Sunset Capital Of The World

Kota Kinabalu is the sunset capital of the world. I don’t mean it in the metaphorical sense as in declining.There was a spectacular or glorious sunset every day I was there. This is a scene from the same balcony I captured the earlier pic of the flickering silver sea with Bernard Khoo. Without warning, it soon developed into a majestic golden sunset,

Whether you are on the balcony of your hotel room or on the beach or on the waterfront, or at the UMS jetty at Sepanggar Bay, at the stilt houses of the water village or at the Bandar Mosque, a stunning sunset awaits you daily unless it is raining heavily. West Malaysians need to know that sunsets in KK are an hour earlier at around 6:20 pm.

Don’t wait for the sun to dip below the horizon although the beauty of an afterglow with rich hues has its merits too. Compose to include reflections on water, wet sand and palm trees if there are. Photographers go to the seaside for sunsets because all these elements make a great backdrop. Not surprisingly, the Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort has a bar named Sunset Bar.

The beaches of Tanjung Aru is a great place to photograph sunsets. The coast faces West. If you are planning to go KK to photograph sunsets, book a KK hotel listed in MyCen Hotels (http://www.mycen.my/) Suggestions are Marina Court Resort Condo Hotel (where I photographed this), Tanjung Aru Beach Resort, Manukan Island Resort, the Magellan Sutera at Sutera Harbour and possibly at the resort at big Gaya Island, if you are on he correct side.

You can do it at any beach or high elevation vantage point you have access, Nobody owns the sunsets.

#sunset #dusk #goldenhour #sundown #nature #sea #kk #kotakinabalu #sabah #kk #kotakinabalu #borneo

In Memory of Uncle Bernard Khoo

On a rainy day, the former South China Sea and Gaya Island were part of a glittering silver landscape. Photographed from our Kota Kinabalu apartment hotel Marina Court with the late Bernard Khoo (blogger Zorro Unmasked) blowing smoke from his pipe, next to me. I told Bernard the landscape may soon become gold. Bernard passed away on 4th April 2014. The hotel can be seen in the previous post.

#kk #sabah #kotakinabalu #borneo #southchinasea #landcape #pulaugaya #monochrome

Seaside Cats

Morib Beach is sort of bizarre. I saw wild monkeys and stray cats on the same day. The sunset was dull and cool at the esplanade on that day but I saw something heart warming. Hard to see in this pic but some of the of the human visitors were sharing their snacks with a couple of appreciative homeless cats.

The A7R camera’s resolution is so massive I can crop in (on another shot), recover from the shadows and show the close up as an inset.

Sometimes, seeing a sunset can cheer you up, sometimes seeing a simple act of kindness can too.

Sony Alpha A7R, ISO 2000, f10, 1/60 sec.

#morib #cats #strays #beach ##sea #homeless #sunset #silhouette

The Gold Coast Model

My former colleague and long time friend, the statuesque Simp Lee sent me a bunch of pics she took at the Avani Goldcoast Sepang, where she recently stayed and was a happy camper. Thank you, Simp. She’s regularly seen in television commercials, is also a model, a yogi, homemaker, chef and was the beautiful Mrs Asia Supreme Earth 2015. As I discussed with Penang advertising legend Kenny Song many years ago, the water on the West coast of peninsular Malaysia, be it Penang, Pangkor or Langkawi, is rarely cobalt blue unlike the oceans of the east coast islands and in Borneo. The resort provides electric golf carts to transport guests and luggage to the far flung chalets. The palm shaped and branched out chalets of the Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort was featured and can also be booked through here: http://www.mycen.my/avani-sepang-goldcoast-resort/ All pics here copyright and owned by Simp Lee. Please do not use without permission. #baganlallang #chalets #goldcoast #selangor #seaside #model #avanisepang #nature #travel #resort #holiday #goldcoast #chalets #avanisepanggoldcoastresort #sea #model

The Beach Boys Of Morib

Morib beach is so idyllic, secluded and near yet nobody comes here on a weekday. Except for the beach boys, a group of monkeys having the esplanade to themselves. Glad to see wildlife co existing.

Delightful to see them swinging on Casuarina trees. Morib is the nearest real beach for us landlocked KLites. You will cry if you come here on a weekend as I previously did. The amount of litter and garbage strewn about and left behind by visitors was shocking.

Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 200, f16, 1/250 sec.

#pantai #pantaimorib #morib #beach #sea #ocean #monkeys #wildlife #nature #casuarina #landscape #goldcoast #selangor #tourism