Hoi An...an anecdote of April (cont..)

i woke early that morning. perhaps, it was because i was too eager for the session that morning with Pieter Jansen. i received the confirmation email on the day before, that we'd be meeting with the group at one of the local coffee shops at the junction just outside the old town.

i left the guesthouse at as early as 7am. well...google map helped. it led me to the location, while passing the streets and alleys of the old town that was still in its rem. i know, i am a seeker of solitude and calmness, and i felt i was in my own nirvana, having the calm place to be memographed. the contrast of the colors of the buildings at early light, with few locals heading to their whereabouts added that much vibe that i could appreciate, compared to the touristic vibe what i'd seen in the afternoon before.

i arrived at the big junction and saw the place. it was a big outdoor local coffee shop. it took me a while to spot where did Pieter sit, as the place was packed with people, mainly locals that having their early sip of the coffee.

'you are the earliest to arrive!' Pieter chuckled as i introduced myself to him. he looked different compared to his pictures on the website. perhaps, that was from during his slightly younger days. after a while, another guy arrived, he's from Israel and then a young couple from Holland.

there'd be four of us for the morning session with him. it started with a quick introduction and ice-breaking, over the morning coffee.

Pieter led us to cross the big junction in front of the coffee shop and brought us a bit further from the old town vicinity. we stopped at one of the alleys, and he started to talk about the composition and light in photography. it was then followed with the hands on experiment to practice the lesson.

we left the alley and walked further inside. passing the houses of the locals there that tucked in the middle of the old city of Hoi Ann. they (the locals) didn't seem to be bothered with our presence, wandering and even memograph them.  reason being, Pieter has been a familiar face to them as he's been bringing countless student walking along the route.

the photo-walk tour ended when it was almost noon. i think it was about 11am when all of gathered again at the coffee shop, had our last coffee and then bid farewell to each other. i walked back to my guesthouse, and that was the time when i just realized, i haven't had anything yet since morning other than coffee. huhuhu.

luckily, the guesthouse still serving my breakfast. i had the pho, but a vegetarian one where the replace the beef with tofu. well... seriously...i was good, but when people talked to me about how they served...and the broth might be still the same one that they used... terus kembang tekak aku bila fikir balik. hahaha.

i went back to the room and had a long nap, while waiting for my next photo-walk session at 3pm.
tbc.