#ArkayInTheUK: Day 5 Check-In.


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What’s crack-a-lacking people?

If you follow me on Instagram you would know that i’m in London and am doing quite a bit of exploring and walking about. I’ve made my way to this cozy little coffee place on Charles II Street called The Borough Barista after a good 2 and a half hour walk from Waterloo over the Waterloo bridge, walked down the Victoria Embankment, back over the other side via another bridge to the Jubilee Gardens and then back across the Westminster Bridge to Big Ben and the Parliament Square, where i bumped into good old Winston Churchill and later on Abe Lincoln; they weren’t in a very talkative mood though, oh well.

Image“Well done is better than well said.” Benjamin #franklin. Landed safe and sound, enjoying a Mocha at costa while waiting for the cab. Slept through most of the flight, immigration took 5 minutes & my bags came out pretty quick, so all in all, pretty good flight. #Day1 #ArkayInTheUK

Anyway, i then continued walking, even though my feet were in all sorts of pain, and made my way to the beautiful St. James Park, unfortunately i couldn’t spend as much time as i would have liked due to my howling feet and very empty stomach, so i continued walking until I saw this little sign saying “British Coffee” and I just had to take a look 😉 (note, i essentially had no idea where I was walking, i just went with the flow).

Image“Your daily behaviour reveals your deepest beliefs.” Robin #Sharma. So after being confined to my sisters house for a little over 3 hours I’m finally getting to explore Kingston. After more than an hour of walking around #kingston i’ve made it to the #LocalHero = #coffeetime ️ Kingston is a beautiful little town and I’m really enjoying my walking about .#Day1 #arkayintheuk

So yea, one good ham sandwich and Piccolo later i’m sitting here with Ivy (my MacBook) out rambling on about how I spent a lot of time walking about London toda…. wait wait… circular-spirally-thought path alert.

ImageHaving my first beer in #London with my sis  #Day1 #hellolondon2013 #arkayintheuk

Anyway, it’s now Day 5 of my trip, #ArkayInTheUK, and i’m thoroughly enjoying myself, despite the cold, the 4:30pm sunsets and aching, aching feet. Kingston is my primary base and a lovely little town at that. Spent the first 3 days exploring and walking about; didn’t find any good coffee but i found plenty to see 🙂 I finally made me way out of Kingston and into London yesterday, and i was not disspointed at all with my day. Lunch with my uncle and aunt, where i was force fed a lot of rice and chicken curry ;), was followed up by a 2+ hour walk from Bethnal Green to Covent Garden, which hurt a helluva lot, but which i have no regrets about.

Image#day2. Chilling at the park in the cold, watching families play in the park, people walk their dogs, kids playing football on a nice pitch one side and watching two local teams battle it out on this side as the last of beautiful leafs fall. Sometimes I can’t belief I’m actually here and fear that it’s all a dream & I’ll wake up.  Thank you so much for this mum & dad. #day2 #arkayintheuk #hellolondon2013.

During my 2+ hour walk, that went through Holburn, I saw the transition from Old London to Central, which was amazing, it was like a journey through time. My favourite part so far of London has been the parks and the architecture, the old grand building that I only say in movies growing up, and the fact that i’m actually here, looking at them with my own eyes, takes me way back and i find myself feeling like a little kid in awe of this big city. It is something that I partially cannot believe, half expecting to wake up and find myself back at home in bed.

IMG_4339#Day3:”The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goals to reach.” -Benjamin #Mays– Just sitting at this cafe, #pickeldpantry, sipping my flat white & observing the street & the people. Kingston is a really beautiful town, especially now with the autumn leafs . I just love walking around, getting lost and then opening up Maps to get me home 

This city is so old, so full of history and class, yet so vibrant and new at the same time.

IMG_4818A#Day4: I’m at a slight loss for words right now.. 3 floors of awesomeness apple stuff & more! So many third party things too!!! #london #coventgarden #hellolondon2013 #arkayintheuk #nofilter — at Apple Store.

I know it’s still early on in my trip, but I’m really really really loving it so far and am so excited because there’s still so much to do! So much that sometimes it feels a little overwhelming, but i guess that’s better than underwhelming, i’ve just got to plan it all out and i’ll be good :).

IMG_4851#Day4: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” #gandhi.
I am certainly enjoying myself in London. Walked from #BethnalGreen to #CoventGarden, a good 2 hour 6.7km walk. It was amazing to see the transition from old London to the City to Covent, and walking thru all the parks, taking in the architecture. Felt like a kid 
Anyway, this pic was at 5pm at #coventgarden and I was thinking twice about having coffee because of how dark it was haha. Finally found a good latte. #day4  #london #arkayintheuk#hellolondon2013

I think i’ve rested up enough, going to get back on my feet, and like Johnnie, keep walking. Check out my instragam, @arkaysthoughts for more pics of my trip so far, and my walking paths.

Cherrio 😉

#KMF

 

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Are you one of the Walking Dead?


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Good Afternoon dear readers,

It’s been a while since I’ve written something, and during the short hiatus, aside from the weekend, I felt quite unproductive.. Lost at times, like i was sleep walking. I guess my writing helps me keep focused on where I wanna go, plus it gives me a sense of satisfaction, if that makes sense.

So today i’m back at Starbucks Monash, Café Mocha next to me and a Nazrin in front of me testing out the Bose QuietComfort 15. Feels good to be back here, in the very environment where I wrote more of my best pieces, there’s just something about this place, this is by far my favourite Starbucks. Yesterday the Fibromyalgia beat me, but today I’m back. It’s an on going fight, and I ain’t giving up anytime soon.

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On to today’s topic, over the weekend my sister & I went down to Singapore and had a great time with Harveen, Komal & Gayatri. It was a well spent weekend, Universal Studios Singapore , Harry Potter exhibition, lots of beer, good food and bonding. The last time I went to Universal Studios Singapore I tried out the Transformers ride which was a bug step for someone who never goes on roller coasters and such, and this time around I took another step forward by going on The Mummy ride, it was scary but it was also a lot of fun, one of the highlights of the trip. So anyway, the last weekend has spurred me to try and do something new/adventurous/fun/memorable every weekend, essentially to out more living in my life, whether it’s a road trip, or a family day playing board games, or trying new food or watching the sunrise/sunset with loved ones.

Have you ever sat down and asked yourself, what the hell did I do last week? How did I spend the last month? What have I been doing with my life?

There have been to many times when I’ve felt like i was sleep walking through life, that I was in a coma, that I was one of the Walking Dead.

There are just too many times I’ve let the weekend slip away, i have quite a bit of free time and there are so many things I could be doing that I am not.

Life is meant to be lived and explored, it’s not meant to be a series of repeated actions day-in day-out.

Life is about creating moments that you will cherish, moments that will enrich you life.

Yes we all have obligations and responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t live.

For those who work really hard over the week, take one day of the weekend to refuel and get to that much needed rest you so desire and spend the other day living life. This is an essential part of being productive and not having regrets as you lay on your death bed. There are so many things we can do, and if you say, well money is an issue, I never said anything about doing expensive things, living life doesn’t exclusively mean flying sound the world, it can be doing simple things with the people you love, enjoying your time on this planet, going to the beach, watching the sunset, enjoying a bottle of wine in the garden with family and friends, or even even spending some time on your own by going for a walk, hike, road trip by yourself. A lot of the time, the best ways to spend our time is right under our noses.

When’s the last time you got the family together and played charades or taboo? When’s the last time you tried out a new restaurant? When’s the last time you went on a road trip?

These are the times you should be saying You Only Live Once (YOLO) to encourage you to expand your life, not diminish it. I find that too many people abuse YOLO to do stupid things, but I guess that may just be my opinion.

You Only Live Once, So Put More Living in Your Life. Even the littlest of things can Put More Living in Your Day.

Straight From The Heart