Remember

Remember those days when you were young?

When you think you are the best

And you try to stand out from the rest

When you think you can be everything

From being a policeman, to being a superman

And when you smiled and jumped with joy

As your parents bought you a new toy

And you brought it to school to show it

To your friends who can't stop their envy

And you felt you were Earth's luckiest kid

And when you didn't get what you wanted

You screamed and shouted in agony

You felt miserable, you felt cheated

You cried and shed tears that could never stop flowing

And all your parents did was nothing, but ignore you

And now that I have grown up and matured

Whenever I see children behaving in such ways

I do nothing but to frown at their behaviour

And I think, wasn't I like them during my younger days?

And so I smiled, as I watched the fiasco going

Life is a play, it is funny

It is nothing but an irony

As I stared at the boy, whom acted immaturely

And asked myself that question

Don't you remember those days, when you were young?

Happy 50th post

Dear my blog, La Storia

Thank you for spending these beautiful 50th posts, as you heard my stories, my inspirations and my ramblings. I hope you'll enjoy it too :)

Love

Adhi

Independent traveller

Alright I'm currently in National Library now. Since I'm doing anything here, I've decided to post a story. This time round - being a traveler.

Whenever I am in Changi, be it me going back, sending someone off, or fetching someone from there, I always look at the departure board. I looked at it, and tell myself. I wish I'm taking that plane to London... (Or other destinations).

I may sound foolish, dreaming of just taking a flight to another country. And what's more foolish is that I'm talking to myself over a departure board. Well as foolish as I might have sounded. I really feel it's not really a foolish dream at all. I'm just wishing and hoping that I will one day travel round the world. And perhaps one day, catching that flight to London.

So my ultimate dream is to be a traveler.

An independent traveler.

This is one of the most impossible dream that could ever happen. Firstly, my definition of an independent traveler is basically someone with the ability to travel anywhere, without the worries of money, time, and lack of freedom. Someone who can travel with that sense of joy and freedom, that feeling where they have all the time in this world.

And of course the travel must be a safe and enjoyable one. I wouldn't want to travel to places where it is so crowded, where I would be hassling myself among a crowd of people. It's just weird isn't it. And I would also want to travel to countries and experience a life of the locals. Most importantly, be bathed in their culture.

Life is nothing but a journey. Sometimes I just feel that it is really a waster to throw an opportunity of traveling, if you have the chance to. Seeing the world with your own eyes is like one of life's greatest gift. The ability to savour freedom, to taste joy, and to be liberated from the chains of life.

When I was in Sweden, or maybe Norway, with my sister last year. I remembered it was one of the best times of my life that I've ever been. It was a moment in that year where I did not feel worried, I did not feel stressed, I did not even think of life. All I did was to enjoy. Alas, I've regretted for not doing many things in which I could do then.

So that's a reason why I've always enjoyed watching travel shows. I might not be the real person to experience the joy of the travel, but at least I've got the chance to feel what it is to be there, in the country. I always feel fascinated by those shows. Like as if I was there experiencing it. But of course not.

Life is always a dream. Everything is. Sometimes those dreams come true, while sometimes it just don't. But well nothing is wrong to continue dreaming. No mater how foolish a dream is, it is still a dream. And remember to always dream a thousand dreams.

If I were to see a shooting star now, I would wish nothing but a wish for me to be able to explore the world. To travel around the world before time runs out.

I just really feel that it's such a waste, not to be able to see the world with one own's eyes, when one has the opportunity to do so.

In Holland V

In Holland V, I sit

I sit as I watched people's life go by

I sit as I waited for time to fly

And realised the beauty of this silence

Amidst this bustling serenity

In Holland V, people come

And people go to places they want to be

A warm comforting dinner

Or enjoying their friends' company

Or perhaps, going to an escape from reality

In Holland V, people smile

And people frown as many things happened to them

In the midst of the crowd, a couple was happily kissing

While a woman panicked to find her wallet missing

And a dog was barking, in the middle of all these mayhem

In Holland V, I sit

As an old man came to sit beside me

Staring at the blank space in front of him

His face wasn't sad, it was not happy

It just showed the pure joy of silence within him

In Holland V, I smiled

As I watched people's life go by

People may think I'm weird and crazy

But they didn't know, and they never know

The pure bliss of enjoying the silence within them

(These events are based on what happened to me in Holland V on 30/08/2010)

My Little Escape - Episode Two

The fan on the ceiling was moving above me. I was feeling cold, in fact, shivering in this beautiful tropical country. It was a cold morning I supposed. The breath of fresh air gush through my nose, filling my lungs as if giving it another rejuvenating gush of life. I looked on the window beside me.

Sunrise. The most beautiful one I've ever seen.

The blue sky was painted with streaks of golden ray coming out of the seemingly-endless horizon as it pierced through a cloud, painted in a scarlet and orange hue.

Am I in paradise? I thought to myself. Perhaps I am, but I know I'm in the Maldives right now. A small piece of nirvana on earth, I called it.

It was an interesting decision I made. I was feeling rather stressed in life, and I told myself I need a good break. I need to get away from reality, and escape to small piece of heaven on earth. I didn't know where to go at first, until I remembered a wish I always have - to visit Maldives.

I know a trip here could cost a lot, but I was telling myself, everything will be worth it here. Everything. So I spent some bucks to book a flight there, and even booked a small villa, on a secluded island here in the beautiful Maldives.

As I woke up from a great night sleep, I made my way to the balcony of my villa. The morning air was refreshing. And the view, is worth more than the money I spent to come here. The sunrise drew me like a magnet. I decided to come to the beach to view this magnificent scenery that not everyone can enjoy. Oh, not forgetting my camera as well.

I walked towards the beach with its pristine turquoise water reflecting the golden sun rays above it. The wave was soft, the white sand, the cold temperature. Everything was perfect. It really felt as if I'm in nirvana. In heaven. Without hesitation, I snap away lots of pictures to bring back home for my memories.

In the afternoon I've decided to be adventurous and head out the to main island in Maldives to get some things back for my family. And to fulfill my hobby of travel-photography. I have asked the friendly and always-be-happy-to-help-you villa crew on some of the useful language I can use when buying stuff. And there I go, to the mainland.

The city was bustling. The sky was cloudless and temperature rise quite mercilessly. I beat the crowd to get myself some souvenirs back. And tried a local delicacy - The Fish Mole. It was a roadside restaurant. And that's when I met Beatrice. She was a British traveler, who coincidentally stayed at the same villa as me. We've decided to spend the afternoon together to hunt for more local goodies.

Finally, the day I've not been waiting for arrived. It was my last day in the Maldives, and I'll be catching my flight back tomorrow. The afternoon was cloudy and it looked as if there was going to be a storm. But somehow, it cleared up beautifully in the late afternoon. The sky was blue once more, and I sat on the beach, waiting for another scene I'm waiting for.

The sunset. Which will be a finale to my stay here.

I sat on the beach, watching the sun setting on that west horizon. The sky was once more painted with beautiful paradigm of colours. The sky was blue, accompanied with a symphony of violet and orange coloured clouds. The sound of the crashing waves, the beautiful melody of the wind as it whispered to my ears. I was in a state of euphoria.

And then Beatrice come and joined me. She sat beside me as we watched the sky turned dark gradually.

That was my beautiful trip to the Maldives. A friendship created, and lots of memories forged.

PS: This story is fictional. All the events, names, places are purely coincidental. I wish this could happen to me though :)

My Little Escape - Episode one

As the plane touched down, I happily stood up from my seat. The flight took almost 11 hours time, I was worn out and tired. Plus the jet lag. Well, nothing beats my happiness over this trip. The flight attendant announced through the system that the outside weather was 9 degree celsius, and windy as well. I was thinking, what a wonderful weather to visit this country, once again.

Bien Venue A Paris it says - welcome to Paris

As I put my jacket over my shoulder and waited for my baggage to appear in that seemingly-endless moving baggages, I caught a glimpse of Jean. One of my friends whom I've made friends with during my one year study of music in France. That was almost five years ago. But our friendship remains.

He waved at me, and I waved at him back. It's been almost five years since I met Jean. I remembered the first time we met. He was studying in arrangement while I was studying in piano music. However we met during our orientation, and that's when our friendship began.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I found my luggage coming out of that hole. I took it out and came out of the gate with a smile. Paris, here I come again I thought.

"Bonjour Jean! Cava bien?"

"Hey it's great to see you again Adhi! I'm great, how about you?" replied Jean.

I gave him a hug and we went to the taxi stand to take a taxi to Paris city. It was spring time. The weather was cooling with the sun shining greatly above us. The sky was blue, it was a really perfect day to visit my beloved city once again. So much has changed in these 5 years. Yet, it still brought my memories back.

I'll be staying in Paris for 5 days. So I've decided to make this trip the most wonderful one. After checking in into my hotel, Jean and I decided to head over our favourite cafeteria to have our lunch. I remembered once when Jean found me walking on this stretch of road. And he simply asked me to join him for lunch, for in his eyes, I seemed puzzled of where and what to eat.

Time was still early then. 3 P.M Paris time. We've decided to go back to our music school and met our teachers again. One that I want to meet the most was Madame Rianne. She was my mentor, my teacher, and a best friend of mine. Meeting her must be onf of the highlights of my trip.

Taking a walk towards my school was really really both sentimental and happy for me. I was reliving my memories. I did not expect so much things to have changed. The usual hot dog stall I loved to buy from was missing. And the small newspaper kiosk also disappeared. The Paris I once saw had changed, I supposed.

Alas I met Mdm Rianne. She was still as "kicking" as usual. She greeted me with that warmth and joy, I was really happy. We had a good talk with each other. We talked quite cheerfully, and sort of loudly that some of our teachers were interested to join. What made me really happy was that all of my teachers remembered us. He even asked "Apa Kabar" to me. I truly am proud and happy to have such teachers like them.

My trip continues with more sightseeings. From the famous Eiffel tower, to Muse de Louvre, from taking a walk in city parks, into venturing to Charmonix. And not forgetting from having a simple baguette, into dining in 3 Michelin star kitchen. Paris had never failed to amaze me. This city of wonder I have always loved and adored.

Five days went so quickly and it's time to go. Jean sent me to the airport and we bid farewell. I am thankful for my passion for photography. I have taken hundreds of pictures, which I will faithfully keep as my memories. I am not sure when I will come back to visit France once more, but I know deep in my heart, I want, and I will.

Au Revoir Paris, till we meet again.

NOTE: This story is fictional, all the plot, names and places are fictional as well. If only they can come true to me, that is :)

My little escape series

I've always been dreaming of visiting many countries. So here goes my little escape through writing. Sometimes, who knows it may become a reality :)