Lunch At EASTBOURNE, New Zealand

Lazy Monday, we are still going through the "Silly Season" in New Zealand; we got up late and my wife suggested that we take a drive to Eastbourne for lunch... and why not, the last time we were at this "retirement town" was TEN years ago! When I was the wedding photographer for Sam and Lei on their big day!

Sam, Lei and entourage at the Eastbourne sea front in 2003.

Eastbourne is a suburb of Lower Hutt city, it is 5 kilometres south of the main Lower Hutt urban area, and directly across the harbour from the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington city. - Wikipedia

True Colour Of Lumix GM1

Yesterday was the day after Boxing Day, took Le General to Lower Hutt city for her holiday sales... the Lumix DM1, was in my jacket's pocket; talk about compact! Took a shot through my car windscreen at the shop she was in, a new trousers for just $5.00!  Wonder how many she gonna buy ;)

On our way home we passed our Botanical Garden, it was 7.30 pm; I decided to see how the GM1's little kit lens react to the multi coloured blooms in the garden.

Shooting Video With Lumix GM1

When we were attending the Lower Hutt Chinese Line Dancers pre Xmas function last night, I have a chance to test out the video capability of the tiny Lumix GM1.

When line dancers get together, they dance and like previous years; I video their dances for Le General to post on Youtube :)

Through the years I have used various point and shoot digital compacts for the task. I started with Canon G7, then G9; G12, the Olympus E-P2; Nikon P7700, OM-D E-M5 and now the smallest of them all, the tiny Lumix GM1.

A line dancing sequence usually last for 2 to 3 minutes, instead of securing my camera on a tripod; I decided to do my shooting while walking around the dancers. It will be interesting to find out how much camera shakes the lightweight GM1 creates!

The tiny Lumix GM1 sitting on top of the small but study cast alloy Manfrotto table tripod.

Lumix GM1 - RAW or JPEG?

My friend was wondering why I was shooting JPEG with the Lumix GM1, they were wrong; I was actually shooting both... the highest quality JPEG and the new RW2 RAW format, which I have a problem opening with my Photoshop CS5.

I know you can do it with the supplied, clunky Silkypix software, but unlike the name, the user interface is anything but silky!

Adobe to the rescue!  Last week Adobe released their latest, free DNG Converter 8.3, which allow me to convert the Lumix RW2 files to DNG format.

The question of whether you should use the Lumix RW2 RAW or the more universal DNG format can be found here.

Highland Towers Behind The Lens

This story appeared in The Star, Malaysia on 15 December 2013.

More detail on the tragedy:

Highland Towers Tragedy, 20 Years On

Highland Towers Tragedy, 20 Years On

20 Years ago today, On Dec 11, 1993, Block A of the Highland Towers condominium complex in in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, Malaysia came crashing down after days of heavy rain, killing 48 people.

Today on the 20th anniversary of the worst construction tragedy in the history of Malaysia, I went and look at my pictures archives of the tragedy again.

 20 years ago, on that faithful day; I was working as a Picture Editor for the Singapore Press Holdings, looking after the photo division of the three Chinese Newspapers.

Life was good, I was head hunted from New Zealand; my boss like me, he approved the latest "toy" that I requested..

Lumix GM1 Rock With M43 Lenses

After throughly enjoy the compactness and feather weight of my Lumix GM1, I settle down to find out if the small wonder rock with the two Panasonic M43 zoom lenses I own.

The tiny Lumix GM1 dwarfed by the two M43 zoom lenses, the Lumix 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH X  on the left and the ultra-wide Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14 mm F4.0 ASPH, right.

Surely BIG lenses (in relation to small GM1) will create an unbalance combo, making the set up difficult and uncomfortable to hold?

I was wrong!

Lumix DMC GM1, First Impression

Why did I get excited with Panasonic Lumix GM1? I am sure I was not alone, thousands of Pany fanboys were hysterical when Panasonic launch this Itsy Bitsy "compact"!  But I am NOT a Pany fan boy, never was ;)

When I was young, I was a Nikon fan boy but when Nikon launch their retro Df; I didn't hold my breath! So what was it that made me excited over this little camera?

According to Panasonic, their latest miniature offering does not compromise on image quality, even with its remarkably compact body.

"It achieves this by incorporating the large Digital Live MOS Sensor based on the Micro Four Thirds System standard, together with the high-performance Venus Engine.

High-precision, high-speed AF also helps to capture even the most fleeting moments. All of this makes it an ideal camera for someone who truly cares about both image quality and style."

If you want to know more about this "small wonder", take a look at this Panasonic web site; DPReview also did a really comprehensive review about this revolutionary tiny camera, go take a look; I am not repeating them.

The New Df, Nikon's Wet Dream?

Wet Dream? In this respect, after all the excitements and climaxes; Nikon might discover their euphoria was just a dream :(

The new Nikon Df has created excitement where ever it was launched, but after the initial euphoria subsides; how many photographers will plonk down their hard earned cash  to own this retro wonder?

Who is Nikon targetting this full frame machine anyway?

One reviewer reckoned the huge population of over-60 photographers will shake with excitement, finally; a DIGITAL SLR with shutter speeds and ISO DIALS... just like the good old days of FM and FA!  We will feel like, we came home!

YEAH RIGHT!

Nikon Df Arrives, Fanboys Rejoice!

So the much anticipated Nikon Df  is officially announced today, however; the excitement and thunder were dampened by Amazon's accidentally (or maybe not) published the Nikon Df sales page in their site for a short while before it was taken down!

I am not going to waste my breath telling you what Nikon Df is, you can Google it yourself and go over the 66,100,000 results ;)

According to Nikon...

Rediscover the joy of photography.

 

As digital camera technology has evolved, so has the way we control our cameras. Mechanical dials have given way to buttons, menu systems and LCD displays. But what if we could blend the elegant, simplistic control and styling of classic Nikon film cameras like the F, F3 and FM/FE series with the advanced technology of Nikon's exceptional new D-SLRs?

 

Nokia Offers RAW DNG Image Support!

Photograpers have a cause for celebration!

The Nokia Lumia 1020 and the new Nokia Lumia 1520 will be able to save your photos as lossless RAW files (in “DNG” format), allowing maximum flexibility when editing the images on your computer!

It is BIG DEAL because the 1020 and 1520 are the ONLY smartphones in the market that have RAW support!

This is what Adobe, the company that pioneered DNG RAW format say about Nokia's new found ability...

Olympus Stylus 1 - E-M5 Wannabe

 Olympus dive into the super zoom arena with the Stylus 1, officially announced today. The OM-D E-M5 wannabe features a larger-than-average 1/1.7" BSI-CMOS sensor.

The new 28-300mm equivalent, constant aperture F2.8 zoom lens, high resolution EVF,'hybrid' control ring, and Wi-Fi lead the attractive features.Olympus also includes built-in ND filter, tilting touchscreen, in-camera Raw processing, and 1080p movie recording!!

You can even get a 1.7x teleconverter for this mini E-M5 look alike, which increases the telephoto end of the lens to 510 mm!

I was told the Stylus 1 will be available in December for a list price of NZD 850.00.

New Lumix GM1 - Small Is Beautiful!

Two days ago Panasonic launch their latest itsy bitsy Lumix GM1.

 This small wonder might be the SMALLEST MFT (M43) camera in the world, but in it's tiny very strong magnesium alloy body lies a 16.00-megapixel Digital Live MOS Sensor; which can rival the much larger big brother GX7!

Sony's World First Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras!!

 Sony out to get Leica??

A7R Camera

Designed for professional photographers and highly advanced enthusiasts, the new A7R model is the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame interchangeable lens camera. 

It has an impressive 36.4 effective megapixel full frame sensor and no optical low pass filter, ensuring that the extraordinary resolving power is fully realized and resulting in an unprecedented level of detail and clarity in images. 

The camera features a new Fast Intelligent AF technology that delivers blazingly quick, accurate autofocus.  Additionally, there are a total of three selectable sizes for the Flexible Spot AF frame, minimizing the risk of accidentally focusing on the wrong target. 

 Press Release from Sony...

Build Your Own Sports Car In NZ

Building your own sports car?  It is not as hard as you imagine!

Our friend, Brian Worboys (that's him in the picture) told us about The Constructor's Car Club  (CCC) in New Zealand.

According to their web site...

"The Constructors's Car Club was founded in 1988 by a small number of enthusiasts who were interested in building a vehicle either from scratch or from a kit, but were concerned by the rumours of impending legislation and the impact it may have on their hobby.

The club they formed went on to become one of the 10 founding clubs of the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA), the body entrusted with New Zealand’s modified and custom built vehicle certification system.

25 years on and the Wellington based club has over 160 members, with approximately 40% scattered throughout New Zealand. 

SPEAK NOT ILL OF THE DEAD!!

Chin Peng (陳平,Chén Píng), former OBE, (21 October 1924, Setiawan, Perak, Malaysia - 16 September 2013, Bangkok, Thailand^[2]) born Ong Boon Hua (王文華,Wáng Wén Huá) was a long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP).

A determined anti-colonialist, he led the party's guerrilla insurgency in the Malayan Emergency, fighting against British and Commonwealth forces in an attempt to establish an independent communist state.  After the MCP's defeat and subsequent Malayan independence, Chin waged a campaign against Malaya and, after 1963,the new state of Malaysia in an attempt to replace its government with a communist one from exile, until signing a peace accord with the Malaysian government in 1989.   -  Wikipedia
Chin Peng died of old age in Bangkok,Thailand at the age of 88 years old,on September 16, 2013. Ironically,same day as Malaysia Day.

The aftermath, like they say; is history... if you Google "Chin Peng", you will get ELEVEN MILLION HITS... there is however, a write up that I want all of you to read and ponder.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 WTF?

WTF - What The Fuss?  Did you think I mean something else? DUH!

So finally Olympus announced their most talk about, argued about; leaked before launch MFT camera, the OM-D E-M1.

Google "Olympus OM-D E-M1 and you get...

About 6,740,000 results (0.27 seconds) !!

But what was all the fuss? 

Is the EM-1 a revolutionary NEW camera?

NO!

Nikon Coolpix P7800, Same Old; Same Old!

Yesterday Nikon announced the new Coolpix P7800 to replace their one year old P7700.

Notice the new EVF (Electronic View Finder) on the P7800, photographers must have asked for this feature. The view finder was completely removed in P7700. It is strange though that Nikon does not publicise this feature in their web site!

Nikon P7700 One Year On

I bought my Nikon Coolpix P7700 to replace the Canon G12 which I adored, until I discovered the dreaded "Loose Screws Syndrome" which plagued the G series. Mind you, my G series fanboyism attracted a total of 15,000 page views on this rugged looking compact!

Two days ago, one of the reader comment in my blog...

"I loved my G12 until it intermittently freezes whenever it feels like after about 15 months. Canon says"What?" ...we don't know anything about that. Search "Canon G12 freeze" you'll see. Love your tests on both P7700 and G12 thanks. I just bought me P7700."

Wow! Apart from the "Loose Screws" problem, the G series are getting  intermittent freezes problem!

One year on, I am still using my Nikon P7700 and it is still going strong :)

Here's what how I feel about this G-replacement...

My one year old P7700, look wise; it is more refine looking, none of the chunkiness of the G-12. However, like a magnet; the sticky rubberised cover over it's strong alloy body attracts grime and it is a pain to remove! Plus side, it grips better in your palm.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 LEAKED!!!

The most talk about and highly expected NEW Olympus OM-D E-M5 replacement, the OM-D E-M1 photos AND video was leaked all over the internet!!

This is a screen grab from a video in ENGADGET!  Go watch it now, they MIGHT take it down ;)  After all, this beauty is not supposed to be launch till next month! (As expected the video was taken down, but you still can watch it HERE.. for how long? Anybody's guess ;)

The ANGST of Shooting Film!!

Before I carry on, I want to make it clear that this is NOT about the eternal argument about whether the film is better than digital; it is about after a hiatus of ten years, I suddenly decided to relive the hassle of shooting film!

I had been shooting film since I was 19, when I bought a second-hand Zeiss Super Ikonta camera from my photo nut classmates, the Ooi twin.

I was shooting a lot of films when I was a student at Oakleigh High School, Victoria; Australia. Entering an inter school photo contest, I even won a set of Minolta SLR for the school, and I was shooting everything on film.

A contest winner at the 1968 inter school contest in Victoria, Australia. Shot with a Pentax SV with a 55mm lens on a reversal ring.

Scarabaeus Camera Holster

Holster - noun, a sheathlike carrying case for a firearm, attached to a belt, shoulder sling, or saddle.

For a long time I realised carrying a camera round your neck for a long time can result in a bad sore neck, you secretly wish that some genius will come out with a holster that you can clip your camera on your belt; allowing you to "draw" your camera instantly like a pistol, shoot, and slide back into the hostel when you are done ;) Not that there is a lack of holster candidates, Google "camera holsters" and you can find plenty!

But... they are mostly made for BIG and heavy DSLRs which, as you know; I have NO INTEREST in anymore.

Where is my dream holster for my compact or mirrorless M43 cameras? None! Until now!!
SCARABAEUS was discovered by me on Friday and I placed an order immediately, this is what arrived at my office today (Wednesday)!

World Press Photo Wellington Exhibition

The winning photos of the 2013 World Press Photo are in town. Again I am invited to the official opening...

The opening is at the spanking new Telecom Central Building in Wellington.

New LUMIX GX7 Trumped PEN E-P5!

After all the photos and specifications leaked last week, Panasonic launch their new Lumix DMC-GX7 mirrorless camera today!

The handsome looking camera caused quite a stir and I noticed fan boys are already pre-ordering the new M43 wonder!

Placing the GX7 side by side with it's main competitor, the PEN E-P5; most photographers said the Lumix is better looking and more refined than the E-P5. Is it any wonder that E-P5 orders are being cancelled and changed to GX7!

My Ideal Travel Camera

In our younger days, we were all guilty of NOT travelling light. In my younger days, travel usually meant work; as a photographer for a newspaper. I recall fondly the time I was with a fashion team to India, shooting for a Singapore paper; travelling with me were the following photo gear...

2 units Canon EOS1 camera bodies, only one with a drive to save weight.
1 unit Leica M6 camera body with winder.
1 unit Canon 580 Speedlight.

Canon 14/2.8 L
Canon 17-35 2.8L
Canon 28-80 2.8L
Canon 85/1.2 L
Canon 200/1.8L
Canon 1.4 extender
Canon 2x extender

Leica Elmarit-M 21/2.8
Leica Summicron-M 50/2
Leica Summicron-M 90/2
Leica Summilux-M 35/1.4
Leica Elmarit-M 28/2.8

Chargers, batteries; 60 rolls of Kodak Ektapress colour negative film. A Monopod. And a Tenba Pro Pak camera bag.

I was amazed how I managed to lug all those gears around! But then I was much younger...

3 Nights In Melbourne

 I have a soft spot for Melbourne, may be it is because the best part of my 6 years were spent in this city as a student, or is it because Melbourne has been ranked No.1 as the world’s “Most Liveable City” for the second year in a row by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability survey?

That's yours truly on the left, at the Melbourne Essendon Airport; 1967.

46 years after that picture was taken, me and Le General heads for the city I love :)

We landed at Melbourne Airport, Thursday; at 8.30 am.

We got a mild shock when we join the Q at the immigration check out, a couple of planes from China must have arrived at the same time; we were swamped by hundreds (look more like thousands) of Chinese tourists!

Took us 90 minutes to pass through the check point!

We made our way to the Sky Bus stand, we bought a return ticket; A$28.00 each. Don't even consider taking a cab, unless you just won Lotto ;)

The BIG, fast; Sky Bus took us to the Southern Cross Station where we changed to a smaller hotel transfer bus. It is very efficient, and in 40 minutes we were outside our hotel.

PICCURE the Final Release

If you have been reading my post on 4th May on Piccure, you will know what it is and what it can do.

In short, it is an easy-to-use plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, piccure will allow you to restore your degraded photos produced by involuntary camera movements.

And from my test, it did the deblurring very well!

Last week, Piccure was released into the wild and you are able to purchase this plug-in here.

Piccure come in for Win7 and OSX, you can either purchase the Photoshop or the Photoshop Element version.

In New Zealand, the Photoshop plugin cost $127.98 NZD and $63.34 if you are using PS Element.

Panasonic & Fujifilm Developed World’s First Organic Sensor!

June 11, 2013; REMEMBER this day because FUJIFILM Corporation and Panasonic Corporation jointly announced that they are jointly developing an organic CMOS image sensor technology using organic photoelectric conversion layer!

Big deal?

You bet!!

This will be one of the biggest breakthroughs in digital camera sensor technology in recent years!

How does a dynamic range of 15 stops and a 88db signal-to-noise ratio grab you?

This is their full press release...

FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Shigehiro Nakajima) and Panasonic Corporation (President: Kazuhiro Tsuga) have developed organic CMOS image sensor technology that uses an organic photoelectric conversion layer with a photoelectric conversion property at the light receiving section of an image sensor to achieve performance beyond that of conventional image sensors.

Applying this technology to the image sensors of digital cameras and other imaging devices expands its dynamic range and enhances sensitivity further to prevent highlight clipping in bright scenes and capture a dark subject with vivid colors and rich textures.

Lumix 45-175mm f/4-5.6 ASPH X Revisited

A friend who bought an Olympus OM-D recently, decided to supplement his 14-42 (Eqv 28-84) f3.5/5.6 "kit zoom" with a telephoto zoom. He had his eyes on the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f2.8 zoom, he nearly fainted when he found out how much this chunk of a glass cost!

A whopping NZ$ 1,959.00 at our local Photo Warehouse in Wellington city! Since he is a poor photographer like me, who have to save up our pennies for photography addiction; he came and seek a second opinion on an alternative cheaper lens.

First, our friend wanted to know why his dream lens cost so much more than something nearly in the same range, a Lumix 45-175mm f/4-5.6; which is also a "X" lens! The zoom range of this cheaper lens is even longer than the 35-100!

OM-D @ ISO 20,000 in Real World!

I have been using my Olympus OM-D for nearly a year, and I have shot thousands of pictures with it, but how many time did I actually made use of the ISO 20,000 setting for really low light capture?  ONCE!!

This still life test shot was taken in early May last year, while I was testing my newly acquired dream camera. It was shot at ISO 25,600!

Even at that never heard of (a couple of years ago), ultra high ISO for a HALF FRAME sensor, the result was ACCEPTABLE!

New Olympus PEN E-P5 z z z z !

One week ago Olympus launched their new PEN E-P5, superceding their two year old E-P3.

Because the number four and any of its multiples are considered a BAD OMEN in Japan ( even knifes, forks and bowls are never ever sold in packages of four). there are no E-P4.

This is the "new" E-P5, you can have it in black, silver or white. This is the white version.

Ezy Sop Kambing (Easy Mutton Soup)

Sop Kambing (Goat Soup in Malay) is one of Malaysian, Indian and Indonesian cuisine's best-known dishes.

All of us love Sop Kambing but so far we have not discover any restaurant  in Wellington serving this yummy Malaysian fare :(

So I devised a fast and simple but yummy version myself!

P.G.LIM Passes Away

I only met Wonder Woman P.G.Lim twice, I was then working as a Manager for her brother; Lim Kean Siew, in Penang.

I read and heard about what she has achieved, but alas I am only a photographer; not knowing how to put her achievements in words!

Thanks to my friend and ex-colleague Stephen Tan Ban Cheng for this tribute.

 

PICCURE Rock!!

A day ago I test and wrote about PICCURE, a software that claimed to get rid of blurriness in your picture caused by camera shake. During my test I discovered a few discrepancies, for instance; Photoshop's Smart Sharpen made some of my "blurred" pictures sharper than PICCURE!

After I published my story, I shot off an email to the maker of PICCURE; looking for an answer.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a reply in less than an hour!!

" Hi CY,

Thanks for trying us out!

You are right: PICCURE may be equally good like other programs for small blurs (that may not be even caused by camera shake). 

However, we beat them on anything that is a little bit bigger than a micro blur - plus: PICCURE really gives an "authentic sharpness" for small blurs.
 
I did attach a few images - feel free to try them out and post them.

Thanks a lot for reporting about us!
 
Cheers

Hmmm... that sounds like a challenge and I never run away from one ;)

PICCURE Beat Photoshop In Deblurring Camera Shake!

A few weeks ago, in a sneak preview; Adobe show off their upcoming Shake Reduction Tool for Photoshop that left us stunned. The tool selects part of the image, and used some complicated calculations to determine how the camera was shaking when the shot was taken, the tool then remove the blur — like MAGIC!!

Watch the demo video below.




But yesterday a SMALL startup company based in Tübingen, Germany; the Intelligent Imaging Solutions announced their new Photoshop plugin call Piccure and literally try to BEAT Adobe to this magical shake reduction launch!

Bomb Detector Conman Jailed For 10 Years!

James McCormick arrives for sentencing at the Old Bailey in London.

Photograph © Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

According to The Guardian today...

"A fraudster who made an estimated £55m selling fake bomb detectors to Iraq and other security hotspots has been jailed for 10 years.

Jim McCormick, 57, was found guilty of three counts of fraud over the sale of bogus explosive and drug detection devices for as much as £10,000 each when they were based on £15 novelty golf ball finders.

At the Old Bailey on Thursday Mr Justice Hone handed down the maximum sentence for a crime he described as "a callous confidence trick".

Bought Any BOMB DETECTOR Lately??

This is such an incredible story that you might think it is an April Fool joke, but I assure you it is not; many innocent people have DIED because of this MOTHER OF ALL FIASCO!

The Story...

In a land far far away, businessman James McCormick found out that you can make millions in defense technology without any skill, scientific knowledge, all you need is the GIFT OF THE GAP ;)

© http://tech.yolobazinga.co

Pho In The City

Pho (/fʌ/; Vietnamese: phở pronounced [fəː˧˩˧] ( listen)) is a Vietnamese dish consisting of broth, noodles made from rice, a few herbs, and meat. It is a popular street dish, and the specialty of several restaurant chains.

The two main varieties are chicken pho and beef pho.  The word "pho" may be derived from French pot-au-feu (beef stew).   - Wikipedia

I love beef pho! The strength and beauty of a tasty pho is in the soup and believe you me, it is hard to find a Vietnamese cafe in Wellington that serves good pho!

They Doctored Gory News Pictures Too!

Gory... Covered or stained with gore; bloody.

The media zoos of the world are still transfix over the Boston Marathon Explosion, Google that phrase and you are returned with TWO point SIX Billion hits!

After the horrific event, every newspapers in the world tried their best to display the BEST news pictures depicting the horror on their front page; virtually all the front pages selection were gory, bloody.

The front page of the New York Daily News featured a gory decisive moment shot of the bloody aftermath, captured by Boston Globe photographer John Tlumacki.

 

I was a stunning and horrific news picture, except with the leg of the woman lying on the pavement, top left; WAS DOCTORED! Photoshopped!

Stealthy OM-D For Street Photography

During our recent visits of Sydney and Brisbane, my friend was wondering how I kill time when Le General was busy shopping! Would you believe I decided to try out my Olympus OM-D EM-5 as a stealthy street photography camera?

I did! But was the camera small enough to avoid suspicion? Was it fast enough to auto focus?  Take a look at the pictures below and decide yourself ;)

Most of the shots you see below was shot WITHOUT raising the OM-D to my eye, I depend on the raised rear LCD  screen for aiming and I shoot "continuous-low" at 3 frames per second.

The OM-D with the raised rear LCD was usually hung from my neck or sitting on my lap, there was time it is just sitting on a table for all the candid shots.

Chill Out and Déjà Vu With Good Friends In Brisbane :)

We arrived Brisbane domestic airport after our non-stop, 5 touristy days in Sydney.

We were a bit stunned by the SIZE of this domestic terminal! It must be 20 to 50 times larger than our Wellington terminal!

What we did not realise is that Brisbane Airport  is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane, Queensland and is the third busiest airport in Australia after Sydney Airport and Melbourne Airport. Brisbane Airport has won many awards. Brisbane is currently served with 46 domestic destinations in all States and Territories and 32 international destinations. For the 12 months ending May 2011 total passengers were 20,056,416!

The reason we came to Brisbane was to catch up with our good friends from Karori, Boon and Jackie (B&J). They moved to Brisbane in 2005 and that was the last time we had a chill out with them, goodness; EIGHT years has vaporised!

Boon took a shot of me and LB near the South Bank, Brisbane in 2005.

Zǒu Mǎ Kàn Huā @ Sydney & Brisbane - day 4

Day 4, last day in Sydney; so we will try to see and do what we wanted! We will be flying off to Brisbane the next day:)

I know there is one shopping complex I do not want to miss, not for shopping but to eat the famous Japanese ramen I heard so much about! the complex we wanted to go is Westfield Sydney Shopping Centre.

Again, from where we stay; we are able to walk there!

Westfield claimed they have 3,000+ brands and 1 million + products!  So who is counting??

Zǒu Mǎ Kàn Huā @ Sydney & Brisbane - day 3

Day 3, we found out that from where we stayed; we can walk our way to Sydney's Chinatown in 20 minutes!

I have read that Sydney's Chinatown is the largest in Australia. It is located in Haymarket, between Central Station and Darling Harbour. Unlike the Chinatowns in some other countries, Sydney's Chinatown has been relatively free of crime and hygiene issues.

I reckoned you have not visit Chinatown if you do not enjoy a "Yum Char" in this Chinese business district!

Market City, the outer walls of the original vegetable market, built in 1909, were preserved and restored as an example of Edwardian architecture. They were part of the original city markets—designed by city architect C.Broderick—which were bounded by Hay Street, Quay Street and Thomas Street. They were built to replace the old Belmore Market, which had failed because it was too far from Darling Harbour.