Siena, Italy

Siena is a hill city in the region of Tuscany. It is famous for the medieval cityscape and the Palio race which is held twice a year. I was told that Siena has not changed much for 800 years, so let's go!! There is always on-going debate between Siena and Florence so it best we go and see it for ourselves...

We took an early bus trip from Florence to Siena. The bus journey took us around 1.5 hours to get into Siena.The only thing to do in Siena is sightseeing of this hilll city and the main attraction is El Campo and Siena Cathedral.

Walk around the town to soak up the view of the medieval city. We then proceed to the cathedral. It is advisable to go up the cathedral so see the whole view of the city. It is quite an easy climb up the stairs to the top of the tower.


After the cathedral, it is time to have lunch at one of the tratoria and then off to visit the main square. It was raining after lunch and then we just sit around for some people watching until the our bus arrive at 4pm to head back to Florence.

So, even if you don't have time. It is worth going to Siena for one-day trip... some may have luxury to stay longer. The choice is yours...

The view of downtown Piazza Del Campo

View from the Campanile del Mangia

Trotting the city with Zara summer dress and Mulberry handbag.

Siena cathedral, constructed in 1215

The interior of the cathedral

Piazza del Campo, the main attraction of Siena. This is where the race is held. It is hard to imagine how the horses run the race as the square is small..

Sipping cappuccino while 'people watching' in Campo, Siena. For this view, the cappuccino is priced at Euro 5 per cup.

This is where people 'hang out' in Siena...

Pictures depicting Il Palio yearly race..

Torre del Mangia (Mangia Tower)

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 Simple dish but still taste yummy-licious.. Pasta with spinach..

Petra, Jordan

Petra has always been in the back of my mind and in the bucket list to complete the Indiana Jones childhood dream

. This would have to be one of the world's most famous archeological and historical site due to it's rock-cut architecture building.
The journey starts from the Easyjet flight, London to Amman. The flight duration is almost 6 hours and upon arriving we took a taxi straight to Petra. The night journey took us around 3.5 hours and as soon as we check-in, we went to bed straight. The next morning we woke up at 7am as we plan to arrive Petra before the tourist bus swamped the place.
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket counter upon arriving. We went for the 2 days entry ticket which costs us 55JD.

In front of Al-Khazneh or The Treasury (tips, get in super early to get a solo pic without other tourists)

Petra is actually a big old city to explore. On day one itself we were walking around 8 hours roaming around. I would recommend everyone to have at least one datour instead of just the stop to Treasury. From the main gate to Treasury is around 20mins walk.The walk itself is very interesting as we had go through the narrow passage (Siq) that leads to Petra.

The narrow passage that will lead all travelers to the Treasury

Treasury preview from the Siq (narrow passage)

 We went hiking to the Monastery (again please ensure some degree of fitness level) as the hike to Monastery is not as easy as walking in the park. We managed to get to the monastery in 4 hours as we sort of lost our way around Petra. Due to everyone wanting to be super adventurous...:)

NO joke, please be fit. It is a steep climb to monastery (note to myself, 3 times a week in gym is not enough!!)

Happy adventurers!! In front of the monastery of Petra. Quite similar to the Treasurer, the difference is that Treasury is hewn into the sandstone cliff

 

 

At night we went for a candle light performance in the Treasurer. The show is around 2 hours and we were literally walking in the dark. It is not like any show that I have been as it filled with Arabic music and poetry reading by local people..

On the second day in Petra, it is more hiking for us. This time the objective is to have the view of Treasury from the top. It is not an easy journey again and hence you don't really see a lot of people having the view of Treasury from the top.

Petra is one of the best old city and it is worth the painful legs afterwards.

Donning the Indy Jones looks- with pants and tees from Gaps, and the adventurer cowboy hat from M&S.  The look is completed with the rose colour rock of Petra. I can't live without accessory and had to throw in the red necklace which I got from Istanbul.

I left the cowboy hat and using the H&M scarf to wrap it on my head, inspired by J-Lo from the video clip- I'm into you..:) No matter in whatever condition, one must not forget to style up accordingly...

The end of 2 day experience is more than enough. Even if you don't have much time, please make sure to visit the city beyond the Treasury. It has much more to offer... If you're not fit to walk, you can always take the horse/camel as an option. I clearly have chosen to suffer and test my fitness level in Petra....

Little Kitchen 2

The dinner tonight is to celebrate a friend who is leaving for work secondment in Melbourne, Australia. I got the chance to met him during my visit to America back in 2001, visiting my best friend who was  studying in Minnesota. After years gone by , we are still keeping in touch and to mark his farewell I decided to host a dinner party. He did request (more of a threat) that he has not a chance to try my nasi briyani. So, no surprise in the menu. As requested briyani with ayam masak merah, kari daging and acar buah is cooked within 2 hours.

Home cooked food with love (effort is needed)

Royal Doulton Platinum collection for the American educated guests. They are so used to Corelle so need to bring in something different to impress.

Jelatah or acar buah

The guests arrived at 8.30pm and dinner ends at 11.30pm. A lot of laughter, teasing, interrogation work successfully completed. I wish you all the best Izrin! I need to start saving up for my trip to Melbourne and Great Barrier Reef....

Alhambra, Spain

The famous Alhambra, which used to be a palace and fortress in Andalusia, Spain. This was the last Muslim palace in Spain in 1492.We drove from Marbella to Granada and the journey took us around 2 hours. I would highly recommend people to drive in South of Spain as it time saving and the cost of car rental is not expensive.

The best reflection shot of the main entrance 

We bought tickets on-line. This is much more easier as soon as we arrive we just went to the ticket machine for collection. I would recommend everyone to do the same as the queue can be long as this is the most visited place in Granada (nothing else to do here) Some would also opt to bring their own food as there are some nice parks inside for picnic.

The view of Granada from Alhambra. The highlight of this city is the one and only Alhambra

Spotted in Alhambra wearing Monsoon dress. This is perfect to capture the climate in South of Spain

Portico and pool of the 14th century

West side of Palacio de Carlos V in the Alhambra.

What would you expect to see in Alhambra? Basically, all about Moorish architecture. You will be able to see all the intricate details of the carvings which reflects all these in Alhambra. Everything is perfectly decorated from the ceiling, floor, doors. You would not be disappointed!

Little Kitchen I

As part of the experience of living abroad, I have had the chance to dine in a few Michelin-star restaurants where everything is top rated experience and sampled one of the best foods all over the world. The food, the table deco, the ambiance is definitely not to be compared with the 'mamak' experience in KL. However, moving back I have realized that there is no Michelin-star restaurants in KL and to dine in posh restaurants costs a lot of money. To resolve this issue that I have, I decided to host dinner parties at my own place.

In order to do this, the right tools are needed. Dinnerware collection, table deco and menu to create the whole ambiance. For this night, the guests are from my  previous workplace. I am using the Corelle square collection which I recently bought from Canada (Corelle are much more cheaper in North America compared to Malaysia). It is the time to put this collection into a good use.

Menu for the night is western style, Italian to be precise. Fettucine al-fredo which took me 30min to prepare. Tea light candles for decoration. My friends brought cake for desserts. Mine is tiramisu which I loved so much. But to be honest, I had a taste of the marble cheese cake and it was better than my tiramisu which is a bit dry.

All in all, we had a good catch-up time. When it is time to say goodbye, everyone left with full stomach which is the objective of each dinner party. Till we meet again..

Seoul, Korea

This was a short trip to Seoul as I am traveling on KoreanAir. The idea was to enjoy a weekend in Seoul before flying off to Canada. As I was asking around whether it is worth to visit Seoul in just one day, the response was quite positive. Hence, a trip to Seoul is done.

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I was lucky to be joined by a dear friend as she was working in China. Since she has been to Seoul for a few times, all I had to do is decide where I want to go and she will just follow the order, no question asked. 

As part of the travel experience, I like to try out the local food. To be honest, I am not that adventurous as I don't just try any food though. Pick and choose, there are just few food that I will never try. 

The travel blog...finally

I have been wanting to write my own travel journal since a few years back. Time pressure, work stress, social agenda keep on becoming a big excuse for not writing. I have been traveling extensively for the past six years and never had a chance to share my travel experiences. So, now is the time. I have left my demanding corporate job and have ample time to write about my travel adventures. This will not be restricted to just travel experiences, it will also be including some of the gastronomy experiences and my love for fashion...