Mount Bromo at Twilight

Mount Bromo can be seen in this shot, it isn't blocked by Batok (: See the trail of steam from the crater? Sometimes when you're a lucky photographer, the entire valley is filled with mist and its a GORGEOUS view. I'm not that lucky after all (: BUT lucky enough to reach just before the sun came up, or I'd have killed my uncle HAHA.

Unfortunately, this photo is made up of two composited photos, as the sky was way too bright and I couldn't hold it back well enough with my 3-stop ND grad. Plus, I left my other ND grad at home, silly me. Oh well, time to get another Singh-Ray filter I guess (: Ha! And I met a caucasian at Mount Penanjakan who borrowed my filter and told me he was Galen Rowell's student. What a joker (: And his friend who was munching on a carrot said he's a rabbit. Ah well (:

More shots to come!

Horseriding at Mount Bromo

That's me trotting on a horse and trying to get a sharp and composed photo (: My horse was really small, and kept neighing and tossing its head (prolly angry with its bridle) and my lens kept bouncing on the saddle and I got kinda worried that my expensive B&W KSM CPL would eventually crack into millions of tiny pieces!

But it was impossibly fun, and beautiful in the stunning landscape (soon to be uploaded). It was really necessary to ride the horse to and fro to Mount Bromo, for the distance to walk is extremely far, followed by a long and tiring (or short yet very steep, how contradictory) climb up to look down into the crater.

The horse ride cost about 50,000 rupiah per person after bargaining, for a group of six. Highly recommended (: It was MUCH more fun than the sunrise at Mount Penanjakan, or even the view down from Mount Bromo.

Mount Bromo

I'm back from Indonesia, and this here's my second favourite place from the trip - Mount Bromo.

Well, technically not really Mount Bromo (: I just realised that from this view on Mount Penanjakan, I can only see Mount Batok (in the middle), the smoke from Mount Bromo which is entirely blocked (haha) by Batok, and Mount Semeru distant at the top right of the photo.

But it was really gorgeous and quite cold at the top, where I missed the change of colours in the sky before sunrise, partly due to my uncle who really moves at an impossibly slow speed. Sometimes I feel like killing him! I wonder how my aunt tahan-ed him for 30 years (: My tripod also failed on me countless times while I was trying to take steady photos, and my knee gave way on me many times afterwards from all the kneeling on the ground.

I also need to mention here that I took a butt-numbing 11 hour car ride from Yogyakarta to Bromo, and the air-con was not working throughout the sweltering journey. After reaching around 10pm, I had to leave the hotel at 3.30am for the sunrise. Was it worth it? Most probably yes, I did enjoy the scenery. I did feel that it was the surroundings (ie driving from Probolingo to Penanjakan) with its gorgeous colours and sprawling landscape that was a whole lot more stunning than the view of Bromo though (: Yes, such beauty does exist in Indonesia indeed!

More photos to be up soon.

Duckie says Hello (:

I think I had a connection with this lil duckling in Sapa, Vietnam, who loved being photographed (: Don't you think he's tilting his head and smiling at me? And strangely, I wandered off to shoot ducklings on a rice terrace while everyone else was fascinated by and photographing adorable children of ethnic minorities. I might just prefer cute yellow fluff balls to children.

PS, I actually considered stopping eating duck after I saw this cuties. Still thinking if that would affect my already non-mammal diet.

Sapa, Vietnam

Shot on Agfapan 400, developed in HC-110B.

This was the view from my homestay in Sapa. It wasn't exactly a homestay though given the term. I felt like I was in a cheap hostel in the countryside, contrary to my expectations of sleeping under the same roof as the locals, or even eating dinner at their table squatting on a tiny plastic stool.

Anyway, when I stuck my head out of the hut, the mountainous landscape was misty, and the clouds had completely blocked out the sun. I had always imagined taking a photo like this, photos I had always seen online, with the mountains having no texture but just forming layers in graduated shades against each other. It was a perfect opportunity (: And after development of the film, I was quite surprised to see the light falling into the valley. Whether it was the sun's rays breaking through the clouds, flare, or even a development problem, it sure worked!

Back from Vietnam

My photos from Cambodia haven't been completely uploaded, and now I have photos from Vietnam too! Good golly. Fortunately I took half as much photos in Vietnam (:

Here's Miak and I, sitting outside the gate before our flight.



We thought we were late as the status said last call so we ran all the way down, only to see that many people hadn't arrived (:

Shall put up more photos when I have the time.

Day Two at Siem Reap (part 3)

In the midst of studying for Media Law and my Final Theory Test (of which I flunked the first!), I had a sudden revelation that I HAD to complete posting my photos of Siem Reap, Cambodia.

I suppose its due to reasons like this that I do not do well for tests. Well, let's just hope and pray a miracle happens for my second FTT tomorrow (:

In case you've not been reading on the Cambodia series, here are the first few posts:
Day One
Day One (part two)
Day Two
Day Two (part two)

Let's continue from the end of Day Two (part two), which was when we left the temples and had a BREAK! Hola, lunch!



Meet the Continental Cafe & Guesthouse, a cheap yet good place to get some local / western eats.

This is my Mixed Fruit Shake - which is seriously yummy, chock full of fruits that sucking on the straw makes you feel like your mouth is getting a workout. Mango is definitely a main component of the shake - and its only $1! (:



Here's a Beef Noodle Soup, also $1, but although it looks good, it apparently doesn't live up to its looks! Oh well, still cheap (:



We also had the Chicken w Pineapple Rice, of which I forgot the price. But so far, the food here is really rather affordable... and we came back for seconds (:



After a short nap (cos of the scorching heat), we were back at Angkor Archaeological Park.

The weary tourists trudge on...



Meet Ta Prohm, famous site of filming for Tomb Raider, I think.



Not that I watched it. But this site was allowed to remain in its overgrown state, with large trees growing out of the remnants. It was pretty much held up by a lot of wood beams.



Which, IMO, spoilt the photos!

The trees had particularly shimmery bark too, which means you should photograph there NOT during noon. As you can see, I was facing a lot of shiny reflective problems.







The ruins were particularly interesting though, as compared to the reconstructed / repaired buildings from the Angkorian era which although beneficial to the public, was not how it looked when adventurers discovered the place.



Rubble and tree roots...



Probably restored carvings:



Pardon the flare here, and stare at the gorgeous humongous tree with its roots encircling the ruins. BIG!!! :D



A place of worship within...



Nature regains its stranglehold on the ruins





A very naughty boy who KEPT HITTING THE ROOTS and making a commotion! I actually wished the tree would kinda come to life and swallow the kid whole like in the Lord of the Rings. Alas, none of that happened except in my vivid imagination. Neither did his irresponsible father give the boy a whooping.



And then, I catch a glimpse of the elusive monks in their saffron robes. Maybe their elusive only to me.



Sure, they are going away from me.



Some even run away, with a polite smile on their face.



Oh well, maybe I look scary to monks (:

The next post will bring us to Angkor Wat!

Day Two at Siem Reap: Angkor Archaeological Park (continued)

Finally, a continuation on the Cambodia trip (:

After our visit to Bayon, the state temple of Jayavarman VII during the late 12th to 13th centuries, we headed to the nearby Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King.

Similar to Bayon, the Elephant Terrace was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII.



Three hundred metres long, the terrace is decorated with elephants (yes, you guessed it), multi-headed horses, naga balustrades and garudas.

Elephants



and garudas



The terrace seems to be crumbling though, sadly.

However, it should be noted that both the Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King have 'hidden' walls (if I remember correctly) which have better preserved carvings.

When you visit the Terrace of the Leper King, do not just climb to the top to visit the copy (the original is in the National Museum)



but go into the hidden reliefs by walking into a thin sort of trench.



It sometimes gets flooded though, so the whole short distance is not walkable.



Next stop was Bapuon. The temples are all very close together in the enclosure of Angkor Thom.

Built in the middle of the 11th century, the causeway towards the entrance in the east is supported by short pillars.



We did not visit the temple though, for it was under renovation.



Instead, we got a bit lost walking towards Phimeanakas...

But were pointed the right way by a cripple selling paintings in the middle of nowhere.



Don't ask me why its slanting (:



This mini pyramid is crumbled on the top, and VERY small. Meaning you climb up very steep steps, for not really much of a view either on the pyramid, or of the surrounding areas. Not recommended.

Next post will have the famous Ta Prohm temple!