penang.

I return at last, to this sweet little town, with new eyes. When you've lived in the same town all your life, everywhere you turn is familiarity. And sadly, as human nature, we tend to take them for-granted.

As a photographer, you cannot photograph a flat world with bored eyes. I guess that this is the reason why I can picture myself traveling for the rest of my life, even though I've never been a fan of flights on planes. You visit new places, and seeing things as a tourist, this allows you to capture all the little details that locals no longer notice. Like in Belfast, when I pointed out once to a local about how I like it that they did not cover up the red-bricked walls with plaster and paint, she remarked a little astonish-ly that she had never really noticed that. 

However, the perks of traveling does not end there. Coming home after living in a different place as a different world, you suddenly notice the little things you had once perhaps, overlooked. Suddenly, Asia looked so interesting, when I had once wondered what Westerners found so fascinating about. Every little creak, every little flaw and scratch; they all made for art and pictures. 

I've been all about trying to fill myself up Asian food, hoping that by the time it's time to return to the UK, I'll be a full of that and will want to eat Western food again. Having said that, this has made me realise again how much lower the prices of food here were compared to that in the UK. Where in the world could you get a drink for less than 30p? 

However, I did come to recognise that perhaps, their quality differed too. This time though, I see how the people here seem to be able to live on less. Maybe the standard of living here is lower, but I don't think we all need to live high lives, do we? More importantly, what we need is purpose in our lives and happiness, and pride that we have lived well.

I am glad I went though. That I went after my dreams. They gave me so much to learn from, to grow with. I would've never been the same if I had not gone through that. But I'm also glad that I came home to visit. It's amazing how I see things crystal clear.     

Ever sends love. We'll always be grateful. 

And kind, to this life, this world, and especially, to those around us.

:)