 |
| Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter |
 |
| The Chinese Zodiac - A 12 Year Cycle |
 |
| 2026, A Fire Horse Year ! |
" When days are dismal & LIFE is hard, a simple song, a little travelling & a small eat could lift the heart "
1) A Simple Moving Song of Yesteryear - Harry Chaplin"s Circle lyrics
All my LIFE's a circle; Sunrise and Sundown; Moon rolls thru the night time; Till the daybreak comes around.
All my LIFE's a circle; But I can't tell you why; Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by
It seems like I've been here before; I can't remember when; But I have this funny feeling; That we'll all be together again; No straight lines make up my LIFE; And all my roads have bends; There's no clear-cut beginning; And so far no dead-ends.
I found you a thousand times: I guess you done the same; But when we lose each other; It's like a children's game.
As I find you here again; A thought runs through my mind; Our love is like a circle; Let's go round one more time.
Sunrise & Sundown; Moon rolls thru the night time; Till the daybreak comes around.
(Each sunrise brings a new day with new hopes for a new beginning in traveling ! Every sunset is an opportunity to reset. I am an early riser, each day looking forward for a fresh start ! Every sunrise is a new page in my travelling LIFE. Don't let it stay blank ! Every sunset is a reminder that travelling LIFE is a beautiful adventure !
 |
| Sunrise in Queenstown New Zealand (2016) |
 |
| Sunrise in Dhaka City Bangladesh (2017) |
 |
| Sundown in Mt Kota Kinabalu Sabah, East Malaysia (2011) |
 |
| Sundown in Lake Baikal Siberia, Russia (2009) |
Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by !
(Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter, every season has its own beauty & my favourite seasons are Spring & Autumn, cool & pleasant for overseas traveling as it is forever summer in my home country, Malaysia a tropical country ! The Chinese Zodiac, a 12 year cycle where each year is represented by a specific animal & I was born a "sleeping" Tiger ! By 2030, I could have completed two of the 12 year cycle after my retirement at the age of 56 - bless you, KM ! 2026 is the year of Fire Horse or Red Horse in the Chinese Zodiac beginning on Feb 17 2026 ! May the Fire Horse year of 2026 gives you the opportunity to "horsing" round the world & places you yearn to see to fulfil your travel dreams ! )
 |
| Lucerne, Switzerland (Spring 2012) |
 |
| Penang, Malaysia (Forever Summer, 2023) |
 |
| Cappadocia, Türkiye (Autumn 2018) |
 |
| Phoenix Pyeongchang Snow Park South Korea (Winter 2012) |
It seems like I've been here before; I can't remember when; But I have this funny feeling; That we'll all be together again.
(In May 2006 immediately after my retirement, I made my first visit to Northern Xinjiang, China & showed up in International Grand Bazaar, Urumqi. 9 years later in 2015 , I stood beside the small pyramid (lucky me, I had the opportunity of visiting the famous Pyramid of Egypt in Oct 2008) iconic landmark at the western entrance of International Grand Bazaar, Urumqi one more time (while enroute to Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan) & I knew that I had been here before hence no funny feeling but overtly happy that I was able to take a picture of myself & the mini-pyramid together again ! I was over the moon when I made another visit to this iconic landmark in Urumqi on Sept 2025 (while enroute to Southern Xinjiang) ! Was it fate, coincidence, sheer luck or been there & done that ? In travelling, if you have made up your mind, yours is not to reason why, you just showed up !)
 |
| International Grand Bazaar Urumqi, Xinjiang, China (May 2006) |
 |
| International Grand Bazaar, Urumqi Xinjiang, China (May 2015) |
 |
| International Grand Bazaar, Urumqi, Xinjiang (Aug 2025) |
No straight lines make up my LIFE; And all my roads have bends; There's no clear-cut beginning; And so far no dead-ends.
(I began my backpacking, free & easy travelling in May 2006 after my retirement starting with a clean sheet of paper ! I wasn't clear whether this form of travelling LIFE was sustainable or a right move for a retiree ? Quite often I asked myself what do I want in my retirement LIFE ? In the interim, I searched & searched for a new bearing & solution in my retirement LIFE. I realised then there was no straight line in free & easy travelling but I was ambitious (wanting to visit The Pyramid in Egypt, Petra in Jordan, Taj Mahal in India, The Great Wall of China & roaming Europe etc) & determined to move on ! So far so good, there were no dead-ends, virtually all my initiated travel plans had an excited beginning & a soft landing home sweet home ! At the time of writing this post, I have travelled consistently & intermittently for 19 years & 9 months, an average of 3 - 4 overseas trips a year to over 80 countries. Some roads have sharp bends, others like mountain passes over 5,000m high were very challenging, but I believe all winding roads or high altitude places lead to Rome, you reap what you sow ! Interesting to note that the number 9 in Cantonese literally means longevity !)
 |
| Zhangjiajie, Hunan China, (2017) |
 |
| Chang La Mountain Pass (5,360m) Ladakh, India (July 2007) |
 |
| Temple Arch Bridge, CangYanShan Jingxing, Hebei, China (Oct 2024) |
 |
| Colosseum, Rome - Italy (May 2014) |
I found you a thousand times: I guess you done the same; But when we lose each other; It's like a children's game. As I find you here again; A thought runs through my mind; Our love is like a circle; Let's go round one more time.
(The story of my travel buddies - We all begin as strangers from unknown to known, from circle of friends ie neighbourhoods, Qigong group & two were readers of my travel blog to become my travel buddy / buddies. It was like bird of the same feather flock together playing a mahjong game ! In travelling, you win some & you lose some. This applies to your travel buddies who are retiree travellers & we part ways, due to old age or conflicts in thinking etc ! Nevertheless, it's the friends we meet along the way that helps us appreciate the journey ! Also There is an unspoken bond you create with the friends you travel with & a journey well shared is a journey well enjoyed ! Finally, We meet people for 2 reasons. They are either a blessing or a lesson. Among your travel buddies, you may ask Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest among all !)
 |
| By The Time I Like You I Have Already Step On The Journey |
 |
| Tokyo, Japan (April 2010) |
 |
| Imperial Citadel, Hue, Vietnam (Jan 2014) |
 |
| Lotus Temple, New Delhi, India (Nov 2018) |
 |
| Blue Temple, Chiang Rai, Thailand (Jan 2019) |
 |
| Stainless Steel Pagoda, Hat Yai, Thailand (Dec 2022) |
 |
| Yangmingshan National Park New Taipei City, Taiwan (March 2024) |
 |
| Guizhou, China (March 2025) |
 |
| Hezhou, Guangxi, China (Dec 2005) |
A Little Group Travelling - with my wife & travel buddy / buddies to nearby & low cost countries in recent years after the Covid-19 endemic in 2020 & 2021 ! Now that I am 75 going on to 76 come May 2026, I hope I am able to travel as long as I still have the mental, physical & spiritual strength with a few of my like minded & kind hearted travel buddies, initiating travel plans (my favourite past time !) to enthuse them, all in good faith as I believe kindness begets kindness, no strings or terms or conditions attached ! Memories will remain after each free & easy trip ! I am great that over the years, I have partially or fully fulfilled my Europe & Russia, Central Asia travel dreams, Incredible India dream, China dream, not to mention The Red Mansion dream (Shijiazhuang, China) ...... anyway dreams have no expiry date, so go & chase your travel dreams ! Never mind I am a lonely- planet style traveller or a small time traveller (I was very much a solo traveller once upon a time!) as I enjoy listening to this Chinese moving song "I am a little little bird, not able to fly high ..... but one day when I grow bigger & stronger, I am like a migratory bird from Siberia flying high & far in the sky !". But I am a happy retiree traveller especially travelling with like minded buddies placing team spirit & friendship at the utmost ! I am glad that over the years of travelling, I had won a number of friends who enjoyed travelling with me after a travel plan has been hatched & put into actions !
KM can rest easy for now as we all usher the arrival of the Fire Horse comes Feb 17 2026 ! If you are a passionate traveller, you are likely to be able to "horsing" around the world hopefully in 60 days (The World is Big, My Wish is Take A Look) ..... so pack your backpack & start travelling with your best friends (finding a true blue travel buddy is like striking a lottery !) & roam a present era "Jurassic Park" if you could find one in the current world !
 |
| The World Is Big. My Wish to Take A Look Look ! |
 | |
|
 |
| China Dream My Dream |
 |
| Xing'an Guangxi, China (Dec 2005) |
A Little Eating - with family members, siblings, ex-colleagues & travel buddies; good food, good company & good mood !
Friday Jan 16 2025 - lunch with my wife & brother Weng in Hock Kee Ulu Yam Loh Mee, USJ1/1A, Regalia Business Center, Subang Jaya, savoured a plate of Ulu Yam loh mee Rm10.50, Hokkien Mee Rm10.50 & Cellophane noodle Rm13 = Rm34.00 (US$8.30)
 |
| Ulu Yam Loh Mee Rm10.50 (US$2.55) |
 |
| Hokkien Mee Rm10.50 (US$2.55) |
 |
| Cellophane Noodle Rm13 (US$3.20) |
Wednesday Jan 7 2025 - meet up with my Klang buddy, Hui in KL Rex & lunch in Lai Fong Kopitiam (Coffee Shop) for a bowl of mixed beef / offal rice vermicelli (mihoon) soup (Rm17 = US$4.10)
 |
| Mixed Beef / Offal Mihoon Soup Rm17 (US$4.10) |
Great post! I really enjoyed reading your perspective and the valuable information you’ve shared here. Content like this is always helpful for readers who appreciate quality insights. As someone connected with AK Hospitality Indian restaurant for large groups, I truly value how good content brings people together—just like great food and experiences do. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete