Highlights of 2018

Lo and behold ... I've not updated this blog since August, and that's a long period in the social media universe.

So what have I been up to lately? Let me share with you in a flashback post since it's already end of the year.

1) Visited Boracay in January

It was my first time in the Philippines and I was lucky I made the trip because not long after, the island was closed down in April 2018 so that environmental problems on the island could be fixed. Air Asia also terminated its Kuala Lumpur - Kalibo route not long after. Anyway, Boracay has since reopened early this month.

The most popular beach in Boracay is White Beach which had lovely soft, white sand, and the waters were crystal clear. The locals were also friendly. However each time I lay on the beach, there would be an endless stream of locals asking me to buy souvenirs and snacks. In the beginning it was ok, but then it started annoying me.

Sunset on White Beach in Boracay.

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2) Visited Redang Island in April

Because my trip to Boracay was so-so, I compensated with a trip to Redang Island in the state of Terengganu in Malaysia.

It was a very relaxing trip. No locals bugged me to buy stuff and I could sleep for hours on the beach and hammock.

The crystal clear waters of Redang Island never fails to amaze me.

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3) Visited Taiping in May

This was a road trip with my family. This was my first time to Taiping and I enjoyed the laidback town that Taiping is. In case you don't know, Taiping is a town in the state of Perak in Malaysia.

We visited the Taiping Zoo Night Safari, Taiping War Cemetery, Lake Gardens and Antong Coffee Mill.

I enjoyed the Night Safari the best. The highlight was seeing one of the elephants wash its food in the pond before consuming it. After the meal, the elephants gathered in a circle and emitted weird sounds as if though they were talking to each other. I could hear all this clearly because it was night time when the slightest sound is accentuated.

You can see how powder is prepared at the Antong Coffee Mill in Taiping.

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4) East Europe & St Petersburg, Russia in September

I was away for 20 days when the weather was not too cold and the crowd manageable.

From Kuala Lumpur I flew to Helsinki (Finland) via London.

In Helsinki I visited the Suomenlinna fortress and ate salmon soup at the Kauppatori. The weather was chilly and becomes very cold when it rains which was quite frequent. I had come prepared with three jackets and was wondering whether I could survive a winter in Finland.

From Helsinki, I took the ferry to Tallinn to visit the holy trinity of the Baltics, i.e. Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania). Amongst the three cities, I like Riga the most. Don't know why.

One of the squares in Old Town Riga.

The Three Sisters is a popular attraction in Riga.

Then I moved southwest into Poland into its capital city Warsaw and then to lovely Krakow where I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Wieliczka Salt Mines Salt Mines. Many people had told me not to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau because it's a sad place filled with restless souls. But it was an eye opening experience which I'll remember for a long time to com; from the lady who burst out crying after listening to how the Jews were murdered, to the lingering smell of the chemicals used to preserve the hair of the victims.

From Krakow, I flew back to Helsinki and took the overnight Princess Anastasia ferry to St Petersburg in Russia.

The Russians really know how to build grandeur and magnificence into their buildings. I was astounded. In that magnificent city, I watched a ballet performance called Le Corsaire at the legendary Marinsky Theatre.

I had so much fun during this trip that I didn't want to come home.

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5) Chartered Banker qualification

I progressed to the third and final level of the Chartered Banker professional qualification.

There are three modules for this level. I sat for the first module (Professionalism, Ethics & Regulation) on 24 November 2018 and currently awaiting exam results which will be out in February 2019.

If everything goes according to plan and I don't have to resit any module, I would be able to obtain my Chartered Banker qualification by end of 2019.

Completing assignments and studying for exams has been the main reason why I didn't update this blog since August.

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6) Tried volunteering for 14th Malaysian General Election

I registered as a volunteer PACA (Polling Agent Counting Agent) for the 14th Malaysian General Election on 9 May 2018.

However I was not assigned a polling centre due to a blunder on the organiser's side. What a bloody waste of time and effort to attend PACA trainings which were usually held in the evening after work.

Eventhough the candidate I volunteered with won her parliamentary seat, I don't think I'll volunteer again for future elections after this bad experience.

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7) Knee problem

I gave up running for almost 6 months due to a knee problem.

Each time I hit 2km - 3km at a certain speed, my left knee would start having a discomfort which leads to pain.

After recuperating for almost 6 months I'm trying to start running again. I'm hoping that my knee won't let me down or else I would have to seek professional help.

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8) Hard Rock Cafe bottle openers

Added six new bottle openers from Helsinki, Hong Kong (two different types), Houston, Krakow and Warsaw.

I could have collected more because Helsinki alone had like six different types of bottle openers. But I didn't want to spend so much on a single outlet.

The most disappointing was Hard Rock Cafe St Petersburg in Russia. I had walked almost 2km to the outlet only to find that the bottle openers were sold out. The sales assistant tried to convince me to purchase other stuff from the Rock Shop but my heart is with the bottle openers.

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Looking forward to 2019

I've booked a trip to South Korea in May 2019. Tickets on Air Asia were bloody cheap to not book it. I'll be flying into Seoul and flying back from Busan. Gonna skip Jeju because I would need to drive around the island which is not economical since I'll be travelling alone. Ah some of the perils of solo travel.

A friend has mooted the idea of travelling to Morocco in September. So I hope that materialises. But you know when we plan so far ahead and depend on another person, most of the time it doesn't happen. That's why I prefer solo travel.

Titbits from Boracay

What do travellers or tourists buy when they visit Boracay? Of course there are fridge magnets that are found in almost every tourist destination on planet Earth.

Here's a board of fridge magnets from Boracay to feast your eyes on:

I also saw many shops and stalls selling dream catchers but I did not snap any pics.

Now that I've embarked on a minimalist lifestyle, I don't usually buy souvenirs whenever I travel. I prefer to buy stuff that can be used or consumed like dried food, titbits, facial & body care products, cosmetics, etc.

So when I went to Boracay I naturally found two popular titbits, i.e. dried mangoes and banana chips.

1) Dried Mangoes

Dried mangoes are sold almost everywhere in Boracay.

As you can see from this pic, there are green and yellow dried mangoes:

 Jovy's seems to be the a popular brand for dried mangoes.

2) Banana Chips

Banana chips is my favourite titbit from Boracay.

The chips are crispy with just the right amount of sweetness (there goes my no refined sugar diet). I didn't check the ingredients (because I ate it all too quickly) but I think there's something coconut thrown into the ingredients which makes the chips so tasty.

I bought 5 packets (400gm/packet) of these at PHP86.00/packet from one of the shops along the main road in Boracay:

You only see 3 packets in the photo because I had given away 2 packets to family and friend to share the calories.

The chips are so addictive that I can finish a whole packet (400gm) of banana chip goodness in one sitting.

If anyone is going to Boracay, please buy these delicious chips for me and I will be eternally grateful.

Filipino Food in Boracay

I returned from Boracay last Saturday and it was a lovely trip with gorgeous blue skies, white sandy beaches and breathtaking sunsets.

Since it was my first time in the Philippines, I wanted to try Filipino food and here's an account of the food I had on the lovely island.

My first meal in Boracay was Sotanghoon Gusaido: 

Sotanghoon Gusaido is stir fried glass noodle with sardine and vegetables.

Filipino food is simple like Chicksilog:

This dish is also available in pork, beef and other types of meat.

Sisig consists of sizzling pork bits, onions and a raw egg broken over it. The lime juice brings all the flavours together deliciously:

I had the sisig without any rice.

If you want something light, Pinakbet is a good choice:

A tasty salad!

Pork Sinigang is soup made of pork, white radish, long beans, green chilies and onions:

Pork Sinigang can be quite spicy.

Now I would like to share with you two restaurants that we patronised a few times because of its delicious food, friendly staff and economical prices.

1) El Centro Bistro 
(Location: Station 2 beachfront, Boracay Island)

The first restaurant is called El Centro Bistro which serves economical meals like this American breakfast which costs PHP150 nett:

The honey ham was absolutely delicious! I returned another day and had the same American breakfast but replaced the ham with bacon which was equally delicious. 

El Centro Bistro also serves crepes like this one:

Diet Gone Out the Window.
 I chose the crepe with banana, peanut butter and chocolate sauce with vanilla ice cream. There are many other flavours too.

One aspect of El Centro Bistro which I like is the friendliness of the staff.

On my second visit to El Centro, one of the staff remembered what I ordered 2 days before and recommended another dish so that I could widen my choices. Such attention.


2) The Sunny Side Cafe
(Location: Station 3 beachfront, Boracay Island)

The second eatery is called The Sunny Side Cafe.

The first meal I had there was the famous Filipino treat, the Chori Burger:

The burger patty was succulent as it looks and infused with sweet-savoury flavours.

Before leaving for the airport, we went back to Sunny Side Cafe and I had their specialty called The Sunny Side Cafe Roesti for breakfast:

The Sunny Side Cafe Roesti consist of crumbled chorizo, poached eggs, sour cream and aragula on a fried potato fritata. I personally felt there was not enough chorizo and the friend potato fritata was too thick.

I like that The Sunny Side Cafe uses stainless steel straws instead of plastic straws (the video of the struggling turtle with the plastic straw stuck inside its nose is a grim reminder why we should not use plastic straws):

I was adventurous that morning and ordered the Banana and Black Sesame smoothie, with no sugar of course. Look at the shiny stainless steel straw.

Lastly, what would an island holiday be without Filipino beer:

Cheers to San Miguel beer!

There were other Filipino food that I didn't try like abodo and tortang talong (recommended by a friend) because I only have one stomach and limited number of days on Boracay. But the Philippines will always be there and I will be back.

My First Trip of 2018

I've planned my first trip of 2018 and it's to the island of Boracay in the Philippines! It will be my first time to the country and I'm so excited!

I've put off Boracay many times before because of how inconvenient it is to get there.

For those travelling from Kuala Lumpur like me, flying into Kalibo International Airport is the best option. After arriving at Kalibo, travellers need to travel around 2 hours by bus or taxi in order to reach the jetty where ferries to Boracay depart. But since two of my colleagues had only praises for the island, I thought, "Why not? Just enjoy the journey, even if it takes 2 hours to get to the jetty."

So here I am with tickets bought, accommodation booked and heart all excited.

I'll be going to Boracay in January, so only 2 more months of waiting.