Angelos @ Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

Formerly known as M.S. Garden Hotel, the Grand Darulmakmur Hotel has undergone a renovation and now looks much improved. We stopped by Angelos, the restaurant on the Ground Floor lobby, for a bite to eat for lunch.

Angelos at Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

The sweeping windows allowed a lot of light to burst into the restaurant and provided for a very open and clean atmosphere.

Angelos @ Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

Family picture while waiting for our food at Angelos @ Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

Leah was amazed with her tall milkshake at Angelos @ Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

Lauren tucking in to her fish and chips at Angelos @ Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

Fish and chips, Angelos, Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

My  burger meal at Angelos, Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

Noodles dish, Angelos, Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan

A view of the lobby at Grand Darulmakmur Hotel, Kuantan. Angelos is on the left of this picture

Angelos is definitely worth a try. We also like coming here now and again for their great dim sum buffet in the mornings.

Lauren's Gymnastics Competition, Perlis, April 2017

Lauren is doing rather well with her rhythmic gymnastics. Her latest competition was held all the way up north in Perlis. Fidelia went with Lauren while I stayed in Kuantan with Leah.

Lauren with her medals

Lauren with other members of the Pahang team

Lauren with Tiffany, Aleesya and Coach Ros

Pahang RG team

It's really cool that my daughter is representing Pahang and enjoying what she's doing. At the same time, we know that of she gets really good at it, she may need to leave home and train in KL at 13 years old. But I don't think we are ready for that yet. For now, we just love that she is doing well and loving her gymnastics!

"Z" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "Z"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "Z"?

"Y" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "Y"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "Y"?

"X" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "X"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "X"?

"W" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "W"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "W"?

"V" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "V"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "V"?

"U" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "U"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "U"?

"T" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "T"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "T"?

"S" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "S" but it turned out a bit cheesy! Oh well, enjoy the alliteration...

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "S"?

"R" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "R"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "R"?

"Q" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "Q"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "Q"?

"P" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "P"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "P"?

"O" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "O"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "O"?

"N" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "N"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "N"?

"M" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "M"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "M"?

"L" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "L"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "L"?

"K" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "K"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "K"?

"J" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "J"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "J"?

"I" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "I" and a fun little skit with Lauren!

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "I"?

"H" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "H" and a Harry Potter special!

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "H"?

"G" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "G"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "G"?

"F" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "F"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "F"?

"E" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "E"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "E"?

"D" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "D"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "D"?

"C" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "C"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "C"?

"B" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "B"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "B"?

"A" post - Absolutely Amazing Alliteration

This is one post in a series of 26 where I go through the alphabet in an orgy of alliteration as part of the A-Z April Blogging Challenge for 2017. 

I have made a collection of videos of alliteration in a sentence, starting with each letter of the alphabet. Today is "A"

Drop me a comment and follow me on youtube if you like what you saw. Can you alliterate a sentence beginning with "A"?

Kuantan City Mall construction progress FEBRUARY 2017 (part 10)

I have been following the construction of Kuantan City Mall for quite some time now. This is the year that Kuantan City Mall is scheduled for completion so it has become a whole lot more exciting for Kuantan folk! It is taking shape now.

Here is my latest video of the construction progress of Kuantan City Mall:

Top 10 Photos of 2016

2016 was another good year for photography with a number of great shots to choose from. 70% of my photos in the top 10 were taken with my iphone 5s as I made the transition from carrying around my bulky DSLR to using the convenience of the iphone. The iphone camera produces best results outdoors in the natural light and a few of my top 10 were taken in those precise conditions.

#10

We stayed at Laman Sentosa Boutique Hotel Kuantan in October and had a great time there. The children went for a dip in the pool and I naturally looked for photograph opportunities. The abstract image I came up with is a view of falling water. There was a little waterfall at the pool so I walked behind it, took some videos and pictures, and was delighted to come up with this highly artistic shot! (iphone)

#9

I love being at the beach. Sometimes it is a simple image that can endure long in the memory, like this birds eye view of seashells taken at Batu Hitam, Kuantan. (DSLR)

#8

It was indoors with artificial lighting, which is not my preference for good iphone photography, but it is the content and not the quality that gets this one into the Top 10. My wife and her four sisters are the subject for this shot that I captured crouching down and to the right of centre. Sometimes a change from the regular angle makes a difference. We were in Kuching attending our cousin's wedding on this occasion. (iphone)

#7

Welcome to Pavilion shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! As you can see from this viewpoint I shot, it was all decked out in lavish Christmas decorative elements when we went there in December 2016. The two-tier carousel was provided by Swarovski and contained a world-first 3 million crystals, embedded in the floor, horses and everywhere. We queued for a long time and were grateful that we did because it was a great ride! (DSLR)

#6

One of my favourite photos of the year! My two girls with their favourite aunty. Aunty Urai determined to do a photoshoot with them before she went back to Kuching, and we took a load of really lovely photos. For some reason, I am drawn to this one above the others. I just think it's very cute! (iphone)

#5

The only tussle with in-flight photography is ensuring the camera focuses on the outside landscape and not on the plane window. Once it does that properly, you are good to shoot some fantastic images. This picture is part of the Kuala Lumpur landscape just minutes after take-off from KLIA during our short hop back to Kuantan. (iphone)

#4

I love this atmospheric shot which is full of texture. It takes me right back to the moment it was shot! There was a storm brewing up and the humid heat had turned into a cooler breeze with spots of rain. I like the fact that there are people walking on the beach, sandwiched in between the fierce storm clouds and the plants in the foreground. I literally spent about 10 minutes out on the beach snapping photos of the weather system before I had to take cover. (iphone)

#3

The sunrise on our 6:30am flight from Kuantan to KLIA. It is thrilling watching the sunrise and sunset on an airplane. You get a whole different view to the one from the ground. On this particular morning, there was a splendid mixture of grey, silver and white wispy clouds punctured by the blazing yellows, oranges and reds of the rising sun. It was just a 30-minute hop but I spent near enough the whole half hour snapping pictures out the window. (iphone)

#2

This lady has featured prominently in almost all of my yearly Top 10 photos. It's easy to see why. Florina is a natural model and the camera loves her. More perfect settings at the beach half an hour down the road from Kuantan. Storm clouds beginning to whip up, lots of natural light, and slightly cooler-than-usual temperatures. Florina and I wanted to make the most of these favourable conditions and I took a couple of dozen pictures and videos in a 10-minute spell. There were a lot of good results but this one was as close to perfect as I have ever taken with my iphone. Thanks to my sister Florina for her flash and eager modelling skills! (iphone)

#1

So my top photo of 2016 is this magnificent family photo (Malaysian side) we took at the Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching near the end of 2016. Since we all live in various parts of Malaysia, it is always a highlight when we are all together once or twice a year. We had booked 3 rooms to accommodate us all, but upon check-in, we learned that the hotel had overbooked and didn't have enough rooms for us all, so out of the goodness of their hearts, they gave us the one and only PENTHOUSE in the entire hotel! You can imagine, we ran around in a state of joyful panic exploring every inch of the two-floor suite we were given! Taking a family photo in the grand living room was at the top of our list and this was taken right before we attended the wedding ceremony of our cousin. It is not the sharpest due to the low light, but it sure is our overwhelming favourite!

That's a wrap for 2016. Looking forward for more photography adventures in 2017!