If you would have noticed that the advertisements on my site are mostly via Nuffnang and to be honest, I have been secretly using them exclusively for my little site which has been evolving around from a photography centric to something part of what life is for me at the moment.

So I received an email from Nuffnang that this 31st of August, in collaboration with our nation's national day, we will also be celebrating their 6th Blog Day! This is an excerpt of their email below.

On Blog Day, bloggers will post a recommendation of 6 new blogs, and this way, everyone will find themselves discovering new, previously unknown blogs thanks to the viral effect of social media. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Here are some of the blogs which I would like to recommend. If you asked me this last year, I would totally list out 6 photography related blogs but in this time of my life, there are of course certain other interests in my life lately.

1) Stories.my 



Stories.my is a wedding and portrait photography blog which is mainly contributed by Grace Tan (and on some rare occasions Johan and me) whom I shoot with and frankly, I really do like how she write blog posts about each and every wedding she covers as well as the ones that I cover as well.

2) Whatadrive.blogspot.com



I started reading up on automotive blogs lately and of course you would have noticed that I have been blogging about cars lately as well. How I came about this was through various links and chanced upon Loki's blog. What actually made me come back again was his Nissan R33 GT-R rebuild project. Back in the UK, I have always been a fan of "Pimp My Ride" where they would slowly change a really old car and transform it into something new. Going through that journey with the owner themselves was a real treat for me because not only do I learn a little bit more about performance cars, I also learn that the automotive industry is really huge, and complicated as well.

3) k3v's Modlog



I met Kevin when I bought my 17" Denver rims from him. After checking out the various VW Forums as well as joining the VW groups, Kevin is one of the few who blogs about his car modifications. He drives a VW Golf GTI Mk5 and it is currently on a Stage 3. I liked how he has documented his journey from Stage 1 all the way to Stage 3 recently with images of the hardware he has installed as well as the dyno charts to show the results of the modifications. Definitely a good read for those who are interested in getting a 2nd hand Golf GTI Mk5 and modding it for a great weekend car.

4) Autodetailer.co



A month ago while I was attending Nigel Barker's photography workshop in KL, I manage to meet the man behind Autodetailer.co, Darren Chang. Tagged as the most advanced auto detailing center in Malaysia, I have been following Darren's blog and see how he actually transform cars into showroom quality conditions as well as restoration projects. He makes car washing and cleaning into an art form and the amount of detail that they put into each and every job is truly amazing. And to boot it off, Darren is an amazing photographer as well and I love that he has  studio incorporated into his detailing center at Jaya One to help him capture images of the cars he details and offer customers an album of their cars.

5) Presentation Zen



Part of my work is to give presentations for clients and constantly I have been trying to figure out how can I present technical areas without the need to make my audience fall asleep. I have always been admiring the kind of slides which Steve Job's uses for his keynote speeches and how I can incorporate those type of designs into my day-to-day work. Then I was introduced to this book written by Garr Reynolds and it was called, "Presentation Zen". After reading his book, I follow Garr's continuous update and ideologies through his blog.

6) Duarte Blog



If you have ever watched Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", one of the things which really made an impact to me was the slides he used to explain about global warming and the effects it has done on earth. Guess who made those slides? Nancy Duarte's team was on the project to design those slides to bring forward a very important point, global warming. Ever since I found out about that, I started following her blog and it has given me plenty of tips on how to run successful teleconferences (something I do very often) as well as virtual presentations. Her books also does give a good insight on how can you tailor your presentations and her focus is very much on both the visual and design aspects of your communication medium as well as how you communicate and put forward your points.

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So here are the 6 blogs I would definitely want to recommend to everyone out there for Blog Day! Selamat Hari Raya everyone and have a great Merdeka Day! For those of you travelling back from your hometowns, drive safe!

Note: I would recommend reading my review on the Golf 1.4 TSI before reading this as most of this is based on a comparison between the Roc and the Golf

One of the benefits of joining other Volkswagen enthusiasts especially during a teh tarik session is that I get chances to test drive other member's cars. One of them, which I managed to sneakily test drive a number of times was the Scirocco 1.4. Now I have always been curious to see a car with the same engine as the Golf 1.4 TSI, but priced at RM188,888 has to offer.

The Scirocco was also featured in the recent Karate Kid movie but of course, it's an extremely old version. Also called the Roc for short, here is a quick and brief history of the Scirocco.

So let's see what are some of the differences here.

First Impressions

Right off the bat, the moment anyone looks at a Scirocco, I am sure there has to be a reaction. Whether it may be a good one or a bad one but still a reaction. Perhaps you might be like James May where he might have a fizzy little thing between his legs when he sees a car which gives him the fancy, yeah, something like that but irregardless, it definitely turns heads. The first time I actually saw a Scirocco was when Top Gear featured an episode on it where they had to come up with an advertisement for the 3-cylinder diesel version of the Roc (you can view their silly results here and here).



Interior and Boot Space

From other Roc owners, you can still set up a baby chair in the Roc and it comfortably fits 4 people in total due to its 50/50 split folding rear seat design (you can squeeze in 5 for short trips but it wouldn't be legal as there are only two rear seat belts available). One thing that stands out between the Roc 1.4 and the Golf is that the Roc comes with a flattened steering wheel, the same one which is given for GTI and R owners. The Golf 1.4 comes with the standard round steering wheel which also is available with the Passat CC sold here.

Shown above is the flat bottom steering wheel designed for the R-line cars. The GTI ones look exactly the same except that it has red stitching on it. Another thing to note that Scirocco's that were manufactured in 2009 have a completely different interior than the current ones mainly because it takes the same styling from the older Golf MkV. The ones sold here by Volkswagen Group Malaysia are based off the newer interior but I have seen 2009 Rocs for sale on Mudah brought in by the local dealers.

The rest of the interior is standard and there isn't much differences between this and the Golf. In my opinion, the steering wheel itself provides a nice sporty look and feel and to optionally get this steering wheel itself can cost around USD$500 (searching through eBay).

The boot however, is surprisingly deep and you definitely can store a lot of stuff in there. I haven't had the chance to test it out with my full-sized golf bag but it definitely does look like it has a lot of space.

Another benefit you get with the Roc 1.4 is that it comes with 17" rims as it's standard compared to the Golf's 16" rims.

So far there hasn't been any complaints as well for the Roc owners especially when it comes to the "rattling" noise experienced by Golf owners especially when taking the corner. This issue actually comes from the fact that the rubber lining along the doors tend to dry up in our weather, hence the noise. Because the Roc has only two doors, I guess you can hardly hear the sound.

The Drive

After taking off in the standard fashion and the moment I enter the first corner, or basically, leaving the mamak stall and turning the first corner; the Roc shines here. Due to it's lower profile, this car handles way better than the Golf 1.4 which I think is a little soft around the suspension areas. You get the planted feel when tackling corners and I could hardly feel the side G's pushing me. Of course it does help that it's only a 2-door car hence you get less body roll due to a more rigid and firmer chassis.

Differences

Other differences between the Roc and the Golf are rather miniature in nature. For example, the Roc doesn't have sensors at the front but only sensors at the back as compared to the Golf which has sensors all around. The Roc however has two reverse lights versus the rest of the other VW cars mainly because I think the rear window is so small and the C pillars are so fat, that it is extremely difficult to reverse out.

Interesting Mods

Of course with every VW car, comes plenty of modifications. Here are some of the mods you can do for the Scirocco to stand out from the rest of the other Rocs.

• Bodykit (Rieger, Caractere, etc, etc) - This of course changes the look of your car!


• Scirocco R rear lights - This isn't as fancy as the Golf R rear LED lights. It's just a darkened rear Roc lights


• Aluminium pedals for the Roc 1.4 as well as the OSIR footrest or you can opt for the full R-line pedal sets.


• Unibrace for the Roc to improve its handling further. I am not too sure if they have the Crossbrace for the Roc as well.


• Head unit upgrade to either the RCD510 (the Roc 2.0 comes with this) or the RNS510 which offers satellite navigation and DVD playback.


• Custom downpipe for the Roc


• Engine remap


• Cold air intake


• Quad exhausts


• H&R or Eibach lowering springs

So far there hasn't been any announcement by VW to provide daytime running lights for the Scirocco.

Conclusion

To conclude up this review, would I say that the Scirocco is worth the extra RM30,000? Well it all depends on your taste. If you like a 2-door car, then yes, I would say it would be worth the RM30,000 extra. But if you are considering the 2.0litre version, I still have some doubts mainly because a 2-door Renault Megane RS is priced currently at RM236k which is RM15k cheaper than the 2.0 Roc and it has a lot more features to the car. Overall, the Scirocco fits into a different segment compared to the Golf hence I guess it's a nice compliment in their line up.

The Roc which I tested was a very unique Roc, because the owner, decided to bring it in for a dyno run and the results were astonishing. The Scirocco 1.4 TSI is stated to provide an output of 160ps running on Ron98 but his Roc managed to generate 170horses at the wheel, yes, 170whp! That is insane!

By the way, there is currently a Scirocco R in Malaysia already. Apparently someone managed to bring it in via a local AP and it made an appearance at the Volkswagen Club Malaysia's TT session two weeks ago. So far no concrete rumours about Volkswagen Malaysia launching the Scirocco R but there has been changes in terms of the prices for the Golf R. What I have heard is that the prices have been raised from the rumoured RM270k+ to RM300k+.

Calling all VW Owners, do join us at the VW Club Malaysia. It's an informal club and gathering of all VW enthusiasts around here. We have on-going TT or "teh tarik" sessions which goes on every Friday night and we usually choose various locations around Klang Valley to suit the needs of the members :)

There is a huge diversity in the group in both the members as well as the cars they own. From the very old classic Beetle, to Golfs, Polos, Passats, Tiguans and of course brothers from the VAG group such as Audis, Skodas and Porsches. I used to be quite shy when it comes to these sort of gatherings especially when you don't know anyone but after joining them in a couple of "teh tarik" sessions, I managed to get to know some of those fellas who have even helped me out quite a fair bit in giving me information about cars and the technical aspects of it.

Recently last week, we had a buka puasa event where about 30 of us met up in Ampang to have dinner at Istana Bambu which was a unique place where the entire restaurant was made out of bamboo. I had great fun there and I think everyone had a lot of fun eating and enjoying each other's company.

So if you are passionate about VW cars and just want to hang out with car nuts as well (they promise they won't poison you so much), you can also start joining the forum in the link below.

http://www.vwclubmalaysia.net 

Or you can also join the Volkswagen Club Malaysia Facebook Group over here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/209276962443790/

It's a great place to chat as well as learn a couple of technical stuff about your cars and new tricks which you didn't know that your car had in them.

There will be a "teh-tarik" session going on this Friday at Kota Kemuning. Do check out more about that session here. Hope to see you there!

Yes, after my first experience travelling to Chicago back in 2009, I was back there again but this time for only a week and most of the time I was located at the Q Center. This time travelling there was a little bit more pleasant but I had to take a horrendously long route. Kuala Lumpur to London and then to Chicago. 23 hours in total and 2 hours of transit at Heathrow Terminal 3.

Since I was mostly held up at the Q Center, I decided to walk around the area to capture a bit more of the scenery in the area whilst I was waiting for the shuttle bus to bring me to the Premium Shopping Outlets. Damn, stuff there are very cheap. Managed to get a new suitcase (after Air Asia broke my old one) from Samsonite as well as sunnies from Oakleys there.

If there are 4 people travelling from the airport to the training center, the taxi service will send you a limo. I kid you not!





The training center used to be a golf course and near the entrance lies the 18th hole which is a par 3.





At this distance, I don't think I can hit it straight to the green let alone cross the lake thanks to the damn lake and how I am afraid of hitting the ball into the water.







Tallest building in the whole area, that was where I was housed which was conveniently above the dining hall where there are 3 buffet lines available for all 3 meals!



Located next to the training center is a river, its called Fox River and I am not too sure if this is the same Fox River from Prison Break. Of course after a quick Google, Fox River Penitentiary was actually a fictitious place but it was located in Illinois.



The weather there was fantastic in July with temperatures hitting 28 degrees on a high and averaging around 23-25 degrees.

The flight back however from Chicago was less than entertaining. I had to travel for 28 hours, door-to-door, meaning from the Q Center till my apartment door. This included a nice 6 hour transit in India which I think they should revamp their system allow transit passengers to roam in the departure hall where all the lounges and shops are while we wait for our tickets to be processed.

If you have noticed my posts lately, I haven't been for any photography workshops for a while already and not because I have stopped learning but I am a little more selective in what I want to learn and also pursue a new area in photography as well. When I received an email via WPPM that Nigel Barker was having a workshop here in Malaysia, the very first thought that came to my mind was, "Who in the world is Nigel Barker".

Of course, thanks to Munz who was next to me at that time, she told me who he was!

Anyway, for those of you who still don't know who he is, Nigel is a judge on Tyra Bank's reality show called "America's Next Top Model" which he does on top of other stuff as well. But most importantly, he was a photographer. A good portrait and landscape photographer as well, stronger in the field of portraiture in my opinion.

And the next thing I noticed was that it was not his workshop but more like a 1-day seminar. He had a workshop in Langkawi but it was held during the weekday and it fell during the same time I was away in Chicago hence it didn't really suit me (ok, the price was the main deterring factor as I knew I couldn't afford if :P).

Held at the Ritz Carlton in KL, I left my apartment late as it was a Sunday morning and I knew that traffic would be clear. I was right, I reached there within 15 minutes. Making my way to the conference room, I bumped into familiar faces at the conference such as Johann Sopiee, Patrick Low, Jim Liaw, Ning Liaw, Matt Marzuki, Eric Ooi, Fiona Lim and many more. Of course I made new friends such as Chen WS and Darren Chang as well.

Due to my super efficient "just in time" manner in which I arrived at the location just 10 minutes before the start time and I was seated all the way behind together with Fiona. What was shared wasn't the usual technical mumbo jumbo which you might have heard from workshops. It was about Nigel's life, his experiences and what he does now that inspires us all to be better photographers and to also see that there are things to life that are a lot more worth it than just money alone.

Overall, this conference had one of the best food served! Ritz Carlton provided yummy and delicious food while lunch was at Shook! at Starhill. The amount of food there was amazing and I definitely overate especially on the soft shelled crabs and risotto.

My only feedback to the organizers is that I did wish that the project screen on which Nigel shared his photos and presentation were projected to the back and not just on the TV at the front. Also it would be good that the photos which Nigel shot during the conference could be projected up as well.

On a last note, I managed to help Fiona win one of the three lucky draw prizes by calling out her number. Talk about freaky.