It’s been awhile…
I got home July 10 and my last blog entry was July 26 and…it’s now August 31. Where has the time gone…
Somedays it feels like yesterday I was enjoying home-made laksa but it’s now almost been two months since I got home and I will admit I have been quite lost. It’s amazing what being away from home and travelling can do for a person, but be prepared when it all comes to an end. And for me I just wasn’t ready. So, here I am in Scotland. The number one item on my bucket list. Check. I’ve been here for just over a week and it’s been amazing. I arrived in Glasgow on August 22 where I spent a few days wandering the city. On Friday, August 24 I was lucky enough to have a friend come and get me, take me on a wee, what Scottish say…, tour around the country, to the Burrell collection in Glasgow before we made our way to Edinburgh. I’ve now been here for a week and loving it. The people are so friendly and helpful it’s been easy to travel around. For the most part I have stuck around the city enjoyed a few shows at the world-renowned fringe festival but the last two days I took a tour of the country and headed to the highlands where I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and even got to try and find Nessie at the famous Loch Ness.
And now I’ve got a three days left in the country where my ancestors immigrated from before I head to London to meet the Queen. Ok well, maybe I won’t be meeting the Queen but I will take a tour around and maybe I will spot something or someone, take in a show, see the highlights before I depart and come back home. Awe…home…and hopefully when I get home I will be able to settle in, for a wee bit anyway. And then who knows where the next adventure will take me…and that’s all for now…Well till I get to a computer and can actually share with you some of the highlights in photos…
Home…
I have been ‘home’ for two weeks today. But some days it feels like I never left. So many told me that once I got back home it would feel like this. I was warned. I love my family and friends and its been wonderful to see everyone after being away about eight months but I can honestly say that I still have the travel bug, and I have a feeling it will never leave. I am fortunate enough to have some time before I head back to the real world again so I have decided that more trips are in order. Trips that may or may not include flying overseas once again, or to the next summer vacation town just up the road. Either way I am going to continue on my adventure. And to be honest I never want my adventures to end.
Even though at some point I will have to face reality, for now I am still living the dream. I will try my best to focus on enjoying the moment and am reminded of this every day. Just yesterday, for example, the acreage I am staying on of my sisters, was over run with dragonflies. And I mean overrun to the point I thought it was a dragonfly raid in both the front and back yard. I have never in my life seen anything like it. Of course I know that mosquitos and insects are what brings dragonflies alive and obviously with the amount of rain we’ve had this is what they were after. But, I couldn’t help investigate what these dragonflies were doing here. In my search I came across symbolisms of the dragonfly. Thanks to, what I am certain is a very reputable site ;o), http://www.dragonfly-site.com/meaning-symbolize.html here is what I found:
Symbolisms of the Dragonfly
- Maturity and a Depth of character
The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life.The traditional association of Dragonflies with water also gives rise to this meaning to this amazing insect. The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life.
- Power and Poise
The dragonfly’s agile flight and its ability to move in all six directions exude a sense of power and poise – something that comes only with age and maturity.
The dragonfly can move at an amazing 45 miles an hour, hover like a helicopter fly backwards like a hummingbird, fly straight up, down and on either side. What is mind blowing is the fact that it can do this while flapping its wings a mere 30 times a minute while mosquitoes and houseflies need to flap their wings 600 and 1000 times a minute respectively.The awe inspiring aspect is how the dragonfly accomplishes its objectives with utmost simplicity, effectiveness and well, if you look at proportions, with 20 times as much power in each of its wing strokes when compared to the other insects. The best part is that the dragonfly does it with elegance and grace that can be compared to a veteran ballet dancer. If this is not a brazen, lazy, overkill in terms of display of raw power, what is?
- Defeat of Self Created Illusions
The dragonfly exhibits iridescence both on its wings as well as on its body. Iridescence is the property of an object to show itself in different colors depending on the angle and polarization of light falling on it.This property is seen and believed as the end of one’s self created illusions and a clear vision into the realities of life. The magical property of iridescence is also associated with the discovery of one’s own abilities by unmasking the real self and removing the doubts one casts on his/her own sense of identity. This again indirectly means self discovery and removal of inhibitions.
- Focus on living ‘IN’ the moment
The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis.This ability lets you live your life without regrets like the great dragonfly.
- The opening of one’s eyes
The eyes of the dragonfly are one of the most amazing and awe inspiring sights. Given almost 80% of the insect’s brain power is dedicated to its sight and the fact that it can see in all 360 degrees around it, it symbolizes the uninhibited vision of the mind and the ability to see beyond the limitations of the human self. It also in a manner of speaking symbolizes a man/woman’s rising from materialism to be able to see beyond the mundane into the vastness that is really our Universe, and our own minds.
Yeah, enough said. I think you got the just and so did I after reading this.
Street Stills: Sharing stories…
“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”
– Buddha
Babi Guling in Gianyar Bali…
“Let’s try Babi Guling,” she said. My response, “what, what did you just say?”
Typical for me to one, not really hear what someone says but, two, to not really understand what they have said especially when I have never heard it before. So, hearing Babi Guiling for the first time had me confused, which obviously isn’t out of the ordinary either.
I was travelling around Bali with my boyfriend Ridley celebrating his birthday and the impending last few weeks of my year abroad when we happen to meet up with my friend Joe, a fellow traveller I met in Malacca. She is the one who introduced us to this uniquely Balinese dish.
We were in Ubud, Bali touring around on scooters meandering through village after village not sure where we were headed until we arrived at Gianyar. With absolutely not one tourist in site we knew we had reached a hidden gem in the middle of the rice paddy fields. It was past 1 in the afternoon and we were getting hungry. We pulled the scooters off the road, parked along side the locals and started to walk the streets. The town was filled with locals going about their days, selling their goods, cooking food, chatting and eating at warungs (what Balinese call a small road side stall or coffee shop), and just living life. Best part of the trip was our hour or so wandering around and finally settling in for our lunch.
Our first stop was an open air restaurant that was full of locals but no where to sit. Although this is a good sign and generally a place where you would want to try an exotic dish for the first time unfortunately due to the lack of space we were forced to keep walking. We came across another little warung so we decided to give it a try and scurried ourselves to the back. The three of us sat down all along the same side of the long table staring out to the street. It was then that I started to swat at all the flies. Small ones, big ones, it didn’t matter they were every where. I looked at my partners in crime and said, “I am so sorry, but I just can’t do it.” Within seconds Ridley and Jo both stood up and said okay let’s find somewhere else. I honestly think they were thinking the same thing but just didn’t want to be the one to chicken out. Yeah, I was okay at being the big chicken, I am kind of used to that. We went back outside and found another warung. It looked clean, the staff were friendly and we weren’t swatting flies. Yes, this was the perfect spot to try Babi Guling.
So what is Babi Guiling? Well it is a typical Balinese pork dish and especially popular in the Ubud region. The pig is stuffed and infused with spices including turmeric, coriander, lemon grass, black pepper and garlic and is traditionally spit-roasted. Slices of the pork, some of the stuffing and some odds and ends that we weren’t able to figure out is then served with nasi (rice). My first bite took my breath away. No, literally it took my breath away. I sat there coughing trying to catch my breath, getting Ridley to open up the bottle of water so I could take a big swig, all the while being starred at by the locals at our table. How embarrassing and such a me moment. After catching my breath from what I think was a bit too much chili I dug in. Well, ok maybe I didn’t dig in entirely, I ate away at the rice, the pork that I knew was pork and I will be honest I left probably half my plate. But trust me when I say that it did taste good. The pork was delicious and I would have probably eaten more had we known what exactly we were eating. Jo, in her typical brave fashion, tried everything and kept telling us to just try it. Ridley did, I did not. But in the end I am so glad we tried it and would love to try it again. But maybe this time with the help of a local who can tell us exactly what we are eating.
Street Stills: Silent Sidewalk
A silent sidewalk amongst the craziness of China Town in Singapore.
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
– Confucius
Street Stills: The lights of Rome…
“All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.”
– Orison Swett Marden
My list…
Yes. I have a bucket list. And no, in typical me fashion, it is not complete. Nor will it ever be. But going through it while being away these last few months I have realized that I have managed to tackle a few things, such as travelling solo, visiting a few places that I’ve always wanted to discover and trying food that I never knew existed. But, there are so many more things I haven’t done, or need to add. Here’s a quick snap shot of just a few of the items on my list.
#1 travel to Scotland. I have been away from Canada for about 8 months, I have travelled to Italy, and Australia as well as throughout Southeast Asia including Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei. But, yet I haven’t done the first thing on my list. Strange. But, this means that it will be that much sweeter when I do go, and hopefully I can drag my father there since it is he and my family heritage are what’s luring me there. Now, that would be an amazing journey.
#9 is to ensure I pay it forward and do some sort of random act of kindness once a month. Seriously, who adds that to their bucket list. Yeah, me. But, its more of a reminder to do the little things that sometimes can make a difference. Even as small as letting a young mother with a baby go ahead of you in line when everyone else ignores her standing there.
#11 to write a book. I have no idea what kind of book, a coffee table book, a children’s book, a novel. I just know that I want to write a book. Maybe it will be a recipe book of dishes from the various places I have visited, or of family tried and true recipes. But whatever it is I want to write it. Again, I have had all the time in the world and I could probably produce about a dozen one-page ideas or the beginning of chapters but nothing no where near completion. Technically I did accomplish this when I was about 10ish. I wrote my first book, ‘The Ball and The Box’. Maybe I should pull that out and publish it, that or may be it will give me some much needed inspiration.
#19 take a cruise. I may have to edit this one since my last ferry ride ended with my head in a bucket for a significant part of the journey.
#27 sew a quilt. My grandma made all of her grandchildren a quilt. Mine was made from patches of old material she had around the house, and had started it when my grandpa was still alive. He died when my dad was just 20. I got my quilt when I was in my early 20’s. So for over 30 years she kept that quilt till one day she finally finished it and was ready to give it away.
And that’s the last number on my list, although I have much more to add. I started one day with the intention of trying to come up with 100 things I want to do throughout my life. I got to #27. I figured why finish it in one day. I don’t think I will ever finish my ‘list’, nor do I want to. I want to keep adding and deleting and editing. That’s what makes life interesting.
What’s top on your list and when are you going to accomplish it?
Street Stills: So many choices…
Dried sausage, fish, duck…you name it and it is available in Singapore’s massive Chinatown.
“Every day brings new choices.”
– Martha Beck
Lovely Langkawi…
Awe…Langkawi.
It’s known around the world for its beaches and laid back atmosphere. And in my books it hit both marks. Travelling alone and in big cities can be overwhelming but Langkawi was so different. It was very small, quaint and easy to get around on foot. Even though I didn’t manage to get to the Langkawi skybridge, which is a must see attraction on the island, I was content with walking along the beach, strolling through the shops that lined the street and lounging.
There are two ways of course to get to this exotic locale. You either fly in or take the ferry. Since I was in Penang the the ferry runs daily to the island and is half the price of an airline ticket, so, I chose to take the ferry across. It was a 2 and a half hour journey and 2 and a half hours of my life I will never get back. It will also be a journey that I am glad I accomplished but will never, ever do again. I got on the boat around 8:30 and we left just before 9 a.m. As I sat, in the middle of the boat near to the front, I looked up and saw these little black baggies hanging from the vents. All I thought was well thank God people don’t have to puke in an awful, dirty toilet. That really should have been my first sign to abort travel, get off the boat and go back to Penang. But, I didn’t. I rode it out with my head in a bucket and then in a baggie for part of the journey. I held strong for a bit until I finally gave in and in my attempt to grab one of the complimentary puke bags well lets just say I was thankful the garbage was in front of me. Even though the journey was rough I was enlightened by the cutest young asian couple beside me who readily handed me a bag, and then quietly put another one in between us, looked at me, nodded and patted the bag just to make sure I knew it was there.
So despite my rough journey actually getting to Langkawi the charm and quaintness of the island made it all worth while.
Freckled Faces + Favourite Places 