A Separate Reality

When life becomes monotonous, a one single boring line, everything repeats itself everyday, the only thing that's good is that ur bank account is growing but the loss when weekend comes is pretty unpredictable, sometimes unbearable. Well people say "shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist" haha that's a funny way to see it but yeah anyhoo, i love it that phrase :)

A weekend with fun-loving friends who flew here solely to meet up, get a group hug and pass me my pink underwear which I had left in NZ months back, well thankfully it has been replaced with this...

I've been given the best remedy for my deflated spirit and I felt like I just rose from the graveyard of boredorm and hopped on the spooky & eerie Halloween tram with them! Boo!

I guess it was a little too early for Halloween aye but the mood was already there @ the Night Safari where ghosts from all over the world (from Europe to Asia) gathered at this location to tear off & savor our delicious blood-spattered guts and blood-soaked eyeballs with their scary but colorful make-ups & costumes, bloody murderous stares and i'm-gonna-kill-you-with-a-butcher-knife chase. Traipsing through the Bridge of NO Return was gut-wrenching even though we huddled together and walked like some sort of 3-head octopus-like homo sapiens with 6 trembling legs. It was extremely sickening to walk on the narrow swing bridge with 2 of my most feared ghosts of all time waiting on either side. A very exhausted Kento breathlessly commented that it was all FUCKIN' AWESOME! I guess that pretty much explains it all :)

It wasn't so much about touring Singapore as a lot of stuff here are replicas of Japanese culture/food/decoration/stuff. It was more about being together again, chit-chatting through the night till the morning light came and still went on...and on...and on; oh and of course a taste of durian which they excitedly tried but strongly detested after tasting it :) and and oh! they lovvvved the Roti Canais!

Their visit didn't just enhance our friendship but also reignited all the beautiful memories we'd had back in NZ; The days when we were roomates on the same double-decker bed for a few months, the days we made fun of each other & laughed till tears rolled down our cheeks, the days we cooked together and shared our meals, the sleepless nights we couldn't sleep and huddled together drinking whiskey & eating apple pies while pouring our hearts out and crying tears of joy and pain. Those were the beautiful days...

...AND of course there WILL be more beautiful days ahead!

All I Wanna Do is ROCK!

When u reach the lowest point in ur life; when u can no longer find meaning in life; when NOTHING and NO ONE makes sense to u anymore; when u think that it's impossible to survive, that's when u have to make the toughest decision ever - to stay down & go deeper downwards or get up, brush the dirt off and keep moving full force towards the light that u haven't seen but believe that u will soon see!

I thank u my wonderful colleague who have put ur heart into this beautiful card that made me rethink my hasty & irrational decision to take a U-turn when I met an obstacle.

I wish to thank all the people who have put in sooo much effort to support me during the hard times. I feel greatly touched and grateful to all of u dears who stood by and never judged. I have learned so much in the past months by staying instead of taking a U-turn.

As Pema Chödrön says
"this moment is the perfect teacher, especially in difficult situations"
"stay present and touch the rawness of the experience, you can really learn something"
"we all get caught up in the goal, but the path itself is the goal. The journey is all there is, really. The future never comes, because it's always the present moment"

The Aftermath of Travelling

It's pretty hard to continue writing when the colorful part of life suddenly turned into black & white and everything in between - the transition? A huge BLUR.

Well I remember a friend, Jonny told me once that he was in a pub with a bunch of friends in New Zealand. There was this old man who went on stage to read a poem he wrote about his life, his late wife and many melancholic things that happened to them. The poem touched his heart and triggered him to ponder alot about life, he was the only one who stood up and clapped enthusiastically for that old man for his courage to go up that stage and just share his beautiful poem to a bunch of idiots who didn't appreciate a word he recited. Then onwards, Jonny was inspired deeply to start writing poems and we did exchange a few nice ones, one of them was from a German-Swiss poet, novelist & painter - Hermann Hesse. So he started writing but there was no inspiration. Why? Cus he says he's been having too much fun, he couldn't write anything, nothing great came. He thinks that great inspirations usually come only when you're facing difficulties in life. There are many things I don't agree with him but this one I do. Therefore this blog entry exists :)

Life hasn't been easy since The Return. I guess it's time to face the harsh reality again for awhile before I go back to having Dreamy Mood again!

• It supposedly is a 9-6 job but I WAS WRONG cus ended up working overtime at least 3 days a week.
• It supposedly is a slightly better job than being a designer as in less stressful & u get to spend time "communicating" with clients who are extremely "polite" and u get to answer emails all day and make plans for meetings n stuff but again I WAS WRONG cus all I get is constant nagging and snoring at the other end of the phone well when I'm lucky I get humorous ones that make me laugh instead of curse endlessly.
  
• It supposedly is a job that needs me to be a more organized and systematic but yet again I WAS WRONG; not only do I have to become whatever mentioned before, I also have to be more meticulous than a school teacher marking her students' exam papers and there is NO ROOM FOR ERRORS in the world of advertising. It is indeed a nerve-wrecking job and there's never a day I go to work without having extreme adrenaline rushing through my veins; at times it's so overwhelming that I wish I would just get FIRED for silly mistakes that I unintentionally do sometimes cus I feel trapped being "asked" politely to sign a 1-year contract on my 1st day of work which had me working 19.5hours which was from 9am - 4.30am in the morning the next day.
• It's gonna be one hell of a roller-coaster-goes-bad kind of "exciting" year for me and to tell you the truth I realized that recently I have been on my knees a lot more than I'd ever done in my whole life.
• So peeps! If u EVER get a job that needs u to sign a contract, read CAREFULLY, ask WHATEVER doubts you have and take at least one day to read through before signing it.
  

Well from the positive outlook, I think that things that are tough to overcome are the things that shape us and mould us to become better in many many ways just like how a "Rough diamond acquires value as it is cut and polished."

AND of course the people who have been my very strong backbones have given so much love & support through all the hellish working hours and demanding deadlines! They are none other than my funny, chaotic, conflicting, dysfunctional family!

The awesome tree-house cake for Ern Qi & me!

The chaotic siblings!

The dysfunctional Family

There you go mi familia mi amigos!
The over-protective dad / The crafty mama/ The ever-smiling bro-in-law / The special-cute-smile all day or cry all day- niece / The brand-conscious-like-to-buy-expensive-stuff sister / The play-ps3-street-fighter-with-his-sister-every-night brother / The totally malfunctional ME!

And of course not forgetting my wonderful, loyal gossip ladies that always make time for me on weekends for food, b*tchin' & sappy/romantic/horror BOO! movies. Also the ones far away in Malaysia who has to bear my rants on the phone on my way back from work and not forgetting the one who's in Bosnia now who has to read my never-ending emails and continuous complaints without a full stop on the phone. Now I found a better place to rant (HERE!) so u guys can have a break!

Thank you guys! Lov ya'all!

Here's my favourite song of the week to YOU!

With warmest hugs & regards,
Lin :)

Spice of India !

11 years ago, I was about 13 when I first came to India, I couldn't remember vividly everything that had happened back then but all I could conjure up was the images of myself and my fellow friends dressing up in costumes, holding "bunga mangga" or was it lotuses? oh well we were representing Malaysia to perform a Malaysian dance in the Ashram called Prashanti Nilayam (The Abode of Profound Peace) infront of the entire world that had gathered there. The excitement that embraced us, the butterflies we'd felt in our stomachs, all the laughter, all the hours spent practicing, arguments among the kids (despite being in a peaceful place!) and befriending people all over the world and also all the tears we cried - all this I remember with a warm smile on my face, sometimes wishing I could relive my younger years again with so much robust excitement!

2nd trip was...well IMAGINE a 10-seater van with people of all ages, with different financial backgrounds from the richest to the not-so-well-to-do, different opinions, different and very distinguished mannerisms but allll from the same hometown. It had been one hell of a comedic holiday trip back then with unforgettable adventures and jokes! It still cracks me up whenever I think talk about it :)

Mommy & Daughter

Ern Qi

On the way to Ashram


A bus stop

1st meal - my fav Gobi Manchurian

With Plain Naans & Paneer Curry - Double Yum!

After being in New Zealand for almost 9 months, India is quite the right place to go if u want somewhere TOTALLY contrasting. I can't imagine how Rob & Kimie could just fly off to India directly from the winter of NZ to spend 3 months there but hmm...perhaps Bombay is a little bit north and not THAT bad.

The Ashram was not overly crowded which meant we could move about easily, unlike the last trip where there was about a million devotees there. Every corner I went in the Ashram stirred up emotions and the emotions invoked memories; memories of my previous trips; memories of how much we enjoyed licking the heavenly homemade ice creams(especially mango) that cost only rs.5 ($0.15) even now! and also western paneer (cottage cheese) toast made by the Europeans. But no photography was allowed within, the pics below are taken outside of Ashram.

Snacks Bar!


Colourful tumblers!


A cart full of corns!


And more corns!


This is how they steam the corns...dare to eat?


Colourful fruit street!


Colorful fruit stall!



Traditional weighing machines are still widely used all over India :)


Banglessssssssssss


Purses


The caption below makes the bakery sound more like an asylum >.<


Vegetable Stall in a dark alley. Cool aye?


The Rosey Lady


Leather shoes!


Never miss the Rs.10 coconut there! Not.A.Day!


And another thing not to be missed! Road-side-on-the-cart lime juice!


He's my ffffffavourite vendor cus he always has a huge smile & I always get extra juice too!

During my time there, I met many people from all walks of life and also of different religious backgrounds like Christians from all over Europe, Buddhists from Asia, local Hindus and even Muslims from Croatia/Syria/Israel. It's just simply amazing to see the entire world gather at one heavenly place! And I also met a couple of Germans, a Dutch, an Indian who claim themselves as psychics or healers and they could tell very interesting and sometimes factual things about your present life and a little wee bit about who you were in your past lives(only if it's necessary) - things like that.

I went for the 3rd time as well to the Super Specialty Hospital that cater to the needs of the poor free of charge funded by Isaac Tigrett - the founder of Hard Rock Cafe who was also in the Ashram at that time.

Tuk Tuk


On the left, Tuk tuk driver who took us to the special hospital.


On the Tuk Tuk


Windowless, barrierless Tuk tuk


On the road, written in German "Gott Ist Das Ziel Des Lebens"
God is the Goal of Life


On the way - cool neon light shepherd!


Ceiling of the hospital


Hospital - Interior


The garden with a huge Cross and also symbols of 4 other main religions.


The Hospital

When I started complaining about the weather, about my worries, about the dusty streets, about being bored, about no photography in the Ashram blah blah and blah I didn't realize that I was so blessed to be able to get there and I was also much better off than a lot of people out there on the streets that tugged on my sleeves and begged for money & food whenever I stepped out of the Ashram gates; some of them looked quite miserable but most of the kids appeared to me as quite cheerful as they skipped around the mud, played with the sand and still could find a reason to smile even when they're obviously living in poverty.

"Amma...amma...give me food, I have a baby...Amma...please"

"Amma...amma....amma..."

"Amma, please...money...food, please...school...amma...."

"Amma...*points to peanuts*..."

"Hi.........."


"oh no...should I hide?"

He's not standing infront of his house but...


...that was actually a school.
School of Learning - English medium.

I learnt that:

"The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems, but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect."

Last Road Trip in New Zealand

It was my final week in NZ and I was offered to go on a road trip (my last one) in a blue vintage car with 2 other Malaysians and a Korean :) And I was kind of surprised that somehow the places we visited pretty much turned out to be quite vintaged, old-fashioned & classic or well-preserved for decades; simply magical!

1st stop: Nelson Saturday Market

There were endless stalls of artistic homemade clothes, soft toys, paintings, mirrors, pastries or even some things that would never ever cross even your wildest imagination :) I love NZ weekend markets to bits <3

2nd stop: Hanmer Springs

I woke up to a dream-like, snow covered town winter wonderland!

3rd stop: New Brighton Library/Pier

4th stop: Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

I totally love this place as they preserved the original habitat of all the animals and it doesn't even pretend or wish to be a zoo. You could just see the animals running around freely, you can touch them, feed them, talk to them, whatever! It was a dream come true to see the kiwi birds roaming around in the nocturnal house!

5th stop: Ferrymead Heritage Park

6th final stop: Christchurch

It's the town I flew into and flew out of.

It's the town where I

• had my 1st ski experience @ Mt Hutt
• met the Japanese friend, Seiko whom I'd traveled with to various places!
• met up again with my dearest friends Yukari & Stefan @ Mt. Hutt then we went shopping around CHCH then to a Swiss restaurant for the cheese fondue (yumm! but too much alco!) then to an Irish Pub and saw Sideshow Monkeys perform really beautiful songs!
• ate a nice asian meal with old Motueka buddies - Tina & Kasumi
• had a visit from my Ojisan! Yamada :)

I've been in New Zealand for almost whole 9 months and I've been through all the beautiful seasons and I can't be more grateful than I already am.

Thank you dear readers for being with me here, all this while, reading all the lengthy posts but I do hope that you at least enjoyed the pictures and could feel the excitement!

Toddles! I'm off to India for 3 weeks and will be back to join the "August Carnival" in my family. See you in August!

The Colours of Autumn

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

THAT...is why this entry is full of mosaics!

1st mosaic - "Awesome 4some" goes to Kaikoura

Don't get me wrong, it shouldn't sound obscene at all as my friend had commented! The nickname was derived from one of NZ's most delicious ice-creams' cover which we used to buy and share not only among the 4 of us but almost the entire hostel too cus it's just too colourful and yummy and awesome and sweet as...*gasp* Anyway...we were there with extremely high hopes of being able to whale-watch as the weather was extremely awesome but nobody had been able to foresee the unpredictable storm the night before our sea adventure so all that was left for us to watch was this sign below.

It was my 2nd trip there, familiarity was all around doubtlessly but the experience was stunningly different and the amazing ever-changing sky colours is just so dazzling that it felt like I was looking through a giant kaleidoscope of heaven.

2nd mosaic - Sending the soul-Bean-mate off...

I wouldn't say that the farewell was a really sad day as it was full of "family" banter, fun, laughter, alcohol, BBQ and of course homemade cookies & Bavarian apple cakes! But it almost turned into tearful goodbyes when all the lovely friends (some of whom had tried to hold back tears but failed miserably as their lips were quivering so hard I could have laughed if i weren't grief-stricken myself) they formed a huge circle and hugged him as if they would never meet each other ever again. Oh well, maybe yes maybe no only time can tell.

3rd mosaic - Apple "Madhouse" oops Packhouse

I was in awe of myself for working with the apples from inception to the end of season. There was almost not a day I wasn't complaining that I was tired of looking at those red blobs for 8 hours (sometimes more) per day despite having had a very forgiving boss for not firing me for creating a few dramatic disputes due to various personal reasons *sly smile*. Well, the sense of accomplishment is just undescribable!

It was interesting to find out that the younger boss worked with Peter Jackson in building sets for LOTR for 5 years and his wife is a costume designer who had worked for The Last Samurai & Blood Diamond and also their cousin brother had built the sets for King Kong and will be starting to work on The Hobbit this coming September in Wellington for 4 years.

4th mosaic - Leaving Motueka

...but preserving all the magical happenings in the White Elephant like an elephant! Have u ever heard of the saying that goes "An elephant never forgets" :)

*As I walk through my favourite town, breathing in the fresh crisp air, savouring my last days in New Zealand, I start to have flash backs of all the great times I've had with the most wonderful company of friends I've made throughout my journey and millions of beautiful memories I've had with my best friend and soul mate.

Winter is trying to overtake autumn by coming earlier than usual, the weather is chilling to the bone but today, as if it knows i'm going out to take a walk, the warm sunshine heats up the town a little and also warms my lonely heart. After the awesome foursome split, life is never the same at the White Elephant. There are still really nice & caring friends around but the atmosphere is just totally different. I spend most of time reading by the fire or typing away on the old laptop in my cold but cosy room number 5 or yapping away on the phone for hours (which I never liked to do before) with family, friends and of course him.

As my days are numbered here, I begin to realise that the beautiful, wonderful dream that I've been having for almost 9 months is coming to a halt and it's time to hold my head up high and come face to face with the truth - and that is, i'm still lost... :p

Nonetheless I have experienced tremendous emotions of being in love with foods, of cherishing sincere and unpretentious friendships, of tasting joy when I'm with all the lovely people whom I treasure with every fibre of my being! I feel like this journey is not entirely coming to an end as there are so many beautiful things that are blossoming - There are many wonderful friends to keep in touch with, many awesome countries to visit and many more sweet memories to create!

Hardcore Tramping - Nelson Lakes

Let's go back in time to early April

~Autumn~

"The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." Carol Bishop Hipps

A couple of good friends who've had various tramping experiences and also fundamental tramping gears (unlike myself) expressed their profound concern and almost talked me out of doing the 3-day backcountry tramping track which is extremely treacherous (with unexpected snow when we arrived!) and is fatiguing even for an experienced tramper, let alone myself!

Well despite having my excitement being thrown cold water upon, I understood completely how they must have felt but maybe no, I simply thought they were just being OVER PARANOID about it that's why I ended up singing & humming away, skipping & hopping along the way, taking time sitting by many beautiful waterfalls savouring every bite of Yan Mui's homemade chocolate biscuits without realising at all that the journey ahead wasn't only not coming an end for the day, in fact it was endless; we walked for 8 hours in the forest on uneven slippery grounds of grass, stones and mushy mushrooms until night fell and we then we broke into sprints as if a cheetah was running after us and then bolted through the darkness like lightnings (I swear I'd never run that much and that fast in my life before) till we saw very very dim lights - candlelights lit by other trampers in the 1st hut - The Sabine Hut.

After I could feel my limbs again and making sure that I had a heart beating in my chest, we munched on our homemade sandwiches ever so slowly, with my head on his shoulder and his arm on my shoulder; we sat on the boardwalk with a wide view of Lake Rotorua; scene like this never goes out of my mind and it was one of the best moment in my life. It was quiet, peaceful, serene and full of tranquility and I think that my heart was so calm it stopped for the breathtaking moment. All hardship of the day forgotten as we retired into the hut with all the other trampers and oh my god! I still couldn't believe that my dear friends tried to dissuade me from taking up this challenge to get this heavenly experience!

The 2nd day I woke up with a strong determination to go on (just cus there was no alternative escape route for me! there were but it would've cost me my fortune...) for the hardest track of all 3 but I refuse to go into detail in fear of boring you. To summarise it all, it was the steepest hill I'd ever climbed, I literally almost lost my breath and it took me 1.5 hours more than suggested time to reach the bush line (with him carrying my bagpack for me the last hour) where forest gives way to alpine plants and where stony, rugged snowy mountains surround the huge lakes. The change was abrupt but remarkable!

Top of Mount Cedric overlooking Lake Rotorua

The rest of the track was along the ridges on the top of moutains full of rocks and snow with only neon coloured solid flags to guide us; it was the most treacherous route as one wrong step could have sent us stumbling n rolling down the snowy hill like a humpty dumpty with no one around to rescue us. However, after 9 challenging hours with a few hours spent bruising ourselves jumping from rocks to rocks in the snow, we reached the most beautiful hut in New Zealand - The Angelus Hut.

Angelus Hut

3rd day - 1st part of the journey was completely insane. People were gatherd outside the hut to watch 2 amateur spidermen trying to defy gravity by rock-clinging on the mountain with melted snow. It was like ice-skating vertically with rocks as our skates can you imagine that? And on the other side of the mountain it was also very steep and slippery with rocks, grasses and clear streams; my energy was completely robbed after sliding allllll day on my fleshy butt.

I was so exhausted I was just walking with one aim in my mind - Potato Chips in the car @ the car park! My mind wasn't present anymore so...

fell into leg-sucking mud. Yuck!

ALL that experience with a cheap pair of travelling shoes like THIS one :D and people are dumbfounded that I'm still alive!

Ain't Losing to Epilepsy! Nah Uh!

After being away for almost 9 months from home, it's rather strange to come back to a place I call home in Kelantan where everything's the same, yet different; everything's different, yet still the same. It is ironic but true.

I arrived at the airport depleted...dissipated...barely able to smile after going through a journey longer that the Great Wall of China, but I instantly broke into a widening smile when I saw my papa's head bobbing amongst the crowd and my heart melted when I saw my mom from a distance looking as young as ever with a cute chubby sleeping baby in her arms; the same baby I left 9 months ago when she was only a month old.

I came home to many lovings arms, several excited phone calls, a cousin's wedding, an uncle's funeral and most certainly, a completely different environment in which I'm not the baby of the family anymore. It is quite a HUGE contrast to have traversed a beautiful paradise and to have lived a carefree life for 9 months then to come back to hushing a crying baby, changing diapers, feeding baby cereals, giving bubble bath and talking in baby language, the list is pretty much limitless. After going through the cacophonies for a couple of days I was actually a little less robust in dealing with all those as I had jet lag to recover from and my stomach also had been having internal combustions because of the spicy dirty hawker food. I was literally in a daze all day long the 1st week I was back.

This entry is solely dedicated to my niece Ern Qi who has been fighting against epilepsy since 3 days old. At such a tender age, she has been through more pain than I could ever imagine an infant could. She's currently going through a traditional acupuncture treatment which activates her brain cells and makes them work again. The progress, in any amount, enables us to at least rely on something as flimsy as hope but still better than having baseless optimism and blind faith.

One of my best mates he gave her the nickname Baby 007 before she was given a name and I think that's the best one she could ever have HANDS DOWN. She has been really strong, she will survive and I believe she will be able to crawl, walk, run and talk soon!

Whenever I have her close to me in my arms and chest,I can't stop thinking that she's the one I've been talking to and singing to when she was growing in her mother's womb for 9 whole months and it's amazing how overwhelmingly in love I'm with her.

It still remains a dream to hear the sound of her laughter for real and to make her smile & laugh effortlessly but this dream, like many others of mine will no doubt become a reality.

"Which of us can deny that at some level we are afflicted by a sense that our human lives are incomplete and that there lies, just beyond the reach of our perceptions, a paradise that once was ours?" - Sebastian F.

it's not THE END yet!

Despite the stress about the luggage weight & the fear of having to pay an awful sum of $$$ for overweight baggage, I LOVE airports!

It's a cold place where people with warm hearts gather to send or pick up their loved ones.

I love to see people running, grinning, laughing and skipping (hopefully not tripping over bags or trolleys like I did) towards their family, lovers huggin' & kissin' each other goodbyes, wives weeping quietly as they see their husbands fly off for business trips or kids watching anxiously @ the gate as the plane takes off, waving frantically hoping whoever they just sent off could see them from the air, kids think it's cool! Oh I just love all that emotional stuff happening @ airports.

Since my laptop decided to breathe its last breath on my last days in NZ, there's no photos for this entry but I still have got a couple more entries to share about the last days in NZ which was filled with overwhelming emotions, gratitude & appreciation of a great company of people.

It has been a magical dream-like journey all along and I'm actually not sad about waking up from this beautiful dream as everything has to come to an end so that I would have time for more awesome events that will unravel, untangle and present themselves along the journey of my life!

See you soon my beloved family, cousins & my naughty friends who are still reading this thing I'm writing :p

The last bit of Summer!

Ur probably sick of my Summer adventures by now but it's the final part so hang in there! I'm catching up! (it's almost Winter now though *blush*) I'll try to keep things short & sweet and also less long-winded (...is that even possible?!)

January 09
Cherry Grading @ Summerfruit
Unsurprisingly cherry grading was the most boring, unamusing & irksome work of all; I quit after a couple of weeks & changed to packing cherries instead but it was -1ºC in the cold store and 25ºC outside, the changes were so drastic they drove me insane; I quit after a week and resumed my holidays instead - it was a great decision but i didn't realize that the bank account was drying up faster than the speed of light!

Despite the irksome job, we were a bunch of funny people monkeying around with a few stern-looking but amusing supervisors who were capable of evoking deafening laughter from time to time.

Heather(far left) - she was a breast cancer survivor who inspires me (yes even now!) with her great spirit and positive philosophy. And on the right is Flo - the angry n strict lookin' lady who made everyone breath sighs of relief whenever she smiled.

January 09
Happy Birthday Yan!

That's the birthday girl right there among the roses from our friendly neighbour.


No man? Roses then!


Everyone scrambled & hid behind the counter to hide excess u know...fats?


What's Juan trying to do by the way?


Her gift from Juan n the Gang - name was "Potito" which means butt in spanish but I'm sure Yan has changed her baby's name by now?


Little Johannes has finally found someone his age!


Rapping Potito - Starring Francisco


Ah that's a pestiferous paparazzi!


The rosy Chillaysian couple of the year!

The bunch @ Yan's birthday!

Urgh I wouldn't wanna be THAT skinny, really.

Aww I miss Kasumi - she's full of spirit, sweet smiles and huge tight hugs that i love so much!

Megumi stealing the limelight again by giving birth in mid air this time!

Shot #1

Shot #2 go on see the 3rd one

Tada! The Kiss.

Night after the party
The girls went upstairs and had a party of their own, no booze left so they took me as a hostage and decided to give my tousled drunken look a makeover!

Megu <3>

Obviously not drunk enough!


Chikako sprinkled some powder, faked my eyelashes & did some magic while i was half asleep-half drunk although i looked like i was smiling, I was actually trying to sleep, seriously.

Megumi found me irresistably kissable cus she loves eating powder. Lotsa it!

Quite strangely, I rather like this hairstyle.

Wot r u starin' at?

My precious wild buncha girls who shared lovely memories.

February 09
Traveling along the East Coast - Dunedin

Savouring the cream, relishing the aromatic coffee in the steep town centre of Dunedin.


It's the steepest street in the world! What do u reckon?


Speight's Brewery Tour - It was all for the free beer!


9 glasses of different Speight's beers :D
The drunk "rubberball" almost rolled down & bounced among the steep hills of Dunedin.

February 09
Boulder Rocks, Oamaru
The place I missed the first time I went to Oamaru, I came back for it but the weather was greyish yet I was still full of excitement collecting unique sea shells for mom to make a bracelet out of them!

Mini shells cute enough for a bracelet!


It's NOT as easy as u think to stand on 2 round slippery rocks u know?


Yan is singing "I'm FREE! Free-Fallin'!"


Haha! Can u see that li'l head stickin' outta the rock?
She was embarassed after being caught in the act!


Oh I love this place! It's called The Clay Cliffs.
It just felt like a place where Gandalf would appear on his white horse or Frodo with his 2 funny friends.


Long hours of being in the car made me go a li'l cuckcoo with little potito.


Long hours of driving? I needed "potito" to hug & to keep me awake.


The Buscot Station Backpackers @ Oamarama.


Mount Cook & Lake Tekapo in one day. I was bursting with excitement I could barely drive!


On the way...


Stopped for an apple...


Almost there...


Mt. Cook - The highest mountain in NZ


On top of the world!


Hooker Valley Track


Bracing myself for an over-priced Glacier Tour!


The lake with floating glaciers.


I see an iceberg! Kill the engine!


One huge majestic iceberg covered in black dust!


Close up


Even closer


So close you can touch it!


And fish the smaller pieces from the water!


Then bite them!


And kiss them!


Mt Cook is absolutely among my favourite places in NZ!
We were lucky to be there under the huge blue beautiful sky and perfect weather.

Church of the Good Shepard @ Lake Tekapo - The church I've been wanting to visit!


Here I am! Woohoo!!!


The coolest n most amazing view a church could have. It's peaceful too!
Hey I stole this shot shhh cus everyone else does too despite the huge NO CAMERAS sign.

February 09
Christchurch

Meeting Jae for the last time b4 he flew back to Korea :(

February 09
Hanmer Springs

It was absolutely hilarous quad-cycling in that huge yellow attention-grabber junk especially when we couldn't paddle hard enough to go up a very steep hill and started rolling down the hill hopelessly; the whole town watched with amusement and laughed hysterically at how ridiculous we all looked. Oh well...what a memorable experience we had!

February 09
Back in Motueka again! Yippie!
It's the place I've stayed for 6 months; i call it my NZ hometown.

Japanese invasion@Kaiteriteri beach :D

February 09
Golden Bay - Wharariki Beach for the 2nd time
My favourite beach !

Loooooong stretch of patterned sand


Great spot for Yoga Katrin!


Modelling shot?


Thai dance shot?


Monkey shot?


Noticed a few colourful lumps of fat seals lying on the beach?


The Old Man Hill. Spot: Old Man Face

Well this old man marks the end of my summer holidays in NZ!