Walked into a back lane to see if there were any Myanmar folk playing takraw (foot volleyball). I saw people playing on some previous Sundays but there were no games this time.
Met the hood and chatted with them. Very jovial bunch of teens and one guy stood out. He looked like a boy band or Bollywood star.
Here’s a dreamy, burned pic in the style of a CD-cover or music video for him.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 200, f4, 1/200 sec.
Her great grandfather was English and her great grandmother Burmese. On the maternal side, her great grandparents were Thai and Chinese.
Their son married a Spanish-Filipina. Her Eurasian father, who lives in Malacca, married a Chinese lady from Kelantan.
With such a fascinating mix, their child Jolene looks exotic and ravishingly beautiful, naturally. So what’s her race? Malaysian lah.
More than that, she also inherits a rich culinary knowledge for which she puts to good use. Jolene owns and operates the only fusion cafe in town. I stumbled upon her and the restaurant walking the kaki lima. More on the food next.
Photography Notes: I used the acclaimed Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 lens as an impromptu portrait lens here. It was so sharp that I have to reduce the clarity a touch in the raw processor. Nevertheless, it isolated her from the cluttered background beautifully.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f1.8, 1/800 sec.
At the turning into Kuala Kubu Bharu town, I stopped to fill up and friendly pump attendant, Mr Rajamani, assisted me. Since he is KKB born and bred, I asked him if that’s anything interesting to see inside. He thought about it for a few seconds and said: “Not, really. Mostly government offices”.
Familiarity breeds indifference or nonchalance, I guess. It turned out to be the town with the most things to see, so far. Glad I went ahead and explored it, running into so many interesting people and places.
A former government servant, Rajamani has worked at this Shell station for the past 20 years after retiring from civil service. He is now 78, fit and sharp.
I am here again to refill before continuing north on Federal Route 1. Jaded as he was, his face light up when I showed him pics of some of the KKB residents I captured. He smiled broadly as he identified each by name.
Before I drove off, I asked him a question that was bugging me:
Me: “Were petrol stations, such as this one, affected when the highway opened up and transit traffic by-passed the small towns?”.
Rajamani: “Not, really”.
Me: “How is it?”.
Rajamani: “Locals have cars too lah”.
Photography Tip: On a road trip, pack along a small low-light lens but not for bokeh or stylo-mylo purposes. I put it to good use here where twilight was fast fading.
I normally click as I converse, composing with the rear LCD screen so that my face is visible to the subject. With the Sony Zeiss Sonnar T, I was able to dial a fast enough shutter speed to hand hold with one hand and also to freeze a very animated subject.
Goodbye KKB, thanks for the friendships and memories.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f1.8, 1/250 sec.
