Category: People

Laughter In The Rain

Saw this roadside stall at Ulu Slim on a wet evening. It was operated by a makcik trio. One makcik was too shy and declined to be photographed. Below is our conversation translated into English from Malay (for the benefit of international followers).

Me: Is that your house behind, makcik?

They: Yes. And do you know why we are selling food in front of our humble kampung house?

Me: So that you don’t have to use that shiny new car (wrapped up) to transport the food elsewhere?

They: OMG! Hahaha. No! So we don’t have to pay rent like those selling at the Ramadan bazaar in town. True or not?

Before I can answer they burst out laughing themselves. We started chatting like friends, talking about the cost of trading and life in the kampung. Love their great sense of humour and gregarious personality.

Since they were closing up, I bought almost all the remaining kuih for only RM 5. Yes, their overheads are lower and it is reflected in the price.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 125, f4, 1/60 sec.

Pit Stop

Is easy not to notice the flashing low fuel warning when you are driving on a country road with such breathtaking scenery. I pulled into an unbranded gas station at the kampung.

Petrol pump attendant Ahmad Burhani asked me if I want the fuel in a ketchup bottle, cooking oil bottle or a mineral water bottle. Only RON 95 grade is available and it starts at RM 2 per bottle.

Ahmad, who is autistic, makes a decent and honest living catering to local motorcyclists who find it inconvenient to ride all the way to town just to re-fill. His father buys the fuel for him.

The affable guy suggested I take all bottles, thinking I was planning to drive all the way to Pahang.

I didn’t even know the Orang Asli kampung and jungle trail can lead to Pahang. Another adventure for another day!

The petrol station’s security guard is a goose and it needs to go for anger management. It kept charging at my knee.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f5, 1/80 sec.

Kawaii

Two cute siblings whose parents are traders at a Ramadan bazaar in Slim River. When they saw my camera, they happily flashed the V-sign, inviting me to take a snap. How can I say no? Haha.

Cute as it is, few kids know or care about the origin of the peace or victory (V) sign, its original meaning and colourful history.

For Asian kids, this hand gesture became an automatic and spontaneous reaction to a camera.

Its unexpected revival as part of modern-day Asian pop culture is attributed to the Japanese Cuteness Culture known as kawaii.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f2, 1/400 sec.

Family Business

At the Slim River market, Sabri the grocery shop owner, is doing his accounts. His daughter Mina, 5, is doing her kindergarten homework alongside him.

I wanted to capture a candid of both concentrating on their respective work but the kid does what she does best upon seeing a camera. Automatically pose without prompt. What a sweet smile.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f8, 1/100 sec.

Sungai Bil Waterfalls

The calming sight and soothing sounds of the river belie the ferocious battles that was fought beside it during the Second World War. The road outside was littered with casualties from the British Indian Army attempting to thwart the invasion.

It was on this road that invading Japanese tanks rumbled through in its drive to capture Singapore in the south. This was the old road going north or south until the tolled-Slim River highway was constructed in the 1960s.

74 years later, the actions of the brave men are mostly forgotten or ignored. The river that bore witness remains as stoic as the giant, mossy boulders.

The stoical stance lessens the pain of indignation, I guess. Its banks are now littered with styrofoam boxes from disregardful picnickers.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 50, f22, 1/2 sec.