Flickr.. Bye

Recently I'm seeing this msg when I log on to flickr "Your currently have 173 photos in your photostream, you can continue to upload photos but it will only show the 200 most recent uploads bla bla bla. You can SWITCH TO PRO to get unlimited bla bla bla!!" 


After looking at the pricing, going pro comes at a price which is not justifiyable for me(at least). So BYE flickr, I'm switching to Picasa instead. On the other hand, I might register multiple accounts on flickr just to continue my  photo hosted in flickr. 


There's no free lunch in this world. Well in this case the appetizer is always free.

Maco Fever!

I've gotten myself a Sigma 150mm Macro lens and loving it every time I bring it out for macro. Here are some of the 8-legged and a few 6-legged catch for today. I still have a lot of backlog processing to do. For the time being, just enjoy this set of photos. And also thanks to Brale Vin for providing the transport. If you dun have car we might not end up at such a good macro spot for spiders.

MACRO: It's a brand new start

Finally went out to shoot some macro with my new toy! A 50mm AF-D F1.8 with 2 close-up filter stacked. It's a new experience, a lot of patience needed and stability in composing and focusing is a challenge. Here are some of the better catch.

Conclusion: Macro is very challenging. Especially lighting control. I need to find other methods to avoid harsh shadows using the built-in flash even shooting at the lowest power.

Mt. Kinabalu Day 3

The Summit Attempt

The time was 1:30 a.m. we were already up from a good 6 hours rest from the previous day climb. It was quite cold and it’s the first time in my life to put on 3 t-shirts and a jacket to sleep. We quickly wash up and get ready for supper before the final hurdle. By 2:30 a.m. we were ready with our torches and head lamps and anxiously waiting for Billy. It was like the Causeway jam during festive season for the first kilometer. Occasionally we see some climbers unable to continue and head back to Laban Rata.

It was tough as the group in front of us kept stopping and it was breaking the pace. But as soon as the path gets wide enough, we will pass them and march on to our goal. The climb started with some rocky path and wooden stairs which alternates every 50-100 meters or so. After about an hour’s climb, we reached the area where we were required to climb using ropes as the slope is very steep. Full concentration is needed here and any mistake may cost you your life. The steep accend continues till Sayap-Sayap hut. At this check point, you’ll need to show out climber’s pass at the gate. I’m not sure what will happen if you left it at Laban Rata, but according to the guide, you’ll be denied entry. From this point onwards the trail to summit was steep granite flats with occasional rocky paths. The steepest stretch is the one before the 8.5 KM mark. I guess it may be over 60° inclination. At this point, my muscle and joints are feeling the extreme stress and breathing gets very fast and shallow due to the thinner oxygen level. We kept pressing on till we saw Low’s Peak. Suddenly, our minds freed our bodies of the tiredness and pains as our goal is in sight. It’s within 150 meters, and every step we take was overflowing with thrill and excitement. By 5:50 a.m. we manage to scale the peak.

Once again, we whipped out our cameras and started “recording” every moment of our presence on the peak. Sunrise starts early in Sabah, by 6 a.m. we could see the sky evolving in colors. It is dramatic scene and at the same time calming. We stayed on the peak for about 20 mins before descending to lower ground for more photos.

Descending further, our knees start to hurt and our ankle are losing the battle against the steep slope. It took us 2 hours 30 mins to get back to Laban Rata. Although tired, but it worth every bits of effort that we've put in =)

Mt. Kinabalu Day 2

We woke up early, around 5:30 a.m. to have breakfast and meet our guide. The breakfast was quite sumptuous but we only had the essential as climbing with a full stomach is a bad thing. By 7, we were at the HQ to get our guide arranged. Soon after, we met our guide Mr. Billy. He is a petite man and has 8 years of experience as a mountain guide. Billy started off his career at the young age of 19. Later we got one of our bags weighed for Billy to help us porter it. The bag tip the scale at 9 KGs. Since we did not train for this trip, it’s better to have it ported for a less strenuous climb. It does feels ashamed but we have no other choice than to do so. But I did felt some sense of accomplishment of carrying my camera bag with me all the time throughout the climb.

We started out climb from Timpohon Gate at 8+, it was quite a pleasant start for us. Gradually we can see the vegetation changing from the usual tropical forest to stout vegetation and along the path was covered with moss. The climb went on fine till we reach the 4 Km mark at Layang-Layang Hut were we had out “lunch” break at about 10 mins to 10 am. The break lasted for about 30 mins with a short photo session and we resumed the climb after the cakes and chocolate. Our bodies started showing signs of tiredness after 4 KM of journey. Breathing became short and shallow, while we can feel the tensed muscle in our legs. But the pace came back as our spirits to scale the peak kicked in. starting from this point, the path becomes very rocky and steep. It takes extra effort in every step we advance. It took us nearly another 2 hours to reach Laban Rata. It was a fulfilling climb and out legs were begging for a break. It was quite windy that afternoon and the chilling sensation tingle down our spines as out shirt soak in sweat came in contact with the wind.

Lunch at Laban Rata

We had our own lunch at Laban Rata as having lunch at cafeteria will cost us RM 60 each. We decided to save on the lunch as we had out cup noodle on standby. The 4 cups we had cost around RM 6 and hot water is readily available on the counter thou sometimes it may not be as hot as you want. After lunch we quickly move unpack our stuff and get ready for shower. There are timings to hot shower at Laban Rata as its timer controlled. Hot water only become available after 2 pm. But I thought I’ll just give it a try to check whether the timer is accurate or not and found out that there is. Quickly, I grabbed my stuffs and rush to shower. Soon my “Keh Khiangness” paid off; water stop flowing halfway while I was shampooing my hair. Its cold and the longer you wait, the colder it gets. I got no choice to quickly finish my shower with the hot water dripping from the shower head. Later I found out that the hot water that I was using was actually left over from the morning session. What an experience.. -_-

After we had our shower, we went outdoors to explore the wilderness. It was less windy and the air is cool and refreshing. We went on snapping photos but along the way we paused somewhere just to admire the breath taking view of Mother Nature. Time seems to come to a halt here, you wouldn’t notice hours slipped by when you are surrounded by such magnificent creations.

By the time we head back to the lodge, it was already close to 5 p.m. We waited at the makan place for dinner as it start at 5 p.m. We made the right choice being “kiasu” as the people having dinner there was much more than expected. This was because Laban Rata Rest House is the only lodge that provides food for all the huts there. We finished off our dinner with another 3 climbers who work in Singapore. After dinner, we did a repacked of my bag to bring only the essentials stuffs for the summit attempt. We turned in pretty early as the next hurdle will start at 2:30 a.m.

The Kinabalu Experience

Day 1

It started in the morning at about 7:00 am, where we started out our journey from Kota Kinabalu town to Kinabalu Park. The van ride took about 2 hours and cost RM15/pax. Along the way was a winding mountain pass with many Catholic Churches laid by sides. Gradually as we climb to higher altitude, the breeze got cooler and much morerefreshing. After about an hour Mt. Kinabalu was in sight. It was a cloudy day, the peak was shrouded in clouds which cast a mysterious identity upon this South East Asia highest peak.

It was a magnificent sight especially for us who are going to scale its peak tomorrow. Soon after, we reached Kinabalu Park at about 10:00 am. The weather was cool and windy. Here, we had a much clearer view of Mt. K. We couldn’t help to be snappy happy and started whipping out our cameras and happily snapping away. We have to wait till 2:00 pm before we can check in to Grace Hostel, so we took a taxi to a nearby town, Kundasang to do some last minute shopping. Kundasang is only about 10 mins away form Kinabalu Park and the taxi ride cost RM10.

We went there in search of the famous Adidas Kampung which is the ideal pair of shoes for climbing Mt. K. We found them and they were selling at RM 8/pair. We never thought that it would be so cheap but later we found out from our friend in KK that we can get it at half the price in KK. But there was nothing much we can complaint about as we did little research for this trip. After we had our lunch, we got hold of a “Ba Wang Che” (unlicensed taxi) to goto Poring Hot Spring. It was a 1 hour plus drive there and the weather was very hot due to the haze from Kalimantan. Along the ride we stopped by one of the locals as they were displaying a banner stating “Rafflesia Blooming”. It’s not at full bloom yet but indeed it is very unique as the world’s largest flower.

Poring Hot Spring is both a tourist attraction for its open and close hot water bath and a nature reserve. We didn’t lay our hands on the hot spring; instead we went for the tree top canopy walk. It was a short 20 mins walk to see the lush greenery and breathe taking view. We got back to Kinabalu Park at around 5:30 pm and we quickly checked in and had our shower before heading out for dinner. We went to the restaurant just opposite the Kinabalu Park for dinner and it wasn’t expensive compared to if we had our dinner at the Balsam Café inside Kinabalu Park. We had fried rice, fish ball noodle, sweet sour fish and mixed fruits. It was a fulfilling dinner accompanied by cool weather and a soothing evening skyline. We ended our Day 1 pretty early at 8:00 pm, as we turn in early to get a good night rest for tomorrow’s journey.

Thailand - Phuket

My graduation trip to Phuket, Thailand was really memorable. It was planned long ago before even my final exams started. However one of the member can't join us. He really missed alot of fun. We flew there on Tiger Airways and it was an early flight there. The fare was only S$10 and the same for return. But add this and that become S$145 fo return, it's still vey cheap.

I'll dedicate this post to the resort that my friend booked. It was really a getaway and worthed every cents we paid for. It was located off the beach on a hilly area and save from tsunami.. haha.. (kiasi) 

here you go a peek at the room that I stayed in.

This is what I saw from the balcony

And the delicious part click here

I strongly recommend this resort to eveyone. You can find more info here

There will be more to come when I get the photos done.

Stay tune =)