Malacca Through the Lens of Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500

Date of Exploration : 25 Apr 2015

I visited Malacca in 2010 and captured the trip with a DSLR (read about it here). Five years later, I'm back to the historic city and documenting the sights with the nifty Casio Exilim EX-ZR35000 compact camera.

When I posted on Facebook that I'm photographing Malacca with a compact camera, an acquaintance asked why I "downgraded" and called me a "traitor". Harsh words. But I don't see it as a downgrade in imaging equipment, I see it as an upgrade in convenience. And with a powerful compact cam like the EX-ZR3500 that comes with various in-camera filters and creative imaging modes, photography becomes an opportunity to play and experiment for all occasions while I'm enjoying a vacation!

Our trip to Malacca was organised by the good folks at Casio to test-drive the EX-ZR3500. The camera comes in 4 colours - White, Beige, Pink, and Yellow (retailing at S$579).

I chose a white loan set because white will reflect light into a subject's eyes or when taking a selfie to make the eyes brighten up.

[A Plastic Surgeon in My Palm] I'm 40 but the in-camera Make-Up mode made me look like I would be asked to show my identity card if I tried to buy beer! Haha. The Make-Up mode intelligently differentiates skin from eyebrows and hair to create a more natural smoothening effect rather than a blanket blurring of facial features.

EX-ZR3500 also comes with a 180-degrees flip screen that makes framing a good selfie shot that much easier. And the wide angle lens captures more of the surrounding without the need for a selfie stick. Selfie-ing with the camera is addictive.

[Gateway to History & Gluttony] After an almost 4 hours coach ride from Singapore, we finally arrived in Malacca and began our photographic exploration at Jonker Walk, the city's antique street and mecca for local gastronomic delights.

[Sticky Brown Orgasm] It's almost a ritual whenever I visit Malacca that I must have a bowl of Cendol at the shop, Jonker 88. Look at that thick gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup caramelising the hump of shaved ice! My drool reached the floor. The laksa at the same shop is apparently quite good too.

[Eye Candy] My pupils put on weight just by looking at this rich and delicious dessert! Shot with Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 Macro Mode.

[A Moment to Frame Time] Took this shot standing quite a distance away from the window as I wanted the old lady to be within the white grille yet not having too much loose space around her. If I brought my camera too close, the framed hole will become too big and cause excess space around the subject. So I stood further away and zoomed in.

Without a DSLR, this shot was quite a challenge to shoot and due to the low lighting within the house, the photo will be very grainy if shot with a mobile phone especially with a substantial zooming in to the subject. So I was pretty impressed with the result I got from Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 that managed to capture depth-of-field like a DSLR by blurring the window grille and curtain, and maintain a generally smooth image despite the darkened interior.

[Brief Encounter] As I've visited Jonker Street / Walk before, I decided to venture off to the side alleys and parallel streets around that area to get under the skin of this historic precinct. But I didn't expect to get that under the skin. LOL.

[Paper Thin Temper] She's known as the Queen of Newspapers at Jonker and her temper is very fiery. Kena scolded for taking this shot.

[Yesterday Once More] If this photo is in monochrome, it could very well look like a vintage shot with the old man cycling past the historic Kampung Kling Mosque. Completed in 1748, the mosque is located along Jalan Tukang Emas (Goldsmith Street), which is parallel to Jonker Street. Shot with Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 Action Freeze Mode.

[House of Styles] Had wanted to enter the mosque during my previous trip to Malacca but it was closed. Thankfully it was open this time and I had a chance to be befuddled by the conglomerate of decorative influences that adorn the interior of this mosque. The exterior roof of the mosque is reminiscent of Hindu puras while Chinese motifs and European tile works and finishings filled the insides. This mosque is the most un-mosque I've seen and it's pretty cool.

[Un-mosque Mosque] A Victorian fountain in the washing courtyard of Kampung Kling Mosque. Shot with Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 HDR Mode.

[Happy Uncle] A little walk from Kampung Kling Mosque, I came across a really old shop selling liquors. This grandpa was sitting in the shop hovering over his account books. The scene has such an authentic blast-to-the-past flavour that I started to take some photos of him at work while trying to block my presence behind some of his shop's merchandise.

But he looked up from his books at one point and discovered me sniping his photos. I thought he would scold me but he didn't. So I bought a bottle of drinking water from him and showed him his photos and we started to chat. He is such a jovial and happy soul! In the photo, he's pointing to his shop's original signage that has been around for more than 60 years!

[The Gula in the Melaka] 82yo Mr Tan is the second generation owner of the family-run business from his father who came from China. It used to be a provision shop but due to competition, the family decided to focus on selling liquors and alcoholic brews from Malaysian distilleries.

When I asked for a photo to be taken with him, he immediately struck such a natural and happy pose! It was really a great pleasure meeting him.

[Time Isn't a Debt] Mr Tan gladly showed me how he has done his accounts over all the years with his abacus. Many senior citizens treat getting old as a debt to be repaid to time but Mr Tan's cheerfulness and sprightly demeanour keep him young.

[Thy Will Be Done] Statue of Father Francis Xavier in front of St Paul's Church ruins. If you think something has happened that damaged the statue's right hand, well, there's more to the story...

Arriving in Malacca in 1545, the holyman is credited with spreading the gospel in Asia. He died in Malacca and was buried at the church temporarily but when his body was exhumed to be transported to Goa, they found that his body hasn't decayed! So the Pope asked for proof and one of Father Francis Xavier's hand was cut off. Legend has it that fresh blood flowed when his hand was severed. Father Francis Xavier was canonised in 1622 and this statue was installed in his memory in the 1980s but his hand went missing shortly. Perhaps his hand is still busy doing the work of God.

[Survivor] A lone seedling that grew where no other plants would grow. Saw this on a window frame of the St Paul's Church ruins and admired how the small tree broke through the hard stone and flourished. Shot with Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 Black and White Mode.

[A Different Perspective] Christ Church is possibly the most photographed icon of Malacca and here's a new way to shoot it... with Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500's Crystal Ball Mode! This mode is pretty fun to play with and the resulting images can have surprising results.

[Selfie So Easy] Did I mention taking selfies with the Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 is addictive? :o)

Considered the cradle of Peranakan heritage, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Malacca is ever a treasure trove of historical finds and exquisite Nyonya cuisine. Having spent a weekend using the Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 for street photography, I find the camera to be versatile and a good performer under various shooting conditions.

What's more, the camera comes with Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity so I can easily sync the photos I've shot to my phone and share them to my Facebook and Instagram. My only grouse is that the camera takes quite some time to process images when shooting with specialty modes but it's not a big bother for its stellar performance in most areas.

Although photos in this post have been processed with Photoshop to manage brightness, contrast and sharpness like I do for all photos I posted on this blog no matter what I shoot with, I find that adjustments to the Casio Exilim EX-ZR3500 are minimal. This is definitely a good companion for a holiday and a relief from carrying heavy DSLRs or stocking up on bricks of power banks to feed a hungry phone cam.

This post has been made possible by Casio Singapore.

Johor - Ink Brew by JWC Cafe (墨跡手沖館) and Eh He Gallery

Date of Exploration : 24 Mar 2015

Retro flavoured kopitiams and eateries are plenty in Malaysia, where the good ol' days are still served up in good ol' ways, but a new breed of old-school coffeeshops are elevating nostalgia to the realm of designer vintage by turning the pleasure to reminisce into an artform. And paving the way is Ink Brew by JWC with the adjoining Eh He The Classic Accents Art House at Johor Bahru's heritage district of Tan Hiok Nee.

Discovering Ink Brew and Eh He was something of a beautiful serendipity. We were poking our noses into an oddstentatious (odd and ostentatious) shophouse facade at the mouth of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, unsure of what to make of it when an uncle seated in a kopitiam opposite encouraged us to go in. As we stepped through the doors of Eh He, thinking it's a performance arts theatre, we soon realised it is actually an art gallery embalming the Chinese history of Johor Bahru (JB). Beyond the gallery is a door that links to Ink Brew where the founding spirit of the precinct is translated into the cafe's menu and its deco. The result is a kind of retro that exudes effortless authenticity and bespoke artistry to entice not just the palate but hold the senses spellbound.

Coffee with a story. Sipping a cuppa at Ink Brew is not just about the caffeine fix but appreciating the philosophy that went behind crafting the concoctions. This brew is called "游神 - 五帮共和" ("Parade of the Gods - Five Tribes Unified") and is made from 5 different coffee beans.

In the early days, 5 prominent ethnic groups from China settled in Johor Bahru. They are the Hokkiens, Hakkas, Teochews, Cantonese and Hainanese. As they hail from different sects, constant feuds and territory wars ensued, often with bloody consequences. To unify the fragmented dialect groups, the Parade of the Gods was created in JB so that the 5 groups may be unified through religion. As a homage to honour this history of JB, Ink Brew signatured this 5-beans-brew to remind drinkers that differences is the essence of a flavourful unified existence. RM15.00 (hot), RM16.50 (cold).

At first glance, Eh He and Ink Brew which opened in March 2015 may seem like just another business trying to milk the appeal of nostalgia but that's just the superficial. I had the good fortune of meeting Pauline, one of the establishment's owners, and got a behind-the-scene understanding of the thought processes that went into realising every aspect of the gallery and cafe's design, spatial planning, and curated heritage within the premises. I came in not knowing I had a thirst and left with a hunger fulfilled.

Getting to Eh He / Ink Brew

Eh He The Accents of Art gallery and Ink Brew by JWC can be accessed by different entrances but they are linked. Eh He's entrance is at the mouth of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee while Ink Brew's entrance faces Jalan Ibrahim. But the 2 are joined by a door on the second level so it doesn't matter which entrance you get in.

For the ease of explaining how to get here, I'll use the Jalan Tan Hiok Nee entrance of Eh He as a point to direct wayfinding. Jalan Tan Hiok Nee is a short historic street in Johor Bahru that's somewhat like Singapore's Haji Lane where pre-war shophouses occupied by avant garde fashion boutiques, restaurants, cafes and heritage businesses congregate to create a blast-from-the-past lifestyle destination within the city.

Entrance of Eh He The Classic Accents Art House gallery at the mouth of Jalan Tan Hiok Nee heritage street. Opposite Eh He's visage is Kin Wah kopitiam that serves up traditional Hainanese coffee and kampung chicken's soft-boiled eggs.

If you are coming from City Square shopping mall after clearing the Malaysian customs, look for the exit to Jalan Wong Ah Fook. Walk along Jalan Wong Ah Fook in the direction of the huge Hindu temple, Sri Raja Mariamman. Behind the temple is a street called Jalan Trus. Walk along Jalan Trus which leads down the city's unofficial Little India and towards JB Bazaar and you will come to the entrance of the Tan Hiok Nee Cultural Street. Eh He's entrance is facing the start of Tan Hiok Nee Cultural Street (photo above).

If you are unsure of your way, ask for directions to Sri Mariamman Hindu temple or Jalan Trus or Jalan Tan Hiok Nee along the street. Most locals would be able to point you in the right direction. It should take no more than 15 minutes to walk from City Square mall to Jalan Tan Hiok Nee at a leisurely pace.

Entrance of Ink Brew with the prominent Eh He frontage on Jalan Ibrahim. The shophouse that accommodates Eh He and Ink Brew is sandwiched between Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and Jalan Ibrahim.

Eh He The Classic Accents Art House

Eh He is an unconventional name for a gallery but there's a quirky rationale behind it. "Eh He" is derived from Earth Heart, meaning that art is all around us on this earth and also residing within us. If you look at Eh He's logo, you will also notice the words "中间" (middle) and "旁边" (to the side), which allude that art is at the heart of our being while at the same time, surrounding us.

In addition to "Eh He 中间\旁边", there's a red banner that reads (from right to left as in the way that olden Chinese texts are read)　"吉安泰祥". For a moment I'm confused by the presence of so many phrases, making the sign seem more like a thesis rather a shop name. But after some explaning by the owner, I finally understood that 吉安 (ji an) is the name of the chief artist of Eh He gallery while 泰祥 (tai xiang) is the name of the business that used to occupy the shophouse.

Stepping through the entrance of Eh He is like stepping into a time machine. The first floor reception has 2 huge puppets and to the side is the original narrow stairs of the old shophouse that leads to the second level.

The second level of Eh He The Classic Accents Arts House. There's an old world charm about this place that's immediately captivating.

A photo on display at Eh He art gallery. The man in half wayang drag is 张吉安 (Zhang Ji An), a radio personality in Malaysia and artistic director of Eh He. Ji An did a series of photoshoots with his opera persona around different places in Johor as a reminder that where we are and where we are heading are rooted in our heritage and traditions. Modernity may have eroded the visibility of traditions but our distinct cultures live on.

There are listening stations around Eh He gallery where you can tune in to yesteryear operas and conversations spoken in the purest form of the various dialects in Johor Bahru decades ago. I love the retro transistor radios used for the listening stations that come with a USB port where you can just plug in a MP3 and play. It's an old shell with a new soul.

Surrounded by artistry in the gallery, we attempted to create our own photographic 'art'. Haha.

The best thing I like about Eh He gallery is the absence of "Do not touch" signs on its exhibits. There's no barrier to interact with the heritage artefacts to really feel them. But please handle with utmost care as many of these historic memorabilia are at the brink of falling apart.

刀马旦。Rekindling the days where I learnt and performed Chinese opera in my late teens. But mostly as a backdrop character. LOL. Behind me is the door that leads to Ink Brew by JWC cafe.

Ink Brew by JWC  (墨跡手沖館)

We almost didn't make it to Ink Brew by JWC which adjoins Eh He gallery through a door at the back of the art space. Initially, we thought the door was an access to the gallery's administrative office or staff quarters. But being nosy, we decided to check out where the door leads and thankfully we did. The door opens out to this...

... an unconventional sitting area that defies the usual set-up for a cafe. But I didn't think it was a cafe at first, and thought it's the make-up room for performance artistes who may put up shows at Eh He gallery.

But this is the extension of a sitting area for Ink Brew cafe. There's a lot of room to breathe here amongst salvaged vintage desks and authentic dressers that hail from the 70s. I immediately felt at home as one of my aunties used to have a wooden vanity dresser just like the one found here!

The walls surrounding the hall are the original structure of the old shophouses and you can see that some parts are not aligned in a straight line due to aging. The red calligraphic scroll encircling the ceiling is done by a renown calligrapher in Singapore as a gift to the cafe. And if you peer through the skylight, you will see a hump on the shophouse's roof that has been retained.

The hump is a classic Hainanese (I think) architectural feature that represents the mountain. In Chinese culture, having a house with a mountain at the back is good fengshui as it signifies that the household will have a solid backing in whatever it's inhabitants pursue.

Another door at the side of the sitting area above leads to a wholly different sitting space of Ink Brew with a stairway leading to the ground floor where the barista, cashier and kitchen reside.

Renovating the interior of the dilapidated shophouse took an arduous 4 months where many of the original building materials were retained.

The side wall of the cafe is exactly as it has been while as much of the original floor boards have been rescued and reuse. That explains the 2-colour tone of the wooden floor with the darker flooring being the original wood found in the shophouse and the lighter colour being add-ons because not all floorboards can be salvaged. I love how they try to recycle and 'artify' the old into the new.

Furniture at Ink Brew is also an inconsistent carpentry of tables and benches as they are made from salvaged wood at the original shophouse. What you are sitting on is a piece of Johor Bahru's history while you sip tea or coffee.

Here with Pauline See, the artist behind the massive wall mural at Ink Brew cafe. Her work behind us is titled "Temptation", which she alludes to how as children, we have ambitions and aspirations but as we grow up, we succumb to temptations that thwart the pursuit of our dreams.

She also shared that her artworks typically feature 3 colours - white to represent the aspirations and goodness that humanity possesses; black as a symbolic colour of the dark side or secrets that we don't want people to know; and red as the mark of breakthrough and creativity we have in us to make a difference.

What's not pictured here are flying whales near the roof which represent innovation, that we have the ability to break-free from our paradigms with courage and a readiness to adapt to new environments.

A staff sharing the stories and rationale behind the drinks and food items on the menu. I was so amazed by the casualness and enthusiasm of staff members taking the time to sit down and explain the concept behind the coffees, mocktails and food that they serve.

Drinking coffee at Ink Brew by JWC is an art of savouring the painstaking thought processes that went into creating the signature brews. Pictured here is 陈旭年咖啡 (Tan Hiok Nee Coffee). This cuppa is not created because the cafe sits on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee but a taste journey of the forefathers' effort to build Johor Bahru.

If you look at the Chinese word 旭 (xu4), it consists of the characters 九 (jiu3, nine) and 日(ri4, day). So the orange slice on the coffee has actually been sun dried for nine days. To truly enjoy this caffeine creation, you have to first put a bit of the cream in the mouth and drink the coffee. Then, take a bite of the orange slice and drink the coffee again. Lastly, submerge the remaining orange slice in the coffee, let it steep, and drink the brew again.

What you would taste is first bitterness, then an acidic sour flavour, followed by a sweet ending. This represents the 苦尽甘来 (joy after hard work) spirit of the early settlers where the virtue of being hardworking is rewarded with the fruits of the labour.

This story coffee doesn't come cheap though. It costs RM16.80 per cup.

Other than coffees, there are some taste innovations that are worth checking out. We love this mocktail called 小梦的天空 (Sky of a Little Girl, RM13.50) that features 泡泡糖 (crackling sweets). Every sip is a trip back to my childhood where these sweets crackle and come alive on my tongue! As the crackling sweets are kind of extinct on the streets, Ink Brew went through a lot of research to find a supplier.

Food is also on the serve. We ordered this pizza called The Garden (RM15.90) that has been designed by a nutritionist. It contains a lot of veggies on a thin pizza dough with the suace made from tofu. It's mild in taste but somehow you don't feel the guilt of gluttony.

I just had a bowl of curry noodles, 2 soft-boiled eggs, and a slice of banana sponge cake before eating this! So tam jiak because the items on Ink Brew's menu sounds so exotic.

We didn't plan on sitting down to have a coffee but the unusual vintage charm of Ink Brew compelled us to rest our feet with a step back into the past.

While prices aren't cheap at Ink Brew for the drinks, we find that Ink Brew and Eh He is totally worth checking out for the ambience, artistry, creativity and thoughtfulness that went into preserving this shophouse on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and Johor Bahru's culture!

Pattaya - Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and Cultural Village

Date of Exploration : 12 Mar 2015

Call it an identity crisis or all-under-one-roof comprehensive, there's no denying that Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and Cultural Village is anything but your average flora and foliage type of green attraction. Apart from a flourishing array of flowers and exotic plant species arranged into thematic gardens, this largest tropical garden in Southeast Asia also contain a staggering amount of sights and activities one can do on the park grounds. There is elephant riding, elephant shows, cultural performances, sculptural showcases, a mini petting zoo, an aviary, dining venues, an automobile showroom, and lots and lots of animal dioramas that defy numbering.

To me, it feels kinda like Singapore's Gardens By The Bay and Haw Par Villa rolled into one with a dash of zoo thrown in. The effect is a haphazard buffet of experiences that holds a delightful surprise at every turn. Because of all it has to offer, Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden is a top draw for tourists and local school groups which culminate to chaos during the showtimes and a long wait for photobombs to detonate at scenic hotspots.

Selfie with the French-inspired manicured garden and a traditional Thai pavilion in the background. The plants are so well behaved!

Opened as a public attraction in 1980, the original plans for the 600ha site was for it to be a plantation of the Nong Nooch family. Instead, the owners decided to turn it into a conservation sanctuary for wildlife and tropical plants and eventually shaped it into one of Pattaya's go-to tourist attractions.

Tips for Visiting Nong Nooch Garden

Unless there are 4 of you in a group to charter a cab, the best way to visit Nong Nooch is to join a packaged tour. If you go on your own, chartering a taxi for a full-day costs 800bht (from South Pattaya). The taxi will send you to Nong Nooch Garden, wait for you and send you back to the hotel. The fee does not include the 500bht entrance fee to the garden. So if you are travelling alone, you will be paying 800bht + 500bht = 1,300bht to visit without a package.

Elephant riding at Nong Nooch Garden which is available at an additional charge apart from the entrance fee.

A packaged tour costs 600bht (half-day, 8:30am - 1:00pm) and 900bht (full-day, 8:30am - 5:00pm) which are inclusive of 2-way transport and entrance fee. The entrance fee includes a ticket to the cultural dance and elephant shows. The full-day tour includes a buffet lunch. I took a full-day tour so that I have more time to explore and I'm glad I did as a half-day is too short and rush to see all of Nong Nooch Garden.

But the problem with taking a packaged tour is that a 14-seater van will go around the city to pick up other tourists. We spent almost an hour doing the rounds to various hotels before transferring to a bigger 36-seater coach to head to Nong Nooch Garden, which is a journey of about 30 minutes from South Pattaya (approx. 30km).

You will be issued with a sticker for the packaged tour. Don't lose the sticker or take a photo of it as it has the phone number of the tour operator. Going back can be quite chaotic so in case you lose sight of the tour guide, you can get Nong Nooch Garden's guest services to call the guide to pick up you up.

When visiting, it is prudent to bring an umbrella, slap on some sunblock and also insect repellent. Some parts of the garden are unshaded and can get pretty hot and I got quite a few mossie bites.

As the park is pretty big, you may want to take a buggy that takes you around instead of walking everywhere for a fee.

Thematic Gardens

Nong Nooch Garden is divided into various zones, displays and gardens according to plant species as well as design themes. There's the Pottery Garden, Orchid Garden, Cactus Garden, French Garden, European Garden, Stonehenge Garden, Butterfly Hill, etc). Within the vicinity is also a resort for overnight stays and a cyad research centre.

Arches and elephants made out of flower pots and other tribal as well as whimsical pottery sculptures can be found at the Pottery Garden.

Call the police, good taste just got murdered. This thing that shouldn't have been in the kiln creeps the hell out of me.

Merging with the Pottery Garden is the Orchid Garden that features one of the biggest collection of these beautiful blooms in Thailand.

Do these walls make your skin crawl?

One of the rather interesting and unusual displays are these trees rooted on rooftop planters lining a section of the elevated walkways that link the whole Nong Nooch Garden. Following the aerial path is a good way to start taking in the entire park ground.

Butterfly Hill. I thought it's a butterfly enclosure with lots of fluttering wings but it's so named because the floral ensemble resembled the patterns of a butterfly wing.

The S&M masters of the plant kingdom. Pricklies and succulents at the Cactus Garden basks quietly in the sun at a less visited section of Nong Nooch Garden.

European Garden. Surrounding the garden are places to eat.

Hello? Retrolicious UK phone booths find a second life as an oddity at the garden but because there are so many of them in a row, they look well at home.

Nong Nooch Garden feels like Legoland using plants as bricks.

The most spectacular section of Nong Nooch Garden is the section where the Stonehenge Garden neighbours the French Garden framed by an eclectic mix of cultural pavilions and a mountain in the backdrop.

You can admire the intriguing design of the Stonehenge Garden and French Garden but there are no points of access to go into them.

Another view of the French Garden. The traditional Thai pavilion is the best spot to take a photo of the Stonehenge Garden with the French Garden with a mountain backdrop like the 2 photos above.

The ornate and regal Thai pavilion at the other side of the French Garden offers another perspective of the sculptured gardens.

Cultural Shows, Petting Zoo, Cars and Dining

If walking around the garden aimlessly gets to be a bit of a bore, there are other distractions attractions in Nong Nooch Garden to get acquainted with.

Included in the entrance fee, whether you buy at the door or included in a packaged tour, is admission to a Thai cultural dance and martial arts performance and elephant show where all visitors are herded to watch. There are a number of shows in a day and each show lasts about 30 minutes.

Performance hall of the Thai cultural dance and martial arts show. The arena is pretty huge but it's packed with people and rather warm. The show quality is not bad with changing backdrops and costumes that doesn't look amateurish but the theatre is filled to standing-room only capacity. I arrived 10 minutes before the 10:30am show and already all the seats were filled and I had to stand at the back.

After the cultural show, visitors are directed immediately to the elephant show. Feeling kiasu, I left the cultural show before it ended and headed to the elephant show to get a seat but again, it was already pretty filled with tourists, mostly from China, and I had to sit at a corner section. The show features elephant football, dart throwing, painting and other tricks.

The mahouts (mostly from Cambodia as that region has the best mahouts) dressed as cowboys constantly solicit visitors to take a photo with the elephants for 100bht.

If you would like to reward these magnificent beasts, bananas can be bought to feed them.

Nong Nooch also has a small petting zoo stocked with deers, goats, ponies and a few macaw parrots. Among the macaws is a cockatoo that can say "Hello"!

Get in my luggage and go home with me you cute thing! Vegetables can be purchased at 20bht a bunch to feed the animals. One trick I've discovered about photographing these petting zoo animals is to feed them first then take their photos. This way, you earn their trust.

But it's still pretty hard to get a selfie with the deers.

A n umber of big cats are placed at strategic locations at Nong Nooch Garden for visitors to get a photo taken (100bht). I wouldn't pay the money to take a picture with them because the choke chains are so short, the poor beasts cannot even stand up fully to stretch or walk about but be forced into a lying position. The tigers look healthy but I can't help feeling this is animal abuse.

Oddly, there's a car showroom of vintage and unusual wheels at the garden. The air-conditioned exhibition area provides relief from the heat.

My full-day package included a buffet lunch and the spread is not too shabby at all. There's a small section of sushi, a western spread and lots of Thai favourites to fill up on. I encountered a do-it-yourself wrap with fragrant leaves and after one, I couldn't stop. Yums!

Wildlife Dioramas

Conventionally, the star attractions at gardens and parks are the greenery and blooms but at Nong Nooch Garden, the limelight is shared with a multitude of animal dioramas littered all over the site at a scale that is truly mind-boggling.

Personally, I think the dioramas overshadowed the plant species as I found myself drawn to the stone animals rather than noticing the plant species around them. While most of the wildlife sculptures are disarmingly adorable and easy on the camera, some of them seemed a tad tacky. But all in all, Nong Nooch Garden's bewildering collection of wildlife dioramas of indigenous animal species found all over the world is what makes this garden so unique and a formidable challenge to find and photograph every one of them!

The animal dioramas are found in clusters all over the garden. It could be a gathering of koalas on psychedelic trunks at a clearing, a pack of cheetah under a bridge, or platoons of giant ants scaling walls, Nong Nooch Garden is awash with whims and an air of fun through the dousing of sculptures.

Nose-bleed kind of cute!

Finally get to photograph a red panda coz I can never get a clear photo of them at the zoo with their constant pacing and fidgeting.

Never seen a llama in real life so these sculptures will do. the one sticking out its tongue is just so cheeky!

An explosion of lemurs.

Harry Potter would be so happy here.

Tonguefie with a dalmatian.

Perfecting "I'm innocent" blank stare.

Show Slow me the way... happy snails at the entrance to the Cactus Garden.

Hop and snort... some of the sculptural works are quirky and kooky.

This panda looks like he's giving himself a 'happy ending'.

From afar, some of the settings with the stone animals look pretty authentic to scenes in nature.

第三者 | Third Party.

Feels like the Middle East in Pattaya.

Okay, I shan't bore you with more portraits of the wildlife dioramas. I have a lot more because hunting down the different animals for a photo quickly became an obsession of mine at Nong Nooch Garden. Because I'm on a full-day tour, I had the time to stroll and snap.

For those on a half-day tour, they only got about 60 minutes of free roaming time in total (10 minutes at the Pottery Garden, 20 minutes before the start of the cultural show and 30 minutes after that) before boarding the coach back to town. If you want to search and shoot the frozen herds, a full-day would allow you to explore at a more leisurely pace.

Oh, I got so distracted with the animals, I forgot what I came here for. It's for the garden. So here's a shot of the only flower photo I took at Nong Nooch Garden. It's a single desert rose in blossom on the whole shrub. It's a very small flower but it brightened up the entire plant.

Life's little joys makes up one big happiness :o)

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and Cultural Village

Address : 34/1 Moo 7, Na Jomtien, Sattahip, Pattaya, Thailand
Phone : +66 (0)38 429 321, +66 (0)38 425 748
Email : info@nongnoochgardenpattaya.com (I emailed to ask for info but received no reply)
Website : http://nongnoochgardenpattaya.com

Opening Hours : 9:00am - 6:00pm daily
Entrance Fee : 500bht (Adult Foreigner)