Beauty in Nature

I went to Taman Negara some time ago. Besides looking for animals or doing the canopy walk, there are many more things around us that are naturally beautiful. One only has to open up your eyes and learn to see it.
Here are some pictures. Enjoy!


 

2010 in review

2010 has been a tough year with lots of incidents and challenges, but hey, it will only make me stronger. Lets see what I’ve done so far last year…


1. Working and living in a foreign country for the third year

Can’t believe it has already been 3 years. Time zipped by so fast, yet still feels surreal living in Bangkok. Heck, my Thai is still as basic as the next tourist.

However, a lot of work has been piling up and I’ve finally felt the real meaning of ‘burnt out’ (those close to me can tell the difference). I need a long break and time to reflect on my work-life balance. And the changes within the organisation in the last year does not help, as change is unsettling and we still cant see the end of the tunnel.


2. Travelled to 10 countries (if you count Taiwan and China as separate)

As you’ve probably noticed (if you’re one of the few returning readers) that I’ve left the list of my travels on the right hand side of my blog. These are the places I’ve travelled to in 2010, including 2 new countries - Laos and Taiwan (er, Taiwan counted?).

Here’s the summary:

1. Singapore
2. Colombo, Sri Lanka
3. Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, Thailand (holiday)
4. Kathmandu, Nepal
5. Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Laos (holiday)
6. Tai Chung and Taipei, Taiwan
7. Shihezi in Xinjiang, China (beautiful)
8. London, UK
9. Manila and Cebu, Philippines
10. Bali, Indonesia

Conclusion: Xinjiang is normally off the tourist trail, but its a really beautiful place. Would like to take the time and holiday here sometime (would be good for photography too). Taiwan is also a nice place to go to, it is cheaper than I thought but at the same time very civilised.

I need to take more holidays.


3. Delivered my Dad’s eulogy

Yes, it is not something someone looks forward to, but I’m glad I have gathered my strength to deliver this. He is my hero and I needed to tell everyone what a great person he was (not that it needs mentioning to those that have met him before).

It was such a sudden and unexpected thing and accepting it is the hardest part. And I don’t know how long it would take me to trust any doctors in government hospitals (namely, Serdang Hospital) again.

Better to die a hero than live like a vegetable. (gloomy, I know). I miss you, Dad.

The other thing that this incident did was that I’m now responsible for my family and our home. While filling out forms, the section of “head of household” has taken me aback and woke me up. Someone has to step up to the plate now.

It also makes you realise how important family is. Luckily extended family is not far away. Thank you, famiLee :)


4. Blogged and photographed?

Well, due to hectic workload, being burnt out from work and the incident (above), blogging has taken a back seat. I realised that I’ve blogged less than half compared to previous 2 years.

My photography has also drastically slowed down in 2010, even though I still love it in my heart and occasionally read up about it in magazines and books. I need more motivation and find myself wondering where it went.

Lets see if these will pick up again in 2011.


5. Own property and a business

Yeap, I’m a home owner and a business partner. I’ve always wanted to go into these, but you can also say that the incident with my Dad has made me push myself more. So far so good, lets see where this year will take me with these.


Overall summary: lots of ups and downs (mostly downs) in 2010. Its been a tough tough year, and here’s hoping 2011 is better.

Happy new year!