Hello 2016

Today is the first of february. Where did January run away to?

January 2016 began as chaotically (in a massively different way) as last year with Phuket, doing the Daniel Fast and the Cameron Highlands. Biggest news is that Frankie and Olly arrived in the big KL yesterday. Excited is not the word!

Phuket

To rewind just a little bit, christmas was spent in the UK and it was the best time. Half a ton of wine and food was consumed, and it was no nice to catch up with everyone.

I flew back to KL a few days after christmas. after 24 hours of travelling I got back to my flat around 1.30pm, with just enough time to leave at 7am to head to Phuket. Cat and I celebrated New Years in Phuket. Instead of going to the infamous beach party we decided to pretend to be fancy and go to a beach resort in the south of the island. There was a huge buffet, drinks, a DJ, fire throwers, a questionable cabaret and beautiful fireworks. Very chilled compared to other new years’. Phuket was nothing special and I would definitely recommend going to other places in Thailand,  but it was good to get a bit of sun before school started.

Hello 2016

2015 was challenging, so a line has been drawn under the chaos and Im excited for what 2016 will bring.  I have one single new years resolution, to have breakfast every day. nothing too deep/emotional to deal with!

I also decided to participate in the Daniel fast, which seems to be something HopeCity, my church here, does every year. The idea is to fast caffeine, sugar, meat and all things processed (basically fruit and vegetables only!) and to pray every day. I ate aaaa lot of salad and nuts. Giving up coffee was the main challenge- the first week I was a shell of a person, absolutely exhausted, couldn’t think straight and felt down right sad sometimes. But, pushing through the first few days, it got easier. It really shows how dependent I am on caffeine! It’s all worth it to really show that I want to commit this year to God and be open to what is on the cards! I broke the fast with pizza and roti. My first coffee left me buzzing on life for hours. It will be so exciting to see what has been going on in the lives of my church buddies!

The Cameron Highlands

Last weekend was a long weekend for the festival of Thaipusam. Naturally we jumped at the chance to go away. The Cameron Highlands is a 4 hour drive away. We took a bus (which was so exciting as I am bored of flying after the christmas holidays!) which was all plain sailing and beautiful until we turned off the big old main road into the windy ascent into the highlands. It was more than an hour of sharp corners and a very steep uphill one lane road. Belongings were flying everywhere, and the driver beeped before every corner to warn incoming traffic. All I could do was close my eyes and hope for the best.

The journey was so worth it. The air was cooler and fresher and it felt like one of those good summer’s day in the UK. There were beautiful pine trees and gorgeous scenery. On the first day we went to a tea plantation where we had afternoon tea, the scones were delicious! (a small break from the fast, but I’m ok not being crazy religious about it!). We even met some new born dogs, why didn’t we take one home!

The next day we planned to do ‘Trail 1’ which I was promised was maybe a 2/3 hour walk up a hill. In reality it was a 6 hour trek which would’ve been longer if we hadn’t hitched a ride for a long part of the end! However, it was beautiful and my ankle behaved beautifully too. It was great to meet other people along the way and be accompanied by the lovely Louise. The last day we went to a waterfall.

It is so much more humid here, and apparently we are going to have a heat wave. Just in time for the arrival of the two legends Olly and Frankie! They’re gonna love it!

I’m also excited for the next 11 months: my parents coming in April, Dan hopefully coming in July, and then who knows what’s going to happen in the next academic year!