SIMPLY DEFINING my CLOSURE

“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.” ~Unknown

The word CLOSURE keep running to me little brain after my (final or last) meeting yesterday in Vietnam and i was like trying to find that subject that i can resemble to that matter. Is it weird to feel the need for closure? For whole trip I end up exploring the notion of closure, the more convinced I become that the issue isn’t about closure per se, but rather redefining what closure is. I think these is the part where sunflower came to me mind, I have no idea as to why.. 

Is it maybe the sunflower defines that notion.. The sunflower follows the sun. There's always hope and tomorrow, simply like that.. or maybe Im talking crap right now or maybe it says that when the sunflower bend down and fall its yellow petals unto the ground, it means, ending any kind of relationship or connection or role or I don't know... maybe it doesn't. 

I was on my way to the airport after our meeting yesterday in Hanoi. I had this rather short reflection inside the car and i had this mixed emotions. I felt like I just came out from these very dark cave and I felt so good after seeing the light, it was more of a relief after coming from a crumble situation with all those tears, time and energy for few years. 

For years, I was shackled to the belief that there must be a good end to (any) bad relationship or role, no matter how bad that was and until that happens, its more glorious to move on! I had these past experience dealing with people whom I define 'my past' and clearly no matter how bad they are to me, I feel like... I was able wrapped up that situation and throw all in the bin and i felt good! Until then, that's the part to wipe those hands, clean and go about life with closure...

Sometimes, no matter how good you are to people and agonizing about tying to have these heartfelt and 'necessary' conversations with people with whom you thought you had fallouts but trying seems not to work because only to realize that you're not really important anymore. The statement goes like these... “you got yours, I got mine...” 

This morning, i thought I'm gonna play with my camera and find inspiration to define the word closure. (made me smile just now... ) simply defines as FINALITY? Letting go of what once was? (Yes, i accepted the fact that my husband is dead.) Lots of huge happenings in my life, my past that i can't undo but learning from it. My transition away from what's finished to something new. Simply trying to find something different possibilities. 

I might not have gotten everything I wanted exactly in the way that I had envisioned, but Im glad that I was able to get myself to a place where I understood and accepted a lot of things. 

I was ready to move on and learn to begin a new chapter of my life. Sigh... 

Some days it comes easier than others. There are times when I want to dwell on how much it sucks that I have to work so hard to feel okay sometimes.

On the tough days, I am learning to go inward. I practice positive self-talk, celebrate how far I’ve come, and remind myself that closure is not just one thing. I remind myself that I have the power to create all the closure I need if I keep practicing and having faith.

Lastly, I also learned that you will become a better creature of 'closure' if you don't have any regrets and guilts in your life, no matter how much money you've got, no matter how many countries you've seen or travelled or no matter how far you go, that my friend is no closure for you at all. Forgive yourself and don't grow stubborn and spoiled. Learn to have a good heart and understand that not all people are like you. Be compassionate in the name of love but not in the name of money or material things.

Maybe it’s about learning to become a detective for closure in your everyday life in order to find it in your own way.

...till then, the flowers come and go but hope it doesn't, it remains...

WEEKEND AT THE VINPEARL GOLF LAND RESORT & VILLAS

It's at least an hour and a half flight from Hanoi to Nah Trang. The flight went pretty well and yes, the sunset view up there was really good. Attempted to take photos but when you're sitting near the exit area, so awkwrd to walk around to take a perfect shot of the sunset.

Re-thinking, I think im getting used to living in a cold weather like Hanoi already, to be honest a similar weather like in Baguio, where I came from. I'm aware that summer weather is gonna be pretty hot but its good to enjoy the season this time of the year.

Landed in NAH TRANG - I always love arriving in Nah Trang, the weather, the people and the place. Not so fancy like a huge city full of traffic and the huzzling and buzzling, lots of highrise building but Nah Trang is so peaceful and zen... at least for me... ;) BUT I think its also important as well to stay somewhere located in a place where you feel at ease. VINPEARL. I thought the place is located in a great location for finding serene. The moment you arrived in the Island, all you wanted to do is leave everything (your stuff) in your hotel room and get out and enjoy the place. The sea view that is soooooo welcoming and the outdoor activities that is appropriate for any age.

Here, we arrived around 7.30 pm and when the lights are on. It's such a beauty. Vinpearl Golf Land Resort & Villas, built on a scenic and peaceful place. I thought the hotel is fabulous! What I love about this place is so new that everything inside are soooo sparkly. When staying in a new hotel, I always love exploring the place. I enjoy viewing their interior decorations, designs, the kids club, restaurants and bar and the combination of modern and cultural ambience in presenting their unique perspectives and etc.. BEAUTIFUL!

So yeah! From a cloudy weather to a blue skies.. Have a great warm weekend my beau-friends!

IT'S HARMLESS!

"We still enjoy swimming." says the couple vacationer swimming this morning at the beach. I went for a walk this morning and I've seen a bit of the dead sea grass floating covering the crystal clear waters. 

If you've been on the water in Nah Trang yesterday you've seen clear water but this morning, you are looking at dead sea grass plaguing the area. The staff here told me that this is the time of the year when dead sea grass are floating on beaches. I was thinking that it's probably the effect of the typhoon which is happening nearby countries. I've been to few beaches but I don't remember seeing dead sea grass this much. The moment I opened my curtain, I saw them floating near the shore, “fisherman are not affected as its not really covering a lot of the sea.” say's the hotel staff.

The fresh water kills the sea grass -- meaning some sea life must go elsewhere. "It's essential for their survival. Whether it be for their reproduction or just as a refuge for their habitat, without those sea grasses they can no longer reproduce or use those areas.” 

 

It was indeed a cleaning up time on for the beaches. I was looking at them collecting the brown sea grass and putting them on the boats to dispose. The cleaning took at least few days. For now, the dead sea grass come and go but at least it's not a lot like the other weeks. I've seen that tourist are enjoying their time because they have access to the sea. 

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE

The beauty of the nature always fascinates me. I don't know why but I guess I'm just someone who admire it. Yes, of course, sometimes, its scary but look for example, whenever a volcano explodes, we are scared and yet say, amazing! #Nature sometimes look ugly and yet its still beautiful. <3 

I had my mind blown a while back by Albert #Einstein's quote; “ Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” - Thought it describes not only the #environment and #emotions, #feelings.  Now, as I am re-reading it, again I am finding my head nodding in response to everything he says, like...”UNDERSTANDING is having a clear insight into ideas and feelings. We are mindful of what is most important. We go the extra mile to put ourselves in somebody else’s shoes in order to forgive. We treasure knowledge and use our minds to explore what is real and true.”

I am always eager anticipating his new quotes that keeps coming online. Thanks to google for sharing over hundreds of it. Lolz.. 

By saying all saying all these, I feel a soul kinship to his words and thoughts that most of the time resonate so deeply with some of the photos im taking. I may not be able to describe each of the photos im taking but when you connect them through quotes perhaps it links too.

Thank you so much for these beautiful photo. Yes, most of the time, the photo speaks  for itself. 

(photo borrowed on google engine)

MY FIRST THREE WEEKS IN NHA TRANG!

This week was another wonderful week! It’s my third week and now settling is becoming easier. My first two weeks was a bit uneasy but thank God for the beautiful scenery that whenever I open the blinds in the morning, an uplifting beauty is always waiting to be seen and appreciated.

Coffee taste good every morning and I must say that my stamina for many things is going pretty well. Nature is playing its role for this. Good example would be the part that I can go to the city alone and was able to find the grocery store and have an idea of what to buy.


Yesterday was really fantastic because me and my husband were able to find the store where they have most of the stuff or groceries we wanted. Like in Bangkok, they have also huge BIG C department store here, what made me smile was, when I saw Jollibee, yes. there is Jollibee inside the store. Im not a big fan of Jollibee but it certainly reminds me of where I came from, Pilipinas!


This time, I can find my way to few places nearby without asking for help. Nha Trang's transportation is pretty easy, (easier as I expected.) They only have two-lane and the moment you arrived at the city, you can easily navigate where you are. Getting a taxi is easy as well as most taxi drivers speak good English. This three weeks, to me, was more on settling in and being able to decide on things and places to visit. Socially, I continuously receiving invitations but I thought i'd better take it easy for a while. Socializing will come later.

(Maybe) this coming week, I will go and explore Nha Trang. Not going for shopping but getting to know their cultures by visiting their touristic places. Perhaps, locating the places to visit twice a week would probably help. I will not take the tour as its a bit pricy but going for an adventure and discovering the place would be nice.


Whilst typing this, it reminded me when I just arrived here in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Our journey from Thailand to Ho Chi Minh started very well. The moment we arrived at the Nha Trang airport, we were welcome by the hotel rep with her big smile wearing their Vietnamese traditional attire and accompanied us to our transport for Vinpearl.

Twas really a good trip. A bit tiring as we have to fly twice from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh then to Nah Trang. 

Along the way, I never thought about how different it would be. Before coming to Nah Trang, I browse online and check the place and I complain a lot but the moment I arrived, my perspectives changed completely.

From Nha Trang airport to our destination, the scenery along the way was really beautiful and there was NO TRAFFIC! Don't get me wrong, I have been living to cities where I had to use the BTS (trains), subway, taxi, tuktuk and moto and t'was pretty a good experience. But driving on a street where there's no traffic, is really something! At one point, I asked the driver if its possible to stop and to enjoy the scenery but in the end, we choose to keep moving on. We then arrived at our destination before 6pm.


Back to the story; my three weeks here in Nha Trang is going really smoothly. The local people are amazing, they're friendly at least to me. I was honestly stunned. This fresh three weeks experience taught me a lot. I am slowly adopting the culture and continuously learning.

Lastly, I have no advice for now but its always good to check on google the things you wanted to do in Nha Trang: I say, stop thinking too much, stop planning too much and just live. As cheesy as that is, if you constantly plan and think you’ll miss out. I'm sure Nha Trang has a lot to offer.

I FEEL YOU

Ocean, waves, water, color, skies and clouds

The sounds of the sea, so calm and so with the time.

Waves coming, closer and closer then it disperse on the shore.

Inhale and exhale, the wind, the air...

So fresh, it cleanse my spirit and my soul.

The colour, so blue when its shallow, 

The colour, so green when its hollow.

The distance, so wide,

You cannot hide.

People swimming, laughing, enjoying your wave force, that splashes to their skins ashore.

I admire your glorious size,

The infinity that sometimes resembles love...

Sun sets in and your colour change.

And even in the dark your beauty shines in.

Its time for me to continue walking and these i'm grateful.

Thank you Lord for all these wonderful gifts.

A sight of admiration that never fade.

MY THOUGHTS (when i was looking at this sight)

Sometimes, people judge me based from what they have had heard. Worst part is that, they will get to know me.. based from what they heard… lolz.. 

Sometimes, people will hate me because of their friend’s influences. That hatred will explode like a volcano that is full of toxic chemicals that kills anything. no mercy. 

Sometimes, people cannot just accept me the way i am but wanting me to accept them for who they are... 

Sometimes, people believe they are saints but infact we are all sinners. We are just missing the part of acknowledging who we really are… 

Sometimes, when people see you achieve one thing, just one single bloody thing... INSECURITIES arrises. JEALOUSY. -- oh dear, we are not born to please people aren't we? - yay! Instead of appreciating we tend to pull the person down.. its like you even bend your knees pulling that person down... lolz.. 

Sometimes, people want you to listen to them but they don't want to listen to you. They thought they are listening but infact they're just hearing you... i think there's a fine line between these words. lolz. 

Sometimes, lets face it.. we all lie! who doesn't lie here.. lolz..
I call all these emotions as the.. ATTRIBUTES OF ATTITUDES.. lolz 

THE EVOLUTION OF IMAGINATIONS? - That came to me when i took a photo of this view. When you look at that tree in the middle, seems that there’s a rabbit relaxing under it. Or it could be anything… 

It’s already half of the year and i tell you, for me.. my life was really colorful. I experience all sorts of obstacles that taught me a lot especially to become more MINDFUL when it comes to dealing with so many things. Combating difficulties was the challenging part. 

(sometimes) LIFE IS UNFAIR, i say. - i have to be honest with this one… For example, I thought that in a certain situation, its perky when you believe that you’re the only one weighing things, seems that when you understood the situation more than others, its better that you find a way to maintain peace instead of war. Although on the other hand, consequences were ignored. 

MISTAKEN which links to being JUDGE MENTAL- these words i want to be bold at, most of the time. WE humans, especially toxic gossipers love to judge people. For some, its already an addiction. It’s like a drug. They can’t leave without it. lolz 

When i was in Scotland, I really enjoyed our tour guides, they were so lively and so genius about their history. What i love about the quote they left one day was when they mentioned about this… 

“Never give your reasons, for your judgement will probably be right, but your reasons almost certainly will be wrong.” - Lord Mansfield 

Anyway, we all have our own definitions of whatever words we want to define but i still believe that, with my experience. We should cultivate more COMPASSION in our lives. It’s always best to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person before concluding or generating any negative thoughts. We should stop assuming that we know a person so well and believing that we are not committing mistakes. 

I do made a LOT of mistakes in my life and I’m glad about it because without it, i may have not become a bit wiser or know a lot or learned a lot on the process. 

Like what they say, its always greener on the other side of the fence… 

“The past no longer exists. The future has not arrived yet. The only moment we really can experience is the PRESENT MOMENT which is somewhat we seem most to avoid.” 

I guess, its distinction is… its better if we keep on the RIGHT NOW not the GONE.. lolz 

To sum up my photo thoughts. With all these extraordinary circumstances. It taught me to optimize in re-shaping my life specially when merging into the world of the wilderness. It actually helps in increasing strength, flexibility and acceptance. It builds PATIENCE & LOVE.

#love #wisdom #patience #gossip #attitudes #personality #grateful

“If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.” - Pat Riley

Listening to my morning's easy smooth music is really inspiring. It's practically motivating me to write and say something again here on my blog.. lolz.. I just finished writing on my journal and thought to jump off here on my wall, not to share what i've written but perhaps riding on everyone's traditional way... updating our social media, shouts!lolz

Firstly, I thought i started my month of May pretty good. Instances is that, there's always something coming. Normal. It's not that can't handle it but problem is, we have heart so sometimes we get emotional, silently emotional. (its the time we say, all is ok but in fact, not really 100 percent ok.. ) right? Been reflecting a lot today and counted lots of blessings. I put it this way because its true, fact that there's a always our ups and downs no matter what. I noticed that I'm presently experiencing adjustments. Many adjustments actually.

A monthly review is also a great exercise in mindfulness and conscious living. It’s my way of slowing down, reminisce about my favourite moments, making sure that I'm taking the time to appreciate all the little and big things that were a part of my life in the past months or years, and also to draw some conclusions about which kinds of things made me happy and which don’t.

I'm now trying to set goals and already have some ideas for the months to come. Few projects needs to accomplish and truly, I'm motivated everyday with all these challenging experiences. Hopefully this will also ensure my goals, priorities and values. For now, Im letting everything sink in for a while and enjoy the day to day things.. Chatting with my family and friends and living the life.. love to maintain that.. <3

Sunset in my life

“Sunset is a wonderful opportunity for us to appreciate all the great things the sun gives us!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

Whoa! It has certainly been a while! I remember the last time I was taking photos of the ocean was when I was in Indonesia, that was a year ago. My photo shots is taking me everywhere and I'm really enjoying it. I've been putting my heart and soul into my new project and hopefully it will be fruitful in the end.

The majority of my time will be spent on my website, as i'm busy upgrading and updating my details and busy also doing my project.

Today, I thought to change my cover photo because I thought its about time. Lolz. This sunset photo inspired me a lot lately. From the word “sunset” it already says something powerful about life.

I thought this photo speaks to me so well. I've been through all the ups and downs this past months. Many incidents that is teaching me and reminding me that sometimes, “shit happens.” In some ways, it hit me a bit and changed the way I see and do things.

Over time, I must say that at one stage, my inbox has been flooded with emails from friends around the world, reminding me.. and I quote.. “hey, you're not that.. people think you're like that, but you're not..” OR “..expect people to judge you but let it be, it will pass, real friends will always be there for you no matter what...” what a sweet lines to read, right?

T'was really a one wonderful feeling to know that there are people out there, who cares, loyal and will emotionally support you. I was also touched when I talked to my best friend Abel about life and shit... he said, “people love to see you fall so don't get provoked with their nonsense.. be strong and have faith...” – Going back to my zodiac, it came to me and made me remember, is this really the year of the dragon where its being picked by the sheep? Apparently, not all the dragons are spitting fire, isn't it.. lolz..

As I was taking a photo of the sunset. I thought i'm gonna sit on this big stone and leave my camera next to me. I started again to reflect with so many things. I knew this is what I needed to do. Rewind and unwind.

You know, there's something especially powerful about connecting with people. First, strangers. You will get to know them, become friends, then fights, then hatred, then enemies until suddenly. Sadness.. then again, happiness because you start to meet another strangers and will become friends... its a cycle. But if you come to think about it, seems, to be a Stranger from the start but the connection brought you to life. The journey into wholeness, fulfillment, bliss, self-awareness and purpose that just makes you come even more alive.

So, as the sun started to slowly bidding goodbye. I finally realized that, what happened today is gone. We can't undo things. I guess the sunset speaks a lot with me today. It basically says that, I should work on letting go and stop caring what everyone else thinking and instead define MYSELF. That's a lot of thinking but I figured out how to turn those dark days into something much bigger. I learned that I should continue to live life (on purpose). I learned what it meant to feel blissfully alive while living in alignment with my truth.

(sigh) Anyways, It's now getting dark so I have to go back to our room. On my way back, I took few snap shots of the beach. Which i'm gonna be sharing with you soon.

Life must move on even if the sun sets. Tomorrow is another day filled with sun that shines upon us. Be grateful and happiness will naturally comes back to you.

Much love my dear Friends and thank you once again for reading my long journal today.

A Visit at the Kyaik Pun Pagoda, Myanmar

Buddha hand gesture which means: "BHUMISPARSA - Calling the Earth To Witness the Truth"

What an experience! Here's another photo taken at "The Kyaik Pun Pagoda is a small Buddhist monastery near the town of Bago, known for its four towering images of the Buddha visible from far away.

The impressive 27 meter high images are out in the open, without shelter from the elements by any covering temple structure. The Kyaik Pun Pagoda was built in 1476 by Dhammazedi, a devout Buddhist and King of the Mon Kingdom of Hanthawaddy (Pegu).

The Kyaik Pun Pagoda or Kyaikpun Paya is an active place of worship; the images are highly revered by Laotian Buddhists who come to pay their respect."

WELCOME 2015! -- Resolution..s? ;)

...someone asked me the other day, what's my New Year's Resolution, and i replied and say... for me, i normally don't do a list on that matter and if ever i have one, i just keep that to myself and when its done, I'm secretly proud about it... otherwise, I evaluate myself (like every end of the day) and see what needs to get rid off and to keep and yes, keeping the best of goodies and learning from the bad, nightmare, terrible or whatever experiences that waken me up.. lolz.. 

(metaphorically speaking), I already started to plant my own tree. Hopefully, it will blossom with new leaves. You must be thinking now saying, that depends on how i water it.. ;)

2015 is finally upon us. It doesn't actually mean that we forget the past events but somehow looking back into the unfinished matters that still needed our attention. Made me smile because when you get carried away, you go around and tell everyone about your NEW YEAR's RESOLUTION but the time you're back at your work, you're actually looking at finishing the works undone late last year! lolz. (hopefully you'll be able to finish this week.) sigh.. lolz...

Normally, like every day, Monday is the day where you start to sort things out like noting your weekly things to do and its crazy when you just came back after long holidays. Of all the half-hearted resolutions, I'm still learning too on how to cobble together my yearly resolutions. When i come to think about it, it actually benefits my mental and physical wellbeing. I like to read my daily achievements, little yet productive, that kind of self-motivating too. (is it called, being selfish?) lolz... 


At the end of the day, the only ones i manage to adhere to with any degree of my little daily achievements are those concerning my habits and my passion. My daily pursuit of happyness... (everyone wants a-pe-niss? -- got this line from the movie, Hector and the search for Happiness) lolz

Right. That's my lot for 2015. Fancy sharing yours?

(thank you manang Rosalie for the lovely mug and dear Vicky for the goldy journal.. ;) ) 

FIRST AND A HALF OF DECEMBER THOUGHT

I had the pleasure of enjoying my first and half week of December. Meeting up with friends and was able to cope up with my husband's demand.. "you and me time!" Few invitations here and there.. Calendar is a bit busy lately.. lolz..

In terms of life.. generally speaking.: I choose to stay positive even if sometimes, you encounter negative people, right? lolz..

This week, I've been reading few blogs. I thought my wish is to meet the writers but perhaps Santa might skip this part of this year, as they are so many of my favourites. I love to read post about life, wisdom and fresh experiences shared. It's inspiring and sometimes, motivating! To mention, one of my favorite blogger is my sister of course. Her personality really shines through which i adore, plus.. she's not just a mom who works and comes back home and look after her family but she blows my mind, and she always has such a positive outlook on everything. How cool is that.

Anyways, since we've been talking about Gratitudes. I thought I'd say thank you in a different way. Non stop THANK YOU! As always, as long as we keep going and moving on, daily routines its just something normal?

Big love and big thanks my beau-friends for reading my fb journal. Enjoy your December.... (Up's and Down's we encounter sometimes... but perhaps, its like that, noh?) Sharing you this Japanese proverb and sharing you too love and peace my coolest online friends..

A VISIT AT THE SEVEN COLOURED EARTHS - MAURITIUS

"...when your life feels black and white... make sure that you dream in color..." -- unknown

It was the GM of the Centara Grand Azuri Hotel who insisted that i must go to Chamerel to see the seven coloured earths. I didn't believe the way he described the colours of the sand. At first, i thought he was just joking... after few rounds of convincing, my husband was able to convince me to go and visit as they are busy working during the entire trip.

So i went to see the place, to my surprise. It was really wonderful and even better because the rain just stopped and perhaps its was a perfect timing for photo opportunity.

This tourist attraction is found in the Riviere Noire District in the south-western part of Mauritius. Seven distinct colours of sand can be seen in this area: red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow. I like the contrast between the uncovered sands and the dense forest area that surrounds the dunes. This place reminds me of Iceland. The earths formed by volcanic activity. When you look closely, We could see the different hues and the almost striped effect of the sands, this is actually a visual reminder of the power of a volcano uneven cooling of the molten rock.

Enjoy the view as much as i enjoyed taking them.

according to wikipedia: (and i quote)

"The Seven Coloured Earth(s)[1] (Terres des Sept Couleurs in French) are a geological formation and prominent tourist attraction found in the Chamarel plain of the Rivière Noire District in south-western Mauritius. It is a relatively small area of sand dunes comprising sand of seven distinct colours (approximately red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow). The main feature of the place is that since these differently coloured sands spontaneously settle in different layers, dunes acquire a surrealistic, striped colouring. This phenomenon can also be observed, on a smaller scale, if one takes a handful of sands of different colours and mixes them together, as they'll eventually separate into a layered spectrum.[2] Another interesting feature of Chamarel's Coloured Earths is that the dunes seemingly never erode, in spite of Mauritius' torrential, tropical rains.

The sands have formed from the decomposition of volcanic rock (basalt) gullies into clay, further transformed into ferralitic soil by total hydrolysis; the two main elements of the resulting soil, iron and aluminium, are responsible for red/anthracite and blue/purplish colours respectively. The different shades of colour are believed to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures (hence rates), but the causes of their consistent spontaneous separation are yet to be fully clarified.[3]

The place has become one of Mauritius' main tourist attractions since the 1960s. Nowadays, the dunes are protected by a wooden fence and visitors are not allowed to climb on them, although they can look at the scenery from observation outposts placed along the fence. Curio shops in the area sell small test-tubes filled up with the coloured earths."

...whilst in Bali..

“Perhaps that is where our choice lies -- in determining how we will meet the inevitable end of things, and how we will greet each new beginning.”  ― Elana K. Arnold

Can you believe that it's already August? I find myself saying this after just about every month... it just keep going faster and faster. I've read somewhere that says.. 'life is like a roll of toilet paper, it goes faster and faster as you get the closer to the end.'... but i disgress.. let it be.. lolz...

Looking back at the half year up to this day, all I can think of is how wonderful and blessed i am. I've done few things and still doing this project which I'm looking forward too.

Let me break down my monthly activities.. Out of the months passed, i thought i really enjoyed the summer holidays in June plus the early months of July too. Recalling back: JANUARY - was totally a good start for me, unfolding 2014 came to the picture nicely..  then here comes FEBRUARY which was even better because of the Valentines day that coloured my world with awesome strawberry shortcakes.. lolz..  the trip to Phu Quoc, Vietnam and my trip to Baguio City, Philippines mostly was my first trip this year including our weekend in Khao Yai! MARCH was so delighted as it was my birth month, got my surprise celebration in Pattaya too.. lovely present from husband and friends.. aaaahhh... APRIL was an amazing month.. trip to Sri Lanka was really wonderful! enjoyed the taste of tea's in the country... The month of MAY was pretty quiet, stayed in Bangkok but the one weekend in Pattaya was fabulous! hola! JUNE -- here's the month that i really love because our summer holidays in France includes our trip to Iceland! amazing trip! and JULY -- Awesome trip to Singapore and Bali too --

Got so much to work on.. excited with few exhibits and looking forward for the sponsored trips coming.. Perhaps, my half-year is doing pretty good. Couldn't ask for more.

I'm not complaining and all but totally grateful about everything. Sharing blessing and love my Beau-Friends!

FIRST DAY IN ICELAND - FROM KEFLAVIK to AKUREYRI IN THE NORTH

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." - Johannes A. Gaertner

Well, Iceland is on our bucket list, I must say that me and my husband are both so grateful about this trip and yes! Iceland, here we are!

We choose June to come and visit Iceland because of the weather condition. Summer in Iceland rolled around and we decided to rent a car to explore the country. Very few people know about the secrets Iceland has. And finally, we were there, witnessed the 24 hours day light.

It took about four hours flight from Paris to Keflavik International Airport. We landed at 9:20 in the morning. Grabbed our luggages then straight to the lobby after clearing the immigration.

The RED car rental guys welcome us at the gate. My husband then, look after the papers. Signed, then the RED guys handed the key and before we even know it. We were out on the road, driving in Iceland!

The first five minutes on the road didn't stopped me from taking photos! Me and my husband are both very excited about the whole trip. We have our GPS and after programming to our destination. That's it! All we did was just to enjoy the beautiful sights of Iceland.

Going to Akureyri in the North, took for about six hours drive. I know its tough for my husband driving but the beautiful landscape was enough to keep us both awake and energized. Akureyri is the 2^nd largest town in Iceland. It is said that its the most populated town outside Rejkhavik, with 200,000 residents.

ALONG THE WAY

From the airport, from left to right, we were looking at volcano lava fields but will show you more photos later taken somewhere in the south of Iceland. BUT today's highlights were the countryside landscapes of northwest Iceland.

There were also mountains. Then there was the waterfalls. Honestly, we've never seen so many random waterfalls bursting out of the mountains! The word AMAZING was floating in the air that time.. lolz..

As we go further north, the snow caps started appearing. And even some evidence of volcanic activity! Astonishing beauty out there. I feel guilty that i'm the only one appreciating the beauty of the nature so I asked my husband to pull over the car so like this, we both will enjoy the beauty. It's really exhausting because its like in every 10 minutes there's always something amazing nature to surprise you. For the past three hours, we've been on the road, in between those beautiful mountains.

We finally hit Akureyri at around 8pm. (Yeah, took that long because we keep stoping along the way.) Akureyri. It's a beautiful town nestled at the foot of a bunch of mountains, and sits on the coast of the Artic Ocean. There we spent our first night in Iceland. We stayed at the Icelandair Hotel Akureyri. Beautiful hotel. What I love about this hotel was that, they put us at the room facing the mountain glacier. Really enjoyed this hotel so much too.

Oh well, I took thousands of photos during our week travel but here, I thought to share 40 photographs which I took during our trip from Keflavik to Akureyri. I think, I better share it with you the way we travel too. Enjoy as much we enjoyed viewing them.