Receiving Day

Source: tranquilitydujour

I have been wanting to post this on my blog, so let me post it today. All of you must be wondering what the title means. Hahaha... :D

It is simple though. Receiving day is the day when I receive things from people. What things?

Well, it can be many things, a gift from the heart. And usually I receive it from my friends or families, from here (Singapore) or outside Singapore (overseas).

It is just so coincidence that on that particular day, more than one people give me the things, as if all of them have agreed in advance to send me something on the same day.

It happened so many times and it often brings me wonder :)

I am very lucky and feel very grateful for many of very close and good friends (wherever they are, many are staying overseas). But at times, I feel a bit lonely, as I do not have many friends as I was not born and grow up here in Singapore (luckily my dear hubby always reminds me that good quality friends are better than quantity).

Those who stay faraway, I am very lucky to have friends who are equally grateful for having each other and treasure our friendship. We always have each other in our thought. Despite long distance, we often keep in touch through chatting apps and messengers. 

And whenever someone - friends, colleagues, friend's friend, relatives, family members - are coming over to Singapore and vice versa, we would send something to each other, and usually it is something from our own country, or something that the other party will love to have.

But the thought itself, has already been a blessing for me. Many of them treat me even like a family. I am very very grateful and thankful, to you know who you are, in case you read this :) 

Thank you for everyone's love. Love you all ❤️ 

And yes, that receiving day, really make my heart fill with so many gratitude, for everything in life. Then I would feel, at least I am not lonely. Someone else think of me. And I hope that all of them is blessed with good health and lots of happiness in their lives, and wish that we could meet each other again in person :)

Do you also often have receiving day in your life too?? :)))

Travelling

Courtesy of: Travel Thoughts PH

 

I first traveled out of my home country at the age of 11. I was very lucky indeed being to travel in such a young age, not only to one, but 3 countries (Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan) and transit in Singapore (first time touching my feet there). But before that, I had been travelling all around the islands where I lived in car with my parents and siblings, and domestic plane or even boat to my father's hometown.

Then I studied overseas as young as eighteen and to further country when I was twenty. While on school holiday, I traveled mostly by trains to other cities and neighboring countries. Sometimes, it took me three flights and trip more than 24 hours to reach the other side of the world, to cut cost (the more you transits, the cheaper your flight is).

Since my late 20s, after diagnosed with SLE, I started to travel to countries I wanted to visit. First on the list, was Tibet. But sometimes, fate led me to countries I even had never heard before - so many of them - thanks to my parents who led me visiting them as they brought me along as their company. Countries like Bhutan and Nepal, Iceland, Baltic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia), Russia, and so on.

Fate brought me to explore India. My dream to meet Dalai Lama has not come true yet. It has been years since my failed attempt, and until now, I still have not made them realized yet. But the company had brought me to Buddha pilgrimage places - I had been dreamed visiting them since my middle school time. Not only that. I also managed to explore Sikkim, including Gangtok, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and visited many Tibetan temples.

Through good friend, I managed to visit Sri Lanka (never ever thought visiting the country before), Vietnam, Thailand (the Golden Triangle), Myanmar, West America (LA, Las Vegas, SF). Later on, I managed to make my dream came true by visiting UK, Central Europe (Hungary, Slovakia, Czech), back to my school in Switzerland, and second visit to Denmark and Sweden.

Later on, I started touring with group tour to places that were more convenient to go with the tour group, such as: Balkan countries (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia, plus Venice in Italy), Mongolia, Central Asia - the five -Tans (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan), and recently to the East America and Canada.

I never count how many countries I ever visited but I think it should have been more than 50 countries. And it does not stop here. As long as my feet, body, mind, leave, and wallet allows, I will still travel and explore to visit other parts of the world. 

The job has made the travel slow, but it allows me to earn and save the money to travel. With the mercy of my Boss, it allowed me to spend time with family too apart from days taken for traveling. 

There are still a lot of country I have not visited yet. But I hope, one day, I will able to visit all of them, one at a time, slowly, but sure :D

L I F E

Keep going!!! (Pic source: Google.com)

Recently I watched the Korean drama titled 'The Haunted Palace'. One of the character was Gang Cheol, the ancient serpent spirit (Imoogi) that fell into the earth and after more than hundred years later, he inserted his spirit inside the human body that had just passed away. 

Only after he entered into the human body, he then could feel the five senses that we human have, such as: taste, smell, hear, touch, and see. When he was living as the dragon spirit, he did not feel these five senses so in the drama, he seemed overreacting when he first time tasted the plain porridge as a human being. His mind was jumping around, and so happy with it. He was even craving to taste more food that human usually has, and his favorite was the traditional Korean confectionary (hangwa), which also included the pumpkin taffy (yeot).

Then slowly, his other senses like see and touch, made his heart beating so fast, which then he realized that he had fallen in love with Yeo-Ri, whose body he needed in order for him to ascend to the Heaven. This feeling struck him in awe and he often cursed the human who felt all these senses. Because of it, many times human did something wrong (like enjoying being drunk and eating too much which caused harm to the body or sickness, killing people out of greed or jealousy, raping, and so on).

With only these scenes, it struck me as well because as a human being, these five senses have been part of our way of living and I could imagine how Gang Cheol felt. It was like, being a human but having those senses separated from the body. He did not think much about sadness, happiness, and so on because he lived with different purposes in life and being focus with it.  

Do what you can :) (Pic source: Google.com)

As someone who has lived more than forty years, sometimes I would have wondered how I had lived in the past. Moments, memories, emotions, all of it came and went like a jigsaw puzzle, flying around in corner of my brain. Hardship, sadness, anger, feeling constraint, wild dreams, jealousy, wonder, happiness, freedom, boredom, joyful, curiosity, motivated, dejected, disappointed, resentful, amused, empowered, revenge, and so on. 

Every decision, every move, every action, every plan, was all made at those moments of living, which had now become memories, good and bad. Regrets were there too. But all of those had built the person inside me. 

Sometimes, I wondered, how was me in the previous life, or who was I before becoming a human in this life? All the people I had met, what were our relations in the past? Of course, it did not really matter. What mattered was how we met and interacted again at this present lives. 

But now, growing up, this process of looking back, had told me one thing - if you only realized, everything was related with those senses, those feelings, those emotions. If only we could tell ourselves that it was nothing more than that, if only we could stop these emotions from appearing in our heart (those that I mentioned earlier), if we could delete our feelings just like imagining ourselves to erase those emotions with eraser from our heart and made it blank, feeling nothing anymore, then we human, should not have problems in life anymore. Should we?

But of course, it was easier to say and done. Things that had to happen to us (resulting from our past and present karma), still had to happen. And only by experiencing it ourselves, or learning the mistakes from others, then we could decide if we want to pursue the matter still or avoid it or let it go.

Only when it happened to us, then we could understand how people felt when it happened to them. Anxiety, feeling depressed, isolation, and so on. If we could avoid it, then it was good. But if not, do not give up. It was not the end of the world. 

I mean, every human being carried different life's journey. Fate, luck, love happened differently to everyone. Not even twin carried the same life and fate. 

Be kind as you can (Pic source: Google.com)

Our realization to be a better human being is important. And try to strive our best to bring happiness to others. If can not, at least be the eraser to remove their sadness. Be there for them, listen to their feelings and thought, are more than enough. 

Also, take good care of our health from now. It is never too late to start. Eat healthily, drink responsibly, exercise regularly, listen to motivational talk, read self-help book, walk with natural surrounding, see sunrise and sunset, and so on. 

I wish everyone of you a wonderful day, life full of gratitude of what you have, blessed with good health - both physically and mentally, and have positive mind and attitude towards life ahead!!! Take care and talk to you again! :)

Beauty of Kyrgyzstan - Places we visited in Issyk-Kul Region

Beautiful nature in the land of Kyrgyzstan :)

Here we are!!! Let me share with you the wonderful nature in the land of Kyrgyzstan :)

Broken Heart - Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

On our way from Karakol to Bokonbayevo Village, we passed through few places, mostly beautiful nature that were not to be missed!!! First, we stopped by to see a large cliff that looked like a heart broken into two, that was why it was called the "broken heart". 

Djety-Oguz or "Seven Bulls" Rock Formation in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Soon after, we stopped again to see the 35km length Djety-Oguz (in Kyrgyz language, it means "seven bulls" since the rock formation composed by tertiary (Paleogene) reddish deposits shaped just like it. There were many legends about the this rock formation, so with the 'broken heart' and they had become the symbols of the Issyk-Kul region and favorite images for photographs and paintings (As to say: "If you have not seen it yet, means you have not been to Issyk-Kul region").

Sea buckthorn tree - Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Not far from here, we saw many sea buckthorn trees on the side of the road. Our driver stopped by and cut one of the branch full of it and gave it for us to eat when we reached to our next accommodation. Remember the last post where Issyk-Kul Brand Shop was one of the must visit places in Karakol and sea buckthorn juice was one of the local product produced and sold over there? So this was how the fruits and the tree looked like. You could eat it raw and just plucked it directly from the tree.

The first waterfall - Barskoon Gorge, Kyrgyzstan

We drove to Barskoon Gorge and hiked up to see the cascading waterfalls named as "Tears of the Leopard," "White Beard," "Splashes of Champagne," and "The Bowl of Manas", named after the legends. So many legends to be found here in Kyrgyzstan. The above photo was the first waterfall we visited, which was also the nearest and easiest to reach.

"Tears of the Leopard Waterfall" - Barskoon Gorge, Kyrgyzstan

The "Tears of the Leopard" came from the story of the female leopard cried when she lost her three children while went hunting. The tears then became a waterfall with three ledges. This was the second waterfall we visited, said to be the most beautiful one among the three. Here, you could see the beautiful Tian Shan furs (spruce-like trees) and barberry trees (you could see the barberry fruits on the picture above :)).

One of the two Yuri Gagarin monuments at Barskoon Gorge, Kyrgyzstan

We saw one of the first astronaut's monuments in the area - Yuri Gagarin - as he often visited this place, spent some time here to recover from his mission to space.

Horses for rent - Barskoon Gorge, Kyrgyzstan

The view was really beautiful. The air was fresh. Nature was all you could see. You could pay and ride the horse if you wanted to. I chose to hike instead as I had been eating too much and needed to do some exercise :D

All these places were located near the Issyk-Kul Lake, one of the largest and deepest mountain lakes in the world that did not freeze even in the coldest winter, surrounded by the beautiful Tian Shan mountains. You could check the Kyrgyzstan map out and see how big the lake was and where were the places I mentioned located. And wherever we went, we could see the beautiful Tian Shan following us.

Royal Gate Yurt - Issyk-kul, Kyrgyzstan

The above photo was one of  the yurt camps that were available for rent (quite a new one), overlooking the lake and also the snow capped Tian Shan mountain range. We stopped there to have our lunch and I had a chance to see the view inside the yurt. Most yurt was equipped with personal bathroom (unlike some who had separate share bathrooms and toilets). You could see yourself how beautiful it was!!!

Skazka Canyon or the Fairy Tale Canyon - Kyrgyzstan 

And before we moved to our "private rent" yurt camp (since it was only us stayed in the area for the night), we headed to one last beautiful nature of Kyrgyzstan called the Skazka Canyon or known as "Fairy Tale Canyon". 

Skazka Canyon or the Fairy Tale Canyon - Kyrgyzstan

Skazka Canyon or the Fairy Tale Canyon - Kyrgyzstan

This was the place where you could see the limestone clusters, bulging sandstone and the colorful soil, one of the best destinations to visit in Kyrgyzstan. If you plan to visit Kyrgyzstan, this place is a must visit place!!! 

With our lovely guide - Ms Aisuluu at Skazka Canyon, Kyrgyzstan 

Formed as a result of thousands years of ice, water and wind erosion, this magnificent desert like landscape had transformed into an array of sculptures and formations, where red, yellow, orange and brown spires of rocks rise out of the earth and into the sky.

Talking with stone - Skazka Canyon, Kyrgyzstan

Skazka Canyon or the Fairy Tale Canyon - Kyrgyzstan

At this point of time, you could see all the photos I took, it was like I was the only visitors of this magnificent place and it seemed like those produced for the post cards, weren't they? We were very lucky and grateful indeed because there were not many visitors visiting this place when we were there. I mean, some area was small and meant to be climbed in a very small group of people. I could not imagined how it would be if a big group of people visiting this place at the same time.

You need to wear shoes with strong grip as to prevent slippery while climbing. It was not advisable for people who had weak knees. It was advisable to walk with your guide as well since the area was huge. You might get lost if you wander around alone because no signage available. And yes, we were lucky too for the great weather!!! :)

Statue of Sayakbay Karalaev - Kyrgyzstan

We passed by the above statue on our way to our camp. It was the statue of Sayakbay Karalaev - a Soviet and Kyrgyz famous storyteller and manaschi (a reciter of the epic Kyrgyz poem Manas). You could find his face in the 500 som note of Kyrgyz money too :)

Sunset view at Elistet Yurt camp, Kyrgyzstan 

We had a really great time exploring the Skazka Canyon and our driver drove as fast as he could so that we could catch a lovely sunset view from our yurt camp :)

View from our room - Elistet Yurt camp, Kyrgyzstan

We stayed at Elistet Yurt camp, a very beautiful camp where all of our yurts were overlooking to the lake (you could wake up with sunrise view in front of you). The room was very big for 2 of us (they gave us one double and one single bed inside). There was standing jacuzzi inside the big bathroom too where you could take a bath and listen to the radio at the same time.

Overlooking Issyk-Kul Lake - Elistet Yurt Camp, Kyrgyzstan 

Below, we could take the staircase down and visit the lake that were made looking just like a sea or the beach with sands. The mountain views at the side was equally marvelous. Apart from the usual green mountains, you could also see the colorful ranges of mountains :)

Dinner at Elistet Yurt camp, Kyrgyzstan 

They prepared our dinner freshly cooked there. As the appetizer, we were served beef cooked with cucumber, colorful paprika and tomato together with the local bread and butter. A big bowl of chicken soup was perfect for a cooling night (and also for its nutritious value). As main, we were served with white rice and another sautéed beef with vegetables.  

Full moon night at Elistet Yurt Camp, Kyrgyzstan. My favorite photo :)

It was a full moon night. There were cats and dog at the area. This cute and playful kitten entertained us during our stay there. He ran here and there surrounding us. They even wanted to come inside our rooms. Hahahaha... It reminded me of my roommate who ran here and there, trying to shoo the kitten away from entering :D Thank you Claudia for capturing the lovely photo above. Love it so much!! Also for the local beer treat ;P Cheers!!!!

To summarize, let me share this Youtube video "Welcome to Kyrgyzstan" where you can see the beauty of Kyrgyzstan with a lovely music and song :)

Where to go and what to do in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

We spent a night in Karakol. Karakol is the forth largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located near the eastern part of Issyk Kul Lake. It used to be a place where the Russian military outpost founded in 18th century, and also the place where the place where large number of Dungan, the Chinese Muslim fleeing warfare in China. I will share here some of the places that you can visit or things you can do in Karakol.

Holy Trinity Cathedral (Russian Orthodox Church) - Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

1. Visit the Russian wooden Orthodox church called Holy Trinity Cathedral. The building was constructed in 1894-1895, replacing the earlier church that was destructed by the earthquake. During that period, this church was initially built as a chapel for the Russian military personnel. Later on, after the 1917 revolution, it also served as a school, sport hall, theatre, and even a coal store, before it was briefly returned as a church. By 1961, again it was not used as church until the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991. 

The church is beautified with flowers and trees at its surrounding, plus the snow capped mountains view as the background. Inside it was quiet, calm and peaceful. You could grab some wooden souvenir or accessories to bring home afterward. 

Dungan Mosque - Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

2. Visit Dungan Mosque - a mosque built and designed in 1904 by Dungan, the Chinese Muslim, without a single nail and looks resemble like a Buddhist temple. If you visit it in September, the place will look more like a garden with so many beautiful roses beautified the area. Fruit trees like pear, apple, and walnut would be full of fruits too!!! We were lucky that the staff plucking some of the apples and pears to be shared with us. I had them for breakfast next day and it was really wonderful!!! They were juicy, sweet and crunchy, most importantly, organic and grew with TLC (tender loving care) :D

Issyk-Kul Brand Shop - Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

3. Shop local products at the Issyk-Kul Brand Shop - a store that sells natural, high quality handmade products made by local community, such as: honey (Kyrgyzstan is famous for its pure white honey and varieties of honey from Kyrgyz mountains), wool products (bookmarks, wallet, hat, shawl, doll, slippers, bags, etc.), various local fruit juices and jams made of sea buckthorn, barberry, raspberry, walnut, etc., soaps, lip balm, hand cream, paintings, various handcrafts, etc. You can try some of the products before deciding to purchase or not. The store commits to support the local communities with OVOP - One Village One Product concept - to produce, sell, and earn from their products sustainably. You can find more information about the shop here. 

Dinner at Dungan Family House - Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

4. Have dinner at Dungan family house, tasting the dishes that Chinese Muslim would eat on their daily life. We were given a private room where 7 of us could peacefully enjoy our meal. They served 9 different types of dishes plus laghman (handmade pulled noodle - similar with Chinese lamian) as the base to eat the dishes with. The owner's son served us the food personally, explained their cultures and traditions, also origins with us. He could speak a little Chinese too as he went to learn Chinese in China himself, so that he could communicate better with his guests (many Chinese or Chinese Asians guests came and dined at his house). It was a great experience and for us, we could finally have something Chinese in our food after almost a week of mostly Central Asia food on our menus. Hahaha... Something spicy and delicious :D

5. Visit Karakol local bazaar. Unfortunately it had closed by the time we reached Karakol and we did not have time to visit the next day as we still have many places to go. But if you have more days to visit, it will be a great experience to see how it looks like and what types of things they sell over there.

We continued our journey to Bokonbayevo village and on our way, we passed by many places, which I will cover next. Stay tune :)

Kyrgyzstan - Land of Kyrgyz

Statue of Manas and Kyrgyzstan flag in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan

Bordering with Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country blessed with Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the capital and also the largest city in Kyrgyzstan. 

Issyk Kul Lake, Tian Shan mountain range and Kyrgyz flag reflections :)

It is also part of the Silk Road with Issyk Kul Lake as one of the stopover (a land route for traders, merchants, and other travelers from the far east to Europe) and was inhabited by succession tribes and clans, such as Turkic nomads, Mongol empire, Manchu-led Qing Dynasty of China, Dzungar Khanate, Russian empire, Soviet Union (USSR), and finally independent in August 31, 1991.

Beautiful nature of Kyrgyzstan :)

The word 'Kyrgyz' - in Turkic word means 'we are forty', which refers to the 40 clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united the forty regional clans into a single country back in 9th century. 

Ethnic Kyrgyz is the majority of its over 7 million population, followed by minorities of Russian, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, Kazakhs, Dungans (Hui; Chinese Muslims), Uighurs, and Tajiks. Languages spoken are Kyrgyz, Russian, Tajik, Uzbek, and Uyghur. 

Beautiful Dungan Mosque in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz people used to raise livestock and engaged in farming. But since late 20th century, the country had become a source of nonferrous metals. There has also an increase in gold mining activities, plus they are rich in coal and some petroleum and natural gas. 

Herding in Kyrgyzstan

Pasture in Kyrgyzstan

It is said now 50% of Kyrgyz population that lives in rural areas - primarily farmers - are growing rice and vegetables in the area (doing agriculture), and also raising dairy cattle to reduce poverty, improve their income inequality, increase food security, and also to generate employment

On our way after crossing Kazakh and Kyrgyz border :)

On our way after crossing Kazakh - Kyrgyz border, we passed by many nomadic herder going back home after grazing wild vegetation in the area. Usually riding horse and accompanied by dog, at least two persons managed their hundreds of cattle, sheep, and horse. It was such a beautiful scenery, at least for me, who lives most of my life in city. And I still miss to watch them walking on the road in front of us :)

Lush pines, greeneries, horses, living in harmony - Kyrgyzstan

The country landscape is amazingly beautiful!!! Mountain ranges, lakes, valleys, rivers, deserts and plains offer beautiful natures wherever you go. Their famous tourist destinations include Karkara Gorge, Djetty Oguz Gorge (7 red stones formation "Broken Heart" and "Seven Bulls"), Barskoon Gorge with its cascading waterfalls, Skazka Canyon also known as "Fairy Tale" consisting of limestone clusters, bulging sandstone from the colorful soil, and so on. 

Will cover them more on my next blog post. Keep on reading and following my blog :)

Great Reminders from the How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and Before the Coffee Gets Cold

How to make millions before grandma dies (Pic source: Google.com)

"How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies premiered on April 1, 2024, and is now hitting cinemas worldwide. It is currently rated at 8.5/10 on IMDb, with 97% positive rating from Google users, and has made THB 320.7 million in Thailand alone, as of June 2, 2024." - Lifestyle Asia

I heard about this when I was staycation in Batam with my friend two weeks ago. She had been wanting to ask me to watch this together since it was cheaper to watch movie there. But since we both were busy, we could not watch. Until yesterday, finally I grabbed my hubby to watch it together with me.

He was wondering what kind of movie it was. I just told him it was a Thai movie and I bet, he believed my taste, so he just agreed and joined. He was struck in awe upon seeing a fully occupied theater on Thursday evening (not even weekend), and people was willing to sit at the most front rows because every where else was occupied. "It must be really good," he claimed inside his heart.

After finished watching, I understood how it had become really famous not only in Thailand, but worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia. The movie depicted Thai Chinese life and culture, which was also applicable to any other Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Filial piety, favoritism upon boys, and greed upon wealth/ inheritance came hand-in-hand and usually appeared when someone old and sick was going to die - realistically and sadly. The young "good for nothing" boy - who had initial intention to benefit something from the upcoming grandma's death, changed his heart through love and over time as he spent more time together and closely with his Amah (grandma). 

It was heart wrenching. I could hear sob sounds somewhere inside the theatre when the movie was almost ended. I did not cry though, in fact, I laughed more while watching it. Thanks to the boy's character that was lighthearted and always wanted to see his Amah smiled :) 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold Quotation - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Our parents were getting old each and every day. One day, soon or later, one thing or another, we might have to face such thing in life. I hope my parents would be blessed with good health all the time and they could spend the rest of their days happily and full of love despite living away from their children. Hope they can gain happiness from travelling and seeing the world, spending time together with their children, grandchildren, friends, and families.

The above picture was taken from the "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Three sequels were published with the almost same stories over and over again, on how customers had the opportunity to travel to a time of their choosing, as long as they followed a long list of rules.

"There is only one seat in the café that allows time travel; the seat is only available when the ghost that usually occupies it goes for a toilet break; once back in time, customers can't leave the seat; the only people in the past who can be met are people who have visited the café; whatever happens in the past, the present won't change; and, most importantly, the customer has to return to the present before their cup of coffee goes cold (around 1 hour)." - Source: Wikipedia.org

In real life, whatever had passed, would never return. Just like a broken vase that could not return to its initial form. As Amah said, "What has been done, cannot be undone." 

Hope the movie and the book would be a great reminder to all of us to always treasure the people surrounding us, to feel grateful of their existence, and in any way possible, to spend more quality time with them - be it near or far, and to love with all of our hearts, not because we expect something in return.

My Types of Books

Find your right book - J.K. Rowling quote (Source: Google.com)

I love reading but I do not just love any books that come into my hands. If I would say, it requires fate to be able to read my type of books. Recently I realize that only my type of books would give me a kick, a motivation to keep reading it, until the end.

I did try reading just any book. It was not thick. It was not heavy (in terms of topic and content). By right, in my opinion, it should be easy to read and fast to finish. However, despite it was being just beside me, for one and half month the post it notes that I pasted into, was still stuck there at the same page and finally I decided to return it back to the library. The book did not call me to open. My heart was not willing to open it as well, to continue where it had stopped. I bet any fellow reader would also feel this way before.

So, my type of book. I could say I was very lucky to be met with them. Let me share them with you.

1) The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

  

The Little Liar - Mitch Albom

" A powerful novel that moves from a coastal Greek city during the Holocaust, to America, where the intertwined lives of three survivors are forever changed by the perils of deception and the grace of redemption. Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis never told a lie. When the Nazi’s invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading to “new homes” where they are promised jobs and safety. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. But when the final train is at the station, Nico sees his family being loaded into a large boxcar crowded with other neighbors. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that he helped send the people he loved—and all the others—to their doom at Auschwitz. Nico never tells the truth again. In The Little Liar, his first novel set during the Holocaust, Mitch Albom interweaves the stories of Nico, his brother Sebastian, and their schoolmate Fanni, who miraculously survive the death camps and spend years searching for Nico, who has become a pathological liar, and the Nazi officer who radically changed their lives. As the decades pass, Albom reveals the consequences of what they said, did, and endured. A moving parable that explores honesty, survival, revenge and devotion, The Little Liar is Mitch Albom at his very best. Narrated by the voice of Truth itself, it is a timeless story about the harm we inflict with our deceits, and the power of love to ultimately redeem us." - Goodreads

You must have heard or familiar with the author. This American author is not only a book writer, he is too a musician and a journalist. He has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, books and stories that inspired people all around the world. Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day, Have a Little Faith, The Time Keeper, The First Phone Call from Heaven, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, Finding Chika, The Stranger in the Lifeboat, and the most recent one, The Little Liar. 

I believe you may have read at least one of the titles I mentioned above. And some, might have read all of them :)

The Little Liar was not only inspirational. It was very sad too. How sadistic war was. How could human behave in such ways. So many how I questioned as there was no humanity, no love, no compassion, nothing. Instead, there were many lies spoken that many people believed, just to dupe them into life that they had never imagined. 

It was my type of book because I could relate the story and the places mentioned with those I had travelled to before - the shoes on the Danube River bank, the exhibit inside the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, next to the Dohány Street Synagogue and the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park, and so on. 

2) From a Mountain In Tibet: A Monk’s Journey by Yeshe Losal Rinpoche

From a mountain in Tibet - Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche

"The extraordinary story of how a wayward boy escaped his war-torn country, found himself, and became the leading Tibetan monk in the West. Lama Yeshe didn't see a car until he was 15-years-old. In his quiet village, he and other children ran in fields with yaks and mastiffs. The rhythm of life was anchored by the pastoral cycles. Food was carefully apportioned and eaten together, everyone was family. The arrival of Chinese army cars one day in 1959 changed everything. In the wake of the deadly Tibetan Uprising, he escaped to India through the Himalayas to start over as a refugee. One of only 13 survivors out of 300 travellers, he spent the next few years in America, experiencing the excesses of the Woodstock generation before reforming in Europe. Now in his seventies and a leading monk at the Samye Ling monastery in Scotland—the first Buddhist centre in the West—Lama Yeshe casts a hopeful look back at his momentous life. From his learnings on self-compassion and discipline to his trials and tribulations with loss and failure, his poignant story mirrors our own struggles. Written with erudition and humour, From a Mountain in Tibet shines a light on how the most desperate of situations can help us to uncover vital life lessons and attain lasting peace and contentment." - Goodreads

This book told us the story what the Tibetan went through during the Chinese army's arrival to Tibet. It changed fate of many. Lama Yeshe was lucky enough being able to escape, although he had to go through difficult times - food scarcity, sickness, uncertainty, no clue where to head to, etc. He also told us the story on how he could change himself to where he is now. I enjoyed his story very much and very grateful that he could share his life journey to all of us in this book. Many things I could learn from him. By now, you must have already known what type of books I love reading.

3) A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East by Tiziano Terzani

A Fortune-Teller Told Me by Tizian Terzani

"Warned by a Hong Kong fortune-teller not to risk flying for an entire year, Tiziano Terzani—a vastly experienced Asia correspondent—took what he called “the first step into an unknown world. . . . It turned out to be one of the most extraordinary years I have ever spent: I was marked for death, and instead I was reborn.”

Traveling by foot, boat, bus, car, and train, he visited Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Geography expanded under his feet. He consulted soothsayers, sorcerers, and shamans and received much advice—some wise, some otherwise—about his future. With time to think, he learned to understand, respect, and fear for older ways of life and beliefs now threatened by the crasser forms of Western modernity. He rediscovered a place he had been reporting on for decades. And reinvigorated himself in the process." - Penguin Random House

I found out about this book from one forum in Facebook. Not knowing what it was about, the title and the picture were enough to draw my attention. As I unfolded each page, I fell in love with the way the author telling his story. And yes, fortune-teller, phii or spirit, war story, Buddhism, travel journey to places I had ever been to, were among the topics that I had interest with. Plus life learning from other people's story and experience, inspirational story, they were priceless!!! That was how I loved and enjoyed reading his book. I would check the google map too sometimes for the places he mentioned to imagine where they were located as he moved around to many places in Southeast Asia and I bet many readers also did the same :D

I am hoping to read more on these types of books. If you happen to have any books to recommend me to read, please drop your message below. Who knows I will have fate with that books. 

Books quote (Pic source: Google.com)

So, what have you read lately? I hope all of you read too sometimes, despite your business in life, in study, family obligations, traveling, and so on. Reading is really good for our mind. It can give our life inspiration and reminder to keep going upward and moving our butts off!!! Hehehe... if you know what I mean. Anyway, I hope you can find your types of books to read and enjoy reading ya!!! Cheers!!! :)

Dream To Fulfill This Dragon Year :)

The dreamer is back!!! :) (IG: Rimareyka.writes)

It required fate to form friendship. I felt very grateful that in my life journey, I had met many wonderful people with whom I could learn many life lessons from, especially from the older ones. It just happened that I had befriended many as older as my mom's age. One of them was my current boss.

It was fate that we worked together again after 20 years. In this small office, it was just two of us. I, the introvert, the quiet one, and she, usually she was the one who started the conversation - about her life, her family, her life experience, and so on. I had learned many things from her for the past few months - her calm encounter when facing challenges in life, her appearance (it inspired me to dress better even though no one saw me), her cheerful demeanor when telling the happy story, her generosity, etc. It just inspired me to be a better human being. 

To all my supportive friends and family, thank you :)

I met a group of friends recently for dinner. We did not realize that ten years had passed since we traveled together to Russia in a group tour. After the tour had over, we had met sometimes and usually for a meal. But for the past few years, I met them less often as I was busy travelling (before Covid), and after I started working (during Covid and after). 

So recently, one day when one of them invited me for the gathering and I happened to be free, I agreed to it immediately. I did not realize that it had really been many years since I attended the dinner gathering with them. And in between, things happened. I mean, all of us were getting older each year. Those much elder than me would obviously faced a physical change, such as: not being able to walk or hike as much as they were ten years ago when travelling and one faced greater challenge, like sickness. Luckily her positive attitudes towards life and the will to fight it had made her recovered.

There, they kept reminding me, to travel while I still young and could walk far. Time waited for no man. Health was the main issue for keep going in life. Taking care of health the best we could, if we wanted to walk longer in this life journey. 

From there, they too, ignited the sparks of hope in me, to travel again, to the destinations of my dream. even after I started working. I did not have many leave days in a year, so it was kind of constraining my travel lately and many priorities in life might limit my travel destination and dream places to go.

Dalai Lama quote - My all time inspiration :)

The word from young boy - to follow my dream - had also motivated me to be right on a track - of my dream - to travel to new places, place I had never been before. Actually I had this thought before but since I just started working, I thought I should not focus much on travel first, but to focus on my job, as I had not familiarized myself with the busy and less busy period throughout the year. I mean, I had to find out which period I could and could not travel since every job had different period of busy-ness. 

I was still in the cycle and few more months to go, but I could already see where I wanted myself to be this year. That group of travel khaki had already had places in their mind of where they wanted to go this year and hopefully, I could join them this year. Finger cross, let's hope that I could join them and fulfill my dream, at least for this current year :)

May all of you find what you want and fulfill it this year too - at least for now :)

Coldplay Concert - Thought and Experience

Coldplay 'Music of the Spheres' (Pic source: Google.com)

Just 2 days ago I had a chance to attend the Coldplay 'Music of the Spheres" world tour. There were 6 concerts held in Singapore (23, 24, 26, 27, 30 and 31st January 2024). It was a big hoo haa when the tickets were being sold in more than 7 months ago. People was trying very hard using multiple gadgets, some even took leave from work (some took MC or sick leave) in order to get the ticket.

I heard about this band group long time. I love listening to music (and their songs) but I did not really put attention on who sang it, just like I watched many movies and dramas, but I did not know who starred it. I just listened, watched, and got entertained. Did not really give more attention on who played it. 

Other than being entertained, I listened to music for various reasons, such as: to lift my mood up (especially in the morning as I got myself ready to start my day - usually inside the toilet while poo or taking a bath), to calm my mind (especially when studying, preparing exam, getting ready to work or starting my day activity), to heal (from the broken hearts - mostly, from separation from loved ones), to motivate myself (from bad mood, bad occasions, or to get ready for something - new job, new class, etc.), to accompany my journey (I spent lots of time in the public transport and flights, so it was a really good accompany), also perfect companion when exercising alone (while running, walking, cycling, etc.), to express what I feel (many lyrics suited my mood - it could affect both ways - feeling more emo or stronger), to bring happiness (how many of you would suddenly smile when listening to song lyrics? heart thumping? suddenly knocking fingers following the beats? or shaking legs following the rhythm?

Chris Martin - Coldplay Singapore 2024

From this concert, I found out more benefits from the music. First, it brought people together. 52,000 people was there in the stadium. We all came from different countries, nationalities, religions, race, languages, background, and many more. But we all went there for one reason - to listen to music that Coldplay played!!! Wasn't it wonderful???

The concert was also one way to express what you felt (by singing along, dancing and moving your body with the music, by shouting out loud - really a way to release your stress too and forget about anything else that happened in your daily life - the job that you hate, the never-ending assignments and exams in school, family problem, relationship problem, etc. 

At mid forties, having been living in Singapore for more than two decades, I had only attended one concert before this, one of my favorite duo singers - Air Supply - which was held a long time ago, in an indoor old Kallang stadium (before renovation). That too, I attended because my husband and I got free tickets.

Despite living in a country with endless lists of world bands and musician performances and concerts, I used to tell myself that there was no need to spend substantial amount of money just to go and listen the 1-2 hours of music. I mean, I could just turn on the music in my mobile phone if I wanted to hear their songs. Why should I fight the battle to get the ticket so many months earlier, pay an exorbitant amount of money to get a good seat, and the enjoyment was only last shortly? I had to face a mass crowd upon entering and leaving the premises too. So, that was why I had never attended a paid concert before.

But this time it was different .I just felt that the Universe conspired to make me to attend this concert. To begin with, I met up with an old friend from the school in beginning of January this year. We had not met for over two decades (since we graduated and parted our ways). He currently worked organizing the food and beverage stalls whenever there was event in Jakarta. So he was familiar with concerts. He too had a pair of teenager twins and a younger boy. Despite their ages, the twins often requested him and his wife to attend the Korean bands' concert. 

I, who only attended one concert before, was having no experience or whatsoever with these days concerts and its related matters. As we chatted, we was talking about the light stick, that people bought to attend their favorite bands' concert. At that point of time, I could only imagine what light stick would look like and I thought it was just a stick with some photo label and name of the band and could produce some lights. Little did I know that the stick that produced lights was synchronized with the songs played during the concert and why people would buy it even if the cost was very expensive!!! One light stick, he mentioned, cost him one million rupiah (S$85) in Indonesia. In Korea, it might cost around S$50. So some people tried to get the cheaper one from online shopping stores, and they might get the fake or counterfeit ones. And how did he know if it was fake, was when that light stick would produce different light color from what was synchronized with the real ones. Lol!!! So when it supposed to be red or blue or green, that fake light stick might produce yellow or white. So, it would be obvious for people to find out that it was actually fake. Lol!

We continued our conversation. He mentioned that in one concert where various bands came and performed, the audience who sat not far from his wife, brought various light sticks (one light stick for each band). Wow!!! That audience must be a damn rich die-hard fans!!! Hahaha... 

Seat location - Coldplay Concert Singapore Stadium (Pic source: Singapore Sport Hub)

Little did I know that in less than a week later, my sister-in-law said that she had an extra ticket of Coldplay concert to sell, but it was a single seat, which mean that if I was to purchase it, I would be sitting alone during the concert (She bought 6 tickets that was located in one area, sitting side-by-side, and 1 ticket that was located in another area, and only 1 seat. She bought it initially as she thought my nephew in Hong Kong would want to come to Singapore to attend it, but at the end he could not).

I heard about how good the Coldplay concert was. I mean, they came to Singapore before and I had close friend who loved attending it, as I saw his Instagram posts. I too knew how lovely their songs were. So, when she offered that extra ticket, I immediately said yes to the ticket, even before she showed me the location of my seat. It was S$134/ticket (still within my budget - I mean, I never put any budget for concert at all, but I felt that S$100 plus ticket was in fine range for me. Her was  S$200+/ticket. She already said that my seat was a bit far for that price range, which was fine for me because I did not even have the intention to watch at the first place and did not have much expectation on it. Just want to go there, be there, enjoy the show, experience it myself, get myself happy, have fun with the rest of the audience, and yes, I paid her immediately on the same day.

The concert was only two-week away and I felt that I had to get myself ready. Hahaha... 'Get ready' here means to get myself familiar with the Coldplay songs. Like I said earlier, I heard many of their songs before without knowing it was them who sang it :D So I downloaded their popular songs (20 of them) and put them into my mobile phone. I listened to eat on my way to and from work, whenever I was in toilet, and so on.

I felt that was not enough. I needed to get their lyrics too! Because I wanted to know the song in more depth and also I wanted to sing along during the concert :D So, I copied it from google and pasted it into my Samsung notes one song by one song so whenever I needed it, I could open it faster and easily. It proved to be very useful!!! :) I used them during the concert and sang along confidently hahahaha.... even my brother was surprised that I knew the song lyrics of particular song that he was not aware about.

On the day of the concert, again the Universe heard me. I was tired and did not have enough sleep the night before as I had to attend the night class. That day, my Boss came to office to have her quick lunch. At 2.30pm, before she left the office while opening the office door to leave, she told me this out of the blue, "Rim, today if you have nothing, you can go back early. It is a festive mood (Chinese new year is coming soon and she was busy preparing it - shopping here and there, and therefore, she was in good mood too that particular day)." I could not believe my ear when she said that. I just needed it!!! Time off early so that I could go home and rest (because the concert would only start at 8.30pm and I usually finished my work at 5pm. The gate opened at 6.30pm. So if I had to finish work at 5pm, it would be impossible for me to go home first and go to the concert place as to reach home itself, I would require at least 45 mins and to go to concert place would be another 45 minutes. Stayed idle in between would be tiring). Wahhh...... thank to the Universe for hearing my wish... I went home at 3pm. I managed to sleep for an hour, had quick dinner at home before leaving to the concert place. 

Coldplay Concert - View from my seat :)

I reached there in time with my brother and his families. We entered together and took some photos before we parted to our gates (we sat facing each other). To my surprise, my seat was actually good. Yes it was far from the stage and located at higher level, but I could have greater view (more complete view) of the stadium. I mean, with the light that synchronized in the bracelet that we were lent during the concert (we could actually bring it home, but they would appreciate if we returned it back to them so that they could recycle and use it for their next concert), I would be able to see more colorful lighting effect from my seat.

The person who sat on my left and right was also seated single seat, just like me. One came with her friend who was seated at the other side. Hahaha... I was not alone :D

Cut it short, the concert was awesome!!!! I loved it very much!!! Maybe it was my first time to attend world class concert, so I had nothing to compare (and as you all knew, comparison was a thief of joy!!!). And I was awed with the performance, the lightings, the music equipment, the arrangements (to control crowds and people to their seats, offer help with directions, facilities, etc.), and even the audience, everything was great!!! I was glad I was there, very lucky indeed, and million memories - although seating alone - would remain at the back of my head. 

In the future, I would love to attend again, not just Coldplay, but maybe some other amazing singers and or bands, with world class standard :D