My first tattoo!

Firstly, I'd like to start off this post by saying it was not a spur of the moment thing, because tattoos are like pets, it's for ever. Treat the decision of getting one with respect. And once you did, let the excitement take you over! =)

I've been sitting on the decision of getting one for 2 years. I know, it's such a long time but I was concerned about my sensitive skin and wasn't sure about what I wanted to get. It just didn't feel right at that time. Then lately, quite a lot has happened (both good and bad) and I wanted something to remember them by.

Everything started to fall in line and if there's an appropriate time to get a tattoo, now would be it. I've recently lost one of the greatest Christmas 'present' I've ever had (I got JC on the 27th December, 12 years ago) and she was the best present I could ever asked for. Sadly, she'd past away one and a half month ago. This tattoo will be a Christmas gift to myself this year, something to remind me of the gratifying pain I've gone through having to bury my favourite fluffball, my best friend in the ground.

With 23 days left to close the book on year 2014, I have finally decided to get the tattoo I wanted for close to a year now -- a worldmap on my wrist, as a reminder to travel more and stay humble. I traced over a selected map and sent the artwork to the tattoo artist. She told me it's doable and managed to slot me in amongst her busy schedule.

My tattoo moodboard, so to speak

I did quite a lot of research about the process, the after-care as well as looking up some of the artists' portfolios. I gravitated towards one of the artist's strokes & line works and asked she could be my appointed tattooist. And from then on, the rest is history.

Close-up of the tattoo (right after the session)

I am extremely happy with the final outcome and that I've finally gotten one of the items ticked off my bucket list!

Here are some of the things I figured you'd like to note if you're thinking of getting inked too:
1) Know what you want, bring reference images if you're still figuring out some ideas and needed advice
2) Do not insult the artist by haggling or offering a below-average price
3) Yes, it does hurt getting a tattoo but it was better than I expected. I'd said it's a 3~4/10 if I were to rate the pain on a scale of 1-10.

Well, there you go, my first tattoo experience. Some say getting a tattoo is addictive, but while I'm ecstatic about my current tattoo, I think it will be a while before I think of getting another one. =)

"Not wanderlust. This is a lust for wonders."

With love,
KC

Happy 2013! =)

Hi, I am back, for good. Been putting off blogging for a really long time now but I am back for good now. This is gonna be the first post since I got here to UK. As of yesterday (5th January ‘13) I have officially lived in Portsmouth for 4 months now. Life is good here, very much different than back home, but home is still where my heart belongs *cough* besides New York *cough*

Since I got here, I was so used to the instant-ness and fastness of using Facebook, forgoing what had been keeping me sane – writing. I guess I should have seen it coming, hours and days are slipping out of my fingers, my life is spinning out of control, fast and vain. Days were spent lingering around the high street, delving in the short satisfaction of bringing home a new paperbag every time. I don’t listen to music anymore, I rarely write, and I don’t THINK anymore. Living life as it is passes and letting 2012 ( a wonderful year ) ended without a proper closure, I must say it was bleek and hurtful (to myself). Luckily, I have had my last straw and took sometime alone lately thinking and counting my blessings.

Just wrapped up a two-weeks trip around UK and it was amazing. Had an extra week after that to stay home and sloughed around. It was a pretty awesome winter break. =) Watched a movie yesterday “Under the Tuscan Sun” and the ending really caught me off guard, got me thinking sometimes, you really needed that someone to remind you how lucky you are, that you have been granted everything you ever wanted, you just need to see thing in different light.

A wonderful movie not to be missed ~ Wenz, you heard me? ^^

School is starting next week, and I have no game plan. Yet.

Six days have passed since the new year, and I have no resolutions. Yet.

Four months into my one year abroad, and I have not truly settled in. Yet.

28 days to go…

还有二十八天，我就离开家，去一个陌生的环境求学。 虽然不是梦寐的美国，但是一个离梦想很近的地方。近来我想了很多， 发觉了很多，总结得来真的很老土， “要失去，才会珍惜”。

到英国读书，我害怕的， 并不是距离，而是那一年的时间。 每天醒来就会见到的面孔， 二十八天后， 会是一个奢侈。不想在这里细细地描述他们，因为我知道这篇文章会在我十三个小时的机程内，不断地在我脑海回响。只怕会哭得稀里哗啦的，停不下来。

又或许，我比自己想像得更潇洒，可能过了闸门，就能抛弃那家人的影子，专心开始人生一段极之精彩的路程。 但那天到来之前，我会慢慢地，好好的， 倒数着离开日子得到来。

Tioman, for the First three times~ <3

I am leaving for UK in a month’s time, and one last trip to Tioman is on my must-do list. After waiting months for B’s semester to finish, I finally got my chance to set foot on this beautiful little quirky island again, for the third time.

I have got to say, everytime I am here, things are new. The company, the people, the weather, etc etc… With high expectation of a galore of eye-candy like last time, well, I kinda enjoyed too much teasing Zin, babe and a few more people who had been there with me before. Sad to say, this trip, well, ‘supply’ did run low this time *if you know what I mean*

Anyhow, I wanted to post these on Facebook earlier, but I figured, a picture’s worth a thousand words, but sometimes, those thousand words aren’t exactly what you wanted to say, ain’t it? So, I am putting them here first, make it properly captioned~ haha, for what it’s worth.

We didn’t go snorkeling this time around, just solid chilling like a sloth on the beach and reading books I’ve been putting off for a long time. And please, bear with me with the self-candid shots throughout this blog – the downside of traveling with a guy who prefers living in the moment rather than setting out tripods trying to capture it instead. ^^ It is a new ‘old’ line of thinking that I would like to grasp, after being torment by the easy access to Facebook sharing and all.

*moo, if you were here, I bet we’ll have thousands of pictures again~ lol *

Anyway, here’s Tioman, through my eyes, for the third time. (Oh, my gratitude to those reading up to this line before skipping more words to pictures ^^ you’ve made my day <3 )

Pack pack packed!

Setting off at 6am, and here we are at 12! ^^

The best part of Tioman? Everyone gets a house-cat! *meow*

Yummy breakfast that comes with the Lodging @ Nazri’s + my makeshift ND Filter ^^

This is us, after cycling from Tekek …
*Zin, if you are seeing this, cycling in Tioman is NOT fun… it hurts your butt, well, MY butt, and I almost get run over by cars or bikes every 5 minutes. So, I am with you on walking to campus in UK*
AND WIPE THE SMUG GRIN OFF YOUR FACE, I KNOW YOU’RE HAPPY


Curry Noodle for simple brunch




Prepping for dinner ~ If only moo is here ~ =(


This is what girls and guys do differently before dinner~

My new found FAVOURITE???

Pineapple Rum + Nicholas Spark + Sunset by the beach *heavenly*

Pizza before dinner + Dinner! Bikini bod is so overrated!

Kitty with a moustache~ ^^

Bad kitty, for harassing us during dinner time by jumping up our table

Trying desperately to get my stubborn skin tanned~

Next time, tanning lotion instead of sunblock~ Liking my new bronze lather~ hehe

Read/ Swim/ Tan/ Read/ Swim/ Tan/ Read/ Nap/ Swim

Damn, life’s a beach, and I wish I could live it everyday ^^

And you bet! How could I not munch on this yummy before I go~

Chicken Cheese Burger and Chips @ Mawar Restaurant, only then I realised that the chef was certified as a Club Med Culinarian! No wonder the food tastes so good!

How about some touristy shot?

Caught napping in nets~

And NO, this is not what you think~

It is a child running while I was taking pictures in HDR mode~ No worries~

A updated map of ABC, with a new dive shop coming in~

My essentials~ I am finishing this book soon~ Wee~ Good read!

The guy who has different expressions for every single shot, I wish I can do that~

My favourite + an old pal from my first trip to Tioman…

Shella + Zin, do you think remember her? ^^

Flashback from April 2010:

A father&son duo, reading books with a hiking headlight, this is such a precious scene.

Time to go, and my heart was sinking, deep into the sand…

Laying around in the sands got my lovebites from our sandy friends – sandfly!

I’ve always been a Redang girl, used to the cleanliness of concrete buildings and advanced civilization, but Tioman has definitely changed me. It was a small island, with most of its villages mobilized by motors as the roads are not wide enough for cars, people there walked from one end to another. You don’t dress up for dinner and there were no never-ending clicks of DSLRs, just people living in the moments, not being caught up by Facebook status or entanglement from work emails. It is a sanctuary, for people who are carefree enough to leave those all behind, or at least trying to. I have never felt so well rested and peaceful for a long time. Sure, sandfly bites stings but I am just glad I recreate my love relationship with my long lost paperback friends~

Until next time, here’s Tioman through my eyes, hope if given the chance, you can give this place a shot too.

With love,

KC