27 on 27

I turned 27 on 27 (May)!

Spent my birthday weekend in Penang this year, was my first trip to Penang

And the whole trip can be summed up with one word - eat, eat & eat. 

I think I had 6 meals in one day (no joke)

Penang Char Kuey Tiao is really different.. the wok hei is way stronger coz they use charcoal to cook

We queued 30mins for this Char Kuey Tiao 

                                               

Had tons of food but my fav must be this Duck Meat Soup Kuey Tiao

It's super good! The soup is not salty and just nice, I love it so much (with the soy sauce chilli dip) that I had it as my last Penang meal before flying back. 

And look at my man buying for me hehe... that's a back view I won't ever get bored of ;)

So, with that I found my true love in Penang...

Heartfelt thanks to my love

He surprised me with sunflowers and the sweetest card~

Or maybe he got tired of me requesting for flowers every time we walk past a flower shop hahaha!

Thank you for doting on me unconditionally 

Cooking for me, taking my bag without me requesting, always there to hold my hands, being the best IG BF...

Although we have our differences

But with you, I never felt I was difficult to love 

Between passionate and stable love, now I'll take the latter any day

And yes, to anyone who asks me if dating apps work... 

I will say take breaks if you must (I did too!) but don't give up

Because if I did, I will never have met Darius

We are 2 different people with different nationality, background and work environment

2 people who without the digital age will never have met, and yet we did

So, thank you e-月老

Because after turning so many circles, I'm truly happy now :)

Thank you, 2016.

Just came back from Shanghai! 

Was a whirlwind 6 days trip but I had a lot of fun~

Photo with my whole extended family!

It has been a long time since we could all gather under one roof, and I am very happy I ended the year with my family. 

The highlight of this trip must be Shanghai Disneyland! 

Haha this is the 3rd theme park I've been to in this year. 

Wasn't intending to go initially but Wen Wen Jie Jie took leave to go with us, I am very thankful to her and her bf for taking care of us. :) 

________________

2016 is coming to an end...

And wow, what a ride it has been.

I think, I've never had so much 'dramas' happening in my life till this year.

And also, so many 'firsts' in my life. 

I think, 2016 must be the year of growth for me & there's more to come. 

More than anything, I've learnt that the most important thing is to love yourself. 

好好爱自己，知道吗？不要和自己过不去。

 其实，真的没什么大不了。

 As for the whole year, I have nothing but gratefulness, for everything I went through. 

Because, through it all, I've learnt so much more about myself. 

It's all a growth journey, isn't it? 

Thankful to everyone I've met, especially those who stuck by me - Val and HD. 

I'm especially grateful towards HD, because the trip to HK was really a last min decision and it literally saved me.

Everything about the trip, healed me. 

They say everything happens for a reason.

People are like seasons, they come and go. 

I'm thankful and blessed for the constants.

Although I really miss HD, things have not been the same ever since he got attached.

But I'm really happy for him ^^

For 2017, I just want to find my inner peace and balance.

And more than anything, I want to be a confident and positive woman. 

Part of me is still struggling, because I will miss the innocent me. 

I will always choose to believe in the good of people, but I will learn to be wiser, in how much I give and people I let in. 

Most of all, I am thankful. 

谢谢你，钟韵。

你很勇敢，继续微笑知道吗？

Onwards yeah ~

2017, will be a brand new start. 

HongKong'16 - Best Trip Ever

Woo~

Have been back from HK for about a week but I am still reeling from the trip.

It is the best trip ever till now, even better than NZL.

Maybe because I went with no expectations, was totally YOLO with no itinerary. 

Heck, I packed on the morning itself before heading to the airport. 

And I was sick zzzz

BUT, it turned out to be the best trip ever.

And I did so many things I never thought I would. 

Biggest accomplishment would be climbing to the peak of 钓鱼嗡 (High Junk Peak).

Just look at the view!

It was breathe taking and worth my 3 falls going downhill HAHAHA

The sun was crazy though and we climbed up when it was 32 degrees.

I felt so so so free and liberated when I was at the top. 

Good thing was there was a slight breeze ~ 

And the weather, was perfect. 

I was so scared it would rain throughout my trip (like how it did the previous time I went HK last yr), because it rained on my 2nd day and I went Disneyland in the rain zzzz.

BUT! The weather was perfect for the rest of my trip. :)

I felt so happy & at ease throughout the trip, all thanks to the non-local Hongkonger - HD. 

On the first night when he picked me up at the airport, he got lost LOL.

As expected HAHAHA 

A 50 mins ride from the airport to Kowloon Island became 1.5 hrs because he went to HK Island instead and took a LONGGG detour.

But, it created memories hahahhaa.

Thanks to HD, I got to meet Choco niece and Maddy - finally!

Has been seeing pics of choco niece all the time and they are soooo cute. 

Went to the peak and Stanley beach with his family before having dinner with them. 

Love his family so much because they are so hospitable and treats me like one of their own. 

Made a new friend too!

Baby James hahahah (because he chose to drink 7/11 beverage instead of alcohol when we went to the pier)

He not only used his staff pass to give us discount (50% off!) at disneyland but also accompanied me in my last 2 days. 

I am so grateful to him and he is really really friendly too. 

The oddest meal must be the super ex $200 (yes omg) cafe dinner I had with HD, his gf Monica, James and Monica's ex-colleague. 

It was kinda awkward? Coz they were speaking in Canto and first time HD introducing Monica as his GF hahaha.

But they were all really hospitable.

And I am so so happy for HD, because Monica seemed like a really understanding girl - which makes a good GF.

A compassionate guy like HD, deserves a good girl like Monica :)

And we went to this music gig which I really really enjoyed. 

First time having free flow red wine and the music was so good - jazz and indie style.

The atmosphere was really chillax too. 

Spent all 5 days with HD.

And I am really really grateful to him for taking care of me throughout the 5 days. 

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the trip at all.

I was sick - physically and emotionally.

But, so glad I went ahead.

It became a healing trip and I have never felt so re-charged ever. 

Perhaps being able to reach the peak of the mountain changed something in me. 

I never thought I would be able to do it - we were literally climbing rocks to reach the peak. 

But I DID IT. 

Like what they say, 

' Life begins at the end of your comfort zone'

I guess it's true. 

It really does. 

The upper half of 2016 was a mess - filled with drama and unhappiness. 

But, when I left it all in July, I made a pact that the lower half will be good. 

And it is. 

I have moved on. 

Can't wait for what the rest of 2016 have in store for me. 

^^