3 Reasons to Travel While You’re Young

Taken from/Credits to : http://goinswriter.com/travel-young/

The other night, I had a conversation with a young woman who had a number of decisions ahead of her, one of which is whether she would go to grad school or travel the world.

I told her to travel. Hands down. No excuse. Just go.

She sighed.

“Yeah, but…”

Never were more fatal words spoken.

Yeah, but… what about debt?

Yeah, but… what about my job?

Yeah, but… what about my boyfriend (or dog or car or whatever)?

“Yeah, but…” is pernicious. Because it makes it sound like we have the best of intentions when really we are just too scared to do what we should.

It allows us to be cowards, while sounding noble.

Most people I know who waited to travel the world never did. Conversely, plenty of people who waited for grad school or a steady job and traveled still did those things — eventually.

Be careful of the yeah-but. The yeah-but will kill your dreams.

I was so stirred by this conversation that I shared it with a group of about thirty young adults last night, many of which are asking these very questions.

The life you’ve always wanted.

When you get older, life seems to just sort of happen to you. Your youth is a time of total empowerment.

You get to do what you want. As you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important.

So if you still have a reasonable amount of control over your circumstances, you should do what really matters.

Because life won’t always be just about you.

(the rest of the article is available on the link above)

You won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you. So travel. Experience the world for all it’s worth. Become a person of culture, adventure, and compassion.
“What if I’m not young?”
Travel, anyway. It may not be easy to do, but find a way to get out of your comfort zone. It’s really never too late.
But if you haven’t gotten sucked into the routine of life yet, I implore you — travel. It will never be easier than it is right now for you to do that which really matters.

i was reading the article above and it strikes me to be so true!

but to add my own two cents, it is certainly as easy to travel when yr single and young and when yr with a family - if you set your mind to it :)

my family has always been big on traveling, we try to made it a point to go somewhere together at least once a year...my parents have been almost everywhere and done everything, i think that's the travel gene from my late grand-grandfather who was sea captain :)

but being a HUGE family, with 9 adults and 6 kids, its certainly not easy!

i remember when i was getting information on my trip to new york last year and at this age and era on internet and google where everything is available on line and yet we three single girls still struggled to get info on where to stay what to do etc, and i marveled how my dad did it, almost 17 years ago, and he planned and took the entire family of 2 adults and 5 kids to los angeles and did it so flawlessly?? i mean that trip was still one the best trips we've ever had! 17 years ago! and there were no handphones and hardly any internet then!! amazing huh?

anyway, point of the post is..

ok, actually, the point of the above article is you must travel when you're young...

my point is, is you must travel. full stop.

young or old, go for it!

like one my best friend always said, when it comes to traveling;

money - you can always find and get more,
experiences and memories - once in a lifetime!

(^_^)

im loyal like that

im off to london (yes again! to those rolling your eyes haha) in march..

this time i need to divide my time between three peeps..

one is my sister, who will be nottingham as she followed her husband there who's doing his phd, not much plans to go anywhere when there, probably just spend a few days playing with my nieces and nephew, probably take them to blackpool if weather permits, or legoland! hmm we'll see about this later...

second is my bestie, olyn, who's doing her masters in liverpool, we plan to rent a car and drove around uk, covering as many places as possibly can in like, 4-5 days? originally planned to travel europe but i think road trips are fun-ner plus there's so many places in uk ive yet to cover, so i think this is a better idea..

thirdly, lastly and most importantly, is mr other half aka mr sun of course! although technically he's not even sure if he will still be in uk at dat time but if he is then we are planning to go somewhere too but this one can only be confirmed after dec :)

so dats the three peeps!

and then, places i wanna go to;
1. lake district
2. wales/cardiff
3. stratford upon avon
4. swindon - for shopping
5. bicester village and london - for more shopping!
6. plymouth - to take olyn around to see my uni and see my other besties there cos i miss them and the lovely plymouth!

dats the current list..

wonder if the minack theater is opened in march? it will be lovely to catch a play..

hmmm...

introducing....

this is the latest addition to our clan..she's 4 months old and she looks japanese. i swear her parents are both muka melayu habis. so we dont know where her looks comes from. :p

Bicester Village yg berhantu!

two years i was studying there, never once i stepped foot on Bicester Village, mainly because people always say tempat tu berhantu! kenapa berhantu? sebab kalau pergi, macamana takde duit pun MESTI akan terbeli jugak sesuatu!! and then bila balik rumah, akan tertanya2 sendiri, eh betul ke beli nie?? what was i thinking?? i cant afford this gorgeous Gucci bag! mesti tadi kat Bicester kena rasuk and made me buy this!!

hehe...

ok lah, betul la berhantu tu, so dats why masa student tak pernah pergi, nanti terguna duit rent, jadi homeless pulak nanti :p :p

so when i went there last winter, baru la ada berani sikit nak pergi, itu pun credit card bawak satu jer, bahaya oooo!!

muka sangat sangat sangat excited untuk memula kan peng-shopping-an :p :p

this was on the 28th December, there were so many people there! even bumped into some "local politician and celebrities" there, shopping sebelah2 lagi :p

the pathways are super icy see! and it was freezing cold! but it certainly did not stopped anybody from shopping to their heart's content!

our loot! sikit jer :) and saja ambik gambar depan Gucci but didnt buy anything there, can u believe when we arrive just an hour after it opens, the shop is almost empty! the shelves are bare! they said almost all the sale items are already sold, we were late! tsk tsk...

but i got what i wanted and managed to shop for some cool stuff for everyone back home and they are all happy with their gifts, semua tu kira birthday present dua tahun hehe :p :p

ke bandung lagik gue!

my mom and her sisters and me and my sisters are going to bandung!

yes, again!

this will make the 5th (or was it the 6th?) time i am there!

hehe

xpe lah, my mom wanted to treat her sisters and we sisters also wanted to treat our mum and aunties :p :p

am looking around for a 3 bedroom apartment in bandung, anyone have any idea where a good place to stay?

semua perempuan nie, 8 orang, rombongan cik kiah wehhh! :0 :0

mcm ni cara org kita buat bisnes??

my cousin just got married, masa christmas hari tu, i didnt attend as i was away in london, so mom told me some stuff that happened during the wedding, macam2 hal berlaku, my cousin ni pulak, and family dia semua jenis yang let go jer, so senang la kena pijak ishk..

cerita pertama - my cousin tempah pelamin nye set pasang kat rumah, so lengkap la with arches, and the chairs, bunga etc bagai, kat arch tu, ade tempat or soket for the lights kan, but diorang tak pasang lampu tu, which kalau tak pasang, the whole pelamin looks gelap la kan, mmg la ade main lampu rumah kat siling tu, but lampu at the pelamin will light up the deco more kan? so my mom ckp la, pasang la lampu tu, org pelamin tu boleh ckp "lampu tu takde, bulb dah rosak" so, kalau rosak bulb beli la baru ganti kan? my mom insist jugak nak, co dah kata bayar ribu riban for the pelamin mesti lah nak perfect kan?? so in the end they put in the lampu and they actually charge my cousin for the extra bulbs!!??? boleh tak? padahal its part of the pelamin package la kan? then boleh lepas tu pegi ckp kat my auntie (my mom's sister) yang "makcik tu bising la banyak komplen" and pointed to my mom!! my mom punye la nak mengamuk but sabar jer la cos its org lain punye majlis kan. so ok fine, next...

cerita kedua - my cousin ordered 200 chairs with the covers (so jadi la mcm kat hotel2 tu, ngan reben kat belakang). agreed cost was rm1 per cover, so okey la. turns out, diorang tak cukup 50 covers, so org kerusi tu kena gi amik kat tempat lain. ok fine. dah habis majlis semua, they told my cousin for the balance 50 tu, diorang nak charge rm3 per cover!! ape kes kan?? kata nye sebab kena amik kat tempat lain! so, its not our problem right? kan dah agree rm1 per cover for 200 chairs, takkan u didnt know how many covers u actually have right?? and u know wat, sebab dah end of the majlis, my cousin bayar jer la sebab tak nak gaduh2.

cerita ketiga (and last ye :p) - my cousin hired a professional photographer. konon famous la and in high demand, siap kena gi dari kedah ke singapore ke kl amik gambar bagai, harga pun boleh tahan jugak la kan. so my cousin hire dia untuk tiga event, malam akad nikah, then sanding belah bride, then the next day sanding belah groom. lepas sanding belah bride, they went to take an outdoor shoot tepi pantai (which last nampak gambar atas batu2 jer pantai langsung tak nampak ntah pape nye photographer), after that, boleh plak si photographer ni kata dia nak balik kl terus mlm tu, ada kerja kat melaka. padahal my cousin already paid for the three events!!! tak sempat nak argue ape2 mamat tu trus balik lepas outdoor shoot tu, so masa sanding belah groom, they didnt have a professional photographer!!

i can imagine the stress that my cousin and family went through but they shouldnt let these people walk all over them, terima aje org nak buat ape. memang agak sial cara2 diorang ni berbisnes, macamana nak maju?? pastu kalau kita hire bangsa lain to arrange, ckp kita ni tak tolong bangsa sendiri, bangsa sendiri perangai mcm haram nak tolong bende nye kan??

but lesson learned from this - i will get a trusted person to make the arrangements for the above for me, kalau semua nak handle sendiri (ni kes my cousin jugak, kalau ngan family jer mintak la tolong kan, that's wat we are here for) mau pengsan nanti. mcm kes photographer tu kan, padahal adik beradik my cousin ni semua camera dslr bagai tu, semua terrer IT, semua gang2 kelab photography, takkan tak boleh tolong adik sendiri cari kan professional photographer yg reliable kan? or yg buat part time pun kadang2 lawa jugak they work right?

so nway, itu jer cerita utk hari ini, sekian terima kaseh :p

dalam dilema

i have a decision to make..there's someone i need to tell something to, but im not sure if i should or not..

technically there's no need, but i think as a courtesy sake, i should..it would make things at both ends easier in the future..

hmm...i have to think about this, luckily i dont have to do it so soon, still got time to think about it huhu

anyway, wats yr plans for the long cny break? :)

im working as usual but its ok, i want to kumpul my leave banyak cos i foresee im gonna need lots of it towards end of the year :)

i want to update about my recent break to london, my first true proper boxing day in london!! yes! got the pics and such tapi tak upload lagi, but i will nanti k :p

i have a craving for Ben & Jerry's vanilla toffee crunch la :( tak jumpe lg kat msia ni ade ke dok huhu

the happiest baby in the world!

my little niece was recently admitted into the hospital because of a lump on her neck. she was naturally a really happy baby, loves to dance, she could walk before she could crawl, laughs when she falls instead of crying, really, easily amused (just like her aunty hehe), always grinning or smiling when she sees her favourite peeps (me, of course!) so when she was admitted, i thought i wud get her balloons to cheer her up, im sure she's be crying and sad and moody (i know i wud be!)

these are her pictures two hours after her surgery, see, so happy! she really is the happiest baby in the world! (^_^)

to buy or not to buy?

while in new york, dah alang2 kat situ, i decided to get some shopping done at the famous woodbury outlet (i will update on the details later k), not only for myself but also for some other people, and i especially took orders from those yang getting married soon, who wanted a branded hadbags/watches for their "hantaran" at a bargain price.

i myself are purchasing same items for the same purpose so it took some time and skill and discretion to ensure that the items are different for different people, obviously you wanted your things to be unique etc, tak best la kan if let say if you are related and same people will go to your wedding and your cousin's wedding, and the barang2 hantaran macam sama warna design and all kan?

but naturally, since you are the one doing the purchases, and knowing your budget and all, surely you will tend to choose the best for yourself right?

ok contoh nye;

this person gives me 200USD to buy a Coach handbag right.

so, i look for something that is within her budget, tapi of course i akan pilih the most lawa of the lot kan.

but for myself, kata lah i put my budget at 200USD also, but masa kat sana, the one i liked is slightly more expensive and of course, slightly more "lawa" than the one i chose for the other person, so naturally, i do my maths and since i can afford the extra 100 (let's say) i will make the purchase for me. kire u get what u paid for la kan.

or, kata kan lah, my budget is also 200usd, and there's two bags of that price, but one is more lawa than the other, so isnt it common sense for me to naturally pick the more lawa one for myself la, right?

i mean, why should i give in so that the other person gets nicer and better things, when im the one who does the purchases for her right?

its not like the stuff i bought for her not even nice, its just that mine, is, well, "nicer".

and, takkan i nak beli the same stuff la plak kan!!

i dah cukup baik untuk beli bag for people pun dah cukup bagus right? lagi nak berkira and compare la kan? kalau nak the choices, then pergi beli sendiri la kan, baru puas hati. and actually, at first memang i did not want to show the other person my purchases, nak simpan la kan nanti baru tunjuk, but unfortunately due to cannot-explain-here circumstances, i had to show that person my things, which i thoroughly resented but terpaksa :(

so tak pasal2 jadi masalah tak puas hati nie...

sometimes women can get really weird when it comes to this kind of stuff, so dunno lah, malas nak layan orang2 macam nie huhu

what do you guys think?

in sickness and in health

when i returned from bandung last week, my youngest brother was admitted into the hospital due to ruptured appendix. he went to see the doctor at the university clinic and the stupid man actually pass it off as just gastric!

my brother was given the usual pain killers and some pills for gastric and was sent home, and he was actually lying in bed at his rented house for 4 days in pain, before actually calling up our sister who lives 15 minutes away when he realised the pain has to be more gastric, so our sister picked him up and took him to the hospital and he was immediately taken to the operation's room because the appendix has ruptured, his stomach is in a huge mess already :(

i dont understand university doctors, like they purposely do not want to treat students properly, i remember in UTP last time, we have a in campus clinic which is either closed most of the time coz the doc is away or when you actually go to them, all they do is give you panadols! like wtf right? maybe there are some students who tried to get away from exams or assignments or classes and faked a sickness or something so they can get an MC, but seriously, do your checks lah kan, see the historical data of the students first before passing off serious sickness as just flu or fever. like my brother for example, who is a dean's list student and hardly ever been sick in his life and has no history of gastric, take him seriously la when he said he's sick! ntah lah, diorang ni mcm makan gaji buta je :(

kesian my brother, he was really in shock..and one of us had to be around him all the time cos he cant be alone, so we all took turns, my parents are there most of the time, and i drove back and forth to melaka every other day to relieve my parents, my other sblings take turns too and alhamdullilah finally today he was discharged after being a week plus in the hospital..

it was nice to see his friends coming to visit him every single day, even friends from KL and as far as singapore, came to visit almost every other day, and yang di melaka apatah lagi, even my aunties from kelantan and terengganu came, all are so worried about him, he was really loved by everyone, ye lah anak bongsu kan, makes me wonder sometimes if i ever get sick would i be so lucky to get so many visitors? i mean, sometimes you would think you are close to someone but it takes a hard time or a sickness to really know your true friends kan?

like a simple thing in this case, when i posted my status on the facebook about my brother, i was surprised to see my closest friends, my own best friends not commenting on it at all, apetah lagi to call me or even sms..but then of course i realised that here is another reason why portals like facebooks are sometimes a source of evil, like im kecik hati cos when they didnt comment on my status, i immediately assumed that they dont care, i mean, back in the days when there's no facebook, i would have sms or called them and im sure they would be there for me, so see, facebook = evil (tetiba hahaha) :p