After reading Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns)“, and reading her chapter on this topic, I thought I’d make my own list. Yep, totally stealing her idea.

There are certain obvious non-traumatic things that make me cry like, for example, movies like The Notebook and The Help, songs like Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven and those commercials with the sad abused animals and the Sarah McLachlan song playing in the background. Let’s ignore those because those are just givens (unless you are a robot and have robot emotions).

Apologies for quoting a lyric from Fergalicious.

For the past year or so, I have had lofty fitness goals. In these lofty fitness goals, I liked to imagine myself as a fitness guru who was awesome at everything. Could I be a yogini (female equivalent of a yogi)? HELL YA! Could I zumba like nobody’s business? You betcha! Could I go to spinning class and not want to collapse and die at the end of it? For sure!

Sadly, none of this is really true but I still have these lofty fitness goals and in 2012, I am determined to keep at it.

As you may have read in my previous posts, I travelled by myself for the first time to somewhere foreign. I’ve been to New York City solo before, once for a business trip and once to take advantage of a really great Expedia deal. But this was the first time I’ve gone an extended period of time and to somewhere far away, and quite different, from home. It was something I had my anxieties about but at the same time, knew it was something I wanted to try. Maybe blame it on Eat Pray Love.

Saying you’re going to travel by yourself, I find, carries a lot of stigmatism. The general reaction from people finding out you’re going somewhere by yourself is generally pity and some form of the following questions: good lord, do you not have any friends? Is there something socially wrong with you to not be able to find travel partners? Are you that pathetic of a person to not be able to find ANYONE to go with you? Aren’t you scared something is going to happen to you going by yourself? Etc. In fact, my own mother had this reaction.

And that’s kind of a shame because from meeting other solo travelers on the tour, this is hardly the case for why we choose to go on our own.

Continued from Part I and Part II

Continuing on the adventure, where I check out a fire dancing show on Koh Phi Phi island, have my feet nibbled by tiny fish at “Doctor Fish”, ride an elephant in Krabi and end off the trip in Hong Kong in a slight whimper!

Continued from Part I

December 17th was our last day in Phuket. Last day of seeing ladyboys everywhere (though apparently I am oblivious to them and had to have them pointed out to me), seeing scantily-clad women dancing on poles outside, being bombarded by people trying to get me to a PING PONG SHOW or asking if I wanted a tuk tuk. We were going to a more low-key place, Koh Phi Phi island!

Day Four: Off to Koh Phi Phi Island!

We boarded a ferry to Koh Phi Phi island, an hour and half from Phuket. An hour and a half of sea sickness fun! By the time we got there, the sky was dark and cloudy and it looked like it was going to pour. And it did, as we were walking across the island to our hotel.

Wow, it sure has been a long time since I made a post in this blog! In 2012, I plan to (or hope to) be more diligent with posting in here. I’ve just been so accustomed to microblogging and tweeting and, well, lazy.

So I begin 2012 with a post about my trip to Thailand in December 2011 – Thailand mainly, but with a few days bookending the trip in Hong Kong (mainly to shop, hence the Eat Shop Tan). This trip would last almost a month, leaving December 8th and getting back the evening of December 26th. A whole month away from work, a much needed break!

To say this was a trip I had planned meticulously for and thought a lot about would be a lie. It kind of came as a surprise. I was just frustrated with things in my life and wanted a change.