Find Perfect Moments (Greece Part 3)

I found many perfect moments just being on Santorini.
The breathtaking view of the Aegean Sea, the strong breeze, the amazing variety of colorful buildings perched on the cliffs in the different towns. In such moments, life just standstills. The magic is all around us as I am reminded of how grateful i am to be alive and how blessed I am to be on such a beautiful island to experience these perfect moments.

Some of my favourite snapshots of Santorini that i will forever hold in my heart & mind.

Santorini showed me how simplicity can be so beautiful.
Looking at clean cut lines of the structures can bring so much peace and zen-ness to the mind.
#feelingreallyblessed

TBC….

Read The Oia Dream (Greece Part 1) 
Read The Oracle of Delphi (Greece Part 2)

pics taken by a Samsung Note 2 & Panasonic Lumix camera

Today's Daydream...

Because the happiest moments are spent in solitude, being ONE with Nature.
Nature is the art of the Divine.
Forever Love.

Poppy field in Spain.

Pic taken with a Sony camera.

My Hong Kong Top 10 To Dos ! #2

A way to experience the spectacular skylines of Hong Kong is from the Victoria Peak (The Peak). The Peak offers a 360 degrees paranomic view of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the hills of North Territories as well as the Lamma island. 

The part i like about the Victoria Peak is the ride up via the Peak Tram, which pulls visitors up a steep hill in under ten minutes. 
(***As the queue for the tram is usually long, tickets purchased in advance gives a quicker access to take the ride. We bought ours at the airport which offered us a bundled discount for a few tourist attractions as well.)

While it does, the Tram's climb up offers us a gradually growing bird's eye view of the city. 

With less people in the viewing lookout, it can surely be quite a romantic backdrop for lovers.

It can get quite cold especially during nights with strong winds, so do remember to layer up before visiting.

I enjoyed the view so much that i will definitely be back again!!

In the meantime, if you are into wax figurines of famous personalities, photo opportunities await a Madame Tussaud's at the Peak Tower as well.

TBC…

Read My Hong Kong Top 10 To Dos ! #1

Pics taken with a Panasonic Lumix camera and Samsung Note 2

Today's Daydream…

Dreamin' about the Beach in Krabi, Thailand.

My Hong Kong Top 10 To Dos ! #1

#1: Wong Tai Sin Temple 

In the shadows of gleaming glass and steel skyscrapers, thrive temples heavily laden with thick incense smoke. 

Beyond all that outward modernisation, Hong Kong is still deep seated in its cultural roots. Religion being one still widely practised by the locals. The Wong Tai Sin temple is a popular one with the locals renowned for having devotees' prayers answered. 

My first visit to the temple and I was way too curious. I had to have my fortune told. Having used one of the fortune tossing tool, with a question in mind, I started jossing the container with sticks. Fairly quickly, a stick fell out of the bundle, that very stick is the clue to my fortune (or even future) ! We adjourned to the adjacent building where fortune tellers lined the passageway in small shops awaiting eager fortune seekers. I never really took much to such fortune tellers being a believer that one creates his own destiny. However, the reading was insightful for a mere HK $25. Worth a try for a fortune telling experience !

Read My Hong Kong Top 10 To Dos ! # 2

Pics taken with a Panasonic Lumix and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Camera

The Mysteries of Angkor Wat & Beyond (Part 2)

Walking through the rumble amongst the Ta Prohm gives visitors a feeling of an adventure in the likes of Lara Croft (in Tomb Raiders) and Indiana Jones. Unlike other Khmer temples,  Ta Prohm is left in its junglistic state offering visitors an experience founders  once had when the Khmer temples were first discovered.

Being one of the most celebrated temples after the Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm is also the work of Jayavarman VII dedicated to Buddhism. Rather different from the Angkor Wat, the temple consists of a long, low complex of buildings all standing at the same height connected by passages.

Exploring Ta Prohm gives us the best of both worlds- nature and architecture. The towering thousand year old trees, creeping plants and moss covered relics in the temple makes it distinctively unique showcasing the magnificence of nature standing beside the grandeur structure of the man-made temple. Overtime, both have somehow blend in perfect harmony.

Over the years, the spectacular roots have also spilt massive stones into rumble and cracked vaulted passageways, giving us a sense of awe of the strength of Nature as they cave into the temple grounds. 

Although being a much smaller compound compared to Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm charms visitors in its jungle setting of creeping vines and exploring through the corridors is nothing short of a mysterious and adrenaline pumping experience. 

Another one off my bucket list! :-)

TBC…

pics taken with a Panasonic Lumix Camera

Read The Mysteries of Angkor Wat and Beyond (Part 1)

Today's Daydream...

A fishing village not quite like the others…
Portofino, Italy

source: google images

Milan LOOKBOOK (Part 3)

The Brera area...

TBC... 

Pics taken with a Panasonic Lumix Camera.

Milan LOOKBOOK (Part 1)
Milan LOOKBOOK (Part 2)

The Magic of Egypt (Part 3)

Crossing the vast dessert, we made our way to Abu Simbel in Nubia, southern Egypt. Abu Simbel is  one of the most famous ancient Egyptian monuments after the Pyramids and Sphinx and is listed as a UNSECO World Heritage Site.

This temple that stands now was relocated in its entirety in 1968 from been submerged during the creation of the Lake Nasser, which is an artificial water reservoir formed after the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.

In the early days, ancient Egyptians could only reach the temple in their sails as the dessert route was inaccessible.
With worship being paramount to their lives, the ardous journey was not a deterrence to them.

Meeting the temple built by the mightiest of the pharaohs, Ramses II, the four colossi of himself carved out of a mountain is nothing short of magnificent.

The closer i walked towards it, the smaller i felt (in every sense).
The sheer size glorified the power and pride of the king during his reign.

(Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside the temple.)
Walking into the temple, was a humbling experience as i felt my insignificance walking through the towering row of statues leading into the main altar.

(source: google images)

The interior though less spectacular than its facade also has no wall left untouched; intricately carved with egyptian gods, rituals and beliefs.

The thing that intrigued me the most is how on the every 22nd February and 22nd October annually, the first rays of the rising sun will penetrate the temple and illuminate the Holy Quartet (except Ptah on the left).

(source: google images)

The significance of the dates are still a mystery but they are believed to be the anniversaries of Ramses's coronation and birth.
How they aligned the sun to light the temple altar is definitely an architectural genius considering the technology available in that era.

I marvel at the workmanship of the carvings.

Abu Simbel is worth the travel- journeying through the vast dessert for hours to actually seeing the temple itself has been an unforgettable experience for me.

Another one off my bucket list. :-)

On the way, don't forget to enjoy the breath-taking view of the Lake Nasser ...

and in Aswan, also do savour the Nubian cuisine unique to the region. 

A satisfying lunch it was with a view to boot!

Pictures taken with a Panasonic Lumix Camera.

TBC...

Read The Magic of Egypt (Part 2)

Read The Magic of Egypt (Part 1)