To the strongest, brightest, happiest girl I know.

I’ve been meaning to write you a love letter for a very long time. Not quite sure where to begin but let me try…

Remember this time last year you had farewell party with your loved ones at The Other Room? Benji was so nice to make reservation and all your favourite people were there. Ooh how time flies! I swear it seems only yesterday you moved to your apartment in Punggol. Things fell into place in the most magical way you never thought or expected. You landed another dream job at your dream company, made new friends, even discovered new passion for pole dancing and found a new family at your dance studio. We knew nothing lasts forever so we decided from the beginning to cherish every moment and make the most of everyday. Until one night you came home and you experienced anxiety and horrible breakdown for the very first time in your life. My sweet darling, you’ve always been so bright and happy, honestly I never see you walking with your head down. You asked yourself tons of questions, but even on the hardest days I’m proud you always showed up, you did above and beyond to change the situation, all the right things even when no one’s watching because you believe your hard work will pay off one day. You learned you have served your purpose and it's time to move on and climb a bigger mountain. It’s not that you’re not grateful enough for what you have, but you were craving for new challenge and you wanted to learn something new. You knew you deserve better and there are bigger opportunities out there, but you can’t get them if you’re not brave enough to let go. So you did let go, you took a leap of faith and once again you trust God to run the show.

On September 1 2018, you left Singapore for Hawaii. Hiking, beach, sleep, repeat for two weeks - best way to heal and restart again. Well, I wanted to write the entire journey but I guess it’s way too long so here are some places we’ve visited in the last 12 months:

Hawaii - LA - Stockholm - Gothenborg - Malmo - Copenhagen - Oslo - Stavanger - Preikestolen - Bergen - Aalesund - Oslo - Nice - Villefranche sur Mer - Antibes - Cannes - Monaco - Menton - St Jean Cap Ferrat - Rennes - Valencia - Brussels - Brugge - Antwerp - Prague - Vienna - Salzburg - Hallstatt - Barcelona - LA - Singapore - Vietnam - Cambodia - Bhutan - Bali - Sumba - Singapore - Berlin - Paris - Rennes - Poilley- Paris - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest - Zagreb - Ljubljana - Split - Dubrovnik - Split - Milan - Lake Como - Bellagio - Florence - Siena - Rome - Seville - Granada - Madrid - Lisboa - Sintra - Porto - Madrid - NYC - Lima - Paracas - Huacachina - Puno - Cusco - Lima - NYC ….

I KNOW! It’s crazy! What a journey. Those are places you’ve always wanted to visit and how amazing it is to witness your dreams come true everyday. I still find it funny how at the beginning you had this plan “OK, let’s travel for 3 months then back to work”, but oh well I guess life has a bigger plan. In the past 12 months we’ve learned so much:

My blessings are more than my problems. Why am I here? What is my purpose? How can I serve better?
Let passion lead. Faith over fear
Try everything and celebrate daily progress. Remember you are a work in progress.
Love liberates
What goes around comes around. Kindness does go along the way
Trust life. Trust your own timing
Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear
You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think
This is your life. Write your own story.

Back on the road means you have to live the uncertainty, get comfortable with uncomfortable again. Moving from one city to another, catching flights and buses, learning new language or how to get around, and many more. It’s not always fun or easy, but hey we’ve been doing this for the past 10 years. No matter what you can turn your experience like pain into growth and ultimately still live the life you want.

In the past 12 months, you met so many beautiful people. Those who bring out the best in you, challenge and take care of you, support and teach you some of the most important things in life. Through your best friends, you learn about strength, love, and patience. Strangers you met on the road remind you to be kind, be open-minded, always curious, and enjoy the moment. You left a piece of yourself in every place you’ve visited. You hiked many hills, saw numerous sunsets, made new friends, and reunited with some good old friends. You filled your soul, heart and tummy with adventures, good food, good coffee and wines, good people, and good love. You gave yourself a break that you need in order to figure out your next step, to find out who you are and what you want to achieve in life.

This year you fell in love again. You thought you met the right one just because he ticks all the boxes until he showed you his true colours. What love is and what love is not. You know you’re with the wrong person when he brings out the worst in you. Gives you anxiety, stress, worry, doubts, instead of love and joy. But one thing you should remember; just like anything else in your life, especially when it comes to love…you deserve only the best. So thank you for walking away from those who treat you less than what you deserve and choosing yourself first. Nothing sexier than a confident woman who picks herself up and continue doing what she loves and be fabulous. Besides darling, you got a beautiful life and adventure waiting for you. Life’s too short to waste it with the wrong person. Heartbreak/disappointment sucks, but pole dance and travel heal all. ( Alexa, play Ariana Grande “Thank u, next….” )

Sometimes I don’t quite understand the way you think or when you make crazy decisions others wouldn’t do ( Remember we used to have only $5 in Cambodia? Slept at the airport floor yeaaaars ago, left home without money but just a dream and faith ) but thank you for always choosing growth over comfort. Thank you for taking the risk, for dreaming so big nobody could stop you, for picking yourself up after failures and breakups. For simply being you.

I hope you will always remember how incredibly lucky and blessed you are. Life loves you so much, they give you everything you’ve dreamed of; the world, unconditional love, perfect health, blessings, miracles, THE BEST PEOPLE, only the best things life has to offer. And look how far you’ve come. This year you published your travel book ‘Bhutan’ and you’re currently working on your second book. You even produced your own podcast ‘30 Flirty and Fabulous’ . They’re probably not perfect but thank you for trying. For taking one step at a time, for doing the hard things and walking your own path. Looking back, it was scary to let go and to step out of your comfort zone again, but I guess it’s true when they say everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. Aren’t you glad we choose this way? When life gets tough, please don’t forget: You are magical. You are brave. You are lucky. You are unique. You are bold and fierce. You are loved. You are kind. You are beautiful. You have the biggest heart. You are enough. Have always been enough, will always be enough.

Never let anyone dim your light, you’re meant to shine!

Things I’ve Learned From One Year of Traveling the World