tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87879244735045750862013-03-28T19:48:56.043+05:30Dragonfly's PageDragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-67957008631189202122013-03-25T12:05:00.000+05:302013-03-25T12:11:24.852+05:302013-03-25T12:11:24.852+05:30The time when I almost got cheated!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Being an engineer and a gadget geek, I know how easy it is to confuse a branded product (especially in electronics) with a counterfeit one and get cheated by a ‘creative’ salesman. That’s why, I usually stick with the trusted shops, when I shop for gadgets, even if that means I am paying a premium for the name. I always try to go with guideline, “If its too good to be true, its probably not true”. Even with these safeguards, I almost got cheated over the weekend at a shop in Funan mall and learned a couple of things from the experience.</div>
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I have to admit that I am a sloppy negotiator, especially when it comes to buying a gadget. Usually I go straight to one of the reputed shops which quoted the lowest price over phone and buy it without a lot of bargaining. This time, it was a Canon Speedlite I was looking for, along with couple of other accessories and I decided to go to <a href="http://www.funan.com.sg/" target="_blank">Funan Digital mall</a>, Singapore. Since I was not short on time, I decided to put my negotiation/people skills to test. </div>
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I went around asking for the prices at various shops. The first shop I walked into was named 25 Cam (#03-25). The salesperson quoted a price which was around S$30 less than the price I had in my mind. “Wow!”, I thought, “a nice bargain and that too at the first shop. Today might be my lucky day”. I told him I’ll be back and went searching for better deals.</div>
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After an hour or so, I finished my recon. All of the other shops quoted a price similar to the one which I came up with, after my research. I had a decision to make. On one hand, I had a good offer from the first shop. One the other hand, couple of things nagged me at the back of my head.</div>
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1. Is the offer too good to be true? But, I countered with the argument that its not a discount of 20-30%, but somewhere around 10%. (I didn't calculate exactly how much, my mistake).</div>
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2. If this shop provided such bargains regularly, why haven’t I heard about it in any online forums? But then again, I don’t necessarily know about all the camera shops in Singapore, may be I have missed this one.</div>
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I went to the first shop and let him know about the other things I wanted - a neutral density filter, rechargeable batteries and a diffuser. I wanted a Hoya filter and that’s when the salesman started lecturing me about why Hoya doesn't produce a good ND filter. He offered me a Kenko filter, which in his argument, is better than Hoya. But I could see the real reason why he was pushing me a Kenko - he was out of Hoya 77mm ND filter. But I calmed myself thinking “if I buy couple of things from here, I might be able to get a better price”. Again, my mistake.</div>
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Once I had all the things I wanted, I told him to give me the final amount. That’s when the salesman told me to look at a third party flash with a better performance & a similar price but with no obligations to buy. “Alarm!”, a red flag was raised in my head of a possible fraud. I was never fond of third party products. But, I decided to go along with him as I didn't want to offend him.</div>
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He told me how the third party flash is better by having a better zoom with support up to 105mm and Canon doesn't (it’s a plain lie) and how it has a better guide number than the Canon one (the guide number he quoted was also wrong) and that the third party one being made in Japan even though he was unable to show me the “Made in Japan” print on the unit. When he saw that I was not convinced, he started to demonstrate. He opened a brand new looking lens cover, and attached it to an EOS 7D and the flash unit. Later he put it back the same way. BIG MISTAKE! If he is opening a brand new cover to demonstrate to a customer and putting it back the same way, how can I trust the unit he is offering me is a genuine product?</div>
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I was beginning to think of a way to back off from the deal. I asked for the final quote saying I am going with the Canon unit. That’s when his true colors came out. He said, the price quoted was exclusive of GST (Goods & Services tax) and that I have to pay extra money. (The new price came around the price quoted by other shops). When I tried to argue, his reply was, “I won’t get the money, it goes to the Lee’s (a.k.a the Singapore Government)”. But by then, he had already started putting the stuff back because he knew that I had already made up my mind. </div>
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I was shocked and relaxed at the same time; shocked because of the extend of lies he told me and how nearly I got cheated and relaxed because I didn't get cheated in the end. I waited a bit to decide what to do next and simply walked out of the door. Later at home, a simple internet search showed me that lot of <a href="http://forums.vr-zone.com/traders-corner/2301651-i-felt-i-being-cheated-funan.html" target="_blank">people</a> have fallen prey to these techniques.</div>
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I learned a couple of things from the encounter,</div>
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1. When there is a voice inside your head telling you about a possible fraud, better listen to it. Proceed with extreme caution.</div>
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2. Always ask whether the final price is “inclusive of GST”. Later I realized that if I had done a simple calculation, I could have figured out the price difference was exactly 7%.</div>
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3. If there is a difference of more than 5-10% from the consensus price, most likely there will be a catch. Find it.</div>
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4. Its OK to try and find the lowest price, but be prepared to face situations like these where you can be harassed and let down. Be ready to take what you have learned and move on.</div>
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Above all, I realized that there are people who lie through their teeth, at your face, to sell things (sometimes faulty), for a profit of a couple of dollars (sometimes, even the <a href="http://forums.vr-zone.com/hardware-depot/1991477-beware-alan-photo-funan-centre-changes-gifts-canon.html" target="_blank">reputed stores</a>). These are the ones who doesn't have any ethics, who doesn't know the values of honor and integrity. So it is the responsibility of us - the customers - to be vigilant and not to fall prey to these techniques.</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-13450633423951473132013-02-25T08:38:00.003+05:302013-02-25T08:39:34.528+05:302013-02-25T08:39:34.528+05:30Goodbye, old friend!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This is a post which I wrote the day after I moved out of my previous apartment.</i></div>
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Everyone has their routines, like morning chores or commuting to work or buying groceries, routines that people give little or no thought to, activities that just happen in everyday life when most people are busy planning other things. All of it changes when you know that this is probably the last time you are going to do what used to be just a routine in your life.</div>
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Yesterday when I walked to my apartment from the train station, I took my time to do it. I enjoyed the sunset more than I use to, forgot to cross the road since I stayed longer at the signal, simply looking around, got immersed in the beauty of the blue sky during twilight (my favorite time of the day) even though I have seen many times, all of this because I didn't want let go of that feeling, the feeling which I get when I am around that neighborhood for a random walk to the nearby shop or a Saturday morning jogging session, when the feelings are always that of hopes and dreams.</div>
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I didn't want to let go because, it was time for us to move out from our apartment, the place where I started my life with the love of my life, the place where we not only lived, but enjoyed every bit of it, for the last two years. The place which gave us nothing but happiness, the place which is full of happy memories, laughter and energy, the place which we set up from scratch, where we painted the walls with “loud” colors, the place which automatically gets transformed to a party place every Friday night, the place which we transformed from a mere apartment to our home.</div>
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When its time for us to move on, we all think about the time when we started it and it never looks that far into the past, it always feels like yesterday. The apartment was no different. It gave us a lot of memories to cherish for the rest of our lives. Each of those walls or windows had some special memory etched to it. The place never stopped inspiring and motivating us.</div>
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By the time we were done with cleaning and packing the last of the stuff, it was late night. Still we just sat there for a while thinking about all those nostalgic moments. Both of us felt heavy at heart. We felt that the apartment has a soul, one which we created out of our own soul, our lives, one which we hope will follow us, no matter wherever we go.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xu6a9Xl8WJY/USrTz-n8FrI/AAAAAAAAKeo/LFEhVbe6jIs/s1600/ghim_moh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xu6a9Xl8WJY/USrTz-n8FrI/AAAAAAAAKeo/LFEhVbe6jIs/s320/ghim_moh.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The last of the beer cans we consumed before passing on the keys to the landlord</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-22505257429549850132013-02-13T14:51:00.002+05:302013-02-13T15:10:57.936+05:302013-02-13T15:10:57.936+05:30Varnam 2013- My first Art Exhibition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As some of my readers already <a href="http://thedragonflypage.blogspot.com/2007/10/colours.html" target="_blank">know</a>, I have ventured into many types of visual art forms over the years. I started with sketch pen, crayons & watercolor as a kid but continued to use water color as my main medium until very recently. Lately I've been using acrylic as my main medium due to the ease of use and many other factors.</div>
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I enjoyed the whole process of “creation” immensely (the frequency was going down recently as I focused more on photography), but mostly I did it only for my own satisfaction. My family and close friends were my audience and it was their encouragement that inspired and motivated me to do more. I never exhibited my works for an external audience to see (except for the exhibitions I was part of in school and college days).</div>
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The fact changed when my good friend Nikhil called me a with an invitation. An invitation for an Art exhibition organised by Kaleido - a digital arts club led by the youth wing of Singapore Malayalee Association (SMA). The goal was to create a platform for amateur artists in Singapore to showcase their work, to give it an international exposure.</div>
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Immediately I agreed to join. I had 3 of my works in Singapore and I decided to exhibit them. Even though I wanted to do a new work just for the exhibition, I couldn't make it as I had a lot of things going on.</div>
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The exhibition was organised on Jan 26-27, 2013. It was conducted in the SMA building, in Singapore. 11 artists - both amateur and professionals - participated in the event. More than 80 artworks were exhibited with a variety of media like watercolor, acrylic, oil, charcoal etc. Clay modelling, miniature modelling and animations added new dimensions to an already vibrant collection of art forms. The event was a huge success with more turnover than expected by the organizers.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_W2oYH93oW4/URta_kyk5zI/AAAAAAAAJqE/WtwexgWPen0/s1600/varnam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_W2oYH93oW4/URta_kyk5zI/AAAAAAAAJqE/WtwexgWPen0/s320/varnam.jpg" width="294" /></a></div>
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For me personally, the event was a big opportunity, an opportunity to showcase my ability as an artist in front of a greater audience. But more importantly, it gave me the chance to meet a lot of like minded individuals who share a common passion and spend 2 days with them, discussing ideas and exploring various possibilities of a variety of media. This enabled me to get back in track with my long fading passion for colors and to kick start my “painting” activities, again.</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-5743222088304165312012-10-24T14:42:00.003+05:302012-10-24T14:43:45.723+05:302012-10-24T14:43:45.723+05:30Crazy Weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My weekends generally fall into either of the following two categories. 1. Good weekends - where I have lots and lots of fun and not even realizing the time flying by, till its Monday morning and yet I feel more energetic (even with all the lack of sleep) and 2. The bad ones - where I usually sit at home doing nothing and simply feel empty by Sunday evening and hate Monday’s so much that at times I end up taking a day off.</div>
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Then there is the third type, the one which happens once in a “Blue Moon” - The Crazy One. Two weeks back, it was a “Blue Moon”.</div>
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To make the long story short, one Thursday evening, I was at my apartment in Singapore wondering what I am going to do the next day at work and how boring my weekend’s gonna be. But less than 24 hours later, I was a 1000 miles away from home - Phuket, Thailand - the Vegas of South East Asia, trying to figure out how I ended up there.</div>
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Now to the long version as on why I was wondering about the next day’s work and why my weekend had nothing planned. Like in all crazy stories, I have a bunch of crazy friends with whom I usually do a bunch of crazy things. A lot of things were happening during the last couple of months (like one of my friend’s finding his better half) that we all wanted to have some time together and thought of planning a trip. Due to some technical difficulties, Manju and I had to skip it and my friends ended up planning it. Since their flight was on Friday early morning, Manju and I decided to meet them on Thursday evening to wish them a good trip. Generally when we meet, we end up suffering from lack of sleep (and hang over) the next day, which was why I was bothered about the the next day’s work. Since they were flying, we didn't have the “default meetup” planned and my weekend schedule was kind of empty.</div>
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Well, I forgot about all my worries once I was among my friends and started partying. I remember how we started the evening. I remember we playing cards, loud music, having nachos, singing songs, lot of laughs and talks (some about me not going for the trip) and like all parties, after some time, everything started to seem like a blur and time started to slow down. Soon, it was time for the last bus to head back home and I remember reaching for my shoes. We wished them happy journey (I thinks I did) and walked towards the bus stop.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I've</span> heard people saying that love and alcohol tend to amplify our emotions. Well, I had both in my system and I remember feeling a void somewhere in my head. I think I started my usual philosophy session and after sometime, that crazy idea stuck my head. (I do not remember whether it was me or Manju who initiated it). “Why can’t we go back, book the tickets right now and go with them?” Immediate, as the afterthought, the following questions also popped into my mind. “But then how about work tomorrow, the weekend plans? I haven’t packed anything, well I don’t even have my passport with me, how am I going to do it?” Then Manju said, “The worst thing that can happen if we go back now is, we will miss our bus and may have to get a cab to go home. But the best case scenario is, we can have a crazy weekend”.</div>
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And yeah, we did go back, partied more, arranged for “emergency” leave for next day, booked the (super expensive, last minute) tickets (barely 6 hours before), took a detour to get our bags packed, and made it to the airport just in time to board the flight - extremely hungover and with little sleep the night before.</div>
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Now when I think about that night, all I can recall is only some flashes here and there. But it was just the beginning of a crazy weekend. What happened in Phuket, is the subject for yet another post. Sometimes in life, there comes a point when you have to do something, without thinking a lot. That’s when you have to remember about the Nike ad campaign - “Just do it” (I remember thinking about it just before boarding the flight). Because, during most of these situations, you know very clearly what you want deep inside. If you ponder a lot over the decision or try to come up with every possible consequence it will make in your life, it might never happen. You might cherish the memories forever or might regret it in future. But always remember what the “wise man” said, “Never regret anything you have done in your life, because, that’s what you wanted the most at that point in time”</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-85555580601676724992012-10-15T07:34:00.004+05:302012-10-15T07:35:31.310+05:302012-10-15T07:35:31.310+05:30Canon's Christmas gift<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since I click mostly when I travel and I like to travel light, the only major addition to my gear since I first got my DSLR (EOS 450D + EF-S 18-200mm IS) in 2008, was my macro lens (EF 100mm L Macro USM). I have come a long way since I clicked my first shot and recently the then entry level DSLR started showing signs of aging both from technology and wear & tear due to my excessive clicking (around 50K images) & rough handling. Even though it is a quite capable camera, I have started to outgrow my gear to an extend where I feel limited by it in a lot of situations. After seeing the quality of the images produced by the 100mmL, I don’t feel like shooting with my 18-200mm anymore. All these factors made me think about a complete refresh of my camera and accessories. Since Canon offers an excellent collection of SLR lenses, I was able to easily narrow down my choices on that front. But the biggest concern was about my options for an EOS body. I didn't want to go for 7D due to its crop (APS-C) sensor and 5D Mark II is an old model (60D option was “out the window” in the beginning itself). That’s when Canon announced the 5D Mark III which got me excited a lot. The only problem (as my friend Ajai put it) - If I factor in the cost of the body plus refreshing the rest of my gear, I am looking at a possible bankruptcy.</div>
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There, I was back to square one. Even though my eventual goal was the 5D MK3, I had no idea how or when I would get there. I dropped the idea of getting a new body and was considering a refresh of my lenses and other accessories like flash, filters etc. That’s when Canon surprised me with their “out-of-the-blue” announcement of a “cheap” (if you can call US$ 2.1K cheap) full frame camera - the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-6d/" target="_blank">EOS 6D</a> - at <a href="http://www.photokina.com/en/photokina/home/index.php" target="_blank">Photokina 2012</a>, which promised all the features I was hoping for. (Later I found that the existence of “cheap” full frame in the making was the industry’s “worst kept secret” since there were tons of rumors flying around the Internet, which I never knew) </div>
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As per Manju, I was so excited about this news that all I had to talk about for the rest of the week, was about the 6D (I completely deny it). In the paper, its not as great as the 5D MK3 as its supposed to fit right below the 5DMK3 and above the 7D. However in my opinion, the 6D is a much more streamlined product as compared to the 5DMK3, with the likes of the introduction of GPS, WiFi, the significant weight reduction, removing CF cards etc. I don’t care a lot about the 61 AF points or the 100% viewfinder coverage or the 6fps continuous shooting speed of the MK3. These are all nice-to-have features, but definitely not a shortcoming compared to the existing enhancements and especially the ‘discount’ of US$1500 from the MK3’s hefty price tag.</div>
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As compared to the Nikon D600, the 6D might seems not up to the mark in some aspects in paper, especially in terms of the megapixel count (which is a boon for me ‘cos I do not want to upgrade my storage), or the 39 point AF system. But I am more interested in seeing how the 6D performs in actual tests rather than on paper. So far, the only data available is what has been published by Canon. I am eagerly waiting for a 3rd party review.</div>
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Now that the 6D is out, I am hoping that Canon will announce some refreshes of its current product line, like a replacement of the Speedlite 403EX II or a couple of new lenses (like an <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/" target="_blank">18-300mm</a>) during <a href="http://www.photoplusexpo.com/" target="_blank">Photoplus</a>, New York in October 2012.</div>
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What all these means to me is that, if I am going for the 6D, I’ll have to replace my 18-200mm with a 24-105mmL, get a speedlite (possibly a 430EX II refresh), replace all my current filters etc etc, which translates to only one thing, I’ll have to apply for the loan my friend was referring to, ASAP!</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-66738627805048527332012-10-03T10:53:00.001+05:302012-10-03T11:00:34.257+05:302012-10-03T11:00:34.257+05:30Life Underwater<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This article has been published in the Onam issue (2012 August) of '<a href="http://www.sgmalayalees.com/magazine.php" target="_blank">Ithalukal</a>' magazine.</div>
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"It feels strange the first time. Your mask. Your awkward gear, a bit heavy. You ease into the water and your face slips below the surface. Inhale; the air comes with a reassuring hiss, and for the first time, you breathe underwater. In moments, you forget your mask. Your equipment transforms to light and agile, and you're free like you've never experienced before. With that first underwater breath, the door opens to a different world. Not a world apart, but different nonetheless." - PADI OPEN WATER DIVER Manual.</div>
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Indeed it opened a whole new world when I descended to the depths of the sea for the first time. I was barely able to believe my senses, and for a moment I thought I was dreaming. With that first underwater breath, I realised, my world would never be the same again.</div>
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Even though I loved any form of water sports from my childhood and wanted to try scuba diving for a long time, I wasn’t able to, until I moved to Singapore. South-East Asia boasts some of the best warm water dive sites in the world. I had an extra privilege. I worked in a place where there were more divers than non-divers. Also, the nature of our work required us to spend as much time in the sea as that on land. That was my motivation. From the information I gathered from my diver friends, I set out and joined an open water course in 2009. My first dive trip, for Open Water Certification, was to Tioman Islands, Malaysia. I've got to say, I got hooked after that.</div>
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Even after 3 years, I vividly remember how I felt when I descended for the first time. Once completed with the initial checks, my instructor gave me a final OK to descent. I deflated my BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) and began to sink slowly. After dealing with few distractions like equalising, orienting myself, I looked around. It was like the entire world had turned blue. And very quiet. It took around a minute for me to touch down (~ 6-8m). Since it was our first dive, we were descending into a patch of white sand. As soon as I was done with the basic skills, while waiting for others to finish, I began exploring the small reef near me. I found an anemone there inhabited by a school of clown fish (commonly known as Nemo) so beautiful with their orange and white banded bodies and their graceful movements in the corel. It was my first close encounter with any sea creature. From that point onwards, my world was never the same again, the sea never stopped surprising me. For the remaining dives, I swam along a variety of colorful fishes, saw some weird shaped creatures, all of which forged an even stronger bond between me and the nature.</div>
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Shy Nemo trying to hide from my camera, a snap I took while diving in Bali.</div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.13935248041525483" style="font-weight: normal;"><img height="387px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VoED4m63_csf2884WWKZRs_OBGnlc9H8RbOS0gMT-AKCn37xQnlC0Fv6XuZp5OBJ4yfm1-oD6gJASvh7NWaTF1OK3iKCCZocAv8-0yh_h0UaKHi7hts" width="516px;" /></b></div>
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Me ‘n my buddy under the wreck of USAT Liberty, a World War II transport ship</div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.13935248041525483" style="font-weight: normal;"><img height="379px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9HLrwgqOVt25Ybil_NHPdIv5AMPHPesoagImp4sWZ2izm356beqiTJrHqewG5zaOf9e7DsLRiW_Lmr-j7c84GNhEJBHDbgIimoZDVV6u2ydS4X9rcow" width="533px;" /></b></div>
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A scorpion fish trying to blend in with the reef</div>
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I have gone diving in some interesting places, met people from different parts of the world and most importantly, seen some really unique creatures in the sea which sometimes were beyond my wildest imaginations. Each and every time I go underwater, I find something intriguing or learn something new. Even then, I know what I have seen so far is only a fraction of what the nature has to offer. Now that my better-half has also joined me in my passion for diving, I know I will be able to discover more and more secrets, the nature has been holding back from me and that the real adventure is only beginning.</div>
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For those who are interested in pursuing this amazing activity, here is some useful info.</div>
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Even though there are some introductory course which helps you get a feel of what its like without taking a proper certification, I recommend you start with the certification which enables you to dive anywhere in the world. There are many certifying agencies, but PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization.</div>
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It’s relatively easy to find a dive shop/operator in the South East Asia as some of the best dive sites in the world are located here. Either you can join a trip organised by a dive operator in your region who will arrange all the logistics or you can travel to the specific place you want to dive and sign up with a local dive operator there.</div>
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The main prerequisite for diving is swimming. You don’t have to be a world class swimmer, but you need to be able to float/hover in the water for 10 minutes and need to be able to swim 200m, non stop. In my opinion, even if you have to enroll for a swimming course, it’s worth it.</div>
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Once you take the first level of certification - Open Water Diver - you can dive up to 18m. The next level of certification is Advanced Open Water Diver which lets you to dive up to 30m. It also lets you do some of the fun stuff like night diving, drift diving, underwater navigation etc. If you are only looking for leisure dives, these two certifications are more than necessary. But there will always be a next level like Rescue diver, Dive Master, Instructor etc which takes your diving skills to a professional level. If you want to push your limits and cross the boundaries of recreational diving, technical diving is the one for you.</div>
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So, what are you waiting for? Get, set and dive!</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-74509963764262370902012-05-23T13:00:00.000+05:302012-05-23T13:07:46.210+05:302012-05-23T13:07:46.210+05:30People of Bali<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Bali did strike a nerve in me. Or else, why would I still find myself thinking about the blue blue beaches of Kuta or the lush green rice terraces near Ubud or the mighty volcano - <a href="http://thedragonflypage.blogspot.com/2012/05/summit-ting-mt-agung-bali.html" target="_blank">Mt Agung</a> which we climbed or the Balinese people, even after a month since I am back? I find it very frustrating, my inability to shake of my thoughts about Bali.</div>
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Talking about the Balinese, they are one of my most peculiar people I have ever interacted with. Usually, the natural beauty or the potential activities I can undertake in a place are the main things I look for, in my ideal travel destination. Bali (Indonesia in general) is one exception. I am as fond of the Balinese people as I am fond of the place itself. They are a bunch of very polite and spiritual (may or may not be religious) people. I was amazed to see the dedication and discipline they have towards their conventional way of life. 9 out of 10 people you meet in Bali will be <a href="http://nihondiary.blogspot.com/2012/05/bali-people-names.html" target="_blank">named either Wayan, Ketut, Madhe or Koman</a>.</div>
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In the modern world, I usually don’t get the 'feel of spirituality' in day to day life. But while exploring Bali, the temple or a shrine within every 500 sq m, the way the Balinese think in terms of ‘karma’ etc, constantly reminded me of the presence of God all around us. Contrary to the Indian way of ‘investing in God’, Bali temples do not have the slightest touch of extravagance in them. It showed me how simple, things can be. Religion and God for Balinese is part of their lifestyle and not something they practice simply out of commitment or for attracting tourists.</div>
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No matter where I traveled in Bali, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling that this place really has something spiritual about it. The cultural capital of Bali - Ubud - with the abundance of its old, moss covered temples, made me feel that I was being watched by the Gods. In the village of Tulamben - where I was diving - I could see at least 2 temples and a dozen shrines from where our resort was. I visited a waterfall and right next to it was a small, beautiful shrine; I summit-ed a volcano, (starting from a temple) only to find a bunch of Balinese at the summit, involved in their early morning prayers.</div>
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May be this deep influence of spirituality in their life is the reason why Balinese are extremely polite and service minded. Our dive master took care of us like little kids jumping into water for the first time. When I was down with fever, the landlord shared his meal with me and when we were climbing, our guide literally helped Manju during every difficult step, which was most of the climb. Even a total stranger offered to take me to the doctor when I was coughing too much, and when I refused, he insisted that I take his medication. The experiences go on and on.</div>
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Sometimes, I was a bit startled by their attitude towards money, may be a byproduct of excessive commercialisation. Some of them can be extremely annoying with their excessive touting or while negotiating prices, be it for an item or for a service. I wonder why they ask exorbitant rates and the moment we raise doubts, they tend to reduce the rates. But this doesn't even remotely affect the way they interact with you. As Manju correctly pointed out, once the negotiations are over, the Balinese people are as friendly and caring as a close friend of yours.</div>
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Bali reminded me a lot about home and I think that is one reason I got so emotionally attached to the place. When we were boarding our flight back to Singapore, I found myself telling Manju, “There is definitely a God and that God is Balinese”. I am sure there is something magical about the place and the people or why else would I keep thinking about a way to go back to Bali?</div>
</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-71287850451098499662012-05-11T18:59:00.000+05:302012-05-23T13:09:35.070+05:302012-05-23T13:09:35.070+05:30Sunrise from a Summit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“I am stronger than you think I am”, I told Manju pretending that I meant every word, although I had severe doubts about the limits to which I can push myself at that stage. She seemed to calm a bit hearing that.</div>
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“Besides, <a href="http://thedragonflypage.blogspot.com/2011/10/expedition-to-volcano.html" target="_blank">volcanoes</a> are my specialty”, I added on, just in case I didn’t convince her enough with my previous statement. That seemed to do it, but the next moment, she gave me one of her “looks” from which I can’t hide pretty much anything. Even though she didn’t say anything, I knew for sure that she saw right through me. I guess she felt my overwhelming desire to finish what we have started and that caused me to be totally oblivious to my physical condition. Besides, our guide was assuring us that there is only less than an hour to go, to reach the summit of <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Mount_Agung" target="_blank">Mt Agung</a>, the highest point in Bali.</div>
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“Sunrise from a Summit” was a difficult dream for me due to my knees. A full 2 day trek to the likes of Mt Kinabalu or Mt Rinjani were unthinkable for me. That’s when I heard about this less than a day trek from a friend of mine last year. And before we knew it, we were planning for it. We trained 3-4 days a week to build up our stamina, with a focus on my knees. We arranged our trek with Mr Wayan and climbing Mt Agung was one thing I was looking forward the most during our Bali trip.</div>
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Three days through our trip, I got a severe flu & cold and I was pretty sure that I might have to abandon the climb. That’s when Manju told me “You are stronger than you think you are”, (yeah, she was the one who told me that in the first place). While I was pondering the idea of dropping the climb and salvaging the rest of the trip fearing a bad climb will put me down for a long time, she rearranged our itinerary and rescheduled our climb. Lonely planet says the climb is very taxing even for the fit and that gave me second thoughts about my decision to climb. But I decided to push myself and see what happens. After all, the whole point of this climb was to push my limits.</div>
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We started from Ubud around 12:30am and by the time we reached our starting point, around 2 am, it was drizzling. Since I didn’t anticipate a ~101 deg fever, the only warm cloth I had was a sweater. We started our climb with the 300 steps to Pura Pasar Agung temple. While our guide Madhe was praying at the gates of the temple, we were panting and discussing about our possible “stop condition”. Thus we started our long and gruelling journey towards the summit of Mt Agung.</div>
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By the time we reached the first designated resting point, we had already taken 2 stops. I started the climb with the warm clothes on, due to the slight drizzle, but had to remove them in between due to my body heating up from the climb. When we stopped, my body was burning and i was not able to conclude whether i was having a fever as all my senses were acting a bit funny. Once our guide had finished his prayer at the small spring there, we took some photos and continued to climb.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YWXdotx_8Uw/T60SEp0AQMI/AAAAAAAAHv0/Z0d87li9ajo/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YWXdotx_8Uw/T60SEp0AQMI/AAAAAAAAHv0/Z0d87li9ajo/s320/01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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How Bali looks at night</div>
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I could remember reading that, with a normal pace of climb, we should be done with the forest within an hour or so. But even after 2 hours, we were still surrounded with lot of vegetation. We had to hurry up if we were to make in time for the sunrise, but it was impossible to do so as the more we climb, the trail became more and more difficult.</div>
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Slowly, I began to understand the phrase “This is a mighty mountain, show some respect”. At some point during my climb, we had to go through light clouds and I felt like the chill of the wind in my bones. Even though every part of my body was begging me to turn back, I was feeling emotionally “high”. Somehow I kept pushing harder.</div>
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I’ve got to say, me and manju make a good team as we tend to complement each other, well. We both drew inspiration just by looking into each other’s excited eyes, which screamed “you can do it”.</div>
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Finally, there came a point where we both decided that this is it, we are not summit-ing, we will rest here, watch the sunrise from here and begin our climb down. But I guess dropping something we worked so hard, in the last minute, is not in our blood. Manju looked at me and told me to continue, and that she will follow. I didn’t believe her, but then I started alone.</div>
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Since it was almost time for sunrise, I raced as fast as I could, and at many places the terrain was so steep that I had to crawl up. I was afraid to look down as it was too steep which made me feel uneasy. I tried not to think about the climb down.</div>
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And just when the sun was visible at the horizon, I summit-ted.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i_u38mNqyFE/T60SNABocLI/AAAAAAAAHv8/2v77qtXCjbM/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i_u38mNqyFE/T60SNABocLI/AAAAAAAAHv8/2v77qtXCjbM/s320/02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Atop the Clouds</div>
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Summit of Mt Agung</div>
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Along with the breathtaking view of the rising sun against the backdrop of a colourful sky, I was stunned to see a group of Balienese people doing their morning prayers like it was their backyard. My sense of achieving something big vanished. I was humbled. Nature had taught me another lesson.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-skFZWxcgvFI/T60SVVjvylI/AAAAAAAAHwE/cDm0JEAXFYI/s1600/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-skFZWxcgvFI/T60SVVjvylI/AAAAAAAAHwE/cDm0JEAXFYI/s320/03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ongoing ceremony at the summit of Mt Agung</div>
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I missed Manju. After all, what’s a victory without your teammate. So, I began my climb down without waiting for long, only to find Manju already at the other side of the summit. I climbed back and we spent couple of minutes together at the “top of the world”.</div>
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By then, the clouds were coming down on us and we began our climb down. As they say, climbing down is the most difficult part and the most stressful on your knees. By the time we made it to where we started from, it was 2pm - way too late than it should be - and I simply do not have enough words to describe our physical conditions except that for the next two days, I couldn’t bend my knees without “feeling” them.</div>
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Over the course of the entire 12 hour trek, an entire array of emotions passed through me. I felt awe at the might and raw power of nature, I learned to be humble, I learned the power of determination and teamwork, I learned to respect the mighty nature and the “Gods”, I felt fear, anger, hunger & thirst, I even felt fever and cold on the top of a mountain, but above all that, I rediscovered how it feels to be an adventurer, one who ventures into the unknown realms.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8RGMS3GVN9w/T60Swa0-lYI/AAAAAAAAHwU/XwSgKeHGroI/s1600/05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8RGMS3GVN9w/T60Swa0-lYI/AAAAAAAAHwU/XwSgKeHGroI/s320/05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The mighty Mt Agung</div>
</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-78111327885568914732012-04-27T13:17:00.001+05:302012-05-23T13:11:03.496+05:302012-05-23T13:11:03.496+05:30Vantage Point<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="text-align: justify;">I like getting the big picture of things. Naturally, I spend time looking for a good vantage point to get a feel of a place, during the travel planning phase, especially while visiting a city. What more can I ask than being in the top of a skyscraper during the blue hour and enjoying the view.</span><br />
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The problem with most potential viewing points in a city is that, they are inaccessible. For example, in Singapore, there are a lot of tall buildings in the city center. Most of them are office buildings and so not accessible to a common man unless you know someone there. Couple of others will have restaurants in the top and you can enjoy a view at the cost of (1) most of them will be super costly (2) they will be crowded and most of all (3) hardly any of them have roof access and so you’ll be stuck in an airconditioned room without a 360 deg view. The very few ones with a deck view are the highly commercialised ones like the Marina bay Sands sky deck (S$20 per person and no access to most of the places) or One Raffles place which can be very crowded at times.</div>
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Whenever a friend or family visits me, I recommend MBS or the Singapore flyer to get a good view of the city. But recently I made a discovery, a sky deck with a jogging track in the top, connected between all the 5 towers - read extremely spacious - accessible to public (S$5 per person), with 360 deg view right at the city center and not crowded at all. Most people who visited Singapore before might have noticed it atleast once, its the <a href="http://www.pinnacleduxton.com.sg/skybridge_public.php" target="_blank">Pinnacle@Duxton</a> , the award winning HDB apartment.</div>
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Thanks to Manju’s colleague who told us about this, we really spent some quality time there. I didn’t have my full gear and here are some photos from my phone.</div>
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View towards West</div>
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The containers you see are from Keppel Port I think</div>
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We relaxed here for a while enjoying the cool winds</div>
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The deck</div>
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I was under the impression that there are no public roof access to any of the HDB apartments in Singapore. Now that I found this, I am gonna start searching for similar, not-so-known sky decks. Hopefully I’ll get to go here again soon and click some nice snaps during the blue hour.</div>
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</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-86884735655191550572012-01-22T15:41:00.002+05:302012-05-23T13:10:28.485+05:302012-05-23T13:10:28.485+05:30'Adrenaline' Journey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I like to be on the safe side of things, especially when I travel. So, when there is a connection journey involved, I book my tickets in such a way that I have enough time between flights,. But when you have to travel on a particular date, you tend to pack things a bit too tight. That’s what happened to me last week when I had to book a connection flight with only 2 hours in between. I knew it was risky, but in my defence, I knew the transit airport very well and also I've never been delayed before by the airlines I was travelling with. And the first reason helped me from missing the connection flight in a matter of minutes.</div>
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All of this happened during my weekend trip with friends to Langkawi island in Malaysia. Since all of us had long year end holidays, none wanted to give our boss a reason to scream at us by asking for more leave. So we planned a weekend trip. In order to take full advantage of the weekend, we planned to reach the destination by Friday night itself. As with all Fridays, around one hour after reaching office - after reading newspapers - our clocks started ticking - to get out of the office. We used different methods like using the back door, setting our on-line status to be ‘In a meeting’ etc to slip out of the office early and discreetly. Somehow we all managed to reach the airport just in time before the counters closed.. </div>
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When we reached the gate, I noticed a strange thing. The flight we were supposed to be on, was not there, yet. (Usually by the time we are at the gate, most people would have boarded). We checked at the counter and they said the flight is delayed for 20 minutes. </div>
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Little did we know that when they told us about the 20 minutes delay, they meant that the flight would have to come from somewhere else in the world. That reduced our transit time to around one & a half hours. </div>
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Since our only option to make it in time for the connection flight was for the connection flight to be delayed, one of my friends was suggesting a fake bomb call to the transit airport. But before we attempted any such drastic measures, the flight crew ‘assured’ us that there is a slight chance that we can reach the transit airport in time. </div>
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We boarded in a hurry, got settled in our seats, captain announced that he was waiting for the clearance to take off and started taxi. We were anxiously waiting for the take off for a long time and later realised that we are not going to take off. Instead the flight was taxied to a remote taxiway and made to wait till there is a slot available for take off. </div>
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Finally, by the time we took off, we kissed our weekend plans good bye.If we had any hope of making it, the flight attendants assured us that its not going to happen. It was also the last flight to Langkawi which means we had to resort to our back up plan, which we never had. But one flight attended did some ‘calculations’ based on her experience with the air routes and said there is a chance that the next flight also will be delayed. </div>
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Since we had nothing to loose, we decided to give it a go. We switched on our mobiles and as soon as we got a signal (after touchdown), we called our friends and we heard the words we all were hoping for, “the next flight is late and will take off in 20 minutes”. </div>
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We could easily make it, provided we are able to get to the immigrations from the tarmac (around 1 km away), pass the immigrations (as it our next flight is a domestic one), collect our bags, get out and get back in to the domestic terminal, go through the whole security process, get to the counters/kiosks, and finally go through the gate security again, in less than 10 minutes. </div>
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At that moment, I became a believer of the concept “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenaline_Rush">adrenaline rush</a>”, as I felt my senses super tuned and my muscles stronger. By that time, most passengers knew that we had to catch another flight and cooperated with us when we pushed them aside while exiting (and the rest of them, cursed us with their ‘ colourful’ vocabulary). After exiting the flight, we ran like we’ve never ran before in our whole lives, reached & passed through the immigration in seconds, split up to collect bags and to find the information counter, screamed at the top of our voice to explain the whole situation and then finally ran through the security again. I was sure that the security personnel were going to shoot down at least one of us after all the chaos we caused there. On later thought, they may have realised that a terrorist probably would like to be much more discreet than us. When we reached the gate, it was half closed and we found our friends anxiously waiting for us at the end of the queue. And so, 10 minutes later, we were on our flight to Langkawi. </div>
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Unmistakably this is one of the never-to-be forgotten experiences in my life which I will probably publish as a book titled “How I realised the existence of the adrenal gland in my body”. If it were not for a combination of sheer luck, quick reflexes & wit and a bunch of terrific friends, we would never have been in that second flight. Even though we went through a lot of adventures later - during the course of our trip - this was the one adventure we never planned, one that none of us will never forget and one that I really don’t want to repeat.</div>
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</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-66171423384455600612011-11-18T14:48:00.001+05:302011-11-18T15:01:37.046+05:302011-11-18T15:01:37.046+05:30nVidia CUDA, nVidia Optimus, Linux & their complex relationship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After months of brainstorming on whether to get a Macbook or a Win7 laptop, how and where to buy it, what configuration to choose etc, I finally got my new <a href="http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m14x/pd">Alienware M14x</a> (Win 7) last week. Unfortunately I got my hands on it last Monday, which in my opinion left me no choice but to reduce my sleeping hours to 3-4hrs a day. With all those extra ‘sleepless’ hours I managed to find, I could accomplish quite a lot of things I had in my rather long TODO list by the end of the week, or so I thought. But I still haven’t completely set up my system, the way I wanted – lots of games, a Linux development environment etc.<br />
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The culprit is none other than the most important component in the laptop (for me) - the GPU. Since gaming, photo editing and GPU programming (nVidia CUDA) are the three things I am looking forward to focus on for most of my time, I wanted to make sure I made the right choice in selecting the GPU. The M14x comes with an nVidia GeForce GT 555M and it boasts the nVidia Optimus technology which uses switchable graphics (with Sandy Bridge integrated GPU) for power saving. All the reviews explained a lot about how this laptop takes full advantage of Optimus. But what none of the posts (I read) mentioned was, just like any other new technology, there is no support for Optimus in Linux till date, not by nVidia, not by Linux or not even by the manufacturer (in my case, Dell/Alienware).<br />
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What this means is, even though I will be able to use the nVidia GPU in Linux for CUDA programming, I won’t be able to use the nVidia GPU for any graphics applications in Linux. For example, I will be able to do computations on the GPU as a coprocessor, but it cannot be used for display in Linux environment. It doesn’t affect me a lot as I am not looking forward for any graphics programming in Linux in the short term, I already have my hands full with the TODO list I mentioned earlier. But it sure is a bummer considering I wanted to try out some graphics/game programming in the long term in the Linux environment. Hopefully there will be support for the Optimus technology in Linux soon.<br />
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I learned this fact the hard way, after spending long hours trying to setup my system to use the nVidia GPU. This post may/may not offer any solutions to any particular problem, but just a few observations and links to some of the sites/forums that helped me in the process.<br />
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To begin with, my requirement was to be able to do CUDA programming on a Linux environment in my M14x (GT 555M). On a side note, I have done CUDA setup & programming in the past and was familiar with it. My first step was to choose one of the Linux distributions supported by CUDA. I chose Ubuntu 10.10 and installed it. During my first boot, it asked me to upgrade to 11.04, which I did not accept because I knew that gcc 4.5 or above is not supported by CUDA at the moment. Ubuntu also asked me to activate the nVidia driver which I did it. Then I downloaded the CUDA dev driver, toolkit 4.0 and the code samples. I rebooted the machine and the Xserver failed to start. So, from the command prompt, I removed the ubuntu supplied driver.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia*</span><br />
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Then I installed the dev driver downloaded from nVidia site.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Chmod +x "filename"<filename></filename></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">./<filename></filename></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"filename"</span></div>
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I also installed the toolkit (also set the path), samples and the required libraries for building them as specified in the CUDA Getting Started Guide (Linux). I rebooted the machine and again the Xserver failed to start. I poured through support forums & blog entries, tried the <a href="http://askubuntu.com/questions/37590/nvidia-drivers-not-working-after-upgrade-why-can-i-only-see-terminal">black listing method</a>, reinstalled various drivers etc. None of them worked. Ubuntu was unable to load Xserver. So I decided to reinstall Ubuntu and start from step 1.</div>
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This time I was more cautious, I did one step at a time. But the moment I installed the dev driver and reboot, Xserver stopped working. What perplexed me more was, I was still able to run the CUDA binaries, which means the driver is installed properly. For a moment, I considered giving Fedora 13 a try.</div>
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That’s when I realized that I am using Optimus technology and the thought crossed my mind that what if Linux is trying to use the integrated GPU and nvidia driver is conflicting. My heart sank when I found out that there is no support for Optimus in Linux. There is third party software called bumblebee, which didn’t work for me. Some of the posts talks about a BIOS setting which can force either of the GPUs rather than switching them dynamically. But M14x BIOS doesn’t have that option, yet. So, I was out of options and that when this <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1657660">post</a> helped me. It helped me deactivate the nVidia driver and use the integrated GPU for Xserver. Also the GPU is detected as a coprocessor so that I can do my CUDA programming as long as I am not playing with graphics. Remember to update the Intel graphics driver.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel</span></div>
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In a nutshell, if your laptop is equipped with Optimus, better use the integrated graphics as of now for Linux. It’s a shame that so much GPU power is simply wasted.</div>
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</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-27381354144370164962011-10-27T14:54:00.006+05:302011-10-31T10:30:04.436+05:302011-10-31T10:30:04.436+05:30Singapore 101: Riding in Singapore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><b>Update</b>: This post is the first among my Singapore 101 series where I hope to provide some basic information about various aspects of an expat lifestyle in Singapore.</i><br />
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It’s been around one and a half years since I started riding my Honda Phantom 200cc (motorbike) which is my first two wheeler in Singapore (overall 3rd one). Over the years, I get a lot of general questions about owning and riding a motorbike/two wheeler in Singapore. I would like to share some information which I learned after started riding here, which (I hope) will help a foreigner start riding in Singapore.</div>
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<b>Pros & Cons</b></div>
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Before going to the details, here are some of the pros and cons of owning a two wheeler in Singapore.</div>
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<b>The Good: Convenience & Cost Effectiveness</b> - Even though Singapore boasts one of the best public transportation systems in the whole world, it can get really crowded during peak hours. During after hours, there is no public transportation at all when one has to depend on taxis which can get super expensive. Depending on the distance travelled, public transportation can sometimes get costly also. Having a two wheeler eliminates all of the above obstacles like long waiting periods for a bus or avoiding a traffic jam (which doesn’t affect a two wheeler as much as it affects a four wheeler).</div>
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<b>The Bad: Climate</b> - Since Singapore is a tropical country, it can rain anytime and it’s almost impossible and extremely dangerous to ride in rain. Fortunately, the rains here don’t last long.</div>
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<b>The Ugly: Fatality</b> - One small mistake can lead to far more serious consequences.</div>
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<b>Getting a license</b></div>
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There are three classes of licenses to ride a two wheeler in Singapore.</div>
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1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Class 2B – To ride a two wheeler up to 200cc</div>
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2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Class 2A – To ride a two wheeler up to 400cc</div>
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3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Class 2 – To ride a two wheeler more than 400cc</div>
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To start with, one has to get a Class 2B license. To get a 2A license, one has to be a class 2B license holder and should not have more than 12 (traffic) demerit points for one year from the day he/she gets the 2B. (I am not sure about the details of demerit points. Also, it’s the same procedure for getting a class 2 license after getting a class 2A). To get a 2B license, one has to pass a theory exam, a test circuit (which comprises of obstacles like a narrow plank, crank course, pylon slalom, emergency braking etc) and a road test. For class 2A & 2, there is only a circuit test as you are supposed to know the basics of riding (both theory & practical road riding) already.</div>
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Before attending the test, one has to enroll in one of the three driving schools in Singapore and attend various sessions. For example, for the 2A course, one has to attend 3 practical & 1 theory sessions. At the end of each class, the instructor has to certify the candidate is ready to attend the next class. Only after successfully completing the 3 classes that the candidate can appear for the exam. </div>
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There is an option to convert an existing license from a person’s country of origin to an equivalent class (which I did) which will require one to write only a theory exam. For an Indian two wheeler license, up on conversion, you will receive a class 2B license. To receive class 2A & 2, one will have to go through the process described above.</div>
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p.s. Just getting a license is not enough for a person to ride a two wheeler, say a friend’s motorbike. He/she needs to have insurance for that particular vehicle.</div>
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<b>Getting a two wheeler</b></div>
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One can either choose to get a brand new two wheeler or a used one depending on their specific needs. Different types of two wheelers include scramblers, sports bikes, cruisers, roasters, cubs etc. To register a two wheeler (in the case of a used one), all a person have to do is to go to the LTA office in Sing Ming Avenue with the owner (or his/her ID). It takes only around 5 minutes to complete a form and pay the fee.</div>
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<b>General Tips & Information</b></div>
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Renewal of road tax & insurance, getting the vehicle inspected from an approved inspection center, routine maintenance etc are some of the other procedures which comes as a package with owning a two wheeler.</div>
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More information about owning a two wheeler can be found in the following links</div>
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<a href="http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/">http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.lta.gov.sg/">http://www.lta.gov.sg/</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en.html">http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en.html</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bbdc.sg/">http://www.bbdc.sg/</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php/164254-RE-quot-Help-me-choose-bike-pls!-quot">http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php/164254-RE-quot-Help-me-choose-bike-pls!-quot</a><br />
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If you find a mistake in the post or if there is any critical information missing, please leave a comment.</div>
</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-9164943439675874602011-10-11T15:05:00.004+05:302011-10-31T10:30:49.312+05:302011-10-31T10:30:49.312+05:30Compassion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I watched this commercial for the first time, around a month back, when my friend shared it in Facebook. It was after my dinner on one of those hectic days, when all I wanted was to get my mind off everything else. So I was lazily browsing FB and I clicked on this video. At first, the music caught my attention. It was slow and relaxing. Slowly, the commercial got my full attention. By the time I finished watching it, I realized my eyes were filled with tears and I felt heavy at heart.</div>
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At first I told myself, “It’s just a silly commercial, you will grow over it”. But every time I watch this, it feels heavier.</div>
Here, I am talking no more, decide for yourself!<br />
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“There are no perfect fathers, but a father will always love perfectly”</div>
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“When life is full of misery, what do we do most?”</div>
</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-7083749065812102552011-10-04T17:35:00.001+05:302011-10-04T17:39:50.628+05:302011-10-04T17:39:50.628+05:30Expedition to a Volcano<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“…Isn’t like that?” my colleague asked me.</div>
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“Uh! Umm, I think so”, I replied, even though I had no clue about what he was talking.</div>
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He understood it. “Hey man, you are not listening, where are you, actually?” were his next words.</div>
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He was right, I was not there. Even though its almost a week since my last trip, I was finding it difficult to get back to the ‘real world’.</div>
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It all started when we (me and my better half) figured out that our ‘party stocks’ are nearing its completion. In order to stock up in ‘large volumes’, we needed access to the duty free shops in the airport. That’s when our friends Jaiwin & Aneesh told us about a trip, some of their friends were planning. “<i>A weekend in a ‘not-so-heard-about’ place in Indonesia with a bunch of ‘not-much-known-before’ people</i>” – that pretty much summarizes our impression about the trip. ‘Never-say-no-to-travel’ being our motto, we immediately signed up for it. It turned out to be one of the most memorable trips in our lives, both because of the place we visited and the new ‘company’ we discovered.</div>
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As the trip dates neared, I wanted to get some information about the previously unheard location - Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia. <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Mount_Bromo">Wikitravel</a> writes, “<i>If a landscape was ever needed to demonstrate the meaning of the phrase desolate beauty, then this is surely it. Rugged, barren volcanic peaks, gravel plains and that sea of sand, truly unworldly</i>” and it’s true to every single word. The main attraction is to watch the sunrise from Mount Pananjakan with the active volcanoes Mount Bromo & Mount Semeru and the Mount Batok in the back drop.</div>
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We started from Singapore around 8pm on a Friday and reached Surabaya airport around 11pm local time. Special thanks to our trip organizer - Balaji - and the location specialist – Ajay – for arranging everything. We started our journey to Mount Pananjakan right away as we wanted to be there for the sunrise. We had to change to 4x4 jeeps in between, which took us to the view point just in time for the sunrise. Even though a small crowd was already there, we managed to find a good spot at the tip of the view point.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oeTXpOm5bso/Tor1EpandlI/AAAAAAAAFbM/t2ECSGQNbNE/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oeTXpOm5bso/Tor1EpandlI/AAAAAAAAFbM/t2ECSGQNbNE/s320/01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Both the pre-dawn sky and the sunrise were breathtaking experiences</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5feNreBjzSo/Tor1FtPt1tI/AAAAAAAAFbQ/DznXM4IC04M/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5feNreBjzSo/Tor1FtPt1tI/AAAAAAAAFbQ/DznXM4IC04M/s320/02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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That’s us, with the mighty volcanoes in the backdrop</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ig6McPz6qSc/Tor1HZhTodI/AAAAAAAAFbU/ai9OhPAtxDs/s1600/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ig6McPz6qSc/Tor1HZhTodI/AAAAAAAAFbU/ai9OhPAtxDs/s320/03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After the sunrise, we began our journey towards Mt. Bromo</div>
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We traveled through the Sea of Sand (literally)…</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fgnDbT69UrQ/Tor1JL4c-TI/AAAAAAAAFbY/Ao6bhFakcCE/s1600/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fgnDbT69UrQ/Tor1JL4c-TI/AAAAAAAAFbY/Ao6bhFakcCE/s320/04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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…towards the Poten Hindu temple which is the gateway towards Mt Bromo’s crater</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y4Ox74XzRIc/Tor1L2G7KGI/AAAAAAAAFbc/GIlfDUCVGmw/s1600/05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y4Ox74XzRIc/Tor1L2G7KGI/AAAAAAAAFbc/GIlfDUCVGmw/s320/05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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From there, we climbed for around an hour towards the Bromo crater. This is not a place for anyone who has problems with dust. As the atmospheric temperature rises, heavy sandy winds mixed with volcanic ash makes you somehow want to get out of there.</div>
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But the raw beauty of nature makes you want to stay even more. If you are lucky enough, you can witness the mountain puffing out volcanic smoke from it’s under belly.</div>
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By the time we reached back the bottom and back to the ‘base camp’, we were extremely tired and hungry from to the lack of sleep and the trek/travel. After some ‘light refreshments’ from a nearby shop – after which, the shop was closed for the day - we started our journey back to Surabaya where our stay was arranged.</div>
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After checking in and some initial rest, we all got together at the infamous ‘room 231’ where later we all took the ‘oath of secrecy’ that whatever happened there, will be buried with us in our graves.</div>
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The next day we explored Surabaya town. We visited the Semporna museum where the major focus is given to the influence of tobacco in Indonesian culture.</div>
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We also visited an old church (I am not very sure of its significance)</div>
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After that, we pretty much walked around the town on our own, taking photos and enjoying the company of the locals. We headed back to our rooms before very late as we had an early morning flight to catch the next day. (What happened to all of us that last night also comes under our ‘oath of secrecy’ and is still a ‘highly controversial’ topic)</div>
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Next day, we boarded our flight back to Singapore, with our newly made friends, the still fresh smell of the volcanic ash and with the satisfaction of having known one of the most polite people in the whole world. No wonder, even after one week, I am unable to find my ‘balance’ with the so called ‘real world’ life!</div>
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Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-77273594497882189562011-09-20T19:38:00.004+05:302011-09-20T19:55:05.862+05:302011-09-20T19:55:05.862+05:30Movie in 2 mins: “Mere brother ki Dulhan” (My brother’s fiance)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">I am not a big fan of romantic comedies/musicals and I try my best to avoid one, especially the Bollywood ones. Within the first few minutes, any sane person can guess the whole story, down to the very fine details - predictability. At times, I make exceptions and watch them, usually when I am with my friends.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Sunday was one such occasion. I was visiting some friends and they suddenly planned for this movie - Mere brother ki Dulhan (My brother’s fiance). The moment I heard the name of the movie, I guessed the storyline. But when I found that the protagonist is played by Imran Khan, I was a bit hopeful. After all, his movies made me laugh (most of the times).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As expected, the story line was very clear within the first 10 minutes. Like the name ‘suggests’, the hero will fall in love with his brother’s fiancé. Since it’s a romantic Hindi movie, there MUST (keyword here is MUST) be a happy ending. There I was, watching a movie which I always try to avoid, because it’s just a waste of time. Even then I thought there will be something different, something which is not so obvious about the movie.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I didn’t realize was the movie was so full of clichés and songs, even beyond my ‘wildest imaginations’. Read the following ‘quick replay’ in a ‘problem-solution’ format and decide for yourself whether any of these events sounds familiar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Starting problem: Hero’s brother wants hero’s help to get married and settle down.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Solution: Hero goes on ‘bride-hunting’ for his brother, ends up at his old acquaintance (heroine – who rocks in looks and character). Their families also agree on the alliance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">New problem: Heroine wants to enjoy the last few hours, how can she?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Solution: Hero saves the hour and they have a great time together.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">New problem: They fall in love (Aha!). Now, how will they make hero’s brother call off the wedding without embarrassing themselves?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Solution: Get hero’s brother’s old girl friend to flirt with hero. Seeing this, hero’s brother gets jealous and decides to run away with his old girl friend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">New problem: How will the family avoid the embarrassment?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Solution: Family asks our hero to marry the heroine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And this whole thing goes with a north Indian wedding setting in its backdrop, with a song every 5 minutes (literally).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so the Bollywood proved me wrong, again. I thought no one will watch the same old ‘winning Indian romantic movie formula’ after some time. After this movie I said to myself, that time has yet to come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">p.s. I didn’t give a spoiler warning as there is nothing ‘unpredictable’ to spoil.</div></div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-35060005184530335672011-07-19T12:56:00.005+05:302011-07-19T13:06:03.765+05:302011-07-19T13:06:03.765+05:30Sabah: An experiment from God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the popular travel guide Lonely Planet, Sabah is the result of an experiment from God. It goes on like this, “<i>After the first six days of work (creation), instead of resting, He wanted to see what happens if He takes an island, covered it with impenetrable jungle, add lot of new life forms and turned the temperature up to 40 deg C. The result is the ‘tropical Eden’ of Sabah</i>”. In my opinion, to His test tube He also added some kind of “over-sizing” portion so that everything is either the biggest or the largest in the area.<br />
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Mt. Kinabalu – one of the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia is located in Sabah. On the other side of the state are the seductive blue coral reefs of Sipadan, also called ‘The Diver’s Mecca’. One of the world’s incredible cave systems and karst formations can be found in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, the other state of Borneo (UNESCO world heritage site). Borneo is also home to the largest flower in the world – Rafflesia, the largest living arboreal animals – Orangutan and the list goes on and on.<br />
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Even though, I wanted to visit Sabah for the above stated reasons, none of the above was the actual reason I made my first visit to Kota Kinabalu last week. Two of my ‘self-proclaimed mountaineer’ friends were visiting the place for the sole purpose of ‘conquering Mt Kinabalu’ and exploring the Mulu caves (around 10days). Being a travel enthusiast, I immediately agreed on meeting them. Since everything was last minute, I couldn’t cater time for conquering the mountain or exploring the caves or diving with the sharks (yeah, sharks are the major attraction of Sipadan). So I decided to use this trip as a survey trip for planning the future expeditions. Also, this trip was different from my usual trips as I concentrated on ‘<i>less traveled paths</i>’ and of course, spending time with my friends and concentrating more on my photography skills.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BTddHCbxhCQ/TiUwadtHqKI/AAAAAAAAFYY/rFxwbQxsaxg/s320/01.jpg" width="320" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our stay - Hotel Jesselton, KK. Jesselton was the name of KK during the colonial period. Located at Gaya St. – still cobbled, another remnant of colonial rule </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYrTNz0kAKA/TiUwaxz4W3I/AAAAAAAAFYc/QWTFd8aHLR4/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYrTNz0kAKA/TiUwaxz4W3I/AAAAAAAAFYc/QWTFd8aHLR4/s320/02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Night markets of KK - Great place to spend time after dinner if you are a shopaholic, especially because there is a lot of room for bargaining.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zhUG-q3atuQ/TiUwbeizSFI/AAAAAAAAFYg/ll8iVv4LgyQ/s1600/03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zhUG-q3atuQ/TiUwbeizSFI/AAAAAAAAFYg/ll8iVv4LgyQ/s320/03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Handicrafts market in KK - It was too late by the time we reached there and most of the shops were closed. These shops will give you a peak in to the rich culture Borneo has to offer.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3bZ81qHyuYc/TiUwby-EEeI/AAAAAAAAFYk/-Gna86qqmVY/s1600/04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3bZ81qHyuYc/TiUwby-EEeI/AAAAAAAAFYk/-Gna86qqmVY/s320/04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">‘Street dining’ in KK – One can discover the local cuisines in its authentic form here</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4VIC6tNiDZc/TiUwcofjSlI/AAAAAAAAFYo/HKiQ8XeayOY/s1600/06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4VIC6tNiDZc/TiUwcofjSlI/AAAAAAAAFYo/HKiQ8XeayOY/s320/06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> We started our jungle/river boat ride from here. Located near a tropical reserve, this place is home to some of the unique species of flora and fauna.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kju82IPb7CI/TiUwdAX3clI/AAAAAAAAFYs/mmj9UhYrJus/s1600/07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kju82IPb7CI/TiUwdAX3clI/AAAAAAAAFYs/mmj9UhYrJus/s320/07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The boat ride through the calm river during sunset was so relaxing</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B8rvdLbJ-0M/TiUwd_XpcGI/AAAAAAAAFYw/T9k-AAUKfS0/s1600/08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B8rvdLbJ-0M/TiUwd_XpcGI/AAAAAAAAFYw/T9k-AAUKfS0/s320/08.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A lot of tourists – especially those from non-tropical countries seemed very curious about wild monkeys and got very agitated whenever one was sighted.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CikW27eOd0E/TiUwecV1d1I/AAAAAAAAFY0/nmL3YRLBJzw/s1600/09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CikW27eOd0E/TiUwecV1d1I/AAAAAAAAFY0/nmL3YRLBJzw/s320/09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> A ‘family reunion’</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XkjNCN2noh4/TiUwfBUOKxI/AAAAAAAAFY4/w5AR83nQ_jM/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XkjNCN2noh4/TiUwfBUOKxI/AAAAAAAAFY4/w5AR83nQ_jM/s320/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> King of the trees - <br />
During our jungle trek near the Mt. Kinabalu national park, the local guide pointed out this particular tree to be known as the king of trees</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xTJazT7U3s0/TiUwfmJDXAI/AAAAAAAAFY8/SGG9OZoxfFk/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xTJazT7U3s0/TiUwfmJDXAI/AAAAAAAAFY8/SGG9OZoxfFk/s320/12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Hanging Bridge Canopy walk – The view down below is overwhelming, but I wouldn’t recommend this for those who are afraid of heights and also afraid of walking on a ‘rope’.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TA3gbQ_jz0o/TiUwgblbfGI/AAAAAAAAFZA/goRoS0tnuoM/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TA3gbQ_jz0o/TiUwgblbfGI/AAAAAAAAFZA/goRoS0tnuoM/s320/13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Nature at its best - After the trek we visited the poring hot springs. I have no idea why they call it hot springs when the water is cold and chilly. All my tiredness from the trek just vanished after a bath in the ‘natural’ pool.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d8FebApFpMc/TiUwgzEY5UI/AAAAAAAAFZE/BzxY168XLf8/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d8FebApFpMc/TiUwgzEY5UI/AAAAAAAAFZE/BzxY168XLf8/s320/14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mount Kinabalu hiding behind the clouds. A view from Pine Resorts near the national park</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iM9W3PPkUbY/TiUwhcCUVGI/AAAAAAAAFZI/E2l74p_jy8U/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iM9W3PPkUbY/TiUwhcCUVGI/AAAAAAAAFZI/E2l74p_jy8U/s320/15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">By the time we returned, the clouds were up on us and the air was chilly. Our guide had a hard time driving through the S-shaped roads. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F9pZKr5HO6w/TiUwiCvCzHI/AAAAAAAAFZM/JAtqwuK6Hzs/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F9pZKr5HO6w/TiUwiCvCzHI/AAAAAAAAFZM/JAtqwuK6Hzs/s320/17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Sunday market in Gaya St. I found all sorts of interesting things in these shops. Both visitors and locals were shopping with equal enthusiasm</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PYShShU5IK4/TiUwicJmHkI/AAAAAAAAFZQ/g19nhrqnd88/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PYShShU5IK4/TiUwicJmHkI/AAAAAAAAFZQ/g19nhrqnd88/s320/18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">For Sale - A kitty in a pet stall in the market</div><br />
Even though I spent around 3 days there, I parted with the feeling that I hadn’t even 'scratched the surface' of all the things I could do there – all the surprises Borneo holds. As my return flight was taking off, I was busy making a mental note of all the things I should do during my next visit.Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-38723893389139316992011-06-20T17:22:00.009+05:302011-06-20T17:47:23.448+05:302011-06-20T17:47:23.448+05:30Windows vs. Mac – My 10 cents to the age-old debate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Well, how should I start this one? I am not surprised if your thoughts after reading this post’s title go something similar to this, “uh! Not one more of these never ending, 15 year old debate”. Also, there is a high chance you already have your own strong ‘opinions’ about both platforms. I am merely trying to add my own 10 cents to it.<br />
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My work – because of its ‘complexity’ – makes it a necessity for me to be well versed with Windows & Linux. Since MAC provides a Linux-similar development setup and Windows similar user environment in one box, my office issued me a Macbook Pro. Being a self-proclaimed gadget geek, I wanted to review it then itself. Later I decided against it thinking its better to wait a bit more and get to know the new toy.<br />
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Steve Jobs and his company sure know how to make users feel great. ‘Feel great’ is actually an understatement. The feeling of using a Mac is different. It’s not like using a PC, which is just another tool to check mails or get jobs done. With Mac, the whole ‘computer experience’ is different. Its simply different – in an awesome way. That’s the first and the most important thing I felt after using a Mac. By user experience, I mean whatever the user is directly in contact with - the touchpad or the display or the sound or the cool looks & feel.<br />
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I am a person who shuts down my windows pc/laptop after I use it, or else the whole system simply slows down over time. With Macbooks, I just close the lid. It’s just like switching on/off a TV set. I have used many windows laptops and none of them ‘gets ready’ as fast as a Mac – as soon as you open the lid. With Windows, it simply won’t work.<br />
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For embedded developers (like me), a Mac is a good choice as it runs a Linux-like kernel. Also, for graphics designers a Mac is the best choice as the display is stunning. There is no comparison.<br />
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Being said all that, I still can’t imagine a Mac replacing Windows. Mac allows good Windows integration with Bootcamp (Yes, I use dual boot). I also have a windows VM running in background all the time.<br />
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Most of the general-purpose software is available in both platforms. Exceptions are Picasa Photo Viewer or irfan view or gTalk, which I use extensively in Windows. It’s very hard and sometimes impossible to find support for some software especially specialized (industrial) software/hardware in Mac. Another reason I can’t let go of Windows, is gaming. Mac is not an option for a true gamer.<br />
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If anyone has a misconception that Macs wont get stuck or there is no Ctrl-Alt-Del in Mac, now is a good time to leave them behind. Macs do get stuck in the middle of nothing, some times even for trivial things like muting. Also they are not significantly faster than Windows, as some may suggest. Its just that Macs always come with expensive and high performance hardware associated with them.<br />
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Even though Safari is their flagship browser with a cool look and feel, it's one of the worst browser I have used, till date. It simply won’t work with Gmail or even blogger. It also has compatibility problems. Firefox is not as evolved as in Windows and so most of the times I end up using Chrome in Mac.<br />
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The biggest problem of all is that Macs are super pricey. Not only a Mac, but any software or accessory that is associated with a Mac comes with a hefty price tag. A normal Mac is almost as costly as a top class Windows laptop (which makes Mac a rich man's toy, in my opinion).<br />
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I can’t conclude in a single statement whether Windows or Mac is better. I would like to put my conclusion in this way. If you are planning to purchase a computer/laptop,<br />
1. If you are in a budget, don’t even think about going for a Mac, you’ll probably end up bankrupt.<br />
2. If you have just enough money to buy a Mac, use it to buy a top class Windows machine.<br />
3. If you have surplus amount of money at your disposal (or your office is providing you the machine), buy a Mac and install Windows in it so that you can exploit the good of both worlds (which is what I am doing currently).<br />
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That’s it, I would never choose a 'Mac only world', but having a Mac with Windows is a powerful combination – something I would like having always. <br />
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</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-72959421813830139382011-06-08T10:22:00.004+05:302011-06-08T10:35:13.796+05:302011-06-08T10:35:13.796+05:30Something’s, I will never get over with!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">I felt it again, the same feelings which I felt around 7 years back, when I had to leave everything I knew in my life behind and had to step out in to the open world on my own – yes, I am talking about the time when I graduated. I saw the same sequence of events happening all over again, even though the environment and the people were totally different. It was as though history was repeating itself all over again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I work in a university, I got the privilege of being part of a student club. Last weekend, it was their big annual event and as a club member, I also decided to do my part by helping them out. At first, I was a bit irritated due to the fact that I will loose a hard earned weekend and also I had to get up early (believe me, I cant remember the last time I did that). But it turned out to be way better than what I expected.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got the opportunity of being in the middle of a bunch of highly motivated undergrad students who are organizing an event. Any one who had organized an event in their school/college days knows how it feels like. It’s too damn hectic and tiring at the time of the event. You have to run around fixing stuff, manage others, and no matter how good the planning is, things go haywire all the time. But after the event, when you look back, you get the satisfaction of a great achievement. And you feel more bonded with your teammates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">All these totally reminded me of the events I had been part of organizing, during my undergrad days. Even though I didn’t do much this time, I got a feel of it. It was a kind of Déjà vu for me. The people who did marketing/publicity reminded me of those times when we went around looking for sponsors or travelled far and wide with the posters of the events. I could correlate almost anything I saw there to my college days, like the registration team or the participation in the events or rushing with a last minute change or people sleeping in the organizing area who were tired to death. I even witnessed people having crushes on others.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the moment that inspired me to write this blog happened after the event. When it was only the club members, the juniors decided to give going away presents to the graduating students from the club. There was this very friendly girl among them who got totally surprised by this and as I expected, got emotionally overwhelmed. Tears started flowing from her eyes. The gift only made things worse. It was a collage with all those great moments with her friends. Gosh, that’s when I went back to the time when we all sang ‘Kabhi Alvida na Kehana (never say goodbye)’. I wanted to pass on to her something a very good friend of mine told me precisely at the time when I was feeling really depressed about leaving college. “<b><i>Don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that it has happened</i></b>.” But then I thought it’s better to let her figure it out on her own. Besides, I am never good with words at moments like these.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I do wonder sometimes, why do we need “<i>goodbyes</i>” and “<i>thank you</i>”s? I feel it too formal. For me, the best thing to do is to just walk away. No “<i>goodbyes</i>”, no “<i>see you</i>”s; just like you are coming back the next day. We don’t say goodbye at the end of a typical day. People say “<i>One must move on when its time to move on</i>”. There are times when I think I have moved on from a lot of things. But moments like these prove me wrong, that no matter what, I won’t be able to get over with some things, that even now, I look back in time and long to relive those crazy & nostalgic moments of my life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-88310158275733759842011-05-27T09:00:00.000+05:302011-05-27T09:00:23.664+05:302011-05-27T09:00:23.664+05:30Popular Misconceptions about Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Recently I got the opportunity to travel to Japan. I had fancied a japan visit for a long time and so I had some background knowledge about Japan, by the time of my travel. Besides, I have some very good friends in japan through whom I had learned most of what I know now about japan. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I went to Japan, I had lots of ideas about what I might find in Japan. Most of them were correct and some were not that correct. Overall, I would say, I was better off than many other people I had discussed about Japan. Sometimes, the level of misinformation people had about japan, amazed me. So I decided it’d be a good time to clarify some of them. I won’t be sharing much about my experiences in Japan, as it’s a subject for another blog(s).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The only language in Japan in Japanese and its very difficult to travel in Japan because of the language barrier</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was a bit worried before my travel about the language barrier, but it turned out to be just as easy as navigating through any other tourist location. Its true that the Japanese are not that well versed in English, but most of the sign boards have English instructions and most railway stations have tourist information centers nearby. In the worst case, I simply used sign languages as the Japanese go to great lengths to help you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Geishas are prostitutes</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another blunder! Geisha is a female entertainer, not a prostitute. If anything, they were strictly forbidden to have paid sex. “<i>In the late eighteenth century, dancing women called "odoriko" and newly popular female geisha began entertaining men at banquets in unlicensed districts. Some were apprehended for illegal prostitution and sent to the licensed quarters, where there was a strict distinction between geisha and prostitutes, and the former were forbidden to sell sex.</i>” – from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha#Geisha_and_prostitution">Wikipedia</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are pornographic videos, which claim to be featuring Hollywood actress. But that doesn’t make Hollywood actresses, prostitutes. Geisha’s case is also similar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Original geishas exist even today, in the Gion area in Kyoto. And Japanese are very proud about geishas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Japanese eat snakes, scorpions and stuff or the main Japanese dish is raw fish and they don’t eat other cuisines</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Totally wrong! I don’t know who eats snakes, may be the Chinese or the Koreans, but not Japanese. They like seafood a lot and perhaps the most curious thing I found is a sea urchin sushi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They do eat a lot of raw fish (sushi, sashimi etc.) and its very tasty if prepared by a licensed chef. But they do have other dishes like the ramen, udon, domburi etc. Another thing I noticed during my travel is, they love Italian food. I could find as many Italian restaurants as Japanese restaurants. Also I found Middle Eastern food, Indian food and even Kerala food in Japan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>They are extremely conventional or they are extremely advanced and so no traditional</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are a bit of both. They live in the edge of technology and at the same time they keep their traditional values. It’s amazing how they find the right balance between both. Very close to Akihabara – the electric town, Tokyo – you can find Asakusa with the famous Sensoji Temple where they still pray. They wear Kimono’s (traditional dress) with the same pride as they wear their extremely formal official dress. They never leave their traditions behind for modern lifestyle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A couple of other misconceptions are, they are very cold-hearted people, anime & manga are cartoons, Yakuza is a myth etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for me, two quotes from the movie The Last Samurai sums up my perception about Japan and its people,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<i>Everyone is polite. Everyone smiles and bows. But beneath their courtesy, I detect a deep reservoir of feeling.</i>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<i>They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such discipline.</i>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-12724238518444562562010-12-08T09:57:00.004+05:302010-12-08T10:03:18.894+05:302010-12-08T10:03:18.894+05:30The Dragonfly Page<div style="text-align: justify;">I did it. I completed the long delayed ‘personal’ project I was working on. As I said, its a personal project and has nothing to do with my work. Its something I started around 6-8years back. I spend so much time over it that I thought I was never going to finish it, ever. I had refined and redesigned it more than 10-20 times, and explored new technologies each time I restarted it. But this time it was different, I promised myself that I am going to finish it before the end of 2010. And I did it. You can check it out here – <a href="http://www.thedragonflypage.com/">The Dragonfly Page</a>. (Access the site at <a href="http://www.thedragonflypage.com/">http://www.thedragonflypage.com</a>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think you got what I am talking about, its my personal website. The first time I built a site for myself was back in 2000. Internet was more like Disneyland to me, it amazed me and I wanted to be a part of it. HTML was way too simple back then. Just some tags, some images and some captions and I had my site. I hosted it in yahoo geocities. But geocities used to put a big banner (ad) on top of the site and all formatting I worked on for hours, simply went haywire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later when I was doing my undergrad, I started rebuilding it from scratch. I moved my domain to tripod.com which was referred to me by my friend <a href="http://community.wvu.edu/%7Ejc061/">Jayanth</a>. In tripod, there used to be an option of choosing the ads to be displayed in popup windows, so that the page formatting remains intact. But I never got to finish the site due to various other reasons. I think the “site under construction” page is still there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though I continued experimenting with various site designs and stuff during the years that followed, the next real effort was around 2006-2007 time period. I wanted to buy myself a domain and build a better site equipped with technologies like flash, java script etc. I completed almost all the graphics and page designs. Again, due to various reasons – laziness being the prime reason - I never got to publish it. But I kept all those graphics and most of the designs which I am using currently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thedragonflypage.com/"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TP8KB8IqJsI/AAAAAAAAEws/ti8nfV7b5rE/s1600/dragonfly_logo.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thedragonflypage.com/"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TP8H-g-9ltI/AAAAAAAAEwk/v5K-hDwxKmw/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The logo I designed last time</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This time it was different, I had access to many resources like a server to host the pages, all the tools to build a site etc and I didn’t want to waste them. But the main motivation came when I browsed through some of the recently updated <a href="http://www.chitre.net/">sites</a> of my colleagues and friends.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This time, I wanted to start and finish the work in one go. I didn’t explore any new technologies and I used my previous design as a starting point, used almost all the previous graphics and reduced the number of pages planned for the site. There are still a couple of more ideas I want to integrate to <a href="http://www.thedragonflypage.com/">thedragonflypage</a>. They will be incorporated when I roll out version 2.0, which I hope will be in the near future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope you like the site and if you do, please leave your comments/suggestion here or through the feedback form.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Special thanks to <a href="http://www.thesitewizard.com/">THESITEWIZARD.COM</a> from where I got the tutorials required for building my site.</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-65914339297504938912010-12-06T13:57:00.000+05:302010-12-06T13:57:10.653+05:302010-12-06T13:57:10.653+05:30My new blog - The Dragonfly's Wall<div style="text-align: justify;">There was a time when I used to browse hours and hours for high definition wallpapers to decorate my desktop. I found it very frustrating sometimes to find good wallpapers that matches my style. But after I started photography as a serious hobby, I combined it with my photoshop skills to create wallpapers for my desktop. Recently I began thinking why couldn't I make them available to all those who are in search for better wallpapers. That thought resulted in my new blog - <a href="http://thedragonflywall.blogspot.com/">The Dragonfly's Wall</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TPeG_CljluI/AAAAAAAAEwE/GscBrm7jvJo/s1600/wall_head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="66" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TPeG_CljluI/AAAAAAAAEwE/GscBrm7jvJo/s320/wall_head.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I hope you will like the wallpapers posted in my blog.</div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-62222569107182135502010-12-02T16:43:00.003+05:302010-12-02T16:46:11.181+05:302010-12-02T16:46:11.181+05:30Archery – The art of perfection<div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="font-style: italic;">One day, Guru (teacher) Dronacharya decided to test his students in their skill of archery. He hung a wooden bird from the branch of a tree and then summoned his students. He asked the first one to aim for the bird's eye, but not shoot just yet. He then asked the student what the student could see. The student replied that he could see the garden, the tree, flowers, etc. Drona asked him to step aside and not shoot. He repeated the same process with a few other students. When it was Arjuna's turn, Arjuna told his Guru that the only thing he could see was the bird's eye. This satisfied the Guru and he allowed Arjuna to shoot the bird and his shot pierced the bird's eye.</span>” – Excerpt from epic Mahabharata about the great warrior Arjuna which shows the power of focus and concentration.<br /> <br />I started archery just out of curiosity, but found myself attracted to it quite fast. One reason is the amount of focus required from the moment you take your bow till you release your arrow. Your mind needs to be calm and all you need to see is the golden circle at the centre of the target. Once you release your arrow, you know whether your form was good and you'll score an 'X' or whether you are going to score a 'M'.<br /><br />Archery is the art of perfection. If the archer has got a perfect form and if the equipments are in the perfect condition, his shots will always hit the gold.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TPd_cEDgtHI/AAAAAAAAEv8/38cFT0fgggo/s1600/archery.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TPd_cEDgtHI/AAAAAAAAEv8/38cFT0fgggo/s320/archery.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546041586231587954" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-76332769488932193362010-09-24T12:12:00.012+05:302010-09-24T12:32:08.268+05:302010-09-24T12:32:08.268+05:3010 things I would like to see in Gingerbread (next Version of Android)<div style="text-align: justify;">No, I haven’t stopped blogging and I don’t plan to close my blog.<br />Yes, I will try to blog regularly, but may be less frequently.<br />No, I didn’t blog for sometime ‘cos I was lazy or ‘cos of lack of subjects.<br />Yes, I couldn’t blog for long ‘cos of my hectic schedule (not work overload) even when there are lots of things in pipeline, I wanted to write about.<br />With that said, here is my next blog...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">10 things I would like to see in Gingerbread</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Since the iPhone 4 buzz is slowly settling down, I see a lot of talk about the next version of Android, code named Gingerbread in tech circles. After reading most of the articles and the rumors, the only thing I am sure about the next release of Android OS is that its code name is Gingerbread. You heard it right, that’s about it and everything else is just speculations and rumors. Out of these, the most prominent speculations are,<br />1. Minimum hardware requirements of the Gingerbread are a 1 GHz CPU & 512 MB of RAM. (2GHz is more like a rumored rumor, if you know what I mean)<br />2. A completely revamped mind blowing GUI.<br />3. Support for bigger displays with higher resolutions around 1280 x 760.<br />4. Release date is mid of Q4 2010, mostly Oct 15th or 16th.<br /><br />And some of the “really-not-sure” rumors are,<br />1. Gingerbread is targeted for high end hardware and therefore the devices might be costly.<br />2. GUI will be similar to current Gallery App.<br /><br />I couldn’t find any rumors about any OS level changes or support for any new hardware. You might have noticed that I haven’t specified a version number. Some argue that Gingerbread will be 3.0. Some others say its going to be 2.3 since it’ll be a continuation of Froyo (Android 2.2).<br /><br />What I want to see in Gingerbread is listed below (both new and fixes to current features)<br />(Note: This is also a “review after 3 months' use of Google Nexus One” too)<br />1. A revamped Gallery App or at least a faster, smother, bug fixed version. Yeah, you haven’t read wrong. I know the current galley app is one of the best & most hyped (in terms of look & feel) in Android, but it has lots of problems namely,<br /><ul><li>It simply won’t show images downloaded through some third party apps.</li><li>Sluggish at times, especially when deleting images. It takes some time for the next image to load and when I navigate to next one, it get stuck in between.</li><li>When selecting and deleting multiple images, it behaves strangely - it shows random images and has to be closed and reopened.</li><li>Sometimes, it just won’t show any images and simply displays the message “Loading new albums”</li></ul>2. A new UI as given in the speculations sections. A mobile device is mostly about its look and feel and a new UI will be a great boost to Android. I would like to see more glossy icons with lots of reflections without affecting its speed. But if they want to make it like gallery with all the above stated problems, I say no to that.<br />3. Wireless syncing and ability to join adhoc Wi-Fi networks. It would be nice if a PC can recognize the phone when its near and if we can use an explorer/browser to sync/transfer files.<br />4. A better Wi-Fi stack – the current stack is not perfect.<br /><ul><li>Occasionally it won’t connect automatically to pre-configured hot spots, saying its disabled.</li><li>Sometimes, it won’t scan even if the user issues an explicit scan command.</li><li>Now my work around to the above problems is to turn off & on the Wi-Fi, but I want this issue to be fixed.</li><li>More configurations can be exposed to user.</li></ul>5. A new music player. Its not that the current one doesn’t serve its purpose, but there is a lot of space for improvement, like a good equalizer or wireless syncing option etc.<br />6. Support for more video formats and resolutions.<br />7. All Google Apps directly from Google and not from third parties. E.g. GTasks, Google Docs etc<br />8. Ability for more ‘screens/desktops’. Now Android supports a total of 5 screens. It would be nice if it gives the option to configure the number of screens.<br />9. Offline Google maps. I don’t want the whole Google maps stored locally in my phone. But an offline mode will be great which can buffer recently navigated areas.<br />10. And finally, a phone application/software straight from Google - like iTunes, may be a browser based one, which can do the following things,<br /><ul><li>Browse the android phone & SD card</li><li>Convert videos to any android phone specific formats</li><li>Wireless syncing for music, videos, files etc</li></ul>I came up with this list after being the owner of Google Nexus One for around 3months. Hope to see these features and a lot more in Gingerbread.<br /></div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-77638345342729682192010-08-04T11:21:00.012+05:302010-08-04T11:53:14.428+05:302010-08-04T11:53:14.428+05:30Tilt-Shift Effect a.k.a. Miniature Faking Effect<div style="text-align: justify;">I always loved miniature models of cities or objects, both in real world as well as in a computer. The process of making them is an art of perfection, like the effort one has to put in to grow a bonsai tree.<br />I was really amazed to see this <a href="http://flickr2.netbits.co.uk/large/photo/b/4645772144">picture</a> while I was browsing through flickr pages. I was thinking, “This guy must have put in a lot of effort to make this model” when I saw the footnotes. It said “post processed the tilt shift effect in photoshop” which meant, I can create this effect using photoshop. I didn’t believe it at first. But, after around 5-10 minutes of Google-ing and around 20 minutes of photoshop-ing, I had my first tilt-shift image ready. I used a random snap at first but later tried it on a real photo. Here is a small tutorial on how to do it in photoshop. You can find many tutorials in net and the main steps are same. I have added some tips from my personal experience.<br />According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_faking">Wikipedia</a>, “Miniature faking is a process in which a photograph of a life-size location or object is made to look like a photograph of a miniature scale model. Blurring parts of the photo simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered in close-up photography, making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is; the blurring can be done either optically when the photograph is taken, or by digital post-processing. Many faked-miniature photographs are taken from a high angle to simulate the effect of looking down on a miniature.”<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkCTeLpEzI/AAAAAAAAEck/9lWUQ2R7R5U/s1600/Start.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkCTeLpEzI/AAAAAAAAEck/9lWUQ2R7R5U/s320/Start.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430953352434482" border="0" /></a>1. Initial photo. I had to go up to the 6th floor to get enough elevation required for this effect. This is the main requirement for tilt-shift effect. If the photo is taken from a sufficiently high altitude, it’ll give the impression of looking down at the model.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkCS01avsI/AAAAAAAAEcc/8JnBwil6X7A/s1600/tilt-shift01.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkCS01avsI/AAAAAAAAEcc/8JnBwil6X7A/s320/tilt-shift01.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430942253366978" border="0" /></a>2. After pre-processing. I did some pre-processing to make the image look a bit artificial. The properties I manipulated are Levels, Exposure, Variations, Shadows/Highlights and more importantly Vibrance/Saturation.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB6Bp215I/AAAAAAAAEcU/mRWeKQaw0Ws/s1600/tilt-shift02.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB6Bp215I/AAAAAAAAEcU/mRWeKQaw0Ws/s320/tilt-shift02.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430516197808018" border="0" /></a>3. Enter ‘Quick Mask’ mode either by pressing the quick mask button (highlighted in the image) or by using the shortcut ‘Q’<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB5R_SbII/AAAAAAAAEcM/KixBMzhgvF4/s1600/tilt-shift03.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB5R_SbII/AAAAAAAAEcM/KixBMzhgvF4/s320/tilt-shift03.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430503402794114" border="0" /></a>4. Select the ‘Gradient Tool’ and then select the ‘Reflected Gradient’ as shown.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB4SkREnI/AAAAAAAAEcE/sI-b0X6EaM0/s1600/tilt-shift04.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB4SkREnI/AAAAAAAAEcE/sI-b0X6EaM0/s320/tilt-shift04.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430486378025586" border="0" /></a>5. Decide which part to highlight in the image. Then click & drag a straight line (press down the ‘shift’ key) from that point to top or bottom.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB3uqFOTI/AAAAAAAAEb8/zeDrP6TYZds/s1600/tilt-shift05.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB3uqFOTI/AAAAAAAAEb8/zeDrP6TYZds/s320/tilt-shift05.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430476738738482" border="0" /></a>6. When click is released, the area will be selected in a gradient red color.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB27LHkYI/AAAAAAAAEb0/2VDRsAvzl-s/s1600/tilt-shift06.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkB27LHkYI/AAAAAAAAEb0/2VDRsAvzl-s/s320/tilt-shift06.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501430462918660482" border="0" /></a>7. Exit ‘Quick Mask’ mode by pressing the quick mask button (or ‘Q’). This will give you a ‘marching ants’ selection in the image. We are going to blur the selected area to simulate shallow depth of field.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBGxorzQI/AAAAAAAAEbg/tVz1jfXhieI/s1600/tilt-shift07.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 193px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBGxorzQI/AAAAAAAAEbg/tVz1jfXhieI/s320/tilt-shift07.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501429635724594434" border="0" /></a>8. From the ‘Filter’ tab (as shown), select ‘lens blur’.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBF7zNqyI/AAAAAAAAEbY/SFzKubjTzVI/s1600/tilt-shift08.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBF7zNqyI/AAAAAAAAEbY/SFzKubjTzVI/s320/tilt-shift08.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501429621273242402" border="0" /></a>9. Now this is where you can get creative. The values I have used for this tutorial are shown here. You can try playing around with the values for different results. But, I’ve got to warn you, it might take some time (depending on your graphics card) for the preview to load, especially if its a big image.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBFCeOfhI/AAAAAAAAEbQ/CeNnSFkjEok/s1600/tilt-shift09.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBFCeOfhI/AAAAAAAAEbQ/CeNnSFkjEok/s320/tilt-shift09.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501429605884395026" border="0" /></a>10. When you are satisfied with the image in preview, press ok to exit. Deselect the selected parts using ‘Ctrl+D’ and you are done.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBERvYErI/AAAAAAAAEbI/o-9sla0ik8I/s1600/tilt-shift10.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBERvYErI/AAAAAAAAEbI/o-9sla0ik8I/s320/tilt-shift10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501429592802988722" border="0" /></a>11. The finished ‘tilt-shift’ed image.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBDiNGr7I/AAAAAAAAEbA/eTHtAihOKBo/s1600/Done1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkBDiNGr7I/AAAAAAAAEbA/eTHtAihOKBo/s320/Done1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501429580042776498" border="0" /></a>Result of experiment no. 1<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkAOkmKm0I/AAAAAAAAEaM/_oFY1NArx9E/s1600/Done2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkAOkmKm0I/AAAAAAAAEaM/_oFY1NArx9E/s320/Done2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501428670151695170" border="0" /></a>Result of experiment no.2<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">These are just the main steps in creating the effect, but there is more to it and I am still learning. The image saturation and the shadows/highlights play an important role in making the image look like a miniature model. But the most important factor in my opinion is the contents of the image. If its a picture of nature, it might not look as ‘perfect’ a miniature model as compared to an image with lots of objects or people. See the difference for yourselves in the photos below.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkAOLamDPI/AAAAAAAAEaE/vI9ukPsJkAw/s1600/IMG_3101.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkAOLamDPI/AAAAAAAAEaE/vI9ukPsJkAw/s320/IMG_3101.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501428663392275698" border="0" /></a>California National Park: A lovely snap taken by a friend of mine. More of his photos <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jojan/">here</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkANhQSqhI/AAAAAAAAEZ8/6CdksHwZvgE/s1600/IMG_3101+-+done.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkANhQSqhI/AAAAAAAAEZ8/6CdksHwZvgE/s320/IMG_3101+-+done.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501428652074773010" border="0" /></a>After applying tilt-shift effect<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkANN3aSQI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/c36obYmgI1Y/s1600/Football+Stadium.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkANN3aSQI/AAAAAAAAEZ0/c36obYmgI1Y/s320/Football+Stadium.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501428646870141186" border="0" /></a>A random snap downloaded from internet as I couldn’t find any of my photos with lots of people in it.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkAMom_dgI/AAAAAAAAEZs/ZbIrhMijYU8/s1600/Football+Stadium+-+done.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TFkAMom_dgI/AAAAAAAAEZs/ZbIrhMijYU8/s320/Football+Stadium+-+done.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501428636869162498" border="0" /></a>After applying tilt-shift effect<br /></div>More links<br />1. Tilt-Shift Photography Photoshop <a href="http://www.tiltshiftphotography.net/photoshop-tutorial.php">Tutorial</a><br />2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt-shift_photography">Tilt-shift photography</a> – Wikipedia<br />3. Flickr Group: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/tilt-shift-fakes/">Tilt-shift Miniature Fakes</a>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787924473504575086.post-73148296641830513922010-07-26T12:48:00.014+05:302010-07-26T13:30:21.261+05:302010-07-26T13:30:21.261+05:30Travel Guide: Pulau Rawa<div style="text-align: justify;">Its been only around a week since I am back from Rawa Islands and already I am missing that place. It really is a paradise - see it for yourself from the snap below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03XOLb0_I/AAAAAAAAEZU/HGGHsjF1n48/s1600/Rawa.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03XOLb0_I/AAAAAAAAEZU/HGGHsjF1n48/s320/Rawa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111592171820018" border="0" /></a>This is the perfect place if you are looking to take a break from a hectic schedule or if you are longing for a weekend getaway from the city. You wake up looking at the beach and the clear blue water, with the mild wind blowing at your face. Eating, drinking, and playing at the beach are all I did the whole time I was there, as I was looking for a very relaxed, ‘be-as-lazy-as-you-want’ kind of a break and I am not out of that mode yet.<br />When I was planning this trip, I had to do a bit of ‘asking-around’ as this is not a destination to which you can find a lot of travel agent tour packages. A couple of my friends and colleagues also asked me about the trip after they saw the photos. So this time I am attempting to write a ‘travel guide’ to Rawa. (Note: All the prices quoted are at the time of my travel and may vary with time)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pulau Rawa</span><br />Pulau Rawa is a coral island off the east coast of Johor, Malaysia, 16 km by boat (30 minutes approx) from Mersing town (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Rawa">Wikipedia</a>). The beach is made of pure white soft sand and the water is clear blue in color. You wouldn’t want to get out of the water, any time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Accommodation</span><br />There are two resorts in the island, <a href="http://www.rawasfr.com/">Rawa Safaris</a> and <a href="http://www.alangsrawa.com/">Alang’s Rawa</a>. Both the resorts offer tour packages, but I didn’t go for them as I like to decide on my own. Also I wanted to try the restaurants at both resorts.<br />At Alang’s Rawa (where I stayed) - previously known as club Rawa - the most sought out chalets are the two facing the beach (shown in the snap) and you might want to book these at least one month in advance if its peak time (April - September). The room charges are RM220 per day (twin sharing). More details can be found in their <a href="http://www.alangsrawa.com/content.php?id=2&lang_id=1">site</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Food</span><br />The main reason I didn’t go for a package is ‘cos I wanted to try the restaurant in the other resort. After having my first meal at Alang’s Rawa, I knew I would be having all my meals here only. The food was so tasty that I wished I had a bigger tummy. At Saturday nights, they provide an excellent barbeque dinner. Average meal cost is around RM35 (BBQ cost is RM60).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drinks</span><br />Bottled water is costly in the island and its better to stock up at Mersing. The well water is salty. But they provide beverages (cocktails, liquors, beers) and juices at a very reasonable cost. Since its a party atmosphere at the bar at nights, there is a possibility that the beer get over on weekends and you may have to wait for the supply boat to get it from Mersing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Activities</span><br />Even though its an ideal place to be lazy, there are some activities you can try there. The obvious ones are snorkeling, island hopping etc. Rawa Safaris resort rents Kayaks at RM35 per hours and you can go around the island, if the sea is calm. If you have an Advanced (or better) diving certification, you can rent the diving equipments from the Rawa Safaris for RM95 and venture in to the corals near the beach on your own. If you want the tank only, the cost is RM20. The max depth is around 9m. A couple of staff I talked to, told me about the existence of baby sharks around the island. But I was not lucky enough to find one. They also told me about a small jungle path behind the resort which can make a small trek.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Getting there (from Singapore)</span><br />If you are a very lazy person, you can straight away book a bus to Mersing from Singapore (Five Star, Transnasional etc) and the cost is around S$30 per head, one way. But I prefer the ‘do-it-yourself’ way. I booked the bus to Mersing from Johor – S&S International (One way cost - RM10). Travelling time is around 2hrs. Another option is to book Causeway Link Express. The timings are displayed at the ticket counter. For both, one has to personally visit the Larkin bus terminal in Johor. From Singapore, you can take the MRT to Woodlands MRT station, get the SMRT bus no. 950 to Woodlands checkpoint. From there, take SBS 170 to Larkin terminal. From Woodlands checkpoint, it will take around 20 minutes to 40 minutes to reach Larkin depending on the queue at the checkpoint and the traffic. Even though I booked the 8:30 am trip, the bus started at 9:30 am only due to some repairs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Back to Singapore</span><br />For travelling from Mersing to Johor (on Sunday), I booked the ticket at Mersing Bus terminal on my way to Rawa on Friday. The bus timings chart is given below. The 8:30pm bus I booked came at 10pm only. Always expect some delays if you are thinking of a bus journey and plan accordingly.<br />Another option is to take a taxi from Johor to Mersing and back. I did it during my last trip to Pulau Tioman. The taxi cost from Johor to Mersing (Friday morning) was RM150 and from Mersing to Johor (Sunday evening) was RM200. You need to bargain for the lowest fare.<br />I guess that’s all what you need to know for a trip to Rawa. Visit the resort’s website and shoot a mail asking for a reservation. Book the bus, pack your bags and simply go and have the time of your life in Rawa. For any missing details, just drop me a comment.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Some Snaps</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03W_2QY6I/AAAAAAAAEZM/CcKSemDKYvw/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03W_2QY6I/AAAAAAAAEZM/CcKSemDKYvw/s320/01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111588324893602" border="0" /></a>Larkin Terminal, Johor with S&S bus<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03OfGHnmI/AAAAAAAAEYk/VKKfcRKY_9A/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03OfGHnmI/AAAAAAAAEYk/VKKfcRKY_9A/s320/02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111442094104162" border="0" /></a>During the 10 minute walk from Mersing bus terminal to ferry<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03O0krRBI/AAAAAAAAEYs/bsiaolZERwA/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03O0krRBI/AAAAAAAAEYs/bsiaolZERwA/s320/03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111447859414034" border="0" /></a>Ferry timings – I hear that if there are around 5-7 people and pay around RM50, they will drop you at RAWA on their way to Tioman.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03PC0QboI/AAAAAAAAEY0/ns_q0Yg7DdU/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03PC0QboI/AAAAAAAAEY0/ns_q0Yg7DdU/s320/04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111451682860674" border="0" /></a>Rawa Safaris Office at Mersing<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03QEPUekI/AAAAAAAAEY8/RjhSuv8Cfvo/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03QEPUekI/AAAAAAAAEY8/RjhSuv8Cfvo/s320/05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111469244676674" border="0" /></a>Private Jetty from where we board the speed boat<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03Qfvqv_I/AAAAAAAAEZE/rDOwxmTZY-k/s1600/06.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03Qfvqv_I/AAAAAAAAEZE/rDOwxmTZY-k/s320/06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111476628111346" border="0" /></a>Rawa Island<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03F1np4zI/AAAAAAAAEX8/6dXyNf-MzNw/s1600/07.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03F1np4zI/AAAAAAAAEX8/6dXyNf-MzNw/s320/07.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111293521519410" border="0" /></a>The main dock at Rawa. However the speed boat directly drops you at the beach.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03GeesZOI/AAAAAAAAEYE/yKWupN6Io5Q/s1600/08.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03GeesZOI/AAAAAAAAEYE/yKWupN6Io5Q/s320/08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111304489788642" border="0" /></a>Alang’g Rawa – The big hut is the bar and restaurant and the other A-frames are the chalets.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03GoO49KI/AAAAAAAAEYM/8xYBI7jq8HE/s1600/09.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03GoO49KI/AAAAAAAAEYM/8xYBI7jq8HE/s320/09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111307107857570" border="0" /></a>The speed boat ride<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03G0cDizI/AAAAAAAAEYU/WoBc77tJoeA/s1600/10.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03G0cDizI/AAAAAAAAEYU/WoBc77tJoeA/s320/10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111310384302898" border="0" /></a>Where I stayed – The hut in the left<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03HbXIZwI/AAAAAAAAEYc/kjyxS-7z7M4/s1600/12.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE03HbXIZwI/AAAAAAAAEYc/kjyxS-7z7M4/s320/12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111320832632578" border="0" /></a>Twin sharing room<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE0249PaW6I/AAAAAAAAEX0/IQPaOryDCpY/s1600/13.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE0249PaW6I/AAAAAAAAEX0/IQPaOryDCpY/s320/13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111072229022626" border="0" /></a>Get tanned – All the facilities are free here. You don’t have to rent any life jacket or snorkeling equipments. But I have to warn you about one thing, its been used by many people and the equipments may not be in an excellent condition.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE024nVxRkI/AAAAAAAAEXs/tJ0X9jovgrU/s1600/15.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE024nVxRkI/AAAAAAAAEXs/tJ0X9jovgrU/s320/15.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111066350110274" border="0" /></a>Dreamy Rawa<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE024K_SpAI/AAAAAAAAEXk/PiucSZHBrWg/s1600/16.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE024K_SpAI/AAAAAAAAEXk/PiucSZHBrWg/s320/16.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111058739635202" border="0" /></a>The beach from the restaurant. You will never get bored sitting here, sipping a cocktail and watching the ocean.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE023xw4ssI/AAAAAAAAEXc/xt1wiuW5qW4/s1600/19.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE023xw4ssI/AAAAAAAAEXc/xt1wiuW5qW4/s320/19.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111051968328386" border="0" /></a>A romantic remote part of the beach. You can literally call this a private beach, just for you.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE023Tt1XpI/AAAAAAAAEXU/DVEihYIhL-U/s1600/20.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iG2wYBATV7s/TE023Tt1XpI/AAAAAAAAEXU/DVEihYIhL-U/s320/20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498111043902463634" border="0" /></a>Bus timings back to Johor from Mersing.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">More snaps <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=65051&id=1104290593&l=e79baf6616">here</a><br /></div></div>Dragonflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873653155301320477noreply@blogger.com8