Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Saturday, May 30th, 2015
The school holidays have just begun in Singapore. So if you happen to be heading out to Penang in Malaysia for a getaway, check out this newly opened hotel.

There are two Premier Suites (82 sqm) in G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia.
G Hotel Kelawai has 208 rooms, three F& B outlets, and is well located next to upscale shopping malls and renowned hawker eateries, with UNESCO world heritage sites and beaches nearby.

G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia
The hotel is within walking distance from its sibling G Hotel Gurney and allows cross usage of facilities between the two hotels.
G Hotel Kelawai offers complimentary Internet broadband and Wi-Fi to guests, as well as an infinity edge pool, mountain bikes and fitness center.
The 24-floor hotel has 208 rooms comprising 143 Deluxe rooms (35 sqm), 20 Executive rooms (35 sqm), 43 Executive Premier rooms (45 sqm) and 2 Premier Suites (82 sqm).
Every room comes with eco-friendly Appelles toiletries, Serta bed; 300 thread count linens, Herman Miller designer working chair, docking station, alarm clock, ironing facilities, 55-inch smart LED TV, free non-alcoholic minibar, coffee machine and free high speed Wi-Fi.
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Tags:accommodation, G Hotel, Gurney, hotels, Kelawai, Malaysia, Penang, travel
Posted in Events, events, Launch, Lifestyle, Travel, travel | No Comments »
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
Photo of the Day: Remember the horses in love in front of the train station in Hua Hin, Thailand? Here’s the close-up portrait shot of those happy horses.
* This is a different snapshot from the previous one.

The sharp details and shallow field of view of the camera and lens really impressed me in this snapshot of the happy horses just outside the Hua Hin Railway Station in Thailand. 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.
Looking at them really cheered up my day!
Tags:EM1, happy, holiday, horses, Hua Hin, love, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, potd, smiling, statues, statuettes, Thailand, Thailand 2014
Posted in Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Thailand 2014, travel, Zuiko | 1 Comment »
Sunday, April 12th, 2015
Photo of the Day: Right at the entrance of the railway station in Hua Hin is a landscape garden decorated with plenty of interesting statues. One of these statuettes were of a pair of toothy horses laughing happily away.

Why do these horse look so happy? Could it be that they’re in lurvvv? Just outside the Hua Hin Railway Station in Thailand. 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.
These horses just looked so happy!
Tags:EM1, happy, holiday, horses, Hua Hin, love, Olympus, OMD, photography, photos, potd, smiling, statues, statuettes, Thailand, Thailand 2014
Posted in Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Olympus, OM-D, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Thailand 2014, travel, Zuiko | 1 Comment »
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 »
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 »
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 »