Uploads from thienzieyung, with geodata

1 Borneo From Bukit Padang

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:58:14 -0700

Today, I hiked up Bukit Padang in the evening, since it was some time since I last did so. When we were at foothills of Bukit Padang, rain clouds were seen looming, and we heard thunder. We then hurried up the rocky slopes at one part of the hill,before merging back to the main trail onto the second flight of steps to the very top. Just after passing the rocky area, 1 Borneo was clearly visible. I also then remembered that I've always wanted to photograph 1 Borneo while the roof of Prince Tower was reflective. The jungles and greenery around was in a dark green colour as the skies were getting dark pretty quick. The roofs of Tower D were also reflective, as seen behind Tower A.

Malindo Air In Kota Kinabalu International Airport

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 06:58:14 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

I was on my way to Kuala Lumpur for a short weekend vacation, and we flew with Air Asia. As our plane taxied out for takeoff, I managed to spot an aircraft with a painting job I've never seen before. Apparently, its from the new Malindo Air I've just recently heard about. This plane had just landed, most likely from one of its destinations; either from Kuching or KL. The Terminal 1 building can be seen behind on the left half of the picture. Shooting photos through plane windows really is tricky.. I couldn't get a vivid photo of the plane.

New QEH Twin Tower Block

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:06:39 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

After breakfast, we drove along the Old Penampang Road, as I wanted to take some photos of the views from an open hilly space looking towards suburban KK. I particularly wanted to take a closer look at the nearly completed Queen Elizabeth Hospital Twin Tower Block. One of the two cranes working on it has been taking down, leaving the luffing jib one behind. It was rather interesting to see how the back side of the twin tower block looked like, as it wasn't easy to view the back compared to the front.

Highrise Condominium In Kota Kinabalu

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 06:12:33 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

The top of Keramat Hill along Tuaran Road looked over Signal Hill, including the highrise condominiums built there. Bayshore Condominium, the Peak Condominium, the Peak Vista and even the Peak Soho (under construction) can be seen clearly from the top. The March sun caused Deluxe Tower to cast its shadow partially on the lower parts of the Premium Tower. Behind it is Sepangar Island. I thought this view looked rather hazy compared to my other photos.. maybe its due to people burning offerings to their ancestors at the graves below.

The Peak Soho Under Construction

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 05:13:23 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We stopped by the Likas Bay Public Park to enjoy the windy and beautiful afternoon after having lunch downtown. From there, I could easily notice the Peak Soho rising up. The Peak Condo and the Peak Vista towered behind.

The Peak Soho would be divided into two parts - Block A and block B. Block A would be about 17 stories tall, block B just two floors lower. Though the Peak Soho consists of two blocks, only one tower crane is working on the two blocks

Waterfront In Kota Kinabalu City Centre

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 06:21:50 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

There was also a small window along the corridor of Gaya Centre Hotel, overlooking Wisma Merdeka and the Segama Watefront, as well as the sea. Since Gaya Centre Hotel tops out at 14 storeys, it was slightly higher than Wisma Merdeka. I then managed to get a nice angle of the new roundabout nearby, and also Tun Fuad Stephen Road. On the right, is the vivid waters off the city. Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug Islands are clearly visible from this vantage point.

1 Borneo From Likas Bay

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 06:21:50 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We took a drove along Tun Fuad Stephen Road after lunch, and I immediately eyed 1 Borneo in the distance as we progressed along the bay. I was determined to see whether the roof of Prince Tower was glowing. And to my surpirse, the roof was indeed glowing. Normally, if one were to view it from Likas Bay, the roof would normally glow around noon time. I pulled over the side of the road just before a bridge to get a direct front view of 1 Borneo in the distance.

One thing I noticed is that the sunlight shining on this side of the condominium blocks nearby wasn't really bright this time round.. This could be because the Sun, during the month of March, is quite high up in the sky, and hence the light isn't shining directly on the walls of the condominiums. In between them, the roof of Tower D was glowing a little too.. And I'll have to play around with the sunlight to capture the roof of Tower D glowing as well.

Kota Kinabalu From The Tallest Hotel Downtown

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:20:39 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We had lunch at Gaya Centre Hotel in the afternoon today. After lunch, we decided to do some exploring and sightseeing around the hotel. We took the elevator up to the Penthouse floor (14th floor).

There was a nice view from the lift lobby, towards the south east. Since Gaya Centre Hotel is the tallest building in the CBD, we actually got a slightly high angle of the northern part of the city centre. Too bad Wisma Merdeka was partially in the way. Capital Hotel is on the left, and one could even make out Centre Point and part of the airport runway from here!

Labuan Ferry Cruising Off Borneo

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 06:26:09 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

While I was at Tanjung Aru Beach having a cool drink, I noticed something white along the horizon at first. It was moving pretty quickly. I looked at my watch, and it was around 11 am. It must have been the Labuan Ferry making its way to Jesselton Point. I took out my camera and started zooming in, and indeed, it was the Labuan Express 2. Normally, the ferry would depart Labuan at 8 am to make the 3 hour journey to Kota Kinabalu. It then would need to pass the coastal areas south of KK city before reaching Jesselton Point. I managed to take several shots, but this one turned out among the best due to the slight haze and heat distortion. Looks like some people are having fun parasailing!

1 Borneo Hypermall, Kota Kinabalu

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 06:26:10 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

Many people in KK would agree that yesterday the weather was really brutal, as it was sunny throughout the day and temperatures soared high. In the afternoon, the sky was blue and cloudless, and sunlight was pretty intense. Well, for me, this is the best weather to go around taking photos of sceneries and views. We took a drove around Likas and Kingfisher area, and then I remembered that for sure, the Prince Tower of 1 Borneo would have its roof all glowing brightly.

As we drove along the access road from the Tuaran Bypass, my predictions were confirmed, the roof of Prince Tower was glowing really brightly, until it is white (when normally it would be orange). I hurried up the hillside of Likas Hospital, where I knew, would be a good place to photograph 1 Borneo from the south. Even all the other hotel and condominium blocks seemed amazing under the strong sunlight. When I reached there, I could actually notice heat waves across the facades of the hotels, and this really indicates how hot it was! The roof of Tower D was also glowing white then, but I've yet to find a good spot to photograph it.

Glowing Roof Of Prince Tower, Kota Kinabalu

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:33:26 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

These few weeks, I travel along the Tuaran Bypass frequently in the afternoon, and could easily notice the Prince Tower of 1 Borneo. The usually orange roof of the 28-storey supercondo is glowing white around 2-3 pm, and it was a really nice sight from 4 km away. Does this mean that the roof can be seen glowing too from Likas Bay? I've better go there on one sunny afternoon before the trajectory of the Sun starts to move over to the northern portion of the sky.

Angkasa Apartment & 1 Sulaman View

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:33:26 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We continued exploring Menggatal area by entering into Taman Canggih near Bukit Harapan. I wanted to see the construction works of Canggih Heights close up, and to explore a new residential area there, called Taman Bukit Hijau. I previously thought that the area behind Canggih Heights would be a hillside claimed by the jungle, but I was wrong. It was actually sort of like a small descending slope, and I could see all the way to the industrial areas of Inanam from that place. The road there was all newly sealed, and I could easily spot Angkasa Apartments and 1 Sulaman coming up from a turning there. Through a gap, the crane for the Gold Tower can be spotted. The angle of D 'Sulaman Square and the Wismas were also quite interesting from here.

Platinum Tower (1 Sulaman) Construction

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:28:24 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We drove up to Taman Cerah in Menggatal to explore the area, and I also took the chance to photograph 1 Sulaman's Platinum Tower from the road leading into the neighbourhood. Eventhough there were some trees and wires obstructing the view partially, the view was still generally nice. The 'north wing' of Platinum Tower has topped out, while works are now on the 'south wing'. Part of the middle wing has been cladded. This was actually taken at the road leading to SMK Bandaraya.

Reflecting Roof Of Prince Tower, Kota Kinabalu

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:28:24 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

After driving around in Taman Cerah and Gudon Village, we then used the Tuaran Bypass road, and that was when I remembered that the Prince Tower of 1 Borneo could have its roof glowing under the strong morning sunlight.

True enough, from Darau Village, I could see that the roof was in a glowing orange, though not totally white as I've seen before back in August. I immediately pulled over the side of the highway to get some shots of the interesting roof. If one were to view the roof early in the morning, it would be in a dark red colour. And on cloudy days it would be just orange without any glow.

My guess is that maybe the developer wanted to distinguish all the condominium towers, so Prince Tower, which is the most luxurious condo in 1 Borneo, got its reflective roof. Towers A and B didn't really get a fancy top compared to the Prince Tower. But then, now I'm wondering why Tower D was also given this interesting roof..

Early Morning Sunlight & Shadows On 1 Borneo

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 06:24:25 -0800

thienzieyung posted a photo:

I use the Tuaran Bypass frequently, especially during early morning when the Sun first shines over the city. Along the bypass, one could notice 1 Borneo from the Darau River area. Throughout the months, I've been observing how the sunlight shone on 1 Borneo; how it changes over time, and I did notice that different shadows are casted over the condominium blocks as time progressed. I took some time to photograph the scene from a bridge at Darau Village.

The sunlight in early March shone completely on the eastern facade of Tower A (on the right), and it has a really 'flat' appearance when viewed from Darau Village. The shadows of Tower A stretches over to Tower B, while Tower C (Prince Tower) is shaded by Tower B. The reflective roofs of the Prince Tower wasn't reflective at all at this time of day, and it was in a deep red colour. The skies are really cloudless these few days so it would be a good time to around taking photos during the 'golden hour' each day.

Aerial View Of Putatan Town, Malaysia

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:45:54 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

What caught me by surprise this time while inside the plane was that we took off from runway 20, instead of the nornal runway 02. I immediately changed my mindset about photographing Gaya Island and all that - instead I planned to photograph Putatan town since I was seating on the left side. About 1 minute after lift off, Putatan town came into view.. I had a few moments to zoom in and capture the town. I noticed the Putatan Platinum Apartments towering over the lower shoplots and commercial centres. I had to take the shot quickly till I forgot to frame One Place Mall into the shot. After taking this shot and another one, the plane made a steep right turn for Kuala Lumpur. It was a great, beautiful day for aerial shots, but I only managed to capture a few shots.

One Place Mall From Meruntum Lagoon

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:49:54 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

While traveling on the Putatan Highway, I noticed that One Place Mall is visible from between the trees of the swamps in the Meruntum Lagoon. They aren't much places to view One Place Mall in the distance, so I decided to pull over beside the busy highway to zoom in and capture the view of the upcoming mall from the south. Apparently cladding works have already began and even the space to put the water tanks on the roof is being constructed. Other than One Place Mall and the Putatan Platinum Apartments, the skyline of Putatan is totally blocked off from every place else.

Crystal Condominium, KK Under Construction

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:49:54 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We turned off Kepayan Road to the back of Airport View Hotel, to see the site of a condominium under construction, called Crystal Condominium. All I remember about this condominium was that it was abandoned for some time, before construction works resumed last year. According to Wikimapia, there will be 3 blocks in this development. Looks like Block A has topped out, and cladding should begin soon. The developer even placed a big banner bearing the name of the project and a contact number which is visible from the main road.

View From Keramat Hill, Kota Kinabalu

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 06:12:33 -0700

thienzieyung posted a photo:

We started the day with an early trip to the huge and hilly cemetery along Tuaran Road to visit the graves of relatives in conjunction with the Qingming Festival. The cemetery was really busy with people, and it didn't feel eerie at all going there.

After cleaning up and offering prayers for our relatives buried here, I decided to climb all the way to the highest parts of the cemetery to see what the view would be like from there. Since it has been quite some time I wanted to reach the top of Keramat Hill, I excitedly climbed up the flight of cemented stairs at the left side of the cemetery, and it took me about 5-7 minutes to reach the top.

Anyone who climbs up here would notice Taman Keramat first. I gasped at the view from the top. Signal Hill is clearly visible, and even Likas Bay can be seen. As one can see from this photo, the normally empty carpark has reached its full capacity this morning.

Highrises In Likas, Kota Kinabalu

nobody@flickr.com (thienzieyung) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 06:19:27 -0800

thienzieyung posted a photo:

I went up Public Jaya Apartment 1 (all the way to the 5th floor) at the foot of Likas Ridge this morning to see whether the upcoming Peak Soho is visible from that particular angle. I couldn't help but notice the Peak Vista first before looking at the surroundings. The Peak Vista Awana was rather tall, and at that time, the Sun was shining directly on the side facing Likas. exposing its white 'centre wall'. The building coming up below it would be the Peak Soho. I was rather surprise with how it looked it because it seemed rather 'flat'. Most likely its due to the almost midday Sun. Likas Square is on the left, and on the right would be Wisma Perindustrian. The cranes working for Pacific City can be seen in front, and even a portion of the Bay21 Condominium is visible on the far right.