Boat Ride

Shot taken on an island not far from My Tho, Vietnam way back in December 2011

 

I really need to develop the films on my table………..

OftR: Trishaw Man

Trishaw or Beca/Becha in malay use to a regular mode of transport when I was small back in the 70’s in Malaysia.

I use to ride with either my mother or grandmother when ever I followed them to the market in Batu Pahat or Pontian in the state of Johor, Malaysia then. Now, I don’t actually see anymore of them in Pontian or maybe a handful in Batu Pahat.

In the major tourist area, Malacca or Penang and also Singapore…… they are now a tourist attraction rather than serving the locals.

btw, one of my mates updated some information on this trishaw man…..

“Pakcik ni kayuh beca since aku sekolah rendah lagi (translation: This man has been peddling the trishaw since I was in primary/elementary school)….and yes some of the people he ferried around are now successful doctors, businessmen, & engineers. Thank you for the photo which tells that he is still doing his noble job. “Pakcik Koboi” (as we used to call him),”

Ding Dings of Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Island Trams or locally known as ‘Ding Ding’ stretches, with a total track length of 30 km, from Kennedy Town in the west to Shau Kei Wan in the east of the island.

It has been part of Hong Kong island since as far back as 1902.

For HK$2.30 (it was HK$2.00 when I was there back in 2010), it is the cheapest mode of transport to enjoy the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong streets.

enchanting gifts

the other side of the glass

four in a row

safety first

the posting done on Valentine’s day 2012, was also on the ding ding.

Saigon: In Motion

There are a lot of motorcycles in Saigon, something like a swarm of bees, and it is a challenge to actually cross a busy street or road. The trick when crossing, is to cross with confidence, can’t actually explain it but you won’t get hit…….. the first few times was a nightmare, but after seeing how the locals cross, it was smooth sailing after that…… other than motorcycles on the pavement.

In this post, there will be at least two motorcycles involved in each shot……

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Whoah….. what was that

Excuse me, you are suppose to stop on red….. and there’s an idiot taking a photo of us in the middle of the road

between the two wheelers…..

photo shoot…… say cheese

Balloon seller under the tree

there’s at least nine motorcycles in the photo…… none is in motion

Maowa

Maowa is small village by the banks of River Padma, which started off as the Ganges in India. Located in Munshiganj Thana, it is approximately 44 kilometres to the west of Dhaka.

As the road network in Bangladesh is still not well developed, Maowa is the ferry point to get across the wide and open river. The significance of this ferry point is that it decreases the travelling distance with the southern region of the country. It is said that it takes only 5-5.5 hours to reach Khulna if you travel through Maowa whereas the other routes more or less double the travelling time.

The Ferry Terminal, none of those state of the art technology. You pay for your ticket at a chicken coop and then jump into the awaiting ferry.

The convenience store….. buy somethings for your relatives and loved ones back home here. Sorry, no duty free shops available.

Dine at the best restaurant in the area…….. at your own risk.

You can also opt to travel in luxury on the river limousine, but don’t trust the captain when he says the boat is equipped with life jackets. I am still waiting for him to show them.

The colour photograph is from my Canon G9, the only digital camera that I bring along now whenever I go out shooting.

Travel on the best ferry money can buy, and enjoy the 360 view on its viewing deck.

Trishaws…… here, there and everywhere

Like I wrote in my first posting on Dhaka, I have decided to dedicate this post to the 1/2 a million trishaws in Dhaka. May they never stop pedaling…….. in the “Trishaw (Rickshaw) Capital of the World”.

Newmarket

Badda

Tejgaon

Dhanmondi

Dhanmondi

Badda

And the last one in colour……

Newmarket

btw, if you notice….. the lungi aka sarong aka kain pelikat aka dhoti is the standard issued attire for the ricksha-wala.

Between Kamalapur and Tongi

Bangladesh Rail must be the most unreliable train service that I have ever rode. I managed to ride them from Dhaka’s central station in Kamalapur to a small town in the out skirt of Dhaka, Tongi.

Tongi is where the Biswa Ijtema is held, where an estimated five million people from the Tabligh movement congregate annually around January.

Coming back to the most unreliable train service. It seems that nobody knows when will the train depart….. the information desk, the ticket counter and even the locomotive driver (and that was after a delay of half an hour). And btw, make sure you asked for your ticket at the counter if the person manning it suddenly has a memory lapse and doesn’t give you one. And if you want to ride for free, you can have the best view, either on the locomotive or on the roof of the carriages.

Two camera were used a R4A and M6, two film; Neopan 1600 and HP5+ and two lens; a 21mm and 35mm.

boys of Kamalapur

Alone

Man and Lady

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welcome to Tongi

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boys of Tongi