3D2N Penang weekend staycation | Discovering Penang seaside view cafes & more!

Even as a fellow Penangite (or maybe because I'm one), there are many touristy spots on the island I have not visit before. So this time, I play tourist in my own hometown and visit these spots on a short 3D2N weekend staycation. Flew there from KL with AirAsia and took the bus back. 

During my stay, I went to the jetties, walked around Gurney Bay, Esplanade and Georgetown.

Besides that, I went to several seaside view cafes that has mushroomed recently (I think!) around the island. My fav being Oceano Symphony but Biru Biru and Batu.PG has great vibes too. Other cafes I visited include China House, Wheelers and Norm Coffee Roastery. That's a lot of cafes for one weekend!

A stable-themed cafe in Putrajaya & Ramadan Bazaars

 Here are compilation of what I did in February and March when I'm not away from KL LOL.

I went to Manila on a weekend in February and Penang on another weekend in March. Penang vlog coming up sometime!

Tried some cafes in Putrajaya at two places I've been wanting to check out. One being Ekues Cabin Cafe and another in Tamarind Square. Also, the fasting month begin in early March and that meant Ramadan Bazaars! This year I went to the one in Bangsar and TTDI. The latter I go like an annual affair. This year, there were lesser stalls. Fortunately, some of my favorites were still around. I think bazaars is always a great way o experience local cultures and is a new experiences even for some of my friends.

Flying solo for a weekend in Manila

Last month I flew to Manila, Philippines to join my friends for a wedding on 22.02 🤵🏻‍♂️👰🏻‍♀️ 

That was the highlight for the weekend and we spent the whole day celebrating the joyous event. I didn't have much plan so for the other free time is walking around exploring or shopping. I wished I did a bit more homework before flying bc now that I've watched some videos I noticed I missed out some spots or foods to try.

Generally I didn't find Manila as exciting as Vietnam (I went last November!). Perhaps if I've gone to other places in the Philippines would've been nice. Still, I think my travel phase is just nice and I did cover a few places. 

I didn't get to try local jeepneys, trishaws, horse carriages or even the bambike but would definitely recommend y'all to do so.

The other interesting thing besides great people are shopping at the handful of local brands that can be found in Festival Mall and SM Mall of Asia. I got a few items and their quality is amazing. They are rather pricey and some is comparative to Singapore boutique prices (X__X) Tho if I have to decide, I think Malaysia and Singapore are better shopping spots but then it's bc I know many online boutiques.

More on what I did on the vlog~~

Some travel tips to Manila that I learnt from this trip: 

1. Meal can range between 2500pesos (a simple rice with meat and sprite) to about 1,000 pesos (a main and latte) at a cafe
2. Grab car can range from 200pesos to 600pesos. By default, the pricier Grab Plus is chosen but I always choose taxi or standard.
3. When using credit card, sometimes they’ll ask if you wanna pay in pesos or your local currency. Choose pesos because they’ll have charges if you use your local currency. MYR was charged about 5%.
4. Filipinos are generally friendly and safe. However two locals I spoke to warn me to be wary when I’m walking around Intramuros. 
5. At Intramuros, try not to respond to tour operators inviting you on their electric bike. I did to one who intro-ed his service right when I just got off my Grab (rude!). He was so persistent and followed me first on foot then on his bike I had to get another fellow backpackers’ help. Well I just told him if I can walked beside them until the guy left. The service offered was about 14 thousands or hundred I didn’t catch properly.
6. International brands are apparently cheaper in Malaysia. A friendly Filipino lady seated next to me on the flight told me she’d rather shop in Malaysia and does her annual shopping here LOL. I took her words and didn’t bother checking but find myself getting a few items from local brands such as Bocu, Memo and another from Festival Mall in Alabama. These are also at SM Mall and Bocu is even Shopee Malaysia (albeit lesser choices)!

Took me quite a while to put the vlog together bc there were so many shots. I have my Vietnam travel vlog but that has wayyyy more shots to edit. Wish me luck! 🫠

November short trip in Singapore

Here is my long-overdue November vlog LOL. Mostly trying new cafes & restaurants around the malls in Kuala Lumpur. 

Also, I flew to Singapore for a short work trip back in November. By then you can see the Christmas decors are up and they're so pretty! 

 

Happy Chinese New Year 2025!!

 Happy Chinese New Year!!🧧🥳😻🧨🎇🐍🎋🍊

First vlog for 2025 sharing how we (quite minimally) celebrate CNY besides my video journal of things I was up to in January.

Haven't been posting because life (or rather work) happens. When I finally have some time off I just didn't want to do anything but just unwind #adulting

Because of that, I have tons of unedited footages OMG. For this vlog, and other backlogs ones there are almost 200 shots each which I then trimmed off. Trying to clear my phone consistently bc I don't have that much storage and yet I'm still taking so many videos & photos!

I've just gotten a new phone so the quality is much nicer 😎 Tho some of the vids (at least the ones last year) are still taken using my old one so the shots may be blurry. I just noticed it wasn't the clearest! 😳👉👈