4 days

Waking up is the most difficult thing I have to do every single day. Once I get my lazy ass out of bed though, everything will be fine and dandy. 

 

My desk's a big mess right now, and it'll probably remain this way till my paper's over; speaking of which, that will be the last examination that I'll need to sit for as a degree student!

Caught up with some of the ktowy guys last night at Beer Market, and we had a good time recollecting some of the good old times. It's hard not to notice how everyone's grown so much over the years, though we can still behave like the bratty kids we once were back in CCHS. Last night made me really thankful for the 10 years of friendship that we share between us. Things are probably going to be different in time to come - in fact, it's already happening; about twice as many people come for gatherings these days because of boyfriends/girlfriends (twice the fun). But I'm just really glad to see that everyone is doing fine!

Attended a workshop on travel photography this afternoon, and I had quite a fun time learning some photography 'cheat-codes'. The instructor highlighted some points that I've never really considered while on my previous travels and I thought they were valid and quite useful. Took some pictures around the Bugis/Rochor area too, though I'll most likely put them up only after the paper.

Don't sound like I'm all that nervous for the paper (though I really am feeling just fine), do I?

A moment to express gratitude

Had been feeling pretty off the entire day, no thanks to someone who'd made me doubt and question my stature as yet another insignificant individual.

This was supposed to be a self-loathing, self-indulgent, emo and whiney entry that would make me seem like some self-pitying expert, but I'd just watched a documentary that described hardships faced by some of our founding mothers and got a timely reminder of how fortunate I am to be born in this day and age.

Tonight I'm thankful for many things, and just to name a few:

I'm thankful for the roof over my head,
I'm thankful for the food in my belly,

I'm thankful for my comfortable bed
(and blankie which I'll snuggle under in a few moments!),

I'm thankful for the love from my family,

I'm thankful for the laughter and joy my friends have brought me,

I'm thankful for the hot water showers I can get,

I'm thankful that I only need to turn on the tap when I am thirsty,

I'm thankful for the many opportunities to travel,
I'm thankful for the education that I've received,
I'm thankful for the opportunity to give back,

I'm thankful for my very existence (however insignificant),

and most importantly,

I am thankful for being able to express my gratitude for these little things that make up my life

- yes, even at the expense of sounding like the most naggy person on earth.

So, thank you dear Samsui ladies. For contributing to the early progress of our nation, and for the timely reminder that nothing we face can be as tough as the hurdles that you've had to get through during the peaks of your lives.

Dolphin-sighting, en routes to Tai-O

Pictures were taken in February or March earlier this year. Audrey was doing a module on environmental issues at IEd, so after helping us get clearance from the tutor in charge for the dolphin-watching field trip; we made our ways down to Tsing Yi (somewhere near the airport) all the way from Tai Po early one morning and got on board one of those speed boats.

Hong Kong's probably one of the last places that you'd expect dolphins to be found in the wild, but hey, dolphin-sighting's quite a common occurrence here!

#1 Adorable Audrey - I miss her so much!

#2 Best gals on exchange

#3 Lone fishing vessel

#4 Yvonni - Someday I'll visit her and Doris in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

We were rather skeptical about sighting any dolphins initially, since Audrey's tutor had told us to expect the worst and to just enjoy the boat ride; apparently some luck (something that I usually do not seem to possess) is needed. Dolphins in the wilderness of Hong Kong, against a backdrop of heavy industrial settings and pollution, you got to be kidding right? 

But as luck would have it (I bet there were probably some very lucky people onboard with us), we did spot some dolphins!

#5 The first of a few more to come.

#6 They're called the Chinese White Dolphins, but they aren't exactly white in colour.

#7

#8 

#9 

These mammals sure made everyone onboard squeal with much joy, in amazement; with every leap out of the water surface, "oohs" and "ahhs" were bound to ensue. The noise that we were generating probably scared them off at some point in time.

It was a really great experience, and I have Audrey and her tutor to thank. Dolphin-sighting in HK, who'd have thunk?

#10 Pavilion found on Lamma/Lantau Island, can't remember!

#11 Next up, arrival at Tai O!

酸

source

It's hard not to think about Why.

But whatever it is, I hope you're happy now.

feeling awfully weird now.

Crash course on Star Wars

A friend gave a quick run-through of the 6 episodes and I couldn't help but thought of this set of photos from Clubsnap that I came across sometime ago:

For full set of pictures, click here! 

I think they're funnier/cuter with the captions.

It sounded much more interesting than I'd always thought it would be, keeping fingers crossed that I'll have the time to catch all 6 movies when exams are over next week.

Laid-back Berastagi, en routes to Lake Toba

After leaving the hostel where we'd spent a terrible first night, we winded up at a bemo (i.e. mini-bus/van of sorts) interchange and spent 15 minutes searching for a bemo driver who would get us to the main bus terminal, without ripping us off too badly (which unfortunately, I think he did). 

#1 In the bemo; Yvonne and Tuomas.

#2 The driver made a few more stops along the way so that more passengers could get on.

Somehow, the bemo driver did not drop us at our intended destination and we ended up at some shopping mall instead. There was a local fast-food restaurant, and quite a number of little stalls run by Indo-Chinese stall-holders that peddled stuff ranging from handphone accessories to clothes and snacks. After withdrawing some money from the ATM at the mall, we were good to go!

In order to prevent ourselves from getting ripped off big-time again, I decided to check with some of the stall-holders; and approached a couple who looked like they were in their mid 50s or early 60s. I started asking them questions with my awfully-limited Hokkien and halfway through the conversation, the man decided that it was a good idea to switch to Mandarin so that he could better understand what I was trying to say. I was quite embarrassed by my half-past-six grasp of Hokkien and yet, at the same time, more than thankful that they expressed an understanding of Mandarin.

After a few minutes of explaining, which he felt wasn't of enough help, he came out from behind his stall, walked us to the entrance of the mall and tried to negotiate with two motorized trishaw riders to bring us to the bus terminal for a good price in Bahasa Indonesia. I was touched by his friendly and helpful gestures; felt a warm, sorta fuzzy feeling in my heart and found it a little hard to believe that people would actually go all out to help complete strangers (but yes, people do that and I'm more than thankful to them).

Three hours and a bumpy bus ride later, we found ourselves in Berastagi (approx. 86.5km south of Medan according to Googlemaps). Following the reviews on Yvonne's guide-notes, we walked down the main street where we'd alighted and into the courtyard of Wisma Sibayak Guest House. Got ourselves two rooms and that was half of what we'd paid for the lousy first night's beds.

#3 Tuomas: What's that funny smell, Yvonne?

#4 Now you see me, now you don't.

After receiving the keys to our rooms, we dropped our bags promptly and stopped by the dining area for our first actual meal in Indonesia.

#5 Gado gado for me.

#6 Our rooms; minimal furnishing in there - just a queen-sized bed, lights and a fan (if I'd not remembered wrongly), common toilet could be found outside the rooms.

#7 Backyard bike. 

#8 Guesthouse's courtyard

We stayed in Berastagi for 1 night. Even though the place's well known for its two active volcanoes Gunung Sibayak and Gunung Sinabung and the hot springs, we didn't trek up or visit any of them because we wanted to spend more time at our next few destinations. We did however, take some nice long walks down the main street. I loved the laid-back vibe of the town, where everyone just seemed to be happy minding their own businesses and are not particularly bothered by the visitors that stop by the town. It's the kind of place where not too many tourists visit, and hence, there are no pesky souvenir vendors trying to sell their ware at every corner of the streets.

Here are some of the pictures that were taken on our walk:

#9 Competition? Bring it.

#10 Lovely Doris behind the gate of a souvenir shop

#11 Happy school girls posing for a picture. It was around 11.30 am when these kids were walking home; school ends relatively early here.

#12 Venturing into the local wet market

#13 Peace!

#14 Why so grumpy, baby?

#15 One scruffy-looking dog

#16 Lovely Chrysanthemum

#17 Two cute little boys (yes there's one more boy at the back!)

#18

#19 :)

#20 What money can buy... found on the wall of our guesthouse.

YF: Jie I want to watch movie with you.

Me: Okay lor... let's watch Immortals.

YF: Don't want... it's a guy's show; I want to watch that with my guy friends. 

Let's watch a horror movie instead.

Me: *raises brow* Why?

YF: Cos if I get scared during the horror movie girls won't think I'm a weakling.

Me: *rolled my eyes*

There's a lot of eye-rolling when I talk to him sometimes haha.