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!!! :)

The Day I Lost My Wallet

Pic source: keepinspiring.me

It was a good morning. My hubby and I were happily going to the shopping center where he was working. We were going to have our breakfast there before he started his work. 

I brought my wallet to the stall and ordered my food but I paid the meal using my mobile. I took my tray and headed to our table. We shared our meal as my stomach was not feeling very well even after few days I had my gastric. 

We headed to the market downstairs then upstairs to search for the mop set that had broken days ago but to no avail. I continued shopping at NTUC buying some nutrition rich food which I wanted to cook later to improve my immunity level. 

When it was time to pay, I took out my wallet from my black canvas bag. Hey wait, where was my wallet??? It was a long, square and big wallet, in black. It was big, but how come I could not find it everywhere???

Pic source: keepinspiring.me

I immediately called my husband to settle the payment and once he came, I ran off straight back to the seat where we were seating earlier. I asked the nearest stall staff if she was aware that someone found my wallet. She told me someone did find my wallet and asked me to check with the stall that selling drinks. 

A glimpse of hope was there. At least my wallet was dropped there and someone was aware and found it. 

I ran to the drink stall and asked the staff there. She pointed me to the person in charge of clearing table and that person referred me to another man in charge. 

That man then brought me outside the food court and pointed me to the office located just next to it. I knocked my door and the security staff opened it. 

"Yes, we have your wallet. What is your name?" he asked. I told him my name. It must be the only wallet they found in the day. He opened it up and asked me to check if I lost anything inside. He had just recorded the content of the items and separate the notes based on its denomination in each row.

To be frank, I did not really know how much money was inside my wallet. But when I purchased my wallet just before Chinese New Year came, I put in a lucky number amount of money inside as it was believed to bring luck and attract wealth to come. If I was not wrong, I put S$288 separately at one side and another side was the amount of money I usually used on daily basis. 

I had just withdrawn S$200 yesterday and used up only 1 $50 note. So supposedly there should be 3 pieces more. But when the security handed me my wallet, it was only 2 pieces of $50 note, about 6 pieces of $10 note, and many $2 note. 

In an instant, my brain calculated the loss of around $300 cash. 

Then I checked all my cards inside. ID, all my bank cards (ATM and credit cards), were all inside. Well, I thought it was good enough. I told the security that I lost about $300 but he told me whatever he recorded earlier was based on what he received from the food court staff and the only camera that could show evidence was the one where we were standing inside the office. 

I was asking if there was a camera record from inside the food court I visited earlier and he said that I had to ask the food court side to show me as it was separate places and they did not have it. 

I was too happy to find my wallet back despite losing around $300 cash inside. There were 3 foreign notes inside my wallet and it was left there too. I was relieved enough to see one of the notes because I just went to the money changer yesterday to exchange that currency. And that 1 piece of foreign note was equivalent to 30 pieces of S$50 notes. It was as much as my entire saving for my past 1.5 months working my sweat and muscles. 

And yes, at that moment, I was still feeling ecstatic, calm, and extremely grateful because I could have lost much more than this, and the trouble would have been more if I lost all the entire things. 

Pic source: keepinspiring.me

For that person who took the money, I wished him or her well, hope he or she can benefit from that amount of money taken. It must be desperate for the person to keep that money and risk their own reputation of stealing it. There might be better ways to earn that amount of money but situation was not bright these days with the increase of living cost in Singapore and some people might lose their jobs due to the pandemic.

Overall, I was still feeling very grateful and this calm and peace of mind was resulting from letting go moments. I was ready to lose it since I had lost that entire wallet at the very first place. To be able to get a sight of it with all the things inside had already been a miracle for me. So thank you, thank you, and thank you SB for today. It reminded me to be more careful next time, to be more alert with my belonging. Hope I learned the lesson and would check my belonging wherever I was and before leaving the places.

May all sentient beings be happy and healthy, free from suffering and the cause of suffering, life full of peace and joy. Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.

Nothing much

Make more memories while still can (Source: Google.com)

No updates for more than 2 months. Where has the time flown into??? In less than 2 months time, we are going into another year.... Crazy, really crazy, isn't it???

September was great. I worked like only few days, and spent most of my time doing what I loved doing. Hubby, son and I went for a short trip - taking Royal Caribbean 3-night cruise to nowhere - despite the pandemic and the increasing of Covid cases. It was a good break for all of us where we spent most of our time eating and relaxing (little walk, sleep more, jacuzzi, watching full moon, sun and stars).

The procedure before departing was a bit long, as we had to do a final ART test and wait for its result. We felt safe this way though because they had to make sure that everyone had the negative results. 

Once coming back, I had many memorable days to spend with families and friends over lunches and dinners. It felt good to meet up with people we cared and loved more often as we never know when the next time we could ever meet again. Just wanted to feel the warmth of our togetherness. 

October was a busy month where I was given more days to work. The Covid cases had increased tremendously during this period too. Since I worked in Food and Beverage related job, my colleagues and I had to do swab test once a week, to ensure that everyone was fit and safe to work. Thank Buddha we were all so far so good, so with families back home. 

But it did not mean that we would be safe forever. Just my feeling that one of the days, we all just had to get it at least once. And if we were lucky, we would be able to overcome it and life would go on. If we were not, then nothing could stop us from leaving. 

It was sad to hear people that I knew passed away due to Covid. Not only that. Many had lost their jobs and minds because of it too... Life was really challenging and it really tested our capabilities in managing stress and anxiety due to uncertainty of the future. 

The situation gave us so many question marks on what life would be. Many had resort to get the answers from the fortune teller and bagua readers, as they were wondering what life lines and roads they had in this lifetime. 

Why? And yet, we do (IG: rimareyka.writes)

People like me, just think of going with the flow. Live life one day at a time. I do not think much about future as I did not even think much about tomorrow. Try to live more of the present moment, and be aware with my own conducts. That had already made me busy enough. 

Hehe... I do not know what I am bubbling about right now. Just want to post as it had just been too long to let this blog vacant. Just want to say that I am fine, still kicking and alive. Grateful and thankful for so many good things that happened to my families and friends. I hope they will always be. 

Fate

Fate (IG: rimareyka.writes)

Still related to my new passion, crystal love, I would like to share my experience and feelings with you here. You know, just like us, a human being, crystal too, required fate to be with us. Why I told you this? Well, it is because there are too many crystal out there that is looking for the owner.

I bought them online and offline. When getting them online, sometimes I could not choose as the platform was to sell to mass demand. So usually the seller will show few good ones then sell the rest altogether to everyone. And when your name appears on their list, it will depend on the speed of your Internet. The faster the speed, the earlier your name would appear on their end. And hence, usually, the better quality will be given first (although not always).

So, it happened many times that when we received the actual goods after days or weeks later, it turned out the quality we received could be satisfying and could also be unsatisfying. Nevertheless, it was ours and could not change. Unless, if there was significant breakage on it. 

My friend often conveyed their dissatisfaction when the quality they got was not what they expected to be. But you could not please everyone with that kind of selling system.

I could only told them, "It was fate ba. What is yours, is yours." And crystal is a natural thing. They come in many different forms, just like us, a human being. When we were born, we could not choose our look, as it would usually follow the genes of our parents. Some came from defect gene. And what we could do, was just to live with it. Unless if you are willing to go through aesthetic operation and make your look just like those Korean actor and actress.

The other way to get crystal as what you desired, was to find those seller that cater to one-to-one customer basis, be it online and offline. Online can be finding representative who will shop on your behalf (usually they will charge additional percentage on top of the item price), can be through online platform, like carousel, and offline can be purchase your crystal at the crystal shop (usually the seller will sell it at more expensive price as they do it for a living). That way, you will get your item at better quality, but more expensive price. 

And today, I just received my crystal that I purchased from online platform. By right, I should have received the item according to the picture shown by the seller. However, to my surprise, the level of discrepancy of what was posted and what was received was so much different. Check out the following photo below.

Top: posted Below: received

I ordered this dragon turtle red phantom. The above 2 photos were what the seller posted. But what I received was the below photos. Could you tell me, were I too fussy? Or you could also spot the differences???

The above was red phantom and what I received was more like red hematoid. Although both were red, but it was just different. I messaged the seller about it and she insisted that she only had one of its kind (dragon turtle). Therefore, I took the photos and showed it to her. 

Actually, although the inclusion in the crystal was not much, but the dragon turtle was full of rainbow. And I am the rainbow lover (be it real rainbow and the crystal rainbow). And when I sat down at my sofa, the sunlight from behind lighted the dragon turtle that I put beside me. The rainbows that appeared inside its body was really surprised me!!! For me, it was much better than the initial photos she showed (the one that looks more like red phantom).

It was like, hey, I fell in love to it for almost immediately and could feel the fate that existed between us. Wow!!! I was just dumbfounded and wanted to share my feelings with you all here. 

I forgave the seller right away and told her to check again at her side if she can find the initial pictures. I do not mind to purchase it again with the same price. 

Until now, I have brought many crystals into my house. They occupied one corner of my living room facing the Buddha altar. I love them so much and hope they can stay happily here together with us. 

Fyi, for those who do not know what dragon turtle is and what benefits it brings - "A dragon turtle (Lóngguī) is a legendary Chinese creature that combines two of the four celestial animals of Chinese mythology: the body of a turtle with a dragon's head is promoted as a positive ornament in Feng Shui, symbolizing courage, determination, fertility, longevity, power, success, and support."

Well, I hope they love us back too and together we stay happily ever after.... :)

A Little Reflection

Are you wasting your time???

It has been a while since my last post. How are you doing guys? Hope everyone is doing good and blessed with good health. Covid has changed so many things in us but hope that it will not let us being defeated by it

I have heard many bad news for the past 2 months of who have had it and who could not manage to survive. The death happened to anyone, be it young or old. I can not imagine how the related person have to face it and go on with their life.

This will only be a short post as when I looked at the quote above, I had a sudden inspiration to write this. 

Ok, alright. Because of Covid, we can not travel. And well, I can not travel. So I have plenty of time to spend. Naturally, I should spend it doing something like working, back to workforce life. 

I can choose to go back doing the office job, fully use the qualification I attained years ago and get the salary I deserve, or doing something else, something I love doing, something my passionate call me for, but the return may not be high or enough. Well, for some people, money is never be enough right?

Since a year ago, I had chosen to work part time, a job that many people generally are capable to do, whether you have experience or not. And fate brought me to land to another place, which is more suitable for my liking and personality. 

And starting February, apart from my part time job, I had started to pursue my interest related to something I used to love, but not die-hard loving, which was crystal. 

I was mesmerised by the beauty of the nature. They were nature too, built in over million and billion years naturally. And they were believed to carry many positive benefits with them. 

When I started my second part time job, I often felt unease. It might be due to a new place, and also the nature of the job that needed me to deal with items that could harm me, such as: knife, cans, slicing machine, hot pots and pans, hot water, oven, and so on. 

Bruises and cut wounds took turn tattooing my parts of body every week. Actually, it was something that I could avoid, but somehow, it happened. So I started wearing crystal to work: a pair of earrings, necklace (that I hid inside my shirt), and 2 bracelets (one left and one right - they were put in my pockets when working).

Somehow I could feel the energy from it. They might not prevent me from getting wound and blisters, but they helped me in keeping myself calm when it happened. 

It was somehow giving me calm effect, believed that they were there to protect me, give me strength and confidence, calm me down when it was busy or angry, and they too, helped me in clearing the misunderstanding, encouraging me to speak up what my heart was saying, and at the end, won the heart of my colleagues. 

You may or may not believe, but I personally feel it inside me and what change it has brought me into.

Both part time job and crystal interest may not give me enough money to live by. In fact, every month I spent most of my salary to purchase the crystal. But anyhow, I still feel that it is better than taking the full time office job that would not make me happy because the motivation would be to earn bigger money, but not because I like the nature of my job. 

So since it is part time, I do not work every day. One week, I may work 2 to 4 days only. The rest of the time, I spend it to engage myself in buying crystal (physical and online), getting design inspiration, learning how to do it, making it, and so on. This way, I can use my creative side in making DIY crystal bracelet too upon the buyer request.

For now, my sisters are my greatest supporters. Few close friends are also supporting me too. To be frank, I do not earn much from it. Because I am happy enough that they too believe in the goodness from it. Just as long it can cover the cost, that is enough. 

So going back to the quote above, I just want to tell myself, and to confirm it, that there is no rules that I must work office job, earn lots of money, in order to call myself living my life in decent way. There are still many other choices that I can make (while I am still given that choice), and still call it living my life according to my wish, my passion, my love, and then work out with the little money that I earn. 

Most important, keep my health (both physically and mentally) in good state by developing positive thought as much as possible, spread good things around to people surrounding me, live stress-free life (the more you earn, the more you attach your life style with it), learn how to balance (when to buy and when to stop), use my other talent in good way (in this case, my creative side), and just be myself. Be happy and content with everything, and never compare my life with other people. 

With this post, I hope you can reflect into what you are currently doing in your life too. Whether you are living your life according to what you want, whether you can fulfil your dreams or on the way into it, and so on. Always remember, there is no right and no wrong, but it is better if you can give yourself a chance to follow what your heart is saying. Wish you all a great day ahead!!! Stay safe and take care!!!

Journey to Merak and Sakteng: Day 5 - Sakteng to Mongar and Back to Bumthang :)

Beautiful Sakteng, Bhutan :)

The fifth day of our journey: Going back all the way to Mongar

We finally reached the end of our trekking journey. It's our fifth day since we left Bumthang. We got up at 4 am since we planned to leave Sakteng at 5 am. Just nice that the home-stay owner - Dikpa - planned to leave from Sakteng to Trashigang with his fellow friends. The night before he asked us to go together with them since they would arrange vehicle from the nearest vehicle road, and drive from there to Trashigang, which later on, they even drove all the way to Mongar.

The trace left from King's visit to Sakteng, Bhutan

It was such a beautiful morning. No sun and no rain. Perfect!! :) At least for me. K and I left the place first. From where we stayed, we walked to the right side, and went all the way up, passing by the small place housing few prayer wheels, until the view of the Sakteng slowly diminished. We had to bid goodbye to that lovely place and it would sure be missed.

Bid goodbye to Sakteng, Bhutan

For me, the terrain was really beautiful. I felt as if I was not in Bhutan. We passed by few more walls with prayer wheels where we could convey our prayers for the safe journey, and slowly entered to narrower pathway.

Beautiful nature path :)

Ohhh.... I loved this pathway so much. Although the road was not smooth (more like stones pathway), but you could see such beautiful scenery on your left and right, such as the red and white color Rhododendron, river streams, etc.

White Rhododendron :)

Beautiful morning mist :)

The morning mist added the already beautiful forest view :) The air was cool and fresh!!!

More prayer wheels on the way :)

We stopped sometimes and turned the prayer wheels when we saw it :)

Beautiful river streams :)

The river streams were so natural. Its sound was serene and peaceful. The view was just like what you often saw in magazine :)

Loved this walkway very much!!! Falling in love with it :)

I wished I could stay there so that I could go for morning walk like that whenever I wanted to. Oh my.... I fell in love with this place so much!!! :)

Many giant rocks on our way :)

They caught up with us so fast!!! :)

After a while Dikpa and his two friends managed to catch up with us. Hahaha... You could not compare my speed and their speed. They walked very fast as they were used to it :) We asked them to take over us as I took longer time since my both toes were paining from the strenuous hike days before.

Vehicle road in the process - Sakteng, Bhutan

There was road making process in the area too. In the future the vehicle would be able to pass through from Sakteng. That way, the trekking tour business would be greatly affected. Because otherwise, people usually needed one to two days to trek from Sakteng to Phongmey.

Our last stop after 2.5 hours walked from Sakteng, Bhutan

After 2.5 hours of walk, we finally reached the place where vehicle road was available. We waited there for some time until the Bolero arrived. We put our bags behind and sat inside. Many villagers took ride with no fee collected by the driver. How nice he was!!! :) 2.5 hours later, after passing by Joenkhar Teng, Phongmey, and Radi village, we were back to where we were from, Rangjung. It amazed us how we recalled back the day when we first started our journey, with no single clue on how to go to Merak.

Our way from Rangjung back to Trashigang, Bhutan

We stopped at Rangjung for a while before continuing our journey to Trashigang, and reached in about an hour time. Before having lunch break, the driver asked us if we wanted to continue our journey to Mongar since they changed their plan and headed to that direction. Since it would shorten our journey, we agreed and joined them back to Mongar. For that we paid a total of Nu 600 per pax.

Had our packed lunch plus desserts and tea at Trashigang town, Bhutan :)

Trashigang town reminded me of my visit with Luzee almost two years ago. I brought K to the place where we had dessert, just behind the big Mani Dungkhor in the center of the town. We ordered two cakes with two cups of milk tea and revealed our packed lunch there. We took a rest and visited toilet before continuing our journey. At 1.30 pm we left the Trashigang town.

Say 'Hi' to Mr Frog!!! :D

And as usual, we passed by the cute Mr Frog on our way back from Trashigang to Mongar :)

A beautiful soul at Mongar, Bhutan :)

We reached Mongar town at 5 pm. While K went around asking for hotel's fare, I contacted Luzee's adopted sister, Kezang, who was currently teaching in Mongar. On my previous stay in Mongar, we also stayed at her rented house, however, she was not around. She was going somewhere and left the empty house for us to stay. So finally this time, I met her in person. She was still so kind offering both of us to stay at her rented house. Not only that, she also prepared us a complete and delicious dinner and breakfast herself. Wow!!! I was so touched by her kindness. She was one beautiful soul that I would never forget. Thank you Kezang for your wonderful hospitality to us. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! May Buddha bless you always and shall we meet again one day!!! :)

End of journey celebration at Phuntsho Pizza, Bumthang. Yeahhhh!!! :)

So this would be the end of our journey. We went back to Bumthang the day after by bus. It took us a whole day to reach. Once we reached Bumthang, I dragged K to Phuntsho Pizza and we ordered large size of Spicy Mixed Pizza, only for two of us. Hahahaha... I definitely missed the taste of Pizza there. And as celebration, we also ordered my favorite Druk 11 for both of us. Cheersss K!!! Thank you very much for being my accompany for this wonderful journey. You're always the best!!! Thank you for everything you'd done for me. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! May Buddha bless you and your families always too!!! Love from Singapore :)

Happiness is within

It's raining again today. The black and white clouds covered most of area in Hong Kong today. I slipped my both hands inside my sweater's pocket. It could connect inside and keep my body warm.

Caramel Machiatto Starbucks (Photo source: Google.com)

I walked to the nearest Starbucks and ordered the Grande size of Caramel Machiatto. I picked a seat that facing the road outside. The height of the wooden table was comfortable enough to hold my both elbows that held the cup tightly. Hmmmm.... nice and warm mug. It's all what I needed now.

White moustache ^^ (Photo source: Google.com)

I sipped the top part and the print of whipped cream sticking to my upper lip, I noticed from the clear glass's reflection. Haha.... I laughed to myself looking at that as it reminded me of the good ol' times I used to have. I took a selfie before wiping it off with a serviette.

A laughing young couple walked hurriedly holding an umbrella. As they were teasing to each other, the guy touched the girl's nose lightly and smile appeared on her lips.

Love is all around ^^

The old couple walked by with again umbrella covering their head, this time was in slower pace. Once they reached the roofed area, the old man took a handkerchief from his pocket and dried the old lady's hair that was wet from earlier walk. Hmm.... how sincerely cared that old man, my thought was saying.

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
Anytime you whisper my name, you'll see

How every single promise I'll keep
'Cause what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them

What are words
If they're only for good times
Then that's all

When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, they never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

And I know an angel was sent
just for me and I know I'm meant
to be where I am and I'm gonna be

Standing right beside her tonight
And I'm gonna be by your side
I would never leave when she needs me most

I'm gonna be by her side when she needs it most...

I smiled again and took a very deep breath. Hhhmmmpphhhh..... This song... this song reminded me of his words. The words that used to comfort my heart and soul. The promise said for all the future to come. Where was he now? I wondered.

No no, no envy to both couples, not at all... I was happy this way. Being all alone physically did not mean being lonely. Happiness was within. It appeared as and when I wanted it to be. Happiness was all inside me. Don't be mistaken with my presence of being alone or with my silence.

I spoke less as I observed more.
I spoke less as I listened more.
I spoke less as I wrote more.
I spoke less to avoid speaking wrong words.

I loved this peace of mind.
I loved the quietness in me.
I loved the me-alone time.
I loved the content and gratitude feelings inside me.

I might appear young, even like kids sometimes.
But I knew what I was doing every second and minutes of it (well, perhaps not when I drank too much hehe...).

I finished the last sip of my coffee and got up. I held my feet to the supermarket nearby this time, heading to the wine area and picked a three-bottle at promotion price from the shelf. Oh my!!! How I wished they sold this price in Singapore!!! 3 for HKD 208!!! What a steal man!!! Walked away with it, I headed home with a light heart... a very much light heart...

Be kind (Photo source: Google.com)

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them

What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they're done

When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, they never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
And I'm gonna be here forever more

Every single promise I'll keep
'Cause what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

I'm forever keeping my angel close

Feng Shui

Source: mypaper.sg 28 January 2014

Pardon me for the blurred scanned file above. It was extracted from today’s local newspaper, Mypaper.sg. I printed and scanned the article above as I found it interesting.

First, it’s my first time hearing the Feng Shui Master was so successful and rich just because he was advising the Feng Shui things to others. I mean, yeah, they could be rich, but not as what mentioned in the article above. It seemed that he was damn rich!!! “Four-bedroom apartment in the heart of Marina Bay, zips around in a chauffeur-driven BMW 7 series sedan, and jade pendants carry eye-popping price tags as high as S$13,688,633 spotted at his upscale Feng Shui galleries in Sin Ming Road”. Wow, I didn’t even know that there was such a valuable jade pendants existing in this world with such a high price!!! Well, maybe it’s different fate for Feng Shui master. They supposed to know what is good and what can be done to change the luck and fate.

As for fortune teller, they might hold different job description. They usually count people’s luck based on the birth date and time. Some might be able to change people’s luck with prayers to Gods, and some would ask them to purchase pendant or other things to alleviate the bad luck and turn it around to the better one. Those came with high price too though!

I often heard that it wasn’t good to hold a job as fortune teller as you acted as God to change people’s fate and destiny, which was usually written down by God before you were born (that’s what people believed). So, sometimes they had to be held responsible for what they did for revealing someone else’s destiny. Therefore, usually, people who know how to calculate and read people’s fate and destiny would reluctantly reveal what others’ have on their hands, especially if the person’s life predicted not to have a good one. If the related person was unable to take it, it would bring depression for him/her and he/she would lead a life full of sorrow and unhappiness as he/she would keep thinking of his/her future’s fate. Many chose to give up and decided to end their life. Whereas in Buddhist teaching, we were taught that our fate and destiny still can be changed depending on our current course of life, on how we act and react towards others. The choice is in our hands.

Second, it was said in the article above about the parents who came to see him and asked him for a good date for their child to be born by Caesarean. Master Yun Long Zi said, he would usually give them three choices of dates, where the child’s personality would depend on which date was picked. “So, do the parents want the child to be learned? Wealthy? Powerful? Kind? In Singapore, 90 percent of my clients chose wealth. In Indonesia, they chose power.”

With the advance technology, pregnant woman is given a choice on how to give birth – natural give birth or Caesarian. Lots of people, especially rich ones, would choose Caesarian because first, it won’t as painful as natural giving birth. We often heard devastating story of the pregnant woman waiting for the hole to open and how painful it was to let the baby coming out from their stomach.  Second, the after-birth pain would be better for Caesarian too rather than the natural give birth one. At least the woman who went through Caesarian giving birth would be able to pee comfortably and with no pain compared with the one who underwent the natural giving birth.

But most importantly, people can choose the date on when they want their baby to be born – for Caesarian, unlike the prompt feeling and urge to give birth at any time for those who chose natural giving birth.

Obviously, all parents want the best thing for their children. That was when they consulted the Feng Shui Master for the date and time for their child to born (As I said previously, that someone’s fate and destiny is usually counted using their birth date and timing). And as Master Yun Long Zi said, he offered three choices of dates to parents on what kind of life that their children would have. It became the destiny lies in the parents’ hands now instead of God. To be wealth? To be powerful? To be kind. Three difficult choices to choose. As difficult as if you were asked by the Genie in the bottle on what kind of request you wanted to have if you were only given one choice. Touch your heart and ask yourself, which one would you prefer? It’s difficult choice though among those three.

We heard many stories of kind-hearted people. They wanted to do so much to help others, but they didn’t have enough resources and power to do so. They had to work hard, ask around, and put in lots of efforts in order to reach their goals. They wished themselves to be rich, so that they could give more to those who needed it. They wished themselves to have more power, so that they could do and contribute more to the society.

There were stories too that the kindhearted men were not allowed to marry the girl they loved or being asked to divorce their wives, only because they were not rich nor powerful. Although they were kindhearted person, the parents of the girl wouldn’t want their daughter to suffer or lead the unhappy life due to the lack of money and resources that the man had.

I asked few of my colleagues around. They all told me, they would want their children to be kind. No use they get rich or powerful when they grow up but when you grow older they may as well send you to ‘Lao Ren Yuan’ or Old Folk’s home in English.

When I asked myself which one to choose, I chose ‘to be kind’ as the answer too. But why as per Master Yun Long Zi said, 90% of Singaporean parents chose wealth while in Indonesia, they chose power??? Because we are not them. Those who consulted him would mostly come from elite, super-rich, powerful people, who wanted their family to keep being rich, elite and powerful, to continue their family’s wealth from one generation to another. That’s why they chose those two and not many chose ‘kind’, like us.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? Sometimes this thing will bring us into dilemma. However, just be positive with everything and leave things to the nature. That’s all! Because sometimes, when you don’t know much thing, you will feel better. Just believe that everything that happens, it happens for a reason. We may go up one day but we may go down and fall too. Only with failure we are then able to learn from it and avoid the same mistakes to happen again. Most important is our attitude towards life. Because one day, we all will die and nothing lasts forever in this life. Things change all the time. Nothing is permanent.

So, maintain your kind-attitude, be positive and responsible nature. The rest will follow accordingly and eventually bring happiness into your life. I’m sure all of you can do it! Never give up to obstacles in life as it is not permanent. There will be solution for each problem. Just focus on the next important step, not the problem itself. Wish you all the best for your life journey everyone!