Two months after...

This post is pretty lengthy and has lots of photos. Snail-net people, beware.

I know I said the next post will be in Japan, but I didn't have a converter for my laptop. For some reason it was really hard to open my laptop everyday at my Aunt's place. Then I had an issue with me losing my charger, etc etc.

Still in Indonesia. Almost exactly two months now :). It's definitely different from Canada. I miss Canada a lot. I was homesick for the first three weeks. I didn't have that much fun until I started going out of town.


My first trip was to this town called "Bogor". Around an hour or two drive from Jakarta. I was there for three days with my sister and her baby. We stayed at her husband's family home. It was huugeee.... sadly I didn't take too many pictures inside of the house. Then we headed to the Bogor Botanical Garden. At the Botanical Garden, they have the world's largest flower: carrion flower, or called "Bunga Bangkai" in Indonesian. The flower only blooms once every three years. It was first a tree, then it dies, then it became a flower. When it blooms, it gives off a bad odour like dead animal; hence, the name, "bangkai" means "corpse". The flower wasn't blooming when I was there sadly.

I got home Wednesday, then I left for Puncak on Thursday night. Puncak is the typical vacation spot for people in Jakarta. "Puncak" means the top... and it's basically a mountain top. Well, maybe more like the side of it. Puncak is extremely popular due to Jakarta's usual hot weather. Puncak is usually... colder (not anymore... it's too crowded and rather polluted now).

I love the road up to Puncak. The side of the mountain is used for tea plantation. Lots and lots of green.

Got home from Puncak on Saturday night. Monday, I left for Bali! BALI. I fricking loved Bali!! Indonesia is a country, famous for being Muslim... but for some reason, Bali is full of Hindus. This difference in religion actually made Bali unique. Balinese are friendly, artistic, and polite. They fear for karma.


We stayed at my sister's father in law's friend's villa. It was a pretty villa. Traditional, but modern inside. Most of it was open space. The living room was surrounded by a koi pond. The roof was made out of straw and bamboo. Finally, it was fully equipped with traditional Balinese windows and doors.




All I did in Bali was eat and shop. The one place that is quite famous is the "Babi Guling Ibu Oka", Ms. Oka's Suckling Pig. It's an attractive tourist spot due to its location underneath a tree.


The one thing I always wanted to do is to wake up in the morning and take a photo of the sunrise. Well, from my previous post, I have said that I love sleep. But on the last day, I actually forced myself out of bed and I walked to the beach. And this is what waking up early gave me:


Overall, it has been fun when I'm out of Jakarta. I miss Vancouver so much and I just hope the next trip I make will be with my friends :).

xoxo

One more sleep...

My flight is tomorrow at 12: 45. Will be on the plane for ten hours heading for Narita, Japan. I get to stay overnight cause my 8 hr plane flight to Jakarta will be the next morning at 10.

I should be excited as hell and cannot wait to start my vacation. I shouldn't be able to get any sleep tonight cause I get to leave this town after 5 years or so. I should be excited that I'm exploring places.

Truth is, I'm sad. Something is holding me back. I love Vancouver.


I want to stay a bit longer here. I love the spots of blue sky after a gloomy cloudy morning. I love the warmth of the sun that contrasts with the chilly spring air. I love riding on the skytrain looking over the skyscrapers as I leave Downtown Vancouver. I love walking along the seawall and look at the cityline. Oh, and the vibe. How everyone is kind of just chillin', maxin', relaxin' all cool playin' bball outside of the school.

I want to stay overnight at Tony's house for a French movie night (or more like, an attempt to a French movie night). I want to walk around the park singing at night with the people I love. I want to have random gatherings that wasn't planned. I want to chill at the bar while I get to know you.

I'll fucking miss you, Vancouver. Vancouver and everyone that is in it.

I cannot wait to come back. Just wait; I'll come back for you.

Vacation Reading List:
The Bro Code
The Book of Awesome
Persuasion

The next post will be from Narita, Japan.

XOXO

PUT YO HANDS UP!

As of yesterday, I finished my first year of university. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. As I was studying, I was looking through all my old photos that are pretty much dated one year ago. Time just speeds up eh. The sun is out again today. It's lovely.


To celebrate, my classmates and I went to this bar called "The Met". They had a pretty awesome deal: $8 for burger and beer. The place itself is alright I guess. They had a DJ.... and it felt kind of awkward to listen to party music when the bar is quiet and it's still bright out. But good burger and skinny fries. Waiter was chill.

Then my friend and I went to this bar called "Whineos". I must say, it has one of the nicest atmosphere :)... I love the decors on the walls.


I just got my fisheye lens in the mail on Tuesday night. I jumped for joy and I got stoked (or I'm still stoked) for fifty two hours. I know it's dangerous to get stoked for that extended period of time, but this fisheye lens is so awesome. I named her Marilyn. Meet Marilyn:




So, I have 4 days left til I leave for motherland Indonesia. Stoked and scared at the same time. I haven't been back there for four years...or three and a half. I hope I can get along.

I Love Vancouver.

Hooollyyyyyy Shee-----

I don't really like Nike, but... this is talent.

buckling down

Well, I'm supposed to be doing my final assignments... but, then I stumbled upon this website: Econscious Market. It's basically a website where they feature products that are made "econsciously". 10% of your purchase from this store will go to one of the charity of your choice on the website. Here's the video to explain the whole deal:

ECOnscious Market from eConscious Market on Vimeo.

I've found these sweet belts so far:

I love the detailing on the buckle.

There's something girly.. yet classy with this belt.

And this buckle has the 12 zodiac symbols :)

I am disappointed with how I cannot afford these belts though. They are to die for :(.

What's in your backpack?

Yep. I finally saw it. I must say, it is one of my favourite George Clooney movies. "Up in the Air" is directed by Jason Reitman, same dude who directed "Thank You for Smoking" (another one of my favourites).

I like how this movie really depicts how bad the 2008-2009 recession was. Clooney's character is a guy who is hired to fire people. So he flies everywhere to fire people. How does he sleep at night? Easy. Read the following monologue from the movie:

"How much does your life weigh?"

Imagine for a second you’re carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life. You start with the little things. The shelves, drawers, the knick-knacks. You start adding bigger stuffs. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps. Your TV.

The backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You grow bigger. Your couch, your car, your home. I want you to stuff it all into that backpack.

Now, I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances. Friends of friends. Folks around the office. And then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children. Parents. Finally, your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. Get them into that backpack.

Feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake. Your relationships are the heaviest components of your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets and compromises. The slower we move, the faster we die.

Make no mistake. Moving is living.

Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star-crossed lovers. Monogamous swans.

We are not swans. We’re sharks.

I don't agree with the monologue, obviously. I, in all honesty, would love carrying that backpack. In fact, I can't wait to have someone to carry the backpack with me.

The Mayo Jar and Coffee

I'm just reposting this from my friend's blog. If you're as swamped as I am with school and everything else, read this cute little story.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jarwas full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.”

The golf balls are the important things-your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Isn't that awesome?