{Summer Diary} Royal Palace

We gradually acquainted Phnom Penh with little adventures;one step at a time, and as from yesterday we visited the home of His Majesty, that is the Royal Palace. Known for its architectural achievement, particularly with its beautiful embellishments of golden coloured tiles, it also overlooks the riverfront park where we managed to capture worthy shots. There were families and tourists having a picnic outside the lawn as well as them feeding the pigeons that were flying over everyone's heads. (Luckily we were bird poo free!) We were however unable to tour inside the palace but since it was built at the lively Samdach Sotheros Boulevard, we had the privilege to stroll by the central riverfront before sunset. 

Hemmed in by narrow streets with French colonial constructions and spirited bustling locals, we wandered along the riverfront where monks strolled in packs, children engaged in various recreations such as football and badminton and the vendors owned the street as they scattered every metre- believe me when I say they sold fried frogs and BBQ snake on a stick... I am not entirely sure if it is sanitary but my sister said she would definitely give them a try. If you ever consider Phnom Penh as your primary destination and plan to go to the riverside, keep your personal belongings safe because this is a popular place of pick pocketing. 

The long walk led us to Amanjaya Pancam Hotel, which was speculated to where Tomb Raider megastar Angelina Jolie have stayed when she filmed the blockbuster in 2001. Tucked between the streets is where the night market is situated. It is not a shopping Mecca compared to Bangkok but you will find yourself spoiled with souvenir choices! You will be greeted with great qualities and bargains. It is worth a visit! 

Have a great Sunday,

{Summer Diary} Phnom Penh

Just last Tuesday, my sister and I ventured to a part of Phnom Penh that is just tucked between Norodum Boulevard and the Royal Palace; Street 240-also known as a magnet for the barang (Khmer for foreigners). We made the most of an interlude of sunshine and took a stroll through the busy tuk-tuk running grounds; happily getting lost in art galleries, boutiques and discovering all the wonderful indoor pursuits the street has to offer. Just like any other parts of the city, there are just one too many alleys, entrances and little squares that you're unlikely to ever notice. 

Luckily Trip Advisor has made it easier for us to find our ways, especially to a little vegan cafe called Artillery which was bursting out in blue and white Mediterranean loveliness and incongruity. We had a short break in between our little adventure over their delicious thirst quenchers and uber-fresh and healthy meals.

I won't pretend that the whole area is perfect as most of the parts are impoverished, but it is worth the stroll down the pavements and discovering cute little shops and cafes. I would definitely recommend walking through Street 240 and you will find yourself a little alley with more cute shops and Artillery is one of the few in Street 240 1/2 (yes there is such thing).

love, 

Eid Mubarak!

Phnom Penh welcomes its first day of Eid/Hari Raya today, and I thought of naming my look for today after my favourite book of all time.. Kidding! The skirt that I was supposed to pair with this tailor-made ombre blouse is back in Brunei so I had to make do with whatever I've brought with me. Although any reasonable person would never thought of coming close to wearing skinnies on the first day of Raya, I've officially defied the social norm. Desperate calls for desperate measures!

Scarf - A gift from Jakarta

Blouse - Tailor made

Necklace - Asos

Clutch - Giuseppe Zanotti

Skinnies - New Look

Stilettos - Forever 21

{Summer Diary} Paris + Disneyland

Paris is one of those cities that you don't need a long holiday to marvel at sights and sounds that make up this great capital.

After spending 3 nights in Netherlands, I took a train to Paris with Nona and having arrived late at night at our apartment, I still couldn't believe that we managed to spend time in Disneyland and the city itself within the space of less that 24 hours!

When in Paris, it seems only fitting to secretly fantasise about living in a Woody Allen film and to stroll the grand streets after dark. It is a big fat cliche but once the sun goes down, Paris looks even more lovelier especially with the Eiffel tower lights twinkling and glittering. It's hard not to feel giddy with excitement when standing beneath it! Places not to miss when in Paris: Louvre, Montmartre, Pont des Art & Trocadero. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to make a trip to Champs Elysees so I wouldn't mind planning a second trip to Paris for a weekend :)

//DISNEYLAND//

For someone who hasn't been to Disneyland for over 7 years, I had an out of body experience as I walked through the entrance gates. I felt as if I was jumping out of my skin with excitement and it seemed every other person there was feeling the exact same way. I was indeed the happiest during the trip to Disneyland.

I hope everyone is having a great start to their summer break and Ramadhan Kareem to all my muslim friends!

Why you should travel

I beg young people to travel. If you don't have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown. Eat interesting food. Dig some interesting people. Have an adventure. Be careful. Come back and you're going to see your country differently, you're going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You're going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It's not what Tom Friedman writes about; I'm sorry. You're going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking 12 miles for four buckets of water. And so there are lessons that you can't get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people-Americans and Europeans-come back and go, Ohhhhh. And the light bulb goes on.
-Henry Rollins

It is true that when you actually get out of your country frequently you do begin to question things like: why is there a huge segregation between the richer and the poor in Bangkok but not back at home? Why is the wifi connection better in Laos when it's ranked 2nd lowest for HDI in ASEAN? If Brunei is richer than Thailand then why don't we have Sephora? An average income of a cashier in Switzerland is B$5000 a month.. reallyyyy???!!

The many questions an 18 year old would ponder when travelling.
But really though. Just get out there.
Love,
A.

The 2 pictures above were taken during my last summer in Laos. I miss Vientiane dearly & the "baw penyang (no problem)" vibe!

M I L A N O 

My sister took this shot from our hotel room in Dubai that we spent for a night early this week. A beautiful city indeed but I wouldn't want to go back there. I can't stand being in a complete concrete jungle and I actually had to dress for the weather.

And a little more detour of Geneva:

ps: If you ever get the chance to go to Thailand don't just stay in one city. Bangkok is a good start then the perfect next stop would be Phuket for the gorgeous beaches!

pps: put down "travel to Europe" in your bucketlist!  I just crossed mine off my list and I kid you not it will be amazing!

ppps: we almost got ourselves stranded in Geneva's airport so that was kind of an adventure.

Milan wishes you were here

Milan certainly has it's charm which is evident even at first sight and the very first place that I've found myself in was the indoor shopping mall, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ||. This place is what would have been Milan's ideal shopping mall in the 19th century and within a ceiling of steel and glass you can still spot the heavens.

And clearly I didn't dress up for the indian summery weather. Hashtag: wishful thinking!

Love,
A.