The Clarity of Foggy Days

I’ve been a slacker these past few weeks (ok, in all honesty...maybe for half a year now...) as you can see with last year’s pitiful number of posts. Truth be told, there are days where I feel like dropping everything to just travel the world for a year. That would be awesome! Then reality sets in and I start thinking about everything between Apartment Rent to Zika Virus — aaaaaaaand my happy daydream bubble is bursted. I start thinking of all the time “wasted”, my failures, my unknown future, and those pesky might-have-beens. Before I know it, I end up eating a whole bag of chips while staring out the window (I don’t even have a view to speak of, just the facade of another apartment). But before you think I’m trying to drag you into a pool of misery, let me tell you about what I learned. 

Through this, I learned that it’s okay to sometimes feel down. It’s okay to dream about seemingly impossible things. It’s okay to not always have a 1000 kilowatt smile plastered on your face. As Jessie J so wonderfully sings: “It’s okay not to be okay”.

I recently took these photos and I love how the fog and the snow hid things from my view. I find it calming when the top of buildings vanish into nothingness and the distant horizon is obscured. It is when glaring headlights turn into mystical floating pinpricks and a massive bridge fades into an indistinct shadow that I am reminded of the beauty of not seeing everything. In a world that glorifies being busy and equates wealth to a life well lived, a day covered in a blanket of fog just reminds me that perhaps the here and now is all that we need to see and appreciate. It’s okay when we haven’t figured out everything. It’s okay if you don’t have a ten-year master plan for your career and your whole life mapped out. It’s okay! To try. To take a misstep. To try again. It’s okay to fail! Trust me, it’s okay. I know that now. It just took me a walk along the Danube on a foggy day to finally see my life more clearly.

Cheers to 2016 and to a life lived 

one day at a time!

(p.s. Thank you for sticking around and 

I'm hoping you'll join me for a new travel series!) 

Before the Madness

It’s been a crazy couple of months for me, which explains why I’ve gone AWOL since August. Changes. So many changes. Lately, it felt like I could barely keep up with life. I didn’t even have time to think about traveling. I’ve been that busy. I needed a break from pretty much everything. So to escape all the madness and slow things down, I grabbed my trusty camera and went out early on a Sunday morning. With only the shrouded light of dawn and the echoing sound of my footsteps on the cobbled roads to accompany me, I walked the empty streets of Vienna.

Utter stillness. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful it felt. To be able to photograph again. To walk slowly without having to check if I’m not running late for anything. To just let my mind wander without mentally going through ten items on my to-do-list. To just live and be. Suddenly, my world was round again. 

As night fully gave way to the light of day and the world slowly awakened, I stowed away my camera with a smile on my face. Sometimes, just a few quiet moments before the maddening rush of day is all the sanity I need.

Thanks for dropping by!

Snippets & Musings III

My iPhone gallery is a memory lane. It is a collection of passing moments and fading sensations that are captured frame by frame. Whenever I have a hard day, I simply browse through my gallery to remember that life isn’t always as hard as it sometimes may seem. Life doesn’t just give us rainy days. Life can give you an endless field of wild Alaskan lupins. It can lead you through a mountain path shrouded in fog. Life can take you up to mountain glaciers or let you rest at the edge of a waterfall. No, it’s not just rainy days. We do get our share of blue skies and calm waters. All we need to do is remember. 

A lovely week to you all!

Lavender Fields On My Mind

The temperatures have been finally reaching the 30°C mark and to me that means summer has arrived in full swing. Though I enjoy traveling during winter, nothing gets me to wanderlust more than summer's early golden sunrises and balmy evenings. Presently, I am dreaming of the lavender fields in Provence. I’m itching to go back to France and spend a good whole week or two in the magical countryside. I have this picture in my mind of me cycling down a country lane that's lined on both sides with an endless sea of lavender, with the wind whipping my hair, the scent of summer heavy in the air, and perhaps a quaint old French village sprawled in the distance. Oh, be still my heart! I’m falling in love with a dream! Sigh. I cannot help it...I’ve got lavender fields on my mind. 

Happy travels dear reader!

City Wrapped with a Bow: An Essay on Winter Travels

Living far from old friends and family, my sister and I decided to start a tradition of our own. Every year on our birthdays, we would travel abroad and celebrate the coming of another year amidst strangers. We traded familiar loving souls for those fellow wanderlust-drenched travelers we meet on the road. Instead of good old home-cooked meals prepared in our mom’s kitchen, we opt for exciting unfamiliar dishes we can’t even pronounce correctly. Gone are the long talks with a glass of wine in the living room, as we choose to celebrate our birthdays in a country where the language is but a mysterious melody. Did I mention we skipped blowing candles and eating cake for dessert? And the pile of gifts to be unwrapped is now a city we slowly unravel to discover the unknown treasure that has until then been hidden to us.

It might all sound new and exhilarating but here’s one tiny bit of detail I haven’t mentioned yet: my sister’s birthday falls right in the height of European winter. So while others sit cozily by the fire with a cup of tea nestled between their hands, you will find me trudging through ankle-deep snow with luggage in tow braving the northern winds, risking flight cancellations, and longer airport layovers. Perhaps a bit crazy, you say. Ah! Perhaps not. Because there’s something utterly magical about traveling in winter. 

I’ve seen New York in May, when springtime turns Central Park like that solitary green sprout that grows between the concrete pavements. I found it a refreshing change from all that New York City gray. Yet in winter, Central Park reigns in all its frozen beauty! In a city of hard edges and muted colors, Central Park decked in white was a sight to behold. The frozen lake, the barren trees, all aloof in their white splendor. Then there was this winter trip to London. The empty alleys shrouded in fog are lifted right out of the pages of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. This was the mysterious London I learned to love but wouldn’t have known had I gone in mid-July. Standing still in the light of a lamppost, I saw my frosted breath mingle with the night. I could almost hear the horse drawn carriages swaying along the cobbled roads. I was transported back in time. 

But traveling in winter does not necessarily mean packing your snow boots and the thickest coat in your closet. The world is a big place after all. Wishing to fully escape the cold winter, my sister and I once decided to head to a place where the sun shines over an eternal summer. With a massive jet lag and bags filled with summer clothing, we arrived in a tropical paradise − the Philippines. Snorkeling, anyone? How about swimming with whale sharks in Cebu? I had summer sunshine right in the middle of winter!

This cold season, as you are snuggling beneath your blanket or hiding in the warmth of your kitchen, think about all those places you haven’t been to yet. Those places that lay unknown beneath a frosty white wrapping waiting for you to finally discover what’s hidden inside. Book a ticket. Pack your bags. Unwrap that city, layer by layer. 

Thank you for reading!

Snippets & Musings II

I am a summer person. The warmer the better. Add a few palm trees and the sound of the waves then I’m all happiness. But funny enough, I currently love this winter season. I am even hoping for more snow to fall. As I browsed through my iPhone gallery, I saw a pattern in my pictures. There’s a balance of white and black, of light and darkness, which goes to show that even in the darkest and coldest times, there’s light and warmth to be found. 

A few snippets of daily life this season.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mornings Far Away

There’s something wonderful about waking up in another city.  Suddenly, the sounds that gently nudge you from your slumber are unfamiliar and somehow unreal. Did I just hear someone calling out in Spanish? you ask yourself, as your drowsy mind tries to make sense of reality. And since when did you hear sharp whistles for a cab at this hour of the day? It takes a while for consciousness to sink in and for you to fully awaken to take in the  newness of your hotel room. 

Then the adventure that a new morning brings starts to unfold.

I love tiptoeing in the dim light to draw back the curtains to reveal another world framed in the window. A bustling street scene of Barcelona, the rhythmic movement of the ocean, an expanse of towering buildings in New York, or the mountains of the Austrian Alps — all the possibilities of the world hidden beyond an enchanted curtain. And all that magic right at the start of a day. 

As I crack open the window or step out onto the balcony, another whole wave of sensations fill my senses. How could the smell of mountain air be so fresh or the salty ocean breeze be so inviting? How could the crisp chilly air of the north transport me right back to my earliest childhood memories? Everything seems surreal. 

Oh yes, how wonderful it is to wake up in another city, where your soul arises as your body awakens. Everything is recognized more keenly. The foreign sounds and smells are perceived and not merely overlooked. The beauty of the world is appreciated and not just ignored. Each morning brings hope and excitement. Life is lived intimately. 

And all begins with mornings far away.

Thank you for reading!

The Indistinct Holiday

December came one Monday morning. The sombre grey city donned it’s most festive attire while the scent of roasted chestnuts pervaded the air. It’s Christmas. And it’s almost here. As I watched the flurry of activity around me, I realized how much we get caught up in a holiday whirlwind. So, I set out one day with my camera to capture that atmosphere. Yet, as the evening sky darkened and the lights began to twinkle, the mood of that day evoked something else within me. I somehow ended up capturing something entirely different from what I set out to do. 

And I began to wonder.

Do we all truly know the meaning of Christmas? Do we all recognize the reason why we celebrate this season? In a society where every holiday has been turned into some profit-making event, I suddenly questioned if we even see Christmas for what it is...or do we see an indistinct image the world offers us and claim to see clearly. 

In the rush of buying gifts and partying with family and friends, do we ever take time to even say a word of prayer to the one whose birthday we are actually celebrating? Christmas represents the birth of Christ. It’s not about exchanging gifts and decorating your house. It’s not about parties and gatherings. It’s about rejoicing the birth of Jesus. It’s taking time to remember the birth of our Savior. We celebrate Jesus this day and not each other. Until we truly understand the reason Christmas is celebrated, we see nothing but blurred shapes and hazy lines.

So let’s truly celebrate Christmas this year.

Let’s celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ! Only then do we see Christmas clearly.

Thank you for reading!

Autumn Red

Autumn Red

by Karline Kim G.

Autumn’s breath was in the air

And the trees began to shiver

Slowly leaves turned brown and gold

As all that’s green began to wither

Yet not all leaves turned to yellow

Some chose not to fade instead

How could I have ever failed to notice

That Autumn comes in shades of red

In crimson hues and russet tones

They glowed in defiant splendor

A final show before Winter comes

When all leaves must then surrender

In quiet reverie I stood

Gazing at the leaves ahead

Thanking God for every season

And for Autumns in shades of red

Have a lovely Autumn season!

Snippets & Musings

When I’m not traveling, I do not often take my camera with me. Ok...maybe, more often than most people bring theirs, but still not as often as I would like to. My point is that there are so many everyday trivialities that are easily taken for granted when in fact, they are wonderful realities of day to day living. For such moments, when I want to capture a slip in time, I whip out my iPhone. It’s quite enough to capture those quick stolen moments of life. 

Here are a few of those snippets I want to share with you.

A Lovely Weekend to All!

July Summer Days

July summer days. Could we please make them last just a little bit longer? If you have been high on summer fever these last weeks let me slow things a bit down for you. Set aside those travel books and maps. Take a pause from packing and planning. Just be still awhile and relish the simplicity of summer beauty. Breathe it in. Oh, how I love this season of sunshine and warmth. Even ordinary walks in the park turn into something special. 

Let me share with you a July summer day spent at a fountain with a pair of ducks and an abundance of waterlilies. 

Have a lovely summer! 

Thank you for reading!

Tranquility in This Restless World

Summer is fast approaching. Can you sense it? I hear it with the chirping of birds ere the break of dawn. I feel it in the gentle breeze through my open window. I see it in that azure sky. Yes, Summer is coming − and I’m giddy with excitement. I am already checking out potential countries to visit . Might have even narrowed it down to one particular country that presently beckons me to its rolling hills and enticingly calls me by name. 

        
Whatever you do this summer, wherever you go, or even if you just plan to stay at home, find time to relax. Give yourself a break. Summer is all about kicking off your flip-flops and treating yourself to a 24/7 relaxation therapy a.k.a lazying around. Relaxation to me is a time of wandering barefoot along the beach. To feel the water gently lapping against my ankles. To sit under a palm tree with my eyes closed while listening to the song of the waves − a mix of mighty roars that strangely lulls me to sleep. My body relaxed. My mind blissfully drifting. And when I’ve spent the entire day doing sweet nothing, I reward myself by watching the sun set beyond the horizon. Oh, if it were possible, I’d sit by the shore and watch an eternal sunset paint the heavens! A  source of tranquility in this restless world. 

Thanks for reading!

Hidden Spring

Another post to celebrate the beauty of this season. I was walking around the old city center of Vienna in search of lovely nooks & crannies to photograph when I stumbled upon a lone flower shop in the shadows of the Stephansdom. It looked like it had already been there when lords and ladies paraded their frivolous attires in Springtime. I probably spent a good fifteen minutes outside the shop just feasting on the beautiful sight. It was like a hidden garden or a burst of Spring against the gray cobblestones and the dark shadows of the old buildings surrounding it. Quite a treasure. 

Wishing you all a lovely Spring!

Thank you for reading!