till we meet again

Sorry for not updating my blog for such a long period, I have been slacking much and still far from getting used to my college life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my college life as far as I am concern, just trying to get the hang of everything. Please bear with me and I promise that I will start updating my blog consistently from now on :)

So, my brother came back for Summer break from the UK since May and spent a good 4 months with the family. A week before his leave, we planned on a family trip also a short getaway from the hectic and busy city life to Club Med in Cherating, Malaysia. Club Med are 'vacation villages' owned and operated in a number of locations around the world such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China, Maldives and more. It is like a resort with a variety of facilities and activities well planned for their guests, including Rock Climbing,Yoga Sessions, Gym, Table Tennis, Jungle Trekking, Flying Trapeze and others, free flow of foods and drinks (including beer and certain alcoholic beverages). On top of all these, their main attraction is the friendliest and most energetic GOs (Gentil Organisateur) who are always there for you to make your Club MED experience a better one. 

Club MED Cherating, Malaysia is nestled in the heart of 80 hectares of nature, an eco-friendly jungle beach resort in Malaysia filled with treetop adventures and endless wildlife discoveries which made my getaway with the family a splendid and unforgettable one. 

My family and I spent most of our time by the seaside, walking on the fine sandy beach, savouring the gentle touch of waves under our feet, sea breeze in our face and the sound of the ocean which never stops kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it's sent away...... Just like a quote which I came across,

'The voice of the sea speaks to the soul, the touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.' 

Kate Chopin

me being super excited when I found a pretty seashell with hints of pink hue at the edge 

casually walking by the beach, enjoying the beauty of nature

My mother and I also joined the Yoga session every morning and evening by the seaside as we have been learning yoga since the beginning of the year. We were taught by a South Korean Instructor, a friendly person who is always seen with a beaming wide smile, radiating her positive vibes to people around her. Yoga by the beach is one of the most luxurious thing which you could ever experience. Imagine this, being at peace with yourself by the seaside, with the sea breeze gently massaging your face and the voice of the sea, like a person whispering into your ears and draining out all the negativity in your body....... Gosh, I can't resist myself anymore, I just wish that I could be by the beach right now.

 us lying on the beach lounge chair, gazing into the clear blue sky with patches of white fluffy clouds like cotton candy

 me surrounded by autotrophs

I spent one of my evenings at an Acrobatics place, known as the Flying Trapeze. I am an adventurous person who loves taking up challenges and extreme sports everywhere I go. I was more than excited when my senior recommended me to try it out! The GOs were very patient in teaching me the skills and tricks in flying trapeze. After 6 attempts, I finally got the hang of it despite having blisters on both my palms and feet, sunburnt and sore arms as I was required to climb up a ladder to reach the top. This made me realise that determination and persistence is and will always be the drive to achieve success. No matter how bad you are in a specific area or how hard you are struggling to pull through, never tell yourself you can't; instead, hold on to it, believe in yourself and you can definitely do it.

mum and I took the shuttle train to the other beach to explore after the flying trapeze

 

I am pretty proud of myself for being able to stay on my healthy diet throughout the trip! Kudos to Club MED for providing us a range of foods; healthy. delicious, sophisticated all made with fresh ingredients.

 just my typical appetiser: homemade yoghurt topped with raisins, toasted walnuts, muesli and fruits and a plate of salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, onions and watermelon

 

bagel with lettuce, tomatoes, raw onions, smoked salmon and capers

korean rolls, steamed cauliflower, black bean patty with curry seasoning and fresh lettuce and tomatoes topped with red beans 

In a nutshell, I would like to express my greatest gratitude and appreciation for being able to spend my most unforgettable and memorable getaway with my family. We definitely bonded a lot throughout this trip and got to escape from the reality by forgetting about all the responsibilities that we hold, well, actually not quite much, because I actually brought my law notes along and studied every night before I dozed off. (oops) But in my defence, that's because I have law test the day after I return from my trip. So, just spend a minute, walk outside, stand there, in silence. Look around you, look up at the sky. And contemplate the beauty of everything around you. Please bear with me as I would like to end this post with a quote by the poet, Rainer Maria Rilke,

'When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.'

thought of the day

'Love should be like breathing. It should be just a quality in you- wherever you are, with whomsoever you are, or even if you are alone, love goes on overflowing from you. It is not a question of being in love with someone- it is a question of being love.'

-Osho-     

Love, what is love? Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Love is a feeling that one holds for anything possible in this world. Many people think that love is something that leads to heart breaks, sadness, pain...... But the truth is that, love is not merely loving a person or being in a relationship. Love brings much more depth than that. Love is a feeling of care and kindness to anything possible, or even anyone in this world. It could simply be your pet dog, your cousin, a little girl that you bumped into in the mall, your bottle, your bag...... it would take me ages if I were to list out everything. People may ask, how could you love your bottle? your pen? or just anything which has no feelings? Truth is that, as long as your mind and heart appreciates something, you'll love it. Let's take a pen for example. Pen allows me to write what's on my mind as well as to keep my ideas flowing. I love my pen for allowing me to complete my daily tasks easily without fail. I handle my pen with full of care and love because I don't want to lose or spoil it. Love brings peace and ties everyone together easily. Love brings happiness and warmth in people and brightens up the world just like how sunshine is so much valued after a heavy rain. Love is definitely a quality that everyone MUST possess as it not only benefits one but also everyone and everything around one.

short getaway with the family

Hey bloggies, sorry for not updating my blog for a while, I've been pretty busy recently. Here's some life updates for you guys! So, my elder brother finally came back to Malaysia and will be here for about four months. Besides, I've also completed my three months internship and college will be just around the corner for me!!

Due to my brother's return, my parents and relatives planned a short getaway to Penang Island, the food heaven. It has been a while since we last visited Penang Island already, and I was beyond excited to be able to leave some footsteps on the beautiful island.

DAY ONE:-
BATU FERRINGHI BEACH

can't compress my happiness when I finally laid footprints on the beautiful sand and get in contact 

with the vitamin SEA

STEAMBOAT DINNER

GOH HUAT SENG RESTAURANT

This restaurant serves their steamboat in the traditional way which uses charcoal instead of gas or electricity to cook up the food in a big pot of soup. I was not used to the strong charcoal smell and felt a little suffocated towards the end of the meal, thus, my aunt and I went off to get some fresh air. We settled down at a store beside the steamboat restaurant which sells desserts. Their desserts were made with authentic and natural ingredients which made reminds us of home very much, especially the blue tang yuan which was made out of a blue flower named 'Lan Hua' instead of using colourings. 

 tang yuan in ginger soup (top) and tang yuan in red beans soup (bottom)

DAY TWO:-

SRI WELD FOODCOURT

This is the market whereby the famous nasi lemak store is located at. It is not like any fancy and glamorous cafe which you often see in the big city, however, it is just a small store sitting at the front of the food court ran by a few Malays. The original nasi lemak sold was just a small packet, with rice, a quarter of hard boiled egg, a small piece of chicken and a heap of sambal. What makes the nasi lemak special is none other than their specially homemade sambal. The sambal is not sweet and spicy which you can get at any other stores, but it has a citrusy kick to it which stimulates our appetite and separates this nasi lemak from the others. I am really sorry I didn't get the chance to take a picture of the nasi lemak, I promise I'll improve on this in the future. Lastly, the price of the nasi lemak is reasonably cheap. So, do drop by and give it a try if you're anywhere nearby!

 we found a ginormous bunch of bananas 

LEBUH CHULIA, GEORGETOWN

1. Off shoulder bohemian top- H&M 

2. Sunglass- Cotton on

3. Bottom- Thailand

4. Sandals- Hush Puppies

5. Bag- Tokyo

 me with the grandpa

 the extraordinary musical band using instruments made of recyclable items such as old kettles, plastic containers, metal biscuit tins and many more

 meow

 bababababanana

LEBUH KENG KWEE

PENANG ROAD FAMOUS TEOCHEW CHENDUL

After walking for about an hour and a half searching for the unique street arts under the scorching hot sun, we were all dehydrated and exhausted. We decided to go for the famous teochew chendul which was around 5-10 minutes drive away from the street art area. Although the queue was pretty long, the owners were really professional and fast at the orders. In within a few minutes, I got to rejuvenate myself with a bowl of cooling chendul as they were famous for. What I enjoy most from the chendul is the strong taste and aroma of the gula melaka as well as the extraordinarily huge red kidney beans. It is definitely worth the try when you're in Penang. 

AYER ITAM LAKSA

Later, we decided to visit the Kek Lok Si Temple and the Penang Hill after lunch. We stopped by at the Ayer Itam area for the well known Ayer Itam Laksa. The store just around the corner was compact and small and there were totally no seats available at all even though it was just 12 sharp in the afternoon. Great news is that their service provided is exceptional. We were allowed to find seats at other stores nearby and they will deliver our bowls of laksa for us. I sincerely apologise once again as I did not get a picture of the famous laksa. One thing which sets the Ayer Itam Laksa apart from the others is that they added sugar into the laksa which successfully enhances and elevates the bowl of laksa into a whole new level. Just a tip if you would like to give it a try, do visit the store earlier (best before lunch time). 

KEK LOK SI TEMPLE

the new Guan Yin statue that is still in the building process

PENANG HILL

the view of the Penang Island

PERUT RUMAH NYONYA CUISINE

This is another awesome restaurant that I greatly recommend everyone to visit. It is a very unique nyonya restaurant. Once you step into the building, you will find yourself in an authentic and traditional nyonya house. The decorations were on point with various antiques, plants and drawings hung creatively over the walls. The ambience in the restaurant was really warm and cosy, in fact, it felt like it was more of a home than a restaurant. The dishes here were also served in a very creative and beautiful way and I finally did justice for the food as I managed to take a few great shots of the food here. My relatives, family and I had a great and enjoyable time dining in this restaurant.

DAY 3:-

PULAU BALIK DURIAN FARM

Today, we met up with my grandma's cousin who have been staying in Penang since she was little. Her family brought us up to a durian farm located at Pulau Balik. It was a curvy and narrow mountain road up to Pulau Balik. I urge everyone to be extra careful if you are travelling up by car, after all, safety always comes first! After around 45 minutes of the mountain ride, we finally reached the durian farm. There were many farms located at the side of the road, thus it took us way longer to reach our final destination as some of the people were inconsiderate and parked their vehicles at the side of the road when it was already narrow. Besides being famous for the other things that Penang is famous for, Penang is also prominent for nutmeg. Nutmeg trees were widely planted around the durian farm and the owners also made juice out of the nutmegs which was much needed to help in digestion and remove the bad breath from the durians. 

DAY 4:- 
KUALA KANGSAR- GALERI SULTAN AZLAN SHAH

beautiful plants and trees planted around the museum

At the end of this post, I would like to say that this trip to Penang Island is one of the best trips that I have ever been to recently. Firstly, I bonded a lot with my relatives as well as my grandparents as they do not stay with me and we seldom get to meet up. Secondly, we stayed at Batu Ferringhi which means beach, beach, beach and beach!!! Being able to wake up to the sound of the soft waves cuddling the sand is no doubt the best thing that could happen to you upon rising. Thirdly, could we just take a moment and appreciate the foods in Penang? Oh my, THEY ARE FANTABULOUS!!! Lastly, there are endless possibilities for you to take a postcard perfect picture in Penang especially at the street arts. So what are you waiting for guys? Hurry up and grab your bag pack and off you go!!!

refreshed & rejuvenated

I had a day off from my busy working life due to a medical appointment in Subang Jaya, and of course, I am not going to let it go to waste without a nice meal with my mother. We decided to go to my favourite healthy organic restaurant, Medifoods. Just as I set foot into the restaurant, I was completely drawn by the environment of it. The owner of the restaurant must be a nature lover, as there were many green plants surrounding the place, giving customers solace in abundant greenery.

The one and only problem that I always face in this restaurant is none other than ordering my food. The menu is filled with a variety of creative dishes that look appealing and mouth-watering. This time I decided to settle myself on the mixed rice just to try out something new. 

 my big plate of rice with green veggies, veggie curry, hard boiled egg, and mung beans sprouts

yam cake and onde-onde (traditional kuih in Malaysia) for desserts

The rice is a combination of lentils and basmati rice, which elevates healthy meal to the next level. Also, all the ingredients used in Medifoods are organic!!! Even though the portion of the meal was way bigger than how I usually eat, I did not feel extra-bloated after the meal probably due of the freshness of the ingredients. 

Medifoods also has its own organic shop beside the restaurant which allows customers to purchase healthy produce right after their meal. I really favour the concept of this restaurant as they come up with healthy recipes for dishes which are typically considered unhealthy and high in calories such as the Malaysian well-known dish, Nasi Lemak, pizza, and many more. Thus, customers can indulge in mouth-watering foods, without the need to worry about the negative impacts that might bring to their health after all. 

In a nutshell, Medifoods is definitely my favourite organic restaurant and place to go to whenever I have the urge to indulge in mouth-watering yet healthy food. Not forgetting about the organic shop next to the restaurant, I certainly enjoy shopping healthy products after my meal as it brings much convenience to the customers. Although the price of foods sold in Medifoods is pretty costly, the quality of the food are unquestionably high in quality.

stepping out of my comfort zone

Hello guys! In this post, I am going to write about my personal experience but before I begin, I would like to mention that this is not a post to brag about my achievements, but rather a post that I hope will be an inspiration and motivation to my readers. Since young, I was exposed to an active lifestyle by my parents. Every weekend, our family will have our weekly outing at the Taman Tun Dr. Ismail park. We normally jog, exercise, catch fish by the small river, play and sometimes we even have our lil' picnic there.

When I first started my primary school, I was introduced to an annual school event: Sports Day. I immediately fell in love with the running events when I saw my seniors training to run for their respective houses. Of course, I went for the tryouts for the running events for my house, since there were too many participants, the teacher in charge arranged us in a horizontal line and ALL of us ran together just to save time. If I have not mistaken, there should be at least 20 of us.  And, I failed. I was chosen instead as a representative for games during Sports Day. With my happy-go-lucky attitude, I thought to myself: it's okay, at least I am still a representative for games. The next year, again, I went for the tryouts, with the exact same situation. And, I failed AGAIN. This time, I almost couldn't make it as a representative for games because I did not know how to do rope skipping. Fortunate for me, I am a fast learner and could pick it up right after I was taught how to do it. On that year, I started questioning myself. What do I want exactly? How bad do I want to run for my house? Is it okay for me to continue failing and not do anything about it? Since then, I began to start jogging and sprinting every weekend with my brother. We always race again each other and sometimes joined by our younger cousin brother. In a blink of an eye, it's time for the tryouts for Sports Day again. This time, it was professionally done by the teacher-in-charge, probably because we were already nine so they took us more seriously? I wasn't sure but that's not important. The important thing was that I FINALLY made it into the team! I appeared as the top in my category and was chosen to do short distance running events for Sports Day!!! And that was the beginning of my running journey. Later, my team and I were chosen to represent the school for running events. We trained hard every morning and hard work did pay off. My team and I FINALLY won a bronze medal in the MSSD competition and did our school proud at our final year in primary school.

When I was in secondary school, I was introduced to yet another new event: Cross Country. I was never a long distance runner, in fact, the furthest I could go was just 1 or 2 km, nothing more than that. The first cross country experience was crazy. I almost passed out after running for 5km. I vowed to myself that the next year, I have to at least make it into top 20. I trained myself by jogging for at least twice a week at my residential area every evening. And I appeared as 15th placing, BUT I vomited when I was at my last 2 km towards the finishing point, how embarrassing was that haha. Then, I aimed to be at the top 10 for the following years and not to vomit during or after the run and I did it!!! My best record was 6th placing for my final year in my high school. However, my high school's cross country was only 5km. Since my uncle is actively involved in marathons, he encouraged me to participate in a 5km marathon held in Bukit Jalil. I was afraid at first because I have never participated in any marathons before but decided to go for it anyway as a challenge for myself. Later, I participated in a few other 11km marathons together with my uncle, brother and younger cousin brother. I successfully conquered each marathon although feeling worried and nervous in the beginning, but very proud and satisfied after all the marathons. Here are some of the photos that I still have with me throughout my running journey:-

 my teammates and I receiving our medals for our 4x100m relay event at our final year in primary school 

 my first ever marathon experience with my uncle, brother and younger cousin brother

the top 3 for 400m running event at my final year in high school 

 the school representatives celebrating our victory on the last day of MSSKL

my teammates and I received our bronze medal for 4x200m relay event in MSSKL at our final year in high school

Recently, I was finally old enough to participate in the half marathon (21km), organised by Nike. I was very scared as I haven't been training for quite a while and 21km is totally no joke at all. I ran together with my younger cousin brother throughout the whole run. Since both of us were not in our top condition, we decided to go for a constant pace and aimed not to stop no matter how tired we get throughout the whole race. When I was at my 17th km, I had the thought of walking. Both of my legs were aching and sore from the run and the pain was pretty unbearable. My legs felt so weak. I thought to myself: Pain is temporary, success is forever. Are you really going to give up at your final 4km??? You've been working so hard for 17km, are you going to let your effort turn into waste? And then, I continued. I engaged myself by singing in my head and focusing on the beauty of Kuala Lumpur (capital city of Malaysia) instead of the pain from my legs. The organiser also put up many quotes by runners to motivate us along the run. I read every single one of them and was reminded of one quote that I really like 'She believed she could. So she did' And finally, I have completed my marathon without stopping or walking, with an average pace of 7'59" per km in 2 hours and 48 minutes. That is how powerful a person's mind is!!

After this run, I feel really great despite the terrible sore throughout my whole body. The satisfying feeling could last me a lifetime. I just realised how far I have come ever since I started my running journey when I was 9. From a person who cannot run long distance at all, to who I have become today. Of course, I am not a professional runner who wins medals and appear as the top in the marathons, nor am I an ironman or anyone great. The important thing is that I have participated, and I have grown so much in my running journey. Just as the saying goes, do not ever compare yourself to others, stay focused on your own journey and leave footprints behind. I strongly encourage each and everyone of you out there, to pick up a challenge in your life, go for it and you will definitely achieve a result that you've never expected in your life. Don't be afraid of how tough the challenge may seem to you, you just have to get out of your comfort zone, and give in your very best in it! If a challenge taken is not tough, it wouldn't be considered as a challenge anyways, right? According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, the definition of challenge is a task or situation that tests someone's abilities. Quoting Abraham Lincoln, 'And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it's the life in  your years.' So dear readers, think about it deeply, make the best decision for yourself and live without regrets!