Sam Sam and Esther Spinning On The Pole

Pole Stars billed as Sam Sam and Esther put up a very memorable, entertaining and impressively choreographed performance as a duet team in the Pole Stars Championships 2013. Ever since, and sadly, I could not find much information about them and shockingly there are no Youtube videos of the two fine artistes.

Anybody, especially pole dancers know them? May be hard to recognize them in heavy stage make up.

By the way, you can enjoy a show while photographing it. Don’t be too serious and you will capture the fun.

Olympus OMD, ISO 4000, f5, 1/320 sec.

#poledancing #polestars #pole #dance #poledancers #tbt

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya – Part 16

It may not be the best place to shoot from as some skaters tend to come near to grab the rail. If you are unlucky, one of those hand-holding couples will block most of your view.

If you attained a fast enough shutter speed, you can capture any unexpected subject. Don’t forget that relative speed is exaggerated when a subject is too close and thereby is harder to freeze or to capture without motion blur.

Skaters do slow down though when they consciously aim for the rails. Speaking of freeze, her meager attire bears testimony to my previous observation that so-called ice skating rinks nowadays are no longer the freezing chambers they used to be.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 1600, f4.0, 1/320 sec.

Where is IOI City Mall Putrajaya?
http://www.mycen.my/ioi-city-mall/

#documentaryphotography #ioicitymall #mall #skatingrink #skate #ice #icescape

How The Cub Became A Monster

Just pay a RM 18 deposit to get one on the road, it seemed. Named after the original Honda Cub model, it was essentially a made-for-city moped. The engines are now mostly noisy and smoky 2 stroke lawn mover sounding engines. To compound the problem, the kapchais are usually modified by owners to have mufflers removed and engine tuned to street race.

Relied upon by the poor and an entire industry of delivery services, it has become a cheap and indispensable mode of transport to circumvent traffic congestion, poor public transportation options and rising costs of owning a car. City Hall is now mulling the possibility of banning the humble kapchai to reduce carbon emissions. Quite unreasonable to me, as the cited problems are the accumulated results of years of tolerant or half-hearted enforcement.

The kapchais were allowed to run red lights, ride on kerbs and go against the flow of traffic with impunity or nary a warning. Now authorities are citing snatch thefts as a concern for allowing the kapchai. By closing one eye, we made conditions fertile for two wheeled thieves to get away.

Who would blink an eye if a kapchai rode on the kerb next to a pedestrian or rode against traffic flow, made illegal u-turns or crashed through red lights? Years of lawlessness turned the docile cub into a dangerous monster.

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya – Part 15

As a kid, I have only tried the rinks in Sungai Wang Plaza and at Asiajaya mall. Many younger people only know of the one in Sunway Pyramid nowadays.

The Sungai Wang and Asiajaya rinks were like cold meat storage rooms. Completely sealed from outside, they were cold as winter inside. That attracted people, I suppose. The massive refrigeration costs may have made them broke though. I wonder if Asiajaya mall still exists.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 400, f4.0, 1/320 sec.

Where is IOI City Mall Putrajaya?
http://www.mycen.my/ioi-city-mall/

#documentaryphotography #ioicitymall #mall #skatingrink #skate #ice #icescape

Curry Rice From Cendol Bakar

Stole a shot while peeping. Not sure if it was nasi lemak (santan rice) or plain white rice on the banana leaf base but it looked really delicious and tempting. They sell rojak and other mouth-watering Malay dishes too.

Silly me thought the name came about because the owner’s name is Bakar. I found out it was literal as it meant “burnt”. The palm sugar for the cendol is burnt or caramelised, so hence the name.

The idea of a unique cendol drive thru is working out well as it is very popular with passing motorists. A mak cik (auntie) behind the drive thru counter was friendly and efficient.

Lot 1195-1196, Batu 1, Kampung Assam Jawa, Jalan Bukit Rotan, Kuala Selangor.

Coming from KL via LATAR Expressway, you may miss it you turned earlier for the fireflies park via Jalan Kelab.

Map and directions to Cendol Bakar in Kuala Selangor:
http://www.mycen.my/cendol-bakar-kuala-selangor/

Panasonic LX-5, ISO 80, f2.8, 1/125 sec.

#cendol #cendolbakar #kualaselangor #localfood #rice #curry