Reflection & Rants

tiny wanderer in Germany

A Year in Germany (Part One)

Usually friends find it hard to keep up with my whereabouts when I was still clinging on tightly to my identity as a nomad. Texts and emails that start with, “Where are you now, Ying?” are not unusual. It was always fun,and privileged to say the least, to come up with a different answer each day. Yes, last week I was in Dubrovnik and today I’m in Ajaccio—life rocks as a traveller. Traipsing from places to places had defined me. While others had labels like “The Career Woman”, “The Fun One”, “The Doctor”, I was simply called “The Wanderer”. That suited me just fine.

But these days, my answer to the question above is less exotic. I’ve been answering ‘Germany’ for a better part of the year.

Yes, The Wanderer have been living in Germany for a year. And a little bit more. Apart from a handful of short road trips (I consider 2 days to 2 weeks short), I have been a true resident of the quiet Hermsdorf.

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in Adventures / Germany / My German Life / Reflection & Rants 3 comments
how i afford to travel the world

How I Afford A Life Of Constant Travel

Dear Mum,

I hope this postcard finds you well. It’s been a while since we last heard from each other. If there was Internet in Heaven, you might have probably read here that I’d quit my job to travel the world. Don’t worry, before you get yourself too worried, yes—I’m still in one piece despite having travelled to more than 65 countries.

And no, dad didn’t sponsor me. How could he have afforded to? He had only saved up enough to allow me to finish my degree in an Australian university. I am eternally grateful to him for doing so but I had a hard time persuading him that the world has more to offer than a regular pay cheque. He couldn’t have understood my intentions then but now, I’m glad that he has come to grudgingly accept that I would never be quite the regular Malaysian girl next door.

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in Reflection & Rants / Travel Inspiration 10 comments
Vipassana Meditation Retreat Experience by Tiny Wanderer

A Journey Within (A 10-Day Vipassana Meditation Retreat Experience)

People who know me personally call me animated, exuberant even.

Okay, I admit I can get pretty talkative when it comes to talking about things I care about or to people that I connect easily with. Yup, I’m one of those people who just can’t shut up once triggered. My voice raises a few decibels higher (this is embarrassing normally, especially in a public place), my facial expressions move in sync to match the speed and the passion of my speech, while my hands gesture wildly to complement the whole conversation in action.

So imagine, when I first toyed with the idea of enrolling myself in a 10-day silent Vipassana retreat, friends arched an eyebrow quizzically.

“Really Ying? Why torture yourself?” I pretended they had only my best interests in mind.

So I did it and survived. That was almost a decade ago. Till this day, I still could recall vividly the lessons that I’d learned while struggling through the entire duration. It was one of the ten hardest days in my life. I was almost reduced to tears. But while I didn’t find answers to any life’s mysteries, I caught several moments of clarity. These moments of clarity also helped me stay present and mindful while travelling.

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in Malaysia / Reflection & Rants 7 comments

Life in small-town Germany : Part 1

 WHERE IN GERMANY ARE YOU LIVING IN AGAIN?

 

I‘m growing comfortable living in a little German village called Hermsdorf. To the uninitiated, it’s somewhere in the state of Thuringia, where the nearest bigger cities would be Jena and Gera. Leipzig and Erfurt would be an hour away while Berlin a mere 2.5 hour drive.

 

Still lost? Me too. I knew nothing about Hermsdorf before I got here.

 

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in Germany / My German Life / Reflection & Rants 3 comments
Reflections of 2014

Reflections of 2014 (And Some Favourite Travel Highlights)

Admit it. We always turn pensive when New Year’s Eve rolls by.

The last day of each year, somehow commands an enormous power to make us think. Whether you like it or not, you tend to contemplate, to muse and chew on the little high and low moments of the year that went.

I rang in the New Year by making a dish of Malaysian chicken curry for my new-found German friends at their place. I’d tried my best to emulate the simple flavours of home but without the right ingredients, it didn’t turn out the way I’d wanted.

The curry was way too creamy, the chicken not flavourful enough.

But because it was already late and everyone was hungry, I couldn’t just dump the dish into the bin and make another. Besides, I didn’t have enough ingredients to start making another one.

Unfortunately, for me, the dish must be served.

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in Australia / Germany / Maldives / Myanmar / Reflection & Rants / Singapore / Thailand / The Philippines 4 comments
wanderlust tiny wanderer

Doing Wanderlust (By Opening Up Your Heart To The World)

SOME TIME IN 2009…

I unscrewed the large metallic screws that held my cabin’s porthole tight and looked out. The real threat of Somalian pirates has passed-we’re free to enjoy the transient but majestic ocean vistas once again. Looking out from Deck 3, the ocean appears close; occasionally a whiplash of water would graze the surface of the porthole. The night was jet-black, the horizons indistinguishable except for the lash, swash and slosh of the waves against the vessel, illuminated by the neon on the promenade deck. I pressed my face against the porthole, unable to take my eyes off the constant motion of the ocean and thought, “I never want to stop wandering.”

What exactly is this insatiable wanderlust that has urged me to throw myself into the maelstrom of romance and ‘consummation’ of far-flung lands? I am not an explorer, a historian nor even an avid tourist, yet consumed with a certain kind of restlessness, I had packed my bags and had set out for the unknown.

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in Cruise Ship Adventures / Featured / Reflection & Rants / Travel Inspiration 4 comments

How I Was Denied Boarding at Bangkok International Airport in 2007

My journey around the world didn’t begin with a round-the-world ticket. Instead, my miraculous round-the-world journey somewhat kick-started with denied boarding.

 

For a 23-year old Malaysian girl possessed with fervent wanderlust, with little savings, no credit cards and no travel insurance to her name, it was a bad omen, warning her of the dangers ahead. But she was young and naive, with plenty of time and a handful of spunk.

 

So my journey began with a simpler thought: I will take one step, and then another. I’ll solve this problem and then another.

 

I never knew where I’d go and where the road will lead me to. I only planned to keep pushing boundaries and see how far that would take me.

 

And here’s a story of how I was denied boarding at first but then eventually succeeded to travel to Europe on a one-way ticket.

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in Reflection & Rants / The Netherlands 7 comments

It was fun while it lasted (Reflections of an ex-crew member)

Costa Victoria is an old ship but one that has recently been refurbished with new balconies, terraces and windows. Elegantly furnished with a classical nautical style without the modern kitsch, the ship is refined and stately. Even if it’s only a mid-sized ship, it does have 964 cabins, 5 restaurants, 10 bars and at least 14 decks (storeys) to get lost in. For crew members, the Victoria supposed to be one of the better ships to work on after Costa Atlantica and Costa Mediterranea.

Ale showed me around eagerly as I’d never been on the Costa Victoria before. The main halls were decked with fairy lights, Christmas trees and other festive decorations.

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in Cruise Ship Adventures / Reflection & Rants 4 comments

Melbourne Graffitified (The Hunt For The Best Street Art)

Mister A and I have collected a rich, haphazard treasure trove of street art while walking randomly in Collingwood and Fitzroy (inner city suburbs of Melbourne), mainly along Smith St, Kerr St, Argyle St, Gore St, Rose St, Fitzroy St, Nicholson St and its surroundings. We have disappeared behind the dark alleys and local neighbourhoods and found, among the dumpsters and white picket fences, is some of the world’s best street art.

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in Australia / Photo Narratives / Reflection & Rants 2 comments