Simply Me..

Hi all..

Sorry for being so slow..

I dun hav access to all ur emails.

so i put the link here for the pic.

Hope you guys will be able to see it.

http://tinatans.googlepages.com/home

I was rather sad for the last few months.

I look at my bank account and felt pathetic. So little.. A miserable 3 digit figure in the account.

Many people around me are going places. Europe, China, US, and me just a frequent Thailand visitor, thanks to AirAsia.

Then i think to myself.. why am i so poor. I wanna go UK! Wanna go Europe! Grow, money GROW!!!!! I’m about to go crazy.

Reasons are clear, too many commitments. With my salary, i’m barely surviving with car loans, house loans, and contributing monthly to my family.

The house took most of my money, all my savings went to equipping the house to make it a home. I was doing a whole session of self pitying and then my wise friend gave me 2 scenarios.

Scene 1:

A man who wants to enjoy his life and dun want to be tied to paying bank loans. Every month his savings brought him to many countries and he had the most amazing experience. He hits 30 and the whole world starts rushing him to marriage and he realize he has no money to get a house. Then only he starts saving.

Scene 2:

A man struggling with house loans and car loans every month. Can only travel through the internet and discovery channel in Astro. Get ready for commitments and when he hits 30, he is ever ready for marriage and ready with house for his family. Car loans becomes history after 5 years, and with the extra money every month, he goes travelling whenever he is capable to.

Here comes the great Eventually Theory from my wise fren. I am struggling with loans, but i will come through it one day. I dream of going places, but that can wait. I can go places anytime.

But EVENTUALLY, we need to have a home by ourselves. EVENTUALLY, we will need to have a car. EVENTUALLY, we will need to get married and settle down. What i’m doing now, i’m settling all the EVENTUALLY stuffs first. Since eventually, i will have to do it anyway rite?

Otherwise, if i had been spending the money on clothes and temporary happiness, when the time comes when EVENTUALLY items comes knocking on the door, then only we wake up and… arghh!! no money for it! Time to get a house! NO money. Time to get married! No money!!! My fren told me, dun ever be in that situation.

So, i smile at myself, EVENTUALLY Theory rocks!!! Haha!

But then again, sometimes i think, what if i drop dead the next minute. Then i would have missed out all the fun.

Other people would have been everywhere. Me? Just working and working and working to pay of bills, bills and more bills.

So i decided to do the things that i want to do, which I can afford, and which i can survive paying bills and still not live with regrets. If you like ballroom dancing, Go for it! A friend of mine actually goes to hip hop class, despite being the oldest learner there. Kudos for her!

Wanna learn swimming, GO! You only live once! Wanna do crazy stuffs, experience stuffs, there’s always a way, but Eventually theory is true. Sooner or later, you will face the Eventually, it’s better to be ready than not to be ready for it when it strikes.

So i’m pretty glad with what i have now. I’m going for music lessons now. Life is good. I love the Eventually Theory.

The 3 most important words in a relationship is not "I love you". It is "I am sorry". I learn this from a married couple who shared their experiences, and it is so true.

As i think back.. "I love you" is so often much easier to be uttered than "I am sorry".
To say "I love you".. anyone can say it. Anytime, anywhere.
But when disagreements and quarrels and angers comes in, pride takes over. Sometimes, our pride works so hard that we can say: "I love you. But You were wrong."
Worse, we can know that we are wrong.. but our brain keep on squeezing and turning for excuses (Ok! You were right.. BUT…) or when patience is hardly used, we suddenly become so patient in waiting for the other person to apologize. In other words, Cold War. The word "Sorry" is sealed in a safe deposit box which we swallowed the key.

It is the most important words in a relationship, cos it is a sincere "I am sorry" that save most of the days. Not "I love you", but "i am sorry".
I am sorry and a warm hug…. it would melt any anger to your partner. Of course, you have to mean it when you say it! Even if u dun really mean it, it works half the time.

Giving in, controlling our pride, and admit ones mistake is the secret to a long
successful relationship. And all these sum into three beautiful words: I am sorry.

Anyone can say I love you, but to say I am sorry, it takes a Man to do it.

Recently.. many unfortunate or should i say.. not so fortunate things had been bugging me. There are good stuffs along the way once in a while too i must say, but these not-so-fortunate events had been quite an impact for me and my normal daily life.

1. Stopped by ‘police’ in Kuala Terengganu

I was in Kuala terengganu with a group of frens. We were coming back from Redang and decided to stop by for some sight seeing in kuala terengganu. We were waiting for 2 of our guy frens to buy us some mineral water. Suddenly got a phone call from one of them, saying that they are stopped by some local police and asked us to go and help them. There were 7 of us, 2 stopped by police few blocks away, and the 5 of us waiting in the travel agency. We decided that 2 of us go bringing along the tour agency’s boss just in case something bad happen, we would have some good help.

As the 2 arrive with the owner of the travel agency, they saw the 2 poor guys
surrounded by a big crowd, with a group of plain-clothed malay men questioning them. After a while, we found that they are forcing our frens to go to the police station with them in their van, to be identified by some lady for some crime that happened the night before.

They were very fierce and they even go to the extend, "kalau awak lari, saya gari awak!" and "kalau kamu tak ikut, kamu tak hormat polis!"
We thought the travel agency’s boss would help, but instead he said:
"err..i think u guys follow them back la.. dun worry.. nothing one.. "

……………………….. *pengsan

Later we found from our fren that they had told them that we are only tourists and we are not local. We had a flight to catch. But the so-called police refused to accept and force us to produce our travel documents which we left at the travel agency. And when my frens told them that they want to call for help from the rest of us in the agency, he said : "panggil lah! ada berapa? 2? 3? 10? panggillah! lagi banyak lagi baik!"

Alot of arguments followed and the crowd grew bigger. THen in the end.. another 2 chinese fella passed by, and one of the ‘police’ said… ok la ok la.. saya cari mereka. Then my frens quickly left the place.

It could have ended bad, no one knows who they were, cos they were plain-clothed. And the identification they produced, were some laminated card which was already torn and old. If they were dragged into the van, i guess the trip might just turned into a disaster with some robbery/kidnap/murder case.
It was a scary thought, but glad we all came back safely.

2. Car banged by lorry.
- i must say, this is the most bizarre of the rest. i parked my car nicely at the designated car park in my apartment area. usually i do the normal parking, but dat day, i decided to do reverse parking, and i parked opposite a lorry. In between the lorry and my car is the road for cars to drive thru. the front of my car was facing the front of the lorry.

The next morning, i woke up.. as usual.. and went downstairs to get my car so i can go to work. i was shocked when i saw this whole group of ppl gathered near my car, and i could see the lorry was in the middle of the road. i went there.. and i saw the lorry had it’s front crashed to the front of my car(on the left side) and also the front of the Waja next to mine (on the right side). My first thought was the lorry driver must have driven the lorry and banged straight to my vehicle. But i got a shock when the security guards told me… "there were no driver in the lorry, it move by itself".

when i arrived there… i got a shock of my life and didn’t manage to say anything. A chinese man came to me and asked..

"Are u the owner"
"Yes"
"U dun have to say anything, u must be confused by wat happened. Let me explain to u".

Then from the first word "Yes" to the next 3 minutes, i didn’t utter a word and he started talking and talking. According to him, in the middle of the nite, the lorry
‘Autostart’ and started moving… and came knocking my car and the car next to mine. The guards saw and went to check.. and they saw no drivers. "No driver, mesti hantu la kan!", he told me. Then after it knocked the 2 cars.. it was still ‘moving’.. and da security guard had to pull out the wires below the truck to stop it. so when i arrived to the scene, the 3 cars were ’stucked
together’, head to head.

I checked my car, and saw that one of the tyre was punctured. and i checked the car next to mine, one of the tyres was punctured as well. One thing was sure, no way to move the car: tyre punctured, and the lorry was obviously blocking and need to be towed to move it. Representatives from 2 workshops were already there, and the guy who explained to me the situation, was one of them. It was a huge crowd, people from the apartment’s management, the 2 car owners, workshop ppl, security guards, and residents. In the end each of the workshop towed 1 car, WAT A COINCIDENCE that EVERYONE HAVE A PIECE OF CAKE!

Many things followed and the workshop that towed my car was a con shop. He called and said many things and asking for some money for all kinds of fee. Many phone calls to and fro and I started yelling at the ppl working there. I called all sorts of organisations and in the end, they advised me to get my car out. As expected, another fee was charged, if i were to take my car. Not dragging things any longer, i made a good negotiation with another workshop, and manage to cover back most of my losses.

It was a crazy car accident. it will take me a long time to tell in detail wat happened. But i learn a hard lesson.

3. Being stalked.
I was swimming at a swimming pool and i noticed this guy looking at me. Feeling uncomfortable, i left and went straight to the lift.

I got a shock when he appeared seconds later and waited for the lift with me. After a while, some residents came. The lift arrived and i hold the lift by pressing the button. I signaled for them to go in and i planned to take the next lift so i do not have to be in the same lift as the stalker. The two guys went in and they stared at the ’stalker’.. wondering why he hasn’t entered. the stalker stood near the lift, put his head in and looked around, then he came out and signaled to them that he will take the next one.

I was horrified when he didn’t went in. I stood there, continue to wait for the next lift.. The lift arrived and again i hold the lift by pressing the button, this time i stared at him, wanting him to go in. Some other residents came by and this time he entered. Once he entered, i ran to the pool and told an indian family that there is this guy stalking me. As we talked, i turned and i saw the man walking back towards the pool! He then sat at the bench near the pool. I was terrified. I requested for the Indian family to escort me to the my aparmtnet, they agreed. As we walked pass him he started talking to a girl who was sitting near him. We ignored him and walked straight to the lift. I was really glad i got good help from the Indian family.

I came back down bringing my bf along this time. We went to the bench and found that the guy had left and only the girl was there. We asked her if she knows him. She said No. When we passed by he just asked her the time, and ask her if she’s Malaysian.

I’m glad i was alert.. it’s better be safe than be sorry.

4.Car got hit by security bar.

Talk about bad karma. Now that they try to implement some security at the apartment area, they installed security tags and security bars for cars to leave and enter the area. That morning as i was leaving to work, as usual, i tagged the card. What’s not so usual was the guard talked to me.. and we smiled. Then i drove my car and before i know it.. the damn bar hit the back of my car.
No big injuries but some white stains coming from the bar. Till now i still do not know why it came down and hit my car, cos I TAGGED!!!

I drove straight to work.. after a while.. i thought, actually i should ask for compensation from the management! But then.. too late, cos i had already left.
My brains always process slower when sudden things like this happens. Sigh.

5. Car got hit by motorcyclist.

This morning.. as i was happily driving to the office, i felt a sudden knock behind my car. I looked at the mirror and saw the motorcyclist falling down from his bike. I was quite stunned and was thinking.. how on earth did it came and hit me. It was quite a jam in LDP.. and slowly the cars in front of mine was moving.. without thinking..
i drove on and stopped as the cars in front of me stopped. I continue to look at the mirror and saw him standing up. The cars before me move again… and i just drove on.
After a while when i lost him from the mirror.. only i was thinking.. hey.. i should stop and check if he is alright.. at least give him a lift or something. And I SHOUlD CHECK IF MY CAR IS ALRIGHT!!
i check the mirror again, i had lost him.. and it was jam.. and i had no idea where i should stop. I called my bf.. and i told him what happened.. he said…the motorcyclist most probably had left. And i should have stopped to check my car.
My brains still functions slow at times like this. Anyway, i checked, no dent. Just a bit of scratches.

Sometimes, i really can’t imagine wat can happen next. even ‘hantu’ oso come into the picture and put some ugly colours in my life portrait… I do not know wat to say..
It had been a rather crazy few months. But i guess i have to be glad, that all these happens without any loss of life. Hey, car accidents, the sound of it already brings some chill to ppl. My dear car had 3 in a row, and i am safe from all of it.

Be thankful or not to be thankful.. I really don’t know.
But i guess we will have to look at the bright side of life at all times =)

I am blessed because:

1. There is always something that I can give.
2. I am breathing this moment. Every breath is a blessing.
2. Able to do simple things in life, as simple as walking, listening, speaking,
   and just being me.
3. I have a family.
4. I am given education.
5. I am capable of working and earning my own bread.
6. I have enough to spend, enough to give, and enough to keep.
7. I have a car.
8. There are those who loves me, and those who i love.
9. For knowing that I am blessed.

I didn’t realise how lucky I am for many years.
Recently, something strikes me that i realise, how blessed I am and had always been.
I am so lucky, that sometimes, I think that I must be born under a lucky star or
something.

I realise that so often so, in conversations, when someone talks about their grieve, another comes with another story, not to share, but hoping to be more pathetic.
Then the two starts playing the pingpong till one wins with the most ‘pathetic story of all time’.

I do not know if others had gone through it, but I did that many times. I had always able to squeeze my memories for the most ‘kesian’ story and eager to win the ‘match’. And for once, my fren suddenly shot me deep: "Ok la.. u r the most pathetic one".

My face grew pale.
And at that moment, I wasn’t proud of myself at all. Cos there was nothing to be proud of. Nothing.

But being human, we always eager to win.
Stupid conversations like this is no exception.

So, if you are a self-pitying pathetic person, quit doing so. Conversations is about sharing, not about being the center of attention or being the one with the juiciest stories.

If you have 10 reasons to feel sorry for urself, you have hundreds of reasons to be proud and happy about how blessed you are.

God bless everyone!

*************A simple yet beautiful illustration on life and marriages*******************

#Quote from a forwarded mail from my fren, Enjoy and i wish everyone would understands how faith and love can bring two ppl together, and whoever who reads this have a blissful marriage. God bless.

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A student ask a teacher, "what is love ?" The teacher said, "in order to
answer your question, go to the padi field and choose the biggest padi and
come back.

But the rule is: you can go throught them only once and cannot turn back to
pick."

The student went to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big padi,but he
wonders….may be there is a bigger one later. Then he saw another bigger
one… but may be there is a even bigger one waiting for him.
Later, when he finished more than half of the padi field, he start to
realise that the padi is not as big as the previous one he saw, heknow he
has missed the biggest one, and he regretted !!!! So, he ended up went back
to the teacher with empty hand.

The teacher told him, "…this is love… you keep looking for a better one,
but when later you realise, you have already miss the person…."

" What is marriage then ?" the student asked.

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field
and choose the biggest corn and come back.

But the rule is: you can go throught them only once and cannot turn back to
pick.

" The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat
the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked
one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.

The teacher told him, "this time you bring back a corn….
you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is
the best one you get…. this is marriage ."

I truly believe that:

1. Everything happens for a reason.
2. All man are born good or capable of doing good.
3. Whatever you are now, if you want to change to a better person, U Can!
4. God is good.
5. God will bless the good.
6. God gives us a brain to think. Use it!
7. Love is not measurable.
8. Humans are capable of betraying, be it accidentally or intentionally.
9. Destiny is in our own hands.
10. The fastest way to happiness is contentment.
11. We are responsible for our own mistakes.
12. Questions like do u mind ur gf/bf being XX older than u? $$?
    Answer is: It doesn’t matter. If it matters, then he/she doesn’t love you  enough.
13. Peers do pressure, but in the end, it’s your own determination.
14. Should not take things for granted.
15. Marriage is a decision. Be responsible of your decision.
16. Nobody is perfect. I dun expect U to be perfect, cos I am not too =)
17. Enjoy simple things in life.
18. Life is simple. It is us who makes it complicated.

This is an article from The Star (http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/8/6/lifefocus/15042698&sec=lifefocus).

"

Mother of all deceptions

I AM 34 and have been going steady for nine years with a wonderful girl who is 27.   

She says she comes from a respectable and conservative family. 

Recently I proposed and she accepted, but I still had to seek approval from her widowed mother. 

I was rather surprised to find that, at well over 60, her mother was still very attractive.   

Over tea in her daughter’s presence, she spoke very respectably and she asked me the usual questions. She did not give me any definite answer.   

Then, two days later, she phoned and asked me to go to her house. It seems she wanted to interview me alone.   

I was not to tell my girlfriend of this visit. Of course, I went because I was eager to get her approval.   

The first thing she asked was if I drank liquor. I told her that I did, but only occasionally. Immediately she brought out a bottle of whisky and two glasses.   

A man only speaks the truth when he drinks, she declared, “so, today, we shall drink and talk”.   

Reluctantly, I agreed. Before I knew it, she was asking me about my sex life.   

Then, she told me that she had never experienced happiness because her late husband could never satisfy her sexually.   

She claimed she did not want her daughter to go through the same frustration so she had to make sure that her prospective son-in-law could “stand up to the occasion”.   

She wanted to “test” me, she said. Since I love my girlfriend dearly, getting her mother’s approval was very important to me.   

Next thing I knew, she led me to her bedroom. She started “testing” me and I was desperate to impress.   

Her verdict was that I still needed more “lessons”. She set a timetable for me and said that I had to be tutored by her.   

She set a probation of six months and I was to go for “tuition” classes at least three times a week. All this was to be “top secret” and my girlfriend was not to know anything.   

Now, I know the “tuition” was a ruse but I love my girlfriend and want to marry her at any cost, so I agreed.   

After five months, she said my probation has to be extended for another six months.   

I feel trapped. If I don’t agree, she may “fail” me.   

My dear girlfriend, who is totally in the dark about my “schooling”, says her mother has advised her to wait until I am more stable in my business.   

She is an obedient girl so I know I can’t change her mind.   

Please advise me on the best course I should take. 

Faithful Student

  Reply from the counsellor:

ARE you for real? You have been dating a girl from a traditional and respectable family for nine years and you haven’t been summoned to meet your future mother-in-law (MIL) all this time?  

It’s time you got back at your crafty MIL-to-be before you sink deeper into her Venus flytrap. She has been playing with you for her pleasure.   

But, if you should tell your girl the truth, what would be the repercussion? Who would she trust and believe?   

Talk to your girl and voice your own frustration at having to wait for her mother’s approval. Explain that you do not wish to subject the relationship to the pressure of filial piety that’s unreasonable.   

Insist that you visit her at home, so that her mother could see how committed and in love you both are. Bring up the issue of marriage openly, perhaps in the presence of relatives from both parties. 

Do not continue the “lessons”. Tell your future MIL that you are disgusted with yourself, that you could never look her daughter in her eyes without feeling guilt and regret. Ask that the lessons be stopped for you are both committing a terrible sin. 

Your future MIL is a very selfish, devious woman. If she loves her daughter, she would not be using you for her sexual manipulation.   

She is either sick or so intense in her desires that she would sacrifice her child’s happiness for her own bizarre sexuality.   

Tell this woman that you would prefer to tell the truth than continue to have sex with her. For as long as you allow her to blackmail you, you will never be free to love.   

Do not be forced or threatened to be party to manipulated sex that’s non-consensual.

"

***********************************************************************************************

Sometimes, i really dunno who to blame… the girl, the mum or that fella..

I had 3 reaction when i first read this:

1. Shake my head-> is this for real or wat? am i reading rite?

2. Oh MY GOD!!

3. FAITHFUL STUDENT?!!!!!!

My deepest sympathy….

        Me and weimin, my parents and his mother went to Bali on the 30th July 2006.

Managed to get 6 FREE air asia tickets!! but the sis couldn’t join the last minute.

But it was an amazing trip nevertheless! If we managed to find time for the rafting, it would be perfect! But 4 days 3 nites just dun seem enuf. Here are some pics of the beautiful Bali and how we spend our time together there:

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  My mum and Auntie Sok Yee in front of Hard Rock cafe on the first nite.

The cafe was barely half full, Bali was bombed twice. So tourist deserted most cafes and bars for foreigners. We managed to visit the memorial and saw 300+ names carved on the stone where the first bombing happened. 2nd bombing is near Matahari Square shopping complex, which is now operating normally.

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Gunung Batu - still an active volcano. But the scenery is B-E-A-U-tiful!!

with lakes in between the mountains, the ashes from the last eruption covering parts of the mountain with some new greens growing… it’s just wonderful.

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All of of us …

Posing in front of Mount Batu.

And Papa distracted!

=P 

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we passed by a very beautiful paddy field, and had to stop our driver to take some pictures. An old farmer was kind enuf to borrow weimin his creative self made cap! but we pay him some ‘tips’ in the end. Somehow, this tipping culture has becoming a habit in this little island.

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I forgot the name of this marketplace!!!! But it is huge, and sells many things! But have to bargain bargain bargain. Many buildings and many stalls and some buildings as talll as 3 storeys. The white umbrellas gives this place a very Balinese look.

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View from top of the market place.

I was standing at one of the building on the 3rd floor

taking the shot.

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Next stop Ulu Watu for seafood dinner plus sunset.

My darling parents, with their names written on the sand.. haha.. But I can’t help but notice me and weimin’s shadow in between them. So we took another one.. =P

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Can see which is which rite?

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hehehe..

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Happy family.. waiting for the sun to set…

and dinner to be served..

Notice Auntie’s cute ‘V’ sign?

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Beautiful view, sun setting, with a local selling kites..

the airport is just on our far right.. and once in a while we see a plane flying pass by the golden yolk…

Breathtaking..

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  Our Dinner!!!

Prawns, self pick. Fish, self pick. Everything on the table, we pick by ourself, all freshly made. But somehow, their style of cooking doesn’t suit our malaysian tongue so much… =P..

we forgot to specify to them how to cook it.. :S..

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3rd day. Dolphin tour!

We departed to sea at 530 am! They should really spend some money on life jackets.

But the sea was extremely calm. I guess the southern side of Bali has higher waves compared to the north side of Bali.

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me, auntie and weimin on another boat.

The weather was extremely cold… Brrr… But we were all set to chase the dolphins!

Wild dolphins… here we come!!

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Papa and mama.. saying hi to the fishes and the dolphins in the sea.. haha…. No la.. just saying hi to the fishes..

But the dolphins keep on following our boat and jumped out of the water when we pass by, failed to take any pictures, cos we really dunno  when they want to do the group leaping. But we managed to capture nice video of them performing ‘live’! But me newbie in this bloggie thing… not sure how to post it though.. hehe..

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Crazy weimin.

He actually changed on the boat to his swimming trunks with a towel wrapped around him.                                                                                   Love the sea too much i supposed. we managed to bring bread.. naively thinking that we can feed the dolphins.

But.. ehem.. dolphins eat fish, they dun eat bread. ahhaa… sigh.. farnee la.. i wonder why we got confused.. so we only feed the fishes.

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This place is called Bedugul.                                                                     

the temple is in the middle of the lake.

Really nice view. but freezing cold…

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wah.. Lengluis and lengchais posing…

haha.. still in Bedugul.

It took me some time to get these ppl standing in those position.. hehe…

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Bali’s delicacy. Babi Guling!!

It’s everywhere in the streets! so we decided to try. As Bali consists of 85% Hindu and small percentage of Muslims, they sell pork everywhere. Sate Babi especially.. from day 1 to day 4.. it’s always sate babi, sate babi and sate babi.. haha..

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This is how Babi Guling is served.

It is something like roasted pork.

I dun really like it though.. looks like a whole plate of cholestrol to me… =P

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Next stop, Dreamland!!

Guys.. u have to go there..

As the names says it.. Plenty of topless women walking around. haha..

But timid me.. dun dare to take any pictures of them. so do enjoy the next pic:

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Hahaha…

Same oso.. topless.. haa… anyway, beaches in southern Bali isn’t really suitable for swimming. But it’s best for surfing! the waves are extremely high.. and i had nightmares of tsunami for 2 days.. :S guess i’ve never seen such high waves in any beaches i’ve been to. Phuket, redang, pattaya.. Bali.. is totally different. Weimin, tried to swim in Dreamland.. and he strained his neck due to the high waves. And Auntie got breathless while she was swimming.. and was helped by a young man from Greece..

So.. my advice to those going..  try not to swim if u r not a good swimmer there… besides, the surf boards floating around might just knock ur head.

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Monkey temple!!

It’s on a cliff.. and the sea hitting the side of the cliff.. it was another beautiful place to visit in Bali… MUST GO!! and.. we see another sunset on top of the cliff..

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Here’s the monkey!!

These monkeys are really aggressive. Weimin’s specs nearly got snatched. Auntie’s specs got snatched. And a lady’s hair ban was pulled by these monkeys.

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Both at first ‘action’.. dun want to take off their specs..

After witnessing those snatch thiefs in action, only they take off their specs. Auntie’s specs got snatched by one of the monkeys… but the workers there managed to bring it back.. reward? Tips.. hahaa.. sigh.. we wonder if those workers are the ones training these monkeys to snatch things..

It was a memorable experience… Auntie got quite a shock.. but was ok after a while..

Last day in Bali..

My handsome Papa.. and this is Mercure Hotel.

The hotel where we stay during the trip. It is right in Kuta with the beach opposite our hotel.

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Me berangan to be a Balinese gal.. ahhaha.

Anyway.. this is the beautiful view we enjoy while we swim..

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My mum and dad….

Haha.. FYI.. Mum had been staying on that spot from the moment she step into the pool .. till she left the pool.. Didn’t move a bit! ahhaa… always afraid of water.

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Pretty Balinese lady… hehehee…

My Mama!

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Taking a few more shots before we leave the hotel.

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Nice hat!

But we were lazy to bargain..

so we just took a picture of it, without buying it.. haha.. Malaysians.. I guess Balinese ppl would prefer European tourists than us… Too difficult to get $$ from us.. =P

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Me and Wei Min In front of Hard Rock Hotel near our hotel.

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Last walk at the beach before we leave for the airport.

Kuta Beach with weimin pretending to be cool. haha

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Even as we depart to Kuala Lumpur, the view from the plane was beautiful. The airport is at the seaside, and we keep on seeing different planes flying across the sea where our plane was. Bye bye Bali!

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It was a fruitful trip. THe cost was around 1k per person inclusive of EVERYTHING. The most memorable moment, has got to be when i see my Mum holding my Dad’s hand. 24 years of my life, i had never seen my parents holding hands. Guess the romantic Bali can warm the coldest hearts.

The trip.. 1k each.. the joy we get there, the family reunion, seeing my dad holding my mum at the beach.. Priceless…

    

     I was reading about mahatma gandhi.. and can’t help to be inspired by this great man and his wisdoms. And here, I am able to write my thoughts and views with no offence to annyone at all.

     I am amazed by his determination in believing what he think is right and the extreme that he went through to achieve it. Evolution is what he goes through his whole life, he is not born as a person with great courage, but through experience, trials and tests, he evolved and changed.. and he continued to do that till the end of his life.

     I am always approached by people from different religions and beliefs. Each of them coming with their own personal experience and always has something to say about its beauty. But what is the reason that I should ever be convinced or converted?

     All these while I had been seeking for Truth and ways of living as a better and happier person. As I progress, I found that Buddhism is goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or ‘way of life’. Then I slowly practice the 8-Fold Path, which I believe will take me forever to achieve. Since the day i get to know the 8-fold path, I cease to read more of Buddhism, as I believe, just by practicing these 8 rules will keep me busy till the end of my life. I strongly believe in the 8 paths and will never stop trying to walk its way.

     What is religion. Who is God. Does it really matter which label or tag u have on your head.. which religion u call your own? When approached with religious frens, I always respond by saying "self-discipline and determination" is all it takes. But somehow, certain ppl believe in "mixing with the right company" and "dipping him/herself in religious faith" to produce good. Is that really effective? I always believe that men can only be what he choose to be. men can never be forced into evil. But when we need to choose between morality faith and religious faith, how should we choose? History had told us that for men to do good, it takes goodness. But for good men to do evil, it is religion.

     I can’t help to find relief and common view as i read about Mahatma Gandhi: "As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side." How true. In the end, it is still what is deep down inside you.

     I’ve seen man from one religion continuously encouraging another man to abandon his original belief, convincing him of salvation. Some go to the extend, of severing ties with families and breaking hearts of the family members. All these for the salvation that one man promised. I had always wonder, how can you promise one of salvation, when you have never tasted it? Those you thought have tasted it, has no way of assuring you they are in sweet heaven. Nothing is assured, what is assured now is breaking of hearts, and breaking of ties. If he dies, and rose to heaven, I would say congratulations. But if he leave this earth, and found no sweet heaven, who is he to blame? A convincing liar, or just dumb him to follow. He lost not only what is after life, but also what he supposed to have before he die. I think that whoever who preach or evangelise have to be very careful in what they promises. This is not some sales which needs to achieve certain target. But this is human life and faith we are involving.

     I’ve also seen man who converted and got discriminated by ppl from the religion he had left. They gave him punishment, and by many means force him to return to his original faith. I wondered what is the strength and power behind these ppl who punishes him. Is it purely religious faith? or is it mere ego whereby there are groups of ppl who can’t stand ppl turning their back against what they hold so strongly to. It is like 2 stubborn heads debating. They gain nothing if the win the debate, nor they lose anything if they give in. But they just want to win. They will shout their lungs out, when verbal speech gave no hope, they begin holding up their fist. I always have doubts when I see men using religious labels as their purpose of doing things. I wonder, is that real? Or it’s just sound nice and noble to put it in religious terms. I always.. always.. always wonder..

     I wondered, what was the original motive when Muhammad or Christ or Siddharta Gautama had when they preach. Was it to bring a better life to mankind, or to create different powers and group ppl with different names. "I have come to lead you and from today onwards, you will call yourself XX and you will form a group!" Is that it? I certainly think it was for good and nothing else. But what do we have now? It’s funny how time can change things.

     Gandhi said: "The sayings of Muhammad are a treasure of wisdom, not only for Muslims but for all of mankind." Later in his life when he was asked whether he was a Hindu, he replied: "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew." I can’t help but smile. I feel like finally I have found someone with such similar thoughts as mine. I am never as strong as Gandhi, nor will I ever will be. I’m not even worthy to claim to have 10% of his wisdom. But at least, all that I had argued all this time, finally found some support from a great man, or should i say, I supported his views as well. I had argued with a full time worker in a church and also a good fren of mine. I can’t help but agree that there are truths in Bible, archeologist, scientist had proven many facts from bible. But what about the Quran? Two different books from 2 different time, delivered by different person can end up the same. Isn’t it amazing? If you claim that one is true, on what grounds do you have to say that the other is not? I can only be amazed by its wonder, but remain quiet about its differences. I have no idea how much they agree with me, but I hope they see my point. I guess the differences in a way, made human learn to respect each others differences and learn to live together in a humble manner.

     I would never find out which is the Truth. Millions had questioned and hundreds of years had passed. If human is capable of answering, we would have found the answer. God is Truth? Which God? Gandhi said Truth is God. I can’t help but agree.