Avillion Admiral Cove @ Port Dickson

Went on an impromptu vacation with mah gurlfriend yesterday - an unexpected invitation to enjoy a beach stay at Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan which is about one and a half hour's drive from the KL. She booked a studio apartment right beside the marina! Woots!!!!

I've been trying out a few new hue functions which I've steered clear of in Paintshop Pro until now. I was feeling that my usual style was getting boring. I know some of the pics are overdone and look a bit fake but I am working on it!

Sorry... Not Tonight Dear!

And she had to choose the time when I am busy with assignments to give me that look. Sigh.

The Blue Mansion, Penang

Once upon a time, a long long time ago... in the Middle Kingdom we now know as China, there lived a young man who dreamt big dreams. With nought but the clothes on his back, he left his homeland to seek his fortunes across the South China Sea, arriving first in Medan, Indonesia then Penang, a little British colonial island northeast of the Straights of Malacca. Cheong Fatt Tze was the name of this young man. From the age of 16 he started off as a humble water bearer to become a famous Mandarin with a vast empire under his command, the "Rockfeller of the East".

With the immense wealth he acquired from agriculture and shipping he built this mansion, blue because... well just because he liked the color blue. After all, there was only white, mustard or blue paint in those days. Grand and elaborate, this mansion had 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 windows designed with optimal fengshui in mind: a smattering of pineapples (wong lai) and bat (bian fu) motifs into the walls and windows to beckon Fortune into his home.

This is too big a place for one man! you may exclaim. Indeed, Cheong Fatt Tze had many wives - eight to be exact. As a wealthy and successful man, it was accepted and expected that he would acquire many brides (plus girlfriends). Is it any different today? Perhaps discretion has become the keyword in modern times. To keep so many females *peacefully* living under one roof must have been a great headache to Mr Cheong (or any man for that matter). The mansion housed three of his eight wives, six sons and many daughters. The latrine and kitchens were located away from the house and servants lived in a separate block of residence across the street.

When Cheong Fatt tze passed away, it was stated in his will that this house be never sold until the death of his youngest son. When the family fell into gentile destitution, instead of hastening the departure of the bequethed they sold off the furniture within the mansion piece by piece (see, contracts can have loopholes). When that was done, the many rooms were rented out. Or rather, a hat was passed around and whoever could contribute, stayed. Needless to say, with ages of neglected the once majestic mansion faded into debilitation.

This beautiful piece of 19th century architecture would have been demolished to make way for shinny new highrises if not for the efforts of a small but determined group of people who saw the true value of this heritage building. In 1990, the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion was acquired with private funds and restored to its glory as it stands today. Hats off to these visionaries who fought to preserve this extraordinary piece of heritage for generations to come. Like many, I was in awe of the architecture and stories woven into every intricate interior design (no photos allowed within, sorry!) and I am certain that many visitors feel the same.

Winner of the "Most Excellent Project" UNESCO Heritage Conservation Award 2000, National Architecture Award for Conservation 1995, ASEANTA 2004 Excellence Awards "Best ASEAN Cultural Preservation Effort, the Blue Mansion also serves as a heritage boutique hotel ("Excellence" Award in the "Best City Hotel" Category from the Expatriate's Lifestyle 2008 Polls). Guided tours are held twice daily at 11am and 3pm for a fee of RM12 per person.

Address: 14 Leith Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.

Website: http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/

A Picture

Sony Cyber-shot Workshop

Attended a beginner's photography short course organized by Sony Workshop, free for all Sony Cyber-shot compact camera users on the 29th March 2008 (Saturday).

Door gifts: Sony keychain and notepad (not shown)

Venue: Hotel Grand Continental KL from 1pm-5pm

Product trainer Wong Jiunn Huei speaking on basics and camera functions

After that it's off to the poolside for hands-on practice.

Sony prepared two models for the participants for portrait shots

Hot chicks... make me sad (I was once a sweet young thing too ok!)

Sony is so good... even fed the hungry participants

I submitted this photo for the workshop competition

In the meantime, Wong went through everybody's photos. We reviewed each submission on the screen and he gave tips on how to improve each shot. I think it was a very good exercise because we could see how different people saw the same subjects in different perspectives, and chose different styles to convey their observation.

For my picture, I chose sepia because I wanted to contrast the models' fairness, and the crooked angle was to complement her posture, making it appear that the fore-model is leaning to the right. Wong JH said my picture slanted already... (I don't think he likes crooked pictures) but John the organizer said it emphasized the models body shape (Ya! Now that he mentioned it...). I also liked the models' eye-contact in this picture.

To my surprise I won second prize!

A Sony carry bag courtesy of Mr Nicholas Wong (Sales Manager)

Although it is not a Vaio notebook or Bravia flatscreen I am so proud! *kembang* The weakness of my shot was that the background was too cluttered and distracting. Should have adjusted the focus onto the models. Wong said to try black instead of sepia. So I photoshoped to see how it would look like.

Which one looks better?

Yahor. Models are more prominent if background is out of focus.
Black and white also looks more polished.

Sony also gave us a framed group photo as souvenir

I *heart* Sony

It's a privilege to be a Sony member. The product is good - my DSC P100 compact may be 4 years old but it is still hardy and delivers good pictures even when I point and shoot randomly. The Sony team is also doing lots of informative workshops for digital photography and videography. But ah... my brain can only remember 10% of what I learned 2 days ago. I still need to think hard what metering and focusing are. Need to practice and experiment more with the different functions! It was a very informative and fun event and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Anybody who gives me free food also has my undying loyalty hahah. I understand that there are more free workshops available for Handycam and DSLR users this April. For those interested, please log on to http://www.sony.com.my/.

My Bambi

Buildings of Note

On my way back from Midvalley yesterday, I drove around and visited a few places in KL I've been meaning to see... y'know, do the touristy thing even though I've been living here for nearly 10 years.

First stop:

The National Palace (Istana Negara)

Golden emblem

Our king's royal white house

So many tourists but ahhh I am clever!
I stand far far away to get the whole gate within the shot!

Royal guard at the royal gate

I am in charge of watching over the royal fence

Gold hibiscus wrought on royal marble wall

Royal lamp post with royal hanging pots

Well tended royal shrubs

Macro shot of royal blooms

On the way home by Jalan Duta, I turned in and drove around:

The Federal State Mosque (Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan)

From afar

From the front

From the side

Late at night

Last but not least... I found the KL Court Complex! Ho ho hoo...

Have a feeling I will be visiting this place again in the near future