'If'

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are loosing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you have your life to, broken,
And stop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn to pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing on you
Except the Will which says to them "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

--

To my parents and family, thanks for everything you've always done for me.

My time has arrived.

Whispering life

Feel the evening breeze slightly on your face in a top of the hill, the warm atmosphere around you, while your eyes delight seeing a beautiful cliff and a wonderful sunset appears just in front of you, on listening a traditional indonesian live performance lighted with fire.
Welcome to the most known small paradise in asia: Bali, and one of its best temples: Pura Luhur Uluwatu.

When you see the island views from the plane, seems like an endless way to nowhere. You can see the sea, the waves moving forward, but all in all, no land, no mountain, nor even a few clouds. The tropical-alike airport is small, the visa system very fast and the people very friendly.

On arriving at the airport, I was taken by two gentle unknown australian women who kindly drove me in Kuta, where I could walk around and explore a little bit of the city. The streets in Kuta were small, bit crowded by the tourists and small motorbikes going all around. Kuta is, after all, not such a big place, as it is Bali itself.

The souvenir shops and small restaurants pop up in every corner, with very friendly staff who never stop smiling to welcome the guests.

The beaches were crowded with foreigners surfing and swimming around, especially many australian and japanese there...it seems Bali is a japanese resort, same as Ibiza in Spain is for germans...hehe

After a bit of walking around and having lunch in a traditional balinese restaurant, I went straight away to Ubud, where Dewi, with her funny loyal dog was waiting for us. The hotel itself was facing to the rice fields and its decoration was typically balinese which I love to see.

The green plants, the fresh terrace, the lights, the garden, the statues... I didnt realize about it at that time, but now I come to give it a second thought, all around Bali is similar in this sense.
The temples are not very big but at the end all of them have nice gardens around, they are in good condition even many years (and tourists...) have passed by.

One of the temples I like the most was Ulun Danu, which is located in Bedugul. This temple seems like rising out of the lake, and from there you can enjoy the beauty and quietness as it was not very crowded. It has nice gardens around and small souvenir shops at the entrance.

Goa Gajah, Sangeh, the monkey forest and Tanah Lot are other temples where you can really enjoy the beauty of this small island. Tanah Lot was very nice to see at a sunset, and big waves were surrounding the temple all around.

In Uluwatu, we had a very nice performance including fire attractions, could listen to the balinese traditional songs and dances while the sunset came to its end in this nice temple. Worth to see and feel it!

Besides, balinese views from the volcano surrounded by a lake, the rice fields, make it all in all a beautiful destination. Not to forget the kindness of their people, which is being common in most destinations in asia I have ever been to.

Bali still keeps luckily enough its own identity and lifestyle, despite many tourists have been there. Kuta was not as nice as I expected since many tourists were there, but luckily for me, in Ubud and all the temples I had seen seemed empty, except for Uluwatu which was a bit more crowded.

This emptyness gave me once again a chance to imagine how balinese lifestyle was in the past years.

I could imagine and take some pictures of their daily life, the people working in the rice fields, the monkeys going at their own in the forest.

Life seemed much easier years ago when everybody lived peacefully in small neighborhoods.

I can imagine their houses, how they cooked and lived, how they worked hard in the ricefields and going to the markets everyday to get food, also having full moon parties and visiting temples for cremations or births.

Bali is a good place worth to visit at least once, fulled with culture and very nice architecture everywhere. Statues are sometimes scary at night, but all in all they have a magnificient way to decorate the houses and temples.

Life in asia is sometimes surprising to me. Still touched by my trip to Cambodia, wishing to travel to Myanmar and Laos in the near future. Every trip is an experience not to forget, people to get to know, experiences that will remain as a part of myself and my personality.

When you visit a country, do it showing a very humble attitude. Open your eyes and listen what people says and walls, architecture, landscapes, nature and statues have to whisper to you.

Therefore you will learn and captivate the richness of the country, the people, the lifestyle, the history. Just let all your senses open, relax, and let the place invade your soul gently until you feel part of it. Life is everywhere.

A common feeling of happiness

Sometimes life bring us wonderful oportunities to feel that we are not alone here, and that there is a lot of people to get to know and to be with. Also, there are sometimes events that held at the right time with the right people make you really cheerful and happy.
The called "European Wine, Beer and Cheese Fest 2007" in Crowne Plaza yesterday was absolutely one of them!

The festival is held every year and sponsored by the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This year our office cooperated with them arranging the tickets and it became quite interesting.

Our coworkers, friends and I gathered together till the last 30st floor of the hotel, and there we could meet people from other embassies, greet the ambassadors, try many kinds of delicious white and red wines from Italy, Germany, Spain,... also food was served and we could enjoy talks and good laughs all together.

Besides, there was a lottery contest where every guest held their own number and people could win some nice prizes. Even we couldnt get the first prize (a round ticket to Paris from KL), the guys there we were very lucky!

Jon and I got an invitation for dinner in nice restaurants, Tracie got a can opener (lol) and Rizal got some cheese package! It was so fun to see us all together drinking wines glass after glass, talking nicely and in a very good atmosphere.

After the event, we just took some crazy pictures in the podium, being all funny...!!

Sometimes, things happen around that become very good memories. We never know when, the people you will meet, the connections you will do. Its all up to different people and lives getting together in a same place. To be in such a good mood everyday is healthy and it helps to develop human relationships quite fluently.

Life is unpredictible sometimes. We never know where are we going to, where we come from may be different backgrounds, and the things we do can have unexpected results, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad.

Life is a continuous connection of people and events which at a certain time happen, and while everyone could be in different mood with their own life before meeting, the result is that all together we can make a common sense, a unique experience and atmosphere that will remain.

Its interesting to see how human connections are built up, while everyone has own lifestyle and thoughts, always human try to get close, feel comfortable with their friends and people whom we get to know, even at first we were all strangers!