As restrictions start to ease, I had the pleasure of going out for a picnic with a few friends at one of Sydney’s not so secret locations – Wendy’s Secret Garden, a superb picnic spot located behind Luna Park and a short walk from Milsons Point/North Sydney station.
What I like most about the park would have to be the variety of cute, miniatures monuments and drawings tucked away behind bushes and brambles, which I find give the garden a unique and delicate flair of sorts.
It is also a good idea to go during afternoon hours, as a walk from the Gardens to Bradfield Park located right behind the Harbour Bridge offers a beautiful view of Sydney at sunset (see the last picture for reference!)
As someone who struggles to finish personal projects and achieve long term goals (especially now in a time of crisis), I found this book’s deep dive into the formative process of habits particularly insightful and helpful. It reminds us that we build our everyday lives largely on habit and living meaningfully and enriching our self-worth begins on a microscopic level with how conscious we are of what we do, and the efforts we take to ensure what we do is purposeful. While I found that this book appears to target audiences who are seeking to improve their performance in professional sports or lose weight, I still believe its insights are applicable to everyone. I’ve made a summary of the most helpful tips I’ve garnered from this book, but I highly encourage people to give it a read first because it is definitely worth it!
Last year I had the pleasure of stumbling across a book that is exceedingly rare in its form – it was a journal and memoir of sorts from one of Rome’s most successful emperors, Marcus Aurelius, who reigned during the Pax Romana (a long period of peace in Rome) and was hailed as the last good emperor of the period. In his book, he wrestles with concepts such as mortality and righteousness, imparting much of the knowledge he’s accumulated as an emperor and Stoic. If anything, this book really showed me that the human experience is truly universal and transcends the passage of time. I found myself relating as a modern day Asian-Australian girl to the insights of a long deceased Roman emperor in more ways than one. Below, I’ve summarised some of the key lessons this exceptional piece of literature has taught me.
It’s a strange time we live in, where our most terrifying war is not one against humans, but one against a virus. Staying couped up in your abode may be the best way to fight the spread, but it might be hard to bear, as the days go past and you feel your motivation to do anything really slowly whittling away.
Below are some ways I keep myself sane while I’m at home –
Stick to a routine, but make it interesting
Every day I wake up at around the same time at usually 8am, do my skincare, get dressed in some comfy and cute and make myself breakfast. This tells my brain I am as ready as ever to get things done. Then I’ll do something a bit ifferent from what I used to do and that is, making myself a caramel or matcha latte. As I don’t really have access to fine tasting coffee at home I felt like I had to find other ways of getting a satisfying dose of caffeine. Making matcha tea is a strangely therapeutic process too, as it is a tradition passed on from Japanese tea making ceremonies. Now, I am not telling everyone to go and make lattes everyday but I am saying it is important to find your little bit of happiness each day by spicing up your normal routine.
A caramel latte with a fine dose of frothy, creamy white foam
Have something to look forward to everyday
This is the best time to do something you’ve wanted to do but have been putting off . Whether it be trying a new recipe, investing in a hobby you barely had time for before, signing up for an online class in something that fascinates you such or making an app, try to substitute the time spent commuting to work and catching up with friends with something equally, if not more rewarding to you. We often put our personal interests and dreams on the backburner when life gets to us, so now that you have so much time to yourself, it is a good chance to seize this opportunity! For me, that would be blogging, as I had always been putting it off with the excuse that I am simply ‘too busy’,
Stay active
Yoga mats are selling out for a reason. Working out at home or taking a stroll around your neighbourhood (whilst still practicing social distancing of course) are great ways to reset, refresh and re-energise your body and mind. Even doing a deep clean of your house helps!
Ny neighbourhood in the afternoon is almost reminiscent of a sunny day in the eighties, definitely the best time for a stroll.
Appreciate what you have
There are people who have lost family members, who have lost their jobs, who have had their living jeopardised due to the effects of COVID 19. So if there’s anything I’d like to take from COVID 19, it is that the effects of the virus have made me realise how much I am grateful to have been able to travel to many different areas of the globe. To have friends to miss. To have a job and be able to work from home. I recognise my place of privilege, and in times like this, I believe we should practice gratitude and look forward to brighter days.
Shirakawa-go is one of Japan’s rural villages which has landed a spot on the World Heritage Site, and it is not difficult to understand why. The town has picturesque scenery, its surrounding mountains shrouded in white mists which evoke a sense of mystique. Easy to get to from Takayama (just a single bus trip from the terminal), stepping into Shirakawa go feels like stepping into the set of a historical film set in rural Japan.
Definitely a must visit destination, especially during Winter as the snow capped traditional houses are said to boast a stunning view. Unfortunately for us, we went during the early months of Winter in Japan so I would NOT recommend visiting in late December if snow is what you’re after. January or February would be a better option.
While we didn’t see any snow travelling to Shirakawa-go, surprisingly, there was so much snow at Hirayu Onsen! With the sun so bright and the snow glistening white, it was truly the White Christmas I’d been looking for after living so many years in Australia (and yes, I arrived on Christmas Day!).
Hirayu Onsen is mostly famous for its Japanese spas or ‘onsens’ (who would have guessed), and its ski resorts. While we didn’t go skiing (I cannot ski unfortunately), we did stay at a traditional Japanese inn or ‘ryokan’ which had both an indoor and outdoor onsen. Being in an outdoor onsen is an experience I would highly recommend, as the cool winter air and the steaming hot waters of the onsen blend together to provide the perfect soothing atmosphere for deep relaxation. If your onsen has a view of the snow capped trees and mountainous hills in the distance – even better! You would never want to leave.
Only downside to Hirayu Onsen is that there is not much to do there, besides the activities listed above and strolling around the town admiring its picturesque winter scenery (which will take you no more than an hour or so since it is quite small). I still would highly recommend going to this place in the Winter, as a short detour if you’re planning to visit Central Japan.
Sometimes it isn’t easy to navigate the terrain that is life. Perhaps you find yourself teetering at the cusp of adulthood, or aimlessly wandering through a new city while thinking to yourself – ‘what’s next?’ It is this fear of the unknown, of being stuck ‘in transit’ that drove me to create this blog, a space where I can share my journey as a twenty something Sydneysider, who is looking to find her voice. The aim of the blog is quite simple: to share all the simple things I love such as travelling & storytelling, and encouraging others to appreciate the small things too. I hope this blog can remind you (and me) that you can happiness wherever you are, and to enjoy the little detours whoever you are on the path you’ve decided to take.
A thought is an idea in transit.
— Pythagoras.
It will feature everything from the new places I’ve explored, to books or films which have left a real impact on me, to the life experiences and knowledge I’ve gained thus far. Dear reader, if you have made it here, I hope you enjoy your stay..
IN TRANSIT; 