Everyone knows and love Bali for its romantic settings on its coastline, I do too. But what excites me more about it is how all the details on its built environment appear to you like they each have a history of their own. Dark and morbid in some ways, gists of romance and submission are also folded into the convolutions. My favorite part of Bali was Ubud, as I find the little streets hold little surprises and gems that truly portrays its locality, instead of commercialised touristic beach wears.
I found this beautifully carved skull in Ubud, costs about USD$200. Not something I would buy, but the details on it I find was therapeutic to my eyes. Also it reminds me of how my father used to “Korok mu…” whenever we say something wrong – his Kelantanese version of “Hotak kau!” Hahaha.
Every abode is gated and accessed through this kind of little door. Each time I passed by one, my curiosity pushed me to try and take a peek to find out what is beyond those walls. I almost got through this one, till I realised that it was actually someone’s backyard.
More details. I kept losing track of which god was which, but they all were just so beautiful. I appreciate how the Balinese culture was very much instilled with their religion in a sacred way – they were subtle but totally recognisable and combined with the very polite manner of the Balinese character, that just brought my mind out of the bustling chaos in the city where I now live. Calm.
I saw a lot more gems that I spent more time appreciating them with my hands than with my camera. Perhaps my next trip (hopefully a road trip to another region in Indonesia) I’ll make more use of my camera.
Tadada!
3 weeks ago we were in Bali celebrating my sister’s birthday followed by a huge 60th celebration for my father. Ever since our first trip to the island six years ago, he has not stopped talking about going back there for the second time, and I notice since weeks before the trip happened that Abah was just really excited to go and that he could hardly wait.
Alhamdulillah, everyone was safe, went and returned safely. And all went well, everyone had good time spent on relaxing and touring, and that birthday boy was very happy to be celebrated with the family in full quorum.
This month, it’s my turn to step into another year. I’m not sure if it’s total fear or mere anxiety that I’m having now, but I find myself thinking so much more nowadays. Keep reflecting on my life 5 years ago, 2 years later, and a year from now. My mind is all over the place and time line in my head is like a tangled harp. This month of last year I felt the sense of being free and unbounded, that there is so much out there for me to see and experience.
This year, I just feel like I’m growing up without even agreeing to it. It’s a form of unconscious resistance, and since I’m writing this down it does sound a little too anal while at the same time I know by next year I’ll be thinking to myself that I was just being silly – panicking over nothing more than just another rite of passage.
Sigh. We’ll see.
So I have not been writing much, only because there’s so much more things going on in the real world than in this little thing I have. Life is certainly blissful as I am writing this, and I couldn’t be more glad to embrace what I have now. Even at this moment, I’m just so content with life that I do not feel I should even write about them here. But to make it pleasant, here are some few shots from my Shanghai trip (hardly feeling sorry for taking aeons to put ‘some’ up).
The acrobatic show:
This guy was throwing the china bowl so high up and he just knows where it’s going to drop. So effortlessly done, it reminded me so much of how our mamaks throw their roti canai and just ‘know’ it. Haha.
Beautiful door at a really really super duper old temple. I just love how it is blocked by the bicycle and the other stuff, making the whole view looking very accidentally random:
And me, at the temple:
Prior to the trip, I rented the Nikon85mm f/1.4 D AF lense and this heavy babe is really a love at first shot. I’ve become more certain now that it will be one of my must haves real soon. Imagine having this mounted on the D90 and you’re shooting a movie with it. Massive bokeh in motion – ahh how crazy can that get?? I’m going to work on it so I can own one. Yeh.
Here are a couple of shots I took with the amazing lense, just to show what this metal babe can really do. But no doubt the shots were also amazing because the subject is also an interesting person. Perfect mix. Definitely by far, my best work.
And my favorite of all:
And lastly, myself at Pudong Airport before leaving. Work it, homegirl!
Tomorrow my really good friend from college is getting married, and I’m honored to be one of the very few who were invited. 7 years of friendship and she’s still the only one who shares the exact same brainwork as I do. I’ve always asked her every now and then when is she getting married since she and him, to me, are always so tight together and now that the time has come, it’s just an amazingly indescribable feeling. For once, I was screaming on the phone like a girl upon receiving the news about a wedding. Couldn’t be more happy than I already am for you, my dear Ms. Berry-berry.
So that was Shanghai. Next stop, Bali. In four days time. Wahooo!
Off to Shanghai tonight.
Been having dreams about the ancient water town that I’ll be visiting. Was told that it’s more than 1700 years old!
Yipiiii!
I took this shot of Huda in Botanical Gardens three weeks ago, with her two best friends of many many (I forgot how many) years. I’ve known Huda for about a year now, and she is one of the many pleasant people I adore and believe me, every time I was asked to photograph her I’d get really excited. Because she just knows how to give me the most genuine smile for my camera. They all came from the heart. Ikhlas dan tulus dari hatinya. Jelas terpapar di raut wajahnya, yang dia senang, dia selesa, dia gembira.
I believe in keikhlasan. Bila kita punya niat tak ikhlas di sebalik sesuatu perbuatan, kita hanya memberi ruang untuk orang meragui diri kita lantas menjatuhkan nama baik sendiri. Mama selalu berpesan, biarlah orang lain lebih bertuah dan lebih senang dari kita, janji apa-apa saja yang kita buat, kita lakukan dengan ikhlas. Hulurkan pertolongan tanpa mengharapkan apa-apa balasan, tak lama akan terbalas jua budi itu. That’s what I was taught, and that is what I will continue to believe.
And every time I see this photo of Huda, it gives me hope that we can be content with our lives, no matter how little we have, or how much luckier other people are. Her smile always tells me to be grateful.
I’m full, and I’m content. Because I have what money can never buy but only trust can bind.
Family
The gang
So many things happened that I was too busy to sit down and write, but in my head there are tonnes to write! Gonna get proper sleep first.
Happiness is a right, not a privilege. I want to be happy, and will be really happy coz Fader Mader are coming over for Christmas. Wuhu. Doppy will be staying with me for two weeks and it’d be lovely to have a keeper(bibik) around to pass me my towel and make dinner and laundry etc for me. Hehehe. She can’t possibly be thinking I’d be having her here JUST to chill out, right?
Anyway, it’s just random writing. These few weeks are crazy coz everything is so extreme. There was extreme anger, sadness, curiosity and confusion, and at the same time, such an extreme amount of happiness, motivation and drive. I’m a bit wobbly in my head but all is well coz I’ll be in Sentosa Island whole day tomorrow for fun and good food all day long.
I miss going to the beach and chill, so it’s high time that I go again. Yipi.
Pictures courtesy of Obsolete Theory.
Gerard Levert does Dj Don’t. It’s a perfect Friday night song. And today we did a good walk to Clark Quay, it wasn’t so bad although a few members of the troop were worried their ‘batteries’ won’t last that long. I just had to laugh so hard because it was hilarious when they told us to be prepared to roll them should they shut down after 400 meters on the sidewalk.
I had a very touristy night, everyone got along so well that jokes were permissibly crude and just downright hilarious. Another happy therapy in Orchard coz the girls and grandma want to do some shopping. We’ll see how long Grandma can last – 2 hours tops. Ha ha.
One step at a time. We only have two hands, and even the broadest shoulders can only take so much weight. Robin Thicke says to take it slow.
And it only takes two to tango. Even if both are stubborn and sensitive but are alike. Robin Thicke says take it slow.
I could use some therapy now. Goodnight. Early morning tomorrow!
A lovely inspiration. I can’t wait to start working on a video like this. Inshallah, come January.
The Promises – Engagement Ring – Advertisement from WeddingClip Videography on Vimeo.
The ring is very familiar though. Haih.
A man jumped off the building of my flat and fell face-down right outside the kitchen window, into the small drain. We stay on the third floor(so the angle and distance was just nice) and I saw it covered in white cloth. By the time I quickly run back with my camera, they already covered it with a small Police tent. Darn it.
At that time, I was more curiously excited to see how gory it could get. But now, when I come to think of it, it’s starting to get to me a little bit. I do feel a bit unstable, quietly imagining the sound of the ‘drop’ going something like a quiet Thud! and replaying it over and over again in my head.
I have this habit of being able to watch gory things, but I always close my ears. I can forget the visuals easily but if I hear sounds of torture, it’ll just keep replaying in my head for a long time, and depresses me. Once I watched Changeling and during the torture scene of the children, I almost cried coz I was so stunned by the scene that I forgot to plug my ears. After that, every time I went to bed I keep hearing those screams of the little children, making it harder for me to close my eyes and sleep.
Which is why, I fill up my life with loads of music. All kinds, all the time.
So today, I’ll share this with you. And I will sing it out on one fine day for you.
