God bless...

I awoke this morning with a headache. Did not sleep well last night after surfing BBCworld and Straits Times websites for updates on the tsunamis that hit the region. Perhaps I was thinking too much. This whole day for me was like a dream... Partly cuz I was tired and slightly groggy, but yet was still out on the busy streets of Orchard. Caught 'Phantom of the Opera' and for that few hours in the afternoon, my mind was not on the disaster. But, it did not last long.

Came home to watch the news and the death toll stand at 23,000 lives now, with 11,000 in Sri Lanka alone. More footage, more dead bodies, more flooding. Footage that showed the town of Galle I was at just last Sun. It's a coastal town with a fort that was built by the Dutch (and later on improved by the Portugese, British and Sri Lankans) and a lovely place that I adore. Simply because I could stand on the fort and look out at the immense Indian Ocean and shout to my heart's content.

Immense. That's what the Indian Ocean is. And it took so many lives in just a day. Or should I say, just a few minutes. The town of Galle as shown in the footage on BBC news was unrecognisable. Flooding which caused people and vehicles to be swept away all at the same time. The bus station was not there anymore. They did not show further inland. The entire place is now just a memory in my mind, albeit a sweet one. After rebuilding, it will not be the same anymore.

Went to Lonely Planet Travel forum, a site which I frequent and the fellow travellers have the following to say:

"Right now i am in chennai and can tell you that many people living / walking / jogging along the beach here did not know what hit them and by the time they realised, everything was over.The scenes were unbelievable , many dead bodies on the famous marina beach lying and many more getting washed back ashore.For those who want to help, i cannot see how they can possibly add to what is being done.Most of the affected areas near the sea shore has been cordened off.I saw large number of onlookers and the police are trying their best to keep them at a distance. I am sure the situation will be same right along the sea shore in the entire Tamilnadu.Part of Andrapradesh sea shore bordering Tamilnadu is also affected.

Fishermen folk with their families have been living for centuries on the shores.They park their boats/catamarans right on the shore.You can also see them tending to their nets in the afternoons before they get back into the sea at night.Generally they all leave in the night for fishing and get back in the early part of the day with their catch.These are the people who are the most affected.Fishing during the calm period like y'day is a major activity and many of these fishermen have not come back.No news what happened to their boats. Some of them who were on shore also had the tragic event of their hutments along with some of their dear ones washed away. Collossal tragedy!! We always depend on our requirement of fresh sea food from these folks.From here on , i have decided not to bargain with them , where ever they are, when i visit the market next.Theirs is a tough life but i have not realised how badly they can get affected in these natural calamities.

Many of us here have decided to part with our earnings to an official relief contribution fund.We will await the govt. announcement in this regard."

It's the repercussions of this calamity that will cause many to suffer in years to come. The number of lives wasted are innummerable and the homeless are countless, with over a million being displaced in Sri Lanka alone. And the way people are killed; snorkellers being dragged out over shallow reefs and then washed ashore dead; stiffened bodies shown on the TV due to drowning; fishermen out there in the seas going about their daily chores not even aware of a killer approaching them and whose bodies may never be found in the vast seas...

I feel sick. Even neighbouring Malaysia is hit with deaths. Singapore is so lucky. We are forever so sheltered. While I was walking along Orchard Road this afternoon, I was even wondering if the people round me know what's happening in the region or not. Ignorant? Or simply non-chalent?

I have friends from Sri Lanka whom Im praying for their safety now. Especially those around the coast. And got to know surfer who's planning to spend his hols surfing along the Southern coast of Sri Lanka. I pray for his safety too.

Tomorrow is Tues. I have a chalet going on and a birthday party to attend at night. It's hard to bring myself to party and have fun when so many others are out there suffering. I sent out a mass message this afternoon to many friends to pray for those involved in this catastrophe. The bday girl of tommorow actually returned my sms with a reminder for me to collect her cake tmr at a specific place and time. Insensitive? I felt so.

Perhaps I should not think too much. I went back in time to estimate that should this earthquake struck just one week before, I would be stranded in Sri Lanka. I would not be able to come down to the coastal town of Galle from the hill country in the central and I may have difficulties getting to Colombo for my flight out. This does not daunt me actually. What exactly is affecting me, I also cannot say precisely. But to the millions out there affected directly and indirectly by this natural calamity, my heart goes out to them...

I feel so drained...

Devastating earthquake in Indonesia spreads like fury to regional countries

oh dear... Was at Jurong Point just now having a gathering with my primary school pals when Annie called and told me that there was a serious earthquake in Aceh that measured 8.9 and it had caused tsunamis all around the region, hitting the coastal towns most badly... I turned on the news to BBC when i reached home and the devastation is tremendous... Logged on to the news online and so many are dead in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Thailand.... Nicobar and Andaman Islands and Malaysia too...

As I read the news reports, all those names of the towns that I had been to just over the past 2 weeks are so familiar... To think I was just at the South coast of Sri Lanka last week... My heart is rather heavy now... I have made friends over the course of my travels in the country and they included both locals and fellow travellers... I pray for their safety and am hoping that they are well. Many fishermen are reported washed up on shore in India and Sri Lanka... Oh dear... The fury of Mother Nature... And it's supposed to be Christmas...

Feeling so helpless in my computer room right now... Had been logging onto the Lonely Planet Forum and many others are so concerned about the situation too. Guess it's kinda like a network for travellers to find console in one another and update whatever they can. How I wish I could do more.

All I can do now is simply pray and hope the Red Cross and other aids can reach the region ASAP. And that Mother Nature has mercy on the people...

Words I live by...

Found this bookmark stuck in my diary which I kept for my 1st backpack trip to Thailand and Laos. Would like to share those words found on the bookmark:

Believe in Yourself, and Remember that Anything is Possible

Believe in what makes you feel good, and what makes you happy.

Believe in the dreams you've always wanted to come true, and give them every chance to.

If you are willing to take the opportunities you are given and utilize the abilities you have,
you will constantly fill your life with special moments and unforgettable times.

No one knows the mysteries of life or its ultimate meaning,
but for those who are willing to believe in their dreams and in themselves,
life is a precious gift in which anything is possible.

Greetings from Nuwara Eliya!

Hello from the the city that's 1889m above sea level!It's beautiful here and im right now alone in an internet cafe as Eileen, my travel partner, is on herway back to Colombo to catch a connecting bus back tothe airport for the midnight flight back home!

Im gonna be alone for the next 3 days before i make my way home on the 20th on the midnight flight(it's actually 21st already, 1am flight) Sorry for not writing earlier as we were in towns that have nointernet access or else we were in GHs that were too'wuloo' and we r left with no choice but to stay in and get no connection with the rest of the world.

It was raining the entire day yesterday and the pastweek. Freak weather, as the boss of my GH now said. Cuz it's not supposed to be raining now. The monsoon season ought to be over for the South coast and central areas. It was sooooo freezing cold last nightwhen we arrived here in the evening. According to the boss, it's 4-6degrees celcius! :p!!! The 2 of us did not sleep well last night as well. Actually, for the past week, it has been cold at night; din sleep well. Kept waking up.

Visited some amazing places here in the country. From the beautiful beaches on the South coast to the hilly region in the central region, there are beautiful temples, awe-inspiring mountains, towering Buddha sculptures, never-ending stretches of beaches,British-style cottages and cathedrals scattered all over. Im actually looking forward to coming back for the 2nd time. The only country that i want to come back to next to Turkey. There's so much more to explore but so little time.

Travelling here is not tough if u have the guts totake the bus and trains. It's not as bad as those bus journeys i have taken in Myanmar. The people are ultra-friendly and most willing to help you. The kids here will actually wave u 'hello' and 'bye' as u walk past them. Some will even run up to you to greet u!Those innocent smiles and curious stares can simply melt your heart... The adults who say 'hi' are usually guys while the ladies will smile. A very comfortable feeling as it makes u smile back too, n easily brighten up the day.

Of course, every city has its poor and hungry as well. The city is not without beggars, but not many. A thought crossed my mind the other day. What's the worst kind of poverty would u want to endure? Is it no food, no water, no clothing or no shelter? There are the homeless here, n I feel that's the worst kind of poverty that can strike one. It means u don't have a shelter over ur head rain or shine. At night, u sleep out on the streets with only a thin blanket and whatever clothes u have on your body. You gotta depend on other kind souls to feed you. You do not get to bath and for all you know, u may just die from a disease on the roadside with no one to handle your body.

Morbid? Maybe. Just a thought that came to me when i saw the squatters beside the railway station one day.What else but makes me appreciate my life so much more.

Even the dogs back in Singapore are so fortunate. Istayed at a GH which was close to Nature as it was facing a lake where there was an abundance of birdlife and the locals make use of the lake to bath and wash their clothes. They have a dog named 'Buddy'. Buddy had 3 pups and she's so skinny although the guy whoworks there(Chandana) told me that she's fed 3X a day.I could not finish my rice and curry one evening as it was too spicy and decided to give it to the dog. (The previous night, Eileen gave a packet of spicy prata to the dog but we din see Chandana feed the dog.) When Chandana called the dog the 2nd night, she came immediately and you should have seen the way shedevoured the rice! Goodness! She ate it so fast and so cleanly! Not a grain of rice left! And she even ate up the plastic cover! My goodness! Im so worried for her digestive system. Poor thing. When i peeled a banana for her after that, she did not eat it but took it to look for her pups. Sweet.

I went for a walk just now around the town after sending Eileen off on the bus to Colombo. Settled down at a local eatery for lunch and then walked around this small town where i actually walked up the hills and took quite a lot of photos of the surroundings. Breath-taking scenery with fresh air. No one seems tonotice much of me thou im wearing a yellow windbreaker. That's the kind of town i like. :)))

With me travelling by myself, the expenses are going to increase n im gonna have meals by myself. But Ienjoy the solitude as well. When u can have more time to focus on your thoughts and think thru things and observe more. Eileen and I talk a lot at times.*Chuckles* But it's been great fun having her around!One very easy-going lady with whom I can crap a lot with! :p Right, girl?? Heh.

The reason why i did not blog is because i could nottype in my Blog. The operating system they used her in this cafe is 'Lindows'. Mmmm... Maybe tt's why i can't seem to blog. I read the comments. 'Princess' did not state who she is?? And don't worry, I've handed up my case study before i left!

Alrite, im off to expore the gardens nearby now!Enough of facing the computer for the past hour. My next update may be when im back in S'pore!

Ciao!
Eunice

(Posted on the 21st Dec at the comforts of my home)

Greetings from Colombo!

Am nw in an Internet cafe in Colombo and it's a cool place with the A/C on. Time:650pm. Charge: S$1/hr.

3rd evening in Sri Lanka. 2days spent in the country. Feeling? Good. Did not have the mood of travelling when i departed on Wed. But as the days went by, it got better. The pple here are friendly, n...just friendly. Warm too. The kids will smile at u. The ladies too. And the guys will say 'hi'. In fact, the kids too. They would even come up specially to ask u "How r u?" Very sweet of them.

Arrived at 9pm on Wed night. Got a cab to Negombo town which is 20mins ride away from the airport.Went to a GH which was recommended in LP but cost USD11 + 10% service charge per night! Too ex! So the driver brought us to another GH which cost USD10 per night. No choice. Who ask us to arrive in the evening?

Next morn, 9/12/04. Walked around to look for breakfast and go to the town centre since we were going to spend one whole day in Negombo. We walked to the beach as Negombo has a long coastline and i saw the Indian Ocean for the 1st time in my whole life! It was amazing! It was only 8am then and the fishermen were still coming in with their catches of the day and many of them were trading and sorting out the fishes. Quite an amazing sight. Seen nothing like this before. Eileen (my travel partner) said that this can be seen in some parts of M'sia acually. But the huge wide sea was so vast... No horizon... Guess u just can't beat seeing one of the 5 oceans of the world on its own!

After a couple of photo shoots, we continued our hunt for breakfast and chanced upon a shop selling bread. Ate two bread that only cost $0.50! Back to the good old 70s...

We walked down a bit further and decided to buy mineral water, where we also chanced upon a Sri Lankan businessman who works in Hong Kong. He greeted us and asked if we were from HK. Thereafter, a short coversation ensued and we found out that he does trading between Sri Lanka, HK, Europe and Bangkok. He was flying to BK that aftn, in fact. He even spoke Cantonese with Eileen, which i understood no word of what was going on. He frequents that particular restaurant and even says i the GH. When he found out our GH ost USD10 per nite, he told us that the one he stays at cost only half of that!

Well, so in order to save money, we actually decided to walk all the way back to our GH, which was 30mins' walk! Checked out, carried our backpacks and wlaked another 30mins BACK to where the new GH was! CRAZY eh? It was close to 11 and the sun was blazing hot! :P Almost 'peng' with my 10kg backpack? N my day pack which weighed alomost 5kg??

After checking into the new GH, we walked to the town which was about 20mins away. Spent the whole aftn roaming the town area and its surroundings. My oh my, we estimated that we have walked almost 30km for the entire day?? Cuz the old GH was abt 3.2km from the new GH, and we walked that stretch 3times! So thast was easily 10km! ARGH... My Chacos sandals are not giving me 'face' aymore. I had 2 blisters at the end of the day and a few patches of skin that are sore.

Lunch was simply rice, with spicy cabbage, a small pcs of fish, some spicy grated coconut and some sour salad. Very challenging as i managed to finish everything but not the coconut and cabbage. SPICY.

Dinner was seafood salad with a generous serving of squid, prawns and tuna, mixed with onion and parsley? Tomato cream soup was good. They cooked it themselves! VERY TASTY! Eileen ate the fried noodles which was equally good. The business at the restaurant was very good. Full house. But they serve really good food. Eileen passed a comment like, "Wah... Every night full house can survive already eh? I also want leh..." That was a comment coming from a busy career woman who yearns to be leading a smple life. Well, that's the way life is here lor... Just full house at the restaurant in the evenings can give u a very good life...

10/12/04: Today. Crossed the street to a prata stall to eat prata. Had it with curry. They have both plain and egg ones down here too. We had some white vermicelli like stuff which is eaten with coconut and brown sugar in S'pore. And i had my first teh tarik here! Which was a bit too sweet for my taste. WAH!!! Everything cost only 60Rs! Less than S$1! What a cheap breakfast.

Left for the bus station on a public bus wich cost us 5Rs. Journey was 30mins. Alighed and looked for the bus to take us to Colombo. A 1hour journey on a mini bus, with very comfy seats and A/C costs us only 37Rs.

Arrived Colombo at about 1130am. Got a 3-wheeler (what we noe as tuk-tuk in Thailand) to take us to the GH we wanted to go. Oh dear, the GHs were all far beyond our budget. The driver was a very patient man who actually brought us to some GHs that he tot may have the rate that we were looking for. But nope, no such luck. He din force us to take the GH when we dun want too. Very good man, i must say. He did not lie to us about the distance and price when we were at the bus station earlier discussing the price. Honest.

In the end, after we went to 4 GHs, it was the last one that cost only 500Rs when we decided to take it. One night only. The place is the Sri Lanka Youth Hostel and oh man.... This gotta be the wort GH i have stayed in. It's old, dark, run-down and no other travellers were staying there. They only have one triple room and all the others were dorms... (but the dorms have cracked walls and some beds dun have mattresses on them) The room was musty and dark and the beds dusty. Only a young lady and an old man were seen in the place. SInce it was only one night, we just took it. 250Rs per person. About $3.50?? Where else can u get tt? Sighz.. Hope i wun get bitten by bed bugstonite lor... CHOY... I can show u guys the photo next time if u want.

Colombo is far too big to explore by foot. We merely walked around the area near our GH and did some shopping. Window shopping? And ate dinner and here we r... The traffic here is atrocious as well, like that of Bangkok. Noisy and polluted. But people here are as friendly. Most can speak rather good english. Not much prob getting around.

We'll be making our way down to the historic town of GalleTaking the train which goes by the coastal route! And the Indian Ocean will be my companion for the entire journey! Can't wait! :))) Till the next update!

Of Sri Lanka & my half-marathon

Yo guys!

Lalalala…. I really dunno how to start off this email but well, since im in a rather good mood… It went quite simply, “Lalalalala….� Heh… It’s the 8th Dec today and im flying off to Sri Lanka later on the 705pm flight! Guess most of u oredi noe that im flying off to somewhere, but dunno where… Well, it’s Sri Lanka! Albeit only a short trip of 12 days… Planned to be a solo trip initially, until a friend decided to join me impromptu n TADA! It’s 2 females from Singapore now exploring the interiors of Sri Lanka for the next 12days! (No need to lie to my parents! :p)

Why Sri Lanka? I actually did harbour thoughts of going there a few months ago because of 1) its climate in Dec which is still tropical due to its location of just 6o north of the equator & 2) it’s still a developing nation & 3) the flight I managed to book was thru Zuji at only $423! Flying Cathay Pac! *Chuckles*

Australia? Too ex… Beijing? Too cold, thou flights are cheap. Nepal? Want my trip there to be combined with Tibet and be a really magical one since it’s a dream country since young. Sri Lanka was actually very out of my mind since I harboured tots of goin in Sep during the exam period. The inspiration actually came from the cheap airfares offered by Zuji. Then while I was online one evening on the 4th Nov, the promotion was on again n VOILA! I got the tics the next evening!

The weather had been good in S’pore the past 2 days. N I just finished my packing an hour ago (The time now is 2pm). Rather lazy and ‘stoned’ for the past 2 days after rushing thru my reports and going down to school yesterday to hand it up. Somehow, dun feel like leaving. (“What??? U don’t wanna fly??!!�) No, no, no… Not that, it’s just im still trying to get into the mood of HOLIDAYING… Thou my attachment ended last Fri, there were so many datelines to meet and I have yet to immerse myself in the mood for travel. (“Are u kidding??�) Heh… no, no… I’m sure it’s just ‘inertia’… I need to get to the airport 1st! Dun really feel the xmas spirits, like I used to in my younger days… Life seems to pass like a breeze these days that u dun really have time to stop and smell the flowers…

I actually went swimming yesterday despite the cold and wet weather in school. Miss swimming in school. Wooo…. The muscles aches were more or less gone… Mmmm… Rem. The half-marathon that I mentioned about in my last blog entry? For those who read it, u would noe that I had a run on Sun, 5th Dec…

It was my first half-marathon n im sure it wun be my last. During my own trainings at times, I had often lamented the kinda time I gotta put in and said that I would never do it ever again! But well, with one challenge accomplished comes another… Im looking fwd to doing another one next year at a better timing than this year. Perhaps, I would take up some other physically demanding challenges as well. That gotta wait till 2005 when the list of events start coming up.

The morning of 5th Dec. 430am. That’s the time I ought to wake up. But I only did at 445am. My dad was kind enough not to clean up the cab and fetch me and my buddy to City Hall. :p Thank you, Daddy. Saved me a sum of money.

545am. Arrived at City Hall. Walked to Esplanade. Saw many other runners on the way there. Stretching, jogging on the spot and even cycling. A strange sense of urgency overcame me as I wanted to leave my bags at the deposition counter, go to the toilet and settle down fast to prepare myself mentally and physically for the run.

Oops. Deposition counter for bags at the Padang. The run begins at the Esplanade Bridge. Gotta u-turn and come back again. At this point in time, I was rather kan-cheong for fear of lack of time to warm up properly.

605am. Bags deposited and toilet visited. Time for warm up. We gathered with a few thousand others already at the bridge and warmed up by running up and down. Stretched included as well.

627am. The run was started. We were about 100m away from the starting point from where we stood. It was a slow stagger at the beginning. But everyone was jogging. Unlike the other 10km runs I had been to, many people there were simply walking or not taking the run seriously. These are THE runners, I told myself. And I felt good to be among them. J

My legs felt good; I did not feel the weight of my body and I felt rather light. Which were all good signs to me as they determined how my body would take the 2hr+ run. I kept telling myself to relax my shoulders and not stiffen up. After all, I was there to enjoy the run. No stress. The pace was kept rather constant and my radio was with me. Music accompanied me throughout the runs, except at times when I switched it off to enjoy the peace and serenity of some stretches, particularly the Marina South and Marina Bay stretches.

One signboard along the way wrote: “Simply by running, you have already beaten 99.9% of the population.� Quite an inspiration.

30mins into the run: The top marathoners were already making on the opposite stretch. They had already completed close to 20km? They started 30mins before us and had ran for 1hr. Everyone shouted and cheered for them. It was a wonderful feeling. I joined in too. Those shouts did not zap me of my breath, but instead proved to be a boost to my run. Mentally.

Just 40minutes into my run, my senior and I were pleasantly shocked to see an old friend(actually my senior) ran past us on the opposite stretch. WHOA! He used to be this plump, pudgy boy when he was in Judo. Oh dear, how had canoeing in JC changed him. He does triathlons and biathlons now. And he was the 6th Singaporean to come in for the marathon in the guys’ category at a timing of 3hr 6mins. Amazing!

1hour 5 mins. 10km completed. The route markers started to be present at every kilometer. Hate it. Don’t like to count down to the number of kilometers I have left. I broke away from my senior as well. And so, my only source of companionship on the run was gone.

745am. The sun was rising and we ran past the Marina South area. Lotsa greenery and they became my source of relief as they acted as a shade against the rising sun. It felt very peaceful and clam over there as well cuz there were only the runners, volunteers at the drink stations and first-aid counters. Other than that, all around us was simply Nature.

Around 810am. My 15km mark. I felt my legs starting to protest. The lactic acid was building up. Once again, relax, I told myself. No worries. It’s the last 5km. It’s time to prove to myself that I can go beyond the 1hour 32mins for my last training run. Enjoy the scenery. Yup, I did. The sun rising over the Clifford Pier area was enchanting. I have always dreamed of running that stretch along the Marina Bay area where it could connect to Kallang and Tanjung Rhu. The marathoners did go there. I was contented to just run that stretch.

830am? Back on the Esplanade Bridge, where we flagged off. The last stretch was ahead of me. I sped up a bit to give my best shot… The bridge was a bit ‘slopey’. Oops. Made a mistake. That was not the last stretch! It was going to end at Padang, approximately another 1.1km ahead! Upon reaching the end of the bridge, the lactic acid in my legs were ‘foaming furiously’, threatening to make me give up. Nope. No way. It’s really the last stretch this time! Im gonna give it my best!

Could not go the same speed as earlier. But nevertheless, it was the same constant speed that I had maintained during the run. Many runners sped past me for the last 200m. My legs refused to give me the power. But I did not limped nor slowed down. Simply persevered.

At last. 840am. I completed my very first half-marathon successfully. Estimated that I took around 2hours 12minutes. My knees and thighs felt like they were being strangled with a rope. They felt soooo tight. Stretched and warmed down after getting a drink and walking around for 10minutes. Kept watching out for my friend to see if she’s back.

It did not dawn on me immediately after the run that I had completed a 21.1km run non-stop. When I started training 2mths ago, it was simply to run throughout the entire journey and not to stop. As time went by, I began to raise my challenge. To sub 2hour 15mins for the run.

When I checked my timing on the website just now, it was even better than I thought. :p I don’t think I wanna put down the timing here in case some of u pple tot that im trying to show off! But one thing tt made me feel very good was the analysis that they made online for each individual runner. (Opposite sex: “For the record, you were ahead of about 63% of male entrants�) Hehe… Im quite a feminist at times.

So… those 2 months of training paid off… And thanks so much to my dear senior who agreed to take part in the run together with me that caused me to make the choice to take my 1st move. I never regret it! I MADE IT! J

For those of u out there who r hesitating to do the first run, or anything along that line, just wanna tell u guys that with passion and determination, u can always accomplish whatever u set out to do. Follow your heart, wherever it may lead you to.

I once told a friend that I cannot stand kids nowadays as many of them are spoilt brats and they’re sooo hard to educate in some ways. She then asked me what I was like when I was a kid. Well, I was a rather low-esteemed child, with not much confidence to face things and hence, I was passive and not out-spoken at all. I reckon this came with the kinda environment I was brought up in. No, my parents, particularly my Dad was a great teacher (esp during my teenage years) but in Chinese families, there’s always bound to be comparisons among the cousins and this n that n what-have-u-nots. ORHHHH… I hate those! Especially when u have rich ‘fake-ko’ relatives who judge u or ur family based on ur social status! WHAT THE??!!! It’s just with the Chinese… Im sure many of my fellow Chinese friends can identify with that…

So well, I have managed to grow from a low-esteemed, quiet(Can u believe that??heh…) kid to this noisy, out-going, confident and healthy young adult. All due to my secondary school education and the activities I participated in. The things I do sometimes are out to prove to myself and if not so, to others that people do change and have hidden capabilities which might not be discovered until they pushed themselves. Im still learning and moulting… Life is a learning process after all…

Orh well…. The Sunday was great! My senior finished the run successfully too! KUDOS! And it will well be a beautiful memory in the pages of my Life. All’s said and done, im now off to do some last-min packing before departing for the airport at 430!

Btw, I will be updating my travel entries into my blog at www.born2roam.blogspot.com.
Ciao! Season’s Greetings!