The KnoWLedGe of Tea

"Tea does our fancy aid, Repress those vapours which the head invade And keeps that palace of the soul serene"
-Edmund Waller, "Of Tea"

"Tea...is a religion of the art of life" ~Okakura

I always thought that drinking tea doesn't require any knowledge or skills. All you need is just hot water, tea leaf, and a pot. Even a 4 years old child can do that. Today, is the day where i've been enlightens by the tea experts. All my thinking about tea were nothing but useless when you know the true purpose of tea, the knowledge and skill you need to brew a good quality tea.

Today, i went with my friend ChiWai to a shop name "HOJO" at The Gardens. The Managing Director itself, Mr. Akira Hojo has enlightens us about the world of tea. This is not the opportunity where anyone can get and thank god, i was there to learn.

Tea, is not something as easy as ABC, even the kinds of tea have a very long list. Every single detail in brewing a tea is important. The quality of water, the water resource, the kind of tea pot, the tea leafs, the way you pour out the tea. Every single detail can influence the taste of a tea. You guys out there may be thinking, "Come on, is impossible, is just tea.". That was what i think before i step in to this shop. Trust me, after u come and try it. I'am sure you will agree with me. i'm not an expert in tea. I know nothing about tea. But when i drink, i can feel the difference. I find it fasinating and i the fire in me on knowing about tea is burning. Mr.Hojo agree to teach us for free and can go over to his place anytime we want. I was glad to hear that and was looking forward to the next lesson.

After the session, my views on tea really changes. There are some saying that say "it takes a long time to learn about tea" and i totally agree with that. Even the experts need a lot of time to learn. I'am lucky to have found Mr.Hojo and maybe this is a start to my newly discovered passion.

HopE~

"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessing in disguise"-Oscar Wilde

"Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discourage men who kept on working"-Anonymous

"Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself 'How did i get through all of that' "-Anonymous

Hope. This word just came to my mind this few days. Some people say that hope came to our life in different ways and forms and i believe it do. This few days has been a very bad to me. Things were not coming into pieces, is falling apart. And when things seems to get worse, a dim light came shines his way through. A simple message saying " Not to give up " or " I will be here if you need anything " has made me realize that i need to stand up and continue the journey i called "Life".

"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessing in disguise"-Oscar Wilde. This quotes make me realize that is by going through obstacle that make us appreciate whatever we get in the process. Even though my dreams seems to shattered now but i believe that one day i will stick it together and fulfilled it. Thanks to my friends support that i finally realize that sadness or anger can't change the fact that it happens. If i have the time to focus on the problem, is better i find a way to find the solution. My friend once told me that "Instead of focusing onto the problem which wont change the fact that it happens, why not i focus instead of the solution which will change the situation in the end".

Everyone needs hope. Including me. Hope comes in many forms. It may come as message, obstacles, supports, money, wishes, etc. No matter how hope will come, always believe that having trials in life is not an answer to give up your dream or hope. Stay strong and never give up. I learned something new and i really glad that i went through it. Whenever we faces problems, find the solution instead of focusing on the problem. You will never believe what you achieved by doing it. It will change 360 Degrees. This world is full of hope. Find it.

A ShaTtEred DreaM

Is always been part of my dream to travel around the world. Even if its just one place and for a few months. I would be happy and will never regret of anything. This few months i was ready to fulfilling my dreams. I start the first step, then the other and following by another. All i have in my thoughts were "BACKPACKING,BACKPACKING". I prepared my passport, i prepared mentally, i searched in the internet for additional info, I searched for the stability of the economic, i plan this, i plan that. Just when i was just one step closer. It shattered.

I never thought that when i was so close to my dream, it will end like this. An irresponsible promise from 2 adults had cause a person dream to end just like this. I never blame them if they didn't agree what i'm doing at the first place, I don't mind if they stop me at first, but I do mind and i do piss when at first they will say how much they supported me to do this, Is good that i do this since i have no commitment, and when i just a step closer, they destroy everything.

Don't ever promise things that you know u can't fulfill. He had made me hate him once, and now, he made me lost his trust. I don't know what he will do in the future. But all i know is..NEVER EVER TRUST HIM. For my dream, i will never give it up. No matter what, i will make sure my dreams been fulfilled. STay Alive and Stay Strong.

Death~

"One day your life will flash before your eyes, Make sure its worth watching."-Anonymous

"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will."-Chuck Palahniuk

"You have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be."-Chuck Palahniuk

Death..One word that always linger in everyone's mind. When it comes to the word "Death", we are all afraid of it. I watched the movie name "Patch adam" and he said "What's wrong with death?What are we mortally afraid of?Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity or dignity, and decency.."

Some people take death as "bad" but what i see, in death, is the total opposite of bad.What i see in death as good, a power source of inspiration, a energy that keep me going. For me, death is nothing to be afraid of. We can hide, we can cheat death once, we can even cheat death twice but we certainly can't run from death. There will be a time where we will meet death face to face and no one can eventually run away from it. I take death as inspiration, as a energy that keep me doing the things i wanted to do. I would always ask myself,"What is the thing i regret most if i were to die tomorrow, or maybe today". When we ask ourselves this question, we will start to live our life to the fullest. Death doesn't come to your door,knock and say "hi,I'm death,I'll be finding you tomorrow".NO. Death come when it comes. You never know when you will be leaving this world.

If we take a look around this world closely and properly. You will notice that, MOST people who experience near-death experience is the people who are enjoying their every second and do the things they wanted to do. People who almost meet death is the one who knows how valuable life is and how important to live your life and do the things you always wanted to do. I'm not suggesting that you should purposely go and try near-death experience but if you happen to experience once,like me, you will know that "Life is short".You totally have no idea what's coming to you next.

Never waste your time thinking "What if..",if you have time to think that, i suggest you take the time to make it happen and to say "I will..".Most people are wasting a lot of time thinking "What if i were rich, What if i can fly, What if i meet this girl".Come on. Just thinking won't do any help, it won't bring you closer to the things you wanted to do. Start making the first step, Start saying "I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN". Try to do all the things in your to-do-list. Live Your life to the fullest. Take "Death" as inspiration. Never fear death, Never bow to death neither.

Cameron HighLand

It was 6.45a.m where we started our journey to Cameron Highland. It took us 5 hours to reach Cameron Highland because one of the car had a punctured Tyre on the way. It took us 2 hours to fix it then when we reached at the foot of Cameron Highland, the weight was overwhelming for the cars to go above 50km/h. Me,Suikar,Edmund and Chiwai was in the 1st car. Daphne,Emily,Debbie and Aaron was in the 2nd car while Calvin and Choonsern was in the 3rd car. Me,Suikar,Edmund and Chiwai had a great talk along the way and it was fun enjoying the cool breeze and nice talk while driving. We talk a lot and Suikar was the shooting spot. We reached Tanah Rata around 10.55a.m.

The first destination we reached was the BOH tea plantation. The scenary was superb. The air was cooling and is very relaxing. Though the way to BOH tea plantation was scary. With narrow roads and fast moving cars in one lane road. Imagine that~.Anyway, We reached at BOH tea centre and we have a tea and chit-chats. We also have a short tour at the tea factory located beside the tea centre and prepare for the next destination. The Second destination we headed to was the Bee farm which i think not that nice because not much bee flying around. Only big Statue of funny and cartoon bee.Hah. But is great having the experience of bees flying around you. After a long journey, we headed to a cafe and have our lunch. The food was normal and the price was reasonable. I was say is best if there are someone who knows the place well, so we can get cheap and nice food in the same time.

Roughly around 4 something and after our lunch, we head to our apartment which located just 5 min from the cafe. The apartment was nice and fully furnished but we have to walk 4 floors up. It was tiring especially after our long journey. Anyway, after we enter the apartment,its all worth it. We have a rest and clean ourself before we headed to the next destination.

It was dinner time and we had our Steambot. Imagine a place with cold weather and a hot steambot. It was super cool. This was the first time i really have fun enjoying steambot. In a cold weather,having steambot is the best thing we can do. After a fulfilling dinner, we go to Pasar Malam just a few minutes away from the steambot restaurant. I bought some supper along the way and had it when we reached our apartment. We called it a day after the pasar malam and enjoy ourselves chatting,watching movie and last but not least-sleep.

It was Sunday where our first destination is the jungle. We prepared ourselves around 10a.m and head to the jungle for hiking and jungle tracking. After that, we had ice-creams near to a river and this it the first time i having ice-cream near a river.Imagine that. AFter finishing the ice-cream we headed back to our apartment to clean ourselves and packed. Then we head back to the last destination, Uncle Rajuu Strawberry farm. We bought a lot of cheap strawberry and Uncle Rajuu give us 3 packets of Strawberry for us to eat on the spot. All the 3 packets are free. And he even give all of us a packet free. It is because Chiwai 2nd hometown is Cameron and he knows Uncle Rajuu very well.

It was sad but is time for us to say "GOODBYE" to our trip and Cameron Highland. It was fun even though we just spend 2 days 1 night. We headed back and along the way we have an idea of going Ipoh for the Chicken Tauge. After a few thinking, we finally decide that we will stop at Ipoh for Chicken Tauge. We have Chicken Tauge and bought some biscuit before we heading back to KL. It was a great trip to Cameron and we are looking forward for more trips. Thank You guys~

Photo:Boh Tea Plantation


Photo:Waterfall

Photo:Heavy Mist

Photo:Me and the Gang;Steambot,BOH Tea Cenre,Scone & Tea cafe,Our Apartment, Halfway to Cameron Highland

Photo:Getting Raped by Suikar

Photo:BOH Tea Centre

Photo:Our Steambot

OppOrtuniTy~

"We all faced with a series of great opportunity brilliantly disguised as impossible situations"-Charles R Swindoll

"Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak man wait for opportunities while strong men make them"-Orison Swett Marden
"When one door closes,another opens;but we often look so long and so regretful upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has open for us"-Alexander Graham Bell

There is a saying that say "Opportunity does not wait for men". I always believe this saying and i agree with the quotes by Charles R Swindoll, saying that "We all faced with a series of great opportunity brilliantly disguised as impossible situation". Always, we will find excuse to deny that opportunity do come to our doorstep, all we need to do is to invite them into our lives. In my situation. Opportunity do come. The opportunity that came and find me was the opportunity to see the world, to go backpacking and to find myself while im doing so. It seems impossible. With problems like financial, plannings, etc. I doubt it at first when this opportunity came knocking at my doorstep. I doubt for a very very very long time until i realize that when opportunity does not come, i kept blaming god,blaming others and blaming myself. Saying "Why others can go overseas and not me, Why god does not give me a chance, Why, Why and Why". But when it really comes, i just swept it away.

That was the time i realize that i need to do something about it. No point sitting there and blaming others. Opportunity does come to us, is just that we didn't see it as opportunity and we didn't grab it and make it happen. I was given a second chance. Opportunity came and find me again for the 2nd time. This time, is the time for me to grab this opportunity and stop blaming others. I'm going to make this happen. I'm going to go for backapacking. I'm going to appreciate it. It may seems impossible but i will make it happen.

Opportunity do come to all of us, is the matter of you seize ir or u let it go. Open your eyes wide and seize every single opportunity you have. Don't blame others when you, yourself who let the opportunity go. Every single soul in this world has opportunity. Grab it and make it possible. Opportunity doesn't wait for no one. Don't find excuse to let it go, Find a reason to make it possible. Life is short. Opportunity doesn't always come back to you and say "Hei, i'm back,if you do not invite me in now, i will come back later"..When opportunity leaves, there are chances it won't come back again. Don't regret when it really happens. Seize your opportunity and make it possible.

SERIOUS ATTENTION and IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Photo: Snatch Thieves

Recently, one of my friends had been a victim of pick-pocket. She lost her purse but thank got nothing serious happen to her. This year also, one of my aunt had been a victim of snatch thieves twice. The first time she fell and injured her knees and hands, the second time she almost fell but nothing happen. To all my blog readers, please be extra careful when you go out. Please observe your surrounding if possible for any suspects before u start to walk or while you walking. Be more alert.

1)For girls who likes to carry a hand bag, please make sure your hand bag are facing inside of the road and always cling it near your armpit.

2)For girls who like to put their purse inside their pocket, always put your hand inside the pocket or always put your hand against your pants and make sure your hand can feel the purse inside it.

3)Always walk opposite of the road so you can observe incoming vehicles.

4)Make sure u observe your surrounding before you walk/wait bus/while walking along a road, no matter is busy road or normal road.

Photo:A way of Pick-Pocket

5)Always be alert

6)Always make sure you are not walking alone. Make sure u had 2-3 people tag along.

7)Try not to take any buses/LRT/KTM at night. If really have to, try to ask someone to fetch you.

8)Always remember,staying at crowded places doesn't mean is safe. There are chances of pick-pockets. Always remember there are no where safe except your house so be EXTRA ALERT.

9)Always check for your wallet while u walking/waiting or outside.

10)Always keep extra RM50 in case of theft. Never have an empty wallet. At least they not going back empty handed because if they go back empty handed, there are possibility you will get raped/killed/injured. I'm not joking. Imagine you are a thief, you risk your life just to get money but unfortunately your victim don't have money on her. What will you do?

11)Be careful, careful, careful

Please make sure your safety wherever and whenever you go. Safe Safe Safe. This world is no longer the safest place. Be alert. Prevention is better than cure. Please take care

Photo: illustration