It's Been Long,

Hello!

It's been more than 3 years since I last blogged! Just how much have things changed within these 3 years. Mr. Z would remind me once in awhile that I should never forget about my blog. But as time past, I tend to just let my drafts sit in my feed for so long. Till date, I still have 3 drafts that were not posted and two of which are related to my travels! 

Right, let me briefly go through the updates within these 3 years before I proceed to my next post later on. Though, TBH, I really don't know where to start. 

Since I stopped my previous post in Vietnam, maybe I shall update a bit of my travels in 2018 before I make a more detailed post again (which I hope won't be too long after today! HAHAH!). 

2018

This was my first year into my first job after I graduated but I'm surprised that I still managed to travel a bit to the neighbouring countries! 

I guess the reason why I stopped blogging was also due to the low energy after work. I remember having to do OT till as late as 11pm and only to leave office near 12mn at times. Thankfully, the frequency of the trains were considered high at that time! 

Oh yes! On another note, I removed my braces in May 2018 just before I visited Bangkok with Mr. Z! Truth to be told, I really enjoyed having braces on and having to brush my teeth after every meal and then having family/friends/colleagues telling me that I shouldn't be brushing my teeth so often but that's how we maintain a healthy colour of teeth with braces isn't it? Does anyone feel me?

Also, I wonder if anyone has ever intentionally delay their appointments just to drag the date of removal. I am one of those who skipped my appointments quite often because I couldn't bear to get my braces removed! My dentist must have had a bad time with me! 

Moments before the removal

Ha, on another note... I no longer look like the above photo! Reasons will be mentioned in one of the later posts.

First trip of 2018 - Genting x Yeo's!

Finally a chance to wear this baby out

Bangkok x Mr. Z

We were 2 broke lads but it was one of the more affordable countries to visit as a student and fresh grad. Moreover, those times I travelled to BKK was without Mr. Z. So I thought why not visit BKK with him? A snippet of how our BKK trip went. 

Mandatory photo before checking in

Look at that colour! 

Third trip of 2018 - Still Bangkok (LOL!) x Zhuo's

This time, it just gotta be with Mr. Z's family. Initially I was pretty sian by the thought of going to the same country within the same year, and it's just 6 months after our first trip to BKK? But I'm glad this happened because we managed to go to places where we couldn't visit previously. Also glad that I travelled to BKK a few times because Covid-19 hits us real bad and most of the businesses have ceased their operations at Chatuchak Weekend Market! :(

Thankful for this trip too because this happened the day after company's D&D. It was really timely because the coordination of D&D and all the logistics had drained my energy on top of my daily job scope... All I needed was a break.

Final trip of the Year - Kukup x Clique

This was also the trip where we unleashed our inner selves. We sang till dawn, slept till noon (ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit but you get the drift!). 

Oh, Kukup has many flies too :x But it was certainly good for families who wish to have a short weekend break in a laid-back environment! 

2019

Then comes 2019 where erm... I only managed to travel once after Mr. Z saw how depressed I was over work. Lol. Still, thankful for the short trip! I managed to take myself off work and enjoyed the whole Montigo trip with Mr. Z!

Excuse me, have you seen my jawline? I think it fell into the sea omw home

The bridge collapsed a few days before we went Montigo... How timely! It was closed throughout our time there. Glad that nothing serious happened! 

So that's the end of my travel snippets! 2019 was also the year where I changed to a new job in an MNC firm! So many things have changed but I believe that change is the only constant! 

Till the next time! 

Happy 2017: Throwback to 2016,

It's time for...

THE REVIEW OF THE YEAR

I'd say that 2016 has been nothing short of amazing! Having to deal with studies for the first 4 months, stressing over all the assignments that had tight deadlines, before I unofficially graduate from university. Travelled to a total of 4 countries in a short span of 7 months and totally loving my life in 2016.

Yes, my friends were all very amazed that I could travel to so many places in 2016. But what they didn't know was that I burnt a hole in my pocket after travelling! Worth it? Yes, definitely!

RMIT University

I got a module during my last semester whereby I had to work with course mates whom I didn't know at all. I'd say that it was an adventure! Half excited, half worried. But I'm glad that things turned out well with our result being one of the better ones!

Graduated with an average GPA from university. I'm not a studious person since young so it's a rlly great achievement for me to be able to get my Bachelor's Degree after so long! Of course, this was just the beginning! I'm still unemployed up till now (I worked for 3 months last year before I ended my contract with the company). So, hopefully my prayers will be heard soon! :)

Thanks for always giving me support in whatever I do. I rant, I complain but you never fail to always give me your listening ears (while multitasking. HAHAH).

Travels

Penang

It was an impromptu trip whereby I had to convince Mr. Z for Penang. I love how accommodating he is without fail. It was a rlly short getaway which was much needed from our studies. Thankfully, neither of our timetables clashes with this trip!

Johor Bahru - Jan & May

Both were one-day trip to JB with Mr. Z for the cafes there. It was also our first time travelling to JB tgth in Janaury. Photos shown below were taken in May.

BANGKOK

As mentioned in one of my posts last year, it was a graduation trip with my uni friends. We planned this trip for quite some time before purchasing it in January. I'm not sure if it's just me or what but whenever I travel to BKK with friends, there'd bound to be unhappiness with the group of friends. Hmmm... Sorry but I think I should just stick with one travelling partner. Hahah, okay I kid!! Anyways, I got to visit some night markets that I didn't have the chance to previously.

HONG KONG

Yay, finally a family trip after soooo long! Our last family trip was in 1998, when I was 6? That was freaking long ago! I rlly cherish the time there so much but, the trip was too short!

JAPAN

Also the trip that I looked forward to the most! Ah, this trip rlly burnt a hole in our pockets but Mr. Z and I enjoyed ourselves so much that we wna go back again when our bank accounts allow us! Our next destination in Japan would be Hokkaido! Hopefully, this wouldn't be 10 years from now.

Working Life

I started working in September 2016. Though it's a short duration of 3 months contract job, I was able to keep myself busy and pick up new skills and knowledge of the field that I want to pursue. Right now, I am still trying to find a job that allows fresh graduate. However, with the market being so bad right now, I guess I have to think of an alternative positions that I think would help me for my future. 

Long Distance Relationship 

Mr. Z applied for a 1-Year exchange program with his school and he got the offer to Beijing. It was a really tough period even months before he flew. Arguments kept occurring. Us, being stubborn and not wanting to give in, minor arguments turned into heated arguments and there were times whereby we felt like giving up. I, being the overly attached girlfriend, was really hard to please on one hand. I needed both actions and words of assurance from him all the time. While him, on the other hand, is a passive guy and wouldn't say anything when arguments happened. 

It's been 7 months into his Exchange Program (I'm typing this now on 11th March 2017) and I'll be visiting him on 31st March and he'll be back in end of July!! That's rlly how time flies! Things have turned so much better since the start of 2017. I think this is also what they say "distance makes the heart grow fonder" and cherishing every moment when you're miles away from each other.

With that, I hope that we would stay together and overcome all obstacles that we'll encounter in life. And I appreciate friends who never leave me during my darkest period, encouraging me and stuff. These really brought some positive thoughts to me during this time and I hope that I'll be able to see my light soon! 

Goodbye :)

Penang Day 4,

Down to Day 4 (and also our last day) in Penang!!

To recap, here's the itinerary for our trip:

Day 1:
Batu Ferringhi Beach >Ferringhi Garden Restaurant. 

Day 2:
Penang Hill > Cafe G Seventies - The Backyard > Piknik > The Camera Museum > Chew Jetty > Gurney Drive Hawker Centre 

Day 3:
Pitt Street koay teow th'ng > Penang War Museum > Pinang Peranakan Mansion > The Alley > Chinahouse > Batu Ferringhi Beach > Patio Bar De Tapas 

Day 4:
Bricklin Bar Cafe > Penang Times Square > Basil, Le Bistrot > Gurney Paragon > Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

DAY 4

We packed our luggage, checked out of our room and placed our bags at a safe corner in the guesthouse provided by the staff. TBH, we were still quite worried about where should we place our luggage at/should we bring it along with us for whole day/find a luggage deposit s'where in Penang (not that we knew of one lah).

We started our day with a nearby wanton mee to fuel our last day there! It was just a few mins walk down the street.

So much feel with the cup of milo. And erm, it was rlly very filling because I was super bloated after the cup of hot milo. I can never consume any liquids after my meal bcos I'll get super full to the brim.

I think we went to some cafes straight after this. HAHAH! Gained more weight too. Anyway, our second stop was Bricklin.

My sunburnt face

Cafe Latte

Earl Grey Lavender

+ Salmon Quiche

I liked the quiche more than the mille crepe. Prolly because I didn't like lavender in the first place. No idea why we ordered that too. I think bcos Baby thought we should try smth new instead of chocolate again. Hahahah! Anyway, these cost only RM36!

Proceeded to Penang Times Square next. Then boys being boys, Baby was like "take photos of these!!"

Entered the mall for some aircon sesh when we came across this pretty walls. How to reject the wall when it's alrdy there inviting everyone to take photos leh? Some of the shameless photos of myself. But awww, look at the boy!! /emoji with hearts at eyes/

I think we spent a good 30mins right at this spot before we decided to make a move cus more people came for photo-taking after us. Hahahah! Third stop: Dolce Dessert where we had our macarons!

Praline sesame

Salted caramel bania

A "poop" for you?

Macaron or my boyf?

Glutton, aren't we? Because we made our way to an alley that sells famous Penang chendol! Wah, damn apt for a super hot day!!

I think we took cab to Gurney drive after that when I had my short nap. I felt super tired at that point of time and Baby said, he didn't slp at all (again) just so that he could ensure the driver brought us to our destination safely. Hahah!

Last before flying back to Sg

We ordered this too because we weren't full yet

The dried up sea

Then it was time to head back to the guesthouse to bring our luggage out. The driver was alrdy waiting outside the guesthouse :/ We reached there quite late bcos there was a bad jam on our way back to the house. Sad that our short getaway ended so fast!

Upon reaching the airport and landing (in Singapore)...

Words

That's how we spent our 4D3N in Penang, Malaysia. Apart from the mosquito bites that we got frequently, even after pasting repellent stickers, the experience there was nothing short of amazing! I think it'd be perfect if we'd given parasailing a try. But the coward me didn't want... Hahahah!

Anyway, let's take some time to appreciate the designs of the buildings now before I end my entry on my Penang trip w the best travel partner ever!

Till then.