petronas towers

I may or may have not posted these photos already, I don't know. I am obviously traversing my blogging journey this year slow, almost dragging. My update frequency has gone down to 2 per month, heh.

I am not going to lie, I have been contemplating if I should still maintain this kind of blog. The photography part is safe, that I can tell you. Film and cameras still excite me in a progressive pace. Matter of fact, I am saving up for my first medium format camera. You can never be complacent with film photography, I guess. There's always something interesting, and different. Always something new to learn.

Just this blogging thing.. I'm in this state where I question the purpose of it all. Why am I doing it? Sometimes I want to keep it like back in the days. Treat it like an online diary, and talk about things that I usually fangirl about. Other times, I want it to be a simple photo blog. Sometimes, I think I can pull it off like a dump blog, where I can just talk about anything and treat it like the void. And when I couldn't decide, in the end, I just stay away from it altogether.

Also not sure If I'm going to renew my domain for another year. Again, I've started to question, what's the point?

And then like a broken record, my eternal battle with writing, and sharing. Insecurity in this department is strong. It's been such a struggle, almost a suffering. Quite ironic, because I had the energy to blab about all this now.

~~*~~

ANYWAY, here are some photos of the Petronas Towers from last year. I love standing in front of them, and be engulfed by the size and majesty. Still not immune with its presence even for a second visit. As if they a have life of their own.

along the malacca river pt. ii

along the malacca river pt. i

Here comes my favorite part of my Malacca trip :)

A friendly stranger :)

Their chicken curry is the best!

Establishments beside the Malacca River are so pretty at night.

A 10-second long exposure :)

malacca sights pt. ii

malacca sights pt. i

I just remembered, this week marks my third year in shooting film! My level of fondness is still the same. However, I don't think I have evolved photography-wise. Looking through my photos, I still see the same pattern when I have started — safe, stationary, almost stiff. And if you tell me that the photos reflect who took them, I will, without a blink, agree with you.

a moment in malacca

This is one of those trips that is not your first choice, but you end up loving anyway.

I booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the intention of visiting Penang because of my interest in their art street. It was much later when I found out that the travel setup going to and from Penang (9-hour overnight train ride) is too long for the trip. Here comes Malacca offering an escape from the hectic city life in KL with a shorter travel time (3-hour bus ride).

We arrived in KL late in the afternoon and boarded the bus as the night came.

Have you ever had that moment in life where you know you are exactly where you're supposed to be? I had this moment in the bus ride to Malacca. It was dark, everyone is asleep, me in the window seat. The only thing I see are light paints from other vehicles' headlights, swooshing past in pitch black (see this in 00:54 of my travelogue).

In that moment, for a long time, I didn't want to escape.

Sunset in KL International Airport

Midnight Malacca Stroll

Teh Tarik, My Love

Home is not where you are born; home is where all your attempts to escape cease.

~ Naguib Mahfouz

malacca: mille crepe cakes by nadeje

I had been craving for cake for a while. A few days back, I was sitting in the office suffering a case of PMS, when I thought "Screw this, I'm going out to get some cake because my uterus and I both deserve it!" (said no one ever... out loud). And so I escaped for a few minutes to take refuge in a nearby Starbucks.

That probably isn't the best introduction for a dessert, but I was surprised to find a chocolate crepe cake in their chiller because I did not know such heavenly creation exists -- until I went to Malacca.

this would suffice. but nothing like the thinness of the ones by nadeje. malacca in my mind 🙂 pic.twitter.com/aRXgu5aCo9

— April (@grewlegs) November 27, 2015

The one by Starbucks was enough to satisfy a craving, but the ones I've tasted in Malacca are exquisite.. both in presentation and taste. Say hello to mille crepe cakes by Nadeje.

Tiramisu

Green Tea. Mhmmm..

Lemon Cheese (!!!!)

Mango Yogurt

Earl Grey Tea

How they manage to keep a consistent stack of thinness, I absolutely have no idea (fairy magic, perhaps?). I'm compelled to go back to Malacca just to experience this again.

malaysia: a travelogue

Earlier this week, I got my film scans from my Malaysia trip. It has been two months since then, but when you shoot with film, I think you naturally learn to be patient from not seeing the results right away (we all know this already, right?). I only shot three rolls for this trip, but I am very happy with results.

It may take another three, four months before they see the light of day in this blog, so let me share a video for now :)

LIBERTY

Thought of bringing back some photos from exactly a year ago because I think it's rare when a person gets to experience a genuine liberating moment in life.