• asian girl smile lean on wall konya turkey agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Money

    Should Expats Write a Will? Yes, Here’s Why

    As someone who blogs about travel and personal finance, I read other people’s blogs too. One day, I found an interesting article about will writing. Thanks to that blog post, I realised the importance of having a will as an expat. Okay, this idea may sound strange to you. At first, I felt the same. I’m an expat who doesn’t own a car or a house. I don’t even have a fat savings account and investment portfolios. In addition, I’m very healthy. So, why should I write a will? The reason is very simple. Although I don’t own much, I don’t want my hard-earned money to go to waste. Every…

  • girl tourist smell tea leaf sri lanka agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Traditional Dance and Damro Tea Centre, Sri Lanka

    I miss the taste of tea. To celebrate the Lent* season, I decided to give up my favourite drink for 40 days. It was tough for the first few days but now I’m used to it. Luckily, I have this blog as a medium to recall and share my experience when visitting the Damro Tea Centre in Sri Lanka. I will also share some photos of the Sri Lankan traditional dance that I saw the day before. Ceylon tea tastes good, especially when you pair it with Sri Lankan dishes. The dishes here are similar to Indian cuisine — it’s delicious, flavourful, spicy but sometimes oily. Therefore, having a cup…

  • girl sit smile drink nature background pinto coffee janda baik agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Janda Baik Day Trip: The Pineyard and Pinto Coffee

    Feeling bored with your weekend routine? Then head for a change of scenery at The Pineyard and Pinto Coffee for a day trip! Located in Janda Baik, Bentong, these two cafes are surrounded by forests, mountains, and cool weather. Since the location is just below Genting Highlands, make sure that you bring a jacket, fill your car tank full and check if your car is in a good condition. There are two ways to reach Kampung Janda Baik (translation: The Nice Widow’s Village😂) — the new highway and the old road. If you’re going there in the morning or afternoon, I suggest you take Jalan Lama Bentong aka the Bentong…

  • girl smile short hair red dress robertos bsc agirlnamedclara
    Life

    Cheers to Thirty-One

    I turned thirty-one last week! I can’t believe that I’m now entering the world of the 30s. Before the clock turned 12 am, I read some health articles and advice for women in their 30s… Naah, I already read that last year, hehe! Before the D-day, I went to the gym in the evening, had a light post-workout meal, and waited until 12 am so I could eat my birthday cake. These are the things that I got for my birthday this year: Had a haircut Booked a trip to India for 2023 Rescheduled my Japan trip to 2023 Paid the last installment for my summer 2022 trip Bought return…

  • lessons highlights 2021 girl on top of mountain toraja agirlnamedclara
    Life

    Lessons and Highlights of 2021

    Happy New Year! Finally, 2022 is here. Whatever happened last year, let us have new hopes and dreams this year. The blog post for this week will be about me looking back at the lessons and highlights of 2021. Last year was exciting because it felt as if I got my life back, although I decided to postpone my travel. But one thing for sure, I think I’m getting used to postponing my travel plan thanks to Omicron. Yeah, the variants will keep popping out, so we must get used to it. Else we won’t be travelling until the end of the world! I’m just afraid that suddenly the rules…

  • girl sit at bench look at sakura with cony line friends agirlnamedclara
    Life

    The Love Lesson that Every Single Woman Should Know

    Alright, this week’s blog post is gonna be short and sweet. Yes, it’s about something that I seldom share on my blog but I feel that I MUST share this love lesson to save women, especially those in their early twenties and who are single. One day, I had a great conversation with a highly intelligent man. We talked about many things and at one point we discussed relationships. Since I’m single, I playfully asked if he could introduce me to his friends who are single (or divorced). Alas, all of his friends are married. I guess once women reach their late twenties, some people will ask when they would…

  • asian girl smile in pink dress lake background verona italy agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Money,  Travel

    Wanderlust, Behind the Scene

    This week, I feel like sharing my life behind the scene — behind the travel photos that I shared. If Instagram has “Instagram vs Reality”, this post will be similar. The purpose of this behind-the-scene topic is to motivate all salarymen who love travelling, like me 💪 Many people think I come from a rich family background, seeing that I travel often. The truth is, I’m just an average office employee who pays her bills + rent, has parents to support, and meticulously manages her finances so she can travel, plus still invests some money every month. Luckily, I have a sister so we can share the expenses! There’s always…

  • man rock dance bamboo river basket boat show hoi an vietnam agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    The Bamboo Riverboat Show and Ride in Hoi An, Vietnam

    Hola, amigos! This week I wanna share about a unique bamboo riverboat show and trip that I had when travelling in Hoi An, Vietnam. Where did I get the inspiration from? So, I was looking at old emails in my inbox and found a quotation of a personalised Vietnam trip that I asked for many years ago — but haven’t made it until now. When I looked at the itinerary, I wanted to remove the Day-10 activity, which is a sampan ride along the Mekong river, because I had a similar boat ride when I was in Hoi An. And, mine was even better as it’s a bamboo riverboat! Not…