I've been traveling....

       

        My dream is to be able to travel the world with loved ones and never ever having to worry about the money. But of course, who doesn't? I've traveled in my lifetime but my destinations are only confined within Asia. I'm considered to be lucky though. When I was just a kid, probably 11 years old, I remember just chatting with my friend in class and I happened to mention about my passport. My friend was fascinated by the idea of me having a passport and she started telling a few of my classmates about it. They were so excited and were like," Wow!! You have a passport?" I realized from that day onwards that there were not many in my class like me fortunate enough to go traveling.Some of them had not even set foot outside of the state. But of course, situations like these only happen in rural schools, which I happened to attend during my primary years.

          

Krabi, Thailand

       

Whale-watching in Australia.Unfortunately,we only got to see it's back.

Koala Bear in Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth, Australia.

      There's nothing like the feeling of arriving in airports and knowing that you're about to fly to a foreign place, meeting different people, tasting unfamiliar food, and the best thing about being on a holiday is the non-existence of worries and stress. I've been to Singapore, Thailand, Korea, China, Australia, Vietnam and the most recent, Indonesia. 

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

        

          I visited Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam last year in December 2010. I've never seen that many motorbikes on the road all at once in my lifetime. It seemed impossible to cross the road in their country because there were just too many motorbikes on the road ,and surprisingly the number of bikes didn't cease no matter what the time was. Foreigners like me often make the mistake of thinking that the best way to cross a busy street in Vietnam is to run quickly across it. This way would probably get you creamed. Trust me. One rule that I've learned there is to cross the street slowly, giving the motorbike drivers enough time to judge your position so they can pass on either side.They won't stop or even slow down, but they will try to avoid hitting you, something that they are experts in. 

Street market in Ho Chi Minh

            

         Who would have thought that a relaxing stroll through the street market in Vietnam would turn out to be far from the word "relaxing"? Even in the market, nobody can escape the motorbike riders. Even in the market! Every few seconds or minutes of walking in the market, I hear honking behind me and I would have to jump to a corner avoiding being hit by the bike (the street was really narrow). Other than the motorbike problem and the annoying tour guide who couldn't stop showing off his Michael Jackson moves, the trip was an enjoyable one.


          There was one funny episode that happened when we visited Chinatown in Vietnam. My grandmother, my sister, my cousins and I were desperate for the toilet after the long trip, so the tour guide pinpointed the way. We finally found the toilet and nearing the place, our noses were assaulted by the foul smell of urine. My cousin went in first and I followed behind her. Suddenly, without warning, she turned back the way she had come and I was just wondering what made her change her mind when suddenly I saw a woman pull down her own pants and urinated in the open, on the floor. I think there was even human faeces on the toilet floor. The other women were pouring water on the floor and I knew that it was common for them to "do their business" in the open although there was still one more toilet cubicle unoccupied. I shot out of the toilet the minute I saw literally butt-naked women. We ended up leaving Chinatown immediately.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

 

We reached the highest point!!  The Great Wall of China