Hong Kong '14

I cannot fully explain why I'm so obsessed with Hong Kong but the charm of its concrete jungle definitely plays a huge part in it. I just can't seem to get enough of the vintage-y vibes that covers every building, the whimsical pockets of light that can almost never be found in Singapore, the pastel coloured buildings, and the hustle and bustle that covers every part of the place. For this trip, I was extremely lucky to catch the clear sky except only on my last day. Now now, I shall let my pictures speak for me, it's easier this way.

Have a great weekend and an amazing November.

God bless you all, Pei.

Yufuin I

Yes, finally the extremely overdue post of my trip to Japan this May. I've been much too busy the past few months, which led to my putting off of this post.

I was immediately, within the first five minutes, taken over by the strong architectural lines present in Japan. They're so orderly and incredibly pleasant to the eyes. Our first stop, before checking into our hotel, was Yufuin, which is a small onsen town in Oita Prefecture. It's a great place to relax, stroll about, and take all the beauty in. Especially that of the contrast between nature and architecture, such as having the mountain as a backdrop of the town shops or houses. You'd spot lovely flowers along the way and also a few horses trotting up and down the street. Just thinking about it now is making me feel so zen.

My first meal in Japan:

Last trip of the year...

Bangkok!

For the love of airplane photos

Our very gorgeous hotel room.

Crazy traffic in Bangkok.

Curves and lines!

Terminal 21's toilet view, isn't that super insane and beautiful?!

Also, that San Fran bridge in the mall.

Our trip is a very short one of merely four days. I absolutely love their street food, especially that night Phad Thai stall near my hotel, yum! I had a list of cafes I wanted to visit but couldn't because my mum and aunt wasn't interested, sigh. The traffic in Bangkok is forever so busy; the lines of cars are never ending and the tutu rides are just exhilarating! I love it when the tutu turns into an alley or when they just turn at a road you wouldn't think they would. Compared to driving in Singapore, that is just so reckless but extremely fun.

Bangkok has beautiful malls too! They put in so much effort into the design and it is absolutely fascinating to see San Fran's Golden Gate bridge in the mall. Their toilets are themed and stunning. One of it has a fantastic view, and I was frantically taking a quick snap before the lady in the photo moved and spoiled the whole effect!

Also, I just love the hotel we stayed at so much! It's simple, gorgeous, has lovely view and lighting, and is super near the malls. And, did I mention the Phad Thai already?! Sadly, I fell sick at the last day and that wasn't very enjoyable because I was feeling too cold and weak. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to a return trip but with my friends.

Lastly, it's almost 2014 (and my birthday tomorrow - I don't know how I feel about being 20) so here's wishing everyone an amazing year ahead. May the next year be the best year yet!

Pei.

Acme Bar & Coffee

Acme has the most fabulous vibes ever; the lighting was magical and the decoration is just perfect. I fell in love with the place before our food even arrived! There was a second storey which was not used in the morning but I spent a couple of minutes taking photos and appreciating the space. We ordered a banana caramel cake, which was awesome even though I'm not  a fan of cakes, but the coffee wasn't that amazing. Which was why I had another fix at Artisan Roast later in the afternoon.

Also, I had the most precious latte art -- a girl!
The latte art was so subtle that at first we thought it was because the barista made an error but after a closer look, we saw the girl. I sipped at my coffee so I could keep the latte art for another ten minutes.

I ate so much on the second day of my KL trip.
Trisha made me breakfast in bed, then we went to Acme, and dinner was burger, nasi lemak, indo mee and tong sui (obviously shared among the three of us, I didn't eat all that myself). I throughly fulfilled Trisha's "I eat and repeat".

impromptu kl getaway

After contemplating for a couple of weeks, I just decided one night to visit Christie and Trisha in KL and booked my flight in that same night. After a few days, I was on my way to KL! It was a great couple of days. Trisha hosted my stay, brought me all around town and we visited a couple of her favourite cafes. I think what I really enjoyed most was being able to spend that much time with the girls in the short two and a half days... and of course visiting their extremely spacious cafes! Space is something that Singapore definitely has a lack of; hence our cafes are usually pretty cramped and crowded. You can imagine my delight in finding such spacious space with amazing light all over KL. I was absolutely overjoyed and still constantly dream of having such spacious cafes in Singapore!

For the first day, I had lunch at Little Wontons with Trisha. The food wasn't very nice but I was enjoying her company so much I didn't really mind the food. We then met Christie at Podgy & The Banker for coffee. 

Having taken a lot of photos at Acme Bar & Coffee on the second day, I'll make a separate post for it some other day.

My last morning in KL was a blur! We hurried to Journal by Plan B, supposedly for brunch but due to the terrible traffic we had to make do with just coffee (though I still missed my flight at the end haha). It was such a war against time and though you can never win, you try to make it worth it. To be honest, the last day in KL was actually a pretty unlucky day for me but thinking about it now, I don't really mind it.

Can't wait to go back for another visit sometime soon!