Corporate Photo Shoot in Penang

I just got back from Penang last night. My Senior Art Director and I, along with 2 photographers were there for a corporate photo shoot for a client which requires pictures to be featured on their company's website and also corporate brochures. Well, I must say, the trip was a successful one and we did have fun throughout the whole 3 day ordeal. We did not have time to go binge eating though since we were on a really tight working schedule.

We touched down on Wednesday evening and proceeded with checking in to our suite. We then proceeded to recce our shoot location, followed by dinner. We had loads to eat (duh!..it's Penang!) from the famous Oyster Omelette to Penang Rojak. Sorry I won't be showing any food pics that we ate because I feel it wasn't really the highlight of the trip. After dinner, we went back to our suite, and briefed the photographers on what is to be done for the next day.

Our hotel suite and jacuzzi

The next day starts with us waking up around 630AM as we had to meet the client downstairs for breakfast at 7AM. After breakfast, we went to the shoot site and started setting up before the talents came in. Now, we didn't have professional talents to work with. We used talents and background of all their staff since it was for their corporate collaterals anyway. I must say, most their staff had some form of hidden talent. A few were quite photogenic and looked like they done photo shoots before as they do not seem shy in front of the camera.

Make up and prepping the talents

Briefing the talents

Sample of a corporate photo shot

Oh, checkout the view from this office. Don't you wish your office view were like this?

The day ended with us going for happy hour drinking with the client and followed by a scrumptious seafood dinner which is like a freaking 40 minutes drive from where we were, but no doubt the seafood dinner was absolutely fulfilling. By the way, the place is called Teluk Kumbar in case you want to go...I highly recommend it.

Happy hour drinking with the client

After dinner I met up with a high school friend of mine who took me out for drinks and a short tour of the "happening" areas of Penang. It's been good seeing her again and catching up. By the time we finished, it was already 230AM....and I have to wake up at 630AM! Gahh!!

The next day, the photo shoot was of more casual in orientation. All staff were told to come in casual clothing which includes sun dresses, shorts and bikinis (no I'm just kidding...but how I wished).

Some casual photo shots with the talents

The excellent photographers together with the client

Us and the client

We wrapped up around 430PM as we had a 640PM flight to catch back to KL. I must say, the whole photo shoot was all smooth sailing and quite an experience. My only disapointment with the trip is that I couldn't stay longer as the tickets were arranged and paid for by the client. Oh well, I guess now I have reasons to go back to Penang again ;)

NOTE: There are actually more pictures of us taken together with the "talents" which might not be too appropriate to be posted. I shall just leave it to your imagination for those shots then. ;)

Say No To Lafite

We had a company subsidised lunch at Lafite at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. It was supposed to be fine dining and high class since it has won numerous awards and have excellent reviews about their food. Well, it was my first time there (since people like me can't afford these places often) and I got to say, IT WAS SO DISAPPOINTING! The food wasn't that great...the ambiance was just like any ordinary hotel terrace cafe (in fact...I've seen better ones...don't let the picture on link fool you!). And to top it off, their staff weren't really well trained due to a certain incident that happend. Ok, it's too long for me to bitch about it since my colleague already blogged about it, I shall leave it for you to read here.

Would I go back there again? Are you nuts?!! After all that...I don't think it's worth the money. It's not that I can't afford it....but seriously...RM25++ for a glass of fruit juice that is not even freshly squeezed? I think NOT!

Island Hoppings

WARNING: Extremely long post below. Reader discretion is advice.

Yes I am back! Missed me already? I was away for the past 5 days in Phuket and Phi Phi Island, Thailand. Came back 2 shades darker and an aching body but all I can say is....IT'S FREAKING AWESOME! Well, I went with 2 other friends Olivia and Lyn as we kinda planned this trip back in January and it was a spontaneous thing. We just wanted a holiday and the very next day, we booked the tickets. So throughout this whole trip, everything was pretty much spontaneous as well as we did not have a fixed itinerary. We did however have accomodation bookings made prior to the trip.


Day 1: Phuket - Karon + Patong Beach

Arrived Phuket around 2-ish in the afternoon and we took a cab who took us to arrange our transport with a travel agent. We will be moving a lot in between islands so ferry and transfer from pier to hotel and vice versa was very very important as ferries have scheduled timings.

Oli + Lyn: "Are we there yet??"

After the arrangements, we checked in to Living Room Hotel, somewhere in Karon and about 15 mins away to Patong Beach. I must say, the hotel was really good for a triple shared bed room going for about 2000 Baht (approx RM200) per night. Later we went in search of food as we were all super hungry (it was already around 3 something PM then). We came across this awesome noodle store that had both pork and beef noodles. All I got to say, it was the best damn beef noodles I have ever tasted. I will keep it short for now as I will be blogging about all the food we had in my next post. After the delicious meal, we went back to freshen up, and we're off again to Patong Beach for some sight seeing and shopping (Note: there are 2 ladies on this trip, therefore, you will hear the words 'shopping' very frequent throughout).

Sunset at Patong Beach

We all later decided to get pampered and went for foot and body massages. Well, there are many shops to choose from so it's just a matter of preference and price.

us being pampered...

1 and half hours later, we went for more shopping and food and then called it a night as we had to wake up at 545AM to catch the 8AM morning ferry to Phi Phi Island (3 people, 1 bathroom, 45 min journey from hotel to ferry pier...do the math).


Day 2: Phi Phi Island - Long Beach, Phi Phi Lay, Loh Samah Bay, Maya Bay

YAY! We're here!!!!

While on the way to the pier, our van picked up other people as well. Guess who was on board our van?....Rashid Sidek! But no...didn't get autograph and photos. We arrived Phi Phi Don at around 10AM and took a long-tail to Long beach and checked in to our hotel. Our hotel is situated right on top of a hill so getting up there is a challange on it's own. Now I must say that this place is a stark contrast to where we stayed in the first night. There were no air conditions and having an extra bed means just a materess on the floor. I killed a cockroach later that night too. But no complaints since it's only 950 Baht (RM 95) for 3 persons. However the view from the hotel's lobby/cafe was simply breathtaking.

Our room/hut

the view from hotel lobby/cafe

First thing we did after we checked in??....THAI MASSAGE (again!) We did it overlooking the beach and it was simply awesome and relaxing. After the massage and not wanting to waste more time, right after lunch we hired a boatman to take us island hopping and snorkeling. Now, in the whole of Thailand, it is very important that you know how to strike a bargain otherwise, there are a lot con artists who like to give you cut throat rates since we're tourists. 3 of us went for 3 hr boat ride, to 3 destinations + rental of snorkeling equipment all for just 1000 Baht (RM100). Not bad right? We snorkel at Loh Samah Bay and Maya Bay, and were also taken around Phi Phi Lay, and also to see the Viking Cave. Oh, in case you didn't know, Maya Bay is where they shot the movie "The Beach" staring Leonardo DiCaprio.

...island hopping

Loh Samah Bay

me snorkeling

Oli and I at Maya Bay

After being all fried and dried from the sun, we headed back, showered, and got ready for dinner. We were entertained by a fire show performance during dinner by the beach. We were all dead tired after dinner and called it a night.

Day 3: Phi Phi Island - Phi Phi Town, Loh Dalum Bay

All 3 of us were awoken by the loud sounds of freakin cicadas at 730AM but still lazed in bed till about 830AM. Skipped breakfast and went straight to the beach for a swim.

Our view from under the tree by the beach

After the swim, we had brunch at the cafe at our hotel. Checked out, and took the long-tail back to Phi Phi town. There were some confusion as to where we were suppose to go, because the address on our next hotel states that it is in Aonang, Krabi which is another hr ferry from Phi Phi Island. Remember the first day we already arranged our ferry tickets to Krabi? Well, lucky thing we called the hotel. They are situated in Phi Phi town. NOT Aonang Krabi! We remembered we booked it online and it's on Phi Phi Island. Hence, when we got there and took a look at the address, it states there Krabi only did we realise that we had to spend a night at Krabi. It turns out, Phi Phi Island IS within the Krabi district. So we booked THE WRONG ferry and transfers. Anyway, they have a no money back policy so we ended up paying for the trip to Krabi (it's about RM100 per person ok? PAIN!). We're going to make an official complaint to the Thai Tourism board as it is very misleading, and the fact that we couldn't get a refund really pissed us off. Anyway, that aside, we stayed in Kinaree House AT Phi Phi Town (note the address in the link), which was a really good place to stay going for 1800 Baht (RM180) per night for 3 beds.

The alleys in Phi Phi town

Here, it's litterally shopping heaven. You can go shop to shop bargaining for stuff. As Oli said "This place looks like some theme park!". Needless to say, the 2 ladies went on a shopping rampage.

"This one how much? Got discount??"

Ok, I did buy some stuff also, but I only bought 2 pair of "branded" board shorts which were really cheap. The food around this area are also nice...I mean, it has to be...there are so many tourist here we actually don't feel like we're in Thailand. After don't know how many hours of shopping, we went back to the hotel to shower and to get ready for dinner.

This is our damage in just a matter of hours!

We were out strolling and we stopped for beer. During the whole trip, we have a lot of beer and coffee stops as beers here are simply cheaper than what you pay back home (about RM 5 per bottle of Chang beer).

Having beer just before dinner...ahhhh!

After dinner, we went to this bar/club. We went there because there was a fire show by the beach, so we though it would be nice to just chill by the beach and drink MORE BEER!

...just like I said...MORE BEER! :p

Soon after the fire show started. See this performer below?




Oli thinks he is cute and stalked him! Haha..well, she did managed to take a picture with him later on as he was actually one of the security staff working at the place.

"I found him!...now faster take picture for me!!"

We were about to call it a night but the music became better. They were playing house music to me and Oli's liking. Lyn however has no choice but to follow us (Lyn, we will be converting you soon...muahaha!). We went to the dance floor and danced for awhile. I must say, it's rather different seeing people partying and dancing in shorts and slippers (me included). But who cares!

Scenes from the dance floor

Day 4: Phi Phi Island & Phuket Town

We were hunting for a good breakfast when we smelt freshly brewed coffee in one of the bakery and decided to have breakfast there. They served the yummiest coconut bread I have ever tasted!

After breakfast, we went on to Loh Dalum Bay, where they have water sports activities. We didn't do any seeing that we didn't have the time, we just stroll by the beach and took pictures.







Later we took a hike up Viewpoint, which is the highest hill on Phi Phi Island. Climbing up there is nothing big but there were just a lot of stairs and panting.

"Haiya...so many steps...this better be worth it!"

...and worth it it was..

We took the 230PM ferry back to Phuket, where we will spend a night in a backpacker's hostel. The name of the place? Phuket Backpacker Hostel (duh!). Being new, it's one of the best backpacker's hostel that you can find anywhere. Even seasoned backpackers who were there told us so. You get 2 double-decked beds in a room for only 1000 Baht (RM 100) so each person was around RM 25 per night. It's not air conditioned and the bathrooms are shared with others, but the one cool thing about the place? There is a 42" LCD TV down at the lounge and a library of DVDs for you to watch. They even have 4 internet terminals as well. Not bad right?

Our double-decked beds

...check out the LCD TV...and those aren't books..those are DVDs!!

It was already evening when we checked in. So we took a shower and headed out in search of dinner and continued with.....MORE SHOPPING! Walked around Phuket town and also went to Phuket Central Festival for shopping. We called it a night after all that walking...phew!



Day 5: Phuket Town

Our last day in Phuket...time always fly so fast when you are having fun. Sigh!...we woke up reluctantly, but we were hungry. Went to look for breakfast. Stopped by this place which serves porridge with pig parts ("Chee Chap Chok"). All I can say is.....OH MY GOD!!! It's heaven.

Best pork porridge I ever tasted...

After breakfast, we went walking around for more last minute souvenirs and shopping (again!). We then headed for the food market where they sell some interesting food items.

Rotten fish in bottles....ewwww!

More preserved food items

After much walking around, we went back to the hostel to chill as we had a cab to take us to the airport in the noon.

Overall, the trip has been quite an experience. It was tiring moving between different places every night, but it was worth it. We are already planning our next trip on the way back...and really, we can't wait.

*Click here to view more pictures from the trip.

Blind Dates

Have you ever been on a blind date? Well, I think it’s the best thing ever because it’s always exciting meeting a person up for the very first time, without having met the person prior to the date. I have my fair share of blind dates, and believe me…every single time it’s the same feeling for me anxiety, being self conscious and eagerness. Well, most of my blind dates usually start online with couple of daily conversations with a regular bunch of people, which will eventually lead to more personal topics of conversation as time goes by. It then finally becomes comfortable enough to finally meet up. Think of it as an online pen-pal.

Yesterday, I met up with L at Pavilion for dinner, along with her friend R. Now it’s quite common for a girl to bring a friend along on the first meeting. I mean, there are a lot of psychopaths around these days and I totally understand. But not all of my blind dates are like that anyway. I’ve know L for probably close to 2 years now, but our communications were only mainly through MSN Messenger, Facebook and via mobile. We finally met up in La Bodega for dinner and I lets just say everything went well, and she was all I expected her to be.

Hey if you’re thinking that I’m doing all this to get to know more girls…well, YES you’re probably half right! I’m not shy to admit it. But meeting up a girl does not mean that I like that girl or that I’m going after her; neither does it mean that I want something in return from her (you know what I mean). People always seem to assume those things immediately when you tell them that you have a date. For me, meeting them means I gain a new friend (and in yesterday’s case 2 new friends), a chance to expand my social network and potential business opportunities. Of course I don’t deny the fact that there could be a possibility of ending up more than just friends. But anyway, that’s not the point!

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I can safely say that I been on enough blind dates to qualify in giving these tips if anyone wants to try it (at least I think I’m qualified :p):

1. Go on these dates with an open mind.

2. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT expecting anything, most of the time, you will end up gaining something anyways.

3. Don’t be pretentious – just be yourself. I’m very turned off by a pretentious person. If that person don’t like the way you are, so be it. You’re better off not being friends anyway.

4. Try to impress your date, but don’t try too hard and over do it. Over doing it will bring you back to point number 3.

5. Never judge a book by its cover. Doesn’t mean if she didn’t put on any make up that day or she has a birth defect somewhere that she is automatically classify as horrible looking. Beauty lies from within and so does compatibility. Although first impressions do give you a gauge of her personality.

6. Communicate! There is nothing more boring than going out with someone who just sits there like a piece of dead wood.

I think blind dates can be fun if you approach it correctly. It also keeps your life exciting. Please don’t say that you’re already attached and you cannot do this anymore. It’s nonsense! For those attached just know your limits. Nobody is asking you to marry the next person you date. It’s merely a good way to get to know new people. If you’re afraid, go in a group or get a friend to follow you. It’s not as bad as you think. So…anyone willing to give it a go after this? Hehe.

3 Birthdays, A Wedding & A Cultural Event

It has been a rather busy weekend for me. It started out on Friday night, where there were 2 of my friends who were celebrating their birthdays on the same day. After work, I met up with Ashley and some friends for dinner in an Italian restaurant called Caff Restaurant (* links to a random blog site) at Bandar Puteri Puchong, which coincidently happens to be owned by one of her friend. The food was not bad at all, but it was located in a rather secluded area, so not many people know about it. Needless to say, it was still fun when the alcohol came by.

Ashley the birthday girl

Group pic...

After dinner, I had to head down all the way to The Loft on Heritage Row for another birthday celebration. This time, it was my old friend Elaine's party. Well, you don't think you can expect to go to a place like The Loft on your birthday and come out standing do you? That was exactly what happend to Elaine. Well Elaine, I hoped you had a blast that night....if you remember the last parts of it..hehe..

2 posers - Elaine & I

Alice, Jek, Me & Elaine

"Nooooo...not another one!!"

Saturday night. There was another birthday gathering. Well actually, it's a belated birthday gathering for Lyn, since her birthday was actually last week. You see...some people celebrate her birthday in Krabi by the beach (tsk tsk..), so she had to do it on Saturday night at WIP @ BSC. It was fun seeing her unwrapping her presents..

The many faces of Lyn

All of us @ WIP

Sunday morning, I picked Lyn up from her place and we went down to KLPAC for their Open Day. They had loads of cultural performances and workshops from morning way up till 5PM. Unfortunatly, both Lyn and myself can't stay that long as we both had other plans. The highlight of the day was definately the tour of KLPAC, where we got to go backstage and see what goes on behind the scenes during performances. We went up to the lighting room, the locker rooms and even up on the catwalk area high above!

Lyn & I @ KLPAC

Click here to view pictures taken @ KLPAC Open Day

Later that night, I had a wedding dinner to attend. My ex-classmate Julian got married, and their wedding reception was held at JW Marriott hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Congrats Julian & Alesia! It was also sort of a mini high school reunion too as I caught up with a lot of my ex-classmates and friends.

Us with the bride & groom

Mini high school reunion??

Phew!....so that was my weekend. Next up, it's my brother's wedding. So looking forward to another busy weekend again...so stay tuned for that.