It’s still hard to believe that after three years, life is slowly returning to old days, including traveling. When I thought Sydney was more than enough this year, then another trip came only few months after that.
This time, it’s way of traveling that we have never been done before. Out of initial plan.
The past few weeks and months, I felt like dealing with the same old and new me while dealing with traveling thing. I am still the same old person who is very determined and detailed in planning, but certain part is totally unrecognizable.
I always know that I am good at waiting, although the reason might not be clear. Sometimes, I am questioning myself too what I have been waiting for. Just click buy and move on to the next thing. Why torture yourself for weeks instead? But still, I just chose to suffer.
When it comes to traveling, I feel like having this different tables inside my brain about few different itineraries with their own strengths and weaknesses. Funnily, these tables were not even fixed. After weeks of feeling certain that those choices were the only way to go, suddenly, I could restart from the beginning and resetting everything again to completely different plans. It was mostly a sudden new insight that came into my mind.
The old me would have started packing right after the visa was granted, mostly two or three months beforehand, but now, up to two weeks, my luggage was still sitting nicely on the cupboard. I wasn’t so sure what I was waiting for.
Previously, I was so sure a transit it’s fine as long as the time and price fit. Then, I found the airline rating was pretty bad. So, I considered another option. When I found one that had a good rating, I was still being hesitant once again. The greedy in me wanted more.
While waiting for this, I suddenly found the price that I had been looking for consistently for weeks. Then, when I was about to type the card number, I started thinking once again. This one fitted the time and price, but with a transit.
I ended up not with the lowest I could get, but it was the best indeed.
As the date of the departure is getting closer, my anxiety is slowly rising. Pre-pandemic travel gave me excitement, but the post ones are making me more cautious. I’ve been wondering why we adult has so many fears inside? Or is it just me?
Since the first time we traveled abroad as a family, we always stay in one city for 7 days. Enjoyed the city as slow as possible (although it was also a soft translation of not having enough to afford more). But this time, we would move to three different countries in 7 days. It’s scary. I didn’t plan to, but, as always, a travel twist made us taking such options.
Well, I wish nothing but hopefully we will survive this new season of traveling safe and sound. We never know if we don’t try. Right? Please, it is.
After having a summer trip in the east, off we go for another summer trip to the west.
First, lots of writing ideas that have been unavailable for the last few months. Been staring at the blank page often since few last months of last year and nothing came up. Traveling for a week, drafts line up in an instant.
Second, the cleanest period at home. I have this urge to clean everything whenever we want to travel. Not only as far as Sydney, even one as close as Bogor or Bandung makes me want to clean everything before we go. The further we go, more massive the cleaning done.
On the day we departed to Sydney, I ran the washing machine twice, changed all the bed sheets and cushions, cleaning the table, and many more. In my opinion, when we travel, preparing for the trip is not the only thing we should do, but another more important thing is preparing the post travel mood.
Since we have no one to help us with domestic chores, I will be the one who will do and deal with all the post travel mess. Thus, coming home to a clean and tidy house is important to me.
Is that all? Sadly, no. I am the one who also unpacks all the luggages right away, not that kind of the following day right away, but literally right away after we set the foot at home. I couldn’t sit still until all the suitcases are safely stored in the cupboard, clear living room without scattered things, all souvenirs properly packed, washing machine start doing its job, then I could stop.
This is why the arrival time is also being highly considered when I purchase the ticket. But, based on past experiences, no matter how late or early, I always unpack right away. Arrived home from Tokyo at 2am, unpacked done until 5 am. Arrived home from Paris at 11pm, unpacked until 2am. Arrived home at 9.30 pm yesterday, all clear by 12.30 am.
They say people who unpack the luggage right away after traveling is a cold blood murderer.
Maybe 🤔.
Third, traveling reveals the worst in you. It reveals not only how annoying your partner to you, but also how annoying you are to them. There are times when I have been so annoyed by either the doctor or the little girl and I am sure I have been such a nuisance to them for many times. When everyone directly goes lazing on the bed or couch after spending hours outside, my choice is always tidying up here and there and sometimes I expect them to do as I do.
Je sais c’est impossible.
The situation of the room every morning before we left for sightseeing. The golden rule : “You won’t be happy coming home to a messy place”
Last one, traveling brings some stories that are not available in any books out there. The old man while waiting the check in time, the lady in Rudolf Steiner book store, the taxi driver who sent us to the airport, all told stories that I could never find in any book stores. With the old man and the taxi driver, it was the doctor who talked to them while I listened while the lady it was between me and her. I actually like the listening part more than the talking. I found it more interesting (easier) when I listened to other’s’ conversations more than when I was the one who had to do the talk. Lazy girl.
Did I say last above? Well, another one then.
After one trip ends, traveling brings the ‘greed’ to do it another one soon.
The greed that made the four seasons of Ilana Tan trips happen within four years in a row.
Pengalaman pertama kali naik Qantas jauh dari mengecewakan. Standar servis yang mengagumkan sejauh ini masih dipegang JAL berdasarkan pengalaman diikuti Qatar. Qantas sedikit mendekati Qatar.
Waktu berangkat jam 7 malam, flight on time dan smooth landing dan take off. Sehari sebelumnya sudah rekues menu halal baik dewasa maupun anak. Hanya pernah sekali rekues menu anak waktu naik Qatar 2017 dan ngga pernah lagi setelahnya. Terlalu hambar buat bisa dinikmati.
Pesawat pergi cukup penuh dan sempit. Makan malam sekali, snack kecil satu kali dan snack sebelum landing satu kali dan selama 7 jam penerbangan, kru kabinnya cukup aktif menawarkan minuman selama penerbangan.
Proses check in untuk penerbangan pulang di Sydney smooth sekali. Prosesnya dilakukan di mesin seperti self check in mulai dari scan paspor sampai memasukan bagasi dilakukan secara mandiri. Menyenangkan sekali, buat yang masih muda dan gampang ngerti. Buat yang lebih tua agak sakit kepala sehingga petugasnya tetap harus standby.
Waktu pulang, jadwal awal jam 13.55 waktu Sydney tapi delay sekitar sejam setengah.
Di pesawat pulang jauhh lebih menyenangkan. Pesawat lebih kosong, kami dapat duduk middle seat yg konfigurasi 3 meskipun agak belakang (di depan semua baris tengah konfigurasi 4). Pak dokter pindah ke window seat di sebelah selama penerbangan.
Mungkin karena penerbangannya siang, makanan ngga berhenti diberikan. Dari awal air mineral dan kacang, lalu makan siang, kemudian cookie, eskrim, kacang lagi, ngga berapa lama datang coklat, lalu terakhir sebelum landing datang pie dan apel. Cookie dan es krimnya enak sekali.
(Ini ditulis di dalam pesawat ketika snack halal sudah dibagikan. Setelah berapa lama, kereta makan datang untuk membagikan snack ke penumpang lain dengan minuman, dikasih lagi satu kotak berisi 4 biji samosa, subhanallah).
Memang yang namanya manusia suka ngelunjak. Setelah abis satu bungkus jcookie yang buat saya enak banget, waktu ke kamar mandi kepikiran buat nanya ke pantry mungkin mereka punya sisa. Tapi batal karena malu. Setelah dikasih sekotak samosa lagi, akhirnya coba nanya. Kalo ngga nanya jawabannya selalu tidak. Tanya ke salah satu pramugari apa masih bisa dapat cookie ini satu lagi dan dia jawab sudah habis. Baiklah.
Tapi sedetik kemudian, dia jawab lagi,
Asking won’t hurt indeed.
“Wait, hang on, hang on,” lalu dia jalan mundur ke kursi depan dan nanya ke salah satu penumpang. Satu bungkus cookie dari penumpang tersebut berpindah tangan.
Salah satu keuntungan rekues makanan halal sebelum penerbangan, makanan kami selalu datang duluan. Sehingga ketika penumpang lain masih menunggu makanan datang (dan kelaparan) kami sudah selesai makan. Buat saya cukup enak makanannya, setidaknya piring saya lumayan bersih. Flight pergi nasi rendang dan sayur, flight pulang nasi, ayam lemon butter dan buncis. Tapi, saya emang ngga repot soal makan.
Bersyukur waktu pemilihan tiket antara naik SQ atau Qantas dengan sekitar 2,5 juta perbedaan akhirnya tetap pilih Qantas karena dua alasan : tidak ada transit dan bagasi yang lebih banyak.
Transit di Changi ngga jelek sebenarnya, cuma untuk jarak dekat seperti ini, transit kurang menguntungkan karena hanya menambah lama durasi perjalanan. Terutama pas pulang. Selesai traveling yang diinginkan cuma segera sampai rumah sesegera mungkin. Kurang menyenangkan ketika pulang masih harus turun naik pesawat lagi kalo ada pilihan lain. Sedangkan untuk bagasi, SQ hanya kasih 20kg, sedangkan Qantas 30kg.
Pilihan entertainmentnya juga sangat beragam. Jenis film anak juga cukup banyak. Saking banyaknya, film yang sudah disimpan di ipad anak ngga tersentuh sama sekali karena dia sibuk nonton apapun yang ada di layar depan.
Secara keseluruhan, naik Qantas buat ke Australia sangat menyenangkan.
Oh, setelah dengar beberapa kali petunjuk keselamatan, cara pengucapannya ternyata bukan ‘Kantas’ tapi ‘Kuantas’.
Traveling is impossible without itinerary but, I think it’s impossible to follow all the itineraries planned before. In 7 days here, only follow the exact plan for the first two days. We decided the rest along the way, especially every morning.
Our itineraries might be not suitable for everyone because it feels like doing nothing. Walking, sitting, playing, lazying around, even nap time is compulsory during traveling. But, we just enjoy what we like and this is the rest time where we’re granted a lot of time to enjoy all those experiences in a new place.
Life rarely goes according to the plan and I think that what makes it interesting. Here’s what we do in 7 days :
1. Arrived at 6.10 and put the luggages at the hotel and we walked around while waiting the check in time.
We stopped by at Haven for the doctor’s coffee. Followed by playing and rest in the playground near darling harbor where we spent 2 hours there.
We continued the walk to the It’s Time for Thai for lunch then went to Woolsworth for light groceries. We were so exhauste already and after that we just sat still in the hotel lobby until our room was ready.
Day 1 morning : walking around with heavy bag on the back
In the afternoon, we strolled down the Sydney harbor and Opera house then enjoyed the whole afternoon warching people in Royal Botanic Garden with Opera House view.
Day 1
2. We decided to return to the same spot but this time to ride on the ferry to visit the oldest theme park in Sydney. Luna Park is not as big as Dufan, but few times more expensive than Dufan. We still paid for that for one child and one adult while the other adult took care the bags and had nap time in the theme park.
Day 2
After nap time, we decided to have dinner in one of Indonesian restaurants in Kingsford. Our hotel is located in front of tram station and this restaurant is only one tram ride away for 20 minutes. It’s also located in front of the tram stop. So, it was very convenient and I was so excited to see the suburban life.
I recorded the whole trip and it was such a beautiful afternoon. After dinner, we went straight back home and that was when a bit of twist happened. There was fire somewhere so right after we hopped on to the tram, it’s stuck. So, we had to wait for the bus and it was pretty crowded. We couldn’t get on to the first one, but managed to do it on the second one.
We stopped in the front of Hyde Park which became our destination on the following day.
Day 2 afternoon : Trip for Nasduk ayam goreng and Bakso.
3. The plan for day 3 was just to have a morning walk in Hyde Park and coffee then went home to get ready. But, as always, plan was just a plan. Hyde Park was quite big so we spent few hours there. We wanted to visit Paddy Market after that, but, we passed Australian Museum and it was too good to be missed. It was almost 10 and ready to open, so we joined the queue.
Free museum with paid shark section, but it was so good. I really enjoyed the story telling they put in everything.
We went to Paddy Market for souvenir shoppings and some fruits. Then, home for nap time.
For the afternoon, we planned for fireworks watching in Darling Harbor, but it was raining and we had one of a must do itineraries the following day, so we decided to skip and sleep instead.
4. We woke up early on Sunday, prepared the bags and everything we needed to do..
A 6km of coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach.
Normally, the route is from Bondi to Coogee. But, we chose to take the reverse. Because, Bondi is wider and bigger, we want to stay there longer, and it’s easier to go home from Bondi.
Actually, we could just stop at Coogee or Bondi then stayed and played. But, we chose to do the long walk first instead. Some difficulties will add more ‘fun’.
Walking with some weight on the back, climbing up and down with some (a lot of) stairs, scooter on and off, the whinning and grumpiness from both ladies, arguing about this and that, those are not shown in the picture, but they are things that will make you remember the trip better.
Twelve thousands steps taken together will remain in memories longer, if it’s not forever.
Sunday walk with stunning viewTouch down Bondi
We went back and had a nap time then we went out once again for groceries. Enjoyed the night around Central Sydney and the town hall.
Night around Town Hall
5. This was the day where we planned to see some of the stores along the George Street. I wanted to find a proper Mary Jane shoes for little girl upcoming piano exam, paid a visit to Dymocks, the biggest book store here and Bed, Bath and Table in Myers. Didn’t find the shoes but bought something from Dymocks and BBT.
The Arcade
That day was mostly like non-itinerary trip. On the afternoon we just strolled around the George Street for another… groceries.
Wherever we go, groceries is my favorite itinerary.
6. The last full day in the city spent in Centennial Park for morning walk then followed by Bondi Junction to find the Mary Jane shoes for the little girl. The surprise thing was I found William Sonoma store here and so happy about that. One of the places that spark joy for me and the doctor. The beautiful plates, the kitchen appliances, the knives, the pan, the pot, sadly my wallet didn’t really agree.
The heaven
The afternoon stroll spent once again in Dymocks. This time was a Dymocks date with the doctor. Checked out Katherine May Wintering when it’s a signed copy on a sale while he got some cook book stuff.
One last spent for Dymocks
7. Home time.
Final packing and everything, then checked out from the hotel. One last stroll to get a cup of coffee for the doctor.
One last shot from the city.
Overall, Sydney is on the medium range of everything. It’s a good city in every aspect. when Tokyo is on the excellent level of hospitality while Seoul on the other side of the bar, Sydney is surely in the middle. Not a cheap city for our wallet, but not as expensive as Tokyo and Seoul, when it comes to eating expense.
This city is not as sophisticated and as vibrant as London and Paris, but you can still the vibe of Europe here while keep being exposed to lots of Asian cultures. Bahasa Indonesia is often heard everywhere we go, except the road less traveled like Bondi Coastal Walk and Centennial Park.
I used to write everyday during traveling. When it was morning, dark, and quiet. To restore all the memories made on that day into the writing.
But, so little writing made on this trip although the mind has a lot to say. I hope it’s not a sign that I started taking things for granted, because I really (hope I) don’t.
Like I said in the previous post, resumed exercising traveling muscle turns out is not as easy as I thought. Within the 3-4 for years there are a lot of changes happen inside and outside and I am still trying to figure out what’s the most comfortable way to do it.
For example : the little girl. Four years ago, she still sat and sleep on the stroller whenever we went around. Pushing the stroller around, got on and off the bus or train might be tired but we almost heard no whining or grumpy face along the journey. Because when she was well-fed and sit comfortably, she slept. When we stop, it was either time to eat or play in the park and playground.
I am still getting used that we are now traveling with a pre teen that also has a say of what she wants to do, can show her unhappy face whenever it is not the place she’s interested in, could refuse kind of food offered, and keep nagging to visit something to spend her pocket money in a souvenir or accessories store.
Next : money. Unlike four years ago when we were really tight about money during traveling, now we could be a bit relax, with some price of course. One of the reasons why Australia were not chosen few years ago simply because we couldn’t bring food. We brought home made food to all previous countries we visited to save the eating expense. Only lunch spent outside and it was strictly like that.
Now, we still do that by doing groceries store and light cooking. But, we could have options. We could sit in a pretty decent restaurant, then had a takeway for dinner, snacking ice cream and coffee in between.
It’s better of course, but it’s also harder. When you have less it’s nothing to control because it’s not there, but when you’re blessed with more, it’s impossible without an adequate amount of self control. Knowing when to stop is not an easy feat. Just because you can, you should.
Wearing a mask. It’s weird at the beginning that we don’t have to wear mask at all here. I slowly reduce my mask wearing back in Jakarta for the few past weeks. But, it’s sometimes hard because everyone is still wearing them everywhere. Then, one step at a time.
Well, maybe the new era is not bad at all (obviously not bad actually), hopefully, after this first step, more places will follow. Amin.
3: Beaches and coastal walks only 30 mins away from the city.
4. Halal food options are pretty easy to find.
5. The mixture of european and asian architecture in the residence area.
6. Stay in Central is so far the best decision made. Glad I didn’t proceed to cancel the hotel on the last minute just because a wifi issue. Solved quickly.
7. Five days are the ideal length of stay.
8. Late summer soon autumn is perfect weather to travel in Sydney.
9. People are moderately nice. Not that friendly, but definitely not unwelcoming.
10. Independent coffee shop is a real serious bussiness here.
We finally break the fasting of regular traveling after hard thought and long consideration, after putting other priorities ahead for the past three years.
Accidentally exactly three years difference.
Resumed exercising the long traveling muscle turned out wasn’t easy as I thought. The back pain sleeping in sitting position made me think about the comfy bed at home.
The long waiting between arrival and the check in made me wish about this and that.
The messed up routines made me slightly uncomfortable. The only reason choosing this date : Public holiday on Saturday, so no YPM.
Dealing with immigration and customs always makes me anxious.
The high tension of pre-departure where I want the house is clean and clear make me do continuous cleaning even until two hours before going to the airport. Other than Ramadan and Eid, my home is on its best shape when we have traveling plan. Simply because : I don’t want coming back to a messy home. The post traveling mess is more than enough to deal with.
So, then, why bother?
Because being too comfortable and not learning anything new is more dangerous.
Because missing the important years for the little girl training outside her classroom and zoom meetings should make me more anxious.
Because, based on the past experiences, in spite of the hardships and the twists each past travels bring, how intense they were, I don’t have any slightest regrets doing all of them.
We met a mother with THREE KIDS UNDER FIVE traveled alone on the same flight. The littlest one had been crying almost through all the journey. But, near the landing, she had been in so much better mood and I saw them smiling happily when we landed. I was so proud of them. They will surely remember what they’d been through together for many years to come.
At least, it happened to us. First disastrous trip to Paris, where the little girl cried for two long haul flights, the sweat of nursing her a whole night, and she ended up sleeping on the floor until the first transit (that little baby slept in a bassinet), the tension she gave us where it was so packed on that tiny airplane from Istanbul to Paris and she didn’t stop whinning, I sweared after that trip, I would never take any kind of this crazy thing anymore.
Never say never.
After that disastrous Paris, she’s flourished and I broke that promise.
Tidak seperti negara induknya yang pengurusan visanya masya Allah ribetnya, mengurus visa turis Australia beberapa bulan lalu terasa seperti a walk in the park kata pepatah.
Tapi, dengan punya pengalaman pusingnya mengurus visa turis UK enam tahun lalu maupun frustasinya mengurus visa kerja UK tiga tahun lalu, hal ini menjadi standar yang sulit diturunkan tiap mau urus visa.
Sebelum pandemi, visa Australia bisa diurus di VFS Kuningan secara offline. Tapi, setelah pandemi, semua pengurusan visa dilakukan secara online melalui website ini.
Setelah tiket dibeli, saya mulai buat immiaccount. Satu immiaccount bisa digunakan untuk beberapa aplikasi. Jadi, untuk aplikasi kami sekeluarga tiga orang hanya perlu satu akun immiaccount, namun masing-masing tetap harus membuat satu aplikasi terpisah. Termasuk anak-anak.
Enaknya pengisian online ini, kita bisa isi sebisanya dulu dan kembali lagi kapanpun kita mau isi atau edit. Awal-awal saya benar2 isi apa yang saya ngerti dulu. Karena segampang-gampangnya, untuk pengisian dokumen visa semua hal sebaiknya dibaca dengan seksama, berulang kali supaya tidak ada salah pengertian yang berakibat ke salah pengisian.
Hampir tidak ada yang sulit dari pengisian visa Australia ini. Semua pertanyaan standar dan wajar. Kalo ada yang kurang paham, petunjuknya selalu ada di samping pertanyaannya. Seperti cara mengisi format no telpon.
Dari tahap pembuatan sampai akhirnya submit, memakan waktu tiga bulan, untuk saya. Kenapa? Karena isinya dicicil pelan-pelan. Pernah hiatus sebulan cuma dibaca-baca ulang aja, atau ngga dibuka sama sekali karena banyak hal-hal lain yang lebih mendesak buat diurus.
Dokumennya juga diuplod satu persatu sesuai ketersediaan. Targetnya adalah maksimal dua bulan sebelum tanggal keberangkatan sudah disubmit.
Tidak ada dokumen yang saya translasi kecuali kartu keluarga yang memang sudah diterjemahkan sejak tiga tahun lalu. KTP baik orangtua dan anak dicantumkan tanpa translasi.
Ketika semua formulir sudah diisi, semua dokumen sudah disertakan, tinggal klik submit. Dari sana, kita akan diarahkan ke pembayaran. Total biaya yang harus dibayarkan PER APLIKASI adalah 150 AUD atau sekitar Rp 1,6 juta.
Ada satu hal yang paling mencengangkan ketika selesai sampai tahap pembayaran :
Visa Pak Dokter langung GRANTED dalam hitungan menit. Selesai bayar, masuk notifikasi aplikasi diterima. Selang dua atau tiga menit, satu email datang lagi beserta surat yang menyatakan status visa subclass 600 GRANTED dengan multiple entries selama 3 tahun.
Dokumen kami lengkap dengan pendukung yang kuat seperti visa-visa lain yang sudah pernah didapat, dan tentu sebagai sponsor utama, dokumen Pak Dokter tentunya yang paling jelas. Tapi, agak ngga wajar juga menurut saya bisa langsung keluar surat dalam hitungan kurang dari lima menit.
Saya sampai cek berulang apa ini salah atau gimana. Mustinya senang ya, tapi yang ada malah khawatir. Karena punya saya dan anak saya masih hanya tertulis RECEIVED dan ngga ada perubahan sampai besoknya.
Mulai cari info berapa lama waktu yang wajar dan disebutkan memang bisa antara 48 jam – 20 hari. Rentang yang cukup jauh ya.
Alhamdulillah ngga perlu nunggu selama dua puluh hari, karena dua hari kemudian, dua surat visa GRANTED dengan multiple entries punya kami berdua juga ikut keluar.
Masih sulit percaya, setelah tiga tahun lebih, akhirnya ada post pengurusan visa lagi.
Been playing tourist in my own city for the last 1,5 years. Visiting many parks and playground available, riding on many kind of public transportation, trying routes with little girl on her scooter. Only went for camping as near as bogor for 1-2 nights and few staycations sessions.
Two weekends ago, we finally leveled up a little bit by taking a train ride to one city I have been longing to visit since three years ago. The last time I visited this city was around more than 20 years ago. It was quite traumatic until I didn’t have any slightest interest to return.
But, three years ago, something triggered me tor return and it kept getting stronger. It was for the sake of a mouthwatering dish that have been making me drool everytime the picture appears on my feed.
Which is this one.
Been nagging the doctor for so many times but there had never been the right timing, until a month ago. Suddenly, all roads lead to this trip. But, as usual, for every trip, twist would follow.
Bandung was very kind or maybe we just chose the right time to visit. It was far from crowded, weather was around 19-22 degree, and we really enjoyed walking and scootering around the town.
We stayed in Four Points Bandung whose service making this trip was even more pleasant. Every crew greeted sincerely, took care all the request kindly, breakfast was festive with excellent taste, bed was comfy, and one of the most important things for a short trip : perfect location to our itinerary (mine actually).
As usual, even after years, we’re still the same bunch of (boring) people whose idea of best traveling itineraries are :
going out early,
walking and scootering around the town aimlessly,
stopping by ice cream, playground or coffee,
visiting as many as parks as possible, picking flowers or watching the 🐝,
trying good rating restaurants and left all plates empty,
nap time in between, dinner around four thirty and night sleep by seven thirty.
Those were also what happened in Bandung.
First day spent walking and scootering to the places which became the solely reason this trip wanted. Nothing but some food. The rest were optional and but still nice to have.
The next morning, planned to do Eid prayer in Salman Mosque but suddenly had a change of plan when we saw one held in the street along the way. It was very tranquil and chill, reciting takbeer with the sound of bird chirping under big trees and morning sunshine. My heart felt like bursting with gratitude.
We went back to the hotel from the Eid prayer spot to have massive breakfast, then decided to walk around the town instead of lazing around on the bed. We walked to the icon of the city under lovely weather and blue sky. Took some pictures and went back through different route.
After a great set of lunch had in one of the hidden gems found during our walk, we had nap before finally heading to the station and boarded the train that took us back home.
Arguably the loveliest short trip we’ve had so far this year.
… that I miss a lot. Among tons of excitement life in London has to offer, its parks and gardens are things that I treasure so dearly (it is one of two best things in London). Especially when the leaves change colors during the most beautiful season of the year.
It was a period of life when I captured the same views for ten times in every corner. Sat on the bench while watching people, lay down on the grass while looking at the beautiful sky. Walked slowly around the quiet garden admiring my shoes, counting my steps, and taking some shadow selfies. Listened to my loud mind asking random things that I didn’t bother to answer. The period when I felt such enormous gratitude inside.
The period that I remembered telling myself often,“when life is on the low, remember that it was once this high and glow”.
It was one of the periods when life was the most beautiful and the heart was indeed beyond full.
Kew GardensKyoto GardenSouthwark ParkBrockwell ParkHyde Park
A Penny for My Pensieve 