Starting to Wind Down

With Raya only a couple of weeks away, the motivation to grind down to do the work had somehow gone down. I still have another call to do next weekend before I would be off for a week this coming Raya.

We decided to stay in KL this time around, shelving the original plan to return to Penang. With Anita’s father still weak and my Mum’s decision not to travel, the final decision was pretty straight forward. The boys also only had a couple of days off school. So travelling did not sound like an attractive option.

We will be spending much of the Raya at Bukit Antarabangsa. I would probably be relaxing, venturing on a photo walk or two. I was sure there would be plenty of visitors over those few days, which would keep Anita occupied.

I have at least four Berbuka event next week. And come Friday would be the last on call for Ramadhan - I had a total of four. My last clinic would be on the Wednesday before Raya. Hopefully things would be quiet by next week.

Decorations at Pavilion

When it came to festivities, Pavilion was always tops with the decorations. This Hari Raya, it was no exception. The theme was not very clear, but I saw many stars about. And of course some pelita - the traditional Malay lantern.

The decorations started from the Bukit Bintang entrace, leading straight to main lobby. There were stalls there as usual, with a small stage for shows.

I was there on a Sunday, and the place was packed! Luckily I parked at Low Yat - having been doing some shopping there before walking across as the weather was nice. I also get o try my new wode-angle zoom for the CL - a Super-Vario-Elmar.

Apart from the decorations, there were not much happening then. I did not hang around for too long as I had to do more shopping after.

Vespa at Dataran Merdeka

It seemed that things were going full circle. Now, Vespas are the hipster way to travel in town and a few weekends back, I spotted a few gathering around Dataran Merdeka and I started snapping a few photos.

The guys there were pretty friendly and were very keen on their hobby. Most of them actually fix and maintain their vehicles diligently. And they cost a fair few bobs. Not exactly a cheap hobby this ....

There were many versions of the Vespas and they came from various generations. They were in pristine condition - most of them - and all the drivers had a story to tell. Great stuff all around ...

Ramadhan Walk

Since I was off for the first day of Ramadhan, I decided to take a ride into time en route to pick Anita up from Gombak. It allowed me to stop at the bank to settle some bills and took my camera with me.

That famous monorel bridge at NU SentralWaiting for my ride ...Decorations at NU SentralPacking them in ..I just got myself a new lens and was eager to give that a go. Ramadhan and the hot sunshine did not stop me.

One of the many arches near Central MarketMedan PasarStill too early for Aidil FitriWalking around Medan Pasar and Central Market at that hour was not really my idea of a photowalk, but there were quite a few subjects to aim at.

The ever-familar KL TowerThe number to call ...Masjid JamekMaking my way backThe new setup I tried - the Leica CL with Summicron-TL 23 - was a dream to use, especially as I usually use a manual setup. Focussing on this combo was fast and usually accurate despite the lens wide open. Contrast may not be as great as the Summilux-M 35 which I normally use, but the convenience of autofocus made up for it. Time to get more mileage on the lens and get use to the renderings ...

The Ramadhan Traffic

One thing I had always worried during Ramadhan was making the trip back home in time.

After a long day, the last thing you wanted to see was heavy traffic. And during Ramadhan, more often than not, this had been the case. A journey which normally took 20 minutes could end up an hour.

From the start of Ramadhan, I could see the problem right from my own balcony. Only on weekdays. But the traffic would start from the bottom of Jalan Lembah Pantai/NPE junction right up Bukit Pantai. Coming home from work, I could easily spend half an hour inching towards my apartment from the NPE exit. Excruciating!

So, on the days where I would be late, I would have to return close to berbuka time. Usually the traffic eased off by 6.45 and became non-existant by 7.15. Not fun though ....