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Breathe

Hey you! Been a while, hope you’re doing well. Today’s blog is just a thought that crossed my mind, and I thought why not share it with you all.

How do you stay positive all the time? I mean HOW? We *live in a society* where we are so CONFUSED about what LIFE is all about, what to BELIEVE, whom to TRUST, or how every thing is SUPPOSED to be?

We all go through moments in our life that leave us questioning why certain things happened or didn’t happen to us. Some of these situations are inescapable and leaves us without understanding or closure. And at times this darkness seems like it will gulp down every last bit of light from our life.

Being too much optimistic annoys me. It’s not like I live in this bubble world where everything is bad and nothing good happens. But it ain’t comforting when people exaggerate the concept of positivity to someone who is in the nub of extreme suffering, especially when they have no knowledge of what they are going through.

And even though I am hopeful and not skeptical, here’s some truth for you – while much in life isn’t ever truly unquestionable, there’s one thing that is – you will STRUGGLE!

Growing up as an adult is like looking for answers all the time because you are in a learning process. We all are going to get somewhere and make peace with things, but we just don’t want to believe that there’s a possibility of it happening. When things finally start working fine, we happen to make things complicated for us by doubting if whatever is happening is okay.

These thoughts basically acts as an ‘Oops! Error 404’ in our life because there are a number of things we have seen and heard that we believe, feeling good is not okay.

We always think about the worst. Why do we just do that to ourselves? Why don’t we think about the best things that can happen to us? Why don’t we use the good energy around us to the most, water it everyday and be grateful about it?

No, no…this doesn’t mean that if we buy in to the idea that life will always be rainbows and sunshine and that we are immune to suffering, you gotta know it’s nothing like that.

Struggle, however, doesn’t end just because we want it to. It has its own timeline. But know that no matter what life throws at you, you can handle it.

We all have our days, some days I too feel so low that I don’t even know from where to start picking up myself. But I believe life has it’s own way of showing us, that somewhere down the line we took the good feelings for granted. And all we need to do is apologize, accept and laugh it out!

All the hardships which may seem to be difficult can indeed be overcome with time, patience, and determination. Just remember that how we choose to handle these struggles plays an important role in our journey to finding ourselves. All we need is to understand the simple fact that we all struggle, but how we overcome is what makes us who we are.

Find some peace in knowing that every problem you’re facing is only temporary. Remember that it’s okay to struggle sometimes. It’s okay to be behind on things, to feel like the world is falling apart, to not yet be the person you see as the end goal. It’s completely normal to feel that way when things gets overwhelming.

When this happens, take a moment to Slow Down, Breathe and remember All is not lost yet. Look at the hardships you face as opportunities to fight against the odds, preserve, and grow. Because your life, and what you make of it, is yours for taking.

You don’t have the power to control everything but what steps to take to find happiness will always be your choice. It will always be your choice that determines whether you will live your best life.

Just thought of sharing what I felt, it’s anyway been a while since I posted something here. And I feel so relieved after penning this down. You feel the connection, right?

Until next time, Keep growing.

Much love!

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Shades of Life

WHAT IS LIFE? WHY ARE WE HERE? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF OUR EXISTENCE?

Like a shadow, these questions follow us through our lives even if we never turn around to see it. Every individual on this planet has different stories and different perspective towards life. For some, life is just for living, for some life is about art and for some life is all about love. And for me?

|| ज़िन्दगी एक सफ़र है सुहाना
यहाँ कल क्या हो किसने जाना ||

Life for me is UNCERTAIN! Why? Because uncertainty leaves room for the unexpected.

I’m sure whoever is reading this will relate this post in some of the other way. I’m not sure what I want to convey, but it’s just me trying to express myself because of a lot of different experiences that I’m going through simultaneously. Currently, at this stage of my life, everything is changing every day, making it little uncomfortable and sometimes unfair. I know this change is for the betterment, despite what I feel at the moment. But, the past few months have been really tough!

For the people of my age or in their twenties the only conversation that tends to come up socially or at home is where are we headed to?

There comes a time where at one point, we all have to learn that these youthful endeavors have to end eventually. We start increasing our independence by meeting decisions of our own, but we also have to accept the responsibility that comes with it. It is time during which we go out to explore the world; challenge ourselves and strive to gain our own understanding of life. Most importantly, we have the courage to discover who we really are. We start to experiment with new possibilities. We want to learn what separates us from others. The desire to explore life increases our willingness to take the risk. Naturally, while attempting to integrate these elements in life we make mistakes, learn from them and continue with something else.
At best, we completely break free from the dependency on other people’s approval and learn to approve of ourselves.

However, we quickly and sometimes painfully – have to discover everything that we’re not good at. We discover our weaknesses and are confronted with our failures. But, in terms of our personal growth, it isn’t such a bad thing to be confronted with these things.
We start to realize that many of the activities we’ve enjoyed for so long, do no longer provide us with any significant returns. And slowly, but surely we are taught to use our independence in a responsive manner.

But, in life these things don’t always make sense to you.. you wonder what it is that you did wrong or could do better when you’re confronted with your weaknesses. You are always trying to think about the situation that has occurred in your life and the reasons for it, trying to connect the dots.

We all go through these moments when we’re shit scared and forced to think of how miserable we are. When all you can think about are your failures, mistakes, encounters with bad people & bad moments. When rather facing the world we choose to stay in our nutshell, where it’s safe and nothing wrong happens! And I know, these failures leave a crack in you and makes you feel low and want you to disconnect from this world.

But, sometimes what we don’t realize is that Cribbing & Self Pity is easy. Doing the work and putting in efforts to see the good side of life, that’s what is tough.

Life is made for messing up over and over again, but getting up anyway. Life is made for failing and surviving. Life is made for discovering something new every now and then. Life is made for heartbreaks and new loves that erases all of that pain in your heart. Life is for believing in love even after you have been broken. It’s all about feeling motivated again and feeling good about yourself.

Your life is given to you to live, to love and to find out what joy is. Isn’t it?

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All about my Thailand trip!

How do you feel when you finally tick off your dream destination from the travel wishlist?

Ever since I was a little kid, I have wanted to travel to Thailand. I have grown up listening to the tales of Thailand; about their culture, dramatic scenery, tropical beaches and the people. Facts about people living there have fascinated me so much that I always wanted to know more about them.

Thailand is a southeast-Asian country that can be portrayed with modern cities flocked with tuk-tuks and motorbikes along with beautiful ornate Buddhist temples visited by orange robed monks, opulent royal palaces, lush landscapes, traditional farming villages, beautiful handicrafts, stunning coastlines, ancient ruins and the land of loads of smile.

SAWASDEE THUK KHN!
(HELLO EVERYONE!)

So by now you must know where I have been for my vacations. It has been over a month since I returned from Thailand but still can’t get over that feeling of lounging on the beach, sipping on sweet coconut juice and staring at the endless blue sea!

That’s why I’ve kept these posts coming slowly, so that each time I post about Thailand, I can have my little moments of escaping back onto the beach and into the water! Also it took way too long to sort all the pictures and construct a post.

So let me take you through it all!

Thailand is a popular tourist destination around the world and there are a lot of places that travellers cover when exploring this beautiful country. Phuket also known as the ‘Pearl of the South,’ is the largest island in Thailand and was the first stop of our trip. For the few days in Phuket, we stayed in the lively tourist area surrounding Patong Beach. Patong is a beach resort town on the west coast of Phuket island, famous for its white sandy, crescent beaches lined with restraunts and bars, massage parlors and the famously raucous nightlife.

Day 1 –

As soon as we were about to land, I knew this place is going to be my escape! We landed at 3 in the afternoon and after about an hour drive we reached our hotel. Phuket was different than the busy and bustling Bangkok. It was calm and serene. And the landscape from the moving car was already making me turn into a photographer. Having travelled all day we weren’t left with much energy to go out so we decided to spend the rest of the evening in our room. And only went out for the dinner.

HOTEL – PATONG PREMIER RESORT

Day 2 –

The day probably started with breakfast and excitement to hit the beach and catch some rays. Even after spending almost 3 hours on the beach we came back and dived into the pool. After lunch we spent some time at the tiger kingdom and then did car racing at the go cart. It was so much fun, trust me!
Being the last night and mom’s birthday we decided to end the day wandering around the local market and tasting some local food. After dropping everyone to the hotel, I along with my dad and uncle went to find cake for mumma and also book the tour package of island hopping for the next day. Since cake stores weren’t available nearby we decided to get ice cream tubs and a small cheese cake that we found in the nearby 7-eleven outlet. The night ended with a walk on the beach in the perfect rainy weather. ♥

Quick tip :

1. While shopping remember that you can get the same stuff from Bangkok in half the price of what you get in phuket.
2. There are 7-eleven outlets and Family marts at frequent intervals, on every street where you can buy water and other essentials from at the best price.
3. Don’t book packages online or from the hotel. Always look around for some booths as there are plenty of them that offer it at cheap rates.

Day 3 –

After another elaborate breakfast we were all set for island hopping. Sharp at 8 o’clock the car was waiting for us at the hotel gate. We were greeted by an extremely professional and polite chauffeur, who took us to Leam Nga, from where we departed for Phi Phi by the speed boat. We reached our first place of Phi Phi island which is a famous landmark, Maya Bay. We spent 45 minutes snorkeling and diving throughout the bay, where large underwater boulders are encrusted with coral and numerous bright coloured fish are visible. Then we were taken to the Pileh Cove, Viking Cave, Loh Samah Bay and Monkey Bay. (Yay! we were lucky to spot some monkeys there 😂) These were the places where we stopped only for a few minutes to take pictures. After that we visited the highlight of the tour Phi Phi Don where we had an hour to spare. Phi Phi’s beauty is a large chunk of the allure. The island when approached by boat, rise from the sea like a fortress. Sheer cliffs tower overhead, then give way to beach fronted jungle. Also we had BBQ lunch here (wasn’t very satisfied by the lunch though) After lunch we spent our time sunbathing, admiring the beauty and clicking pictures. It was love at first sight. 😍 Then we continued towards our last destination that was Koh Khai Nai island. Although a pretty place to be I wasn’t much impressed by the services they had there. As long as you’re not sitting on the sand everywhere else is charged a fee to sit on. A lot of things were over priced. Also a bit unsafe as there were tiny stones, debris and sea urchins that could be quite painful if you step on them. You need to be careful with every step you take. Apart from all this we had the best experience doing jet skiing. With that the tour came to an end and we were transfered to the starting point from where we were dropped back to our hotel.

Quick tip :

1. Maya Bay and a lot of caves are closed from June to September.
2. Carry some snacks specially if you’re a vegetarian. Not only it is difficult to find vegetarian food also at some islands everything is overpriced.

After the car dropping us back to the hotel we checked out and went to have some snacks. I was probably very hungry! Still an hour and a half until for the taxi to arrive we decided to spend the rest of the time at the beach and I guess that was the best decision taken. Damn! The sunset. I fell in love with the scene that day.
That sunset was the final goodbye to our Phuket trip and we were set for 4 hrs of long drive to Krabi.

(We travelled to Krabi by road – it will be more fun if you’re travelling in morning because the 4 hours drive is just mesmerising.)

Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya are almost on top everyone’s Thailand list, and for the right reasons! However I’m always amazed why Krabi is not the first choice here. I mean, I loved Krabi and while I enjoyed every other destination in Thailand, especially Phuket, Krabi too was special in many ways. Krabi is a coastal city in the south west Thailand.
The towering limestone karsts and azure water meet the smooth white sandy banks, reflecting the sparkling sunshine of this tropical paradise. There are about 132 islands around Krabi. Aao Nang being the most popular amongst the tourists.

(Our hotel was somewhere near the Klong Muang beach, quite far from Aao Nang Beach and the main city. We too were looking for rooms near Aao Nang but my brother happened to mess things up. 🙄 But yeah we were not disappointed much because the resort we were staying in was a relaxing place to be.)

Day 4 –

The following morning was in Krabi. And having no idea of what to do next, we spent the entire morning in the pool. After lunch, we hired some scooty and begin to wander around the town. Most of the local population of krabi is muslim, and this has heavily influenced the local cuisine. The aroma of spiced grilled fishes filled the air. We spent our evening at Klong Muang Beach. Also my brother tasted this thai dish which they say is a special dish of Thailand. (I don’t remember the name though!)

HOTEL – KRABI HOLIDAY SEA RESORT

Day 5 –

The following day brought a different experience of the beaches of Thailand. We chose to tour around four famous islands – Phra Nang Beach (Railay Beach) – Koh Tup – Koh Kai (Chicken Island) – Koh Poda. An extremely popular tour for visitors to krabi. We took one of these tours as it was recommended to us, and the price was reasonable.
Railay beach was the first stop which attracted us with its deep blue water and white sandy banks. We spent much time on the island, walking, sightseeing and clicking pictures. (as usual 😂)
The boat then took us to Koh Tup, where one can swim in the turquoise sea and see school of tropical fishes. Although it is small, Koh Tup is magnificent. It is surrounded by other three small islands, which are within kayaking and swimming distance. The visitors can walk between the islands when stretches of sand connect them during low tide.
We continued on to the Chicken Island, a small, limestone island named chicken due to its shape. We spent 45 minutes diving to view the coral reefs and fish.
The final island, Koh Poda felt as if we arrived in paradise. I was allured by the long, white sandy beach, the shifting kaleidoscope of blues in the water and the unbroken vast sky. After a remarkable BBQ lunch we took advantage of our time here walking and admiring. After the boat left us at Aao Nang, we spent the rest of the evening there, relaxing and then wandering around the local market.

Day 6 –

Last day in krabi was kept just for relaxing and packing. 😂 It was already afternoon when I woke up, and since I packed everything last night I had plenty of time to be in the pool.

The best part about my visit to Krabi was that this was a city that was not crowded and had a rhythm of it’s own. The food here was great, the beaches were exquisite and I loved staying here!

(At 4 o’clock we left for airport, as we were heading towards the last destination of our trip – Bangkok!)

That’s Thailand for me! I haven’t included Bangkok in this. That will be another blog where I can write a bit about the shopping part. Even though I love beaches more but shopping was second reason I wanted to be in Bangkok. All that for next time!

Hope you have a great day.
Much love! 💋