Day 146 : Terminal 21 Bangkok

Bringing the world to Bangkok takes on a whole new meaning with Terminal 21 – a gorgeous lifestyle mall with an airport theme at the heart of the city’s Sukhumvit business district.

Bangkok may have no lack of swanky, glossy malls but the toilets alone make Terminal 21 a winner and a place definitely worth checking out. Or well, in this case, checking in!

View of Terminal 21 through the open roof of Asok BTS Station.

I wouldn’t have known about Terminal 21 if not for my Thai colleague, Jan, who brought me here for lunch. The poor gal has been working so hard on some of the projects I handle that I’m compelled to treat her to a good meal.

The mall has a different country theme for each level.

From London to San Francisco all in a matter of minutes.

A colourful constellation of Turkish lamps at the Istanbul level.

Great attention to detail and synergy in decor between Terminal 21′s developer and retail tenants.

I’ve never been to Japan but it seems I’ve seen the best part here at Terminal 21. Love the abundance of set pieces to pose with.

Even the toilets are elaborately and thematically dressed up. I can’t believe this is a passageway leading to the toilet!

I didn’t need the loo but I went to almost all the toilets and loitered around to take photos. I must’ve seem weird. But I wasn’t the only one. Heh heh…

Not into stuffed toys and animals, especially at my age where being seen with something cutesy like this is vomit inducing, but this hedgehog from the shop Anee Park is just too irresistable! So I departed with 250bht and brought back a piece of Terminal 21 with me.

I’m so glad to discover Terminal 21 during this Bangkok trip. Really love the strong concept and creativity in both the mall design and eclectic merchandise offered by the shopowners.

Generally, I’m not a big fan of retail therapy and find window shopping pointless. But Terminal 21 is definitely my gateway to becoming a shopping king!

Day 132 : The Birth That Birthed Me

It’s birthday cum Mother’s Day celebrations tonight at Lai Huat Restaurant (17, Upper East Coast Road, Crescendo Building) and we had such a blast. Mum never seems to grow old and she’s such a big kid when it comes to singing birthday songs! Haha.

Words cannot express how much I love you, mum. You’ve gone through many devastating hardships but you are never defeated. Thank you for showing me inner strength, diligence, compassion, empathy and kindness towards others.

Happy birthday and thank God for you. You are forever beautiful in my eyes

Happy Mother’s Day!

The most beautiful smiles in the world are the ones that make us laugh on the inside.

Love you lots and lots and lots!

Day 106 : MacRitchie Reservoir with Casio EX-ZR200

I posted in Day 054 that the generous folks at Casio Singapore had given a set of their latest innovation in digital compact camera, the Casio Exilim ZR200 (EX-ZR200) to use and keep. Since then, I’ve been taking photos on and off with it because I’m still using the Casio Exilim ZR100 won from a blogging contest.

Right up till now, almost all the photos in the FUNicating daily shot series have been taken with either EX-ZR100 or EX-ZR200. The cameras have become my handy companions and I seldom leave home without either one of them. Although I’ve been using the EX-ZR200 for some time, abett sparingly, I haven’t actually test-driven the camera and put it to use for different shooting situations.

I had wanted to take the camera for a good shoot-out but work had been crazy busy and the weather went cranky rainy of late. So today, blessed with good weather and a release from work, I took EX-ZR200 to MacRitchie Reservoir to see how well it performs for an outdoor cum sunset shoot. And here are the photos…

MacRitchie Reservoir was completed in 1868 and was originally known as the Impounding Reservoir of Thomson Reservoir. It was renamed in 1922 when it underwent expansion works by an engineer, James MacRitchie. Shot with EX-ZR200 P Mode.

When I was younger, I used to come to MacRitchie Reservoir for jogging. The reservoir and its surrounding park looks so much better now. Shot in P Mode.

The scenic reservoir attracts many joggers as well as photographers and families. Shot in HDR Mode.

Donut chains. Testing how the place looks in black and white. Shot in P Mode.

Shot in HDR Mode and converted to black and white in Photoshop.

Shot in Best Shot (BS) Scenery Mode.

Shot in High Speed Mode.

Shot in BS Scenery Mode.

After some scenic shots, I tested the camera on floral and fauna with the Macro Mode and I must say the camera does a really great job at capturing details.

Shot in BS Macro Mode.

Under the fronds of a BIrd's Nest Fern. Shot in BS Macro Mode.

A man and his accordion filled the air with a sort of county fair flavour. Shot in P Mode.

Though his tune was light, the uncle didn't seem happy. There was no joy in his melody. Maybe he's playing the favourite tune of his wife or loved one who has passed on. Shot in P Mode.

The iconic pavilion and a zig-zag bridge of MacRitchie Reservoir. Shot in P Mode.

Shot in BS Scenery Mode.

Like my nail polish? When I came to MacRitchie Reservoir, I said a prayer for good shots and I found this little fella on my T-shirt while crossing the zig-zag bridge. Thank God for sending me this beautiful subject! Shot in BS Super Macro Mode.

This Jumping Spider is so cute! Shot in BS Super Macro Mode.

What an unforgettable encounter. After some shots, I placed it amongst some bushes even though I was so tempted to bring it home. But that would be betraying the trust the spider had on me. Shot in BS Macro Mode.

Shot in HDR Mode.

Shot in P Mode.

Shot in BS Blurred Background Mode. One of the awesome settings EX-ZR200 comes with is the Blurred Background Mode when you can achieve DSLR quality photo of a sharp subject (be it a person or item) in the foreground and blurring out the background. Absolutely luuurrrvvvveeee this feature in the camera!

Reflection of sunset. Shot in HDR Mode.

Shot in BS Sunset Mode.

Shot in BS Sunset Mode.

Shot in BS Sunset Mode.

Shot in HDR Mode.

Shot in HDR Mode.

Shot in HDR-ART Mode.

As you can see from the modes I’ve been using, P Mode and HDR Mode turn up tops (if you are unfamiliar with HDR imaging, click here to find out what it is). The camera is so intelligent, it automatically selects the mode and settings to get a great shot regardless of the shooting requirement. That’s one of the improvement EX-ZR200 have over EX-ZR100. The former activates the HDR Mode automatically so long as it detects a need for it when shooting in P Mode. With EX-ZR100, I had to turn on the HDR Mode manually.

The other feature I really like is the Blurred Background Mode. It’s really amazing to get DSLR quality effect with just a small compact camera. However, the Blurred Background Mode needs a certain technique in capturing images to get the effect. There were some photos I took in that mode but the camera wasn’t able to process it.

Apart from those features, what I also like about the EX-ZR200 is its start-up time when turning on the camera. It’s super fast!

Overall, I think the EX-ZR200 is an easy-to-use digital compact camera with good imaging capabilities and useful shooting modes pre-programmed for all kinds of photographic situations.

All photos in this post has gone through minor Photoshop post-processing such as Shadow/Highlight adjustments, Brightness and Contrast, Colour Saturation, and Sharpness. I do these to all my photos regardless of what camera I used. I consider that as make-up for the photos… just like how pretty girls can enhance their beauty further with some mascara, powder and rouge.

If you’re thinking about getting a compact camera, consider Casio Exilim ZR200. It’s a really smart gadget that idiot proofs idiot-proof cameras!