back to oz for a bit

flying 7017 km to get a piece of paper .

but i suppose having the family tag alone is a little more fun

stepping into another world

mum’s office is located deep within a part of kuching which most people either (a) don’t know about (b) haven’t been to (c) don’t want to know about , or (d) all of the above .

i’m talking about pending (pronounced purn-ding) industrial estate – the home of factories , heavy machinery , and super-sized transportation .

but to me , it’s more than that . a lot of people think that pending is polluted by nature of the activities there – but i daresay its greener than any housing estate i’ve ever seen . in fact , i pass by a whole stretch of sheltering trees just before turning into mum’s office .

this – is my wardrobe into my narnia .

a photographer’s haven . from abandoned graffiti

to a bit of village life

on this particular occasion , i happened to catch these kids playing marbles .

after a few turns of shoving each other within my camera’s view , they got over their camera shyness rather quickly .

i didn’t really know what to say to them but thankfully , smiles are a universal language .

gifts don’t get any better

so awhile ago , a messenger arrived at my door delivering an envelope filled impregnated with a bunch of smaller packets impersonating as envelopes . i was wondering why anyone would want to send me mini envelopes labelled with other guys’ names (including some quirky ones too) on them – james , luke , sam , nehemiah , isaiah – just to name a few .

but i have to say it’s the cutest gift i have ever gotten .

(click on the image to see it in full – takes awhile to load but you can read everything)

the present speaks of its meaning for itself .

any attempt on my part to describe how much they really mean to me will only water it down .

thank you

wei ping (伟平) & xiu fang (秀芳)’s traditional chinese wedding

awhile ago , i had an all access opportunity to shoot a wedding . my cousin was getting married… to her neighbour .

it came at the cost of waking up at four ante meridiem after a tiring night of photographing the right steps dance studio’s annual dinner . but of course , it was well worth it . it’s not everyday when you get a chance to be apart of a wedding stripped of grandeur , but so deeply rooted in tradition .

everyone was a little hazy when everything’s still dark outside , which also explains why my initial photos aren’t all that nice . still on that slow learning cruve . siu fang , on the other hand , was being transformed into a bride when we arrived .

it didn’t take long for the groom to arrive . word was that he was so excited he didn’t get any sleep the night before .

they were then transported in the bridal car to the groom’s house . but because they were neighbours , and it wasn’t auspicious for the trip to be short , they circled to the main road and returned a while back later , welcomed by firecrackers .

after the altar proceedings , they rested in their new room whilst the hubbub continued around them .

from guessing the amount of gifts exchanged

to feeding those breakfast deprived tummies

meanwhile , as dawn began to break , preparations were happening in the kitchen of the bride’s house ; the traditional long life noodles with eggs .

morning arrived hours later and the relatives had eventually settled in , heralding the all-important tea ceremony began . starting traditionally with the elders of the groom

followed by those of the bride

i was intrigued to see a part of the ceremony i had never known or heard about before . after serving tea (and receiving ang paus) , the couple took the seats and was served by the single family members who earned red packets from them too . the kids were especially cute to watch

after the rather long-winded process , i think they were really happy to get some real food in their tummies .

it was about lunch time before i got home and rested so i would be fresh for the wedding dinner which wouldn’t be complete without the quintessential yam seng

and those intimate moments that say

that they’ll be together till the end of time

creamy-licious curves

awhile ago , mum wanted to find out whether cheesecakes tasted better baked or non-baked . so she set out to make the latter whist i dug out the supposed recipe used by the cheesecake factory .

there wasn’t a circular pan in the house so a hardy pyrex bowl had to do .

the verdict was unanimous .

i didn’t even have time to take a photo of a slice .

well said