Travel Perspective

Our recent travel visiting ruins of the once great Khmer kingdom gave me not only memorable photos but more importantly, a valuable perspective.

...It made me realize that years from now, I will not remember the long hours I have put in in this project, but the time I took off from work to see places will be a lifetime memory that I will always cherish -- forever tucked away in some corner in my brain, hashtagged as "my happy place". 

...It's making me rethink that if I could live in a tiny 600 sq. feet hotel room for 5 straight months, then why do I feel like I need so much more back home?  Can I simplify my life so that I could retire early and spend the rest of my time traveling the world?  That will surely add a lot more "happy place" hashtags in my brain!

From now on, my mantra would be:
NOT Work Too Hard. Eat Well. Save Up. Retire Young. Travel Often!

  

                                                      

                                                                     TOP: Mango 

                                                                     PANTS:  MICHAEL Michael Kors

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Prada nylon bag.

                                                                     SHOES:  Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa jelly shoes

 

 

 

   

                                                                     TOP: Neiman Marcus

                                                                     PANTS:  Lululemon yoga pants

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Fendi sunglasses; Prada nylon bag.

                                                                     SHOES:  Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa jelly shoes

 

Narciso Rodriguez for Kohls (Part 19): Making Friends

 

Friends, this is how you make new friends, shopaholic-style. 

At dinner, trying to engage in some casual conversation with my newfound friend. 

New Friend:  So, do you like football or soccer?

Me: Hmm tough...   I really like shopping. 

Speaking of shopping, I should have bought this entire Narciso Rodriguez collection at Kohls! 

 Because it looks like this series has no end in sight!

  

                                                                     TOP: Narciso Rodriguez for Kohls pink peplum top.   Other pairings here. 

                                                                     SKIRT:  Dolce & Gabbana

                                                                     SHOES:  Gucci gray suede shoes

Travelogue: Travel Tips to Ayutthaya, Thailand

Just a quick hour drive up north of Bangkok is the beautiful city of Ayutthaya --
an ancient kingdom built by Rama I U-Thong, the first ruler of Thailand.  

The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and there's at least 58 beautiful attractions to tour! 

There is so much history, ancient relics and beautiful temples to soak in in this beautiful city and it's unfortunate that we only had a day to tour around.  

~~~~~~~

If you find yourself in this lovely city, here's a few tips to enjoy your visit: 

1.  Hire a private van from Bangkok.  It's a bit pricey but it's the fastest and safest.   

     We hired a chauffeured van from this company and was very pleased with their service. 

2.  Visit Wat Phanan Choeng Worawihan to see an impressivly towering 60-feet golden Buddha   

     statue!   Linger long enough to see a robe ceremony -- where faithful Buddhists honor their
     Buddha by offering the statue a vibrant orange new robe.

3.  Arrive early to see Wat Yai Chai Mhang Khon (Monastery of Auspicious Victory) before the 

     morning sun casts directly to the temple.   And if your timing is lucky enough, take this 

     shot (scroll below to see the 2nd photo that we took of a teenage tourist with the lovely brick 

     temple at the backdrop). 

4. Visit Ayutthaya Historical Park to see the ruins of this historic city, the once capital of the country 

    and home of the 1st King from the 13th century.  Find out how this once great   

    kingdom fell to its enemy in a gruesome and gory battle.   I hope not to get nightmares from it.  

5. Always rent an audio wherever it's offered.  For a  mere $3 (฿100), you get a  lesson in history 

    with a very interesting narration.  It's how I found out the interesting story in #5 above.   

    If nothing else, it will surely help bring the relics come back to life in your imagination.  

    Without it, everything will just look like another brick from another century.

6.  Visit Wat Maha That (Monastery of the Great Relic) and look for the sandstone Buddha 

     surrounded by tree roots.   Sure you'll get a wee bit disappointed realizing it's a tad small than 

     what the travel magazines promised and lured you into.   Regardless, it's not something you see 

     everyday and can't buy at the malls! 

7.  Stop for lunch at Coffee Old City.   There's a reason why it's voted #1 on Tripadvisor.   Order 

     their Tom Yum fried rice, Pad Thai to find out for yourself. 

8.  Visit Wat Chaiwatthanaram and find out what gift this once king gave his mom.   Puts our  

     mother's day card and charm bracelet gifts to shame. 

9.  Hire a boat to cruise around Chao Phraya or a bike to tour around the city.  But no matter 

     what you do, I beg not to hire an elephant ride!   Should you consider it for a moment, read this 

     blog and you'll surely change your mind. 

10.   After learning so much history of this great city, (assuming you followed #9 above), you'll 

        slowly start to harbor a little resentment to the people who ruined this city.   Chill!!  It happened

        more than 400 years ago.   Suggest to go back to the place in #7 to have a Thai Iced Tea.

10.  I was told to visit 9 temples in a day for good luck.   I had a all the good intentions but   

       unfortunately, I reached some form of temple fatigue towards the late afternoon after hours 

       in grueling heat.  (It's high 85F that day. I live in Minnesota, 80's is a grueling heatwave for 

       me!). 

So after 7 hours, 5 temples, countless relics and a lesson in Thai history -- all for a mere $30 

(฿900), we called it a day.

It's a shameless plug, I know... but thought you might enjoy my other travelogue posts here too!   

Sightseeing

I've been here in Thailand for about 4 months now but this is only my 3rd sightseeing trip. 

I am so glad the hubz was so adamant for us to do some touristy stuff this weekend or else, 

I would have just spent my entire Saturday working.  Again.  As with any other  Saturdays.  

Five years from now, I won't remember the documents I wrote, the challenging 

questions I answered nor the long hours I did on this project.  

But I'll do remember the fun excursions --  soaking in history, appreciating the beauty of ancient relics, and tales of wisdom  of kings of old! 

Seize the day!  It's exactly what I did yesterday.  

I promise to do a proper blog post of this lovely city next time. 

But for now, here's a little preview...

 

                                                                     TOP: H&M striped black & white dress worn as a top 

                                                                     PANTS:  Lululemon yoga pants 

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Prada baroque sunglasses;  Prada nylon bag.

                                                                     SHOES:  Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa jelly shoes

Rewarding Thyself

For the past few weeks, I have been constantly at risk of cracking my skull open trying to use every single bit of my brain power in order to architect a solution for a $1B dollar business practice that my current client is doing. 

It'll be a costly mistake if my solution does not work. 

But for now, I believe I got it. 

And so I have rewarded myself appropriately with this, this, this and THIS!!

And most importantly, I rewarded myself with a weekend off --  A time for outfit shots and a blog post.

...No sending emails, no writing docs, no reviewing docs and certainly no worrying about work! 

  
                               

                                                                     TOP: JLo for Kohls 

                                                                     PANTS:  Spanx leggings

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Mimi di N elephant belt;  Prada nylon bag.

                                                                     SHOES:  Prada bow flats

 

The Pursuit of 'Simple' Red Soles...

I have nothing against those who are born insanely rich but I'm one of those rare few who
is very much grateful I am not born as such and that I came from a solid middle class background.   

I fear that if I'm filthy rich by virtue of my family's estate, then I will no longer appreciate
the thrill of waiting for a sale just to score one nice purse.
Nor will have I the patience to save up for months over something I really want.

And mostly, I fear that my achievements would be not because of my own merit  but by mere birthright.

I'm perfectly happy where I am now and where I came from --
a normal average person... with unalienable rights of
Life, Liberty and the 'Simple' Pursuit of Red Soles.

 

  

                                                                     TOP:  DVF satin tank; JLo for Kohls boucle blazer

                                                                     DRESS:  Joie tiered lace dress 

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Simply Vera, Vera Wang pearl necklace

                                                                     SHOES: Christian Louboutin 'Simple' black patent pumps

A little break from fashion...

...To talk about photography.  Because if something happens, it has to be captured. 

There is only one way to make a moment last forever in a material form. The moment has to be captured by a camera. Only then, it becomes a photograph. It has been my hubby's passion to be always behind the lens.  While I, being the vain one, always in front of it.

People’s interest in photography is just big and today, it does not matter if you are a professional photographer or just a gal who has an iPhone (got my awesome 5s recently and I am so loving it!), you will get to take pictures of everything you want, from the mundane and ordinary (Foodie pix and selfies? Guilty!) to the extraordinary --beautiful landscapes, somewhere in Africa, for National Geographic magazine (ahem, maybe someday!).

 All around the world, it can be observed as a huge social movement, which involves photography. Of course it is indisputable, that first of all photography is art, but then we get to see how businesses and history cannot be done well without the implication of this art. Today, we are the people, that are no longer believing a written story without photographs. It is simple: If there is no photo of it, it did NOT happen. 

The same goes for business purposes. When it comes to advertising, companies are willing to pay more for billboards and visuals than for audio commercials. People want to see things, because looking, gives you the best sight of what a thing, a service or anything else is. For example, for a New York advertising photographer, Times Square is the best place for his art to be. Daily, approximately a third of a million people passes through Times Square, they all watch the advertising spots and they all look at the photographs that are there. The famous intersection is always full of ads and billboards. Huge pictures of perfumes, pop stars and burgers cover buildings. Even if the writing is huge on these billboards, we rarely pay attention to what is written there, we look only at the image. 

 The photos are so personal. Even if it is just a selfie posted on Facebook, or  a whole wedding photography, it means a lot, to the person which is pictured in it. Photographs are actually moments, frozen in material form -- printed and framed for posterity. You would never know exactly how you were looking 10 years ago, if you do not have a picture of yourself at the time. That is why, people are so obsessed with taking pictures everywhere, at any time, in any circumstances. If something happens, it has to be captured.

  There are maybe millions of photographers in this world -- countless in every country, every city. Still, when it comes to get a professional photo shoot, people spend a lot of time in picking one photographer. Because we all want our pictures to be perfect, either we are just adults getting married, or companies advertising their products, the photographs we choose to have, mean a lot to us.

I'm so glad my choice is simple because I am married to one.  

To my darling Hon, thanks for being the power behind this blog.  The unseen force behind each of my posts....  

Disclosure:  Compensation was received for this post.   

However, all statements here are my honest and 100% my own opinion.