Welcome to Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman's Island)!

Over the weekend, we went to Isola dei Pescatori... one of the islands on Lake Maggiore, northern Italy.

We left Geneva around 9 am, drove through Bern and Luzern, then to Locarno, and took the lake drive to Baveno. We arrived in Baveno around 6 pm, left the car there and took a boat to the Island.

We would've arrived earlier, if it wasn't for this massive traffic jam in Uri. One hour in the car moving slowwwwlyyyy... for what could have been a 15 min ride...

I can just imagine how the conversation went between the couple in this car.

Wife: 'Honey, i knew we shouldn't have bought this car!'
Husband: 'It's ok honey, see? i told you we could bring everything with this car.. The boat, our bikes, the kids and the dog! Problem solved!'

The passenger behind me was obviously bored.

Locarno!

Ahhh, Baveno at last!

The day was beautiful one second, and then... it hailed the next!

One of the hail stones that came with the rain.

Isola dei Pescatori - The island on the left

Charming..!

The island opposite ours (yes, it's now 'ours') LOL

Must be a lost Bruneian fan hehehe

St. Catarina

We took the ferry from Laveno (which was on the other side of the lake) and went back to Intra. We then drove from Intra back to Baveno.

My baby's first ride on a ferry (how cute) :-)
*i'm talking abt my car* durr

We found this awesome hiker's path on the way to Simplon Pass

We decided to take the mountain route of Simplon Pass instead of busy Bern and Luzern. Good call!

nice. oh i mean, bad.

What Kinda Asian Are You?!

Did you make the right guess?

I'm showing off.

We went fishing again to the same lake last saturday...

Can't really see it, but this was one of the worms used as bait.

my first two fishies

my third...

fourth...

yes, fifth..

sixth.. :p

and seventh :p :p

They were all very small... but hey better than nothin. Oh, and tonio caught two. Not bad! :p *hugs*

Happy birthday!

Today we celebrated the birthdays of Hj Hj, Edde, Ainon & TYT...
Happy birthday to all of you, God bless!!

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.

Today we went fishing at Lac du Vallon, in Haute-Savoie (FR). It was raining and windy... I didn't think we would catch anything, but we did!! Two small fishes... and ALMOST a third fish. It was homongous, almost broke my fishing rod. LOL. But it got away.. And the whole thing happened in 10 minutes...

Fishing on Le Rhone.

It ain't great fishing without a fold up chair complete with a drink holder. :p

Can you see toni?

We didn't catch any fish, but maybe next time! :-)

Self-sacrifice: n. sacrifice of oneself or one's own interests for the benefit, or the supposed benefit, of others.

I think if you truly love someone, you will do anything in your power to make them happy. Regardless of your own interests and general opinions.. You would even quit your job, your filthy habits... your future dream... in order to be with the one you love.

You put their needs first before all things, including yourself.

The fight between good and evil.

I've been a great follower of the Dexter tv series... After watching all four seasons, it made me think. Is there really such a thing as being truly a good person, or a bad person?

It's clear cut in the movies - Superman will always be the good guy, and Lex Luther will always be known to be the villian.

In life it wouldn't be. I'm neither a good person or a bad person. I balance both and try to be more of the good... especially when it comes to be a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend and a friend.

I have my weak moments though, like everyone else. The demon in me surfaces at times but sinks back into the darkness of my soul. I guess if you have people you love and love you back unconditionally, it's worth being more good than bad. That's the general idea..

Which one are you?

More random pics..

beware of crossing frogs :p

good to know :-)

Sunny Annecy...

It was a nice day at Annecy today... I'm going to bring my family and cousins here next time... to enjoy the lake view and perhaps some retail therapy...

Stalls selling knick knacks etc etc...

No its not a riot, just a bachelor's procession (the guy wearing the flintstones' outfit must be the groom-to-be). must be a french thing. :p

Le magnifique Lac d'Annecy et ses environs

I felt like i was in venice. The only things missing were the singing gondoliers. No wonder they call it the 'venice of the alps'.

We spontaneously decided to go for a boat ride! Makes me want to go fishing again... perhaps one day soon... to be continued...

Deja Vu.

Last week i started painting again... I looked through the internet for some inspiration... (I didn't know what to paint), but nothing really caught my attention. I knew though i wanted to paint something for decorating the bedroom wall above my bed. So it had to be a bit dark... nothing to draw my sleepy eyes to it in the middle of the night... setting my mind into motion of what could be lurking in the world of the unknown...

So this is what i ended up painting...

My unsigned work.

Yesterday, we went for a walk after dinner... i was curious about this path that my parents like to take on the way to Ferney market... crossing the border of two worlds. (Just kidding - actually the border between Switzerland and France). I turned to my left and i saw this breath-taking view. I couldn't help but take a photo with my phone... other than pics of family and friends, this is the most beautiful photo i took with the dang phone..

I came back home, to realise that it was what i painted a week before.

Now... that's just creepy.

Geneva vs Bienne. Result: 5-3

One of the sponsors - Volvo - showing off their drifting skills. Ok. Sliding skills. NOT drifting skills.

The winners - Geneva Hockey Team!

Enjoying the simple things in life.

Saw this doll lion laughing its ass off in some shop in Chamonix.

*almost bought him* :-)

Versoix Model Club..

Speaking of models, we bumped into this club where ppl can fly their remote control planes up in the air... Reminds me of the days in Darwin when my bro Min was into it...

Spitfire FR.MK.XIVe Special Edition

Tonio started his old hobby again... He completed a model tank, (above) and he just finished this Spitfire model (below)...

Don't take your life for granted...

The day will come... when we take the last final breath... the moment we close our eyes, and never wake up again... Cherish the time God has given us in this life... it's a gift...

To my Muslim readers out there, pray for all your family and friends still with us, and also those who had left us...

The Arabic text above from the Holy Quran... with transliteration and translation in English as follows:

1:1 بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيم

Bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1:2 الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين

Al ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi l-'ālamīn

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds

1:3 الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيم

Ar raḥmāni r-raḥīm

The Beneficent, the Merciful.

1:4 مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّين

Māliki yawmi d-dīn

Owner of the Day of Judgement

1:5 إِيَّاك نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين

Iyyāka na'budu wa iyyāka nasta'īn

Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.

1:6 اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ

Ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm

Show us the straight path,

1:7 صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّين

Ṣirāṭ al-laḏīna an'amta 'alayhim ġayril maġḍūbi 'alayhim walāḍ ḍāllīn

The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.

AMIN

For the love of food.

I made this following mum's recipe - custard pudding with strawberries. (p.s. mum - it was a bit tawar hehehe)

Tonio made this tasty pizza from scratch..

Je t'aime maman.

To the best mother one could ever have, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!
I love you with all my heart, thank you so much for taking care of dad, me and the boys....
God bless you always and see you in Geneva soon!!

My gorgeous mum!!

Thoughts.

There are times at night before going to sleep that I start thinking about weird and random things.

The other day I was just thinking that i should NEVER go shopping on an empty stomach. I remember talking about this with my brother Min... it's definitely a bad, bad idea. Cos i always end up buying snacks that are unhealthy and actually very unnecessary (i only realise this once my tummy is full with food LOL).

Some days i think i'm just too nice. I let people (who are close to me) take advantage of me... just because i'm a friend and appear friendly, doesn't mean i don't get mad. eugh.. as if i don't know you're talking about me behind my back. and in some cases they forget that i'm still their senior. Can't trust anyone these days, everyone's got an agenda.

A few nights ago, i had a dream. There was this huge black snake with piercing yellow eyes. It looked at me, and I was really close to it. But i wasn't scared at all. It turned into wood on the spot and I noticed there were engravings of the name Allah on its body. I touched the engravings. I still remember how it felt against my fingers. Then the wooden snake moved to let me down gently from the trees... safe and sound on the ground... and i went back to the village. I woke up.

Yes, very random indeed are my thoughts these days.

Some friendships grow. Some friendships die.

That's a fact of life. As you grow older (and hopefully more mature hehe), you will come to a realisation that friends are important but they're not everything. The boys and girls you grew up with change over time, just like you. Some change for the better and some change for the worse.

The truth comes to light when you see them again after not seeing them for a long, long time. The distance doesn't help... it's great that good things happen to them in their lives... but one thing happens. You can't help but compare each other's success in relationships, jobs, families and friends... If they're not happy that you found a better man, the better job, the better lifestyle, then... i'm sorry to say but it's time to let go and move on. These friends are not worth your while.