Ksana Ksini means Travel

How was your summer holiday?  We hope you have just as much fun as we did.

If you ever need inspiration on where to go around Indonesia, visit this lovely blog Ksana Ksini.
It has a lot of information on Bali and the rest of Indonesia (which are a lot!).

One thing I really like about my holiday was the fact that I was so disconnected from the world wide web and started connecting with everything else.
Did you know that being connected all the time (emails, social media, etc) is actually doing you more harm than good?

So what are you waiting for?  Get off the net already!  Hahaha :)

In Search for yourSELF

The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

There comes a time for every single human being,
to feel they're lost and stuck in life.

They read books from many that claimed they were once in the same limbo,
to the teachings of many ascended masters.
They change their physical self in the hope that this will win the crowd and they'll become a happier SELF.

Some quit their jobs,
travel to Nepal, Angkor Wat, and the likes,
looking for answers to cure their ailments.

But none ever thought that the answers are nowhere to be found,
that those trips to uncharted territories on earth are of pleasure only,
because the answers were already there,
before you even stepped out of the door to catch that plane.

If only you see beyond the appearance.
If only you realise the beauty in everything.
That there is consciousness in every existance,
no matter how small or how big it may be.
If only you opened your heart and look within.

The Art of Cantonese Opera

The thing I like most about travelling is that sometimes you encounter an unexpected exhibition in the places you pass through.

Have you ever watched a Cantonese Opera?  Yes, one of those nasal high pitched singing that's been around for centuries in China?
Did  you know that if one of the character started spinning his/her head round and round (like headbanging in a heavy metal concert, but 360 degrees spin), it means that he/she has gone mad.
There are many other specific gestures in a classic Chinese opera that signifies a certain mood or status.  Very interesting topic which happened to intrigue my little daughter.
So while she was enjoying the interactive video show of these different gestures, I took a few snapshots.

New Year: 2013

The New Year kicked off with an adventure to a cove.
Very nice place to retire in, only if you have all the money in the world, but then again, if you are loaded, you won't choose this place because it's very hot and humid, you can hardly breathe outdoor.

We arrived at night (6 hours delay by a low cost carrier plane) to this sight outside of our room.  Excellent!  Can't wait for the morning.

 The view from our room is just as breathtaking as the view from the other venues we visited.

Opening my eyes after meditating.  Magical!

 

So now you guessed where we went?

 My knees were tight, I wonder why!  We're so high up above a suspended bridge around a really tall man made trees.

  The old area (persumably, since I'm not from here).

 The new area.  Heavily feng shui-ed to bring in luck to the country (totally!  I paid a lot for these rides).

 Sunset view on the new area.

Till next time, can't wait for more adventure.

Images from Easter 2012

Guess what these images are....

  

Easter Weekend

After promising so many times that I'll give her a treat of her lifetime before she starts "un-schooling", we finally went to a whirlwind trip of our lives.

The itinerary sounds like this "sleep in the plane, wake up and walk into Disneyland".

Surely it is not a 5 year old's typical weekend.  But we pulled it off and even I had to get a little bit of magic on me.

The Scene (Sin) of Freedom (being Free)?

As per the title goes, once in a while, I go off on my little escapade.  Feeling a little sinful on doing it solo, but it beats changing diaper everyday.

The goal is usually to be at peace with nature (that 100% Egyptian cotton sheets, 1000 thread count at least)

 and get some exercise (window shopping).

So the usual choices are big cities like this:

                         

 Next to ACMI is this patch of man made garden.  I know what would happen if such things exists where I'm at currently.  Street hawkers haven!!!

 My little one's first reaction was, "Mommy, that's the Eiffel tower!", hmm, not quite...

 I kept on asking myself, why is the airport so quiet?  Nobody wants to leave this city?

In this city thriving with the old and new juxtaposition, I found the more money, status, power they possess, the more superstitious they become.  They have a point though, with a house nestled by the meandering roads and hugged by the mountain, who wouldn't get richer?