Author: embarkwithsmallsteps

1 day in Venice

ITALY

I truly enjoyed my time in Venice. I was told by many that Venice looks great in pictures, but rather dirty in real life. In my opinion, it was not even bad. What you see in pictures is kinda what you get in real life too. Yet again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion! I had one whole day to explore Venice and we wanted to make sure that our day was well spent (despite the rain, seriously Venice?). We had stayed in Venice Mestre instead of the mainland as it is more convenient to travel with luggage. You can easily get to the mainland in less than 30 minutes, which is great! My Airbnb host was so lovely too, she kindly borrowed her map to us!

We took an early tour to Murano, Burano and Torcello at 9 am in the morning. The highlight of the tour has definitely got to be Burano, where you can see fisherman houses in so many bright colors! It is so picturesque-tic. Right after the tour, we were just roaming around the city by foot, getting lost in the streets and snapping endless photos at every pretty corners, also obviously we had to experience getting on the gondola ourselves by paying 80 euros (we convinced ourselves that it is a once in a lifetime thing so just do it!) and lastly, ended our day by watching the sun goes down at St Mark’s Campanile tower which I so so recommend! The view at street level is great but the bird’s eye view of the city is stunning… especially when the sun is going down. I am just going to end this post with a bunch of photos I took (and I have way too many). Hope you enjoy!

Murano, Burano & Torcello tour

Ticket price: $30
Website: Book via Klook!

Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of sighs)

📍 Piazza San Marco, 1, 30100 Venezia VE, Italy

Doge’s Palace

📍 Piazza San Marco, 1, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy

Rialto Bridge

📍 Sestiere San Polo, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy

Gondola ride in the canals

Roaming around the streets

St Mark’s Campanile

📍 Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Opening hours: 9.45 am – 7 pm
Ticket: 5 euros

Get a 24 hour ACTV travel pass!

📍 You can get it at any convenient stores!
Very convenient to move around with trams or boat. Your feet will thank you! Also, you get to just sit back and enjoy the amazing view!
Ticket: 20 euros (for more info)

⬇ MY VIDEO BLOG ⬇

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3 days in Langkawi

MALAYSIA

I have been to Langkawi with my family a couple of times but a trip with family and a trip with friends are incomparable. Going for a vacation with my family holds me back from exploring or trying out new activities where else with friends, you can basically do whatever you want (provided your friend are on the same boat as you). Hence on this trip, my friend and I decided to strike off a few things off our bucketlist!

Day 1 – Explore Kuah

A visit to Langkawi is incomplete without visiting the famous Dataran Lang. It is a famous photo spot featuring a huge eagle statue just beside the waterfront plaza. The reason why eagle’s representing Langkawi is from its name ‘Langkawi’ itself. In malay, helang means eagle, where else kawi stands for reddish brown. If you happen to be in Kuah on Wednesday or Saturday, do not forget to drop by Kuah Night Market as well! It opens from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

Dataran Lang
📍 Persiaran Putera Kuah, 07000 Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia

Day 2 – Ziplining & Langkawi’s Cable Car

Go on a zipline adventures tour which can be reserved via Klook! I chose the big zipline waterfall adventure which cost us about $150 SGD. It is quite pricey but I promise you that the experience is worth it! We really did enjoy our ziplining experience with Umgawa. Ziplining just above the waterfall is surreal! The tour guides are very friendly and helpful too. This package includes:

  • A 2 to 2.5-hour adventure
  • Fly 80m high over the Seven Wells Waterfall
  • 12 Ziplines and 3 Bridges
  • Great abseil
  • Honeymoon Double Line
  • 4 Free HD pictures at the base
  • Free One-way transport to Umgawa
  • A truly immersive and engaging adventure through the treetops

After ziplining, the team dropped us over at the cable car which is just 5 mins drive away. The tickets for the cable car cost RM40 for adults. If you are afraid of heights, then this is the time for you to conquer your fear! Get on the cable car and watch as it goes up the mountain. It was quite terrifying to be honest because the cable is so steep! One thing to note about going to the sky bridge is the weather; we were there in May and it has been raining. Hence, sky bridge was closed and we had to wait for quite some time for the rain to stop before it opens again.

Day 3 – Jetski tour & Parasailing

We bought a 4 hour jet ski tour via Klook at $234 SGD for double riders. The guide will bring you to island to another island. Transport from your hotel is provided too! We were lucky that there were no other groups on the tour with us, so it kind of felt like a private tour. Jetski was SO much fun! I would definitely do it again and again (oh how I wish it is not an expensive activity). After the 4 hours tour, we chill at Pantai Cenang waiting for the sunset to come. We had booked for a parasailing trip before sunset at the beach that morning for RM120 per person (which can be bargained). Parasailing looks scary but it is actually pretty chill when you are at the top. There is nothing to be scary about. In my opinion, ziplining has more thrill as compared to parasailing!

All in all, I definitely loved this trip as we get to try out new things! If you are travelling around via taxi, then I would recommend you stay around Pantai Cenang as it is a very accessible location.

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Hong Kong in the winter

CHINA

Being in Hong Kong in winter felt amazing. It is not too cold nor hot. It is always nice to escape to somewhere that is not hot and humid like Singapore. Not to mention all those pretty Christmas lights in the streets are so mood lifting. If you would like to visit Hong Kong, I would definitely recommend travelling in Nov – Jan.

Victoria Peak

The best way to get to Victoria Peak is via group tour. With this, you get to skip the long lines queuing for the tram. You can easily made an advanced booking via Klook. We went to see Madame Tussaud’s as well but it was not as great as the one I have been to (Bangkok, London) hence I would not recommend.

Causeway Bay

Going to causeway bay is a must too, especially if you want to shop! There are many high end malls around the area. It is pretty nice to be there during winter because of all the Christmas decorations. The holiday vibe is real y’all.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Disneyland Hong Kong, you have definitely wow-ed me last winter! I would love to come back again (only in winter). The only problem was there were SO many people and there are long queues everywhere. It is probably best to get express pass ticket to be able to enjoy all the rides! I bought the normal pass and have missed out on a lot of rides, sadly. Next goal, to stay in Disneyland hotel for at least a night! Anyone?

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3 days in Krabi

THAILAND

My friend and I have agreed on flying to Krabi for our University Graduation Trip before committing to a full time job. All of our activities booking were made at Krabi airport itself. They have tour package including transport provided to and from airport. We had booked a 2 days tour for Island Hopping and ATV. We stayed in Marina Express Hotel and I actually think that it is a perfect location for Muslims guest. The mosque was just beside the hotel and there were many halal food vendors along the streets. I loved the hotel as it was so cozy!

📍 Marina Express, Fisherman Hotel in Ao Nang
About $50 per night including breakfast

Day 1 – Island hopping

We went for the Phi Phi Island tour package which includes Bamboo Island, Viking Cave, Lohsamah Bay (for snorkelling), Pileh Bay, Maya Bay, Monkey Beach and Phi Phi Don. I heard Phi Phi Island has the prettiest beach but unfortunately I did not see any due to the limited time given to explore the Island. Based on my experience, I felt that Bamboo Island was the prettiest. It was my first time snorkelling and honestly I was terrified that I had to stick next to my friend all the time. If you ask me, I did not exactly enjoy my first snorkeling experience (but all is different now – I love snorkeling!)

Day 2 – ATV tour

ATV tour includes going for an elephant ride, visiting the emerald pool and obviously, an hour of ATV ride. It was actually saddening looking at the condition of the elephants in Krabi as it looks like they were being abused. Our last stop of the day was riding on an ATV however it was pouring so heavily at that point of time. In the end, we get on the ATV in the rain which honestly was so much fun but I am not going to lie though, an hour of riding the ATV hurts my thumb so bad. I am glad we did it because, one bucketlist off the checklist!

Day 3 – Exploring Railay Beach from Ao Nang

We took the boat from Ao Nang to Railay Beach and I just have to warn you, DO NOT sit at the front of the boat or you will get SOAKED. The ride to Railay beach was super bumpy due to the strong current but it was fun for me – not so fun if you have motion sickness. It was nice spending the day chilling at Railay Beach. We ended our day by watching the sunset at Ao Nang beach and I think it was the prettiest beach sunset I have ever seen thus far.

How much did we spent?

Flight – $100 SGD
Return trip airport to hotel – 1000 Baht/$50 SGD
Island hopping & ATV tour – 1500 Baht + 200 Baht (for national entrance fee)/$60 SGD + $8 SGD (for national entrance fee)
Boat to Railay – 800 Baht per boat for 8 pax

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What to do in Glasgow, Scotland

SCOTLAND

Glasgow. 1 month overseas immersion program was such an amazing learning point for me. Having roommates, time to explore places, studying in one of the most beautiful University I have ever seen; basically I had one of the best time ever. I actually miss having roommates, knocking on their doors whenever I am bored or having annoying team mates banging on my door while I am napping. Good times. Honestly, when I first arrived at Murano Student Village, I had a love-hate relationship due to having inconsiderate flat mates. The room is definitely not COZY but we started decorating our rooms along the way making it feel like home. Anyway, here is what we did while in Glasgow!

Loch Lomond lake

Loch Lomond is the largest loch in Scotland, the largest fresh water lake on the island of Great Britain and probably the most famous after Loch Ness.

University of Glasgow

What is that one word that you would use to describe UOG? Mine is Hogwarts for sure! I am in awe whenever I am at the main building. I was so proud to find out that Ayat Ayat Cinta 2 actually filmed some of their scenes at my University. So beautiful!

The famous shopping streets, Buchanan Street!

You can shop till you drop here. How my friends and I shop there: Primark, primark and primark. Lush and Nike are one of our favorites go-to store too! Miss coming here almost everyday to shop for clothes and food, haha.

Glasgow Botanic Garden

Great place for a picnic or photo-shoots! The Kibble Palace is one of the largest glass hours in Britain and features a handful or rare orchids!

The Lighthouse

The lighthouse is about 45m high filled with a lot of arts and a spiral staircase that will lead you to a viewing platform. This building is actually designed to hold up to 8000 gallon of water in case the building catch a fire. Great prep right there!

Riverside Museum

Riverside museum is one of the interesting museums I have seen. It contains all kinds of vehicle in history that you would probably have seen in old movies. On top of it all, you can also visit the Tall Ship just behind the museum! If you ever wonder how a ship looks like on the inside, then you should go. I was amazed by how huge it is on the inside as compared to the outside.

Kelvingrove Museum

Kelvingrove museum and park is located near University of Glasgow. This museum will make you feel as if you are in the Night of the Museum movie. I wish I have more photos taken but silly me forgot to bring my camera that day!

City Chambers

City Chambers is located at George Square, nearby the city centre too! It is easily one of the most WOW architecture I have seen in Glasgow. It looks like a palace! Entrance is free and in order to see what it is like on the inside, you have to adhere to their visiting hours. They have only 2 time slots, in the morning and in the afternoon. Definitely worth a visit! It is a pity that they do not allow you to take pictures in most part of the building hence you should go and see for yourself!

Glasgow Science Centre

Glasgow Science Centre entrance is not free, unfortunately! But definitely worth the visit! Lots of cool activities and shows so it is fun to go with your friends.

People Palace

It is closed on Monday. I repeat. It is closed on Monday. My friends and I were silly enough to visit on a Monday morning. At least we get to see the famous fountain, haha!

Ruchill Park

Definitely should visit if you want to watch the sunrise or sunset from up above! I loved how you get to see a 360 degree view of Glasgow City. I am glad that this park is actually located behind our dorm.

Glasgow is one of my favorite cities ever. The people in Glasgow are so lovely. I definitely would come back one day just to pay a visit at the University and also to visit other places in Scotland that I have missed!

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