It’s the worst feeling in the world to lose a beloved.

Especially one that you know wasn’t really to go.

She held on for days, I knew she did it just to see me and it broke my heart so bad to hear her cries and whimpers the day i left her at the vet.

My poor baby had an auto immune disease and her own body was killing her from inside and there was no cure. She had a chance of survival, though slim there was still a chance.

I came to see her the day before i left for Japan. She tried to eat and stay alive, perhaps hoping that I would finally bring her back. She yelped and whined even louder as i walked away from her cage and out the glass doors. I could still hear her from outside.

Did i break her heart this time?

Was that why she never came back?

I never thought that would be the last time i saw her, I didnt even say goodbye. No hugs and kisses just a scratch below her neck because she wasnt allowed to be brought out of the cage.

Nobody told me the day she passed away.

I just found out yesterday because nobody wanted to ruin my trip.

She died the night i flew to Japan.

Was it because she no longer felt my presence?

Did she think i had abandoned her for real this time?

I can’t help but feel like it was my fault.

I left when she needed me most and now a big part of me wished i never went.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My baby Chippy,

I’m so sorry baby. I know for the longest time I was never around. I smelled like another dog and saw you for short hours every now and then when i came back home.

Still, you were always there by my side as i slept and followed me everywhere even awakening if i so much as stirred in my sleep. You kept me company and protected me from anything and anyone you remotely thought was a threat.

I can’t recall how old you are anymore or when we first got you.

But i remember the look in your eyes and that giant pink bow i tied around your neck. You were tiny fragile and shy. Who would have thought you would grow up to be my little soldier that believed could protect me from anything in the world despite your little size.

I hope you’re in a better place now where you’re no longer in pain.

I’m sorry for the hurt and loneliness I’ve caused.

But thank you for being my loyal guardian dog.

I love you baby.

And i really really miss you.

Rest In Peace dearest one and have fun up there in heaven.

Because I know for sure that’s where you are.

I love you.

Guess I was wrong. This isn’t the first time I’ve been wrong about you either.

Ah.

Life.

It always happens when we happily go around telling everyone how things are finally improving. Reality picks that as a cue to rear its ugly head and slap you back into situations that reveal the painful truth.

The truth still hurts.

Even after 2 years it hurts.

The same old things.

Same old situations.

And same old attitudes.

Still, I sit here waiting and waiting.

Hoping and hoping.

For something nobody else believes possible.

Why?

Fly By.

I’m pretty shocked at how it’s almost mid month and that we’re even in a new year.

Days have never gone by as quickly for me as this year has been so far. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m losing track of time if it wasn’t for the fact that I never take my watch off and it so happens to actually tells the date just above the time.

So how are you guys doing?

Me?

Im great, the same if not any fatter that the last any of you have heard.

And yes, those are my real eye colour and yes I swear I’m not wearing colour contacts. And yes, I’m also very aware that my roots are growing and yes, I do indeed somewhat resemble a certain type of “seafood.” Just felt the need to clarify these few things before we move on reading so don’t go on stating the obvious or making nonsensical jokes about whatever it is you find amusing about this chubby cheeked picture of mine =p

So back to the relative theory of time and perception.

Is it true then, when they say you have less hours in a day as you get older because that sure as hell seems to be the case with me these days.

In fact, things have been moving so quickly past lately that it sometimes feels like I’m skipping days in between.

See.

As I type this, it’s a new day all over again.

How did this bizarre thing just happen again?

Wasn’t the weekend just yesterday?

Why is it suddenly Friday once more?

Ah time.

It’s only the first month of the new year but I’m still in denial that we’ve even hit a new year.

In a blink of an eye, this month will be gone as well.

Gone just as swiftly as it came.

And I will be wondering the same repeating thoughts all over again.

A lonely, needy, depressive ball of a mess that felt too deprived of energy and lacking in the emotional capacity to meet with people other than those I’ve grown accustomed to, to the point where sitting in silence with them is not deemed as wrong or antisocial but just a quiet kind of comfortable.

I declared today “stay home and sulk day” despite my very busy week coming to an end and an entire list of things I still need to do and accomplish.

Alas, due to filial responsibilities I was forced to get out of the house by my lonesome self because everyone I called seemed either busy or just plain unavailable.

I dragged myself to 1 Utama and got stuck in the car park which was full and people going in all the wrong directions. This of course causing a jam since the road was not even remotely wide enough for two cars. A lot of yelling ensued from an angry man in a big car and the road eventually cleared.

Finally got my parking thanks to a lovely couple who pointed me in the direction of their car while patiently waiting for me before they left and thought okay, things are about to get brighter.

Went to do what I was suppose to do only to discover it was a pointless attempt and I had gotten myself into another pointless situation but refused to go home as my car was already parked. Mood dwindled down again especially with the crowd of people in the mall and the very annoying tunes of Chinese New Year melodies. Yes. I ABHOR Chinese New Year music.

Took a deep breath and made my way to the bookstore and picked up the first book that appealed to me;  The Reader, a translated German book.

Walked back down to this little cafe that caught my eye many times, ordered a cake and some tea and made myself comfortable.

It was love at first sight.

.

.

.

It’s been almost a year since I last picked up a book and read it. I’ve bought many but none of them have even left their plastic wrappers and sit lying in random places scattered all over Mutiara as well as Cheras.

Today, i picked up a book that absorbed me into it’s world the moment i started reading. The cozy setting of the very appropriately named cafe Whisk, their amazing Granny Cake – an apple cake with Butterscotch cream frosting and a steaming cup of English Breakfast Tea. The aromatic smells of freshly brewed coffee and the soothing sounds of jazz being played on their speakers and i got whisked away as well into my own little cocoon of solitude.

It feels good to finally fall back into the steady habit of getting lost in the world of books and sitting alone in cozy cafe corners.

For that almost 2 hours, I lost my initial sense of gripping neediness and jittery emotions and felt a forgotten calm and serenity.

Whisked.

Such is the name of a bakery that took me away from reality and left me happy and contented for quite a while.

All they need now is some sofa’s and I may be found there everyday.

Maybe.

From an incidence of a close friend of mine to a continuous stream of movies and DVDs.

Is it really a happy thing for two people who really like each other to not end up together? Even when the feelings never really disappeared despite being years since their last meeting.

Many have said the movies I have seen were not sad at all and I was crazy to have cried as much as I did because in the end, there were always still the memories they both held on to and they skipped the pain of a love that dies after finally being together.

But there goes that constant questions of What Ifs?

And how do both parties really move on with their lives while still never really being able to let go of the other?

Isn’t it unfair to their future partners as well.

Why is that a happy ending?

Maybe I’m naive. Maybe I believe too much in fairytales and love stories but it always, ALWAYS hurts me to see two people who clearly have chemistry not end up being together even for just a little while yet still have their minds and hearts keep rotating back to each other as the years go on by.

I hate seeing things like that happen.

…

So do it.

Do it when they’re right next to you. Tell them how important they really are in your lives because that special moment is fleeting and every second of hesitation spells another opportunity for loss.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(I’m sorry this post is so messy and hard to understand. It’s been a while since I last wrote and the cascade of supposedly not so sad but incredibly sad to me movies have really hit a nerve with me and my head needs a little clearing..

This post has also nothing to do with me directly or anybody else I know in particular just a wondering thought as I find being in such a situation to be such a heart wrenching one while many are able to think of how it is actually better that way.

Bah!! Even I cant understand what I’m writing….

SORREH!)

Dated: 18th-19th December 2011

Location: Jalan Madge, Off Jalan U-Thant

(pfft. I think i deserve some kind of an award for this post considering how lazy i am and how abandoned this blog has become!!  RECENT EVENT LEH!! NOT BACKDATED WAN LEH!! AND SUPER A LOT OF PICTURES LEH!!! summoh got edit and compile into collages all to make your life easier instead of scrolling through a billion and one photos =X .. soo anyway… back to the post. wtf)

So,

As a post exam celebration to myself and an early Christmas getaway with the boyfriend, I booked this place in KL after reading and hearing about all the great reviews and stuff. However…… mieh.. just read on if you don’t get bored of my yappiness first =X

Intitially wanted the RM720 room but decided to see if I actually liked the place first and opted for the cheaper RM580 room. Which if you think about it really is still pretty ass pricey but heck! I NEED MAH MINI GETAWAY and it’s been a while since I last blew money like that anyway so humour me because no way in my current time can i afford to go to the Banjaran. pfft. GROUPON DEAL U BLUFF ME AH! Official website also 1.8k for a room on your website also liddat! WUWUWUUWUWUW. WHY WHY WHY!!!

Special prices till next year apparently. Check it out HERE and their official website can be found HERE

Entered the premise and was greeted by all these adorable trees with their bark falling off and a reaaallly BIG stone Buddha.

and a mini pond nearer to the main gate that was covered in Bamboo which was really pretty actually. The gate not the pond “=_=

Their fish pond was REALLLY clear! Like crystal clear for real!!! I was pretty shocked and tempted to ask them what filtration system they were using. If you just sit or stand there and watch, the calmness of the water and the playing fishes is so surreal that it looks like they aren’t even in water.

Sadly, the fishes were all pretty jittery and scared unlike the ones at YTL Cameron which i will elaborate further on when i actually decide to do that post =p

Front door. Well outside, big stone fire feature. Pretty cool =)

And of course the obligatory couple in front of hotel picture =X Nah. Don’t say i never post boyfriend pictures. I swear I have but a lot of people insist there is no signs of him in my blog or facebook “=_= wtf nonsense i swear! 2 yrs + impossible no signs of him okay.

The lobby’s main door. And some mini candle tea lights scattered across the water feature at the side. Pretty =)

And the room! Luxe Crib. This is apparently the most used room but every room is different and one has an aquarium but it’s not ready yet =( Loved the bed! It was really big but the bf was complaining about it being short.

They used reallly good linens which is a major plus point for me because I’m a sucker for soft comfy linens. Unfortunately, there was a tear in my comforter which i forgot to take pictures off but…. yeahhhh…. the comfiness made u for it =p

and the bottom left is the toilet with 2 sinks and a jacuzzi with blinds that open on two sides. one to the room and one to the balcony. cute touch was the toothbrushes in leaves and the full tube of toothpaste and shaving cream. no cheap disposable toiletries!

Sadly, in all my excitement i forgot to take pictures of my favourite part of the whole room .___. the awesome rain shower and the gorgeous rustic storage shelves. pfft.

And the door at the bottom right opens up to the next picture!

The balcony! With cute lantern lights and a day bed overlooking the pool =) Cosy. Oh. No smoking around the rooms and balconies =p MUAHHAHA. I LIKE! But you can still scuttle down to the carpark outside the lobby if you really need a smoke.

On top is this huge tray with complimentary Twinnings Tea, water and one of the most amazing mixed spiced christmas cookies i have ever chanced upon. In fact, I think i will go ahead and say it. It was THE BEST christmas cookies I’ve ever had! So good, i popped one in my mouth every 5 minutes or so and was clearly upset when the jar was finally empty. =(

Went down to the reception to ask if I could buy more since i loved it so much. Sadly, was sort of brushed off with this conversation.

Me: Hi! I was wondering if you guys had anymore of the complimentary cookies in the room. I love them so much! 

Her: Oh! Those are complimentary! You Can have them!

Me: Um.. Yeah I know. But I like it so much i was wondering if i could buy more.

Her: Owh…Oh! Sorry. It’s made daily.

Me: In the case, do you think you could get them to make a bit more tomorrow as i would really like to have more.

Her: ermm… errrr……..

Me: Nevermind. It’ll just be great if I could have more. Thanks.

Her: Okay.

- abrupt end of conversation with no actual conclusion-

But what i found funny was that they gave expensive snacks free yet the cheap peanuts in foiled packets were chargeable snacks. I found this really weird. Might as well give it free as well? How much could a pack of peanuts really cost in comparison with your higher ranged items?

The bottom picture is the TV with Astro channels. An Ipod dock. A DVD Player. And wine racks with mini fridge (with affordable drinks and chocolates!) and safe hidden behind the doors =) And that little complimentary bowl of dried fruits.

Note. At the moment, there is NO phone in the room and no room service either which was a minus point because I LOVE room service =( Maybe they are going to add it on next year when the tariff rates go back up to apparently normal.

Gave us this really yummy basket of tapioca doughnuts which I LOVED as well. But believe me when i say tiny. The 3 pieces could easily fit in my palm. Made me incredibly hungry and gave me very high hopes for breakfast tomorrow which i read really good reviews about again. The christmas cookies and these doughnuts really hit the spot for me and i was very very much impressed by this time.

Since there was no room service and the resident restaurant wasn’t open for business in the afternoon, we popped out to KL for food.

Actually asked the in-house manager if there was shuttle because i read somewhere that it would be provided. I mean I know we drove but seeing as we were technically on Holiday it would be nice to have someone drop us off and pick us up instead of us driving through the weekend jam.

Manager didn’t smile much and was pretty intimidating if not scary which was funny because when we first arrived she was very smiley and nice. I almost felt like i offended her with my presence or something. She seemed very irritated at the fact i asked for a shuttle which we eventually did not use anyway because she said they would only drop us off and we would need to catch a cab back. Mieh.

I don’t know what these plants are called but they surrounded the very pretty pool they had =)

Said very pretty pool =( Didn’t get to swim because the weather was too cold and i spent most of my next morning sleeping. Wasn’t allowed a later check out because apparently they had more incoming guests =( le sad. My main point was to go somewhere and swim and i didnt “=_=

-I interrupt this hotel post with spams of our faces because its my blog and i will blog whatever i want-

…TOOOT….

He is damn tak layan right. Finally last few pictures only wanna layan me “=_= pfft

-normal hotel posts will now commence. thank you for your patience-

Went up to their rooftop bar for complimentary cocktails! ^–^ Its really small though but cosy and I like it! Though you should probably watch out for mozzies once it gets dark.

view of the bar once it get’s a little darker and the lights turn up. There was a whole list of cocktails but we were only allowed to choose between two =( and the bartender even got our drinks wrong and gave us the same order. drinks weren’t great but it’s okay. not a big fan of alcohol anyway and the environment and the breeze coming in was lovely!

Bartender was also very nice and smiley though a little hard to communicate with so it was all good =)

after drinks went back to the room to chill and get ready. went out for dinner and a movie.

-abrupt end of day-

Next morning the bf had to leave for work so we woke up super early to have breakfast at their restaurant called Mandi-Mandi. It’s a cute place =) Would probably be really romantic at night too.

Unfortunately i was BEYOND disappointed. The bf ordered soft boiled eggs but if you squint hard enough you will notice that the eggs are actually pretty hard and they just chucked half a fully boiled egg on top “=_= Hello? TELUR SETENGAH MASAK OI! Bukan setengah masak setengah belum masuk. wtf.

My eggs benedict which i was waiting for the wholllee time… was… BAD. I couldn’t even finish it and it was so small. If anyone knows me I could probably down like 4 plates of that and still have room for heavier stuff so only eating half was definitely weird.

I actually ordered smoked Salmon which was on the menu but was told the kitchen was out?? We were the first for breakfast and they were out of salmon. NICE.

Anyway. Back to my eggs. THESE WERE BY FAR THE WORST EGGS BENEDICTS I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE! THE WORST!!!

The teeny breads at the bottom was barely toasted and was soaked in some kind of liquid that it was soggy and just bleargh. And my eggs tasted completely of vinegar and nothing else! The crappy breakfast really spoiled my morning and motivation to go swim so i just went back to bed.

LUCKILY! The staff of the morning was lovely and when I asked for my cookies again (different girl) she immediately offered to pack them for me. She was very smiley and chatty and I wished she served me earlier because sometimes in a hotel, service really is everything. Wish i could tell you her name but it was Thai I think and way too hard to remember =(

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anyway.

All in all. I would probably only give this place 6.5-7/10 stars unlike most of the reviews i read on tripadvisor and agoda for various reasons.

Despite supposedly being a 5 star hotel, service just wasn’t up to par and my horrid breakfast really left me reeling in shock. The place is pretty and all but in my honest opinion if they increased price next year, this would definitely not be worth the price anymore.

YTL establishments still win with their amazing service and for the same price as well.. but you go and try. We probably just had a bad day. =/

Below is a list of things i saw online that really made me think this place was worth it but i received none of those services and it made us feel like we weren’t given the full service and that think that maybe things were a little bias?. my response in italics.

We diudn’t see no muesli, cheese and fruits? Was ust given a menu and told to choose 1 item. HATED THAT! In YTL cameron, its the same concept but they let me keep ordering till i was satisfied and full. And portions here are soooo small. Not that it really mattered since i couldnt even stomach half of my vinegar eggs.

we didn’t get any turn down service when we went for dinner? and no chocolates either. HMMMM…??? But maybe because we went out later than expected. But still?

Why do they get to be shuttled back and we don’t?

Our drinks were just… meh….generous was probably not the right word.

We came in 2 cars since the bf had to go to work. But no car washes for us =(

Anyway, they probably need to buck up a lot more if they ever want to really achieve a 5 star name. I felt very second rated at the place and really did not feel welcomed at all. When we first went in, we were pretty amazed and excited but we left feeling as the boyfriend said “UNFULFILLED.” Thing’s just weren’t great or satisfactory. Better luck next time maybe? Can’t really decide if I would want to actually come back again or not =/

I open my blog every now and then before staring at the last post and the date. This makes me glance at my watch and the same very thoughts start make their appearances; – “where has the time gone?”

Day becomes night and night becomes day repetitively without fail and at some point i lose track of time, days and dates.

It’s not that i am up and about being busy with every minute that i have. Yet so many restrictions and responsibilities weigh themselves in my face and my brain automatically takes this as a queue to go into a shut off mode and not do anything i want to do.

All those times of saying i want to play my playstation, i want to finish reading a book, i want to paint a picture and the many more that i have made in worded promises or even written down in this very blog or anywhere else never seem to happen. Then i look at the date and it’s almost the end of the year.

Time is a funny thing.

I seem to work in funnier ways.

This weekend,

I think i’m going to bake a cake. Or perhaps i shall make some cookies instead.

Who cares if i have a paper on Monday.

My heart just isn’t there.

I want to do something I love instead.

Hotel rooms.

I crave them much too often than I should.

And more often than not, I wished I could just check myself in and hide there for a while.

Alone.

But then I wonder, why pay so much money to sink into an unfamiliar bed just to cry myself to sleep?

Fact is, I don’t know.

All I know is, that’s what I wish I could do if I could really afford it.

Hotel rooms.

If they could talk, they would tell you so many different stories. That chair in that corner would have so much to say and those pillows would have a million emotions to share.

What was the previous guest like?

Was he alone? Was he lonely?

Or was he with someone? Someone special or just someone?

What were the thoughts running in every guests head?

Was the previous guest just like me?

Or was he was genuinely happy.

What secrets would the cracking walls whisper and what moving images would the mirrors reflect?

So much goes on.

All that history in the dimly lit rooms I crave.

Even mine becomes a part of that room whos number I will not remember.

Hotel rooms.

I need you more than ever.

“Acceptance”

That’s a strong word to use. Too strong a word and much too highly misunderstood.

It was never acceptance. It was called being emotionally numb. A sorrowful forced kind of acceptance that breaks one’s soul and hurts those around.

I thought I was happy. I just never knew it was at the expense of another in ways I did not wish.

2 years ago I lay in this room, my heart thumping away and my skin tingling in anticipation. I knew what was going to happen. I knew it the moment I sat crying in your arms and I let myself go completely.

Today I am lying in the same room and my heart is thumping as well. Only, this time I’m feeling things you took away that 2 years ago. Only 2 years but sometimes a year can feel so much longer, don’t you agree?

Happy silent 2 years.

It’s time I toughen up.

That was my first reaction stepping into Kechara House for the very first time. The centre looked more like a boutique hotel than a Buddhist centre. My initial reaction when Ginny first received the invitation for us to attend HE Tsemtulku Rinpoche’s 46^th birthday, the Guru of Kechara House, was a mixture of amusement and uneasiness.

I mean seriously, what’s a twenty-one year old asian girl like her with almost-blonde hair suppose to be doing in a holy person’s birthday? Jump out of a cake and sing La Bamba….in Tibetan?

The feeling of uneasiness soon eased away the moment I stepped inside the lobby of Kechara House right around 7pm on a Monday night. The centre was just outright chic and modern. Nothing like a conventional temple at all. Hey, we might actually enjoy this. 

“ Hi, Welcome to Kechara House” a lady at the concierce beamed with a smile so wide I wished I had brought a present or something instead of a sheepish grin and an empty stomach. After all it’s not everyday one gets to attend a holy monk’s birthday coupled with the hordes of his friendly staff ushering the guests around. A simple card would have left me a little less guilty. 

“Hello, I am a blogger under Nuffnang, and this is my guest” Ginny replied. A couple of page flips later, she discovered she wasn’t in the list.

 “You are an evil demon disguised as a blogger to ruin this holy occasion!!!!”…..screamed the concierge. 

Ok,  I made that up. But that’s how it kind of felt when your names were not on the invitation lists like its suppose to be… impostors.

“Its ok, our list seems to be missing. We’ll place you guys in the media section where the bloggers will be seated”

After climbing a flight of stairs , I was inside a huge hall with a few hundred people already seated and right in the middle of that hall was a humongous statue of a deity. It must have been almost 20 feet tall. I mean, that’s really huge for it to be placed indoors. I later found out that his name was Lama Tsongkapha, a really holy being that existed thousands of years ago in Tibet.

“Here’s your gift pack with some information about Kechara House and His Eminence” the lady handed over. I rummage through the nicely prepared pamphlets and little books about Tsemtulku and discovered that he was going to perform a ceremony to ordain four people as Buddhist pastors at his birthday party.

Somehow, you gotta hand it over to the holier folks. I mean, on my birthday I would be eagerly waiting for presents and trying to get my friends drunk. Here instead, they give you presents and try to give their friends a holier life with a higher status. Perhaps it’s time to re-examine my priorities in life.

After about an hour of gazing around the huge hall and watching some very distinguished Datin-like ladies sauntering around in their beautiful evening gowns, the emcee announced the arrival of the birthday boy followed by the sound of some ominous trumpets blaring across the hall. His Eminence strolled in, wearing traditional monk robes and flashed smiles and greetings to the audience. He is definitely a lot bigger and taller than I had actually expected. I mean, if he ever needed a career change, he could guarantee himself a place in the World Wrestling Federations’s Hall of Fame without breaking a sweat. 

Strangely though, his presence emanated a sense of dignity and calmness that descended upon the room the moment he appeared. Maybe, just maybe this is the powerful aura a higher being possesses that is often explained but seldom witnessed.

As he got unto the ornately decorated chair which is referred to as “the throne”, we all waited eagerly in anticipation. Thus, began one of the most sincere teachings I have heard in a long time, Buddhism or otherwise.

 Tsemtulku started by explaining the reason why he wanted to ordain four of his followers as the first Buddhist pastors in the world and we were all witnesses to the first event of its kind. He said that to expect people wanting to be monks and nuns in today’s world is almost impossible, as lay people like us would find it very difficult to give up the life we have right now. Hence, the Buddhist pastors would serve as a halfway house between a lay person and monkhood. Whoever says that innovation is dead in Buddhism gotta check this out.

Suddenly out of nowhere, Tsemtulku blurted out that he likes Oprah’s style of connecting with her audience and climbed down from his “throne” and started walking closer to us. I liked him better already.

Tsemtulku spoke english with a strong American accent. It was kinda surreal listening and watching it all as this person dressed in tradition Tibetan monk robes dished out a Buddhist talk with a Californian drawl. Kinda like watching an Asian flick translated into English.

His teaching was about “changes” and in a nutshell he says that it is better to change oneself than to expect others to change. This simple but profound insight struck a chord in shallow me that somehow always expected the world to change accordance to my whims. The best part was Tsemtulku spoke to us not like a teacher to a student but as one friend to another with a good dose of American humor thrown in that drew guffaws from all of us and actually drew us closer to him.

 There was a moment of sadness when Tsemtulku told us that he has been diagnosed with an incurable disease and he had no more than a few years left in this world unless a miracle happens and if so, he would be granted another 16 or more years before he leaves. He said that he was not afraid at all because all have been foretold by one of his Gurus. We all felt his courage and the lightness he placed on his own life. I later found out that his failing liver was the cause.  

 The whole talk lasted a good two hours but it was one of the shortest two hours of my life. I wanted more. Even my empty stomach was no longer hungry. He was seriously that good.

 His 46^th birthday party ended up with four of his followers ordained in a somber ceremony of hair cutting and mantra chanting. The generous Tsemtulku presented some of the guests with Buddha statues and his coffee table biography “The Promise”. Yes, we were one of the few fortunate people who got a copy of the book. Beautifully written and visually exciting.

 I left at about 11 pm that night from Kechara House with a feeling best described as strangely happy and light-hearted. Those few hours virtually changed my whole perspective about Buddhism. The whole experience including the beautiful and modern centre, the smiling and friendly people and the super charismatic Tsemtulku kinda made religion fun again for me. 

The wise once said that if we are really lucky, we will get to meet people and visit places during our short journey in life that will change us for the better. I honestly think that this chance encounter with His Eminence and Kechara House is one of those rare moments.

 Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Tsemtulku and thanks for everything.

 - Arthur

(Ps. the Queen claims shes going to do another post regarding this so wait up for that next week as well)