Digital View Finder

From Food

Another short notice came to me yesterday.

Friend says, “tonight we’ll have dinner in A’s place.”
Me, “ok, I’ll bring dessert.” I added, “what’s the occasion? Housewarming?”
A says, “nope, welcoming Sodexo in the campus!”
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My bubble, do I still have enough ingredients at home… *smiling*
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The result…. choco fudge topped with ground almonds =)
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I love short notices sometimes. As it brings out the creativity *kuno* in me. Below is how I arranged it in the container. I inserted few gummy treats for the young at hearts.

From Food

From travel

It is nice to call for change, perhaps I could also express it on my photos.

During my short trip in Kanchanaburi, fellow newbies tried their first elephant ride but I hesitated. The Sai Yok Elephant Farm was one of our destinations. I can see that their pets have been properly fed and cleaned yet I can’t bear riding on their backs for fun. It was cool watching them trek the slopes and managed not to slip. Some of the younger brood were trained to do the stunts for entertainment that left the tourist in awe. I wonder how life would be for them if they live freely in the wild.

From Food

Top left -Nam Tok Moo (like pork jerky); Top right – Pla Neung Manaw (Fish with lemon and herbs) Down left- Pla Dok Foo (Fried catfish with peanuts and shredded green mangoes); Down right- Kai Nga (chicken drumsticks with sesame seeds)

Food. Isan (northeast of Thailand) food served in West End Park. All of these satisfied my palate during lunch as I joined my usual lunch buddies as we celebrated our friend’s birthday. I normally don’t take colas or sodas every after meal but during this time I really have to for the sake of digestion.

If I’m not mistaken it was the first time that we had a complete attendance of the group. It feels great to share meals with good company of friends. Our laughter echoed the hood.

From event

Hmmm. I look fat now. Oops! I’d probably reverse that. Thank God I look healthy now.

From travel

Overlooking the Death Railway, Kanchanaburi. Photo credits to Techxplore

Travel. I kept hearing the tale about the Death Railway in River Kwai (pronounced as kwe) from friends who have gone to see this legacy. I saw pictures of it on postcards and travel magazines and dreamed of seeing it one day. Last Saturday, it was by invitation that I chanced to finally witness the historical bridge.

A bit of history…

In 1943 thousands of Allied Prisoners of War ( PoW ) and Asian laborers worked on the Death Railway under the imperial Japanese army in order to construct part of the 415 km long Burma-Thailand railway. Most of these men were Australians, Dutch and British and they had been working steadily southwards from Thanbyuzayat (Burma) to link with other PoW on the Thai side of the railway. This railway was intended to move men and supplies to the Burmese front where the Japanese were fighting the British. Japanese army engineers selected the route which traversed deep valleys and hills.

All the heavy work was done manually either by hand or by elephant as earth moving equipment was not available. The railway line originally ran within 50 meters of the Three Pagodas Pass which marks nowadays the border to Burma. However after the war the entire railway was removed and sold as it was deemed unsafe and politically undesirable. The prisoners lived in squalor with a near starvation diet.

They were subjected to captor brutality and thus thousands perished. The men worked from dawn until after dark and often had to trudge many kilometers through the jungle to return to base camp where Allied doctors tended the injured and diseased hence many died. After the war the dead were collectively reburied in the War Cemeteries and will remain forever witness to a brutal and tragic ordeal.

Nowadays tourists and locals flocked this area for site seeing and reminiscing the past– not much Japanese tourists were there that day. Floating restaurants have made it look commercialized, it’s as if you are along Chao Phraya River in Bangkok.

It isn’t that spectacular sight though, yet the story behind is what makes it grand. People set foot on the bridge where the train actually passes. You just have to stay at the side rail when you see it coming right after you. Good thing hubby was there, the height problem never bothered me at all. I felt secured that somebody’s watching my back most of the time.

Under the bridge you may opt to explore the river by paying 100 Baht/person on a motorboat. There were alot of Burmese migrant workers that are trying to earn a living in that area. They either sell fruits, postcards, toys and lottery tickets.

Thank God it never rained that day. I was able to do a little experiment with Canon 500D while being on my acquaintance stage whereas Tony have adjusted quite well with Nikon D40X. Our bonding made it more special as we have something to do in common. Taking photography as hobby and with your hubby doubles the fun.

Road leading to Ayothaya/Ayuttaya Province.

Travel. The beauty of the world and the freedom that comes with traveling is just too good not to let it pass.   I’ll be hitting the road with friends on a day tour to Kanchanaburi this Saturday.  It has been awhile that I haven’t gone to new places. I would love to observe fellow beings live their day to day life, discover new places and savor whatever attracts me.

What do I expect? I’ve been wishing to get a glimpse of River Kwai Bridge also referred to as the Death Railway, visit museums, and treat myself with their local delicacy.  I’m not that excited yet.  If I gauge it to 5, it is still on level 1.

Perhaps I am that person that’s hard to convince (when not interested) but easy to understand. If you try to sell me an idea just make sure that it’s guaranteed beneficial and practical in different aspects. Otherwise I won’t buy it.

Reunion. This coming August, my batch is organizing a reunion in Bacolod. For now I am weighing the pros and cons of traveling. Will it benefit me and others? Or is it practical to travel this time? I do wish to see, hug, talk to friends day & night and of course capture that happy moment. If only I have the courage to do it. I pray I could. Part of me wants to go and part of me wants to remain. The thing this, my work isn’t permanent yet and taking a leave this early might jeopardize any plans.

Photography. Between Canon and Nikon, I am faced with few dilemmas recently. I have taken a bold step by acquiring Rebel T1i without doing my assignments beforehand. I’m still bothered by the image quality of only 72 DPI compared to Nikon’s 300 DPI or the pixel resolution if you open it in Photoshop. As you know I’m not a big fan of RAW image. Canon’s battery also drains faster and SD cards could not be opened automatically in any computer. I wonder why. I hope Canon users will enlighten me of its advantages. Or better consult a Photoshop expert first before I finally trade it back to Nikon.

Help!