Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Fifteen wonderful memories in Twenty-Fifteen

6th January 2016
Took me six days to come up with this post...the power of procrastination!

Twenty-Fifteen was indeed an exciting year for me.
Many unplanned, uncertain and unforgettable events happened throughout this year, I must say.

I'm rather bumped in writing long posts, so let the pictures tell the stories of the past year..

ONE
After the New Year, I flew back to KL and the year started with - finally - the shoot for Asia's Got Talent in Pinewood, Johor for the Judges' Audition. 350 or more crew in the production from various countries and hundred of acts performing in front of the audiences. It was one great team and I have to say, I enjoyed every bit of the shoot in the studio without much of a stress. The shoot them moved to Singapore for the semi finals and finale. There, I was given the opportunity to Assist Direct the shoot. It was tough - mentally and emotionally - but I made it through with lots of encouragement.

TWO
In between the Judges' Audition and Semi Finals of Asia's Got Talent, I had a break and I randomly booked a return flight to Laos on a solo vacation. I flew to Vientiane and quickly hit the road in a sleeper bus to Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. Weather wasn't on my side. Forest fires were massively happening everywhere. But nevertheless, it was one great trip to start the year.

THREE
In between the Semi Finals and Finale of Asia's Got Talent, there was another break. It was another flight for a vacation and this time, I had a beach vacation at Boracay, Philippines. I had a shock upon arrival as it was so commercialised and packed with tourists! The sunsets I watched every day took my breath away. It was just so beautiful. Stayed with an awesome host and went around the island like a local.

FOUR
I'm a bit disappointed with my planning last year. I did ONE dive only throughout the year and it was in Boracay. Luckily it was a wreck dive, eventhough I didn't enjoy it as much because I was diving with a new diver and had to cut the dive short because he ran out of air *sweats* 
ONE DIVE ONLY!!!

FIVE
The reason to why I only did one dive in Boracay is because I spent most of my time - still in the sea - but I was kite surfing instead! Took up a 3 days course on kite surfing, got burnt very badly on my face, stepped on sea urchins but it was one heck of an achievement! Thanks to much encouragement, now I have a new hobby!

SIX
Best part of my career...I PARTIED WITH MELANIE C, my childhood idol from Spice Girl! Nothing can describe that night where she rocked the DJ console to end our wrap party for Asia's Got Talent!

SEVEN
The next project I signed up for last year was one which I have been waiting for since the first season. I was super excited until... a day before the shoot, I fell very ill. I barely ate for five days, was too weak to work and couldn't sleep well. I was later sent back home to recover and it was then I found out that it was caused by something "supernatural". Yes, believe it or not?!

EIGHT
Wannabe Tomb Raider 2.0 brought us to Indonesia for a hike to Mount Merapi, the 2nd toughest volcano to hike in Java Island. It was freezing cold. We hiked through the night to reach the summit for sunrise. Unfortunately, we didn't make it up to the summit on time but nevertheless, the view was just breathtakingly beautiful.

NINE
 
Stargazing in Penanjakan Viewpoint was the highlight of my photo-taking experiences. FYI, no photoshop was done to this photo. The stars are real! Temperature was at 3degress, hands were numb but heck, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to stargaze, in Mount Bromo!

TEN
Ruby came to Kuching for a vacation and of course, I was the tour guide - best in town! It was all about food and one of the most adventurous activities we did was kayaking! 7km downstream Sungai Sarawak Kiri. It wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. Kayaking in Kuching...checked!

ELEVEN
I had the privilege to travel Indonesia on a food show. Definitely a fun team to work with. I explored Batam, Makassar, Malang and Banyuwangi. Experienced my first heat stroke and had to be in hospital on oxygen for 30minutes...shikes!

TWELVE
Bread Street Kitchen for dinner was the highlight of my work trip in Singapore! Finally after months of waiting for the restaurant to be opened. Ordered this humongous beef burger and it was one mouth-watering goodness. Had a food coma right after the meal. Can't wait to make another reservation to try other food there next time! Gordan Ramsey's restaurant...checked!

THIRTEEN
I did not have the opportunity to finish working on Fit For Fashion Season 2 in Bintan, Indonesia. I was glad that I could work on the finale in Singapore. It was a three days shoot and I had a chance to "walk the runway" (standing-in actually) in front of live audiences! *laughs*

FOURTEEN
My bestie, Tiffany finally managed to surprise me on my birthday. She failed miserably for the past few years but last birthday, she made it awesome! Everything happened coincidentally. Thankfully, I was too tired to even check up on her when she was late. She parked the car by the side - mind you, I was just sitting not far away from where she parked - and decorated the car boot with this goodies! My heart stopped when I opened it and was very surprised to see what she did. Amazing work, bestie!

FIFTEEN
The last project of year 2015 was with this bunch of crazy yet professional team. From one week to two to more than a month. I spent a fair share of time in Singapore with sleep deprivation but thankfully we had awesome food as a compensation to that. Shoot was tough but with everyone hanging on to finish the shoot, it made things much better for all. I had the opportunity to Assist Direct the finale and though it was a tough one day shoot, I wouldn't have done it without this team!


GOODBYE, TWENTY-FIFTEEN!
Looking forward to more awesomeness in Twenty-Sixteen!