and that more was a chance to really get to know some amazing people, come away with a whole new group of fascinating and brilliant friends plus experience a fantastic city that I had only ever seen pictures of in travel magazines.

Air Asia X was our official travel sponsor for this trip and flew us from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and back again. I have never flown a budget airline for a long haul flight before and I have learned from this trip that there are a few things one must do to make the journey comfortable. If you are planning on flying Air Asia X (or any other budget airline, I suppose) take note. Fork out some cash for the pre-booked meal, the comfort pack (aka: a blanket, pillow and mask), extra baggage allowance (because they even weigh your carry on) and if you are feeling spendy, book the “hot seat”. Those are the ones with extra leg room. Make sure your own personal entertainment is sorted or bring cash money to rent one of theirs. All in all, do as much of what you can online at least 4 hours ahead of your flight (including check-in) or it will cost you extra on top of the extra it is already costing you. If you really want my advice, unless you are a 19 year old back packer on a super tight budget, consider keeping your budget airline flights 4 hours and under. While I am grateful for the flights they gave me, I have to be honest, I think my joints are a bit too old at this point to be shoved into those tiny budget seats for a 9 hour red eye flight ever again.

After the flights arrived, we were met by someone from Nuffnang Malaysia and taken to the Marriott with enough time to kill in the spa (heaven!) having some wonderful tea and getting my nails done.

Followed by a quick bite to eat with a cute and tasty lunch companion.

Back up to the room with a great view over the killer pool. That is what I want my back yard to look like, ok?

Since we flew the red eye and were there first thing in the morning, I had time for a nap before our big night. I love naps and luckily my darling roommate for this trip is halfway into her pregnancy and was more than delighted to have a nap too!

I woke up to a thunderstorm that signaled the arrival of late afternoon in the tropics. It was time to get gussied up in my Hen’s Night dress of 8!! years ago (it was touch and go for a minute there) and head down for pre-awards show drinks with the team from Nuffnang Australia. I had not yet had a chance to ever meet any of them in person before so it was great fun. They are all great fun, and gorgeous and young…so freaking YOUNG. I digress.

Insert the Nuffnang Asian Pacific Blog Awards night here. I did not take my real camera down with me and just enjoyed being one of the five finalists for Best Photography Blog! While I did get one shot of the category board in the lobby with my phone camera, I will have to hunt down a picture of the GIANT panel photo they projected on the stage during the category announcement. That was cool. Also, I think I may have to borrow some wording from the sign as I have decided my new blog tagline should be “gorgeous photos of the mundane.”
Fitting, don’t you think?

The following day we were treated to a bus tour of Kuala Lumpur by Tourism Malaysia. What a gorgeous city and there was so much to see and do that I know I could easily have spent a week just beginning to scratch the surface. I also know for sure that I will be back. I think the kids would love it.

Some of the dedicated were a bit tired still from the previous evening’s protracted festivities.

but everyone rallied in the end. Beyond the monuments and palaces, there was shopping to be had…

That shot of my feet is for Sarah.

These Petronas Towers at night are something else…they look like they are made of sparkling crystal.

Right on cue, the late afternoon showers started to roll in and we headed back to the hotel.

All too soon, the day was over and it was time again to get ready for an evening out. Let me just say that Nuffnang knows how to throw a fantastic party. What a wonderful trip it was.

So there it is, my first ever blogging awards trip recap in pictures (and just a few words) because that is what I do…I am a photoblogger. And after this weekend, I am even more proud to be able to say that. Thank you for coming back week after week to celebrate the mundane (yours and mine) with me. Sometimes it is just a simple change of angle that makes something so little like moments from our daily lives seem grand. Often you just need to come back when the light is better to capture the diamond sparkling in the dirt. I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year…after all it is only how I look at it that matters.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to appreciate the ordinary as extraordinary through photographs and I am grateful for your support. I look forward to following the beauty you find in your daily lives as well, so make sure you link up your blogs in the comments so we can all find our way. I will be joining a great little blog round-robin of like minded lifestyle photobloggers who, once a month, pick a day and then shoot pictures of their life every hour for 10 hours and post the resulting photos on the 10th of that month. Look for my 10 on 10 starting in January!

Photo information: I only took my D3 and the manual focus 35mm f/2 lens. I was hoping to pick up some new camera gear while I was there, but I just did not have the time I wanted to make my choice. I take that as a sign that it is just not the right time to add/change equipment and maybe one of the rumored new Nikon bodies due in 2012 is actually what I have been waiting for. Once again, I enjoyed the challenge of having to shoot all manual (including focus) and in the end the plenty that I already have is well…plenty.

Oh how I wish I could just wave a magic wand at the computer and have all the design changes on the blog just happen.

*poof*

Like that.

How great would that be? All the magic wands I found in the house just beep and light up, but don’t actually appear to do any actual spells. Therefore, as we roll out the new logo, design, colors and features of the blog, you will see our undies, so to speak. Please excuse the mess around here as we get it all sorted.

I am excited for the way it will all look in the end though. And please be patient…just based on the fact that I still have not blogged all the images from my Italian trip that took place in June, it may be a while.

As I have been mentioning…there is a lot going on in 2010 for my work and I am so thrilled.  The response to the release of Beyond Snapshots – the blog has been so amazing.  Peta and I are happy that so many people are enjoying the site.  We are busy polishing the new online classroom for our next session.  We are also working very hard at getting our official teaching tour together and will announce the details as soon as we can.  And more on top of all that.

If you think a fun and detailed  Beyond Snapshots mentoring session sounds like a great idea, tell the people over at BlogHer!  We have been pitched (although at the time of the pitch it was not yet confirmed that Peta would be able to come too so you can now add “& Peta” after every Rachel) to speak at BlogHer ’10 this August in New York City and we need your votes to get on the schedule.  Click this link and choose “I would attend this session” to get Beyond Snapshots on the official line up.  You will have to sign up or into BlogHer to see the voting options, but it is a great site and easy to do.

If you are already attending BlogHer, this will be a great presentation…a mini version of our upcoming workshops.

Do it for the small bunny:

we are busy building the new blog. please check back in the coming days to see what we have done and get ready to add a new book mark!

the blog has been growing daily and i am excited to use the space to share my photos and musings, but i was not happy with the lack of design ability with this free wordpress format, so we are moving and it is going to be so nice! there will be new features on things i love and i will be sharing a bit of my tips and techniques for photography. i’ll be taking some questions and even having some contests. so much is planned. hope you will join us for the ride!