Angry Men Sitting In Front Of Coffee Shops

Angry Men Sitting In Front Of Coffee Shops.

A coffee table book should be about coffee or the traditional kopitiam that serve kopi. I am thinking maybe one day I should publish a coffee table book titled “Angry Men Sitting In Front Of Coffee Shops”. I always get some death stares when I stand in front. I think it is territorial aggression. I am a stranger or outsider from another town they sensed

Not all are angry men though. That’s how they react to a stranger with a camera. Engage them to find out more. They could be philosophical, for example. Like the elder man of the Orang Asli duo in Behrang (bottom pic). I asked him what was he thinking so hard about? He told me everyone has problems, with a heavy sigh. True. I replied. What’s the solution then?, I inquired further. He said “Let’s order another bottle of Cap Rusa Arak (a potent legalised local moonshine). The younger gentleman then asked me for my car and phone number. He started writing down all the permutations for lottery bets later. Love their decadent lifestyle . LOL.

#coffeeshop #kopitiam #orangasli #streetphotography #smalltown

The Junkyard Dog Sleeps Tonight

Scrap collectors hauled in a discarded mattress or two. The faithful junkyard dog finds a comfy spot different from the usual rusted metal, cardboard and other junk.

Saw this dog during my exploration of Hulu Bernam area recently. The junkyard dog is a popular movie trope often used to set up a scene with impending sinister activity or hostility.

For all its movie reputation of aggressiveness and alertness, it possesses a less-recognised attribute in real-life. Unconditional loyalty to owners who provide scant creature comforts.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5.6, 1/160 sec.

#streetphotography #documentaryphotography #junkyard #scrapyard #bicycle #dog #junkyarddog #olympus #omd

Colours Of Yonker

Colours Of Yonker.

While searching for images to illustrate the recent feature on Hotel Puri Melaka, I found a forgotten folder. It contains street photography (my favourite genre) images photographed in famous Jonker Street in Melaka. On that bazaar and ancient street, there are so many hidden nooks and crannies with delightful and very colourful subjects and backgrounds.

For street work, bring a pretty friend to act as a model so she can add life to still life subjects. Instruct or direct her clearly as how you want her to react. The model was the former Pin Pin or Alice Pèilíng. Haven’t seen her around much lately as she claimed her FB account was hacked and recently recovered. (also @anyotheralice on IG).

I always pronounce Jonker as Yonker since it of Dutch origin and it is how the Dutch say it. The Dutch ruled Malacca or Melaka for almost 183 years. If you are looking for a hotel in Melaka, see here for links to heritage Hotel Puri and over 490 hotels in the historical city.

http://www.tvsmith.my/travel/hotel-puri-melaka

#melaka #malacca #jonker #streetphotography

Memories Of Labour

Memories Of Labour. I wrote recently about Kota Kinabalu being the sunset capital of the world, particularly from the beaches of Tanjung Aru. On peninsular Malaysia, we have what may be the Sunrise Capital. The sunrise are consistently glorious.

I am talking about the beaches of Cheating near Kuantan city. It faces the east and the South China Sea. I used to stay at the Hyatt Regency Kuantan which was on the Teluk Cempedak beach. Loved the sea facing dining terrace at the Hyatt Kuantan, The sunrise view from there was great too. Many Malaysians know Cherating from Club Med located there.

One day on this same day, around 13 years ago, and it was also Workers Day or Labour Day, also a public holiday then, I took an impulse drive to Kuantan. Every hotel from luxury beach resorts to budget hotels were fully booked. Was grateful for the thoughtful hotels that placed a sign showing “full house” visible from the car. Grateful also for budget hotels that have their phone numbers on their lighted signboards. You will appreciative that too when you parked and ran in/out of lobbies like a million times.

See over 92 hotels and homestays in Kuantan, Cherating and Beserah area.

Many hotel less people ended up sleeping in the car which presented two challenges. Option 1: Die of carbon monoxide poisoning if the car engine and air conditioning were kept running, Lower the windows and the car will host a buzzing mosquito party. Option 2: You will die of Dengue and other mozzie carried diseases. Moral of the story: Book your hotel in advance as everyone has the same idea to visit a popular tourist destination on a public holiday.

Google was so primitive then and it even suggested Genting Highlands Resort as an alternative nearby hotel. I called up and expectedly they were full house too. Is like that all over the world. I recently wrote about the overcrowding at Yellowstone National Park in the US.

Check availability ahead for hotels in Cherating, Kuantan and anywhere in the world via MyCen Hotels http://www.mycen.my/ Anyway, I parked and slept at the very dark car park of an unknown beach hotel in Cherating. With the full occupancy, the open air park was full too. Was lucky to get a space. Luckily my then travel partner and camera assistant Pooi-San PS was quite a tough and hardy girl.

I walked groggily to the beach at around 6 am and soon saw the most beautiful sunrise. A just reward for all the hardship.

See Hotels in Kuantan and Cherating at MyCen Hotels.

Photographed handheld with the excellent Olympus C8080 bridge cam,

#kuantan #cherating #sunrise #eastcoast

Layang Layang Makan Makan

Every time I post a local food dish, some of my North American friends would react by saying they wish they can try it sometimes, Through my America based Malaysian friend Calene Chew (on FB) I found out there is a good Malaysian makan place named Layang Layang Malaysian Cuisine (translated as kites in Malay). It is in Milpitas, California, a city between San Jose and San Francisco. There are many other Malaysian restaurants in California, of course, but this one is recommended and tested by Calene, originally a Penangnite with demanding taste-buds,

They have Malaysian favourites like Prawn Mee, Assam Laksa, Ipoh Fish ball noodles, wonton mee, mee goreng, nasi lemak, mutabak, satay. ikan bakar. nasi goreng, cendol, ABC and Bo Bo Cha Cha and teh ais, among others. Yes, Americans. You have Latin cha cha, we have bo bo cha cha.

There is also an outlet in San Jose. You might also be a Malaysian or Singaporean craving or missing home food. I have eaten at many Malaysian restaurants all over the world and the thing that irks me most is a native of the country walking from table to table to see what Asian customers are eating and then interrupt by saying: “That looks good. Waiter, can I have one of the same, please. Whatever this is?” Happens a lot in UK, especially. Please stop doing this. It is very rude. RTFM! – Read the fucking menu.

Layang Layang Malaysian Cuisine locations:

San Jose, California
1480 South De Anza Blvd
San Jose, CA 95129
Tel. 408 . 777 . 8897

Milpitas, California
181 W. Calaveras Blvd
Mipitas, CA 95035
Tel: 408 . 263 . 6788

Piictures from Layang Layang website at http://www.layanglayang.us/

#malaysianfood #penang #california #layanglayang #milpitas #usa