The FIRST is always hard, rough and scary

Something from a sky diving pamphlet (NZONE Skydive, New Zealand) that is really worth sharing :

"...the FIRST skydive is a scary thing. ( like everything else in life, the first step towards just about ANYTHING is always difficult and nerve-wrecking) The impact of your life that the act you are now CONTEMPLATING will have cannot be overstated. The personal challenge is immense...because the only thing preventing you from ENJOYING this is YOUR OWN MIND. You must CHOOSE. To go through life able to say 'YES, I DID IT' or to go through life knowing that you had the OPPORTUNITY, but you TURNED IT DOWN and walked away from becoming the COMPLETE PERSON you COULD have been. "

... and this my friends can go beyond a challenge for a skydive. This is what life is ultimately all about. Taking risks, grasping on opportunities, choosing and going for it. It's tough, it's not easy because all good things are hard. If you are in doubt, and things seems to be so really hard on you, probably it could have been the best-est things in life for you. At that moment, never give up but just go for it either you know how or not.

7 Things That I Secretly Really Always Wanted To Do But...

7 things that I secretly really always wanted to do BUT ... you know there is always a BUT to not doing things! Haha.

I want to get straight to the point because I'm a straight forward kind of person. I figured that people may want to know just a little bit more about me other than my crazy, insane admiration and love towards the adventure and anything with a kick of adrenaline. Therefore, just in case you are wondering what I have always secretly really wanted to do but by far have never gotten around to doing them yet, let's find out about them here in my 7 Things I Secretly Always Wanted To Do :

1. I secretly wish that I can go to Bali and learn up yoga for a couple of days from any reputable yogi. I love the fact that I can move every single muscles of my body while I'm practicing my yoga and boy, don't I feel good when I realized that with a little practice I can actually tone those muscles and feel good about my body in overall.

2. I secretly wish to go to Thailand to learn from the cooking school on how to make a really kick-ass Tom Yum Kung! Haha. I love to eat and no doubt, I love to cook as well and there is something about Thai cuisines that always tastes simply delicious.

3. I secretly would like to have my very own plant nursery selling all kinds of plants for landscaping, herbs plants and maybe even flowers. I think I have been gifted with green fingers so in some way, I believe I may have a hidden talent in gardening.

4. I secretly always dream to have a little, cozy coffee shop with freshly brewed coffee from one of those expensive coffee machine like the ones in Starbucks complete with a little hang out corner where people can sit, relax and read their favourite books or mags or simple chill with good company in my coffee shop.

5. I wanted to have a cabin home with only 2 rooms (master bedroom and my home office) and an outdoor kitchen. My cabin home will be nestled in the middle of a vast land complete with my own herbs/vegetables garden, probably some chickens for my organic, daily fresh eggs and on occasionally chicken meat. I might wanna have some goats too but who knows. Also, I want to be totally self-sufficient and independent so I'll have my own solar panels for electricity, I will compost all my waste and reuse the end product of the compost as a fertilizer for my veg garden and install a water pump from the underground to have my own water system for my home. Wouldn't it be cool to be totally self-sufficient and at the same time living a sustainable lifestyle?

Oh this one is actually a no secret because I've written about this one on my previous post about my utterly nutty fascination over container homes.

6. I would like to just invite my close friends over to my place and cook out really awesome, hearty food for them and everyone will be happy with the food and the company and if ya'll want to sleep over, you are more than welcome to do so.

7. I wanted to be a multilingual and so far I can speak (besides fluently speaking in Malay and English) a bit of Tamil, Mandarin, Hokkien, German, Dutch and French. It was just a huge mix of a little bit of this and that which isn't going to help much at all if anyone is really going to make a full-fledged conversation with me on any of those languages.

Oh now that I'm telling the world about it, they are no secrets anymore aren't they? :)

Do you have a list of secrets that you really always wanted to do and haven't done them yet? I'm pretty sure you have a list of secrets and if you don't mind do share them with me!

I'm Into Champagne Supernova Today - Nay, It's Not That Champagne!

I went on a random selection on my music playlist and I just felt like having a bit of a good time reminiscing on good old tunes from Oasis. Champagne Supernova is my choice for this evening. It never gets old no matter how many time you play the song or should I just say, Oasis simple never gets old!

I'm just into Champagne Supernova by Oasis today and it is simply awesome especially when it gets down to this part of the song - oh well the beginning of the song are these lines anyway ...

How many special people change?
How many lives are living strange?
Where were you while we were getting high?

It doesn't mean anything in particular towards me but yeah, I still think those are a bunch of good questions to ponder on sometimes. Anyways, enjoy the video - Champagne Supernova by Oasis!


http://youtu.be/-cJauX_q6wI

Training For A 10km Run - Can I Keep Up With The 10km Training Challenge?

A couple of months back, I went on a sudden out of the blue decision to sign up online for a 10km running event. The run is going to be held by end of June and I got somewhat about less than 2 months to even start with the training. Truth be told, I haven't been running for months now and I only just started running or it was more like a jog-power walk kind of combination 4 days ago.

From the look on how the training program is going, I am not doing a great job right now to keep up with it. So I suppose, in vain hope to motivate myself to continue with the grueling process of training to run, I might as well, blog about it on probably a weekly basis to touch base on my running progress and ponder on if I am actually going to be able to finish a 10km run within the cut-out period of under 2 hours ( I think the cut-out time for you to get a medal for a 10km run is 2 hours. Got to re-check again with the organizers.)

My plan for the first initial training is as the followings:

- do a combination of jog and power walk, non-stop for about 4.4km - 5km and the aim is to be able to clock 5km in about 30 minutes.

- on this initial phase, I need to be able to run non-stop for about 1km and then alternate on power walk and run again.

Up until today, I've managed to accomplish :

- Non-stop power walk and a short jog - 4.4km in 42 min

- Hill hiking for a total duration of about 1hour 30 min

I have been resting for 3 days now because I need to recover from a sore on my right ribs and I think it is getting better today. So I might probably resume training again tomorrow. If all goes well, my target is to continue running about 5km a day, 6 days a week with a one day rest in a week. My aim for this 10km run is to finish the run within an hour so that's an average of 5km per half an hour. I don't know if I'm aiming a bit too high but since previously I was able to run 5km in about 30 mins, so I suppose this target is quite achievable.

Until more updates on this 10km run training next week. Oh, wish me the best of health on this one peeps. I really want to check "Participating in a marathon" out of my bucket list of To-Dos. Although this time it is only a 10km run which is not even close to a half marathon, but who really cares! :)

 

I'm Back and The Great Kiwi Road Trip Was Awesome Peeps!

Oh my gosh, I haven't been updating this blog for quite sometime now. Kinda losing the feel to write but no, that shouldn't be an excuse. I am going to write a whole load of exciting posts in here back again. Also, I should take the time to reply on those comments I've been getting on certain posts and also on those emails I'd received while I was on an awesome 24 days Great Kiwi Road Trip last month.

Just doing a shout out post here telling you people that I AM DEFINITELY BACK and I can't wait to churn out some really awesome posts for you lovelies.

Until more posts to come, do check out this space soon. :)

Funny Travel Stories 2 : Do not sleep in the Tube or else your head will get stuck at the door

This story happened ages ago when I was a teenager commuting on the London Underground train a.k.a the Tube. We were travelling from home to the city center in London and we were sugar high and at the same time bored because it was still early in the morning and it takes almost an hour trip to get to London by tube.

In order to entertain ourself, we would playfully echo the lady's voice over the tube's speaker at every station's stop. I don't know for what the reason is, it was just funny to mimic her voice and the British accent and we were on a replay of saying “Mind The Gap” and naming station's name whenever the train stops and opens the many doors. At one corner ahead of us, there was this black guy on black long coats dozing off throughout the trip. I think he surely must have at least faintly heard our annoying little laughs and crazy “Mind The Gap”chanting.

Anyway, up until the train reached to Whitechapel Station, I remembered saying out loud, “Whitechapel!” and just about that time, the door opened and closed and the next thing we saw, the black guy abruptly woke up from his sleep, suddenly realized he has arrived at his stop, tried to rush to the nearly closing door and guess what ...he was a second too late and got his baldy head stuck at the neck by the tube's door. Like how funny is that? Haha.

His head is literally on the outside of the train while the other part of his body from neck down is still in the tube with us and to make things funnier, he really looked like a turtle head stuck on a door. We burst out laughing like a crazy bunch of kids and luckily for him he managed to pry his way through the door or probably the door opened by automatic because something (the head) got stuck in a way.

So there you go, the funniest tube story – a bald's man head stuck in a tube's door. Hahaha. The moral of the story is, don't sleep in a tube or a train. Period. :)

OMG! My First Ever Bungy Jump at Nevis Bungy, New Zealand

I finally did it! My first ever bungy jump and I got to do it all at the most awesome and highest bungy (at 134m) in New Zealand which is the Nevis Highwire Bungy! Yahoo!

It was something I've been wanting to do all along. However, towards the last couple of days, I kind of thinking maybe I won't be doing it after all. I hesitated because I'm scared the shit out of it! Haha! Nevertheless, I'm glad I did the bungee and I still can't believe that I DID IT!

The feeling was too awesome and I think at some point, I just jumped and enjoyed the free fall. My mind went blank during the few seconds fall and all I could think of during the free fall was how much longer am I going to fall? Haha. I couldn't scream because it was too intense and I could feel my blood gushing down as I turned upside down. Come to think of it, I didn't have the 'heart pounding furiously moment ' before I did the fall. I think the loud, fast beat music at the platform helps to ease the anxiety and nervousness. :)

You know what, it is really difficult trying to remember how I feel like throughout the whole bungy experience. You just gotta experience it yourself to know about it. One thing for sure, this is something you won't regret doing. Perhaps, you may end up becoming like me - talking to myself as the cord bounces up and down, " Okay, Bungy Jump - checked. So what's next" . Haha. That is MAD!

Bungy jump is really awesome and Nevis Bungy simply kicks ASS! :)

 

 

 

 

Funny Travel Stories 1 : Fart Fest in the Airport Loo

I have been thinking on adding another category or tag for my travel posts. This time around it is going to be about funny travel stories. I will try to compile some collections of hopefully really funny stories that I had been through and it could altogether be from really old stories that had happened ages ago to something of a recent funny story. I am not pretty good at making up stories, so I hope to churn out some really true, funny stories that I had either personally encountered or heard of throughout any travel journeys.

Let's begin with the Funny Travel Stories 1 : Fart Fest in the Airport Loo

Haha. This is too funny. My travelling partner and I had just went through a really long haul flight and we had to stop for probably about 2 hours of transit at Frankfurt Airport. As the norms of any type of air travel, you can easily get bloated while traveling because you will be rushing to get to the airport just in time for checking in and you may have skipped a meal and had to succumb for a late night meal on the plane. By then, you may have stomached some gas instead of real food. To top things up, you also decided to have coffee after your meals during your flight dinner and was offered with sweet, carbonated Cola throughout the flight which you simply can't resist from saying No.

All those things combined with trouble to even getting a decent nap throughout the 13hours butt aching flight, plus with a gassy stomach and you don't even feel like doing a 'number 2' during that multiple runs to the loo in the plane, it resulted into a pretty gassy, bloated stomach and you are just entitled to be cranky and wanky. Haha.

While waiting for that excruciatingly boring flight transit, the two of us decided to hit the loo because we really don't feel any good in the stomach. Wow, the restroom is pretty impressive really because it is huge and there are like rows and rows of empty cubicles of toilet seats. We kinda like have the whole restroom to ourselves so we picked a toilet cubicle next to each other and started to do our thing. Haha. I can still remember that the restroom is too huge that every single noise that we make begins to echos. Like damn it, I'm trying to do number 2 over here. Haha.

Due to the extreme silent in the restroom and I really can't do my 'thang' with another person next door hearing loud and clear to all the 'crap' I'm doing and the next thing we know it, I had a fart. My partner next door, started laughing and then we laughed and exchanged more farts because man, we were super duper bloated and right about the time we were going crazy high in our cubicle toilets, the main door to the restrooms opened, someone walked in and heard all the laugh and farts fest we were doing in our cubicles. That person didn't last even a minute in that restroom. She freaked out from our crazy noises and left the loo as quickly as she came.

The end result is, nobody had a dumb, we laughed like crazy all the way out of the restroom and it was a bit relieving to 'let go' a little bit of the gas out. Cranky, tired and bloated – the way things are sometimes when you are travelling a long haul flight. So just deal with it already.  :)

Photo Essay : Incredible India Travel

India is an incredibly diverse country. You need to travel to India with no expectation but one thing for sure you can always expect a day to day incredible adventure. Travelling to India is also like meddling in a love-hate relationship. You can love and hate it all at same time. It is tough trying to define what India is all about but this catchy T-shirt phrase simply nails it.

[caption id="attachment_2087" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Incredible India - Weird, Whacky,Wild & Wonderful"][/caption]

*T-Shirt by Tantra Tees.

So what is India all about? India is about an incredible country that is weird, whacky, wild and last but not least, absolutely wonderful that will beg for you to come back for more. Yes, you will want more of India after your first visit there.

When it comes to the weird stuffs, they have loads of them. For example these bananas :

[caption id="attachment_2080" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Long, big Bananas"][/caption]

They have extraordinarily big, extra long, yummy Bananas. Okay now, what are you thinking? Haha.

 

[caption id="attachment_2081" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Dark brown, chubby Bananas"][/caption]

.. and also a version which is brownish and chubby looking! * What are you thinking again? :)

 

[caption id="attachment_2082" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="'Kothe' Dumplings in a Chinese Restaurant Menu in India"][/caption]

They have Kothe Dumplings served in the menu at a Chinese Restaurant. If you must know, Kothe is literally translated in Malay as Penis. Haha. Imagine a Malaysian ordering, " One Kothe(Penis) Dumplings please" to the waiter. That sounds so wrong! Haha!

When it boils down to the incredibly wonderful, nothing beats the delicious Indian culinary cuisines. My ultimate favourite food has to be the delicious, authentic cuisines from Kerala. Their curry is definitely something to die for.



There you go, a little bit and pieces of the incredible India. There are obviously more to India than what I've pictured here. However, by far, these are the best simplest things that you can expect from Incredible India. :)

Round New Zealand Road Trip Starting Monday!

Hi peeps! I'll be leaving to Christchurch, New Zealand this Sunday morning. Woo hoo !  We will be travelling in a group of 6 people for the first 7 days and for the remaining 17 days onwards, the 3 of us will travel on our own. The main objective of this road trip is to discover the whole of New Zealand within 24 days from the starting point Christchurch at South Island and later on continuing up North to the North Island, New Zealand. It is going to be a travel adventure and mind you, this is no touristy holiday. Well I hope it won't be that way. :)

We had our basics routes plotted out on the map, no Garmin GPS what so ever involved here and there are just some basic ideas on activities we will be doing on a daily basis. The only bookings we've made thus far is our air ticket bookings and the minivan rental with JUCY Car Rental for Monday morning. Since we are arriving Christchurch about close to midnight on Sunday, we may be 'hanging around' the airport for a good couple of hours until sun is up. Haha. We are just going to go with the flow here, so anything is possible.

There are a couple of things that I will look forward to during this travel journey to New Zealand such as :

- Checking out Christchurch town on how things are looking since the quake last hit the city last February. I know people are recovering and some shops may not be fully operational, so I would love to find out if by any means there are ways for me to lend a hand or two on things.

- Checking out on the local farmer's market and have a taste of some fresh local produce - cheese, fruits, chocolates, etc.

- Trying out on one of those farm stays and if it is possible, I really would love to try working at the farm for a day. Milking New Zealand cows sounds like fun, don't you think?

- If I have enough adrenaline and basically just plain guts, I would love to do the bungee jump. At the thought of it now, my stomach is already tying into knots and yes, it scares the shit out of me already. Haha.

- Visiting the many beautiful places from the Fox Glaciers, Mount Cook, Milford Sound and lots more.

- I also would love to see the real deal Haka dance.

- Set out a camp and do some cycling and fishing. Although, I do know that someone in the groupie needs to at least have a quick run on a rented motorbike in New Zealand. Hehe.

Yeah, there are a lot to look forward to on this trip. I'm wishing that we will have a safe trip to and fro and most importantly I hope that we will discover, learn, enjoy ourselves and experience the whole journey with an open mind and heart. Also, if internet connection is available, I sure hope to do some quick post updates in here. Wish us the best for our New Zealand road trip peeps! :)

 

My Jogging Playlist - High BPM Tracks From The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack

My jogging playlist is currently spinning some crazily high BPM (beats per minute) tracks from The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack. The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack Album consists of tunes by the following bands :

• Linkin Park


• Marilyn Manson


• Rob Zombie


• Rob Dougan


• Oakenfold


• Don Davis


• P.O.D


• Unloco


• Rage Against The Machine


• Juno Reactor

If you are into any of these genres above, you will love having added this whole Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack album in your jogging playlist. It is simply amazing on how energized you can get on every play of these awesomely high in energy music. Imagine yourself literally being transmitted with a sudden surge of energy at every vibrations of the BPM. You will tend to jog or run faster at every beat and yes, you will be amazed at how simply you can control your jogging or running momentum by having the correct type of jogging playlist pulsating as you jog.

To have a listen on the over the top, high grade BPM tracks from The Matrix Reloaded Soundtrack : The Album, click HERE. You will love them if energy is what you crave for in achieving that momentum in your jogging or running.

Photo Essay: Seafood Heaven at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Are you looking for some yummy delicious seafood heaven? If your up for some awesome gastronomic seafood experience, you have to fly down to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah  a.k.a Borneo to enjoy absolutely the best in variety, the freshest and probably the cheapest if not, really reasonable seafood galore of your life. Your trip down to Sabah isn't complete, if you don't go ahead and enjoy those delicious seafood.

Enjoy the pictures below to catch a glimpse of the seafood frenzy that I went gorging down during two of my past trips to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Eating a good variety of seafood at Gayang Seafood Restaurant, Tuaran which is about 30 minutes drive outside of Kota Kinabalu.

[caption id="attachment_2040" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Baby Lobster - Gayang Seafood Restaurant at Tuaran, Sabah"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2041" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Scallop - Gayang Seafood Restaurant at Tuaran,Sabah"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2042" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fresh oysters top with wasabi - Gayang Seafood Restaurant"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2043" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mangrove Crab - Gayang Seafood Restaurant"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2044" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Seafood madness for two person! Haha. The two of us ate all those yummy seafood with some rice and a plate of veg. Obviously, we don't bother much with the veg when you can have awesome seafood! Yum!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2045" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fresh lokan ready to grill at roadside stall somewhere along Tuaran, Sabah"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2046" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lokan Panggang - top with some sweet seasonings of garlic, chillie,ginger ( I think). Lokan tastes really rubbery if you overcook them like this one. Ouch!"][/caption]

Seafood dining at Filipino Market or Pasar Filipin right smack at the city center of Kota Kinabalu. This place is hot, jam packed with people, super cheap seafood and you will leave with a full stomach and charcoal smelled clothes. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2048" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The Filipino Market , Kota Kinabalu is an outdoor night market and yes, there sell super huge fish and seafood fresh from sea."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2049" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rows of long table to dine at the Filipino Market Seafood Stalls"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2050" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="BBQ Seafood at the Filipino Market. Ranging from huge prawns, fish to squids"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2051" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The bbq fish varieties"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2052" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Last but not least, the fresh seaweed ... what? The style of eating here : eat BBQ seafood with rice, sambal belacan and uber salty seaweed. You might want to bite one small tiny 'ball' first. You may not like it as much. Haha."][/caption]

So there you go. More than enough reason for you to visit Sabah or narrowed down to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah not just for the beautiful beaches and islands at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, the majestic Mount Kinabalu at Kundasang but also for the delicious arrays of fresh, cheap seafood heaven at Kota Kinabalu itself. On that note, probably I should just go to KK one of these days just to eat and by that I mean to eat really good seafood! :)

My Favourite Quote For Today - " To Love Unconditionally"

I live by with great quotes almost everyday because they set a deep, meaningful and strong definitions of life in general. They are also my constant, everyday motivational boost in order for me to work and make the most of each day. As for today, my favourite quote will be this - " To Love Unconditionally".

To Love Unconditionally is about understanding that you are connected to every person, plant and animal on this planet and we are to treat them all with unconditional love, kindness and respect.

Think about this quote for a minute and make an effort "To Love Unconditionally" because we all simply deserve it.

Fun things you should do during lights out or what we call it as Earth Hour!

A couple of  fun things you should do during lights out or what we seemed to be calling it as Earth Hour these days where it is a day, celebrated world wide, where you are suppose to turn off the lights and other unnecessary electrical appliances for a good one hour. If you are looking to have fun during this precious Earth hour, here are the fun things that you can do :

1. If you are with friends and family, pick up a guitar and play tunes you like and sing aloud with the group. If you have a piano, you guys can literally start a jamming session and it will be more fun if someone can bring along the drum sets, bass guitars, etc.

2. When I was a kid and that was back in the early 90's, there were many occasions of a total blackout for hours in Malaysia. Yes, lights out was a norm back then. So we kids always entertain ourselves under the 'dark hours' playing those shadow games, trying to make birds or any objects with our hands and started a role play. If you are an adult, it is still fun to play these hand shadow games because you can play around with some kinky 18SX shadow games with your partner and friends. Haha. Excellent idea right?

3. Make love. No need for further explanation on this one. :)

4. Get out of the house and start star gazing and look up at the sky. Check out if you can spot a plane, bats, the different signs of the dotted stars you can make out, provided there is a clear sky and no overcast.

5. I don't know lighting up lanterns and candles are a good idea because you are still burning little fumes out of those right? And we are talking about Earth Hour and aren't you suppose to pollute less of the Earth during this time? Hmm.. So instead, why don't you  try doing something crazy like have dinner in the dark. No candles, zero light. Pure darkness and see if you can really experience and savour those good tasting dish you have whipped up. It's about really tasting your food by the bite and enjoy them to bits.

6. You can start a pillow fight and play chase or truth or dare games. Aha, the truth or dare game sounds really interesting and fun. You never know what you are going to end up doing in the dark. :)

That's pretty much it on a couple of  fun things you can and should do during lights out - Earth Hour. If you are planning to celebrate Earth Hour like the rest of other people ( I know I'm not right now ...haha , it's 20 minutes in the Earth Hour in Malaysian now), what and how will you be doing  or celebrating during that 1 hour of darkness?

Animals Anecdotes 24 : Goodbye Doggies - Dogs No More

The last dog standing, Brownie is officially gone. We are not sure about her where about and I refuse to think about the worst that could have happened to her. In many ways, I believe it is a good thing that all of them have set apart and go on with their own ways. Moving away and starting out new as how things goes along even for ourselves, humans.

So here is a goodbye to all those lovely dogs we have always enjoyed having around with and you will forever be remembered. All those funny antiques of you doggies, you guys are really a pack of characters.Life goes on and hopefully with more wonderful, colorful, interesting and lovely things to look forward to.

Goodbye Doggies!

[caption id="attachment_2010" align="aligncenter" width="264" caption="Silver and Joe "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2011" align="aligncenter" width="277" caption="Maggie and Brownie (front - back)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2012" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Blackie, Silver and Brownie (l-r)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2013" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Silver's four puppies that we gave away for adoption"][/caption]

How many holiday or travel trips do you take in a year?

People are roaming around a whole lot more today than we could ever imagine a century ago. Yes, we are a bunch of jet setters and at any opportunity, we just want to take off for another holiday or travel trip  just because we can and love doing so. The question now is, how many holiday or travel trips do you take in a year?

Do you have a trip for every other month of the year? That will be 12 trips in a year. Or do you travel on average of 3 weeks to 5 weeks a year?

Personally, I have been setting a little trend since the last couple of years. For at least once a year, I seem to be going for one major, big time travel trip. In my case it will be an adventure travel. Along the other months throughout the year, I will sprinkle a couple more of short weekend adventure trips just to go out there and do those things I always wanted to do with like-minded people who love doing it (adventure trips) as much as I do.

[caption id="attachment_2002" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Krabi Fishermen at Sunset"][/caption]

* photo by SuperSer

Up until now, I will have a major travel plan coming next month - April, nothing so far in May but who knows, a couple of trip/events in June and just probably another short trip ( I'm thinking any beach trips) somewhere before the end of year just to wrap things up before the coming of the new year. Haha. On average, that will be about 4 trips altogether that I take in a year. That is still minus those weekend crazy getaway or adventure trips to God knows where. I just love being spontaneous and sometimes I'll be going about for a crazy rampage of outdoor madness for a whole 4 weekends straight in a month or sometimes, I'll just be home for most weekends. Like I said, I'm spontaneous and most definitely unpredictable. Probably, all travellers are born with those characteristics, don't you think so?

Anyway, no matter how many holiday or travel trips that you take in a year, what matters most is that all those trips are not becoming a burden to you or they don't pose a major threat on your wallet. As long as you think you can afford it, go ahead and set yourself free. Go out there, travel, learn, explore and discover. I bet by the end of the day, you will come home with loads of experience at every single trips that you have set off to.

However, I am still curious. Just about how many holiday or travel trips do you  take throughout a year?

 

How to cure itching with some home remedy?

The big question of the day is how to cure itching with some home remedy? The symptoms I've been having for the past two days now is a  really crazy itching on both my palms and the soles under my feet. I don't know what sparks the itch because I woke up one morning and was having a sudden intense itch on both my palms and later on through out the day, under both my soles. There are not much of a visible rash or spots that can be seen but my fingers do feel a little bit numb especially after waking up in the morning. The itch under my right feet is specifically making things very uncomfortable.

So I've been researching around for some home remedy because the itch will come and go and I've seen some progress after all the home remedies that I have taken. Thus, it is safe to say at the moment, I don't need to run to the doctor just yet. Here goes some of the home remedy that you can take if you are facing some itching due to some allergy :

1. Drinking green tea.

2. Taking some lime with lukewarm water with a little bit of honey.

3. Taking some honey - those pure ones, not the processed ones.

4. Dipping the affected area with some nice hot bath and lather soothing calamine lotion or aloe vera gel at the affected area.

5. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables because of the high Vitamin C content.

6. Eating garlic helps too because it is nature's antibiotic and help to assist mild infections.

7. If you really can't stand it, you can take some medicines from the pharmacist. In my case, I don't think it was doing much help.

All the remedies listed above should help you to ease the itchiness. If problem persists, always have a check with your doctor. In my case, it is rather mild and still bearable. I hope the itch will go away today. Wish me well. :)

30 Minutes Quick Lunch Recipe : Marinara Spaghetti (Yasz style)

This is one of those super quick, 30 minutes lunch recipe that I love to whip up every now and then. It's a simple, my very own version of the marinara spaghetti recipe. I am not quite sure if it can come close to anything of a marinara spaghetti but who cares as long as it is yummy. :)

A little insight about what is a marinara spaghetti - "Italians refer to marinara only in association with other recipes, and which usually contain seafood of some sort. For instance, spaghetti alla marinara literally translates to mariner's spaghetti or "sailor-style spaghetti" and would be a dish including seafood, possibly shellfish, and not necessarily containing tomatoes at all" - Wikipedia.

For my recipe here, I use some can mackerels because they are easy, fast and cheap. Haha. Let's have a look at my version of this marinara spaghetti recipe shall we :

1. Boil some water and throw in the spaghetti as per instructed at the spaghetti packet label. You can choose to have your spaghetti al dente (about 8 minutes of cooking time) or normal (about 12 minutes).

2. For the marinara sauce:

- I love making my own sauce because it's fresh unlike the one you buy ready made from the can  or tin. I can alse tweak on the kind of herbs that I like and of course it is cheaper and more personalized. For this marinara sauce, I quickly chopped and do the followings:

- diced some tomatoes, garlic, onions

- saute everything above with some good extra virgin olive oil a.k.a EVOO  (any vegetable oil will do if you don't have an EVOO laying around), toss some dry herbs (you can have a choice of your favs : Italian herbs or Basil) and add some tomato puree, salt, pepper for taste. If you want a little bit of heat, throw in a bit of cayenne pepper for that little boost of heat.

- finally, at that can mackerel or you can even use can tuna or salmon or anything fresh if you get your hands on any. Cook them well into the sauce and you are just about ready to eat.

Before serving, grate some cheese over the spaghetti and the marinara sauce and Bon Appetite!

Here is the end result of my version of the Marinara Spaghetti. I happen to have some bit of the Gouda cheese in the fridge, so that will still do as my grated cheese over the spaghetti. :)

[caption id="attachment_1989" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Spaghetti Marinara Yasz style"][/caption]

I hope you'll try out on the recipe or else, just drool over the picture yeah! :)

Looking back it was Easy | Easy by Groove Armada

My server for this blog is going to be down for a couple of hours by noon, I think ( Malaysian Time). Hence, I might as well get some writing done for now. It's nothing much really. Just want to share a video by Groove Armada because it is awesome shite! Haha.

Enjoy, Easy by Groove Armada.

This is a concert version of the song,Easy by Groove Armada at Glastonbury 2010.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_gdTdzKLaM

http://www.enduromalaysianchapter.com/home

What actually makes me happy?

Out of the blue, I have this question popping out from my head. What actually makes me happy? I don't have to really think hard for this question because I am always happy and thankful for just about everything. Just in case you are curious to what makes me happy, let's check out the list below shall we. Hehe.

These list of things actually makes me happy, like really easily happy :

1. Being able to wake up in the morning and be thankful that I made it for yet another day in this life.

2. Breathing really fresh morning air and listening to little birds chirping noisily as they get ready for another day of living.

3. Random strangers giving me a big smile as I catch their eyes.

4. That little 'Thank you' and a smile.

5. The smell of the soil, plants, the greenery and the ocean.

6. Little babies and kids. They just know how to have fun everyday.

7. Listening to really good, happy, upbeat musics.

8. When random people come up and say really awesome things about you and they really mean it. I will be in awe and greatful.

9. When I unconsciously inspire others and being able to share the positivity around with random people.

10. I just need to force an ear to ear smile just to make myself feel better and most importantly happy.

So there you go, my little list of things that never fail to make me happy. It is a wonder that the little things that we always take for granted are the ones that can change the world for you. If today you are in deep sorrow and you are looking for just a bit of happiness, don't go searching far for it. Happiness comes easily  if you take the time now and learn to look  and appreciate at the little things in life. Alrighty, a big SMILE to everyone and Stay happy ya'll!