Ramadan bazaar

Sunray filtering through Ramadan bazaar in Kuala Terengganu - 2010, Canon 7D 

Every year in Malaysia, during the month of Ramadan, temporary stalls are erected for traders to sell food for breaking fast and cookies for Eid celebration.

Tapai - A traditional food in Malaysia - 2008, Canon 350D

Cookies for Eid celebration - 2008, Canon 350D

Breaking fast

The bell keeper keeping track of the time to ring the big bell - 1971, Konica C35, Tri-X ASA 400. Developed in Microdol-x


In my hometown, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, during the month of Ramadan, signal for breaking fast used to be by ringing of a big bell and firing of a cannon. The hundred years old tradition of ringing the bell was discontinued in around the year 2000. The firing of the cannon is now replaced by firing of a single firework that gives a loud boom.

The sound of the bell can be heard in a very wide area of the town because it is located on a hill (Puteri Hill). It is the sound everyboby will be very keen to hear at sunset because they can break their fast. The bell will thereafter be struck on every hour until midnight.  At midnight, ringing of the bell is long. It begin slowly, then it gets faster in rapid succession, a pause, ending with a single ring. It is called Goncang.

The person responsible to ring the bell is said to be from one family. It is passed from one generation to another.

The bell house at Puteri Hill - 1971, Konica C35, Tri-X ASA 400. Developed in Microdol

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Malaysian commandos

Malaysian commandos, looking like Ninja Turtle demonstrating hand to hand combat on the beach.

Solution for diarrhoea

If you are suffering from diarrhoea and public toilet is hard to find, see below for solution!

World Gamelan Festival (2)

Sarawak's energetic and spectacular traditional dance at the World Gamelan Festival 2010 in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. It was perfomed by dancers from Peninsula Malaysia.

This show is a camera's metering nighmare. The lighting changes all the time. Both intensity and colour. There are very dark areas and very bright spotlight. It makes your meter goes wacky. The dancers move all the time - which is a challenge for focussing. I use manual exposure for all the photos. Camera is set at ISO 1600, f/5.6. To adjust shutter speed, I wait for a bright scene then take a reading off a light coloured dancer skin using spot meter and add one and a third stop. That turns out to be 1/100 sec. That's it. When the lighting is right, shoot. Sometime the light intensity change and you made some adjustment. This is the opposite of what I normally do - which is to meter according to a scene. This time I set an exposure and shoot when the scene lighting changes to your exposure setting!

The Canon 7D and 17-40mm f/4L lens focus very well in this condition. I use single point focus with expansion. Focussing method varies between "One shot" and "AI servo". Sometime I do pre focussing. There is some noise reduction applied for all photos. There is one with a little tweak on colour balance. Other than that, all are straight from camera JPEGs.

Tangkuban Perahu

One of the main attractions in Bandung is the volcanic craters at Tangkuban Perahu. There are many small shops selling souvenirs near the main crater which is known as Kawah Ratu (Ratu Crater). A trail along the rim leads you to the other side of the crater. It is an interesting walk. Don't miss it. A casual walk while taking photos may take about half an hour to reach the other end. Highly recommended for nature lovers.

We arrive early. Most souvenir shops are still closed!

The other side of the crater.

Black tree trunk near the rim.

 Benches are provided for visitors along the trail. Cool surrounding.

Part of the trail around the rim of the crater.

Mosses covered rock along the trail.

Bandung, Indonesia

I went to Bandung, Indonesia, after the World Gamelan Festival. It is only 2 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur.

With a population of around 3 million, the city center in Bandung is very crouded. In a traffic jam, even motorcycles cannot move.

Chess is a popular pastime on the sidewalk.

People in Bandung are not camera shy. I took the shot above after this guy made a request.

World Gamelan Festival 2010

I was at the World Gamelan Festival in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, last night.  Gamelan is a traditonal music and dance in Indonesia and Malaysia. Fabulous performance by groups from Malaysia, Indonesia and even Japan. A very entertaining show.