• asian girl pink dress smile parc güell barcelona agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    The Great Barcelona Day Trip

    Is it weird writing about Barcelona day trip while listening to “Waka Waka” song? Well, that’s me, haha… I just can’t wait for my upcoming trip! 😁✨ Anyway, about the title of this week’s blog post. It was a great day for me because I felt so accomplished experiencing many things in one day. On my last day on tour, I had one whole free day to explore Barcelona. I maximised the opportunity to visit La Sagrada Familia, The Picasso Museum, Parc Güell, and La Rambla (revisitted). To end the day, I met the rest of the tour group in La Rambla then headed to a bar. You can imagine…

  • girl look at view parc guell barcelona backview agirlnamedclara
    Life

    5 Things I Learned from My Summer Holiday

    Hi! Bonjour! Hola! For more than a month, I’ve been sharing my summer holiday stories. I still have some but this week, I feel like sharing about the lessons I learned during the trip with you. Yes, behind those exciting travel photos and stories, I learned a lot of things. This blog isn’t a diary, so I won’t disclose any name or be detailed with what happened for privacy purposes. I’m writing this in hope that you get something, even if it’s just one thing. Either it’s a situation that resonates with you or something that could be useful in the future. Alright, so here they are: 1. Intelligence Takes…

  • girl beret hat stand in front of i love you wall montmartre agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    From Montmartre, with Love

    You haven’t visitted Paris if you haven’t been to Montmartre. People call Paris the “City of Love” but to me, I felt the love vibe the most when I was in this small, charming area. Think about cobblestone streets, small cafes, fleurs, l’amour, “Moulin Rogue” and “Amelie”. I was very lucky to be able to see Montmartre with my own eyes. Initially, my tour operator didn’t include this optional trip. We were supposed to have a walking tour in the Latin Quarter but because it happened on the same day with Bastille Day (another luck for me), there were some changes to the itinerary. 🤩 Bastille Day parade > Latin…

  • asian girl pearl black dress red bag stand restaurant paris agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Eiffel… I’m in Love

    When I was in primary school, I wanted to go to Paris and became a fashion designer. But then I realised that I didn’t have the talent to be one. Nevertheless, Paris was always my dream destination until I realised the trip at 31 years old. Apparently, the childhood dream was never buried but postponed. Me and the tour group arrived in Paris on 13 July 2022 by train. After we dropped our luggages at the hotel, we went to a fancy restaurant for included lunch. I never thought that the budget tour operator, Expat Explore, would take us to such a nice place! Cafe Louise didn’t only have a…

  • asian woman black dress elegant pearl necklace agirlnamedclara
    Life,  Travel

    How to Get a Spot at 3 Michelin Star Restaurants

    First of all, special thanks to Exness, the company I work at, for giving me the opportunity. Without the generous annual flight ticket/hotel allowance, I wouldn’t have an extra budget to eat at a 3 Michelin star restaurant. This weekend, I’ll be flying after two years of hiatus. 2022 Summer holiday feels special because I managed to get a spot at a 3 Michelin restaurant in Paris 🤩🤩🤩 Of course, the process was full of sweat and determination. You literally have to be kiasu, FOMO, adopt a ‘can-do’ attitude, persistent, pray every day, and have a little bit of luck. Or you can also get some tips from this blog…

  • girl smoke cuban cigar tobacco farm vinales agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Viñales Day Trip: Tobacco Farm and Cuban Cigars

    Attention: The photo above is for illustration purposes only. Yes, I really mean it because I don’t know how to smoke 😂 When you travel from far, far away to Cuba, of course, you wouldn’t want to miss the Viñales day trip and see a tobacco farm with your own eyes. After all, Cuban cigars are sought after by cigar aficionados. Who cares if I can’t smoke, maybe I would have some luck with cigars, lol… The blog post for this week is inspired by an attractive man who appreciates fine cars and smokes vape. Danke schön mister, for the inspiration! ❤️ From Havana to Viñales, by Ford 1954 It…

  • asian girl short hair blue dress sit on couch agirlnamedclara
    Health & Beauty,  Life

    It’s Back to Normal But I Feel Tired Easily

    I feel tired easily if I spend the whole day outside. It’s been back to normal in Malaysia since May 2022 and I should be happy, but then I found out about this. What about you? Do you feel the same? For example, in my old routine, I woke up at 7:30 am, went to the office and finished all tasks, then head straight to the gym or home. On the weekends, I could go to the gym and hang out outside for the whole day or write articles. No problemo. That was life before Covid-19 lockdown. During the lockdown or work from home, I would wake up at 8…

  • 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…