Standstill-Phasing

"It began like a journey through the dessert. It felt like the sun dehydrated every single bit of moist on the surface. It was like phasing within a standstill; a change of lifestyle, yet, remaining in a standstill."

Indeed, 2015 began as a rough year. Constantly worried with the thought that I wouldn't have enough was enough to haunt me through. In the midst of all these, I was reminded of Matthew 6:26-30 stating, 

 

26 Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth more than birds?

27 Can worry make you live longer? 28 Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work hard to make their clothes. 29 But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of them. 30 God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! 

For two months, I was constantly reminded of the love of God, that He shall supply all my needs. Indeed, never once, did I go hungry. In March, my plate started filling up more than I could ask. I started receiving more job opportunities, money started flowing in, and since then, I have been flooded with His abundance.

Throughout this year, I have not only witness the favour of God in finance, but also in the area of academics. Being a music graduate, I had nil knowledge of the studies in the Health Sciences. Yet, I had to undergo Statistics class, using an program I never knew how to use. For most of you who know me well, I've never been good in technology. I truly thank God for the lovely and helpful friends placed in my class who constantly guided and helped me through every hurdle, PJ, Ginny, Khor. Miraculously, I was able to pass, despite the lack of comprehension in my work until the final week before the exam, and an unhanded assignment. 

"Leaped over one hurdle. There was a even bigger hurdle ahead."

After the first Masters viva, the next problem I encountered was preparing for the methodology phase. Well, right now, I am still in this phase. Wouldn't say that I've completed it yet. But for a period of three months this year, I couldn't retrieve subjects, had problems with documentation and other complication as a researcher. 

So there I was, at a dead end, hoping for nothing else but a miracle to happen. During this whole phase, am truly grateful to Daryl and my best friend who sat patiently running through the software programs with me, designing the experiment despite their busy schedules. With the favour of God, the first half of the experiment ran well, wouldn't deny that there were glitches in between, but managed to launch accordingly. 

Approaching the end of the year, I continued to witness the favour and restoration within my family. 

This year was indeed a very chastising year for me, whereby I was constantly reminded that my faith and trust should be placed in solely in God, and not to be dependent on men. Am glad along the way, there was my family, best friends, and spiritual brothers and sisters who constantly reminded me of the love of God.

It is the last five hours of the year. People keep asking me, what goals do I target for next year? Do I worry about next year? Do I worry because I have let go of the things that mattered most to me? Or do I regret my choices?

Well, I am human, in nature. So yes, I DO worry about tomorrow. Denying that very fact, would mean denying my feelings as a mortal. But as far as I am concerned, I have come to realize that God holds my world in His hands. He has made the impossible, POSSIBLE, so long as I continually keep my eyes focused on Him. And it is because of Him, I know that my future is secure. 

To all my peers, thank you so much for making 2015 an extraordinary and meaningful year for me. 

Blessed New Year!! 

Love,

Fi xoxo

Koh Lipe ~ The Asian getaway

Hi guys, 

Sorry for the extremely late update despite being back from Lipe a month ago. In case most of you are wondering, Koh Lipe is one of the Thai islands. To get to Lipe, we took a flight to Langkawi, and a two hour ferry from Langkawi itself. All in all, took us maybe about almost a whole morning and afternoon to reach Koh Lipe (delay was mostly due to the immigration check before we left to Thailand. 

                                                                      Langkawi port

We arrived at Lipe around 4pm (a little deeper into the sea, away from the shore). I had no idea why my friends were discussing about water proved bags, until I stepped out of the ferry. From sea to shore, we needed to swap from the ferry to a small longtail boat due to the shallow waters at shore. Nearby the shore, we waded through seawater before finally reaching the beach side. Welcomed by one of our friend's dad, we went on foot to our chalet. Apparently, he mentioned that Lipe was small enough, and you can technically walk around the whole island. 

Shore of Lipe

Us in the longtail boat

The little map of Lipe 

I personally liked how our chalet looked like a 'village-kampung' site; it appeared traditional with modern utilities. Yes, our shack was made out of wood, but it was equipped with air-conditioner, electric plugs, water heater and lighting. So technically, even though the roof looks like its made out of 'atap-dried leave' material, it had a modern-traditional feel to it. Our chalet faced Sunset beach; in the mornings, we had breakfast served overlooking the sea. 

Outside the Chalet

Our kampung

Since Koh Lipe is a small island surrounded by sea, our daytime activities mostly covered canoeing and diving. Lipe island is quiet during the day, most tourists hang out by the beach side or out in the sea. In order to spend time productively on the island, Daryl and I decided to take our dive license. 

Our whole evening on the first day of arrival was spent looking for a dive center with good packages. After hours of searching and haggling with the divemaster, our whole group finally settled for Forra Diving Center. Since Daryl and I were the only ones without a Diving license, the both of us spent our second day watching diving videos in Forra Cafe, one of the branches at Sunrise beach. 

                                                        Forra Diving/Cafe ~ Sunrise beach

During high tide, our instructor brought us for some basic dive practical lessons: learning how to breathe underwater, mask clearing, buoyancy and some others. 

                                                        Diving equipment in the shop

On the third day, we were finally allowed to join the rest of our friends out for open water dive. Being a first-timer on a boat, I didn't realize that eating a heavy meal would make me sea-sick, so the rest is history. I had my fair share of sea experiences: having dizzy spell due to the choppy sea, fixing up my diving equipment on a moving boat. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the part where Daryl accidentally opened the toilet door when it was not vacant. 

I enjoyed the experience whereby I was able to float on the surface of the sea, just staring into the blue skies while the waves just drifted me further down. Unlike the choppy surface, the sea feels more calm, 18 metres down. At first difficulty breathing, but after equalizing and constant mask-clearing, we were able to swim around the seabed. It was amazing how our instructor swam closely in-lined with the seabed while Daryl and I kept ascending each time the sea urchin was in sight. 

                                                                    On the boat

Diving gear

Preparation for dive

To me, diving is a whole new world of experiences, whereby you feel water surrounding you, at times with really good or poor visibility. As the depth of our dive increased, most colours like red seemed to be eliminated, so most things looked either, green, pale pink, white or blue. I enjoy diving, because unlike land, you're able to view objects: coral reefs or fans from different angles (upwards, downwards, sideways). During our dive, we encountered common creatures like moray eel, lionfish, starfishes, and a mini school of ke-po angel fish. Being curious by nature, they kept following us around on our first dive, which was pretty cool. 

Crown of thorns starfish

                                                         Pink and purple soft coral

The nights are filled with the aroma of food down a tourist area, called the 'Walking Street'. I forgot to mention that I was surprised by the number of dogs sleeping by the shops. P/S: They sleep really early, and if you're not really a dog person, being in Lipe might occasionally make you feel more irritated than peaceful. There were a number of shops selling good Thai food, and seafood. Souvenirs in Lipe are hard to find if you're looking for something pretty and cheap. The best food there was probably the Phad Thai, coconut ice cream, and definitely the tomyam. There were massage parlours almost anywhere on the Walking Street. However, almost all the parlours were full, so we spent a whole good two hours hunting for a vacant parlour (which I think was really worth the wait). 

                                                          The sidewalk ~ dog's bed

Also, if you're looking for medical treatment, I would recommend going to the pharmacy instead of the clinic (cause it's gonna cause a bomb). 7-11 is the best sundry and I-can-buy-everything shop on the Island itself. I had problems getting to used to the washrooms there at first, as there was no toilet paper available, except for the chalet. Though, I have to admit that I think having an outdoor-I-can-see-the-sky washroom was a pretty interesting and cool experience, especially with the rain. 

                                                       Walking street during the day

Koh Lipe, in my opinion, is a beautiful island, which is not too commercialized for now. The waters are really clear, we could see the corals from our boats, and while walking towards shore. I would definitely like to visit the island again sometime in the near future. 

                                                  This shot was taken on a longtail boat

 

So guys, that's Koh Lipe for you from me.