Fake or Real

It is amazing how easily silk flowers can be mistaken for real flowers nowadays. I remember walking in a market in Australia once and being taken in by a gorgeous bunch of flowers only to be puzzled when they had no smell! It turns out that they were actually silk flowers that were meant to brighten up your home without any maintenance! What a great idea!

Expensive Costs

I just found out that a University friend of mine in Australia has given birth! I was so glad for her and am waiting to her more from her. I remember her telling me that it is going to be an expensive affair as life insurance rates have recently gone up in Australia. I guess children do not come cheap these days. Another colleague who is about to deliver has estimated spending at least RM10k just to prepare for her baby's arrival! Whew..talk about rising costs of inflation!

Junk or Treasure?

I love shopping in bric a brac shops whenever I'm abroad. They say one man's junk can be another's treasure and this is never truer when hunting around in bric a brac shops! I've picked up some very quaint treasures before including a pair of antique reading magnifiers which was probably used by some old person many years ago. It does make interesting conversation pieces! :)

Insure Yourself

I used to travel a lot in my previous course of work and was very lucky that our company provided us with adequate travel and travel health insurance whenever we traveled. This was important as we sometimes went to less developed countries where there could be risk of illness or food poisoning due to less hygenic food and surroundings. It is really important to keep yourself insured whenever you travel.

Luxury Hotels

I miss staying in nice hotels when I travelled with my old company on business trips. We used to stay in the best hotels in every city we went to. I got a little spoilt, I have to admit, of beautiful rooms, soft luxurious beds and gorgeous bathrooms with walk in tubs and a whole host of designer shower gels to luxuriate in. It would definitely not have been something I would have been able to afford on my own and I was truly lucky I managed to experience it for a short while.

Amsterdam

Some countries in Europe are really open and liberal. Amsterdam, for example, allows free use of drugs and all kinds of religion. That is why people sometimes flock there just to experience the freedom of their lifestyle or to buy religious jewelry which may not be allowed in stricter countries. I've always wanted to visit Amsterdam some day and hopefully I will!

Shutters for Sun

One thing I enjoy looking at while traveling is the design and beauty of the homes overseas. I find that they have very interesting designs including vinyl shutters to keep out the cold. I think shutters are a great idea and I don't know why homes here don't have it too to keep out the hot sun and the glare. I guess here, people are more concerned about the hose being stuffy with shutters instead of curtains.

Health Insurance on Holiday

A lot of people buy travel insurance before they go on a holiday but most people forget to buy health insurance as well. It is equally important as you can never predict whether you might fall ill or have an injury when on holiday. No one likes such mishaps to spoil their holiday but sometimes accidents are really inevitable so it is always better to keep yourself insured and protected.