Birthday girl dreams...

And so it was my birthday. 27. Already.

Here is the photo of the day sent to me by a darling friend of mine:

and here is a photo of my birthday evening: one seriously broken heel, a glass of sake, (stolen - don't tell!), thoughtful gifts and a birthday cake, just for me!

I don't have too many friends, and only a handful of true friends, but wherever I go, however I feel, I know they are there. From close or afar, in words or thoughts, in silence or poetry. Always.

I have many plans for this year. After a few traumatic months, I am getting back, slowly but surely, to having control of my life. Of course the demons of the past always re-appear and make you give a tear or two on your birthday. This happy occasion which is suddenly overtaken by memories, and the soul becomes numb.

Whether I will carry on being where and how I am, or whether I want to go as far as possible and start all over, I am decided to make this 27th year the best fulfilling, the most challenging, the most daring, or simply the best, yet. One of those, or all of those. Who knows?!

So now is the waiting game, until it is time to announce the big plans. I am debating between telling the whole world so that there is no way out, no escape, and I have to do ahead with it, or whether I ought to wait until I am ready.

My head is already full of excitement, ideas, novelty, dreams, but still also fears, memories and a little panic too.


My last birthday in the UK - was it?! The debate is open. 
Suggestions of 'what' and 'where' are most welcome too.

Tales of my trip to China #3

I know that in my first two posts, I did not write what the photos represented and why I liked them, but I think that this way, you tend to look a little deeper into them, and find something of interest to you. Why I like them is easy - because they remind me of another world, a world far far away, of opportunities. Eye-opening.


So for the third, and last, leg of my pictorial diary, I will do it a little differently, and in two parts. The first part will be some 'do not miss' things that you must look for if you go there. Those are what strikes me most and as a result, what I enjoyed most there. The second part is simply little delights that I bought when I was there, that have now become treasures of their own.

What not to miss:

• Straw hats 
• Bicycles
• The metro
• Shenzhen port
• Views from the tallest building
• Chinese ornaments and souvenirs
• Clothes drying on balconies and in front of shops
• The quietude of Chinese people
• Traditional Chinese breakfast 

What to expect:

• People wear mouth masks but there are no stigmas about it.
• There are still people who fill up your car tank for you.
• Chinese people are very keen on English football teams.
• There are no rules on the road. 
• Chinese food is not as you know it.
• Shops and markets often look messy, with bulk packs and no display.
• Every meal ends with sliced fruit (it is brought to you without even ordering it)

What I bought:

Tales of my trip to China #2

A little delayed, here are some of my pics from Hong Kong. 


Personally I did not enjoy HK as much as I thought I might. It was very grand and the views from the Peak were extraordinary, but it was all a little too much, too wealthy and just not historical and culturally different for me! Fair enough I was only there a day but I'd still be really interested to know what you think of it.


In the meantime, here's to daydreams!

Tales of my trip to China #1

Very recently for day-job purposes, I travelled to the other side of the world to Shenzhen in China.

I still can't believe I was all the way over there.

It is very hard to describe everything I saw, and even though Shenzhen is very westernised, discovering about the Chinese culture was really fascinating.

What did I like the most?

1. The bicycles (so many everywhere, being used as a traditional people-carrier, or to carry plants, water jugs, and all sorts of other things!)

2. The shops - not really shops per se, more like warehouse where everybody is in bulk, not many displays or shelving units, everything sort of in a mess with lots of Chinese signs everywhere.

3. Laundry drying out on every single balcony and in front of shops.

4. Everything being in Mandarin and me not understanding a single word.

If anything, this trip certainly made me want to travel a lot more, see more of the world and maybe even learn Mandarin.

Here are a few snaps of my trip...

They may not be perfect, may be a little blurry but to me they are just perfect. I had wished I had been able to take more, but as we were driving most of the time, it was a bit of a challenge.

Where did you go that inspired you? Have you visited Shenzhen before?