…and am waking up at 4am every morning because it’s there’s a 4 hour time difference from Singapore. If you like turquoise blue sea, this is quite the place for you:)

My third trip to Hongkong in as many months. We arrived just in time for the annual Bun Festival on the island of Cheung Chau. EP managed to secure tickets for us to watch the “Bun-snatching” event. Basically, contestents will have to scale the 14m high “bun tower” and snatch as many buns as they can within a stipulated time (I think it’s 2mins). Many of the contestents are either past winners or members of some rock climbing associations. The buns are labeled according to the height they are being placed, with the highest scoring ones placed right on the top of the tower.

The original buns from the stall that made them. On the buns are the words “平安”, which sort of means “peace and safety” in chinese. The buns are quite big and has white lotus fillings in them. The main competition tower has about 9000 buns on it. Many more are found on the traditional towers which are of 13m high, but are not used for the competition because the towers were not as sturdy.

Lion dance kicked start the bun-snatching competition. The lion dance is performed on top of a pole (the red pole) and consist of only a sole lion dancer, while the “tail” is held up by another member using a pole. The competition begins on the stroke of midnight.

Right after the lion dance, the fire crackers went off to the rousing applause of the crowd.

The male contestents clearing the top buns, while one of the 3 female contestents followed behind. The winner of the men’s event was three time champion local from Cheung Chau.

Cheung Chau from the top of the hill. The island looks a little like a bone shape. On the right side of the “bone” in this picture is the harbour for the fishing boats.

While waiting for the ferry. It’s about 30mins ride on a fast craft and 55mins on a slower boat. You can take the ferry from the “outlying islands pier’.

The typical low clouds, lighted up by the bright city lights greeted us when we disembarked from the ferry.

Three more years and she’ll be a hundred. But grandma left us last week. After I touched down, I put down my baggages and went straight to her place. When news first reached me when I was in Hongkong, I felt sad and my mind was filled with regret and those limited but meaningful memories of her kept coming back. I told myself that I will visit her this year, but I failed to do so. I can wait for next year and another year because I’m busy with work. But grandma couldn’t. And I thought one day she’d be a hundred.

When she left, grandma gave me an important lesson in life.

After a mild disruption last week, the photo editing machine is back in order. Spent the entire day meeting clients and did up some albums. It’s always nice to end the day doing something more personal. Looking back at those images I took the past week is like a walk down memory lane. This boy is just too cute.

All good things have to come to an end. At least it’s the end for this episode. The entire family had an extremely enjoyable 2 weeks together. As always, whenever he settles down, it’s time for him to leave. At the airport, he refused to go through immigration, so his dad had to carry him in. While the immigration officers were attending to the parents at the counter, he ran back towards the window to say goodbye again before running back. The immigration officers just smiled. For us, it’s all mixed feelings. Really hope to see him back here soon.

He’ll be heading back to Sydney on Saturday. Time flies when you’re having fun. But it has been an awesome 8 days so far.

Julius at my place wearing my Tshirt.

I was having dinner at my parent’s place last night and here’s an excerpt of a conversation I had with dad.

D: how do you say “tio beh pio” in english?

Me: “I struck lottery”

D: So “struck” means “tio”?

Me: Yup.

D: what about “tio summon”?

Me: ………… *tio snook*

LOL. I love talking to my parents.

Ah… so that’s how it felt to be on the other side of the camera. After finishing up the family portraits for my (ex)housemate and his family, I got to carry baby Isaac. And they were busy making Isaac smile and the picture of 3 adults doing a “peek-a-boo” action in unison is just way too funny. Alright, it was fun. And credits to Eugene for the photo. See, anybody can shoot:)

Oh yes, let not my mum see this. Else, I’m gonna get a earful of nagging again.

Barely a week into the new year and I was tasked to take some family portraits for my (ex)housemate’s family. We had a little session out at the grasslands in the north of Singapore. When his mum saw me, she said, “so I heard you don’t eat and you survive on just tic tacs…”. So… that’s the impression I left on someone I’ve stayed under the same roof for about 2.5 years:D lol! Then she said again, “but you don’t look like it (someone who just survive on tic tacs)…”.

Actually, it’s true:x I used to think, “if you don’t work, don’t eat”. When I held a full time job, I used to skip meals on weekends. So when I decided to quit back in 2007, it was really hard to adjust… it’s much better now.

Just another late night post. More to come tomorrow!:D

To my valued readers and clients, thank you for your patience and I’m sorry if I could not reply to your emails as soon as I wanted. Things are back to normal now and we’re in full swing:)

Just an hour ago, the last piece of furniture -the refrigerator – rolled into position. The move is finally complete. Started on the 3rd day of this new year, I moved my office equipments into the new shophouse along Joo Chiat Road. From then on, I have been spending most of my time setting things up, unpacking, repacking, mopping (constantly checking my sole to see if it’s dirty), tossing coins (heads keep, tails throw), etc. Last night, I was incredibly relieved that everything was done up the way I wanted. And I can call it home. At least for the next few years.

Next up, I’ll be delivering passion (well, some call it work) to the couples whose wedding I have photographed for the past few weeks. Then, I’ll look through my archives for images to be hung up. All these are getting me excited!:D

I look forward to seeing you guys at my new place!:)

It’s so quiet here isn’t it? Yes it is. I didn’t even open up my blog for the past 2 weeks. When I clicked on it last night while trying out the new browser from my phone, I was both shocked and ashamed that it hasn’t been updated as much as I’d like to. Being busy is just part of the reason (the more legit one).

Been working on alot of images lately. From Bali, dogs, weddings to portraitures. Beyond that, I was looking for an office space, which I’ve just more or less settled. Now, the things are going to get REAL busy from here. I will keep you folks updated once things are formally finalized. For now, just bear with the silence for awhile. There will be a series of announcements out later this year and early next year. Watch this… empty space. LOL.

I got this rather interesting link from a friend. And if you see someone familiar in it. Yes… he is the hero.