chile

When I was smaller, I wanted to go to America. It was a childhood dream that I realised almost a decade ago when I qualified for an international training program by Marriott hotels. For a year, I was based in Austin, the capital of Texas.

I loved the time I spent there. I met some wonderful people and earned some amazing experiences. There were beautiful places that I was fortunate enough to visit too. Travelling is so convenient. It was really good that one can just hop on a domestic flight and before you know it, you're in a completely different place. Such a diversity of culture and wide array of sights.

Another dream destination is Chile. I just fell in love when I saw pictures of it on The Amazing Race. The architecture looks awesome and the land just intrigued me. It stretches 4300km – over half the continent of South America– and encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes. From the driest desert in the world (near San Pedro de Atacama) in the north to massive glacial fields in the south. Filling up the in-between are volcanoes, geysers, beaches, lakes, rivers, steppe, fjords, countless islands, and the Andes mountain range. Because of its amazing landscape and topography, the country has a varied climate. It's like the four seasons in one nation anytime of the year! I promise to visit Chile someday.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that it was hit by a devastating earthquake today- 8.8 on a richter scale which went on for at almost 90 seconds- that to me is unimaginable. For the last couple of hours, I've been glued to the telly as I watch the news unfold. Experts are saying that the magnitude of the quake is so massive that practically every country in the Pacific Rim is affected because of the tsunami triggered by this great seismic acticvity. I hope majority will be spared.

To the two Chilean visitors of my blog, I'll be thinking of you and your beautiful country. I pray that you all are safe and that your nation will rise from this adversity.