The Mesmerising Chinese Gardens

Yesterday I ventured to the Chinese Gardens in Jurong. This was next on the list of my many things to see/do in Singapore. Can I just say how great it is to be able to wake up each morning and have so many places that I want to explore?! Ah I just love it.

You may notice by now that I am a sucker for beautiful scenery and cultural sights. I find that I do not tend to lean towards massive shopping centres or restaurants; I much prefer being in the outdoors and experiencing the essence of living somewhere like Asia.  With this in mind, I knew the Chinese Gardens would be an immediate hit for me.

It is the hottest time of the year in Singapore at the moment, and I sure felt the brunt of my decision making when I headed to the gardens at about 10 in the morning. I also underestimated how large the gardens would be. No wonder people utilise the gardens as an exercising area! You could easily spend hours wandering around them.

As I entered the gardens it was honestly like I was stepping out of Singapore and into glorious sanctuary. The architecture was intricate and so precisely executed throughout the entirety of the gardens.  A concrete path led you through the many areas within the gardens whether it was to the two Pagodas looking over the Jurong River, the Garden of Abundance, Tea House Pavilion or the Courthouse Gardens. There were many mesmerising sites which saw me blown away by my surroundings; it was so incredibly peaceful and tranquil.

People made their way around the gardens, gazing at each spectacle. People either walked along the water’s edge or took shelter under the trees when the heat got a bit too much. The heat soon became an absence as I uncovered each sight; totally absorbed into my surroundings.

I can’t tell you how often I get asked why I like Singapore or why I enjoy living here, (surprisingly countlessly by my lecturers) but I believe it comes down to the extremely differing culture and venturing to places like the Chinese Gardens. There is so much I want to learn about, see and experience here. I am constantly adding to the list of things I want to do before I leave this country. Exploring these gardens gave me time to really reflect on these questions. I guess what I am trying to say is that I feel so blessed to be able to encounter and live in this part of the world. Maybe I am the kind of person who is easily pleased, I don’t know, but I have grown so much as a person, which I really did not expect in such a short amount of time. I have seen and experienced so many things I never thought I’d be able to do, let alone agree to! I’m not really sure why I am saying all of this, but I’ve been living here for over 7 months now and venturing to places as interesting and beautiful as the Chinese Gardens really do make the move worthwhile.

 I thoroughly recommend visiting the Chinese Gardens. The gardens are quite simply breathtaking. It is such a beautifully tranquil area, intricately designed and pleasantly situated away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore streets. 

My Singapore Must See #2: Gardens By The Bay

Gardens by the bay is hands down one of the most enchanting and breathtaking spots in Singapore. (That I have seen so far)

I went on a Saturday evening, so it was REALLY busy; as I expected. Although you can actually buy tickets online to avoid the long queues in the blistering heat. Also they are cheaper online!

I had heard that paying to go on the tree board walk wasn’t worth it because you can get really close to them and get a good view walking into and around the bay. The thing I have been most hanging out for this last month was the renowned flower dome! The ticket I purchased also included the cloud forest. Both of these domes are indoors and airconditioned.

The Bay is absolutely beautiful, I was totally in awe of the supertrees; iconic and tall as we entered the gardens. The Singapore flyer and Marina Bay Sands sat subtly in the background.

My first reaction entering the flower dome was a single word which extended through to rest of the sites; ‘wow’. It was a colourful, textured artwork of thousands of species of plants. It was a delicate, mesmerising wonderland. I had the take a moment to put my camera down and simply absorb everything around me. There are so many different gardens including the Australian, Mediterranean and desert. As you can imagine, the dome was overflowing with colours and oceans of flora.

The Cloud Forest was literally as the name suggests. A forest and abundance of plant species within a man- made cloud simulator. It was incredibly misty and really quite chilly. The first thing you saw when you walked in was a massive waterfall with copious amounts of stair cases and board walks creating an entwined maze through it. There were also many colourful vertical gardens within the cloud forest which were quite the spectacle.

If you’re looking for something which is eye catching and a place where you can spend simply hours absorbed into the scenery; Gardens By the Bay is the place!

Book Review #2: Me Before You

As I stare at the book cover, ‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes, I am struggling with where to begin. There is so much I want to say about this utterly breathtaking and enchanting novel. It has easily become one of my favourite books of all time.

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‘Me Before You’ is a novel which is centred around the fateful and unprecedented entry of the quirky Lou Clark into Will Traynor’s life. 

Lou Clark had lived a stationary life, heading nowhere until she lost her job at The Buttered Bun tea shop. She is also failing to face her true feelings towards her boyfriend Patrick. Will Traynor is a quadriplegic. His motorcycle accident took away his once strong desire to live. He now struggles daily with the present; dreaming of his past and lives a joyless life whilst burying a chilling secret.

Little do they know how much they will impact and influence each other’s lives for all time.

There is so, so much more to this book than what I have revealed to you all! Its full of shocking twists and turns which constantly makes your heart skip a beat. There is so much emotional depth portrayed through each of the characters, that it’s hard not to share their emotions. My heart was warmed by this book; singing along with the triumphant moments and falling to the pit of my stomach in the heartbreaking. Moyes has done so well in creating such relatable characters in this novel that I felt connected each of them.

Something I also really loved was the first person narration, which was employed by a few of the main characters. I LOVE  it when authors write in this style because I naturally find that I have so many questions about how other characters in certain situations feel and what their views are. 

‘Me Before You’ touched on many important questions that really got me thinking about my own life and my future. It made light upon the importance of having dreams, not letting anything hold you back and how the people you surround yourself with positively or negatively affect you. These are often overlooked.

I really hope I am not making this book come across as a fluffy and predictable read, because that is something it definitely is not.  

Even though a main character of this book is a quadriplegic, Moyes has so evidently taken time to research and have a deep understanding of what it is to be a quadriplegic. She was extremely sensitive with her words and descriptions. I really appreciated it in how she made it simple, yet a huge awakening for myself to read and understand the extent of the difficulties and the restrictions quadriplegics face on a daily basis. I also loved how she incorporated humour and banter into each of the characters interactions.  Her descriptions of absolutely everything in this novel were so deeply thought out, I loved it!!

I found the ending of this book so incredibly emotional, yet so beautiful and uplifting that I honestly had to read the last chapter of the book in my room because I was not too sure how I would react! All I can say is that, this book will DEFINITLEY make you cry. When I finished the novel I can say for certain I have never felt so empty yet determined to life my life to the fullest! (As cliché and vomit worthy as that may sound) I think we all take our lives for granted, when in actual fact each day is so incredibly fragile.

I was so torn finishing this book. It left me with so many twisted and contrasting emotions that I felt so far from consciousness.  Though honestly, I really do think it was the perfect ending. I dreaded the moment I would finish reading the final page; but I guess that’s when you know you have had a great read. I was left asking myself the question, ‘what book can top this?!’.

Little Slice of Heaven: Tioman Island

Ahh!! I’m so excited about writing this blog post!  I recently holidayed with my family to one of (in my own opinion) the most beautiful places on the planet.

Last week I travelled to Tioman Island, Malaysia. I also spent a few days after Tioman exploring other parts of Malaysia. Although, I was honestly so blown away by Tioman, I wanted to dedicate this post to it as it was so unreal.

The idyllic Tioman Island is located on the east coast of Malaysia. In order to get to Tioman, the most convenient way for my family was to drive from Singapore to Mersing, Malaysia. It was between 3-4 hours drive. This also included crossing the border, which can be a lengthy wait. Once we arrived in Mersing we drove to the ferry port and caught the ferry, getting off at the first stop; Genting.  It was so hot that day that hopping onto the freezing cold ferry and out of the un-air-conditioned port was a welcomed relief. The ferry was exactly the same as one you would take from Singapore to Bintan. The ferry trip from Mersing to Genting, Tioman took approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. 

Once we arrived at Genting, we pulled our luggage off the ferry and waited to be taken to our resort. Arriving in Genting I was already blown away. All my preconceived views that Tioman would be similar to Bintan went out the window. I had never in my life seen water so clear and blue with such breathtaking mountains and rock faces, highlighting the highest peaks of the island. Yet I had no idea that things were going to further exceed my expectations once we arrived at the resort.

We then hopped aboard a speedboat which took us to our resort; Minang Cove. The sun was perfectly accompanied by a cooling breeze as we made our way around the island. During the boat ride to the resort I spotted so many pristine, untouched beaches outlining the island and rock faces. It literally looked like the island had been Photo shopped or was something straight off a postcard. Honestly. It was unbelievable.

Our resort was small and quaint. I personally loved the long jetty which stretched out into the ocean. The entire resort was very fresh and clean looking, although it did not have any televisions or internet. Even though at first it sounded daunting to me, I found that I was taking part in so many activities and swimming each day that to have access to the outside world would have simply spoiled my time there.  

As soon as we arrived we hired snorkels and headed straight onto the jetty; plunging into the cool, clear water. Countless reefs surrounded the island with so many exotic species of fish and marine life. It was so exciting for me to be able to snorkel through living reefs which were so colourful. My family and I spent hours each day snorkelling at the resort. We were then determined to find an even better spot for snorkelling.

 

The food at the resort was top notch. I tend to find buffet meals to be overrated, greasy or bland although each night we were treated to a different meal theme such as Indian, Thai and seafood. It was absolutely delicious.

Our second day on the island saw us walking to the waterfall. I knew it would be a long walk, but I didn’t quite comprehend how difficult it would be alongside the blistering heat. We left the resort at 10 am and returned at 1:45pm. The scenery when walking to the waterfall was beautiful. We walked past many secluded beaches, lush greenery and monkeys. We also passed a village. It was so interesting to see the way the local villagers live in such colourful small homes. Arriving to the water fall was a HUGE relief. The water was so cold which meant that we were able to quickly cool down before we made our way back. The walking trail surprisingly busy as we got close to the waterfall; I was surprised. Despite the weather factor and the distance to get to the waterfall, I think if you really want to see the scenery and the lifestyle on Tioman, the walk is the best way to do it.

The next day we went snorkelling around a small island called Renggis. It’s a tiny island, so you could happily swim around it many, many times, but we primarily went there so we could see more marine life and vibrant coral. We boarded the speedboat at the resort and it took about half an hour before we made it to the Island. Beneath the water it really was another world. We saw everything from small sharks, eels, angel fish and flying fish. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I know I keep saying this, but I have never been somewhere where the landscape and scenery was so dreamlike.

The rest of the time I spent on the island consisted of a pedicure, eating, reading books overlooking the pristine water (perfection), swimming and snorkelling the days away. Each night we made our way, alongside the other guests to the end of the jetty to watch the sunset. The colours painted the evening sky, in a way that really showed everyone at the resort how glorious and picturesque Tioman Island is.

Following dinner each night all guests were invited to watch the fish feeding at the end of the jetty. It was super cool to see reef sharks and fish competing for food in the dark water as we all watched on excitedly spotting certain species. There was also a trivia and a bonfire night.  The most exciting of all was on our last night at the resort and there were fireworks. I have never been so close to fireworks before and underestimated how loud they were!

Leaving the island was so sad. We had made friends with all the guests as it was not a massive resort, as well as the extremely friendly staff. In case anyone is planning on staying at Minang Cove resort I can only say excellent things about it. The staff are so kind and genuine; they really want you to have the best possible time there. The food and accommodation are also wonderful. I was sad to leave the beaches, although in saying this I know I will be returning very soon! 

Book Review #1: Orange Is The New Black

I was kind of hesitant posting a book review on my blog, as I didn't think many would actually be interested in what I have to say. In fact, I've been staring at this post on my computer for the last couple of weeks contemplating what I should do with it.  Although in saying this, I recently thought; before I buy a new book I love, love, love spending time reading reviews and seeing how differently people react towards a novel! So with this, I hope you enjoy my book review on Piper Kerman's, 'Orange is the new black' !

Im sure the majority of people have heard of the Netflix program ‘Orange is the New Black’ right?! I heard about the program last year and was extremely intrigued when I read the story line. So much credit can be given to the title of the book and program; in all its brilliance and irony. Honestly, that alone made me immediately want to add the book to my ‘must read’ list.  Finally, I have been able to get my hands on the book!

So let me explain the context of this novel to you all. ‘Orange is the New Black’ is set from the point of view of Piper Kerman, a middle class white women who gets involved with drug runners. Although it is 10 years later (!!)  that her past manages to catch up with her and she is sentenced to jail for 15 months at a women’s prison In Connecticut. She struggles with living away from her family and fiancé although builds strong, positive relationships with her fellow inmates. Most of which are uneducated women of colour. Just this glimpse into the story line is absolutely gripping, and I haven’t yet informed you that it’s also autobiographical.

Now that I have recently finished the book, I can say for certain I have very mixed reviews. Crime is my favourite genre to read, as it’s so thrilling and if its written well, it can be absolutely mind blowing due to the unprecedented turn of events which are usually conveyed.

Overall, the novel is very well written and structured, which made it an easy read. Although I really hate to say, but I did find that it became quite repetitive. There was constant referencing to how many people believed Piper stood out compared to her fellow inmates and many who couldn’t believe she was in jail due to her appearance. At first it was surprising and interesting to read how people reacted towards her, but after sometime it just became a predictable beginning to a new chapter. There were also so, so many characters featured in the novel that I found it hard to keep up with each of their stories and personalities!

Despite these factors, Pipers story was uplifting,  triumphant  and extremely eye opening, which made it a thoroughly enjoyable read!! I have to say that the book was pretty hilarious and It gave me an exciting and at times disturbing glimpse into what life is like for a women behind bars. I really do recommend this book if you are interested in seeing how people develop and overcome difficult times in one’s life. I felt truly inspired by the way Piper was determined to get through this dark time in her life, yet kept her most important morals of loving her family, embracing the positives and looking out for her friends so close.