Taipei’s Shilin night markets

On 13 February 20147 July 2017 By sheeplessIn Food Explorations, TaiwanLeave a comment

On our recent trip to Japan, we stopped over in Taipei for a night of feasting at the famous Shilin night markets. The markets first opened in 1899 and has a huge variety of delicious Taiwanese street food and snacks. During the day, the streets are empty and quiet, devoid of food carts, but come nighttime, it’s jam-packed with hungry people throughout the night.

Giant spring rolls made fresh to order

Pork buns baked on the wall of a clay oven

Taiwan’s famous giant fried chicken

Sampling Taiwan’s famous giant fried chicken

Fried cheesy potato dumpling stall

Cheesy potato dumpling smothered with sauce and scallops

Shrimp balls with pineapple and mayonnaise

Sausages with your choice of filling!

Sausages with your choice of filling!

Chicken sausage wrapped with chicken skin – amazing!

Shilin night markets, Taipei

A country still at war

On 21 December 201321 December 2013 By sheeplessIn South KoreaLeave a comment

With South Korea and its northern neighbour still technically at war, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border of these two countries is a really fascinating visit.

On one of my trips to South Korea a few years back, I joined a tour to check out the DMZ to see the stand off between the two Koreas. We were taken around on a guided tour of the Joint Security Area and the Freedom House, where delegates from the two countries have met for talks. Soldiers from the Republic of Korea (as South Korea is technically known) stand stiffly without cracking any hint of emotion. The border between the North and the South runs straight through the centre of the building.

Outside, ROK soldiers stand on guard, half exposed and half hidden while facing their northern counterparts.

These are some of my favourite photos of my South Korean trips, including the walled city of Suwon, Namsangol traditional houses, and Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Namdaemun

War Memorial of Korea

Namsangol traditional village

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Street food of Seoul

DMZ soldier

DMZ

DMZ Bridge of No Return

Suwon

Traditional Korean shoes

Weaver

Changing of the guard

Fireworks over Sydney harbour

On 31 October 201311 December 2013 By sheeplessIn Happenings & MusingsLeave a comment

Earlier this month, Sydney Harbour hosted naval boats from all around the world as part of the Royal Australian Navy’s International Fleet Review. The event was held to commemorate the centenary of the Navy’s first arrival into Sydney Harbour, and thousands of people flocked to vantage points all around the harbour to see the boats sailing in through the heads.

On one of the final nights, a spectacular fireworks show was staged, with several barges in the harbour setting off simultaneous displays of colourful sparks. I am biased of course, but I truly believe that there is no better backdrop for fireworks than Sydney Harbour.

It was my first time trying to photograph fireworks, and after doing a little bit of research, I knew that I needed a sturdy tripod and an exposure of around 1 to 2 seconds. Another article mentioned focusing manually, since the automatic focus would find it very difficult to find a focus point.

The result was a lot of duds, some of which were over-exposed at first before I pulled back the shutter speed. Others were poorly timed with the setting off of the fireworks, so I didn’t capture the full explosions. Many weren’t quite as sharp as I’d like. It’s rather difficult trying to manually focus through a tiny little view finder!

These were some of the better ones.

After around half an hour of fireworks display, the air was thick with smoke, but it beautifully reflected the colours in the air.

Sydney puts on a good show, doesn’t it?

Vivid Sydney’s festival of lights

On 11 June 201321 November 2013 By sheeplessIn Happenings & MusingsLeave a comment

After a few years regrettably missing Vivid Sydney, this time I made a concerted effort to check out this year’s transformation of Sydney’s iconic buildings into canvases for lights and art. [Working out in the suburbs, rather than the city, means that this sort of stuff requires a special effort!]

With nice balmy evenings and a festival vibe not far off new years eve, it was good fun wandering around and checking out some of the light/art installations dotted around Circular Quay and the Rocks. Many of them required audience interaction, and the lights would dance to human movement.

The event was truly a photographer’s paradise, and I joined many others with their big tripods jostling for a good position to capture the spectacular light displays.