Mediterranean Cruisin'

Finally! Long-awaited summer bigbreak of the year
helluva good time onboard
drinkin, eating, hoppin on & off the cruise..
ahh life...o life....

First thing first! JACUZZI!!!
The hot tub - sizzlingly refreshing

With Alberto's sis Julia, n Victor

Soaking up the sun
spent the entire first day navigating the deep seas

THE GALA
A Special 'Captain's evening'
performance & huge dinner
look at us all-dressed up
i was full n drunk at the end of the nite

TUNISIA
First stop!
always wanted to visit this part of N.Africa
similar to Morocco, it's filled in maze-like Souks (bazaars)
littered with colourful traditional jewellery stores
and carpet weaving, arabic tea shops
North Africa's one of my favourite places on earth
Im not a big fan of their people,
(yes known to pester you to buy till u drop)
but i adore the scent of the city, the colours of its walls
and the mystical allure of it.

Bou Al-Said
a lil village near Tunis,
littered with white-n-blue houses
a typical style of architecture only found in the Mediterrenean
Tunisians seem to take pride in it
I wouldnt say it felt completely Tunisian,
but i still loved how it looked ;)

Arabic Night Special
onboard the cruise.
Everynite had a special theme
and we had to dress up
sooo fun!

MALTA
2nd stop.
One of the best spots of the trip!
Poster-perfect fortress city
enclosed by historically painted beige walls,
it boasts of a different kinda beauty
to that of its neighbouring Italy.

me & Julia happy!

exploring the city in the heat
a day just wasnt enuff to see an entire city

Hawaiian Night!
dressin up again

SICILY
3rd Stop.
This was a part of Italy I'd heard so much abt
but never had the chance to explore.
Having high expectations,
I wasn't extremely impressed..
We ventured into the famous city of Taormina
perched high up in the mountaintop
it was europeanly beautiful
bt bearing too much resemblance to the rest of Italy..

ROME
4th Stop.
Our 3rd time here now,
Rome always has surprises in store for us
It's top on my chart of fav European city!
and I guess always will stay tops.
Unfortunately, due to the time constraint
we only had time to hop onto a sightseeing bus
n catch a quick glimpse of the huge city....

FIRST: A GELATO!!! Of course

Il Coliseum (The Colosseum)

All the famous sights n sounds
Foro Romano, Castillo, Vaticano

The Spanish steps

One of the most beautiful sites in the world.
Fontana di Trevi.
I had to make a wish there again,
it really do come true...

Alberot & I managed to squeeze some time
to revisit our all-time love Vaticano!
the vast huge space in the Vaticano
overlooking the Basilica...

Dinner again
meals were SUMPTEOUS, EXTRAVAGANT
and out of this world!
they were exquisite, heavenly tasting
and I can go on n on...

Everynite there were different performances
entertaining n pretty shit i say...

A special display of the Chef's artwork..

CANNES, FRANCE
Final stop.
Quite a delight this lil city,
famous for its annual international film festival
this city is pretty much like Miami,
filled with glitz n glamour,
glittered with famous n rich people...

we were originally gonna visit Monaco frm Cannes
(only 2 hr + ride from Cannes)
bt the delay in our arrival didnt allow the trip
plus it was just too expensive to get there
so we stayed in Cannes instead,
bt had a pleasant relaxing time there

We rented a scooter to explore the lil city

me as Angelina Jolie!
n standing rite on the steps of the Film Fest Auditorium

Last nite
Lotsa Cocktails... slurp

Cruise docked, sad to leave the boat
Final stop: BARCELONA

our 4th time there,
bt still there were new places to explore
on the mountain top of Montjuic

Adious...

Someone telling me who I am

You Are An ENTP

The Visionary You are charming, outgoing, friendly. You make a good first impression. You possess good negotiating skills and can convince anyone of anything. Happy to be the center of attention, you love to tell stories and show off. You're very clever, but not disciplined enough to do well in structured environments. In love, you see everything as a grand adventure. You enjoy taking risks for love. And if things don't work out, you're usually not too much worse for the wear! You would make a great entrepreneur, marketing executive, or actor. At work, you need a lot of freedom to pursue your own path and vision. How you see yourself: Analytical, creative, and peaceful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Detached, wishy-washy, and superficial

What's Your Personality Type?

Man... this is hilarious~! n accurate (damn!)
center of attention, n love to tell stories - yes, I am a show-off!
Im clever (?!) bt nt disciplined enuff for structured environ (SO true)
People see me as detached, superficial - u tell me, bt it might be true ;(

Turning 25

Argh just feels so old.. the big 25
5 more years to turning 30,
time seems to be running out,
for achieving, for discovering the world,
for trying out adventurous stuff..

I always believe if u dont do sth before u turn 30,
u'r never gonna do it ever, in ur life.

anyhow life's been hectic, zooming past so quickly
my parents' just left Madrid
it was really nice having them ard,
showing them ard Madrid, trying all sorts of Spanish food,
telling them bout my life here..
I'm really glad that they saw Granada, Madrid..
my home for the past year..
n met Alberto's family,
his home, our environment..
i feel that they really know abt my life here now.

It is obvious they dont worry for me anymore
they know i take good care of myself
n surprise surprise, they encourage me to stay on here,
since ive built up my own life here..
they can tell Im happy here, I have my own life here,
n that Ive come a long way.

Thinking back on those days before leaving for London,
I had no idea what I had in store for me
I expected the scrimpin n saving, the cooking on my own,
and working hard just to pay the rent..
bt what I didn't expect - was how much I loved this way of life,
being independent, creating my own life, making new frens..
Setting up a new life in a new country
is never easy.. n it feels good to have come this far ;)

A year ago, I cldnt possibly communicate in Spanish
But now, I feel comfortable talking to a stranger
in this language which has sorta become my fren&enemy..
It was tough fighting n working hard to establish that
confidence n strength to live in this country
yet, I loved ever single second of it. ;)

Right, gotta take time to upload pics
i wanna remember everything abt this beautiful life!

Travelling & Volunteering - i've made up my mind!

I just spent the aftnn holed up in a bookstore,
reading up on volunteering programs, & opportunities...
These days I've been thinking alot, planning my life.

It's been awhile since I've wanted to volunteer,
to help out and experience life in the 3rd world.
This year has brought much light to my mind,
I've contemplated many alternatives, abt what to do with life,
and have made several short-term decisions...

Made up my mind to discover Africa,
to spend a few weeks volunteering in Kenya!
(even deciding on where in Africa to volunteer has been a headache)
Yes! i've decided on the program i wanna go on, the flights etc..
I know we'r not talking abt comfort, ease n development..
No paved roads,
no running water,
no electricity...
I have read n researched on it,
it's not nice n glamourous,
bt that's what i need.

These last 2 years spent in Spain & London
have brought colours to my life,
fascinating european lifestyle, beautiful people,
historical gothic architecture,
crazy fun n flirty people, drunk parties..
I think I might have had enough of the high life~
it's time to devote myself to earth,
go back to basics, explore how the world shld have been..
i know i wld have to forgo my present lifestyle..
I'm ready for it!

Some people smirk at me, even Alberto,
(althou he refuses to let me go alone,
n thus has reluctantly decided to tag along.)
He doesnt understand my need to travel, to depths of unknown..
he thinks travelling round europe, even N.Africa is enough to quench my thirst..

Travelling IS addictive,
the more you do it, the further u wanna go..
it's not about achieving a certain target,
about hitting the list of the places u wanna visit the most,
I really just do wanna see the unknown!
and the further u've travelled,
the less fear u have of the unknown!

Imagine the people speaking weird unknown african tribal language, (Swahili! duhh)
africans walking ard with a cloth around their groins,
animals roaming round the streets...
ahh i can't wait!

And so, I will be heading to the unknown come the new year, January..
n then heading back home round February..
i know i might be miserable going back home
to the 9-5 job, jaded city dweller lifestyle,
but Home is still home...
soon enuff, i will be out there, conquering the world again
heeeeh...

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

Rome-ing in Vatican city...

same spot,
same place,
The Vatican City...
only 3 years later.
i love it sooo...

Dear friends from home

Long overdue pictures
of my old frens here in Spain...

First day in Madrid ;)


in my favourite Spanish restaurant
we had extravagant food
Seafood Paella, octopus, grilled meat, wine...

and then frens from Holland came to join us,
Faruk and Jimmy
the 2 tall giants

Tapas in La Latina
Sangria, Patatas Bravas, Boquerones..

Spending the afternoon strolling in Park Retiro

gettting drunk!
had a fun hiphop nite
me, kk and bing bobbed like how we used to




GRANADA

Was so glad my frens liked Granada the most,
as how I'd imagined!
along the quaint streets of Albayzcin..

brought them to my fav haunt,
an al fresco cafe perched rite on top of the Mirador,
overlooking the grand Alhambra..

FOOD FOOD FOOD!
We spent the aftnn/night tapas hopping!

Jumping!
Plaza de toros, Alcaiceria and gelato..

The Alhambra Palace
Xiaohui n Xindi took a siesta
while the rest of us stoned n chilled.. lol

ALHAMBRA!

we had the most fun in this cave bar we went to,
rite in the heart of Sacromonte...
i think it must have been the alcohol,
we laughed n teased KK n xindi
ahhhahah..
we even had free rum shots,
lucky fuck