Lizard on the window

Wouldn't it be great if that was the Supermoon in the background?! Unfortunately it was just a street lamp. Not only do I share a house with my wife and children, but a family of lizards (known as geckos) also roam around at night.

Top Ten Photos of 2011

Hello and welcome to Kuantan for my top ten photos of the year review. You may remember some of them from earlier posts. I had around 30 pictures, all of which could have featured in the top ten, but after much consideration, these are the best of the best.

10. At number ten is a hanging bridge over Lembing River, in the quiet town of Sungai Lembing. My wife, Lauren, and a friend stand midway down the bridge.

9. In at nine is this hot photo from Bukit Sekilau. Children stand in front of the raging fire as the fire crew make their way to the scene.

8. In eighth position is this lovely perspective picture of a road bridge in Singapore overlooking Marina Bay.

7. At seven is this picture of Lauren and her aunty Urai surrounded by sun, sea and sand at Damai beach, near Kuching.

6. This abstract image makes sixth spot. A torchlight shines down on a diamond to create this light show on the wall.

5. From the 18th floor of Park Seven condo, I captured the raindrops on the window, with the iconic Twin Towers in the background.

4. In fourth slot is this lovely yellow flower. It wasn't until I reviewed the image later that I noticed one bug homing in on another sitting on the flower.

3. In third place is this fascinating image of 'the smiling gecko'. After spending half an hour getting him out of the kitchen, we got him to the balcony on a Cornflakes box, where he smiled for a photo!

2. Second prize goes to these two flies on an orchid branch, copulating fully oblivious to my lens. I held a piece of white paper behind them for focusing purposes, whilst snapping the picture with the other hand.

1. My best picture of 2011 is undoubtedly this night scene of Marina Bay, Singapore, from the wobbly Helix bridge. It was dark, I was tired, the suspension bridge was bobbing up and down, but the picture came out crystal clear.

Which photo did you like the best? Would you have chosen a different number one?!

Top Posts of 2011

I accomplished many things in 2011 which I'm delighted with and will continue through 2012.

I don't usually group things according to year, including new year's resolutions, which I strongly believe don't work. (If you're going to start something, do it NOW, don't wait for the new year!)

Anyway, seeing as blogging and posting are done according to calendar dates, I'm going to share with you some of my favourite posts of the year, as I look back on many good times we've had. Today's first part covers September - December 2011.

1. We were greatly looking forward to visiting KL in November of 2011, and I wasn't disappointed by the majesty of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers which I photographed from a number of angles, in the sun, rain, and at night. It has to be said that they look marvellous in every circumstance!

2. I loved sharing the wonderful pictures of a gecko we eventually captured in our kitchen in A Gecko Encounter. The "smiling gecko" has become one of my most favourite photos of all time!

3. In October 2011 we travelled to Kuching with our children to be present at my sister-in-law's wedding reception. We had a great time visiting Kuching for the first time since 2006 when Fidelia and I registered our own marriage. 

4. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall is a brilliant attraction in Kuantan. I happened to be there on the most splendid day, bathed in hot sunshine, making it perfect conditions for some beautiful photos. This buddha became a favourite image of a number of my readers:

5. We had a great time staying in the large, spacious rooms of M. S. Garden Hotel in September 2011.

6. We also enjoyed our stay at Vistana Hotel and becoming good friends with Wayne, the HM. Their suite is beautiful and we were given every generous courtesy during our stay there.

7. Meeting Blog Followers was a great post because it was so good to meet those people who read my blog online, in reality!

Tomorrow I'll be featuring posts from May - August 2011 . . .

A gecko encounter

My wife is terrified of geckos, which belong to the lizard family. We had a gecko in our kitchen recently and we had a lot of trouble trying to get it out the house. Here is our struggle in pictures:

Look at the remarkable suction power of its feet!

I scooped up the gecko with a cornflakes box but it tried to escape...

So I carefully moved the cornflakes box outside to the balcony...

Then the gecko gladly posed for a beautiful picture!

With some gentle persuasion, the gecko crawled over the edge of the balcony

The gecko attempted to crawl back up the wall...

But it fell off.

Well,

I sprayed water on it and it fell!

The gecko was remarkably fine and soon crawled off somewhere!

CPB members, vote for my photos here