Decisions, Decisions

     Ok so I'm stressed out and confused, and the best way I know to deal with this is to vent, so be prepared for this to be a bit of a confused, rambling post.

     So what is causing me to feel like this you may ask? I have to make a decision, I hate decisions. I am one of those terrible indecisive people who always says "I don't mind, whatever you prefer", when asked just about anything. And this decision is a biggie. Now is the time of year when I have to figure out what I'm going to do after my current work contract ends in the summer - look here for the full story of my current situation. I know I'm going to continue teaching English somewhere in Asia, but that precise where, and the actual job, have yet to be decided. It's basically a question of am I staying or going.

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A-Z of Edinburgh

     While I'm originally from the Scottish Borders, and it was a nice place to grow up, Edinburgh quickly became my second home when I went there for university. I may have left it to jet off halfway around the world to Hong Kong, but I would happily live there again one day. There's so much history and culture happening in the city, and I think it's beautiful with the old buildings and cobbled streets (really not a fan of modern architecture over here!) - though I weirdly don't have as many photos of the city as I thought! SO here's my little alphabet guide to the city, covering place, people, and events.

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Outfit - Black Is The New Black

     All black can be boring or even a little depressing; but it can also be sophisticated and classic. It's not often that I go all black, as there's usual a little colour somewhere, but this outfit is as close as I get. This dress is so simple and comfortable to wear, as well as versatile - I wore it to the beach over my bikini back in the Philippines, and then dressed it up like this for a night out in Hong Kong a few weeks later. I really like the loose, floaty style paired with the chunky biker boots, and the tribal-inspired jewellery is the best of both sides, being a little free like the dress, and a little hard-edged like the boots.

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Disney Tag

     I'm re-visiting my childhood for this tag, covering all things Disney. I think everyone had a favourite channel as a kid - some of us were Cartoon Network, others were Nickelodeon. I was firmly in the Disney camp for many years, watching both its shows, and its films. I lost interest a bit when I got older, but when I was 15 my parents took us to Disney World in Florida, and I was reminded of all those films I loved, prompting me to go re-watch many of them. Now, seven years on, and I still love them and watch them, and even have a Disney playlist I put on every now and then. It was really hard to pick some of these answers though, since I like so many Disney things, and I changed my mind about a lot of them, and picked more than one answer for several... Anyway, here we go!

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The Hong Kong Story | Museum of History

     Hong Kong has several museums dotted throughout the city, several of which can be found in Tsim Sha Tsui, and when it's a rainy afternoon - as it is more and more often these days - they're a pretty good way to while away a few hours. I bought the Museum Pass back in September, which is a mere $100 (around £9) for entrance to the seven main museums for a year, and while I haven't visited them all yet, the History Museum stands out as my favourite so far. Topics like science and space are the same facts no matter where you are in the world, but the History Museum is unique to Hong Kong, as it tells the city's story. I actually visited a few months ago, but never got around to writing about it, so some of the details might be a little fuzzy now! Anyway, I can go either way when it comes to history, as some of the stories fascinate me, while others are tedious, and I never had a head for dates (despite being good with numbers in every other format!), so history museums aren't always my first choice, especially when there's the option to play silly science games in the Science Museum right across the courtyard... But I wanted to know more about the city I live in, so the History Museum was definitely a good place to go.

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Musically Inspired - Finding Our Balance

     Darkness and light. Power and weakness. Pleasure and pain. Peace and chaos. Good and evil. All of them exist in all of us. No one is entirely one thing or another. We are not angels of purity, nor are we devils of sin. We are humans, creatures stitched together with flaws and strengths, with intent good and bad.

(image source)

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Travel Inspiration - Belize

     Roaming around Belize is dropping straight into a tropical postcard. This was the second country I visited during my travels through Central America, and while we only stopped off int two locations, they gave me a pretty good taster of the variety of things this country has to offer. Caye Caulker is a tiny island off the coast, in a lagoon bordering the Caribbean Sea, with sunny skies, palm trees lining the shores, rickety wooden piers, streets of colourful buildings, and perfectly clear turquoise waters on all sides. You can walk around the whole thing in under an hour, and its a haven for swimming, snorkelling, diving, paddle boarding - and plenty of Caribbean rum and partying at The Split. By contrast, San Ignacio is a town far inland, bustling with far more locals than tourists - Belize is made easier to navigate for many people, by the fact that English is their first language - and with not a palm tree in sight. I only have a few photos from here, as I spent my main day here cave tubing, and water and my camera don't mix! The town itself is pretty small, serving as a base for activities in the surrounding country, but does have a large food market, which is fun to explore. Belize was a never a country that I thought "oh I have to go there", but I'm so glad I did.

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Outfit - In The Jungle

      I titled this post after the colour of the dress, which feels like a very natural, forest shade of green to me. It's also an appropriate title, as this is the newest addition to my collection of work dresses, and working in a kindergarten can feel a bit like a jungle sometimes (I do refer to one of my favourite kids as a monkey frequently). Anyway, I bought this one for school photo day, as we had to wear something long and not black or white, which ruled out all my others! I like this enough though to keep wearing it beyond that day. It's such a pretty shade of green, and not one I usually go for, and is so loose and comfortable. I added the belt to give it a bit more shape though, as it just hangs like a shirt without it - I have dozens of these belts that came attached to other dresses! I thought the brown boots worked particularly well with this colour, and kept up the natural theme with this chunky wooden bracelet, a new purchase from the island of Boracay.

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Hong Kong: 8 Month Update

     Eight months. Just read that again and take it in. I know I need to. I can't believe it's been eight months already. That time has just flown by! The last few months even more so, since we had three holidays back to back, in December, February and March. Anyway, it's been a while since my last update on how life in general is over here in Hong Kong, and I'm sure you're all itching to know how things are (well, you probably aren't really, but if you clicked on this post in the first place then you must be at least vaguely curious).

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Review - The Summer Set: Stories for Monday

     "I'm a bit too pop for the punk kids, but I'm too punk for the pop kids". The opening lines of 'Stories for Monday' sums up the tone of the album entirely, proving that this band know what sort of music they want to make, and are unapologetic about straddling genres and making themselves difficult to classify. Which is fair enough - most of us don't want to be defined by labels, so why should their musical style be any different?

(source)

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Outfit - Feel the Sunshine

     Spring is definitely here now! It's much warmer back in Hong Kong than before I left for the Philippines, which means I can continue wearing my new, summery holiday clothes here too, at least sometimes. I picked up this dress a few weeks ago, because it's just my kind of style, and too cute to resist. I love the boldness of the colour, which is just the red shade of red to be fun and summery, rather than looking too dressed up. And the back detailing is so nice, especially since I got a bit of a tan while I was away. While I like layering, it's nice to be able to throw on something simple for the sunshine now and then! I've got a bit of thing with wearing ankle boots with dresses, and these ones go together perfectly in my opinion. I've kept the jewellery minimal, with just these statement piece earrings, to keep the whole look light and fun.

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El Nido, Palawan | Philippines

     The trek from Boracay to El Nido was not an easy one - I could have flown from Hong Kong to the UK in the same amount of time. But after a van, a ferry, another van, a flight, a second flight delayed 2 hours, a 2 hour wait for the final van, and a tricycle ride, I finally made it to my El Nido hotel 17 hours after leaving my Boracay one. I stayed in the Aqua Travel Lodge, which turned out to be very nice! My room was big, clean, and nicely furnished (not as bare as many other places I've stayed), and very central in town, which was convenient, but a bit noisy at night and early in the morning. The breakfast was included, and served on the roof deck overlooking the beach, which is a very nice way to start the day. It's also a popular choice to stay out of town, by Corong Corong beach, just a 5-10 minute tricycle ride away, but since I was planning on doing the island hopping trips that El Nido is popular for, it made more sense to stay near the boats in the town itself. El Nido isn't as well known as Boracay yet, so it was far less busy with tourists, but there was still no shortage of them! This was more backpacker types though, as oppose to the general mix found on Boracay. It's a destination on the rise though, and would likely be more popular already if it weren't for that horrible, bumpy, 5 hour van ride!

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