hummingbird nest Unknown 2:48 PM

I caught two hummingbirds in this branch of whatever plant this is somewhere in the Garden.  Uh.. yeah, the Gardens by the Bay.  I wasn't able to include this in the A-Z Challenge because it's a black and white photo.. and the black and white link party I know happens every Sunday which is a rest day for the A-Z Challenge participants.

But I found another link party for my black and white photos just now, and I'm glad I did.  I wish my shots are pretty enough for them to include me in their cool group.

zingy streets of Singapore Unknown 2:46 PM

Today is the last day of the A-Z Challenge, and I'm glad it's finally over.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of it.. sharing my experiences abroad.  I knew choosing this theme would give me a hard time, but I had no any other option.  

And now that it's over, I can freely watch my favorite shows or movies at night without worrying about posting for the day; thinking of titles to fit the alphabet and topics and whatnot.  A lot of times I drooled in my keyboard.. that was really gross.

Now, it is going to be the first and last time that I will use this word.  Zingy.  It doesn't even sound appealing, but the streets of Singapore are.. especially that area where we waited for our bus going to Genting in Malaysia.

It rained that night.  It rained hard.  Each of us had umbrellas, but we had to walk a very long stretch of those streets I have no idea about under the rain.  I fucking hated it.  Then I learned that my brother hates rain as well, or maybe he just hated it because his socks were soaked, as well as their luggage.  They had one carrying around and his clothes were in there.

young and beautiful Unknown 12:13 AM

This young girl reminds me of some local celebrity.. a very young version of her.  I caught her running around our backs while we're resting from exploring the whole garden.. playing around.  Her dad was calling her while I was shooting her, so I backed away, but the little girl came back.  I think she liked being photographed. or maybe she just loves to play around.

Another young and beautiful is this young girl on her bike with her dad at her back keeping up with her.  I've shared this many times before but I just love this shot that much you might still find her in my future posts.

ultimate list: my take on street photography Unknown 10:39 PM

I was reminded again that taking other people's pictures is offensive in every angles, and that I might get into serious trouble if I continue doing that.  I appreciate the concern, I do, and I do take this advice very seriously, but I do this kind of photography very discreetly as well.  And when I was asked why I'm doing it, I replied "I don't know".  But what I do know is I enjoy doing it, I just don't know why.  Is that good reason enough?

And so here is my list of the most interesting shots I took in the streets of Singapore and Malaysia.  I could hardly call this my ultimate list though, I just need to create a title for U.

I've shared some of them before, like this shot of the biker girl, and the "celebrity chef" who posed beautifully in front of the Singapore Flyer, the lady in "tunnel of bloom", and that toasted under the sun Laneway Experience.

This girl who's pedaling hard to get away from her dad and join the love of her life is one of my most favorites and luckiest shots in my entire collection.  I took it in one of the streets in Singapore.

tunnel of bloom Unknown 3:16 PM

The tunnel of bloom is what I called this long walkway to the Gardens by the Bay.  It's a connection between the MRT and Gardens by the Bay.  You'll see a lot of flowers in there displayed on its wall lined with tall mirrors.  People started to pose in front of those wallpaper flowers and I can't resist shooting them as well, but I failed.

I continued to take their photos while walking; these people, they're just fascinating, and I was able to get a good shot of someone from my back.

My camera was processing the last shot it took, and a few seconds later, I saw my subject staring straight at my camera, or maybe at me for shooting her without permission.  She already had passed by me when I saw her face looking like I don't know if pissed.  But I seriously like this photo.

so many reflections Unknown 11:02 PM

So I was walking towards the Gardens by the Bay through this long walkway which I called "the tunnel of bloom", and I was admiring its flowery wall, watching people strike their favorite poses, checking every angles, showing their best smiles.. you know, for Facebook.  I tried to take their pictures but I failed.  They're not worth sharing.

And so I thought of shooting those who were chilling inside the tunnel instead.. those who were hanging out with their cellphones out.  And I came out with this.. 

recollecting the moment Unknown 9:30 PM

Do you remember the last time you hang out with your whole family in an amusement park?  I was in elementary, I think, grade 3 or 4 when we went to Boom na Boom.  It was huge then.  And that was our first and last time to hang out in an amusement park, as a whole family.  My father is not a fan of kiddie rides, he's more a beach or river or pool kind of man.

We had a lot of joyrides going to beaches in our relatives' provinces back then when he was still owning a taxi.  Yes, he was a taxi driver, and he named his taxi "kambal" or twins in english.. because we have twins in the family.

I don't know how to connect the intro with my topic, so maybe I'll just tell you that I caught a few family moments in Universal Studios which gave me the idea for that title.  I wasn't reminiscing, if that's what you're thinking.  I just think they all look cute and nice and warm and very nice and I'm glad I was able to shoot them and document their family moments.

Makansutra Gluttons Bay Unknown 8:48 PM

They said we must not leave Singapore without trying the chili crab in Makansutra Gluttons Bay, and satay at Satay by the Bay, and I was like "suuuuure, your treat?!" he chuckled, which kinda means, "in your dreams" "no, seriously, you must try it." he added.

My brother was our official tour guide/financier which he both performed perfectly well.  I actually still have to pay him.. hmm next month, I will.

He said the place gets crowded easily so we had to get there early to get a nice spot.  We found our spot and people started to occupy each table just a few moments after we ordered.

l-l-l-l-l-light show at Gardens by the Bay Unknown 10:12 PM

We witnessed a very beautiful, very colorful, very nice light show in Marina Bay last year, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a picture of it.. not one.  My camera always die whenever something as glamorous as a Marina Bay light show occurs in front of me.. something that is worth every picture in the universe.

But the universe was good to me when we visited the Gardens by the Bay.  We were about to exit when I heard a very calming voice giving a nice introduction to the show.  I stopped walking and started to take pictures.  I heard my brother calling me and telling me something like "this way" or "that way" but I ignored him.  I was on a mission, and I must at least get a picture or two.

I was joined by a hundred more people, pointing their fancy gadgets in the "huge flowers" (I'm sorry I don't think I'd be able to get over the huge flowers), I mean, the super trees.  I saw how pretty their shots are.  But I like mine.

invaders must die Unknown 8:37 PM

Universal Studios was invaded September last year by the not so unidentified object.  It wasn't flying but floating above a crowd of fans.. of StreetBoys' fans who were enjoying their every moves.

StreetBoys is a group of dancers from the Philippines, who were quite famous in the late 90s and early 2000s.  They broke up and moved on to different careers, I guess, but some of them continued their passion in dancing in Singapore.. in Universal Studios.  I thought I should tell you that because I mentioned their group and I do think they're great dancers.  Unfortunately though, their fans didn't notice that they're standing under a high-caliber flying saucer.. and they were about to die.

I think from the aliens' point of view, the people are the invaders, and they must die.

caught in the act Unknown 9:16 PM

I was walking under the huge flowers, looking for a beautiful, catchy scene.. well, I'm actually just randomly taking pictures of everyone that catches my interest, when I saw these guys (I don't know what they're doing, I just saw them sitting next to each other) and I caught that other guy peeking on the other guy's phone.  And I was like, "jackpot!"

This shot was originally blurred because I was meters away from them and I was walking.  I wish I could stop and take a few more shots, but they might catch me and I might end up running for my life.

biker girl be like Unknown 9:09 PM

I caught her in one of the streets in Singapore.. seriously pedaling away from her dad.  You can see it on her face.  I'm not making this up.

I love every angle of this shot.  I'm super lucky to catch her in the middle.  Her dad looking a bit concerned that his girl was being shot by a stranger and/or she might leave him behind, and run away with Roman.  I love the passion being shown in here.

Her legs might be shorter than her dad's, but her eagerness to win this race and finally reach that street to blend in with the other bikers and hold hands with Roman is her ultimate goal.. even just for a few moments away from her dad and finally with her love.

one festive night at River Hongbao Unknown 9:07 PM

I am not familiar with this festivity, but I liked it, and kind of planned to go there when I saw it from afar.  We were walking through the bay area when those colorful things (I had no idea what they were) caught my attention.  We decided to go there after eating at Makansutra.

The crowd was doubled as soon as the moon got up at around 8 o'clock in the evening.  It was still very weird for me to see the sun at 7:30 pm although Singapore and the Philippines share the same time zone.  I think I got used to it at the third or fourth week of my stay.

29 days later Unknown 2:45 AM

I saw the signs on the third week.  I already knew it's not going to work out, but I was still hoping that some miracle might happen.  I thought of a plan, an alternative solution.. it's not technically the right thing to do, but I took the risk.

First week.

I was ecstatic, I couldn't believe I was actually doing it.  I wasn't there to just sightsee, I was there to make a living.. to try to make a living.  The thought of residing in a foreign country excites me.

Whenever I visit places, I always try to blend in.  It's not that I don't want to look like a tourist, but, yeah, I actually don't want to look like a tourist but I always fail because no local would carry a digital camera around taking pictures of almost everything.. plus, no one's using a digital camera anymore, except for me.

hot loving sun at the Laneway Festival Unknown 11:30 PM

We might miss them!  Come on, walk faster!  Stop taking pictures!

Just kidding, I never said any of that.  I cannot say that to my friend, except for I was really worried that we might miss Cheats' set because they're the first to play and we still had to search for the venue.  I do understand, it's her first time to see the "huge flowers" but I think it was kind of obvious that I was kinda giving her that look, and she understood me too.. I guess.  I told her, "we'll go back here, some time.  We have a lot of time "yeeeessss".  But I was also tempted to take a shot.. it's really pretty, so why not?

you can cheat on me anytime! Unknown 12:13 AM

Shouted by one of the girls in the audience as we all dance and sing (partly) to Cheats' awesome awesome performance at the Laneway Festival in Singapore.  They're the first Filipino band to ever perform at Laneway, and they really earned it, and it was my first time to hear/see them perform live, and I'm glad I did.

I loved the energy and their songs I already loved the first time I heard them on radio.. because the dj who's also in the band play their songs all the time.. well, why not?

it's the sign Unknown 9:39 PM

As much as I love the title, I also love how these Chinese vendors thought of attracting Filipino tourists.  

We were in Bugis, our last stop in Singapore, and stopping by Bugis is a must.  

I never knew about this.  It was my friend who discovered it.  She did a lot of research, like how awesomely she does everything on our every tour, which is uh-mazing!

So we were in Bugis, and we only had a few minutes to explore and finally to decide what to bring home (gifts for family and friends and for ourselves, of course).  But I think we did stay for about an hour; scouring every stalls, marking those who give discounts, and finally those which have unique designs.  There was a lot of things to consider.

But I was fascinated by this stall which was owned by a Chinese man who was so friendly and very welcoming.  He let me take a picture of these signs.

daddy moment Unknown 11:31 AM

I'm linking up this cute daddy moment photo to Wordless Wednesday (although it's already Thursday) ..but they're not in any way related to me.. I just thought, a lovely moment like that must be documented, so I took a shot.  

I'm sorry, it's meant to be wordless, right?  :>

ponchos and 3D glasses Unknown 7:19 PM

We signed up for a bit of expensive mission; an extraordinary mission to work with robots, to work with the Autobots.  Yes, the Autobots.  We managed to get seats after waiting for the longest queue of our lives.. or maybe not, I just love to exaggerate.

It took us an hour and thirty minutes or more to finally get to our seats and try to accomplish the mission; to protect the allspark from the Decepticons.

It was a hell of a ride.  I almost flew out of the vehicle.. several times!  There was a lot of flying and jumping from the highest building then tumbling down, and I felt like my body would pull apart, and I was always gasping for air, and I lost my heart and everything inside me like how I lost them in The Xtreme Ride in EK but with this mission, it happened many times!.. but it was a lot of fun! and we sure were serious about our mission; to get out of there alive to protect the allspark.. aand to get out of there alive.

the dinosaur babies Unknown 8:50 PM

It was 35 - 40°C or more that day, and they found a way to cool it up.  There was an old woman who was a bit tempted to join the kids, and I was waiting for her to dip in, but I don't know what changed her mind.