On the other side.

Little Rock

Hi loves.  It's me again... blogging from the other side of the world.  It's been more than 3 weeks since I arrived here in the US and my oh my has time flown by so quickly without me noticing...  Having been here for the time that I have has made me realize that I've been living under a "little rock" my whole life.  There's just too many things to see and experience elsewhere that I feel the need to be set free from the place I call home.  Macau has always been my comfort zone.  However, the need to grow has been haunting me ever since I started working two years ago.   "Time for change, time to get out of here" are words that would constantly pop up in my head, but how does one do it?  

New Orleans Photo Diary -- Part 2

Bangkok Photo Diary

One memorable week in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Yup!  Carlos managed to get me another stuffed toy!  Such a sucker for these! :)

Empire State of Mind -- I wish!

Seeing the replica of the Statue of Liberty reminded me of NYC in an instant.  Made me reminisce about the big apple all over again and the adventures I had last year.  Here's wishing that Carlos and I will travel to farther places sometime soon! For now, we can only dream. 

Tokyo Tower

The Tokyo Tower, stands proud as it shows off its yellow glow.  Seeing it put a big smile on our faces as we've been wanting to see it for as long as we can remember.  Despite the drizzle and the cost of going there, I'm glad we saw it.  Definitely a wonderful representation of the capital of Japan.

USJ Photo Diary -- Day 2

Azumi Hotel -- Home for a week!

Hi everyone!  It's almost been a month since I got back from my business trip and I've been meaning to blog about my stay/experience at the hotel I stayed at for a whole week.  However, I've been so busy trying to catch up with work, revising what we've learnt during our training and I've been working on weekends as well to familiarize myself with our new system.  So far, so good.

Post-birthday adventure ♥

Hiiiii everyone! :)  The week is almost over once again and I couldn't be more psyched because that's when I get to do a bunch of stuff that isn't work-related.

Bali -- Day 2

Bali -- Day 1

Our first day in Bali got us all really excited and ready to explore the island.  The day seemed very promising from the moment we woke up.  Everything was perfect!  Of course my definition of perfect would be clear, blue skies and Mr. Sun coming out to play.  We didn't get to have breakfast in the morning since we woke up a tad bit late just in time for brunch.  Little did we know that we were headed to one of Bali's popular restaurants.  

Oh Happy Days!

Gone are the days when I had the privilege of sleeping at dawn and waking up in the afternoon.  Life as an adult is not as promising as it seemed to me as a student.  Well, what did I know then?  I haven't experienced having to earn for a living at that time.  And now, there are times when I wish I could go back to being a student who knew nothing of budgeting salaries and saving up as much as one can.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of perks that comes with being an adult but for once I wish I knew what to do with my life and it's not as easy as deciding what movie to watch or which restaurant to book for a dinner date.  It's more than that because you'll have to think way beyond and actually see where you want to be in the next decade or so.

New York City -- Day 3

I have once again been slacking up on blog posts, but I've a pretty good reason which is that I've got a new job!  Yay!  Now I know the new job doesn't require me to work on weekends and stuff, but I've just been so caught up in "living in the moment" and hanging out with friends and family.  Okaay, enough with the excuses.  So here's a new post/photo diary about my third day in the Big Apple.

New York City -- Day 2

Isn't it amazing how time flies?  It's Christmas one minute and the next thing you know it's a whole new year once again.

I'm not quite done with my travel posts, but I'm trying to do my best to blog about them as much as I can because they're so long overdue...  Anyway, this is about my second day in New York where I spent the whole day out trying to see the city on a bus.  Now I like bus tours because you get to see most of the skyscrapers and other attractions the city is famous for from the outside, so even if you aren't able to go inside a particular store or building while you're on the tour bus, at least you'd know it's there and can walk back or hop off to check it out some other time.

New York City -- Day 1

Two days after we got back from St. Louis, my sister took me to the airport where I had to fly alone because my sister did not have enough days of annual leave...  However, I wanted to go to NYC so badly that I decided to go on my own.  I met up with a friend from college who lives there and stayed with her for a couple of days.

St. Louis -- Cathedral Basilica & Gateway Arch

The next day was a Sunday so we attended mass at the lovely Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.  I was impressed by how it looked from the outside as it had that sort of medieval look, what with the arches and somewhat pointy towers.

The inside looked stunning as well, the art that were painted on the ceilings were very detailed and colourful.  The church was well lit and huge.  This cathedral is worth visiting because you can get the feeling that you're in Europe.  And maybe it's just me, but I tend to think of European cathedrals or churches in general whenever I see or go to one.  Of course the ones in Macau aren't as detailed in terms of the art and sculptures as the one below, but it still gives me that vibe, considering that it was once a Portuguese colony.

Our agenda for that day was to check out of the hotel, shop for food at Trader Joe's and visit the famous monument of Missouri which is known as the Gateway Arch.  Missouri is a wonderful city by the way, what with all their tall buildings and stuff.  I'm not sure if they can be compared to those skyscrapers in New York, but nonetheless, it's a great city!  I would definitely live there if I get the chance to do so.

We were only able to take pictures from the outside, due to the fact that there was a really long queue to go up and see the whole city from the arch.  I didn't think it mattered though because I know I'll be able to come back if ever my sister decides to move there. :)  I knew both my sister and aunt wanted to get back home asap since they had to work the next day and we didn't want to be on the road after sunset.

I definitely enjoyed my sister's company and I was a bit saddened by the fact that this was our last road trip for this year because I had to go back to Macau in two weeks (I'm back in Macau now, btw, in case any of you are wondering... I haven't really been in the mood to blog about my travels when I got back, until recently...so I'm trying my best to do them now).

Anyway, I do hope you like the pictures taken by my sister and yours truly.  Have a great week ahead everyone and hopefully someday, you can Meet me in St. Louis. :)

 

St. Louis -- The Botanical Gardens

We left for St. Louis, Missouri the day after the wedding which was about five or six hours away.  Again, I had no idea what I could do as I remember being unable to sleep in the car because I was so excited about where we would go next and what was in store for us in our next destination.

I know I remember seeing pictures of my mom, sister and my aunt in St. Louis and I thought the places they went to were really pretty.  I just never expected we'd be going to the same places they went to so I'm really glad we stopped by this city before going back home to Little Rock.

We stayed at the Drury Inn & Suites and I was pretty amazed by how nice and lovely their lobby was.  We were greeted by their friendly staff and immediately issued a key.  Now, I don't know how much my sister paid for our room but the one we got was really spacious and it had a wonderful view.

I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone who's visiting Missouri.  Breakfast is free for guests by the way so this is a yay for breakfast lovers.  They also offer a kind of mini tea time buffet where they had a variety of food such as mac & cheese, sausages, chili con carne and a bunch of other desserts.  We arrived at around noon time so we got to enjoy their yummy mini buffet.  Moreover, guests could have two cocktails for free if I can remember correctly.

At night, guests can get free popcorn and sodas while watching the game near the lobby.  It was nice and very relaxing!

 

Wisconsin -- Cheese Factory/The Art Museum/The Wedding

The weather in Madison wasn't very promising.  It would've been nice if it was only chilly, but noooo it had to rain!  And I believe everyone knows that the cold + the rain won't please anyone.  However, I really can't complain though because I like cold weather!  I love wearing sweaters and jumpers and long sleeved clothing in general.  And I got to do all that in September so hoooraaay!!  If I were in Macau then, I'd be complaining about the heat.

Anyway, I'd say I'm pretty lucky to have a sister who is not one who would like her time to be wasted which is why we got to do a bunch of stuff before her friend's wedding (which was the main purpose of this whole trip).  I would just like to let you know that this blog post will probably be the longest among any of my other posts since I am reluctant to separate them. :P

Our first stop was the Cedar Grove Cheese where we got to see their little factory and got a tour out of it.  Basically, the tour enabled people to read what was on their walls including its history, how they're made and so on, so forth.  I honestly do not remember what was written on those walls because I was too mesmerized by the people behind the glass and pretty much intrigued by how they make the cheese... not to mention, I was also only interested in tasting/buying/eating the cheese.  We ended up buying some of their cheese curds which are to die for!  They were really, really good and those are what I would recommend you to get if ever you're in town or if ever you get the chance to visit them.  You can munch on them while watching a movie and it just makes a really good snack.  It also makes that squeaky sound as you chew on them which totally reminds me of the mice in cartoons. :)

We also passed by the store where we could get some sausages because my sister said they were good.  I think I've only had a few bites and they were alright, but I probably wouldn't come back for more... not unless I crave for them.

Wisconsin -- The Long drive

The weekend after Eureka Springs was followed by our trip to Madison in Wisconsin.  The drive there was just oh-so-long, it can't even be compared to our previous road trips.  We had to wake up really early just so we can be right on schedule.  That didn't happen, of course.  That's what people get for planning ahead... so lesson learnt, don't plan ahead!  Just kidding! :)

We left home at around 3:50 am and during those few hours before the break of dawn, I fell asleep even though I wanted to keep my sister company.  However, to stay awake the entire trip was just impossible.  I'm actually amazed at how my sister managed to stay awake during the entire trip... not that she was given a choice.  I honestly thought that my sister would be switching with our aunt at some point, but they didn't so she had to drive all the way there with a couple of stops.

We had to stop at a bunch of gas stations to get something to eat and drink and use the bathroom.  It's not easy being on the road for a couple of hours, let alone being on the road for 12-13 hours.  The only things I could do was take photos, listen to music, take naps, read my book and of course chat with my sister about stuff while our aunt was asleep because we had a bunch of stuff to talk about.  :)