An unintentional long post

I have always been constantly reminding myself that change is inevitable. No matter how much preservative you add into your tiny little life potion, you can never really preserve the intangible things in your life. As much as you want things to remain the same after a while, a little voice inside your head would let you know how foolish that thought is because you know that it is quite impossible for change not to happen.

Recently, I noticed changes in many things. I realized that some things have changed. People I know have changed. And the most unsurprising change I noticed was the change I saw in myself. Tell me, how not to change when you’re away from your friends and family and have to deal with shit all on your own? It has been half a year now and I would still be struck with sudden home sickness. I don’t care if such words are even proper words because when one is homesick, you don’t question her grammar and vocabulary.

I’m glad that being away from my family makes me appreciate them more. I never thought that I could be on the phone with my mum for more than an hour. I never thought that I would be thankful that I have an aunt who lives here permanently. I never thought that I would cry so much when I started to miss home. I never thought that I would feel lonely and defeated on some random days. I never thought that I have the strength to still face everyone with a smile on my face even though I’m dying to cry on the inside.

So, yeah. Starting over in someplace new is beyond hard. I am blessed because God arranged a boyfriend for me long before I came down to KL to start off my new life. Nothing is ever the same without him. Things would be a whole lot harder if I were to conquer every obstacle on my own. So I am really thankful and grateful to have him in my life. He really is a blessing and I cannot emphasize that enough.

I really have nothing to worry about at the moment but my hair fall problem has been bothering me since forever and it is getting worse. It saddens me to see my hair fall so much. :( Am I going to die soon? Tried various hair products but nothing works. Tried cutting my hair shorter than I wanted it to be, but still it doesn’t solve my hair fall problem. This is annoying. I don’t want to be bald! :’(

Can’t wait to go back to Penang. Air Asia is having a promotion now and a one-way ticket to Penang only costs RM10.61. But I have to take quite a number of days of leave so don’t think I’m going to take that offer. Already bought my August flight last month and I can’t wait to go home.

Recently, something else is bothering me. I can’t get over the fact that it’s already the middle of 2015. What is this? How did it happen? What happened? When I was complaining to JH how expensive my rental is and how unhappy I am living there, he told me that it would be better if I use the money to pay for the housing loan of our house. Yes, he mentioned ‘our house’. I thought he was joking but he was so serious about it. Last two days, he gave me a random phone call when I was at work telling me that he would bring me to the site of the new housing project to have a look at its location. I was… out of words. He even told his parents about his intention of buying a house, with me. I called and told my mum about it later on that night. She was supportive of me buying a house jointly with him but her next question took me by surprise. She asked, ‘You’re really buying a house in KL and don’t plan to come back to live in Penang anymore?’ I wanted to cry. But instead I acted cool and told her, ‘No choice because JH is in KL so I think next time I would probably be living here too.’ She kept quiet for a few seconds and continued the conversation as normal. But deep down I know that she’s sad and there were a few times when I caught her crying when I called her previously. I guess it is really difficult for a mother to fully let go of their children. After the conversation, I was quite moody for a while. All sorts of worries and thoughts came rushing to me - the house, the money for the house, my family, his family, my future, our future, marriage, responsibilities and etc. I’m having a panic attack. It makes me feel overwhelmed and it’s too much to take in at the moment.

All the while these are the thoughts that I’ve had in my head. I’ve yet to prepare myself for this but his determination to plan for our future is another form of security for me. I feel safe and secure holding onto the thought of my future, our future. Hopefully things will turn out to be okay for us. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Besides that, everything else is alright. I finally found someone whom I can talk to at work. This person told me that she wanted to get to know me better when she first saw me at work and surprisingly I felt the same way! Haha. She’s a really good listener which makes me feel comfortable because I talk a lot. Haha. God is really good. At least I no longer feel lonely at work. Glad that I’ve known a bunch of good colleagues from various departments. They’re all really friendly and helpful. Therefore, I can only say that I’m a really lucky girl to be able to meet all those nice people at work.

I think internal audit is okay. Not fun, not boring but just fine.  External audit would teach you more stuff but at least I’m still learning from what I’m doing at IOI now. So, no complaints. For now. Haha.

I’ve learned not to complain so much about everything and find joy in little things that happen in everyday life. Sometimes the little things define your happiness. Sometimes it’s the little things that matters.

The other day I was telling my friend about how I lack charisma and sophistication. She scolded me for being so negative and told me that I am charismatic because charisma was what she saw in me when she first met me. I was flattered of course because that really was a huge compliment. So I always remind myself to be a little bit more optimistic than I am. Because as cliché as it is, optimism is the key to happiness.

I’m currently in the midst of planning Guangzhou’s itinerary for the boyfriend. He’s going on a boys-only adventure soon. Haha. Looking forward to Krabi! It’ll be my birthday trip for next year. :) I’m glad that JH and I both love traveling. We plan to travel at least once a year no matter how busy we are. Guess life’s all about living, eh?

My colleagues used to ask me, ‘Why are you going back so early?’ and I used to tell them, ‘Because I have a life’, which is true because my life isn’t all about work. I’d rather lay on the bed with a book in my hand than to spend unnecessary time at work.

Speaking of work, I really need to get back to work. Blogging from work again! Goodbye. Till next time.

Bangkok Trip 2015 (Day 3 & Day 4)

Day 3 (4/5/15)

We left the hotel at about 10 something and went to Erawan Shrine (4-Faced Buddha). It is said that praying there makes your wishes come true. I'm not sure how true that myth is but I did not pray because I was having my period. You shouldn't pray or step into the temple if you're having your period. You have to be pure and clean in order to enter any sacred place.

We traveled from On Nut Station to Chit Lom Station using our One-Day BTS Pass. (We bought a new One-Day Pass) It was easy to find Erawan Shrine as it was always crowded with people. So the boyfriend and the brother prayed there while both of us girls waited. (The bro's gf didn't pray because she's a Christian)

The crowd at Erawan Shrine.

We spent about less than 30 minutes there and went over to Central World Plaza which was located diagonally opposite Erawan Shrine. We literally spent only 15 minutes there because there was nothing to shop there. The whole mall was very quiet and slow; I could barely see any shoppers there. We left Central World Plaza and went to Terminal 21 after that.

Terminal 21 has 9 levels and each floor has a different country theme. Be sure to visit the toilet at every floor! I only visited Japan's and New York's. Haha. I like the fact that you can find almost anything there and I personally like the Japan floor. One more thing is that the food court, Pier 21, on the 5th floor, is a must-visit if you're at Terminal 21. You can find cheap and tasty food there. A plate of chicken rice costs only 300baht. I'm serious. We really enjoyed the food there. Both of us spent only 180baht in total for our food! How cheap is that?

To get to Terminal 21, take BTS to Asok Station and then take Exit 1 or 3 to get to the skybridge to the mall.

We left Terminal 21 at around 1.30P.M. and took a BTS to Siam Station. Next stop was After You at Siam Paragon! :) I was looking forward to this because I'm a huge dessert lover. After You is a famous dessert cafe in Bangkok and it's located at the basement level of Siam Paragon. 

Yes, there's always room for dessert. :)

The queue was horrible. But luckily we only waited for about 30 minutes for a table. The staffs were very efficient in cleaning up the tables.

We took a number and waited for our turn.

I was afraid that the cafe would be overrated because it was so popular and highly recommended by so many people. However, I was convinced after trying their green tea toast. IT WAS SO DARN GOOD.

Green tea toast.

The boyfriend ordered this because the name of this drink was 'World's Best Iced Chocolate"

It was really tasty :D

Mini banana crumble! So cuteeeee.

I can't remember the exact price for each dessert but I think the average price of a dessert is around 170-260baht, regular price of a dessert at a cafe in KL so I think it was quite reasonable.

After dessert, we took BTS to Saphan Taksin Station (Silom Line), and waited for Asiatique's free shuttle boat at Sathorn Pier. There's a shuttle boat to and from Asiatique every 15 minutes so we didn't have to wait too long for the shuttle boat.

Asiatique at night.

Image from Google.

Asiatique has 10 warehouses and every warehouse has different things to offer. There are many things to shop at Asiatique but the prices there are a lot steeper as compared to the prices in Chatuchak Market.

Due to the lack of time there, we didn't manage to explore all 10 warehouses. We linger aimlessly around Warehouse 4 and 6 and finally went to Naraya in Warehouse 1 to get souvenirs for my mum and his mum. The price of Naraya goods were so much cheaper there so the dearest bought me a bag too! :)

<3 Favourite photo of us of the entire trip! *we were wearing our new couple T-shirts that we bought from Chatuchak Market!*

Next up - Asiatique Sky a.k.a. Ferris wheel! I have no idea why but I fancy Ferris Wheels very much. :) We paid 300baht per person for the tickets. You can find out more about it here.

 

#nofilter

Then we met up with the bro and the gf for dinner. There were too many restaurants to choose from but we ended up choosing Fire & Dine! So glad that we have chosen that restaurant because I love the ambiance there and the food were so good and of reasonable prices too! The live band there played music which lifted up the mood of the whole place. :) A really good way to end our day!

Now, let the pictures of food do the talking.

Satay! Yums.

Their signature grilled chicken!

Chang Beers for the ladies. :D

I only managed to take photos of 2 of the dishes because I was too hungry. Hehe. We left Asiatique quite early as we were already exhausted by 8.30P.M. We wanted to go for another round of massage that day but by the time we reached our hotel, it was already 10P.M. However, we still managed to shop a bit at the night market near our hotel though.

The next morning, we woke up early and took a taxi to Don Muang Airport at 5A.M. because the genius receptionist told us that it could take up to 2 hours to reach the airport if the traffic is heavy. It's always better to reach early rather than to miss our flight, so yeah, no complaints. And for Laneige fans, please stock up your skincare at their Duty Free Shop! So much cheaper as compared to the price of Laneige in Malaysia. :)

That's all for my short getaway! I hope that this post would help those who are interested to visit Bangkok in the near future! :)

Additional information:-

• Erawan Shrine (4 faced Buddha) – Take BTS to Chit Lom. It's located in front of Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, corner of Ploenchit and Ratchadamri Road.
• Operating hours for Asiatique - 5P.M. till midnight