Permanent Shutdown

 

This site is officially shutting down.   

From now on, all photos and updates will be posted at

My Friend Sun Jun's Photography Blog.

See you there!

Laduree is the Best! (Paris, France)

Laduree Pastries are the Best!

When in Paris, never miss out on Laduree!  Try their macaroons and other pastries.  They are one of bests in the world!  Dining at their restaurant was also a pleasant experience.  ^^  Just be prepared to spend a little more. ^^

Travelling in Style

Travelling in Style

I just love how this picture turned out.  It's as if I was walking on a runway. ^^

Bangkok Airport (In transit to Charles de Gaulle Airport)

February 2009

Overlooking Paris

 

Overlooking Paris City

View from the Eiffel Tower.

February 2009

Kayangan Lake (Coron, Palawan)

Kayangan Glory!

Kayangan Lake Coron, Palawan

Magnificent rock formations inside the lake with little fish *teasers* all around!  The entrance to the lake, shown as the last picture in the series, is just postcard perfect!

More about Coron, Palawan

Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary

Pictures of deers and giraffes at the Calauit Wildlife Sanctuary in Coron, Palawan.

The sanctuary experience was better than I expected it to be, which was a lovely surprise! I actually enjoyed the experience. The place has a lot of potential. Hopefully it will be developed further to maximize the SAFARI experience. Beautiful! Lovely! (Watching too much British programs lately hehehe ^^)

How to go to Coron, Palawan

The Long and Winding Road

The road is still very long and winding. But I'm starting to like it!
How about you? Would you rather have it straight and forward or long and winding? (^o^)/
Life is good.

Kiss My Zebra A**!!

Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary

January 4, 2008
Calauit, Coron, Palawan

Kiss my Zebra A@!

These zebras won't let you anywhere near them. They turn their backs once you get around 20 meters from them. (^o^)/ Click this link for more pictures.

Club Paradise Resort (Coron, Palawan)

Club Paradise Resort
Coron, Palawan
January 3, 2009

Club Paradise Resort Review here.

Jose Rizal in Chinese Museum

December 2008

Chin Kang, China

Who would have thought of seeing the Philippines' National Hero, Jose Rizal, in China. I never thought I would, so when I saw his portrait in one of the museums I had my picture taken with him right away. It turns out that he was a native from Jinjiang province. His portrait came with the following description:

Jose P. Rizal (1861-1896), native of Jinjiang, was the leader of the national independent movement of the Philippines, an author, poet, PhD of medicine. He was killed by the Spanish colonist authority, for his poems exposing the crime of Spanish colonization, his organization of the Union of the Philippines and leading the civil revolution of the Philippines. He was honored to be the Chief Hero and Father of the Nation after the independence of the Philippines.

Queen Productions

A Queen clad in Kimono
(Sushi Food Design as part of our Kaiseki course in Kyoto)
February 2008

I got tagged ... something about boosting my technorati rating. I haven't even checked my technorati rating but a part of me just wants to give back so here it is. ^^

presenting a meme from the queen’s production:

Is your Technorati number a goner? Then in the spirit of 8 of 2008, let’s see if we could bring it back to life! I have randomly selected 8 bloggers below. Publish this post in your blog and tag 8 other bloggers by simply adding them on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes let’s hope a long list!) It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! And what are the benefits of Viral Linking?

- One of the fastest ways to see your Technorati Authority explode!;
- Increase your Google PageRank fast;
- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site.
- Build your community
- Make new friends!

And these are the people who already took part on this tag:

Reyna Elena, Bluep, Kotsengkuba, Jojitah, Pusa, Malen, YoungCanCook, Chuva, Kengkay , Max Female Beauty, Ely, Manilenya, Vanidosa, Repah, The Pinoy Entrepreneur, Rhapsody, Sherliz, Fortuitous Faery, Bisdak Babbles, Princess Ody, Gingmaganda, GMirage, Celia Kusinera, LittleMsFirefly, Shiela , Idel, Levian, Elaine, Stephen, Lizeth, Rey Ian, Sam, Oni, Sunjun finance, Joan, Cating, Ceblogger, ellecul, Romsil, Parkmall Cebu, Freeze, Beej & Benj.

Thai Souvenir?

June 5, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

These are silver and gold coated Buddha images. They are only around 1.5 inch in length. We found these outside a temple on a circular plate below a statue (I think of Buddha as well). We didn't know what they were ... are these souvenirs that people can take? I really don't know. They looked, though, more like offerings.

I can't find where mine is now. hehehe (^O^)v

Fish balls ala Thailand

June 5, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

Don't they look delicious?! Classic fish balls with a twist! When in Thailand, everything seems to be dipped in their very own sweet and sour chili sauce or cooked in coconut cream. I just love their food!

Spot the T-Shirt

Photo Blog: Goofing Around in Thailand
(Bang Pa-In Summer Palace)

How did my shirt get up there?! (^O^)v

When a group of friends travel together, seldom do we see a group shot with everyone in the picture. In order to get one, one has to rely on the generosity of a stranger to take the picture for the group. Well, there was nobody passing by the bridge where we wanted our photo taken during that time and I didn't want to be left out in the picture and so I thought what a great idea it would be for the statue to be holding my shirt! Relaying this to my companions, they also thought that it would be great and I got challenged right off the bat. I'm not the kind to shy away and back off from these kind of challenges, and so I hastily took off my shirt, threw it in the statue's arms and took the photo of my friends, with the statue, holding my shirt, and a palace in the background.

It was a year ago when a friend and I made a pact to travel to Bangkok together. However, she was still working in Japan back then and I was stationed in Davao (Philippines) so it was quite hard to plan the trip. Then early summer this year, an NFF from business school expressed her plans of wanting to take a break from work and take a vacation with a friend returning from the US, in Bangkok. It so happened that my friend, who I made the pact with, was back from Japan as well. And so I asked if we could join her and her friend on this trip. She invigoratingly said "yes" and as we say the rest is history. (Planning it though was very difficult. We almost didn't get ticket reservations.)

During the trip, it was surprising to see that all of us just clicked! If you take a look at our pictures (set 1, set 2, set 3) you would think that we coordinated our outfits! First day we were all in yellows, matching the saffron robes of the Thai monks. Second day, half of us were in greens and the other half in whites. Third day, half of us in yellows and the other half in light blues. Fourth day, half of us in whites and the other half in greens! And add to the fact that we were switching T-shirt partners everyday! That was truly hilarious. Both of my friends, who didn't know each other before the trip, actually got along really well and were beginning to chat incessantly by the end of the trip. (Talking about me and my life, I suppose) And surprisingly too, I got along with my friend's friend especially when it comes to composing and taking pictures. We were both very particular with how we wanted our pictures taken to the ire of our companions! hehehe (^O^)v

Originally, I actually proposed to have the statue wear my shirt. That way it would really resemble me. However, i got scared considering that we were in a different country and a lot of security personnel were roaming the area. Who knows what punishments there are for disfiguring a statue right? (Not to mention being half naked in public! hahaha) (In another palace, The Grand Palace in Bangkok, a guard actually stopped me from climbing a balcony where I wanted my picture taken! But he didn't stop my friend who was just a couple of balconies away! Girls always get special treatment. Or was it just the powers of my friend at work? ... hmmmm)

Taking funny or "funky pictures", as we coin them, has definitely become an IN thing here in the Philippines. Even in serious events like weddings, funky pictures are in the mainstream already. It has become a necessity for my travels as well. Not only does it give variety and excitement to my pictures but more importantly it gives the group a moment of bonding and leaves us with a picture that "talks back" even after years to come.


For more of the adventures and misadventures of Sunjun click here.

Kittens!

May 2-5, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

Here are pictures of lovely kittens! ... Nah, they're more like adult cats already. hehehe ^^ But ain't this picture lovely?! I found them lying around the ground, along the streets in the temples in Bangkok, where a lot of tourists actually pass by. I wonder how they can afford to be so calm and stress-free when anytime, an unsuspecting tourist with 10-inch shoes, or worst a girl in heels, could step on them anytime.

We used to have cats at our previous home, stray cats that is, but we never shoo them away. They keep the mice from coming and they don't hurt us anyway. They can be awesome playmates at times as well. I remember the first time I got hold of paint and brushes, I experimented it with them! I wanted them to look like Zebras so I tried painting stripes on their bodies. However, I regretted what I did the following day, as where the paint stripes were supposed to be were now replaced with bare skin. Apparently, the oil-based paint burnt the cats' furs away. I know it was cruel of me to do so, I've learned my lesson. After that, playing with them was reduced to chasing them across the balcony or trying to surprise them and scare them away. ^^ I also remember the day when our neighbor brought a dog home. And just like that, all the cats (more than 10 of them) were gone in an instant. hehehe (^O^)v

These pictures remind me of life in Davao, my hometown. Everything is just so calm, relax, and stress-free. That is the life I want for myself. I do want to be successful and to be financially free (having no debts, and having enough money where you don't have to worry about not having it for the future) and yet still live a peaceful, satisfying, grateful, stress-free , laid-back, simple, and happy life.

Sports Action: Aviva Badminton Open

AVIVA SINGAPORE OPEN
JUNE 13-15, 2008
Singapore Indoor Stadium



Jubilation in Victory, Sadness in Defeat

The Malaysian pair won over the Chinese pair. Xie Zhongbo (China) shown in the picture with his head bowed.

Joachim Persson in Action

My Canon 350D is not fast enough for sports photography but I got lucky and got a clear shot of Persson (above) hitting an overhead shot. I was so envious of the faster cameras the Pros were using. One click and their shutters would fire away like machine guns! But my new lens (Sigma OS 18-200mm) came in handy as I was shooting from the stands. How can I get better shots?

SEH-MON!

Simon Santoso is Indonesia's up and coming badminton star. At 22 years old, he is already one of Indonesia's best hopes for an olympic medal in Beijing. He was runner up at the Aviva Singapore Open 2008 starting off really well against Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, but the more experienced Chong Wei ran off with the match in the second set. His name is pronounced by his fans as SEH-MON as opposed to the more popular pronounciation of SAHY-MON. I like the way he plays! Hopefully I can see him more on TV so I can imitate his game ^^

Sexy Sunsets

June 8, 2008
Boracay Island, Philippines

My second to the last hurrah before grad classes start again. The last time I was in Boracay was 10 years ago with college friends. The place has changed a lot! It now tops my list of beach getaways. See my teasers here.

Mystery of the Headless Statues

May 5, 2008
Wat Mahatat, Ayutthaya (Thailand)

Scattered all over the ruins are countless numbers of headless buddha statues. What happened to all these statues? Where they ruined during a war? Stolen? Purposedly taken by the care takers (Possibly to highlight the head in the tree)?

Looking at the picture closely, and while editing it, I swear I saw a silhouette of a head and an arm......

Trivia: A sign on the entrance depicts that standing behind the statue and taking a picture with your head as replacement is prohibited. (but we all love to do what is prohibited right? hehehe)

Picture also edited using fake HDR technique then followed by Orton effect.

Saffron Robes

Ayutthaya, Thailand
May 5, 2008

First picture is a beautiful painting being sold in a souvenir shop near Wat Pho. Since I couldn't afford it, I just took a photo of it and planned to have it printed.

Second shot is my take on the first photo. While walking along the ruins in Ayutthaya, I saw a group of monks walking away, since I didn't have that much time to spare I just snapped away whatever was infront of me. Post processed the photo using Fake HDR technique and applied the Orton effect, making it appear more like a painting, which I learned/heard from my friend Ken.

Exotic in Tuktuk

May 4, 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

My Tang-O striking a post with Texan cowboys (they said it, not us) in a tuk-tuk outside the Grand Palace during our Bangkok get-away! After taking the shot, we joked around and speculated how these european guys may have felt hitting the jackpot scoring a picture with an exotic thai girl and that they might be posting this shot somewhere in the internet already as well (photoshop-ed already if you know what i mean). hihihi ^^

Hopefully this will be an annual thing. ^^ I had fun travelling with you guys! Sa uulitin ('til next time)!