We are the reason

May this beautiful song touch your heart as much as it did to mine.
Blessed Christmas to all.



As little children
We would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys
We knew we'd find
But we never realized
A baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

(Chorus)
We are the reason
That He gave His life
We are the reason
Jesus suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by
We learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves
And what that means
On a dark and cloudy day
A man hung crying in the rain
All because of love, all because of love

Everytime I see the cross
I'm reminded that He gave His life
For you and me
We are.... (chorus)

We are the reason
He is the reason...
...We live

Thank you, my Jesus...

Will you?

I just thought about those without hands again while I was clipping my nails. How do they clip their toe nails when they have no hands? Somebody must have helped them to do it. Who is that somebody? I think it takes a big heart and lotsa love to be able to do it (unless you're in the pedicure business and are probably immune to it?). Will I do it for my loved ones? Will I do it for a total stranger? I don't know. Will you?

A Bunny's Blog

I was doing some research on the web when I came across Buttons' blog. Buttons is a bunny who hops around the globe with his friend Brian. Ha, so I'm not the only one who bring stuffed toys on holiday. And we're talking about a guy here, who also happens to be from the media industry.

While I always joke about my furry friends complaining to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to (stuffed) Animals, this guy seems to share the same sentiments too. I simply love this picture (see below) of his bears in protest against an exhibition where stuffed animals were ripped apart and turned inside out, all in the name of art. See how Buttons is supporting his beary good friends.


In case, you missed out Buttons' personal webpage link on his blog, click here and see Buttons on holiday. Now, I'm inspired to show my furry friends on holiday to the world too ;) Hmm... I've got so many of them, should I feature a particular animal or all of them?

Pathway to Happiness

1. Your life has meaning and purpose.
2. You don't have to win everytime.
3. Choose comparisons wisely.
4. Cultivate friendships
5. Turn off the television.
6. Remember where you came from.
7. Limit your thoughts as you sleep.
8. Have realistic expectations.
9. Believe in yourself.
10. Don't believe in yourself too much.
11. Know what makes you happy and sad.
12. Keep reading.
13. Say 'so what?' more often.
14. You have not finished the best part of your life.

Got the above from a seminar I attended recently and it spoke much to me. Hope it is also a timely reminder for you. No matter which stage of life you're in now, be happy always. Happiness is a choice :)

Mint Museum of Toys

I had an impulse to visit the Mint Museum of Toys today and I did just that. Located at 26 Seah Street, the museum comprise of 5 storeys with each storey showcasing a different collection from different era. The boutique cafe at the basement offers a pretty good selection. What caught my attention was the paper 'plate mate' that were laid on the tables. Each piece has a different design and makes a good wall deco in my room when framed up. I did not try the food though as I've already had my lunch but I think it'll be a good place for a cuppa tea or ice-cream on a sunny afternoon.

I thought most people would have seen how Mickey Mouse has evolved over the years. So, I shall upload the video of Felix the cat rather than the famous mouse ;)

Food for thought

昨天我听到一句发人深省的话，觉得蛮有意思的，在这儿和大家一起分享。

'A child that is born may not be wanted but a child that is adopted is chosen and wanted.'

家有喜事 II

生了。。。生了。。。哎呀，又不是生baby, 可是我家的"鱼爸爸"还是兴奋不已。

昨天，我家的 guppy 生小鱼啦，而且一胎就生了整二十多只。我也是活到这把年级才知道 guppy 是生鱼而不生蛋的。 真不可思议，guppy 的肚子这么小怎能容得下这么多小鱼？ 说也奇怪，这些小鱼好象吃了激素，一天内就长大了许多。Hmm...不晓得能不能靠它来赚点养老费 :P

Of fishes and prawns

Can fishes and prawns suffer from heart attack or anxiety disorder? Maybe. Few days ago, one of the guppies at home seemed to have suffered from sudden cardiac arrest.It was still swimming happily a while ago but swam backstroke the moment more water was poured into the tank.

Some prawns have also committed suicide today by jumping out of the tank. I did not notice it until after dinner. Could they have danced hip hop because the painters were painting the facade of my block and they were traumatised? Guess it will remain a mystery forever.

It's beating again

I'm feeling my heartbeat once again... This might be 'it', I don't know for sure but I do know that I had a different heartbeat this morning :)

Out of sight, yeah!

It's a deal. The vacuum cleaner is out of my house. Now I have an extra inch of space to walk at home :) I almost thought it was going to be another 'fly kite' case when they didn't turn up on time last night. I thought to myself 'why are there so many suckers around?' It pissed me off further when I called their house number and they had the guts to tell me they were three stops (MRT) away. It turned out that they diverted their calls :P

Well, it wasn't a straight forward deal either. As always, they tried to bargain further (why don't they check out the market price before they even try to do so) and came up with all sorts of questions even after they have tested its functionality. (Yes, we tested the cleaner right at the MRT station itself. No, I did not do free vacuuming for SMRT). The deal was sealed eventually at my advertised price. Wah...pai tan ah.. Next time, better think twice before bringing white elephants into your house.

My Ratatouille

Hey, we're on camera again!

Breathe in, Emille, I can't get your tummy in shot.

I'm trying but....but...*burrrp* I just ate the whole cheesecake.

What?! What's left for dinner?
I don't know, Remy *smiles sheepishly*
Emille, we need to talk....

Happy Children's Day

In celebration of children's day, this is for all my young-at-heart friends...

Happy Children's Day To You

Face up

I can face people finally! I've just signed up for a Facebook account after weeks of procrastination. Those of you who have sent me an invitation can finally see the face that you missed facing face to face :P I'm still very much a newbie in this, surfed quite a bit today but didn't do much except getting my face up. There seems to be quite a lot of fun stuff to kill time if you're bored. No wonder so many people are getting hooked. With the proliferation of Facebook, it would seem rather 'no face' if you don't have your face in it. So, face it, for Facebook looks set to stay, whether you like it or not.

(Ok, I admit I'm bored... did anyone actually bother to count how many 'face' there are above?)

Thots on a lazy Sunday

I did something today which I have not done for a long time and it wasn't even planned. Feeling bored while flipping the newspaper, I ended up reading even the kids section in Life! I saw my childhood favourite 'Spot the difference' and started circling all the differences in the two identical pictures. It was easy by adult's standard and I finished it in no time. I found myself scribbling on the word puzzles too :P I can't believe I'm doing this. Memories of my childhood flashed across my mind and it brought a smile on my face.

How nice it is to be a kid again, to enjoy life at its simplicity with no worries of tomorrow and to have the courage of a lion when chartering into unknown territories. People twice my age probably would be thinking how nice it is to be at my age. There can be no end to such things. Let's remind ourselves (myself) to look back only to get our current bearing right so that we can move into the future with confidence and courage.

Ring Ring

Ha, my phone finally rang this afternoon. It was the call I've been waiting for - the prospect who wants to view my vacuum cleaner. "Hello, can I speak to Mr..." He thought the seller is a guy. Hmm.... how did he arrive at that? Because I used only my initials in the ad? Because only guys will put up ads for such stuff? I was also mistaken for a 'brother' when I advertised to sell men's jeans some time ago. It's interesting how we tend to stereotype people, and to know how others stereotype us. I bet I'll have more people thinking I'm a guy if I advertise for the tech gadgets.

省省省 (save)

Recently, I had a revelation of the word 省 when I was at the supermarket. How can one save or 省? The answer is all in the chinese character itself. The word 省 consists of 2 parts - 少 (less) and 目 (see/sight). It simply means 'see less, therefore spend less, thus saving more'. Just think about it, makes sense, right? Talk about ancient wisdom!

Simply speechless

What shall I say....I was really surprised and kind of speechless when I checked my email today. I just got a response to an advertisement which I put up in July to sell off a brand new vacuum cleaner that I don't need. There were 2 responses few weeks ago after the ad has long expired but it didn't result in a deal. I've already given up hope and contemplated yesterday to remove the ad on Yahoo Classified after a 'setback' couple of days ago. I was even thinking of giving it free to anyone who really needs it.

Here's the 'setback' I was talking about...... A deal that went through after much arrangment ended up in a refund situation. It was also from an ad that only received response after it has expired. I thanked God when I got an initial response but it was a false alarm. Thanked God again when I got this response and when the deal eventually went through. Two hours later, the buyer asked for a refund. I don't know what to feel. It was like a mini emotional roller coaster ride for me. I could have ignored him but my conscience told me to just refund him and move on. I don't even feel like collecting the returned goods. It's just not worth the time and effort. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed, maybe even a bit disheartened. I thought of removing all the ads and giving away FOC all that which I had planned to sell. 'Forget about this small money, don't waste your time, just donate away everything, go focus on the big money....' Streams of thoughts went through my mind.

Imagine how surprised I was when I checked my email today. A prospective buyer expressed his interest and asked to view the vacuum cleaner. Again, I thanked God for the little surprise. I don't know if this will deal eventually. Of course, I hope it will but if it doesn't, I'll still thank God because I've learnt a lesson here...

1. Only when we truly let go and let God will we see miracles happen.
2. God meets us at the point when we are really broken, completely surrendering all to Him.

Life can be so unpredictable, just like the weather. Even as I'm typing away, the evening sky has started to rain despite the sunny weather minutes ago.

God is good

God is good all the time.

For no apparent reason, I had a very bad pain in my stomach last night. I felt as if all my intestines were cringing and my stomach was very bloated though I did not feel much wind or movement in it. For one hour, I couldn't straighten my back or bend forward, even lying down did not provide any relief. I contemplated going to Mt Alvernia night clinic but hesitated because of the distance and I wasn't sure if I could endure that long. We prayed to God to heal me and remove the pain. God answered our prayer suddenly but not instantaneously. I was still in pain as I made my way to the bathroom but once I reached there, the pain just disappeared. I was able to straighten my back and bend forward. I felt perfectly fine. It was as if everything that I felt an hour ago did not happen at all. The healing was so sudden, it's just amazing. I know this is not a coincidence and I give thanks to God. To God be the glory!

Retirementready.sg

I finally visited the retirement website by CPF this evening. Surprisely, it was far from what I imagined it to be - heavy, boring stat board sites. Instead, it was refreshing, organised, easy to navigate and feels rather light-hearted for such a heavy topic. I'll be sure to revisit the site and do something about my retirement. For now, I'm going to fill my stomach first.

Heaty Lah

All along, I thought only Chinese subscribe to the idea of 'heatiness' in the body but I was wrong. During our CG meeting yesterday, one of our members who is an Indian said he has ulcer and attributed it to 'heaty lah'. I found it rather cute and amusing as this was the first time I hear this word coming from a non-Chinese. But at that moment, I had a feeling of 'one people, one nation'. I know this sounds a bit exaggerating but it reminds me that we're truly one people - Singaporeans. It doesn't matter if we're Chinese, Indian or Malay, if you're heaty, you're heaty ;)

Gϋle-gϋle, Tϋrkiye!

Bursa is where Iskender kebab originated, naturally we headed for the original Iskender restaurant for lunch. Food presentation was somewhat similar to the Iskender kebab we had the day before in Istanbul. Taste wise, we all felt that the one in Istanbul was better as it was more tender and less salty.

My mom and Karen ordered coffee after our meal and were shocked when they were served turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is quite different from the coffee we all know. It is served in a small cup (like espresso) and tastes very bitter and powdery. Even seasoned coffee drinkers like Karen and my mom couldn't take it. Karen tried to look for some plants around to empty her cup but too bad, there wasn't any. I took candid shots of her as she struggled to finish her coffee.

We started to make our way back to Istanbul after our late lunch. It was already near sunset when we reached the port. As the vessel sailed off, we stood at the deck to enjoy our last Turkey sunset. An entourage of seagulls followed closely behind us as if they know we were leaving Turkey tomorrow and couldn't bear to see us go. It didn't take me long to realise that it was actually the food which people threw overboard that they couldn't bear to let go :P Nonetheless, they provided us with beautiful evening songs and dances as they glided gracefully against the setting sun.

As our vessel reached Istanbul, the sun has also completely set and the songs of the seagulls could only be heard in our memories. The darkened sky was like a curtain closing on stage, signifying the end of our trip. However, we were not sad. We've had a wonderful time for the past two weeks and the memories will last us for a long time to come.

Gϋle-gϋle, Tϋrkiye!
(Bye bye, Turkey)

My First Turkish Bath

Early in the morning of 16th Aug, our friend drove us to Bursa. It was a few hours drive from Istanbul and we had to take a vessel across the sea, together with the car. We drove past the Bosphorus bridge, leaving Europe behind us and reached Asia in just 10mins (the Bosphorus strait runs across Istanbul, separating it into Europe and Asia continent).

We saw endless mountains and plains along the way that it became hypnotising after some time. Most people would think that I've tried turkish bath before since I've been to Turkey many times but it was in Bursa that I tried it for the first time. We reached the hotel where the turkish bath was at around 1.30pm. There were separate areas for men and women. The charges were 16YTL (S$18.40) for entrance, 15YTL (S$17.25) each for scrub and massage. Wow, that was cheap, I thought, not knowing that the massage was only 10mins.

Due to language barrier, we had a hard time trying to figure out what we should do after we entered. We saw a few Turkish women in the resting area, some topless and some wrapped in cloths (yes, cloth and not towel). Initially, we were unsure where the changing room was. When we got in, we wondered if we should change into our swimsuits as all the locals seem to be wearing the emperor's new clothes. We decided to wear our swimsuits even if it meant looking like aliens to the locals.

We entered the hotbath where the water was supposed to be from some nearby hotspring. Well, it wasn't as hot as I thought and it didn't felt like water from hotspring either. We were the only Asians in the pool. Surrounding us were all the fleshy naked Turkish women, young and old. I felt like I was in some Italian nude painting that came alive. All eyes seemed to be on us which made me a bit uncomfortable. A strand of hair in the pool got caught between my fingers, it made me wonder how often they clean the pool.

Thinking that the massage area is outside of the bath, we got out of the pool and headed for the door. A mid-sized Turkish woman stopped us and got us back in again. Little did we know that she was actually the masseuse and we were to have our massage done on a marble bench in the public bath area. To make things worse, we were stripped before she used a common soap and sponge to bathe and massaged us, using the lather as lubricant. How should I describe this experience? Terrifying, embarrassing, eye-opening.... Thank God the 'massage' only lasted 10mins. To me, it was more of bathing than massaging. No wonder it was called 'Turkish Bath'.

We were glad when it was finally over and we left hurriedly, but not without taking a picture to remember our 'ordeal'.

Back in Istanbul

We were back in Istanbul on 14th Aug afternoon. Didn't do much, simply rest. We visited Olivium shopping mall, Taksim Square and the upmarket Kenyan shopping mall the next day.

Olivium Shopping Mall
This was the very same mall that we visited on our first day in Istanbul but I wasn't quite in the mood to shop back then. This time, we came specifically for a bags shop that carries designer brands at outlet prices. We had a good time shopping and I bought 4 bags ranging from 19YTL-29YTL (S$22-S$33) each. Karen and I also combined our purchase and got 3 T-shirts from United Colors of Benetton for only 20YTL (S$23). Very good buy indeed :)

Lunch was at Iskender, in my opinion, the best Turkish meal thus far. It was a simple foodcourt style of eating place with cheap and good kebab in sliced form. Prices for a set meal are 5.90YTL, 6.90YTL and 7.90YTL.

Taksim Square
We saw a different side of Istanbul on the way to Taksim Square when we passed by some old but charming backstreets. There were also some beggars, which are not present at the main touristy areas. We parked our car at an underground carpark, which looked spooky, and were almost breathless after we walked up the stairs. Interestingly, there was a lift but no one wants to take it because it was unreliable. Who knows you might not be able to get out of it, our Turkish friend said. Well, it's better to trust the locals.

Taksim Square is a pubbing street and I was told that there are about 1000 pubs/bars in this area. We walked for quite a while but only managed to cover 15% of the place. We saw this little cafe in one of the side streets and thought the mini tables and chairs were cute. How the big-sized Turks managed to sit on them without breaking it remains a puzzle.

Nearby, a bookstore caught our attention because there was a big fat cat snoozing on the books, totally oblivious to the passing crowd. And the shop owner was busying playing chess with his friend on one of those mini tables and chairs. What a relaxing afternoon...

Very often, we would find some surprises round the corner of the streets. This time, we discovered a narrow alley called Cezayin Sokagi. Also known as French street, this charming alley is lined with cafes and bistros of different styles and beauty. If only we could spend a lazy afternoon here in one of the cafes...

Kenyan Shopping Mall
After experiencing the terrible evening traffic jams, we finally reached Kenyan, an S-shaped open-air upmarket shopping mall. We went into this shop that sells a lot of designer stuff, of course the prices were out of our budget. These robots caught our attention as they were 'guarding' the entrance to this shop. I also like this knife set that costs a whopping 260YTL (S$299).

Sotong @Kusadasi

We had our last breakfast onboard in the morning of 14th Aug before checking out of Ocean Monarch. Our ship had already docked at Kusadasi, Turkey. It came as a shock to us when we had to fork out another 24Euro per person as gratuity or tips. This was not told to us previously. We guai guai made the payment since our passports were in their hands.

Upon disembark, we sat at a Burger King by the sea since our taxi driver will only arrive at 12.30pm. It was barely 9am in the morning. The past few days' of mad rush and lack of sleep has finally taken its toll on me and I was feeling a bit flu-ish. My eyes were dry, red and uncomfy again just like when we first arrived in Istanbul.

Sotong incidents always seem to happen when I'm in this state. When we were about to leave Burger King, I suddenly 'realised' that my glasses were missing. Panicked, I asked my mom, who has been sitting opposite me all this while, where my glasses are. She replied 'aren't your glasses on your nose?'. I heard her voice but somehow, her words did not get registered in my mind. I asked her to catch up with the rest first while I ran to the toilet to search for my glasses. I was there earlier, hence thought I might have dropped my glasses there.

As I was about to reach the toilet entrance, my senses returned to me and I noticed my spectacle frame from the corner of my eyes. My mom's earlier words were replayed in my mind and I suddenly realised that my glasses were on my nose all this while :P I walked back giggling to myself. This must be the aftereffect of lack of sleep ;)

Mykonos, lovers' paradise

Endless coastline of sandy beaches, dynamic nightlife and dazzling white alleys running between the cube-shaped whitewashed houses. We have arrived at Mykonos.

Mykonos is the final destination of our Greek Islands tour. Arriving at Mykonos harbour at 6.30pm, what greeted us was the spectacular sunset and the buzz of nightlife. It is no wonder that this cosmopolitan island of 85 sq km is a favourite among the Greek islands. Like the other Greek islands, the typical cobbled streets with whitewashed houses could be seen everywhere. While we enjoyed panoramic sunset views from the cliffs on the other islands, here in Mykonos, we were walking just next to the sea with the distant sun setting over the horizon.

Once again, we raced against time to capture as many pictures as possible before sunset. A picture speaks a thousand words, need I say more about the beauty of Mykonos?

Chilling out over a glass of martini, taking in the glorious golden sunset and listening to the songs of nature from the Aegean sea, Mykonos is truly any couple's dream come true. My regret is that we were unable to savor the scenery to the fullest as we had to rush from the harbour to the other end of the island, Alefkandra, also known as "Little Venice", where the windmills stood.

Catching a last glimpse of sunset at Alefkandra....

After sunset, we combed the shops along the narrow lanes, not wanting to miss out on any goodies. Public toilets were hard to find on Mykonos. We decided to go back to our ship for dinner before it got too late. The dinner that night was the best in the last three days and I actually had a second helping of spaghetti and brocoli.

Our Greek Islands tour ended after a short 3 days cruise. To me, this was like a preview as we did not spend much time on each island. Nonetheless, I'm happy that my dream to visit Santorini has come to pass. Being able to visit the other Greek islands was a bonus. Someday, I would love to come back again, but I'll definitely stay in one of those swanky hotels that overlook the Aegean sea.

Piraeus

I could hardly wake up on the morning of 13th Aug, the last day of our cruise. With 4.5hours of sleep, I didn't have much appetite for breakfast, which was the same old, boring stuff as yesterday. I thought about dao suan and I could almost see the steam rising from chee cheong fun sio sio :)

We have reached Piraeus this morning . We disembarked after breakfast and were approached by a taxi driver who offered to bring us to the Acropolis in Athens for 70Euro. We thought the price was a bit steep and rejected the offer. Another taxi driver approached us and offered 30Euro for the same place. Wow, what a big difference!

I must say the Greek are smart people. After the driver drove off, he started to upsell to us and offered to bring us to the Olympic stadium, Parliament House and shopping for another 10Euro. We didn't have much choice as we were already in his car and since it's just an additional 10Euro, we accepted the offer. We passed by the stadium while on the way, stopped at the Parliament House to take a photo and headed straight to the Acropolis. We have only 1.5hours in Piraeus. The driver drove as if his car was a Ferrari.

We were only given 15min at the Acropolis, a magnificient historical site of the 5th century. George and Karen ran ahead to take pictures, my mom and I followed closely behind. We felt like journalist on the move, rushing around while trying to get the best shot in the shortest possible time. We made it within 15mins but we only saw the exterior of the Acropolis. To see the entire Acropolis would require an entrance fee and the luxury of time.

The driver drove us to a nearby souvenir shop and we got our stuff within 10mins. Off we hopped into his cab again and he drove at 110km/hr bringing us to the port within a short time. As we did not have the exact amount, we gave him 50Euro expecting a change of 10Euro. But our dear driver outsmart us once again but insisting on a 5Euro tip. In the end, we only got back 5Euro change. What a quick way to make money, from 30Euro to 45Euro within 1.5hrs!?

Our ship set sail at 11am for our final destination, Mykonos, scheduled to arrive at 6.30pm in the evening.

No meteor shower

12th Aug night, meteor showers were supposed to be seen according to what I read earlier. With great anticipation, we went to the deck at 12 midnight despite our tired bodies and sleepy eyes. We waited for quite a while but it didn't happen. In fact, much of which I imagined did not happen. We did not laze at the deck to enjoy the sea breeze while watching the meteor shower because the deckchairs were too wet. The sea was rather calm that night compared to the previous night where the strong northern wind almost blew us away. And the star of that night's show did not appear.

Our only consolation was my mom's witnessing of a shooting star. None of us saw it as we were backfacing the sky where it happened. She was so elated and she made a wish - a lousy wish that the ship would not rock so much, so that she could have a good night's sleep. Well, her wish really came true.

Dream came true - Santorini

Goodbye Heraklion, hello Santorini. As our ship sailed towards Santorini, our cruise director Cristina made the announcement and everybody scrambled to get a glimpse of the caldera that we were sailing into. I could tell that I wasn't the only one who was so excited about this island.

We transferred to a smaller boat and reached the port in Santorini slightly after 4pm, 12th Aug. The island has an area of 76 sq km with a coastline of 69km and 7500 in population. We boarded the coach as part of our land tour package but it did not set off till some 45mins later. I was feeling anxious as we need to be back at the port at 7.30pm and I wanted to see as much of the island as possible.

When the coach set off, we were given a visual treat of the Aegean sea as the coach slowly ascended the cliffs of Santorini. Our first stop was Oia (pronounced 'Ia'), a quiet town in the northern part of the island that offers spectacular views of the volcano of Palia and Nea Kameni and the island of Thirassia. Situated on top of an impressive cliff, Oia is a traditional village with charming whitewashed houses in narrow streets, blue domed churches and sun-bathed verandas. I fell in love with this place instantly.

Many shops and art galleries lined the narrow cobbled streets of Oia. Everything looks so appealing to me and I wish I could buy all of them. I wanted to bring home a piece of Santorini and simply couldn't resist the miniature churches and whitewashed houses (see video). Call it a blessing in disguise, I had wanted to purchase some souvenirs in one of the shops but was put off by the shop owner's bad attitude. I walked away only to find even better and cheaper souvenirs in another shop down the street.

Time flies when you're having a good time. We left the serene Oia and headed for Fira, the capital of Santorini. Perched above the caldera, Fira is a happening place where all the expensive hotels, hip bars and cafeterias are found. We were given only about half an hour in this picturesque town and that includes finding our way to the cable car station, which will bring us back to the port. Our guide told us that we have three options to get to the port - 1. by cable car (3-5mins), 2. by donkey ride (20min) and 3. walk down (30min). Since we were pressed for time, cable car was the only option.

The way to the cable car station was much farther than we thought. We were torn between taking pictures of the spectaular sunset at Fira and finding our way to the cable car station. I was the one figuring out the direction while the rest take pictures. It was a long uphill walk with many steps and my poor mom struggled to keep up with our pace. As I looked back to see where they are, I realised that I was right at the spot where many of the postcard shots were taken. I was awe-strucked by the beauty of sunset at Fira. The whitewashed houses at the cliffs have all been transformed into a glorious golden colour.

Eventually, we reached the cable car station at the eleventh hour and made it to the port at 7.29pm. With mixed feelings, I bade farewell to Santorini as the setting sun saw us off. I left my heart at Santorini....