ONLY BY GRACE

Life is precious; Life is a gift. Everyday as I awake, I know I'm to make the best of it. Why waste time complaining, grumbling and regretting when we can just learn to appreciate every single waking moment that we have because we'll never know when we'll be gone. I'm not being morbid here but seriously having serious thoughts. My grandpa had his first review after almost a month since his radiation treatment ended. The scope showed no more tumor (a small one) along the vocal chords though its still swollen (probably due to the radiation). PRAISE GOD! But what I remembered most of the 15mins session was when my grandpop shared his heartfelt concern with doc. He wanted to know what would be the possibility of a relapse in the near future and are his chances of complete recovery good. Doc said he's optimistic about his recovery and he does not forsee a relapse in the next 2-3 years, though there might be a 50% chance of recurrance maybe 5 years later. Grandpop was not...

BLESSED CHRISTMAS. For some, its a time to eat, drink and be merry, but for others, its just a quiet and cosy time with loved ones. I belong to the latter. I am never a party person and I don't fancy crowds so its never difficult to choose how I want to spend my festive seasons. Before I embarked on this entry, I was browsing through the photos I took of Toul Seng Museum (Phnom Penh) and the Gu Chi Tunnel (Vietnam). Both places are rather solemn and morbid but many thoughts ran through my head as I re-looked at some pictures. At that moment, I was just filled with utmost gratitude for LIFE. Personally, Christmas is more than just the glittering decorations and pompus parties. Essentially its the celebration of LIFE, LOVE and HOPE. As my thoughts return to the people of Vietnam and Cambodia during this festive season, I wonder what would their interpretation of Christmas be. After meeting some of the Agent Orange victims and touring the Gu Chi Tunnel in Vietnam, I thought life coul...

This tranquail town invites you to take a walk back in time. The surroundings just spell nostalgia and I wonder if Singapore was like that in the early days. Well, as with many hot tourist spots, Hoi An will definitely undergo many changes to continually draw tourists to it. But I do hope that its natural alluring beauty will not diminished with the burgeoning development that is and will be happening in this town. I want to return to explore this town further and hopefully its before its outlook changes. Busy window shopping that I didn't take much pictures of the various tailor shops! But I love the shophouses. Got character. Initially, Hoi An to me was just the place where I will be getting myself the traditional Vietnamese costume (which I did) but very soon, it became more than just that. As I scoured the streets, which was filled with numerous tailor shops, custom-made shoes/bags shops and art-and-craft stalls, I realised that Hoi An is so so rich in her arts and craft herit...

FREEDOM! Finally the train ride was over and back to Hanoi we were after 4 days of fun in Halong and Sapa. As I walked out of the station, an idea struck me - to capture as much of Hanoi as possible in the early morning. Was inspired by this segment in The Straits Times whereby shots of what goes on in people's lives just before 8am were taken. So it was just me and my most humble Canon Ixus during the almost 1hr walk back to Sinh Cafe from Hanoi Train Station. At 6am: Vietnam Press Holdings (VPH) in action. Laying out the greens for the day. By the way, check out the seller's coat! How happening for a stall vendor ay? Void of the noisy and chaotic traffic - a trademark of Hanoi's streets. Appreciated the absence of the jarring honking of motorbikes and other vehicles. At 6.15am Working out when the air is much cleaner and fresher Brekkie on its way. Balancing act - makeshift stall somewhere I suppose. With what she was carrying, she actually walked ahead of us! Pro. At...

I actually put in like 3 entries today! So fruitful! But before I rest for the night, I must make mention about this special segment of the trip. Personally, it was just incredibly amazing! For some strange reasons, I started to have cravings after cravings. Very random in fact. It started when I was returning from Halong Bay. I just commented that I wanted to eat rosti and turkey with cranberry sauce! And guess what!? Immediately after lunch, we spotted this lady frying some tempura look-alike stuff and to my pleasant surprise, there was this tapioca rosti! Just imagine my amazement! Jeff and Eileen remembered what I said on the boat and they too were so shocked that it actually happened! Haha...when I get my hands on the picture, I will add it into this entry..for sure! My rosti! That was not the end of it. As the days went by, I had more cravings. Let me now list them down... 1. Soyabean curd 2. Tiramisu 3. Roast duck (not exactly what I wanted but to be able to taste duck was good...

All ready to move on to Hue and explore the town but the unexpected awaits us - our flight got delayed for 4 hours because there was insufficient uptake of seats. We rushed down to the airport by 1030am only to realise we will have to hang around aimlessly till 4.30pm. Goodness gracious me! As much as we accepted that it was something beyond our control, we could not help but felt wasted. That 4 hours of idling in the airport could have been used to unearth some treasures in Hue. No choice. Just got to move on and make changes to our already very flexible itinerary :). Guess this is part and parcel of backpacking and going by budget flights. An experience in itself. But it was not all that bad because I got to sample Vietnamese beef stew @ the airport and it was real yummy! Tender chunks of beef that simply melts in your mouth and the ever delicious french loaf that goes so well with the gravy! Mouth-watering isn't it? Wait till you see the picture! And guess what...I later discove...

Start of the 10km trek. Headed for another village (Lao Chai). The journey was definitely longer and was struggling as my knee was bad. But the scenery and sights that await me was worth the pain. You have no idea how amazing it was to just stand atop a little hill and everything around you is so green, clean and ethiopia-like! Wow paradise on earth. Definitely didn't feel like I was in Vietnam. Long and winding path.... Cool mist covering a large part of the landscape...when it cleared, the sight was something to behold. This is a picture of our 19-yr guide (Mi Mi). Her daily route to reach the town area to fetch her guests. Her innocence struck me and I do hope it will always be a part of her. As I took this shot from behind, I cannot help but feel a tinge of loneliness. The guests that she meets come and go (like us). Does she ever get tired of what she does? What really goes on in her mind as she walks to the hotel everyday? I wonder. Friendship built along the way. She loo...