The Best Things in Life Are Free

Hair drenched in seawater, we fell asleep under the sun while the beach music and joyful noise of people gently faded into the background. It's everything I need to genuinely relax - the sun, sea, wind and good music. An absolutely perfect way to start a new month, though I wish it could last a little longer.

I haven't had these in a while now. The last time I could remember is when I was still in Italy, where we spent a good few days only on the beach, from morning to dinner time. It was also the first time I had so much - almost too much time on the beach, and I finally learned to relax and take a nap at a public place without worrying about my belongings. It was just a rather different culture in my country where everyone avoids the sun. And the last thing we would do is falling asleep at somewhere public and leaving our belongings unguarded.

Anita and I were both initially lazy in the morning, having to pack our clothes and leave our beds, but Anita insisted that we go so we wouldn't waste another Sunday just staying at home doing nothing. At the end of the day I was so glad we made it there. It was everything I needed. The music, noises of kids and sound of water splashing form into this perfect melody as we fell asleep under the sun. 

Some people probably think it sounds fancy and expensive to go to a beach just to rest especially in Singapore (well if you order the food, yes it is a little pricey), but what you need to be happy - good company, sunshine, sea, wind and music. Best thing about it? They're all free! If you wouldn't want to spend too much, then you could just bring your own food there or so. Always live for the simple things in life! (:

All photos taken by iPhone - Mambo Beach Club, Sentosa

Penang through iPhone

The first month of 2015 is actually about to end in a few days. Have you realized how scarily fast time has past? I haven't made any new year resolutions because for the past few years I forgot about it few months into the new year, but if I were to make any now, it will include - blogging more often, they don't have to be perfect or always share-worthy, I simply don't want all the memories/images I take start collecting dusts in the computer/phone and being forgotten. I allowed this to happen way too much the past year. It might sound easy, but compiling, arranging, editing your images and posting them strangely require a lot of discipline.

2015 has been good so far, I have started running more often - thanks to Anita for always dragging me out. The highlight of the beginning of the year shall be the weekend trip to Penang with the girls from Fashmob. We stayed in the beautiful Blue Mansion (also known as Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion), which was under the "World's Top 10 Greatest Mansions" by Lonely Planet. I myself haven't visited the mansion before so it's all our first time there! Haven't been to Penang for a few years now, I had been dreaming of Penang Laksa and their Char Kuew Teow, they've (almost) all finally been satisfied. I wished we had more days to explore the street art and local cafes which have been increasingly popular these days in Penang, but there's always next time!

All photos by my phone (and a few from the other girls)

Since Penang is such a popular destination for traveling these days, we had been invading places full of tourists to shoot. In one of the pictures, you can also see how we just had our bags, shoes and accessories all over one of the popular streets with wire art. People came and went all the time to take pictures of the street arts, makes me wonder how many times I actually photobombed people's pictures.

We have unfortunately only been able to spot one of the more popular ones - the sibling riding the bicycle, and I had to squat down because I was blocking the little kid at the back :( Had a few surprises strolling down the street when you suddenly realized you were right next to a painting as big as the building. Now George Town feels like a place for treasure hunt, you see tourists holding their maps, searching for the next artwork that's hidden between the alleys.

Penang feels so much more different than how it was when I traveled here as a kid with my classmates at the age of 12. And I think it definitely has a lot more to offer despite how small the island is. Oh Penang, you're really beautiful in your very own way, and I'm definitely making a trip back again.