szelee 诗理 。失礼

During the primary school days, some of the students’ better drawing assignments would be pasted to decorate the wall at the back of classrooms. Those paintings were also normally stamped with “A+” or little stars as if to further confirm their status and verify their importance.  On few occasions, he was also among those who were proud to have their masterpieces displayed for weeks. It was flattering and ego-boosting, to say the least.

Earlier this year, he submitted some pictures taken in Hort Park for a photography competition organized by the park itself.

Last month, he received a phone call from the organizer to ask for permission to display his pictures in the gallery for visitors. He gladly accepted. Sadly, he was also informed that none of his submissions were shortlisted for the winning candidates. Anyway, he was still delighted to find more than one of his submissions being exhibited when he visited Hort Park last weekend.

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Situated on the West bank of the Saigon River, Cholon is a Chinatown district in Ho Chi Minh City.  On the last day in Vietnam, they decided to make a trip there.

To be honest, they didn’t do much homework before reaching Cholon. The taxi dropped them at Binh Tay Market as requested, both the central market and a landmark of Cholon. They wrongly assumed that Binh Tay Market would be similar to the Ben Thanh Market (hey, they shared the same initials), with lots of cheap food and pretty goods to bargain for and a street full of hawkers to eat till they drop.

Instead it was more like a market for the locals to get their daily stuff like these.

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Using his beloved Holga, he consumed a roll of Fujichrome Provia 400X in Hoi An. It was also a rather pathetic excuse to let his shoulders relax for a short while.  Out of the whole set, these are his favourites.

Love the color.

He already tried hard to get the horizon right, still…

While waiting for the ladies to shop, the world drifted, slowly but surely.

Bird’s nest extraction, Vietnam style.

The stars in Hoi An are not found in the sky, and they are mostly red.

That’s it. Yet another year older, but none the wiser.

After what seemed like an eternity since he started dipping into the obscenely-named technology called WPF, frequenting lounge of the MSDN forum like his second home, checking dozens of blog articles daily for something to copy and paste refer, drowning and resurfacing in the ocean of C# and XAML, experimenting with daredevil stunts and animations without a life insurance, pulling off his hair over countless changes without getting bald and missing many dinners and birthday parties - *drum rolls* - muvee Reveal is born!

Yu Xin by the Japanese Bridge with his brother-in-law’s beloved Canon A80. Unfortunately, the camera’s shutter stopped working the day after. =(

Hot and sleepy afternoon. No business.

Everyone was resting.

Even the ladies.

But not her.

The last time they flew off Vietnam, they wouldn’t have imagined coming back in less than half a year’s time. Unlike the previous trip, however, they had a bigger company this time - her parents, her brother and her auntie. Surprisingly, finding a big taxi to fit all was not difficult.

With some elderly around, they figured it’s not a wise move to stay in Pham Ngu Lao area, which is cheaper but much further away from the central of the city. Therefore, they eventually settled down in a rather affordable hotel in Mac Thi Buoi Street.

The traffic is still as busy, but the motorcyclists are now wearing helmet as demanded by the law. As well as retracing some familiar locations in Ho Chi Minh and Hoi An, they also explored a few new places like Cholon and Hue.

Time to let the pictures tell the stories.

He wondered how many of those colorful feather duster he could buy for the price of a iRobot Roomba.

Hawkers beside Ben Thanh Market on their way to setup their stalls.

It was only less than half a year since the compulsory helmet laws in Vietnam fully came into effect. Some were not hesitant to declare their fashion statements.

In Singapore and Malaysia, it’s normal to see 2 people on 4 wheels. In Vietnam, it’s not uncommon to see 4 people on 2 wheels. Well, maybe we should ubah gaya hidup!

It was hot. A coconut would do the job. He squatted down and took this shot. Suddenly, he wasn’t thirsty anymore. Next time, maybe.

Just by staring at this picture, he felt depressed.

On the way. By the way. Anyway.