Mind, Body and Soul

Everything has got a trigger point. As a human we are so used to of robotic life. A robot does what has been programmed to. Input, process, output. A routine. Life which has been put on auto mode. Morning, afternoon and night. What are the activities in between are commitments towards people around you. Drawn, taken and sucked into web of things. So when do you actually have time for yourself, just you? There is none. Sadly this is the reality.

And it bites you really hard when you are confronted with this truth. Making it worse when you have been thrown with a trigger point that makes you think what have I done to myself? You started to think where have all these years gone? Have I not been thinking of myself? Am I being so busy caring and thinking of others but I forgot about one person that is myself? Have been putting everyone else in front of me in all matters but I did not realize that I'm missing something?

It is like someone taking a pail of water and throwing over your head. Wake up! Where have you been? Look at what you have done to yourself. You have created miseries and inflicted fears and wounds because you forgot about your self. You have lost in a thick and dense jungle. You saw everyone there but you not yourself. You helped everyone to overcome their challenges but you failed in your own race. It takes a long time to realize or even to get a slightest hint of what has transpired over the years. And we are talking about decades.

So, people say everything happens for a reason. It is a trigger point that serves as an indication to tell you to sit and reflect upon yourself. It is cause and effect. Histories, past events would flash in front of you which you wished you can go back and change it. But alas, you don't have a time machine to do it. Regretting upon past actions are useless. Thinking about it is even worst. But there is one good thing came out of it. Realization of truth. Depiction of your mental state. So they say - Mind, Body and Soul. 3 golden words.

Reflection

There is such thing as good time, isn't. Each moment is a good time. This is what life is trying to teach you. But you would not understand that easily, don't you? You are so caught up with your little or big daily stuffs you do each time and you hardly have time to reflect upon yourself. Those days of past 3 years, how would you describe it ? No words. Battles of inner demons. Never ending arguments with self. Pointing finger back to you. Questions were raised, how worthy are you? Then you get into the endless of games of blames. But, it is actually no one to be blamed at the end.

So, even if it was running away from reality, it was a decision which was never regretted even a bit. Going back into the world of education was the best feelings in the whole wide world. Walking past the rows of racks full of books one after another, surrounded by quietness and breath of knowledge is an indescribable feelings. It is like craving for more and more but there is no time. You long for it but you are forbidden to have it. Enjoyed every moment of this. Surrounded by circle of unknowns who later became known, exchange of opinions and advices made you think there is definitely a bigger world out there.

The period of 1.5 years was indeed some kind of nectar. It will be missed forever. As tough you were on express train. You gotta catch it before you miss it. It was a sweet escapade. Brought relief to cluttered mind when you channel the darkness inside you to something worthy. It made you feel worthy too. Probably that was the expectation. To get the answer to the riddle which was tormenting you for years. The puzzle piece which was missing. Even though you know this was not what you are looking for. The end result is face the monsters residing in you. The monsters who would lay out straight the truths inspite knowing all the pains that would be caused.

All the hard work paid off. It was truly an experience which cannot be bought over with money. Memories that would last forever. Trips after work, sacrifices during weekends, these were too expensive not to be mentioned. The outcome is an opened mind to think holistically, ability to face your fears and an option to choose whether you want to spend your time wisely or waste time unnecessarily. Assignments, deadlines, presentations, exams...just amazing, stretches your ability, making the impossible to be possible. At the end, indeed, it was all possible. Make many friends along the way. Few gotten close. Just one thing lacking was time. It flew away too fast. I wasn't allowed to step back and ponder. But it was still fresh in mind. It would stay as good memories forever thats for sure. Maybe I had my time in this phase.

What came next as thunder and lightning pushed you aside. Ain't sure how to describe it. As tough you knew it was coming but you denied it. Maybe you were a coward not to face it. But I decided I had enough. Its ripped apart bit of pieces of my heart. Few incidents followed thru. Seemed like I was in fantasy land. A bubble blowed up in dream. Its just that this time was real. They said life teaches you many lessons. Indeed, it is. Humility, gratefulness, back to basics. Nothing else matters. Life is good to you.

The Butterfly with Broken Wings

The Butterfly with Broken Wings

She noticed how beautiful she is under the morning Sun 
Blazing rays of lights across her colorful wings 
So delicate that warms her heart 
Small little flutters shakes her little wings 

She sees the bright skies up above her 
They are like soft cottons floating in the air
How she wish she could touch those skies with her wings!
Embracing the freedom she always wanted 
Unlocking the grips, unreleasing the locks 
To meet with unknown adventures which she dares to dream 
She feels so excited suddenly, so energized
To realise the dreams which she always think of
She knows what she wants
As she lifts her wings, it feels so heavy 
Just then she realized, they are broken
Overwhelmed with grief, she mourns 
For the life she once had, the freedom which shaped her identity 
Now it is all futile, her destiny looks hazy
Frozen with fear she remains unperturbed till her fate is decided
As she is the butterfly with broken wings...

Ipoh - 1st Sept 2017

We decided to do something different this time rather than just sitting home and filling up our stomachs with good home cooked food. Hence, we headed to Ipoh enroute to explore some new places. On the way to Ipoh, we found this interesting place called Gaharu Tea Valley at Gopeng. "HOGA" stands for Holistic Gaharu. Something new where you get to taste tea made of "gaharu" tree barks. Plenty of gaharu trees. Visit the website, you will learn more about it. They have rides to 3 different stations where you can experience standing at view points to see gaharu trees at high up. Nice soothing eye sights to enjoy. "Lover's Park" and "Hugging trees" are the main attractions. There is also a place where you can enjoy Hoga tea for free and purchase other merchandises.

Funtasy House Trick Art located at Market street, busy place located at Ipoh town. Busy with people and plenty of food. Many interesting art work for explorations. The day we went was a public holiday, hence, it was crowded with people. A little patience, you will get to snap pictures and get back your investment.

We went to Gunung Lang Recreational Park, it was equally crowded as well with full occupied parking. I guess it was okay because that gave way to go to next destination to Kellie's castle at Gopeng. Intriguing, fascinating and mysterious place. It brings you back to almost 100 years ago to experience the priceless moments. The unfinished castle, hidden underground tunnels, ghostly balcony where Smith was spotted. Somehow missed the most haunted place - the basement which was supposed to be storing wine bottles. Spiral staircases leading to secret underground tunnel, eerie pathways will make you wonder what Smith was up to long time back. There were elevator shaft which was never installed, quite freaky to see to be honest. This place makes you wish to be transported to the past to witness and experience the greatness. Overall, it was a great trip, castle being the best.

Kinta River

Old Kellas House, ruined by WWII

Kellie's castle, standing high

Underground tunnel ventilation hole

Remnants of old Kellas House

One of the 14 rooms

Spiral staircase

Setting at the living room

Not a place for kids to run around!

~ the end ~

Chocolate Museum

While thinking that I should try to instill some education senses, I came across this place "Chocolate Museum" located at Kota Damansara. If you don't have much time but yet you want your child to receive some education about how chocolate is produced then this is the place for you.

Entrance is free. Children get to see how the "cocoa trees" and "cocoa beans" look like, background on how chocolate was first discovered, how it was introduced in our country and how it evolved throughout these years. 

You get to see the instruments and machines that were used to process the beans and also a demo on chocolate making! 

The whole tour took less than an hour. It is best if you walk thru with your child (if he/she is patience enough) to cover the entire showcase. At the end, you get to purchase some yummy chocolates. Guess can't escape this part with excited kids waiting to be rewarded. Anyways, it was a good, short trip, recommended for those with school-going kids.

Marina Island, Pangkor

We went to Marina Island Resort located at Lumut for our company event on 4th of August 2016. The official website is here. The trip took around 4 hours (by bus) from Kuala Lumpur. The newly opened jetty to Pangkor island is available, takes just 10 mins to go there (good news for travellers!)

This place not as what the name claims "island" is referred to man-made island. They claim it is the one and only man-made island in Malaysia. One of the attraction here is what called "Wibit" located at Frenzy Water Park. It can be called as water sports with various challenges. 

The room is very spacious with 1 king size bed and another room with 1 single bed. The room adjourns with the bathroom so there is flexibility for travelers.

The hotel's restaurant is called 'Terumbu Cafe'. There were lots of flies when we were there. The food was okay. Surprisingly we did not see any fish dishes. Breakfast varieties was okay too, average rating for food.

The Lumut town is not so far away from this hotel (not a walking distance, you need transport to get there).

View from the balcony

Swimming pool

Single bedroom

Pangkor 2016

Somehow we made it to Pangkor last week during Raya holidays. Having had to promise my little one during the school holiday break,it was time to keep to the promise. It was a good break, felt refreshed and rejuvenated. Seriously, normal humans need frequent time outs as life can be really stressful at times. 

We stayed at Anjungan Beach Resort & Spa for 2 days 1 night. Wanted to book via online initially as it was cheaper however due to some circumstances we just made reservation thru hotel. It took couple of days to get the confirmation (not that efficient though!). I made my own research online as previously we had been to Pasir Bogak beach, we wanted try somewhere else. Based on some feedbacks, we decided to go for this resort. We paid RM275 per night (Deluxe for 2) as it was a public holiday. Buffet breakfast for one child was RM15. 

This resort is conveniently located in between Nipah Bay and Coral Bay beaches. So, that is the plus point of this resort, Nipah Bay beach is just a stone's throw from the resort. You just have to cross the road to get to the beach and Coral Bay is just few minutes walk. Waves were rough the day we were at Nipah beach. It was heavenly sight to see the waves hitting the beach endlessly. I must admit that I was a little terrified not to take it seriously! 

Calm sea in disguise

It is not so 'calm' after all

The resort's restaurant operates till 3PM only. Therefore we had to look out for food, but it was not an issue as there were plenty of eateries around. It was a nice feeling to have dinner at the beach side. Wish can do it everyday! :)

Sunset view

Buffet breakfast the next day was not so bad with mixture of Malaysian & Western dishes. We managed to take a lazy stroll at the beach again. And caught few rare sights of rainbow along the way before checking out and heading home. Overall it was a good time-out for us.

Hornbills!

Rainbow sighted!