• 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 😁😁😁 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: Bánh Mì, Café Dinh Egg Coffee, Train Street, Sen Tây Hồ Buffet

    This week, let me take you on a food tour in Hanoi! We’ll be sampling the famous bánh mì (Vietnamese-style baguette), Café Dinh’s egg coffee, and visitting the train street + a popular buffet restaurant, Sen Tây Hồ 😋 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…

  • christmas at koral restaurant apurva kempinski bali agirlnamedclara
    Money,  Travel

    White and Blue Christmas at Koral Restaurant, Apurva Kempinski Bali

    Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a great holiday and Christmas (for those who are celebrating)🎉🎉🎉 I had a memorable Christmas celebration with my mother and sister at Koral Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant under the sea. Since the restaurant was inside Apurva Kempinski Bali, we also stayed for one night there. This white and blue Christmas dinner was part of my impulsive travel bookings that I didn’t regret. If you’ve been following my blog, you may remember that in early 2022, I made some impulsive travel bookings. There were consequences to my actions, of course. I was always careful with my spending, but because of my impulsiveness,…

  • asian woman black beret hat in louvre paris agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Exploring Louvre & Angelina Paris on Bastille Day

    I’ve been writing about my trip in Paris for the past weeks and it’s still continuing. I spent only two days in the City of Love but I have so much to share! This week, I will take you to Louvre and see the Bastille Day celebration nearby the museum. In addition, I will also take you to Angelina, a famous cafe in Paris where I had to queue for 30 minutes. Don’t worry, I also visited other parts of France, so you won’t see many posts about Paris 😉 I was lucky to have my second day in Paris on 14 July 2022, exactly on Bastille Day. It’s a…

  • 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…

  • elegant asian girl pearl black dress smile epicure paris agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    3 Michelin Star Review: Epicure, Paris

    Aloha, friends! It feels bittersweet returning from the summer holiday, but life goes on. This week, let me share my first 3 Michelin star dining experience at Epicure, Hotel Le Bristol, Paris 👌✨ For those who are wondering how I managed to get a spot at this upscale hotel restaurant and where the budget came from, you can read my previous blog post here. I’ve dined in some middle-high class restaurants before and recently had my team diner at Nobu, Kuala Lumpur. I feel the food and service at Nobu are great but compared to the 3 Michelin star standard like what I had at Epicure, Paris… It’s another level…

  • 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 stand beside warsaw war poster uprising museum poland agirlnamedclara
    Travel

    Poland Trip: Warsaw Rising Museum & Walking Tour

    I spent 1.5 days in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2018. The days were cold and of course, that amount of time wasn’t enough to explore the whole city. But overall, when I looked back, I still remember the happy memory and it warmed my heart. In this blog post, I will take you to the Warsaw Rising Museum, see a Chopin bench, and show you what I saw during the free walking tour. Also read: “Clara and the Chasing Grandma of Christiania, Copenhagen” The Warsaw Rising Museum, Poland I didn’t know what kind of facial expression I should show when I was taking the cover photo for this blog post.…