Review of 2012

Another year has come n gone (and a little bit more). What have I done last year? Not much really...

Achievements in 2012:

Travelled to 6 countries, including 3 new ones!

Includes Dhaka Bangladesh, Kupang Indonesia, Bali Indonesia, Seoul South Korea, Mauritius, Khon Kaen Thailand, Science City Philippines, Melbourne and Sydney Australia, Dubai UAE - places includes both for work and for leisure

Work wise

Work has stabilised a little. At least workload has decreased to something reasonable and is more focused on just one program instead of the multiple ones I was handling back then. I'm now taking it slow and steady.

Exercise

It's been a while since I really got off my butt. And this year seems to be it. I've joined the hotel gym to use the swimming pool (ok, a bit). I've joined the yoga class at work which is kinda nice, ok I still don't really like yoga but appreciate that it got me off my butt. I've also started some badminton and manage to do a 5k run (ok, I walked - but still!!). It all counts, right?

Started a Masters course

One thing has been bugging me a bit (and some of you out there too) to do more to upgrade myself. Well, opportunity came when I learnt that an online course on animal welfare was available and within my affordability. So, here I am! It's a 3 year course, part time - or so it says.

Finally gotten a smartphone 

Yeah, there are many of you that are amazed I took this long to hop onto the smartphone bandwagon. But here you have it - I got an iPhone around mid last year. And then went all out and got an iPad too! I'm typing this on it right now!

Yeah, so that's my life summed up for last year. Nothing too exciting though. I know it's almost halfway through this year, but lets see what else it brings me. One plan is to actually blog more!!! You out there reading this, do take time to leave a comment or two so I know you're reading this and I might feel more motivated to blog more. 

iPhone blogging

Yay! I can blog on my new iPhone thanks to blogger's own free app. Here's a photo to celebrate.

Flowers bought from the flower market at Pak Khlong Talat (opens at night) in Bangkok. This bunch costs 50 Baht ($1.50 USD).

2011 in review

What? Its 2012 already? ... what have I achieved in 2011?

1. Time off from work

Its been my fourth year at work in Bangkok, and also one of the most exhausting time. So I decided that I needed a break to get refreshed and took a 6 month sabbatical from work. It has been good times - mostly spent it with family and friends back home, some travelling, and mostly relaxing. It definitely has been the break I needed to get rid of the exhaustion. But had it refreshed my motivation for work? Remains to be seen...

2. Travelled to 8 different countries

Although with the sabbatical from work, there was still a lot of travel during work (and some during break). This year it includes 3 new countries too - Italy, Ghana and New Zealand!

Places I have been in 2011:

• Kanchanaburi, Thailand
• Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Rome and Turin, Italy (part work, part holiday)
• Accra, Ghana (only work though)
• Cebu, Philippines
• Taipei and Green Island, Taiwan (holiday)
• Singapore (meet friends)
• All over New Zealand (major holiday!)
• Jakarta and Borobudur, Indonesia

And I've learnt that I might be too old now for true backpacking. Better just stick to budget hotels.

3. Loss interest in hobbies

Well, not an achievement, but a significant change in the year. I think I've lost my motivation for photography or blogging. New equipment, software, joining new groups, etc, just didn't do it for me. But that said, no matter how depressed one gets, there's always someone worse off. Don't worry, I'm still me :)

4. Bungee jumping! 

Oh, did this while in New Zealand. It was really terrifying at first, but of course I had to do it! And I plunged into the water below too. This should really be on everyone's bucket list. Would I do it again? You bet! If only it wasn't so expensive to go jump off a bridge. 

Lets hope for a brighter 2012! Perhaps a more drastic change? Hmm...

Heli-hike on Franz Josef Glacier

One of the fantastic experience in New Zealand is Heli-hiking up on the glacier. Franz Josef glacier is located on the West Coast of South Island in New Zealand. It is situated within the rainforest climate of New Zealand, which means it gets quite a lot of rain over the years. But these rain actually help make the glaciers.

The glaciers itself is beautiful and much more expansive and huge than any photos can show. It is constantly moving, which is why you can hear cracks, falling ice and even small waterfalls from the melted ice.

A Heli-hike involves taking a helicopter up the the top of the glacier and then a guide brings you to climb around the glaciers, exploring the nooks and crannies of formed ice caves.

Even though sitting in a helicopter and looking down, it the glacier still looks small until you see another helicopter flying around, then you'll get an idea of how massive it really is.

I'm not sure if you're allowed on the glaciers on your own, but having a guide is really the only safe (and sane) choice. With experience, they know which areas are safe to step on without having any ice fall on you, or falling into the crevice of melted ice. Trust me, its worth it.

A guide will also explain the different landscapes around the glaciers and show you things you'd never expect. Like a small stream of melted ice.

Or the best thing on the glaciers, going through an ice cave! The pressure from the formation of the glacier produces this nice blue tinge (which turns white after exposure to the sun). So, finding a blue ice cave that you can slide through is amazing!

If you ever go that way, I'd definitely recommend a hike over the glacier (either Franz Josef or Fox Glacier, both should be equally good, but also depends on your luck with the weather!). The helicopter ride is a bonus, where you get to experience the massiveness of the glaciers and take in the entire glacier.

Mountains in the morning

I am loving Kaikoura, New Zealand so far. Imagine waking up in the morning and finding this view outside your room each day!

Just Migrated

I just migrated to a Mac and I'm having a hard time finding for the right software to use to update my blogs. I previously used Microsoft Live Writer, which was fantastic, but of course they wont make it run on a Mac. Took it for granted how easy it was to write a post or publish a photo. Argghh!

Looks like I have to blog online now (which I hate, cos it all goes wonky and layout just doesn't work properly). Or else I might think of another migration... to another server. Any suggestions?

Happy Chinese New Year!

Its the year of the rabbit – so Happy New Year all!

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!

Mooncake Festival

Mooncake festival, or what is better known as the mid-autumn festival, was on 22nd September this year. It is traditionally the harvest festival in China, but also celebrated by many Chinese descendents overseas. Read more about it in the link provided.

It is a time to eat mooncakes (hence the name of the f estival). The classical mooncake is one made of lotus paste, but now I’m surprised by the many varieties out there in the market, including the popular durian version in Thailand. The traditional ones are becoming rare! And I miss my mum’s homemade ones too.

It is also a time to hang lanterns. A popular thing with kids. While I was young, I remember playing with paper lanterns and some cartoonish ones made with wires and coloured plastic paper. Also a time to play with candles – an excuse to play with fire. These days, lanterns come in so many varieties including battery operated ones!


When lighting lanterns, be careful not to cause fires!

But above all, it is an excuse to get together with family and friends.

I’m in Xinjiang, China

It’s weird that just a few days ago I was enjoying myself on Perhentian Island and driving along the coastal road on the East coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Then I ended up here in Xinjiang province of China, the area that is most remote from any seas or ocean! What next?
Oh, by the way, there’s still no way to get to Facebook or Blogger in China (have tried proxy – but didn’t work!). So, I don’t know if this will get posted. Hope so.

Wassup meets VatSop!

Finally found a Wat for this blog… meet temple Vat Sop!!

Visit it in Luang Prabang, Laos. :)

Work work work

I am browsing through the photos taken during the 10-day trip to Kathmandu, Nepal last month. Took 430 photos altogether. Only now I just realised that they’re all work-related photos!

I wanted to take at least some photos with the new lens (uh huh – ultra wide lens), but didn’t have time. Or maybe I just didn’t put in effort to go out. Its been so long since I just take photos that I like (and actually have time to process them). Maybe that is why this blog is slowing down too. Haven’t even been downloading, sorting and filing photos too.

Gotta start doing it sometime… maybe next week.

Here’s a work-related photo from Nepal. Animals, of course.

Donkeys in Kathmandu

Donkeys are so cute.

And curious

But in Kathmandu, they’re used for work. They work here at the brick kilns.

 

 

Many donkeys suffer by having to carry heavy loads each day and being beaten by the donkey carers (who are mostly very young kids, who belong in school anyway).

But at least there are some people working for these donkeys.

Donkey treatment by car light, looked on by kids.

 

And abandoned donkeys have somewhere to go. 

More information available from Animal Nepal.

My little room in the new house

My family moved into our new house in January (yes, that’s the house beside the “hutan simpanan kekal” – hah!). Parents of course took the master bedroom. My brother joined 2 rooms for himself (one of it is for his toys – boys will be boys).

The room they left me must be like an afterthought, “what shall we do with this tiny room? Oh, right, we can let her stay here”. Even the storeroom is bigger!

Anyway, its cheaper to furnish a small room. And since I may not be there too often, I’ll dedicate it to the cats.

Cat platforms for them. To save space, my stuff hangs below.

View from the mirror.

 

Platform leads to above the door, where they can have a snug snooze.

The sofabed, where they can perch on and watch the world go by outside the window.

Unfortunately, handsome boy Kobe has went out of the house and has not returned since. Its been just over 3 weeks now. If anyone sees him, tell him to come home. We (and the dogs) miss you.

Life goes on in Bangkok

You hear rumours of the gathering. People warning you to be careful, even stock up on food, just in case. They say that 1 million people will gather. Rumours of violence.
However, life goes on as usual. You get up on Sunday, the day of the red-shirt protests, and nothing feels unusual. News reports from 10,000 to 150,000 supporters have gathered together in protests. It is mostly a peaceful protest. Heck, I even went and watched a movie (Food, Inc – go watch if you want to know about the conspiracy behind food).
Anyway, lets hope nothing else happens. We shall see what happens tomorrow afternoon, when the deadline that they supposedly give the current prime minister to dissolve parliament.
What is true “democracy” anyway?

Changes in KL after 2 years

Its been 2 years since I started working in Bangkok. Being back in KL after that time, even when I’m back every few months, there are certain changes that I noticed.

In an earlier trip back home, while queuing up at the duty free in the airport (LCCT), the lady behind me produced this stack of money to pay. At first I thought she was trying to pay in Chinese Yuan. But after a close look, what do you know, we now have new RM 50 notes!

Other things I noticed is that there are lots of developments in the outskirts areas. New shopping malls, new housing estates, new high-rises, new highways. So many new ‘happening’ places that I have not heard before. Even familiar places becomes a bit alien. Imagine me telling people, “yes, I know that place”, but after further details I realise I know none of the new landmarks, buildings or roads (except for “Bali” – apparently that reference is still used even if that place has been burnt down 10 years ago). The city is growing - where did all these extra people come from?!?!

Road rage is definitely more prominent than ever. It is becoming a norm that people describe incidences of violence on the road and how drivers try to pull over other drivers to give them a piece of their mind. I always say that Malaysians have split personality while driving (me included), even the most docile person will turn into a foul swearing monster behind the wheel. Nothing much is being done to upgrade our public transport, so more and more people are forced to drive their cars, even with the escalating price of petrol. And KL is definitely more jam than ever (and I forget how stressful it is until I am stuck in one!). Is it really surprising that there is road rage?

More people are speaking English – Malay, Chinese, Indians – more people in KL are just speaking better English these days.

Inflation is horrible. All prices go up. I realise a simple lunch costing more than RM 5 is normal these days (before I left, RM 5 was a bit extravagant). While in Bangkok the prices remain about the same despite the global economic crisis, simple lunch there still costs not more than RM 3. Our currency is being devalued, but does your salary remain the same?? Another thing, I know that the 1 sen coin has been discontinued, but I was surprised when nobody now cares to return your 5 sen change anymore. What is happening to the value of the Ringgit?

Politics – ah, how to summarise this? After the GE 08, each time I read the news its like one of those HK drama series. You never know how the plot twists and you’re always looking forward to the next episode to know what happened. At least people are now more questioning.

Anyway, I’m now back in the land where the switches are terbalik.

Left side is on, right side is off. Confusing huh? (I still am after 2 years!)

Wii for Mom & Dad

My bro and I got Wii for Mom & Dad as presents for Christmas (and birthday).

Tiger also wants some of the action.

 

After opening… they’re still clueless what it is…

 

Until they tried it out!

 

But heck, they’d still rather watch those Chinese shows on Astro. So, I might as well play with it when I have the chance :)

2009 in review

Time passes by so quickly. Before you know it, another year has gone by. What have I achieved in 2009?

 

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

Wow – cant believe its been 2 years already. Feels surreal to tell people I’ve been living in Bangkok for 2 years now. Also, one of the oldest expat in office now (many have left). But, I still cant speak Thai – although…

 

2. Learn a foreign language

Yeap – I enrolled in a beginner Thai class. Now I can tell people that I’m not Thai! However, still a long way to go before I could carry a conversation.

 

3. Blogged

Yeah, I can’t believe I managed to keep this blog alive. Although I’ve been pretty quiet the last few months, especially in December. OK – I’ve gotta continue and update more frequently about life overseas. Oh yeah, I think I earned about $4 this year from Google ads (hahaha).

 

4. More responsibility in the job

Uh huh – I’ve got promoted from ‘officer’ to ‘manager’ level (feels like I’ve ‘grown up’). And the role comes with a lot of responsibilities. I’m already feeling a bit overwhelmed now, especially towards the end of the year – if anyone has noticed, I’m barely in Bangkok or have any time on my own! And this blog and my photography is the first to be affected. But the learning curve for me has spiked. I’m now managing several projects on my own, conducting workshops on my own and deciding on how I spend my own budget even. And of course, arranging my own time – yeah, lots of flexibility in this job. I think I’m starting to get a hang of this job – although I wish I had more time for myself.

 

5. Travelled to 9 different countries

Excluding Thailand and Malaysia, of course. This also includes 2 new countries (Tanzania and Philippines) and several new places. Some places are already becoming quite similar, its blurring together already. I’m starting a new column on the right - “Where have I been in 2010?” – so I don’t lose track!

Here’s the list of travels in 2009:

1. Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2. Jaipur and Jodhpur, India (Jodhpur twice)
3. Chiang Mai, Thailand (twice)
4. Koh Samet, Thailand (holiday)
5. Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar, Tanzania
6. London, UK
7. Colombo, Sri Lanka
8. Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal (part holiday)
9. Hanoi, Vietnam
10. Beijing, China
11. Cebu and Bohol, Philippines (part holiday)
12. Shanghai, China

Conclusion: India is still the most sucky place to go. Philippines is surprisingly very nice. And everyone should do a safari in Africa at least once in their lifetime (and don’t skimp on getting a good guide – it does make a lot of difference).

Oh, and I must add that I managed to stay in Bangkok for an entire month (of June) – which is a big feat by itself!

 

6. Did paragliding!

Its so cool, everyone should do it. And its not as scary as it seems. 

 

7. Upgraded my camera

Bought a new camera and sold off the old one. Although most picture taking experience is still the same – so therefore, its always the photographer, not the camera that makes a good photo. Also managed to join several microstock agencies and sold a couple of photos (I think I earned like $3 so far). Now, I just gotta take and upload more photos. However, due to hectic schedule, my photography enthusiasm is a little down towards the end of the year (yeah, I’m blaming everything on my workload). Gotta find a way to pick it up again this year. Hmm… would having a Macbook help?

 

Well, in summary: 2008 brought me lots of new experiences. 2009 gave me a chance to refine those experiences. Lets see what 2010 brings…

Happy 2010!

How frustrating!

Its so weird. I have no access to Facebook, Twitter, and my blog (Blogger) from China. Its like being cut off from the rest of the world!

I wrote the last post through Windows Live Writer. When I clicked on “publish”, it returned with an error message. So I thought that I couldn’t connect to Blogger. Mana tau, I got comments on that post (hope I got it published). So, it must have went through somehow. How frustrating it is not to be able to see your own blog!! arggh!

Anyway, small updates: Beijing is quite cold, and the strong winds will chill you to your bones! The good thing with the winds is that it blows the pollution away, and you get clear skies for a day. The next day, the smog is back and you barely see the sun. However, it was much better than the last time I came in March 08. Can’t imagine what it was like before!!

Ok – leave you with a pic of a free range chicken farm in Beijing.

Arrival in Beijing

Wah… new airport! Its so massive. A long long walk from the plane to the exit. Although the massive size, it wasn’t planned out so properly. There were definitely some bottle neck at some parts, e.g. when getting down the plane, everyone bottleneck on this narrow escalator (the only way in). But security was quite high, can check people so many times (especially for H1N1 – they were really paranoid).

The first restaurant you see greeting you at the airport – KFC. You expecting something else?

After another bottleneck to use the lift to the taxi stand, there’s a long line for taxis! And it comes in groups. Your batch of taxi comes, you rush to the taxi with all your bags and move on!

Oh, there’s also no connection to Facebook, Twitter or Blogger! (hope this goes through, and if it does, I cant see it to verify anything!)

 

p.s. I also need a t-shirt that says “I’m MALAYSIAN. I’m not Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Nepalese, Thai… etc”