When my sister came to visit me in Malaysia back in June, I wanted to plan something special that will make her visit memorable. Like I’ve said before, photos are the best souvenirs, so I asked a local photographer in Kuala Lumpur (meet James in this post!) to take some shots of us. I had also planned on leaving Malaysia shortly after my sister’s visit. KL has been a very special place to me for the past year. I had…
August 2017 travel re-cap: first time in East Malaysia
Oops, I took an unintentional blogging break again… because I guess I’ve just been having too much fun. :P Now that I’m just bumming at my grandma’s again, hopefully I’ll have more time to post. Unto August’s travel re-cap! August 1 – 24: Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia I started the month with a red-eye flight to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. I debated for a long time where to go after Chengdu. I eventually settled on KK because I’ve never been…
Malaysian eats: everything I ate in Penang
I’m seriously looking my cred as a foodie. I barely ever blog about food anymore. I miss it. And believe me, I’m still eating TONS and trying new things all the time (my thighs can attest to that). So anyway, all that to say… Yay! New foodie post! Penang is known as the foodie capital of Malaysia. Before going, I wasn’t sure how I’d like the food because I heard it’s more Cantonese style, which I’m usually not a fan of….
I hiked up Penang Hill and all I got was a crappy view
First, let me say that I rarely go hiking. When it’s hot all the time, I just really don’t feel like sweating outdoors. And the journey to the top can truly be terrible sometimes. But most of the time, the views are completely worth it. Unfortunately, this wasn’t to be one of those hikes. The Airbnb I stayed at in Penang was on the 12th floor (technically 13th) of a condo. To attempt to work off some of the super…
DIY photoshoot with Penang street art
Penang is a small island city known for some of Malaysia’s best street food, cute colonial heritage houses, and street art. The last item – hunting street art – is perhaps the most fun thing to do in the city. It’s a great way to explore the Georgetown area. Most hostels in town will pass out a map with locations of the famous murals. It feels like a scavenger hunt as you search for each one and then snap a photo when you find…
June 2017 travel re-cap: sister visit to Malaysia!
June was one of the most fun months! The month kicked off with the arrival of my sister from The States. She’s been talking about coming out to visit me for forever, and I’m so glad it finally happened! With her limited 2 weeks of vacation time, I was determined to make it a great one. I planned a 2-week itinerary to hit up the best of Malaysia: from the exciting capital of KL to the foodie town of Penang…
[Kuala Lumpur] I finally eat durian for the first time
I’m not in too much of a blogging mood lately because I’ve been obsessed with working on some DIY clothing projects in my spare time. But I thought I’d quickly share this all-you-can-eat durian thing in case there are any readers in KL who really love durian. I’m leaving Malaysia in less than a week. After over a year of being here, I’m happy to say that I’ve done mostly everything I wanted to. I’ve checked off most of my Malaysian…
May 2017 travel re-cap: Langkawi and Ubud
May shaped up to be another good month! I managed to hit up two places on my Southeast Asia wishlist: Langkawi and Bali. I’m actually in a bit of a hurry right now, because I’m going to pick up my sister at the airport in a couple of hours! So this will have to be a quick one. And hence the instagram inserts instead of photo edits. I will write more detailed posts later (if I ever catch up, at this point!)….
[Penang] Battle of the char kuey teow: which is best?
There is no dish that symbolizes Penang more than char kuey teow. Char kuey teow (ckt), or essentially fried rice noodles, was invented in Penang and is the city’s most beloved dish. I swear they revoke your Penangite card if ckt isn’t one of your top 2 favorites. This noodle dish has just a few ingredients: pork lard, prawns, cockles, egg, Chinese sausage (optional, but always better with it!), bean sprouts, fresh spring onions, soy sauce, and a spicy paste. And the key? A delicious…
April 2017 travel recap: best month ever on Penang
Now that I’m traveling again, a lot of things are back… including monthly travel recaps! Wow, this past month. I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve really had the best time on Penang. I feel like my real solo-traveling journey started with Penang, which coincidentally was also the start of a new year of travel. After I realized I had to leave KL, I decided to finally come to Penang for a change of scenery. This decision was made mostly because Laia…