Ons Huisie

When I say South Africa has spectacular scenery, I'm not kidding at all, you see. Just look at the sunset!  Just to let you know, this is an extremely overdue post, it was the last dinner we had in Cape Town, which was already 2 weeks ago. The next morning we left to a much smaller town called Swellendam. (well, not like you know where it is :P) It also means that it was the last day we stayed with Beverly, our second host mom. She decided to bring us to this restaurant near a beach called Ons Huisie, that means "Our Home" if I'm not mistaken. Amazing ambience. In the photos it might look warm, but Shanni and I were actually freezing because of the strong wind. (we're too used to hot weather sigh)

Snook is a very popular fish they have in South Africa and I was having a snook salad, hmm it's so goooood! Shanni was having her favourite fish & chips, which is also the most famous dish of the restaurant. It was a great day, we just sat there and chatted the night away before we went back home to pack to leave the next day. I'm so gonna miss this city and the people here.

Table Mountain

Finally I'm able to post this up! I always try to edit the photos soon after I come back from each trip but I wasn't able to type or get online all the time to post them up. So finally, this post on the famous Table Mountain is here!

The cable cars going up to the mountain were closed the past few days due to the strong strong wind, so when we checked online in the morning and saw that it's opened that day, we said we must not miss the opportunity because we wouldn't know if it'll still be open the next day. So glad we got to visit it before I left Cape Town, now I'm out of Cape Town, in a much smaller town near Durban.

I didn't know that there's a "7 Wonders of Nature", I only knew there's "7 Wonders of the World", apparently Table Mountain is one of the 7 wonders of nature. You can have a 360 degree view of the entire Cape Town. In the 3rd last photo, you can actually see the Cape Town Stadium that was used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Christmas is coming, glad the world hasn't ended yet, hope everyone will have a lovely lovely Christmas! :)

Photo diary: South Africa Week 1

Haven't really got time to arrange and sort out all the photos, so I just picked a few photos here and there from different days to show you a little of how South Africa actually looks like! The mountain in the photo above is the well-known Table Mountain, if you're wondering.

This handsome young man was our host brother! They're all SO good at jet skiing, waterskiing...all kinds of water sports. He's definitely a water child. I heard he took part in a competition that he had to jet ski 3 days straight, for a few thousands kilometers, and he actually taped his hand to the jetski handle so he wouldn't stop no matter what. They have their own jetski, motorboat, waterski, so for 2 full days we were just chilling on the water, under the sun. I'm so tanned now, but we had a blast. 

note: the one sitting behind him isn't me. haha

Top image: Our, so far, favourite breakfast here. We had it almost everyday when we were with our first host family. 

Also, there are seas and seas and vineyards here! there are always a few trees with the lilac colour leaves in the farm, I find it really pretty, don't you think?!

The wind is so strong over here that you can feel the force when you open the car door. We washed and hanged our clothes the right after we reached home - about 5pm, and they were dried before we went to sleep. I like winds, but I must blame the wind if I couldn't go up to the famous Table Mountain these few days before I leave Cape Town as the cable car going up to the mountain isn't working because of the strong wind. 

Let's be honest, when we were on our way here, we were expecting to see many wildlife animals when we reached. And funny that I haven't seen any of them. So, are the photos what you expect to see in South Africa? Probably not. I swear if I show people the last few images they wouldn't have known that I'm at South Africa, because this isn't what they think South Africa would look like. But this country has amazed me in so many ways, the view is absolutely spectacular, and the people are the loveliest I've ever met. Ever. I love this place very, very much.

Travel Essentials : South Africa

1. Leopard print dress / 2. Everyday bracelet / 3. Sunglasses / 4. Everyday necklace / 5. iPhone / 6. Writing utensils / 7. Journal / 8. Watch / 9. Camera with enough films or memory / 10. The Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Spritz / 11. Everyday rings / 12. Camera remote control / 13. Earpieces / 14. Wallet with local currency / 15. Sunblock / 16. Shieido Majolica Majorca Automatic Eye Liner / 17. Passport / 18. Zoom lens / 19. Kindle

A quick travel essentials post before I zip everything in my luggage. Some essentials that I wish I had but don't - a map/guidebook and a cap/hat. 6 hours flight to Dubai, and then another 8 hours flight to Cape Town, glad I have my Kindle with me. Ciao, home, I'll be back.

Year 2 First Semester

First semester of year two is officially over. Next year some of them will be in fashion design, some - fashion management, while some - like me will be in fashion communication. While I'm excited about studying only fashion communication (mainly art direction, fashion photography, styling), it's a little sad to think that some of them will never be in the same class with me anymore! I must admit when I first came to LASALLE, whenever I saw the fashion students, I got intimidated, they look confident (and maybe a little arrogant hehehe), but most of the time after you know them, they're totally different from what you think. I'm glad they're all very nice people - not only talking about my classmates, but all the fashion students. Thankful for all of those who were there for me when I needed, you might not know when I needed you but your sole presence and companionship have helped me get through some hard times. Recently I know I have disappointed a friend whom trusted me, not only I disappointed her, but also myself, I know saying sorry won't help and I've read so many quotes of how trust is like a mirror, once it's broken, it'll never be the same anymore. But I've learned the lesson, and I hope over time I will prove my change. I have absolutely no desire to repeat the same mistake or disappoint anyone I care.

p/s: tonight is the last night I'm in Singapore before 2013. So ready to travel. Ciao Singapore! May everyone will be enjoying an eventful and lovely December!

The Princess Who Saved Herself

I actually really don't like how my lifestyle blog has slowly become a blog where I only share photos of my photoshoots, behind-the-scenes, etc. I myself prefer reading something about people's lifestyle, travel, food. So I swear...this is gonna be the last post of my photoshoot for THIS year. yep this year, because my holidays started! And I really just want myself to stop working on photos day and night, I want to just relax and travel without feeling guilty, so I'm starting to reject some of the shoots that people want me to do in the next couple of weeks.

So, back to the topic - "The Princess Who Saved Herself" was a shoot I did few weeks back for a school assignment. It's not so much on high fashion, but storytelling. Behind the scene here.

It's all about a princess who craves for freedom. She yearns to be freed. Staying in a castle all her life, she wants to see the world out there. She is not going to wait for her prince-charming to come and rescue her. She finally escapes from the castle, to a place where no one knows her name.

Celine + Chris

Most of my recent posts consist of photos from only my phone/instagram, which annoys me a little. I can't wait to show you guys some of the photos I took for Celine and Chris' registration of marriage two weeks ago, which was held outdoor at Sentosa Boardwalk with the gorgeous sunset watching them while they vowed to be faithful to each other as long as they both live.

I was excited and so looking forward to shoot this when they told me it'd be held at Sentosa Boardwalk, I've spent a few times there watching the beautiful sunset and night sky at the rooftop of Vivocity. And needless to say, I love natural light, I love shooting anything during the magic hour, I love shooting outdoor. I was secretly praying that it wouldn't rain, thank God it didn't, the weather was perfect.