Reflection of 2015 - Reverse Bucket List

Dear readers,

I recently came across and interesting blog post were the author suggested to do a "reverse bucket list" - things/experiences that has already happened to us that we are grateful for.

So yes, this would be a kind of lengthy post of Angel's Reverse Bucket List! ***Yay! claps***

#1 Work & Travel USA

I can't express how grateful I am to meet such wonderful people in life

Work & Travel USA is definitely one of the most precious experience I made in 2015. Not only did I work in a resort more than 7000ft above sea level in the snowy mountains surrounded by nature, I also had the privilege to fellowship with friends from around the world by sharing our culture & food.

Celebrating New Year Eve in Denver, Colorado

New Year 2015 in Denver, Colorado

Cross-country skiing for the first time in Snow Mountain Ranch, Colorado

Preparing a Malaysian meal for our American friends :)

Horse back ridding for the first time on Apollo <3

#2 Traveled to 8 cities across 7 states with my best friend Elaine

Now this has got to be one of the craziest, frustrating, happy, angry period of time for both of us. Imagine each of us has like 2 luggage and a huge backpack strolling on the streets of New York. This is also the time we have no means of communicating with each other because we did not buy a SIM card, all we relied on was 'Free Wifi' and old style "I'll meet you here at ..."

We breathed in history while following the Boston Freedom Trail

Admire the skyline of NYC from the Empire State Building

Stand at where the Washington Monument was erected

Visited my dear host mom, Jackie and my cute niece in Toledo

Chilly weather in Chicago

Witness the amazing creation of God - the Grand Canyon

Staying in a hotel with a casino at the lobby in Las Vegas

Glittering Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco

Amazing things that happened on this trip:
1. Hitch a ride with a stranger to the train station because there was no cab.
2. Borrowed a phone from a kind old lady to call our tour guide because our flight was delayed.
3. Catching the last bus from downtown LA to our hotel.

I know deep it my heart all this is only by the grace of God because we experience so many miracles along the way.

Our travel route: Boston - NYC - Washington DC - Toledo - Chicago - LA - Las Vegas - San Francisco

#3 Got my first "real" job

In case you haven't been on earth for a while, the economy in 2015 wasn't that great for ASEAN, especially Malaysia. One month after my stint in the US, I landed in a position as a Management Trainee with one of the region's universal bank (currently in my 8th month).

Selfie with ma tag yo! I'm employed :)

#4 Travel to Langkawi with my batch mates

What is better than traveling alone? Traveling with friends!

With ma girls~~ <3

#5 Sisters Trip!!! - Taiwan & Ipoh

Sisters trip are like my unwinding moments... it's nice having family around when you travel :)
Two makes the best travel number.

Hello from Cijin Island!

Ipoh makan makan trip

#6 Family reunion <3

Family will always be very close to my heart, I am blessed that they support me more than ever in 2015. Gatherings are a must every year! No matter how busy we are in life, never forget about those who care about us. Love you mom & dad + all the Choo siblings!

#7 Having the most caring BF ever 

Yes you are right, I am bragging hahaha... well, I am just grateful that in 2015, he has been supporting me all the way. Being the silent superhero in my life. Love you dear :)

#8 Keeping in touch with old and new friends

Keeping in touch to me is honestly one of the most genuine gesture someone gives as it is not only time consuming, but also requires a lot of effort especially those with many friends! I'm grateful I still am able to meet up and catch up about life with these awesome people despite location and our different paths.

Fly to Singapore to meet up :P (that's how serious we get about keeping in touch)

TCB 37 Dinner Gathering

Best friends for 17 years (gosh we r old...)

17 years of friendship, meet up with the gossip girls gang in Penang

My Axiata ULDP Batch 2 Family

#9 Volunteering 

I thank God I have the opportunity to volunteer 2 - 3 times every month with the teenagers in KL KrashPad as part of my CSR under the Management Trainee Programme. This year I also reconnected with the YES Alumni and participated in their beach clean up project.

Group photo after Beach Clean Up Project in Port Dickson

So yes, that's about it...

I guess it would make it better to have a #10 but I seriously can't think of one now (as I am typing this at 1.52am and my eyes are about to shut) that's why I shall rest with 9 :)

What is your reverse bucket list?

3D2N Ipoh Getaway! - Day 2 & 3

Sorry peeps for the one month hiatus from blogging... I've been giving myself way too many excuses every time I tried to write this post. Finally, I AM DOING THIS!

So, starting from where I left off in my previous post...

Day 2 in Ipoh started with visiting Qing Xin Ling Leisure and Cultural Village. The way there is sort of strange as you will pass by some "kawasan perumahan" and it doesn't seem quite legit. Just trust Waze and it will definitely bring you there. We arrived around 10 am and there were already a bunch of visitors and the car park was really full!

*Kawasan perumahan = housing area

Basically this place is like a mini village surrounded by greens. It's really quite relaxing except when you are fighting over the best spot to take pictures. Gosh I get so annoyed when people are like photobombing like nobody's business :/

Anyway, I reckon this is a nice place to come with kids as they can also ride their bicycles here (just watch out for the pedestrians).

For lunch we had IPOH FAMOUS YONG TAU FU @ Dai Shu Geok, near Pasir Pinji... the crowd was crazy I kid you not! The way you order is just to get a basket and start grabbing which "yong tau foo" you want to eat. Then you can also order a laksa to eat along with it (although it is already superb on its own). As we were really hungry, we also ordered a rojak as appetizer (I love the udang keropok in it).

Rojak with keropok udang! Yumsss :)

What do we do after eating??

EXERCISE!

So we went on a mural sighting in Ipoh Old Town (yes, walking counts as exercise to me keke), taking our sweet time just to stroll along the alleys and breathe in the smell of wood from the old shophouses.

Ipoh may not be as famous as Penang for their murals but it is definitely worth seeing...

Giant size humming bird

Little girl what are you reaching for?

Tang Lungs at some random alley

Site of a tin mine

And the most famous "old man drinking Ipoh Old Town White Coffee"

Dewan Bandaraya Ipoh (build in 1914)

Ipoh Train Station

Birch Memorial Clock Tower erected in 1909 in memory of the assassinated J WW Birch (Perak's first British Resident)

Lucky for us, we managed to escape the rain just as it started pouring... for dinner, we settle for a simple BBQ chicken wings and popiah meal.

Day 3 started pretty late for us and is also the day we would be heading back to KL. I meet up with a TCB friend, Ming Yee who is from Ipoh for brunch before heading to Gunung Rekreasi Lang as our final destination. Glad I made this trip with sis and let's hope for the many more to come!

With my TCB mate Ming Yee <3

Tickets to ride the boat to the park

Malay culture inspired architecture

Love the tree and the greens... so calming

Reflection of the limestones are just breathtaking

Some deer are kept here like a mini zoo... wish they could roam outside though

Ostrich!