reflecting on 2018 & welcoming 2019

In just a few hours, it will be the New Year, oh how scarily fast time flies when you're adulting! As much as I would love to clear my other blog drafts before the new year begin, things have been so hectic the past weeks and I even fell sick. I finally had some time for myself early this week but with work still constantly at the back of my head *sigh* Nevertheless, 2018 has been a quite an amazing journey for myself so I am crossing my hands 2019 will be kind to me as well!

Anyways, this post is just me looking back into 2018 and counting my blessings. There were bad things such as how I contracted dengue but that showed how I am surrounded by people who cared about me. Of course,even my parents overfed me while I was recuperating at home. In many ways, I feel loved and blessed.

The other random highlights of my 2018 life, not in specific order are:- 

#1 Okay, not something I did in 2018 but rather something I managed to do _ I completed my Bali & Singapore's Travelogues woohoo!!

#2 I bought a DSLR and took lotsa photos! Our relationship is still going strong hahahaha

#3 tried Merchants' Lane cafe for the first time with my homies

#4 Explored several parks in KL & Selangor such as Taman Botani in Shah Alam, Lake Gardens, Desa Park, Kota Damansara Community Forest Park and early this week, Serendah Waterfall. I super love being in contact with nature. In case y'all never heard, shinrin yoku aka forest bathing is a natural therapy involving spending time in nature to promote self-healing. It works for me especially when I feel so stress up thinking about work but the moment I spend time just looking at trees and flowers or dipping my legs into streams and waterfall, I feel so calm.

#5 Speaking of shinrin yoku, Japonisme is back and they are such fascinating concepts such as Ikigai, Kintsugi and more (there are books of these titles which I totally wanna read!). Japan is freaking awesome! Of course, Japonisme revolves around a whole lot more such as art, sculptures and architectures but I'm more fascinated with the cultures and ideas which can be put into practice in our everyday life.

#6 Went on a random 2D1N trip to Cameron Highlands. Sharing my Cameron Highlands' itinerary & budget in case y'all planning for vacays! Because I had a lot on my plates this year, I decided to hold all international travel which is quite a bummer! This may continue until 2019 IDK but I really am missing Japan a lot *sniff*

#7 I did explore quite a few local spots, one of them Tadom Hill Resort with my colleagues. It's a small recreational spot but we had great fun playing human size jenga and some of us jumped into the man-made lake

#8 Probably the coolest thing ever _ I attended an Indian wedding for the first time! Check out how it went. I find the ceremony truly fascinating and eye-opening.

#9 my old friends, Daniel and Naoko came down from England for a visit & I met their baby, Nagisa-chan for the first time! Aside from the lovely family, two other friends from Australia and another from the Netherlands were around for a visit and we hung out. I feel grateful that they remember and took some time to hang out with me albeit their short visit. I also find it funny how whenever I think of them, they'll somehow always end up contacting me soon after!

Of course, there are great friends living locally whom I wish we could meet up more often but everyone is busy with their lives. Still, I can always count on them for being there! *virtual hugs* It's just like the quote about how "Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them but you know they're there". I tried looking for other quotes but I think this is the closest way to describe them.

#10 Attended another of my gal pal and ex-colleague's wedding, such a pretty bride!

#11 Ate a lot of durians when durian runtuh, literally.


#12 I discovered Hermo, the ultimate online beauty shopping haven

#13 went to the 2018 Bon Odori in Shah Alam for 2 consecutive years

#14 Decluttered my room. Still working on being a minimalist!


#15 Discovered thrifting, namely in Kedai Bless and ReFash


#16 I discover a love for nude shade lippies and eyeshadow. Wanted to write about them but I didn't have the time! Soon!!


#17 One of the many things in my head these days are the topic about sustainability and nature. By now you've probably heard me mentioned about this several times now. I noticed in the past few months, there were more brands and companies supporting the concept of recycling which is great news! From the ban of plastic straws, to a garment brand accepting bras recycling, to Uniqlo's recycling program and even 1 Utama Mall's electronics recycling. The list goes on. Totally supporting this movement and I hope this practice be a long term goals for many.


Those are pretty much what I can recount for now. Until the next post, wishing y'all all the best for 2019! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Summer 2014 in Japan: Shinjuku, Gotanda & Odaiba

Hello~!

It's a long weekend here in Malaysia since there are public holidays and today is Thaipusam so, Happy Thaipusam to all my Indian friends & family out there!

I'm making use of today to blog about my last year's trip to Japan. I know, it's been over 6 months since I was there! (/>.<) Still, to me it felt like yesterday and I do dream every day that I could go back there again. Gotta start save up and plan again but this time I wanna make a longer trip to take my time to explore more of Japan.

*daydream*

*gets sucks back into realtime*

Alrighty, where was I? OK, Shinjuku.

Shinjuku

After a long day of exploring Sakae in Nagoya, I took the night bus down to Shinjuku which helps me to cut down one night's room booking in a hotel.

Plus, buses in Japan are quite safe and I was told that there's a speed limit of 80km/hour which means longer but peaceful ride. That's really something OK. Try taking an interstate bus in Malaysia and you'll be taken for a roller coaster joyride which will leave you wide-eye all the way. Not that I've ever been on a roller coaster, but I daresay it might be similar to a roller coaster warm up.

I arrived in Shinjuku 5 o'clock kinda early but because it's summer, it's already super bright.

Since I definitely didn't want to be ringing my friend's doorbell in the wee hours, I decided to go exploring around Shinjuku first.

Got tired so powered up with Calpis LOL (⌒▽⌒)

Pretty much most of my diet in Japan consists of soft drinks. Too lazy to eat until I met up with Danny and Naoko. They fed me real well. ( ^__^;)

Lots and lots of shops.

I bet Shinjuku's a really a livelier place_if not in the wee hours_ and with so many shops and all, it'd be a nice foodie place to explore. Though I feel very safe in Japan, I don't know why but some parts of Shinjuku just gave me creeps. Hmmm... just me I guess.

~ ♥ ~

GOTANDA

I headed over to Gotanda later in the morning to where my friends were staying and I tell you, I LOVE the place. How would I describe it? Small _ in a good way _ and home-y? I don't know, I walked around the town and I just love how everything feels just right. Convenient too since you can find Lawson and a supermarket close by.

Railway tracks, just like the ones you've seen in anime!! #suapakkaume wth

Met Naoko in person for the first time that day and she was so sweet to prepare me Japanese-style breakie (≧◡≦)~❤ I get to try Japan's super creamy tamago and hamburger for the first time. They're really different from the ones in Malaysialeh. I want to eat the tamago again!

If you notice, I posted this photo previously, but just re-sharing 'cuz I still think thats the nicest thing ever~~❤

They lent me a futon for my stay there~! Wee~~

~ ♥ ~

Odaiba

Later that day, we headed to Odaiba and spent the rest of the evening there. Odaiba's another favorite place for a stroll because it's bayside which means it's really breezy besides you get to enjoy the scenery and all.

A friendly advice for girls visiting Odaiba_ don't wear skirts or dresses. I wore a skirt there, bad idea. More than half of the time, I was trying NOT to attempt a Marilyn Monroe moment (╯_╰”)

* Stroll stroll*

New York in Japan? LOL

For lunch, we went to an Okonomiyaki shop at Diver City.

Our set lunch came with an okonomiyaki, salad sides, yakisoba and tamago for less than 3000 yen!! So worth it! (*´∀｀*)

Speaking of food, earlier that day we made a detour and stopped by Hokkaido Dosanko Plaza at Yurakucho because I said I wanted to try Hokkaido ice cream.

Tried the Hokkaido melon and milk flavor soft serve ice cream, yummy stuff. Dug into it first before snapping a photo 'cuz it was starting to melt.

~ ♥ ~

Spotted the rainbow-color ferris wheel at Palette Town~

After that I was teleported to medieval city of Europe. It's actually Venus Fort LOL

The interior's just so amazing must take photos!

#reallynofilterone

~ ♥ ~

The rest of the evening was just us window shopping so let me just fast forward to dinner. We stopped by a "family restaurant", I don't remember where exactly but it was a few stops away from Gotanda.

I ordered some mix meat plate set that also comes with Japanese-style hamburger. Yesss, another hamburger (*´∀｀*)

Danny's combination of fried rice with chicken, mini pizza and fries with sausages.

Naoko's Japanese style set.

Phew~ Took me longer to get this post done 'cuz I needed to sort and edit some photos.

More up next time, good night!

Summer 2014 in Japan: Yoyogi Park & Meiji Shrine

Greetings~!

Finally, catching up with blogging about Japan again. Past weeks have been about charging up, reading all the books I've procrastinating on and feeding my obsession for instagram LOL

Just a month ago I was in Japan and I'm missing being there already!

It was summer, so the perfect time for enjoying the sight of blooming hydrangaes. I love these cute pompom flowers! Initially, I wanted to visit Hakusan Jinja which is famed for accommodating thousands of hydrangaes bushes but my already-cramped schedule wouldn't allow it..

Still, I didn't know you can find them in Yoyogi Park as much as they're a regular sight in Japan. Not as many but still take lotsa photos hahaha

More hydrangaes~~

This one was taken with my Samsung S5, can you believe how clear is it?! *Impressed*

Went to Yoyogi really early in the morning and had my simple breakie there which I bought from Lawson.

Largest dorayaki I've ever had and had to skip lunch afterwards because I was so full WTH

Cream bun which is equally as fluffy and sweet as the dorayaki. This is the first time I'm glad I actually had bitter coffee to go with the buns ( =a= ;)あますぎる！

After a short stroll around Yoyogi, I headed to Meiji Shrine, my now favorite place in Tokyo! I don't know how to put it in words but it gives me a feeling of tranquility which I appreciate.

The torii gate leading to the shrine, so huge!

Then barrels of sakes lined together on the way towards the shrine.

Went to pray and then explore the shrine area. At one corner, dozens of ema boards a.k.a. wishing boards decorates the booth. I bought one too for 500yen besides an omamori from the nearby booth.

Someone's got a very bold wish. Saw that and I was like, "Ohkayyy...".

When I showed my omamori to my colleague, she displayed her own collection kept inside her handbag. Apparently she collects LOTS of them. I read about omamori online so I was really curious and asked "Wouldn't the deities fight among themselves??" and my friends went huh? ( =.=;) Not sure if its just me reading too much..

My first omamori~

Witness this wedding procession in the shrine area and the groom's a gaijin! Silently pray they have a blissful marriage and at the same time wishing the same would happen for the couple whose been very welcoming as to let me stay with them when I was in Japan (Ov≤)-☆

Just before I left, I went to check out Kiyomisa Well, one of Tokyo's "power spot". There's a history behind the well and the shrine, for that check Google. I'm too lazy to narrate them here.

This is Kiyomisa well~ The water's amazingly crystal clear and when I showed my sis she initially thought it was a dried up well ( =v=; ) Touched it and refreshingly cold!

I sort of believe the whole wish-granting power thingy and have the photos as the wallpaper on my phone hahaha

A teahouse along the journey.

By the time I left, I've have bags of omiyages from teas to keychains and Hello Kitty dolls (=v=)v

Oh, and the drip coffee's from Nagoya. I found a shop which sells coffee beans and lotsa coffee brands. Coffee haven indeed!!

Those small kimono print containers contain green tea and they've got a really distinctive taste to it (O▽O)b

The little pink packets are sakura tea. Yes, SAKURA TEA!!

Didn't need to think twice to add them into my shopping basket LOL. The prettiest tea I've ever seen! Other photos are on my Instagram here and here.

Since we're on the topic of omiyage, just sharing the rest I've got the entire trip from Japan~

That's all for now~!