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Ansa Hotel

Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur: ANSA Hotel Review

Travelling with a baby has changed the way we used to travel as backpackers. Back then, being both easy-going people and an adventurous couple, we tend to go anywhere and sleep in any corner as long as it’s affordable and somewhat comfortable. In other words, where we sleep is very cincai lah.

 

This philosophy served us well up till the recent addition of cute lil C into our family. Suddenly, instead of money being the main deciding factor of where we’ll be staying, we also have other considerations. We realised that, while we are always welcomed at my family home, we no longer could just make do with the queen-sized bed that now stands in my childhood room. The one that I used to spend the many hot and sticky nights on when I was a child would be way too hot without air-conditioning.

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in Malaysia / Reviews / Things I Like 0 comments
Ying at the Alster, Hamburg

What a difference a year makes

As I write this, I marvel at the fact that it has been so long since I last sat in front of this Macbook, to write something-anything, without being interrupted. In the living room of our new apartment (new no longer!), my five and a half month old baby girl is vigorously shaking her rattle under the watchful eyes of her father. Outside, the winter sun glowers dimly. The view from our bedroom is no longer of scattered stand alone houses surrounded by well-tended gardens but of other apartments with windows darkened with blinds.

The floors needed to be vacuumed and mopped, picture frames needed to be dusted, dirty pots lay piled up in the sink—there are a million things to be done yet there’s only two of us and we have to make hard choices. Someone has to watch lil C while one of us get to do something else. Today, I chose writing this post over household chores. It’s about time. This post has been long overdue. Too many things have happened ever since my last post and I can’t wait to share them with you, dear readers. If this post doesn’t get out by the end of this year, I’m afraid it never will.

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in Germany / My German Life 6 comments

What Learning German Taught Me

The much awaited envelope arrived in the post. The address stamp confirmed my suspicions.

With my hands shaking, I tore it open, half-terrified to discover what I might find. Whatever that’s in there could make or break me. I’ve not felt this way since the time I got my SPM results (High-School leaving examination to the uninitiated).

The paper felt thicker this time. My eyes quickly scanned to the grade given and relief washed over me as it dawned on me: “This is it! No more German-language exams for me again. Ever!” I finally passed my TELC C1 Hochschule exam!! The operative word here is finally. Why?

Because I’ve failed it once before.

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in Germany / My German Life / Panic Free Guides 10 comments
Camping with friends in Germany

How I Spend Summers In Germany

The fabulous thing about living in Germany is that I get to experience nature changing with every season. Summers in Germany are the best. There’s always so much going on here. Summer brings out the best in Germans. With more sunshine and warmth, they are cheerier and in a better mood. They spend more time outdoors. In towns and cities everywhere, you’ll see people sitting in ice-cream cafes or in parks, licking colourful ice-cream cones. It’s not just the Instagram generation doing it, it’s literally everyone.

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in Germany / My German Life / Things I Like 0 comments
tiny wanderer ying in pamukkale, turkey

Traveling solo for the first time? Here’s what you need to know

In the age of travel blogs, Tripadvisor and budget airlines, solo travel has never been easier. Advice on how to take your first trip abroad is now just a mouse or a swipe away. You no longer have to spend time in bookstores trying to memorize pages from the Lonely Planet guidebooks or hunt down that elusive family member for a chat, just because that uncle or aunt once backpacked Europe in the 70’s. Traveling tips and hacks are longer rare. Brick-and-mortar travel agencies are slowly becoming irrelevant in the digital age.

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in Panic Free Guides / Travel Inspiration 2 comments
Secret Mega Portokali Beach in Sithonia, Greece

A spontaneous weekend getaway in Sithonia

 

Our little rented Suzuki struggled to overcome the uneven dirt track that was supposedly to lead us to the secret beach: Mega Portokali. There weren’t any signs on the main road that led us to this path so we weren’t hundred percent sure if we were on the right one. But we liked to think that Google Maps could do no wrong. The path became narrower but we pushed on till we reached a clearing. There was another car parked haphazardly next to a tent. A gut feeling told us we were close by so we parked our car and got out.

 

This was it: a speck of blue appeared between the pine trees. We followed the smell of salt. Within minutes, we were standing at edge of the precipice, admiring the big blue sweeping below. The Aegean sea sparkled under the midday sun. It was absolutely stunning. Apart from another girl who was clambering down the rocks with her DLSR camera slung around her neck, there was no one else. The only sounds we heard were seagulls, rustling trees and the gentle lapping of the sea. We stood there mesmerised by the sheer beauty of it all for a while, before realising that we needed get back to the car for our beach gear.

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in Adventures / Destinations / Greece / Photo Narratives 0 comments
The amazing view of Gem Island from Pulau Kapas

Pulau Kapas: the perfect Malaysian island to do nothing

When one thinks of a beach holiday in Southeast Asia, the usual suspects come to mind: Phuket, Bali, Koh Samui, or for those who stick to the regular backpacking circuit, Koh Phangan. Beaches in Malaysia usually come as an afterthought.

 

And when one finally does think about Malaysia, just about every other tourist ends up in Perhentian Islands, Langkawi or Sipadan in East Malaysia. As a local, I knew better but despite that fact, and having escaped to many islands on the east of Malaysia (not just the ones mentioned), Pulau Kapas was strangely never on my radar.

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in Malaysia / Panic Free Guides / Photo Narratives 8 comments
Hock Teik Cheng Sin, a Hokkien clan Temple in Lebuh Armenian, Penang

My German in-laws in Southeast Asia (Part 2)

Day 3-5: Penang

 

My mother-in-law looked pale as she made her way to the arrival hall of Penang International Airport. She still didn’t feel very well but decided that she couldn’t bear to stay another day in bed. Also she didn’t like the idea of us leaving them alone in Singapore, so she mustered all the strength she had to journey on with us.

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in Eat, Drink and be Merry / Malaysia / Reflection & Rants 2 comments
food at Bendemeer Food Centre

My German in-laws in Southeast Asia (Part 1)

Sometime last year….

 

“The dinner at the restaurant was phwoar…horrible!” I shuddered at the thought of our dinner last night with some friends at an Asian restaurant nearby. “Don’t know how people can stomach that junk,” I said when my in-laws asked us how our dinner went over our weekly Sunday lunch.

 

“Really? But people like going there,” said my mother-in-law looking surprised. My in-laws’ idea of Asian food is limited to sushi, fried noodles and fried crispy duck over a steaming plate of rice with mixed vegetables on the side.  “Can the food really be so bad?”

 

“Na klar. Wait till you come to Malaysia and I’ll show you the REAL deal,” I promised.

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in My German Life / Reflection & Rants / Singapore 0 comments
art and science museum singapore

Love in the time of skyscrapers and steel: Why I loved living in Singapore

Yes, I loved my time as an expat in Singapore. Didn’t expect to like it but I did. There, I said it.

 

Such a statement of affection coming from a Malaysian who’d spent most of her twenties exploring obscure nooks around the world might elicit some shocked gasps and widened eyes from some of you. You loved it? How? Wasn’t it boring and a little too orderly? Turns out Singapore can be exciting, if only we dig a little deeper.

 

Just the other day in Kuala Lumpur, amidst the noise and delicious smells of tandoori chicken, I suggested to a friend who was looking for potential places to move to, “What about Singapore?” She made a face and said, “No freaking way.”

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in Adventures / Reflection & Rants / Singapore / Things I Like 0 comments