Red Telephone Box in snow, London

 

The recent news of severe snow weather disruption in Europe reminded me of some of the snow photographs I took while in UK.

The most memorable one should be the one above where I shot it while crossing the road in Bayswater Road to the nearby park in search of that “amazing” shot. But opportunity came knocking on my door while crossing the road, so I took a quick shot while walking towards the walkway with my old trusty Canon Powershot A85 (yes, a 4 Megapixels camera!) and I have that golden shot!

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Romance in Flying

Flying to me is always a romantic affair, with an aura of adventure and enthusiasm.

Just like a stunning woman in the red dress that walked passed me wearing the mesmerising smile with such elegant moves and a flair of long beautiful hairs; there is always something about flying that gets my attention, without fail every single time.

FLYING IN THE EVENING

Who could have forgotten the view of the flickering  moonlights reflected off the calm ocean in the evening flight, the romance of being able to fly at 10,000 ft across the virgin clouds, have your mind dozing off in a blanket of stars and the pillow of the moon?

The minor air turbulence that gently rocks you like a baby in the cradle to sleep, where the great dreams are made of. And let’s not forget the occasional pilot announcement in a cool, deep and calm voice that adds the gest of the romantic setting in the flight.

FLYING IN THE LATE AFTERNOON

Flying in the late afternoon offers another great perspective when sunray comes out to play and evokes the romantism in me.

With the cold white wine in one hand, Stacey Kent’s What a Wonderful World playing in my mind while I look out of the window counting clouds, admiring the amazing geographical shape on earth, making me falling into that melancholic mood, thinking of love with a great sigh.

In some of these flights, surely I will  see the people happy faces and shimmering glow in their eyes when talk about rekindling with the loves one. The marvelous metal bird makes the distance between the loves one closer than before. Ah… how such romantic occasion made possible by flights.

It is unquestionable that amid the tired security lines, the distraction of the duty free shops, the crowded and sterile looking departure halls have diluted the sparks of the romance in flying.

Nonetheless, try to look beyond all those huddles, slow your pace and sit at a quiet corner in the café with your earphones start playing the romantic tunes of your own. Anticipate the amazing painting-like view from the plane window, the butterfly in the stomach feel when think of the the loves one you are going to meet, the great experience of being cut off from the connected mobile world while content with your thoughts… Look closer, and you will still be able to find the quintessence of the romance in flying. :)

Side note: Some of the photos in this post are shot from an old mobile phone camera, hence the quality is not on par.

Audi Experience– Audi A5 Sportback, Audi Q3, Audi Q5 & Audi Q7

With it’s motto advancement through technology (Vorsprung durch Technik), Audi has never fail to amuse anyone that drove one.

It’s simple, functional, yet elegant lines from the exterior to the interior of the cars. Many thousands man hours are spent into making sure every single parts of the cars are properly designed, in place, and logical in use. From Audi’s simplicity approach in the dashboard design, to the satisfying clicks of every single buttons in the cars; all those meticulously executed buildmanship evoked a sense or regal and matured vehicle for a grown up.

The love for an Audi might not be a love on first sight for many due to the simplicity in the exterior. But it will grow on you and the love will build over time especially when you drive one.

I am very privileged to be given a chance to fall in love with an Audi, courtesy of Audi Malaysia. I walked around the showroom and chat up, errr, snapped some gorgeous shots of the cars. And to add an icing to the cake, an extensive test drive was warranted and sealed my attention to the Audi – Especially the Quattro technology which is extremely unique in the car industry. With Quattro, optimal power is distributed to each wheel (4 of them), resulting in confidence and inspiring handling even in less than perfect driving conditions.

For those technically inclined readers, see video below for the explanation on why this technology is extremely powerful in aiding the handling of the car (one of the best I have experienced).

For those that prefer the awesome advertisement, see below.

For the purpose of demonstration of this technology prowess, Audi Malaysia has arranged the Q3, Q5 and Q7 at my disposal to go through a series of designed obstacles.

To add to the excitement and challenge, the heaven opened up, thunder storm ensured and I rub my hands in glee. This is the best time to put the quattro claims to the test!

The rain stopped when I reached the test area. I put the Q family of cars to swerve and brake around the traffic cones at 80 km/h with slippery road surface. Not a sweat from the cars. Well composed and I am fully in control, I am impressed by the lack of rolling of the cabins while swerving the cars. 

A series of other tests includes 25 degrees tilt, 30 degree gradient hill climb and seesaw further inked my impression on these remarkable human engineering pieces.

True and behold, Audi has lived up its motto for pushing advancement through technology. I have never enjoyed any drives so immensely engaged and at the same time pampered by the luxury touch of the car cabin. Well done Audi!

Scroll down for more photos of the test drive. Oh and one more thing, if you are interested to experience the amazing Audi, quickly contact the friendly personnal at the Audi Malaysia. Click here to arrange a test drive with Audi. Enjoy!

Photoshoot Session: Where is Kuala Lumpur? A Kuala Lumpur Photo Shoot Tour PART 2

While still mesmerised by the wonders of the different cultures and races exist in this area, we wandered through the infamous Petaling Street, also known as the Chinatown.

Chinatown stays true to its icon – being dingy, messy and having an euphoria of Chinese food choices at virtually every single corner of the street, but we found it to be unique and has its own characteristic charm.

Just take a look at the photo above, it is as if it is shot right out from the movie set. The whole area is definitely a photographic heaven for street photographer!

Having shamelessly self proclaimed my undying love towards the Great Britain, I ushered my mate to the Moorish style British colonial train station which is situated a stone throw away from the Chinatown. And trust me, you might still be able to have a whiff of that British train fetish romantism lingering around this building.

 

Photoshoot Session: Where is Kuala Lumpur? A Kuala Lumpur Photo Shoot Tour

Not too long ago, I welcomed my Hong Kong mate visit to Malaysia once again. And this time around, his travel itinerary revolved around the capital city of Kuala Lumpur in which the locals rather love to call it as KL.

Since my mate shares the similar interest with me – photography. His short trip has been heavily laced with unique photography spots in KL.

Right, first stop is the must-have Kuala Lumpur old city tour. We started off the journey from the Klang River side, walking towards the Central Market and its adjacent area for some street photography actions.

The view of the pseudo-old Kuala Lumpur downtown where the city started its root in the mid 1800s, in which in my opinion, is rather young if compared with other countries. Some say the Klang River in KL is equally comparable to the Seine River in Paris… For me, I think that is rather an over statement for Klang River and at the same time undermining the beauty of the Seine River…Ha!!!

We were blessed attacked by the hot sunny day. But at least the light is not too harsh to get some rather nice shots! Yeah, and I lied when I said we were going for the street photography theme. I slipped back to my old habit of snapping the architecture of the buildings. Somehow I fonder the brick and mortar than human.

Belgium travel, Things to do in Leuven

It is fair to say that the world famous Stella Artois has put the name of Leuven in the map, but after 3 weeks staying in this lovely place, I would like to reiterate that it is more than just a beer city.

From the medieval buildings lining up the city side by side separated by cobbled stone road, this charming little city will surely bring peace and tranquility to any visitors, be it young or old.

The list below will show you where to visit if you decided to drop in this city with just 30 minutes train ride from Brussels.

1. Stadhuis, The Town Hall

This majestic Gothic style building boosted as one of the most famous town hall in the world. A must visit place! You will be mesmerized by the huge number of sculptures on the building front facade.

Be sure to visit this place in the day time, and pay another visit in the night time as the warm flood light gave the building a different perspective.

If you are interested to know more of this history of the building, a guided tour is highly recommended. I can’t remember well how much the tour will cost but if I am not mistaken, it is 1euro per person.

Tel. : 016 27 22 76 E-mail : visit@leuven.be Open : Guided tours for individuals: • During the tourist season (1 April - 30 September): every workday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sat., Sun. and public holidays at 3 p.m • In the off-season (1 October - 31 March): every day at 3 p.m. The salons are not open to the public during weddings and official ceremonies. Guided tours for groups: only after booking a guide at the tourist office, two weeks in advance

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2. Grote Markt (Great Market) and Oude Markt (Old Market)

I felt that visiting Great Market and Old Market is more of an experience than a destination. *

Great market – nice cafe and restaurants can be found around this area, but mostly youngsters/ young at hearts would gather in this area, hang around the Grote market while admiring the architecture of Stadhuis and the buildings around it, or perhaps just to people watch?

Oude Market – Crowned (unofficially) as the longest bar street in Europe. The glorious and pride of Leuven’s golden nectar shines through this area! Drinking virtue started as early as after lunch time during weekend and make sure you grabbed a few of the hundreds of microbrew or commercially brewed local beers. Whichever you choose, you will be delighted to know there are no such thing as bad tasting beer around!

Have no idea which pubs to start? Just refer to this website for the map layout and details of each and every cafe/pubs in Old Market: http://www.leuven.com/oudemarkt/cafes/index.html

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3. Groot Begijnhof (Grand Beguinage)

Wanted to know how does it feels like when walking through the streets in the flemish golden era? Seek no further than this UNESCO certified world heritage.

Originally set up in the early 13th century, this historical quarter houses almost 300 apartments in about 100 houses. Step into this 3 hectares land that will surely transformed you back into the Flemish era!

This estate open its doors to welcome customers all year around, but please be sure to respect the residents privacy and peacefulness by keeping your noise down and not peeping into the windows.You might notice that a lot of students and academic staff stays here now as it is part of the accommodation facilities owned by KUL now.

More info of Groot Beginjhof : http://www.leuven.be/en/tourism/sightseeing/beguinages/groot-begijnhof/index.jsp

Contact Location: Het Groot Begijnhof Open : The Groot Begijnhof is open to the public free of charge. Address : Schapenstraat , 3000 Leuven

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4. St Peter’s Church

This wonderfully looking church being more impressive on the exterior than the interior, has a very unusual building architectural design. Being an incomplete building structure, it certainly gave a paradox view of a church on its west facade.

More details of the church can be found at:http://www.leuven.be/en/tourism/sightseeing/churches/sint-pieterskerk/index.jsp

Contact Location: Sint-Pieterskerk Open : Tuesday to Friday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m Saterday: 10.00 a.m. - 4.30 p.m Sunday and public holidays: 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Monday: 10 a.m. -5 p.m. (only 15/3-15/10). Address : Grote Markt , 3000 Leuven

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5. KUL ( Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) library and its proximity

Named as one of the most impressive buildings in Leuven city, this Flemish neo-renaissance styled building is a must visit place in especially during the university is in session. This is the place where you want to soak up that study culture and at the same time, explore the marvelous architecture of this building.

KUL is kind enough to make a simple guide for visitor to read on their website. Please visit the webpage to better understand and appreciate the history of the building itself, on top of a brief explanation of the rooms in the library.

KUL does organized a guided tour for the library but unfortunately it is limited to students, staff and alumni of K.U.Leuven, visitors and conference participants of K.U.Leuven and senior pupils only. However, all hopes are not lose yet, as you can contact the Leuven tourist office to enquire about their own guided tour for the university library building.

The library opens to its visitors on Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. But just to be sure, please refer to this website for interactive search on the opening hours.http://opac.libis.be/cgi-bin/li_code.pl?library=BIBC&language=ENG

Contact Location: Universiteitsbibliotheek Address : Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein 21, 3000 Leuven Opening hour: please check on their website

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Well there you have it! My top places and things to do while in Leuven, Belgium. I hope you enjoy the blog post and as always, any constructive comments are welcomed here! Next time if you happen to be in Brussels, why don’t you just pop in to Leuven. You will be surprised on how this little city manages to enchant you.

Keukenhof Garden tulips, Lisse, Netherland

After couple of weeks absent from the blogging scene, finally I manage to find some time to share my work with you.

I have the opportunity to pay my visit to Europe recently and I was in time to welcome the glorious Spring. Coupled with the longer daylights, I am blessed with numerous opportunity to flex my photography skills there (Again).

My happiest days of my photography life—still in Europe.

Those photos above was shot during my visit to Keukenhof garden, Netherland. I missed the tulips blooming season when I was in Netherland in 2009, and I made a promise to myself that I will definitely made it there to witness the most splendid tulip garden in the world -- Keukenhof Garden.

And here I am, leaving my footprint in this unforgettable garden…

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