• asian girl red jacket bucket hat sit in front van gogh museum amsterdam agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, Canal Cruise & Red Light District

    Whenever spring comes, I always think of tulips. But I don’t know why, I don’t have the desire to go to Amsterdam to see the tulips bloom… maybe not yet ๐Ÿ˜… So, this week, let me take you to Van Gogh Museum and stroll Amsterdam. We’ll board on a cruise twice and visit the famous red light district too! I went to Amsterdam twice on separate tours, just because the itinerary includes the city. Even so, I haven’t finished enjoying everything the city offers. If I ever go to Amsterdam again, I’d love to visit Gieethoorn ๐ŸŒทโ›ต๐Ÿ’– Okay, so, on my first trip, I explored Amsterdam and the famous red…

  • girl smile flower bridge amsterdam canal agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Money

    Overseas Wedding Invitation: Yes or No?

    Hi everyone, I hope you had productive days this week. It’s almost Friday, woohoo!! ๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿ•บ Actually, I wanted to share with you my Amsterdam trip this week but something changed my mind. First, let me ask you a question: if you get a wedding invitation but it’s overseas, will you go? Okay, let’s flashback a bit. I was scrolling Facebook until I saw my friend post images of how each zodiac sign apologises. I laughed so hard on the train ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ Of course, the image above is meant to be a joke. I’ll share with you the rest of the images later on. So, back to the topic. That image…

  • ho chi minh mausoleum hanoi vietnam agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Bich Dong Pagoda & Obama’s Bun Cha

    Hello, everyone! This week, let me take you to other parts of Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Bich Dong Pagoda, and the famous Obama’s bun cha! Well, no, Obama doesn’t own a bun cha restaurant… I said that because it was the place where Obama and the late Anthony Bourdain ate bun cha together when they were in Hanoi ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜ Okay, let’s start with Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum! Travel to Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum What’s so special about this place? As the name suggests, it’s the burial chamber of the late Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary and ex-president of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh or Uncle Ho was a…

  • Girl smile in front hanoi train street agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Hanoi Trip: Bรกnh Mรฌ, Cafรฉ Dinh Egg Coffee, Train Street, Sen Tรขy Hแป“ Buffet

    This week, let me take you on a food tour in Hanoi! We’ll be sampling the famous bรกnh mรฌ (Vietnamese-style baguette), Cafรฉ Dinh’s egg coffee, and visitting the train street + a popular buffet restaurant, Sen Tรขy Hแป“ ๐Ÿ˜‹ I had one last good brunch on Era Cruises before the tour group departed for Hanoi. It was good weather for a Hanoi trip, not too sunny or cloudy. There was a small boat that transferred us back to the cruise port. From Halong Bay, we took the express highway and reached Hanoi in just two hours. Else, it would take four hours! On the way to Hanoi, we stopped in a…

  • girl sit beside jacuzzi bathtub window sea halong bay era cruise agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Halong Bay Cruise Review: Era Cruises

    Hi, everyone! It’s been two weeks since I saw Maksim Mrvica LIVE and stood beside him… Gosh, I wish I could turn back time. Not sure when he will return to Malaysia ๐Ÿฅฒ Luckily, long before the concert, I already booked a Vietnam tour that included a 2D1N Halong Bay cruise with Era Cruises. The trip cheered me up a bit… I used to ponder, why do I like the ocean but am not a fan of beaches? ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿค” I just can’t stand sitting on a beach for hours, doing nothing under the hot sun. Okay, there may be beach umbrellas but the weather would still be hot. Plus, my…

  • asian girl fashionable flowery dress avignon france agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Money

    That’s Amore: Some Love Lessons for This Week

    Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’– I’ve been waiting for this day. Finally, I could meet the Crown Prince of Piano, Maksim Mrvica, in person and watch his concert. Yaaaaay!!! ๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿฅฐ Last Valentine’s Day was like: Me: “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” Someone: “I have a girlfriend.” Me: “Okay.” I may sound like it was all good but actually, that stung a bit. However, I feel grateful to have a happy-go-lucky personality. And for past love experiences. After so many heartbreaks, I guess it’s now easier to move on #thisis30s Thank you, next! ๐Ÿ’‹ Alright, since I’m in a lovey-dovey mood, this week I wanna share some thoughts that…

  • asian girl smile starbucks reserve dewata logo background agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Visitting Dewata, the Biggest Starbucks in Southeast Asia

    It was a rainy afternoon in Bali. My mom, sister, and I were planning to go to Penglipuran Village. However, because it was raining heavily, I suggested that we stopped by the biggest Starbucks in Southeast Asia. “Oh, you mean Dewata?”, asked my driver. Ah, so that’s it! Starbucks Reserve Dewata, to be precise. I wasn’t a coffee lover but since we were already in Bali, I wanted to check it out! Not only it was the biggest Starbucks cafe building ever, it also had its own logo and offered a different experience that you wouldn’t find in other Starbucks. First, it had its own parking lot, receptionist, garden, coffee…

  • penguin sleeping in a shelter boulders beach south africa agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    South Africa Trip: Boulders Beach and Karoo Moon Motel (Route 62)

    Hi, friends! Psst, your small blogger turned 32 last week ๐ŸŽ‰ Actually, I wanted to skip this week’s blog post because I had a relaxing weekend. Suddenly, right now on Monday evening, I have the inspiration to share with you Boulders Beach (Cape Town) and Karoo Moon Motel (Route 62) in South Africa. I’ll take you to see cute, chubby penguins in Boulders Beach. As for Route 62… Yes the US has Route 66 but South Africa has Route 62 ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ›ฃ๏ธ There’s a cool and quirky rest stop on Route 62, Karoo Moon Motel. It’s actually a motel but it also has a restaurant. Since it’s a long ride along…