By the grace of God, (dear God, I hope this doesn't count as using your name in vain), someone told my mother about Airbnb.
At first, she brushed it aside and began checking hotel prices. When she told me they costed around RM200 a night, I decided to check out Airbnb. And lo and behold, I found so many wonderful places at a much cheaper price.
(Btw, click HEREto sign up and get 25$ off your first Airbnb stay. Yes, it's a referral link. I benefit from you signing up and booking a stay. Just being honest.)
So, where will I be staying in Japan? Here are my chosen (and already booked) places:
*No pictures because you can see them all on the listing's page.
Tokyo: 2 Bedroom Apartment in Shinjuku
My first booking went unlisted a month ago, so I had to look for another place to stay. Airbnb gave extra credits and I managed to find this place. Ena (for Nakasendo trail): Bed and Breakfast
You should check this one out. The design is so unique! Kyoto: Family Apartment
The best I could find. Finding a nice and cheap place to stay in Kyoto was quite a challenge, since I wanted one near the station. Osaka: Namba Colourful House
Looks small, but mother says it looks nice. Best I could find too. There weren't many choices in Osaka for separate bedrooms, which is something I really wanted.
On average, it is RM130 a night. That's RM70 cheaper than hotels!
Yes, no free breakfast (except for the one in Ena). But we get a whole apartment to ourselves with portable wifi.
The host for my stay at Ena offered free rides from the train station to lodge (and back) and to the Nakasendo trail (and back).
Kyoto host is waiving the rental fee for the portable wifi. Which is awesome. (He's the only host that actually charges for rental. The rest don't. But hey, he ended up offering it for free anyway.)
Even though all hosts stated a late check-in time, they allow to leave the luggage first if needed. The only problem I foresee is the little hunt for each lodging location upon arrival. Since they are not hotels, they provided me with instructions on where to find their apartments and how to retrieve the keys. You need to punch in secret codes and all that, just to access the place. A new experience, I guess.
Honestly, I wished someone told me about Airbnb last year. Holidaying is S.Korea could have been so much cheaper (not that it wasn't cheap already). This year's Japan trip is definitely way more expensive, but I'm glad I manage to save on accommodation.
Anyway, I'll write another post on these places once I get back. That's when we'll see if my expectations were met. Till then, I'm quite happy with my choices and I'm looking forward to my stay :)
There is no such thing as being too early to plan for a holiday. Planning itself gives you something to look forward to, and I'm excited as ever about my 11 days in Japan this coming Autumn.
So, for those who have wanderlust and would like to leech off my itinerary, which I worked on for days, you can find it below. You're most welcome :)
*This is not the complete itinerary. Maps and accommodation were removed. A separate post on accommodation will be published later on.
What hallways will make jaws drop? I don't know, perhaps the hallways of an international school?
If you follow me on social media, you would've known that I was invited to an international school during their book week. I had a great time with the students and I would love to do it again. But that's not the topic of this post. The topic of this post is how glorious that school is.
I grew up attending a government school and I've never been or seen an international school during my schooling years. So you can imagine how in awe I was when my friend showed me around after I was done with my session.
Firstly, they have a swimming pool... And a basketball court, and a tennis court, and a badminton court, and a table tennis room. A sport subject is a must. There's no need to teach your child how to swim, because they'll learn it in school.
Secondly, they have a design room with machines I've never seen before. And I bet they'll add a 3D printer to their collection soon.
Thirdly, they have a dance room, a gym with Pilates classes, and a theater room. Apparently, they are practicing for their upcoming performance of Macbeth. Freaking Macbeth. In high school, I directed plays and the most literary one was Phantom of the Opera. Even that was because I pulled the team together and wrote the script.
Fourthly, drama is a compulsory subject, along with French and Chinese. Is this an art school? No, it's an international school.
Fifthly (who on earth uses fifthly?), year 3 students are loaned iPads. It's an Apple school with tons of Macs just waiting to be used. I hate Macs by the way, but I'm forced to use one at work. Yay.
Sixthly, the fees. I'm not saying they're cheap. The fees are more expensive than my entire film degree. If I could afford a school year, I will be sending myself there. Sorry kids, mommy will be going back to school.
To some of you, this seems normal. To most of us Malaysian government school graduates, it's a resort. I'm not joking. Let me know the check-in time.
I get why parents are sending their children to private and international schools these days. I wish it was cheaper though. What I attended and what I visited were two worlds apart. Question is, will I send my children to one? I don't know. Maybe a place less pricey, since I'll have to send them both at the same time. Hey, I'm hoping to have twins. Everything is double with twins, including school fees.
*This will be a long read, but it's a faith journey I want to share.
Last year, I ran a 3 month crowd-funding project for my novel, The Battle For Oz. Those 3 months... were quite a journey. One that required a lot of faith.
I first discovered Inkshares (a crowd-funded publishing platform) from an email sent to me by the co-founder, Larry. After contemplating whether I should give it a shot, I decided to try it out. I chose The Battle For Oz for the project because it was the only complete title that I had no plans for.
Quick story on The Battle For Oz:
This book first started when an artist approached me to collaborate. He had an idea to marry two fictional worlds and wondered if I was interested in partnering with him on the project. Feeling flattered by the offer, I agreed.
Being someone who has never read the literature involved, I did a lot of research before plotting and writing three novelettes for The Battle For Oz. Once I was done, the artist took the first novelette and illustrated it. But after the first novelette was released as an e-book, the artist decided he did not want to continue the project any longer.
If you were me, you probably would have felt the unfairness of the situation. Honestly, I was really upset. I delivered my end of the bargain only to be bailed out on. Knowing I could not do anything, I let the artist go.
I will admit that we did struggle as a team. Our ideas clashed a lot and we were in arguments on and off. We did manage to marry some of our concepts together, so I won't say everything in The Battle For Oz was originally my idea. The plot however, was. Knowing that I put a lot of effort into this book, I wasn't going to let it go to waste.
*That being said, the artist has been more than supportive of my decision to publish the novel on my own.
So, when Inkshares approached me, I decided it would be a good move to take The Battle For Oz to another level. What felt like a great injustice when the collaboration did not work out, turned into a stepping stone for me to move forward as an author. Maybe, it happened for a reason.
Anyway, upon starting the crowd-funding project, I decided that it would be a project that I do with God. Despite the fact that the book was not inspired by Him, I still wanted Him to partner with me. So every night, I prayed and asked God for His help. And I believe He delivered.
Within the first 10 days of the project, I managed to raised 45% of the funds needed. I was so happy, thinking that it would complete in no time. But after the 10 days, I realised that all contacts have been exhausted. There was no one else to ask for support... and that was when a bible story came to mind; the story of Jesus asking Peter to cast his nets into the water, where he then pulled out tons of fishes.
After a few nights of praying over that bible story, believing that God will tell me where to cast my nets for funds, I decided to read the story again. Upon finding it, I discovered something new.
In Luke 5 verse 2, it states that Peter and his gang had left their boats unattended as they washed their nets, in which I assume they were done for the day. They were ready to go home without a single catch, but after Jesus told them to give it another shot, they ended up with too many to carry.
The key point I got out of this was the fact that Peter was ready to throw in the towel when God decided to show Himself to him.
So for the next 80 days of the crowd-funding project, where the fundraising graph had hit a plateau, I challenged my faith by believing that God will show Himself at the very end, when I myself felt like throwing in the towel. He will do something to help me complete the project at the eleventh hour. It was definitely not easy, especially when I see the deadline crawl closer and closer, but I tried my best.
True enough on 31st December, a few days before the end of the project, I received enough funds to cover the remaining balance. It was not a small sum, mind you, but a huge one from a backer who, too, prayed and asked God on how much to support me. Now that... that just shows how awesome God is.
But that is just one part of my faith journey. The biggest climb was how my concept of faith morphed in the 80 days. Faith was no longer believing that God will help me, faith was believing that whatever happens, God knows best.
I told God my heart and how much I wanted the project to be a success, but I also told Him that if it is not His will, I will accept it. I'm willing to walk in His direction, even if it means a failed project. Declaring that was quite a challenge, cause I know God will take those words seriously.
After having that mindset, my approach to God in regards to the project changed. My dad told me that he was willing to financially support my project if needed, but deep down, I did not want his help. I wanted to walk in God's direction and having my dad's support was sort of cheating. So, I began telling God that I no longer needed His help for the project, instead, I wanted it.
There's a difference between need and want. Need is a necessity, want is a desire, and I desired for Him in the project. I wanted Him to be with me. I wanted. I didn't just need His help, I wanted Him. What will make me different from other writers? Having Him by my side, not just His helping hand.
I guess, after making that request and seeing Him pull through, I know His reply. God said yes, and He is on board. He is willing to pick up a book I wrote not inspired by Him, a book someone bailed out on, and partner with me in seeing it through. Now, I have nothing to worry about.
Everyday, I pray that He will continue to anchor the publication of the book and I find myself not stressing about it. If there's a delay or a complication, I know God is in control and He would only do what's best for the book. After all, He's my partner now, and I know He's one partner that will never leave me hanging.
If you have read this far, I hope my story inspires you to seek God more. Desiring Him versus needing Him makes a lot of difference. God wants us to want Him, and when we do that, we will experience more of Him in our lives.
I'm really thankful I got to experience such a faith journey in 2014. And I'm looking forward to a better and closer relationship with Him this year :)
Every adventure needs a soundtrack. Here's mine for the 3 months.
I wanted to publish this post yesterday but I ended up delaying. I actually forgot about it! Oops.
Anyway, as of today I have lived on this earth for 24 years and 18 hours. And I'm still alive! Being alive means having things to be thankful for, so I've decided to write a list of all those things.
I actually had to scratch my head a little, but here it is:
#1 My Best Friend and Mentor
24 years of blessing, guidance, love and support from God has been great. Sure, there were ups and downs but God has been faithful throughout. So I'm grateful for him being in my life. Honestly, if not for him... I would be a horrible person. Trust me, you do not want to see my dark side.
#2 Family
Father, mother, brother; what's life without family, right? I'm blessed to have a great family. I always put my family before anyone else because they matter the most (aside from God). I sometimes also use them as an excuse to cancel plans with people, yup, the cat is out of the bag.
#3 Talent, #4 Passion and #5 Dream
I'm thankful I have some sort of a talent that goes along with my passion. They give me a dream to live and achieve and I'm just glad I have something worth fighting for.
#6 Loyal Friends
I don't have a lot of friends that I can connect with. I've been betrayed by a few so called 'best friends' when growing up that I decided to scrape that term altogether (again, aside from God). However, I do have loyal friends. Friends who will listen to my problems and support me with my writing. They are the Hufflepuffs in my Slytherin life, and I'm thankful for them :)
#7 eBay
Yes. I'm extremely thankful for eBay. eBay lets me live in my favourite fandoms without costing a bomb. I love eBay, I won't deny it. It's freaking awesome. Thank you for existing, eBay.
#8 Harry Potter
Harry Potter, the only fandom where my love will never die. I have not reread the books in a few years but I'm glad Hogwarts will always be waiting for me. I went through my teen years with the trio and it has created so many great memories. Nothing beats Harry Potter, not even my current obsession with Shingeki No Kyojin. Nothing.
#9 Holidays
Now a working adult, I finally get the chance to see the world. I did go on a Europe tour when I was a toddler, and I'm grateful for the pictures taken, but I have no memory of it. Having a job and being able to save up has given me the opportunity to travel, and who better to travel with than family!
#10 Readers
Having readers who are excited to read your works is a dream come true. I'm so grateful for my readers on my writer's blog and I feel extremely blessed to actually have an audience. Knowing that my words are being read and enjoyed makes me want to keep on writing. They are an awesome support for an indie author like me :)
#11 Rhaegar
Yes, I named my car after Rhaegar Targaryen. I'm not a big fan of my car because he's more of a liability than anything else, but he has served me well in getting me from A to B. He has heard my monologues and accompanied me in the jam... he has also given me the leisure of not having to take public transport. He has his flaws (dents and scratches, all because of me) but he's a good boy.
#12 Imagination
I'm glad I was born with an overactive imagination. My life is so much more interesting being able to imagine things up whenever and wherever. I can easily entertain myself just by diving into my head. It's so much fun :)
#13 A Home
I'm extremely grateful that I have a roof over my head. Sometimes, it's so easy to forget that many out there do not have a home. So here am I, reminding myself that I'm blessed to have one.
#14 The Future
I do not know where the future would take me or how my life would be in a month or year from now, but I do know I have a future. Good or bad, there is a journey for me to take and by faith I believe God has awesome plans for me.
