Airalo Travellers eSIM

I was travelling back to Malaysia during Chinese New Year holiday, normally I would just subscribe to the roaming data package from my telco provider, but this time around I decided to try out something new, traveller eSIM from Airalo.

To get started, all you need to do is just download their app and create an user account. Once done, you can browse for available package and make your purchase using credit card directly. Comparing to my usual telco data roaming, the key difference lies on the setup process. 

For my existing telco provider, all I need to do is to turn on data roaming after purchasing roaming data package from their app. For Airalo, after purchasing the roaming package, I need to setup the eSIM on my phone. There’s a step by step guide provided, but due to software update on smartphones, some of the steps in the guide may not be up to date. The setup process was a little intimidating for the first time, nevertheless it wasn’t too complicated to figure out. Once done, just need to turn on the eSIM and data roaming when you arrive at your destination.

I have tried using Airalo in Malaysia and Cambodia, overall the experience had been fairly positive in terms of network stability and speed. Prices were slightly cheaper than the usual roaming package provided by my current telco, and I get to keep the eSIM for future use by just topping it up like a prepaid SIM using Airalo app.

All in all, I found such solution is a good alternative to consider. Bear in mind that depends on the package, some only offer data without local phone number. However, you get to keep using messaging services such as iMessage and WhatsApp with your existing number. 

There are other traveller eSIM service providers out there, if you are interested, feel free to explore them. This solution is ideal for eSIM only smartphones, or phones without additional physical SIM slot for local SIM card. Definitely a good option to consider when you are traveling abroad.

Goodbye 2022

Photo by Sebastian Arie Voortman on Pexels.com

Last day of 2022, and oh boy did time flies. It felt like nothing much had happened this year, yet there were quite a few big events throughout. 

Being able to travel back to my home in Malaysia, business trip to Cambodia, caught Covid & dengue fever, converted my citizenship to Singaporean, placed my booking for my first home… these are just some of the highlights for 2022.

As planned, this year had been all about focusing on my life and work, and that’s exactly what I did for the most part. Didn’t travel elsewhere for leisure despite able to do so, it wasn’t my priority anyway. I’ll save it for next year.

In terms of photography, another empty year. My camera has become rusted I guess, but luckily I still get to practice my creative eyes at my work. Hopefully next year will be better, we’ll see.

Otherwise, I’m glad that the year was over with less downs than I anticipated. Looking forward for 2023 to come. Till then.

Advance or preserve

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

Singapore is a small nation, even smaller than most big cities around the world. With limited land and resources, there’s a fine line for us to thread: do we choose to preserve some cultural, historical and iconic building, or we advance by demolishing and rebuild for a something more modern and functional.

It has always been a heated debate between government officials as well as general public. For most, there’s nostalgic memories and emotional attachment to these building. For some, there’s cultural value displayed through the design and construction of these buildings. For others, they are just an eye sore or redundant piece of concrete that are taking up valuable space for better utilisation.

What’s my take on this? Well, honestly it is hard to give a concrete answer. On one hand, I understand the limitation we have and the reason why old needs to make way for new; on the other hand, I’m sort of a nostalgic person who likes things that show ages. Perhaps the perfect middle ground would be to redevelop and repurpose the old building to serve new function, like the National Gallery Singapore which was born from former Supreme Court Building and City Hall. Unfortunately, things were never that easy and straight forward.

Rochor Centre

Dakota Crescent

Commonwealth Drive

The debate and dilemma will probably continue for the years to come. My take is to cherish what we have while it lasts. Take picture of them, weave memories with them. And in the future, take a pause and look back at where we came from. These pictures and memories will surely warm our heart and fuel us to the days ahead. Till then.

The need for speed

Shot on Leica M-P with Leica 90mm f/2.8 ELMARIT-M

After 2 years of hiatus, Formula 1 is finally back in Singapore. I am a fan of motor racing and have been following Formula 1 races for a long long time. Personally I had been to Singapore Grand Prix twice, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the race itself. Many around me cannot understand the draw of such motor sports, but it’s okay. Not everyone knows how to appreciate the level of risk they took and the kind of performance delivered by the world’s top racing drivers.

As mentioned earlier, Singapore is finally holding its Formula 1 Grand Prix event again after 2 years of disruption by the pandemic. As you may (or may not) know, Singapore Grand Prix is a street circuit, made up by public roads around Marina Bay area. As someone who lives and crosses those streets on daily basis, it’s a strange, familiar and exciting feeling to see Formula 1 machineries blasting through familiar streets at mind blowing speed. This is the biggest draw of street circuits, at least for me.

Shot on Fujifilm X30

I’m not joining this year’s event, partly because of concern on crowd and potential risk of infection, but mostly due to financial commitments to other items planned this year. I’ll just follow the action online and continue to support and root for my favourite red scarlet team. Let’s hope that they can finally bounce back from their lows.

Looking back at pictures taken from previous events, I realized that I have not brought any “high end” camera to photograph the Grand Prix weekend. Previously I had shot with Fujifilm X30 (a point and shoot), iPhone and… a Leica M240 (a manual focusing rangefinder!!!). Though my photographs were no where near stunning, but still I was able to make do with what I have and took some shots of the event.

Shot on iPhone 7

Will I want to shoot Formula 1 again with high end, high speed or high megapixel camera someday? Yes, of course. But for those who don’t have the latest and greatest gear around, don’t worry about it and just shoot with whatever you have. Enjoy the atmosphere, feel the roaring sound and speed, don’t stress too much as we are there to enjoy the weekend, not to be a sport journalist. The same is true for other types of sport as well, football, sprint, boxing and so on.

Enjoy ourselves in the event first, taking great pictures will be added bonus on top of that. Looking forward for my next Formula 1 experience… if any. Finger crossed.

Know the game you are in

Photo by Mohamed Almari on Pexels.com

I’ve read the book “The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek recently, and it kept me thinking about the concept of finite and infinite game in my life. In a nutshell, there are two different games in this world: finite game and infinite game. 

Finite game has fixed rules, known player and agreed upon objectives. Football, baseball and 100m sprint for example are finite game. Fixed rules, known players and everyone play to score the most points or reach the finish line first.

Then there’s infinite game. In an infinite game the rules are changeable, there are known and unknown players who will join the game, and the objective for all players is to stay in the game as long as possible. There’s no winner or loser in infinite game, players join in if they decided to play, or drop out when they run out of resources or will to continue. Cold war is infinite game, business, marriage and our lives are infinite game.

Based upon the very definition, photography is definitely classified as infinite game. There are known and unknown photographers out there who create stunning photo, there’s no fixed rules in photography, and there’s no such thing as being No.1 in photography.

However, many photographers have a finite mindset when it comes to photography. They want to get more likes than others, they want to be No.1 in competition, they want to charge more for their services. In the end, many lost the motivation to continue when they didn’t reach their arbitrary target of being “No.1”, being better than the rest of their peers. So they gave up on photography altogether.

I think it is important to set your mindset correctly so that one can continue the journey in photography, enjoys it and not getting burned out in the process. It’s something for me to reflect upon as I ponder on how to move forward with my photography. Let’s see what will the future unfolds for me. Till then.