29 Jun 09 - A Birthday Poem? (A Sponsored Entry) Life had really been exciting since I came back from Thailand. It is really interesting to observe myself from the side (as if I had stepped out of the body and the mind which I had been holding on to); being fully (well, almost..) aware of "my" likes and dislikes. I wondered how would this turned out to be. There was this request from my girlfriend to write her a poem in celebration of her birthday. Thus, I forced myself and tried to scribble something onto my laptop. Apparently, this method failed and nothing good came up. I realised I was no Rudyard Kipling and poems do not come like it should had been. All I could do is to wish her birthday wishes on my blog - kindly sponsored by her love and attention. (Sally): Happy birthday and I apologise for walking away today. Spent the whole of the afternoon editing my old entries in this blog. Hope this is the best birthday present I could give you. I love you so much that I would never attempt to hide the truth away from you - the ultimate truth, that is. Good night. 26 Jun 09 - For The First Time In My Life For the first time in my life, I realise there is a change in my life in the every step I take. For the first time in my life, I ate bean sprouts in my favourite fried noodles. Realised that although they still look disgusting, the taste was not as bad as it seemed to be. For the first time in my life, I could tell myself I should stop drinking. For the first time in my life, I could stand at one side and observe "my" mind and "my" body For the first time in my life, I realise I could be truly happy and in bliss. 12 Jun 09 - Life And Its Impermanence II This was supposed to be written last Monday but due to my crazy schedule (had to fly to Bangkok on Tuesday), I was not able to blog until now. If you had been following my blog like an obsessed stalker (you could still qualify for one if you read my blog entry dated on 29 May 09), you would had known that I had taken up volunteering for a group where it provides free chanting services to people who are in their last stages of their life. Anyway, the patient (which I had visited for 3 times) passed away just 1 week after my last visit. Perhaps I was inexperienced and emotional; but the fact that my first patient had passed away led me to think that I was a failure (by grading this as a failure, I subconsciously set the objective of rising the patient with my lousy chanting). My senior volunteer (time and time again) reminded us that we were providing a service and thus not get too attached though I had to admit that it did got me that evening and I did not sleep well. The patient happened to have the same surname and was the same age as my mother. Oh well, I supposed I am still learning... p.s.: I am back in Bangkok now after a wonderful retreat at Wat Pah Nanachat. You would read more about it in my Ubon Ratchathani blog. Anyway, I would be on my way to Hua Hin for another meditation retreat in just less than 14 hours so fans could expect a blog there as well. Do come back for my exciting updates! 29 May 09 - Life And Its Impermanence Visited a cancer patient in the intensive care unit yesterday during my off day with my colleague and we tried to chant to her. Although her body was failing her, it seems that her mind was still active - looking at us while we did the chanting. She tried to remove her oxygen mask as if she wanted to talk to us though nothing came out from her mouth. In the end, I felt that I took away more from her (than she took from me); a valuable lesson in impermanence and how short life could be. 28 May 09 - We Are The Champions!!! My beloved football club, FC Barcelona, just won 2-0 in the UEFA Champion's League Final against Manchester United. I think they (FC Barcelona not Manchester United) really kicks ass. I am currently working on my Bodhgaya blog and hopefully get it released by the end of the week. Meanwhile, travel blogs about Bangkok and Yangon/Chaung Gyi are in the pipeline. Hopefully I could clear some work before my business trip to Ubon Ratchathani and Hua Hin. 30 Apr 09 - Guess Where I Am Now? I am on flight TR104 flying towards Bangkok. Based on my geographical knowledge, I reckon that we are currently still in Malaysia crossing over to southern Thailand. It had been an amazing week so far. Started my Mahaparinirvan Express blog (about the Indian Buddhist Pilgrimage trip which I did in Mar 09) just last Saturday and I completed all 9 pages of it within 5 days. This must surely be a record! 24 Apr 09 - Where Is Your Blog For India? Damn. I am going to Bangkok next week and I still had not written anything for my Indian blog... 16 Apr 09 - The Smell Of Cheap Sanitary Cleaners Did not really felt like sleeping tonight but nothing could be more silly than to go downstairs at 2am and to realise that the drinking hole smells as if someone had just soaked it in a big barrel filled with cheap sanitary cleaners. Time for a Plan B. 13 Apr 09 - I Do Want To Hear The Padi Grow... It is now 1.06am on a Monday morning. Was just looking into my book rack for something to read as I was going to the toilet and I found a dusty copy of Lonely Planet Laos stacked right at the bottom below all the other guidebooks (i.e. India, China, Thailand, and Hong Kong). I read it with interest; recalling that I had bought this Vietnamese print of the guidebook (with the assumption that I would be visiting Laos soon) in Hanoi while I was there in 2005. Somehow (after months and years), it still did not materialize. Perhaps I must set a target to do it this year; regardless of whatever happens. 31 Mar 09 - Just Visited The Doctor In The Pub I decided to choose the final option as a remedy for my unexplained bouts of fever and lightheadedness. Stepped into Harry's Bar Pasir Panjang (just 10mins walk away from my office!) for a beer only to find out that they do not serve Erdinger in draught. That was a minor setback but I settled for an ugly tasting Kilkenny Cream Ale. Life is not perfect, once again. There was probably no other days where I really liked to be alone. Did a quick blog about my trip to Batam almost 2 months ago. Do not expect too much; there was nothing much there anyway. 13 Mar 09 - All Things Would End The Mahaparinirvan Express, an exclusive train doing the Buddhist Pilgrimage circuit, is currently heading westwards towards Agra (i.e. Taj Mahal), the final stop scheduled in the 8-day trip. Had visited the main sites of Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar. This should be one major trip struck off my travel calender. Perhaps it would really be perfect if the sites were managed more like a real pilgrimage site (rather than a tourist interest) but then again, I had learned to accept imperfection in life. Well, I shall talk more about this in my blog. 11 Mar 09 - All Things Must Pass, Work Out Your Own Salvation With Diligence... I am actually in Kushinagar - visiting the third major Buddhist pilgrimage site after Bodhgaya and Sarnath. This sleepy town does not offer much at first impression; but apparently this is the town where Buddha attained paninirvana (final enlightenment) and passed away in his 80s (after eating a species of mushroom named as pig's delight). Well, I think this is the best pilgrimage site I had been to so far. Perhaps I would come back here again someday. 9 Feb 09 - First Day At Work Felt extremely uncomfortable being in T-shirt and jeans for the first official day at work. I guess I just need time to get adjusted and completely shed my corporate skin. Hopefully, it would all work out. 1 Feb 09 - Last Day At Work I would be leaving my current office within 24 hours (it is less than 18 hours actually). Complex feelings are currently swimming inside my mind in all sorts of direction. Seems like leaving this job was alot more difficult than as compared to the last time round (that happened 3 years and 9 months ago). Still have to finish my travel blogs about London/Barcelona and Johannesburg/Swaziland while preparing for my Myanmar trip in mid-Feb 09. Time to stop playing all those silly computer games. 23 Jan 09 - Rushing To The Airport While everybody is busily preparing for the Chinese New Year, I am rushing the hell out from my life and trying to pack up my bags (not bathed yet) in 20minutes for a 6-day backpacking trip to Johannesburg (South Africa) and Mbabane (Swaziland). The area is probably not the safest in terms of security but maybe due to adventurous me, I am more determined to pull it off safely. Not sure how it would all turn out but I would be careful somehow. I love you, everybody (including Sally, my mum, my brother, my relatives, my friends, my boss, my colleagues and myself). Sorry I cannot bring you guys along with me for this trip but you would always be in my heart. 14 Jan 09 - The Teary-Eye Kitten While I was walking home today, I saw some asshole who lifted a kitten by pinching its neck with his fingers. The poor animal's eyes caught my glance. It looked that it was in pain and can almost see tears. I was so fixated to the sight that I tried to turn back and help that kitten. I could not in the end; the man and the kitten were lost in the crowd. :( 13 Jan 09 - 13 More Working Days Left In My Current Office Cannot wait to get out of there actually. All the banal work (i.e. arranging for meetings, fulfilling secretariat duties, pretending not to know anything) is probably killing me... Anyway, it would be a busy month for me. If all permits, I would be going my to Yangon again this weekend (17-19 Jan 09) for a quick trip. And maybe I would be going to Johannesburg (South Africa) and Mbabane (Swaziland) over the Chinese New Year period - fully making use of my last staff ticket entitlement. Hope everything would turn out well. To all my fans out there. I am still working on my London/Barcelona blog. Please hang in there. 1 Jan 09 - A Start To A Better Year (Hopefully) Was staring at my TV last night; it was showing at least 5 countdown parties around Asia. Is it really that exciting to count down to the New Year every year? Cannot understand why people would not get bored doing that. Told my colleagues that I was so glad that the dreadful year (i.e. 2008) was over finally. They looked at me strangely and asked me what made my year so dreadful. Ok, the switch to my new department affected me greatly but somehow I really cannot think of any other thing that made it bad (backpacking trips in India, Argentina, China and Spain could not be considered as bad). Maybe I had let the 2 bad bricks spoilt my mood towards the end of the year. Well, my new year wishes would be (again) for everybody in this world to enjoy peace. On a personal level, I hope I get to travel to exciting places and experience life to the fullest, And hopefully, the "sleepy" bug would get away from me soon. Last but not least, may you be well and happy. :)

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