3 Reasons to Travel While You’re Young

Taken from/Credits to : http://goinswriter.com/travel-young/

The other night, I had a conversation with a young woman who had a number of decisions ahead of her, one of which is whether she would go to grad school or travel the world.

I told her to travel. Hands down. No excuse. Just go.

She sighed.

“Yeah, but…”

Never were more fatal words spoken.

Yeah, but… what about debt?

Yeah, but… what about my job?

Yeah, but… what about my boyfriend (or dog or car or whatever)?

“Yeah, but…” is pernicious. Because it makes it sound like we have the best of intentions when really we are just too scared to do what we should.

It allows us to be cowards, while sounding noble.

Most people I know who waited to travel the world never did. Conversely, plenty of people who waited for grad school or a steady job and traveled still did those things — eventually.

Be careful of the yeah-but. The yeah-but will kill your dreams.

I was so stirred by this conversation that I shared it with a group of about thirty young adults last night, many of which are asking these very questions.

The life you’ve always wanted.

When you get older, life seems to just sort of happen to you. Your youth is a time of total empowerment.

You get to do what you want. As you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important.

So if you still have a reasonable amount of control over your circumstances, you should do what really matters.

Because life won’t always be just about you.

(the rest of the article is available on the link above)

You won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you. So travel. Experience the world for all it’s worth. Become a person of culture, adventure, and compassion.
“What if I’m not young?”
Travel, anyway. It may not be easy to do, but find a way to get out of your comfort zone. It’s really never too late.
But if you haven’t gotten sucked into the routine of life yet, I implore you — travel. It will never be easier than it is right now for you to do that which really matters.

i was reading the article above and it strikes me to be so true!

but to add my own two cents, it is certainly as easy to travel when yr single and young and when yr with a family - if you set your mind to it :)

my family has always been big on traveling, we try to made it a point to go somewhere together at least once a year...my parents have been almost everywhere and done everything, i think that's the travel gene from my late grand-grandfather who was sea captain :)

but being a HUGE family, with 9 adults and 6 kids, its certainly not easy!

i remember when i was getting information on my trip to new york last year and at this age and era on internet and google where everything is available on line and yet we three single girls still struggled to get info on where to stay what to do etc, and i marveled how my dad did it, almost 17 years ago, and he planned and took the entire family of 2 adults and 5 kids to los angeles and did it so flawlessly?? i mean that trip was still one the best trips we've ever had! 17 years ago! and there were no handphones and hardly any internet then!! amazing huh?

anyway, point of the post is..

ok, actually, the point of the above article is you must travel when you're young...

my point is, is you must travel. full stop.

young or old, go for it!

like one my best friend always said, when it comes to traveling;

money - you can always find and get more,
experiences and memories - once in a lifetime!

(^_^)

london - tip #1 air tickets

i love it when people ask me about travel advices! mcm terrer la sgt kan but i think ive travel quite extensively and i think boleh lah nak impart some wisdom or two hehe

so three people (totally random people pulak tu) have asked me about london, or UK, about tickets and where to go and stuff so i thought, i could write a series of tips here in this blog for people to refer to, actually been meaning to write this first post dah bape hari dah tapi tak tersempat, but since a friend asked quite desperately via email today, i wrote her a quick reply and posted on my fb to my another friend and might as well post here as the first post!

ok, gila panjang intro! hehe

allritey, tip no 1, air tickets..

if you are one of the unlucky peeps like me who does not travel anywhere under the company where u work where u can accumulate thousands of mileage points or your credit card expenditure is hardly enough to convert to get tickets from kl to putrajaya (not dat they hv flights but u get my meaning :p) fret not, here's another solution!

ok basically for me, i love air asia x :) say what u wanna say about air asia, i still love them simply because they have THE CHEAPEST tickets to london and for that reason alone, i will always defend them loyally whenever anyone diss about them :p they always have good bargains at all times, like last month, its was only 1.5k return! so you must always browse their site! i just bought my tickets last month for next march and i got it at 2k return and that is including (at the risk of sounding like an air asia advertisement);

1. most front seat with lots of leg room which is like rm100 per one way

2. 30kg luggage!! bear in mind all other airlines only give u up to 20kg only unless its 1st class/business class seats and you cant upgrade the luggage space but with air asia u can up to 30kg at much much cheaper cost! so if you are crazy about shopping like me, this is heaven sent!

3. food!

for other airlines, ive only bought them during matta fair. check out itihad air or qatar air or emirates which can pretty cheap. singapore airlines also can get pretty cheap (but i kinda hated it cos its full drunken people as the alcohol is free flow and somehow singa-pore-ans (no offense but personal experience) can get pretty kiasu about this and kept drinking during the entire 14 hours flight until the air stinks of alcohol yucks), but the cheapest ive got is still around 2.8 - 3 k return.

summer is pretty hot in london so even though the days are longer, nak jalan2 tu mcm panas la sikit. bear in mind they have olympics end of july and hari tu i tgk, tikets around dat time mahal gila sebab diorang tau ramai nak pi masa tu kan sebab nak tgk olympics, so if u can, try pegi masa sept or oct, the days are still long, its slightly cooler and end of olympics so tikets shud be cheaper AND plus tak ramai sgt org kat sana cos nanti london gila ramai org on normal time, imagine masa olympic, mesti sangat2 sesak nk buat ape pun tak boleh mesti line panjang gila kalau nk tgk tourist places ke kan.

i hope that helps for now, nanti ada masa i update more for the next tips ok!

and apologies for my english reading frends, i took this directly from my email so its mixed language and im too lazy to translate it sorry!

im loyal like that

im off to london (yes again! to those rolling your eyes haha) in march..

this time i need to divide my time between three peeps..

one is my sister, who will be nottingham as she followed her husband there who's doing his phd, not much plans to go anywhere when there, probably just spend a few days playing with my nieces and nephew, probably take them to blackpool if weather permits, or legoland! hmm we'll see about this later...

second is my bestie, olyn, who's doing her masters in liverpool, we plan to rent a car and drove around uk, covering as many places as possibly can in like, 4-5 days? originally planned to travel europe but i think road trips are fun-ner plus there's so many places in uk ive yet to cover, so i think this is a better idea..

thirdly, lastly and most importantly, is mr other half aka mr sun of course! although technically he's not even sure if he will still be in uk at dat time but if he is then we are planning to go somewhere too but this one can only be confirmed after dec :)

so dats the three peeps!

and then, places i wanna go to;
1. lake district
2. wales/cardiff
3. stratford upon avon
4. swindon - for shopping
5. bicester village and london - for more shopping!
6. plymouth - to take olyn around to see my uni and see my other besties there cos i miss them and the lovely plymouth!

dats the current list..

wonder if the minack theater is opened in march? it will be lovely to catch a play..

hmmm...

im off to penang!

i will be at shangri la rasa sayang for the weekend :) :)

im off to hong kong!!

will be there during the Christmas Holidays!

my first time yeah! :)

actually ikut kan, i dont really feel like going to those part of the world sangat. lots of reasons but mainly personal. but then again, i made a vow to self to try something new this year + its cool during xmas (and i wanted to get away from the hot weather here) + its only four hours flight!!

but after purchasing the tickets and book the hotels....im already regretting it!

1. the ticket cost the same as my ticket to london next march
2. the hotel is damn expensive and they charge you for everything!! a four nights trip is gonna cost me Rm1k!! ive spend 6 nights in various parts of europe with that amount!
3. halal food is crazy expensive and hard to get! my sis who went before me said a plate of simple nasi goreng will cost me RM50 per person!!

damn kan?

i know im kinda biased towards UK/Europe and US but i mean seriously, if this the cost to travel to that part of the world, then no thanks, I WILL STICK TO UK/EUROPE AND US.

but one good thing is, well, three actually, is THREE of my bestest friends will be my travel partners so i am looking forward to definete good times with them :) :)

i am looking forward to HK Disney tho and H&M..so there's another two things!

and xmas decorations in HK is said to be pretty gorgeous :)

so here's hoping! :)

Bicester Village yg berhantu!

two years i was studying there, never once i stepped foot on Bicester Village, mainly because people always say tempat tu berhantu! kenapa berhantu? sebab kalau pergi, macamana takde duit pun MESTI akan terbeli jugak sesuatu!! and then bila balik rumah, akan tertanya2 sendiri, eh betul ke beli nie?? what was i thinking?? i cant afford this gorgeous Gucci bag! mesti tadi kat Bicester kena rasuk and made me buy this!!

hehe...

ok lah, betul la berhantu tu, so dats why masa student tak pernah pergi, nanti terguna duit rent, jadi homeless pulak nanti :p :p

so when i went there last winter, baru la ada berani sikit nak pergi, itu pun credit card bawak satu jer, bahaya oooo!!

muka sangat sangat sangat excited untuk memula kan peng-shopping-an :p :p

this was on the 28th December, there were so many people there! even bumped into some "local politician and celebrities" there, shopping sebelah2 lagi :p

the pathways are super icy see! and it was freezing cold! but it certainly did not stopped anybody from shopping to their heart's content!

our loot! sikit jer :) and saja ambik gambar depan Gucci but didnt buy anything there, can u believe when we arrive just an hour after it opens, the shop is almost empty! the shelves are bare! they said almost all the sale items are already sold, we were late! tsk tsk...

but i got what i wanted and managed to shop for some cool stuff for everyone back home and they are all happy with their gifts, semua tu kira birthday present dua tahun hehe :p :p

Washington DC enroute (the train ride)

continue from the New York trip last year hehe i know i know sangat lama nak update kan! but better late than never :p :p

sebelum the main pictures of the town itself, here are some pics i took on the train :)






nak tunjuk skill amik gambar while in a moving train, not bad right?? hehe ok la puji diri sendiri hehe :p :p

next post - Washington DC

miracle monday #6

i am @ Avillion Admiral Cove, Port Dickson
checked in here today! staying for one night :)
will review more later k :p
have a good week ahead everyone!

jalan-jalan tepi marina di plymouth

missing plymouth so badly :(

i know i know, i have an obsession with that place :p

here are some pictures taken from my visit few months ago during New Year :)








where we are going?

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here!

beli kicap cap kipas udang manis :p owner dia M'sian and students dapat discount, so ok la jugak nak jalan jauh2 tu kan :)

where to eat in Plymouth?

i lived in a small little town called Plymouth when i was studying in UK few years back. not many people have heard about it and yet many people have been there. hehe confused yet?

xpe2 slow2 :p

plymouth is prounounced plee-meth...lebeh kurang gitu la, asal kan jgn pronounce plai-muth sudah like i did zaman tak tau bende dulu okey! :p

so aaanneewayyss, when i was back there for a quick visit last christmas, i tried TWO new restaurants that ive never been too! yep! ingat kan bandar kecik boleh tawaf and try semua benda dlm masa dua tahun? semesti nya tidak! so here are the two places :)

LA TASCA

la tasca ni franchise, so mmg ada banyak tempat kat all over uk, food is spanish tapas, and the best thing about this place is it has the all-you-can-eat deal, so for students like us, its totally worth it!! mula2 kena register dulu dlm website dia, and then bebila dia ada offer all you can eat tu, cepat2 print and call the place to make a reservation ok :) oh, the all-you-can-eat is ten pounds only! murah kan!

ni rupa coupon dia, everyone must have one, print it out and show to the waitress kay :) gambar seterusnye di bawah tidak mengikut turutan tapi tidak sesama sekali meng-effect kesedapan makanan di situ :p :p


salad ni serious sedap!! its slices of pears with spinach, basil, tomatoes and cucumber and i think the dressing ada olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon, simple jer tapi sedap sangat!

haha mmg tak ikut turutan, tetiba gambar dessert plak, this is black and white brownies, nampak tak gambar separuh tu, tangan rakan semeja tgh genggam garpu tak sabar nak dig in but i wanna take pictures first :p

mula2 tgk gambar pinggan yg dah licin...kemudian........

tada! of course we only ordered seafood la kan, so there's fried calamari, prawns and fish, vegetarian paella, garlic mushrooms, omellete and lots of salad!




the decorations in the restaurant, pretty spanish kan?

so anyway, the deal here is per order you can order up to three dishes per person per round, so kira if there's 4 of you, you can order up to 12 dishes per round, then dah habis yang tu, order the next round and the next and so on and so forth until you are so full you hardly can walk home :) :)

okey, next place :)

THE PLATTERS

ade orang kata, south west i.e. devon cornwall onwards is where you can get the most authentic real british style fish and chips! orang kata la, im not so sure myself, tapi emang nya fish and chips di plymouth mmg terbaik! just be careful to check the batter tu diorang tak letak beer cos traditional cooking diorang mmg letak beer nak bagi fish tu nice and crispy tapi kat platters nie, owner dia muslim orang morroco (eh owner ke sangkut paut gitu la) dia pun tau la halal haram kan, which is a good thing cos this place nye food is super yummy!

we ordered a few stuff to share but my favourite has got to be this fisherman's pie, sedap macam nak nangis okey! seriously!!!!!! we went there twice and also tried the grilled fish platter, the creamy seafood pasta and of course the fish and chips and all of it is super delish! im not sure if this restaurant ade franchise ke tak kat tempat lain BUT if not, if you are planning to come to plymouth, harus pegi kedai ni makan tau!

oh lupa nak cakap;

LA TASCA - is in town centre, walking distance from the main high street near the ice skating rink.

THE PLATTERS - is at the Barbican, near the marina, next to the Mayflower theater.

ps : im writing this based on memory, kalau ade tersilap (cos i know ade org plymouth baca my blog hehe) sila correct me okies :)

ke bandung lagik gue!

my mom and her sisters and me and my sisters are going to bandung!

yes, again!

this will make the 5th (or was it the 6th?) time i am there!

hehe

xpe lah, my mom wanted to treat her sisters and we sisters also wanted to treat our mum and aunties :p :p

am looking around for a 3 bedroom apartment in bandung, anyone have any idea where a good place to stay?

semua perempuan nie, 8 orang, rombongan cik kiah wehhh! :0 :0

the meat & wine co

we checked out the Westfield Mall when i was in london last christmas, we actually wanted to eat at Jamie's Italian but as it was two days after xmas, the restaurant did not have any fresh seafood and all that was available was meat! so okey, since we have to eat meat we must find a halal one right?

so off we went to the Meat & Wine Co...

this pic is courtesy of google!

when they say meat, they really meant it! all kinds of MEAT is available! from kangaroo to springbrok (actually i dunno wat that is haha) and crocodile! weird! and um tak halal la! so we asked the waiter.. and he gave us this...

tadaaa!! they have a halal menu you'alls!! best kan!!

wahh so ape lagi, mula la dengan khusyuk nye study menu and punye la lama nak decide makan ape hehe

tapi kan kan kan kan...
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boleh tak excited punye pasal, i FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE FOOD!! can you believe it!!

sure you guys rasa tertipu dengan entry nie kan! me too! penat tau karang ni and then discovered that there are no pictures of the food!!

so pk2 jugak tadik nak update ke tak nak update ke tak cos nasib baik my frend got it on his camera tapi i still didnt get it from him till today, so nak tunggu memang la boleh tapi ni dah siap type and all kan? so xpe lah, i post this one first boley? nanti i will update with the food pics okey! hehe

BUT i remembered that the food was pretty good! not fantastic all around, ade la yg miss-ed sikit tapi in general not bad not bad.. hehe citer pun no point sure u guys tak puas hati kan tak dpt tgk gambar food tu huhu :p :p

the price pun ok la reasonable jugak, a bit on the pricey side but expected for this kind of place :)

oh location;

The Meat & Wine Co

Westfield Shopping Centre

Shepherds Bush

London

dungun, terengganu

another post about my favourite place :)

after tanjung jara in dungun, watch out for a place on your right, its on top of a hill and looks down to a wonderfully gorgeous beach...one of the local activities on that hill is the villages dried their catch - to make "ikan masin" or "keropok keping" but its been a while since ive seen it so maybe they dont anymore..

anyway, here are some of the pictures...

stuffed crab kemaman ganu

after a crazily hectic month in the hustle bustle of kl, sometimes u need to get out of the city and take a quick break and to me, the best place to go to is and has always will be, kemaman terengganu.. ive always blogged about this but i think ive never blogged about one of the best food ever ever in kemaman..

here it is...



its mega expensive ok, about RM8 per piece but its damn well worth it! usually we only have about two pieces each of it, but my recent trip we decided to have a proper seafood lunch as well - steamed fish, butter prawns and kangkung belacan together with stuffed crab of course!

directions to get to tong juan - when you reach kemaman town, after the store, there's a traffic light where hai peng is on your right, turn right at the traffic light, straight on and on, after the fruit stalls on your left, keep right and you will find the restaurant on your right. there's another restaurant called restaurant malaysia right next to it that sells the same thing, but that one tak halal okies :)

so next time you are in kemaman terengganu, be sure to try this kemaman's best kept secret!