.Back from KK.

.One of my life's achievement: Jump Shot with Mount Kinabalu.

Well well... I'm finally back from my much anticipated and highly thrilling roadtrip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. A week away from home with much members from my extended family, on my mother's side... and yes, there were plenty of drama that came with the family. We'll just leave it at that.

Convoy to Kota Kinabalu: 2 SUVs, 2 Trucks and a Van.

Seven days on the road, which resulted in well over a 1,000 photos. Go figure. It was quite the itinerary for the roadtrip and as we got closer to the departure date, the more and more things we did! Among the few...


Arrival to the wedding celebration

A wedding of an unknown relative. Truth be told, this was the main reason why the roadtrip to KK was organised. To attend a wedding of an unknown relative of mine. Unknown in the sense that I don't know him... or her... well, more like we haven't been formally introduced or are acquainted of each other. But all in all, Congratulations to both the Bride and BrideGroom. May you both enjoy a prosperous life with each other.

My small newly-acquainted cousin

The wedding was an interesting cultural experience. The wedding itself was modest and humble in size and decoration, unlike those held in Brunei... I realised that when it comes to weddings in Brunei, people always try to go as glamourous as they can... And everyone running the event would always be uptight... paranoid... whereas this one I attended was very laidback... bride and groom were mingling with the crowd, proud happy parents smiling and laughing with other guests... there was even the "pocho-pocho", danced and enjoyed by both males and female guests...


The Wedding Stage

It was only during this wedding reception that i realised how much Bruneians like to show off their "glamourous"-ness. I was almost ashamed to admit it. Sitting there like princes and princesses in our fancy personally-tailored clothes, flapping our fans away, not bothering to mingle with the rest of the crowd...We sometimes know no humility. But then again, that's my opinion....

Anyhow... aside from that, we also managed to visit: OneBorneo - supposedly the biggest mall located within the South East Asian region. As this month coincides with school holidays, we weren't surprised to find many Bruneians journeying out to this huge shopping complex to get their hands on the latest christmas sale in KK. There were so many Bruneians there that in fact, it had felt like I was back in Brunei!

Relaxing at a massage parlour

Christmas tree at OneBorneo

A visit to the Tagal River within the regions of Mount Kinabalu, where carp fish swam to and fro against our feets on the bed of the running water. Echoes of lip smacking filled the air, as the fish fought against one another to shove their slimy soft heads into our enclosed palms for food. After which, we spent most of the remaining day frolicking about the clear green fresh water, picnicking by the riverbed with the beloved family.

Scenes from the Fish Experience and Picnic by the river

On this note, I conclude this with a nice photo of my family having fun in the
Kinabalu National Park.

Shots of Mount Kinabalu and Sunset by the Mountain side

the three crazies

.The One Mile Shot.

Speaking of exploring beyond our comfort zones, recently I decided to take a leap of good faith and try something new - I bet you'll never guess it: ordering take out and sitting by the side road to enjoy your food. hahaha... yep, you bet. I did it.

It was a rainy night out and, with Rockband, we cruised around town searching for some inspiration after conducting a sunset Jerudong Beach shoot. The rain despite being constant was quite light. Roads were shiny, floors were slippery, skies were dark, street lights were bright... I was just thankful there wasn't any lightning or thunder.

Rockband enjoying his KFC
So by 8 o'clock, there we were roaming the streets of the city, looking for something to shoot: trying to explore the city/town in a different photographic perspective when Rockband suddenly proposed the proposterous yet unseemingly awesome idea: to cover a night city shoot in Bandar up on the pedestrian crossings, whilst enjoying take outs from KFC - naughty, naughty food!

Wow... I have to say it was quite an exciting shoot! Bascially the concept was a traffic-night scene similar to those in Bundoora, Melbourne. We conducted ours above the pedestrian bridge by Batu Satu. Driving to the nearing shopping complex, we headed over to KFC where we preceded to order our take out food and soon after, headed to the bridge.

Over the pedestrian bridge

Overall it was a fun photoshoot, however the rain did effect the quality of the photos, as the wet road reflected the lights coming from the car - it proved to be a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless despite all that, most of the photos manage to turn out well. Standing above traffic, in the middle of the pedestrian bridge, catching the rays of light streaking down the black shiny roads. I think at some point there were cars that slowed down... i suppose they were curious to see what we were up to.


Half way through the shoots, we took a break - which was when we took our packed food and by the stairwells, sat to our comfort and ate to our jolly stomachs. Hahaha... till this day, i still can't believe I did that. One word: Ghetto!

.The One Mile Shot.

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Oh yeah not forgetting to share with you guys, in these past few weeks I've been privileged enough to be able to catch some amazing scenes in Brunei.First being the "smiling moon", that beamed up its lovely vision up against the dark skies. Twinkling down to earth from the heavens...

.Twinkling Smile.

And the second being, an evening shot around the back of my house. Just as the sun was setting, I was fortunate enough to catch one of the ever-noisy planes gliding across the horizon and coincidentally into my shot! Talk about awesomeness, eh?

.Gliding by.

.In Need of Something Different.

Sometimes it's best to let go of our fears, take a chance, and with a deep breath
let go of our comfort zones to explore the unknown.
Whose to say what you'll find there?

.Sunset by the Empire.

.From the Memory Box.

.From the Memory Box.
.Airport Brunei, Brunei Darussalam 2008.