Committing to Adventure

How and when do you decide to just get out there and go for it?

I have a friend, Pei Ting – really just someone I know from uni whom I’ve talked to a couple of times before about our theses, and as far as I know, she has always been one for adventure – who is currently cycling around New Zealand.

She got herself a New Zealand working holiday visa, her bicycle and some hiking gear, headed out to the land of the long white cloud and started adventuring.

You can find out what she’s up to on her Facebook page. She posts beautiful photos almost every day with little snippets of her latest adventure. And I have to say, she really inspires me.

Seeing her posts on Facebook got me thinking about life. I’m sure at one point or another, we’ve all wanted to have an exciting life filled with surprises and adventure. 

Some people found a way to make it happen via working holiday visas like Pei Ting. Others become travel writers, some become plain ol’ adventurers, working their way through different continents, being as free as it is possible to be.

But that’s just a handful of people.

What about the rest of us? Those of us who want this adventure but somehow, we just never got around to it?

The other article I read today was on what older people regret in their lives. One of those regrets was being too caught up in striving for financial stability. Sure, money is important, but wasted chances are heart breaking.

And I really like that. I like knowing that taking chances is not a waste of time or effort, that being financially stable is not the be all and end all of life.

It's good to hear that from people who have lived long lives. Their advice is sound. And honestly, this isn't the first time I've seen or heard this little nugget of wisdom - it's timeless, always relevant.

Still, it’s easier said than done. I still want to be able to pay off all my student loans. I want to make enough money so that my mother doesn’t have to work any more. I want to feel secure so that I can make sure my family, now and in the future, are secure as well.

BUT, I also want adventure. I want to see the world. I want to be more than I am right now. I want to learn and explore. And I know there are tonnes of different paths I can take to make this happen. 

I could get a working holiday visa, work my way around the world. I could develop decent photography skills and become a photojournalist. I could apply for a job overseas. I could volunteer. And these are just the obvious ideas.

I’m sure if I do a little research, there are a million other ways for me to travel and find adventure. 

Also, adventure doesn't have to be of the globe-trotting variety. There's probably plenty of adventure right here. I just need to get off my lazy but and find it. 

There's so much to see and do in Malaysia, so much to learn in the world (and learning is so easy thanks to the Internet), so much to see that doesn't require much money. All it takes a commitment. 

Commitment can be scary. I know it scares me. I'm always worried I won't be able to keep up and that I'd eventually let people down, let myself down. 

But recently I was reminded to not be afraid of commitment. It's actually not that difficult at all. And I know that one of the reasons I've failed to be consistent in my commitments is because I've been focusing on the wrong thing. 

If you're always worried you're going to fail, then eventually you will fail. You are what you focus on. Visualisation is  so important in everything that you do, so why is commitment any different?

So I suppose the best way to find adventure is to commit to it. Visualise commitment, focus on experiencing adventure and then follow through. I have to choose to not be afraid of committing to adventure.

High Above the Lights

I just realised that I missed Genting!

I went to Genting Highland with a few friends last week! :) It was awesome. We took the bus and the cable car up. It wasn't a very long ride at all. I was pretty scared while on the cable car. We were so high up!

Anyway, at the theme park, we went on many of the scary rides. My personal favourite was the Tower (I don't know what the real name is.. Hmm..) It was the one where you go up slowly then drop really fast! It was awesome!!

We also went on the rollercoaster, the flying coaster, the dinosaur boat ride and the flume ride. Spectacular! We went on the Tower about 3 times, and also twice on each coasters! I wanna go again!!! :)

The first time on each scary ride, I screamed my throat hoarse. But after that, I ended up just laughing and enjoying the adrenaline rush:)

Oh! We went on that swing thing too. The carousel-like one, where you spin really fast sitting on a chain suspended swing? Yeah, that one! Great fun:)

My favourite part, though, was the bus ride down. It was already dark and because we were so far away from the city, the sky was clear as ever. Honestly, if I knew anything about Astronomy, I would've recognized probably a dozen different constellations. I've never seen so many stars before!

That really did it for me. I decided for sure that I want to live in a farm, away from the city lights so I can enjoy the bright night sky. :) I feel in love with the sky that night! (che, so cheesy.. hahaha)

Anyways, GENTING ROCKED!

DIY Journal Adventure

Boo!~

I'm here again! :) Sorry for the disappearing act these past few days. I kind of ran out of things to write about. Well, I kept forgetting, actually. So, this is gonna be an explosion! (not really la..)

First up, remember my post on Wreck This Journal? If you don't, it's this one. Go read it! (Listening to some Seb Lefebvre while you read. Lalalala~~) Ok done? Great. Now, I said I might just create my own journal. Well, I did! I used the book Moe gave me for Christmas a few years back.

I picked some pages at random and added the instructions. So, as I write in the journal each day, if I ever come across one of those tagged pages, I have to do whatever is written in it. For example, if I come to the page that says "Spill Your Drink!", I have to spill whatever it is I'm drinking at the moment onto that page.

If I don't have a drink to spill, I can't move on to another page till I do. So, I either get myself a drink or wait till I get myself a drink. Cool right? I took the instructions from the Wreck This Journal pages, right here. I didn't use them all, but mostly la.

Anyway, I present to you, my very own Journal!

And my favourite pen:)

Yay!!:)

I'm done about the journal. It's gonna be an awesome journey!

Broga Hills, Semenyih

I was on top of the world! :)

I finally made it to Broga. This was in the planning stages for so long that I honestly wasn't sure if it would happen or not. Thankfully, Tong isn't flaky. He was determined to keep busy and celebrate his freedom to the fullest.

We left at 4 am (They got lost on the way to my house, again!). Me and three guys, conquering the hill (Tong keeps reminding me that I shouldn't say mountain because it wasn't a mountain). Anyway, we arrived at Broga around 5.45 am. Everything was so dark! We parked at the base which was a small palm oil plantation. I mean, really small. There were like 40-50 trees only. All planted in straight and orderly rows. Anyway, the guys were all playing scared and refused to turn off the headlights till everyone had their torchlight on.

We started climbing. Barely ten minutes into it, my legs started screaming. But I kept on going. The climb didn't start too bad, actually. Only later, when we neared the first platform, it became steeper. We reached the top of the first hill in time to watch the sunrise. It wasn't one of those postcard moments kind of sunrise but it was beautiful nonetheless.

After it was bright, we continued up. Well, we had to go down a little and then up again. We went all the way near the top. We couldn't go further because there was a group of people there and the peak wasn't all that big. We settled between two huge rocks that looked like some giant sliced it in two. The view was spectacular. I could see building form so far away. I swear, I think I saw tall KL buildings.

After snapping some pictures, we made our way down. We didn't stop on the way this time because it wasn't as tiring. My toes hurt though but it wasn't too bad. On the way down, I realised just how steep most of the climb was. I loved it! :)

We headed to a small kampong for breakfast. The kampong was located right at the Selangor - Negeri Sembilan border. I could, literally, just put one foot in Selangor and the other in Negeri Sembilan. Tong had to go to Negeri Sembilan to take a U-turn. That just tickled me!

I had soft boiled eggs. I shouldn't have been but I was completely awed that the eggs had almost white shells. Well, duh! They were kampong eggs la. Free range and all. Obviously the shells were white, unlike the egss we get here which have brown shells.

Here are some pictures:)

Failed Escapade (Malu lah!)

Saturday, oh Saturday! Why for art thou incredibly soporific? Might not I be blessed with adventures, how ever small?

And so, I took it upon myself to explore.

I am proudly Malaysian. However, I have never seen the Tugu Negara. I don't even know where it is (as I've undoubtedly proven to myself today). Therefore, mama and myself decided to take a trip to Lake Gardens to see the Tugu Negara (and the Chocolate Factory/Farm thingy nearby there).

And so we set off in our orange car towards Lake Gardens. It was beautiful! Lake Gardens, I mean. The trees were old and graceful. The sky was blue and happy. On the down side, we never found the monument. We drove three times in and around Lake Gardens but the monument remained elusive. Malu la! A Malaysian, driving around aimless, looking for the National Monument. What a shame.

And so, we decided to head towards the Way of the Sun to get me a new pair of shoes. I tell you, the number of shoes I saw today was enough to put me off shoes for a while. There were strap-py shoes, beaded shoes, boring shoes, old lady shoes, hooker shoes, flats, heels, stilettos, wedges, leather, canvas, pumps and even a combination of one or more. You'd think I would be able to find a pair I liked in that mass. But alas, it was not to be. We walked into 4-5 different shoe stores, saw countless pairs of shoes and I found nothing, NOTHING at all that caught my eye. I am still stuck with my black n green flip flops and heels that are begging for retirement.

Where might I find some shoes that are suited to the taste buds of my foot?

Anyway, mama managed to find something she liked. A beautiful, flowing, black blouse. It suits her. Once again, we've managed to not accomplish what we planned and yet accomplished something anyway, totally unplanned. Something I should get used to.

Worry not, though. I have Googled the map to the Tugu Negara and intend on pursuing it once more. :) Hopefully I'll have some new shoes by then.

On a more emotional note, I feel kinda hopeless. My crush ends up with my friend. Never fails to happen. Whats up with me? Heading nowhere perhaps? My farm house, garden, old VW and a steady job in social service seems ever so solid. My love life, however, is a whole different story. Never to be told beforehand?