When I asked Alan Hiu from Kuching, Sarawak, about his unusual surname, he explained that different dialect groups would pronounce it differently. “What about my surname?”, and I wrote the Chinese strokes for Chee in the air. He gave me a lesson on it: the Hockchiew (my father’s dialect) would call it “Hee”; the Cantonese [...]
Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category
Nostalgic in Kuching
The 1960s feel
It was like going back to the 1960s when Singapore was less crowded with buildings, cars and people. Most houses and buildings in Kuching were not more than 4 storeys and were well spread out. The streets were conspicuously clean and they still have roundabouts. Modern tall hotels and commercial buildings with gleaming [...]
Kuching, Sarawak and the St Thomas Cathedral
Roots in Kuching
It was an old photo hanging on the wall of my uncle’s house that caught my attention. Interested as I was with my earthly roots, I took a few shots with my mobile. It was my maternal grandparents’ wedding photograph. They looked forward, stiff and formal – the common pose in those days. [...]
Going Kame ManNen
Who has heard of Kame ManNen? I have not, that is until now. Its a Japanese optical frame brand known for its design and quality. Tired of cheap spectacles made in China and Korea, I tried going Japanese. An internet search showed that this strange sounding brand got its name from a old Japanese proverb [...]
Twenty years in just a snap
This old family photograph brings back memories of a time when my children were still in nursery, and kindergarten and primary school. It was about twenty years back in the 1990s when I lived in Bukit Batok East Avenue 4. The long wooden TV console in the background, the cane furniture by the side and [...]
To the Cameron, Ipoh and KL by train, car and coach
Night train for a change
Normally, I would take a coach to the Cameron Highlands. For a change, and at Kim Eng’s suggestion, my wife and I booked online the sleeper “malam” train of the KTM (Malaysian railway). The last time I took it, I was going to the same place: Gua Musang in the southern [...]
Making some progress
I started with the first draft or whatever its called. Later I realized that it was going to be difficult, at my pre-beginner’s level, to paint the photo as it looked in detail. So I did a second coat or whatever you call it. I played with colors and shapes, trying to do an [...]
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