After 9 days in Qatar

Wow, I have been in Qatar for more than a week now, time certainly flies...My sister and brother work here, so my two nieces and I are here to pay them a 3 weeks visit, so far so good.

Sis and bro have been totally brilliant, taking us everywhere in Qatar. Or should I say most of the places in Qatar, we were at the Islamic art museum, where we spent more time admiring the building than the displayed pieces; then we were at the shopping complexes (all the big ones); and an afternoon visit to "The pearl" which is the man made island (still under construction) taking after the same idea as "Palm Island" in Dubai; then also the Souq Wakef, an interesting market place. By now, am pretty certain that we had covered all of Doha. Well, Qatar itself is a small country, so with our dedicated guides, it's not possible that we missed anything!

Part of "The Pearl", still under construction

Throwing my youngest nephew into the dustbin, sometimes I really feel like doing it!!

We had some trips out of Doha too. My brother first took us on a long drive to Dukhan for the beach, we did not think that the beach deserved a 1.5hours drive out here.

Dukhan beach, nothing too special....

Then last Friday we had a better trip, this time my bro took us (my 2 nieces, 2 nephews and myself) on a convoy to the desert for fossil hunting in a place not too far from Zikreet movie set, a really fascinating trip that is. Enjoyed ourselves tremendously, though we did not find any dinosaur fossils (not that we expect to find anything of that sort), my nephews insisted on bringing back lots of not so fossil looking stones, so we have some desert stones outside my sis's house now. As for the view, hemnnn....well, some parts are quite interesting, with interestingly shaped rocks, where as some parts are just flat and sandy, and then more flat and sandy. It did made an interesting 4WD trip though, the route were really trying at time, but also fun!Well, I was not the one driving, and it's not my car, guess that adds up to the fun part, hehe...

Part of the movie set in Zikreet

Fossil my niece found

Another day, my brother took us to a beach generally known as "sealine", name taken after the popular resort located there. We tried to get in and was asked to pay 300 QR (1QR = RM ) for 5 of us, how ridiculous is that?? And so we walked on and found that a mere 5 minutes walk away (or 30 seconds drive) , there is a perfect beach with sand dunes just next to it. This time I had my 2 nieces and the youngest nephew. After some constructing and destroying sand castle processes, we walked up the sand dunes and had a very beautiful view from the top, dunes and more dunes lay upon us, also some fanatics driving round in their 4WD at a totally insane speed. It's a pity we did not have anything suitable for sliding down, next time we will bring something, then it'll be a real dune bashing, haha...

When I am not out exploring, I spent time playing some silly games with my nephews, baking scones, making "tang yuan汤圆", and next am going to try a hand on sushi, can't wait!!

So that's my life in Qatar so far, I can't complain, can I??And I have another 10 days to go, isn't that great!!

家里的小胖

一个月前，家里的母猫生了一对可爱的小猫儿。其中一只也许是先天性衰弱，先归天去了，剩下小胖。取名小胖是因为它真的胖得还可以，走起路来左右摇摆，跌跌撞撞的，尤其是后腿，总是站不直，像溜冰似的滑了开去，十分有趣。

小胖变成了家里大小的宝贝，外甥女们总是忍不住要把它抱在怀里，不停地喂它吃东西，喝水，然后再看看他那滑稽可爱的模样，逗得她俩笑不拢嘴。

小胖虽然长得好好的，但我和妈都觉得它似乎比同龄的小猫少了一点活泼，动作也比较慢条斯理，根本不像是一个月大的小猫，有点担心它能不能顺利长大。要是真的提先去见他的兄弟，外甥女们可要伤心的。

我今晚即将出发离家三个星期，希望回来时还能看到小胖那憨憨的模样。我想我是会想念小胖的。

一个人旅游

不少朋友问我，一个人旅游会害怕吗？会寂寞吗？害怕是肯定没有的，一时还真想不起该怕什么呢？寂寞有时候会吧，尤其突然想到一个故事想分享的时候但发现周遭全是一群无法沟通的陌生人。但其实一个人旅游，并不能算是真的一个人旅游，只要你愿意，周遭多的是和你一样都是在旅游的人，再不然就是亲切的当地人。只要你愿意牵牵嘴角，给迎面而来的人友善的微笑，很快地你就可能交上一个新朋友。

但是世事无绝对，不是每个人都和你一样，再加上不同国家的不同文化，有时你就算笑僵了嘴也未必得回一个友善的回应，大家只是瞪着你瞧。在俄罗斯就曾经有过这样的经验，回想起来还真有趣。可我不会因此而选择板着脸，还是更愿意想些开心的事，继续保持笑容。也许有些人会认为我这人是疯了，但只要我开心，又没伤害任何人，那又有何不可呢？可我说的不是嬉皮笑脸，笑当然也要看场合，随机应变，否则得罪错人可还真不好玩。

笑三笑，十年少。放心地笑吧，这样你就不会是一个人旅游了。

PIC 2009

I was rotting at home for a while already when a friend asked that I joined them for a race in Pulau Perhentian, a beautiful island tucked away in East Coast of Peninsular. Perhentian Island Challenge is a 11km race circuit including 600m swim. I was not confident of my fitness level but he gave me reassurance that I will be able to manage just fine. So, I signed up and decided that it would be an excellent opportunity to bring my family for an island getaway weekend at the same time.

We gathered at Kuala Besut Jetty at 0830H and departed not long after. As the boat heads towards the island, my heart was leaping with joy as the beautiful ocean view slowly comes into view. I never realized how much I missed the sea of Malaysia until then. I can almost see a pair of invisible arms extended towards me from the crystal clear water, welcoming me to jump in. And I started t regret for not wearing my swimsuit for the boat ride. I guessed I must have been away for too long.

As we approached the island, the leaves on coconut trees that lined the beach started to sway in unison in response to the sea breeze, adding to the magical feeling I already had. We had to delay our union with the sea as my stomach started to growl in complain, so we unpacked “nasi kerabu” from home and sat on the verandah eating, peeking towards the beach from time to time.

Then it’s time for the sand and water. My nieces and I changed into our swimsuit in lightning speed and was in the water in no time. It was so refreshing, and I tried hard to remember when is the last time I felt so good, totally relax, and just enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by crystal clear water and nice sandy beach. Good time glided by without you realizing, very soon the sun is low on the horizon and we went and sat on a pile of rocks watching it disappear, leaving a sky of beautifully colored clouds. Another day had passed.

The next day is the PIC day, I woke up early and joined my fellow friends crossing over to the starting point after a hearty breakfast. It was a long wait before the race actually flagged of; meanwhile there is top spinning and Malay martial art display during the opening ceremony. When we were finally flagged off, the merciless sun is already high in the sky, burning into my skin. I started to run a little until I came to a steep slope, looking up I immediately decided that I will just enjoy the race rather than pushing too hard, it’s unlikely that I will win anyway. However, a friend made sure that I did not end up to be the last to arrive at the finishing line by following me closely, I tried to encouraged him to go ahead but to no avail, so I was left with no choice but to keep going at a faster pace than I had intended on doing, few times I was so tempted to stop that I actually cursed him for not leaving me well alone.

The race was not as hard as I had imagined, but certainly not a morning stroll in the park either. Most of the route is slightly hilly, with small and sometimes muddy paths and we also passed by some villages, where I looked at the villagers sipping cold water with envy. There is also a 100m walk carrying a 4kg sack, right before our first water point. The race was fairly well marked but a small hiccup occurred when we got to the point where we were to swim the 600m course. Earlier we were informed that we will be swimming back to where we started, so that we can leave our shoes on the beach and come back for it, but this is not the case. So after some brainstorming, we got a few plastic bags, packed our shoes and others into my friend’s bags before we hit the water. I decided to go ahead as I was sure that the guys will soon catch up since as far as I know they are much better swimmer than I am. However, I was proven wrong, the guys struggled as the bag hinder their strokes and hurt their skin, so they ended up moving at a much slower pace than they would have done under normal circumstances, so I arrived at the other end before they do and spent some time playing in the waves, even got hit by quite a big wave and ended up with sand all inside my swim suit, that is really uncomfortable, serve me right for being playful, sigh..

The walk up the 500 steps that followed was really breathtaking, both in terms of the beautiful view and the steep walk. We could not resist from stopping and looked back at the view, taking photos and making appreciative comments the whole time. I think this could easily be the most beautiful 500 steps in my life. Leaving the steps, it was only 30 minutes walk downhill towards the finishing line. As I approached the village, I heard the crowd and started to move faster as after 5 hours walk, I just want to get to the finishing line and get it done. One friend decided to follow my pace while the other lacked behind, deciding to continue at the original pace. We continued just a little further before heading to the beach where we were led to perform a series of rather silly and pointless obstacle. I later found out that it seems silly when we did it because the water level had gone down. We made it to the finishing line in a little over 5 hours. We were constantly looking back as we were nearing the finishing line, to see if the other friend was behind us, but to our amazement, he was not. This baffled us as we were sure that he was not too far behind us! The team captain decided to go looking for him after he did not arrive 30 minutes later.

Only when we were back to the place we stayed did we find out that he was already there, it appeared that he missed the turning and ended up at another village, where we started in the morning, assuming that is where the finishing line is. The village is another 30 minutes walk away; poor guy did all the extra distance and wondered why no one was there when he got there. I felt slightly guilty but was abashed that this could have happened, as we only part when I could already clearly see the finishing site and hear the crowd, too much assumption on my side, I guessed. For that, I guess an apology is in place and also for laughing at him after. My bad, sorry my friend!

This is an eventful and yet relaxing weekend for me and family. The next morning I spent dipping in the water the whole time, not doing much just enjoy the feeling of the water wrapping my body, caressing me gently. When I finally stepped from the jetty to the boat to leave, I looked back and wondered when I will be back here again, back to the embrace of the crystal clear water.

航行 - 梦想还是笑话？

几天前在海岛上和友人提起了航行，让我再次蠢蠢欲动，想去参加航行课程。

我已经记不起来什么时候开始有个梦想，是在新西兰的那段日子吧。好想有一天能够学会航行，然后买下那种有帆的游艇，简简单单的那种，不要太多奢侈的装备，只要有个小厨房和睡位，让海风带我到各处去，然后就这样开始一段海上的生活。每天醒来看日出，吃些简单的食物，在花些时间看书，钓鱼，听海的声音，和海风对话，不知海风会否为我带来家人的消息呢？我并不想去得太远，只是想感受一下那种生活。到底那样的生活会是怎样的呢？会苦闷吗？还是富有挑战？我想两者兼有之。

由海上看陆地，我想会具一番不同的风味，真的好向往。

但这几天上网查询资料让我势气全失，不只游艇价格不菲，连航行课程也还真不便宜。航行还是相当奢侈的。也许友人说对了，这不过是个笑话。真的是个笑话吗？还是要得不够？

回想

最近真的好闲空，所以翻了翻自己不舍得丢的信件，还有一些较特别祝贺卡。选了几张看看，想念起许久没见面的朋友。想起念大学的那段日子，曾经我们好得无话不说，形影不离，但自从毕业以后，联系少了，大家都各有各忙，感情就这样慢慢变淡了。

难免在想，曾经要好的朋友多年后再见面还能象往日般无所不谈吗？

信件堆里也有自己和他之间的信，更少不了与他合拍的照片，突然发现自己不再伤心，更不再生气了，难道我真的完完全全走出来了吗？也许我真的可以衷心祝他幸福了。人与人之间的感情都是经不起时间和距离的考验吗？不只是友情，爱情也一样吧？曾经天真地以为只要愿意努力就能战胜一切，但后来我还是输了，输给了时间和距离, 输得心不甘情不愿，生气他怎么就这样放弃。但想想也许是我们双方都不够努力，更也许是我们爱自己多过爱对方，真正的理由到底是什么我也不再追究了，还是让一切成为过去吧。

时间能冲淡一切，我愿意相信，也希望这是真的。

New Zealand - May 06 to Feb 07

I have always tried to follow "trend" when it comes to blogging so I ended up with myspace, multiply, blogspot and also facebook. Then I suddenly felt like I should have everything on the same page, so what I did is to move things around, and this is what happens, haha.... The NZ trip report was at "myspace" before.

NZ Trip Summary

Finally, I managed to squeeze some time to write my NZ report.....it's really hard as I dunno how to start and not sure how much information I should include. Anyway, here we go...

22 May - June

I arrived in Auckland. After 2 days, I left for Katikati and started to do kiwi picking. At the same time, I was also working in the kiwi packhouse for 2 weeks. It was such great fun getting to know so many people from different countries as we worked hard to do as much as we can since we r paid by contract rate. The best part about picking is I get to eat ripe kiwis straight fr the trees, and the worst part is it is a very physical work as we have to carry 15-20kg bag in front of us while reaching up to get more as fast as possible. During that period, always got up with I got shoulder ache, sore arm and also numb fingers, but the fun part of it keeps me going. Green kiwi is easier to pick compared to old kiwi, but gold tastes better, hahaha.....at the end of my time in katikati, I had eaten the most kiwi I ever eat in my life in that 1 mth.Haha....

July

I spent 1 week at a fren's house located in Central North Island, a place called Ohura. So I get to see how they scanned the sheep (check for how many babies), how the shepherd dog work. And the best art is go hunting for wild pig. We got one and carry it like a backpack behind our back. We also wen canoeing down the river, and trust me the water is so cold, fuh!!!

After Ohura, I went to Taupo where Aude and myself went for a rope course called Rock n Ropes, that was great fun too...but we did not do skydiving as the weather is not good. Then I join Jasmin and Vera to Wellington where I attended LOTR exhibition in Te Papa Museum. The museum is really interesting as it has many variety and not just pure historical stuff like bones and old vases....hehehe.... I also walked up Mt Victoria for Wellington 360 degrees view, went up with the cable car to the cable car museum, walk through Botanical Garden and join the Parliament tour.

End of July to Mid Sept

I went down to Bleinheim and found wrapping job in vineyard, only worked for 5 day as the work is too boring. Then I started travelling around South Island with Robert and Sebastian, 2 German guy I got to know during picking kiwi. Details of the trip will be in "Trip Around South Island"

Mid Sept to Mid Oct

I did some gardening work in Lincoln near Christchurch for 4 days ; worked for Kathmandu warehouse preparing order) for 2 days ; Exchange work in Chez La Mer backpackers in Akaroa for 2 weeks, at (the same time I worked for grocery store - Akaroa Supply Store during my free time. I also managed to climb up Purple peak for magnificent view around Akaroa and watch nice sunsetwhile fishing.

Mid Oct to Early Jan

I started working in Furneaux Lodge as housekeeping. My team mate includes Malaysian girl - Apple and Japanese girl - Akiko. We worked 5 days week and was paid according to the hours work. Furneaux Lodge is a really nice place as we can walk the Queen Charlotte Track (quite a famous walking track in NZ) during our day off, we can also go kayking in the inlet or across to Punga Cove (owned by Geoff's father) for Jacuzzi and swimming pool ; sometimes we go fishing and picking up mussels for our special meal. And I got quite a few fishes durign my stay including snapper, blue cod and tarakihi, and I almost got an octopus too. We also went out with the boat while they dived for scallops and sometimes we got fresh lobster. Other staffs includes people from NZ, Netherlands, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada and US. While I was there, I was also driving the boat to fetch customer's from their big boat and yacht, I was also helping with waitressing as well as kitchen hand. It was one of the unforgetable moments of my trip and it was so hard to leave. Towards the end of my stay, I had managed to complete QCT including the walk to Jackson Head.

Early Jan to end of Jan

I got to Wellington, bought my little red car - Honda City Jazz.Then my trip around North Island begins..."Trip Around North Island"

1st to 14th Feb

Mak came on 1st Feb and we started travelling again around North and South Island till 14th when we fly back to Malaysia

无所事事

由七月尾回到家，至今也快三个月了。

刚回家时忙着为弟弟的婚礼而奔上奔下，接下来又为了办理澳洲签证而忙着考试，准备证件等等。现在弟弟人早就回Qatar工作去了，澳洲签证也顺利拿到手了，就只需决定出发的日子而已。本想尽早出发，但这一去又是一年，大姐七月份回来我会再次错过，许久没见到大姐了，现在闲着也是闲着，所以决定去探望她和家人。妈又建议我把两个小瓜也带着去玩玩，那就只好等到学校假期才能出发。澳洲的计划只好押后，也许明年再走吧。

这段时间里，我除了呆在家里，也趁机和朋友聚聚，但大家多忙着工作，只能趁周末见见面，其它时间我就坐在电脑前，努力地把旅途上的照片放上网和朋友们分享。有位朋友对此举不屑，认为是种炫耀的作风。但我志在分享，他人怎么想我可不管那么多了。每做一件事，褒贬总会有的，人生路上那可能满足每个人呢？

但最近该做的事似乎都已办完了，我又开始计划该到哪儿走走看看了。要是继续呆在家里我可能会发疯。而且是真的疯掉那种，不再是我一贯的疯疯癫癫了。曾经考虑找份短期工作，但没找到合适的，朋友说是我不够努力，我想他是完全说中了。

距飞往Qatar的日子还有一个多月，也许我真能计划计划一下了。

梦

昨晚我做了场于我而言算是相当奇怪的梦。梦里的自己穿着不该穿的衣服，牵着不该牵的人的手，去个不该去的地方。这当真是日有所思，夜有所梦吗?未免太难以置信了。

In Mongolia

Have not been updating the blog for a looooooong time, AGAIN!Well, it's not easy to keep it update when I am on the road. However, today someone asked that I check her blog out so I might as well write something...

I just got back from my 6 days Mongolian countryside trip, had done the whole trip hitch hiking, apart from the 2 short city bus trips to get in/out of centre, and not spent a single cent on accomodation. The feeling???GREAT!!!Very happy with myself cause this is exactly what I am targeting for when I left Ulaan Baatar on Tuesday.

It's not all smooth sailing, but all these difficulties and challenges make it more memorable than some of my well planned trip!! Some nights it rains in the middle of the night while I was sleeping out in the field and I had to run looking for shelter in the dark, my mistake for not bringing a torch ; and HH is not always easy either, sometimes I ended up at a place where I did not plan to go, or spent few hours walking down the road hoping the next car will pick me up.

It had been a great outing for me, and am certainly looking forward to embark on the next one SOON!!! Meanwhile, I shall continue to remember bits and pieces of this trip!

Photos from my Iceland and Norway trip

It is really difficult trying to maintain and keep everything up to date on all sites especially when traveling and the access to computer is limited, and I know that sooner or later I will end up only with one. So I abandoned Multiply, and got on to facebook, and now with blogspot, am not sure how long I will be able to keep it....but for now, I had managed to update it now and again, and this time even managed to upload some photos, which I think it 's a good sign....so this is some of the photos from iceland and Norway...will try to upload more when I have more time..

Captivating Norway...

I always know that Norway is a beautiful place, but little did I know that I will be extending my stay from 1 week to 3 weeks. Am I mad??Maybe, but that's just me being me!! Come to think of it, I think it must have been the snow, or was it the Norweigian man that I met??Honestly, a bit of both, I must say.

Some people whinge that it's bare and plain when everything is white, it's cold and miserable and they hate it, but for me, I find that I actually like winter especially when it snows. I love the way everything is covered in a big white blanket of snow, makes everything seems so magical and romantic, just like the picture you often see in the fairy tales. I like the way the snow shaped the place in it's own unique ways, like an artist with a magic wand. I like the icicles that looks like a curtain. I like the air, it feels so much fresher when it's cold. And I like that when I fall on the snow, it does not hurt. I like that people are walking funnily on the street trying not to fall. I like to see the shape of snow flakes on my black gloves, they are so pretty!! And when it snows, you do not get wet as fast as when it rains, though I must admit I like the rains too.

Then there is Lasse, a Norweigian guy that I met. He is full of energy, and really interesting and fun to be with, and he is 12 years older than me. I enjoyed his company so when he said that I can joined him for a film trip for BBC to film Musk oxen in Dovrefjell, I jumped at the opportunity. So I spent 9 days in a place called Kongsvold in the middle of no where, just learning to ski (and to fall) and enjoy the beauty of nature.

So with all the "likes" of winter and the special encounter with the guy, I have stayed in Norway 2 weeks more than I planned to. And I must say I love every moment of it!! And I wished I can stay much longer, but I really must start to plan to go home or I will never make it for my brother's wedding. Deep inside, I vow to come back some other time. Norway, is my new love.

*note:
1.dun ask about photo, I will try to upload asap.
2.Musk Oxen is a cow looking creature but from goat family with a big horn and thick fur

10 days in Iceland is over now...

10 days, seems long, it's 2 digit, isn't it??How come it wheezes pass so fast??Tomorrow I'll be leaving Iceland already, I felt like I had just arrived!!

I have mix feeling about leaving Iceland, happy that I had decided to come and had throughly enjoyed my visit and sad that when I leave tomorrow, I have no idea if I will visit Iceland, ever again though I would really love to, some day, some time...it's just so far away. It feels like saying goodbye to a friend in Europe not knowing when we will see each other again.

I have not seen much, but I had grown to like Iceland, I guess it must be the snow, the snow gives Iceland an extra romantic touch, and I am attracted to it just like a moth to fire. No, of course it is not that bad, I am not suicidal, haha....

Anyway, I shall look forward to my next visit and mean time concentrating on my next destination - Norway.

Ice land Iceland

Well, iceland at this time of the year certainly suits the name. It's white everywhere, fresh snow, compressed snow and ice made the whole place look white, and I simply love it.

Even though it is not the best time for touring around, with some of the road being closed and bus services being reduced, I am not going to complain, cause I had specifically choose to come in winter to see iceland as it should be, at least it is what I think it should be, and I'm not disappointed!

The trip from Reykjavik to Akureyri passed through rows and rows of white hills and mountains with occasional farm houses in sight, other than that it's just the road, the bus and the white hills. Feels so good to be looking out of the window and being greeted by the "white view".Alright, think I'm a lil bit crazy about this white view of mine, haha...

Late nights and more late nights

Have not been getting my beauty sleep lately. ...sigh, not good not good. I am staying in this London hostel and there are so many fun people at the hostel that I always end up playing cards, chatting, laughing with them until 2-3am. Doubt that late night sleep gonna do any good top my skin, so I really must refuse to play the cards with them, haha....but it's so much fun!!

As for tonight, I will be doing some work to pay for my stay in the hostel, which starts at 10pm and finishes at 2am, so another late night I guess....

London oh London....

Have been in London for emmmmm.....10 days now, and every time I walk down the busy street crowded with people from all over the world, I can't help but wonder "what am I doing here???" 

I am not saying that London is a horrible place, I do enjoy walking along the Thames river, looking at the bridges, and familiar big ben, but somehow I just feel out of place when I'm surrounded by thousands of people and all the red buses and black cabs drive me mad instead of fascinates me. I want to be away, away and away......far far away from the crazy traffic, and the constant flow of "human river" around me. 

So I guess Iceland will be something completely different, or at least I hope it would be, I can't wait for Saturday to come when I shall leave London behind and go seek for my kind of world in Iceland. Iceland, here I come....but first I need to get the DSLR, which means I still have to spend some time going round the shops, erggghhhhh!!!

In London

So, am in London now after horrible midnight bus ride.So glad to be stepping off the bus at victoria station even thought it was still dark at that time. Struggling with my luggage, I managed to find the hostel and settled in.

And today, I am just roaming around London doing some shopping. Yes, me shopping!I need some stuff and wanted other stuff, so here I am trying to decide how much I should spend. First I need travel adaptor, then maybe a daysack, then camera, yes a DSLR I'm thinking about and lastly a portable hard disk. Not working but spending...hemn.....

So I decided

Yes, finally I had decided, after sitting in front of computer for 3 days trying to work out the itinerary for my final trip before going home. Pheww...not easy, especially when I have a long list of "must go, not to be missed, excellent spot" going round and round my semi-functional brain.

So this is what I will do.
1. London - Iceland - Oslo - London (sorry mother earth for the carbon foot print)
2. Apply for Russian visa in feb since they will not let me apply more than 90days in advance of my entry. (Why do they have to make it so difficult for everyone??Maybe because everyone make it so difficult for them?)
3. Italy ......... (yes, another flight, feel so bad and yet still doing it, what's the point??So weak, fuh!)

Alright, that's a good start, I have some firm date too, then "bang" I failed to book my iceland flight because iceland air will not accept my debit card and thanks for HSBC complete screw up I have not got my credit card after 2 months!!Grrrrr...I really feel like biting someone now!

Well, at least now I get some free time to just sit around and mumble away, and maybe I will read a bit more info about my destination. That should be good.

My travel plan and me

Being a "bum" means that people around me are constantly asking me these questions :

- where are you going next?
- when are you going home?
- when are you going to start traveling again?

The funny things is, I usually do not have any answers for them, not because I am not willing to share but is because I have not made up my mind yet. I always have a rough plan in my head which I made by looking at the map and which I usually wrote on a piece of recycle paper hidden somewhere. So I can usually tell my friend that I would like to see Italy and Iceland, and I would like to go on Trans-Siberia train, but I do not know when, or how, or the sequence of the occurence.

At one point or another, I will look at the crumpled plan of mine and told myself "that's it, this is how I'm going to do it!" and set it aside. The problem is, my so call "plan" always end up in dead alley because I did not take into consideration the transport, the weather etc etc, so which means after a few search online I realized that the "plan" need to be reorganize, so here we go again. Another look at the map, another add and remove, and I have my new plan which sometimes can be quite different from the original.

Then when a friend told me that she is planning to go to India for a month, I started to think again whether or not I should fly to India since now I have 2 friends who will be there. One is my old time friend who I would really love to go backpacking with before she become a mum and the other one is my crazy slovak friend who I think will certainly make my trip unbelievably interesting and exciting. Yet again, I sat down and staring at the computer screen trying to decide, and in the end I decided to sleep on it and will see how I feel about it tomorrow.

Maybe just maybe I have too much time, if I set a deadline, maybe it would have been easier???I really dunno..

Difficult decision...environment or time and money??

Today I finally sit down and start looking up the various possibility of transport for my upcoming trip which I decided to start in Italy, will then head east before heading north again and eventually make it to Russia. I told myself that I will avoid flying because after my recent road trip, I am sure that I had left so much carbon footprint then I had wished to, and I was hoping to stick to buses and train this time. I am not calling myself environmentalist, just thinking that I would love to help contribute to the well-being of the world as much as I can.

All these said, I started looking up for the buses and trains that will take me from London to Milan where I plan to start my tour of Italy. Due to the distance, the coach will takes at least 24hours and the train 19hours, and the prices shown is not really great. Out of curiousity, my room mate suggested that I had a look at the flight choices, and that must have been the worst thing I could have done, the flight search shown available flights that takes only one sixth of the time and half of the price compared to the bus!

First, I was screaming at the screen and then I was speechless, really do not know what to say or make of it. Ironically, the flight even offers the possibility to offset the carbon footprint! Now I'm torn between leaving as little carbon footprint as possible and saving my time and money! Is it a such a difficult decision?Yes, it is for me.

Aren't you suppose to get a better deal when you pay more??In this case, it seems unlikely. At the moment going by train is not a possibility as it costs a whooping £250! Going by bus means paying 50% more, spending 24hours on the road with a stranger strapped right next to me, arriving at my destination exhausted and possibly stinking, knowing that I put up with all these just so that I clocked 0.96 tonnes less CO2 then flying. Tossing carbon footprint issue aside, going by plane means I will save some money for good food and also arriving in my destination fresh and ready. At a glance, it seems like a such simple equation. Part of me is saying that I should just be selfish and forgo all the concern about the carbon footprint, the plane is flying even without me, save the money for some good pizzas in Naples and some extra time to look around ; another part of me is thinking that if I do really care about the carbon footprint, how can I be so easily swing???

At the moment, I still do not know. However, I have a strong feeling that I will finally be flying. Sad, isn't it?? I can't help but wonder why is it so hard for me to be less selfish? Why am I so weak? Where is my determination? Deep down, do I really care like I think I do? After all, I had always left a buffer in this issue, I always tell myself that I am doing every bit I can, trying is the word. This actually do not sounds like a committment. This certainly got me thinking...

Last day at work

It's my last day at work, AGAIN.....have had a few different jobs this year, so had a few "last day at work", I think it's really fun and it gives you something to look forward to. When we sent the last guest out this morning, we were so excited and keep repeating "last day, last day" to each other. And finally at 1500H, all jobs are done, the rooms are all cleaned and the lovely festive decorations are all down and stuffed in the boxes ready for the next season. Such a shame that it took us less than an hour to remove all the decos where as we had spent 2 days putting it up!!Isn't life is just funny???

So last day at work means I should be on the move again, the problem is I have not made the final decision as where I am heading to, gosh...me and my "not so final plan" is now facing the harsh reality. On Monday, the rest of the staffs will all be going home, and what am I going to do??I wonder....and wonder...and more wondering.....seems like "wondering" alone does not take me further, so I guess it's best that I stop mumbling and wondering away and do some serious planning. Planning planning, since when it had become so hard??Guess since I have no time constraint, sigh...that is suppose to be a good thing, is it not??