That’s right. You’re looking at a spanking new blog post on tehCpeng.net. Betcha didn’t see this coming did ya? Okay. I’m gonna refrain from pointing out the obvious about my blog’s inactivity and how it all happened — busyassignmentsandprojectshaveyounootherexcuses? But really, blame the photoblog.
So — *slaps on a 3-foot-thick face* — during the mid-term break five uh, weeks ago, the family tagged along Dad to Sibu where he had official duty. We spent the night at Betong before continuing on the journey along the Trans-Borneo highway to the third largest city of Sarawak.
Almost six whole hours on the road later, we found ourselves in the midst of the bustling town of Sibu. Dad took us straight to the famous express boat wharf — a nostalgic sight I haven’t seen in some good 10 years. And boy had this laid-back town changed over the years, most prominently with the addition of Sarawak’s tallest building — the Wisma Sanyan.
Incidentally, our hotel was right next to this towering monolith and the country’s largest town square it looks upon. We sighed a breath of relief when Dad pulled up onto the lobby of RH Hotel, which was thankfully a universe away from the bare-boned one we spent the night in back in Betong.
So this was where we spent the next 5 days.
My Sis and I was also lucky enough to find access to the executive floors one bored morning. We literally explored every corner of that 14-storey building. Funny thing was, the lift blocked access to the executive floors the next time when we tried to bring Mom and Dad up.
Because the rooms came with complimentary breakfast at the hotel restaurant for two, we took turns to head down every morning for a scrumptious buffet breakfast.
When not eating in the hotel, we’d head out. I must say though, RH Hotel has the most strategic location. It was just a stone’s throw away from the Wisma Sanyan mall and the humongous Sibu Town Square. Not to mention, only a walking distance from countless eateries of Sibu’s CBD. Seriously, you have to be really lazy to stay hungry there.
Throughout our stay, the rain gods were kind enough to spare their lightning spears and water hoses. For it didn’t rain even a single drop in the five days we were in Sibu. The clear skies all day long eventually led into beautiful sunsets over the Rejang River. Ones that scream for you to get out and shoot.
Which was exactly what I did.
We also walked over to the really well-kept Sibu waterfront park for an even better view of sunsets.
On the last day, we had lunch at the Sibu Central Market. Dad recalled of how they display livestock for sale in the market — all wrapped up in newspaper tubes with only their heads bobbing up and down. It was a must-see.
It didn’t take long for us to find the live chickens. While initially amused at how they were left with their heads excitedly bobbing, some of these poor birds just hung their heads low — as if in hopeless despair. I felt a tinge of sympathy as I shot them through my viewfinder. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not turning vegetarian anytime soon. Chickens are..well, chickens. It is their fate, however unfortunate.
Nonetheless, we headed up to the 1st floor of the market to savour some authentic Sibu food for the last time. Not missing, of course, the oh-so-overrated kompiah — dry and hard oven-baked lumps of flour sprinkled with sesame seeds. I never understood how could people eat them as-is. Other than its bland taste, its dry and rock-hard texture could seriously break some teeth.
But, when you slice a kompiah in half, stuff some juicy minced meat into it and deep-fry it into some golden-brown goodness — you’ve got the best delicacy 60 cents can buy you (prices may vary). It was the first stuff we ordered as soon as we sat down.
Knowing all so well one cannot leave Sibu without a large bag of kompiahs, we headed to the old Sibu Market after lunch to get ourselves some of them freshly-baked from authentic kompiah bakeries. If you’ve never seen how kompiahs are baked, here you go:
The bakery workers wasn’t all that happy about me pointing my camera into the kitchen as he swiftly moved into the frame to completely block my view. As if I’m planning to copy and patent their space-age tech to mass-produce kompiahs in my mega kompiah factory. Although that isn’t such a bad idea. =)
So armed with a huge bag of steaming hot kompiahs we embarked on the journey back home with only Dad to thank for bringing us along for this trip while he worked is ass off. This is my Dad for you. Thanks pops!
i saw a typo (last paragraph):
“.…with only Dad to thank for bringing us along for this trip while he worked *is* ass off.”
besides that, nice HDR! 😀
Woah. Sharp. A 2-month hiatus on blogging does have its effects.. =(
Okay really, I make bloody little typos All. The. Time. My absent mind just conveniently skips them while proofreading. I must’ve got some kind of disorder or something. =|
Neways, thanks! Will do the correction when I get home.
I thought my reader was wrong.. but yeah.. finally!! Nice shots!
Cyril! It’s been awhile eh? Well there’s nothing wrong with your reader that’s for sure! =)
Sorry I haven’t been commenting on your blog man. I still do follow your blog — just haven’t got the time to drop something.
Nice photos! I can’t remember my last trip to Sibu though, it was more than decade ago and that time I’m still a tiny kid :\
Thank you! Well that makes us almost the same then. It was at least 10 years before I my recent trip to Sibu and was also a kid back then, haha! You should so go back there, that place has changed so much. =D
But rest assured, their kompiahs are just as good. =)
You actually blogged? *gasps!* Hehe, good to see you’re well. Always enjoyed your blogs, lovely photos as always!
You and you’re family seemed to have had a good time. Such lovely photos to capture the time spent with your family too! I especially admired the photo of your mom & sister behind the flowers. I love the focus and also that your mother’s shirt matches the flowers beautifully!
Btw, woot for Dell! Your laptop looks exactly like mine. Is yours a 1420? Mines dark blue. 😀
Oh yes you bet I did, Latrina! Well I’m never better — although my Project 365 is running into a little backlog but rest assured, its still going on thanks to loyal visitors such as you! =D
We certainly had a good time! It was our first family vacation in quite some time. Although Dad had to work for half a day, we’d usually explore the town together during the afternoons.
Glad you liked that photo! And hey, great spot on my mother’s shirt matching the flowers. I wouldn’t have noticed that, haha!
You’re actually using a 1420? What a surprise! Mine’s actually a 1520 but hey, they’re still very closely related! *high fives!* 😀
Finally you have come out with a new post. I have been waiting since your last post. =) I been to Sibu several times but I never knew it is such a lovely place. The pictures tell me it is. I personally like the pictures very much. Well done. Keep it on ya.
And you’ve finally commented on my blog. =P
Sibu is a lovely place. I’m sure your brother can tell you that. =D Glad you liked the photos, hehe!
Wow…never thought Sibu still preserve the antic KomPiah Baking method! I thought old baking method like that could only be found at Ipoh or Penang .
I really love some of your photos, would you mind to share the original resolution of the photos? :
1 — sibu09-BoatWharf
2 — sibu09-WismaSanyan
3 — sibu09-HotelRoom
4 — sibu09-SisAndMe
5 — sibu09-CoffeeTable
6 — sibu09-ExecFloors
oo…looks like I’m asking too much =p , ouch…
Not forgetting, I really love reading your blogs…any typos are nothing compare to the excellence of your blog… love the wording “busyassignmentsandprojectshaveyounootherexcuses” haha…very creative! keke… and also the idea “…their space-age tech to mass-produce kompiahs in my mega kompiah factory.” haha! Maybe we could have mega tehCpeng factory, gagaga!!! =D
I was surprised when I discovered the traditional oven too — it looks so bizzare. I thought it was a — sorry — toilet bowl at first, haha! But yeah, I was very, very wrong about that. =D
Whoah, that’s quite a list but I’m more than glad to send ‘em to you ASAP. No problem at all! =D
Haha! A mega tehCpeng factory doesn’t sound so bad! Now you’re making me crave a for a cup — no thanks to the hot weather. =P Speaking of which, maybe I’ll make one myself, hehe. Glad you liked the post! =)
My hometown!! i didn’t realize that it was such a beauty until now! lolz…
Ah, I kinda forgot you are from Sibu. =)
Wow! Your photographs are fantastic! I can only hope to be half that good one day. I’m a super fan of Canons. I’m glad you had a nice trip. It certainly looks like it.
Why thank you! And hello there Canon fan! =)
Yeah you bet I had a nice trip. Don’t do that pretty often with the family now that I’m in campus and all. So yeah. =D
I missed Sibu, I was there for 2 years and now transferred back to Kuching liao. Miss the Kong Pia too!!haha!! By the way, your pictures are great! very pro lor 🙂
Wow. 2 years is quite some time to really get attached to a town. But yeah, Sibu’s a great place to live in. Glad you liked my photos. =D
I can’t believe it took me so long to comment on your latest entry. Glad to see you blogging again! I really miss your writing. Sorry to hear about the busy times which is now causing a conflict of interest between staying focused and maintaining a photoblog, but I believe you’ll get it sorted out soon. Don’t worry too much!
I always love your post-processing — high contrast and saturated colours. The camwhoring pic got me laughing!
Live chickens in the market always make me heart turn cold. I’m still haunted by the hapless screams (?) of the chickens whenever they get slaughtered. The fact that the chicken vendor parks his truck in front of a coffee shop we frequent and did the slaughtering there didn’t help.
Your HDRs really caught me attention. Lovely ones, especially the one featuring your sister in the park. I was nearly blown off my seat!
p/s: Have you considered submitting your works to Digital Camera Magazine Malaysia? You stand a very good chance of getting your photos featured, you know!
Hah, don’t worry, Teddy. I bet you didn’t see a post coming after this blog went on such a long hiatus. And thanks, certainly hope I’ll figure out how to straighten out postings on both of my blogs. =
Oh I can certainly remember the horror when I first saw how they slaughtered chickens. Ugh. Really sucks that you have to hear to them so often, Teddy. =(
Thank you. I really loved how that shot turned out too. I’ve been wanting to take a HDR portrait like that one for a long time. There was no better place than the vast grassy open spaces of SIbu’s town square!
Haha, I’m really flattered you think so. =) I’ve considered submitting before this but I find it rather hard to meet their submission themes. You really should try yourself too, Teddy!
I just skimmed your webpage because I’m new to it and I think I’m envious of your webpage! I admire your photography 100%. I think it gorgeous and you’re very talented. Secondly though, the design is stellar and you’re from Singapore! I think it one of the most splendid places in Asia to visit. I only have to show a bit more bias to Malaysia because my parents are from there! Your photography though… it’s jaw-dropping!
Actually I’m not from Singapore, but Malaysia — like your parents.=D I agree — both Singapore and Malaysia are great places to visit. I take it that you’ve been here? If not — you really should! =)
Your blog are amazingly done!!
I like your photo’s a lot, you are great ptotographer.….….….….…
Why don’t you take some photo of Swinburne?
Why thank you! =D Interesting why you ask that question. I do take photos in Swinburne — a lot of them — only we’re in the middle of the semester break now, so not so many trips to campus. If I do post photos of Swinburne though, it’ll mostly be on my photoblog. =)
Not to mention that this blog is really cool in design.. I wonder how much experience have you got in the design field.. you r really creative i must say. cool effort..
Thank you! Glad you liked it. As for experience, I can’t say I have a lot — I haven’t really been into the whole design field. This theme you’re looking at now is only the 2nd one I’ve designed for my blog so far and although I’ve worked on a few projects — that’s pretty much it. =)