Reflection, evaluation and ambition

Everyone of us have aspirations, dreams and goals. Whether is it to land ourselves with a $50k a month job, striking Toto, graduating top in class, buying every single Hermes Birkin released for sale, it is still an aspiration, a dream and a goal.

Are these examples too far fetched? Hmmm... there are people earning $50k a month, in fact lots of people. There are people striking Toto, there are people snapping up a Hermes Birkin in every colour and animal skin released... it has been done, so is it far fetched? Is it just a dream, something unreachable? Or is it a goal, something that we can work towards to?

We have been drilled from young, "study hard so that you can get a degree and get a high paying job." Sounds familiar?

We have been trained to look for the end result, the goal, the dream... that is to get a high paying job. How much is high paying? We are trained to be employees, to be someone's "slaves".

It took a lot of me to give up the life of an employee, to become self-employed. It wasn't easy just grappling within my own mind, what more the harsh and difficult business world out there is like a lion waiting to devour every feeble prey. The first step, is the most important, and the most difficult.

I must say, I've taken many steps into that world. Some big steps, some small steps, some steps going around in circles, some steps on a 60-degree upslope angle, some a nice gradient downhill, some steps leading to beautiful sceneries, and some steps leading to a high cliff. But no matter good or bad, the journey has enriched my life experiences.

Now that I have committed myself to the Happy Life Project (HLP), it has further challenged my boundaries and experiences. Had a most interesting training on Tuesday with SL. Of course what I received is applicable not just to my line of work, but to anybody for that matter.

Let me share with you what I got from her:

Firstly, I was asked to define specifically what my dreams and goals are. It can be anything, eg a penthouse in Orchard Road, flying 1st class to Europe for holidays 4 times a year, setting up a trust fund for your loved one, etc.

Secondly, I need to find out WHY I want to achieve these dreams and goals. I can only find the answer within myself. Is it for a better retirement, for my family or loved ones, for the betterment of society, etc???

Now, that is to solidify my dreams and goals. After this, I need to ask myself 3 powerful questions in relation to the set dreams and goals:
1) Why must I succeed?
2) If I don't succeed, why can I accept failure to achieve these dreams that I have penned? i.e. is there a back door (that leads to a less than ideal result) that I can run to when I don't succeed?
3) What are the consequences if I fail to achieve these dreams and goals?

Personally, I find these 3 questions quite "disturbing". I keep asking and thinking to myself,
- Is it ok if I don't materialize my dreams and goals?
- If yes, why is it ok? 
- Have I become so apathetic that anything is ok, whatever will be, will be?
- Is it because if HLP doesn't work, I can always do something else?
- What will happen if my dreams and goals don't materialize?

Many of us live just for the present. I may say that I plan for my future, but when the road gets tough, I do let the present and past affect negatively my vision of the future. I falter, I give up, I look for an easier alternative, I delay making decisions, I make excuses, etc, etc, etc. I just don't look towards the finishing line. I don't see the future consequences of failing which is why I accept present and past failures. For eg, if I fail to save $1000/month all these while towards my retirement, my past and present failure is that I only see the current pressing need of meeting expenses. I failed to see the grave consequence that I may have to pick discarded cardboard boxes when I am 65.

Thus, I learnt there and then that past and present failures don't matter, but that future consequence is everything, and it has to be the force that drives me to my aspirations, dreams and goals. I have set my dreams and goals, and if it is not materialized, there is a very REAL consequence.

So, my friends, is what you are doing right now going to help you achieve your aspirations, dreams and goals? What are the consequences if you can't achieve it? Have you given it much thought? We are not young anymore.

Bhutan 2013 Dec 22-28 (Day 7)

Nothing much to tell except that we had to wake up really early as our plane was at 7.20am. Standard chck in procedures, except you see many sleepy people.

The weather was still cold, negative temperature, but I had to brave the cold without my thermal as it would be too much hassle to remove it in the tight confines of the airplane toilet. 

Goodbye Bhutan. I shall be back again.

Some of my thoughts from this trip:

1) This is a beautiful country where the Monarchy has withstood the many pressures of consumerism and materialism and made the happiness of the people it's main concern. Not easy to do, my greatest respect for him.

2) Although the people do not live according to our definition of a comfortable or good life, they make do with what they have. We have to learn to be thankful with what we have and not be wasteful. They are still a happy people, singing while they work in the fields, doing whatever they are doing with a happy heart, etc. We in the so called developed world must learn to be happy, to be thankful, to live life with a purpose, to do things wholeheartedly and enthusiastically.

3) When I compared the 7th century temple with some of the newer ones, I see very similar architecture. This goes to show how tradition, custom and culture have been preserved through the generations. We thrive so much in change in our society. We are taught that change is the only constant in life. Yes, true, but is it necessarily better? Better according to what definition? What about our roots, culture and customs? Does the younger generation (not forgetting my own generation for that matter) even know of some customs of our ancestors?

4) Fresh and clean air is not a right and to be taken for granted. About 70% of Bhutan is covered by beautiful forests and the government has taken steps to ensure this. I see Chunjur pick up rubbish along the tracks as we go trekking and it shows how much he loves his country and in protecting the environment. What are we doing to protect the environment of our Singapore? Can we even pick up that small piece of tissue on the floor or walk past it leaving it to the cleaners?

5) A good and happy life is what all of us want. How do we measure this? Better sit down and evaluate our goals, especially since it's the beginning of the year.

Lastly, here are some tips for you peeps heading to Bhutan:

1) Invest in a good pair of light, comfortable and waterproof trekking shoes. You'll be doing lots of walking so please don't be stingy. As you may encounter snow or icy floors and sandy slopes, you need it to have good grip too.

2) Don't expect too much internet connectivity, as wifi may not be available a the hotel.  If it's that important, consider getting a local SIM card. Tell your guide when you arrive and they'll bring you to get it when you get into Thimphu.

3) Bring some heat packs if you are afraid of the winter cold.

4) Invest in good winter clothes. In winter, it should be sufficient to wear thermal with jeans for the bottom, an inner wear, tshirt and thick wind proof jacket for the top. Scarves, gloves, beanies/caps, and ear muffs are useful especially if you are out early morning or late evening.

5) Bring cup noodles if you are the type that you will miss local food.

6) According to the guide, the best time for visiting Bhutan is Sep-Oct.

7) If you join Druk Asia's tour, their prices are all inclusive and you don't need to pay for anything else. Just bring about the equivalent of USD200 and it will be enough for minor spending on things like water or snacks...  and as a token of appreciation for your guide and driver. Bring more if you want to buy more souvenirs like singing bowls, paintings, etc. 

8) You can bring SGD and change it at the bank in Thimphu. Tell your guide that you need Bhutanese currency when you arrive.

9) when bringing in USD, it is better to bring in $100 denominations as the rate is not as favourable if you change less than $100.

10) Bring all your own toiletries, eg toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel/soap, etc, especially when staying in 3-star hotels, they may not provide some of the things.

Guess that's more or less. Thanks for reading my "adventures" in Bhutan. Hope it was helpful for you to understand a little more of Bhutan.

Bhutan 2013 Dec 22-28 (Day 6)

Today is the final full day in Bhutan and also we'll get to do the most "xiong" trek to Taktsang Monastery, or better known as Tiger's Nest.

As its supposed to be a 3 hour trek (for us it'll be more than that), we have to set off at 8.30am so that we can have our lunch on time at one of the pit stops.

It was freezing cold when we woke up, about -2 degrees Celsius. Kenny was unwell and didn't join us. When Chunjur found one of us missing, he immediately asked what happened and went to make arrangements for Kenny's breakfast and lunch, so thoughtful of him.

On a cold morning, our breakfast was most comforting. It was plain porridge with canned dace and black beans, minced pork. Comfort food. After a full breakfast, we finally set off to the base where Tiger's Nest is located.

There were ponies you can ride on to get up, but only 2/3 of the way.

From the base camp we can already see the monastery. So near yet so far. Why oh why can't they have a cable car to bring us up???

Do you know why its called Tiger's Nest? According to legends, it is believed that Guru Rinpoche, meditated there and emerged in eight manifestations and the place became holy. Can you make out the face of a Tiger above the monastery? This face was only apparent when fire broke out in the temple and soot stained the rocks above.

Passed by these 3 stupas on the way up.

Although it looks so near, we can only get to Tiger's Nest by trekking up the other mountains adjoining it, going one round before reaching it.

Throughout the trek, we stopped numerous times. All the other "short" treks were meant to prepare us for this. The picture below is taken at one of the many stops we made. Tiger's Nest is nearer and deserves another snapshot.

Look at the awesome scenery around us. Although the trek was really "xiong", the scenery really made it worthwhile to keep going. In fact, many people have given up and stopped at the cafeteria located about 1/3 of the journey.

At every sighting of Tiger's Nest along our path, I took pictures of it to show us getting nearer and nearer to it.

These were the conditions we trekked in. It was dusty and peppered with pony droppings. Some parts were very steep, much steeper than the picture below.

At one turning, we saw Tiger's Nest again. Can you see that we're nearly level with it?

Can you see some wispy thingy on the branches of the trees? According to Chunjur, they are some sort of fungi and they only grow in conditions of high nitrogen and oxygen, indicating very clean air. Being the typical Singaporean, we quickly inhaled and exhaled more of the crisp, clear air, haha. Actually we were so short of breath from the trek, it was the natural thing to do haha.

We are nearing one of the major pit stop and morale was high and we trudged on.

Yay, we reached the 2nd major pit stop.

We were just across from Tiger's Nest, but we are not near it yet.

From this pit stop, we were only steps away from the famed 750 steps, the last part of the trek. We were to descend a long flight of steps through the gorge before ascending up to Tiger's Nest.

We've finally reached the bottom of the gorge and once again photo time :D

There's a waterfall and legend has it that the wife of one of the famous teachers (can't remember who) meditated in one of the caves there. After she finished her meditation months later, she had in her hand a sharp object (can't remember what object) and wanted to test its sharpness. She plunged the object into the rocks and water flowed out, and the waterfall was formed.

Finally, we are walking up the final steps to the temple.

When we reached the temple, it was truly a great sense of achievement. We endured burning thigh muscles after all the trekking and climbing of stairs.

By the way, there are no pictures to post of the inside of the temple as we had to surrender our cameras and mobile phones, strictly no photo taking allowed. Its not so much a religious reason but more so for the safety of tourists.. There were 2 incidents of tourists falling off the cliffs while they were busy taking photos, hence the government imposed this rule.

Inside was really something. There were 3 temples inside and the structure was amazing. How did they build this thing? You really have to visit this place for yourself.  The view of course was breathtaking.

After touring the temple, we were hungry as it was already past lunch time. We were supposed to have our lunch at the cafeteria. Morale was high now. We've completed the toughest part of our trip. Going back wasn't easy, but we can do it.

After eating at the cafeteria

After lunch, we continued our trek back to base and it wasn't as gruelling as it was mostly downhill. However, as my knees weren't too good, I could feel the rubbing of my joints going downhill. When we reached the vehicle, whoa, it felt so good to sit down comfortably.

Next stop, to Kyichi Lhakhang, the oldest temple in Bhutan, built in the 7th century. Look at the architecture. Compare this with all the other dzongs that you've seen in my pictures, their tradition have carried on for centuries, I'm truly amazed.

This is our last attraction and we're pooped. Good thing this temple was only a 15 minutes drive back to the hotel. We sure got a good night's sleep.

Sigh, tomorrow will be the end of our holiday. SAD.

Bhutan 2013 Dec 22-28 (Day 5)

Today we were supposed to head eastward to Gangtey. As a friend had been there and mentioned that the journey there was very long and bumpy, and the main highlight there was just the Black-necked Crane, we decided against it as we were not bird enthusiasts.

As such, we checked out of Hotel Lobesa and headed westward, back towards Thimphu and Paro for an easy day.

For that, we had to backtrack, past Dochula Pass as there's only 1 road from west to east.

Panoramic shot at Dochula Pass

We reached Thimphu from Dochula Pass in about an hour and headed straight to the GPO for souvenirs. One nice souvenir you can get here is personalized postage stamp. You can actually paste it on a postcard and mail it to anywhere in the world for Nu30.

Personalized stamps from Bhutan

After getting our stamps for relatives and friends, we headed to Paro for lunch and a short walk in Paro.

After "shopping" in Paro, we proceeded to our next destination, the National Museum (aka Paro Ta Dzong). It was originally built as a watch tower and now holds a collection of art, relics, religious thangkha paintings, Bhutan's exquisite postage stamps, coins and handicrafts, together with a small natural history collection.

The grounds at the Museum

The picture show below was the actual museum but it was damaged structurally in an earthquake a few years ago. It is currently undergoing restoration works and looks so much more stately. You can even see the wooden scaffolding preventing the wall from from toppling over.

After this, we checked into our 3rd hotel of the whole trip, and also the best hotel of the whole trip, Metta Resort & Spa.

Main entrance of Metta

They decorated the tree with lights for Christmas

Our 2 bedrooms in the same building

Bathroom with warm air blower. Bliss in winter

Living area with a blower-type heater. So nice and warm

Bedroom

Even had kettle and cupboards in the room

The wife of the boss is actually a Malaysian and we had yummy food that we've been craving. They even had a dessert tray (mango pudding, cakes and cookies), which was missing in the other 2 hotels restaurants.

I was so relieved to finally able to feel nice and warm in our hotel room and had a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be the most difficult part, but also the highlight of the trip, Tiger's Nest.

Bhutan 2013 Dec 22-28 (Day 4)

After a hearty breakfast (again), we departed the hotel to Khamsun Yuley Temple. This is supposed to be a 1 hour trek up a mountain (yes, again). We reached our base and had to cross a bridge (yes, again, but chicken feed now).

The view on the way up was beautiful (yes, again).

Although we've been in Bhutan for a few days, we were still wheezing and giddy trekking uphill. We took more than an hour to get to our destination. Slowly but surely, we got there.

There is no temple in Bhutan as elaborate as this and was built by the Queen Mother of the 5th King to bring universal peace in the world.

After our descent, we went for lunch and then onwards to the famed Punakha Dzong.

Entrance to the bridge

The cantilever bridge into Punakha Dzong

Placed strategically at the junction of the Pho Chu and Mo Chu rivers, the dzong was built in 1637 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, to serve as the religious and administrative seat of the region. It was here that the dual system of government was introduced in the 17th century and in 1907, enthroned the first King Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck.

Damaged over the centuries by four catastrophic fires and an earthquake, the dzong has been fully restored in the recent years by the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

The entrance to Punakha Dzong

Outside the walls of Punakha Dzong. The 5th King had his wedding photo taken here

Inside the grounds of Punakha Dzong

Student monks waiting to go into the prayer room for their evening prayers

The Wheel of Life painted on the walls of one of the halls

Inside Punakha Dzong

The guide, Chunjur, informed us that Bills passed in Parliament at Thimphu have to be brought here to Punakha to be approved at this dzong before being approved in Thimphu Dzong. The importance of this dzong is further seen by all 5 Kings being coronated here and the 5th King held his wedding ceremony here.

Our last destination of the day is a nunnery. It was right on top of a cliff and was built by the grandfather of the 5th King. In fact, his meditation retreat is a house just opposite the nunnery. Views as usual were spectacular.

The King's grandfather's house across the nunnery

The grounds of the nunnery overlooking the mountains

The view from atop the stupa

This is their drainage for rainwater to flow down from the rooftop of the temple

The main temple of the nunnery

 After this, we had an early night and returned to Hotel Lobesa for an early dinner.