Scotland, and I'm not dead. Yet.

I had spent the previous summer in Scotland. It is seriously one of the most beautiful places in the world. I probably wouldn't be able to live there though. Its freezing, even during the summer! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the pictures. These were taken before I got really into photography. I only edited two of them, the rest are all 'naturals'.

I'm not going to write a lot or explain anything, because I want the pictures to speak for themselves. Hopefully, they will.

And I'm sorry I haven't been posting a lot lately. School has just started, and I'm doing my GCSE's this year, which is very important. I want to do well. Althought I'm not quite sure what good doing well would bring. But when I find out, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Love, and love again.
alysha.

Malaysia

Hello everyone! I just came back from Malaysia earlier today. I figured I'd better post the pictures here before my lazy side gets the better of me.

   I told my brother to look annoyed and angry. He ended up looking somewhat sad instead.

Strangers.

A random street.

Amusement park ride. I quite like the vibrant colors.

Genting Highlands.

That one ride I was too afraid to try.

The view from my aunt's apartment.

The devil stare.

 My crazy little cousin. Although we don't even look related (I look nothing chinese)

The streets of Penang. Having a heated argument with my brother whilst enjoying the sunset.

 Another beautiful sunset.

My fingers.

Me dancing in a dark room.

Malaysia is where I grew up, hence making this trip quite the stroll down memory lane. For the first few days, I was plastered to the window of the car, going, "Oh, I remember that restaurant!" and "I remember when I used to pass this street everyday!" It felt good to fall back into the familiar sights and sounds of my country. It was like finally being able to fall asleep back in your own bed after a long holiday somewhere. Sometimes (mostly when I'm eating the local food), I'd wonder why I was so happy when I left 3 years ago. There were so many things I missed!

 But in my melancholy haze, full of nostalgia and childhood memories, something was wrong. Not everything was as it was. Things had changed while I was gone. Suddenly, I could no longer walk confidently in the streets anymore. I started to feel a little lost. Even when I was younger, I used to feel a bit like a tourist in my own country. Now, I felt it more than ever. I went back to my old house which I grew up in. It didn't feel like home any more. Home wasn't the cottage-like house, crumbling and breaking apart bit by bit. Old paint fading away into the walls, vines and creepers clasping onto the roof. That wasn't home. Home was the modern suburban house with a well manicured lawn, large trees, and a pool in the backyard. My old house looked a bit like a shed, it did not gleam of life like it used to. It was being neglected.

That got me upset for a bit. I realized how much things had changed. Some for the better, some for the worse. But deep down inside, I knew the change would come. There was no denying it.

The during the final days of my visit, I grew weary. I felt pretty content when I finally took the taxi back to the airport at 3am. My flight was slightly delayed, but I couldn't care less. When I finally reached home, I fell into a hot bath with a cup of hot chocolate, and my favorite book. I later decided to have a look through the pictures I took (there weren't that many), and before I knew it, I was typing out the content of this post.

So there we are.

Much love,
Alysha. 

New Zealand/Introduction

So I went on a school trip to New Zealand a couple months back. Even so, I remember it all like it was yesterday.

WHAT I REMEMBER:

1. I remember waking up to the monotonous rings of the hotel phone; our wake up call. Each day, a new adventure, a new escapade. I loved the thrill of traveling, getting lost, finding.
2. I remember walking down the streets in Auckland, camera in hand, trying to document everything I saw. Its quite weird, actually. Looking back at these pictures, I feel as though I am experiencing all the sights, sounds, smells again, in a far less vivid way. Like I'm dreaming or something. I feel this way about all photos, not just the ones taken by me. Its a different kind of magic, photography. I was always very enthralled by it, ever since I could remember.
3. I remember laughing with people I'd just met. 
4. I remember tearing up slightly in a cave filled with glowworms. Partly because it was freezing and I tend to tear up when I am cold, but also partly because I felt very fortunate to be in that cave. It was so so beautiful, with glowworms shining, and us being able to see our breath fog up infront of us. I plan on returning soon.
5. I remember walking around the set of Lord of The Rings, and thinking to myself, "I never want to forget this, ever,"

But what I most vividly remember,

•  I remember being happy. Not the kind of happy that goes away after awhile, but the kind of that stays with you, from the moment you wake up, till the moment you go to sleep. The real kind of happy. 

 I hope you all enjoy these photos as much as I've enjoyed taking them.


Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, I'm Alysha! I'm starting this blog because I have thoughts and photos I want to share with all of you. I want you to know that everything I'm going to put here is 100% me. Every single bit. This blog shall be like my diary or journal or something. A diary/journal/orsomething which everyone and anyone can read.

Also, I forget, just like every other human. Thing is, I don't want to forget. I want to remember everything. All the memories, the good and the bad. Because, it is the good and bad that make us who we are. For me, forgetting what we have done/what we have experienced is equivalent to forgetting bits of who we are.  So, I'll document everything here. And I'll never forget who I am (or, in 30 years time, who I used to be.)

 I want to be able to look back on this blog when I'm 20 or 80, and think, "I can't believe I used to think that way,"  So cross your fingers that the internet will still be used in 5/65 years time.

Hopefully, this is all the introduction this blog needs. Hopefully.

I hope you stay.

hopehopehopedyhope.

alysha.