South East Asia - Year End Nostalgia 2

 For my 25th B'day this year, I travelled to Singapore, Bali and Cambodia. I travelled alone (well almost. My sister came with me to Bali and I was plonked at her place in Singapore... Okay Okay... I only really went to Cambodia alone), I planned a trip entirely by myself from scratch and had a blast! What better celebration could I ask for really!

From cutting my b'day cake in Bali and wandering around it's lush rice terraces and beautiful, elegant temples to sunning ourselves on the beach and going jet skiing, I loved every bit of my three days in Bali with my sister. I definitely plan to go back to that island and this time for longer. I'd love to live in a small house/apartment somewhere near the rice terraces and walk around at leisure in the midst of the greenery, taking my time to soak in the peace of a slow life lived in harmony with nature.

The highlight of my stay in Singapore (apart from getting to spend time with my darling sister and eating some yummy food) was a visit to the National Orchid Garden at the Botanical gardens in Singapore. Orchids are my favourite flowers and I don't think I really have to say anymore about why I was so happy to be where I was! I must also say here that the Botanical gardens are perhaps the most serene part of Singapore and an early morning sunrise visit to these gardens was a completely awesome beginning to a wonderful day!



I also managed to click a picture inspired by a photo in the very first issue of National Geographic that I subscribed to (it had a cover story on Angkor and I had been planning this trip in my head since I read that article in 2009). The article had a beautiful night time photo of Phnom Bakheng, the highest temple in the area. When I reached Phnom Bakheng at dusk, it was milling with a gazillion tourists. Climbing the last of the steep steps up to the temple, I pretty much gave up hope of getting a shot of it without people in the frame - something that would replicate the serenity of the picture I had seen to some measure. I wandered around, clicking randomly and looking like a forlorn kitten, when to my luck, I got a window of a few seconds when there was no one between me and the front facade of the temple. In those few seconds my brain and my hands and my camera seemed to work pretty much on auto pilot. In fact, I didn't even realise that I had gotten a clear shot till after I clicked it. It doesn't come close to the Nat Geo photo and there's lots that could be better with it, but clicking it made me really really happy.

This trip was one new year resolution that I did complete (there were others too and so this year has been productive on that account!)!!!


PS: I plan to make more resolutions like this one :D