Aman Resorts I Love

Sometimes, when I need to relax or destress in an instant, I go to my Pinterest board of Places. This is where I pin beautiful places from around the world (mostly hotels and selected villas - I think!), and I just need to take a look and imagine myself at that place to feel relaxed -w-

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For the longest time, the above photo was the wallpaper on my phone. I love the beach, and the palm trees, the signature hotel breakfast and the unexpected elephant in the path. So serene! The photo is from Amanwella Resort in Sri Lanka. 

Nice right nice right.

Amanwella is part of the Aman group of resort, which owns and runs properties in various exotic destinations: Bhutan, Greece, China, Japan, etc. Each resort/retreat's architecture and style is rooted in the history and culture of the location it is set in. For example, Amangalla, the other Aman in Sri Lanka has beautiful colonial styled architecture - harking back to the history of the nation, I believe.

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I must say, this other Aman property is off the hook: Aman Summer Palace, located "just a few steps" away from the East Gate of Beijing's Summer Palace :O say what!!!

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Then there's the collection of five Aman lodges in one of the most secluded nations of the world: Amankora in Bhutan. So secluded I couldn't find much photos of this resort or any of its lodges.

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But I must say the first Aman resort I discovered was actually the one in Utah - Amangiri. This would be, without a doubt, one of the hotels I would love to check in to, just for the unique experience and opportunity to say "I've been there".

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Closer to home, you will be able to find at least one Aman in Thailand and a few in Indonesia. Amanusa in Bali in particular reminds me a lot of Datai Langkawi - and no wonder, both properties were designed by same famed architect, Kerry Hill.

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The collection of Aman resorts around the world, each with a signature Aman touch but also unique to its location and built with world-class architecture, reminds me somewhat of Sekeping properties in Malaysia - but on a larger scale. *contented sigh*

Here's a cheat sheet of all Aman hotels, resorts & retreats: 

5 minute interview with myself

Q: Why haven't you been blogging?
A: Blogging hasn't been a priority lately. Even more worryingly, I have not been journalling or writing in my diary.

Q: For how long?
A: A very long time! I was surprised at the huge gaps I left since April in my diary. Usually I'd write in my diary at least once a week to update and remind myself of the funny, interesting and unique things that happened.

Q: How does that make you feel?
A: It makes me feel sad, actually. Beyond what I wrote or posted on Facebook (which is quite sparse), I don't really remember what happened in between. What have I made of the time given to me? I had not recorded it and have no way of saying whether I used it well.

Q: Do you know what caused the gap?
A: I think it was life getting in the way, but mostly, because I didn't put it as my priority (You know how people say "I'm too busy to do x, I'm too busy to meet y, I'm too busy to start z"? It's not that they are too busy - it's just that they don't see x, y and z as priority. If you really wanted or had to do it, you would do it, no matter how much or little time you have. The rest are excuses). But I have been facing some mental blocks lately which is very frustrating. I don't know how to overcome it because I don't know if this mental block is real or I just made it up.

Q: What are you listening to on Spotify?
A: OMG I thought you'd never ask! I have this one playlist which I played almost ALL the time I was driving (so like twice a day) and it only has 24 songs. I'm a bit siao like that because when I find a song I like I will listen to it multiple times because I like it, and also because I'm too complacent to find new songs. Spotify will list these as most played: one dance, mome's aloha, goldroom's embrace, flume's never be like you, cheap thrills, pity party, (IKR LIKE WHO HAVE I BECOME i actually considered going for ultra singapore LOL) and billie ellish's ocean eyes (astronomyy edit). I like ocean eyes because it's calm and makes me calm in jams/helps me not to rage drive. kk here you go:

a week in april

It's been a long week at work, so let's talk about non-work related stuff.

Weather's been crazy hot lately and the added haze from peat fires don't help. If you don't use air cond while sleeping, like me, you'll sleep on a burning bed and wake up with sweat on your back. Though there was one night this week (Thursday?) where I woke up quite cold. Me gusta.

Started the week off on Sunday night with dinner with my mum at Nando's. Surprising how empty it was - I had always expected eateries to be packed to the brim on weekend nights! "Middle of the month ma, not pay day yet," my mum said. Ahhhh no wonder.

Then we (I) made a big purchase and applied for some financial stuff because it made more long and short term sense than the other financial stuff I was holding now.

In the middle of the week I took up Spotify's RM2 for 3 months of Premium offer and didn't look back. Wow. How did I live with Spotify free before this? How can I go back to free when I've tasted Premium? RM15/month though - to make it worth my $ I'll need to open it at least once a day, every day. #engchoon

Then I bought a float from Pink and Proper. I hope it arrives to the office when I'm at the office and when someone is there to welcome it (no receptionist yet since we shifted to Level 5 three weeks ago).

Basically I used up my 2016 Q1 shopping quota this week :D

Can't wait to unplug for realz next week, ugh. Been cursing SO MUCH and UGH-ing so much at work, it's not funny anymore. Get me a swear jar, please.

The Leal Senado Building, Macau

This is the Leal Senado in Macau. It is a legislative building in the city and overlooks Senado Square, a popular tourist hotspot you can't miss while in Macau (the last photo in this post, with the iconic black and yellow mosaic). Today, the Leal Senado houses an exhibition gallery/museum and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

It is open to visitors daily, and when I was there, provided a respite from the drizzle outside. When here, walk to the garden at the back which houses a bust of Luis Vas de Camoes, a Portuguese poet who was also an officer in Macau back in the days.

I love the blue and white tiles present throughout the building - a common art style among the Portuguese, which also lends an air of serenity throughout. 

just one of those days

"some days are just not worth living", my emo mind made its statement loudly at 7pm, while i sat immobile in my car, two hours after i departed KL and still hadn't reached home.

"days are just not worth living", today was just one of those days, that bump on the road, a dip, the valley, a roadblock, that annoying piece of sheet you just want to burn and watch burn to ashes.

"just not worth living", when your present makes your future look bleak, and you dread each hour and minute.

"not worth living", when the world is too busy spinning to notice, and all you want is for someone to say "don't worry about today, man"

"worth living" 

these are the kind of days to find your own meaning

paranoia

i can't help but feel like every time i write something here, someone's out there, scrutinizing every sentence and reading too much into every word.

is that you?

truth

One thing I wish I knew when I was younger is the importance and function of the truth. It's very important to know the truth of the values you hold to be true to yourself. I'm not saying this to sound like I know it all, and neither do I know all values which I hold true, but I do know that it is important to know your TRUTH. When challenges and tough times come, you will know the true North Star within you which holds you and grounds you, and keeps you anchored. It is not to give you self-righteousness, nor does it give you the right to look down on others. So many times have I found courage and strength within the Truth that I hold in me, and so many times has it been a solace - especially evident when no one seems to be in the same boat as I am,

"you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Reminiscing 2015

This post is to remember the fun stuff I did this year.

Travels
- Traveled to Bintan, Indonesia and Singapore with Jon & his parents
- Traveled to Macau and had the best time ever
- Weekend trip to Penang with fam (minus one sis)
- Day trip to Sekinchan with fam
- White water raft-ed at company retreat @Gopeng

Relationship
- LDR'd it up with Jon (1 year of LDR this February!)
- Got to be a bridesmaid, TWICE!

Work
- Had most expensive meals at Zipangu and Strato @ Troika. Thanks, work.
- Left with 4 annual leaves at end of Dec (this never happened while at work. I always took over the amount!)

Skillz
- Learnt how to skate and got gifted a longboard <3
- Gained additional knowledge on personal financial management
- Was enrolled in a 3 month leadership program which was truly beneficial

I also had disappointments this year but why mull over it when mulling over good times is way better?

I tell people that December has been a busy month for me, but truth be told, it was not a busy month for me. It was a normal month with the same amount of workload, but I consciously chose not to prioritize my life portions better, and instead allowed myself and my time to be swept up in the waves of work. In the midst of all that, I lost touch, denied myself what truly mattered and regretted some of the decisions I made. Now I know better. God first, everything else later. I don't care what you think.

Through last days of December, I also quietly observed my one year anniversary at my workplace. Awesome. It's been an awesome year. On the first day of my job in 2014, I told myself: One year. I'll give myself one year to see what social media is like in another agency, how they run things, and see how much I can learn and grow here. I want to see how far I can run in one year. After that, I will choose to do what my heart desires - work and travel overseas, help my mum with her job, find a job in Klang. Now that the one year is up, I realized that it wasn't really a goal I had given to myself. It was just an aim. I can't even measure how far I moved because that goal wasn't measurable. Because of that, I am somewhat still at square one - the same place where I was in 2014.

I did manage to give some time and thought to what I would want to achieve for 2016. I want to be able to go overseas for an extended period of time this year, preferably for a year, and preferably to work and travel. Be a fruitful person, be part of the solution. I want to be able to be someone who can help others be who they are meant to be. I want to help people pay their bills and not worry about their finances.

I want to be a loan shark.