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trying on a metaphor

祝日 / Permanent Vacation
taylor price
noise dept.

oozey mess

if i look back, i am lost

⁂

JBB: An Artblog!

Product Placement

ellievsbear
No title available
Peter Solarz
Mike Driver
One Nice Bug Per Day

Love Begins

titsay

Origami Around
Xuebing Du
Cosimo Galluzzi

Kaledo Art

seen from United States
seen from Germany
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seen from Malaysia

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Morocco
seen from Tunisia
seen from Australia
seen from Morocco
seen from United States
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seen from Brazil

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@j-noforeignlands
We've Moved!
We’ve Moved!
Hello All!
We’ve moved to noforeignlands.sg
Please follow the adventure there instead!
View On WordPress
Photo by: Damien
I was suppose to be done with this post last Thursday but my ‘free day’ ended up with 5 appointments while the days which followed had been nothing short of varying degrees of legal insanity. So here is my belated thanks to everyone who messaged, called, thought of and fed me on my, according to Mathias, special day.
These days, when someone asks for my age, I ask them back, physically or mentally? It is a strange feeling to be so young yet so old at the same time. I understand how things work and have gotten better at reading people’s energy yet have trouble expressing myself. There are days where English feels like a second language simply because it does not go deep enough. Then again, I speak four languages so get off my back.
Last year, I wrote about a cat which was barely alive; after which I struggled, fell and got hurt really badly in the subsequent months.
Things got better as I learnt to accept that I cannot control the outcome of everything and that if it makes me feel better, I can choose to embrace the chaos. Then the cynic in me goes: sure, I accept it but it does not mean I have to like it. Rather, I suppose there is just no point getting upset if it is beyond my control. I guess for me, the tricky part is not acknowledging or accepting the way things are. It comes when I feel so deeply for something that I struggle to keep my anxiety at bay. Giving myself a bit of credit, I am getting better at managing it; baby steps I suppose. You can’t be good at everything.
I also revisited a piece of writing I did earlier this year, the main gist of it being:
When was the last time you took a photo of something you want to forget?
I am very selective with who I take my selfies/pictures with since photos/ images carry such powerful memories of emotion for me. This caused me a lot of problems and frustration earlier this year as I could not open start work on a certain album and was terrified of having my picture taken. I had issues with my image as a person and was going through so many different emotions I never thought possibly existed.
I was fortunate. I had and found good people around me who supported, helped me understand, and overcome what I was going through. When I finally found the courage to make my first self portrait, I learnt how facing your fears could actually be rather therapeutic. I then started work on an interesting series of self portraits which will not be made public anytime soon; my point being, I’ve moved on and let go.
Having a part time job at COVO is a bonus since I get to explore different types of hair styles and should I truly desire, go crazy with my hair colour.
From left to right, a documentation of the different states of my hair this year all done by Asako of COVO:
In Micky in The Van
Sort of red-ish
Ash coloured
Bali
As for the me of now, I chopped off quite a bit of hair and got a new colour, I’ll do another portrait once I make time for it. Once again, thank you, you wonderful people in my life. I am blessed.
Short!
New on the blog: Belated Birthday Reflections on Letting Go. I was suppose to be done with this post last Thursday but my 'free day' ended up with…
Scenes from Bến Thành
New on the blog: Scenes from Bến Thành #noforeignlands #leica
I visited the Bến Thành market while I was in Ho Chi Minh this year. There are a variety of Vietnamese trinkets and food on sale and from what I understand, you really need to haggle to get the best prices.
It is a lovely place for street photography as there are little pockets of light that falls into the area. I do wish I had more time but here is some of the sights I took in during my short…
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Hipsta Tuesday
New on the blog: Hipsta Tuesday
Walking in the downpour
I’ve never really played around with the Hipstamatic app as I never got into the iPhonography movement. The iPhone is after all suppose to ring before it snaps. In which I can actually count the number of non work-related calls I get these days with one hand…
I spent a short amount of time with the new and shiny Hipstamatic 300 and am actually enjoying the unpredictability…
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Landscapes From The Shores of Mt Batur
Landscapes From The Shores of Mt Batur
An hour and a half up north by car from Ubud lies Mt Batur. You will find plenty of sunrise treks up the mountain from Ubud which is apparently highly recommended. Unfortunately, you will not find any form of sunrise photos here since I could not find the strength in myself to wake up at 0400 – 0 being 0MG what ungodly hour is this?
That said, if you have a car/ some form of transport, you will…
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The Dead Sleeps With Us - Kuburan Terunyan
New on No Foreign Lands: The Dead Sleeps With Us - Kuburan Terunyan #travel #indonesia #culture #funeral
After my story on a traditional Balinese funeral, this seems like a rather good follow-up on another funeral culture in Bali.
On the shores of Lake Batur, about an hour and a half car ride away from Ubud, Bali, lies a rather peculiar grave site or some, like the locals call it a village; depending on how you feel about the place. Kuburan Terunyan or ‘Grave Terunyan‘ is the final resting place for…
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In Remembrance
New on the blog: In Remembrance. Work I did for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2015. #photography #workshop
About a month ago, I was in Bali for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2015 and had a wonderful time connecting with like-minded peers while coming up with a photo essay for a presentation on the final night. The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop for 2016 will be held in Cape Town, South Africa and I highly recommend it. I will touch more on my experience in the workshop during my coming posts…
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Liebster Award Nomination 2015
New on No Foreign Lands: Liebster Award 2015 #travel #blog #awards
No Foreign Lands has been very kindly nominated for a Liebster Award 2015 by Migrant Muse. Thank you so much Portia!
The Liebster Award was created for bloggers to help discover and connect with new bloggers. Liebster is a German word which can be translated to: sweetheart, beloved person, darling. It is always lovely to get a little recognition for the hours I’ve poured into this blog!
Hugs all…
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Night Of The Barong
New on No Foreign Lands: Night Of The Barong #travel #indonesia #barong
Following up on my previous post, Walking With The Barong, I followed Yande to his village where a huge Barong blessing ceremony was held that night. This ceremony is held every quarter of the year where the villagers take the Barongout of the temple and head to three different junctions of the village to perform a ceremony; praying to the Earth, Sky and Water, to bless the village and pray for…
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Walking With The Barong
New on No Foreign Lands: Walking With The Barong #travel #wanderlust #bali
I don’t really plan my stories while I travel. As I generally walk on the streets, following my eyes, ears and nose; as they always lead me to someplace new and interesting. In this case, I was rather early for my next appointment and decided to take a walk on the streets of Jalan Raya Ubud when the sound of the Gamelan caught my attention.
I then chanced upon children practising the Gamelanand…
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Last weekend, I was invited to Genting Highlands, Malaysia with a bunch of other bloggers and brought along Janiqueel as my travel buddy.
Genting is known for its lovely – mostly cold and misty weather, theme park for the kids and the young at heart, and casino for the adults. It has certainly changed since the last time I was there some 5 years ago. There are now new accommodations in First World Hotel (Tower 2 Annex), new restaurants and a Twentieth Century Fox World Theme Park is in the works for 2016.
My travel buddy, Janiqueel
Misty Day
Girl power
Functional, Chic Rooms
The new rooms in the First World Hotel are practical and rather cosy. I love that there are USB chargers and travel adapters built into the wall which saved us the trouble of bringing different adapters for our various electronic devices. First World Hotel is also slated to be among the largest hotel in the world with 7,351 rooms in total once all the renovations are completed.
Unfortunately, there is no wi-fi in the rooms so you would have to talk to your travel buddies at night.
Tripple Duluxe Room
Tripple Deluxe Room
Deluxe Room
Deluxe Room
The modular design of the washroom
My favourite feature of the room, the USB charger and adapter
Now that the theme park is closed for renovations, you could check out the indoor theme park or go Behind The Scenes for a very different Genting experience.
Genting International Showroom
For the first leg of the tour, we visited the Genting International Showroom where technical experts showed us what it was like to control the sound and stage lights of a show. Needless to say, we had a little fun mucking around on stage. The talk certainly sparked an interest in lighting design for me given that you have so many lighting effects to play with on stage (and so many buttons to press).
Fooling around on stage
Waiting for the tour to start
Under the stage lights with Janiqueel
View from the stage
Controlling the lights
Watching the light show
Light show!
Listening to what it is like to work as a stage crew
Sound Mixer with lots of buttons to push
Snow World
Next up, we were brought to a 6 degree Snow World and despite the jackets and gloves, we were freezing. Yes, we did the mandatory short bursts of ‘Let it Go’. We had a tour of how ‘fresh snow’ is made daily to keep the ‘snow’ in Snow World while the romantic freezing cold Lover’s Cave allowed you to make and bring back your very own coloured snow in a bottle during the snow making workshop.
Group Photo at Snow World
Happy Janice
Giant machines to create the snow
Explaining how the snow is formed
Snow from the sky, or in this case, the celling
Make your own coloured snow
Selfie time
Group Photo
See Eat Do Workshop
In the See Eat Do Workshop, you get to watch the chefs create their version of bento and donuts, eat them and finally, create your own bentos and artistic donuts with different toppings and fillings. The chefs are also on standby, just in case you manage to set anything on fire or murder your bento/ donut.
See Do and Eat your own Bento!
Busy making my own bento
I can’t cook but I have potential for bento designs!
Busy decorating
Decorated Donuts
My lovely donut!
Our finished bento! With lots of love <3
Horizon 50
The last stop of the Behind the Scenes Tour would be a walkabout on of the latest edition at Resort World Genting, Horizon 50. It showcases the history as well as the future for the highlands via various projections; the most interesting being the 20th Century Fox World theme park project. After the tour, all participants will receive a Certificate of Achievement and a goodie bag.
Group Shot!
Part of the Horizon 50 tour
Coming soon to Genting, Fox World!
Our certificate for the tour!
Resort Seafood Restaurant
Given that the weather is almost always cool and misty at Genting, it is the perfect weather for steamboat dining! There are many set menu sauces for you to choose from with prices running from RM108 to RM638 (two to eight persons, member/non-member prices vart), and à la carte dining (Priced by item).
Also, do not miss out the Ice Cream Steamboat! Which is basically a huge pot of ice cream topped with lots of different fruits. Perfect to fill your second stomach with.
Bloggers at work
Let’s dig in!
Cheers to a great day
Ice cream steamboat
Food glorious food
Superstars of Magic 4
To end our night, we were treated to a magic show which brings together magicians from the East and West! With seven different illusionist, hosted by the one of the top 10 finalist of America’s Got Talent, Jay Mattioli, we had a night full of fun and entertainment. One of my favourite act with be from Joseph Gabriel because I still have no idea where he managed to hide those birds while Ted Kim gave a spectacular performance, combining the best of technology and showmanship.
Group shot of the magicians
Jeff Lee and his TV Magic
The any hands of Alana Moelmann
America’s got talent finalist, Jat
The human chameleon, One Gun
The Godfather of Dove magic, Joseph Gabriel
Ted Kim from Korea gave us a wonderful performance infusing screen mapping technology and LED Projector technology
For further information on the programs or to book your stay, do visit their website at www.rwgenting.com
Thank you RW Genting for hosting us, we hope to be back for the opening of the 20th Century Fox World Theme Park next year!
Thank you Resorts World Genting!
A New Era For Resorts World Genting. #travel #RWGenting Last weekend, I was invited to Genting Highlands, Malaysia with a bunch of other bloggers and brought along…
Sanur
Almost a month has passed since I stepped into Paradise – Bali, Indonesia. I leave tomorrow and like the hallmark of a good trip, I am ready to head back to Singapore with a renewed vision of the world and people. Well technically, I have another assignment in Malaysia before I am officially ‘back’ in Singapore but that will be another story altogether.
My main purpose of coming to Bali would be to attend the 2015 Foundry Photo Workshop and I learnt so much from the wonderful Andrea Bruce, David Smith and my classmates. I will do a deeper post on the work I did during the workshop as I have so much to share but in the meantime, enjoy a few of the images I made during different parts of my trip.
A brief location summary of my trip:
Sanur -> Ubud -> Foundry 2015 (Ubud/ Denpasar) -> Nusa Lembongan -> Seminyak -> Canggu
Mt Batur
Ubud, Foundry 2015
Ubud, Barong Ceremony
Denpasar, In Remembrance, my photo project for the Foundry 2015 Workshop
Nusa Lembongan
Company at sunset, Seminyak
Canggu Sunset
Postcard From Bali Almost a month has passed since I stepped into Paradise - Bali, Indonesia. I leave tomorrow and like the hallmark of a good trip, I am ready to head back to Singapore with a renewed vision of the world and people.
When The Mountains Called
Kathmandu Inside Out presents: When The Mountains Called #kiofornepal
About 25 days ago, an idea was floated to the Kathmandu Inside Out Alumni. What if, we have an exhibition at Ion Orchard? Won’t it be really cool to see some 28 stories presented to the public about Kathmandu? We are looking at almost 170 images in a lovely 7 x 20m space with good foot traffic. I volunteered to be the curator for the exhibition before I realised that we only have 25 days to plan…
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Canola fields on the horizon
I thought that these images would stay buried within my hard drive along with my memories but I’m glad I found the courage to open the album looked at some of the images I made in Australia.
Australia is really big and you start to get a sense of how much land they have and the scale of things when you drive from one city to the other. It is a really beautiful place and I really enjoyed watching the vast amount of land go by from the window of the car.
Here are some of the ever changing landscapes of my road trip from Melbourne to Adelaide and back.
Close up of the Canola Field
Big rolls of hay
Angry clouds on the horizon
Lots of land
A lonely tree
The gorgeous Grampians
More from the Grampians. A must visit if you are in the area!
Seagull in Robe
The coastal view of Robe, a lovely seaside town in South Australia
Sunset over Adelaide at the Mount Lofty submit
Blogged: Landscape From Down Under #travel #Australia I thought that these images would stay buried within my hard drive along with my memories but I'm glad I found the courage to open the album looked at some of the images I made in Australia.
For this up-and-coming visual storyteller and lover of travel, a picture says...
For this up-and-coming visual storyteller and lover of travel, a picture says…
Jamie:
A lovely feature of No Foreign Lands in The Displaced Nation
Originally posted on The Displaced Nation:
James King is back with his ever-popular “A picture says…” column. English by birth, James is now semi-retired in Thailand. If you like what you see here, be sure to check out his blog, Jamoroki.
My March guest is 22-year-old Singaporean Jamie Chan. She shares stories and images from her…
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Thaipusam happens every year between January to February depending on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai.
On this day, thousands of Hindu Devotees honours Murugan, the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati. It is believed that on this day, Parvati presented a spear to Murugan to vanquish an evil demon and combat its evil deeds. In other words, Thaipusam is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil.
Devotees prepare for Thaipusam by fasting for about a month or even longer. On the day of the festival, they shave their heads, bear pots of milk, smash coconuts, pierce their bodies with sharp objects and carry Kavadis.
Each Kavadi weighs anywhere between 35kg to 40kg and is a physical burden in which the devotees implore help from Murugan. Devotees would make a wish at the beginning of the festival; the bigger the wish, the heavier the physical burden.
In Malaysia, this religious festival takes place at different regions; one particular popular place would be at Batu Caves, on the hills of the Gombak Region 13 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur. Devotees head up a 272 stairs to the temple in the cave. The temple in the cave has ritualistic Hindu objects with a convex ceiling about 100 metres high.
A boy getting his head shaved
Praying and cleansing before the start of the pilgrimage
Devotees going into a trance
A fully pierced devotee getting ready to start his journey up the stairs
Cheering a devotee on as support from friends and family is very crucial for their journey
Musicians are indispensable to the devotees as they support them by playing and singing songs to cheers them on.
A devotee on her way to the temple in the Batu Cave
At the foot of the Batu caves where the second largest statue of Lord Murugan is found
Devotees making their way up the 277 stairs
Animals are free to roam around the caves.
Blessings
Devotees getting blessed
Devotees use a cane to support them as they made their way up the temple
Taking a smoke break as they get to the temple
Lots of devotees everywhere
It was refreshing break to had photographed Thaipusam 2015 in Malaysia as I had photographed it in Singapore over the past 5 years or so. The dynamics of the festival between the two countries are very different and I enjoyed experiencing it from a different perspective.
That said, things had been a little quiet on my end as I try to take control of my life and move on from last year while my personal demons mock me at every turn. I still find it hard to pick up my camera due to certain issues and memories but I know it will get better. It always does. April approaches, marking a quarter of the year and I am ever so grateful to the people who supported me during this period of mess.
On to the next story.
Lord Murugan overlooking the festivities
Blogged: Worshipping the God of War 2015 #thaipusam #leica #travel #malaysia Thaipusam happens every year between January to February depending on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai.
The Yellow Umbrella Movement
The Yellow Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong #umbrellamovement
I didn’t particularly enjoyed my trip to Hong Kong but I was pretty surprised to find the umbrella movement was going on and going strong. It was very surreal to witness first hand what I had been reading about in the news for months and to photograph the protest. A mini clash between the protesters broke out in which the police then proceeded to shut down the entire street.
The police force…
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