• asian girl tourist with local people sorong raja ampat indonesia agirlnamedclara sit river
    Life

    I’m Building Proper Toilets for Children This Christmas. Will You Join Me?

    When I’m writing this, I still can’t believe that I’m able to do it. I — a regular woman who’s a normal employee and come from a humble family, am building proper toilets for children in vulnerable communities, as Christmas presents! I’m excited about this project and would like you to join me. 2020 isn’t like any other year but I thank God for blessing me and my loved ones with a steady income and good health. So, in return, I’m going to give back to the community. This Christmas, it will be different. Why Toilets and How Can We Do This? There are a few reasons why I choose…

  • girl smile gabriella cruise deck stockholm to finland sea background agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    M/S Gabriella – What Overnight on a Cruise Feels Like

    Now that we have new hopes that the Covid-19 vaccines might be rolled out in November, December or Q1 2021, we can continue our travel dream. It’s not that I’ve stopped dreaming, but I had no mood (and inspiration) to write about my travel experience seeing the cases are increasing. This week, let me share with you my experience boarding a cruise when in Europe. We’ll be boarding M/S Gabriella, a cruise ship that departs from Stockholm, Sweden to Helsinki, Finland. My Room and My Favourite Spot on the Gabriella Cruise I love travelling but I never dreamt of boarding a cruise. Luckily, I was able to have the experience…

  • Putumayo CD collection CMCO music playlist agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Travel

    Clara’s CMCO Essentials – Try It!

    I thought I had my life back. I went to the gym regularly, started to adapt to the new office, planned my next revenge trips then BOOM! CMCO is back. If you’re living in Malaysia, I’m sure you feel the same. So, in this week’s blog post, I’m gonna share with you what calms me down and makes me happy. Here are my CMCO essentials: The CMCO Playlist to Destress – Putumayo My #1 playlist that I recommend to destress when drinking or taking a break is Putumayo. If you love travelling, this playlist will take you around the world with its world music, living up to the tagline “Celebrate…

  • sunny day asian girl black hair smile sit on rock blue sea background top of capri italy_agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Starbucks What? One Fine Day in Capri, Italy

    “Oh, look at that mural! It looks similar to Starbucks’ logo, isn’t it?” I asked my tour guide who took me and the group around Capri, a beautiful island in the Bay of Naples, Italy. “Starbucks? What is it?” she replied. Oops! Right. Italians don’t drink Starbucks. Aaand, there wasn’t any Starbucks store in Italy when I visited in 2017. Due to sheer volume of business, Starbucks is designed to serve customers quickly and efficiently, whereas in Italy, you go to a coffee bar precisely for leisure and long, winding conversations with your local barista. Jenna Wang, “Why It Took Starbucks 47 Years To Open A Store In Italy” –…

  • ice cream unlimited qing he gu damansara uptown korean food_agirlnamedclara
    Life

    How to Keep Motivated Until the End of the Year

    I can’t wait for the end of the year. How many of you wish for the same? I can’t wait to welcome the Ox Year in 2021, with the hope of better (hardworking) days ahead. I’m not a very superstitious person, but this year 2020 in Chinese 2+0+2+0 = 4 = death, bad luck. Surely, there are things that I feel grateful for. But we still have four and a half months until the end of the year. What could keep us motivated and carry on? I found mine, and I’m gonna share them with you in this blog post. It may or may not work for you, but hey!…

  • asian girl waiting at france airport sunrise soaked morning elegant chair_agirlnamedclara
    Life

    I Hope This Makes You Feel Better

    Yesterday wasn’t one of the best days of my life, but there was a mixed feeling. At the same time, I had a lot of things to be grateful for! So, I had an idea to write this post. Hopefully, it makes you feel better 🙂 Llama, Not Drama Llamas and alpacas, I love them! They’re so cuddly and stare at you with an innocent expression. This cute pencil case with a giant zipper made me smile after I failed my exam. It’s like a reminder not to sweat the small stuff or dwell on negative feelings, especially for something that you can fix. Also, when you’re surrounded by people…

  • asian little girl smilling orange downjacket flower dress standing surrounded by crosses Hill of Crosses Lithuania Happy Easter_agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Travel

    Happy Easter from Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

    Happy Easter to my Catholic and Christian friends! I wish I could say it from Hill of Crosses, Lithuania, but I’m staying at home. I hope you’re practising the social distancing too 🙂 Hill of Crosses is a pilgrimage site in northern Lithuania. As you can see from my cover photo, there are hundreds of thousands of crosses, rosaries and other religious-related things on the hills (Wikipedia says there are 100,000 crosses in 2006). Also read: “Tony Robbins’ Investing Rules of Thumb – Simplified”Also read: “You are a Gift – What I Learnt from the Alpha Weekend” Lithuanians come to this place to pray for peace, their country and loved…

  • little asian girl ponytail running smiling white dress italy cobbled stone street flags background morning sunshine agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Money,  Travel

    How Sharing While Travelling Makes You Happier

    I’ve lost count of how many times the church sermons inspired me to write a new blog post. Today, they talked about being grateful and the joy of sharing — which I can truly relate to as an avid traveller. By the way, my dad thinks it’s weird that I go to two churches every Sunday (Catholic mass in the morning and then Anglican mass in the afternoon). I’m not a super religious person but it sparks joy because each has a different ritual style. You get to sing a different kind of songs as well! Ok, back to the topic. When I was a kid and lived in Indonesia,…