Snorkel through your day

I never thought that I would spend an entire day snorkelling. Afterall, that would have been pretty 'boring'. But I signed up for a full-day package of snorkelling during my Koh Samui holiday. And it turned out incredibly fabulous.

The 1st half of my snorkelling trip was spent at Nang Yuan Island, which was a private island. The admission fee was 100 baht. It was already paid upfront to our tour agency as part of the total price that we have scouted for. Apparently, it was the lowest among 3 agencies - 1,500 baht, inclusive of the admission fee of 100 baht. But the admission fee into this island is nothing compared to the value we got out of it. 

The beach was perfect, as I could have thought those picturesque scenery shots were taken from here. The location was ideal, as the beach linked 2 parts of the island together. The water was clear, as it felt like water from the tap. The fishes were real, as they swam all over me. The corals were beautiful, as they were within reach as I snorkel. The underwater world was colourful, as it felt like a documentary coming to life. The fishes were coordinated, as they swam and ate together as a group.

The perfect feeling felt so surreal that a fish had to 'kiss' me to remind me that it was real. Then it was time to move on. We went to Koh Tao for lunch.

Koh Tao is a small island covering only about 21 km². It is north of Koh Samui and is known to be a divers' island. It has a population of only 1,500 people. And it felt like an island away from the rest of the world. We had our lunch there at an open-air restaurant that lies along the beach and faces the sea and the horizon. I guess all houses in Koh Tao have beautiful sea views that I can imagine waking up to everyday.

The next half of our day was spent at a snorkelling spot in Koh Tao called Mango Bay. The waters there are generally deeper, but the corals there are bigger. I snorkelled at both designated 'snorkelling spots' in Mango Bay. Only an underwater camera could do justice to what I have seen. Whilst I did not have the luxury of having such a camera, I do have a memory that would store these images forever.

How to Train Your Dragon

'How to Train Your Dragon' is a 2010 computer-animated fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation. The story takes place in a mythical Viking world where a young Viking teenager named "Hiccup" aspires to follow his tribe's tradition of becoming a dragon slayer.

The island of Berk is beset by dragons, which raid their stock of sheep. Dragons are known to be vicious and will always "go for the kill". Therefore, the Vikings fight to kill the dragons, in order to wipe them out and finish the war. "Hiccup" was a youth who was undergoing training to be a Viking. However instead of learning how to KILL a dragon, he mastered the art of how to TRAIN a dragon. In return, he managed to control his dragon and even saved his villagers' lives with a heroic fight against the ultimate villian, a giant and parasitic dragon that lives in a nest.

In life, how often do we plan and plot on how to KILL our enemies? We bitched about their acts, put them down, sabotaged their efforts and in the process, it becomes an unpleasant environment with strained relationships. We don't have to resort to all these.

In life, we become masters if we can TRAIN our 'enemies' - to be on our side and fight the 'war'. I realised that it wasn't an easy job then in my previous company, as TRAINING my 'enemies' means giving a nonchalant expression and even resorting to occasional smiles to get them to do the job.

Maybe the real art is in the training of yourself in order to train your dragon.

My taxi experience

Today, I was late for my appointment. Therefore, the only way I could get there timely was to use a cab, or so I thought. Afterall, money equals to time. So here I was, willing to pay for a cab so that I could save some time.

It was 12.40pm and standing along a main road in the hot sun isn't what I would expected myself to do. 10 minutes have passed and there was still no 'available' cab in sight. 2 men then appeared 50 metres ahead of me. They knew I was waiting for a cab. Afterall, I was seen trying to wave my hand in vain at any cab that drives past. And they took at least 4 glances at me. They knew I was waiting before they came. They knew I was waiting for a cab. They knew I have yet to board a cab. But when a cab came, they flagged it down (even though I flagged it down too). They did not glance at me anymore. They did the shameless thing of not giving up the cab to me and went into the cab.

I was late for my appointment. I paid a lot more for my journey. I wondered if I could have reached there the same time by getting onto the bus. Afterall, I was in the hot sun along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 for an entire 22 minutes.

Today, I paid 7 dollars not to get to my destination timely, but to remind me that Singaporeans are ugly.

She's Out of My League

'She's Out of My League' is an American romantic comedy film that involves 2 main characters - Kirk Kettner, a low self-esteem, unaccomplished aviation security officer and Molly McCleish, a beautiful and seemingly perfect events planner. The storyline banks on how a loser he was and yet how he does wish to have Molly as his partner. There were doubts by himself, his friends and his family, but never Molly. Afterall, he has believed that he was indeed only a '5' while Molly has scored a perfect '10' (out of a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most attractive).

In relationships, it isn't about the comparison of scores. My fiancee and I got together because we believed that we were a '10' each as an individual - we were complete as a person, which includes having the right amount of self-esteem and we could function adequately without the presence of the other half. And that self-belief is the basis of our relationship.

I look back at how far our relationship has progressed. I am glad that each of us did not have low self-esteem to start off with. Because if we had, we would not have experienced that happiness in relationships goes beyond a scale of 10. In relationships, it's more about the combination of individual cores.

Everything has gone to waste

I came back yesterday on a high, after my best beach holiday. Today, I felt like I was put into the dumps.

I met with a car accident today. The time was 7pm and it was getting dark. I was in a multi-storey carpark and my headlights were not turned on. I drove up several levels, only to find empty lots after maneuvering through the tight and poorly-lit carpark. As I attempt to get to the lot, I turned right and slammed into the pillar. It was a head-on collision, for I did not see the grey pillar.

The damage was so bad that the front bumper fell off and my car was rendered 'undriveable'. I maintained my composure and called the tow-truck service to get it to the workshop.What the heck was I doing!

I have just managed to secure a fairly-priced quotation for my car insurance 2 months ago. All my efforts have gone to waste! I have just planned to embark on increasing my savings for the future. All my plans have gone to waste! I then realised that I did not bring my EZ-link card nor ATM card. I feel that I belong to part of that waste.

I told Sy that the worst will be over. Afterall, how bad can a day get? But deep down inside, I know it was a superfical assurance that I put up - for no one foretold me that today will be bad. And no one wants to tell me that tomorrow will be worse. I just have to brace myself to be brave to face tomorrow. And tomorrow, I have to brace myself to be brave to face tomorrow's tomorrow. And the cycle continues.

The beauty of Koh Samui's beach

I have been to so many countries and cities for holidays, many of which consist of beaches. But Koh Samui ranks 1st when it comes to keeping their beaches in tip-top conditions. I've just came back from Koh Samui today. During my past 5 days, I realised why people rave about how beautiful this beach town is.

Photographs showing the beach front of Koh Samui can be deceiving. I said so because the actual scenery is so much more beautiful. People say, a picture says a thousand words, but I think a thousand words is not enough to express the feeling of experiencing a picturesque scenery during every moment of the holiday.

One day, whilst having my breakfast at the beach front, I noticed that a cleaner was walking along the beach. As he walks, he does not pick up any rubbish, because people, including tourists, care about preserving the beaches. In fact, he picks up seaweed and puts them in his rubbish bag. Those were the dead and dirty seaweed that were washed up by the high tide during the night. I then realised that Koh Samui boasts a white-sandy-beach reputation, not because she inherits a natural landscape, but because she gives its best to maintain her beautiful landscape.

I have been to 7 other beaches, namely Tioman, Cebu, Sydney, Phuket, Nha Trang, Bintan and Penang, but Koh Samui's Chaweng beach is a clear winner. Today, I came to realise that beautiful landscapes not only happen in pictures, they can happen in reality. And reality came about because there are people who make it happen.

Not just a job

I am now a manager. I am now having a better take-home pay. I am now having better work-life balance. I report to work from 8.30am to 6.00pm. During the course of work, I set routines, solve issues and accmomplish tasks. But I know that it's not just a job. It's doing what I like to do.

For the past 2 days, I was at a high-level workshop. There were 2 segments for the workshop, (i) to understand and appreciate the international complexity of air cargo security, and (ii) to socialise and network with people all round the world. I enjoyed the course thoroughly, for it fulfilled my ability to (i) enhance my personal growth and development, and (ii) strengthen my marketing and conversational skills.

A job isn't a job anymore. Afterall, it pays me to do what I like, i.e. to break the ice and understand what businesses I can match-make. It gives me a stable income and yet allows me to grow incrementally. I allows me to be myself, only then can I shine as a person.

I look at others - those who complain about their job. Some say it's the job that sucks. But I figured that it could be a misfit between the person and the job too. I'm glad that I got myself a 'right' job. Or is this too true to be called a dream one?