all in black & white

2014 Highlights I Am Grateful For

2015-01-01T17:30:00.000+08:00

2014 was such an amazing year for me that left me so humbled and in awe at life. I am so so grateful for everything that happened. I could go on and on about all the magic that has happened this last year (my god there were many!) but I'll keep this list short and sweet - here are some of the incredible highlights I am grateful for.

I ticked of a massive bucket list item - I went to India! Since I was a little girl, it was always a dream of mine to go to India. Needless to say, the experience was remarkable. I saw and felt some incredible things from my experience there that I carry with me always.

~~~

Got to go back to Perth to see friends and be back in Scarborough Beach. I'm sentimental and living in Perth in 2012 was a very special time in my life. And this time I was able to share this experience with someone I really love.

~~~

Awesomeness Fest Thailand. I connected with so many wonderful people and the collective energy of this experience really took the rest of my year on an intense and amazing journey. Couldn't be more grateful.

~~~

Working with Mindvalley. I am so grateful for the amazing second work year I had with the team. With so much opportunity to grow professionally and personally, I had an amazing year of fun, growth, love, balance, and lessons with some of the most beautiful people I know and people I have real respect for - my Mindvalley Familia. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now. Thank you guys.

~~~

My weeks in Mexico. Was my first time being in that part of the world. I am eternally grateful for having the opportunity to see so many beautiful places, for all the amazing people I met, being able to see Carrick again after 4 and a half years, and attending Awesomeness Fest Puerto Vallarta.

~~~

Meeting Mikey - For which I am eternally grateful. I love you.

~~~

My best friends - Khairi and Nat Li. How blessed am I to have friends like you two. You guys are the best support network I could ever ask for, you both make me laugh endlessly, you call me out on my bullshit in support of my growth, and through it all, you have always been so gentle and kind to me. Every moment I share with you both are times I wouldn't trade for anything else.

~~~

Watching Kings of Leon LIVE! Me and Natt Lim said many years ago that we had to watch them live together at some point in my life and who would have thought all those years later, we'd be rocking out at the Hollywood Bowl in LA.

~~~

Now to an even better 2015!
Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.

Awesomeness Fest Thailand Part 2

2015-01-01T17:24:00.004+08:00

Day 3: Catamaran Cruise

The whole lot of us jumped on four boats and catamarans and sailed out around the island somewhere. The boats eventually found their way side by side and then things started getting wet.

We had a party boat with Raysoo on the decks (pun intended) and a bar on board, of course.

Me chilling on board

Day 4: The Closing party

The magical mayhem of having hundreds of amazing people partying and connecting in a private island somewhere in Thailand. Couldn't have possibly asked for more.

The Mindvalley team at Afest

The Mindvalley Team with all Afest speakers and Emcee Sarah Lian -
Speakers: Lisa Nichols, Sam Cawthorn, Ka Sundance, Kute Blackson, & Peter Smith.

You can view the whole album of pictures on the Awesomeness Fest Facebook page at this link.

Follow me on Instagram

2015-01-01T16:26:00.004+08:00

Click here to view my travel pictures on Instagram

http://instagram.com/trifleo/

Amazing candle carving from Netherlands

2014-11-22T15:31:00.002+08:00

This was just too cool, I had to share it

Awesomeness Fest Thailand 2014

2014-08-25T15:00:00.000+08:00

Not too long ago I attended Awesomeness Fest. It's a non-profit event for entrepreneurs, authors, visionaries and game changers to connect with each other while learning about personal growth, mind hacks and everything to help advance the human mind, body and spirit.

While I half expected it to be amazing, I don't think I really understood the magnitude of the impact it would bring into my life until weeks had gone by and life felt just a tad bit weirder... (in a good way no doubt.)

In a conscious effort not to sound crazy by trying to explain the whole experience, I'm going to pull the plugs on the rambling and leave you with pictures instead. :)

The event was held at the gorgeous J.W Mariott Hotel in Phuket, Thailand. It was raining quite a bit but I surely did not let that dampen my mood. Me and some friends wrapped up some speakers, plugged in some music and spent some time in front of this pool just dancing in the rain and looking out to the ocean.

Day 1: Loi Krathong

Pictures taken by Paulius Staniunas, All Is Amazing & John Russell

In Thai tradition, Loi Krathong is celebrated by floating baskets on the water of the night of the full moon, setting wishes for the following year.

We to lined up to light up our incense on the Krathong, made our wishes and sent it off on it's way. :)

We also had some traditional bamboo dances and had the crowd all jumping in to test their skills. After all that drinking, I have to say I was impressed at how coordinated everyone was! Good job guys!

Day 2: Cabaret Party

Pictures from the cabaret party are all taken by Paulius Staniunas, All Is Amazing

With Vishen, Andriy, Jason, and Carl.

A bunch of us with two of the Thai Cabaret performers

And of course we were fed with amazing music all throughout Afest by the amazing, talented, and humble Raysoo. Love this guy.

Love this picture and love this woman; Joyce and her awesome dress.

Keep your eyes glued - Awesomeness Fest posts coming soon

2014-08-24T19:07:00.000+08:00

No, I won't tease you too much :)

Here is a video compilation of the party highlights by non other than Paulius Staniunas aka All Is Amazing

Bookmark this page baby :)

A glimpse of life in India

2014-07-27T16:48:00.000+08:00

I was in India for the first time this year which has been a long time dream of mine. Every time someone asked me how it was and what happened, I couldn't really find words to describe it and resorted to "yea, it was great."

In truth, it WAS great but it was also such a surreal journey for me. I will be updating this space with posts on the trip but first, to give you a visual teaser - I made a 3 minute video of life in India.

Watch it, feel free to leave a comment about what you think, or share it.

Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Ceningan : Paradise and seaweed

2014-07-22T02:18:00.003+08:00

Click here to see my previous post on the second leg of my trip in Indonesia -- Ubud, Bali.

Now for Round 3.

Me and Freddy traveled down to Sanur in Bali and took a boat to this beautiful paradise island, Nusa Lembongan. It was off season and the place was quiet and empty (just the way I like it). The waters were so insane blue – it was truly a gorgeous place. I think I spent an hour fixated on the magical properties of the water.

We got off the boat, had breakfast overlooking the ocean and hitched a ride from this truck driver (who was transporting food to locals around the island) to the bridge connecting Lembongan to the other island called Nusa Ceningan.

Cars aren't allowed on the other island so we decided to get off and walk our way to our accommodation. We should have probably just rented a scooter sooner than later but I enjoyed the walk through the villages in the blaring heat of the island sun!

Pictures below. You don't wanna miss this part.

pulling into the island

En route to the connecting bridge, this was our view from the top of the hill.

On the bridge to Ceningan

The walk to our accommodation was really...interesting. Besides me loosing ten pounds on the walk to the hotel, we passed by many villages that had seaweed drying all around their homes. The smell was actually intense and it attracted so much flies but was pretty interesting to see. As the tides would go down, you would see the locals coming out to collect the seaweed.

More pictures below.

Our view from the bungalow

our hotel

sunset was gorgeous

The chairs were painted in my favourite colour. I was so amused haha

we stole some kid's water guns and destroyed each other.

Iconoclast episode with Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou

2014-07-07T13:00:00.000+08:00

Watched it twice and not a minute was wasted.

I'd like to share with you an episode of Iconoclast with Dave Chappelle and the late Maya Angelou.

And here, my favourite poem by Maya Angelou – Still I Rise.

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise.

Reclaiming my time

2014-07-05T19:26:00.000+08:00

To those of you who've been regulars on my blog, you would have noticed my long hiatus. But if you're reading this now, you probably also noticed the come back! While I've had to neglect this space due to my crazy schedule, I've made a few lifestyle changes during that time and learnt a valuable thing or two.

Living in a city like Kuala Lumpur can be pretty awesome, there's always somewhere to go at any time of the day or night and always someone to meet. While i've spent many years of my life going out to new gigs, parties and events, meeting new people and catching up with all the amazing friends you make along the way, things can get pretty tiring. I was always on the go.

While this lifestyle has brought me so many beautiful experiences in life and have also helped me develop some of my best skills, experiences and even developed my strong emotional intelligence, I often found myself burnt out and longing for some alone time. It's something i've been struggling with for years.

I got my first real break when I moved to Perth in 2012. I lived alone on the beach, many of my friends lived way past the other side of town, the city's activities start closing at 5pm and I had to rely on public transportation to commute most of the time. What seemed like a depressing inconvenience during my first few days in Perth, turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

I was finally alone.

and for the first time in a long long time, I felt peace.

Coming from a girl whose life was moving constantly, I was of course afraid of the sudden halt.

But my sleeping patterns became regular, I wasn't struggling with fatigue, I was able to take time to watch the sun setting on the ocean almost everyday from either my balcony or on the beach. I had time to be with myself, catch up with the people who truly mattered and most of all, I had the opportunity to learn and do things that mattered to me.

I lived life in a state of meditation, which is how I actually started to meditate regularly, trying to bring myself back to being in that state of presence.

My fears of coming back to KL proved to be valid cause things simply slipped right back to how I was when I first left it. This time, I had a full time job and a full time social life and honest to god, I was exhausted. and I was tired of using "I don't have the time" as an excuse for all the things I couldn't accomplish.

In came to a point where I had to ask myself this - what would mean more to me in the long term?

Having a million acquaintances and blurred out memories of various fun outings I had on a daily?

or..

Being able to lead the lifestyle I want, like having time to make myself a healthy meal, exercise, meditate, read, write, watch movies and spending quality time with the people closest to me?

The answer rang pretty clear.

So while this online movement #100happydays is moving in full speed - I begin mine. It's been more than two weeks now. While I still have gone out to social events but i've also taken a significant time off to just hang out at home...wait for it - alone. Feels great.

While I understand that a lot of my friend's idea of happy days wouldn't consist of staying home to read, this fortunately is mine. I'm embracing it, folks.

So you're gonna see me have more time for creative release and that includes writing on this space and finishing more of my videos that i've been putting off. Feels really nice.

A couple of things I've observed after week 1:

1- Saying no is a conscious decision.

It's easy for me to respond to an invitation and ditch my book. But at the end of the night, the book would have probably made me feel more accomplished and productive. Being able to recognise that you have a choice is the first step. Exercising your right to choose allows for you to reclaim your personal power and take responsibility for what happens in your life. (this shit is addictive man)

2- Balance is GOLD

That time you invest in yourself is precious – Learning a new skill, working out and eating right, taking care of your mind and inner peace, exercising your creativity. While my social experiences have gave me immeasurable value, there must always be balance. #thingsyouhavetolearnoverandoveragain

3- Do away with social obligations.

Unless it's someone who is super close with you, they're not gonna notice whether you came out or not. Stop wasting your fucking time going for occasions you don't wanna go for just to be polite. Fuck being polite.

4- Your day feels amazingly longer when you're not running around all the time

It's no wonder I look back at my life and think - holy shit, is time going that fast or is my life going that fast? (I seriously couldn't tell) I used to sometimes think about how people live to be so old, because it felt like i've lived too many lifetimes in this one lifetime and I'm only in my twenties (that can not be right).

The minute I made the decision to spend my week with myself, I actually felt rested. The weekends that used to require another weekend to recover went away. I could spend one day doing my own things and it would have felt like I had a week of relaxation. (what have I been missing out on??!!!)

5- Not thinking all the time feels great

Winding down after working all day is important. My mind is constantly computing information and making decisions throughout the day, and then to head out after work and have to string sentences in social settings is tiring yo! Coming home to meditate and not think is god's gift to humankind.

Happy Independence Day to my American readers and friends!

2014-07-05T12:38:00.000+08:00

Working in an office with colleagues from 35 different countries make celebrating diversity a whole lotta fun.

To celebrate with our American friends, colleagues, and collaborators here at our offices in Kuala Lumpur for 4th of July, we had a bunch of activities lined up. A colleague had a dance class to teach us moves like "the wop" and "the stanky leg" (haha!)

We drank bud & JD, ate chips and a lot of meat, and didn't listen to any country music! Yay Murrica! (sorry country fans!)

Here are some pictures from our photo booth taken by the genius behind All Is Amazing, Paulius Staniunas.

Ubud, Bali : I could stay here awhile

2014-07-03T14:00:00.000+08:00

Click here to see my previous post about Bali and the Kecak Dance.

So while in Bali, I reunited with a friend of mine, Freddy, that I met when we were both living in Australia together. We hadn't seen each other since 2012 and he was coming to Asia to travel for 3 months. We were both gonna be in Bali at the same time so we decided to meet there before he came to visit me back home in KL.

We headed off to Ubud together for a couple of days. Absolutely such a beautiful place with paddy fields and rice terraces and forests. So much green!

Was just what I needed, really – a place to kick back, hang out in the pool until I wrinkled up like a prune, meditate, go for walks, and eat banana pancakes all day long.

We met this beautiful girl whose family owned the bungalows we were staying at. She was very nice and seemed to not find us psychotic so we spend a fair bit of time chatting with her.

She was half balinese and half swedish (if i remember correctly) and her name was Cinta. (Which means love in Indo and Malay.) Though it's a fairly common name in Indo, when I heard her say it, it made me go "Awwwww!!." Freddy was clueless of why, of course.

I could really get used to this.

The pond and gardens at the place we stayed in.

Breakfast for champions and orange juice drank from straws that are made of bamboo? This is just taking it too far... I had a freaking flower in my hair!

Me and Freddy enjoying the view

Clearly excited to be here.

Kecak Dance in Uluwatu, Bali (and how a monkey shamed me)

2014-07-02T21:28:00.001+08:00

So while I was in Bali by myself, I decided to head over to Pura Luhur Uluwatu for sunset. Uluwatu temple is perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean and is one of the most well known sights of Bali.

There I caught the Kecak Dance – a balinese theatrical performance depicting the Hindu epic, Ramayana.

It was especially interesting for me to catch, personally, as I've in recent times grown an interest in the Ramayana. I've also got some pictures for ya!

The choir of men chanting "chak chak chak"

Here we have Garuda, swooping in to save Sita.

Hanoman luring Sita somewhere.

Ravana's servants, the three clowns, come to find who caused the destruction in the palace. They capture Hanoman to be burnt in a ring of fire.

But Hanoman's magic powers protect him from the fire..

He sticks his tail into the fire and in one swoosh, he burns down the entire palace.

Then there's me taking pictures with the cast Sita and Hanoman.

Shortly after this picture was taken, a monkey tried to borrow my camera and decided to strip me off my sarong instead, as if to shame me for saying 'No'. I let him have it and ran away screaming while my balinese friend I met that day laughed at me.

Good times. :)

Thich Nhat Hanh explaining the four mantras to Oprah - so beautiful.

2014-07-02T20:50:00.002+08:00

I watched this video interview between Oprah and Thich Nhat Hanh.

When talking about mantras, Thich Nhat hanh explains the first mantra "Darling, I'm here for you". He says, "when you love someone the best thing you can offer him or her is your presence. How can you love, if you are not there?"

Watch the whole clip of the 4 mantras in the video below:

A wet man does not fear the rain

2014-03-20T11:23:00.004+08:00

Bathing in the Bali Sun

2014-03-08T11:28:00.000+08:00

A video I made from a recent trip to Bali, Indonesia. I guess this is the teaser, some gorgeous pictures are coming!

Watch this in HD!

Good morning! - updates coming soon :)

2014-03-07T11:23:00.003+08:00

Hello! I know I've been completely M.I.A on this space but it's only because tons of great things keep happening on my end – updates will be coming soon. In the meantime, here's a gorgeous snapshot of my Momentum today.

Sending love and magic to you. x

Rainforest World Music Festival 2013

2013-09-14T17:49:00.001+08:00

Continued from my previous post about the day time workshops at RWMF.

The festival was all together amazing. Showcasing so many different kinds of music, everyone danced, jumped around, congo-ed, drank and had an amazing time.

Maya Green (Sarawak)

Shangyin Chinese Chamber Music Ensemble

Rafly Wa Saja (Aceh)

Rafly Wa Saja was one of my favourite acts. He had a very comical performance and oh my god that man can Scat.

But by far, my most favourite performance of all was by Dizu Plaatjies & The Ibuyambo Ensemble from South Africa. I not only enjoyed their dance workshops the most, but their music really resonated with me. They did a tribute performance to Nelson Mandela which was beyond anything I could ever describe. I've been looking for videos of that moment on the web but to no luck just yet.

Dizu Plaatjies & The Ibuyambo Ensemble (South Africa)

To listen to a song by them, just visit this link or this link.

Kries (Croatia)

Mohsen Sharifian & The Lian Band (Iran)

Spiritual Season (Ukraine)

Nunukul Yugera from Australia were amongst my favourite performances. In between songs, they would tell short stories related to their culture or explain symbols that are talked about in the song. It was entertaining AND informative! - gotta give it to em!

At one point in the performance he sings a song about fire while the dancers actually started a fire on stage using some dried Black Boy (Xanthorrhoea) shrubs.

Nunukul Yugera (Australia)

The finale with all performers on stage together.

Recalling things in retrospect, I remember thinking to myself during the trip that everything had fallen into perfect place. And it did – from one magic moment to another. To the wonderful little coffee shop I sat at with some friends in Kuching, to the random security guy from the festival giving us a lift, to the Mee Kolok right next to our hotel (Damn it was good Mee Kolok) and even the most perfect sun set on Damai beach.

Hmm. Nothing but fond memories this one. :D

Rainforest World Music Festival 2013 (Daytime workshops)

2013-09-14T16:17:00.000+08:00

After years of wanting to attend the annual Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak and always somehow missing it, I made it a point to book my flights and get my butt there without any more excuses – I absolutely did not regret it. It was such a beautiful (somewhat magical) and fun experience!

Vidhya walking on a bamboo bridge in the Sarawak Cultural Village.

There were several day time workshops on each day of the festival. Some workshops centred around traditional dances, while others I attended were centred around traditional instruments.

The first workshop I attended on Day 2 of the festival was a traditional Bidayuh dance workshop in the Iban longhouse.

The men and women take turns to learn their part in a traditional Bidayuh dance.

The audience joins in to dance together.

A very very steep stairway made out of a tree bark.

A traditional long house

Between the workshops, sitting around the event venue with a beer in hand and having your own picnic is just as fun. :)

One of my favourite of the day time workshops was an interactive dance workshop with Nunukul Yugera (Australia) and Ibuyambo Ensemble (South Africa) called The Art of War. Each group takes turn in challenging each other into a dance duel.

Watch a video of it here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTr15fLU-tw

The Art of War

On Day 3 of the festival, I attended the percussions workshop which was really cool too followed by a folk dance workshop that had me out of breath.

By the time all the workshops were done, we headed outside to Damai beach where we swam, sat around, drank and enjoyed the sunset before heading back inside for the performances.

But more pictures of that in my next post.

The amazing view on Damai Beach

2013-08-10T17:10:00.002+08:00

It's always such a beautiful and quiet moment, watching the sun rise.

pew pew

2013-08-06T00:21:00.000+08:00

Luxury Camping

2013-08-03T17:09:00.003+08:00

Hi there! How are ya?

Here's a little bit on what i've been up to...

So over the past couple of weeks i've steadily developed a new obsession - Luxury Camping. I've heard of the term and seen some pictures but nothing stuck until recently. Now, i've been on my computer addicted to finding more sweet spots and cool locations. I'm like a luxury camping junkie. I even started a new Tumblr just dedicated to it.

Come ravel in my obsession and click follow! luxurycamping.tumblr.com

http://luxurycamping.tumblr.com

Ernest Zacharevic - Bangsar Street Art

2013-08-03T13:05:00.000+08:00

I made a compact compilation of videos that i had taken of Lithuanian Street Artist, Ernest Zacharevic doing three pieces in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

To see more if his work, visit http://zachas.com

Press play and read some poetry.

2013-07-28T18:45:00.005+08:00

If love had a sound, this would be that sound.

Love, mmm... We would be the band to play it.

My ghetto butterfly flew away from me.

I wait patiently, by windows and doorsteps.

Play make believe, as my tears, poor chest,

most succeed to breathe, if not the air of you..

surely there hasn't never been a shade so blue.

a stank attitude, so not mad at you.

not a magnitude to encompass the latitude

of my love for you.

no space or time compatible.

what do I have to do? what do I have to do?

uh.. my friends say I got it bad for you.

I do. But there's nothing in this world I'd rather do,

but you.

Hey, I want to make love to your existence,

drenched in colors of your energy,

then masturbate to the memories

I wanna lose myself inside yourself...

Until you find me. confine me

to the freedom of your prison

Exist in the same space, same time.

Combine until your thoughts slow grind with mine.

my, I wanna drink the sweat of your intellect,

reflect and watch your light passion walk my neck.

caress the sight of your presence with no question,

undress to the nakedness of love, pure love

I want to make love to my soulmate... my soulmate...

make love to my soulmate...my soulmate...

make love to my soulmate uh, ...

I wonder how does it feel to make love to your soulmate.

Kind of like writing poetry till climax,

to the point and place our space and tima match.

Can we cross the line, perhaps tell me would you like that

how would you like that, tell me would you like that,

now would you like that, tell me would you like that,

would you like that, tell me

I wanna love you more than madly.

wrap these legs, around your words.

until your speech is straddled deep, gladly

swim the currents of your vibrations

be separate and one

with the same meditation,

uh the same meditation

this is poetry

I am enough

2013-07-12T14:29:00.000+08:00

Today my colleague Dana handed me a Goddess Card as she sometimes does to everyone in the team. It's funny how you often find that the message waiting for you is in complete coherence with what you might have needed to hear, what you might be going through, or something that's been running in your head.

In light of recent events, I've spent more time than I would wilfully admit, to thinking about something i've been going through. The Goddess Card I received today spelled out the one underlying theme to all my thoughts that I could not have pointed out myself for the life of me. It said- I am enough.