Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
Saturday, April 11th, 2015
Photo of the Day: After all his passengers had safely alighted from his train, this weary but smart-looking driver alighted and walked down the length of the platform, proudly inspecting his train as he walked.
This smart looking train driver – is he just visiting from Bangkok, or is he homeward bound to his home in Hua Hin? What kind of life story does he have to tell? Photo taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
We were visiting the historic and beautiful train station in Hua Hin when the train from Bangkok arrived.
The passengers promptly unloaded and dissipated quickly from the platform.
I was lingering on the platform, snapping photos when the train driver emerged from his driver’s cabin and began walking down the platform.
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Tags:conductor, driver, EM1, emo, holiday, Hua Hin, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, platform, potd, Thailand, Thailand 2014, train
Posted in Cameras, Holiday, Lens, MIL, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Thailand 2014, Travel, travel, Zuiko | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
With senior hires from Facebook, Amazon and Palantir Technologies, Singapore is slated to become GrabTaxi’s technology hub.
The GrabTaxi R&D Centre is located at 138 Cecil Street, Cecil Court, Singapore 069538.
GrabTaxi, one of Southeast Asia’s largest mobile phone transport app, has opened its first Research and Development (R&D) Centre in Singapore.
“Though we remain focused on Southeast Asia, we know that talent is global. This new R&D Centre has put on us a level playing field with the largest technology companies in the world. In fact, we’ve recently hired great senior talent from companies like Facebook, Amazon and Palantir Technologies, as their experience and expertise with these global powerhouses will help GrabTaxi reach our true potential,” said Anthony Tan, GrabTaxi Founder and Group CEO.
This will become GrabTaxi’s technology hub and it will house the majority of its technical staff and engineers from around the world.
The 4500 sq. ft. centre is located in the heart of Singapore’s bustling Central Business District and will eventually house 200 engineers and data scientists, which is a specialised role focused on analysing data and spotting trends from multiple data sources.
This US$100 million investment over a few years is a milestone for Southeast Asian startups as very few brands – local or regional – has made such a significant investment in technology infrastructure and talent based out of Singapore.
Eventually, 200 engineers and data scientists will occupy the 4,500 sq. ft. GrabTaxi R&D Centre.
The R&D Centre reinforces GrabTaxi’s commitment to the region and an acknowledgment that Southeast Asia has the infrastructure and capacity to become a global technology hub.
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Tags:Apps, events, GrabTaxi, R&D, Singapore, taxi, transport, travel
Posted in App, Apps, events, Launch, Software, travel | No Comments »
Sunday, April 5th, 2015
Easter is a special day for Christians to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead – three days after his crucifixion and death at Calvary on Good Friday, as depicted in the New Testament of the Bible.
Relief on the metal door of the Salzburger Dom (Salzburg Cathedral). Assuming the inscriptions are in Latin, Google Translate says that “IN TE SPERAMUS” means “wait for you” or “we trust in you”. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The above photo was taken of the door of the Salzburg Cathedral when I visited Austria last summer in 2014.
I hope my Christian friends had a spiritual and reflective Easter today.
Tags:A7, Austria, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, Europe, full-frame, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg, Salzburg Cathedral, Salzburger Dom, Sony, travel
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Saturday, April 4th, 2015
Photo of the Day: Hohensalzburg Castle is named “Festung Hohensalzburg” which means “High Salzburg Fortress” in English. The fortress is built on top of of a small hill in Salzburg, overlooking the historic Austrian city.
* Information for this article was from Wikipedia.
View of Fortress Hohensalzburg from Kapitelplatz at the foot of the hill upon which it is built. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Construction of the fortress began in 1077 at the behest of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg.
With a length of 250m (820ft) and a width of 150m (490ft), Fortress Hohensalzburg is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.
View of Salzburg City from the Fortress Hohensalzburg with the Altstadt (old town) in the foreground. The Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom) is in the centre with the Salzach River flowing in the background. The golden globe statue in front of Cathedral was where the above photo of the fortress was taken from. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
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Tags:A7, Austria 2014, Carl Zeiss, castles, Festunsberg, fortresses, full-frame, Hohensalzburg, Kapitelplatz, MIL, photography, photos, potd, Salzach, Salzburg, Salzburger Dom, Sony, travel
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Events, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, travel | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 3rd, 2015
Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary. It is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians, and is a public holiday in many countries, including Singapore.
We were trekking from the Salzburg Fortress to the Nonnberg Abbey one evening on vacation when we came upon these beautiful altarpieces set into the rock surface of the hill upon which the fortress was built. There was even a shelter built above the altarpieces to protect them from the elements. Photo taken with a Sony A7 with 24-70mm lens. Photo credit: John Tan, 2014.
The year of the crucifixion is estimated to have occurred in AD 33.
Here’s wishing our Christian friends a peaceful and reflective Easter Weekend.
Tags:altar, Austria, Austria 2014, Christians, Easter, Good Friday, greetings, holidays, photography, photos, potd, Salzburg
Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Thursday, February 19th, 2015
It’s the first day of the Lunar New Year. This year, it’s the year of the Goat, according to the Chinese zodiac.
Happy New Year to all the people from cultures that celebrate this traditional festival! And to all Chinese around the world, Happy Chinese New Year!
I snapped this photo of a kid in a small town called Takamori at the Southeastern corner of the Aso caldera in Kyushu, Japan. The Chinese greetings is a pun during the Goat (on the Chinese Zodiac) years on the traditional Lunar New Year greeting “三阳开泰” – which augurs an auspicious year ahead as the sun ushers in the warm Spring from the cold Winter. Photo taken in 2012 with a Nikon D800 DSLR with an AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
It’s customary for Chinese to give out Ang Pows during the Lunar New Year. These are red paper envelopes containing money that’s given to relatives and children.
It being the new year, you’re supposed to use crispy new notes in these red packets.
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Tags:Chinese New Year, goat, holidays, Japan, Japan 2012, kid, Kumamoto, Kyushu, Lunar New Year, photography, photos, potd, Takachiho, travel, vacation
Posted in Cameras, DSLR, Gadgets, Holiday, Japan 2012, Lens, NIKKOR, Nikon, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, travel | No Comments »
Sunday, February 1st, 2015
We were walking around the beautiful railway station in Hua Hin, Thailand when we stumbled upon this happy figurine of a laughing boy, sitting at the entrance to a quaint book cafe.
A cheerful little statuette of a laughing boy welcoming us into the book cafe. I’m posting this photo here to welcome February 2015. Photo taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The peaceful cafe was on the other side of the traffic circle in front of the railway station.
The small cafe was simple and peaceful, a welcome refuge from the direct heat of the midday sun.
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Tags:books, boy, cafe, EM1, figurine, holiday, Hua Hin, laughing, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, potd, statue, statuette, Thailand, Thailand 2014
Posted in Cameras, cameras, Holiday, MIL, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Thailand 2014, travel, Zuiko | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
Google has collaborated with its partners to offer 3 days of online bargain shopping from 2-4 February to shoppers in Singapore. A list of participating vendors is at the end of this article.
From right: Joanna Flint (Country Director, Singapore, Google Asia Pacific) launching the GOSF.SG with partners, Lim Bee Bee (Head of Marketing for Consumer Banking Group Singapore, DBS Bank; and Marcelo Wesseler (SingPost’s Senior Vice President of eCommerce).
Google, along with DBS and SingPost, revealed the categories and deals on offer which range from travel to beauty, fashion and electronics.
“We’re excited to be teaming up with businesses across Singapore to celebrate the best of eCommerce here, and bring great deals from around the web to shoppers in the run up to Chinese New Year. Singaporeans are sophisticated shoppers and the Internet is a key part of the shopping process for them,” said Joanna Flint, Country Director, Singapore, Google Asia Pacific.
The 72-hour-long Great Online Shopping Festival on gosf.sg will commence from midnight on February 2, bringing deals from more than 60 brands onto a common platform to customers across the island nation.
Discounts include up to 90 percent off electronics, over 80 percent off fashion brands, up to 75 percent off travel deals, up to 70 percent off beauty products and many more from favorites like Courts, Zalora, Agoda and Luxola.
The festival is also supported by DBS and SingPost.
The first 2000 registered shoppers to spend over a total of S$168 with their DBS/POSB cards will receive an additional 15 percent rebate or up to S$100 off.
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Tags:DBS, eCommerce, Google, GOSF, GOSF.SG, online, promotions, shopping, Singapore, SingPost
Posted in Announce, Events, events, Google, Internet, Launch, Press Release, Promotions, Shopping, SingPost, travel | Comments Closed
Sunday, January 4th, 2015
We were walking around our hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand and admiring the aesthetic decor all around us, when we came across these wall flower arrangement. Loved it!
Here are some flowers decorating the walls along the walls of the garden. So creative. Photo taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Door flower, wall flowers – so much nature and creativity all round.
Tags:EM1, flowers, holiday, hotel, Hua Hin, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, potd, Thailand, Thailand 2014
Posted in Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Thailand 2014, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Saturday, January 3rd, 2015
We were walking around our hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand and admiring the aesthetic decor all around us.
Here are some flowers decorating the doors of some of the rooms in the garden. We loved the peacefulness just looking at the flower arrangement. Photo taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
It was really therapeutic just walking around and smelling the flowers around us.
Tags:EM1, flowers, holiday, hotel, Hua Hin, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, potd, Thailand, Thailand 2014
Posted in Holiday, MIL, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Thailand 2014, travel, Zuiko | No Comments »
