But its freaking cold!

And man, you don’t want to know what chaos these white snow, looking so serene and peaceful, can bring on the road.

Unfortunately thing was that, we missed part of the connecting flight and ended up spending most of the Saturday sitting in the Paris airport. Bah!

Bucharest, Romania - LOL, the first (and maybe only) thing that came to my mind when I think of Romania is the legendary Count Dracula from Transylvania. Bucharest is the capital city with a population of about 2.6mio and still counting exponentially due to the economic boom in the recent years. I think its a city with many characters. A little messy on the outlook, but humble and warm on the insides. Some call it the “Big Mix” due to the eclectic architecture which forms the city.

Bucharest also house the second largest building in the world - The Palace of the Parliment built in the 1980s during the reign of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Its made to impress!

Anyway, the trip turned out fabulous. When we touched down, we just sent a mere sms to a Romanian friend we knew in Brussels - tell us where to go? But he suprised us with the Romanian hospitality. He set up our entire weekend itinery. It was spontaneous and intriguing. We were told where to be at the specific time and voila, met some new friends, had dinner, drinks and late night parties.

People in Romania are so warm. We became fast friends with everyone. I was touched by their genuine sincerity and enthusiastic hospitality. I think this should be the way to travel. Getting to know a place by getting to know the people.

That’s me with my silly grin plastered over my face with the girls.

Yet on Sunday, after a heavy night out, we spent a quiet and relaxing day taking a slow lunch in a local restaurant with loud booming classical Romanian songs. Watching people dancing in circles. I think it was a birthday party of a grandpa. When our ears almost popped, we left the restaurant to take a slow long walk in the Herastrau park, breathing in the hustle and bustle of fellow Romanians enjoying a typical Sunday.

Thank you Laura, Christina, Elena, Alexander, Michel, Micheala, Carlos… You have all made our trip great and showed us a glimpse of real Romania. We had so much fun!

Me, shivering in cold with the moon as my halo.

And wonderful friendships forged which will last a lifetime.

The Gorge Swing - and he did it backwards! Freefall of 120m!

The Death Ride - I did it twice!

Well, I wasn’t such an adventurous person at all - not even for the food!

But they all love it there, the Mopani worms for snack time.

But I did of this family of wild pigs, grazing lazily about in the garden.

While on the cruise along the Zambezi river, we spotted a baby croc, measuring about 1.5m and a family of hippos. The local told me that the Hippos has killed more people than the crocs did along this river.

And of course, a beautiful sunset along the journey.

While we were waiting for the elephants, we took in the breathtaking view surrounding us. Its a part of the Zambezi River, 4th longest river in Africa, flowing into the Indian Ocean. Tranquility.

Here I said, Jumbo, talk to me and he stuck out his tongue. A cheeky dude!

A Baby Elephant rolling up his little trunk.

Jumbo showing off his backward walk. Farewell Jumbo!

The typical story was told once again to me some days ago. A friend was caught in a cyber frenzy with a man from faraway land, engaging in chats religiously every night. Sometimes he was a friend. Sometimes he was a mystery. Sometimes he was the lover. Sometimes he missed her. Sometimes he wanted to hug her. But the problem is, during all those times, he has a girlfriend, faithful beside him. Still.

From there on, I could almost tell the story on. It is always the same old tale.  They have been dating for a while. She’s a nice girl but she’s not the one for him. They were having issues. Compatibility. Depression. Bla. Bla. Bla.

He is attracted to my friend. One very attractive, smart and admirable girl. He wants to get to know her better. He asked always, when can we see each other again. Bla. Bla. Bla.

BUT he can’t leave his girlfriend. She needs him. She’s nice. Bla. Bla. Bla.

Get the idea now? Sounds familiar?

Oh well, then the bombshell came that she’s actually not just a girlfriend, its his fiance and the wedding is for next summer.

And my friend says, “WHY?”. Why does one do that? Isn’t that a sort of betrayal to his fiance? All those time spent on lovey dovey talks late into the night with someone else.

Personally, I think on one hand, it is very selfish of the person. But perhaps sometimes we are just not concious of our actions or just living in oblivion? I guess it’s another form of human weaknesses and we try taming our conciousness by doing all the wrong things.

But I just said, nabeh, if he is so compassionate, ask him to join UN and save more life la!

On a serious note, I believe we only live once, and what becomes of our lives is determined by us, ourselves. Do I marry someone because of responsibility or do I marry for love? I’ll do it for love because of the love of me!

Generally, I am more nervous than usual. Is it just me or due to the thyroid? I am going to do a blood test today, just to be sure.

But there so many things I want to shout to the world, I can do it well with words in writing but how do I translate it to words verbally? Mmm.

I think I need to think slower and be less excited. A zen version of me.

How can I do this? Send me some ideas.

So many thoughts passes thru my mind. Did the person do it in spite or ignorantly? I choose now to believe in the later. There must be a reason for all of these that I am going thru. Most of all, I must emerge a victor within in my own life after this episode. A struggle of mind which I think is one of the most difficult obstacle to us human kind. At least for me.

Keep believing - with right purpose, the innate potential is limitless, just waiting for the right time and moment to arrive,  to be in full bloom.

Number ONE rule I’ve set for myself - stop bitching and start chanting

Let’s forge the indestructive self who beams with joy boundlessly!

Winter has just arrived. Brrr.