Maldives - October 2017

Without intense discussions or stern contemplation, one of my best mate and I merely raised the subject and agreed almost immediately to the idea of spending a short holiday in Maldives, and everything were subsequently booked and arranged within days. After having Maldives in my travel plan for years, I could finally witness this paradise on earth for the first time.

Two things which I have insisted in this trip:

i.  All meals must come in buffet style; and

ii. Our room has to be a water bungalow

We have at first filtered a list of resorts that offer the all-inclusive packages, since we were both too lazy to even think and decide on our meals during the stay. We set aside RM5000 for the 3D3N trip, and apparently some luxury resorts that come with a private jacuzzi overshot our budget hence we relegated our standard to a more rational and economical one.

Our primary plan was to spend a night in Male as advised by most of the travelers on the web due to the late and odd arriving hour of Airasia at 8.10pm, however the check-in time at 2.00pm on the next day left us with very limited amount of time on the island thus we decided to pay the extra bills and check-in directly to Adaaran Club Rannalhi on our first night. One of the plus point of selecting speedboat over a seaplane is that the transfer service do operate at night. Understanding that the hotel desires to maximize the profit while minimizing the cost on the speedboat transfer service where they would collect the passengers while waited for the other guests to arrive, but more than 1.5 hours of waiting time was a little excessive for two tiring souls. We lingered in the airport fantasizing the comfort of sinking into our bed once we get into our room. The sea ride wasn’t a smooth one due to the undulating waves crashing violently against our boat throughout the journey. But fortunately the small window at the front deck of the boat provided us with sufficient fresh air and works the miracle in averting my seasickness. Upon our arrival at Velana International Airport, we visited one of the cell store and purchased 2 of the 7 days data sim package offered by Dhiraagu at USD$22.00 for 15GB which makes life easier and kept us connected to the outside world.

Maldives is definitely the well-known destination for honeymooners, to the extent that there were no blinds or curtains in the bathroom and everything can be seen through the window at night if standing on the balcony of our water bungalow. Looks like the rooms are catered only for couples while they were not meant for friends. Due to our late arrival on the first night, we have no idea what is buried in the dark opposite of our room and being bothered by the idea of showering in an open view, we have searched almost every corner in the room to collect whatever stuff that could be used as a temporary shade to at least obscure the sight for a peace of mind.

The weather was so erratic that the sun and the rain would come interchangeably within minutes. We could wake up greeting the great sunshine but after 20 minutes of washing-up, we were devastated by the pouring rain. We could be monitoring the rain outside of our balcony waiting for it to stop before we could go for lunch, but once we opened the front door, it was raining cats and dogs despite that we noticed that the rain subsided from the balcony.

We were both having wounds and scratches on our legs due to the surrounding corals. The water beneath our bungalow was crystal clear but rather shallow and during the low tide hours, we could easily hit on the corals whenever we try to paddle in the water. The watersports doesn’t come with a cheap price as expected, but we still went for an hour’s canoe ride at $31.00 (inclusive of taxes).

The all-inclusive package is certainly a value for money. We get the free flow drinks (alcoholic beverages included) and snacks throughout the day. Although there were no wow factors in the choices of food, but we have nothing to moan since they fed our stomach well. The room cleaning services was great as the staffs tidy our room at least twice a day knowing that some water activities will certainly ruin the neatness of the room.

Knowing the preciousness of sunshine especially from the current frosty country which I am residing, I threw myself under the sun as much as I can before returning to the land of pure white snow. Despite the sunburn I got on my hands and shoulder, I did enjoy this vacation wholeheartedly.

One of the epic joke in this trip: During the breakfast session one morning while I was in an half-awake and dozy state, I took 2 pieces of waffles from the tray and thinking to add some toppings to it and I simply grab the nearest ladle soaked in the gravy and pour it over our waffles without realizing that those are the raw flour mixture rather than the syrup!

Having spent less than 25% of my cash, I would now keep them for my next USD destination.

The Memory of a Temp-Londoner

Never did I made-believe that I would live my life as a Londoner squeezing in the subways, and wandering around Waterloo just like the Brits one day. I held my gratitude and spirit high as some dreams that has been slowly erased by time and some wishes that has been gradually elapsed are still sprouting in my path even though they are somehow fading in memory.

Before I could explore each and every bit of London and falling in love with her beauty, it is again time for me to move on. Looks like I am somehow out of my mind deciding to move from a chilly environment to a frostier climate. Obviously, the bait of opportunity and growth still appear to be attractive and preceding all adversities, and emboldens me towards accepting this challenge.

During my first year in London, many have come to me commenting (mostly in a cynical way) that I was fortunate enough to move to a place with a stronger currency, shorter working hours and lesser stress. However do you really think that living in one of the largest metropolitan in the world would come with lower stress level compared to any other parts of the world? After spending 3+ years in this iconic city of art and architecture, I recognize that the lower level of stress has no direct relation to the lower workload or minor cost of living (in fact London has been rated one of the most expensive cities to live in), but it is rather how people live their life. The level of competitiveness and vanity is rather different compared to Asia and their culture of reading has positively shaped their courteous behaviours and mind-set.

Starting a new life in this Nordic country of Finland, I have undoubtedly being presented with a list of challenges. Looks like it is again time for me to get equipped with the armour and head-on to the battlefield with full energy. A more active lifestyle might be all I needed. With the bucket list on hand, this would have been the best guideline towards achieving more dreams. This chance of restarting my life once more is definitely a gift, another opportunity to experience an entirely different world.

A New Life Begins...Again

I am feeling as if my life is progressing beyond a lightning speed, and before I could truly admire and appreciate the beauty of London, I am again on the move and preparing myself for the next destination relocating to another country - Finland. Having controlled and suppressed my buying desires and practicing minimalism during my years in London, I was lucky to have only 3 boxes + 3 suitcases of items to be shipped.

Adapting to a new lifestyle and a new environment is never easy, this includes but not limited to:

• Getting used to the third type of keyboard with different layout (on top of the Asian and European version, here comes the Nordic one).
• Went for groceries shopping without understanding the labels as everything is either in Finnish or in Swedish. I have therefore befriended a new mate - the Google Translate app which has become my life saver in many instances.
• Getting used to the different notes and coins in Euro (€) which is rather different compared to Pound Sterling (£).
• The sun that sets at 10.30pm and rises again at 3.00am (and the sky never really gets dark in between the hours) + the upcoming darkness with only 6 hours of daylight per day.
• Most of the websites doesn't come in English.
• The confusing means of transportation in getting around and the difficult name of each stop and station.
• Receiving all documents (housing insurance, electricity bill and letters) in Finnish and not being able to understand a single word from the papers.
• Changing from a 3-pin plugs country to a 2-pin plugs kingdom is always a problem requiring extra converters for every electrical item.

Definitely there are some unavoidable hiccups and surprises that tagged along as a package in my journey:

• The shipping company that I have selected provides terrible services and I ended up with a full page of complaint in respond to their customer survey.
• Trying to soothe my heartbeats as everything in the Nordic countries comes with a higher price tag compared to London. (Sorry London…I will never complaint that you are expensive ever again!)
• Shopping is definitely not as convenient without the efficient delivery services. For someone who has been the loyal customer of Amazon Prime, a > 72 business hours processing time became rather annoying and intolerable. 
• Some research suggested that 66% of the Finns speaks English, but looks like I am “lucky” enough to have bumped into the remaining 34%. 
• The electricity could only be activated once someone has literally “moved-in” and time was wasted while waiting for the activation.
• The rented apartment/flat comes without a ceiling light and I have to install my own lamps. This is the time when my height posted an issue because I could hardly reach the ceiling even when I am standing on a stool.
• Almost all automated phone features operate solely in Finnish. I tried calling the groceries shop due to some issues with my home delivery order and the Management Office due to the water leakage in the bathroom, but nothing is in English and even when the call gets through, apparently the guy who answers the phone doesn’t speak English and he therefore interrupted my sentence abruptly with some alien languages (Finnish) and immediately hang-up.

Further stress was added when:

• I am living without a proper internet connection for the first 3 weeks and the phone reception wasn’t great inside the house.
• I am not able to open a local bank account before receiving my resident permit, hence I am forced to use my UK bank account to survive and every purchases with the credit card comes with an extra 2.75% non-sterling transaction fee and an addition of £4.00 for each debit transaction.
• The water in the heating bar started to leak just after 15 days of staying in the apartment/flat.
• The sound proofing in the building was extremely poor and I could even hear the water flow from the bordering units, and needless to mention the midnight movements of the inconsiderate neighbors.
• The winter jacket has become my temporary blanket for at least 1 week before I received my duvet and bought myself a mattress.
• The luggage bag has as well became the counter to place my laptop and the food plates before getting myself a proper table.
• Some ex-UK colleagues who constantly asking for extra supports and favors forgetting the fact that I am no longer working for their entity and I do have my current workloads.

However, I was grateful and glad that:

• I have now a place for myself and without the frustration of having someone entering my room without permission and using my things without even bother to ask.
• I could fully enjoy the kitchen without someone stealing my foodstuffs and messing up the area with unwashed dishes and food-stains all over the floor.
• I have finally the mixed tap in the house and no longer facing the very typical British problem of having the cold and hot water flowing from 2 separate faucets.
• I could now enjoy the free flow of hot water without depending on the old-style boiler with limited output.
• A nice taxi driver who fetches me from the airport and helped me to figure out in getting into my apartment. 
• A Malaysian colleague who met-up with me for dinner on my first day of arrival and the Chinese cuisine we had was surprisingly good.
• The cashier in one of the shop willingly exchange some goods for me despite that I messed up the receipts and have presented to them the wrong one.
• The very kind parents of a Finnish colleague who offered to bring me the inflatable bed since the apartment came totally empty. In addition, they were very attentive in preparing as well the kitchen towel, bedsheets, oven gloves, toothpaste just to ensure that I could settle-in comfortably.
• Some friends (and merely these few who cares) that had taken the time to frequently check-in on me just to see if my relocation was fine. 
• The water is not as hard as UK and there will be less lime scale to clean.
• The handsome shipment delivery guy who helped me to move my parcels all the way up to my apartment’s floor rather than leaving them at the ground entrance.
• With the convenient and nice coffee machine in the office, I guess I could not escape from being a coffee addict once again.
• The cafeteria in the office building is offering delicious lunch options, and I could finally get a healthier and balance diet.

There is always something new to learn in life and I am certainly blessed with another chance to restart my life. I hope that this move will be a great experience for me and eventually be another wonderful path to shape every aspects of me in becoming a better individual.

梦如人生，人生如梦 3

永远不要轻易去评论轻生者之对与错，因为旁人永远无法衡量当事人所经历和承受的苦，悲与痛。也许某些事对某些人来说微乎其微，可是同一件事也许在他人心里却是人生的全部。活着，需要勇气。结束生命，同样的也需要勇气。

Life.1

The intensity of the societal norms are unceasingly growing each day. What we hear, what we read, what we watch and what we experience is only telling us who we should be and how we should live our live. Everyone is just too busy pursuing their own dreams whereby many surrounding things are somewhat neglected. The definition of success changes over time hence there is no expiration in pursuing a higher ground. Being blinded by money and power has become too common in the society.

Humans are said to be wiser by age, but as our knowledge grows, we turned to be more realistic and calculative but at the same time the less human we become. We lost touch with our surroundings and sometimes even ourselves by not knowing or remembering who we really are.

How do you see humanity? And how do you see the world? At the lower-end of life, many were starving and suffering due to wars and natural disasters; but at the same time in the first world nations, people are spending a fortune in Michelin Star rated restaurants. This is life…the imbalanced aspect of living.

Stop killing the sharks for the fins, stop pouching the elephants for their tusk, stop butchering the mammals for their skin. Animals are meant to be friends (or food sometimes) but definitely not for satisfying the mere vanity of human beings.

哈罗，十年前的自己，你还在吗？

青春，是一个遥远，记忆犹深的词汇。你，还记得从前的自己吗？原来十年里，可以有那么多甜酸苦辣的回忆。靠近的，走远的；得到的，失去的。

童真，是寻不回的快乐。第一次单纯的喜欢上一个人，一份简单的礼物所带来的喜悦，一个两元红包的意义，吃一次快餐的满足感，陪同朋友翘课去看电影… 你，还记得当时的心情吗？当我们不小心走远了，我们会否选择再重新认识彼此一次？

十年前脑海中的这一年 - 曾想过的，失去了；不曾想过的，得到了。

Year End Review - 2016

Another year of maturity accompanied by another year of wisdom (plus some wrinkles), I am hereby embracing 2017 wishing that this will be a great year ahead.

Summarizing my 2016 as below:

- Higher rental that comes with a smaller space.

+ Finally moving out of the rural “garbage patch” and closer to civilization.

- Increased daily traveling distance to the office.

+ Peaceful mornings and nights in a more tranquil environment.

- Higher cost of living and lesser savings.

+ My new housemate - the adorable pug who likes to sneeze and wipe it’s nose on my pants leaving all traces of mucus and saliva (yet I still love him dearly).

+ Traveling to 8 different countries in a year seems to be the best part of life. [Musical February (Vienna), Scenic March (Ireland), Floral April (Netherlands), Artistic May (Barcelona), Gourmet June (Malaysia), Violet July (Mayfield Lavender), Paprika August (Budapest), Seafood October (Lisbon), Adventurous November (Malta)]

- Being on most of the journey and on the road alone is less fun.

+ Visited China Town more frequently than before merely to appease my cravings for Asian foodstuffs.

- More time and effort is required for the work-out after gaining the unwanted weights.

+ Continue to discover new stuffs and improvement areas in life.

- Living the Londoners lifestyle of commuting by trains during peak hours and “enjoying” the frequent delays, cancellations and long waiting hours in the cold.

+ A great relieve to have my PTPTN settle up.

- Losing touch with some once-upon-a-time friends.

+ Wonderful pre-birthday celebration having spicy steamboat and cheese fondue.

- Celebrating my birthday alone and in a totally stressful and messy condition.

- 2 sets of irresponsible tenants who gave me a lot of troubles and headaches.

+ Knowing that I still have some true friends who are always willing to give a hand.

Surviving the year without any official new year resolution seems to be flowing positively at this point. Other than some common struggles and dilemmas in life, there is really nothing more that I should be complaining about. Hmmp…looks like I am ready for the new year, and wishing my network of acquaintances the best of health, wealth, success and happiness. Dreaming as well for world peace where everyone will play their part to make the world a better place to live.

Malta - November 2016

Looking up a destination with a warmer climate is all I need to end this Autumn, and after a glimpse on the world map, this Mediterranean island of Malta with the average temperature of 20°C is absolutely the perfect and ideal destination for my next vacation.

5th November 2016

Without many flight options from London Heathrow, the 11.25am departure time is just the perfect one. The in-flight safety video of Air Malta featuring the animated knight is rather cute and creative. However, their online web check-in service was incredible…and incredibly slow where it took me almost 2-3 minutes to load each and every page in the step-by-step check-in process.

After the 3 hours and 10 minutes flight duration, I am feeling the heat of 21°C blowing straight onto my face once I stepped out of the airplane. I am all excited to switch-on my holiday mood and leaving all the hassle and stress of life behind. At the arrival hall after crossing the border controls, my name could be easily spotted on a white paper held high by the driver. The driver was again surprised to find me without any additional baggage since traveling light has become one of my common practice where I have only a handbag and a laptop sized bag pack with me for my 5 days and 4 nights journey. The service that I’ve booked is supposed to be a shared transfer, however I was lucky to be the one and only guest at that hour hence I get the privilege to occupy the whole vehicle for myself. At the cost of €16.00 for a return service, this is absolutely a great deal and the most convenient option for a carefree escape. 

The Preluna Hotel & Spa appears to be quite rundown and way below the 4 stars standard, however with their great services and excellent location, there is really nothing more for me to complain about. Not having a tight schedule, I spent my evening sauntering at the Tigné Point in Sliema and walking to and fro St. Julian. The Seaside Promenade Walk with the 2km pavements having an unobstructed open sea views is excellent for an evening stroll.

One of the down-side is definitely the fact that most of the restaurants were only opened at 7.00pm and therefore I am often in a starved and desperate situation looking for food to fill my all-time famishing stomach. Being an absolute seafood lover, the “sea food platter” on the display board of the restaurant - Paul's Seabreeze immediately caught my attention. With the price of €20.00, I get to enjoy the tiger prawns, mussels, clams, squids, salad and chips.

The “guessing game” seems to be something on-going because many of the locals (in the restaurant, at the ticket counter and on my way to Gozo) are trying hard to guess the origin country that I came from but none of them guess it right…lol

6th November 2016

It is quite rare that I will be up early for breakfast during holidays, and this is as well my first time taken by surprise where the serving of breakfast was 15-20 minutes late. The foodstuffs served at the breakfast counter was somehow average, but at least they took the effort to serve something different everyday which is definitely a plus point.

In these Maltese islands, public buses is the most common way of getting around. However taking this form of transportation is somehow a nightmare because of the massive crowd and as usual, there will certainly be some assholes amid the multitude. Planning for the right timing is crucial because the bus services to certain places comes only once in an hour, just like this one towards the Blue Grotto.

I always have the illusion that I have landed somewhere in the middle east because of the vast extents of desolated grounds and the design of the houses which were built solely from the limestones (exactly like what is shown in most of the documentaries). After spending hours at Blue Grotto and the coastal town, I picked a nearby sea-view restaurant that serves the local dishes, including the Maltese Rabbit Stew for lunch. Being fully refreshed by the meal and drink, I continued a 1.7km walk to the Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Temples which are the megalithic temple complex surrounded by an archaeological park.

 

After leaving the museum, I was in a dilemma between a 25 minutes wait to get back to Valletta or a 45 minutes wait heading towards Mdina. But at the brink of my patience and physical strength, Valletta rises above the other hence bus 52 is my final decision. Arriving at Valletta in 30 minutes, I simply mooch around the town going through the alleys which eventually leads me to the Waterfront. Taking a lift ride at €1.00 (first time having to pay for the use of an elevator), I reached the top of Upper Barrakka Gardens and spent quite sometimes there relaxing while waiting for the sunset.

7th November 2016

While searching for something exciting and extraordinary to do in Malta, I came across this package from Viator costing £82.20 that comprises the two ways hotel transfer, a set lunch, the quad-bike and helmet rent, and the ferry + speed boat rides between the islands.

This quad-bike tour is definitely the highlight of my trip as I enjoyed very much this new and exciting way of exploring the island of Gozo. Our tour guide - Mark is an excellent instructor. Together in the tour is a couple from the States and 4 of us in one group is just the perfect number for this excursion. While completing the safety agreement forms before we hit the road, the guide just could not believe my age and even uses the calculator to confirm once more making sure that I am above the age of 21. I just have to thank him for making my day because I am already so far away and above that minimum age…lol

Learning to handle the quad-bike itself is fun but on the other hand it consumed much physical strength hence this full day tour wasn’t as easy going around the town, the narrow alleyways and some uneven paths. The views of the island are amazing and breath-taking, we could as well see some local architectures and better appreciate their indigenous cultures. We ended our tour around 5.00pm and gathered ourselves at the jetty waiting for the remaining participants who went for the jeep tour. Our outing is supposed to include a short visit to the island of Comino, but unfortunately the surging waves and bad weather interrupted our plans and we could only take a quick glance at the Blue Lagoon before returning to the main island of Malta. Inside the speedboat with a group of strangers, the ambience was surprisingly harmonious where everyone were laughing, teasing and helping around while we were continuously hit by the waves and splashes of water along the way.

The L'Artist is one of the highly recommended restaurant by Tripadvisor where their delicious food comes with great services. After a long day-out, I certainly prefer to dine-in at this nearby restaurant with my favourite seafood platter and with a glass of white wine to wrap up the day.

8th November 2016

After a sufficient amount of time spent dawdling in bed, I finally get myself ready to kick start another day despite that the weather wasn’t looking great. Even though I have seen enough of the cathedrals and churches in Europe, yet I still spent €10.00 to enter the St. John's Co-Cathedral hoping to appreciate something different. I would praise that this is a splendorous cathedral made of gold, with each and every corner exquisitely built and furnished. After getting myself some souvenirs in central Valetta, I still have plenty of time and therefore decided to visit the old city of Mdina. While I was wandering around looking for the right platform and the right bus to Rabat, there is this kind soul who approaches me and directing me to the correct bus service thus saving me plenty of time and effort.

 

St. Paul's Catacombs is a wide archaeological site with multiple entrances to the underground crypts. With the entrance fee of €5.00, one could spend almost half a day visiting and admiring the crypts. However I was deeply disappointed because the one and only catacomb with the real mummies was closed! Looks like I am lacking the luck in greeting the mummies after all.

Since I have specially booked myself a sea-view room this time, there is no reason for me not to enjoy sitting at the balcony with some snacks and delicacies. On this last night of my trip, I ordered some sushi for take-away so that I could comfortably relax and enjoy my dinner in the hotel room.

9th November 2016

Since the pick-up shuttle service will only arrived at 2.15pm, I have requested an extended check-out hour so that I could spend longer moments in the room until 1.00pm. I was somehow grateful that the internet service on my mobile device has a sudden breakdown and disconnecting me with the cyber world during my last hour’s walk along the coast, I was therefore able to pay more attention to my surroundings and better appreciating the scenery and delighting myself in the sea breeze.

The shuttle service was very punctual and I got picked up on time to the airport. I have a sudden crave for KFC since the night before and without a second thought and further hesitation, I walked straight towards the counter of KFC at the departure hall and surprisingly that tasted so good and I love those crispy hot wings.

In general, the people in this island are warm, lovely and kind. There is hardly any communication concerns because almost everyone speaks good English. Most of the people enjoyed a simple lifestyle and are less obsessed with the luxury goods, and most of the vehicles are second-hand cars imported from Japan. This is especially a great reminder for those who lives in large cities (yea…I am just one of them) that a simpler lifestyle does not generates less satisfactions and happiness. Looks like my list of the re-visiting countries has continue to grow, as I would definitely love to return to this wonderful island again in the future.