Traveling preferences

When I was in my 20s', I preferred to travel to famous city such as London or Paris as I find it glamorous to let my friends know I visited those cities. But over past few years, my preference has changed. I prefer nature more where I can chill and relax without being surrounded by a big crowds. I get tired easily when I'm surrounded by sea of people. Also, cities don't appeal to me too much because I will be looking at steel structures all around me. To be honest, I'm sick and tired of looking at buildings. Sometimes even claustrophobic. I admire interesting and unique buildings design like those designed by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. Those are really fascinating and unique. Otherwise I will stay away from having my holidays in cities.

In my early 30s', it was still a balance of both cities and nature holidays. But from mid 30s' onwards it all changed for me especially towards the recent few years I prefer more scenic and cultural types of holidays. I find it really relaxing and I can recharge and rejuvenate compare to cities as it is much more laid back. Beside shopping also isn't on the top of my to do lists anymore hence cities don't have much to offer me compare to nature and scenic holidays.

What I actually likes to do a lot more now is adventure holidays where I can try fun and exciting outdoor adventures such as skydiving, zip lining, bungee jump and etc. I also like to try 4x4 wheels driving holidays. But traveling solo can be boring if I do driving holidays. Sigh. This is the time I wish I have a man in my life so that we can explore the world together. My gfs' aren't adventurous or they have budget constraints. So can't go with them. Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to do it on my own. I plan to do one next year to Tibet if I have time.

I also want to go New Zealand and do a driving holidays. I will plan one soon. Another on the top of my bucket list is Northern lights. I really wish to see it with a love one (at that time I was hoping to be him. Haha. Silly me), but now I don't mind with friends or family. Hoping to catch northern lights end of 2018/early 2019 😁😁😁.

I still wish to go to Bora-Bora with a man I love, but if I still don't have one when I want to go there then I will go alone. A tad not so fun, but then again I can have a summer fling with a  hot guy. Haha. Will see.

And for which season is my favourite, it has to be spring and summer because the weather is nice. Bright and sunny. Not too overly cold in spring hence I don't need to bring to many coats and boots when I travel compare to winter. Summer is my favourite and prefer month because it is my birthday month hence I love it. Haha. Beside I can pack light. Shorts, summer dresses, tank tops and sandals.
I dislike winter a lot because it is gloomy, cold and rainy. I hate it when I'm on holiday the weather sucks. Just makes me feel moody and I have to stay indoor all the time. Really depressing. Plus I have to pack a lot of clothes too. That will fill up my luggage before I even start shopping 🙄🙄.
Nowadays I hate a heavy luggage. I prefer to travel light unlike when I was younger, I packed a lot of clothes because I changed 3x a day. Haha....Yes I did. But now I just want to wear comfortable clothes and if I don't bring enough clothes I can always buy and wear on the spot. Last time, I wouldn't want to wear the new clothes until I got back to my own country. Seriously I was weird 😂😂.

Fall isn't a bad time to travel too, but not my favourite because the weather can be erratic too. 1 hour sunny and bright, the next rainy and gloomy since it is moving into winter. I think my preferences have to do with my age too. As I mature, I look at life very differently and I'm at this phase of life where I'm moving towards decluttering. So traveling preferences also have changed drastically over the years except for the fact that I still need to stay in a luxury hotel/resort on my every trip. Hahaha. Luxury can be a boutique hotel too, not necessary need to be W Hotel, Conrad or Banyan just to name a few.

And if it is long distance I need to fly Business class. Again, not willing to compromise on this at all. Long distance being more than 5 hours for me 😛😛. Yes, it is necessary. A need. Not even a want. LOL.

Anyway, in 2018 I hope I can travel to Tibet and to Iceland for northern lights. I have put off these 2 places for a few years now and it is time I have to make sure I fulfill it and check it off my bucket lists.

License to Climb

Yesterday morning I dragged my butts out of the bed at 8.45am to go to attend the 4 hours basic wall course for indoor rock climbing at Camp5, BU. I almost wanted to cancel as I was very tired and lazy to get out of bed, but I told myself I need to be disciplined and attend the class or else I won't be able to take private lessons starting October. As mentioned in my previous post, I have decided to take up indoor rock climbing as my new hobby and a new sport. Is actually a good exercise as it works the whole body muscles, helps to build strength and tone up my physique. It will also allows me to distress and train my mental focus as I can't think of anything except how to climb my way to the top. Haha.

It was a small group - 5 of us only (max is 12. min 4 for a class to be confirmed) . 1st part lasted 2 hours and I learned a little bit more about rock climbing such as the tools we are going to use to help us to climb safely, how to belay, how to tie a double 8 knot, the safety aspects and the 2 golden rules in rock climbing - "never let go of the rope no matter what'. Unfortunately, I forgot the other golden rule. My bad. I will ask my instructor next week when I meet her for my 1st lesson with her.
We were given a 30 mins break before the 2nd session starts. Another 2 hours. And in this last part of the session, we were given the opportunities to belay and climb different rocks formation. We started with the easy route and I managed to climb both times to the top and I belayed 2x too. Belaying is very tiring and can be roughed on the hands too as I had to keep pulling and feeding the rope during ascent and descent. There are 5 steps in belaying and most important of all is no matter what happened I MUSTN'T let go of the rope or else my partner might be injured.

I tried bouldering too and it was fun. Bouldering is not more than 20 feet high and don't need to use a rope to climb. But it requires a spotter to watch out for the climber and to make sure that if the climber fall down he/she will be safe. Again, I climbed 2x successfully. Definitely, I would said my strength was so much better this time around compared to the 1st time I tried about 8 months ago. I'm proud of myself and although it weren't much an achievement to successfully climbed to the top 4x, I was still happy and proud of my little progress. I know that if I practice regularly, I will grow stronger physically and gain more strength. Not to mention that I will have a nice tone body. Haha.

After the completion of the class, we were given a certificate to confirm that we are capable to do solo climbing (except Elite Level and above). Our certificate is also recognised worldwide apparently. All I have to do is to take a photo of the certificate and show it when I want to do indoor climbing in any camps located around the world. At least that was what the instructor told us when he handed us the certificate. I will ask again when I want to try other gyms in other countries (not sure when yet). Haha. I have acquired the "license to climb". Once I become a better climber, I will challenge myself to climb using only 1 color of holds and the wall. I know it will be very tough, but I will try it!!
My arms and shoulder blades are sore, but is bearable. I actually feel accomplished and am looking forward to the private lessons I'm going to take starting next Wednesday. I think I will sign up for 8 classes 1st. If I like it, I will sign up more later.

When I was younger, I didn't have the chance to pursue all these activities and I also didn't think I was brave enough to do it. But once I turned 40 years old, my mindset changed and I want to try more new challenging activities and sports. I saw a lot of people who went there alone and climbed on the auto walls when they didn't need someone to belay for them. I will do that too once I have become a better climber 😀.

My goal is to be able to become an Elite climber. Wish me luck ok. Haha. (1 more tick off for my bucket lists)

Upcoming B'day trip- Rhodes, Greece

Looking forward to my upcoming 1 week birthday getaway to Rhodes Island in Greece. I always want to go to other Greek islands hence I decided to spend my upcoming birthday on August 12 in Rhodes. I will be flying off on the 9th August to Athens, stay a night in Sofitel and on the 10th will fly to Rhodes. I booked a small boutique hotel operated by a couple and so far the owner was very prompt in replying my emails. He even gave me a 25% discount when I told him I was going to celebrate my birthday there. Is kinda cool.

And when I asked him for airport pick up service, he told me he doesn't provides that service but referred me to a taxi operator who can pick me up from the airport and bring me to the door steps of the hotel. I wrote to the taxi operator and he responded within 24 hours. I was impressed with their prompt response and helpfulness.

I haven't plan my daily itinerary during my stay in Rhodes as I intend to follow my heart and do whatever I feel like when I wake up each day. I might not do much on a particular day except for just wandering around aimlessly or drinking wine and reading a good book or people watching. I really don't feel like I have to do a lot of activities to keep myself busy or my trip worthwhile. I want to just follow my heart desires and see where it takes me each day.

I want to be a different type of tourist rather than the typical type where it is compulsory to visit the local attractions and take photos to show that I have been there and done that. I want to try a different travel style and see how it makes me feel. 2017 is a year of testing new approaches/styles/territories. Therefore, Rhodes will be my 1st new test ground for my new travel style.

I have a strong feeling that I will fully enjoy my own company and downtime during the 1 week stay in Rhodes. In the past, I felt that if I don't have anyone to celebrate with me it means that no one loves me enough to care about my birthday. But I don't think like that anymore especially after so much dramas I had to experience in 2016 I have a different outlook on spending time alone. I will take this opportunity to meet new people because it is always easier for solo traveler to meet new people than those travel with friends or family. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming birthday break.

The hotel I will be staying in is called Kokkini Porta Rossa, which is located inside the Old Town and I was informed that taxi needs permit to enter the Old Town. I'm very instructed to explore and I believe it is safe for me to venture out at night too. There is also a New Town so there will be plenty to do. In fact the hotel owner suggested to me to take a day trip to nearby islands. And I might even attempt to drive around the island. If I do that it will be my 1st time driving on the left hand side of the road and in a foreign country. It should be fun. Haha.

Anyway, another 2.5 weeks more to go before my birthday adventure starts. Can't wait 😁

Tandem Skydiving (12.12.2015)

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!


12.12.2015 will always be one of the memorable and insane day in my life. I fulfilled 1 of the item in my bucket lists - Skydiving. I made a promise to myself in the beginning of the year that I would celebrate turning 40 this year with a bang and I did. I flew to Sydney on 08.12.2015 and booked the jump for 11.12.2015, but because it was too windy the jump has to be cancelled and rescheduled. I chose to reschedule to the next morning 12.12.2015 due to the fact that I was flying back to Kuala Lumpur on 14.12.2015 hence I needed to complete the jump before I flew back. The entire Sydney trip main purpose was to do skydiving and I was determined to complete the jump by hook or by crook :-)! I was praying for good weather and luckily for me it was.

The night before the jumped I only managed to get a few hours of sleep. My brain was all over the place in the morning due to lack of sleep and also in anticipation of my 1st jump as I didn't know what to expect at all.  I wasn't feeling scared, just a little bit nervous, definitely excited and surreal too. I had been thinking and wanting to do skydiving for awhile and finally plucked up my courage to take the jump last December before I went back to work full-time.

After checked in at the downtown office, we were driven to the jump site that is located about 1 hour drive from Sydney downtown. The site location was in Picton. There was another checked in at Picton and I had to wait about 30-45mins before it was my turned to jump. Since it was a tandem jump, I was assigned a jump master. His name is Ben. I had to suit up, walked to the boarding area to wait for the small plane to return and take us for or jump. There were at least 7-8 pairs of skydiver on 1 trip and I was last to go.

As the plane arrived and we started to board the plane, we were all squeezed into the small plane. I had to sit very closely and tightly to my jump master because he had to strap me to his body. He had my back and he was my wingman. Haha.

The plane took off and began to soar up the sky like a bird. As we reached about 14,000 feet, the door  was opened and we had to get ready to jump. As I mentioned earlier, we were the last pair to go and as I inched my butts closer to the open door, I began to feel a bit nervous. And as I sat on the edge of the open door, leaning back to get ready for the jump, before I could react, my jump master body were already out of the plane and I was dragged together with him.

The cold strong wind hit my face and all I could think off was I was falling down fast!! Hahahaha! Because the air was quite thin, there were a few times I felt dizzy and was experiencing breathing difficulty. But I didn't faint. After about 1 min of free falling, he tapped me on my shoulders to spread my arms opened before he pulled open the parachute.

Once the parachute was opened, we were gliding and sailing in the sky to enjoy the view. It was amazing, stunning, crazy and surreal. The view was spectacular. I could see very far and at that moment I realised that I should live for the moment and in the moment. I should have the foresight to see far ahead, but I shouldn't forget to enjoy the present. What matter the most is PRESENT!! Not the FUTURE because it hasn't come. Not the PAST because it was gone and I couldn't turn back the clock or go back in time. So what I have is the PRESENT, the MOMENT!!!

It took us about 6-8mins to descent before our landing. It was smooth sailing all the way until the landing part. My jump master tripped and fell on top of me. His leg were pressed onto my right calf and it hurt like hell. Not only that, his chin knocked the back of my head pretty hard hence it was painful too. But it was also funny so we had a good laughed from the hard landing. hahahahaha!

This was how I described my feeling after my jump:

 "I have no words to describe my feeling of the tandem skydiving!! It was incredibly and insanely unbelievable!! For a moment I thought I was going to faint due to the pressure, but I didn't! Thank god! Then we were on the free fall and that was absolutely mind boggling! Once the parachute opened up and we were floating on air and I got to see the 360 degree view and how far the horizon stretch, it was breathtaking!! I would do it again and again for different view!"

Yes I would do it again and I'm planning to do a solo jump this year. If I dare to do it, another level of mental breakthrough for me. I think the hardest part will be jumping out of the plane by myself. That moment of fear. But I will definitely challenge myself and give it a try. This is 1 of my goal in 2016 - SOLO SKYDIVNG!

When I watched back the video, I definitely looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Hahahaha. Anyway, it was a great memory. Nothing is impossible in life if we put our mind to it. We just need to  believe in ourselves and stop giving excuses to ourselves why we couldn't do this or that. We just need to tell ourselves we could and we would do it!!

Life is about trying and overcoming fear, challenges and obstacles. Life isn't suppose to be stagnant and still. It is supposed to be flexible and ever changing. Expect the unexpected!!  Prepare for the worst and the good will take of itself!!

Rock Climbing

This afternoon I tried indoor rock climbing for the first time with my sister-in-law and it was fun. I had always wanted to try rock climbing, but been putting it off for a long time with stupid excuses. But not today. Today I went ahead to try and I enjoyed it a lot. It was an hour lesson with marshall to guide and showed us how to climb. We tried 3 walls and I managed to successfully complete 1 wall only. The other 2 walls, I only managed to climb about 40-50% only. Haha.

My sister-in-law was good. Quick and agile like a monkey. LOL! A 3 years old kid laughed at me for being slow. Haha. Well, I think I need to go more often to become better. Is a good sport to adopt. In the past I was worried that I didn't have the arm strength and also my legs might gave up on me as well. I thought I wasn't physically ready to climb, but that wasn't the case.

I failed because I didn't feel secure even though it was very safe and secure to climb. I had a mental fear that I was going to fall and hit the wall badly. Or scratched myself against the walls. None of that happened. Also I was thinking too much about where to step and grip. I should had just trust my guts instinct and just climbed. I will definitely do that the next time.

Another 1 item checked off my bucket lists. My life is definitely getting more interesting, fun and adventurous after turning 40 years old last year. I'm embracing and celebrating the next decade of my life by doing things that I never dare to do when I was younger.

Rock climbing is just like life. Sometimes we have it easy, sometimes we have it hard. There are times we want to give up, but most of the times we need to keep going. We can take a break, but we shouldn't give up. There will always be obstacles in our life. Obstacles and challenges are thrown to us to make us grow and learn, hence never run away from it. Face it, endure it and learn from it.

And sometimes, we don't need to plan and think too much. Just follow your guts instinct and goes with the flow. Live in the moment because tomorrow isn't here yet and yesterday is a past! We only have NOW!! So enjoy it while you have it. Always remember and remind yourself that!