I think most countries have this as their traditional dance. I remember seeing that when i visited the Philippines and also in Thailand. I kinda remembered Indonesia having something like this. SO what does that mean..?


I guess maybe once upon a time a long long time ago, we all came from the same race or group. Then somehow or other we all got scattered all over Asia and a group of us found ourselves here on this island on Borneo. We certainly came from somewhere. We surely didnt grow fom here. So our cultures all intertwine. Our traditional costumes, especially our 'orang aslis' look familiar to each other. etc etc etc.


See the costumes? A bit like the ones they have in Thailand, laos, Myanmar, Vietnam etc etc.

cityscape

Still pics from my trip to China.

This is what i imagined it would be like.


This is what greeted me when i arrived!!


China is fast turning into a very modern nation. Very modern!! Skyscrapers popping up everywhere. Everywhere. Its amazing there. Within a few short years, the country is transformed into an ultramodern country. With many many modern cities filled with towering skyscrapers. I imagined within a decade, you wont see much of the old china within the city walls.

I went to a city to te south-western part of China. Far away from the West. Far away from Beijing. And alas, far away from the Great Wall.

old woman

This old woman sells oranges. This is in China, at one of the tourist sites there. She hangs around waiting for tourists and sells them oranges. She sells them cheap. So cheap. And tourists with lots of spare change dont mind giving her some. She looks so old and many pity her.



We tend to not see this much in Brunei. But increasingly we are getting older folks venturing out as small scale hawkers and sellers. Extra income. Good on them for making the effort.

Tea

Tea. Chinese tea. Quite nice once you get used to it. This one time we were served green tea. Chinese green tea. A staple in china. Tastes funny but good. Different from the Japanese green tea. That taste really fishy. haha. Really..have you tried japanese green tea? Ugh!


I'm a coffee drinker. Would choose coffee over tea. Well, except when its teh tarik ("kurang manis please"). But when you're in China, and they serve Tea everywhere, you dont have much of a choice. They do serve coffee but it tastes blah!! So stick to their tea. Its quite nice once you get used to it. You have to get used to it because they serve it everywhere!! They dont drink water...just tea.

And on plastic cups. Hot tea on plastic cups. Is that ok?

flowers

I like taking pics of flowers. So bright and colourful. So i give u..more flower pics!!!



These are some new flowers in me mums garden. Was hoping to get a good pic of a bee or something just to make the pic interesting. But waiting for loooong minutes and still nadaiii. Mabe bees are not attracted to orchids. No pollen maybe. I dont know. I dont like gardening.



I have lots of friends who garden nowadays. Keeping flowers at home and tinkering with them and little pots during the weekends. I have friends who jump over the border to Limbang just to buy flower pots there...they have many kinds and its cheaper. I guess its much cheaper there. Doesnt much help our local sellers but customers are king! People dont have much money nowadays so everything depends on price. And since Limbang is just a half hour away...

Speaking of Limbang....... mmmmmmm

Junk

The things people keep in their back yard!!! I know in Brunei people tend to keep their things even tho cannot use anymore. Donno for what lah. Maybe in the hope it will be useful again someday? At home me mum keeps still her old refrigerator and washing machine. Now its all rusted up and is home to insects.



This house keeps their old cars!! Not in the picture is an old Mercedes saloon that probably had a major accident by the look of it. Why still keep? WHy not junk it? Maybe can earn some money from it. Honestly..some people.

Why do we still keep things we dont need? Worse, we keep things that dont work anymore. Why? Funny lah some people...

wine girl

This girl stands at the entrance of a temple. Thats wine in those little cups. For good luck. The idea is you drink from the cups before you enter the temple grounds. And you give 'alms' or some money as a gift for the temple. The wine is homemade..made withn the temple grounds itself. Supposedly its sweet. I wouldnt know lah.


Took this pic from my last trip overseas. I've been lugging my heavy Nikon with me everywhere i go nowadays. Pictures for remembrance. Its a great hobby!!!

The photographer

This guy was busy taking photographs the other day. He looks so ... uh...cool? I dont know. What do you think? I thought he looked funny.. a bit of a showoff with his probably new Canon SLR. Oh and he was taking photos of a group of us.. including some hot looking women in our group. Probably that set him off in this pose. hahaha.



Its funny sometimes when we see photographers doing their stuff. We focus on angles and getting a good picture. Sometimes that means we having to crouch, lie down, sit, squat, stand on chairs and whatever it takes to take that killer shot. When we are so immersed in our shots, we are invisible. We dont realise and we are not aware of the people around us. Nor do we care that we might look akward and funny. Sometimes we look downright silly. Thats us most ofthe time.

But then again, most times you see people who take camera shots 'decently', meaning they stand upright and proper. These people are showoffs..hahaha. I like to think so. The shots dont matter as long as they dont look silly taking the shots. In the end, they get decent enough shots that could have been better had they crouched lower or stood on a ledge or something.

Something to think about.

Corn

Drove down to KB the other day. Along the way, somewhere near the junction to Labi saw street vendors selling corn. Lots and lots of lovely corn. From Labi they said. So we stopped and bought some. And took pics. hahaha. Biasa ler..sign of a crazy photog is when they start taking pics of just about anything they see.. And if you see my pics, i am a crazy photog.


Its amazing that we grow corn in Brunei but the growers can only manage to sell them at roadside stalls. And its not expensive. Do we have anyone who process corn into say, canned something or whatever? Is there a big producer of canned corn or something in Brunei??

Anyway, the trip to Belait was okay lah. Took an hour to reach KB. Would have been faster if the highway is complete all the way from BSB to KB. Just a 10 mile or so stretch thats still the original 'kampung road'.

nuts and bolts

Nuts!!! I wonder why they're called nuts? Inda jua macam kacang usulnya.



I saw this very neat pile of old nuts and bolts (and everything else) piled up neat the office. Someone must be doing renovations.

hmmm

A blue whatever-that-is. I saw this and wondered what the heck it is? And why is it blue? Water pipe?

The Yellow Model

A yellow flower. Dont know whats its called but it called me to take its pic. "Take me. Take me". So i did. It posed and swayed like a model and i cant help but take such a beautiful pic of it.


I love taking pics of flowers. Me momma has green fingers.

My take..

Hari Raya is over for me. Its back to work. Dull boring work. I enjoyed Raya so much that i often forgot to take pictures. Aiya!! Raya should have lots of Raya pictures la.


This is another take on the SOAS mosque in the capital. I pass by the mosque every day and i have to tell you that it is really a beautiful Mosque. Inside the mosque is so grand. But tak berani lah to bring my big ole Nikon inside. Kang kana teriaki oleh Pak Haji yang kaja disana atu. Hahaha. One day...

orange

Shopping after a week of Raya. The supermarket is starting to pick up again after being quiet for a while. Its not so bad here. We more or less get what we want, though those who have been to the hypermarkets overseas would be disappointed by the choices we have in our local ones.

Love those orange crates. So bright. I wonder what they had in them before. Bread?

Gameboy raya

I like this pic. A certain friend of mine came over for Raya (u can probably recognise him from the pic). I like his son..everyone was busy eating or raya-ing, but he is oblivious to all that. He continues playing his gameboy.

Selamat Hari Raya

Aidilfitri. Hari Bahgia. Hari yang mulia...



LIke the song says, Aidilfitri is a time of joy and happiness. Three things come to mind when you talk Aidilfitri... Food, family and green packets!!!! Kalo tambah lagi, then bleh masuk Badil, baju baru, kanak-kanak and soto!!!!!

Selamat Hari Raya pada semua. Semoga bahagia.

butterfly

I saw this little butterfly along the hedge near home. Fluttering about looking for ..er...what is it that butterflies look for?? I have no idea. But it looked busy..hovering and fluttering. The other day i saw a lizard (one of those scary ones) hiding at the same place, near that same bright flower. Hunting maybe?



To all visitors to this blog..yes thats you.. only a handful of you.. thank you for visiting and i wish you a very merry Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

the old bridge

This is the old bridge built alongside the Edinburgh Bridge in the capital. You almost couldnt see it from the new bridge but its there. Its old and its crumbling but its still there. I wonder why its not just demolished. Its kindsa dangerous leaving it like that.


The cemetery was just next door. Lots of people going to the cemetery these last few days of Ramadhan.

pigeons

Have anyone realised that there are a lot of pigeons in Brunei?? Kalau di kumpul tu, macam di Trafalgar Square. Maybe more because i read somewhere that Trafalgar Square is losing its pigeons. Maybe they're in Brunei?!!? That'd be cool... them pigeons flying all the way from the UK and landing in Brunei. And then becoming Brunei permanent residents because its so cool here. hahahaha.





These pigeons were captured in Muara..serasa. Hundreds of them but i caught just these two. Well, caught pakai camera lah. Bukan di tangkap..atu ngaleh tu.

btw..can we eat pigeons? what do they taste like..chicken?

skyline

You know what stands out in the Brunei skyline?? Those flats in OngSumPing!!! Lovely buildings but i dont understand why it doesnt house people. WHy use them as office buildings? They are not designed for office use!!!


I cloned the little boat to get it more in the picture.. hahaha.

kopi

This woman served us coffee the other day. (Well before puasa lah!!) She was quick, moving here and there efficiently pouring coffee and serving us and others. I used a slow shutter speed and got this.


I love coffee. Dont u just love coffee? Whoever first thought of mixing crushed coffee beans and hot water should be given a medal. Several medals. All the medals in the world!!! I LOVE COFFEE!!!!

speed boats

I love to see those little speed boats plying up and down. They look fast. I'm not a Kg Ayer person so i dont really know much but my experience as a landlubber on those speed boats have been exhilirating so far. So much fun!! But then i hae been using the boats as recreation and an experience and not as a mode of transport. Imagine having to go up and down them things several times a day. Fine on a hot sunny day but on a rainy stormy day???? Inda siok kali ah!!


Went to the tambing area last weekend..hoping to see some activity. Quiet lah puasa month ani...

food

Puasa time. Tamu time. Food time. Why do we think so much about food during Ramadhan?


I love these ikan bakar. Get the right sambal and sauce, and ...ish... inda nampak telinga bohhh. See what i mean? always thinking about food. by 3 pm eeryday, sudah think pasal sungkai. Pasal gerai ramadhan. Pasal dim sum di Dynasty atu

Museum

Museum Brunei. Went there last Sunday. Its open everyday except Mondays.

Havent been there for a while and i must say that the place is good. Interesting exhibits. Good for visitors and kids. However, my friend with me has been there earlier this year and she said that it hasnt changed. Everythns the same.



One thing i dont like about the place is that its showin its age. Everything is falling apart. And the lights dont work. The museum staff had to use the overhead flourescent lights, which sorta kills the atmosphere. Its much worse at the Malay Technology Museum. That place need some serious makeover man!!!! Serious makeover. The exhibits are the same ones as when i was a kid, which was a very very long time ago, but its still interesting. What needs the makeover is the building itself and its facilities. Lights! Nada. And it smells musty and damp. Really Museum people, do some work! Malu lah membawa visitirs there.


Ooohh..i saw this model of a 16th (??) century mosque in Brunei Town at the Museum. Its looks so grand. Much better than our designs nowadays.

bananas

Did you know that the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes????

"Research has proved that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose - combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. And....bananas can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions making it a must to add to your daily diet." (taken off the internet...somewhere)

I wonder if its the same for our teeny-tiny bananas?


Took this photo in Supasave. hahaha. I love bananas. Nice and filling. Do you know that Supasave put out New bananas every wednesday? True. Maybe their supply comes every wednesdays. So if you feel like a banana, the bigger sized ones laa, head over to SUpasave. (And no i do not have a share in Supasave.). If you prefer the smaller asian-sized bananas, eh di pasar pun banyak. And di gerai siring jalan ah..

Oh..and another benefit to bananas, hide one in your trousers and women might just smile at you that much brighter.

Ramadhan

Its that time of the year....


Selamat menyambut puasa Ramadhan..

Gerai Ramadhan

Ramadhan. Time for fasting. Time for savouring the breaking of the fast. I have never thought about food as much as i have this past week. What to eat during sungkai?? Soto vs Burger? What about nasi lemak? mmmm...that rojak looks so nice. What about kuih? Nyaman jua makan bingka susu atu. hey i want a burger!!!! Oooo....tungking! (Yucks!!) Anything and everything. Macam macam ada!!!


Those Gerai Ramadhans are doing good business so far. Traffic jams heading to the Stadium Gerai site as well as the Pasar Gerai site. And over there, wow. I love the crowd. Food in their eyes!!!! Meleleh aing liur ganya inda. hahaha.

We live in a beautiful place. I pity those who dont appreciate what we have.

Bahtera

I went walkies in Bandar the other day. Not much crowd over the weekend in Bandar. Maybe its the Puasa month. people staying at home becos everyones hungry. haha. I went to that statue of HM's 60th anniversary at the Tambing...and stood there wondering. Is that going to be something that people would associate with Brunei? Singapore has its Merlion, Malaysia has its Tugu and Brunei has...that?? And its significance is only last year. This year, it means nothing. Why cant someone think of something better to display. What about a potrait of HM in stone? That would be something worth taking pictures with.


The other 'statue' we have thats soooo much better is the Bahtera smack in the middle of the lagoon. That is beautiful!!! And it looks so good taken from any angle.

Water Village

I love this scene. So peaceful. So calm. Romantic kampong air scene. Taken in Batu Marang.


Its really a beautiful place. A nice community. Anyone who hasnt been there should go at least once. Go in the late afternoon, when its nice and calm. You'll see children playing, men fishing, old men sitting around talking, old women sitting at doorways gossiping, and everything you expect a typical water village scene to be.

At least when i was there..

grass..?

Ok, just to break the monotony, this is a pic of grass. ..or some kind of flower that grows in the grass patch in the back garden.
Dont ask me..i dont know what it is. Its just something we trample on. Not something we admire for its beauty. But its red. So it stands out.


Puasa is coming soon. So my fellow photogs are already ready to shoot the tamu scene. Me..well maybe and maybe not. Work is keeping me soooo occupied.

fish bait

Lots of black n white shots huh? I like BW shots. Lend an old style feel to the pics. Besides, the colours didnt come out right in the original pic. I played with this shot with PS to make it look more hard and gritty..


This was taken at the tambing a few weeks ago. At dusk. Sun was setting. Colour turned out bland. Anyway, if you go to the tambing, u'll see many of these fishermen fishing, quite a few using their 'rambat' or those little fishing nets. Do u know what they are fishing for? Fish bait, or more precisely little prawns that they use for (real) fishing at sea. Heheheh. We used to use worms when we were small, but i guess nowadays fish are more clever...they eat better. So the more serious fishermen would first come to the tambing and 'net' their bait. Or kalau malas, just come over and buy these bait from these men. Clever.

the old ferry crossing

have been away from my camera for a bit. Been busy. missed my camera. My partner pun also sudah nda tau kemana. But i will pick up again soon. Maybe bulan puasa ani.




This pic was taken a couple of months back on an outing with a few friends. Took a set of pictures and forgot about them. This was taken at the old ferry crossing point in KB. Used to be bustling and busy but not anymore. No more ferries but this little boat still plies the trade..carrying passengers across the river. Kereta tidak muat lah. The Kampong across pun still alive and its people still need to cross the river.

The singer

A pic from my archive. n my fooling around with photoshop.

Xtreme Challenge Tower

I was in Jerudong yesterday for the Xtreme Adventure Challenge at JP Playground. Awesome man! The place rocks!! Everyone was all excited, adrenaline packed and so pumped up. And at the end, we were sooo exhausted but oh so satisfying. See this tower...dont look so high from the pic, but its three storeys high and the view from up there...its high!!! believe me! Scary when you're getting up there but the way down...the feeling is fantastic!!


Saw anakbrunei there doing his pics. I didnt bring my Nikon but i have my tiny 2MP cameraphone. Pictures are not as dramatic but its ok.

If you're interested in the Adventure Race, see their website at bruneiadventurerace.wordpress.com.

pillars

Have anyoen notice thae we in Brunei love pillars? I see lots of houses with huge pillars purely for cosmetic reasons...colonial influence lah. Maklum, kitani dulu kan tanah orang putih. But do you know that those pillars are expensive? Beribu kali ah sebiji. Rumah bukan jua mansion sangat. Lain lah kalau rumah tu macam White House.


Anyway, i saw these beautiful pillars on a hotel recently. beautiful...

Flying home

Pictures taken from the plane!!! On my HOME to beautiful Brunei. Huh, tiring jua di KL atu...hectic lah. Maklum, ada program. The plane ride home was smooth. Its a new plane! And i was sitting in front! Nice. I have a window seat so my cam was pointed outwards!



Ganya kedapatan tia naik Airasia atu. hehehehe