Flour Power

Stumbled upon this frenzied flour-blowing contest in a ghetto corner of Manila. Every one was having so much fun cheering the wheezing contestants; no one noticed the camera or stranger among them.

For me, it was a rare moment to NOT get a Flower Power V-Sign. The hand gesture seems to be an automatic reaction when kids see a camera in The Philippines and many parts of Asia 🙂

The only disturbing thing was that the stern-looking referee was armed with a metal rod. Lol. Curiously, the crowd dissapted as fast as the flour when the winner was determined. I didn’t stick around to find out why…

Flour Power

Chamang Falls

I asked the friendly Bentong folk what is next best attraction after Kow Po Ice Cream. Everyone recommended another milky thing. The Chamang Falls. So I drove 7 kilometres on a lonely, winding and scenic route. At the end of the road is a beautiful, long, cascading waterfall with a gentle drop of about 100 feet. Hearing its roar alone, is worth the trip.

I was in the Gunung Tahan National Park area recently and had to take a boat for 45 minutes before trekking another 2 hours to see/hear a similar waterfall. Here, I drove right up to the edge of one. It is a drive-in, walk-in waterfall 🙂 There are ample parking lots, toilet facilities and yet strangely; not one soul was around. Maybe it was late on a weekday, maybe not many know about it. It was eerily deserted.

I have been in the jungle all by myself at night and didn’t feel spooked. I felt a little scared here. It was creepy seeing all the man-made structures around and not a single human was to be found. Like a proverbial ghost town.

Photography notes: A 1/2 second exposure was the slowest speed I could attain without a ND or polarising filter. The slow shutter created the creamy, milky look in the fast flowing water. A tripod was required but since I didn’t want to spend too much time for safety reasons, I placed the camera on a rock.

Chamang Falls